For everyone who wishes to read my other stories please go to archiveofourown org /users/VioletRoseLily/works please put a . between own and org. (apparently fanfiction won't even let me do the parenthesis dot anymore).

February 28 1527

Rome

Pope Clement sipped his wine as he thanked God that the terrible calamity of the Holy City being captured was averted. Rome was safe from the Holy Roman Emperor's troops thanks to God's will and bad weather: a little of both perhaps. The few ships that had managed to land in Italy were met by the English troops sent over by King Henry and the Spanish ships were quickly commandeered by the English; as a show of gratitude, the Pope had sent the spoils of the tiny fleet back to England as he sent the Spanish and German soldiers back to their master while the generals and commanders were sent to England to be used as hostages.

Despite outwardly forgiving Emperor Charles, Clement was still outraged by his planned attack on Rome and was eager for a chance to get back at him. Although he spent many hours in penance, that sinful thought of his would not go away until a messenger from King Henry the Eighth was brought to him, carrying two requests from the English monarch, concerning his unhappy marriage to Queen Katherine of Aragon and his infatuation with Anne Boleyn.

While Clement never really paid any attention to rumors, he had heard something about a woman not following in her sister's footsteps and refusing to be the King's mistress. He also knew that Queen Katherine could no longer produced any children and the only living babe she had was a girl who could cause England to have another bloody civil war as it had happened when Empress Mathilda rose to the throne.

King Henry needed a son and if the request for a papal dispensation in order to marry a woman whose sister he had known carnally was any indication, it seemed that Anne Boleyn was the woman he desired to be his wife. Of course, the red-haired monarch willfully ignored the fact that if he had committed sin by marrying his brother's widow than by the same token Lady Boleyn was also off limits.

Despite the shakiness of his case, King Henry seemed certain the Pope would grant him the annulment and considering numerous monarchs before him had asked for annulments on less reasonable grounds and were still able to get their way, Clement was not surprised that he would think that. The only difference between King Henry and those royal men was the fact that his wife just so happened to be the aunt of the Holy Roman Emperor and the King of Spain who would not be happy to have his two relatives humiliated and tossed aside like they were nothing.

If Emperor Charles had successfully sacked Rome and held the Pope prisoner, Clement would have needed to find a way to appease the ruler of England without angering his captor. And quite truthfully, there was no reason why his predecessor's papal disposition for King Henry to marry his brother's widow would be null and void just because he suddenly decided he was living in sin. However, such technicalities could be ignored and Pope Clement was fully prepared to do so. After all, God had protected the Holy City from that ruthless Emperor by sending King Henry's troops to Italy's aid. Surely God would want to reward England for it's service by blessing her king with his long-sought after male heir.

And if Anne Boleyn could give birth to a son, Pope Clement would not want to delay the proceedings. God clearly wanted King Henry's Great Matter to finish with Katherine of Aragon's marriage being annulled. This really had nothing to do with the Holy Roman Emperor Charles or his blasted family and all to do with God's reward for England.

Perhaps I should inform my niece that when she goes to France to wed King Francis' son, she should mention to her new father-in-law that if he feels that he was forced into marrying the Emperor's sister, he might have a case to end his unhappy marriage.

With that rather vindictive thought in mind, Pope Clement sat down at his desk to write two official bulls, trying to stamp out the sense of satisfaction he was feeling. Once he made the decision, there would be no turning back and surely no one would dare argue with God's representative on Earth.

March 9 1527

England

Cardinal Thomas Wolsey was normally unflappable and not the type to become overwhelmed with shock. But when he had received the Pope's answer to Henry's suit of annulment, he could not stop his jaw from dropping nor his eyes from widening as he read His Holiness's official decree.

