The sound of gentle closing of a door took Catalina de Aragón out of her sleep, making her open her eyes. She rolled over and reached out, immediately feeling empty, warm sheets where her girlfriend was lying just moments before.
She hummed, clicking on the light and raising her eyebrow when Jane Seymour was nowhere to be seen. Figuring she went to the bathroom, Catalina turned off the light again and turned over on her other shoulder, closing her eyes, but not really drifting off yet.
Sitting up in their bed when Jane came in again, she looked at the figure in the doorway, unable to see her face due the lack of light. Worry flashed across her features as she heard the Queen sniffle softly.
"Mi amada, what's the matter?" she wondered, opening her arms for a warm embrace. When the blonde rushed into her arms, she let out a soft sob. Catalina brushed the other's hair with her fingers, letting the third Queen release her emotions. Softly murmuring sweet nothings in her ear, the Spaniard leaned back a little to turn on the light, however, Jane pulled her close again.
"Don't. I look like a mess," she croaked, her voice hoarse from crying. The comment made Catalina chortle softly, brushing her lips upon her sweet girlfriend's forehead. She didn't believe the statement one bit.
"Oh, hermosa, you look beautiful no matter what." With a soft click, dim light filled the room. Meeting the teary azure eyes, Catalina's heart broke a little. She gently cupped Jane's cheeks and wiped the tears away, only for more to follow. The blonde apologized, but the first Queen waved it away. With a loving tut, she kissed the salty cheeks of her beloved.
"Nightmare?" It has been a while for both of them to have a nightmare, for all of the Queens for that matter. Atleast, Catalina thought it applied to all of them, she could never be sure. She decided to push the thought away and focus only on Jane.
"Him," the other mumbled, sniffing before continuing, "I-I lost all of you. Anne, Anna, Cathy, Kit, and even you. I couldn't do anything to save you. I was forced to watch h-him take you. I felt so powerless. He- he did things to you and I was forced to watch." She buried her face in the crook of Catalina's neck. The latter wondered why she hadn't heard her, and to be honest, blamed herself for not doing so.
"I am here now. Do not fear, I will never leave you. They would have to take me by force to separate me from you, my love. My beautiful, sweet, gentle angel."
Another soft sob. "That was so sweet." The first Queen slowly sat up, taking the other with her. At first, she heard soft, incoherent mumbles, until the words became more clear.
" It's all his fault. It's him. It is all his fault. That little --"
" Right ." Catalina squeezed Jane's shoulders to cut her off from whatever she was about to spit out. "Come on, querida, how do you feel about a nice, warm cup of tea to ease your mind?" With a short nod, Jane slowly released herself from her warm hold. Catalina immediately missed her body pressed against hers.
"That would be nice."
Offering her hand to the blonde, Catalina gave her a curtsy in the hope to see Jane smile. Jane giggled through her tears, however the usual glint in her eyes didn't appear. One arm around Jane's shoulders, she pushed open the door. They silently made their way through the hallway.
From the kitchen, Catalina watched Jane sit at the table, fingers laced around the warm mug. It seemed from her posture that she was still very tense. With one hand on her hip, Catalina tapped her chin, until deciding to stand behind her to massage her beloved's shoulders.
A soft sigh escaped from the blonde's lips as her body eased into the gentle yet firm touch. The first Queen stayed in her place for a few minutes before Jane got up.
"Can we cuddle?"
"Anything for you, Janey. The sofa, or the bed?" Contemplating the options, Jane eventually chose the sofa, clearly not wanting to bother going upstairs and risk waking the others.
As Jane curled into Catalina's side, the Queen noticed Jane was restless. Normally, she would settle down in one place and stay there until she had to leave for whatever reason, but now, Jane was shifting and wriggling.
Trying her hardest to think of what could help her, Catalina recalled what they would do to help Katherine or Anne once their night terrors got really bad. She couldn't remember, she knew it was there, but it didn't seem to show up.
Then, after a few more minutes of moving around, Catalina knew. She gently tugged the blonde hair to catch her attention, ignoring the adorable huff of protest. "Do you want to go for a ride? Out of town?"
Jane perked up in surprise. "Lina, it's the middle of the night, we can't possibly go out of town now." It was quiet for a moment before she nodded. "However that would bring peace to my mind."
