The Other Henry VIII

England's Triumph

The summer of 1524 stole England's King and sent him across the channel to war. While he and his army fought valiant battles beneath the merciless sun, the people of the realm chose to push ideas of bloodshed and loss to the back of their collective mind. After all, their Queen would soon give birth to an heir, the harvest was plentiful, and the King had established a new Line of Succession. In short, despite being at war, England was in a more stable position than it had been for years.

Queen Leia had been surprised by her husband's decisions at first. Prince John, whose paternity had always been unknown, was now reduced to a common bastard. He would continue to be raised by his uncle, the Earl of Rochford, but was now officially disinherited. However, Princess Elizabeth was second only to her elder sister in the Line of Succession. While Princess Clara's legitimacy and birthrights had never been in question, Elizabeth's still were. Regardless, in the event that the King, Leia, her baby, and Clara all died, Lizzie would be rightful Queen of England. William Westerly, on the other hand, the King's nephew, was placed behind both of his female cousins.

Subsequently, Leia realised that the best plan of action for her was to give birth to a living boy, and try her best not to die in the process. It would certainly prevent the chaos that would ensue if the King were to be slaughtered on the battlefield. Her husband had made her his Queen Regent, though it had been disputed by the Duke of Norfolk that a heavily pregnant woman should not be in control of a nation, and she resolved to rule the kingdom to the best of her abilities.

And yet, Leia remained uneasy. When she was not in frustrating meetings with the council, her time was spent enjoying the good weather with the two Princesses and her ladies. That involved having to look at and speak to Verity, almost every day, as if nothing was amiss. Something gnawed at the fringes of her mind—was it jealousy or merely bitterness?—and it gave her little peace. At least she was not imprisoned in confinement, as other women would be at this stage, since she was running the country. She gleaned some solace from the fact that Verity's was not the only face she saw.

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12 September 1524
When the first signs of labour arrived, Leia was departing from a meeting with the council. They had been discussing the taxes that would be necessary in order to pay for the war, and her head was swimming in numbers when she felt a sharp pain in her lower abdomen. Her ladies rushed to her side immediately.

"Your Majesty, we must take you to your chambers," said Catherine Starling. She offered her arm for assistance. "Are you able to walk?"
"Yes, of course I am able to walk," retorted Leia indignantly, flinching away from her touch. She took a deep breath and composed herself. There were several servants who had paused to watch, and she did not wish to appear weak. "I am not an invalid. Catherine, you may accompany me to my chambers. Verity, fetch the physician and the midwife."
"But Your Majesty, the servants can—"
"Just go, now!" barked the Queen.

Once laying in bed, with a dozen ladies scurrying about, Leia was expecting to slip unconscious and allow the hours to glide past effortlessly until a baby was produced. Unfortunately, that was not the case. She felt every second of excruciating pain—in fact, time seemed to pass slower than usual—and she quickly lost the ability to distinguish the faces around her. They were like fireflies flitting about the room; nothing but a blur of colour in the corner of her eye.

And yet, despite feeling as though she was being ripped open from the inside, Leia was not certain she wanted it to be over. If this child was a girl, she had all but condemned herself. Henry would return, find some obscure reason to annul their marriage, and her head would be in a basket with a month. Then, desperate, he would turn to the only male offspring that he had produced to name as his heir. In short, Marianne would have won. Even eternal childbirth was preferable to that.