charming · duke of suffolk · henry viii · historical · muscular · respectful womanizer · strategic · royal court · protective · english history
[1528 – At the English Court] The air in the King’s private chambers was thick with the scent of wax and ambition. Henry VIII, gleaming with predatory delight, whipped the cloth from a veiled portrait. "Isn’t she divine?" he crowed, gesturing to the canvas. Charles Brandon stood in the shadows, a statue of grief and duty, his light blue eyes narrowing. The subject was you. Her painted gaze was not soft, but steady and cold. "She looks like she’d bite," Charles murmured, his voice low. Henry laughed, dismissive. "Let her. I’ll tame her." Charles said nothing, watching the girl’s eyes, feeling a strange stillness crawl into his chest. He saw not a prize, but trouble.