SEVEN
The chapel bells ring, echoing into the night. The king is now gone. The last breath of life stolen from him by a feather pillow with an unknown name. He tried to struggle and scream, but nothing came out in his weakened state. The images of his only son James played through his mind as he drifted off to nothingness. King Henry VIII led a wonder life, but a lonely one. He would soon join family in the peace and quiet of heaven. His first love Queen Sophie of Austria, the Queen consort of Portugal, House of Habsburg, was a very single minded Catholic. They were betrothed at birth, the usual for royals. Henry met Sophie at the age of five when she was sent to the English court to be raised and taught the ways of a Princess. Her father passed suddenly and she became queen at age seven. Queen of Austria for a year, she died of dysentery at the age of eight after playing in the massive water fountain located in the front of the palace. The grounds keepers failed to maintain the water quality and lost their heads for their negligence, costing the king a great grievance with Austria. Henry’s second arrangement was to James’s mother, Queen Anne, then Princess of Scotland, House of Stuart. Anne was brought over from Scotland a week before they were married at age sixteen just after Henry’s father, King Henry the VII, died in a jousting accident. His father wanted to prove to his regency that he was still a strong, powerful man, not the weak, struggling ruler he was currently seen as due to the poverty-stricken realm he resided over. His grandmother, Queen Beatrice, begged him not to ride and blessed her favor as she handed it to him and kissed his lips for the last time unbeknownst to her. Henry rode off on his Peruvian stallion, armor gleaming with his joust at the ready. The two horses opposite each other pawed at the ground, nostrils flared, awaiting the order from their master to charge ahead. The flag is lowered, the ground shakes with the momentum of the animals pounding towards their goal and the crowd goes silent. Breathes are held as the king lowers his joust ready to strike. Sir Richard Seymour, the knight vying for the win, clashes with the king. Wood splinters, a man cries out, the crowd gasps, and the king falls from his steed lying in a puddle of blood. Sir Richard’s pole glanced off Henry’s armor and shoved the broken wood under his helmet into his skull. The force of the impact exploded the mighty rod that cost the king his life. The nobles all rushed to the king’s side and made way for the queen. She knew at once it was no use calling for the surgeons. He was flailing about and shaking so bad she could barely get herself close enough to tell him she loved him. He stopped moving shortly after she whispered her last word. That is when Henry VIII became king. No one seen or heard anyone enter the king’s chambers. The two door guards were currently being held in the dungeon, torturing them for knowledge. The queen did not believe them. She was depending on them to point their fingers towards James so she could be Queen Consort. Unfortunately for Queen Mary, neither one was talking. She ordered both to be drawn and quartered, in the castle square, their intestines hanging out during the dismemberment. The rack was nothing compared to this. The men begged for mercy from God, repeatedly proclaiming their innocence. The horses remained antsy, the riders tried to maintain control as the axe man prepared to slice their abdomens. One horse reared spooking the others into action. The two guards were ripped limb from limb before they could be cut. James smirked when he glanced at his stepmother whose face was clearly pissed off. Too bad for her that he ruined her fun. They were dear friends of his that fetched him ladies to fuck during balls and plays held at the castle. Watching them die was a pity. Now he’d have to find someone else to do his dirty deeds for him. ‘Off to go claim my crown and my queen.’ He seethed out between gritted teeth in the ear of his stepmother. She looked at him in disgust. Did he not have any love for his own father deep inside his black heart? Or was this the doing of his whore mother, Anne?
Looking back, that bitch was always in her way, trying to keep her from seducing the king. Silly queen, she could threaten Mary all she wanted to but her threats were idle and she proved that when she lost her head. The court had buzzed with each step the king and she took together daily. Henry tried to get her to accept her place as his only mistress but she wanted the crown and the queen’s head. With the queen gone, Henry was free to marry her and then their children would become the next rulers of England. She tried desperately to give him a son. She succeeded the first pregnancy but the son she promised died four weeks after birth. James freaked out the whole entire time, secretly praying each day that the child would die so he would not be dissuaded from the king’s heart. During the weeks, the child has lived, he showed great interest in his new ‘brother’, lavishing the tiny being with gifts and praise. He openly prayed for the child during mass to show his affection in case an illness should befall the new prince. Henry took all the proper procedures and even some extravagant ones to ensure the safety and health of his new son. The nursery was scrubbed clean three times a day, hands were constantly washed before touching the child, his milk tasted by four separate servants, and guards placed outside every door of his apartment. A knight also stood by the baby twenty-four hours a day, two of Henry’s most trusted friends, took twelve hour shifts together. Yet somehow the infant was found dead in his cradle with over 4 people in the room. The king was furious, the queen heart-broken and panicky. They sent each person who visited or attended Prince Royce that day to burn to death at the stake. No trial was held and each person suffered greatly, the screams heard all over the castle as the flames licked their bodies. Queen Mary never recovered from the horrific loss of her son, losing every child thereafter. She tried to blame James since he would have been next in line for the throne before the birth of her son. Henry would not hear of it due to his first son’s devout devotion to his little stepbrother. The matter was never brought up again on pain of death by the king himself to Queen Mary. James rejoiced in his own mind. He would be king once again.