𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐄

-𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦

Once Alice and Mackenzie left the room, leaving Henry and Charles in a very awkward stare off. For what felt like hours, both of them determined to be the winner.

Charles just couldn't understand why Henry was so mad. In a sense, he can understand the upsetness, but the anger? He didn't even react this way when he married Alice's older sister, so what made her so different?

Once he realized his friend would not back down, Henry sighed and sat down. After a few moments of agonizing, angry silence, the king finally spoke up.

"Charles, he's with my sister!"

"I'm married to your sister," he rebutted. Henry because red in the face and tried his best to maintain his composure.

"But he took her innocence! He took my Alice's innocence!"

"First of all, she didn't just your Alice. She's a person, not property. Also, I'm having kids with your sister," Charles once again shrugged. Henry was quickly realizing he was running out of reasons to be mad, but he couldn't help himself.

Henry spent Alice's whole life protecting her and trying to keep her from the dangers of court. He wanted to maintain her innocence, however he was now realizing that simply wasn't possible.

"Maybe I sheltered her too much," he sighed as Charles sat down next to him. "She's the baby, you know? I have a hard time looking past that. Sometimes I need to be reminded that she's an adult, and that she probably should have been married by now. It's just, she had to choose Marcus out of everyone? I've heard him say the most vulgar things about most women, I can't help but feel uneasy about the whole situation."

"He never spoke vulgar of Alice, though. Remember at breakfast a few weeks ago when he wouldn't talk about the woman you asked him? And you even noticed the look in his eyes when he brought her up. You can't deny that he is in love with her, Henry. I don't believe he would do anything to hurt her."

When he realized Henry wasn't going to respond, he continued.

"You also can't deny that Alice loves him, too. A love like that, you can't keep apart. You can try, but then you risk loosing your sister and your best friend in the process."

"I know," Henry mumbled out softly. "I need to apologize, and give them my blessing. I just need some space to myself."

Charles nodded and made his way to the door. Before he left, Henry spoke up again.

"Thank you. You're a true friend."

He nodded and smiled softly, shutting the door gently behind him before making his way over to where he assumed the rest of the group would be. Of course, not before informing Anne that Henry may need her despite him asking to be alone.

Meanwhile, Henry sat in his thoughts. All of his work from earlier seemed completely absolute now. There was another knock on the door, making him groan quietly before telling them to come in. To his surprise and delight, it was Anne.

"Are you okay?" She asked him. He shook his head no, making her gaze soften as she sat down.

"I heard about what happened. Everything will work out," she assured him as he laid his head in her lap.

"I hope they forgive me," he mumbled.

"They will," she assured once again as she played with his hair. He smiled sadly and let the sudden urge to sleep take over.

When he woke, Anne was asleep on the couch and it was now dark. He stood up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Walking over to the window, he saw his four of his favorite people walking back to the palace from the woods.

The sight of them made him smile, and that's when he realized he needed to accept the new happy couple, that way he didn't need to miss out on moments like this. Alice was one of the most important girls in his life, and he couldn't risk losing her.

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Short chapter, as I'm not feeling all that well. I'm sorry! This was to just get a feel of what is going through Henry's mind. I hope you enjoyed!