Anne Boleyn, The Teen Years
The Netherlands had been far different than England. Anne looked out from the English galleon ship that had transported her family across the Channel to the neighboring country. It had been a rough journey and Anne was glad to be off that damn ship. Thomas had urged his daughter to make haste and go to the carriage that had been waiting for them. The Dutch court didn't wait or appreciate tardiness.
Particularly Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian - Thomas was frantic to get to the royal palace to pave his way through the emperor's antics. Several years ago, he had commanded that his only son and legitimate heir would marry Joanna of Castile, as her sister Katherine would marry a prince also (first Arthur, bless him, then Henry). Turns out, she had gotten obsessed with her husband and accused him of adultery among other things. Maximilian did what he could to recover the relationship between Joanna and Philip, but she was starting to become raving mad, according to the emperor. That was what the rumors had been from whispers of the Spanish court.
Thomas ushered his daughter and urged the driver to go quickly. The two carriages made their way through The Hague to Innsbruck and to the royal palace. The Imperial Palace was a vast building and recently finished at the turn of the century, Thomas had told his daughter. Anne gazed out the window in shock when the palace came to view.
"Father, look at this place!" Anne exclaimed, shocked.
Thomas Boleyn smiled at the eagerness his daughter had for travel and seeing new places. Anne would be here in Holland and Mary was off to France to be a lady-in-waiting to Mary Tudor, the king's sister - who would be marrying Louis XII.
"His Majesty has been so delighted with us that he has offered a position in the court of his daughter, Margaret. You will be in her inner circle as a lady-in-waiting." Thomas announced, with a twinkle in his eyes. "I pray you conduct yourself accordingly and try to win as many favors from Princess Margaret as you can, my girl."
"I will, Father, with our English charm, I don't doubt we'll win the court over in no time." Anne quipped, raising her brow.
The girl giggled and continued to stare out the carriage window, admiring the spectacle of Maximilian's approaching court. The carriages came to a halt near the entrance. Her father stepped out first, greeted by the Holy Roman Emperor himself in a warm embrace and a kiss on each cheek. Thomas bowed graciously before the emperor and gave immense praise for the court and showing gratefulness for being able to return. Anne heard her father mention her names. She dared to peek outside of the carriage, her raven-black hair falling down her shoulders. Emperor Maximilian peered out from behind Thomas.
"Anne, come on out, the emperor would like to meet you."
The young lady hopped out of the carriage gracefully, Anne approaching the emperor with such elegance it almost looked like she was floating towards him. Emperor Maximilian smiled at the young lady, utterly astounded by her beauty. Anne curtsied low and bobbed up with such grace.
"Welcome to Holland, my dear lady. The court awaits you! My daughter Margaret will meet with you inside, if you will follow your father and me, we shall give you the grand tour!" Maximilian exclaimed, robustly, clapping his hands together and rubbing his palms.
"I thought only the king's men gave tours to guests, not the king himself!" Anne exclaimed, with a playful grin.
Maximilian chuckled heartily and clapped his hand on her shoulder, causing the young Anne to glance at her father uncomfortably.
"Such a delightful child, Thomas, come!" Maximilian urged, ushering his esteemed guests into the palace.
Thomas and Anne had walked behind the emperor, Anne not bothering to listen as the emperor showed everything and gave them history lessons about the palace, even though it had only recently been constructed. They weren't so much history lessons as much as it was Maxmilian telling them detailed accounts how accurately everything had been built, according to his desires.
Anne sighed heavily, knowing this was going to be a LONG afternoon, indeed, listening to the monarch proudly boast about his latest residence. He led them through corridors and up flights of stairs, also stopping frequently to talk to them obsessively over certain paintings he had acquired from around the content, and he would even discuss how much it had cost for one, the framing alone.
"How much longer must we endure this?" Anne muttered, as quietly as she could.
Anne shouldn't have outwardly groaned, she would have remained passive, stoic and well-behaved as a lady-in-waiting ought to behave. Instead, she did sigh; she had sighed a little too loud considering Thomas turned around and glared at her.
"Whatever is the matter, dear girl?" Maximilian inquired, peering behind Thomas' shoulder to look at the raven-haired girl.
"I apologize, Your Imperial Majesty, I was simply admiring this painting. I did not realize how much one painting could really speak to an individual such as myself!" Anne lied, staring up at it in 'awe'.
