Chapter Text
None of them had expected it when it had happened.
They’d been in the twenty-first century for a few months, the show was going well. Everyone was getting along well now. Even Anne and Aragon had patched things up somewhat, although they were still somewhat uncomfortable and awkward when alone with each other. All together, the queens were a family of sorts, which is why when the betrayal came, it hurt so badly.
Jane and Aragon were sitting at the kitchen counter, both with a cup of tea in front of them. Kitty and Anna were trying (and somewhat failing) to make pancakes, which was why the two others were there to chaperone them. Anne came down the stairs, knocking over a vase in her haste to get downstairs, which she thankfully caught, looking guilty. Stumbling into the kitchen, Anne ran up to her cousin.
“Kit-kat, you’re making PANCAKES!” she exclaimed happily. Katherine looked confused.
“Um...yeah. Don’t you like waffles better?”.
“Crepes, actually. But pancakes are great too!” Anne grinned. Turning to the counter, she beamed even brighter, ignoring the confused looks on both Jane and Aragon’s faces.
“Good morning!”.
“Good morning, Anne.” Jane replied softly, still confused. Anne skipped over and sat down next to Aragon. Kitty and Cleves began to pass out the pancakes, and Anne wolfed hers down. Standing up and wiping her mouth, she waved and began to walk out of the room.
“Hold on, Anne.” Aragon ordered, staring down at the pancakes she hadn’t even begun to eat yet. “What’s going on? You’re never this excited in the morning, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen even you eat that fast.”. Anne smiled brightly.
“I’m going to the library today!” she answered happily. All four of the others looked shocked.
“The library?” Anna asked.
“Excuse me, I read, ma’am.” Anne said, placing a hand over her heart in mock offense. “And, yes, the library. Since we don’t have any performances today, I thought I’d go grab a few books about Elizabeth.”. The others exchanged looks as Anne’s voice grew softer. “I just thought I could use today to...you know, do a little research.”.
“Well, I think that’s a wonderful idea.” Jane reassured her, going to give the younger girl a hug. Anne returned it gladly. “Have fun at the library, love. Just be back by lunch, yeah? I think I’ll make some cookies that will probably be gone by the time you come back if you take too long.”.
“Cool! See you soon, guys!”. Anne traipsed out of the kitchen, and they could hear the door close behind her as she went off. Turning back to her tea, Jane turned pale.
“Kitty! Do not eat the raw batter!”.
By the time Anne returned a few hours later, the group of queens had been joined by Cathy, and they’d migrated to the living room. Much to Aragon’s chagrin, Jane had been persuaded to turn on Frozen (“We’ve seen it twelve times!”), and Kitty and Cleves were in the middle of performing their own version of “Love is an Open Door”. When they heard the door open, Jane and Aragon shot each other a look, each hoping Anne wouldn’t be upset.
The girl who came skipping in was far from upset. A large smile covered her face, and she was clutching enough books to equip a small army. Elizabeth was a popular figure in history to write about, after all.
“Hi!” Anne squealed. All of the others smiled at her.
“Did you find lots of books, Anne?” Cleves said sarcastically. For once in her life, Anne didn’t retort with an equally clever response, instead grinning and gesturing to the large basket of books in her arms.
“Yep! I’m going to go to my room, save me some cookies!” she called over her shoulder as she left. The others looked at each other happily until Kitty pressed play again.
“We finish each other’s-SANDWICHES!”
The beheaded queen stayed up in her room for nearly a full day, coming down the next morning for only a bite of a banana and a cup of coffee before running back up the stairs. When she finally came down, everyone was gathered around the table for lunch, Kitty telling an animated story about an old man she had met in the park. When Anne came ‘round the corner, however, they all got quiet. They hadn’t ever seen Anne like this before.
