The Imposter

Thunder Around The Kingdom

"These bloody days have broken my heart.
My lust, my youth did them depart,
And blind desire of estate.
Who hastes to climb seeks to revert.
Of truth, circa Regna tonat." -Thomas Wyatt

With the rise of Sarah Barton, the Unholy Nun of Kent, unrest had spread rapidly throughout the countryside. Whenever possible, she blasphemed against the King's proposed alliance with Spain. "Who is this damned woman?" Henry VIII spat the words out venomously. In his fist, he held a report of the nationwide political unrest.

"She's the sister of the Mad Maid of Kent, your Majesty." Hoping to stem the dangerous woman's rhetoric, Thomas Cromwell, the King's newest adviser had swiftly brought him news of her popular uprising.

"God Save Us! Another mad nun strikes at the heart of my foreign policy. Even more significantly, she dares strike at the heart of the English monarchy!"

Cromwell knew the king had been increasingly volatile since his young son, Edward, had showed signs of failing health. With the arrival of winter, he had no other legitimate male heir. To make matters worse, Henry Fitzroy, his illegitimate son, had passed away a few months ago from tuberculosis.

Henry continued to chew over the problem like a fearsome dog, worrying a bone. "What does she want? Within a matter of months she's roiled up the whole countryside against me!" Exasperated, he turned to face Cromwell. "Can she be bribed?"

"I doubt it. It's a matter of religion, your Highness. She rabidly objects to the daughter of Anne Boelyn being acknowledged as a legitimate Princess."

"Either she's a zealot, or someone else is behind her prophecies. I wonder if the Scotts are trying to sabotage my alliance with Spain?"

"Our spies have not been able to determine anyone's directing her to undermine you, Sire. Cromwell hesitated before continuing. "Perhaps it's plain vengeance. You not only had her sister executed in Tilburn, you ordered the nun's spiked head to be mounted on London bridge." It was the first time a woman's decapitated head had been publicly displayed.

"I didn't want to have her executed! The church was already angry enough with me." Henry slammed his jeweled fist down, rattling the table. "Elizabeth Barton forced my hand. She brought the judgement and her fate upon herself. If her sister wants to end up the same way, that's her decision."

"I've ordered Bishop Halburn to write her a letter commanding her to desist attacking the Princess's legitimacy." Cromwell soothed. Despite picturing his own head on London bridge if things continued to get out of hand, he remained unperturbed.

"Bah, Halburn's useless. I've lost all traction with the papacy since I split from the Catholic Church."

Cromwell, known for pulling hat tricks, raised a finger with a sudden idea. "Why not invite the Princess Mary back to court? She practices the Catholic faith like her mother did. It might appease the nun, and simultaneously please the Vatican. Another public hanging at this time isn't wise your Lord. There's too much unrest among the Catholics."

Henry's large face quieted. "That's an excellent idea, Thomas! Not only Mary, but both my daughter's shall return to Whitehall for Christmas. Write their guardians. Tell them Mary and her half sister, Elizabeth, shall return to court and get to know each other. This way, we can be a family again."

"As you wish, your Majesty." Cromwell bowed deeply to hide his face. He bit his lower lip, anxiously worrying it. Mary, daughter of the exiled Queen Katherine, would not welcome a rival in the court she once reigned with her mother. Elizabeth was daughter of the woman responsible for destroying Mary, and her mother's lives. Who was less sound in their mind; the nun seeking revenge on her sister's executioner, or the king attempting to piece a family, bloodily hacked apart, back together?

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"Barton's showmanship is impressive is it not? Within three months she's surpassed Mother Shipton's popularity with her visions from God." Ingle proudly showed Neville the latest tidings of Sarah Barton. Her image and predictions were crudely scribed in a popular local pamphlet.

"She openly undermines the King's foreign policy?" Neville knew the consequences of such treasonous actions.

"Our people in The White Rose Party fed her false information. Implying Spain would invade England, if Henry offered a Protestant princess, instead of a catholic one as a match for the Spanish Prince. Henry's cancelled your arranged marriage. That's all that matters."

But Neville wasn't relieved. He was horrified. "That poor nun's going to end up being burned at the stake. "You've lost control of her, or even worse, she's completely insane."

"So be it. I didn't send her instructions to suicide herself. She decided to go after the King on her own. Madness happens to the best of operatives. If she believes her visions are real, that she's a divinely chosen vessel of God, then it's unfortunate. Especially if she thinks he will protect her from the King's wrath. She saw what happened to her much holier sister."

"I don't want an innocent woman's blood on my hands." Neville's voice cracked.

"Before this is over, blood will be on all of our hands."