DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Tudors , neither do I own the actual Tudor Dynasty (if i did More and Anne would be alive and Henry would have not divorced Katherine). I only own the characters that I created

AN: I created this story so as not to get bored with my other story "The Queen". I wanted something new, a new character that I could develop and that would help me get ideas for the other story. So this is why I wanted to start a new story. I hope that you will like it as much as i love it!

Advice: Let the show begin!

THE PORTRAIT OF THE UNKNOWN ONE

Chapter 1: Once upon a time

or What was and what I will never be

August 1525

The young child looked at her mother standing upright not yet prepared to give way to all the hardships of life. She knew that this was the way she should be. She knew that she should not be afraid, yet the young girl could not help put feel a pain in her heart as she knew that she was not going to see her mother for a long time.

Her older sister stood by her and looked a lot more mature than her age. For a moment the girl envied her. Mary seemed so much older than her, even though there was only a difference of two years. The girl tried to focus on the rich print of her dress so as not to cry like a child. She was not a child, she was a princess and she was not going to cry. She was not allowed to cry. Their mother said something to Mary in Spanish, she could not understand it, she did not speak Spanish.

Mary had always been more important that she was. She knew it. After all, after their daddy died, Mary was going to be Queen. Or so did her tutors say. Mary was the one who received the very best, she was the one who was learning how to dance and play from the best teachers and she was, obviously, the one to whom Mother was talking first.

"Ava!" their mother said almost scolding.

The girl turned her blue gaze towards the woman and realized that her mother had been already speaking to her. She felt her cheeks flustered and eyes swelled with tears. She loved her mother so much and although Mary was the preferred child she was sure that her mother loved her in return.

"Yes Mother…" Ava answered reluctantly.

"Be brave, child…" the woman said calmly trying not to scare the young girl. She kissed her daughter's forehead and was prepared to leave while the girl looked at her startled.

She had spoken to Mary for at least 20 minutes and this is what she got? "Be brave" only that? This was so unfair. Only because she hadn't been born earlier it didn't mean that she was less important than her sister. It didn't mean that in this awful hour she should be given less.

Ava watched her mother, the great Queen Katherine of England, leave the room not even giving her a second look. Her eyes filled with tears and she felt her cheeks wet and salty. It was not fair. She was the second. She had always been the second. In that single moment as she watched her mother leave the small girl swore that she will never be the less important sister. No matter how hard she had to learn , no matter how many things she had to do , Ava promised herself that she would have her own path in life, a path where she could be second to none.

November 1518

10 November 1518 was sure to be an important day for the country. The queen had been with child again, for the sixth time and the country's hopes were placed inside the womb of the woman. Henry Tudor was sure that this time a boy, a healthy young prince, will be born. He knew that God will give him a healthy boy, that God will grant him the heir he needed.

The queen had started to have the labour pains early in the morning, sign of a healthy child as the midwives said. Henry was keeping back his excitement. After four other children lost and only one alive he could not help but feel a pang of doubt about the welfare of the creature. He did not plan a lavish party, he did not celebrate, he only sat silently in his study and hoped to heaven that the queen could produce male issue or at least that the child will live.

Mary was a sickly child so even though he considered making her his heir he feared that she would not live long enough. He needed someone he could give his kingdom to. He was in desperate need of a boy.

The pains were so great that the queen could not refrain from screaming. It was harder than other times. She knew it. She felt it. It was as if the child refused to tear himself out of his mothers' womb. The midwives were running in alarm as the queen was loosing more and more blood. Despite the large amount of blood she had lost, Katherine kept her consciousness. She knew that if she gave way to sickness and fainted there would be no hope for the child.

"Save the child… whatever happens to me! Save the child!" she said desperately feeling as if her own life was flowing out of her body.

The pain intensified and the mother hoped to god that the baby was fine. She could not stand loosing yet another child. Her hands gripped the blood-stained sheet once more and she was sure that she could no longer stand the pain. Trying to fight against it the queen of England felt darkness envelop her.

