Not a story update just yet, just a progress update.
I know it’s been literally half a year since the last update, I apologize for that. I originally wrote this story as a way to channel my anxiety as I started my professional career. Since then (and since the last chapter posted), I have hit into some very rough times and I’ve had to focus on that. While I don’t have a lot of time, I do have some time to finish what I started back in 2019 with this story.
There are six chapters left in Legend of the Six, making the full story 31 chapters total. One will be released within the next week. This last chapter is really the last one before the main story comes to point and all of the storylines we’ve seen come together for a final battle of fate between the Queens and Henry.
I hope we can all finish this journey together. Thank you for the support and I hope you all look forward to coming back to Afigmia very soon!
well, this is it! the final part is upon us. thank you all for all of your support with this story, i’m really proud of it so it’s nice that people like it. if you have ideas for stories you’d like me to write, you can always message me or leave an ask. thank you again, and enjoy the final part!
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“I didn’t rip up your manuscript,” Katherine says softly. “I don’t know why I said that, really.” She laughs sort of humorlessly. “I was just so angry at you all of a sudden that the worst thing I could think of left my mouth, and then everything just… escalated.”
“So… so if it isn’t ripped up…” Cathy says faintly, “then… then where is it?”
“It’s at home,” Katherine murmurs. “It’s in a box in my room.”
“It’s not destroyed?” Cathy whispers, and she isn’t overjoyed like she would have assumed she would be. She’s not even fully relieved, not really. Her revelation from earlier about using the manuscript to define her has shifted her emotions about the story to a more complicated place, and beyond just the manuscript itself she can’t quite tell how she should react to Katherine right now.
Typically, she experiences shock by feeling her heartbeat kick up to immeasurably high speeds as whatever news she’s just received sinks in- that’s how she felt when she opened her eyes and was no longer in her own body or her own time- but now, hearing that her manuscript isn’t really gone, shock sort of feels like a heavy stone sitting just under her ribs, weighing her down and keeping her frozen in place.
“So what do we do now?” Cathy asks shakily, feeling like she doesn’t quite know if she’s really here, if this is really happening, even as her fists tighten around a clump of grass in an unsuccessful attempt to keep herself grounded.
“Do you want to go get it?” Katherine offers sort of awkwardly, and Cathy nods slowly, her head heavy with the amount of thoughts and feelings racing through it.
The younger queen stands first, holding out a hand to pull Cathy up to her feet, and then they begin walking, the lamps seeming brighter than they did when it was just Cathy out here alone searching desperately for Kit, only half an hour or so ago.
“Thank you,” Katherine murmurs, looking at her feet as they walk back to the apartment. “For… for saying those things.”
“The things I said were true,” Cathy replies, just as quietly. “I’m sorry that it took me so long to say them.”
She swallows. “I know I can’t take back what I said when you told me about the manuscript- or, I guess, lied about the manuscript- but I’m sorry about that, too. You’ve felt comfortable enough to be vulnerable with me in the past, and I weaponized that information against you just like all those monsters from… from before.”
“You aren’t a monster, Cathy,” Katherine murmurs. “You hurt me, and I’m glad you’re apologizing, but you aren’t like them.” She takes a pause. “I… I think I know how to tell the difference now, between real love and what they all gave me.”
Her gaze runs along a line of weeds growing against a building. “All of you have shown me real love- I know that you love me for real, and I know that you weren’t actually trying to hurt me by saying those things. Maybe in the moment, I guess, but by the time I had gotten to the park, I realized I wasn’t scared, at least not in the way I had always been scared of them. I knew that you were just upset.”
She looks over at Cathy, and meets her eyes before continuing. “You aren’t a monster. You said some things that really hurt me, but you aren’t a monster.”
Cathy feels tears in her eyes at the girl’s calm, quiet explanation.
“I’m sorry for hurting you,” she whispers.
“I forgive you,” Katherine replies in a soft voice, and gives a half-smile to Cathy. “I’m sorry about…” She makes a sort of an awkward, flailing gesture with her arms to encapsulate everything that’s happened in the past twenty-four hours, and it makes the older woman laugh. “About everything.”
“I forgive you, too,” Cathy murmurs, surprised to feel the honesty in the statement.
“So what happens now? With the manuscript?”
“I’m going to figure it out,” Cathy tells her. “But I won’t abandon you, or any of the girls. That much I’m sure of.”
Katherine doesn’t say anything more, but when they finally make it back to the apartment, she wraps her arms tightly around Cathy and squeezes her into a hug, and Cathy knows that this hug is all of the things that Katherine can’t bring herself to say out loud, so she hugs the girl back and tucks her chin over her head, breathing fully in and out for what might be the first time in days.
Cathy ruffles the girl’s hair slightly after they pull apart, grinning, feeling like they’re settling back into familiarity with one another after weeks of being out of step.
“Oh, thank god,” Aragon exhales as soon as the door is opened after Cathy knocks, pulling her goddaughter close. “Please never do that again.”
She’s holding Cathy tight, and it scares her how she can feel Aragon trembling slightly- she knows Jane is ‘unshakeable’, as dictated by her song, but Aragon has always been the steady presence for Cathy through all of this, and the fact that Cathy caused her to break by leaving frightens her.
“Well, I’m here now,” Cathy assures her, wanting to lift the fear from Aragon’s eyes as she steps back and opens her mouth to speak further, but she’s interrupted by someone sprinting into the front hall, Jane appearing next to Aragon in the doorway with worried, tear-filled eyes.
“Is she-” Jane asks desperately.
Katherine moves out from behind Cathy, and Jane’s whole posture shifts, walking down on unsteady feet to the girl, pausing and waiting for the nod before she steps into her space and tucks a piece of hair behind Katherine’s ear.
“Are we okay?” she questions in a gentle voice, looking between Katherine and Cathy, the wind blowing down the moonlit street and rustling the trees, adding to the almost otherworldly atmosphere.
“We’re okay,” Cathy answers, after she and Katherine exchange a glance. “We’re all okay.”
“Come inside, it’s cold,” Aragon tells them, and after everyone’s safely inside she takes one more breath of the chilly night wind and sends a silent prayer of thanks up beyond the stars that the two girls returned home safely.
When Jane’s done making sure Katherine is completely unharmed, she lets the girl go back to her room, and Cathy just rests in her godmother’s arms for another few moments, content to just sit on the couch and relish the safety of it all for a while before throwing herself back into the complicated emotions of her manuscript.
Katherine walks into the room a little while later, and Cathy almost doesn’t look because she doesn’t know if she can face it but then she turns her head anyway.
There, in Katherine’s arms, is Cathy’s manuscript, tied together with her blue ribbon.
It’s not ripped up into pieces, it’s not lost in some remote corner of the city, it’s here, now, in Katherine’s arms.
Cathy stands and pulls the last page from her pocket, the one that was completed only last night, and slips it into its space at the bottom of the pile before setting it on the table in the middle of the living room, where it sits between the four women and commands all of their attention despite its unassuming appearance.