It was a portrait of Emperor Maximilian himself standing proud in his royal embellishments and fur cloak, like a god before them - showcasing his magnificence.
"You, my dear, have an eye for fine art!" Maximilian complimented, pointing a fat, sausage-like finger her way. He smiled and chuckled. "Now, let us go meet my daughter, Margaret. She has been waiting for you, Thomas, to introduce Anne to her."
The trio made their way to the royal apartments belonging to Princess Margaret. Princess Margaret sat with her other ladies when the emperor made himself known. She rose and greeted the emperor, as did the women amongst her.
"My dear Maggie, you remember Thomas Boleyn - our English diplomat?" Maximilian inquired, pulling Thomas forward.
"Good afternoon, my lord, I trust you had a pleasant journey to our lovely country?"
"The Channel was a little rough, but nothing we English can't handle, eh Anne?"
Anne stepped forward, curtsying before the princess. Margaret got up and offered her hand to the young lady. She smiled at the tween and was instantly delighted with Anne.
"Thomas, I hope you do not mind my saying so - you have a lovely daughter; and while you are here, I should like for her to be included as my lady-in-waiting. It will be good practice for her, should she have her own royal courts one day."
"We would be most honored by the position, thank you, Your Highness," Thomas exclaimed, utterly shocked.
He bowed gratefully and kissed the back of Margaret's hand. She smiled and glanced at her father.
"I imagine you both must have many meetings to attend to. I can promise you, my lord, that your daughter will be safe in my company. She can accompany me and my ladies. We are going to continue our little game of charades. And then, take luncheon in the gardens."
"May I stay with Her Highness, Father, please?" Anne asked, pleadingly.
The emperor, the princess and earl all laughed heartily at Anne's pleas to be with Margaret.
"You'll find my daughter pleasant company and excellent at charades."
"I relish the competition. Come, my girl, let us see this clever skill your father boasts about! And pray tell me what else you have accomplished as a young lady. Off you go, gentlemen, this is now a haven for me and my ladies. No men are permitted!" Margaret scolded, playfully as she ushered the emperor and Thomas out of the room. "Now, la petite Boulin, I will guarantee that you have a thorough education under my care. Now that you are a lady-in-waiting, you will have much time to conduct yourselves and harness greater gifts."
Both Margaret and Anne took a liking to one another and Anne soon became a part of the princess' inner circle, growing in many talents and accomplishments. Anne's favorite topic was royal politics, she discovered and through the months that passed, she would have very heated conversations with Princess Margaret but always showed strong convictions in her morals and beliefs. Margaret was undoubtedly impressed by the young miss. Anne's company was fresh and delightful and she was glad when she begged her father to include the Boleyns in their confidence.
Margaret and Anne practiced cards and other games and Anne turned out to be quite a force with cards. There were some rounds where Margaret refused to let the young lady win, but she proved herself a good sport when it came to losing, despite Anne's competitive nature. The other ladies watched the spectacle from time to time, placing bets on Maggie and Anne.
With Princess Margaret as her supervisor in all things, Anne grew in her accomplishments. She learned all sorts of things from the ladies-in-waiting. Even over the summer of her fourteenth year, Anne sprouted up like a beautiful wildflower, growing several inches and nearly matched Margaret's height. If Anne wore heels, they were the same height. Anne's young, girlish features soon faded with maturity as a young woman and her features became more womanly. Her raven-black hair cascaded in waves past her shoulders.
Anne had not known how deep Princess Margaret's affection went for her. Thomas did, he'd received a letter whilst in France, procuring a position for his eldest daughter, Mary. Princess Margaret had written him saying,
"Anne is so well structured now, such intelligence, I'm so glad you sent her to me, Thomas. She is so delightful I wish I could call her my own daughter. Everyone simply loves her and she has quite grown up. I don't think you'd recognize Anne quite the same way. She's such a young lady now. She is a young lady of many talents, well-versed as I am, if not better. This young generation Anne belongs to will surely be much better off than we have been."
Thomas read the letter with such admiration and was grateful for the education Princess Margaret offered his daughter. He was glad he brought Anne to the Netherlands.
. . . AB . . .
Anne was sitting by the fire organizing and shuffling a deck of cards, ready to play against Helga, another lady-in-waiting. This would have been a fourth round of cards Anne would play with Helga. The other lady had been quite terrible at cards in the start but Anne was patient as she taught the game. Helga came through and smiled at the fourteen-year-old and seated herself across from Anne. The women played several matches of the card game that Princess Margaret had taught them. As they continued their fourth round, an envoy came knocking, he spoke urgently behind the door. Anne got up and opened it, curious as to why there was such urgency.
