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Chapter Text

It was 1501. England celebrated the marriage of the king’s eldest son, Prince Christopher, to Princess Anarka, the youngest daughter of the Queen of Castile and the King of Aragon, the most powerful monarchs at the time. There was a lot of anticipation surrounding the future Prince and Princess of Wales. The two had spent nearly two years exchanging passionate letters in Latin and were very eager to get married.

(*Castile was located in what is now central Spain. Aragon was located in the east.)

Christopher and Anarka looked very similar. Both were beautiful, cultured, elegant, and valued knowledge, having in common the knowledge of Latin, history, and classic books. He was adept at grammar, poetry, ethics, and rhetoric. She was well-versed in arithmetic, law, heraldry, genealogy, philosophy, theology, and religion, as well as speaking Spanish, French, and Greek, and having learned English before marrying. The king of England, the first of the Stone dynasty, could not find a better wife for the heir to the throne.

Unfortunately, the perfect marriage only lasted until the following year. On April 2^nd, Christopher passed away from a lung disease, leaving everyone very shaken. His father and mother-in-law then planned to marry Anarka to her brother-in-law, Jagged. However, the Castilian queen passed away two years later, making the princess’s situation difficult. The King of Aragon was not interested in carrying out the wedding plans, nor did he intend to bring his daughter back to the mainland. Anarka was supporting her older sister, heir to the throne of Castile, and her father wanted to take her and her husband’s place (as the duo was very problematic). For this, his daughter could not have many supporters. It was only in 1509 that Anarka’s fate changed.

Jagged was the third of the English king’s four children who had survived infancy. Although not as cultured as his brother Christopher, he studied theology and spoke French, Latin, and Italian. Admired for Anarka’s beauty and intelligence, he married her two months after taking the throne, on June 11^th. On the 24^th, they were crowned together King and Queen Consort of England and France and Lord and Lady of Ireland.

(*Since the 14^th century, due to their kinship with the French royal family, the Kings of England called themselves “Kings of France,” even if they did not actually govern the country. After the Hundred Years’ War, the only French territory that remained under English rule was Calais, in northern France. The English kings only gave up the title in the 19^th century, in 1802. The fiction takes place in the sixteenth century.)

“Chris was absolutely right about you, Nanarky,” Jagged said in awe. “You have the exact profile to be a queen. You’re super rock n’ roll.”

“I hope to play my part in the best way,” Anarka replied.

“I trust you will. I studied your family and saw that your parents had seven children, five of whom survived, right?”

“Yes.”

“And four of these were girls?”

“Yes, but their son lived long enough to marry.”

“Oh, you can rest assured, Nanarky. What interests me is that you also give me daughters.”

“Daughters? Doesn’t you mean sons, to have a Prince of Wales?”

“No, I mean girls. All other kings pass the throne to their sons. I want to be a unique king in the history of England. I want to make some super rock n’ roll changes that will leave my mark. To begin with, I want to be the first king who will pass the throne to a daughter.”

“Well, laws here don’t prevent women from taking the throne.”

“That’s it. And you’re going to help me with this mission, won’t you, Nanarky?”

“Of course. I’ll give you the right heiresses to the throne.”

The following year, Anarka had a daughter, but she was stillborn. This was quite common at the time, so Jagged was not shaken. On New Year’s Eve 1511, the queen had another baby girl, much to the immense joy of her parents. There was much celebration throughout the kingdom. The princess was named Anarka after her mother, and many members of the European royalty and nobility attended her christening. The King of France, Louis XII, was chosen as her godfather.

All the euphoria, however, had a tragic outcome. The princess died at just one month old. After the intense mourning, the king and queen continued to try to have an heiress. In September 1513, Jagged personally led an invasion of France, taking advantage of the war in the country to extend his dominions. Anarka, pregnant, was tasked with ruling England during her absence.

“I couldn’t leave the country in better hands.”

“Good luck in France, my lord. God will be with you.”

“With you too, my love. If our daughter’s born while I’m away, you can teach her how to govern yourself.”

“You can trust me.”

The monarch’s departure was the cue for his brother-in-law, King of Scotland and an ally of France, to invade England. He was married to Margaret, Jagged’s older sister. Upon being warned of the invasion, Anarka immediately summoned the army and devised defense and counterattack strategies. On the 9^th, even though she was pregnant, she put on the armor and mounted her horse to inspect the English troops, who were amazed by the gesture.

“If you follow the plan, you’ll defeat the Scots in three hours.”

“We’ll accomplish our mission, Your Majesty,” the commander assured.

“Remember, men: commanded by a woman, my mother, Castile conquered Granada. Under her daughter, you’ll bring glory to England.”

“Long live Queen Anarka!!!” shouted the troops, and she left.

The result was impressive: not only was the Scottish army crushed in the three hours allotted, but the king himself was slaughtered on the battlefield. The English people, who already liked the queen very much, came to love her even more.

“As your queen, I warn you, citizens of England,” she said. “That the mantle of the King of Scotland bathed in his blood is being sent right now to King Jagged,” the people cheered. “Then they’ll know the fate of whoever dares to mess with England,” and more celebration.

“LONG LIVE QUEEN ANARKA!!!” shouted the crowd. “Hooray!!! God save the Queen.”

Although the mantle of his traitorous brother-in-law came with bad news (Anarka had given birth to a stillborn boy), Jagged was celebrating his wife’s victory. That was a sign of a glorious period for his reign.

“See???” he showed the cloak to his entourage. “This is my super rock n’ roll wife. You can warn all the kings about her deeds so that everyone knows what the royalty of England is like.”

Anarka’s success bolstered her husband’s confidence that she would soon have a strong heiress. Unfortunately, the following year, there was another stillborn boy, and the chances of realizing that real dream seemed distant. The nobles secretly contradicted the king’s ideas and hoped that Anarka would have a boy, maintaining the naturalness of the succession. Jagged, however, remained determined to secure change. His hopes were renewed in 1515 when the queen had a healthy pregnancy.

“I trust, Nanarky, that from this pregnancy will come my heiress.”

“I have the same feeling.”

“I’ve been assured that Greenwich Palace is in perfect condition so that you can have our daughter in the best condition.”

“A great monarch will be born,” the queen assured before leaving.

On February 18^th, 1516, a perfectly healthy child was finally born. Doctors were sure that it would live much longer than its predecessors. Delighted with the birth, the messengers went to tell the king the news. Jagged was waiting in a room in the palace.

“It’s born healthy, Your Majesty.”

“Is it?” Jagged looked at them emotionally.

“Yes, Your Majesty. And doctors say it’ll live for a long time.”

“Thank God! Thank God it came in good health to govern England. And the queen, how is she?”

“Very well. The delivery didn’t have any complications.”

“Oh, what a great blessing! Anyway, everything is going well.”

“Very well, Your Majesty. At last, we have a Prince of Wales.”

“Prince?!” The king’s euphoria withered. “Is it a boy?”

“Yes, a very healthy boy.”

“Oh,” Jagged tried to disguise his reaction. “Well, Anarka and I are still young. We’ll have time to have a girl. Can I see him now?”

“Of course. This way, Your Majesty.”

Within minutes, the king arrived in the room where Anarka was holding the newborn. Even though it was not the daughter he wanted, Jagged was positively surprised by the prince and made it clear to Anarka that he was happy with the birth.

“What do you intend to name him?” asked the queen.

“Luka, after my younger brother.”

“It’s a very good name. My brother was also named Luka.”

“He’s very lucky to have the name of two uncles. Which reminds me of a very important thing I have to do.”

“Are you going to make him official as Prince of Wales?”

“Before that,” the king replied naturally. “I’ll look for a bride for him.”

With this, Jagged reaffirmed his hope of passing the throne to a future daughter, even though he was happy with his son’s health. The nobles perceived that the king was treating an eventual princess as a prince while treating the prince as a princess. Some even suspected that the monarch might be crazy. Still, he provided the greatest comfort for his son and chose Lady Clara Contard as his governess.

Jagged hoped to have more luck with his son’s marriage than he had with his brother’s. Two years earlier, he personally negotiated, along with a group led by the chancellor of England himself, Cardinal Denis Damoclés, the marriage of the youngest to a French princess, later realizing that it had been a bad deal. Besides the fact that she died two months after marriage (and, consequently, childless), coincidentally on the same day as Louis XII, women could not assume the throne of France, so their husbands had no right to it. Jagged tried to arrange another royal marriage, but his brother chose to marry Vivica, Duchess of Suffolk, with whom he had fallen in love. The union was made in secret, in the same month that he had been widowed, at the end of January 1515. Instead of elevating his sister-in-law’s title, the king preferred to downgrade his brother’s one from prince to duke, although they maintained fraternal closeness.

Three days after his birth, Luka was baptized in the palace chapel. His ceremony was even more lavish than that of his late sister. The Countess of Salisbury, Lady Marlena, was his godmother. She was Jagged’s second cousin and the widow of Sir Otis, the king’s first cousin. His godfather was Damoclés. The following year, on July 16^th, his namesake uncle had a daughter, Frances, and the queen was her godmother. The two cousins grew up as friends. In November 1518, Anarka had her last child, a stillborn girl. Months later, on June 15^th, 1519, one of the queen’s ladies-in-waiting, Audrey, had a daughter with Jagged, Aurore. But she could not be his heir, as she was illegitimate. In the same year, Frances gained a sister, Eleanor.

The prince was only two years old when his father promised him to the daughter of France’s new king, Francis I. Jagged believed that even if Luka was not going to take the French throne, he would at least secure some English influence at the country’s court. Anarka, on the other hand, found the idea absurd, preferring that Luka marry a princess who actually had a right to a throne, in case Jagged maintained the idea of having an heiress. So she thought of her niece Sabine, who was very cultured. With the death of her maternal grandparents, she had inherited Castile and Aragon, unified them into a new country, Spain, in addition to her new dominions in the Americas. The death of her paternal grandfather (who was already a widower) conferred on her the throne of the Holy Roman Empire, whose territory occupied practically half of Europe*. Ruling both countries, Sabine was the most powerful monarch in the world, more than her grandparents were once. However, she was 16 years older than Luka. Even so, Jagged saw a great advantage, and when the prince was six years old, he broke the commitment to France to sign with the Empire. But the priority for Anarka was not Luka’s future marriage, but rather his education.

(*The Holy Roman Empire was located in what is now Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, the Czech Republic, Western Poland, Eastern France, and Northern and Central Italy.)

At the age of four, the young prince already knew how to play the virginal (a precursor to the piano). When the French delegation came to England, Luka entertained the visitors by playing the piece to perfection. At six, his parents chose as his tutor Nathaniel Kurtzberg, a Spanish teacher with a French academic background and a Flemish experience whose books and knowledge were admired by both. He was a pupil of none other than Erasmus of Rotterdam, a friend of Anarka, who was a patron of the Renaissance in England and a supporter of women’s studies.

The scholar would have good reason to refuse the task, as the prince’s maternal grandparents had established the Inquisition in the kingdoms that led to Spain, and his family was killed for being Jewish. But Nathaniel knew that their daughter and grandson were not to blame. Moreover, God had already punished the ungrateful inquisitor queen with fatal uterine cancer due to persecution. Soon, he felt confident in the mission he was entrusted with. While in England, he also completed doctorates in Law and Philosophy at Oxford. His work with the prince was not only a huge success, recognized around the world, but also yielded two books: one written for Luka himself and another dedicated to Queen Anarka.

“Fate leads the willing and drags the reluctant,” the prince read. “That is why it is essential to be prepared for what fate brings.”

“Your Highness has perfectly understood Seneca’s teaching. From this, Your Highness has the basis for shouldering your future responsibilities as King of England.”

“Is there a preparation for every eventuality as king, sir?”

“Maybe there is just not for death. But for the issues that kings routinely face, wars, coup attempts, and alliances certainly exist.”

“I notice some suggestions for preparation in the books.”

“That is why your mother and I have appointed them to Your Highness.”

“They are fascinating, sir.”

“The most cultured people are those who can make the most of the knowledge of the material they have at hand. Those who have more knowledge are the ones who best prepare for their destiny. And from how much I see that he learns in such a short time, I have no doubt that Your Highness will be the best of all the Kings of England.”

