“Ouch, Mother that hurts!” I complained as my mother tugged on my hair, forming it into a perfect braided circlet around my head.
“Pain is the cost of beauty,” my mother chastised me. “Never forget that. The king is visiting. He shall be here in only a couple of hours. Don’t you want to look your best?”
“I don’t see why I have to look nice. He’s already married to Anne. What more could he see in me?”
My mother lightly smacked me upside the head. “Don’t say that! The king is always in need of a mistress. Besides, I hear he is becoming impatient for a son. Anne may soon fall out of favor with the king, and if that happens...” my mother paused, a distant look in her eyes. I had become use to my family’s schemes for more power. Long ago I had learned to live with the constant pressure they put on me. “You never know, maybe King Henry will leave Anne as he did Catherine.”
“Or maybe he’ll encounter an avalanche on his way here and die,” I muttered sarcastically. “Then all your worrying will be for nothing.”
“Jane Seymour!” my mother gasped. “Don’t you ever say something like that again! You could be beheaded for speaking such about the king.”
“I was only joking,” I muttered, sourly.
“That’s not the point. You had better not ‘joke’ around the king!”
“We’ve gone over this, Mother. I know how to be the ‘perfect maiden’,” I sighed.
“We’ll see,” my mother replied, her lips pressed into an impossibly thin line.
With a roll of my eyes, I stood up and glanced in the mirror. Despite her annoying idiosyncrasies, I had to hand it to her, she sure did a great job making me look beautiful. I twirled in front of the mirror, watching my emerald green dress flare out at the bottom. Intricate brown beading complemented my eyes while my golden hair lay like a braided crown on top of my head.
“You’re missing something,” my mother frowned, tilting her head while she studied me. Suddenly, her eyes lit up and she snapped her fingers. “I have just the thing!” she exclaimed, dashing out of the room.
I watched her go in amusement. Random behavior such as this wasn’t new to me. Patiently, I waited for her return while I continued to study my reflection in the mirror. As my mother ran huffing back into the room, I began to turn around and face her when she stopped me.
“No, stay there,” she ordered. “Now stand still while I put this on.”
Obeying my mother, I stayed put, curiosity brimming as I felt a cold chain being slipped around my neck.
“Now turn around so I can see you.” I did as I was told. My mother smiled, a pleased look on her face. “There. Now you are ready to meet the king.”
As my mother stepped to the side to get a better look at me, I glanced in the mirror, my eyes immediately zeroing in on the beautiful necklace that sparkled from around my neck. The chain was simple and inconspicuous. The pendant on the other hand was bound to catch anyone’s eye by the way it sparkled as the light hit it. “It’s gorgeous,” I gasped.
“It’s a family heirloom. If the king takes a fancy to you, you’ll receive jewelry much fancier than this,” my mother added, wiggling her eyebrows.
“My goodness!” I sighed, exasperated. “The king won’t fall for me, and I don’t want him to! I work for Anne, and she is a wonderful master. I can’t just betray her like this.”
My mother gave me a knowing look. “Trust me, betrayal is a lot easier than you may think.”
Groaning, I stormed out of the room yelling over my shoulder as I left. “I don’t want to hear another word!”
YOU ARE READING
