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[gottaknockhard]

( Frodo )

[Generally speaking, Spike has an excellent ability to put off things that he finds uncomfortable, largely by pretending not to notice them at all. It just so happens that the subjects he's most uncomfortable with are popping up so often lately that he's struggled to keep his record down. (Especially with his new found handicap.) And unfortunately, when the distractions of unexpected nights out at strip clubs and failed car races are over, he's back to the same issues he had a week ago.

Telling a queen about her own downfall isn't something he ever expected to be his responsibility. He can pretend that he only agreed out of spite, but what he knows is a lot more disturbing that he's ready to admit. It's days after he roped Frodo into helping with the research, on that same queen's orders, that he thinks it's about time they got back together.]

Hey. Are you around?

[The tone makes it obvious why he's calling, and that he's not thrilled about it. Hopefully Frodo had an easier time translating history books than he did.]

---

[He's about to close the journal and stand up to make his way to the library, of all places, when he nearly trips over a small dog that gets in the way of his foot. When he catches himself on a table, he glares down.

Ein...]

I thought I told you not to do that. [To which Ein tilts his head and stares innocently. It gets worse when Spike actually looks at the bag he brought home to find the contents spilled across the floor while he wasn't paying attention. (How hard was he concentrating, anyway?)] You know, if you're that hungry, you really need to learn how to use a can opener. [More staring.] What? ... [Ein nudges the journal that's still open on the table, picking up his one-sided conversation.

Smart ass dog.

Like he even cares if anyone hears him talking to himself. Then the dog's stomach rumbles audibly, and Spike sighs.] Yeah, yeah. I'll get it before I leave.

Comments

[mal_addict]

Really? What's been your favourite?

[gottaknockhard]

You know, it's been a while since I rated them.

[mal_addict]

You can't think of any off the top of your head?

[gottaknockhard]

[Now he's thinking of his old bartender who used to give him a drink whenever he told her a story... compared to the abuse Anne puts him through when she doesn't like what he has to say.

(Wow, issues. It's a simple question.)]

No, not really.

[bronwe]

[ That's too awkwardly personal, Spike!! Frodo looks stunned for a moment, just staring at the man. What? ]

But-- you must have a better way with words than I do. I have never even met a Queen before her. You must tell her instead!

[mal_addict]

[Spike honey you have so many issues]

Huh. That's a shame.

how did i not see this? eff you dw notifs

[ensorceler]

[ He shows her so much more consideration than others, but now it seems too little too late. Now everything is painful; everything carries a barb, whether they mean it to or not.

Steeling her jaw and keeping her breaths calm, she looks the strange fellow over once more before lifting her hand to motion for him to rise.

Oh Spike, kings and queens don't have privacy, anyway, if only you knew how much property they really were. ]

Mister Frodo, I understand you carry burdensome news. I will reward you however you see fit for assisting in such a heavy task.

But first, please, tell me. I must know the cause of my death.

[bronwe]

[ Frodo actually doesn't know what Kings and Queens would do to make them rise, unless they simply say it, so it takes him a beat to understand what she means, standing straighter even if it changes little, really. He steps forward slowly, ready to stop if she tells him, and offers her the roll of papers tied in a simple yellow bow. In hindsight he thinks he should have chosen black or blue to be more respectful but it slipped his mind then. ]

They are merely notes from books I read, and none can verify their truth. But they do agree on the cause even if not on what leads to it.

[ He is a better writer than a speaker, when he can't even bring himself to say words such as death. Or execution. ]

[ensorceler]

[ Her lips press thinly together as she receives the roll of papers, glancing down to it, then up to him. ]

What do they agree on? Tell me with your own lips. I will not read of my life upon a piece of paper as if I were nothing more than a character in a misbegotten story book.

[bronwe]

[ He wrings his hands and bows his head. Does it make it any better to hear it from a silly hobbit? ]

The books say your death was quick, Your Grace. [ And hopefully painless. ] It was an execution, you were-- would be tried for treason.

[ensorceler]

[ Anne's eyes shut tightly, and she moves one hand to her belly. This is, of course, a possibility she had to consider, though how? There is nothing she'll hear that will make it better, but she must hear. ]

Treason. Then...I become a traitor to king and country? To His Majesty? Tell me, how could I have commit treason? What are my crimes to be?

[bronwe]

[ She is handling this with more grace than he could ask of her, which somehow makes it more difficult to tell her more. It feels as if he would be twisting the knife but then this isn't about him. If she wishes to know, then-- he pronounces each word with care. ]

They would charge you with witchcraft, adultery and incest. But there are many to come who would say they were-- [ Untrue? Who is to know? ] suspect.

[ensorceler]

[ Mother of God, she doesn't know what to be more horrified by. Witchcraft...isn't such a surprise to her, compared to the others. Adultery, that nearly makes her convulse, and her gaze quickly moves to the door, then back to him, paling considerably. But then she hears incest, and that is the worst possible thing she could hear, the look on her face blank for a moment as that part sinks in. Because it means it involves George, and that means...he would have to be accused as well. ]

O—of course it is suspect! They are all lies! I would never, never!

[ Anne catches her breath, then hangs her head to cover her face with one hand. No, she had practiced this, she must not lose herself. But how could Henry believe such lies? Was Mary behind this somehow? ]

Who? Who do they say I commit adultery with?

[bronwe]

[ Frodo stops himself from stepping away from her out of fear, because it is when she shouts that she needs comforting the most and he should know better. He holds his breath and keeps steady as if the slightest movement might break her, more.

