Big Bang Fic: Between Golden Worlds, Chapter 5
Title: Between golden worlds
Author: pamymex3girl
Rating: T, just to be on the safe side
Pairings/characters: Susan, Lucy, Edmund, Peter, Mary Tudor, Thomas more; Susan/Caspian, Susan/OC, Peter/OC, all normal Tudor couples
Disclaimer: I do not own neither the narnian characters nor the historical characters, just my story.
Possible Spoilers/Warnings: death, spoilers for the first three Narnia movies and three seasons of the tudors
Author's Notes: I’ve used some scenes from the series the Tudors and although I’ve tried to be historically accurate I’ve changed some things. I’ve also changed the age of the Pevensies when they went back to Narnia for the second and the third time
Summary: It is August 1524 and the Pevensies are being send to the English court. Having just lost their own world they must now learn to walk in this world. They must accept their place and live their lives, but they must be careful. For the court of Henry VIII is a dangerous place, one step in the wrong direction could prove disastrous...
Chapter 5
Their time in Narnia was short, much too short.
Susan would have loved to have stayed there for many more years, finally she felt at home again and for the first time she felt the surge of love trough her body. She’d had feelings for boys before, of course she had, but never like that; she thought it strange that it came up so suddenly but perhaps that was just the way things were. She knew it wouldn’t work; she'd known from the moment, she saw the ruins of their old castle that they couldn’t stay anymore, and she knew they couldn’t be together. She’d have to find her own man in her own world and Caspian would find his princess in his, but still she would have liked a little more time; the fact that they couldn’t work didn’t make their love any less real, and she would have liked more than a few stolen moments and a goodbye kiss.
However, one did not argue with Aslan, and she was sure he knew what he was doing.
She wished she could shut herself in her room and mourn her lost love, but as she had observed before in the household of the queen, there was no time for mourning. The queen asked her if she was feeling alright but Susan assured her she was, just a bit tired from the long journey. She would have liked to have forgotten all about Caspian, but he haunted her dreams and she knew she’d never be able to forget what happened. But then the news started to come, first that both Cardinal Wolsey and Anne Boleyn had fallen ill, and she could see a light in the queen's eyes perhaps God would call Anne to him, and then all would be better. She’d never say it out loud, and probably pray for forgiveness later, but Susan had to agree that might make everything better (though she wasn’t sure it would change the king’s course).
A few days later they heard they’d both survived and since the sickness had left London, they were called back to court.
Back to the pretending and the pain, back to everything she wanted to forget. Back to the live she didn’t want, and she had to forget the live she wanted.
***
He thinks he finally understands.
Maybe he should have understood before, maybe he should have seen what Aslan wanted him to learn; however, he’d been too busy trying to get what wasn’t his. Now that he had gotten Narnia back and then lost, for the final time, he understood better. In life, you didn’t always get what you want, no matter what that was, and he had to learn and accept his place in this world, like his siblings had already done. However, he couldn’t do so if his father kept him away from court, he knew that somewhere there was a place for him; he just didn't find it yet. His father came at the end of the month with two things to discuss with him, first he would not return to court; after careful contemplation, he’d decided that the household of the king’s natural son, Henry FitzRoy, was better suited for him.
What hit him harder. However, was the proclamation that his father had decreed he should marry.
And, together with the king, they’d found the perfect girl for him; she was from a good family and quite beautiful, though submissive from what her father told his father. Their wedding would take next week; afterwards, they were both to go to FitzRoy’s court and start their live together; Peter had almost asked if he had no word in this, but he knew he did not, and he suspected his wife had even less of a say in it. He would make sure to be kind to her and treat her with respect and perhaps in time he would learn to love her, perhaps they could even be happy. He was glad, when he finally met her, that she was beautiful and kind (though he had to admit he was slightly put down when he realized she wasn’t exactly smart).
They were married in a beautiful but quiet ceremony, and then he sent away.
It almost felt like exile again.
****
When the word had come that the queen was to return to the king she’d thought they were going to be left behind again.
