The Glow

If anything was going to plan, it's that Henry was clearly interested in her. She didn't come to England all the way to France to get rejected after all. She had had this....vision. And the king was obviously her soulmate. Not little miss wifey, who's barely two feet away from her. In the same bed.

Anne would prefer not to share a bed with the biggest obstacle standing in between her and her soulmate. With the king's reactions to the little antics the Catholic had put up yesterday in competition, it was clear that he also was interested in the person he married. Oh my god, just make up your mind. 

The French woman wakes up to find the queen kneeling in front of the bed. I mean, look at her. I'm clearly the superior choice. Anne doesn't realize she's been staring until the other gets up.

"And what are you looking at?" The green is quick to send a smirk towards the gold. 

"Nothing important." The Spaniard scoffs and moves to get ready for the day, Anne doing the same. "But if you must know, I was just thinking about how I'm going to convince Henry to marry me."

"Really? Oh, how coincidental! Because I was just thinking about how to get my husband to get rid of you!"

"Puh-lease! He barely recognizes you!"

"At least I didn't insult his favorite courtier!" Before Anne could argue back, there's a knock at the door.

"Your Highness. Miss Boleyn. Henry would like to eat breakfast with the two of you in the dining hall. Right away he says." He probably only wants to see me. He's only inviting Queenie over here 'cause he's married to her. Ugh. 

"Thank you, Jane. And please make sure Mary gets something to eat as well."

"Of course my Queen." Jane closes the door, allowing both of the woman to finish their makeup and hair. Once they do, the two of them make their way to the dining hall, Aragon in front, as Anne hadn't learned her way around the castle just yet.

Upon both of them entering the room, Henry's face lightens up, each woman thinking it's solely from their own presence. Both take a seat next to Henry, across from each other. Each girl tries her best to keep Henry's attention to herself. As they finish their meal, Henry announces some plans for the evening. Plans that favor Anne over Catherine.

"I will be hosting a party in the main room tonight to celebrate Anne's arrival. You both are to attend." The black-haired girl sends a glance the queen's way. Take that queenie. Noticing this, Aragon gives Henry a tender look. 

"Of course my love." This almost makes Anne choke on her drink. Henry is her soulmate. And Aragon is a hopeless romantic fawning over the wrong person. The emphasis on 'my love' causes Henry to smile and giver her looks, much to the green woman's dismay. Two can play at that, bitch. The newer arrival grabs the king's arm in a flirtatious manner.

"Thank you for doing this, my king. You're so much more fun than the French monarchs I've encountered." This earns Anne a laugh from (presumably) her soulmate--something that ranks higher than little itty bitty looks.

"Oh, Anne, you're too much. Well," The redhead gets up from his seat. "I will leave the two of you to your duties. Anne, feel free to tag along with Catherine or explore the castle. Whichever you'd like." Both women nod and Henry makes his exit, leaving the other two alone.

"Well, would you look at that? My Glow is bound to happen sooner than expected. How lovely."

"So one party is thrown for you. That doesn't change the fact that I am Henry's soulmate." Aragon bickers as she too gets up from the table. "Why else do you think that we've been married for so long?" Anne rolls her eyes at this.

"Is that the best you've got? You and I both know that the amount of years you're married doesn't matter. A friend of mine in France was married to this one guy for 15 years before having her Glow with someone else. Sound familiar?"

"Well, you haven't proved that he isn't my soulmate. And if you'll excuse me, I have more important things to do. You can go frolic in the flowers." The queen exits the room--opposite of where Henry had exited, and Miss Boleyn is left alone. Pff. As if. 

Anne doesn't, in fact, frolic in the flowers. She wanders around the castle, greeting servants and maids as they walk by. She wasn't a monster after all. Once her Glow appears with Henry, she'll be queen, and she will be in charge of these people. She would like them to have at least some respect for her. Yes, the kingdom wouldn't exactly fawn over the replacement of the queen they've grown to know, but soulmate-ship can't be helped.

Will there be shock? Yes. Will some take Aragon's side? Unfortunately. Will Henry care? About her, yes. About Aragon, no. Once she's gone, he won't give a damn about what happens to her.

The French woman walks down one of the hallways, looking for a door to peer into when the queen exits one of the rooms.

"What are you doing here?"