Although my predecessor, His Holiness Pope Julius II, did give a papal disposition to His Majesty King Henry, he had only done so because Infanta Catalina of Aragon had sworn that she had not laid with his late Highness Prince Arthur. In the Bible, it states that a man lying with his brother's wife will be heirless and the lack of male issue of King Henry proves that God Almighty did not approve of this union and so I, Pope Clement VII, do declare that the former disposition null and void and His Majesty King Henry the Eighth is a free man in the eyes of God and the Catholic Church and he is free to marry once more.

Clement had all but accused Queen Katherine of Aragon of being a liar and a whore. Wolsey shuddered as he thought of the proud Spanish Emperor's reaction once he learned of the Pope's declaration.

Hours and a few goblets of wine later, Wolsey realized that it mattered not what the Emperor thought or did; after all that was Clement's problem not theirs. What mattered was Henry had gotten what he wanted and God willing there would be a Prince of Wales by next year.

Even though he was weary of Henry's intended bride knowing that she had been coached by his enemies to speak against him, Wolsey could not help but feel elated that things were actually going better than he thought they would. Besides perhaps if he showed himself to support Anne Boleyn, he would be able to win her over or at the very least keep himself in Henry's good graces. That was another problem for another day. For now, he had to make haste to court so he could tell his master of the wonderful news.

"Boy, fetch me my horse! I must ride to Greenwich immediately!" he commanded his manservant, his thoughts racing. There was much to be done.

March 12 1527

King Henry was not at court when Wolsey arrived, instead he was at Hever spending time with Anne. He had specifically asked that no messenger disturb him so it wasn't until he returned to Greenwich when he learned that his Lord Chancellor had requested an audience immediately.

"Do you think it's about the annulment?" Anne wondered, only to feel silly seconds later as she knew that was a stupid question. What else would Wolsey want to speak to them about?

Henry smiled reassuringly at her as he could tell from the way her hands fidgeted in her lap that she was nervous. He took one of her hands in his, rubbing circles on her skin with his thumb, hoping to soothe her anxiety.

"I'm sure that His Holiness has read my arguments and he will see the justice of my suit," Henry told her assuredly, kissing each of her fingers. "We will be married soon, my love, do not worry."

"Forgive me, I spoke without thought," Anne said shaking her head in exasperation.

"No, no, I give you leave that we may always speak freely with each other, honestly, openly and with a true heart. For me, that is the true definition of love," Henry told her firmly, drawing her into his embrace. He was so sure that Wolsey would walk in soon with good news that he was already imagining their wedding day. "We will soon be man and wife, Anne and I want us to be nothing but honest to each other."

He almost closed the gap between them when Cardinal Wolsey was announced by the herald. With an annoyed groan, Henry nodded for the herald to let his chancellor in. Anne gave his cheek a peck before sitting back down, not even trying to pull her hand from his grasp.

When Wolsey entered, he bowed first to Henry but upon seeing Anne he quickly bowed to her as well- something that he had never done before. Anne could feel her heart thudding in her chest as she prayed that this signified what she thought it did. Wolsey did not seem surprised or affronted when he realized that she was there with Henry and unlike the last time, he did not wait for Henry to tell him that he could speak freely in front of her.

"Your Majesty, Lady Anne, I bring excellent news. His Holiness Pope Clement has agreed to the annulment," the Lord Chancellor announced, placing the Bull from Rome on the desk for the King to read.

Anne did not bother to examine the parchment herself, instead she studied Henry's face. Although they both knew that Wolsey wouldn't give them false hope if it weren't true, it just didn't seem real that their prayers had been answered so quickly. Could it really have been that easy? Could Henry really be free to marry her so they could be together and have many sons and daughters?

Henry let out a victorious shout before lifting Anne up and swinging her around.

"He has given us our blessing, sweetheart, we can get married right now if we wanted to!" Henry exclaimed delightedly, kissing Anne hungrily on the lips.

As deliriously happy as she was, unlike Henry, she had not forgotten the other person in the room so she pushed the red-haired monarch away and turned her head meaningfully to remind Henry of Wolsey who was pointedly looking away.