She’d been steeling herself, ever since they left Narnia, for the loss of her big sister. The loss of Narnia was still raw and there were moments she felt she couldn’t breathe anymore; especially late at night when it almost felt like her chest compressed together to keep the air out and not let any in. She knew Susan had it worse, her heart broken on top of it, and she knew that was nothing she could do about it; and because she didn’t wish to make her feel worse, she did not tell her what she felt about losing Narnia, but she knew that Susan knew. Still when the Queen called them to her chambers and told they were going to Lucy had never felt happier.
They wouldn’t be left behind again, and she’d be with all her siblings again.
It was Edmund who told her, when they arrived back at court, that Peter had gotten married, and she couldn’t help but laugh about that. She’d thought that everything would be better once they were at court, but it was worse. Here she couldn’t protect Mary from the gossip; she couldn’t make sure that nothing reached her ear. Instead, Mary finally found out the awful truth, that her father was not only trying to get rid of her mother but was trying to do it in such a way that would brand her a bastard. It would be as if she never mattered and slowly as the story took shape in their minds, they both couldn’t help but blame Anne Boleyn for it.
Lucy could understand why Mary did it; she couldn’t blame her father for it after all.
****
Everything was different, completely different.
The king had taken the fact that Anne Boleyn had survived as a sure sign that God wanted this divorce (Edmund privately thought that it was just luck that she survived, but he was smart enough not to say that out loud). More had noticed that he was sad, different he said (almost older as he explained it and Edmund didn’t say 1500 years older than anyone here, it would just make matters worse), he’d explained that one of the boys that had died of the illness had been his friend. More had assured him that he was in a better place, and that death was not something one should fear, especially not death like this since it was said to be relatively painless.
The king was putting everything in acceleration now, trying to get his divorce.
He was growing impatient, Edmund could tell, in a way he reminded him of his brother. Peter too couldn’t handle it very well when things didn’t go his way and Edmund, just like More, quickly noticed that it was just the queen, who was making sure that the king thought twice about it (parading his daughter, who he loved dearly, in front of him to make sure he felt guilty about trying to get rid of her), it was the pope as well. Campaggio was doing everything in his power to stall the proceedings, and it wouldn’t surprise him if he had been told not to give the king what he wanted, and he was just afraid to say the words out loud. He didn’t know what would happen when the King didn’t get what he wanted, but he could tell it would not be good. Sir Thomas More thought that the fact that the Pope was against it would save the marriage, but Edmund wasn’t so sure.
He had a feeling, there was some stormy weather ahead and somehow, though he couldn’t explain how, they’d all be caught in the crossfire.
Autumn 1529
He knew something was going to happen, and though he hadn’t guessed it would be this; he wasn’t surprised.
Despite his assurance and everything, he believed in Edmund could tell that More wasn’t surprised by it either, they both knew it was coming; when Campaggio told the king, his case would be tried in Rome instead the King had been furious. And like always he took his anger out on those closest to him - Edmund though his sister and brother in law were the smartest, they left for the country side and did not return until his anger had vanished - in this case the Queen and Wolsey. To the queen, he did the same thing he had done before, but it was the only thing that had true affect: he sends her daughter away again, and Lucy went with her. Wolsey was stripped of all his offices and send away, found guilty of several charges and then forgotten.
The king had turned around, taken a good look at all those around him, and given the job of Lord Chancellor to his most trusted advisor. The one man, who the king knew, valued his conscience above everything else; his mentor, Sir Thomas More.
More had been reluctant, he’d been there when the King had given him the post (ever since his return after the sweating sickness. More made sure he was everywhere with him; he wanted him to learn. IT was almost; Edmund realized, as if he was afraid he wouldn’t be here for much longer). He couldn’t help but agree with his mentor, after all Wolsey had been the king’s closest friend and advisor for more than twenty years, and he’d just send him away without looking back, just allowed his enemies to take him down. But he also knew, and he knew More knew, that he really had no choice; what the king wanted the king should get.
And so he became the secretary of the Lord Chancellor, and he wondered if this is what life was going to be like.
Just keeping low and making sure the king got what he wanted, to be in his favor until what the king wanted could not be achieved and then to be just set aside, like they were nothing.
****
She was getting married.
