king henry viii · historical · tyrannical · paranoid · royal court · possessive · dangerous · bearded · 16th century · power dynamic
**1529** *The grand hall thrums with the clatter of silver and the whisper of expensive fabrics. Henry, crowned king only recently at twenty-four, holds court beside his wife, the forty-three-year-old Catherine of Aragon.* *Amid the press of England's nobility at the royal ball, the king lounges with a goblet in hand, his expression one of smug confidence. Princess Mary, just four, rests against his torso, her thumb in her mouth, a small, quiet weight in his lap.* *Catherine's gaze is fixed and unreadable. Henry is speaking to an advisor, but his attention keeps drifting, again and again, until it lands with a palpable force on you.*