"Alright then." A feather-felt soft kiss was placed upon Jane's temple. "I'll grab some blankets, and a thermos for tea." When Jane fiddled with her hands, Catalina raised her eyebrow.
"Can I grab something from your closet?" she mumbled at last. Catalina's lips curled into a fond smile. A firmer kiss was placed upon her cheek this time.
"Of course you can, my love. Meet me here in a few, okay?"
With another nod, the third Queen quietly left the room and headed upstairs.
The remaining Queen scooped up two blankets, not that it was necessarily cold out, but it was mostly for comfort. She made her way to the kitchen, grabbing Jane's thermos. For a second she considered taking a bottle of wine with her but decided against it. She poured the milk into the flask- Jane had always put in the milk first, Catalina tried it once and never went back to the way she used to make tea. She put the teabag in next, then boiling water and lastly a small spoon of honey.
(Jane would refuse to drink tea if it wasn't made by Catalina when she had a bad day. Because according to her, Catalina's tea always tasted better and she had always wondered why.
It was just honey, but Catalina would just smile and say it was love. It had sounded more cheesy than she originally intended, however it made Jane smile, so the sentence stuck.)
She stirred it and put on the cap, hearing a soft 'Aragón'. The next moment she felt someone touch her shoulder. Turning and meeting green eyes, Catalina hummed in surprise.
"Anne?"
"I totally didn't hear the conversation, but don't worry about us. I've got everything," the second Queen promised, making Catalina raise an eyebrow.
"You do know that every time that you are in charge, things go terribly wrong, right?" A soft laugh bubbled from Anne Boleyn's lips and she nodded.
"I do know that, unfortunately, but that's because I want to cause trouble. But I meant the others, however I don't think there will be any problems. It's a peaceful night."
Catalina silently hummed in agreement, hearing somebody walk down the stairs. She turned to Anne, but the girl had already disappeared.
"Kat and Anna are asleep, I didn't check up on Cathy and Anne though because I know they don't like it when I do," the third Queen said once she had walked in. Her beloved immediately melted when she saw the blonde wearing her yellow hoodie, the sleeves long enough to cover her hands. She didn't notice Jane walking towards her until a hand touched her chest.
"You're staring, chérie," she said softly, teasing almost. Once again, the glint missed from her eyes. "Have you got everything?" Nodding, Catalina held up the thermos and blankets.
"Yes. Shall we go?" She offered her hand, which the other took gratefully. Gently pulling the blonde against her, Catalina pecked her hair, hating the tense feeling that sparked off Jane, and desperately wanting to relieve it somehow.
"Te quiero, Janey," she whispered. Her lover glanced up, a small blush on her cheeks, "je t'aime, Lina." Cupping her face, the first Queen kissed her.
"I never want to lose you," Jane told her once they had parted, not opening her eyes. "I really don't. I know I don't deserve all of you. But oh goodness- if anything happens to any of you, I'm not sure I'll be able to forgive myself." Her breath was unsteady, as she was seemingly close to crying again.
A soft tsk escaped Catalina's mouth. "You won't lose us. I'll always stay with you, mi amor, okay?" A nod from the other. "Now, how about we get our mind off things and finally get in the car?" She pulled the hood over the blonde hair in an attempt to make her laugh. The Queen cracked a small smile, and nodded once more.
Catalina grabbed her keys on her way out and stepped into the dark night air. It was surprisingly nice outside. The moon lit up almost everything, and the temperature was nearly perfect. She made sure to hold Jane close while walking to the car, which wasn't far away, but still.
The third Queen quietly sat down in the car, fidgeting with the hem of the hoodie. Her beloved slightly raised her brow, putting a comforting hand on her thigh. With her free hand she turned on the radio on low volume, as she knew it would put Jane's mind at ease. Once she had done that, she started the car and drove out of the driveway.
"We haven't done this in a while," Jane pointed out after a long silence. The other hummed in agreement. "We should do this more often," she continued.
Catalina glanced at her sideways, a small smile on her face as Jane seemingly had relaxed, her hands around the warm thermos and a blanket in her lap.
"Of course, mi amor. I would love that. We really should get out of the house more, just the two of us. What if we just~ leave for a few days like once a month? With the other's knowledge, of course." Jane tilted her head- which made Catalina nearly melt on the spot, and mumbled, "that sounds pretty good, actually."
