Jane Boleyn

13th February 1542

The Tower of London

I can hear the crowds mumbling incessantly as they gather. It's like the bass of some morbid Danse Macabre. They have come to see a queen die today, to see another Howard girl lay her neck against the block and lose her life. I look out of my small window down towards the tower's green. The platform is only a few feet from my cell so I will see everything as if I am the executioner. Perhaps some already say I am, for leading that poor wanton little girl to the block to save myself. People have said that about me before and I escape that time too. I am a constant at court. I have served all of king Henry's queens, I have been there through all the heartaches. I have constantly survived and served. No matter what fate has thrown at me I have survived and I will survive this. Katherine will die for love and I will live without love. I know no one loves me. But it wasn't always so. I did have a heart that could love and it loved fiercely. I am a woman of passions. I look out the window to see them leading little Katherine towards the platform. She is weeping gentle but is otherwise queen like in attire and presence. Her lovely chestnut hair is pinned back under a plain bonnet and her neck is bare showing her soft pale skin and small neck. She is going to die because she loved the wrong man. She is only sixteen and in love and now she is marching to her death. I remember when I was seventeen and in love, and sedated by excitement and the tenderness of courtly love. Who could blame her? The English court is a lover's court. Made for romance and seducing its courtiers. I was every inch as pretty as she is and as madly in love as she is...

Jane Parker

12th November 1524

Great Hallingbury manor

I walked down the rolling snow coated fields in the cold morning air with a skip in my step. The bare trees were parted at either side of me, framing the fields' edges like an English hood around a lady's face as I giddily walk through with the hem of my satin dress soaked by the fresh snow and my feet frozen in my thin slippers. No matter, I thought with a careless shrug as I got closer to the edge of the field. Just a little further was the church of St Giles, standing proudly amongst the snow coated Hallingbury countryside. I felt an irrepressible smiled spread across my lovely face and felt the cold air hitting my bare teeth at the sight of the tall church just a short distance away. This sight, which was so familiar to me, should have held little excitement. I had attended this church countless times in all of my nineteen years, I was even baptised as a small babe here. Yet it is for none of these reasons why I was excited to see it. I cross the small graveyard and enter the little church, taking care to avoid the covered headstones and graves as they protruded out of the frozen ground. The church was a small pointed building made mostly of flint and limestone with a tall square bell tower besides its entrance. Inside it had a forty foot long nave and circular windows set deep into the old stone walls letting light into the dimly lit church. Inside there were a few villagers praying silently, perhaps for loved ones lost to the harsh winter or perhaps for the good of their souls. They kneeled with grim stony faces downcast to the floor like morbid statues of angels on headstones. I silently observe these miserable souls before looking towards the alter. I felt another smile creeping onto my face as I look at the small well lit platform, even when I look at the tall cross which Jesus is hanging from in pain I cannot help but smile. The reason I was so happy is that I was to be wedded here, not only wedded but wed to George Boleyn. THE George Boleyn. I felt my heart flutter at the mere thought of him. Of course we had known of each other for years. I had been one of Queen Catherine's ladies-in-waiting for the last four years and George had been a member of the court since boyhood. It was not until 1522 we would meet and I would never forget it.

