The next morning, Anne rose early and dressed herself, she rouged her cheeks to hide her sudden paleness and chose a tiara as oppose to a headdress to put less pressure onto her aching head.
Anne then walked to her brother George's chamber and knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" yelled George with his usual morning cheer.
Anne replied "Your sister and queen, she needs help."
"Enter" ordered George with his usual optimistic tone that reminded Anne of when they were young and used to pretend to be different fairy tale characters. Anne opened the door and walked in solemnly, taking a seat on Georges bed.
George realized that the matter was serious so changed his attitude to a comforting one rather than childish "My dearest sister, whatever is the matter." he asked as he knelt by Anne's feet, taking her cold hands in his own.
Anne let out a single tear and with a deep breath announced "I lost the baby."
George knew this was awful news. "Does the King know?" He asked
"No" began Anne "And I daren't tell him, this was my last chance to have a son or he said he'd take a mistress in my place and I might end up like Katherine."
"How will you keep this a secret though?" George spoke with a voice of great wisdom "The king will surely be expecting you to go into labour in a few months."
Anne had tried to be strong through the start of the conversation but now couldn't contain herself "I don't know George. Help me." she sobbed.
George thought for a moment before turning to face his sister and saying "I can think of no other option than sleeping with King and becoming pregnant again."
"The king won't lie with me whilst he thinks i'm carrying his child. He thinks that it will damage the child" Anne explained, upset to be crossing out the only option they had thought of.
Then Anne came up with a truly dark idea "Unless..." she began, grabbing Georges attention.
"Unless what?" George questioned.
Anne put on a desperate face and gazed at her brother innocently but with a dark heir of desperation.
George caught up and exclaimed "No Anne. We couldn't. There must be a better solution than that. I won't."
"Can't you see. I have no other option. I must become pregnant again but I can't lie with the King, you are my only option. My last hope. Please George. I might be killed if Henry finds out I lost another of his children." Anne pleaded, not liking the plan any more than George.
"But I will be killed if we are discovered." George explained "It is a sin against God what you suggest, and it could land us both in the tower and then facing eternal damnation in Hell."
Anne tried to remain calm through her desperate plan "It's my only hope George, I beg of you to help me. It could save me."
George didn't like the conversation at all. He slapped his sister on the cheek and removed his hand to find it covered in blush.
"What was that for? I endured enough pain yesterday and came to you for help." Anne nursed her cheek
George sighed "Dearest sister. I understand your fear but I cannot oblige to your plan. It will lead us both to the tower and then to hell. I'm sorry. You need to find another way."
"I can't believe you" Anne sobbed "You are my brother. I need your help. You are the only man I trust. Please!"
George saw his sister's desperation but turned her towards the door, as she reluctantly left, he closed the door and fell to his knees to pray for her. If he couldn't help then maybe God could.
The next day, George caught sight of Anne at breakfast and pulled her aside. "I need to talk to you" he exclaimed
"I need to talk to you to" added Anne.
They walked to her chambers to talk, thankfully it was quiet as the servants had just gone for breakfast. "What did you need to talk to me about?"
George smiled "You look like a tomato." he laughed "The court will think you have some kind of skin problem."
"Anything else" Anne demanded
George glanced up and down his sister's tall physique and smiled "Apart from that, you look regal and slim."
Anne ignored her brother's petty issue and compliment and proceeded to talk "I wanted to thank you for being so, so- so sensible about my suggestion. I was hysterical and wasn't thinking straight."
The queen then did something that she had never done in all her life, she held out her arms to embrace her brother. George was taken aback but embraced his sister. "Oh Anna-maria" he laughed "Even queen's need a hug"
Anne said "I love you George Boleyn".
George smiled despite Anne not being able to see it "I love you too queen Anne Boleyn of England"
Suddenly, in came Jane Seymour carrying a water jug. She saw what Anne was doing and gasped "Your majesty."
Anne released her brother and tried to talk to Jane "Say nothing of this. It isn't how it looks."
Jane had turned to face the wall to shield her innocent eyes from the atrocity she suspected "How can I forget this? It is a sin as bad as murder. A man cannot love his sister."
Anne turned to face Jane and stood in front of her brother protectively. "I shall return your necklace if you say nothing of this. It is not what you think." Anne desperately bargained, hoping Jane's timidness and lack of with would work against her.
"You said you loved each other." Jane protested "I heard you with my own ears and saw your embrace with my own eyes"
"We love each other as siblings." George added.
Anne was wrong to think that Jane would take her bargain and Jane surprised her "I will tell the King of your sin. He is a good man and doesn't deserve the whore of a wife that you are." Jane spat and then ran out of the room.
Anne turned to her brother desperately for an answer "No what do we do?" she questioned
George was blunt "There is nothing we can do. We are doomed."
"Can't we explain that nothing happened between us." Anne naively suggested
"You have no proof."George expressed bluntly as he stepping out from behind his sister.
Anne just sat on the bed and monotonously narrated "Then we are for the tower. My miscarriage will be discovered and everyone will think us incestuous adulterers. And for our bond as siblings, we will be executed for incest by the King."
George didn't want to agree with the summary that Anne had correctly given, so said nothing. He just tapped her shoulder softly and left the room, only saying "Farewell sister" to Anne as he left.
Once George had left the room, Anne walked over to her bookshelf and stared blankly at the spines. Maybe she would find a solution to her problem among st the heavy pages.