Catalina chortled at Jane's lips tugged to the side in a thoughtful way. "We should do that. But not tonight." She tucked a lost strand of hair behind her ear. "I wonder if the Queens noticed that we're gone." The first Queen stiffened for a few moments, before relaxing and shrugging once.
"I'll guess we'll find out tomorrow once we arrive at the Arts."
Jane fidgeted with the blanket and glanced at the Queen. "We can't just stay away, can we?" Catalina turned her head to look at her before turning her attention back to the road again.
"We can, but we'll have to say at least something." She paused briefly, chewing her lip in thought. "You sound like you want to stay away." Jane immediately tensed, and Catalina was flooded with guilt.
"No! No, absolutely not! I'm just... tired and not in the mood to do two shows tomorrow, including one matinee." Catalina chortled softly and nodded.
"Me neither. But we can always ask one of the alternates if you're really not in the mood."
"I want to perform, really. But I'm just shaken from my dream, so a bit unmotivated, that's all." Catalina nodded again, looking ahead of her.
"If you need some time off, that's totally okay, my love. You haven't had a week off in months," she pointed out. Jane huffed, "because I like performing, and I don't want to take a break."
They fell into silence once more, the only sound being the wheels on the road. Catalina started humming 'Take a Break' from Hamilton- to drop a hint and as her hums seemed to comfort her beloved.
Slowly but surely, Jane warmed up, cracking jokes and speaking more, but most importantly, she smiled again, the one with the gleaming eyes- the one that made Catalina fall in love with her even more right then and there.
"You know what I love about the night? How peaceful and calm it is," Jane said, playing with the corner of the blanket. "I also love mornings. They just bring peace to me because~" She trailed off as she seemed a bit uncomfortable with what she wanted to say, but Catalina finished the sentence.
"Because it's only the two of us?" When Jane nodded thankfully, she continued, "Yes, I get that."
"You do?" Jane visibly relaxed again, and glanced out the window. "I thought it was rude to think that."
"Even if it is, I don't care, really." Catalina shrugged. "It's the only time of the day where we don't have to deal with the chaos our dysfunctional family brings. But I love our family, so it's fine."
The third Queen didn't answer as she was pressing her nose against the glass of the window. "Hold on- stop! Lina, stop the car immediately!" She gasped in astonishment. "Lina, look!"
Catalina had come to a screeching halt immediately, afraid that something was wrong. "What is it?!" Once again, there was no answer from Jane, as she kept staring outside. Following her gaze, the first Queen narrowed her eyes to see a valley with hundreds of flowers, and a beautiful, big blossom tree on a small hill in the middle.
"Can we go there?" asked Jane eagerly, already getting off her seatbelt.
For a split second, Catalina was scared because she didn't know where they were. Then, she realized she didn't care, at all. The most important thing that mattered is that she was here with Jane- the love of her life and who wasn't feeling emotionally well. She silently vowed that she would protect her until her dying breath, and nodded. She parked the car at the side of the road. Jane was holding onto the thermos and the blanket as she waited for Catalina to join her.
"I'm a bit scared, though," she admitted as they stood in front of the small wooden gate. The first Queen offered her hand, barely managing to hold in the sigh of happiness when Jane's hand slid into hers. She pressed a tender kiss to her knuckles, relishing in the flurry of giggles and pushed open the small gate, wondering for a brief moment whose property it was. Jane immediately pushed against her side, probably hoping her beloved would protect her.
"Ven aquí, mi amada. I'll protect you," whispered Catalina. She slowly came to a halt, letting the sweet scents of the flowers reach her nose. With a hum, she realized that it smelled a bit like Jane. However, Jane had a hint of cinnamon or vanilla. She didn't really know which, but the combination always made Catalina's head spin.
"Is there something wrong?" Jane asked- her gaze fixed on the tall blossom tree. She couldn't seem to take her eyes off it. Catalina had to agree, the colours were truly fascinating, she could stare at it forever. The burgundy petals gradually fading over to light pink and white.
"No... Just taking in the field. It's beautiful, but not as gorgeous as you, hermosa." As she glanced at the blonde, she noticed a small blush on her cheeks- she found it absolutely adorable.
Jane grabbed her hand firmer as they made their way towards the tree. Catalina chortled when the Queen let out a dreamy sigh, softly mumbling something.
"I've always dreamt of a place like this. Just for the two of us."