“It’s… but I thought…” Aragon starts, looking between the two girls in confusion and Katherine shakes her head.
“I know,” Katherine replies, having anticipated this reaction. “I didn’t destroy it. I… I panicked when Cathy stormed into the room. I was too scared to tell the truth because I thought she would leave, so I said it was destroyed when it wasn’t,” Katherine explains quickly, and Jane and Aragon’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise and shock, trying to process the information.
“So the story is done, then?” Jane asks softly. “It’s really done?”
“I just need to send it off to the editors before it goes into publishing,” Cathy tells them, in a little bit of shock as she looks down at her completed novel, feeling completely different from last night when she’d thought It’s done for the first time.
Now it’s truly done, all the parts reunited, and Cathy always wondered why an author’s novels all together are called ‘a body of work’ but she thinks she understands it now. Her books from her old life, the ones on her fiercely devout faith and the self-punishment that she thought was the way to absolution of sin, the beliefs that defined her, those live in her mind and her limbs and her lungs, although they mean something different to her now than they did then.
This new book will live in her too, as much a part of her body as her arms or legs, but she knows not to let it become all she is. Her body of work will always be close to her heart, but it won’t be her heart, not like it was before.
Her family is her heart.
She knows that now.
They won’t be forgotten by her- they won’t be lost to the wastes of time- because she doesn’t have to hold on to every tiny part of their history to know who they are.
She’ll always know who they are, by their laughs and the faces they make when they don’t like something and the life that they’ve all created together. They’ll always be with her, as sappy as that sounds- she knows that her heart won’t leave her, no matter what happens.
Anne and Anna come into the living room in a rush, having heard the girls come home. They give twin shrieks of excitement at the sight of everyone standing around the stack of papers, and then the silent stasis that the others had been frozen in at the enormity of the moment is broken at the exclamation so they all burst into chatter at once.
They all have dinner together, laughing about different stories from their old lives and things that happened at the show in the past week, and when Katherine sits between Jane and Cathy on the couch Cathy puts her arm around the girl’s shoulders. It feels good to be approaching normal, albeit a different normal than before.
Cathy reads to Katherine before she goes to bed like she always does, something the girl looks forward to each night no matter how much she denies it or calls the practice childish, but tonight there’s no protest whatsoever as Cathy reads to her from a modern book of fairytales, the ones that have happier endings than the older ones she remembers.
She figures they could both use some happy endings after today.
Cathy gets up from her chair when the story is finished, but she stays in the doorway as Jane slips into the room to say goodnight.
Jane makes sure her girl is all tucked in, brushes some pink-tinged hair out of her face, and kisses her forehead. She whispers something softly, smiling, and Cathy tries not to hear what’s being said because some moments need to stay sacred.
“Good night, darling- I love you,” Jane murmurs after, and she holds her hand over the light switch while she waits for Cathy to say goodnight too, watching her with a gentle expression on her face.
“I… good night, Kit,” Cathy says. “See you tomorrow.”
The room goes dark, but Cathy still hears Kit’s response.
“Love you, Cathy.”
She leaves the door open a crack, letting the light from the hallway fall into the girl’s room, hoping it does it part to ward off potential nightmares. Most of the other queens have nightlights, but Katherine prefers the light from having her door open instead. Cathy thinks it’s less about the light and more about being closer to those she cares about- to be honest, it helps her, too, knowing that Katherine can come find any of them if she needs to.
Cathy hums as she walks into her own room, opting for her small desk lamp rather than the overhead for light as she pulls the first page of her manuscript gently from the grasp of the tied ribbon.
She told everyone it was done, and it is, for the most part, but she’s been on a journey today, and she thinks that she needs to change a certain part of the book that’s been on her mind to reflect that.
Her dedication, the dedication that will appear just before the title page of the novel, is currently to the craft of writing and all it’s done for her. While poetic, and honest, it doesn’t feel real to her- it didn’t even as she was writing it.
She crosses out that line with a strong stroke of her pen and writes something else without hesitation, a true dedication that had seemingly been living in her subconscious for a while- it stirs something within her when it’s marked down on the page. She has to swallow a lump in her throat as she reads over it again.
Sitting back in her desk chair, she exhales, closing her eyes, and then there’s a knock on her doorframe.
“Hi, darling,” Aragon says gently, smiling. “How do you feel?”
Cathy makes an indistinguishable noise and gestures vaguely at her manuscript. “That’s how I feel,” she answers, laughing quietly. “That’s the best answer I’ve got for you.”
“I’m excited to read it all,” Aragon tells her. “You did kind of spoil the ending earlier, though…” she muses, fighting a laugh at the way her goddaughter rolls her eyes.
“Well, apologies, I sort of thought that the entire thing was lost forever,” Cathy says sarcastically, but Aragon doesn’t respond, looking at something else.
“What’s this?” she asks, peering over Cathy’s shoulder at the updated dedication. “To-” she starts reading, but Cathy yanks it back.
“Not yet,” she says firmly. “You’ve got to wait until you read it in the full book.”
“But that’s such a long wait!” Aragon exclaims. “The curiosity’ll eat me alive!”
“I highly doubt that,” Cathy tells her, rolling her eyes again, but then the teasing tone ebbs away as she looks at the stack of paper with a sort of awe. “It’s really done this time,” she says softly.
“You did it,” Aragon responds in a whisper, echoing what she knows is going through Cathy’s head, and her goddaughter reaches behind her to take one of Aragon’s hands in her own and squeeze lightly.
“Thank you,” she says in a quiet voice. “For everything. Not just today, but for- you know what I mean. For everything.”
Aragon squeezes back before replying.
“You’re welcome,” she says, because she doesn’t have as many words as her goddaughter to encapsulate all that she’s feeling so she just says it simply, hoping that Cathy can hear all the unspoken things.
There’s a stretch of silence that passes before Aragon speaks again.
“Do you know what your next story is going to be about?” she asks, and Cathy shakes her head and says that no, she doesn’t know.
She didn’t know how freeing it would feel until she said it. She doesn’t know. And she’s completely fine with that.
Cathy doesn’t know what the next story she decides to write will be, but she doesn’t need to know right now. She isn’t seized with the desperate need to follow a new narrative. She feels like she’s been doing that her whole life.
She’s all right with the uncertainty of what she’ll write next because she’s here- not lost in a story, but here, in the moment, holding her godmother’s hand and looking at the finished story in front of her.
And, for a short while, Catherine Parr can rest.
~
~
~
To my family:
May we always find our way back to each other, no matter what lifetime we are in.
-C
-Dedication inscribed in the novel Six Wives, Six Women from Catherine Parr, former Queen of England
Another Mal!Howard and Andrea!Boleyn drabble cause it’s 3 am and I can’t sleep yay!
Prompt: “Am I your lock screen?” “You weren’t supposed to see that.”
