Chapter Seven - Let the Tournaments Begin
Trumpets made their fanfare as King Henry and King Francis, their queens following behind and all the attendants walked down the carpet rolled out especially for them as they made their way to the tourney grounds. The second round of jousting, later in the afternoon there would be wrestling matches if the knights weren't too beaten up. All knights that would be competing were ready, armored and their lances standing upright leaning against the fence. All the nobles took their places, and the knights did too. They were mounted on their horses and ready to begin the joust. In the middle of the field, the gamekeeper waved a flag and declared the game to start.
Anne watched in anticipation as the horses charged towards one another, the hooves thundering on the ground, sending dirt up into the air. Lances were at the ready, aiming at either knight and the crash made the ladies jump and gasp. A shield had been shattered and it had been the one on the left side, the gold lion in pieces on the ground. The knight on his horse had stumbled and nearly fallen at the force of the impact. The horses slowed into a trot and the knights regained their stance.
After a moment or two to recover, they were ready for the second round, the knight on the left had a new shield on his arm and his lance in the other. The audience cheered as the second round was getting ready to start. Anne took hold of her sister's hand, not even realizing how tense she was watching the spectacle before her. The horses took off again, lances lowered and the knight on the right had been properly knocked off his horse.
The audience gasped and stood up; some women had cried out as they saw the knight barely able to get up off the ground. Attendants helped the poor knight off the ground and dragged him to the medical tents nearby. As the next knights got ready, Anne looked around the audience and spotted Mary Brandon nearby, sitting with her husband - no doubt who sat beside King Henry. Mary looked over at the right time and smiled widely when she saw Anne. She waved eagerly and Anne did also. Anne got up and made her way behind the crowds to find Princess Mary. Princess Mary must have done the same because when she came up, Princess Mary pulled Anne into a tight hug and nearly screamed when she saw her best friend.
"Annie!" Princess Mary nearly shrieked in delight.
"Oh my God! I can't believe you're here also! I haven't seen you in years!" Anne cried, continuing to hold her friend.
"I know it's been ages! Anne, you HAVE to meet my husband properly. I know you were at our wedding, but I know you didn't have time to talk much. Come say hi to our family! Come on!" Princess Mary was practically jumping up and down with giddiness.
"Alright! Lead the way," Anne said, with a smile.
Princess Mary and Lady Anne made their way back towards the side the royals had been sitting on, which was a little further down the way from where Anne had been. Princess Mary moved the curtain over and stepped up onto the platform. Charles Brandon turned and greeted his wife with a kiss. She smiled and touched his cheek gently.
"How are you, my love?" she asked, tenderly.
"Very well, who's this with you?"
"You don't remember Anne?" Princess Mary retorted, almost offended. "Charlie, this is Anne Boleyn. She was my lady-in-waiting when I was married to old King Louis. She was one of our witnesses!"
"Oh, right - sorry about that, lovely to see you again, Lady Anne," Charles said, offering his hand to her.
Princess Mary rolled her eyes at her husband as Anne shook his hand, feeling rather awkward about the whole situation. She didn't show it though. She remained steadfast and calm, smiling pretentiously.
"It's good to see you again, Your Grace. It has been a while, but I'm so glad you and Princess Mary were both able to join the summit." Anne responded, coolly.
"What's this? Are we making introductions, sis?" King Henry looked at Mary inquisitively and his brow arched. "Who did you bring with you?"
"Brother, this is Lady Anne Boleyn, she formerly waited on me when I was married to Louis. Anne, this is my dearest older brother, King Henry." Princess Mary introduced them.
Henry caught his breath when he saw Anne dip into a low curtsy, still standing beside Charles Brandon. Her wavy, raven black hair fell way past her shoulders and her fair skin was almost glowing in the sunlight. Her mouth was painted red, and her grayish blue eyes were illuminated also by the light. She rose gracefully and looked at Henry, her expression well-hidden. He could hardly tell what she was feeling. She must have been used to meeting royalty. Although, he did notice a hint of a light shade of pink form across her cheeks.
"What do you do now, Lady Anne?"
"I am Her Majesty Queen Claude's maid-of-honor, Your Majesty."
"Hmm," King Henry hummed. "What do you think of the field of the cloth of gold?"