The queen had been the one to tell her, apparently she had realized that she was losing and in an effort to make sure her favorite maid was taken care of she had found her a husband. She’d spoken to both the king and her father, and together they’d found her a husband. She knew it was a done deal, after all the queen herself had paid her dowry, and there was nothing she could say. It’s not like she could explain why she didn’t want to marry, besides nobody cared about her feelings. They didn’t matter, they never mattered; she didn’t have to love her husband all she needed to do was obey him and never betray him. Still she wished she could have said something, could have complained about it, made sure the queen knew she didn’t want to marry. It wouldn’t have mattered, even if the queen took her side, one day she’d have to marry; she couldn’t wait forever for the King in the wardrobe; he would never come for her. He couldn’t.
Edmund was the one to point her new husband out to her.
He wasn’t that much older than her, just a handful of years, and he wasn’t bad looking either. He looked nothing like Caspian, but she figured that was a blessing in disguise. Most importantly, according to Edmund anyway, he was a kind man, and he’d treat her with some degree of respect. And since Lord Stanly, Gregory as she later learned, lived at court and was in the king’s entourage she would not need to leave neither the queen nor her friend, which is something she didn’t want to do. So she put a smile on her face and allowed the queen to make sure she had a dress and when asked if she wanted anything she asked her father if her sister could come.
That night she curled up in a ball and thinking of Caspian, she cried.
She dreamed of Aslan that night, and he held her until there were no tears left and promised her that someday it would all be okay.
She didn’t remember the dream when she woke, but she did remember the feeling.
****
It was strange living at the court of FitzRoy.
Bound to listen to a boy who was much younger than him, yet at the same time it was easier. The boy reminded him somewhat of Edmund, and since he was so young he looked up to Peter just a little. He liked it here, strangely enough; he liked the way this place was conducted. It wasn’t really a court, FitzRoy wasn’t legal; however, he was a duke twice over, and as such, he had high friends. The Earl of Surrey, the duke of Norfolk’s son, was one of them; his sister, Mary Howard, was married to FitzRoy, though Peter had never seen her at court. They were both related to Anne Boleyn, and FitzRoy seemed to be on her side in the entire thing.
He quickly realized, however, that the boy wasn’t so much on her side as he was on the kings.
Or at least not stupid enough to say out loud that he wasn’t on his side, like so many other people; most people, he’d learned quickly, would rather keep their head down than say a word. It was the safest option, the best road, if one wanted to keep his head on his shoulders. While his relationship with both Henry’s was going up his relationship with his wife wasn’t so good, he found her boring at times though he made sure to always treat her kindly and when she came to him one day to tell him, she was pregnant he was genially happy. He’d make sure that FitzRoy was his sons, or daughters, godfather; surely, Edmund would understand why he did it.
Things were definitely starting to look up.
October 15, 1529
Her dress was stunning; the queen had really outdone herself.
If nothing else that was what she would remember about this day, she was also finally starting to grow into the beautiful looks she had had in Narnia. She was a few hours away from being the Lady Stanley, from having a new room at court; from being married, married to a man who wasn’t the one she loved. Bound to a live she didn’t want but had to accept, like millions of other girls before her; even princesses were not spared this pain. She knew the queen was a little sad, not because of her wedding, but because when Lucy came she did not bring the Princess Mary with her, since the king had decided she could not come.
Still today it was her day, and the Queen made sure she was happy for her.
She’d met him, Gregory as he made sure to tell her to call him, once; Edmund had introduced them, and he had been kindly enough. Treating her with respect and courtesy and she could not help but feel that she could be happy with him, even if she could not love him. She heard the music, the beautiful music that Edmund had chosen (somehow he was always able to pick the right music for the right occasion), and she knew it was time. Looking in the mirror one more time she could have sworn she saw Aslan in it for the briefest of instants, and she knew he was with her in those moments.
Her father took her by the hand and guided her towards her future husband and so, in a ceremony she could barely remember; she was pronounced the wife of Gregory Stanley for the rest of her life.
She would have to forget Caspian had ever existed or at least try to.
This was supposed to be the happiest day of her life. (It was probably a man, she though, that had come up with that concept).
