Arriving at Hampton Court Diana looked out the window and saw the magnificence of the palace. Though she supposed that it wasn't truly a palace since this was Hampton Court after all. Still it was a beautiful place from the outside, though she knew others would refer to it as a gilded cage. The carriage stopped and she tried to not as high of anxiety as she would in this situation. The door opened and she was guided out of her carriage. There waiting for her though was a woman with auburn hair and a crown upon her head. One name came to Diana's head, Catherine of Aragon. This was the queen of England...and she was here to greet her? It must have been a normal occurrence perhaps for the queen to greet relatives, even long lost ones at that. Standing before the queen, Diana curtseyed and drew her head down, she knew to give all the respect in the world to Catherine, for she truly deserved nothing less with all the hell she had and would put up with no thanks to her husband.

"Cousin, welcome to Hampton Court. I take it you had a pleasant journey?" the queen asked, signaling Diana that she could now stand and look up.

Doing so Diana replied in her best somewhat English accent.

"Very much so cousin, I thank you for allowing me to come to court." Diana spoke in a kind and soft tone, showing Catherine she was not a threat but in fact hopefully someone she could consider and friend and confidant over time.

Catherine showed a small smile and turned, there Diana saw all her ladies in waiting. She didn't see anything out of the ordinary to her eyes but that didn't mean someone couldn't hide among them and she not notice them yet.

"Of course, we are happy to have you here at court and continue your education with how to become a proper lady." Catherine spoke as she led Diana inside.

Oh great, how to be a lady in this time period made Diana shiver at the thought. Here ladies were tools used for alliances if they were royal and toys if they were not. She did not wish to be either of those things but she knew that her cover could not be blow, especially so early. She kept silent as Catherine began to show her around the halls of her home. The place was vast and had many people in it. Once they came to the gardens, Diana could have sworn she saw the queen relax just a bit more. The gardens must be a place where she could relax and not have as much a burden upon her as she did inside.

"The gardens, they are quite beautiful my queen." Diana said as she looked from side to side.

"Your apartment is not ready yet, do take your time to enjoy the garden and when it is ready one of your ladies will come for you." The queen said and Diana saw her attention was further out in the garden.

Looking in the same direction as the queen, she could see a man and a woman flirting right there as though no one was there to see them. Something told her that was her target and the king.

"I will do as you suggest my queen, thank you for all of your kindness that you have bestowed upon me." Diana smiled.

Catherine nodded and turned, she then left with her ladies following right behind her. Taking a deep breath, Diana decided to get a closer look at her target. Walking behind the tall shrubbery she made her way just close enough she could make out the woman. She could hear giggling and for some reason, just hearing that she could not resist rolling her eyes. Peaking through the bushes, she saw the kings back and the woman was laughing. She was average height, long dishwater blonde hair, pink lips a color of which she had only seen upon children's dolls lips, brown eyes and skin just as white as her own. She wore a deep purple dress, which in all honesty seemed to be a size or two too small for her. Though she could see them, she could not make out the conversation they were having.

"You must be the new one." A male voice spoke in a whisper from behind her.

Diana froze but only for a moment. She carefully took a step back and turned around. There was a man looking at her like he had found her in a game of hide and seek. He was taller than her though not that that was something odd since she was only five feet and four inches tall. He had what appeared to be a bit tanner skin than her own, which shocked her due to the climate in England, he had mid-length chestnut brown hair and the brown eyes to match as well. He wore the normal clothing for the period, though they did look quite a bit uncomfortable just like her own, he waited for her to speak.

"Forgive me, was it I you were addressing?" Diana questioned him with her eyebrow raised at him.

"You are, I thought I might warn you that the King does not like spies." The man spoke still in a hushed tone.

"You call the cousin of the Queen a spy, be lucky I take no offence to such a notion." Diana said about to walk away from the man.

"Forgive me, you are new and I knew not of another royal member who looked as you do." He said and that made her stop in her tracks.

"Look as I do? Dear sir, is there a quota of insults you must reach within a certain amount of time, if so I daresay you are on the correct path." Diana said with a smile on her face, one he did not see since her back was to him.

She could hear his footsteps quicken as he rushed up to her until he was standing right before her.