"I've been enjoying it and I'm glad to see my family and friends again. The jousting is a bit violent, but I suppose that's to be expected."
"You don't like sports?" King Henry mused.
"Not particularly," Anne confessed. "I prefer reading and the arts to some sports."
"At least you're honest, Lady Anne. I'm tired of people kissing my ass all the time." King Henry remarked, nearly shouting.
"Henry, my love, please don't shout." Katherine begged, placing her hand gently on her husband's.
"Stop, Katherine, you're not my mother. You're my wife. Act like it." Henry spat, glaring at her and jerked his hand out from under hers. "I need a drink. Charlie, come with me."
The two men got up and left the seats. Anne glanced at Queen Katherine who looked as though a dagger had gone through her. Anne felt a wave of empathy for the queen, and she watched as Princess Mary took Henry's spot for a moment. She placed her hand reassuringly on Katherine's shoulder.
"He's just drunk and tense now, Katherine. I wouldn't worry too much about my brother. You know how he says and does stupid shit when he's like that."
"I know, but it's hard to watch him be a completely different person here, Mary. I can't help but think he doesn't like me anymore." Katherine confessed, her voice cracking as she spoke.
"That's nonsense! He loves you, Your Majesty. I know you all have been under so much pressure with this whole treaty with France. Once this royal summit is over and we're back in England, things will be calm again. You'll see."
Even Anne smiled at the way Princess Mary spoke to her sister-in-law. It was touching to see and witness. The queen then smiled and took hold of Princess Mary's hand.
"Thank you for being so kind to me."
"Always!" Princess Mary said, reassuringly.
"You, Lady Anne," Queen Katherine looked at the other young woman, her tone sharp and full of authority as she regained her composure. "What you have witnessed, I urge you to keep to yourself. As close as you are to Queen Claude. I implore you that this is no one's business."
"I'll take it with me to the grave, Your Majesty." Anne promised, curtsying.
"Good, I believe your queen is looking for you, Lady Anne. I'd make haste and go back to her."
Anne left gracefully, feeling Katherine's steely gaze on her the entire time. Queen Katherine was beloved by the English people and formidable. Katherine of Aragon was not to be crossed and Anne knew that. Anne, however, kept her pride and refused to look back at her. She wouldn't give her the benefit of the doubt that Anne was weak and just seeking the attention of Katherine's husband. Anne wasn't like that at all. She wasn't a homewrecker, and she refused to be - even if King Henry started making his pursuits of her. She had seen the look he'd given her when Princess Mary introduced them to each other. The look almost made her uncomfortable and queasy on the inside. Her own sister had become the king's mistress. Mary had secretly confessed this to Anne the previous evening after the masquerade ball.
Despite the fact that she was married to William Carey, she still allowed the king to go after her. Anne was surprised. First it had been Francis for God knows how long and now Henry. Anne was rather annoyed at the fact Mary did this to herself. She understood the fact it was for a good position in court but surely there HAD to be better ways than sleeping around like a whore. She hated thinking that way about her sister, but she clearly had different pursuits than Anne. Poor William, Anne thought, what must he have been thinking of his own wife doing something like that? Did he know Mary was sleeping with the King of England? Did he know that she slept with the King of France?
Anne made a vow to herself that she would never be someone's mistress. She didn't want to be used and tossed aside the next day, even if she did have a husband. She couldn't do it. She didn't know how so many women were able to do something like that and seeing them being tossed aside for someone else the next day. Then their reputations were ruined along the way because of it. Anne knew for a fact she didn't want a life like that. It was all or nothing for her.
. . .
There had been wrestling matches all throughout the week and bets were being placed. Everyone had been in high spirits because of the endless supplies of wine and beer. The wine fountain was never without visitors as was the one with the beer. Anne, however, did limit herself and many of the other ladies did also. There were some ladies who hadn't, like Lady Jane and Lady Kate. They were behaving wildly along with the crowd the first few days in, and this had already been the first week of the Field of Gold. There was a boxing ring created just for this event, and it was put up near the makeshift castle. In a drunken stupor, Francis had challenged Henry to a wrestling match after a drinking game. He threw down the glove on the ground, in front of the English King and sized him up.
"Do you accept this challenge or are you going to back away like a coward?" Francis asked, his French accent heavy as he spoke, and his voice slurred from the wine.