He places a hand over his vest pocket at her question. There is a note there he prepared in case he forgot, but that would be disrespectful. He can remember. ]

Their names were Sir Henry Norris, William Brereton, Sir Francis Weston and Mark Smeaton. And the Lord Rochford.

[ensorceler]

[ Of course the Lord Rochford, yes she knows, and she resists the urge to gag at being reminded. Mark Smeaton, the fool, of course. The others she would laugh at if the situation were not so serious. Could Mark have been the one to doom her with his loose lips? Surely he wouldn't be so foolish, and even if Henry were jealous of a prior lover... To believe she would commit adultery? With them, with them? ]

Oh God. God have mercy on me.

[ She clutches both hands together, held to her chest, needing another moment before she opens her eyes to look to him. ]

Are...are all men to be found guilty? Are all of my charges to be met? Do...any defend my cause? [ Her father, her uncle, or Henry, please Henry. Please let this just be lies orchestrated by Mary, or even Cromwell, could that be possible? ]

[bronwe]

Your uncle was present at your trial, but as the men were already found guilty... [ White lies. Little comforts. ] They did not convict you of witchcraft. And the men, they confessed under torture.

[ He keeps his eyes to the ground as he speaks. High matters such as the execution of a Queen are much too grand for him to even comprehend, but it must be painful regardless. He thinks even those in power are much like common people too, like Strider, he would appreciate company when he is sad and he thinks, maybe Anne would too.

Frodo ventures the few steps it takes to stand right by her throne and offer her a hand to hold. More than that would be improper to offer to a Queen, but it seems terribly lonely to sit so high up with no one else beside. ]

[ensorceler]

[ Her uncle was there, and yet none defended her? That is what he is saying by not saying it. and to be sentenced to death. A Queen of England. Was she so hated? The concept then, that she was utterly abandoned by everyone, even her greatest loves, nearly causes the buzzing in her head to grow so loud that she might faint.

No. Elizabeth never abandoned her. Anne's thumb rubs over the ring covering her finger, and she doesn't tell Frodo to move, but she makes no move to seek comfort. Her eyes are dry, but only such, taking on a glassy sheen in an attempt to keep her composure. ]

And so I die, knowing my innocence and that of all the pour men unjustly condemned. Jesus Christ receive our souls. [ She crosses herself, and thinking of her sweet, foolish brother once more nearly causes her voice to break. ] And you know not who filled the King's head with these lies?

[bronwe]

[ Frodo knows how to comfort Sam when the Gaffer was being terrible and saying mean things to him or his other cousins when they have bad days, but not a monarch hearing about the betrayal that would lead to her death. He feels out of place, out of line, but then the sentiment isn't so new.

He has his guesses, but those aren't good enough to turn the blame on anyone but the terrible King. ]

No, Your Grace. I could only know whatever was put to paper.

[ensorceler]

[ And of course they would only put to paper what they wanted the masses to believe. It is a fact she loathes, but one that both monarchies and the papacy abuse in full.

Adultery. After all those times she was jealous of Henry, he dares to act so towards her and condemn her? Anne swallows a lump in her throat, eyelashes fluttering and chin lifting in an attempt to keep it from being obvious that she's resting her head against the back of the chair. Best to look regal than broken. There were other things she wanted to ask, other important details. But it all feels so distant now, and she can't organize her thoughts.

He said it was quick. Dare she believe him? He could have tried one lie in an attempt to comfort, not that she fears the pain. She has known torture herself, in that Event Horizon. It is the symbolism that matters. The prophecy. ]

...Was I burned?

[bronwe]

[ At least in this he can be entirely truthful, as true as the books might be, which is none at all if his judgment counts for anything. He knows too little of her to say but it was easy even for him to see who benefits from her death when the King does it again and again and again. But that isn't for him to say. ]

No, you were beheaded, quickly, and you were kind and gracious till the end.

[ensorceler]

[ She clamps her lips shut again, focusing on keeping her breaths from becoming too hurried and shallow, but the buzzing is only growing louder, and she is truly pale as a ghost. But she can't stay silent long, a scoff being released as she settles her hand over an arm rest, gripping it tight.

She isn't burned, then. And the news carries no relief. ]

How did... How did His Majesty care for the Princess Elizabeth once my— [ A sharp inhale. Release. ] Once my sentence was carried out? I know of her eventual grandness, and how Mary did her utmost to keep my Elizabeth from her rightful throne. But...how did her father handle the case of his own, sweet daughter?

[ Why does she even ask? She knows, she already does, for Mary herself is a prime example. She was treated so unkindly and her mother was only banished. For Elizabeth to have a mother who committed high treason? However could she have remained loyal to her mother, when Henry himself did not? ]

[bronwe]

[ He turns his gaze to her hand on the throne, contemplating taking it but she seems to want to appear strong and if that is what it takes to help her then he would let her be. Maybe he is more like Spike than he would admit, and still he clenches his jaw and bows his head again at the question, even if this one has a happy ending, does it not? Despite the long and winding road to it. ]

She was declared illegitimate but the King still saw to her care and her education. She grew up in places called Hatfield, Cheshunt and Ashbridge, which all seem pleasant, though you must know better than I do...

[gottaknockhard]

[Spike telling her she was beheaded after being accused of adultery... She might actually strangle him, and that's if she takes it well.

He takes a deep breath and moves the papers towards Frodo.]

I wish we had a better option.

[bronwe]

[ This feels familiar, like the time he tried to offer the Ring to Gandalf then Galadriel. He should have learned from then, now knotting his eyebrows and hanging his head. ]

I wish nothing so horrible has happened to anyone.

[gottaknockhard]

[He doesn't have a response to that for a long moment, even though he shares the sentiment.]

You can't change history.