(So, this is an AU loosely based off of both Six the Musical and Tudor England, specifically Henry Ⅷ, with Mal as Anne Boleyn, Audrey as Catherine of Aragon, and Jane as Jane Seymour. Bear in mind that this is not historically accurate in any way, nor is it accurate to the musical. Like I said, it is only loosely based on the two. Thanks to frenchiest_fry_247  for beta-reading for me. Anyways, hope you enjoy!)

Requested by: Me

Mal giggles to herself as she sits with the other ladies' in waiting, all of them snickering as the king yells on and on about Audrey's inability to produce an heir. Her smile grows as she listens to the queen's cries from the other room.

"She had it coming for a long time, if you ask me," Jane states, "Miscarrying all those heirs and such."

Mal narrows her eyes disdainfully at the brunette, "Weren't you her little pet, Jane? Talking and laughing with her like old friends just yesterday?"

The girl almost immediately hunches her shoulders over trying to make herself seem smaller, "I mean- She's the queen, of course I'm nice to her."

Mal just rolls her eyes and turns away as the others continue tittering. She's never liked Jane. Spineless, cowardly, cares far too much about what other people think of her. Changes her mind about anything in seconds to agree with the person she's talking to. And Mal definitely doesn't like the longing way Jane always looks at the king.

"But it doesn't matter," Mal thinks, another smile spreading across her face, "I already share a bed with him, and after tonight, he's sure to make me his wife, too."

It's then that Audrey marches out of the king's chambers, red on her cheeks, tears trailing down her face, and fury in her eyes.

"Mal," she calls harshly, "Come with me, please."

"Of course, your Majesty," Mal replies with a bowed head, falling in after Audrey with a secretive smile. This is better luck than she could have hoped for. She softly closes the door after walking into the Queen's chambers. Audrey sits at her vanity completely straight-backed, tense, and furious. However, she is obviously taking great pains to keep her expression composed.

"Mal, bring me some face cream and a glass of water," she orders calmly, examining her reflection in the mirror.

Mal knows what the woman is playing at. Audrey's trying to remind her that she's the Queen, she's the one in charge. But that doesn't faze Mal. She's lived her entire life in this castle, in these power dynamics. She knows how to use them to her advantage. Audrey thinks she's in charge. She thinks that she has nothing to fear.

She is so, so wrong.

Mal hums a little tune as she picks up some of the honey and beeswax from the Queen's bedside table. She slips a small vial out of the pocket of her apron and sprinkles the white powder into the small container and mixes it around with her finger for a little bit, before grabbing the pitcher of water and pouring a glass. She walks over to the vanity and places both objects on the side of it. Audrey picks up the glass of water and takes a sip. She lets out a slow breath before asking, "Mal, would you cover up these red spots for me?"

"Of course," Mal replies quickly, taking some of the stuff onto her fingers.

But Audrey stops her, "Wait."

The Queen holds up her hand and narrows her eyes at Mal through the mirror, "You put some on first. No offense dear, but you look like a common maid."

Unbothered by the jab, Mal just smiles and nods. She rubs some of the paste into her cheek, and Audrey only waits for a few seconds before nodding and allowing Mal to do the same to her.

"You were always a good servant, Mal," she begins, "Or so it would seem. Obedient as a dog, never looking for extra praise. But you're smart. Cunning. Ambitious. Dangerous. I noticed it from the beginning. I hoped that we could be friends."

She glances to Mal out of the corner of her eye, "But it seems that wasn't in your plans, was it? No, no. Instead you got the king, my husband, to fall for your tricks. And had the nerve to say that you would make a better queen than me."

She takes another sip of water and clicks her tongue, "Listen closely. I may not have a son. You might be pregnant. Oh, don't think I didn't notice."

She turns around and stares directly into Mal's eyes.

"He may like you in bed," she leans in, a dangerous smile playing on her lips, "But I'm the queen. Don't forget it."

And then she falls to the side, and had Mal not been prepared for it, Audrey would have toppled right off the chair.

The Queen rasps, "What did you do to me?"

Mal hums as she grabs a rag, "Oh, nothing, really. Just poisoned your water."

"You won't get away-" Audrey is cut off as Mal presses the cloth over her nose and mouth. She tries to struggle, but the poison has already made her weak, and she can't do much more than wave her arms around. Her eyes go wide as she finally stops thrashing, and Mal removes the towel. But Audrey doesn't take another breath. Mal smiles as she dumps both the glass and pitcher of water out the window, tucks the rag into Audrey's vanity drawer, and starts screaming.

She doesn't stop as she hears loud footsteps come down the hallway, and instead shouts, "Help! Somebody! The Queen, please help!"

A couple of palace guards burst through the doors, with an entourage of about five other ladies-in-waiting trailing after them. Mal starts crying as she hears the collective gasp echo through the room. The guards grab Mal's arms and hoist her up, demanding, "What have you done to the Queen?"

Mal just keeps on crying, "I didn't mean to! She- she told me it was just a joke!"

The guard pauses at that, "What was just a joke?"

Mal sobs for a few seconds before finally getting out, "She- she said that- that it was just a harmless prank."

The maids immediately begin whispering to each other, guessing as to who it could be.

"Quiet!" The guards let go of Mal's arms, and she makes a big show of trying not to fall forward.

"Show us," one demands, and Mal nods meekly. She leads them to the vanity, where she holds up the tin of face cream and sniffles a little bit.

"She- She gave me this powder and told me to put it in here. I just- I just thought it would make her face yellow or- Not kill-" Mal cuts off and covers her face with her hands. The guard picks up the tin and examines it.

"There is poison," he states, and Mal starts weeping again.