Her face was flushed and tear tracks were running down her face, her eyes puffy and full of tears. The space buns that were her trademark symbol were falling out, and she was in her most worn tracksuit. She looked utterly defeated, utterly broken. Kitty made to stand up, but Anne stopped her with a reach of her hand. Slowly, she turned to face Cathy, her face changing to one of anger, sadness, and undeniable hurt. Catherine shrunk back slightly, her face changing to one of realization.
“You lied to me.” Anne’s voice was hoarse from tears, but undeniably hurt. “You told me she was safe with you, that she was protected!”. Cathy stood up.
“Anne-”
“No! You lied, you told me she was happy, you said-you said-” Anne cut her off, trying to continue, but failing as tears overwhelmed her. Jane stood up to comfort her, but Anne shrugged her off. “Don’t touch me!”.
“What’s going on?” Aragon said calmly. “Anne, what’s the matter?”. The beheaded queen wiped some of the rapidly flowing tears off of her face.
“Ask her.” she nearly growled. “She knows all about it. She’s always known.”
“Anne, love, why don’t you sit down?” Jane asked, her face concerned.
“I don’t want to sit down, Jane! I want to know why she lied. She’s been sitting here the whole time, talking to me about how Lizzie lived with her, but leaving out the most important parts! I thought she was safe with you, Cathy. I thought…”. And with this, Anne began to finally break, sobbing heavily as she fell into Jane’s arms.
“Love, let’s get you back to your room, alright?” Jane murmured, brushing hair away from Anne’s face. The crying woman nodded slightly, letting Jane lead her back upstairs.
Once Anne and Jane were fully disappeared from view, Aragon turned to her goddaughter.
“What’s Anne talking about, mi amor?”. Cathy didn’t answer, curling further in on herself.
“Catalina…” Kitty said, a hollow sound taking root in her voice.
“What, Kitty?”
“Read this.”. Kitty’s tone frightened Catalina a little, so she took the pink phone thrust in her face and began to read the article Kitty had pulled up.
Elizabeth started to receive early-morning visits from him. He would “make as though he would come at her” and she would shrink back. The next day, she rose earlier so that he wouldn’t find her in bed, but when he arrived, she was still dressed only in a nightdress, he in a short nightgown, “barelegged in his slippers”. He greeted her and reached out to “strike her on the back or the buttocks familiarly”. Another time he climbed into Elizabeth’s bed, while she was still in it. She continued to get up earlier – if she were dressed, he would bid her good morning and then go on his way.
Aragon couldn’t believe what was written on the tiny screen, so she kept reading.
On two occasions, Katherine Parr joined Seymour in his morning visits to the now 14-year-old girl, and they tickled her in bed. On another occasion, Seymour wrestled with Elizabeth in the gardens at Hanworth on an autumnal day, with Katherine nearby – he cut Elizabeth’s gown “into a hundred pieces” while Katherine “held her”. The nature of Katherine’s holding is not clear – held her down? Held her to protect her? Laughingly participated in mere horseplay? We don’t know how Elizabeth reacted.
“Cathy...is this true?” she asked quietly. The sob she heard in response was enough to give her an answer. Catalina felt her heart break. She hadn’t seen her Mary since she was around that age. Picturing a small girl, a mixture of Henry and Anne, in such a situation, a girl that could have just as easily been her beloved daughter, her beloved pearl of England. She heard a small squeak from Kitty behind her, and her heart broke just a little bit more. That had been Katheryn’s childhood. Turning away from her goddaughter, she scooped Kitty into her arms, holding her close.
“Shh, sweetheart. It’s alright.”. The young queen continued to cry into Catalina’s shirt, and she let herself pretend for just a second, just one, that it was her Mary she was comforting, one last time. The sight of the brown hair, instead of red, shook her back into reality, and she turned awkwardly to Anna. The German woman had been standing there the whole time, watching the event play out silently. They had a silent conversation, ending with Anna nodding her consent. She would deal with Cathy. Aragon would take Kitty upstairs. And, well, they’d see how it went from there.