Prompt 2: “I love her, and I know that I shouldn’t.”
Queens: Katherine Howard and Anne Boleyn
Kitty shook her head softly. For the third night this week, she found herself comforting Anne. Anne sniffed and let Kitty play with her hair. “What’s the matter, Annie?” Kitty whispered, not expecting an answer. It was late, and although they both knew no one would be up, they still whispered. Anne blushed slightly as she spoke. “I think I’m in love. And not like before, I mean genuine love” Kitty sat for a moment before responding. She hadn’t managed to get a response the last two nights, and this wasn’t what she expected. “Okay? Why are you crying though, Annie?” Kitty stroked her cousin's hair gently as she spoke. “I can’t tell her, Kitty. I’m in love, and I can’t even tell her” Anne whispered, fresh tears forming in her eyes. “Oh, Annie. Why can’t you tell her?” Kitty whispers. Anne shakes her head gently. “Annie love, you can tell me anything” Kitty reminds her cousin. “It will ruin everything if I tell her. I love her, and I know I shouldn’t” Kitty hugs the sobbing queen closer and hums a song in Anne’s ear, praying she’ll calm down.
Anne buries her head in Kitty’s chest and sobs for a while. Eventually, she looks up at Kitty and whispers “I love her Kitty. I do, and I don’t know what to do about it because the second I tell her everything could fall apart and right now my life is pretty great”. Kitty strokes her hair and whispers “can you tell me who it is Annie?”. Anne inhales deeply and plays with her fingers nervously. “Cathy” she whispers “it’s Cathy” Kitty fights the urge to gasp and whispers “please tell me you mean Parr”. Anne nods. Kitty smiles and hugs Anne close. “We can figure this out, Annie. It doesn’t have to ruin things I promise” Anne shakes her head at Kitty’s words. “I can’t tell her Kitty, and I shouldn’t even have told you” Kitty winds her hair around her finger and mumbles something under her breath. Anne hears this but doesn’t question it knowing Kitty does this a lot. Instead, she chooses to stare into nothingness.
After what can only have been a few minutes but felt longer, Kitty speaks. “Does it help to know that Cathy likes girls too?”. Anne looks up at Kitty with a familiar twinkle in her eyes. “Are you serious?” she asks in utter disbelief. Kitty nods and quickly follows this up by begging Anne not to tell anyone. Anne smiles and whispers “is anyone in this house straight?” Kitty snorts as she tries to hold in her laughter. The two queens laugh quietly for a few minutes and just as they are about the stop, Anne turns to Kitty and whispers “seriously though?”. Kitty bursts into laughter, shaking her head as she does. Anne looks at her in amazement. “But Jane surely… or Catie even?” Kitty shakes her head and manages to stop laughing briefly. “Gosh no, Annie. Catie blatantly has a thing for Maria. They're acting oblivious, but to an outsider, it’s so obvious. I mean Jane could be straight, but gays are like pigeons or seagulls” Anne looks at Kitty and tilts her head slightly, indicating her confusion. “We automatically flock together,” Kitty tells her and Anne smiles at this because she knows Kitty is right. “We should sleep, you’ve got a big day tomorrow” Kitty continues. Anne smiles and whispers “Do I get to tell her?”. Kitty nods and replies “Tomorrow is the beginning of the rest of your life”