Prologue | Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five | Chapter Six | Chapter Seven | Chapter Eight | Chapter Nine | Chapter Ten | Chapter Eleven | Chapter Twelve | Epilogue
Author: pamymex3girl
Rating: T, just to be on the safe side
Pairings/characters: Susan, Lucy, Edmund, Peter, Mary Tudor, Thomas more; Susan/Caspian, Susan/OC, Peter/OC, all normal Tudor couples
Disclaimer: I do not own neither the narnian characters nor the historical characters, just my story.
Possible Spoilers/Warnings: death, spoilers for the first three Narnia movies and three seasons of the tudors
Author's Notes: I’ve used some scenes from the series the Tudors and although I’ve tried to be historically accurate I’ve changed some things. I’ve also changed the age of the Pevensies when they went back to Narnia for the second and the third time
Summary: It is August 1524 and the Pevensies are being send to the English court. Having just lost their own world they must now learn to walk in this world. They must accept their place and live their lives, but they must be careful. For the court of Henry VIII is a dangerous place, one step in the wrong direction could prove disastrous...
Chapter 5
Their time in Narnia was short, much too short.
Susan would have loved to have stayed there for many more years, finally she felt at home again and for the first time she felt the surge of love trough her body. She’d had feelings for boys before, of course she had, but never like that; she thought it strange that it came up so suddenly but perhaps that was just the way things were. She knew it wouldn’t work; she'd known from the moment, she saw the ruins of their old castle that they couldn’t stay anymore, and she knew they couldn’t be together. She’d have to find her own man in her own world and Caspian would find his princess in his, but still she would have liked a little more time; the fact that they couldn’t work didn’t make their love any less real, and she would have liked more than a few stolen moments and a goodbye kiss.
However, one did not argue with Aslan, and she was sure he knew what he was doing.
She wished she could shut herself in her room and mourn her lost love, but as she had observed before in the household of the queen, there was no time for mourning. The queen asked her if she was feeling alright but Susan assured her she was, just a bit tired from the long journey. She would have liked to have forgotten all about Caspian, but he haunted her dreams and she knew she’d never be able to forget what happened. But then the news started to come, first that both Cardinal Wolsey and Anne Boleyn had fallen ill, and she could see a light in the queen's eyes perhaps God would call Anne to him, and then all would be better. She’d never say it out loud, and probably pray for forgiveness later, but Susan had to agree that might make everything better (though she wasn’t sure it would change the king’s course).
A few days later they heard they’d both survived and since the sickness had left London, they were called back to court.
Back to the pretending and the pain, back to everything she wanted to forget. Back to the live she didn’t want, and she had to forget the live she wanted.
***
He thinks he finally understands.
Maybe he should have understood before, maybe he should have seen what Aslan wanted him to learn; however, he’d been too busy trying to get what wasn’t his. Now that he had gotten Narnia back and then lost, for the final time, he understood better. In life, you didn’t always get what you want, no matter what that was, and he had to learn and accept his place in this world, like his siblings had already done. However, he couldn’t do so if his father kept him away from court, he knew that somewhere there was a place for him; he just didn't find it yet. His father came at the end of the month with two things to discuss with him, first he would not return to court; after careful contemplation, he’d decided that the household of the king’s natural son, Henry FitzRoy, was better suited for him.
What hit him harder. However, was the proclamation that his father had decreed he should marry.
And, together with the king, they’d found the perfect girl for him; she was from a good family and quite beautiful, though submissive from what her father told his father. Their wedding would take next week; afterwards, they were both to go to FitzRoy’s court and start their live together; Peter had almost asked if he had no word in this, but he knew he did not, and he suspected his wife had even less of a say in it. He would make sure to be kind to her and treat her with respect and perhaps in time he would learn to love her, perhaps they could even be happy. He was glad, when he finally met her, that she was beautiful and kind (though he had to admit he was slightly put down when he realized she wasn’t exactly smart).
They were married in a beautiful but quiet ceremony, and then he sent away.
It almost felt like exile again.
****
When the word had come that the queen was to return to the king she’d thought they were going to be left behind again.