+---*~&~*---+

It was at the masque of Château Vert at York palace. The masque was to impress Spanish ambassadors and it certainly did. After a good supper, Cardinal Wolsey (the king's most trusted servant) lead the ambassadors into a well lit chamber with hundreds of candles scattered around the room and vibrant and glorious tapestries covered the walls. In the centre of the room was a large foil green colored castle that sparkled like an emerald whenever any of the candlelight fell upon it. It was an impressive sight but that was merely the beginning for king Henry was eager to impress. The castle had three white satin towers which had three different flags depicturing broken hearts on one, a twisted heart on another and the last was a man's heart in a woman's hand. On queue the towers turned to face the ambassadors revealing themselves to be beautiful women instead of tall towers. I stood silently under the flag of a twisted heart looking towards the ambassadors with a small smirk. We stood all wearing white satin dresses and our hair incased in golden bejeweled cauls, only the prettiest girls were chosen and I was one of them. I was only seventeen at the time with long blonde hair and a pale beautiful oval face. We each had a role to play in this masque and were given a name sewed onto our dresses. I was cast as Constancy and I stood along with Honor (The countess of Devonshire) and Bounty (Mistress Brown). Besides our tower was the tower of broken hearts where Beauty (princess Mary, the king's sister), Mercy (Mistress Dannet) stood haughtily. And behind our tower was the tower of a man's heart in a woman's grip where Pity (Margate Duxdon), Kindness (Mary Carey) and Perseverance (Anne Boleyn) stood. It was not until years later I was laugh at how ironically fitting our roles suited our futures. We looked lovely and sweet as embodiments of the best of female attributes as we eagerly stood waiting to see what would happen next while the king's guests looked up at us approvingly. Bellow us seven of the older, yet still attractive, ladies of the court prowled along the battlements and guarded us like treasure. They portrayed the negative attributes such as Danger, Distain, Jealousy, Unkindness, Scorn, Malbouche and Strangeness. They were dressed in exotic Indian fashions of black damask as they guarded the towers looking like black cats prowling around a nest of pretty doves. Suddenly Master William Cornish ran towards the castle wearing a costume of scarlet followed by eight men of the court dressed brilliantly in golden satin and masked. We all knew the king was amongst them, for he never missed a masque adding more excitement at the prospect of meeting the king. The girls all giggled excitedly to see the men appear and promise to save them, even I giggled at the thought of the mock battle that would ensue but one of the men caught my attention. Gentleness. He stood waiting to raid the glittering green castle but looked determinedly at me. Only me. At first I looked away awkwardly but then looked back at him. He was close to my age with light brown hair cut fashionable to about the length of his chin. The soft hair curled slight towards the ends of his hair. He had a long face but it had two bright hazel eyes and a ready smile with boyish features. He was taller than me and was athletic with shapely legs and broad shoulders even though he was slight in comparison to the king. I gave Gentleness a small smile to reward him for his continued observation. Below me the ambassadors and the king's guests laughed as the guardians mocked the men before the men charged the battlements. The musicians began to play on upbeat song as the men climbed the castle in order to save the ladies. The guardians pelted them with fruits of pleasure as the men scrambled up into the castle. We screamed out of excitement and laughed as the men tumbled into the small castle. The whole invasion was just a flash of fabrics and fruit as the men came to our aid. When the men had all gotten into the castle the guardians fled and the men could rescue the trapped ladies. Before I could even see what was going on, Gentleness took my hand and led me down to the floor.

"My lady Constancy, I have saved you. Will you permit me a dance?" He asked my evenly. I smiled sweetly, feeling slightly breathless feeling the touch of his hand. It was soft as though he had hardly worked a day in his life.

"Of course, my lord "Was all I could say as he twirled me into line for a Volta. He gave my hand a small peck as we lined up then gave me a brilliant and winning smile. The perfect courtiers smile. The smile of a man who is as not a trouble in the world and would like nothing more than to dance with me. I smiled back at him excitedly as the dance began, feeling that my cheeks has become unbearably warm. Besides me Anne Boleyn, who is dancing with Nobleness, who I suspected to be Henry Percy, however I was hardly aware of her as Gentleness places his hand around my waist and I bite my lip to stop me giggling like a fool out of giddiness.

"You're very pretty, my lady Constancy. Tell me what is your name? For I think I have seen you here before" he asked as we turn in a small circle. I looked to the floor, brushing my cheeks with my long eyelashes as I thought of a response.

"I will tell you mine if you tell me yours, Gentleness "I said boldly, daring to look up at him. He was silent and for an instant I felt I had offended him greatly but then he burst out laughing merrily as if I have said something very funny. I smiled relieved by his response. We placed our hands together and walked in a small circle. He was looking directly at me without distraction and I found that I could barely look away from him either. He leaned forward towards me and I thought he was going to kiss me. I panicked yet waited for the touch of his lips in anticipation. He moved his lips to besides my ear. I admit I was disheartened by the fact the he did not kiss me but I did not show it.

"George Boleyn. And you my lady?" He breathed into my ear and I gave a small shudder as I felt his breath on my cheek and neck. At the time I thought the excitement of having an admirer and the masque was having a strange effect on me, little did I know it was the symptoms of desire. I looked towards the crowd and see my father talking to two men; the duke of Norfolk and the French ambassador Thomas Boleyn.

"My name is Jane Parker" I say with a small bow of my head before he picked me up by my slender waist and held me into the air. I felt light headed as he lowered me back down to the ground but as my feet touched the floor I turned to face him seeing his characteristic grin. As he passed me onto the next dance partner he called out to me.

"I'm very glad to meet you Jane!"