Anne decided to change after George had honestly said that she looked 'slim'. She left her bookshelf and threw open her wardrobe. Out came an old purple dress that she had worn when she was pregnant with Elizabeth, she pulled it on and laced her stomacher. As she searched for a headdress that would match, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror: She was pale and withered looking, she no longer had her plump and rounded belly, just drooping skin and a face patched with rouge. There was no way she could claim to be pregnant when she looked like that.
Anne thought quickly and came up with a simple idea, she threw open her wardrobe again and pulled out two nightgowns, she loosened her stomacher and pushed the two nightgowns down her dress to fake a belly, she admired her genius in the mirror but something still didn't look right. She returned to the wardrobe and selected a third nightdress. Anne arranged the belly nightdresses and laced her stomacher to keep them in place, then she rolled up the third nightdress and placed it in the top of her dress. She turned to the mirror and laughed "I look more pregnant than ever, breasts and belly." the only thing she still needed to perfect was her flushed paleness.
After she washed the rouge from her face and dabbed her lips with a little powder, she was ready. She tried to be strong as she walked to the court. She carried herself with her usual heir of superiority and acted although nothing had happened.
Court progressed and Anne ate as much as she could over lunch, she wanted to pretend she was craving. No-one seemed to suspect anything was different although Anne began to think that maybe she had overstuffed in the chest region as she was almost bursting out of the top of her dress. The only cause for alarm was that George wasn't anywhere to be seen, it was probably nothing as courtiers often missed sessions, but not George, he liked his politics too much.
After the court session, Anne was caught by her mother and forced to walk to a family meeting "Look at the state of you" her mother scolded,
"What is it mother?" Anne confusingly replied
"You look like a common prostitute in that dress. You are queen of England yet flaunt your assets so freely.You should be ashamed of yourself, especially when you're carrying the King's baby."
Anne felt a lump form in her throat, her mother didn't even know she had lost yet another baby. She tried to change the subject "What is the meeting about mother?" she contently asked.
Her mother replied "I'm not sure Anne. But Uncle Howard said it was urgent." As she said this she removed her shawl and put it on Anne to hide her daughter's scandalous neckline and raised breasts.
They reached the meeting and entered into a small room with a table and 4 chairs, in one sat Uncle Howard looking superior as usual, in another sat Anne's father looking worried. Anne and her mother took the 2 remaining chairs.
"Where's George?" Anne asked
Uncle Howard scowled "You don't know. He's in the tower."
"The Tower!" Anne exclaimed "What's he doing there?"
"That's the reason for this meeting" began her father "Why do you think he's in the tower?"
"How am I to know?" asked an offended Anne "Don't you know."
Anne's mother joined in the conversation "George was convicted of incest and was sent to the tower this morning."
Anne gasped.
Uncle Howard noticed and slyly said "So you do know something."
Anne thought fast "George was visiting me this morning and a maid must have got the wrong idea."
"But maids always come to your chambers when George is there. Why would they only report it this time?" questioned Anne's father.
"Well..." Anne stuttered "... I was embracing him as sibling's do."
Uncle Howard had picked on the hesitation and asked "Just embracing you?"
Anne was furious and leapt at Uncle Howard "Are you accusing me of lying with my brother uncle?"
Anne was restrained by her mother and Uncle Howard laughed at her reaction before returning to his usual serious state "Yes, I am."
"Well I didn't" Anne protested "I love George as a brother but not anything else."
"It's very important we know the facts Anne. So we can solve this little misunderstanding- otherwise, George might not leave the tower." Anne's father patronizingly reminded her with a soft voice.
Anne couldn't hold it in any longer "I lost the baby." She whispered before crying softly.
"You what?" Uncle Howard angrily asked, refusing to believe his niece.
"I lost the baby alright. And I couldn't bear to tell the King as I've lost so many."
Anne's mother thought she was trying to change the subject as she glanced at her rounded front. "You're clearly still with child. And what does this have to do with George?"
Anne put her hand down her gown and retrieved 3 nightgowns, she slammed them on the table and her father exclaimed "Oh my God."
"And what about George." persisted Uncle Howard "Where does George come into this story?"
Anne didn't want to express her awful plan, but knew she had to. "When I lost the baby I was in pain. Then this morning I was upset as I didn't know what do do. George was trying to comfort me."
Anne's mother had put a hand to her mouth in disgust and shock "So then you laid with your brother. That is a sin against God."
"No" Anne tried to explain "We never laid together, we wouldn't dare do such a thing. We were both in my chamber's this morning but we were just talking."
Uncle Howard was furious "So how has George been prosecuted then".
Anne tried to remember back "Jane Seymour came in. She must have reported George as he hugged me."
"These are dark times." said Anne's father with a poetic tone of doom "You must tell no-one of this Anne, we will send you to Hever claiming you're ill until we find a solution."
Those words closed the meeting and the family began to walk towards the door as soon as Anne had re-stuffed herself. They entered the corridor to find a circle of Guards who grabbed Anne's arm "What is the meaning of this?" Anne protested with a voice that could only have come from a queen.
"You are convicted of incest with your brother George Boleyn. It is the King's wish that you are sent to the Tower of London to await trial. You may come quietly now or be forcefully removed at a later and more public event." Narrated a well trained guard.
"That claim is simply absurd. But I will do as the King wishes." She replied gracefully before being escorted away by the guards, leaving her family stressed by their meeting room.
Anne was walked to the White Tower and locked there to await trial. She wrote a letter to the King pleading her innocence but tossed it in the fire when she realized it would never be delivered. She waited in the White Tower, praying each day and reading the bible for comfort as her sister had done.