The Blue Queen

Chapter 9

My father laughs at the idea of bringing me willingly to court but the laughter just brings me happiness, actually all of his and my sisters comments just make me happy now, for I know I have someone who disagrees. I have Harry.

I wave them goodbye as a carriage takes my father and sister away. Once out of sight I run upstairs and get ready, wearing one of my nicer dresses. It is a deep mulberry colour and I lace it with the same ribbon I used when I first saw Harry. There is also a hidden pocket where the corset meets the skirt so I put in the pouch of money and some lavender. There is a knock at my door as I finish my light make up and I run back downstairs as I pin two curls at the back of my head. I take a deep breath and open the door.

"My. Anna you look radiant." Harry says as his eyes look over my dress. I blush slightly and curtsy politely. He tips his head and I laugh giddily.

"I would hope so; it is one of my favourite dresses." I say as I look at the material.

"It is a favourite of mine too." He says. I laugh slightly and he holds out his arm. I rest my hand in it and he leads me to the carriage that waits behind him. He opens the door for me and I step inside, sitting down. Harry sits in front of me and knocks on the top of the carriage and we start moving forward.

"So where are we going? My father and sister are at Hampton court so I assume we will not be going there." I say, when I have asked in our secret letter correspondence he has never told me, I hope now the surprise can be revealed. His mischievous grin tells me otherwise.

"You shall see when we get there." He says. I laugh and he smiles widely at me. "You seem so happy." He says with a content smile.

"I am happy. You make me happy." I tell him. He smiles and looks at the space next to me, I move my dress to the side and he quickly sits beside me.

"You make me happy too Anna." He says quietly in my ear. "Happier than any other person has before, even those paid to make me so happy I wouldn't run away." He says. I laugh slightly and look at him.

"You still haven't told me much about your adventures; you know how much they fascinate me." I remind him.

"That is true; we can talk more when we get to where we are going." He says. I raise an eyebrow and nod. He smiles at me and takes my hand as we look out of the carriage at the view. We get to the eastern suburbs of London and stop at the edge of a field; I hear the grand murmur of a lot of people but I do not see them "We have arrived." Harry says. The driver opens the door and Harry and I get out.

"A market, how beautiful." I say as I see the market stalls ahead of us. Harry quickly talks to the driver before turning to me.

"It is one of the things that I enjoy that I will not be able to do after my coronation; I wanted to enjoy it with my favourite person on this earth." He explains. I smile sympathetically at him and we begin to walk to the beginning of the market. "You truly look wonderful today Anna." Harry says as we begin to walk through the stalls slowly.

"Thank you Harry, I did want to impress you. But I must say you do look very handsome yourself." I tell him as we look at a stall before moving on.

"You do not have to impress me Anna; you already have by so much." He says assuring me. I smile and he discreetly takes my hand as he returns the smile.

"Well when one is dreamt about I would say they should attempt to keep impressing for they may lose the honour." I say.

"I could never stop dreaming of you. I must admit however instead of mainly dreaming of your eyes or hair or lips; I shall now dream of you in your entirety." He says.