28th January 1547
The king lay dying. The slender, athletic figure of his youth had all but disappeared; only his spirit now hung on to his past vigor and energy. The wound in his leg had destroyed his ability to hunt, but not his hunger for it. His many wives had destroyed his faith in love, but not his desire for it. He was overweight and bad tempered. He longed for the days of his youth, when he could ride carelessly through the woods of his kingdom, Charles Brandon at his side. But now Brandon was dead. Cromwell, too, was dead. Wolsey was dead. More was dead. Everyone was dead, and only he was left. Of all his closest advisers and friends, he had outlived them all.
His children sat gathered around his bedside. His eldest Mary, her silken hair the exact same shade as her mother's. And Elizabeth, his youngest daughter. The daughter he had sacrificed almost everything for hoping she would be a son. He regretted treating her so terribly for the most of her childhood, and blaming her for the actions of her mother. And finally his son, his darling Edward, Prince of Wales. His eyes were those of his mother, the most kind hearted and goodly wife the king had ever had. Mary's hand grasped his cold one, and as a solitary tear rolled down her cheek, her father smiled.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPrKkw5KbjQ
"Do not weep for me Mary. Pray for me, but do not weep." He said, his voice thin and worn. She nodded silently. In her other hand she clutched her rosary, (such an obvious display of Catholicism, and yet her father, who had tried so hard to abolish the Catholic church in England, did not seem to mind) praying already for his soul.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4q8fNatG4c
All too soon, he was gone. He had said goodbye to his wife Katherine, and kissed the hands of both of his daughter's. His son, still a young boy, looked at his father with fearful eyes.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrFqWS0e7WU
"You are to be king, my son."876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaLSL0SV0UC
"Yes, sir." He said bravely.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVZZHHhci8V
"I was not much older than you, when I came to the crown. I have faith that you will govern England well. You shall be a just and honorable king."876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdjwecw1aP1
And then, his eyes had closed, his breathing had stopped and his grip on his daughter's hand loosened.
One.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOnozU23YOF
The first he heard was the sound of rain hitting the window. When he opened his eyes, the room was dark, save from the light of a few candles. Henry saw her before she noticed he was awake. She was sitting in a rocking chair by the fire, mending one of his shirts. He recognized her instantly.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQvUf7z9trP
"Katherine?" He asked, his voice hoarse.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8WYSZQZsip
"Husband." She said, beaming.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX7l5PT7HRu
"I thought I was..." He began.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWLpJZDc2ir
"You are. I am too." She said simply, with a shrug. "Consider this as your path to the afterlife." Before he could respond, she began to speak once more.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsWNieE2Kiq
"I trust you have raised our daughter well? I was always proud of her."876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVKfRPQtgIX
"She is much like her mother." Henry said with a smile.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZEFpCI4RLA
"Then I hope you have not treated her in the same way that you did me." She said coldly. Henry remained silent. "I was your lawful wife, Henry. You know that as well as I. Was the Boleyn girl worth it? Did she give you the son I could not?"876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPnFnoMRjpR
"I regret bitterly my actions towards you. If I could but return to the past..."876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxY2Hyil0zA
"I will forgive you. All I ever wanted was an apology."876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJhv5bzzwec
"Then I am sorry Katherine. I am sorry that I took Mary from you, and I am sorry that I humiliated you, I see now that I was wrong. I see now that I was misled."876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAEQOQPzaFI
She did not reply, and a small smile formed at the corner of her mouth.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ87zY1CXAM9
"All I ever wanted." She repeated. She nodded to the door. "You may go."876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlHmZGK6WSB
"Go? Go where?"876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ478QqRIGMe
"I am sure there are others waiting for you." She said simply, turning back to her sewing.