Luka was a child prodigy. At the age of seven, he was already reading Erasmus of Rotterdam, Seneca, Plato, Cicero, and Plutarch. By the age of nine, he was fluent in Latin, Greek, Spanish, French, and Italian. But his favorite talent was music, his passion since he was a baby. In addition to being virginal and regal (another precursor of the piano), he played the flute, harp, and fiddle (precursor of the violin) and specialized in the lute (precursor of the guitar and electric guitar).

“I can imagine how proud you must be of the prince, Aunt Anarka,” Sabine talked to her aunt in Spanish.

“He’s a huge blessing.”

“Know you that I’ll always support him; from now he’s a prince until when he’s king. Regardless of whether we get married or not.”

“Are you thinking of breaking the commitment, Sabine?”

“Please, Aunt Anarka, don’t misunderstand me. Luka has the ideal profile to be king, but he’s very young. I’d have to wait years before we could have children. While the other cousin...” Sabine hesitated to reveal the name.

“Tom, isn’t it?”

“Yes. The one that Uncle Jagged calls “Manuel” and “Joaquim.”

“Got it. Tom is also a great nephew.”

“Tom is almost my age, only three years apart. My court has recommended him since I was 18 to strengthen our alliance with Portugal. And he guarantees me a sum of 900,000 cruzados to finance my military campaign in Italy.”

“You’re a strategist like your grandmother,” Anarka said proudly. “I believe you’ll be very happy.”

“Thank you, Aunt Anarka. And don’t worry. Luka is such a formidable prince that he’ll not be short of suitors. I’ll recommend one myself when I find the best option.”

“Thank you, dear,” they hugged.

“Uncle Jagged won’t be mad, will he? If so, remind him that he has already considered marrying his brother to me. It would be strange for the uncle’s old suitor to marry the nephew.”

“Don’t worry, Sabine. Jagged knows how powerful you are and doesn’t want to be upset with you.”

Later, several ambassadors attended a party at Hampton Castle, the main address of the royal court. The event softened the atmosphere of the country, whose currency was devalued by the clashes with France. This increased the certainty of Vivica and her husband that they were more than right to stay together, as the late French princess’s marriage to Jagged’s brother did nothing to help relations between the two countries.

“Thank God, Frances and Eleanor won’t have to go so far away from us when they get married,” the duchess said.

“Amen. I wish everyone could marry of their own choice.”

“Uncle...” Luka approached the duke, holding his cousin’s hand. “If I become a widower, will you allow Frances to marry me?”

“Oh, of course...” he laughed and held his nephew in his lap. “And Your Highness will make her Queen of England?”

“I will.”

“That’s great. Do you want to be queen, Frances?”

“I do, Dad,” the girl confirmed.

“You’ll be a brilliant queen, just like Queen Anarka,” Vivica said.

“Then it’s just to talk to my brother and arrange the marriage,” joked her husband. “Can you help me, Vivica? You can convince him better than I can.”

“It will be a great pleasure.”

In a real scenario, it would be more likely that Luka would marry Frances only when he was already king, leaving the choice to himself. As long as Jagged had power over his marriage, the prince would be used as a bargaining chip in some diplomatic negotiation. Even though she was the granddaughter of the previous king, Frances was officially a member of the nobility, no longer royalty, due to the demotion of her father’s title. In that context, a king’s daughter would be of more value to a prince than a duke’s daughter, unless the duke had the status of a prince, as was the case with those who ruled the duchies of the Empire (which were still subordinate to the Empress).

“Their Majesties, King Jagged and Queen Anarka,” a palace official announced the entry of the monarchs. “And Her Imperial Majesty Queen and Empress Sabine.”

“I hope you’re all having fun at this super rock n’ roll party,” said the king.

Minutes later, Vivica joked with her brother-in-law, talking about the idea of the two little cousins. Jagged and Anarka enjoyed watching Luka and Frances interact. They assured that the young woman would have great chances of marriage.

“But if she takes after her father, she won’t even need my permission. She’s going to marry anyway,” the king laughed, then the prince came closer, “Oh, Luka... My super rock n’ roll son. What are you going to do now?”

“They are asking me to play the lute.”

“Then play. Guests love to listen to your music.”

“Are you going to play the new composition you learned?” Anarka asked.

“Yes, Mom,” confirmed her son, “Oh, I almost forgot. Tomorrow, can you read my Greek lesson? Tutor said that you’d be proud.”

“I’ll certainly be, my angel,” she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

“Is the prince learning Greek?” asked an impressed ambassador.

“He is,” Anarka confirmed.

“But at this age?”

“Super rock n’ roll, isn’t it?” Jagged asked proudly.

“Very much. Imagine when he is king. He won’t even need translators.”

Luka played the lute to perfection. Everyone was amazed at his ability while being still so young. After the applause, the ambassadors decided to talk for a while with the prince, who answered in every language they used. He already had some knowledge of philosophy and the Bible, and he revealed information that many of the scholars present did not know. Jagged and Anarka looked at him with great pride.

“Undoubtedly, he’s the best prepared heir in all of Europe,” said one of the ambassadors.

On March 10^th 1526, Sabine and Tom were married. Together, they formed the happiest couple of their time. She had had lovers when she was unmarried, but never when she was married, and the same was true of him. Sabine had been born into a troubled marriage: her father had been an abusive and unfaithful husband, and her mother had become known as mad for the aftermath of that relationship. She also reproached his maternal grandfather for having been a womanizer. All she wanted was to have a peaceful married life with Tom. Together, they had eight children, but only three survived infancy. The eldest, Marinette, was born in 1527, on May 21^st.

Unlike Tom and Sabine, Jagged had several mistresses. In the end, one of them proved that he could have daughters, even though Aurore seemed to be in fragile health. Passing the throne to an heiress instead of an heir was not just an idea. In fact, it was a test. Jagged’s plan was to control all administrative spheres of England, but his power was limited. The country’s Magna Carta established that laws needed the approval of parliament to come into force. In theory, laws existed to guarantee order and the proper functioning of society and were created from ethical and moral bases found in philosophy. It was to understand them that Anarka and Nathaniel instructed Luka to learn languages (mainly Latin and Greek) and read the classic books. The king knew this and intended to use parliament itself to circumvent the condition and carry out his will unconditionally.

But who would help him with this very risky mission that endangered the stability of England? Chancellor Damoclés himself supported some of Jagged’s changes but intended to establish them in all legal procedures rather than in a radical way. Other members, notably the lawyer, philosopher and writer Jean-Pierre Monlataing, who was admired for his honesty, predicted that they would set a precedent for tyranny if, to satisfy the king’s will, the parliament interfered in matters that were not within its competence. After all, how could there be law if the king did whatever he wanted? One thing was certain: Jagged would truly leave his mark on English history. But whether it would be good or bad depended a lot on how far he was willing to go to leave it.

Chapter Text

It was 1519. Jagged was fascinated by the birth of his illegitimate daughter. While a daughter was not born within the marriage, he turned his attention to Aurore and gave her a mansion and servants. He even sent Lady Contard to take care of the girl, choosing Lady Marlena as the prince’s new governess. Jagged probably had other children but never knew of their existence. Around this same time, he began a love affair with Amelie Graham, niece of the Duke of Norfolk.

Amelie was already known to the royal family. She and her sister, Emilie, had been ladies-in-waiting to Jagged’s sister-in-law in France. After her death and the widower’s marriage to Duchess Vivica, they continued at the French court, where they studied and learned new customs. However, accused of being the King of France’s mistress, Amelie returned to England. Her uncle introduced her to Jagged, who made her Anarka’s lady-in-waiting and his own concubine. Although she married Sir Colt on February 4^th, 1520, she continued her affair with the king, having a daughter with him two years later. Her husband, even knowing who the girl’s biological father was, took her as his own and named her Anarka after the queen.

Luka was not aware of his father’s new affair. He had been living since the age of six at Ludlow Castle, the official residence of the Prince of Wales, visiting his parents on special occasions. Jagged had not officially given him the title, but his son lived practically as if he had it. The people adored him, having the same affection they had for his mother and late Uncle Christopher. Spending part of the year at Ludlow and another part at Beaulieu Palace in Essex, he spent most of his time playing his instruments and studying under Nathaniel’s tutelage.

In early 1522, months before the birth of her niece, it was Emilie’s turn to return to England to marry. Her father engaged her to an Irish cousin to whom he was indebted. Even though she had spent almost a decade abroad, welcomed by the Austrian and French courts, Emilie did not have a good reputation either. They thought her too forward, a reprehensible conduct for a lady. Because of this, the cousin gave up on the marriage, and her father and uncle decided to present her to the king so that she could also become the queen’s lady-in-waiting. It was at court where she met Lord Percy, cousin of her brother-in-law Colt and page to Chancellor Damoclés. The two fell in love and planned their wedding the following year. However, as members of the nobility, they needed the king’s approval to marry anyone. Their parents disapproved of their relationship, as they already had plans for their children: his, the Earl of Northumberland, to marry him to another, and hers to offer her to the king. Using his authority as a cardinal, Damoclés forbade Percy from seeing her again, accusing them both of sin, arousing a great dislike in Emilie.

In 1524, Sabine sent a new ambassador to England, Wang Fu. He would be a key witness to the events to come. Jagged presented his court as a place of unblemished morals, but neither he nor its members tried to make it really be. The following year, he gave Aurore the title of Duchess of Richmond and Somerset, and everyone knew she was a royal bastard. On March 4^th, 1526, the king had a son with Amelie, also claimed by Colt, even though he was very similar to his biological father. Then he decided to name him Jagged. Disgusted by his wife’s menopause and impressed by his mistress’s fertility, the king lamented that he could not marry her. Amelie was no longer a virgin, so she did not have the ideal profile for a consort. On the other hand, Emilie probably was, and even though she had no royal education as Anarka, she had some knowledge of religion, philosophy, and literature and could speak French. Jagged surmised that she might be as fertile as her sister. The following year, he had a talk with the Duke of Norfolk.

“I must tell you, Your Grace, I’m totally into your nieces. They’re super rock n’ roll.”

“I’m glad to hear this, Your Majesty.”

“They’re awesome. Amelie is prettier, but there’s something about Emilie that attracts me a lot.”

“Emilie is very smart.”

“And how! Almost like Nanarky. But she’s not easy at all. I was able to get closer to Amelie more easily. Emilie, on the other hand, is resisting. She says she would only give it to me if we were married. I heard a rumor that she was forward, but I see that it’s a lie.”

“I can assure you it’s a lie, Your Majesty.”

“Ah... How I wish they had been born a little earlier. I learned they were about eight years old when I married Nanarky. One of them would give me a legitimate daughter.”

“I understand, Your Majesty. By the way, how’s your daughter, Aurore?”

“Okay. It’s a shame she can’t succeed me. She would be a great heiress.”

“But even so, she’ll have a good chance of marriage,” the duke commented, thinking of his son.

“Yes, she will,” then the king thought of something. “She will. Your Grace gave me a great idea. Thank you very much. It was really worth it.”

Jagged ran with a shot to the clerk’s office. He was certain that this would be the best option to solve his succession problem.

“I need you to file a request from me to the Pope.”

“At your command, Your Majesty. What would it be?”

“I need him to issue a dispensation and a marriage license.”

“Very well,” the emissary prepared his pen. “Who would it be for?”

“Do you know my daughter Aurore?” Jagged was suspenseful.

“Yes.”

“I intend to marry her...”

“Yes...”

“To Luka.”

“WHAT?!”

The emissary was shocked. He thought that perhaps he might have heard wrong. But the king had said it clearly.

“To Luka, my legitimate son.”

“Your Majesty, the Pope won’t authorize it.”

“He must authorize it. England’s fate depends on it.”

“The Church doesn’t perform incestuous marriages. They’re siblings.”

“Technically, they’re half-siblings. It will even make the Pope’s life easier: to give just half a dispensation of kinship. He can just dispense with the link they have with me. He can keep the one with their mothers. It’s going to be super rock n’ roll. It can’t go wrong.”

“Your Majesty, this contradicts the Bible. The Pope will never agree to that.”

