His Majesty's Mistress *Under Editing*

A Love Like Ours

Loving a powerful man was dangerous. Loving the most powerful man was life-threatening. Elizabeth had always known that. So it shouldn't have surprised her that someone had made an attempt on her life. She had since gotten more cautious after having Harry and had taken to having a food taster. She had never expected that someone would make an attempt on her son.

It occurred at what had been designated supper time for John. Elizabeth, who spent every free moment she had with the children, joined her son for his dinner as Henry would be in meetings until later. She only ever got to indulge in alone time with her son, not including his nurse or maids, when her love was occupied. It was rare they ever enjoyed time together, as a family.

However, Henry had always been overprotective and paranoid, and so even when he could not be with them, he provided them with the best protection. Everywhere Elizabeth went was heavily guarded and it made sense why he thought to test John's food. What Elizabeth hadn't ever anticipated was for someone to actually be willing to poison a young child. 

She lifted her son onto her lap as she greeted him with a kiss. "Why hello your grace. Did you have fun with Lady Katherine?" He nodded and started babbling as his chubby hands moved with his half sentences. "Food now?" He finally questioned at the end of his story. "Of course my love." She waved over the testers and each took a bite. Elizabeth's taster declared her food safe and just as John's was about to, he collapsed. Nobody was sure how to react for a moment.

Then the panic set in. Guards rushed into the room and two led Elizabeth and John away. Elizabeth, in a state of shock, was doing what she could to calm the cries of her son but she herself was far too frightened to do much. She could not calm him with her usual swaying motion, not when they were being rushed away.

By the time they finally reached the safety of her presence chambers, Elizabeth had managed to calm John down to the point where he dozed lightly on her shoulder. Expecting the chambers to be empty, Elizabeth startled slightly at the sight of the love of her life. He hadn't been able to join them for dinner as he was supposed to be in a council meeting, which could only mean he left the meeting to come to the presence chamber as soon as he'd been informed.

Henry was king. He was prepared for threats to be made on his life. He was prepared for threats to be made on his children and even his mistress. What he had not expected was that a threat would be carried out in full. 

So the knocking on the council chambers door was not what he expected it to be. The guard waited all of ten seconds before rushing into the room, bowing, and then hurriedly explained what had happened. The fury that lit up the king's face had not been seen since the times of Catherine of Aragon when the woman Henry loved had been Anne Boleyn. He rose from the table quickly, without even dismissing council. Someone had just tried to kill his son, his son who had done no wrong. Now that person was going to pay. 

With their life.

As soon as she comprehended who was standing before her, Elizabeth rushed into Henry's arms. The comforting sensation of his embrace brought on a fresh wave of tears, though Elizabeth was, for the first time since the start of the ordeal, unafraid. "I will find who did this," Henry promised. She nodded into his chest. "I want John to stay with us until whoever did this is imprisoned." "Of course my love." At this moment Henry couldn't agree more. Nobody would ever touch a hair on his son's head ever again. 

{Sorry it's short but I wanted to give you all something. Thank you for your patience}