"Your Majesty, while I agree that this a wondrous occasion, I would caution you to not get married for two or three months- just so your people can digest this news properly," Wolsey hastily added the last part seeing that his master was about to object to the suggestion that they wait. "Not to mention there is the matter of the Princess Dowager and her daughter."

Henry flinched at the mention of Princess- no not princess- Mary. It wasn't her fault that she was born of a cursed union and yet it would be she who would lose the most. Perhaps after Anne and he had a son, he would give his daughter a title of her own that would hopefully make up for her downgraded position.

If either Anne or Wolsey saw his flinch, neither remarked on it and they instead merely waited for him to speak.

"I suppose you have a point, Thomas, for now I wish for the Pope's declaration to spread throughout England so my people know that they will be getting a new Queen by this spring," Henry commanded, hoping that the Pope's blessing would make the English people more receptive to Anne despite their love for Katherine. "Anne, perhaps you should return to your apartments; I'm sure your family will be eager to find out what's going on. I'll join you shortly."

He smiled slightly, thinking there would be much celebration in the Boleyn apartments, once they learned the news. He pressed a chaste kiss on the back of her hands before letting go of her hands and watching her as she left.

"Should I inform the Princess Dowager of what is going to happen?" Wolsey asked cautiously, sensing that the King was conflicted over making his daughter a bastard. This would not stop him from doing it but Wolsey would be careful not even to mention the eleven-year-old girl unless her father brought her up.

"No, I'll do that. In the meantime, I want you to make arrangements for my daughter to be brought back to court," Henry said, unsure what he would say to Mary when she arrived but he would do his best to assure her that despite what her mother might think, he did love her and would still be her loving papa. "As I have no Queen at the moment, the Princess Dowager is to be moved into different apartments, her household should be reduced and she is to give up the royal jewels."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

After his conversation with Wolsey was finished, Henry left his audience chamber and headed to his former wife's apartments.

Katherine was kneeling at her alter when Henry walked in. She had heard someone come in and when she realized it was her husband, she quickly got up to greet him. She froze when she saw his somber face, getting a feeling of déjà vu as he looked as he did when he came to tell her that he believed that their marriage was over. Dread chilled her veins.

"Husband, what is it?" she prompted, swallowing hard.

There was a flash of mild irritation on his face when she called him husband but when he spoke, his voice was gentle with a note of finality.

"His Holiness, in his infinite wisdom, has read my case for annulment and he has agreed with me that you are not my wife. He declared our marriage null and void. Furthermore, he has given me my blessing to remarry a bride of my choosing. I'm sorry, Katherine, but you are, as I've said before, my brother's widow and I was wrong to ever think otherwise," Henry said without a hint of sadness.

She had been married to him for nearly two decades and they had seven children even if only one had survived. And yet he characterized their once happy union as a mistake and labeled his daughter a bastard.

Her disgust at Henry's lack of empathy was overpowered by the horror at learning that Pope Clement, the leader of the Catholic Church, had apparently granted the annulment, allowing her and Mary to be displaced by the daughter of an earl who had merchant ancestors and little to no royal blood. It took all of Katherine's willpower not collapse into sobs. She merely sank back down onto her knees, her back towards the man she still loved, unable to look at him. She closed her eyes and clasped her hands in prayer, silently pleading with the Lord to let her know that this was just some error or nightmare.

Frustrated by Katherine's silence and the fact that she had just turned her back on him, Henry continued talking, his tone growing harsher. "I want you to pack your things. Lady Anne and I will be married soon and she will be the true Queen of England," he continued, growing angry as she continued to ignore him. "I have already ordered our daughter to leave Ludlow and her household will have to be disbanded as she is not a true princess."

"Yes, she is!" Katherine contradicted, her temper flaring at the mention of her daughter. "She comes from a long line of legitimate royalty, on my side at least. Your whore can have twenty sons and they will still be the children of a daughter of a mere earl with nothing but common blood in his veins."