She’d been steeling herself, ever since they left Narnia, for the loss of her big sister. The loss of Narnia was still raw and there were moments she felt she couldn’t breathe anymore; especially late at night when it almost felt like her chest compressed together to keep the air out and not let any in. She knew Susan had it worse, her heart broken on top of it, and she knew that was nothing she could do about it; and because she didn’t wish to make her feel worse, she did not tell her what she felt about losing Narnia, but she knew that Susan knew. Still when the Queen called them to her chambers and told they were going to Lucy had never felt happier.
They wouldn’t be left behind again, and she’d be with all her siblings again.
It was Edmund who told her, when they arrived back at court, that Peter had gotten married, and she couldn’t help but laugh about that. She’d thought that everything would be better once they were at court, but it was worse. Here she couldn’t protect Mary from the gossip; she couldn’t make sure that nothing reached her ear. Instead, Mary finally found out the awful truth, that her father was not only trying to get rid of her mother but was trying to do it in such a way that would brand her a bastard. It would be as if she never mattered and slowly as the story took shape in their minds, they both couldn’t help but blame Anne Boleyn for it.
Lucy could understand why Mary did it; she couldn’t blame her father for it after all.
****
Everything was different, completely different.
The king had taken the fact that Anne Boleyn had survived as a sure sign that God wanted this divorce (Edmund privately thought that it was just luck that she survived, but he was smart enough not to say that out loud). More had noticed that he was sad, different he said (almost older as he explained it and Edmund didn’t say 1500 years older than anyone here, it would just make matters worse), he’d explained that one of the boys that had died of the illness had been his friend. More had assured him that he was in a better place, and that death was not something one should fear, especially not death like this since it was said to be relatively painless.
The king was putting everything in acceleration now, trying to get his divorce.
He was growing impatient, Edmund could tell, in a way he reminded him of his brother. Peter too couldn’t handle it very well when things didn’t go his way and Edmund, just like More, quickly noticed that it was just the queen, who was making sure that the king thought twice about it (parading his daughter, who he loved dearly, in front of him to make sure he felt guilty about trying to get rid of her), it was the pope as well. Campaggio was doing everything in his power to stall the proceedings, and it wouldn’t surprise him if he had been told not to give the king what he wanted, and he was just afraid to say the words out loud. He didn’t know what would happen when the King didn’t get what he wanted, but he could tell it would not be good. Sir Thomas More thought that the fact that the Pope was against it would save the marriage, but Edmund wasn’t so sure.
He had a feeling, there was some stormy weather ahead and somehow, though he couldn’t explain how, they’d all be caught in the crossfire.
Autumn 1529
He knew something was going to happen, and though he hadn’t guessed it would be this; he wasn’t surprised.
Despite his assurance and everything, he believed in Edmund could tell that More wasn’t surprised by it either, they both knew it was coming; when Campaggio told the king, his case would be tried in Rome instead the King had been furious. And like always he took his anger out on those closest to him - Edmund though his sister and brother in law were the smartest, they left for the country side and did not return until his anger had vanished - in this case the Queen and Wolsey. To the queen, he did the same thing he had done before, but it was the only thing that had true affect: he sends her daughter away again, and Lucy went with her. Wolsey was stripped of all his offices and send away, found guilty of several charges and then forgotten.
The king had turned around, taken a good look at all those around him, and given the job of Lord Chancellor to his most trusted advisor. The one man, who the king knew, valued his conscience above everything else; his mentor, Sir Thomas More.
More had been reluctant, he’d been there when the King had given him the post (ever since his return after the sweating sickness. More made sure he was everywhere with him; he wanted him to learn. IT was almost; Edmund realized, as if he was afraid he wouldn’t be here for much longer). He couldn’t help but agree with his mentor, after all Wolsey had been the king’s closest friend and advisor for more than twenty years, and he’d just send him away without looking back, just allowed his enemies to take him down. But he also knew, and he knew More knew, that he really had no choice; what the king wanted the king should get.
And so he became the secretary of the Lord Chancellor, and he wondered if this is what life was going to be like.
Just keeping low and making sure the king got what he wanted, to be in his favor until what the king wanted could not be achieved and then to be just set aside, like they were nothing.
****
She was getting married.