“Well, the previous popes have been dispensing with the kinship of many uncles who wanted to marry their nieces. The uncle of my mother-in-law’s niece managed to get married like this. Why wouldn’t he dispense with the kinship of two half-siblings?”

“Because uncles don’t come from the same parents, siblings do.”

“Look here. Write to the Pope that I sided with him when I entered the war against France. I came in handy for him. Now he must come in handy for me.”

“Alright, I’ll file it, Your Majesty,” the emissary reluctantly agreed.

“Thank you very much. Rock n’ roll.”

The Pope was horrified by Jagged’s request. Not only did he refuse to dispense with the kinship and authorize the marriage, but he sent him a full justification for his decision, including Bible transcriptions and a rebuke to the king for considering such disregard for God’s laws. In response, Jagged asked the Pope what he should do, receiving as a rejoinder, “Your Majesty already has an heir: Prince Luka. Stop messing around.”

Upset, the king thought of another solution. In his head, a refusal of flirtation echoed as the woman was not his wife. Emilie’s appeal was not in her physique, but rather in her great communication. She knew that if she gave in, she would be just another mistress. Playing hard, he would become more and more fascinated, and she would achieve much more. Jagged firmly believed that she could bear him a daughter, just like her sister. But being married, he could not marry her.

“Here, look,” the king pointed out a passage from the Bible to the Archbishop of Canterbury. “If a man marries his brother’s wife, he sees his brother’s nakedness. Do you know what that means? That I should never have married Nanarky.”

“Didn’t the Pope issue the dispensation before your wedding, Your Majesty?”

“Yes. The same pope who didn’t let two half-siblings marry let me see my brother’s nakedness according to the Bible. He’ll need to review this. I’ll ask the emissary to file the request for annulment.”

“Are you sure, Your Majesty? Wouldn’t it be unfair to Queen Anarka?”

“No, I’m just following what the Bible says. Even Nanarky herself will agree with me. She studied theology and religion very well.”

But Jagged was once again surprised by a refusal. The Pope made it clear that there was no problem with their marriage, and the dispensation issued earlier already resolved the issue of the wife being his brother’s widow. The pontiff could annul if the queen had not produced any children, as provided for in the laws on marriage. But she had given him a son who could legally succeed his father on the English throne. In addition, Anarka also did not agree with the annulment attempt, which only generated even more distrust as to the king’s sanity. Jagged already had a cultured and elegant wife and a son fully capable of assuming the throne. It did not make any sense to break up his marriage to try to get something he already had.

Jagged commissioned Damoclés to study his case. Although he fully agreed with the annulment, the chancellor chose to consult Cambridge experts to assist him in an analysis. One of them, also in favor, was Alim Kubdel, who proposed a debate in the Vatican instead of a mere question to the Pope. The chancellor sent him there, where he was attended to by the pontiff’s cardinals. Another was Lila Rossi, a secret enthusiast of Lutheran ideas, which Jagged repudiated and fought in England. This inclination, however, was not really religious. When Damoclés chose her to serve in the embassy of the Holy Roman Empire, for her self-promotion, Lila suggested that the case be taken to as many universities in Europe as possible. She knew that the king would fight to the end to annul his marriage and try to have a daughter legally with another woman, and she hoped to gain great advantages by helping him in this plan.

“I suppose Your Majesty is thinking of a new wife,” Lila said with interest.

“Oh yes. I’m going to marry Emilie Graham.”

“Oh... of course,” he tried to disguise his frustration. “She seems fine. I know her family well.”

“But there’s a problem. I’ve had two children with her sister. Can I marry her from the Bible? I would be in the same case as Nanarky is.”

“Well, did Your Majesty claim these children as you did to Aurore?”

“No. It was Sir Colt who claimed them. The one who died not long ago, on June 22^nd. Even Emilie convinced me to pay alimony for Amelie,” he laughed as he recounted.

“So... none but Amelie, Sir Colt, Emilie, and Your Majesty know that these children were born to you. If no one knows, nothing can invalidate your new marriage.”

Although Lila hoped for support within the universities, the overwhelming majority was against the annulment. Nathaniel was a great opponent within England. For this, Jagged punished him with six weeks of house arrest. When his sentence was over, he decided to leave England, knowing how dangerous it was to be under the power of an unbalanced king. Before leaving, he went to say goodbye to Luka.

“I’ll miss you very much, sir.”

“Me too, Your Highness. But Your Highness will have my book as a souvenir. I will always be with Your Highness. I can’t take any chances, but I believe that one day this madness will end, and Your Highness will take the throne as King of England,” he concluded, and the two embraced.

A year later, finding a chance to take revenge on who had estranged her from Percy, Emilie accused Damoclés of delaying the affair, and the king removed him from the post of chancellor. Monlataing, whom the monarch greatly admired, was appointed in his place. But the new chancellor had a great challenge ahead of him, as the king wanted his support for a risky step. Jagged argued to parliament that he knew more about the Bible than the Pope himself, as he had found a fact deemed incontrovertible for the annulment and the pontiff refused to acknowledge it. He used this as a basis to replace him as head of the Church in the country. Jagged did not intend to create another religion, only to test how far his power would be able to go and thereby satisfy his desires. Becoming a kind of “concomitant pope,” he would have control over matters that until then were not within his reach.

“That won’t work, Your Majesty,” warned Max, Lady Marlena’s son. “I’m 100% sure that this idea’s going to generate unnecessary conflicts, including with the outside world.”

“Ah, the outside world lives in war, but then it gets right. Believe me, the result’s going to be super rock n’ roll.”

“This doesn’t only harm the country, Your Majesty. Think of your family. How will your wife and son be in this?”

“Here, Max,” Jagged made him a proposal. “You’re my cousin. Come in handy for me. I appoint you Archbishop of York if you support me. I have appointed Alim Kubdel as Bishop of Winchester, and he’s on my side.”

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty, but I keep warning that this won’t work.”

Monlataing stressed to parliament that the Magna Carta guaranteed the autonomy of the Church. By interfering with his leadership, Jagged was not only affronting the faith of the English people, but also the very laws of the land, and setting a precedent for tyranny and disorder. For the sake of the people and also of the king himself, he should recognize that he could not control everything, and the parliament should protect itself from matters of its competence.

But, like Lila, one of Damoclés’ allies, Alec Cataldi, saw in the defense of the king’s flags a path to his own rise. He acquired an important position in parliament and represented the royal ideas at the sessions of 1532, two years after the king was threatened with excommunication. He listed several events in which the clergy had not agreed with the king and used them as justification for the parliament to give Jagged control of the Church. Monlataing resigned when he realized that Alec’s interests prevailed in the parliament. Max, knowing the profile of his cousin, left in self-exile for Italy.

Not only were Monlataing and Max against these changes, but the English people themselves, Catholic and sympathetic to the queen, disapproved of them. A female mob even invaded the mansion where Emilie was dining to assault her, forcing her to flee by boat. The other European countries also disagreed with Jagged’s plans. Even Luther himself was against annulment, while Lila, sympathetic to his ideas, was totally in favor. Obviously, she could not convince Sabine to agree with her.

“Out of my kingdom, messenger of the Devil,” cried the Empress.

“Tell your king to be ashamed of himself,” Tom ordered. “Who ever heard of a man wanting to abandon his wife and child?”

“I wish Aunt Anarka had a husband like you,” Sabine caressed Tom’s hand. “Not a madman like Uncle Jagged.”

Already recognized by the parliament as head of the Church, the king recalled Lila to England to appoint her Archbishopess of Canterbury, as the occupant of the office had passed away. The nomination was supported by Emilie, who saw a great ally. The latter, aware that she had Jagged, the parliament, and the most powerful sectors in her favor (all aiming to gain advantages with the king), felt that her ascension was already taken for granted.

“You’ll never have the support of the people,” Anarka said firmly.

“The people can do nothing against me,” replied Emilie. “It’s the king who decides.”

“Who decides on the validity of marriages is God. And in the eyes of the Lord, I am the Queen of England and the mother of the heir to the throne. You’re just a sinner.”

“In the eyes of the king, I am the future queen.”

“Keep my words, Emilie,” she said quietly. “You’re not going to get Jagged what he wants. He’s going to get fed up with you sooner or later, and he’s going to dispose of you in the worst possible way.”

“Is that all that the great Queen Anarka has to say to me? The so cultured and erudite Queen Anarka...” she tried to hide his envy in her speech. “I’m very impressed, you know? Your Majesty has got rid of the King of Scotland, but can’t get rid of me.”

“The one who will get me rid of you is God. And He’s also going to get Jagged rid of you.”

In 1533, Lila annulled the king’s marriage. Jagged sent Anarka to Kimbolton Castle, where she would live as Christopher’s widow. Together, he declared Luka illegitimate and dismissed all his personal servants. He took his son from Beaulieu Palace (which was given to Emilie’s brother George) and sent him to a mansion in Hunsdon. Knowing how smart the two were, Jagged feared that Anarka and Luka would join against him and forbade them to see, speak, and communicate in any way. Wang Fu warned Sabine about what was happening, and Sabine was distressed.

Dear Aunt Anarka,

Your husband is definitely crazy. The Pope has lifted the excommunication so that he will go back, and he dares to persist in this infamy. I cannot allow him to commit such a crime against you and Luka.

With your permission, I offer to invade England and take back for you the rightful place. Uncle Jagged has already annoyed the Pope and all of us too much with his follies. This needs to end.

Your dear niece,

Sabine, Queen and Empress.

Anarka was moved. However, she remembered the deadly invasions her niece had commanded, including one to the Vatican itself. Even if it were to benefit her, she would rather not see innocents dying.

Dear Sabine,

I really appreciate what you are willing to do for me and Luka. But I fear that an invasion will bring unnecessary suffering to the English people, whom I love deeply.

I am very grateful that you sent Wang Fu as ambassador. He has been a great friend, especially by sending my letters to Luka and bringing the answers in secret. Therefore, there is nothing to worry about.

I ask you to pray for my husband’s soul, for that is what we can do for those who offend us. Today, I asked my ladies to stop cursing Emilie and pray for her. Knowing how to forgive, we mere mortals are closer to the example of Christ, who forgave his executioners at the crucifixion.

Your aunt, who loves you so much,

Anarka, the Queen.

Jagged and Emilie had married secretly two months before Lila’s decision, as she was pregnant, and he did not want the child to be born a bastard. Then the archbishopess had only to validate the union retroactively. Not only were the people against the union, but the king’s own family was against it. His brother Luka and sister-in-law Vivica, who had an excellent relationship with Anarka, detested Emilie. The news of her pregnancy did not change the couple’s opinion at all.

“You would have to be reborn at least twice to become a quarter of what the real queen is,” the duke said.

“I am the real queen now, Your Grace,” replied Emilie.

“No. The real queen is my sister-in-law, Anarka, mother of the prince who bears MY name. You’re nothing but a whore, and the child you carry is a bastard.”

“Luka!” shouted the king, who continued his lines without raising his voice. “Brother, have respect for my wife.”

“And since when does a prince by birth owe respect to a prostitute? You may have declared me a duke, brother, but I am still the son of the previous king,” then he looked at her. “You shouldn’t even speak to me or stand before royalty, you ridiculous whore.”

“Vivica, talk to your husband.”

“My opinion is the same as his,” replied the Duchess of Suffolk.

Jagged could not change the opinion of either his brother or his sister-in-law. As a form of revenge, Emilie asked him to demote the duke’s ranks and accused the duchess of having a lesbian relationship with her own daughter Frances, leading the couple to have more hatred for the king’s new wife. But despite the apparent devotion to his new wife, Jagged continued to have his many mistresses. Even in Emilie’s family, there were those who condemned her. Her second cousin, Penny, who had also been Anarka’s lady-in-waiting, was furious at everything that was happening.

To regain her brother-in-law’s trust, Vivica pretended to agree with everything and was invited to plan Emilie’s coronation. Her husband and daughters did not attend, and the duke warned his nephew through letters delivered by Wang Fu that the family was still on his side. Although Frances supported her cousin, her husband Henry Bruel had sided with the king to marry her and even attended the coronation, which took place on June 1^st, 1533. On the way to the castle where the ceremony would take place, the population insisted on booing Emilie and throwing rotten vegetables at her.

