Tree near a stream

Anne walked out into the garden and it had the most freshest air, and it made her skin prickle. She walked through the garden until she came upon a tree and she sat down at the stump, watching the water flowing down the stream.

Louis had spent some weeks in the court, with not much to occupy him. The new year festivities were now officially concluded and all that he looked forward to now was the heat of the summer.

He decided to venture outside for a walk, seeing that the sun was managing to momentarily defeat the clouds. As he walked through the gardens he noticed a figure perched on a stump of a tree, their hair tumbling in curls and shone on by the sun.

Louis smiled to himself and cleared his throat, hoping she may turn around and he may see her face.

Anne was gazing at the stream when she heard light steps behind her and she looked over her shoulder, her innocent doe eyes barely gazing on the person that was there. She took a deep breath before standing up and she turned around fully and curtsied "Mon seigneur." she said to him and she looked up at him "Je suis Anne Bassett."

Louis cleared his throat again, his breath catching-this time not for her attention. He noticed the dewy quality to her skin and the darkness of her eyes. He smiled genuinely, a warmth his his gaze.

"Enchanté Mademoiselle," he said and returned her bow, dipping his head respectfully,"Je m'appelle Louis."

She smiled at him and she nodded her head at him "Plaisir, Louis." she said to him and she put extra punctuation on his name, her dark eyes ran over him and she tilted her head "Comment allez-vous?" she asked him in a light tone.

Louis smiled, "Très bien, merci."

He then added, as he had noticed a slight accent to her voice, "Particuliérement bien parler à une rose. Une rose, je pense, un grandi hors de France?"

She smiled at him and she nodded "Je suis de l'Angleterre." she said to him, with a slight blush on her face "Je suis un anglais rose." shrugged a little and she motioned towards the stream "Il est beau, est il pas?"

He smiled and switched to English, noticing the flush in her cheeks and hoping to make her feel more at ease, "I was in England before the new year. I nearly died of the cold," he joked.

He then looked at the stream flow past with a deceptively deep current, "Très beau," he agreed, "You speak French very well, Anne."

"Better than I," he added with a mischievous wink.

Anne looked at him and she let a smile grace her lips again "Yes, it is very cold indeed in England." she said to him "But i cannot complain, for my family are from England...my step father is the son of Edward IV so he likes us to remember our English roots." she admitted and she laughed "I was raised in the French court, my lord. I think it is only natural for me to be fluent in French."

Louis tilted his head, "Then how come I have never seen you before? I would not forget your face..."

She blushed and she shrugged "I do not know." she said to him "I am mostly at my family estate." she admitted and she looked up at him through her eyelashes "My papa likes to keep me away from court, he says it can be tainted."

Louis nodded and took a seat on the grass, near the stump where she sat. He stole a brief glance to her and then smiled, picking at the grass beneath him and watching the stream.

"Your father is a wise man...and correct. I'm the ambassador so I have to go to and fro between courts. Obviously...there is enjoyment to be garnered but for a gentle rose, such as yourself, one can be vulnerable to unscrupulous deeds and people."

She looked at him and she smiled and she looked away "Gentle rose." she whispered and she shook her head "You do not know if I truly am a rose, I could be a serpent underneath." she said with a small musical laugh.

He turned round to her and winked. simply replying, "All the better."

She allowed herself to laugh again "I am innocent against the ways of court life, I am yet to learn." she admitted to him and she tilted her head "But soon I am going back to the English court."

Louis grinned as she laughed, the sound soft and warm. H then glanced up, feeling a heavy disappointment-like a heavy weight upon his shoulders.

He eventually replied, attempting to seem light hearted, "But you fit so nicely here. It would be a shame for the court to lose you."

She nodded at him "But I serve the Good Queen Katherine." she said to him with a smile and she took a deep breath "It would only seem right of me to go back to England for a while, before coming back."

He tilted his head, "Ah...but she shall not be good queen Katherine for much longer. She isn't even living at court, poor woman. The King and Anne Boleyn reign now-there shall be no going back."

He glanced back to the palace and then smiled at her, "Here things are simpler and besides half of the English court will descend when the King journeys to our shores."

She looked at him and there was suddenly a hardness in her eyes, to face reality in such a case was hard for her "Yes." she said simply and she looked away "That seems undeniable, but i will never call that witch my Queen."

Louis chuckled, "She seems nice. Half the English courtiers hate her, but I suspect more than half would act exactly as she has done-with a great deal less grace and dignity."

He then looked at Anne, pausing to eye the smooth curve of her small waist before looking into her eyes. He noticed she had grown serious so he said mischievously, "And I'm sure she doesn't make potions and cast spells when the King isn't looking."

She looked at him, her gaze held on him for a couple of minutes before she looked away and she nodded "I do not think it a joke, my lord." she whispered and she looked down "A woman's life has been taken out of her hands, just because she cannot born a son." she shook her head "Thank the lord I am not of royal blood."

Louis nodded sincerely, "You must forgive me. I'm french," he said and shrugged, "I have no loyalty to English royalty. What's more, the new faith seems to be approaching in England as a result of Anne. I can only see this as a good thing. You must admire her for her influence and for a good cause...."

He stared at the stream, smiling at the babbling brook, "And indeed, if I were Henry-I'd be content with a girl. I hear the princess is a very clever little thing. "

She looked at him and she tilted her head "New faith?" she asked him "And you see this as a good thing?" she shook her head at his words and she took a deep breath "You may be French, alas I am England." she nodded "I am very stubborn and loyal to my ways." she laughed a little.

He grinned and glanced round, enthused in his speech, "Of course, I do. The new faith teaches that we may pray to God-alone. There is no need for priest or bishops, no confession through a monk or friar. I could think of nothing better. No more corrupt indulgences by the church-vices that they say the common folk must abhor.

He smiled at her, "Change is the only way we can better ourselves, Anne. It hurts and is difficult. It feels like everything we don't want to do, but in the end-we can only enlighten ourselves through change."

She raised an eyebrow, she had never heard about this new faith. She smiled at him and she nodded and she took his hand, her eyes had a curious light in them "Can you tell me more about this new faith?" she asked him softly, in a mere curious whisper and she blushed a little "I would have never thoughts that I would like the new faith, but it gives you a better choice...more privacy when praying."