"Your Majesty, you have a daughter" one of the midwives said holding the quiet baby in her arms and not realising that Katherine of Aragon had almost stopped breathing.

Henry Tudor was more or less disappointed until he saw his small daughter. She was so different from Mary , who had been a weak child, that he found it hard not to love her immediately. As he hold his newly born daughter and as she smiled at him having her deep blue eyes open it did not occur to him that she was only a girl and that he still did not have the male heir to make England safe. The young baby's face was so peaceful, so blissful that only by looking at her he felt happy.

" How did the queen name the baby?" he asked still captivated by the perfection of his small daughter.

"She didn't say anything, sire. She was unconscious…" Dr Linacre said solemnly and Henry turned his face with worry.

"Is she well now?" He asked with concern.

He and Katherine had had a beautiful relationship until then and it was really hard to picture that something could happen to his wife. Katherine, despite her pride and her obvious inability to produce male issue was a good and loyal companion and a beloved queen. He could not bear the thought of loosing her.

"I fear that her heart stopped for some time but now her majesty is breathing again…" the doctor said it staring at the floor and the king held his daughter more carefully. If Katherine were to die, she and her sister were the only thing to remind him of his wife.

"Do whatever is earthly possible to save the queen!" he ordered quickly "and when she wakes up, Help God that will happen soon, tell me!"

After the doctor took his leave, Henry looked attentively at his daughter. She was sleeping oblivious of the fact that it that very moment her mother could die. He caressed her small face and white baby skin with pleasure and smiled when she moved her perfect little feet and small beautiful hands.

"We won't let mommy die, won't we?" he asked her softly and held her closer to him "Mommy will be fine… you will see, darling, mommy will be fine…"

August 1525

Katherine loved both her daughters deeply but she felt as if she had a special connection with Ava. As she did not turn to see her daughter crying the queen felt her heart almost physically paining her. She hated that she could say nothing more to her child than to be brave, but had she talked to the girl more than mere words she would have lost her composure. And she could not afford to do that in front of a girl who might me a great ruler one day. Ava needed to be strong, and who could help her better than her own mother?

As she looked at the carriage that took her younger daughter away the queen remembered the first day she had seen Ava. What a perfect day. Maybe almost as happy as the day when her young son was born.

November 1518

She was standing in the confinement room feeling weak and feeble. She knew that her child was alive; she knew that she was a girl and she could not feel prouder at the thought that she was healthy and fine. Then her husband, the king, came in, in all his might , carrying with him the small pale creature. Almost crying, the queen took the baby and saw her perfection. She felt that it was worth dying creating such a beautiful thing.

"How shall we name her?" the king sat himself on the side of her bed and kissed his queen's hand.

"She is so beautiful…" Katherine said feeling tears down her cheek. "Ave Maria… she is so beautiful…"

"Ave Maria…" Henry repeated thoughtfully. "…Ava… we shall name her Ava…"

"Ava?" Katherine asked looking at Henry and smiling between tears.

"Yes… Princess Ava Tudor…" he chanted powerfully.

"Ava… My Ava…" Katherine repeated softly as the baby gave a bright smile for her mother.

August 1525

Both her daughter were gone now. Mary to Ludlow as the true heir to the throne and Ava to some castle in the countryside to learn how to run her household and the true manners of a princess. The queen felt more alone than ever without her daughters. They were her life, her joy , her happiness and now they were both gone. Katherine of Aragon would just wait to see them again, not knowing what destiny had in store for her.

Seven years later- somewhere in the English Countryside 1532

"Shit!" the young woman swore as her long dress was caught in one of the big piles of the fence. Clumsily trying to get her dress unharmed out of the face she failed to see the man that was approaching her steadily, and she also failed to see his pompous stature and vain expression.

"Princess Ava …" he greeted her formally and the girl startled turned to face him.

"Sir?" she answered inquiring. She did not know the guy.