The queen had been the one to tell her, apparently she had realized that she was losing and in an effort to make sure her favorite maid was taken care of she had found her a husband. She’d spoken to both the king and her father, and together they’d found her a husband. She knew it was a done deal, after all the queen herself had paid her dowry, and there was nothing she could say. It’s not like she could explain why she didn’t want to marry, besides nobody cared about her feelings. They didn’t matter, they never mattered; she didn’t have to love her husband all she needed to do was obey him and never betray him. Still she wished she could have said something, could have complained about it, made sure the queen knew she didn’t want to marry. It wouldn’t have mattered, even if the queen took her side, one day she’d have to marry; she couldn’t wait forever for the King in the wardrobe; he would never come for her. He couldn’t.
Edmund was the one to point her new husband out to her.
He wasn’t that much older than her, just a handful of years, and he wasn’t bad looking either. He looked nothing like Caspian, but she figured that was a blessing in disguise. Most importantly, according to Edmund anyway, he was a kind man, and he’d treat her with some degree of respect. And since Lord Stanly, Gregory as she later learned, lived at court and was in the king’s entourage she would not need to leave neither the queen nor her friend, which is something she didn’t want to do. So she put a smile on her face and allowed the queen to make sure she had a dress and when asked if she wanted anything she asked her father if her sister could come.
That night she curled up in a ball and thinking of Caspian, she cried.
She dreamed of Aslan that night, and he held her until there were no tears left and promised her that someday it would all be okay.
She didn’t remember the dream when she woke, but she did remember the feeling.
****
It was strange living at the court of FitzRoy.
Bound to listen to a boy who was much younger than him, yet at the same time it was easier. The boy reminded him somewhat of Edmund, and since he was so young he looked up to Peter just a little. He liked it here, strangely enough; he liked the way this place was conducted. It wasn’t really a court, FitzRoy wasn’t legal; however, he was a duke twice over, and as such, he had high friends. The Earl of Surrey, the duke of Norfolk’s son, was one of them; his sister, Mary Howard, was married to FitzRoy, though Peter had never seen her at court. They were both related to Anne Boleyn, and FitzRoy seemed to be on her side in the entire thing.
He quickly realized, however, that the boy wasn’t so much on her side as he was on the kings.
Or at least not stupid enough to say out loud that he wasn’t on his side, like so many other people; most people, he’d learned quickly, would rather keep their head down than say a word. It was the safest option, the best road, if one wanted to keep his head on his shoulders. While his relationship with both Henry’s was going up his relationship with his wife wasn’t so good, he found her boring at times though he made sure to always treat her kindly and when she came to him one day to tell him, she was pregnant he was genially happy. He’d make sure that FitzRoy was his sons, or daughters, godfather; surely, Edmund would understand why he did it.
Things were definitely starting to look up.
October 15, 1529
Her dress was stunning; the queen had really outdone herself.
If nothing else that was what she would remember about this day, she was also finally starting to grow into the beautiful looks she had had in Narnia. She was a few hours away from being the Lady Stanley, from having a new room at court; from being married, married to a man who wasn’t the one she loved. Bound to a live she didn’t want but had to accept, like millions of other girls before her; even princesses were not spared this pain. She knew the queen was a little sad, not because of her wedding, but because when Lucy came she did not bring the Princess Mary with her, since the king had decided she could not come.
Still today it was her day, and the Queen made sure she was happy for her.
She’d met him, Gregory as he made sure to tell her to call him, once; Edmund had introduced them, and he had been kindly enough. Treating her with respect and courtesy and she could not help but feel that she could be happy with him, even if she could not love him. She heard the music, the beautiful music that Edmund had chosen (somehow he was always able to pick the right music for the right occasion), and she knew it was time. Looking in the mirror one more time she could have sworn she saw Aslan in it for the briefest of instants, and she knew he was with her in those moments.
Her father took her by the hand and guided her towards her future husband and so, in a ceremony she could barely remember; she was pronounced the wife of Gregory Stanley for the rest of her life.
She would have to forget Caspian had ever existed or at least try to.
This was supposed to be the happiest day of her life. (It was probably a man, she though, that had come up with that concept).
Prologue | Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five | Chapter Six | Chapter Seven | Chapter Eight | Chapter Nine | Chapter Ten | Chapter Eleven | Chapter Twelve | Epilogue