Two876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBbwYz6HUXD
Henry stepped through the door. He should have been in a hallway, dark and cold. Instead, he was in the grounds of his favourite palace. It was summer, and the sun was blinding. His eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness, and he saw another woman. She was dark, much like Katherine. She was wearing a deep green that had always suited her. The pearls at her neck hung just as they always had. Her neck itself was as slender as it had always been. There was no scar across it, there was no indication... no notion that he had... that she had been condemned... there was nothing to suggest she had died so violently.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHBHpeliVmm
"Henry." She said smoothly. Her voice was like melted butter and all at once, he was transported back to a time when he loved her.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxTBWIzeRQh
"Anne." He said curtly. He had forgotten what she had looked like. Forgotten the sound of her voice, forgotten the curve of her hips and the soft skin of her cheeks.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZrkRBqmkWX
"We were here, do you remember? When I told you I was expecting Elizabeth? You were so happy." She looked towards the castle behind them. "Does she remember me? Henry please, tell me that she has been told how much I loved her."876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL6sApMxz7a
"She knows why you are not with her today."876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuI0IEzvO5t
"I am not with her today because of Cromwell." She said coldly. Her eyes were dark, her face had lost any trace of good humour it had previously possessed.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPp0Ub0MV0y
"Cromwell gathered evidence I could not argue with, Anne."876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDfbGwh7AXn
"Did it occur to you that the evidence was false? Did it occur to you that murdering me was not the only option?"876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHDAfWsRuqq
Henry was about to protest, to insist that it was not murder, that death was the penalty for treason and it was not murder. He found himself weak, too weak to argue.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe4pMVsABy5
"I wanted to see her grow up, Henry. I loved her so, so much. Maybe I could not have given you a son, but you robbed me of my daughter."876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyBGGZNaatN
"If it is any consolation to you, Cromwell is dead. He was executed." He said, fighting back a hysterical laugh. Anne however, did laugh.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSON8cpdL9o
"You sign the death warrant for everybody, don't you Henry? I am amazed you did not execute yourself."876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzpf8yqVwWE
He had always admired her sharp tongue, her bold wit.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlZpjFTA10R
"I am sorry, Anne. For taking away your chance at being a mother." He looked into her eyes, those deep, dark eyes that once promised everything he desired. All at once, he was on his knees before her. "I beg you Anne, forgive me."876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6degRjcale
She grasped his hand and kissed the back of it.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPgrsZ12sP5
"I shall always love you, my king." She whispered. "You can continue, now."876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ06GxA43gac
Henry faltered.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpW83c5EXQs
"If I could stay, if I could make things right, I would do it."876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlGTPDfrCdZ
"I would have you stay. I would have us go back to how we were, when I was carrying your child and the both of us were so hopeful that it would be a son and heir. I would have us go back to those days and never leave, but I have a feeling that you have others to see." She said, taking a step back. He nodded, and bid her good day, leaving her alone in the grounds of their summer home.
Three876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN0e6UJG2DX
This time, Henry was in the Queen's chambers at Richmond. They were empty, devoid of all furniture. But she was there; her golden hair still as bright as he remembered.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡap9GVnIbTt
"I was starting to think you would never arrive." She said.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1vmCzGmcSG
"Jane." He said, breathing a sigh of relief. Of all his wives, she had never betrayed his trust. She had given him a son.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzUhfO7TFC6
"Were you with her? With Anne?"876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFcrq94qaLo
He nodded. She smiled.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbQWIgWs9IN
"I do not mind. But I do not wish to speak of her; forgive me, for I know not how long we have, and I must ask you about our son. Is he well?"876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ75z1tIXufh
"He is king." Henry said softly. Jane's face warmed.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk5Rxlh9QqG
"He shall be a wonderful king. Is he strong? He is not sickly? And he is kind and generous and fair and honest?" She said, her words rolling into one another. Henry laughed.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1VGBesMXY8
"He is perfect. He will be a remarkable king. I have complete faith in him, he is your son, after all."876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHzXlTna6zC
"Indeed he is." Jane said, smiling at the floor. "You have nothing to apologise for here, Henry. You need not stay."876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNq9229Uyvr
"I love you Jane. Of all my wives you were the most true, the most kind, the most beautiful. You died giving me my son, and every day I thank you for it. You were the most selfless woman I ever knew. I stay not because I want to apologise, but because I do not want to leave."876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh7eL4C1pU0
Jane blushed, a soft pink colour that Henry had always enjoyed. She was a true English rose.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2VMfPOsD9B
"What lies beyond this, Jane? Katherine mentioned an afterlife. When I go through that door, what will I see? Who will I encounter there?"876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7g5pMlbVYl
Jane shrugged.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2DmuhigTy7
"That is up to you. The afterlife will be waiting for you, and I with it. We will see each other again, husband."876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpR1yPYJmOU
"If I will see you again, does that mean I am to see Katherine again? And Anne?"876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6HrWSK7Fny
Jane bit her lip.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsUUWs2HZQA
"I do not know, husband. That too, is up to you."876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwCSaSzfzIy
"Then I shall see you, and only you, again Jane." He kissed her cheek softly, longing to stay.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnx64jxgNMa
"You must go, continue with your path Henry. The sooner you reach the end, the sooner we shall be reunited."
