Chapter Text
Chapter 1: Confessions
He didn’t know why he was here. He’d avoided her and seeing her all throughout the trial but now, for some reason he couldn’t explain, his feet and thoughts commanded him here.
As he stopped in front of the door, he bade the guards not to announce him, and ordered them to leave until he himself commands them to return. Once the guards were gone, He found himself staring at the door, for the first time that day, he felt hesitation creeping upon him, as he placed his hand on the door knob, he’d heard voices from the other side, ‘so she was not alone’, he thought, deciding to hear what was being spoken of, he stayed still.
“My child, do you have a confession?” said one voice he recognized as Master Cranmer. He suddenly remembered how he had tasked the man to inform her of her impending death.
“I confess my innocence before God. I solemnly swear, on the damnation of my soul, that I have never been unfaithful to my Lord and husband, nor ever offended with my body against him. I do not say that I have always borne towards him the humility which I owed him, considering his kindness and the great honor he showed me and the great respect he always paid me. I admit, too, that I have often taken it into my head to be jealous of him. But God knows, and is my witness, I have not sinned against him in any other way. Think not I say this in the hope to prolong my life. God has taught me how to die and He will strengthen my faith. As for my brother and those others who were unjustly condemned, I would willingly have suffered many deaths to deliver them. But since it pleases the King, I will willingly accompany them in death, with this assurance: that I shall lead an endless life with them in peace.” she said.
There was a long pause before he heard someone speak, however he soon heard Master Cranmer speak, “in the name of the father, the son and of the holy spirit” He imagined Master Cranmer placing the sign of the cross on Anne’s forehead as was custom after every confession, and then he heard him speak once more, “Master Kingston, Please go and make sure to report my lady’s true and last confession, so the world will know it.”
He barely heard Master Kingston’s response but soon he was faced with the constable as he opened the door to do as he was asked by master Cranmer.
With a shocked face, Master Kingston immediately bowed and said, “your majesty.”
As expected, everyone inside the chamber stared at the person at the door, only to realize that it was actually the king, everyone then bowed and curtsied, not daring to move until King Henry commands so.
“Leave us.” he commanded, not sparing a look to any of the other people in the room who had began to sputter out of the chamber, leaving Anne and the King alone.
As soon as they were left alone, Anne did not dare to speak first, she remained rooted on the spot she’d been standing in when Henry entered her chamber and painfully waited for him to speak first.
“Why did you lie to Cranmer?” He asked, he couldn’t believe she would lie about her last confession, he’d known Anne to be religious, it was one of the things he’d loved about her when they were fighting to change England’s religion, she was passionate in her belief. But she was found guilty of her crimes and he refused to believe she was innocent otherwise. She had made a fool of him for too long.
“I never lied, your majesty.” Anne said, she never thought she could feel anymore pain as when she was taken to the tower and found guilty of crimes she never did much less entertained of doing. However him standing in her very presence accusing her of lying about her last confession, her last act for her belief, hurt her even more.
“You were found guilty of your crimes against me. Do not think that you can manipulate me once more! You’ve made a fool out of me for too long, Anne!” He said.
“Your majesty, it is your council that has found me guilty, you should know by now that they live to serve and please their king. I know you wish to take another wife, it is their duty to make that happen. I have accepted my death, Henry, I have accepted that you no longer wish me to be your Queen.” Anne said, she didn’t need to tell him outright that it was his will that she be found guilty, the mere fact that he believed those rumours about her instead of confronting her about it was proof enough, but what she couldn’t leave unspoken was about a rumour she’d heard about her daughter. “I have heard your majesty, that you seek to annul our marriage.” she said as she moved closer to him, but not close enough to make him want to move away from her.
“Surely you know what that would mean for our daughter, Elizabeth.” she said.
“How can I be sure she is mine? You were unfaithful to me! You lied to me!” Henry said. He knew that the possibility that Anne might be truly innocent is rather highly possible, but he couldn’t get himself to believe it, for if he did, he would never be rid of her.
“You’ve watch her grow, you’ve witnessed her grow into the image of your mother, and of yourself every time we saw her.” Anne said, it was true, while her daughter had inherited her eyes, Elizabeth’s features were that of a Tudor and of her York heritage. She’d inherited her grandmother, Elizabeth of York’s hair and skin color, she also had Henry’s facial structure and features. It was hard to deny that Elizabeth is her father’s daughter, no matter how much he or anyone says otherwise.
Henry hated to admit it, but she was right, he was incredibly proud of Elizabeth’s features as it proved her heritage and relation to the Yorks and the Tudors, that his blood was strong because she grew into the likeness of his family. But he could not let himself believe Anne again. He needed a male heir for England and it was clear that God has deemed his marriage with Anne as accursed as his marriage with Katherine.
