Betrayed
Henry V; King Henry/Lord Scroop
PG-13; 651 words
Hal doesn't want to hurt, but he has to do what's just.
I am really hoping that I haven't butchered Hal and Henry. :(
It hurts. Hal has always thought that he's a good king, but now, he's not so sure. He doesn't care that much, not of the other two, anyway, but Henry, Lord Scroop of Masham? They've known each other for forever and ever and ever, and...Zounds.
You didn't expect it the first time he kissed you. The two of you were just lying in the grass and wiling the day away, and the next thing you knew, he was over you and his lips were on yours.
You kissed him back because you had always loved him. He was one of your closest childhood friends, and you didn't see any wrong in kissing him back. It was just a kiss.
Hal knows he doesn't have any other choice, but they...(he...) are some of his most trusted advisors, and Hal loves him, too, loves him loves him loves him with everything he has. He knows what he has to do, what he must do, but Hal also knows that it'll hurt. It'll hurt more than forsaking Falstaff, more than killing Hotspur.
He felt something for Hotspur once, had even kissed Hotspur and lain with him once, and after he killed Hotspur, Hal's heart had hurt for weeks. But Hal's pretty sure he never loved Hotspur, and he knows that he loves Henry, perhaps more than he should. Hal doesn't think he wants to know how badly Henry's death will hurt him.
Maybe you had always been in love with him and just never knew it. You never refused any of his advances, not even when you thought that bosom friends didn't do this, whatever the two of you did, because you didn't see why you should. It felt good, and it was you and him, so it couldn't be wrong, right?
You let him take you when you turned sixteen. The two of you did it under the stars, your legs wrapped around his waist, your elbows propping you up, his hands on your hips, and the soft grass underneath your back. You never thought that anything could feel this good, and you weren't sure, but you thought that that's when you realized that you loved him.
Hal summons his council for some last minute plans at Southampton, and there, he questions the three who betrayed him. A simple question, really, and he hopes that Henry will know the right thing to say because Hal isn't ready to lose him yet, and he doesn't think he ever will be.
You knew you should stop, but you couldn't no matter how much you tried. You loved him too much, needed him too much, and he wanted you, loved you, perhaps even more. And in the end, you stopped trying and wanting to try because nothing could stop you and Henry from loving each other.
Hal's heart sinks when he hears their answers, and he's not surprised when they charge at him after each reading his paper. Hal easily unarms them, and when he finally knocks the dagger out of Henry's hand, Hal doesn't let go.
"...But, O,
What shall I say to thee, Lord Scroop? thou cruel,
Ingrateful, savage and inhuman creature!
Thou that didst bear the key of all my counsels,
That knew'st the very bottom of my soul,
...I will weep for thee;
For this revolt of thine, methinks, is like
Another fall of man..."
It hurts to see Henry being led away, and all Hal can feel is his heart breaking even though he shouldn't because didn't Henry betray him? But Hal loves Henry, has loved him forever, so how can he not? It doesn't matter, though, because no man is above the law, not even Hal himself, and Hal doesn't think that he would save Henry even if he could because he's a good king, a fair and just king.
The pain eventually stops, but Hal never forgets.
04.05.13