This isn’t spell checked so yeah don’t kill me and I really need to stop naming my fics after tik tok sounds
!!!D-I-S-C-L-A-I-M-E-R!!!
I do NOT own the characters/people and while this is a six broadway fanfic it is only set in the six broadway verse! it has nothing to do with Andrea and Mallory, this is their CHARACTERS not them themselves. this is for the others who may enjoy reading and me who enjoys writing! sending all the love hope you enjoy x
If there was one thing Kat did to pass time, it was go on her phone. The youngest queen really represented the stereotype that all teenagers were attached to their phones. Her small device always in her hand, almost like a safe space or comfort item she was given by her mom during reincarnation.
On this particular Tuesday morning, Kat found herself on her phone, per usual. The endless scrolling on Instagram and tik tok had forced its way into her “morning routine.” So when the queen was taken from her early morning social media check, she was annoyed to say the least.
Her cousin opened the door to the pink queen’s bedroom sticking her head in, “Mom says we have to leave in thirty minutes if we want McDonalds.” She said before leaving the room, purposely keeping the door slightly opened.
Kat rolled her eyes, setting her phone down and beginning to get ready for the day.
Around fifteen minutes later she was met by a second knock on her door, she let out a small “come in” and her older cousin walked in.
“Are you almost done? I’m getting impatient.”
“Yes, Bo, I’m almost done, promise.” The ginger queen’s phone buzzed and she picked it up to reply to whatever message she had been sent.
“Can you get off your phone for five second and just finish getting ready, you can go on your phone all you want on the subway.” Anne reaches for her cousin’s phone pulling it out of her hand resulting in a mad Howard.
“Can you give that back, you’re not my mom, you can’t just take my stuff.” The teenager stood up reaching back to grab her phone, just to see that her cousin had run to the opposite corner of her room and hiding the phone behind her.
Kat walked up to her and attempted to pull the phone away from her cousin, and even with her advantage regarding height and strength, the much smaller queen managed to pull it away. Looking down at the phone’s screen she smiled, at the image. A photo of her and her cousin before they went onstage for their opening on Broadway.
“Am I your lock screen?” Boleyn teased slightly. Howard pulled the phone away from her hands, somewhat flustered.
“You weren’t supposed to see that.” She sat back at her desk, the silence lasting too long for her liking, “But yes, you are, no go away and stop annoying me.”
The Boleyn girl smiled, “I knew you loved me.” she said before skipping out of the room somewhat triumphantly. No matter how hard the younger queen tried, she just couldn’t get mad at her cousin.
Summary: When Catherine Parr and Anne Boleyn go to Peaks for their open mic night to support Katherine Howard, the couple get pulled up by the young woman to sing a duet. With a giggle, she, and the three other ladies at their table cheer them on. Boleyn and Parr grab the microphones, and just hope for the best from this experience.
Character(s): Parrlyn (Anne Boleyn / Catherine Parr)
Katherine Howard
Jane Seymour / Catherine of Aragon (Catalina) / Anna of Cleves
A/N: Kit + Soho Cinders + Parrlyn = Ideas.
Moral of the story: don’t leave me alone to think. I will think and it will come out on paper.
This is inspired by Soho Cinders’ most iconic number, “Wishing for the Normal.”
Because this takes place in the universe of Out of a Book, some of the references and places might not make sense. It will all be explained in due time.
And you all can bet your little tails the whole song is written out.
This is also my apology to all of you who dealt with my total chaos earlier. I love all of you and I am so sorry you had to witness me being a huge nerd and evil gremlin.
Tag List: @bchcadcd | @watercolored-lemonade
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Thursday nights were for coffee, laughter, and open mic nights at Peaks Coffee Company.
It was a tradition, for the six ladies to go to Peaks whenever Katherine was back in town from classes. It happened to be the winter break, and the ladies were all excited to go out together. It was about 7 on the dot when the ladies got there. Catherine gently pulled on Anne’s arm, leading her to one of the cozy corners. Close enough that they could see Katherine perform whenever she decided to go up there, but far enough that the two could have a nice conversation. It was bliss for the two of them, as they thoroughly enjoyed each other’s company, even with other people around. “I always love coming here with you, Cathy,” Boleyn whispers, leaning on Parr and resting her head on Parr’s shoulder. “There’s just good memories with this place. I feel like such a saddo for saying that.”
“Don’t. And you’re no saddo! I agree, this place... it has very nice memories,” Parr chuckled. With a glance up, Parr noticed the other ladies approaching. Catalina set one of the mugs down in front of Parr, and another in front of Boleyn. Sitting up, Boleyn nodded as a thank you, a smile coming across the mellow face. Katherine sat right next to Parr, Jane was right in front of Katherine, Catalina was in front of Parr, and Cleves was in front Boleyn. “I swear, I wonder how I would live without you, Lina,” bringing the mug up to her lips, Cathy took a sip of her coffee. Catalina just shook her head, grinning. “You wouldn’t be alive at all. You would literally die from drinking nothing but coffee and not eating.”
Laughter came from Cleves and Seymour.
“Considering all she does is stay in her room, yeah. I don’t doubt it! Sie schläft auch nicht, oder?” Anna gave a cheeky smile, with Catherine’s face being so deadpan at the comment, she just chose to roll her eyes as a response. “I do sleep, thank you very much. It only takes me three hours to fall asleep because I spend two of those writing.” Catalina raised an eyebrow at the response, knowing Parr stayed up late at night unless she had to be up before 8 am. There was more laughter at the table.
“Sleeping is important,” Seymour nodded over at Katherine, “and this one could tell you all about it. You slept last night when you got home, right?” The youngest of the ladies nodded with sincerity. “Yeah! I stay up late sometimes with homework, Miss Parr. If I learned one thing about uni, it’s that balancing sleep and homework is difficult. So I definitely get why you stay up at night. I do the same thing,” Katherine allows her smile to shine, Parr letting out a bit of a laugh. “You’re not wrong. Balancing sleep and work is very difficult. Now, how long are you going to keep us waiting, star in hiding?”
That’s where the mischievous smirk came from Katherine Howard.
“I’m not singing tonight, actually.”
The other five women stared at Katherine with wide eyes, in actual shock that the reason they normally came on Thursday nights was not the center of attention. Digging through the backpack she brought, the youngest of the group pulled out a binder, and handed it to Parr. A second one got pulled out, and was handed to Boleyn; the third she kept in front of her. “I’m showing off my piano skills tonight, and you two are going to sing for me while I play!”
The look on Anne Boleyn’s face was one of fear, and the one on Catherine Parr’s face was total embarrassment. The couple looked at each other, and gulped in unison. Boleyn had a blush running across her face, but more notably across her cheeks and nose. “I... Sing? You want us to sing?”
“Why not?”
