happyfalcon | Prompt: Captured

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Prompt: Captured

((ooc: Open for anyone to tag, but beware the historical mindfuckery. Your mission, should you choose to accept it: Is to rescue Anne Boleyn from the prison tower of Emperor Charles V in Spain.))

It seems the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, was not content to sit idly by and let Henry VIII, King of England, mistreat his aunt. Catherine of Aragon, the unhappy queen, had been neglected and ignored by Henry since her miscarriage of their son. Henry grew angry, thinking his marriage cursed by God and had thus sought to create male heirs by his mistresses.

Though Anne Boleyn was different.

She had refused his advances at first, to the chagrin of her father and uncle. Anne hadn't had interest in the king - and did not take to the idea of being referred to as "The Second Great Prostitute" like her sister, Mary. Still, after a while she had broken down and agreed to be the king's One True Mistress - though they had yet to share a bed. Still, that didn't stop Henry from pursuing a divorce from Catherine.

That's what had made Charles angry.

A few secret letters from Catherine told him the truth of how she had been mistreated by the king, and how he sought to divorce her in order to marry Anne Boleyn. Outraged, Charles had sent orders to his ambassador to take a few men with him and kidnap the queen and her ladies.

Kidnapping the queen and bringing her to Spain would free her from the king's cruelty. And, as Anne was a lady in waiting to the queen, she would also be captured, and Charles would be free to execute her in his realm. The charge: Treason against the queen of England.

So Anne was locked in the prison tower, awaiting her punishment. What would it be? Hanging? Drawn and quartered? Anne knew Catherine would want the slowest, most painful death imaginable for her...but Anne would not give the satisfaction of showing her fear. Even locked in the tower she remained strong and refused to cry.

But in her heart, she wondered: Where was her brother, George? Where was her father? Where was the king?

Would anyone rescue her?

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The king, being the king, didn't take kindly to his things being messed with. Which includes, naturally, his women. Or one in particular, anyway. He wants to divorce the queen; it doesn't matter to him much where she ends up. His new mistress, though, she needs to be rescued from Spain.

So he gathers up a few of his troops and sends them to Spain with his best sailors: Captain Jones and his brother the lieutenant. Together the group of men easily get the guards out of the way, then head for the tower.

She can hear a key turning in the lock.

Anne was too distracted by her desperation to hear the scuffle outside her door. But she heard the key turning loud and clear. She sprung up off the floor and leaned against the wall. She hid her fear behind a stern look.

If the Spanish thought she was going to cower and sob for them, they were wrong. Anne would be as fierce as the falcon on her family crest.

She had no idea what was really on the other side of that door.

Luckily for her there's no need to be fierce at the moment. When the door opens, it turns out to be her young friend the navy lieutenant. He sees her and gives her a little bow.

"Lady Boleyn." They may be on a first-name basis in private, and they may be in private right now, but on the other side of the door is his brother and the rest of the crew and a number of soldiers. All that any of them can know that the two of them are acquainted, having met at a few parties.

At first Anne did and said nothing. For a few seconds she just stayed in place, staring at him. Had she finally snapped? But no - he was speaking to her...hallucinations didn't usually do that, right?

She lost her senses a moment and moved purely on instinct: Anne practically flew across the room and threw her arms around Killian. Privacy and propriety be damned! She would have embraced anyone who had walked through that door to save her - though the quick, hard kiss she gave Killian was an exclusive action reserved for him. But she made sure to do it quickly so as not to be discovered, so she hoped, anyway. Still, it didn't make the kiss any less passionate, or sincere.

"Thank God, oh thank God you're here lieutenant!!" Anne still kept her embrace tight around him, burying her face against his chest - trying to keep her face hidden; she was on the verge of tears at her relief and the sudden rush of emotion.

There's no one following him up the stairs, so they won't be discovered. He puts his arms around her in a brief hug. "The king would only send the best, so here we are."

Anne takes a moment, composing herself before looking up to him, eyes still a bit shiny as she teared up. She keeps her head leaned against his chest for a moment.

"Thank God..." she mumbles again. "I thought I was dead for certain..."

Then it occurs to her-

"Shouldn't we...leave? And quickly?"

"Aye, we should. I'll get word to the others that you're safe and we'll all head back to the ship." He crosses over to the window and sticks his head out. "Liam!" he yells, then gives a signal.

He turns back to Anne. "My lady. I'll go first, in case anyone has followed me up the stairs."

Anne nods and steps aside to let him give the signal out the window, then follows after him down the stairs.

"Was it difficult? Getting past the guards I mean," Anne reaches out and gently grasps the back of his coat as they move, for her own security - confirming that he was there. She dropped her voice before continuing. "Killian...did you come all this way...just because the king gave the order?"

"There was some fighting, but we overcame them in the end. We're soldiers as well as sailors, and we brought men experienced in battle as well." He draws his sword and holds it in front of him in case there's another attack.

"I go where the king tells me. We both do," he says. "I don't mind following orders that are given to me." He knows what she's asking without asking. "This time I was especially glad to follow them."

She's not even remotely surprised that Henry didn't come himself. He was a king without an heir, he couldn't put himself in such a situation. She gets a little closer to him, again squeezing the back of his coat.

"I'm just...glad it was you," Anne's voice was soft. "If it had been anyone else...my brother, my father...I wouldn't have been nearly so relieved."

"Why is that, then?"

Her face goes red, making her glance away to try and hide it - thank God he's in front of her and not looking directly at her!

"...They would have...different reasons for rescuing me, that's all!" That's her story, she's sticking to it.

"It would have something to do with you being their family, and also because they have plans that involve you being alive, is that correct?"

At the base of the tower, he looks around to make sure there's no one in their way and then starts to lead her to where the ship is anchored.

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