As the weeks and the years went on me and George grew even fonder of each other, Stealing glances over the dinner table, dancing whenever we could and going for walks in the garden whenever he wasn't with his little group of friends. The group was quickly becoming a rowdy boys only club with the most handsome and charming of the courtiers. It was a playful courtship and neither of us expected it to lead anywhere. We were like companions rather than lovers but there was no denying the attraction between us. We were two promisingly wealthy favourites of the king and queen and equally as charming and handsome as each other. But we were surrounded by beauty so appearance counted for little. King Henry commanded we all dressed our best always, always pleasing to the royal eye .He was a boy that had always been surrounded by beauty and as a king he commanded it. But I never dressed in my best for the king, I did it for George. I would do anything to see that sweet smile on his face. Over the years I became utterly smitten with him and I'm sure he was with me. I couldn't say the same for his sisters however. Mary was sweet and gentle but bored me to no end with her idle chat but nothing anything Mary could do would make me dislike her more than Anne. Anne was utterly unbearable. She strutted around the court in her French fashions and was always followed by a pack of unruly admirers sniffing at her like dogs. She was always the centre of attention and I begrudgingly tolerated it. She barely spoke to me at all, thank god, and when she did it was hollow small statements or questions and always in that French sounding accent. I hated that fake accent with a passion but I was always well mannered towards her. I would tolerate her if it meant I could see George, I would have done anything for George. It's funny looking back on it, how in love I was with him. Even though I was so besotted with George I knew that one day I would be married off and our fondness of each other would crumble away. I suppose he expected it too and perhaps that is why we did nothing more than flirt and make eyes at each other. We both knew we would marry for wealth like everyone else. But as I was to find out we were not going to be like everyone else for fate an ambition were going to change the direction of our lives in a way no one could have foreseen. Despite knowing that my destiny would drag me away from George I prayed for us to be wed everyday without fail. I prayed with a heavy heart knowing that my request seemed impossible. But as I would learn, nothing was impossible for the Boleyns.

On the twelfth of November 1524, my father requested I return home to Hallingbury. I suspected it would have to do with a marriage proposal so I returned with masked dread for I knew marriage was inescapable. I thought of my sister in-law little Grace. She was betrothed to my brother when she was only eight, and when her father died she had to come live with us so she could not escape her wifely duties once she turned twelve. I felt myself pale at the thought of lying under some old man as he groaned above me, then left to run his household as he went to court and had affairs with younger women and then dying in child birth to give him a son. This was the life of so many women but I couldn't imagine me doing it. The carriage carrying me home rocked as the strong winter wind hit against it, making me feel even better about being home. We reached my home then the weather reached it's worst when the wind hurled itself against the bricks of the manor and the snow fell like the bodies of the French at the battle of Agincourt. The manor was one levelled but was long and in an L shape around a small courtyard with a pond. The manor was deeply nestled in the Essex country side near the small parish of St Giles and with vast gardens and mazes. I went into my childhood home with an expected disappointment, closing the door to my childhood, my happiness and to the cold winter night.

The next morning my fathered welcomed me into the grand hall and delivered the news. I was indeed to marry, just as I had feared. I nodded and waited the news of my bridegroom. My father assured me that the match was good and I was marrying the sole heir to a wealth father's fortune. This did little to assure my fears of marrying a repulsive and old man. But then he said it, he said the name of my bride groom. At first I thought I missed heard him, that my imagination and desperate wish had clouded my ears. But then he said it again. George Boleyn. I was stunned into silence but then nodded demurely. He explained we would be married here at the neighbouring church St Giles and in only two days. He excused me to reflect on this decision thinking I would be sad and I left agreeing to the match. As soon as I was out of the room, I ran towards the church.

+---*~&~*---+

And so I stood looking at the altar while thinking that in only two days I would marry my beloved before god and some of the most respected people in all the kingdom. I had hoped for this for two years and now it was to come true. It would mean I would see more of Anne, but I was certain I could endure seeing Anne if it meant I was George's wife. I would respect their closeness because I would be mother to his children. The thought of lying in bed with him made my blush insanely not just because I was in the house of god but because I had not dared think such things before. But now I was to be his wife I could finally show everyone how much I loved him without being hurt. In two days time our fairytale would come true and we would live happily ever after together. And why not? We were young, beautiful and attended the most lavish and celebrated court in Christendom what on earth could spoil our happiness?

AN: I did try to be as historically accurate as possible with only small liberties taken. The chapter is a bit thin on characterisation and plot but this chapter serves only as the foundation and introduction into the story. Future chapters will be longer and more in-depth. Please if you read, please review it is most helpful.