The rival kings were nearly touching their noses and Henry's eyes flashed as he looked at Francis. The rage he felt for the French king egging him on was visible for all to see.
"I accept this challenge of yours, Francis. Let's take this outside. Now." King Henry snarled and shoved past the courtiers around them and went outside to the boxing ring.
Henry stripped off his layers of shirts and threw them on the ground and he kicked off his boots. The sea of people followed their kings outside in excitement to watch this spectacle take place. Anne and Mary Boleyn were amongst the crowd to witness the kings' tempers flaring. It was worse when they were both drunk. If they hadn't had so much wine, the mood might not have been so bad. Francis had stripped off his layers of shirts as well and jumped into the ring, ready to knock Henry off his feet.
Both men released a shrill battle cry as they lunged at each other. They kept their stance firm and tried to shove each other around. Francis nearly stumbled a couple times, as did Henry. Anne looked over at the queens who'd both been watching on the other side. Both had apprehensive looks on their faces. Queen Claude glanced at Katherine and took hold of her hand. Anne could see the queens sharing a glance, wondering if they were empathetic towards each other's troubles now. Within moments, Francis had the upper hand and knocked Henry to the ground. Henry got up in rage, his face matching the color of his ginger hair. He screamed at Francis, almost like a child throwing a temper tantrum and wanted to knock Francis to the ground, but a man clad in red stopped the king. Anne looked at the cardinal who'd had a firm grip.
"I want a fucking rematch! I'm the King! I COMMAND IT!" Henry bellowed, trying to make a lunge for Francis.
"Shut up, you're fucking drunk! I'm also the king, we're equals you fool! I won! Fair and square, Henri," Francis snapped, turning around to glare at the English King. "Or are you not man enough to suck it up?"
Henry shouted again at the top of his lungs, utter rage enveloping him as Francis sauntered off, grabbing his shirts from the pageboy nearby. He glanced at the Boleyn sisters, winking at Mary and giving her a smirk. Mary looked at him wide-eyed as did Anne. Henry was still red in the face even as his cardinal tried to calm him down. Anne watched the spectacle before her in shock. She decided to retreat quietly through the crowds to the tent their family had put up. She sighed in relief when she was able to enjoy the quiet. She sat down at the table and found the book she had been reading the other day.
Anne was glad she found joy in reading. It had allowed her to lose focus on the world around her. It was a reprise from all the shit that went on around her. Distantly, she could still hear obnoxious laughter and muffled conversation. But all that soon drowned out when she got absorbed in her book. It was the Book of the Duchess by Chaucer. She'd recently got the leatherbound book from Lady Jane, whose mother had sent it from their personal library. Geoffrey Chaucer had been one of Anne's favorite poets. He had the sort of wit and humor she enjoyed and found herself immersed in Alcyone's plights and mourning for her husband who'd been lost at sea. Anne released a heavy sigh. She'd had it for one day, all the fun and games. Sometimes, it was a little bit too much for her. Anne was well-rounded enough where she could socialize and watch the spectacles and entertainment.
But every chance she got, Anne would try to slip away to read and unwind from the day's happenings. It would be a chance for her to prepare for the next day also. Anne didn't mind and she hoped the others wouldn't either. And her family knew her best of all - they could always make some sort of excuse for her absence. Deep in her thoughts, she wished for a life where there were no troubles of court gossip and power-hungry men. She just wanted one chance to experience life and enjoy it.
That was next to impossible being a royal maid-of-honor. She wanted to find a husband who loved her and was well off so she could have all the books she wanted. She wanted to live quietly in the countryside somewhere - away from all the noise. She supposed that soon would be the time to start looking for that husband of hers. If she were to say something about this to her father or even to Queen Claude, they would attempt to arrange something for her for their benefit. No. She wanted to be fully in love before she married. Anne hadn't realized that she'd fallen asleep reading.
The other Boleyns had returned to their tent to find the youngest Boleyn girl asleep, arm sprawled on the table and a book lying upside down beside her. Thomas chuckled lightly when he saw his daughter - always studious - like this. Carefully, he went to pick her up from the long table and placed her gently down onto the bed that had been hers. He removed the French hood from her head and placed it on a chair nearby. Thomas Boleyn kissed her forehead and bade her good night before he, too, went to bed beside his wife.
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