Parr felt her face lose color. “I... we’re not singers, Katherine.” This was the instance where Parr reached for the coffee and began to down it like water on a hot day. Catalina raised an eyebrow, with a more confused look this time. Anna however, began to actually laugh. She knew that habit of hers all too well. Jane was looking at Katherine with furrowed eyebrows, but her face was full of confusion, much like Catalina’s. Sucking in a nervous breath, Parr stood up, setting the mug down. “Okay, Katherine. I’ll sing.”
Anne Boleyn let out a shaky sigh, but she nodded and also stood up. “I’ll do it too. What are we singing, Kat?”
Standing up, Katherine took her binder and opened it up, skipping to the keyboard up on the stage. She sat down on the chair, setting up with a little too much excitement. All she did was let her right hand play the first few measures of the song. “Wishing for the Normal from Soho Cinders! I’m sure you’ve both heard of it. You’re both English, right?” A rather awkward moment of silence, before the two women nodded. “This will be fun, come on!”
If there was one thing Katherine loved about majoring in music, it was the fact she got to play piano. She loved it. And just to make Anne and Catherine feel comfortable, she slowed down the beginning.
Raising the microphone up to be near her lips, Anne hid the nervousness with a smile. “Just imagine pouring your cornflakes, looking up and someone's there. Someone you have just spent the night with, someone’s life you're proud to share! Haven't put my face on, haven’t done my hair. Haven't had to worry, as it’s her standing there.”
The piano began to pick up a little pace. Catherine was going to match it, with a similar smile to Anne’s. “Just imagine out on the dance floor, turning ‘round and there she is. It's your lady, the one you came in with, three years on, your hand in hers. Living in a semi, maybe have a cat. Nothing that's too fancy, tell me what's wrong with that?”
Looking up from the music for a brief moment, Katherine Howard began to smile.
The couple looks at each other, the nervous smiles seeming to grow into genuine ones. The two nodded, knowing they had to sing on together. “Wishing for the normal kind of dream. Nothing too excessive or extreme. Hoping for the hum-drum, is that aiming high? Others seem to find it, tell me why on earth can't I?”
Catalina’s jaw could honestly hit the floor with how impressed she was.
Anna just had a wide-eye expression that screamed her shock for her.
Jane was thoroughly impressed by all of this, but mostly by Katherine’s piano playing ability.
“Wishing for the normal kind of dream. Trouble is they're harder than they seem. Am I too ambitious? Am I out of touch? Am I wishing for too much?”
Frantically flipping the pages, both ladies chuckled while the piano kept on going behind them. Lucky Parr, she got to start off this time. “Just imagine cooking lasagna, like those adverts on TV.”
And the biggest smile came out of Boleyn with this line. She just felt all warm and fuzzy from the fact she was spending time with her girlfriend. “Sitting on a fake leather sofa, babies bouncing on my knee.”
“Living within reason, loving when I can. Feeling I am someone, not some sad old lass.”
Almost instinctively, as if she knew Katherine would start playing softer, Anne made her voice softer. She could only hope Catherine would follow. The other three at the table began to smile, quietly cheering them on from their spot.
“Just imagine mowing the lawn.”
And the hopes came true, because Parr did soften up her voice. “Just imagine popping some corn.”
Even Katherine Howard herself was cheering them on from the piano. She wanted to laugh, but really couldn’t, so... she did what she does best. Giggle it out.
Boleyn’s free hand reaches down for Parr’s, with the two allowing their fingers to interlock. The look on her face said it all, she was smitten by this woman in front of her. “Just imagine breakfast in bed.”
“Just imagine owning a shed,” Parr let out a chuckle right after the lyrical line. She was not one to sing, but this was an exception she was happy to have made. Memories were all she wanted, and memories was what she was getting.
“Just imagine doing the school run.”
“Going for picnics.”
“Keeping a goldfish!”
A laugh from the two. They nodded again, allowing themselves to sing right on through to the end. “Wishing, wishing! Hoping for the hum-drum, is that aiming high? Others seem to find it, tell me why, why, why can’t I? Wishing for the normal kind of dream. Trouble is they’re harder than they seem.”
At this point, the table was standing up. Catalina was nodding along with Anna, but Jane? Jane was already clapping. “Go ladies!” The blonde woman giggled, happy to see some of her now closest friends so happy with each other.
“Going to a nightclub, cinemas and such,” Boleyn’s eyes finally met Parr’s.
“Eating in a restaurant, happy to go dutch,” the smile on Parr’s face grew from seeing Boleyn’s smile grow as well.
“Am I too ambitious? Am I out of touch? Am I wishing far too much?” And while the two lovebirds stared at each other, their young pianist allowed herself to continue the instrumental, even playing the accompaniment to the last few lyrics they had forgotten. Laughing, Katherine Howard stood up and started clapping. “You two sounded amazing!”
“Go Cathy!”
“Way to go Anne!”
“I’m proud of you, Kitty!”
The couple just kept looking at each other, with laughs eventually coming from them both. As much nerves as they had to fight, they loved every second of it. Being just a smidge taller, Catherine Parr leaned downwards to peck Anne Boleyn’s lips, but little was she expecting for Anne to actually stand on the tips of her toes to meet her halfway. “You sly little rascal you!”
“You love me.” Anne set the microphone back on the stand, before grabbing the binder off of the stand and walking herself back to the table. Parr just laughed, repeating all of Anne’s actions before sitting down next to her. Katherine Howard, however, remained on the stage and allowed herself to continue to play whatever came to her mind. For the duration of however long they would stay, there would be a newfound sort of joy in the ladies, and the soft lullaby of a piano in the background.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Rating: General Audiences
Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Category: F/F
Fandom: Six - Marlow/Moss
Relationship: Jane Seymour/Catherine of Aragon
Characters: Catherine of Aragon, Jane Seymour
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Summary:
One white petal after the other fell.
One golden feather flew after another.
Two vast and different personalities that managed to somehow find comfort with themselves.
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Something about writing Aramour fluff hits different. It just makes you FEEL good. It’s warm, it’s very loving... it’s the very thing everyone likes when they’re a little down. I hope you guys enjoy!
The queens board the plane to Orlando to truly begin their trip!
Chapter two
Cathy grabbed her navy blue backpack as the other queens grabbed all of their bags, ready to board their flight. The queens decided to use Virgin Atlantic since it had good prices and had many positive reviews. They also had the privilege of boarding before a lot of other groups because of Katherine and Anne’s severe anxiety, Cathrine’s bipolar, and her own OCD. They started to walk up the ramp Cathy’s stomach began to fill with dread. She had already tried to push away the anxiety but it came back and hit her like a truck. Cathy was thankful that she was in between Cathrine and Anne,her godmother and her best friend.The downside is that they might be bickering at least half of the 8 hour trip.
