The King & I (Pt. 14)
Sorry it’s taken me a bit to write this! I've gotten a bit busy and distracted with other fictional worlds and characters, but I want to give an ending to this story. I hope you guys like it.
HISTORICAL AU (but not necessarily historically accurate bc this is a fanfic not a research project lol): King Henry V & “Street Urchin” reader.
CHAPTER 14: THE COLOR OF ROYALTY
His wife.
Hal’s wife.
I can’t stop playing the words over in my mind. The sun has just begun to rise over the mountains, pouring through the diamond shaped glass of Hal’s bedroom windows… nearly pooling onto the lids of his eyes. He’ll be awake any moment now, but for now, I revel over his sleeping image.
My Wife.
I can’t help myself when I reach towards him, running my fingers through the amber locks on his head. Hal begins to stir underneath me, his skin glowing in the sunlight as the blankets fall slowly off his shoulders. And then, his eyes peer open, gazing sleepily over at me. I smile softly, tracing his face with my hand.
“Good morning,” he mutters in a gravelly tone. I can’t help but giggle, and the sound makes him smile.
“What are you so amused about?” he asks, his hand snaking over my waist before pulling me towards him. I smile, pressing a kiss to his jaw.
“We’ve lain together many times,” I say. He hums, amusement in his eyes. “And you are God’s chosen heir to the throne,” I point out, tapping his nose.
“Indeed,” he says, resting his cheek against your forehead. “Well, as long as you have a good word with him, please let God know I was seduced by his chosen heir and it’s not my fault I’ve lain with him before marriage.”
Hal laughs sleepily, pressing me close in a hug. “Really, Hal!” I tell him. He hums in response. “If I’m punished for it I will take you down with me,” I tease. No response. I shift to look up into his eyes, “Did you hear me?”
His smile fades as he looks up at me. “What?” I ask. His hand comes to my cheek, brushing my hair back. I move away from him, letting the hair cover the bruise.
“Don’t look at it,” I beg him, grabbing his hand and resting my face against it. “Just look at me.” But his eyes tell me that his playful mood has left. He pulls his covers off, moving to stand. I watch as he pulls a deep blue tunic on, then shrugs on a matching velvet robe, adorned with gold embroidery and a thin collar of white fur.
“I’ll call the maids to prepare you a bath,” he says as he pulls on his pants. My heart sinks. Without another word, he’s quickly making his way out the door. I panic. “Hal, wait, don’t leave so suddenly,” I call to him. He looks back at me with that pensive yet furious look. I stand from the bed, walking over to him.
“Nothing happened,” I begin but he cuts me off. “Nothing?” he asks with disgust. “He violated you- he attacked you,” he begins. “Yes but—“
“But nothing (Y/N), this will not go unpunished,” he states. I recognize that the King is speaking now. I nod, turning my gaze back to the floor. Hal sighs above me, and I feel his fingers underneath my chin.
“It’s not the first time I’ve punished someone who hurt you,” he says. I take his hand.
“No,” I admit.
“Yet you’re still withholding something from me,” he says. I look up at him, shooting him a soft smile. He raises a brow.
“It’s just different… to have someone… care… this way,” I admit softly. A silent understanding lingers between us, and he leans down, placing a kiss on my lips.
“As I said, you are the most precious person in this world to me, and I won’t let anything happen to you from this moment forward,” he promises. I half smile, not wanting to let his beautiful dream like words penetrate my heart too deeply.
“I must go down now, the Witan will be expecting an answer,” he tells me, pressing a kiss to my head.
“An answer to what?” I ask.
“Englands future,” he answers simply. And with that, he is out the door.
—————
HAL’S POV
The voices of the old men around me had become an all too familiar sound. Before, when I’d been desperate to please the witan, I’d listen to each and every one. But now, I didn’t much care for what their opinions were. Instead, I looked up at the stained glass windows, counting the colors I could see pooling through the sunlight that shone through them.
Purple was one. The color of royalty, or so I was told by my mother long ago.
“Do colors really mean different things, mama?” I asked her one day when she’d gifted me a bag of glass marbles.
“Indeed my love. Look here, this light blue resembles peace, and yellow is the symbol of the sun. Red symbolizes power and strength—“
“That’s why Papa wears red clothes all the time, right?” I asked her. She smiled down at me, “Yes,” she said.
“What about purple?” I ask, tugging at one of the long sleeves of her gown.
