xiv coucil | video
[It's not quite a Christmas message from the Queen... but all the same, there's Elizabeth, sitting at her desk, look exceedingly tired. It might be a festive season but she's got far too much on her mind. Still, she's a woman whose dealt with far worse, faced war and persecution and her own execution -- what is a few family problems?
Her hand goes to the jewels that hang around her neck, not hers. Her mothers, given to Anne by her father as a courting gift. The cross was cool against her skin as she closed her fingers around it, taking comfort in its weight.]
I should all hope that you've all enjoyed your festivities, as I have. Winter is made to make us appreciate the warmth of others, I think. My thanks for the gifts I received, they're treasured. As I hope you enjoy mine in kind.
[filtered away from Anne Boleyn;]
[she loses her smile instantly, far removed than all that -- it's far closer to how she is in court. Removed because she has to be, she can't let her own emotion cloud her judgement. She can't even let it show how it hurts, because once it starts... it's not a weakness she's ever been able to afford.]
I am sure some of you know. My lady mother is here... and if you do not, she is the Lady Anne Boleyn. I would ask that you treat her with the same respect that you treat me. Which leads me to the other matter... which is more important. [Elizabeth wrings her hands, before locking her fingers till her knuckles go white.] Well I suppose there is no other way to say it, is there? My mother did not even know me. In fact, she knows nothing of what is to pass. That she will bear no sons, that my father will no longer love her as he once did... and that he will, in time, execute her for her perceived failures and treacheries. [she's still cold, disassociated as the words come out blandly. She blinks slowly, squaring her shoulders.] I beg of you, that you say nothing... she is to go through too much. [It's a strange moment, the words don't match tone, for all she says beg, it is said without compromise and is clearly an order.] For if anyone does -- as surely as I am my father's daughter, I know how to make men suffer, and I shall make that person do so to the best of my ability. Petty perhaps, but I care not. Not where my family is concerned.
That is all, God speed.
Her hand goes to the jewels that hang around her neck, not hers. Her mothers, given to Anne by her father as a courting gift. The cross was cool against her skin as she closed her fingers around it, taking comfort in its weight.]
I should all hope that you've all enjoyed your festivities, as I have. Winter is made to make us appreciate the warmth of others, I think. My thanks for the gifts I received, they're treasured. As I hope you enjoy mine in kind.
[filtered away from Anne Boleyn;]
[she loses her smile instantly, far removed than all that -- it's far closer to how she is in court. Removed because she has to be, she can't let her own emotion cloud her judgement. She can't even let it show how it hurts, because once it starts... it's not a weakness she's ever been able to afford.]
I am sure some of you know. My lady mother is here... and if you do not, she is the Lady Anne Boleyn. I would ask that you treat her with the same respect that you treat me. Which leads me to the other matter... which is more important. [Elizabeth wrings her hands, before locking her fingers till her knuckles go white.] Well I suppose there is no other way to say it, is there? My mother did not even know me. In fact, she knows nothing of what is to pass. That she will bear no sons, that my father will no longer love her as he once did... and that he will, in time, execute her for her perceived failures and treacheries. [she's still cold, disassociated as the words come out blandly. She blinks slowly, squaring her shoulders.] I beg of you, that you say nothing... she is to go through too much. [It's a strange moment, the words don't match tone, for all she says beg, it is said without compromise and is clearly an order.] For if anyone does -- as surely as I am my father's daughter, I know how to make men suffer, and I shall make that person do so to the best of my ability. Petty perhaps, but I care not. Not where my family is concerned.
That is all, God speed.