The group all sat down and got comfortable. Anne and Anna sat in window seats, Kathrine was in front of Cathy, and Jane was in front of Catherine. Cathy’s anxiety only got worse as the large plane started to fill with people. “ Are you sure you're okay Cath? Your startin’ to look kinda pale” Anne asked with a worried tone as she started to get comfortable. Cathy could only nod in response as she sunk down in her small seat. Anne, not giving up and still wanting to help her friend keeps trying, “ well if you're worried about what i think you are, I’m scared of this whole flying thing too, its kinda unsettling so i get how you feel.” The blue clad queen could only stare in response to her friend’s comfort and acknowledgement,she just slightly nodded in response.
Meanwhile in the seats in front of them, Jane was buzzing with excitement while in the seat next to her Kat was starting to get slightly anxious, holding onto Bucky tightly. Anna, noticing her friend’s anxiety, reached into Kitty’s bag to pull out Wolfie, Kitty’s stuffed white dog. “ Here ya go Katze, I bet both of your little friends would love to watch the take off with you” she said with a warm smile.
Kathrine took Wolfie in her arms and began to slightly calm down with both stuffed animals in her arms. The plane’s doors began to close as everyone in the plane had finally gotten settled and the stewardess in the front began to try and quiet people down. As she is doing this the small screens in front of them all began to light up. The screens started to display a small cartoon that started to play as the plane finally got silent. The cartoon shown was detailing plane safety and what to do in emergencies on the plane. When the video started talking about oxygen masks all the queens began to get slightly nervous, but not as nervous as Cathy. But the line was drawn when the video started talking about what to do in the situation of the plane going into the water, this is where surprisingly Anne started to panic. None of the other queens knew but, Anne had no idea how to swim and was terrified of the deep ocean water. Anne tried to keep her composure as the video continued.
Finally the video and demonstration was over, the pilot announced that they would soon be taking off and to fasten your seatbelts and to not get on till the plane was smoothly flying over the Atlantic. Soon the flight attendants came around with menus and started asking if people wanted any kind of beverages. “Can I have a Soda?” Kitty asked excitedly as she was handed her preferred drink. As soon as the woman turned to Anna, the german queen said loudly, “ ay can i have some Wine?” the attendant hesitantly grabbed a miniature bottle of red wine and handed it over. “ I don't know if you should drink much Anna, it may not be the best decision..” Jane said softly, Anna shook her head, “ Don’t worry Janey, they will only give me one, that's why i'm gonna have Anne get one to give to me!”, she said half jokingly.
Back to the trio behind them Cathy sat quietly, at least till the Stewardess came by to ask for drink orders. Before the woman could even ask any of them what they wanted, Anne coughed to get her attention. “Could you be a dear and get me a Coke, thank you”, Anne asked with a light flutter of her eyelashes, “Anne i swear these lovely women are not your ladies in waiting so don't even start!” The stewardess handed Anne her Coke and Cathrine a bottle of water as the younger queen gave a mock offended look to the spanish queen. Cathy couldn't shake her fears no matter how hard she tried so she just tried to distract herself with her new book the best she could. That is until the plane started to move and turn that is.
Cathy’s breathing started to quicken slightly as she looked out the small window to the right of Anne to see the plane moving back from the terminal. She was a little startled to feel a hand on her shoulder to see Cathrine giving her a caring look across her face. “Don't worry mi hija, you will be okay just sit back and relax okay?”, Cathy gave a small nod and a smile as she sat back and went back to her book. The plane had finally made its way to the runway and began to speed up. As the plane gained speed and got closer to leaving the ground completely, the more Anne’s anxiety began to build. The french queen loved the speed of the take off and the flying part, but it was the idea of flying over the water in at most a few minutes. She takes out her new nintendo switch to get her mind off of the water like Cathy and her book.
In front of the two anxious queens was three perfectly fine queens enjoying themselves greatly. Jane was reading a magazine she picked up in the airport, Kitty was starting to watch “Detective Pikachu” on her little TV screen, and Anna was just enjoying her wine. Well Anna was enjoying her wine until the seat in front of her was pushed backwards towards her a bit too far for her comfort. Obviously annoyed, she lets out a very audible groan to try and signal the person in front of her but does nothing. “Excuse me?” she says rather loudly to the person in front of her, a muffled grunt that Anna assumed was supposed to be a ‘sorry’ is all she got in response. Even more annoyed than before, she gets up to ‘use the bathroom’, only to look back and see that the person causing her annoyance was a boy she guessed was about twelve. After she got back to her seat she just decided to ignore it for the kid’s sake and try and sleep through the flight since it was overnight.
The hours pass and all the queens have slept a good part of the journey, except one, Anne Boleyn. She maybe slept for 2 hours at most before the plane started to land. As everyone gathered their stuff and getting ready for the landing, she turned to her left to still see Cathrine Parr, the biggest night owl she has ever met, fast asleep. Anne was just glad that Cath got some sleep because lord knows when the least time she slept for more than 3 hours. “ Hey Cath, wake up we are landing soon mon hibou” Anne said softly as she shook her friend awake. Cathy stirred slightly as she woke up to feel slight turbulence.This was enough to fully wake the anxious girl up, “C’mon love, we need to get our stuff together we are landin’ in a few”, in response, Cathy began to put her book away right as the plane began to descend.
The plane finally lands in Orlando international Airport and they start to finally let passengers off. “C’mon queens! We have a long day ahead of us!” Jane says to the group as they began to exit into what feels like a whole new world.
For @cynicalrainbows, a one shot featuring the idea that Catalina feels left out of mom!Jane’s pride in her so called kids.
This got long.
It’s been a while since the queens have reincarnated. They’ve long since passed most of their personal issues. They even settled in nicely to the current century. Anne and Kitty got jobs, working in a flower shop just down the road. Anna has picked up several volunteer shifts at a local animal shelter. Cathy is a tutor for adults at the neighborhood library. And Catalina works at a daycare, decidedly liking modern day kids over modern day adults. (They have all of the curiosity and none of the disbelief in her legitimacy as a former queen of England.)
And Jane, well, Jane is a stay at home mother. Kind of.
They live in the suburbs in a place where cost of living is pretty low, Kitty, Anne and Catalina make enough to cover their more indulgent purchases. Whereas the rest is covered by some anonymous donor, who they think is the reason they are even alive. There is no reason for Jane to have to get a job herself. Not to say she doesn’t have hobbies, she does occasionally visit the local art supplies stores, and sometimes she goes to the animal shelter with Anna. But she does actually prefer to stay home as an introvert.
As she does stay home most of the time, she takes up most of the household chores. She cleans, she cooks, she makes sure that there is order where there would normally be chaos. This also means that she’s taken on the more maternal place in the house. The others rely on her, whether they were reluctant to in the beginning or not.
Her biggest maternal habit is validating the other queens. She spent a lot of time in her last life being put down- they all had. The least she can do whilst being the glue that keeps their little family together is to make sure they all know they are doing great given the circumstances.
It’s a rather chaotic morning, she’s been running around like crazy. They all have, but her in particular trying to get everyone ready for the day.
“Jane!”
That’s Anne, upstairs and probably looking for her jacket, which is hanging on the end of the railing at the lower level.