“Purple is the color of royalty,” she said. “Is that why you’re the Queen?” I asked her, tugging on her purple sleeve. She laughs, pressing me close into a hug. “Well yes, but that’s not the only reason,” she said.
“Then why?” I asked. She reached to the table, taking the red and rose marbles in her hand. “Your father, the red marble, and I, the rose, married. Once I married your father…” she switched the rose marble for the purple, “I became a Queen.”
I reached to the table, grabbing the rose marble, “and what does rose stand for?” I asked her. She looked at it fondly, staying silent for a moment.
“Rose stands for… sweetness.”
I imagined (Y/N) in a purple gown and smiled.
“Your Majesty, is this amusing to you?” Lord Paul jabs, pulling me from my thoughts. I look down at him, nodding.
“You certainly are,” I tell them.
“Well, would you care to tell us what exactly it is about the future of England that amuses you so?”
I look at the group of old men before me. “You,” I say, standing. “All of you. Old men. England isn’t yours anymore, it’s mine.”
“How dare yo—“
“No- how dare you. What future do you have a right to in England? Your day has passed. England is that of the young men who fought beside me in France. Who attained peace after a long and arduous war, started by the England of the past,” I tell them, unafraid. What would they do? What could they do? In truth, my victory had gained me the favor of the people. Of the soldiers whose families would be affected by their losses or victories. For the witan to strip me of the crown would be for the whole of England to fall into turmoil. The next heir to my throne would be the Dauphin, and there was no chance they would take to allow that to happen. So today, I declare to them my intentions. That I will marry (Y/N). That she will be the next Queen of England. And that I shall continue to rule our country, using our new victory as a period of peace in which we may finally strengthen our people, our communities and restore our nations sense of pride.
They are silent as I tell them this, and silent when I finish. Lord Byron bows, and soon is followed by the rest of them. Even Connelly, the stubborn ass, bows. And I know I have secured my countries future, and my own happiness.
With that, I take my leave, making to my chamber, where I will follow through on my promise to (Y/N).
“The prisoner is to be dealt with swiftly. I don’t want to see his face again.” I say as I walk out of the room. Before walking out I turn back to them,“this I decree for the safety of the future Queen.”
———————
The palace grounds were beautiful, and it felt better to be out here by nature than stuffed up inside the stone walls of the castle. I still wasn’t used to the feel of fine fabrics lining my skin. I was dressed in a fine outfit of lavender today, my hair brushed back into a braid. I wouldn’t argue that it felt nice to be attended to. It reminded me of when my mother used to dress me and do my hair. She always picked it up in elaborate chignons. Often times she would use me as her practice doll for the hair styles Madame B would tell the ladies to wear. So when the maids sat me down to begin arranging my hair back, I closed my eyes and pretended their hands were hers, and that I could still smell the citrusy vanilla scent of the perfume she wore.
“(Y/N),” Hal’s voice sounded from behind me. My heart beat quickly as I turned. How would he perceive me in this state? Suddenly I felt very silly and dressed up… like a performer in a traveling caravan. But his gaze fell upon me in a way that made my stomach flutter. I’d seen men look at my mother the same way.
“You look…” his voice fell soft. I could feel the heat rush to my face, and turned away. His footsteps sounded before me and soon his fingers raised my gaze to his.
“The bruise…” he began. “Your maids covered it a bit with powder,” I explained. His finger lightly grazed the place where a soft lavender spot still colored my cheek.
“Did... he?” I ask nervously. His stoic expression answers the question with a chill running down my spine.
“I wasn’t worth it...” I mumble, feeling utter worthlessness drip down my spine.
Hal’s hands come to either side of my shoulders, pulling me to stand straight. There is anger in his eyes and I feel my stomach drop.
“You’re right. You’re not worth that. You’re worth far more than one putrid man’s life,” he says. I stare up at him, feeling my eyes widen with shock and fear at the intensity of his words.
“That’s why I came back. Do you understand that? The thing that got me through that war... do you know how precious your existence is to me? How precious it is to England? I could only do what I did... I could only do it because I had something to fight for. And that was you. Don’t you know that? Didn’t I promise you when I got back... I... you’re the only reason I want to be King. Hell... I hated my father my entire life, and I nearly love the bastard now for allowing me to be someone who can protect you,” he says, his voice loud and trembling. “No, (Y/N). I can’t simply let someone get away with trying to hurt the very reason I can even stand here as a King.”