Before answering her unspoken question the stranger took a minute to watch her. Unlike her mother and sister, she was quite tall, a trait he supposed she got from her father. She had a slim, maybe too thin, figure and her skin was fairly white, but not in the sickly kind of way. Her face was beautiful as her deep blue eyes stood out and her lips were contrasting in an interesting way with the whiteness of her cheek. Long, curly black-brownish hair fell on the back of her simple, almost peasant-like dress made of fine cotton. If one were to see this girl he would never believe she was the daughter of the vain king Henry the VIII, he would think, maybe, that she was the daughter of a moderately-rich landlord but not the child of a king.

"Eustache Chapuys, at your service madam…" he said with a strong Spanish accent while gallantly helping her with her dress.

"Thank you, sir, now… how can I help you?" she asked simply as she motioned the man to head for the quite small castle.

"I come with a message from the queen, your mother." He said expectantly but when she did not react he followed "She urges you to come to court and visit her. Her sorrow is so great that she seeks comfort from her daughters, madam. I think that you already know your majesty, but your father, the king, tries to annul the marriage with your mother and she is very unwell." He spoke from the heart but the girl did not change her stone-carved expression.

"Sir, seven years ago, when I was crying for my mother she did not turn to me. When I expected her to say a kind word she did not. Instead she chose to speak to my sister. All this years I expected her to send for me. All this years I wanted a letter from her. But she did not send word. I was forgotten. My own mother forgot me!" she said in a low voice that resembled her father's "I bet Mary received plenty of letters, I bet she was invited to court… I bet that my mother visited her…." She said with sheer hatred and the ambassador was taken aback by her reaction. "So why come now, ambassador? Why return to court now when I was unwanted before?"

"Because, I can see in your eyes madam, that you don't want to spend the rest of your life in the countryside…" Chapuys shot the arrow in the dark but as she looked at him more interested it seemed that his words hit home.

"I am happy here…" she said simply.

"But you could be happier at court … You could be happier with your mother…" he tried tentatively and her face changed in a calculating look. The princess couldn't have known but she looked exactly like her grandfather Ferdinand of Aragon.

"Fine, I will come at court but I will think about visiting my mother…" She said coldly and dismissed the ambassador quickly. As he left she allowed herself a genuine smile. She loved the idea of going to court. Seven years had passed… seven years in complete seclusion… and now she was going to taste the pleasures of the court at last!

"Which one do you want to wear?" Lucy a young lively girl , that was Ava's lady in waiting and also her best friend asked showing two different dresses: one blue and one green.

The vivacious household of the princess had moved at court that very day and her father told her, through his secretary, that there was a big party that night to celebrate her coming to the court.

"I would suggest a purple dress… this is what princesses usually wear to show their rightful rank." A sly voice said from the doorway and Ava could see a beautiful dark-haired woman coming towards her. "Anne Boleyn…" she recommended herself without curtsying.

"Ava Tudor…" the girl said friendly and Anne liked that she was not vain and conceited like her sister, Mary."Thank you for the advice, Mistress Anne… I will surely follow it…"

"This night, at the party… if you need any guidance at all, I will be happy to help you…" Anne said calmly. She liked the girl and she felt that if they were friends she would at least have an allay. "Call me Anne…"

"Ava…" the princess replayed promptly. She thought that Anne was interesting and that her friendship would be valuable in the future." Anne… do you know if the Queen and my sister will attend tonight?" she asked carefully and Anne could feel a slight coldness in her voice when she talked about the two.

"I think they will… why?" she asked calculating. It seemed that "saint" Katherine had a flaw; her daughter did not seem too excited at the prospect of seeing her…

"Just asking…" Ava answered obviously displeased. "You know what, Anne "she said in more cheerful voice taking the woman by the arm "Why don't you tell me about court…"

Dear reader,

I hope that you liked this first chapter of my second story based on the Tudors. Tell me that you thought about it through your reviews. I need your comments, complaints or improving ideas.

I thank you for reading this small bit of the story.

Yours always faithful,

The Author