I died without having a natural born heir to inherit the throne. I died without knowing the feeling of holding a newborn child in my arms, or, for that matter, knowing the feeling of sharing my bed every night with a husband. I left nothing behind, save my reputation. Now I live in the ether, between the spiritual and the material world, sending my words out to whomever has the time or the temerity to listen. As I said before, I gave England no children, no husband. My only husband was Christ; my only children, my countrymen. They called me the Virgin Queen. There were whispers, barely veiled, that reached my ears even as I sat on the throne: _&quot;She calls herself the Virgin Queen. Huh! I hear that Thomas Seymour bedded her afore she turned ten.&quot;_ _&quot;That's nothing - they say that she and Mary were lovers, right under their own father's nose, if you can stomach it.&quot;_ And so on. I steeled myself so that I wouldn't show how these words upset me. I powdered my face whiter still, purer, still, to mock them. 2008-07-06T19:59:15Z http://ficlets.com/feed/story/25107 <p>I&#8217;m so very happy this story kept going. I&#8217;m really enjoying it!</p> http://ficlets.com/stories/25107?basename=76833 2008-07-06T19:59:15Z penguincaptain18 http://ficlets.com/authors/user_5439 <p>I was planning on mentioning him in sequels. You mentioned really being into the Tudors, so why don&#8217;t you contribute to this?</p> http://ficlets.com/stories/25107?basename=68827 2008-06-07T19:36:00Z Ana Cristina http://ficlets.com/authors/asimon78 <p>why didnt u mention robert dudley? he was supposedly her lover for a long time, even while he was married to amy robsart(and then he may well have ordered her killed in hopes of marrying elizabeth).</p> http://ficlets.com/stories/25107?basename=68819 2008-06-07T19:13:30Z Six Feet Under The Stars http://ficlets.com/authors/user_4266 <p>Heavy stuff and well done, giving a very pitiable face to the legend.<br />LoA</p> http://ficlets.com/stories/25107?basename=49921 2008-03-19T15:42:57Z THX 0477 http://ficlets.com/authors/thx_0477