“Down here love, come and get your jacket before you and Kitty are late!”
She speeds down, almost crashing into Anna, who’s rifling through her bag with a piece of toast in her mouth. When she asks what the woman is looking for, she seems to forget about the toast. Jane reaches out and catches it in a moment of astounding reflexes.
“Ah! Don’t get crumbs all over my carpet, please.”
“Sorry! Have you seen my-“
“Jane! I can’t find my-“
“Kitty! I found-“
“Cathy, you-!”
Jane snorts, leave it to those two to have half conversations and still understand each other.
“What is it, Anna?”
She snaps back to attention, having been distracted by the yelling upstairs. Impressive how those two have the capacity to be that loud given the way they haven’t slept in two days. Yes, Jane knows. And yes, Jane will be intervening if they try to make it a third.
“My wallet, I can’t find my wallet.”
“Have you checked the hoodie you wore yesterday?”
“Shi- Crap,” Anna quickly corrects herself in Jane’s presence, “I forgot about that, let me check.”
She races off to check the coat closet, which is where she’s stuck most of her hoodies in an attempt for space in her own closet.
It doesn’t take long for Jane to find something else to focus on. Anne is currently making an attempt to find her snack pack for the day. Now, this is something that unlike what you might think, is not Jane’s doing. She does not pack lunches and snacks for the women in the house, if they want that they can do so themselves. Jane places Anna’s toast on a paper towel and decides to help.
“Isn’t it in the lower cabinet? Could’ve sworn you all changed where you keep them.”
“Oh! We did!
She finds her bag, likely filled with sweets, and stuffs the sandwich she was making and a water bottle into it. Then she does the same for the three others.
“Oh, you’re making lunch for everyone.” She observes.
“Yeah, everyone’s running a bit late this morning and I’m ready. So, might as well.”
Jane smiles, “I’m proud of you. That’s really sweet.”
Anne immediately flushes and thanks her bashfully, she never did get used to the praise.
Kitty then runs into the room, claiming she is ready to go.
Her outfit is a little different today. But, also, Kitty’s outfits are always a little different. Today it’s red lumberjack pattern leggings and a green sweater. There are several silver accessories that compliment her choker with a silver ‘K’ charm hanging off of it. Her hair is in a messy bun, unlike yesterday when it was straightened.
“Jeez kid, is it Christmas already?”
Jane rolls her eyes at Anne’s comment. “I think you look cute, good job Kit.”
The girl beams at the compliment. Her sense of style has been a way of expressing autonomy, a way of showing that she has full control over her body. Jane is incredibly proud that the girl has found something to help her deal with her past trauma in a healthy way. Even if it means questionable but admittedly cute fashion choices.
Cathy and Anna pass by Jane, grabbing their lunches with a quick thanks to Anne. Anna is holding her wallet, so Jane supposes it was in fact in the pocket of her hoodie. Cathy grabs a to-go cup and fills it with coffee.
“Cathy, thank you for being the only one to not scream for me this morning. I’m proud. But have we got any sugar for your coffee?”
Jane doesn’t remember buying any, but she does recall running out yesterday.
“I picked some up on the way home, it’s in the top left cabinet.” Anna supplies.
“That’s great, Anna. Thank you.” Jane is using her Proud Mom Voice. Anna also gets a lot of praise from Cathy, who forgot to buy more and was about to have to drink bitter coffee. (Not that she would have minded, but she prefers it to be a bit sweeter during the day. Black coffee is for night time.) She also smiles at Jane for her comment on her independence.
With the coffee made, and everything needed for the day found, it’s time for them all to head out. Anne and Kitty can walk, and Anna drives Cathy to the library on her way to the shelter. Sometimes Jane walks with her cousins to the shop. She’ll pick up a bouquet for the house or a new plant for the garden and that’ll give her something to do for about a half hour of being home. But today she’s not feeling up for the walk, even if it is just down the road.
She does a headcount of everyone and mentally goes through the list of things to be done in the mornings. Everyone’s lunches are made. Anne and her things, Kitty and her choker, Anna and her bag, Cathy and her coffee, Catalina-
Catalina isn’t down yet. She drives the other car, so it’s not much of a hold up for the rest. They all attempt to grab something small to eat to take with them as Jane wonders where the oldest queen is.
Her relationship with Catalina is a little different. Catalina’s the oldest, the most regal and independent, she doesn’t need a mother. And while Jane has proudly claimed the mom friend title, she doesn’t want to cross any boundaries.
Of course she still checks in on her every once in a while, but she’s not as forthcoming in the mothering with her. They both seem rather content with the arrangement, seeing as they’re both the more mature one’s in the house. They tend to be the one taking care of the others, not being taken care of.
Just as Jane is about to check in to make sure Catalina is alright, the woman arrives amongst the rest. She looks a little happier than usual.
“Sorry for the hold up, I was caught up doing something.”
Jane’s about to ask what, but Cathy beats her to it.
“Oh, it’s nothing really. Just finished applying for that child care class.”
Everyone cheers. That’s something Catalina’s been putting off for a while now. She hasn’t done it yet in fear of being rejected or putting herself in a situation she’s not prepared for.
But this is a great step! Because Catalina’s end goal is to open her own daycare center, and having the credentials to back it is super helpful. And she’s already flushed at the reaction that she got, so maybe that's why when Jane places a hand on her arm and says she’s proud of her, Catalina freezes.
It was an instinct, honest. She’d never do that on purpose, it's quite honestly probably a little patronizing to the woman she holds in such high regard. It’s just that she’s been praising all of the rest of the queens all morning and she’s still in that mindset.
She pulls her hand away slowly, and Catalina shakes her head as if she’s trying to clear some thoughts, and they move on.
“Right, so, everyone out! You’ll all be late at this rate.”
Jane herds the rest to the door, seeing Catalina linger for a moment. But she catches Jane's eye and seems to brace herself before walking toward the door herself. Jane does not ask if she’s okay, she doesn’t want to overstep again.
“You all got ready and you’ll probably be on time! Great job, love you all, see you later!”
She gets a chorus of “Bye Mum!” back from all except one. A common joke among the queens, based on her role in the house. It honestly fills her with pride though, so she never refutes the moniker.
Jane tries to catch Catalina on her way out to wish her a good day; but the woman dodges her and races to her own car, leaving Jane worried she offended her friend.
-
Catalina presses submit and leans back in her chair with a deep breath. This is a big step for her. It’s a good thing, but it’s also a commitment. It does help with her long term plans though, so she’s willing to do it.
The class would only take her seven months to complete, and it’s all something she’s invested in, it shouldn't be this scary to start. But it is, and she can’t help but resent that she has no support.
She shakes that thought away as soon as it comes. Of course she has support. The queens are very supportive. She knows that when she tells them she finally applied they’ll all be very happy for her.
Happy, not proud.
