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Chapter Seventy-One: Letters.

1st of February 1535 - Milan, Italy

Staring down the letter in his hand, Henry could not help the frown that formed on his lips as he pondered the news that Anne had failed him. Instead of the Duke of York that he had hoped for especially considering England's involvement in the war, it would have secured the succession in the event that something happened to him.

The sounds from outside of his tent did little to ease Henry's mind, the city of Milan was now firmly in the hands of Francis and their thoughts were slowly turning to the next. Florence would be their next stop, where Henry was determined to install Ippolito as the Duke instead of his cousin; securing Mary's own place instead of leaving her in England where she could be used against him.

It would not be long before Mary was a mother again and Henry had no doubts his eldest daughter would seek to give her husband the hier that would secure his own rule. The flaps of the tent parted allowing Francis to enter the tent, he gave a nod to his English counterpart before moving to pour himself some of the fine Italian wine that they had taken from the former Duke of Milan's home.

"I hear congratulations are in order," Francis noted pouring the crimson liquid into the golden goblet and doing the same again so that they might share a toast. The birth of a healthy child was nothing to be sniffed at and Francis knew that Henry had long held desires for more sons, something that would sully the news from England for him.

He moved to hand Henry the other goblet before taking a seat by the fire across from him, the two men were silent for a moment and Francis watched Henry trying to work out how best to play this. Henry was a fickle man and the last thing that they needed was for him to do something that could put their alliance in danger.

"A healthy daughter, a third child in four years of marriage. The Pope must be kicking himself especially considering the Infanta only gave you one surviving child," Francis stated with a smirk as he sipped from his goblet. Henry's divorce from Katherine was not something that would be forgotten and the Pope's refusal to allow it now showed the man to be a fool, it could even be said that God favoured Henry's marriage to Anne because he blessed them with healthy children. In twenty-one years of marriage, Katherine had only given Henry a son that barely lived fifty-two days and a daughter who was more Spanish in nature than she was English.

"What is her name to be?" Francis enquired leaning back in his seat, he had no doubts the girl had a fine name considering how fitting her elder siblings had been named. Alexander and Elizabeth were healthy children, they held strong names and no one would be forgetting either of them anytime soon.

"Beatrice," Henry announced, the smile on his lips broadening and he had no doubts why Anne had picked such a name. A nod to her motto from when she had been courting him and Henry did take note that there was a slight French origin to the name, considering Anne's own past and her time at the French court he was not surprised.

"Perhaps when the time is right, we could strengthen our own alliance. Your daughter to one of my sons, she'd be a French Duchess," Francis mused, he could see no reason why not especially considering his own plans to remarry when the right offer was presented to him. He needed to secure the Valois line, he was no fool to realise that if Henri continued to refuse to bed his wife, then there would likely be trouble.

Then there was the fact that his eldest boy was of age now to be married off, he could not think of a suitor that would make a good future Queen of France just yet. His words seemed to have their desired effect as Henry looked down at the letter from Anne, Francis did have a point that Anne had done better than he had hoped.

After her miscarriage last year, Henry had feared that God was turning against them but a healthy daughter who could be used to secure alliances against the Emperor was perhaps just what England needed.

The Royal Court of Madrid

"What is it?" Isabella asked coming to a complete stop as she entered Charles' presence chamber, her eyes flicking over the men that had gathered and she could see that they were all uneasy about whatever was happening. There were whispers around court that had unsettled her, she needed to hear the news from her husband before she believed that it might be true.

Charles did not speak, he only held up the letter that had arrived and pursed his lips knowing that he should have expected something like this. He could not believe that he had been so blind, he could not believe that they would dare do something like this and expect to get away with it. When it became clear that Charles would say no more, Isabella walked over and took the letter from him to see what he was talking about.

"Milan has been attacked by the French," Isabella whispered with a shake of her head, she looked up at Charles who did not say a word before she turned back to the letter trying to work out what she was missing. The writing was a mess and clearly written in haste, it was difficult to read in places but she did not see why it was a great concern especially considering recent history.

"Clearly the french king has not learned his lesson from his last clash, surely having one's sons imprisoned for years would drive such a point home," Isabella stated folding the letter and handing it back to Charles. It was not desired but it was not the worst news, they would simple send their army to reclaim Milan and then they would teach the french king his place.

"The French have created an alliance with the English and the Scottish," one of the other men in the room told her, he looked sick and clearly the news that the three nations had aligned against them was weighing heavily on their minds. This was the worst outcome that they could have predicted, it had been no secret that England would need to be won back to the Empire's side especially after the mess that had been caused by Katherine. However, they had never suspected that the three Kings would unite against them when they least expected her; of course, there had been whispers about something stirring in France but this was not what Charles had imagined.

Isabella was silent, her mind raced with what that could mean for them and her hands pressed into the small bump that had just started to make itself known to them. After the sadness that had come with her last two pregnancies, she had prayed that God would allow this child to live and to further secure her husband's line. Philip and Maria were the only two children that had survived infancy so far, little Ferdinand had passed after only a few months and her other children had been born sleeping.

"We shall deal with them. First, we shall take back Milan and then we shall strike their lands, they are fools to come against us," Charles announced furious that Francis, Henry and James would dare strike against him. Who did they think they were, he had left them alone trying to secure them by other means but they had not fallen inline like he had wished.

How could they not see that he had Europe's best interest at heart, the Habsburgs would bring peace and instead all they did was insult him and now they started a war to steal his lands under his nose. Yes, they would take back Milan first and then with the bulk of their armies distracted in Italy; he would attack their lands and make them his, he would reward those loyal to him and peace would be brought about that way.

"Send a letter to my sister Isabella's husband, I shall repay his daughter's actions," Charles also instructed, he waved his hands to his men knowing the time for talking was over. There was much to be done and Christina would certainly be reward for her actions, her letter had let him know of this foul plot and he would repay it by restoring her imprisoned father to his throne.

Isabella stared at her husband, doing her best to keep the horror from her face and she took a deep breath to stead herself before offering a nod of her head to Charles to excuse herself. Moving away from the chambers, Isabella knew that his plans would bring nothing but war to the continent and many would suffer from his lust for power. It was not what she had expected to happen but she knew she must act quickly, she had hoped for more time but now she was forced to act before it was too late to do so.

I recommend For Even as Love Crowns You by wizardfantasy and Sanctuary by Cattyfan. Also check out My Lord Husband,The Enemy by Esme24, That Subtle Wreath by EvilFluffyBiteyThing and its sequel, A Progress in Kent.

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