Five876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7y6BeZTTi7
He was in the country. It was not a house he had been to before.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiocJmbFLi9
"This was where I grew up, Henry."876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyhENeJd6Ym
Her voice encouraged his anger, her face made him resentful of her.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXndxNwLooM
"Katharine Howard. I hoped I would not find you here."876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS10W3e1t3w
"You had me executed Henry, where else would you expect to find me but in the land of the dead?"876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYElecOP6yv
"You were guilty."876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEOq1pgSh9P
"Perhaps it runs in the family. Anne was my cousin after all..." She said venomously.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrv3r8KnpLy
"You go too far." He said, turning to leave.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJbUOGVaqRT
"You won't be able to leave. Your business here is not finished."876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXLuQHE58dl
He stopped with his back to her. He said nothing, waiting for her to speak.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqezxqnyiSp
"I was a child when we met Henry. A girl, not a woman. I was not ready to bear children, to be a wife. You expected too much of me."876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnGPXhlG1ME
"Perhaps I did, but I am not the guilty party. You admitted to adultery with Culpepper yourself. Our marriage was a lie, just like so many of my marriages."876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPaWWHs3uKP
"I was a young girl, Henry. A young girl in love. I made a mistake. You could have sent me to a nunnery, had the marriage annulled. Cutting my head off, was it necessary?"876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡihURHr9c7f
"Then I apologise, I made a rash decision. I was angry."876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMd9b3VbVwx
Katherine's expression softened.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOGfl3xjmOe
"Do you remember what you called me? Your rose without a thorn."876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7c4dzViczi
"I was wrong." Henry said.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSXIu3lub19
"Aren't we all?" She said lightly. "Aren't we all dreadfully wrong about something? I was wrong thinking I could never be caught."876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡReP2vMSnsi
"I have been wrong on many counts." He said despairingly, sitting on the small bed in the center of the room. "I had More executed, my oldest and most honest friend. I drove Wolsey to death, and I had Cromwell executed. I exiled Charles from court when he married my sister, and I treated my daughters terribly. I fear I shall be forever remembered as a tyrant."876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjVermXHHf7
"No Henry. I do not think you shall be remembered as a tyrant. I think you shall be remembered for having so many wives. Most men only have one, you know? Not five."876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT9fpQLO5xb
"Six." He corrected her.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡderJ0c1g7i
"Six. Of course you married again after me. Who is she?"876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMc4QOhhznD
"The lady Catherine Parr."876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡltsb9RHghf
Katherine nodded her head slowly.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbPcUvCJk2e
"I am sorry Henry. I was a foolish child. I do not doubt that your faith in marriage is shattered all together?"876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqHEQ8ved1E
He nodded. "Apart from Jane. Jane was my one true wife."876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBMNQT3y4b8
Katherine smiled slightly. "Then go to her. I am sure she's waiting for you."876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ59tiTPaZAJ
He looked towards the door and she nodded in encouragement. He rose from the bed, bid her farewell and opened the door into a bright, white light.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBbdDwmRz4a
He knew that the wives he had wronged so woefully would never forgive him fully. He knew that he had been wrong. He could see that now, now that the troubles of living no longer weighed heavy on his shoulders. His leg no longer bothered him, he was healthy once again. He regretted his actions in life, but knew that he had changed the face of England's landscape forever. He knew his name would never die, he knew his line would live on through his son.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ26XP5TRsGe
And so, Henry VIII passed into the halls of the dead, where so many of his predecessors had gone before him. He had been king on Earth; he was king once more in the land of those that will live forever.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6LdGekQWsa
The afterlife was not a physical location. The afterlife was not a cloud on which the saints danced. The afterlife was an idea; the afterlife was the guarantee that his memory would live through the ages. The afterlife was memory. The afterlife was knowing that hundreds of years from now, people would remember his name. And with that, King Henry, the eighth of that name, stepped into the afterlife.
Authors Note: I have not included Anne of Cleves or Catherine Parr in this, purely because they were still alive when Henry died. I wrote this because in life, his wives never got a say, never got to protest. In death, they were equal. I feel that if they could have met, his wives would have been much more blunt and forward with him. I would also like to think that Henry would have realised his mistakes (although this is probably unlikely!) and asked for forgiveness from his wives. Also, personally, I do not think that Jane was the wife he truly loved, but for the purpose of the story I have gone down that route. 876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXvJd5AoUxU
Also, I hope the end makes sense. I wanted to get across the point that kings do not need an afterlife, for they are still very much alive in memory; but to get to that point, Henry needed to let go of his tyranny and rash behavior in order to be worthy of such remembrance.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPiemBDljlc
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