“Go back to France, motherfucker,” shouted one man.

“Queen Anarka is our queen,” shouted another.

“Where were you when the King of Scotland came to invade?” asked one woman. “Queen Anarka was protecting us and finishing him off.”

There was nothing Jagged could do. His people still clamored for the name of his first wife. When Emilie appeared crowned, there was a shout that made her blood boil.

“HOORAY TO QUEEN ANARKA!!!!”

“Stop!” ordered Jagged. “The queen is now called Emilie. Shout her name.”

“HEY, EMILIE, GO FUCK YOURSELF...” answered the people. “HEY, EMILIE, GO FUCK YOURSELF...”

Unfortunately, Vivica’s husband died of pneumonia on the 25^th day of that same month. Luka deeply felt his uncle’s death. He was upset at the forced separation from his mother, the departure of his tutor, the apparent betrayal of his closest cousin, the loss of his rightful title and family status, and now one of his greatest allies was dead. Luka had good reason to hate his stepmother, but his torment was just beginning.

On September 7^th, that same year, Emilie gave birth at Greenwich Palace. As a stroke of luck, the birth had been a success, and the child was born very healthy. Jagged had countless expectations.

“Your Majesty can come.”

“Thank you. I can’t wait to see,” the king said eagerly.

“It looks like it’s mom.”

“Super rock n’ roll! At last, a legitimate girl.”

“Pardon me, Your Majesty. It’s not a girl. It’s a boy.”

“Oh no... again?” he was disappointed.

Upon entering the room, Jagged came across Emilie crying. She was furious that she had had a boy. A maidservant gave the newborn to the king. The child was really very similar to his mother.

“Don’t worry. We still have time. Soon the girls will come,” her husband’s words comforted her.

Jagged chose the name Adrien for his son, after his father. Coincidentally, Emilie’s father was also named Adrien. The king had an ambiguous posture with the child. Although he recognized him as his heir by the Act of Succession, he did not send him to Ludlow as he had done to Luka. Instead, he chose a manor in Hatfield as his future home. Lila was the boy’s godmother at his baptism. The people did not celebrate Adrien’s birth much, as they still considered Luka the legitimate prince. Emilie then chose to give a sample of her power.

“As of today, you’re in charge of Hatfield House, Aunt Caline. That’s where Adrien’s going to live.”

“Trust me. I’ll take care of everything.”

“The king’s son, Luka, will live there too. But he won’t receive any princely treatment. The king himself considers him a bastard now, so he’ll be treated that way.”

“What will his position be like in the house?”

“He’ll serve Adrien. Make sure he knows where he stands. Luka will eat with the servants, never in the dining room. And never allow him to call himself a prince. If you insist, give him a good slap on the ear like the bastard he is.”

Luka was 17 years old when his brother was born. He was no longer a child but a handsome prince. Emilie felt threatened by the fact that Canon Law still recognized him as legitimate, paving the way for him to claim the throne. And Luka made his position clear in the letter he sent to his father when he learned that he had been stripped of the title of prince. In it, he promised throughout his life to obey his father’s orders, but he affirmed that he would not renounce the titles, rights, and privileges that God, nature, and his own parents bequeathed to him. Completing his stepmother’s anger, he had signed the letter as “Luka the Prince.”

Adrien’s personal court in Hatfield was deeply unsympathetic to the boy’s brother. Many said aloud that they wished for his death. Luka was not intimidated, and even though his father decided that he should be referred to as Lord Luka, he did not answer when he was called that way and continued to call himself a prince. Despite her niece’s orders, Lady Caline Bustier did not assault him, although she complained about his persistence, and the members of the court found her too permissive with him. Overall, it was difficult to be rude to someone so courteous and polite. Internally, she condemned the behavior of Emilie (who was becoming famous for her scenes) and admired Luka’s princely elegance. He spent his free time in a humble room, praying or playing his instruments, following Anarka’s recommendation.

Despite everything, Luka was not angry with Adrien. He knew that his brother was not to blame, and he liked to keep him company. His music calmed Adrien, who sometimes slept on his lap. But the fact that he had these moments with the baby, unusual among royals, did not mean that Luka was willing to accept his stepmother’s whims. Instead of eating at the servants’ table, he took his plate and ate in his room. When they stopped him, he even sat with the servants, but he did not eat anything. As the days went by, all that environment and the irregularity of his diet gave him migraine attacks. When Wang Fu informed the king that Luka was ill, Jagged sent his own doctor to examine him. Lady Bustier was afraid that they would think she had poisoned the lad and, at the same time, felt sorry for him.

“I brought you food,” she warned, entering the room. “You can eat here if you want.”

“Shall I not be obliged to sit with the servants?” Luka asked in a soft voice.

“Not at all,” Lady Bustier sat down facing him. “I never wanted you to get sick, Lord Luka.”

“I hate to be called Lord Luka,” he replied with tears in his eyes.

“What should I call you?” she asked worriedly.

“Your niece said I would be slapped if I said.”

“Oh, my prince...” She hugged him. “It’s not fair the way they’re treating you,” he looked into his eyes. “I know it’s not easy, but there’s a way you can get rid of it. Emilie sends me several letters saying that she’s going to accept you into court and that your father’s going to allow you to see your mother if you both recognize her as queen.”

“The only queen I recognize is my mother.”

“Lord-” Lady Bustier interrupted herself. “Please help me. What should I call it?”

“If you can’t call me Prince, just call me Luka. I’d rather be called by my name as an equal than receive a false title.”

“Luka... please reconsider.”

“If I recognize that woman, I’ll be admitting illegitimacy. I’m not and never will be illegitimate. Whether she likes it or not, I was born to a marriage, not to an affair. My mother is the king’s wife, not a mistress.”

“Anyway... I don’t want you to get sick anymore. I’ll allow you to eat in the room. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“Great, honey.”

It did not take long for Emilie to learn that Luka was being treated well in Hatfield. She demanded another stance from her aunt, but Lady Bustier stood by her decision. In addition to feeling sorry for the prince, she had her own reasons for not obeying her niece unconditionally. Emilie had called her aunt’s daughter to be her lady-in-waiting, and she ended up becoming the king’s mistress, disgraced her reputation.

In 1534, Amelie secretly married William, who was willing to raise their children. When her union not authorized by the king was discovered, she was banished from court, but that was exactly what she wanted when she made her decision, as the climate was treacherous and uncomfortable.

In the same year, Jagged passed an Act of Submission, in which everyone at court was to recognize him as supreme head of the Church in England. The reaction was not as the king expected, and many refused to sign, being sentenced to beheading as traitors. Many scholars and researchers of the time were executed, generating many intellectual losses for the country. One of them was Monlataing himself, who died on July 6^th of the following year. The same had happened weeks earlier, on June 22^nd, with the Bishop of Rochester, who was Anarka’s confessor and chancellor of the University of Cambridge. Kubdel and the Duke of Norfolk signed but secretly opposed everything.

Emilie convinced Jagged to let her implement her own changes, saying that they would help his. However, in practice, she and Lila took advantage of the royal control in the Church to promote an approximation with Lutheran ideas, including in the bishops’ books, even though it was not what Jagged himself intended. This earned her disaffection, including in her own family, especially with her uncle. Fervently Catholic, he totally disapproved of his niece’s religious plan and seemed regretful of having supported her in her ascension. On Christmas Day, she lost the child she was carrying, a girl, which was seen as divine punishment. The same happened the following year. The Duke of Norfolk felt that he did not need Emilie much to increase his prestige with the king, as he had arranged for his second son to marry Aurore the same year that Adrien was born, on November 28^th. The union, however, was not consummated, as the bride and groom were only 14 years old.

However, it was with Alec that Emilie created the greatest rivalry. The chief minister visited colleges and ensured the submission of the monasteries to royal authority, with the plan of using the money from the tithes, which had previously gone to Rome, to supply the coffers of England, emptied by the wars that Jagged was plotting against France. Emilie, in turn, wanted the money to be used for the creation of reeducation centers to instruct the people to stop supporting Anarka, Luka, and the Pope and to unconditionally support Jagged’s changes, including her own marriage. Alec did not see this as necessary, as since 1532 he had convinced parliament to pass a law forbidding the king to be called a heretic, tyrant, infidel, or usurper. The centers would be more of a personal advertisement for Emilie than an aid to the king. Next to her was Lila, but next to him was the parliament.

On January 7^th, 1536, Queen Anarka passed away from cancer, leaving two letters, one to Jagged and one to Luka. To her husband, she wrote that she forgave him for everything and begged him to be a good father to Luka. She asked her son to obey his father, but never to forget that he was the true prince and that he should fight to the end for his rightful right to the throne of England. When Lady Bustier broke the news of Anarka’s death, Luka was inconsolable. She allowed him to return to Hunsdon to mourn, and there, Wang Fu handed him his mother’s jewelry. Anarka wanted him to pass them on to his future wife or daughter, but some she could adapt for personal use, such as brooches. Emilie took the opportunity to write to her stepson.

Considering recent events, I come to repeat the proposal I have made to you on other occasions.

I will accept you back to court as a member of the family, without having to do me any favors, and I will reconcile you to your father if you recognize me as queen.

The lad carefully read his stepmother’s letter. Almost at the same time, he wrote the answer.

I recognize no queen but my mother.

But if the king’s mistress wants to do me these favors, then I will be grateful.

I will even be willing to forgive you for the treatment you gave me, the result of the capital sin of envy you feel of my royal blood and my education. You die of envy because, no matter how enthusiastic about knowledge you are, as a member of royalty, you would never be able to receive an education like that of royalty, as my mother and I did.

I am aware that, even if you do not admit it out of pride, you know that no legal workaround can annul the fact that I am the son of a king and a queen, both children of legitimate monarchs. My mother, after all, was born of none other than the most powerful monarchs of their time. Unlike you, she married royal names for royal proposals, not through a pimp father and a pimp uncle.

Best regards

Luka the Prince.

“But how dare he???” Emilie read it enraged, not only because of the refusal and the words, but because he had guessed the reason for her envy. “He even underlined the term ‘prince.’ Look, Jagged.”

“Well, I was warned that the Aquarius people don’t hold their tongues...”

“He’s really like his uncle. That name fits him like a glove.”

“Maybe if we got him a bride... as when we married Aurore to your pimp uncle’s son. I mean,” Jagged interrupted himself. “Duke of Norfolk’s. Who knows? Maybe Luka will cooperate.”

“For me, he’d marry a miserable woman. I’m tired of trying to get close to your son, Jagged.”

“And all of this after his mother told him to obey me. I don’t know how, but I’m still going to end his disobedience.”

“I’ve already made up my mind. They’re going to bury Anarka later this month, aren’t they? Then on that day, we’ll have a party. That way he’ll see who the Queen of England is.”

On January 29^th, Anarka was buried. And on that same date, chosen for the party, Emilie had another miscarriage. The fetus was that of a girl. Then Jagged became suspicious that she wouldn’t be able to give him daughters either. The king then began courting Penny, who refused to sleep with him. Disgruntled, Emilie forced her cousin to wear increasingly modest clothes. But that did not stop her husband’s courtships, which Penny cleverly and politely rejected.

“I didn’t expect something like this from you,” Emilie referred to a necklace with the king’s portrait that her cousin wore around her neck.

“Isn’t that what you did yourself? You can’t complain about anything.”

“I can because I’m the queen and mother of the heir to the throne.”

“Queen? You’re a fraud,” Penny replied firmly. “The only queen here was, is, and always will be Queen Anarka. And the heir to the throne is Prince Luka. You’re a usurper, and Adrien is a bastard.”

“How could you be on her side when you are my family?”

“I cannot be on the side of those who defy the laws of God.”

Furious, she attacked her cousin. When Jagged saw the scene, he immediately punched her. Not giving up, she later confronted him about the affair with Penny. But the king did not feel that he owed her an explanation.

“Why her?”

“Penny is everything you’re not. She’s elegant, thin, modest, and super rock n’ roll.”

“And I’m not?” Emilie asked angrily.

“You’re not. Because of you, I fought with half the world and executed a lot of people I shouldn’t have, especially Monlataing. And there you were, kissing my ass and promising me a daughter, when all you did was to give me another boy, and one who doesn’t even look like me.”

