King Henry

Chapter 10 - Standing up for Eleanor

***** Henry's Point of View *****

Henry's mother lifted her head and looked at him, before letting out a frustrated exhale and shaking her head. "I understand that you feel like she disrespected you Henry, but you were also in the wrong."

"How was I in the wrong? Did you not hear what she said?" he asked, scrunching his brows in confusion.

"Yes I did, but it was wrong for you to demand that your sister, a princess with royal blood flowing through her veins just the same as you have, stoop so low as to apologize to a commoner," she said, glancing over at Eleanor before finally looking back at him. "Saying that Eleanor is no less than us because she had no control over the circumstances of her birth disrespects the authority of the very crown that sits upon your head."

"How so?" he asked.

"If everyone were equal, that would mean you are no better than any other man walking down the street, so what right would you have to rule over the people and expect them to obey your commands? You seem to forget that you are ordained by God himself to wear that crown because of the royal blood that flows through your veins. The authority you hold as King comes from the very blood and title that you mock."

"I'm not mocking my blood and title or disagreeing that I'm ordained by God to rule. I'm saying that it's not right to treat others that weren't born with those things with disrespect and disdain as if they are disgusting or less of a human, just because of the circumstances of their birth that they had no control over."

"It's fine to treat commoners with respect Henry, but when you invite one of them to dine privately with the royal family and then demand that your sister, a princess, stoop so low as to apologize to them, THAT CROSSES A LINE!" She shouted that last part, standing up and throwing her napkin down onto her now empty plate.

Henry was not surprised at all that his mother was taking Guinevere's side on this. She had always been his mother's favorite too, her golden child that could do no wrong, even though out of the four siblings she was by far the worst.

His mother stood there, looking directly at him as she crossed her arms over her chest. "So are you going to have me thrown in the gallows and whipped now for disagreeing with you, like some common criminal?" she asked in a mocking tone, laughing as she looked around the table for support from the others, but Henry was glad to see that she wasn't getting any.

He slid his chair back and stood up too, setting his napkin down beside his plate and then leaning onto the table.

He hung his head and let out an exhale before lifting his head and looking at her again, hesitating for a moment before saying what needed to be said. "I want to be very clear on this mother. Having a difference of opinion is not illegal, but I want you to remember that you are no longer the Queen. You and Father had your turn to rule for many years, but that time is over and it's my turn now. I'm going to run this kingdom my way."

She scoffed. "So you're saying that I don't get a say in how this kingdom is run any more, the kingdom that I dedicated the past THIRTY years of my life to, long before you were even born?"

He could tell she was testing him too, just as Guinevere had, seeing if her manipulation tactics would work on him.

"That's precisely what I'm saying. I'm not father," he said firmly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked defensively.

His mother had constantly questioned his father's decisions right in front of people, undermining his authority and she often manipulated him to do things her way. His father was the one that was royal by blood and she was only royal by marriage, but she had always acted as if it was the other way around.