Henry's eyes flashed. "You shall not speak of Anne that way. If anyone is the whore here, it's you, Katherine, for you did not come to my bed as a virgin despite your claims."

Katherine spun around and she stood up, her eyes blazing. "I have known no man but you. Besides if that really mattered to you, you wouldn't be marrying her as you slept with her sister. The only reason you are marrying that harlot is because you want a son. I wonder how long it will take for you to tire of her when she fails. Will you make her daughters bastards? Will you search for a third wife?"

With an angry roar Henry leapt at Katherine, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her, causing her to fear that he would hit her.

"SHUT UP!" he bellowed, digging his nails into her bare skin. When he saw her wince in pain, he let go of her and spoke to her in a deadly soft voice. "I will order your servants to pack your things for you and you are to leave the palace by tomorrow morning. You will not be allowed to return to court unless you are invited."

"What about Mary? May I see her?" Katherine pleaded, thinking that her daughter would need to hear about this from someone who cared about her.

"Why? So you can turn her against me," Henry snapped. "No. You will leave and you will not be able to contact her unless I allow you to. Goodbye Your Highness."

"For the love you bear our daughter, I beg of you, do not separate us," Katherine pleaded, tears welling up in her eyes. She sank to her knees again but this time, she grabbed the edges of Henry's robes, clutching them tightly.

"Do not attempt to manipulate me by using the love I have for our daughter against me, Madam, it will not work," Henry said coldly, tearing his robe from her hands and storming out of her apartments.

He didn't turn back even when he heard her wailing. Instead he walked to Anne's apartments, needing to see people who would actually be rejoicing over the news.

Inside Anne's apartments, the atmosphere was completely different to mood in the Queen's chambers; it was full of celebration. To say Thomas Boleyn was happy, would be an understatement.

"I never thought I'd be so glad that the Catholic Church is so corrupt," he laughed with a grin, surprising his children who had never seen him so light-hearted.

"Thomas, please don't say that when my brother is here," Elizabeth implored him, knowing how much of stanch Catholic the Howards were.

"Father does have a point, Mother. If Pope Clement wasn't so vindictive, I doubt he would have be so quick to grant King Henry the annulment of his marriage to Lady Katherine," George chimed in, a smug smirk on his face.

"I know he has a point but considering Pope Clement granted the King a divorce, I would assume that would make His Majesty less willing to hear anything bad about the Catholic Church," Elizabeth pointed out, giving her daughter and husband a rather meaningful look. She was not a true supporter of the reformation so it didn't bother her but she feared if Thomas or Anne's reformist tendencies were found out, her entire family would suffer for it.

"For now, religious reform is not important," Thomas assured her. "For now, we should be focusing on the fact that Anne is about to become the Queen of England." He beamed at his youngest daughter as he spoke.

"I think Anne is still processing that," George laughed, noticing that her sister seemed to be in a trace and hadn't reacted to anything anyone said.

"It feels like a dream," Anne murmured. "A wonderful dream I don't want to wake up from."

Thomas opened his mouth to remind his daughter that there was still much to do and prepare for but he was interrupted when the herald announced the King's arrival. At once Anne's eyes lit up and she rushed into Henry's arms, looking as happy as he did.

The Earl of Wiltshire smiled at that display of affection. For now, they didn't have to think of unpleasant things and instead they could focus on the fact that soon he would be the grandfather to the next King of England.

March 15 1527

Henry had held off summoning his daughter until Katherine was moved into her own manor with only three of her ladies-in-waiting accompanying her. He had also wanted to wait until he had arranged for Mary's new household only to decide for the time being he would allow Mary to have a place at court; her governess, Lady Salisbury would be allowed to remain with her.