“Because of me? You were the one who wanted to do all that, Jagged. It was by your power.”

“That you wanted it too, you bitch,” he shouted. “You’re the biggest false advertising in history: buy a queen and get a whore.”

Outraged by the king’s stance, Emilie decided to take revenge. Not realizing that this could get her in trouble, she commented to those closest to her that Jagged was powerless. She had suffered a major defeat in February when parliament approved Alec’s plan for the destination of tithes. When she tried to confront him in April with his allies and lost, all she got was the chief minister’s greatest dislike. Now, without having been able to fulfill Jagged’s dream, she was in danger of losing his position with the king. Her possible replacement, Penny, was not the only one of her ladies-in-waiting who did not like her. They made a point of reporting that they saw Emilie with several men, including her own brother, trying to get pregnant with a girl. It was not long before the king found out.

“Her poor sister-in-law, Lady Jane Graham... having a husband who cheats on her with his own sister,” commented Vivica. “For someone who accused others of incest, Emilie’s stance is very hypocritical.”

“That woman is the Devil, Vivica,” Jagged said tremblingly. “She bewitched me to deceive me. Look at the damage she did to the country. The things she’s capable of doing.”

“There’s sufficient evidence that she committed various acts of treason, Your Majesty,” Alec commented.

“My good chief minister...” The king entrusted him with a mission. “I don’t want to have anything to do with this witch anymore. I want to erase everything that has to do with her from my life. I don’t want you to just arrest and execute this whore. I want my marriage to her to be annulled. It was done by a fraud and a spell. It’s not valid in the eyes of God. It’s not rock n’ roll at all.”

“I’ll study the case, Your Majesty. There must be something in the Bible that justifies the annulment.”

“And there is. I had an affair with her sister, Amelie, before I married her. And Amelie is still alive. By God’s laws, Emilie shouldn’t have married me. She saw her sister’s nakedness in me. And now she’s seeing her brother’s nakedness on his own body.”

(*Jagged refers to Leviticus chapter 18, verse 18: “And you shall not take a woman as a rival wife to her sister, uncovering her nakedness while her sister is still alive.”)

“Abominable. All this will be used against her, Your Majesty.”

“Thank you, Alec,” Jagged smiled. “She’s English. No country is going to claim her. And since I’m the one in charge in England, it will be possible to execute her without problem.”

“So it shall be done, Your Majesty.”

“And there’s more: since she’s been saying that I’m a limp-dick, I want her to be decapitated not with the axe but with a huge sword. Then she’ll see who’s a limp-dick.”

On May 2^nd, Emilie was imprisoned in the Tower of London, taken down the same path that had led to her coronation three years earlier. The people now celebrated, but still directed insults of the worst kind at her. George and four other men accused of being her lovers were also arrested. Lila tried to convince the king that Emilie was innocent, but was unsuccessful. An aunt by marriage, who disliked her niece, was her gaoler, and one of her ladies-in-waiting, Lady Kingston, visited her in her cell. Emilie asked her to deliver a letter to Luka, in which she asked for forgiveness for everything she had done for him. So she hoped that her stepson would intercede for her for Jagged.

“Kneel before him, call him ‘Your Highness’, treat him like a prince,” he instructed. “Do whatever he wants. I need him to stay by my side.”

Two weeks later, on the 15^th, a tribunal was set up with several jurors, among them the Duke of Norfolk himself, who was ensuring that his niece’s misfortune did not interfere with his own position. Vivica was another juror, as was Percy. His wife, jealous that he still loved Emilie, made him declare that they had made a pre-marriage contract, which was not undone by the time she married the king, reinforcing the argument that she was capable of committing adultery. Wang Fu described the trial in his letters to Sabine and expressed his suspicions that Alec, who had aided in Emilie’s rise, now helped ensure her downfall. On his visit to the Empress’s cousin, he was able to break the news to him.

“I wish I could be there. God forgive me, but I would like it very much,” Luka said.

“I understand, Your Highness. I can bring Your Highness a picture of the scene, if it’s your wish.”

“Please, Your Excellency. I thank you very much. Is Alec Cataldi now against that woman? Who would have thought?”

“She made many enemies at court, Your Highness. Arrogant people eventually fall.”

“What will become of Adrien now?”

“Alec confided in me that his mother’s marriage will be annulled. Consequently, Adrien will be considered illegitimate. I heard that the king even suspects paternity.”

“Really? And who would be his father?”

“I’ve heard rumors that it could be from anyone she’s been with. Even his brother’s.”

Luka made the sign of the cross, horrified. All of this confirmed how nefarious Emilie was. At the same time, the prince felt sorry for Adrien, imagining that perhaps Jagged would give him worse treatment than he had given himself because he suspected that he was not his father. It had been three years since Luka had spoken to the king, and he did not know how he could intercede for his brother. At that time, he prayed that God would help him. At least Adrien could be cared for by a person of better character than his mother.

“Although...” Wang Fu continued. “I don’t think she really committed adultery. Your father is certainly not the kind of man who would calmly accept a betrayal. And he is not only very calm, but seems to sport this supposed cuck status.”

“Then it must be in his own interest to get rid of her.”

At the same moment, Lady Kingston arrived in Hunsdon. She bowed down in reverence before Luka, addressed him as “Your Highness,” and handed over the letter. He read it carefully and asked for a moment to speak alone with the ambassador.

“Here’s the address of a friend of mine from London. He’s the best lute player in London. He has a group, the members of which are all my friends, and the singer is a Scottish nobleman with a brilliant voice. Give him this money,” he handed over a bag. “Say that the rest will come later. I’ll write him what he should do,” he wrote two letters, one to his friend, which he gave to Wang Fu, and one to Emilie, which he gave to Lady Kingston. “I guarantee that I’ll provide support to your lady.”

On May 17^th, two days after the trial of Emilie and George, he was executed along with the other four suspects. The Duke of Norfolk read the sentence. Lila officially annulled the marriage to Jagged, using the legal arguments elaborated by Alec, especially the king’s affair with Amelie. With that, Adrien was declared a bastard. Her father laid off his personal household and ordered that the residences and rooms given to Emilie and her family during the reign be vacated to make way for Penny’s. Beaulieu Palace returned to Luka, who alternated his residence between there and Hunsdon. Amelie picked up her two-year-old nephew from Hatfield and took him to live among her children. She returned to London to see her sister’s fate. On the 19^th, it was Emilie’s turn to be taken to execution.

“You’re going to die, motherfucker,” shouted a man among the audience.

“Hooray to Queen Anarka!!!” shouted one woman.

“HOORAY!!!” echoed the crowd.

“Hooray to Prince Luka!!!”

“HOORAY”

“And down with this bitch and her bastard son.”

“SHE’S GOING TO DIE!!!”

A group of musicians climbed the scaffold. At the same time, Lady Kingston handed Emilie, who was preparing to go upstairs, Luka’s letter. She read it immediately.

You cannot imagine how moved I was by your gesture: asking me for forgiveness in your last days of life. I wondered if it was a sincere or convenient act. I recognize that everyone deserves forgiveness if they are truly repentant.

When I reviewed your case, I contacted people I trust. Since, among others, you were accused of committing adultery with a musician, I called some musician friends of mine to play a ballad that the king himself would choose on this occasion.

Best wishes

Luka the Prince.

Immediately after Emilie finished reading, the group began playing the song. Upon recognizing the melody, the audience laughed, accompanied it with clapping hands, and sang along.

I used to love her

But I had to kill her

I used to love her

But I had to kill her

I had to put her

Six feet under

And I can still hear her complain

“Everybody singing,” Emilie’s aunt asked, and the crowd sang louder.

I used to love her

But I had to kill her

I used to love her

But I had to kill her

I knew I’d miss her

So I had to keep her

She’s buried right in my backyard

The music continued, with applause at the end. The executioner read the sentence aloud to the people, declaring Emilie guilty of adultery, witchcraft, incest, and treason. Dressed in simple convict clothes, without any luxury, several lines echoed in her mind.

You’re not going to get Jagged what he wants. He’s going to get fed up with you sooner or later, and he’s going to dispose of you in the worst possible way.

The real queen is my sister-in-law, Anarka, mother of the prince who bears MY name. You’re nothing but a whore, and the child you carry is a bastard.

I recognize no queen but my mother.

You’re a usurper, and Adrien is a bastard.

The one who will get me rid of you is God. And He’s also going to get Jagged rid of you.

I used to love her

But I had to kill her

I used to love her

But I had to kill her

She bitched so much

She drove me nuts

And now we’re happier this way

As long as she was angry with Jagged, Emilie asked the people to respect him for being a righteous king. She believed that, perhaps, people would sympathize and fight for her life. But the people were revolted by everything she had done to achieve power, and her speech did not convince them. Jagged himself was not thinking about her at that moment, but about the interrogation that Alec sent to Max, which was answered on the 27^th with a copy of his own article condemning the changes, as if in an “I told you so.” Able only to beg God to have mercy on her soul, Emilie positioned herself on the scaffold, and the executioner beheaded her with a sword blow.

I used to love her

But I had to kill her

I used to love her

But I had to kill her

I had to put her

Six feet under

And I can still hear her complain

Eleven days later, on May 30^th, 1536, Jagged married Penny. All of Emilie’s clothes and jewelry were burned so that there would be no more memories of her in the palace. The Second Act of Succession confirmed Adrien’s illegitimacy and passed the throne to Penny’s future children. Lady Jane was promoted as her lady-in-waiting. The king’s new wife had her own goals, but these were aimed at benefiting others besides herself.

Chapter Text

It was 1536. Months after the death of his first wife and days after the execution of his second, Jagged married for the third time. Penny Rolling, though coming from a noble family, had not received a notable education. She was also not very pretty, especially compared to Anarka. Her greatest appeal was elegance and apparent submission, which was what Jagged looked for in a wife.

“You’ll now have a much better position, Penny,” Jagged held her hands. “I’ll crown you as queen, but only if you give me a daughter. You’re going to give it to me, aren’t you?”

“Of course, my lord. It will be my greatest mission.”

Wang Fu visited the court to get news. By talking personally with the queen, he learned of her plans for the succession to the throne, and they were the best possible. Penny just needed to be patient and careful in her words, since Jagged was not someone easy to convince.

“Your Highness could not gain a better stepmother,” the ambassador remarked while in Hunsdon.

“Penny Rolling?” replied the prince, now 20. “I like her a lot. She was my mother’s best lady-in-waiting after Lady Marlena. She’s very kind and sweet.”

“And she’ll be your best friend now.”

“My best friend?”

“Yes, Your Highness. The queen confided in me that she intends to put Your Highness back in the succession to the throne.”

“Really?” Luka was moved. “Does she want me to be heir?”

“Yes. She told me that she has a lot of affection for Your Highness and that after everything that has happened, she wants Your Highness to be close to her to treat Your Highness like a son.”

“How generous she is.”

“In her own words, ‘It’s the least I can do for the son of my lady and mistress, Queen Anarka.’”

“May God bless her. And does my father agree?”

“I didn’t get to discuss the matter with him. If Your Highness wants to know your father’s position, it’s better to write to Alec Cataldi. He has won even more favor from the king since the beginning of the process against the harlot.”

“All right, I’ll write to him.”

“Before I forget, I brought what Your Highness asked for,” Wang Fu fetched a canvas. “This is the framework of execution. The audience clamored for your name and your mother’s. Both are much loved by the people of this country.”

“Thank you, Your Excellency.”

Luka smiled as he saw the painting. An artist had painted in secret, especially for him. Perhaps it was the only one who did not depict Emilie kneeling in front of the executioner with the sword, but rather her already decapitated, with her head at a good distance from her body, both in a blood puddle.

“I hope you continue the suffering in Hell, you filthy bitch.”

“Such a rotten soul would never enter Heaven, for sure. Where does Your Highness intend to put it?”

“I don’t know yet. Maybe in the kennel, where it’s a bitch’s place,” joked the prince.

Later, Luka wrote to Alec, asking him to intercede for him with his father, to which the chief minister replied in the affirmative. Seeking to remind the king of their relationship, he himself wrote a letter to him, saying that he hoped that now, with the death of the prostitute, they could be on good terms again. Jagged responded quickly.