She shouldn’t feel that way. She should be happy that she’s been given this second chance, happy that she’s able to spend it with her loving family. And she is! But she can’t help but feel slightly excluded.
“Jane!”
Catalina has half a mind to tell them to leave the poor woman alone. They’ve been calling for her all morning. But she does seem to enjoy that they need her so.
“Down here love, come and get your jacket before you and Kitty are late!”
“Jane! I can’t find-“
“Kitty, I found-“
She could never call for Jane like that. It’s more than likely she’d be judged for it. No, she’s independent. She’s the oldest, she doesn’t need Jane to take care of her. And honestly she does prefer to take care of herself. It’s not that that bothers her though.
It’s just that Jane always seems proud. Consistently, someone in the house is making her proud. Whether it be something small, like making a phone call; or something big, like getting their licenses. Jane always finds something to be proud of when it comes to all of the queens.
All except Catalina.
She’s honestly tried everything. She’s done the small things like make a big deal out of something menial and then finally doing it, to no avail.
(“Catalina, weren’t you supposed to make that call three days ago?”
Catalina bites her lip, hoping.
“Yeah, but it was making me nervous so I kept putting it off.”
That’s not even a lie. Catalina does in fact have a bit of anxiety surrounding phone calls. But usually she'd rather die than admit a fear. She hopes to receive some sort of reassurance out of this, as she’d had a rough week and this was pretty difficult. But instead she gets a frown.
“You shouldn’t put stuff like that off. If you need help with a phone call just ask.”)
Then she tried acting out, which truthfully made her feel quite childish and stupid. It didn’t work like it seems to work for Kitty or Anne, who Jane seems to have a soft spot for. But they’re family, Catalina reminds herself, real family.
(“I don’t wanna.”
Jane furrows her eyebrows, “What do you mean you don’t want to? You’ve been asking to cook this for weeks! I even set aside the ingredients.”
“Well, I changed my mind. I’m not cooking.”
She doesn’t get a gentle goading into whatever it is she changed her mind about suddenly, like Cathy or Anna would. No, this bout of unnecessary refusal to help out with dinner just lands her in hot water with Jane, who was already feeling a little stressed.
“All I ask is-“
Jane’s rant lasted about thirty minutes, and Catalina felt much like a child who was chided for disobedience all night.)
Needless to say, although she does acknowledge it in her head, Jane does not care for Catalina in the way she cares for the others. They do have a friendship, but Catalina does not receive the same type of love.
And it’s fine, totally fine.
Just that Catalina doesn’t quite want to face Jane this morning. Because she just did something really significant and if she has to face being treated unequal to the others when she mentions it she might have to go back to bed.
But she is happy she’s done it now. It’s like a weight has been lifted off of her shoulders, she’s been putting this off for so long now that she’d never thought she would do it. One of the other daycare workers had convinced her yesterday to do it as soon as she got home, and she put it off until this morning. She couldn’t just go into work and face that person saying she didn’t do it, could she? And so she did.
With that sudden burst of happiness after her anxiety, she prepares to face the chaos waiting for her downstairs. She’s already heard them all congregate to the kitchen, maybe she can grab a pop tart before leaving.
“Cathy, thank you for being the only one to not scream for me this morning. I’m proud. But have we got any sugar for your coffee?”
“I picked some up on the way home, it’s in the top left cabinet.”
“That’s great, Anna. Thank you.”
So, Jane’s in a praising mood this morning. Great.
She walks briskly into the kitchen and moves toward the counter that holds her lunch bag, thanking Anne for packing it this morning. As she does this she apologizes for holding them all up, they’re clearly all ready to go. She hopes they haven’t been waiting long.
“What were you doing?”
She glances at Cathy, then starts rifling through her pockets again to find her keys. She’s looked for her keys three times now, she knows she has them, but it’s something to focus on.
“Oh, it’s nothing really.” She tries to sound nonchalant as she says it. “Just finished applying for that child care class.”
Nothing could have prepared her for the cheers that sound through the room. Everyone seems so happy for her. And Catalina herself is really excited, so it’s nice. It’s nice to feel people being happy for her, even if she’s not making anyone proud.
Kitty hugs her, Anna starts talking about the future plans to own a daycare that they can all help with, Cathy congratulates her since she knew how hard it was for Catalina to make that step. Even Anne is smiling at her and pitching ideas for Anna to shoot down.
And then, Catalina’s heart stops.
Jane puts a hand on her arm, like she’s seen the woman do to every other person in the house, and tells her she’s proud. She even looks like she means it, for a moment.
Catalina can’t possibly respond, as she’s never had to respond to that before. She’s been trying to make it happen, but she hadn’t thought this far ahead. She just freezes and stands still, eyes wide with surprise and slight hope. And then Jane looks slightly regretful, and it’s enough to kill her mood completely.
Of course it was habitual, she’s been telling people she’s proud all morning. But she doesn’t act like that with Catalina. It wasn’t on purpose.
“Right, everyone out!” Catalina doesn’t hear the rest of what Jane says as she withdraws her hand. Everyone makes their way out of the front door and says their goodbyes. And once Catalina regains her ability to move, she quickly dodges Jane’s special not caring goodbye to her and practically runs to her car.
Her drive to the daycare usually takes about twenty minutes, it’s not unusual for her to arrive early to help set up. On days like today, where everyone is running late, she gets there with enough time to at least say hello to everyone before they open. But today is a special case. This particular morning, Catalina pulls into the parking lot of a convenience store/gas station and doesn’t care if she’s going to be late.
Hands shaking, she takes the key out of the ignition and stares into space. Jane said she’s proud of her. Not only that, but Catalina ruined it by freezing up. Maybe she wouldn’t have looked so apprehensive and regretful if Catalina had reacted better. Damn.
She tries to recall something to make her feel better. Something to make her at least stable enough to drive. A memory from her maids as a child or something funny from this life, anything at all. But as she goes through her head all she can find is that she can’t remember the last time someone was proud of her.
That may have been the first time in either of her lives that anyone has ever told her so.
She takes a deep breath. She needs to stop being so weird about it. It was out of habit, a lapse in character. It’s not as if Jane actually meant anything by it; Catalina should stop thinking about it. Her heart should stop its longing, she’s a grown woman. It doesn’t matter that she doesn’t have that kind of relationship with Jane, they’re still good friends. She doesn’t need Jane to feel that way about her.
God, she wishes that circle of thinking actually worked.
-
Jane worries. It’s something very known about her. If there was three things that signified Mom Friend to the group, it was her mom-like pride in her family, her hugs (which are soft,warm and inviting to all.), and her ability to inexplicably worry like no other.
Sometimes she frets over the other queens safety. Like when Kitty had wanted to go skydiving and brought Anna with her. Sometimes it’s at night time when she hears walking around. Although when that happens she can usually keep herself in bed if she hears more than one person up at a time. Today, she’s worried over if she’s just ruined her perfectly good friendship with Catalina.