“I have accepted my fate, Henry. I am to die along with four men, one of which is my brother, for crimes which I nor they have committed. But I beg you, please do not forsake our daughter. When I am gone, you will be her only parent left. I beg you, Henry, please, do not punish our daughter, the only pure thing we have left, despite everything that went wrong in our relationship.” Anne said, she could not help the tears that escaped her eyes, she was terrified, but not for herself, she had already accepted her fate, the moment they came to arrest her, she knew Henry would seal her fate. She would die, but she feared for her daughter’s future, and she will do whatever it took to keep her Elizabeth safe, even if it would be her last act in this life.
Henry did nothing but turned away from her, he could hear the desperation in her voice, he could also hear the sincerity and the fear she held for their daughter.
“If you truly want to end our marriage before I die, I will agree to sign a divorce agreement, just not an annulment, please. For the sake of our daughter, for the sake of everything we’d fought for to be together and have our love become real in the form of our daughter, let this be your last mercy toward me, this shall be my last request from you, not as a servant to her king, but as a woman you once loved. Please Henry, it is only Elizabeth that will suffer and she is too young, too innocent to defend herself from the evils of the life she would have should you decide to bastardize her.” Anne said, begging once more, trying to make Henry see sense that they had fought so hard to strengthen Elizabeth’s legitimacy and that should he annul their marriage, all of their efforts would have been for naught.
Unable to stand hearing her pleas and the truth in her words, Henry stormed out of the room, without another word nor glance back at the woman who had now crumbled to the ground, heartache and tears falling from her eyes.
When Henry returned to his chamber in Whitehall, he could not stop thinking about what Anne had said.
‘it is your council that has found me guilty, you should know by now that they live to serve and please their king’
‘I know you wish to take another wife, it is their duty to make that happen.’
‘Surely you know what that would mean for our daughter, Elizabeth’
‘you’ve witnessed her grow into the image of your mother, and of yourself every time we saw her’
‘I have accepted my fate, Henry’
‘I beg you, Henry, please, do not punish our daughter, the only pure thing we have left, for everything that went wrong in our relationship.’
Her voice kept ringing in his head that it wasn’t until he finally shouted in anger and frustration that he threw a vase into the floor did he notice one Anthony Knivert standing in the room.
“Your majesty.” Knivert said as he gave a bow and rise after Henry acknowledged him.
“Anthony” Henry said, as he turned to face his friend.
“Are you alright, Henry?” Anthony asked, knowing that right now, Henry needed a friend, not a subject.
“Even now, she still has sway over me. She’s made a fool of me and yet she still takes up my mind!” Henry said as he slumped on his seat and reached for a goblet of wine.
‘Ah, so it was about Anne’, Anthony thought. He’d heard a rumour that the King visited the Tower earlier that day although no one could quite confirm it as even Cromwell had no idea of the visit.
“I heard her speak her last confession to Master Cranmer. She still claims she’s innocent but has resigned herself to her death.” Henry said.
Anthony, kept silent, he knew Henry needed to vent and he wanted to know everything before he spoke once more, and so he listened to Henry, watched his friend deal with what seemed to be a turbulence of emotions and thoughts within his friend and King.
“I hate her, Anthony, I hate her for doing this to me. I want her gone, but she’s right. Elizabeth is mine, even if I said otherwise before. She is mine as Mary and Henry Fitzroy is mine. Anne is nothing if not religious. I know this and no matter how much I hate her, I’ve always known that she is as devoted to the reformation as Katherine is to the Catholic Church. She will not lie, not even to save herself.” Henry said as he stared at an empty space on the table as he once again sipped from his goblet.
Anthony realized then what Henry was thinking of. He wanted to be rid of Anne but he also knew that Anne was right about the implications of what annulling their marriage would do to Elizabeth whom they had fought so hard for Europe to accept as legitimate. He didn’t want to stay married to her but he also knew his friend could not allow her to die should she be truly innocent even if killing her would be the easiest way for him to be able to take a lawful wife once more, because of how England and all of Europe would view him; they had already thought of him as a heartless tyrant for the way he discarded of Katherine and his split from the Catholic faith, if he killed Anne, the woman Europe viewed as his reason for doing everything he did, then he would only serve to solidify their view of him and he couldn’t allow that to happen. For some reason, Henry’s problems came from one source: Anne Boleyn dying.
“If you’re having doubts about her sentence, then why don’t you go and investigate the matter. If Anne’s claim that your council and her enemies, might I add, had indeed framed her, then it would be just that you prove once and for all whether she is truly innocent or guilty.” Anthony said. “It’s easy enough to do, her hearing as well as those men were recorded in writing, I could get the documents for you if you want. I also know that there were a few witnesses to her hearing, I can call upon them if you want as well.”
Henry thought of Anthony’s suggestion. It was an easy one, and one that could prove once and for all if Anne had indeed been faithful to him and if he had members of his court who were so ambitious as to allow for an innocent woman to die.
“Very well, bring it to me now, and be discreet about it, Anthony. You’re helping me with this.” Henry said.
Nodding, Anthony stood up and went to his office to get the said documents.