Luka,

In fact, the prostitute only caused problems. I am very excited about her execution.

However, do not think that this redeems you from your own mistakes. I have not forgotten that you did not support your father and contradict the decisions made by this one, who is not only your father, but also the King.

Therefore, our reconciliation will not be on your terms but on mine.

Best regards

Jagged the King.

“Please, my lord, don’t be harsh to him,” the queen urged.

“He needs to learn to obey his father.”

“I’m sure he didn’t do it to hurt you. He was just defending his mother as a good son.”

“Of course, he’s a good son to Nanarky. But for me, he does that.”

“My lord, try to put yourself in his place: to be between mother and father.”

“He should choose the side of who’s the King,” Jagged replied decisively and then sighed. “Luka has the Couffaines’ way, not the Stones’. It was to be expected that he would take his mother’s side.”

“My lord, taking advantage of the matter, I’d like to ask you something.”

“What would it be, Penny?”

“I want Luka to be put back in the line of succession.”

“Are you crazy???” Jagged asked angrily. “You should be thinking about your own future daughters, not someone else’s son.”

“I’m thinking of the best for England,” she justified with a reason that might convince him, even though she was actually doing it for justice. “Luka is still Sabine’s cousin. If he’s restored, she’ll be our ally.”

Sabine was the only monarch Jagged was afraid of. She was queen of the greatest power on the planet and had already led powerful invasions. England, although stable until the recent changes, did not have the same influence in Europe as Spain and the Holy Roman Empire. Aware that Sabine only did not invade the country because Anarka asked her so, Jagged knew that a violent move against Luka would arouse the empress’s ire and perhaps the king would have a fate like Emilie’s.

“It’s a good argument. But the decision is up to me. Retreat to your role.”

Penny decided to take a step back and then move forward. At least she had found a point to invest in her plan.

On June 15^th, Jagged sent a delegation to Hunsdon. Led by Alec, the group also consisted of Bob Roth, Earl of Sussex, the Bishop of Chester, and the Duke of Norfolk himself. They brought a document for Luka to sign, acknowledging his father, not the Pope, as head of the Church in England and his parents’ marriage as incestuous and unlawful.

“My father wants me to choose between him and the truth; is that it?”

“Your father’s the one who decides what the truth is in this country,” Bob Roth replied. “He said that if you don’t sign, you’ll be imprisoned in the Tower of London for treason.”

“He wouldn’t do that,” Luka stated in fright.

“You know what Your Majesty is able of, Lord Luka,” remarked the Duke of Norfolk.

“Don’t call me that.”

“Sir...” It was Alec’s turn to speak.

“It’s Your Highness,” Luka insisted, in a firm voice.

“In a letter, you asked me to intercede on your behalf with the king. It’s His Majesty’s wish that you return to court, but it’ll be on these terms.”

“Thank you, sir, but the terms force me to lie. It’s something I can’t do.”

“You just lied now by demanding to be called Your Highness.”

“It’s the right treatment to address me.”

“By law, you’re no longer the Prince.”

“By Canon Law, I still am. Even if the marriage is later invalidated, the children generated in it are recognized as legitimate,” Luka quoted the law, and the men looked at each other in surprise. “My tutor had a doctorate in Law, in case you don’t remember. My mother was also well-versed in the subject.”

The group realized that convincing the prince would not be an easy task. He was not intimidated by the delegation’s size or by those men’s titles. His certainty was unshakable. Each tried to debate with Luka about the validity of the royal demands, but no question was left without a well-argued answer.

“You know that your mother’s dead. It’s useless to continue this fight,” insisted Alec.

“God commanded in the fourth commandment to honor father and mother. He didn’t say that it stops when they’re dead,” Luka countered.

“But are you honoring your father by disobeying him?” asked the Duke of Norfolk.

“I’m not dishonoring him by telling the truth. Lying is against the eighth commandment. Or does the King now intend to modify the Bible after he has altered the ecclesiastical rites?”

The men’s eyes widened. Nothing they said would convince the prince that the king was right.

“You’re a stubborn, disobedient kid,” Bob Roth said. “If you were my son, I would smash your skull against the wall until it was soft as a boiled apple.”

“You said it well: “if.” I’m not,” Luka replied, undeterred.

“Are you going to sign or do you prefer the Tower of London?”

“Give me a few days to reflect. Then you can take the answer to the King.”

“You’re going to have a week,” Alec said.

As soon as the men were gone, Luka prepared some tea to calm down. As much as he had shown courage in front of the delegation, he knew that his father was psychologically unstable and able of committing insanity just to prove how powerful he was. Luckily for him, Wang Fu came soon after and advised him.

“For your own integrity and safety, it’s better to sign, Your Highness.”

“Should I commit such a crime against my mother and God?”

“Your mother and Our Lord would not blame Your Highness if Your Highness were obliged to do this to preserve yourself. If Your Highness dies in this madness of your father, Your Highness won’t be able to do justice to your mother’s lineage. Alive, Your Highness will still be able to legitimately claim the throne and fulfill Queen Anarka’s dream.”

On the 22^nd, the men returned. Before they reached his house, Luka signed the document without reading it, alongside Wang Fu.

“I’ll never forgive myself for that,” the prince said almost tearfully.

“This will soon pass, Your Highness. The queen is on your side. Tame the King, and she can help Your Highness.”

Agreeing with the ambassador, Luka wrote a note right behind the document. When the group entered the mansion, the men collected his signature and congratulated him on the action. Although he disguised his gaze well, the prince felt like sending them to put their congratulations and the document wherever they wanted. Wang Fu hugged him as soon as the group left. On the same day, Luka wrote a letter to the new pope, explaining that he had been forced to sign the document to preserve his life, but he did so with mental reservations, without any sincerity in acknowledging his father’s absurdities. Jagged was proud to see the signing.

(*The pope who faced Jagged was Clement VII. Luka wrote to Paul III, who took over the Vatican two years before the events of this chapter, in 1534.)

“I like to see it. Luka is finally cooperating,” then he saw that there was something in the verse. “But the one who committed incest was the prostitute whom Your Majesty beheaded. Well, I’ll have to agree with that,” he laughed.

“Can we invite him to join the court?”

“Sure, Penny. I’m even going to send him a gift for that.”

“Oh, thank you so much, my lord,” she thanked emotionally.

Jagged sent new clothes and a revamped personal household to Luka. He also allowed him to wear a crown and sent him a thousand to use day by day. Finally, the king assured that he would pay all his son’s expenses and that he would never have to worry about money. Penny took the opportunity to send him her own gifts, including a valuable pearl brooch, knowing how much her stepson adored pearls.

However, the English coffers did not have as much money as the king would have liked. Several war campaigns that came from the time he was married to Anarka cost the country dearly. To maintain the support of his court, and now that of his eldest son, Jagged had to make cuts to his budget. On Penny’s recommendation, the funds for Adrien’s care were cut, leaving the responsibility to the already indebted Graham family.

Luka wore one of his new outfits and the pearl brooch when he went to London to join the court at the end of the month. Jagged wanted to see him in a room before they could proceed with the festivities. The prince paid obeisance but was not pleased to see him. His gaze looked downcast.

“Your Majesty.”

“It’s good to see you again, Luka.”

“Good to know that my presence pleases Your Majesty.”

“Why so much formality?” the king held his face with both hands. “I’m your father.”

“Sorry if I upset you,” Luka referred to the formality, but Jagged thought it was about his previous refusals to accept his father’s actions.

“Now everything is fine. The past is the past,” he hugged his son, who returned the gesture out of mere politeness. “Come, the queen wants to see you.”

Shortly after, Penny entered the room. Hardly had Luka risen from his bow when he noticed his stepmother extending her arms to him. Unlike what it was with his father, the hug with the queen was very affectionate.

“Dear...” Penny shed a tear. “Look how you have grown.”

“I’m very honored to see you again, my lady.”

“I want you to be with us from now on.”

“I’ll leave you to talk alone,” Jagged withdrew.

“I think the ambassador told you about my plans,” Penny said.

“Yes,” Luka confirmed. “I’ll never be able to thank you the way you deserve.”

“This is just one of the many justices I want to do to Your Highness. I want Your Highness to tell me everything that happened in Hatfield, so I’ll make the arrangements.”

“It was quite difficult at first,” the prince remembered, annoyed. “People were rude, wished me dead, and pressured Lady Bustier to be cruel to me. But she had mercy, especially after I got sick.”

“Sick?!”

“They wanted me to eat with the servants, so when I couldn’t eat in the room, I refused to eat. Then my migraine got worse.”

“My poor prince...” Penny hugged him. “I’m seeing the result: Your Highness was plump when you were a child, and now you’re so skinny. Damn that harlot. But this will not go unanswered. I’ve already started giving back.”

“What did you do, my lady?”

“To begin with, it’s now my family who live in Hatfield. And I convinced your father to cut off resources for Adrien. Now it’s the bitch’s family who will have to sponsor him by themselves.”

“Adrien?” Luka asked worriedly.

“Everything she did for Your Highness now her son will suffer, and double.”

“My lady... I thank you so much for what you’re doing for me, but please don’t be cruel to Adrien. He’s not to blame for what his mother did.”

“Do Your Highness want all this to go unpunished?”

“I want the people who did me wrong to be punished. But those who have done nothing to me cannot pay what they do not owe. It is written in Ezekiel: ‘For everyone belongs to me, the parent as well as the child—both alike belong to me. The one who sins is the one who will die.’ And also, in Chronicles: ‘Parents shall not be put to death for their children, nor children be put to death for their parents; each will die for their own sin.’”

“Your Highness is very kind and wise. Pretty much like your mother. I don’t mean in appearance, but in personality. She was also pious.”

Luka was the result of such a homogeneous mixture of Jagged and Anarka that he ended up looking neither like one nor the other. He had the shape of his father’s face, his mother’s nose, and turquoise eyes and the hair of both. The other features seemed to be either mixed or from neither parent. The greatest example was his body, thin and much thinner than those of Jagged and Anarka. However, of all the king’s known sons, Luka was considered the most handsome.

“Thank you for the compliments to my mother. Oh, you can’t imagine the relief I feel to be safe from that witch and now to be next to such a generous lady,” Luka and Penny hugged.

“It’s going to be okay, my angel,” she said in such a similar way to Anarka’s that it seemed like she was herself speaking.

Penny sought to reverse everything that had been established in England since her husband used her cousin as a pretext to expand his power. It was not because the king had decided something that the people would necessarily agree. Proof of this was that Emilie continued to be hated, even with the entire state mechanism working to get her approved. But another person aware of this was Alec, who had his own goals. The more he helped increase Jagged’s power, the more he would gain his trust and increase his own power.

“The parliament is still on your side, Your Majesty. But I regret to inform Your Majesty that there’s resistance in the monasteries,” he said seriously, seeking to effect their dissolution according to his plan.

“Resistance? What do you mean?”

“Many parishes, especially in the interior and in the North, refuse to obey the Act of Submission. People even say things that... it would be better if Your Majesty didn’t know.”

“Now I’m curious,” the king frowned. “What are they saying?”

“They reject your authority over the Church, for a pope is chosen through a conclave among the College of Cardinals. They say that Your Majesty is not a cardinal, nor an archbishop or bishop, nor a priest. Then Your Majesty can never consider yourself a pope, not even a candidate for such.”

“HOW DARE THEY???” Jagged shouted furiously. “They have a super rock n’ roll king who is king and pope at the same time. And they still want the other one, who’s just pope?”

“It’s their position, Your Majesty. They even say that both Your Majesty cannot call yourself head of the Church and that Your Majesty was not chosen by the representatives of God, but by a ‘mere’ decision of the parliament.”

“How much petulance. Well, I’ll show them. I order you to comply with the Act of Suppression that we passed in the parliament last year: burn all churches whose priests, bishops, cardinals, or whatever they may not recognize me as a leader. Spare no rebel, whether from a mere parish or an abbey. Take their land and resources. Execute the traitors. They need to know that here in England, where I am the king, my will is the divine will.”

