King Henry

Chapter 30 - Making a Choice

Arthur looked at Eleanor and asked, "So what is your answer? Will you kiss me to get the Yay vote you need for the exception to marry Henry or do you want to end up marrying Thomas Fletcher?" He smiled and said, "The choice is yours. So what shall it be?"

Eleanor looked at him and then over at Henry, trying to decide what to do. She hated the thought of giving Arthur the satisfaction of kissing her in front of Henry, but if it meant she'd get to spend the rest of her life with him, it would be worth it.

But could she even trust him to keep his word? What if she kissed him and he still voted Nay? He had already proven his word couldn't be trusted. She thought about it and finally decided what to do.

She scooted her chair back and stood up, walking across the room towards Arthur. He had a cocky smirk on his face as if he had won. She walked over beside his seat and motioned for him to stand up and he did.

He slowly started to lean down to kiss her but at the last second she turned her head so that the kiss landed on her cheek instead. He scrunched his eyebrows in confusion and she leaned in close so that only he could hear.

In a breathy, sultry whisper against his ear she said, "I prefer not to kiss you in front of him, but if you grant Henry and I the exception, I'll give you much more than the satisfaction of a mere kiss. On a night of my choosing, I'll lay with you and share my body and my bed with you instead."

She pulled back and looked up into his eyes and she could tell by the look of desire in them that he was really tempted by that offer. Hopefully it was too tempting to pass up. Little did he know, she had no intentions of actually going through with it. He wasn't the only one that knew how to manipulate people to get what they wanted. Two could play at that game and she had the upper hand because she had what he really wanted the most, more than anything.

Arthur swallowed hard, running a hand up through his blonde hair before nodding. "I'll accept your offer," he whispered.

Eleanor gave him a flirty smile before turning around and walking back to her seat next to Henry.
After she sat down, Henry leaned in and whispered, "What did you say to him?"

"I'll tell you later," she whispered back.

Henry sat up straight and asked Arthur, "Are you ready to cast your vote now?"

"I am," he nodded. "I vote Yay."

The room full of Council members clapped and Eleanor and Henry looked at each other and smiled. She couldn't believe she was really going to get to be his wife.

Father Winslow stood up and said, "There we have it. The vote is unanimous and the exception is granted. The King's Privy Council gives our blessing for your union and all twenty council members will sign the scroll and stamp it in wax with their official house seal. Once you and Eleanor are married, she will be crowned as the rightful Queen of England and your offspring shall be the rulers of this kingdom for generations to come. May you have a long and fruitful marriage."

"Here, here!" the council members all said with a smile, everyone except for Arthur.

Eleanor was so happy she felt like standing up and cheering but she held it in. She did however have the biggest smile on her face that she ever had in her life.
She looked over at Henry and he did too. Her eyes burned with tears and she blinked them away.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too," she whispered back with a smile.

The King's Council members stood and signed the scroll one by one, each stamping next to their name with their wax seal and then they shook Henry and Eleanor's hands, congratulating them before leaving. Arthur was the last one to sign and stamp it, but then he left straight away with out a word or even a glance in their direction.