"My lady Anne?" he asked. "There is a letter from your father. He sends it from France and asks you to read it and reply immediately."
"Thank you," Anne said, taking the sealed letter.
She cracked the seal open which bore her father's insignia and unfolded the letter.
My Dear Anne,
I'm writing to you as a matter of urgency. As you probably have heard from Princess Maggie, King Henry's sister, Mary is betrothed to Louis and I have gotten your sister Mary a position as a lady-in-waiting. I mentioned that I have one other daughter who is very accomplished, who I'd like to introduce to the French Court. Mary Tudor, our king's sister, has offered you a position as a senior lady-in-waiting upon her arrival to France. I would like you to write to me as soon as you receive this and send me your response. I understand you and Maggie have grown fond of one another, but this is a new opportunity. Think on it, Anne.
Your Father,
Thomas Boleyn
Anne sighed, uncertain of what to say or do. She folded up the letter and shoved it into her pocket before sitting back down. Helga looked at Anne inquisitively.
"What was so urgent, Anna?" Helga asked, raising a brow.
"My father, he wrote to me saying he wants me to go to France!" Anne muttered, irritably.
"Oh dear," Helga said, frowning. "Princess Maggie will not like that."
"I know. I don't like it either, honestly. I suppose I must tell her immediately. I know she doesn't like to be out of the loop with these sorts of things."
"When it comes to her ladies, she must know everything." Helga agreed.
"It's only fair, and I understand that. Let's play one more round of Piquet and then I'll go tell Maggie."
Once the game of Piquet was finished, Helga offered to put the cards up so Anne could make her way to Princess Margaret. She found Princess Margaret's lodgings easily enough, but she wasn't in the main sitting room. Margaret must have been in the hideaway room. Anne was one of the few who knew the location and how to access it. She found it behind a curtain and slipped in, checking behind her that she was truly alone. Margaret smiled when she saw Anne.
"Anne, my darling, I was wondering when you would come visit me! I have been sooo out of sorts today, this blasted thing we get you know. It's making me feel utterly miserable."
"Ah, yes, the visit from Her Majesty. Maggie, did you hear that Mary Tudor is to marry Louis of France?" Anne inquired, sitting beside her friend.
"Yes, what an odd arrangement. He's so OLD and decrepit. I wonder what Mary did to piss Henry off this time."
"What do you mean?"
"You know how siblings are, Henry always wants his way, you know, or so I've heard from your father."
"He wants me to go to France to meet him and my sister Mary there."
"What?" Margaret asked, shocked.
"I know! I don't know if I actually want to go to France, considering all things. I've heard that Louis smells bad, he's ancient, Maggie; and that Mary's just a bitch."
"Well, I wouldn't judge Mary just yet. Henry, her brother, is using her as a pawn. We're just pawns in our fathers' and brothers' worlds. My half-brother was forced to marry our cousin, Joanna. She's raving mad. That's all because of the inbreeding though, really. I think her sister Kate got all the good things and Joanna was hardly left with anything. Her own mother didn't like her, or so my dear papa said."
"That's so unfortunate for Joanna. Wasn't Isabella, her mother, known for being a ruthless queen?" Anne lamented, she could hardly imagine a life of negligence from her parents.
Both her mother and father had been more often than not doting parents and her childhood was relatively pleasant. Margaret snorted, thinking of her distant relative.
"Yes, I suppose queens have to be ruthless in a world dominated by men, you know. We have little to no say in matters, la petit Boulin." Margaret said, sourly. "The sooner you learn that, the better off you will be, my girl. Now. About France, I think you should go to France. I have taught you all that I can and you have surpassed me with your intelligence. There is more the French court can teach you, especially when it comes to love and romance - and possible courtships. You are at the age now where you really ought to set your sights on future husbands too."
"You want me to go?" Anne asked, surprised.
"Well, if I had my choice, I'd say you should stay in Holland forever. But, your papa is ever eager to gain more power, as is natural. And think of this as a promotion from princess to queen. You will be amongst English ladies now and show off your skills and talents. Who knows what that will bring forward for you."
"I suppose if I go to France, I will go with your blessing, Maggie. I'll go ahead and write to my father immediately."
. . . AB . . .