Thus, a bloody period began. There was destruction and death all over the country. Sacred sites were unroofed and reduced to ruins. Monasteries were dissolved. People were hanged and beheaded for not accepting the king’s power over the Church. Even calling Luka heir to the throne was punishable by death, but luckily for the prince, his signature on the document assured him that he had nothing to do with popular resistance, and his father did nothing to him. The consequences were not long in coming. Jagged’s popularity continued to fall, and then came what seemed to be a divine response: on July 23^rd, at the age of 17, Aurore passed away from pneumonia.

“God, what have I done wrong?” the king wept before the tomb. “Take my only recognized daughter, my beloved and well-liked Aurore. The proof that I can have a healthy daughter. Why her, Lord? Why did You take her from me?”

One of Penny’s brothers, Gabriel, had his eye on the titles left by the king’s daughter. The other brother, Theo, had been named Viscount Beauchamp shortly after the royal wedding. Both believed that, with the Grahams’ disgrace, their own family would become prestigious with the monarch. To do so, their sister needed to please Jagged as much as possible. But Penny carried out her own plans. Outraged by such an atrocity being committed, she interceded for many accused of treason. While she could not speak openly, she also did not recognize Jagged’s authority over the Church. The people of the north began to revolt on October 1^st, and on the 10^th, a huge rebellion against all that royal violence broke out in Lincolnshire, led by lawyer Armand D’Argentcourt, the queen’s third cousin. Before long, the entire English North was protesting against the king. Penny saw this as an opportunity to convince the king to listen to her.

“Everything that is happening has a reason, my lord.”

“Of course it has. People refuse to obey the King.”

“The King or Alec Cataldi?”

“What’s the matter with Alec? He’s helping me to promote my super rock n’ roll changes to mark my name in English history. You said you’d help me with that, Penny. I’m expecting our daughter until now.”

“I’m sorry to say, my lord, that maybe that’s not quite what he intends. And God is seeing everything. This revolt is the divine response for having destroyed so many churches and killed so many priests and devotees. Aurore’s death is another response.”

Jagged held Penny’s arm tightly. The queen’s heart fluttered in fright.

“Remember what happened to your cousin Emilie. Don’t meddle in my affairs.”

As soon as the king let go of her arm, Penny bowed her head in obedience. There was a lot to be done, and she could not neglect it. Many depended on her success and trusted her: Gabriel, Theo, Luka, the English people, and the country’s order. She even ran the risk of being accused of treason, as some of her mediations were discovered. But the queen escaped from this.

Jagged was increasingly worried. Throughout October, the revolt gained more and more followers, among commoners, bishops, and even nobles. Calls were made in churches for the faithful to join the rebellion. Various nobles provided financial support and their castles as shelters and bases for the protesters. They also became official members of the movement. No threat from the king or his army was able to intimidate. The rebels, very well armed, defeated the royal forces. Jagged pressured his allies, especially Vivica, to contain the revolt. He ordered them to kill everyone, whether men, women, or children, and destroy their bases. But it was all in vain. In Suffolk, even though the king threatened to crush the rebels with his sister-in-law’s army, Vivica did not unleash a single one of her men against them, who were directed to strategically divert to a path where they could not be found. In other places, Jagged’s allies either did not comply with his orders or could not overcome the protesters. Their demands were clear: an end to violence against monasteries and churches, an end to land taxes (which made food more expensive), Jagged’s resignation as head of the Church, Alec Cataldi’s departure from the position of chief minister, and Luka’s return to the succession of the throne.

“You were right, Penny. This revolt is too much for my army to win. I don’t know how to proceed.”

“May I make a suggestion, my lord?”

“It’s okay, you can make it.”

“You can send the Duke of Norfolk to negotiate with the leaders. He’ll know how to dialogue in religious terms and can convince them to stop the revolt.”

“A good option,” Jagged mused.

“In addition, you can invite leaders to our Christmas festivities. It’s a great occasion to bring the family together. The people love Luka, and he’ll be by our side, showing how united the royal family is. Thus, Your Majesty indicates the stability that is to come.”

“Oh, great idea! Super rock n’ roll! Thank you. You’re awesome, Penny. What would I do without you?” Jagged kissed her on the cheek.

On the 26^th, the Duke of Norfolk gathered 6,000 soldiers, who encountered a crowd of 30,000 protesters. Despite the enormous numerical advantage, D’Argentcourt agreed to negotiate. The talks lasted until November 13^th, when the duke assured that the king would meet the demands and pardon the rebels, recognizing that he could not defeat them. D’Argentcourt agreed to disperse the troops. The announcement of the royal pardon would be made on December 3^rd, and the leaders were invited to the festivities.

Preparations for Christmas began. At Luka’s request, Penny agreed to invite Adrien, as long as he did not participate in any important moments of the day and that no Graham who had been a supporter of Emilie was present. The little boy, only three years old, was in the care of Lady Contard. As Jagged cut his provisions, available resources were scarce, including fabrics for Adrien’s clothes. Even Alec had been notified by a letter from the housekeeper about the financial difficulties the boy faced. Luka was the first to sympathize with his brother’s plight and ordered him new clothes, including one to wear for Christmas. Penny believed that cutting provisions would only deprive Adrien of luxury. She did not want the boy to be in need.

The leaders present at the party did not know what was coming, but soon the atmosphere became more pleasant. They were greeted cordially in the throne room, with Jagged in the center, Penny on his left, and Luka on his right. The three wore crowns.

“As you can all see, here’s my super rock n’ roll family together: my wife, Penny, and my son, Luka. And I promise you that no one here will be chased for their convictions. After all, we are all among Catholics... Look here, my wife is, my son is, I am, everyone here is.”

“You’re an excommunicated, that’s right,” thought one of the leaders.

“As per the meeting with the Duke of Norfolk, Your Majesty...” said another leader. “We would like confirmation that the sacraments that were omitted two years ago will return to the books adopted by the bishops.”

“Oh yes, of course,” assured Jagged. “That was Lila’s idea. But I admit that I didn’t even read the thing. Next year, when we do the next printing, the books will already be corrected.”

“What about taxes on land?”

“They will have an end. In four years, the new rules will be made official in law.”

“We thank you immensely, Your Majesty.”

“That’s it. Rock n’ roll!!” the king celebrated, and then an arrival was announced.

“Lord Adrien.”

There were many murmurs. Several guests did not understand the presence of Emilie’s son at that festivity. One of them spoke softly but audibly.

“Here comes the son of a bitch.”

Accompanied by the governess, Adrien entered the room and walked to the throne. He was wearing a new outfit, which he had received from his brother. When he placed himself before his father, he revered him.

“Your… Ma... jes... ty,” said the little boy.

“Son...” Jagged made an affectionate voice. “It’s nice to see you.”

Penny avoided looking at Adrien, but Luka looked at him tenderly. When the little boy saw him, the prince stretched out his arms, inviting him to sit on his lap.

“Luka...” Adrien ran to him.

“Come here, baby,” Luka settled him in. “I missed you so much. Did you miss me?”

“Yeah. I missed you too,” the boy confirmed.

Luka’s defenders were surprised by the act. What to anyone would seem like a gesture of affection between siblings was seen as a posture unworthy of a prince. After all, it was the servants who carried the children, not the royals. But in the eyes of Jagged, who had no intention of cooperating with Penny’s plans, these were two bastard (or rather, delegitimized) children, and it would not be up to them to act according to royal protocol.

“Well...” Jagged began after a silence. “Now that everyone is here, let’s start the festivities.”

At the time of the banquet, everyone went to the table. Penny instructed Lady Contard to take Adrien to eat with the servants. Luka promised his brother that they would play after eating. Stepmother and stepson sat next to each other at the table.

“I hope you enjoy it well, Luka. I don’t want to see him skinny ever again.”

“You won’t see, my lady. Thank you very much.”

“You’re very kind to Adrien, even though the bastard is who he is.”

“Believe me, I hate his mother more than you think. But that doesn’t stop me from loving him. He’s my brother, after all.”

“You’re really Queen Anarka’s son,” Penny said proudly.

As he ate, Luka noticed his cousin on a far side of the table. He avoided continuing to stare so as not to find Henry Bruel.

“I suppose Frances has been a recurring presence at court these years, hasn’t she?”

“Oh yes, she has,” Penny confirmed.

“With a husband who’s a toady for the king, it stands to reason that she would be welcome,” he said wryly.

“I’m a witness: your uncle didn’t approve of the marriage in the slightest. Your aunt is a friend of the Bruels and was negotiating the boy’s marriage with another, but his family preferred Frances.”

“I can imagine...”

“Your father even paid a debt of the Bruels with the other suitor to join their son with your cousin. But believe me, despite her husband, Frances didn’t go to the harlot’s coronation.”

“Yes... Uncle Luka wrote to me that he and his daughters didn’t go.”

“Dear...” Penny held his hand. “Did any of them do anything to you in Hatfield?”

“No. To tell the truth, they didn’t even go there. So much flattering, and they don’t even meet Adrien in the end. But I already understand what Henry Bruel’s deal is. He’s just getting revenge on me.”

Luka and Penny continued talking until the end of the feast. Adrien had dozed off on the governess’s lap, so the prince had time for dancing before his brother woke up to play. His two cousins being accompanied by their husbands, Luka was paired with a lady of the court, right behind her father and stepmother. In the first pair exchange, he danced with Penny before returning to his partner. Then, in the second exchange, he ended up with Frances. After the surprise, he tried to disguise his feelings.

“Luka...”

“Frances.”

“I’ve wanted to see you for a long time,” she said as they danced.

“I suppose your husband has kept you better company.”

“Luka, I know what you’re thinking, but I can explain.”

“We dance first, we talk later.”

The dance continued for a long time. At the end, the cousins went to the prince’s room. When they were assured that they would not be heard, they started the conversation.

“Luka, I’m sorry for everything that happened,” she said a bit apprehensively. “Really, I’m sorry.”

“Are you really sorry?” he asked seriously. “Do you have any idea what I’ve been through all these years? I lost my mother, I lost my uncle, I lost my tutor, I saw my own father disowning me and submitting me to the humiliations from the concubine, and I even lost my favorite cousin.”

“I’ve always been on your side...”

“Your husband doesn’t. He supported the prostitute.”

“To marry me...”

“As if you loved him to desire this marriage so much. It’s clear that the Bruels were only wanting to get closer to the King through a marriage to his niece.”

“I had no choice. His father was looking for allies for the project of expanding royal power. The Bruels came offering support. He wasn’t going to refuse. You know: as the daughter of a duke, I need royal approval to marry anyone,” Frances explained. “I’m a woman, Luka. I can’t deny the marriage they arrange for me. What could I do?”

“Follow the example of your own parents. If it were up to my father, soon after the French princess died, Uncle Luka would be sent to marry another princess, but he faced all the consequences of marrying Aunt Vivica. In the end, my father may have been angry, but he ended up accepting the marriage. I could have married someone else.”

“With whom, Luka? With whom?” she asked a little nervously. “The only one I knew besides Henry was you. And as a prince, your parents always considered you for marrying some princess. Never for the daughter of a duke, even though he was a prince. Whom your father demoted to duke. His own brother,” Frances sighed. “My father always said he was your father’s favorite brother. That’s why he named you Luka.”

“Yes.... And that’s why I think we should be united, Frances. When Uncle Luka died, I was so sad that the loss of him made me worse than anything that was happening. I wondered how disappointed he died. In the face of all that madness of my father and the marriage of his daughter to a supporter of madness.”

“Luka.... Thank God, that woman is already dead. I didn’t go to the coronation, nor did I want to approach it. I didn’t make the slightest point. I was very sad about the death of your mother, my godmother, my very dear aunt. At that time, I wanted to be with you to give you a hug and to support you. I believe you felt the same way about me when my father died.”

“I felt it.”

“So... Luka... Now the witch who generated all this trouble is gone. You can trust me. There’s no one to disunite us.”

“Not even your husband?”

“Not even him. Henry wanted the King’s trust to marry. Come on, Luka, you know how crazy your father is. Look at your stepmother: she retreats and then advances. That’s what my mother did. That’s what we did. We have nothing against you. On the contrary, we are always with you.”

“I heard that it was Eleanor who led my mother’s funeral services. It was very nice of her.”