"Please forgive me, I misspoke and regret doing so miss..." he said now finally asking her what her name or title was.

"My name is Diana, I do not have a title as of this moment but do rest assure if I did I would not run right to the king and request to have your head. Though I must confess to do that, I too would need to ask you name as well." She spoke as though it were the natural way for her to speak.

"I am Brendan miss, as a true symbol of the depth of my forgiveness, I would ask to by an aide to you?" he said and bowed before her.

This took Diana off guard, why would he want to be her aide and bow to her? She wasn't royal, she even told him that she didn't have a title and yet he bowed before her. Sighing she walked up to him and gently used three fingers to apply pressure to his chin, making his eyes lock with hers.

"Brendan, listen carefully. I am not royal, you do not bow to me and if you want to be an aide well that is fine I suppose but I have no idea what I would do with you." Diana said as she heard someone walk up behind them.

"Take him as a lover, many do that here. After all what else would keep us occupied away from the men." A female voice laughed from behind her.

She recodnised the voice as the one who was giggling with the King.

"If you do not take him, Brendan I could always use you to warm my bed." She replied to them.

Brendan's eyes grew wide and not in the excited kind of way. Diana knew that was not the best option, at least not in her eyes. Instead she took a deep breath and kissed Brendan right on the lips. He was just as shocked as her for a moment but then she felt his hands caress her face as he deepened the kiss. Finally they both pulled away and could hear the woman walking away from them.

"I am humbly by your side." Brendan told Diana and a part of her felt sorry for him, turns out the women weren't the only toys here.

Later that night, Diana sat at a desk in her apartment as the queen called them. She had already been dressed in her nightclothes which that in itself was quite the experience. Her hair was braided behind her and she sat there reading a book in the candle light. She did not wish to see anyone and she tried to let everyone know that. However when her door suddenly opened and Brendan was pushed into her room, she stood up and looked to see who had done it. It was a guard.

"What is the meaning of this?" she questioned as she went to Brendan and helped him up.

"The King said you have claimed him so you will care for him." The guard laughed and shut the door.

Good lord, they made it sound as though he were a pet. He was a human being! This was disgraceful! Looking to Brendan she saw he had a small scratch over his right eyebrow. Goodness sakes, no one here could be descent? Having him sit down on the bed, Diana went to the basin and poured some water on a cloth, returning to him she gentle tended to his wound.

"Forgive me, I fear I do not know the rules of court as well as I should. I can not condone treating others as though they are property." Diana said as she kept her focus on the wound.

"Only those without title miss. I use to have a title before the King claimed the woman I thought I loved." Brendan sighed.

This caught her interest. The king claimed the woman that he loved? Did that mean they were already married or did something else happen?

"Care to explain? Were you married to her?"

"It was annulled the minute the King wished her to be your cousins lady in waiting." He sighed as his posture relaxed.

That made sense, though he didn't make the others annul their marriages...did he? Diana tried to remember but it was no use, she was so tired her mind had given up on that memory for the moment.

"I am sorry to hear that, but to lose your title as well?"

"It was a punishment for trying to keep her from him, I think she put the idea in his head but what do I know?" he shrugged as he winced just a little.

Sounds about right, she had never even truly met this woman and yet she had already found hate in her heart for her. Diana felt Brendan put his hand over her hand that was tending to his cut. She looked at him and could see he was vulnerable, he had been cast aside and now he was reduced to being what some would call a pet. Though he was handsome, his eyes called out to her for something he missed desperately, love. Love would get her in trouble and she knew that, love would only complicate things.

"She will try all she can to take me from you now, that's where I got this wound." He tells Diana which surprises her.

"She already left you for the king, what would make her do that?"

"She envies you; I could see it in her eyes. Your long red hair much like your cousins, fair skin that looks just like snow, eyes the color of the forest, freckles scattered upon your skin. You have things she does not, things she sees as superior to her own." Brendan says as he gets closer and closer to her face.

"She can envy me as much as she wishes but that does not mean she will win anything; it will make her look even more childish in my eyes." Diana answers.

Before she knew what was happening, Brendan's lips are upon hers. The kiss is different though, it is soft and asking. He wants to kiss her and show her is admiration more but is asking for her permission. Just as he was about to pull away, she responded kissing him back.

(Brendan pictured above)