He also decided that in a fortnight, he would create a title of peerage for Anne to have as her own, not wanting anyone to claim- as Katherine had- that she was unworthy to be his queen. He decided to make her the Marquess of Pembroke, a title she would pass down to one of their sons.

The were also the matter of discussing a price with the Emperor for the safe return of his captured commanders aside from the traitorous Charles III, Duke of Bourbon who was set back to France for his execution.

There was also the wedding plans to consider and while Henry saw sense in waiting a while, he was determined to be married to Anne in April as he wanted to celebrate Mayday with his new queen and wife.

But all of this could wait until he had spoken to both of his bastard children. He was sure Hal would be accepting of his new stepmother who would certainly treat him warmer than Katherine had; Mary, on the other hand, might see Anne as the reason why her mother was no longer a Queen and she was no longer a princess-even without her mother's influence, she might come to that conclusion.

"Make way for the Lady Mary," someone called from outside, causing Henry to grow tense. In his haste to make sure that Mary was no longer referred to as the Princess of Wales, he had ordered all of his servants to call her by her rightful title. In hindsight that was something he should have waited to do after he had explained to her what had happened instead of letting her figure it out herself.

When his daughter walked into his audience chamber, Henry quickly dismissed her governess so he could speak to her alone. He noticed that she was dressed completely in black which coupled with her sad expression, made her look far too somber than any eleven-year-old should be.

"Mary, my pearl, I have missed you," Henry exclaimed, hugging his daughter tightly and kissing the top of her head. He needed her to know that despite the annulment, he still loved her very much.

"I missed you too, Father, but I am confused and hurt," Mary told him stiffly, trying to keep herself composed. She had fond it very hard to stop weeping when she learned of the Pope's decision to annul her parent's marriage. She had barely been able to believe that her father wanted to be rid of her and her mother, the fact that Pope Clement had given in to her father's demands made this entire travesty a hundred times worse. "How is it that a few days ago, I was my Lady Princess and now I am my Lady Mary? Why am I no longer a princess and my mother is no longer a Queen?" She knew the answer already but she needed to hear it from her father's lips despite dreading what he would say.

"Oh my Mary, I am sorry that you are in the middle of this and I swear to you that this is not your fault," Henry began, trying to find a more eloquent way of telling her that her mother was a liar who cursed her marriage. "It's a complicated matter, sweetheart. I thought that God wanted your mother and I to be married despite the fact that she was my brother's wife but I realized too late that was not the case."

"You're lying to me, Father, you do think it's my fault! You think because I am a girl, I cannot be your heir so you are punishing me by making me a bastard!" Mary cried, tears falling down her face.

"No, no, sweet child, that is not the case," Henry said gently, kneeling down and lifting Mary's chin towards him so they could be eye-to-eye. "You would make a wonderful queen but this is not Spain and I fear that there will be bad men who will refuse to accept a woman on the throne. England cannot survive another civil war. I must have a son to take the throne after me. It pains me to hurt you, Mary, but I must do what is best for my kingdom."

Mary said nothing more but she did not fight her father when he embraced her and instead she cried into his doublet, remaining silent as he whispered comforting lies into her ears.

March 30 1527

Kimbolton Castle was a nice country manor, lovely enough for any member of royalty but despite how nice it looked, it was a reminder of Katherine's fall from grace. She was not allowed to go to court, the servants were not to treat her as a queen and very few people were brave enough to visit her least they upset the King.

A comfortable manor did nothing to blunt the humiliation or woefulness Katherine felt as she knew that there was very little she could do about this situation. The Pope had made his decision and instead of doing the right thing and declaring her marriage good and valid, he had called her a sinner whose daughter was nothing more than a bastard.

The worst part was no one would stand up against the Pope's decision even though they disagreed with it. Katherine's own nephew was still reeling from the humiliating defeat he had when his troops tried to march on Italy and thanks to attacks from the Turks, he was unable to intercede on her behalf. Through Ambassador Mendoza, he had assured her that he would try to convince Henry to at least allow Mary to retain her princess status as it was a marriage of good faith. However, that would as good as admitting that she had not been a virgin when she first married Henry. Although she longed to allow her daughter to remain a princess and it galled her to stand against the Pope, the alternative was to allow herself be labeled a slut and a liar while an unworthy woman took her throne and crown.

