The Other Henry VIII

Freedom Again

Leia glided down the corridors of the dark palace, half running, half walking. All she had wanted was a life free of scandal, free of secrets and mystery. It was stupid now to even think court could be free of scandal, not when the King was unmarried and half the women in the country were vying for his attention at every corner she turned. It had been good to marry a Duke, Leia decided. Now she was a Dowager Duchess and held far more power than most of her family. What to do with that power was another matter...

At last, she came to the right door. It was shut, of course, but a thin channel of light was visible underneath the door. Leia knocked softly yet confidently on the wooden panels, hoping that he had not gone to sleep already. She couldn't exactly go back to the Westover apartments after that dramatic exit, her cousins and sisters would never take her seriously again. Besides, Leia knew she had too much pride to sneak back in when she had told them that she would sleep somewhere else tonight.

Presently, the door opened and Leia breathed a sigh of relief at the man standing in the doorway. "Richard,"she smiled.

"Leia,"replied Richard Cavill Jr. He couldn't hide the joy on his face at the sight of Leia turning up at his door. He stepped aside, letting her enter his chambers, before shutting the door behind her. You never knew who could be watching at this time of night.

Richard showed his guest to one of the armchairs by the fireplace. There were only a few lit embers left, but he hadn't bothered to send for a maid. Leia sat down; or rather, threw herself in the chair in a completely unladylike way. This earned another grin from Richard.

"What's the matter? You look very tired," he asked gently, sitting down on the large armrest next to Leia. She didn't flinch at the closeness, which had to be a good sign. "My sisters and cousins had an argument about the King."

"Why?"

"I don't know. Why do women fight over powerful men?"

"You're a woman, you should know." Richard caught Leia's eye-line. She seemed weary, and her brown eyes were quite dull. Seeing someone like her, a girl who radiated her own light, looking so pale and drawn-out as this was worrying. Every feature that seemed enhanced by the bright candles in the ballroom was now dim and average. Leia's light was fading.

"My family does that too: you know, arguing about the best actions to get power. Court does something to people. It sucks the life out of them and now they are hollow. All my parents want is money and influence, not even happiness. I wish I could escape from our gilded cage and be free."

"I was free," whispered Leia, her brow crinkling slightly to stop the inevitable tears from coming. "But now I am trapped. I thought I could trust my sisters and cousins, but they have already been hollowed out. You're all I have now." Richard slowly slipped his hand into hers, enveloping it comfortingly. "You know, Leia, you're not nearly so intimidating when you open up a little."

She giggled through the tears. Richard was kind, funny and caring. What more could a fading woman like her want? So Leia, choking back her crying, put her free hand on his cheek and leaned in for a kiss as sweet as honey.

Perhaps she had been wrong about love. Perhaps there was hope after all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rebecca placed one foot in front of the other, slowly and carefully. Her soft slippers made almost no sound on the hard floor outside Princess Margaret and her husband's chambers. She knew her mistress was fast asleep (or words to that effect), so creeping out on a nighttime excursion was not something Margaret would notice.