"Minding my own business. Unlike someone." The brunette rolls her eyes and proceeds to walk the opposite direction.

"I don't want you going into any of the rooms. That's an order." She calls out to her inferior, who's rolling her eyes. As if I'd listen to you queenie. Anne waits until Aragon is far down the hall before going inside the room she just left.

Anne doesn't expect to come face to face with another human being. A very young one at that.

The child is sitting at a table, some papers and books in front of her. Her curly hair is dark brown, and her eyes are blue but have a tint of gold in them--both similar to her mother's (though her mother doesn't have blue eyes, they both have gold in them). Upon entry the girl's head snaps up, making eye contact with the woman in the doorway.

"Hello Miss Boleyn, may I help you?" The formality of the child shocks the older, although it is Aragon's kid.

"I'm sorry to intrude, I didn't expect to see you here. Mary, was it?" Mary nods. "Do you mind if I sit?"

"Not at all." Anne takes a seat somewhat distant from the girl--she didn't want to frighten her. "Though, I don't think my mother would like that you are talking to me." Of course she wouldn't.

"Well, since I'm here, I was hoping to get to know you better. I'm thinking of extending my stay if that's alright with you." It is true, Anne's stay will very much be extended. The princess has a moment to herself, thinking, before responding.

"I think I'd like that. You seem very nice." They both share a smile, and Anne can feel her shoulders relax.

"Seeing as we haven't properly met yet, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Anne Boleyn. I was born here, but I grew up in France, so everyone just says I'm French. Um...what else?" She mutters the last bit to herself, earning a small giggle from the queen's daughter. "My favorite color is green, and I love listening to different types of music and spending time in the garden. My favorite flowers are orchids.......yeah."

The green woman notes how attentive Mary was as she talked--interested in what she had to say. Throughout her life, people have only listened to her because they had to or because she forced them to. Mary was listening purely from interest. This girl's not so bad. Unlike her mother....can't stand Aragon.

"Nice to meet you Miss Boleyn. My name is Mary and I am 11 years old--almost twelve. My mother is Catherine of Aragon and my father is Henry Tudor, the king and queen. When I'm not studying, I like to go out to the garden and draw what I see. I mostly draw the orchids, 'cause they're also my favorite!" They both smile at the common interest. "Other than that, I just like wandering around the castle because it's quiet and I can think." 

"I think we're going to get along very well Mary. When's your birthday?"

"In two weeks. You don't have to get me anything though, it's kind of short notice."

"Nonsense! That's plenty of time for me to come up with something!" Their conversation would have gone longer if not for the approaching footsteps.

"Oh! That's mother! She would get furious if she saw us talking...." Mary looks for another exit, and thankfully the room has multiple doors. "No one should be in that room, go through the door, and then into the hall. Quick!" Not wanting to be caught, Anne quickly leaves the room via the planned out route. And thankfully she gets away without Aragon noticing a thing.

Well, that worked out well.

~     ~     ~

After wandering around the castle grounds (and bumping into Aragon several times), it's finally time for the party. Or, to get ready for it, that is. Anne walks into her (unfortunately) shared chambers to find Aragon already dressed and adding final touches.

Her dress is long-sleeved with a longer skirt as well, a more lighter tone of gold with white and silver accents on the ends of her sleeves, neckline, and trailing up her skirt. The top half of the dress is fit and trails along her body while the skirt flows smoothly below her. Her hair is done like normal, due to the shortness of it, and it's the first time Anne notices the hints of gold towards the end of her hair. She's wearing some golden eyeshadow, a sort of neutral/pink lipstick, and a simple cross necklace and earrings. Guess her Glow color is gold. Should've noticed that sooner.

She looks flattering. Trying to steal my soulmate are we? Well, it's not going to happen. Upon her entrance, the two share a challenger's look before Aragon smirks.

"Enjoy your last night here." 

"Thanks, I will especially enjoy seeing the look on your face when my Glow shows." Anne, as usual, is quick to send back a remark. To which the queen only rolls her eyes and struts out of the chamber. As soon as the door is shut, the green woman is quick to prepare herself for the party.