His eyes are watering and I feel my heart drop. I press him into a tight hug, burying my face into his chest.
“Hal... Hal... I hear you, I am right here. I am right here and I always will be.”
Before I know it, I suck in a sharp breath, feeling tears well at the corners of my eyes. Hal presses me against him firmly, and I begin to cry. It’s the kind of cry that feels bigger than me. It’s the kind of cry that I’ve been holding back for a long time… maybe even since my mother passed.
Hal’s arms are tight around me, but my grip on him is tighter. If I could press myself inside him, I would. Everything starts to feel so real then. Standing here, the sun on my shoulders, Hal’s arms around me… loosing Carter, loosing John… loosing Scarlett… loosing my mother. Falling in love with Hal… the dinners at our home, the moment by the lake on the tree… waking up with him this morning. It’s all spinning through my mind at the same time.
I sob, holding onto Hal as though he were the only thing anchoring me onto the earth. I feel him press kisses on the top of my head, and I look up at him. His fingers wipe away the wetness at my cheeks.
“I’m a mess,” I say. Hal’s hands press on either side of my face as he kisses my forehead.
“You’re not a mess, (Y/N). You never were. This country is a mess,” he says. I look up at him, amazed at the boldness of his statement.
“Don’t look so surprised, I haven’t exactly been defending my father’s work have I?” he asks with a smile. I wipe my eyes again.
“Lord, I shouldn’t even be the one crying! You’ve lost your men in battle,” I scold myself. Hal shakes his head, “Don’t for even one moment think what you’ve gone through is any easier,” he says.
Instead of saying anything more, Hal moves me towards the flower beds in the beauty of the gardens. We walk in comfortable silence, a welcome distraction. The bees hum around us and I can’t stop staring at the beautiful multitude of colors in the petals around me. I’d never seen such a quantity of flowers before. I was grateful for this moment, and when I looked up at Hal, seeing he was already looking at me, I knew he felt the same way.
“I wish we could have moments like this always,” I look up at him. His crystal blue eyes glimmer at my words.
——————
HAL’S POV
My heart raced as she stared up at me. This was the moment I’d waited for… the moment I’d thought about when we’d left for war and the only one on my mind on the way back. It was all her.
“(Y/N),” I begin. She smiles softly and I swear the air is swept out of my lungs. I sigh, feeling the nervousness tense in my chest. I turn to the garden, noticing the verbena and iris’ surrounding us. My mother’s purple marble rolls around in my memory. “Hal?” her voice calls me back. I turn to her, smiling. My finger runs along the lavender fabric of her sleeve, trailing along the delicate bow tied just above her wrist.
“I’m sorry… for a moment I felt surrounded by beauty,” I admit. Her hands cross in front of her, fingers entwined tightly. I reach for her hands, softening her tightly wound fingers with my own. On her finger is the silver ring I gave her. I twist it and slowly pull it off.
“Hal?” she asks, but I fear my voice may fail me if I speak. Instead, I reach inside my pocket, pulling the small leather square out and onto my hand. I unfold the small wrap. In the middle lies my mothers ring. Two amethyst’s set alongside a diamond on a silver band. I hear her gasp, and her hands fly over her mouth.
“(Y/N), would you do me the honor of walking by my side for the rest of our lives?” I ask her. Her face is full with shock and soon tears begin to well at the corners of her eyes.
———————————
(Y/N)’S POV
My heart is beating a million times a second and I think I feel faint. The ring is impossibly beautiful… to beautiful for me. “Hal… I… are you sure…?”
He don’t respond. Instead, he kneels down in front of me, taking my hand in his. He picks up the delicate ring, placing it on my left finger, where his silver one used to sit. He bends towards it, placing a kiss above the ring and my finger at once.
“(Y/N), there is nothing more in the world that I have ever been more sure about than wanting to love you and protect you and cherish every moment on earth alongside you,” he says.
I can feel tears pouring down my face, but my breath is somehow calm. I take hold of his hand and kneel down in front of him. “Hal I… I love you,” I say. And I mean it. I mean it more than anything I’ve ever meant before. And for some reason in saying it, feels like I can see everything for the first time. His blue eyes are even brighter than before, and I can feel every callous, every twitch of his fingers under mine. “I want to be beside you always,” I tell him.
And then he kisses me. And I swear I can taste the stars on his lips.