No, she could not allow this to happen. God would not bless Henry's marriage with Anne and He was on Katherine's side. The consciences of either Pope Clement or Henry would awaken eventually and they would recant their foolishness.

If she was patient, Henry would come back to her and their daughter would be the Queen of England. She would not relent and she knew that her daughter and her people would not accept Anne Boleyn as the new queen.

Meanwhile, miles away from the unhappy former queen, Anne Boleyn was contemplating the reactions to the news of her marriage to King Henry as she lay in the arms of her husband-to-be.

According to her father, the common people had mostly accepted their monarch's upcoming marriage as Pope Clement had given his blessing. There were those who grumbled that Katherine was still the true Queen but her father and Master Cromwell had began spreading rumors that Katherine had hoped that her daughter would be Queen, marry the Holy Roman Emperor and make England one of his many countries; essentially robbing England of its freedom.

Speaking of the Holy Roman Emperor, he was not happy about the humiliation heaped on his aunt and cousin but he was currently occupied with the Turks and France to try and forcefully change the Pope or Henry's decisions.

King Francis was more than willing to accept Anne as the new Queen of England both out of a fondness of a girl who had grown up in his court and also to spite his enemy. He had sent orders to his ambassador to greet Anne as if she was a queen already, something that irked the Imperial ambassador who had not been as gracious when he was introduced to her.

The Duke and Duchess of Suffolk were polite to her, not very warm to her but not outright rude. However, Charles Brandon did try to start up trouble by implying that she had lain with Thomas Wyatt and he would have been banished if his wife hadn't pleaded with Henry to allow him to stay for the wedding.

Queen Margaret of Scotland and her daughter were to be guests at the wedding so Anne assumed that Henry's other sister approved of his new marriage if not Anne herself.

As for her stepchildren, Hal Fitzroy adored her and she went out of her way to dote on him as she tried to do with Lady Mary. Unfortunately, she knew she was doomed to fail when to came to her future stepdaughter. When they were introduced, Anne could see the blame in Mary's eyes when the girl looked at her.

It didn't matter that her cousin tried to attack Italy only to have most of his fleet destroyed by a sudden blizzard and that the remainder of the fleet was captured by her father. It didn't matter that out of anger and spite Pope Clement had decided to punish her mother for what her cousin had attempted to do by granting her father's request for an annulment. To the former princess, it was Anne's fault and Anne's alone that her father had decided to discard his wife of nearly two decades and bastardize his daughter. Lady Mary- as did Princess Katherine and their supporters- believed that Anne was an evil seductress who had bewitched Henry to do her bidding.

Lips trailing up her naked shoulder brought Anne back to reality.

"Have I regained your attention, my Lady Perseverance?" Henry purred, nipping at her neck.

"You never lost it, my Lord Desire," Anne told him playfully. "I simply thought I had tired you out," she teased him.

"Never," Henry laughed, sizing her mouth in a lusty kiss.

If her father complained about her giving in and losing her maidenhead before marriage, Anne would point out that the only person who would know was her future husband the man whose arms she was currently in. Besides if she did get pregnant after her first time, not even the doctors would realize that she had conceived a week before her wedding night.

"I will give you a son, Henry, I swear to you," Anne promised as her lover straddled her.

"Do not trouble yourself with that, sweetheart, we have all the time in the world to have a prince. Right now I want to enjoy you again," Henry whispered in her ear. "I love you, Anne."

"And I love you," Anne said breathlessly.

Does this look cluttered to anyone else? Please tell me if you think I should fix my formatting. In fact please give me any constructive criticism or any feedback at all.