Anne's dress is also a lighter, more paler shade of her normal green, the only accent being the gradient to a darker green from the top to bottom. Like her first dress upon arrival, she chooses a dress that fits tightly around her body, showing off her figure. Rather than keep her hair up in buns, she takes the front half of her hair and braids it so that both sides meet in the back. She puts on some green eyeshadow, uncommon, yes, but makes her all the more mysterious. She also puts on vibrant red lipstick, a black choker with a ruby in the center, and some matching earrings.

Anne winks at her appearance in the mirror and walks down the corridors confident that things will sway her way. Of course, nothing ever goes completely to plan, does it?

When the French woman enters the party, Aragon is on Henry's arm. Flirting with Henry. Flirting with Anne's soulmate. Something deemed unacceptable in the mischievous girl's mind. Oh, you're going to pay for that missy. Thankfully, the new presence catches the king's eye.

"Anne! I am so glad you found the party alright!" Henry kisses Anne's hand as the latter responds.

"Of course! I wouldn't want to miss one of King Henry's parties." The king laughs at this.

"Oh, Anne! You really are too much." Anne send a polite smile his way. This is almost too easy. The announcement of the new woman is made, applause following after. Once things have settled down and everyone is attending to their own things again, Anne makes her move.

Not on the king, of course, but to sabotage the queen. There are definitely multiple paths to get to her ultimate objective, but this had to be the most exciting and entertaining. A simple tripping of the queen should suffice. Anne takes some of the ribbon she stole from Aragon's stuff and ties it to one of the legs of a table, holding the other end of it in her hand. Once the gold woman gets close enough, Anne tightens her grip, raising the ribbon high enough that...

"Oh my goodness! Your Highness are you alright?" The queen had grabbed onto a chair instead of falling to the floor. Regardless, the green woman lets go of her evidence, and walks over to Henry, distracting him from going to check on his wife.

"Henry...I just love hearing all of your success stories, would you mind telling me another? I'm sure you have plenty more to choose from." Anne glances over at the situation and finds Aragon glaring at her, to which she sends a small smirk.

That night was filled with small little hiccups from both rivals. Each one trying to spend more time with Henry and at the same time trying to make the other look bad, and overall trying to initiate their Glow with the king, who both keep thinking is their soulmate. But it's not until later that night a Glow appears. In big events and parties it's extremely common for the universe to reveal a soulmate-ship. In fact, it's been known that if one doesn't appear, that there is supernatural interference--which is, of course, a myth, but one most people believed anyway.

Seeing the initial blinding white blast, everyone squints their eyes but turns towards the light. For both the queen and the mistress, it's right in front of them. As the white fades away, Anne focuses her energy on the slowly appearing colors. The two hues swirl around each other, mimicking two playful spirits. They start to spin around each other faster and faster until both collide and disperse. The room is back to it's normal setting, with the two newfound soulmates staring into each others eyes.

Anne breathes out a sigh. Her Glow color--green--hadn't appeared in the revealing. However, she hadn't seen any gold either, so it hadn't had anything to do with the queen. The French woman quickly looks around for the king, making sure a third party hadn't snatched him away from her. And Henry is across the room. Anne gives out another relieved sigh. It's not anyone involved. Good. And bad. 

Congratulations are passed around, and Henry ends the party about an hour later. No other revealings take place. Both Aragon and Anne shuffle in the shared chambers, quickly preparing themselves for bed and are about to hop into their opposite sides of the bed until a lady-in-waiting knocks on the door.

"Your Highness? The king would like your presence in his chambers."

"Alright. Thank you Jane." Just my luck. Aragon was able to spend more time with Anne's soulmate, while the latter was stuck in her own chambers. As Aragon leaves, Anne moves under the covers, furious, but still too tired to do anything about it. She falls asleep almost instantly as her head hits the pillow.

Mary on the other hand sat up in bed, going through the events of the night. From the outside, it was one of her father's better parties. Through Mary's eyes, she saw the competition between her mother and her newfound friend. She saw the way both rivals would immediately move towards the king after their trick was played. She saw the Glow and the revealing. Despite having seen Glows before at previous parties (though, this was only her fourth), the sight always seems to amaze the longing girl. But the most important detail of the night, in her opinion, was that Mary saw the joy that came from both of the adults she was observing when they were tricking each other. The little smirks they sent to each other seemed to have some hidden meaning behind them. And Mary also saw how dejected both of them looked as the colors appeared during the Glowing.

Just what is happening here?