“My sister has the same feeling as I do for her mother.”

“Did Henry accept your condition well before he married?”

“He accepted. He didn’t like it very much, but he accepted.”

“How I suspected. He supported the prostitute to get revenge on me.”

“No.... He only found out after we got married. I told him it was with you, and he accepted. It was with a prince, after all.”

“He wouldn’t return the king’s niece and lose closeness to the sovereign,” Luka deduced. “Some things need to be accepted to get advantages.”

“Anyway... Will you take me back?” Frances stretched out her arms.

“I will,” Luka did the same.

The cousins hugged tightly, comforting each other for their losses. Then they smiled, and Luka kissed Frances’ hand. When they returned to the hall, they decided to take different paths so as not to attract attention.

“At last we found him...” Lady Contard said affectionately. “There’s someone here who was looking for you.”

“Who is it...?” Luka took his brother in his arms. “Let’s play now.”

“Yeees,” Adrien replied excitedly.

“Thank you, Lady Contard. Thank you for taking care of Adrien as well as you took care of me.”

“It’s a pleasure, Your Highness,” then she put her hand over her mouth, realizing her mistake before the law in force, but Luka blinked and calmed her down.

The party went on for hours. Adrien slept in a very heavy sleep after playing for a long time. Luka was a little tired, but he wanted to talk to his stepmother before going to sleep.

“Any progress in the negotiations?”

“Yes. The King gave in on some legal claims. Those he heard with us.”

“That’s good.”

“Now the interference in the sacred scriptures is over. It’s a victory of truth over lies. But I regret that Alec Cataldi still has too much power over the decisions of the parliament. The leaders wanted his resignation, but I doubt it will happen.”

“What about my right to succession? It was a great demand of theirs, wasn’t it?”

“It was. But calm down. I’ll find a way to do it.”

“Thank you, my lady. You’re so good to me. It’s like I have the opportunity to have a mother again.”

“And Your Highness is my opportunity to take care of a child,” Penny said emotionally, and the two embraced.

The queen and the rebels’ triumph was Lila’s defeat. Having Emilie as her greatest ally to implement her own project, she now had in Penny one of the biggest obstacles. With the return of the bishops’ books to the original version, there was a rapprochement with the traditional rite and a distancing from the archbishop’s objectives.

“After all...” Lila punched the table. “Everything I implemented went down the drain.”

“It’s the fault of these ignorant people who are still Catholic,” said Chloe Bourgeois, Lila’s disciple. “Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous.”

“Emilie fell when she got into a fight with Alec Cataldi and didn’t give birth to the daughter the King wanted. As far as I know, Penny is not pregnant yet.”

“And what does Cataldi think of her?”

“Their plans are very different. I’m sure she doesn’t like him, but he’s the one who can give the King the most power. We just have to wait, Chloe. Continuing things the way they are, she will soon do the same as her cousin.”

But 1537 began thwarting Lila’s plans with great news: Penny was pregnant. The queen was excited to finally be able to fulfill something she had promised her husband. Jagged was ecstatic.

“You’re really awesome, Penny.”

“It’s a gift that God is giving you, my lord. He’s very happy with your recent decisions.”

“February is coming, and I’m going to fulfill everything,” he held out his hands to the sky. “Thank you, Lord, for Penny’s pregnancy. Let the heiress to the throne come.”

Luka also congratulated his stepmother. She invited him to be godfather to the future child and planned to give the child an education equal to that which Queen Anarka had given her son. Her stepson suggested that she call Adrien to court when the baby was born, so it would grow up with someone of a close age to play with. Penny accepted the suggestion and decided to send some fabrics to Adrien along with the toys Luka sent him. The little boy’s financial situation was improving a lot. Penny had given her stance more thought and understood that Adrien could not be blamed for Emilie’s deeds. Therefore, she began to treat her stepson with affection, receiving him with honors at court. But Luka was still her favorite, and she would only fight for his right to the throne, for Adrien was a bastard according to the law, both canonical and civil.

Even with the royal pardon, some leaders of the previous year’s rebellion doubted that Jagged would keep his word. In fact, the bishops’ books returned to their original form, and the parliament had begun work on drafting the law to abolish the land tax. But they were the only promises fulfilled. Alec remained in office, Luka was not restored to the line of succession, Jagged remained as head of the Church, and the monasteries continued to be dissolved, albeit by nonviolent means, such as bargaining. Several confiscated lands were handed over to allies of the king. Fearing strong reprisals, D’Argentcourt tried to stop it, but a new rebellion broke out in Yorkshire on January 16^th, with the support of some of the lords who had participated in the earlier movement, among them two of Percy’s brothers. However, it was suppressed within a month, ending on February 10^th. The leaders were arrested. Although D’Argentcourt was not a member, he was considered an inspiration for his role in the previous revolt and was sent to the Tower of London.

Sabine learned of Penny’s pregnancy through Wang Fu’s letters. She sent her a warm message of congratulations, taking the opportunity to praise the Queen’s kindness, generosity, and defense of the faith and thank her for all she had done for Luka. Sabine was also pregnant, in her seventh pregnancy. Depending on what would be born, the two children could marry in the future. In May, she sent a messenger to Jagged and a letter to her cousin.

Dear Luka,

As I promised your mother when you were a child, I have come to announce that I have found a good suitress to be your wife. [...]

She has a similar upbringing to yours. She also likes music a lot. In addition, she helped me in the victory against the Ottomans in Tunis last year. For sure, you will have a good defender.

Your cousin, who loves you so much,

Sabine, Queen and Empress.

“Her Imperial Majesty appoints a Portuguese Infanta to marry Luka,” the messenger explained.

(*Infante (infanta, in feminine) is the title given in Portugal (at the time it was a monarchy) and in Spain to a prince who is not expected to assume the throne (only the heir is called prince). In England, all the legitimate children of the monarch are called princes/princess.)

“Very well,” Jagged replied. “What is Maria’s name?”

“Nadja, sister of the King and Emperor Consort Tom.”

“Tom’s sister? How old is this Nadja?”

“She turned 31 in March, Your Majesty.”

“Luka turned 21 in February.”

“Her Imperial Majesty has ensured that her sister-in-law can have children.”

“Well, it was around that age that Nanarky had Luka. Tell me more about that rapariga, oh pah,” Jagged imitated the Portuguese accent.

“She’s of an exemplary education, just like your son Luka. She’s versed in arithmetic, philosophy, astronomy, and geometry. She was taught by a tutor with a profile similar to that of Nathaniel Kurtzberg, your son’s tutor. She’s taken in Portugal as an example of courtesy and etiquette, and I’m a witness that she’s very elegant.”

“Seems to be the best option for Luka’s wife, my lord,” Penny commented.

“In fact, she seems to be super rock n’ roll. What’s more, Luka is into cousins,” so Jagged turned to the messenger. “Tell Sabine that I’ll consider the proposal.”

In June and July, the executions of the leaders of the two rebellions took place. D’Argentcourt was hanged on July 12^th. Some suffered the same fate, and others were dismembered. In all, 50,000 people were killed for revolting against the tyranny of the king and the chief minister. Penny was hoping that her pregnancy would fulfill her husband’s dream so that she could ask him for whatever she wanted. Before satisfying any ambition of her brothers, she intended to bring Luka back to the succession and appease Jagged with the people and the Church definitively.

Although he had often been at his father’s court since signing the document, the prince did not live with the king. Jagged gave him several castles, which Luka used as an inn when he was traveling. But Hunsdon remained his favorite dwelling. When he was there, he invited Adrien to visit him and spent his time teaching songs and dances to his brother.

“Penny’s baby will probably be born in October. We’re going to London at the end of September to be together with her, okay?”

“Okay,” Adrien agreed.

“Do you think we’re going to gain a brother or a sister?”

“I don’t know... What does she want?”

“She wants her to be born healthy.”

“Alright...” Adrien looked at a painting. “Luka, who’s that?”

“That’s my mother.”

“Oh... where does she live?”

“In Heaven. She passed away last year.”

“Like mine?”

“Yours is also gone, right? Do you remember what she looked like?”

“No.”

“You haven’t missed much,” then Luka thought better. “Your Aunt Amelie must have a portrait of her.”

“Do you have one of hers, Luka?”

“I do, but I can’t show you,” he thought, then said. “No, but as I said, your aunt must have it. Well, the important thing is that my mother is up there, looking at us. Yours will only need to go through one step before you go. With God’s forgiveness, she’ll be able to see you too. Come on, let’s not talk about death.”

“Could you play that song, please?”

“Sure,” Luka picked up the lute and played a Renaissance version of ‘Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door’ as he thought “But your mom isn’t ‘Knocking On Heaven’s Door’ but on the ‘Highway To Hell.’”

On October 12^th, the royal child was about to come into the world. Although it was not at all common at the time to have a man accompany the birth, unless it was the doctor, the queen demanded that Luka be by her side. With one hand, he held his stepmother’s, and with the other, a rosary that belonged to Anarka. Penny was having a lot of trouble and losing a lot of blood. Hours passed, and the child still had not left. In the midst of the Latin prayers and the efforts, the royal physician examined carefully.

“The head is too big. It doesn’t want to leave. There will be no other option.”

The doctor took a scalpel to perform the episiotomy. Upon seeing the tool, Penny began to shout “no... no...” desperately and tried to close her legs. The ladies-in-waiting had to hold them for the doctor to proceed. The cut in the perineum was made, and the child’s head began to come out. After a while, there were several shouts of celebration.

“It’s born, Your Majesty,” warned the messenger very happily.

“Wow!” Jagged was relieved. “Thank God there was no worst.”

“It’s a very big child. It was a hard labor, but she’s very well.”

“And why all the shouting?”

“Your Majesty... It’s a cause for much celebration. Come and see.”

As soon as Jagged entered the room, he found Luka with the baby in his arms. The son smiled at his father.

“It’s a girl.”

“Girl...?” the king’s eyes widened. “Re-really?”

“See with your own eyes,” he gave him the child.

“A girl,” Jagged cried emotionally. “Finally, after all these years.... Finally, my girl was born. Super rock n’ roll!!”

The king celebrated the princess’ birth. The doctor certified that she was in good health and would live a long time. The king immediately named her Duchess of Cornwall.

“Thank you, Lord,” Jagged looked up. “Where’s Penny? I have to thank her.”

The queen was lying down, exhausted and very weak. Her comfort was seeing her daughter’s health and the euphoria in her husband’s eyes.

“Penny, you’re awesome,” he kissed her on the cheek.

“I live to serve you, my lord,” she replied.

“You’re a heroine, my lady,” praised Luka.

“My dear... thank you for being with me at this time,” then Penny held the baby in her arms. “My beautiful little daughter... my precious little daughter.”

“The future Queen of England,” Jagged said. “Juleka.”

Three days later, the princess was baptized. As per her mother’s wish, Luka was the godfather, and Adrien held the cloak, being carried in Theo’s arms because he was only four years old. Jagged commissioned a very lavish ceremony for his heiress, and 400 guests attended. Penny, although still weak, attended the event and greeted everyone. Just four days later, Sabine and Tom’s son was born. The royal family was also informed that on the same day as Juleka, Frances’ son Ivan had been born.

Over the next few days, Penny’s condition got worse and worse. She had contracted a puerperal infection. Doctors tried everything, but her health did not improve. On the 24^th, twelve days after Juleka’s birth, Penny passed away. The whole country mourned, especially the people closest to her. Jagged commissioned a funeral and burial fit for a queen, lamenting that he did not have time to crown her first. For the first time, he really felt like a widower and wore black. However, it was Luka who cried the most over his stepmother’s death. He led her funeral services. Adrien, being very young, did not attend.

With Penny’s passing, the future of England seemed uncertain. Jagged finally had the heiress he had always wanted, but he was surrounded by losses. His eldest son lost one of his greatest friends and defenders. His daughter lost her mother and the best female role model she could have had in that post-Anarka time. Gabriel and Theo, who had just been named Earl of Hertford, lost their sister and the guarantee of greater privileges with the king. Jagged not only lost his wife, but also a great mediator of peace and order. He now had three recognized children, two boys and a girl, who would have their father’s troubled reign reflected in their lives.