She has so much respect for the woman, Jane would never intentionally cause her to feel uncomfortable. If only she’d just thought it through a bit more. Catalina clearly didn’t want the attention. But all Jane could think is that she was just so proud. Catalina’s been putting that off for so long now, Jane was so relieved to see it happen.
And now she’s alone, which doesn’t stop her worrying.
If anything being alone makes it worse, because now she’s overthinking what the woman's reaction could have possibly meant for them. Is she going to distance herself now? Will she be upset with Jane for accidentally being condescending? She would have every right to be indignant, Catherine of Aragon does not need to hear the praises of Jane, her former Lady In Waiting.
It’s been no more than thirty minutes since the others have left for the day, and Jane has already driven herself mad with anxiety. She tires to hum as she tidies the living room, only to feel herself becoming too impatient with the tasks. Then she attempted to watch TV, but ultimately could not focus. It seems today is a job for a bit of a more heavy duty distraction. Usually she’d work in the yard, but the hum of nature might hut more than help in the focusing department today. So, she picks up her most recent embroidery project and heads off to her bedroom.
She settles in, ready for a long day of avoiding her own thoughts. But the door downstairs opens, pulling her from her work immediately.
Who on earth could that be?
She opens her door and peers down the stairs, thankful that the location of her room allows her to see. Hopefully it’s not a burglar, Jane thinks she couldn’t handle that stress today. Not when she’d dealt with anxiety from yet another harrowing social interaction. Even with the queens, she finds a way to mess up. And they wonder why she’s an introvert.
The person who has entered their home starts coming up the stairs, and she sees. It’s only Catalina. Her heart slows in relief for a moment, before she remembers that Catalina is part of why she’s worrying. Then it shoots right back to the pace it was at before. Jane doesn’t close the door, she just makes eye contact with her and offers a smile.
“What happened with work?”
Catalina’s eyes flash an unfamiliar emotion before settling into a passive stare.
“Not feeling up to it today. I called out half way there.”
Now, usually Jane would rush to her fellow queens aid. But after this morning she doesn’t want to seem overbearing, so she stays rooted to her spot and keeps her tone even.
“Is there anything I can do for you?”
-
“Is there anything I can do for you?”
If Catalina were anyone else, Jane would be running to help. She’d probably insist on calling a doctor and rush her to bed before even hearing what’s wrong. Then she’d endure the jokes at her expense for the overreaction.
But Catalina for some reason is not the same, so Jane does not act like that with her.
“No, I’m just going to lie down.”
Jane nods, and closes her door. Apparently not seeing the dejection emanating from the other woman’s very posture.
Catalina seriously just needs to make peace with the fact that she isn’t one of the others. She’s a part of the family, but she’ll never be in with them. If she made peace with this, maybe it wouldn’t hurt as much when the examples of her isolation are so plain to see.
Instead of continuing to sulk in front of Jane’s door like a child, Catalina goes to her bedroom to sulk in her own space.
-
Catalina’s home.
Catalina is home, and Jane is so sure now that she’s made things weird. They can hardly make eye contact with each other.
She sits back down and aggressively picks up her embroidery project. Focus, focus, focus, focus! Her mind drifts back and forth between her hands moving swiftly through a stitch and her possible damaged friendship with Catalina. She should apologize, she won’t be leaving to focus until she-
Jane is abruptly pulled out of her thoughts by a subtle knock on her door. She knows Catalina is the only other queen home, but she can’t help but think that the knock is similar to Kitty’s on a bad day.
“Come in.”
The door opens slightly, and the woman on the other side ones her head in, “Jane?”
“Yes?”
There’s a hesitation, which is probably because Jane has made things irrecoverably weird between them. But eventually after her mental deliberation Catalina steps all the way into the room and softly closes the door behind herself.
When she doesn't speak right away, Jane moves her stuff off of the bed and invites her to sit. After Cataina’s sitting, they both make an attempt to start the conversation.
“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable-“
“Thank you for saying you’re proud of me-“
They both stop and stare, wide eyed.
“What-“
“Why would you have made me-“
“I just thought-“
“No! Never, I-“
“We’ve just been such good friends-“
“Yes! And so that was nice to hear-“
Jane looks at Catalina, astounded. Had she really been happy about the praise? She says so, but she seemed so put off by it before.
“Then why did you react like it was wrong?” She questions.
She watches Catalina take a breath before providing her own explanation.
“It just caught me off guard is all. You don’t really tend to say things like that to me.”
“I mean, I never thought you’d need it.”
-
Catalina’s knee jerk reaction is to say she doesn’t. But then she stops herself. If this conversation is going to be productive at all, she needs to be honest.
“It’s nice to hear every once in a while, though.”
Jane looks surprised by the admission, as if Catalina has just told her a secret.
“I always thought it would make you uncomfortable.” She murmurs back, although now she sounds like she’s back in her head.
Catalina gulps, now or never.
“I’ve actually been wanting to hear it.” She admits before she can stifle herself.
The other woman is still absolutely shocked; and if at all possible, her eyes get wider.
“What?” Jane stammers out in disbelief. Catalina kind of wants the floor to open up and swallow her.
“Not to sound needy or anything!” She rushes. “It’s just that you say stuff like that to the others all of the time, and this is the first time you’ve said it to me! And so I got excited but I knew it was just you saying it out of habit so I didn’t respond.”
“-Well I would have said it more often to you if I’d known!”
“But you didn’t know-“
“I was trying to respect your boundaries-“
“I get that, nothing has to change either-“
“Hell yes it does!”
Now it’s Catalina’s turn to be wide eyed in surprise. She’s never heard Jane sound so indignant before.
“You’ve- what? Been thinking I’m just, not proud of you? This whole time?” There’s a sense of urgency in the defensive nature of her voice. She needs to know the answer to these questions. So Catalina answers truthfully.
“Well, yes? And you certainly don’t have to be. I’m a grown woman, I don’t need to hear that you’re proud of me all of the time.”
She didn’t realize she’d been looking away until Jane grabbed her arm. It’s a soft touch, reminiscent of the way she held it this morning. When she meets Jane’s eyes all she sees is warmth.
“Catalina, I am so, so proud of you. Every day.”
Catalina opens her mouth to protest, but Jane speaks again before she can.
“I’m sorry I haven’t been showing it properly. I thought that you’d be uncomfortable if I treated you the same as everyone else. I have too much respect for you to do that.”
Oh.
“I’ll say it more, now that I know you’re okay with it. Alright?”
Catalina can hardly nod, overcome with an indescribable emotion. All she knows is that she feels warm.
They lapse into a comfortable silence, enjoying each other's company. They are good friends after all. Enjoying being around each other is the basis of their friendship, actually.
“Hey, Jane?”
“Yes?”
“You know, calling out is really stressful.” She observes.
Jane’s eyes light up in recognition, “Ah, yes. What with them asking you questions and your phone anxiety. I imagine it’s very difficult for you.”