"Who was it?" He inquires, "Who?"

Mal shakes her head, continuing to sob.

The guard grabs her arms again and shouts, "If you don't tell us who did this, you will be tried for the murder of the Queen. There will be no-"

"It was Jane!" Mal finally screams, "It was- It was Jane. She told me- She told me it was just a- a joke."

"I saw where she went!" One of the ladies screeches. Both she and the guards shove past everyone else and burst out of the door, with all of the other maids darting after them.

After she's sure everyone's left, Mal giggles with a vicious little smile.

"Oh, Audrey," she purrs, "This was too easy."

***

Mal has to suppress her smirk as Jane screams while being led to the chopping block.

"No! No, it wasn't me!" She cries, "I loved the Queen, please!"

Mal bows her head with the other ladies-in-waiting. Jane catches sight of Mal in the audience and jumps towards her, "Mal, please! Please- Please tell them I didn't do this! Don't do this to me, please!"

Mal looks up at Jane and shakes her head sadly, "Jane, I'm so sorry, but I can't save you from your actions. You've brought this upon yourself."

Jane lets out a scream as the guards yank her backwards, "No! No, please! Please! She did this! She killed the Queen, please believe me! She killed my best friend, please!"

Her begging fades to unintelligible shrieks and blubbers as the guards lay her head down on the block. Mal watches emotionlessly as the executioner raises his sword. Jane looks to Mal once more. And for the first time, Mal sees the fire of hatred burn in the girl's eyes.

SHUNK!

Jane's head rolls towards the side, and some of the ladies back away in fear. But Mal takes a small step closer, peering at the severed head. She can still see the fury in Jane's dead eyes.

"Pity," Mal thinks, "She was only able to grow a backbone seconds before she died."

***

Mal is unable to keep herself from grinning as she rests her hand on her pregnant belly, staring at Audrey's coffin. The wake had ended just an hour ago, and Mal was pretty exhausted from pretending to be distraught.

"Although, it is what I'm good at, I suppose. Fooling everyone," she thinks. She places her hand on the gilded wood and scoffs.

"She doesn't deserve something this expensive," Mal mutters, "Although ostentatious always was her thing. Annoying in life, annoying in death."

Mal turns as she feels a pair of eyes on her back.

"What happened to her?" Mary asks with a tilted head.

Mal purses her lips at the young girl and beckons for her to come closer. Once Mary is only a few inches ahead of her, Mal gently places her hand on the young girl's shoulders.

"How old are you, Mary?" Mal asks softly.

"Nine," the girl replies with a sniffle, "I want my mommy. Where did she go?"

Mal sharply grips the girl's arms, and Mary whimpers with shock, "Stop. Stop, you're hurting me!"

Mal smiles sweetly and covers the girl's mouth, gazing happily at the new ring on her finger as she does so, "Listen here. Your mommy is gone. I killed her. So now you have me."

Mary starts crying softly and Mal digs her fingernails into the princess' arms. She grabs Mary's face and forces her to look at her new Queen dead in the eyes, "Listen, little girl. You may have been the only heir a couple of weeks ago, but my baby is coming. It's a son, I can feel it. He's going to have everything, and you're going to have nothing. Hear that? Nothing. But if you're nice to your mommy," she trills, moving towards Mary's ear, "I'll make sure you get the nicest servant's quarters."

Mary is sobbing by the time Mal finishes and stands up, "I'm the Queen now, sweetheart. And don't you forget it."

She smiles sweetly again as footsteps echo down the hallway.

"Oh, Mary! There you are!" One of the ladies-in-waiting rushes into the room and takes Mary's hand. The girl continues to cry, burying her face in the maid's skirt. The woman rubs her fingers through the girl's hair, trying to calm her.

"Queen Mal, what happened?" The maid asks cautiously.

Mal looks at the girl with pity, "I was paying my respects. Yet again. I can still barely believe it myself. This poor thing was looking for her mother. I tried to explain as best I could, but she broke down when I told her our beloved Queen wasn't coming back."

Mary weeps, "She's lying! She's lying, she said-"

"Shhh, shhhh," the maid says, trying to soothe the young princess, "Come now Mary, let's get you to bed. Thank you, Queen Mal."

She bows before exiting the room. Mal smiles and turns back to the coffin. After the footsteps fade away, she laughs, "Oh Audrey, I'm almost disappointed in you. Your daughter is weak. Did you really teach her nothing?"

She clicks her tongue as her smile widens. She places her hand on her large stomach yet again.

"But you," she purrs, "You, my child, are going to have everything. You're going to be strong, and cunning, and intelligent, and ruthless, and the best king this country has ever seen."

She takes one of the flower bouquets from the bottom of the coffin and rips some of the flowers off, placing them into her hair. She grins widely, "Nothing will ever defeat us."

***

(So... Yeah, that was dark. Bear in mind that this is not historically accurate whatsoever. Anne Boleyn did not poison Catherine of Aragon. In fact, Henry annulled the marriage, and Catherine of Aragon lived in a castle for a good ten years before dying of cancer. And Jane Seymour was not executed for being accused of poisoning Catherine of Aragon, because Catherine of Aragon was not poisoned. Jane Seymour died in childbirth after being married to King Henry. Also, I do know that Mal and Audrey are not authentic names to the area or the time period, but... Whatever. If you haven't heard of Six the musical, I highly recommend you listen to it, it's amazing. Also, in case you're wondering, Ben is not the king, I absolutely could not do that to him, the king in this oneshot is Ben's non-existent-in-canon younger brother who is more like the Beast. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed! Votes, comments, and requests are so appreciated.)