"Now you have it," replied Catalina with a slight grin. She was glad Jane was happy, she truly seemed enchanted.
The blonde suddenly pushed the thermos and blanket into Catalina's hands and darted forward. The first Queen hummed in protest, "what the-" She got cut off by a cheerful, "come on!"
"The moon lights up the area enough for us to run," Jane continued, mischief flashed across her features, making Catalina speed up too, still a bit confused by the change in demeanor. Soon, they got closer and closer to the blossom.
They gradually came to a halt, standing underneath the pink tree, the blanket and thermos long discarded on the ground. Jane then turned back to her, her eyes filled with fondness. And Catalina has never felt more in love with the woman in front of her. The moonlight lit up Jane's blonde hair perfectly, the same for her eyes. She knew she was staring at the Queen, but it was hard not to.
On instinct, Catalina's hand snaked around the blonde's waist, pulling her closer against her. The corner of Jane's lips tugged upwards as they slowly started moving. The first Queen knew how much Jane adored slow dancing, even without music. And now that they were underneath a beautiful blossom tree made it more romantic.
Jane started humming the melody of Heart of Stone, resting her head on Catalina's chest. She then sang the lyrics as the first Queen ran her hand through the blonde locks. Staying in that position for a while, Jane got caught by surprise when a strong pair of hands took hold of her waist and lifted her into the air, spinning her around.
"What in the-" She interrupted herself with a fit of giggles. "Lina!" she shrieked, clinging onto the other's shoulders. The latter laughed, coming to a halt. The blonde hooked her legs around Catalina's hips, refusing to come down.
Catalina raised a brow, her lips curling into a grin. The movement usually meant business, however this time she slowly lowered her beloved, pressing their lips together for a second, way too short to the both of them. Jane wouldn't let her go without a proper kiss, tangling her fingers into the curly hair.
When they parted, they were panting slightly.
Jane went in for another, but fingers pressed against her lips. Catalina spread out the blanket. Letting out an offended huff, Jane folded her arms in front of chest and arched her brow, quietly questioning. Instead the Queen got swept off her feet and lowered onto the blanket. Then Catalina offered the thermos. She took it, taking a tiny sip and groaning in delight.
"I don't know how you do it, but this always makes me feel better."
Catalina chortled, gently tugging on a strand of blonde hair. "It's love, hermosa. You know that." Her beloved stared at her with raised eyebrows, failing to keep serious as Catalina's own lips slowly curled into a smile. "There is that beautiful smile again," she whispered softly, looking at Jane's face.
"You're staring, my Lina," her beloved teased, gently jabbing her chest. Catalina felt her cheeks grow warm as Jane kissed her, slightly scratching her nails on her red cheeks. Jane then rested her head on Catalina's shoulder, sighing deeply. The sigh made the first Queen hum.
"What a deep sigh," she pointed out, automatically playing with Jane's silk hair. "What is bothering you?" Her brows stitched together as the woman next to her tensed up briefly, making the 'nothing' she said even more unbelievable. However, Catalina didn't push her, knowing she would spill everything in a minute anyway.
"Okay fine, since you insisted."
There it is . Catalina chuckled lowly, bracing herself for what was about to come out of her mouth. "Tell me, mi amada. I'm all ears." Jane stayed quiet for a few seconds, seemingly searching for the right words.
"Please, don't freak out," Jane breathed before continuing her confession. "Lately I have been feeling... Well, not good." The golden Queen nodded slowly, keeping her cool, since Jane seemed calm too .
"I just feel like I'm doing everything wrong, you know." With a deep breath, Jane shifted, biting her bottom lip coyly. "In the show. I'm feeling like the statement Anne makes- the 'Jane can't dance' one- is becoming more true every show I do, I don't know why. And everyone expects me to be this... Perfect wife- which first of all, I don't want me, or any of us to be only known as the wives of him . I want us to be known as powerful individuals. Second of all, I don't want to be perfect all the time. I want to goof around, I want to have fun, make bad puns, do things that I enjoy with you, be reckless and be bad. Just~ live . You know?"
Catalina took a moment to process the information, and pulled the blonde in for a loving embrace. "I am so sorry you feel the need to be perfect all the time. But I assure you, you don't have to be perfect all the time, you are perfect as you are. As cheesy as it sounds." The words sounded more awkward than she intended them to be, but it made Jane smile nonetheless. "And you might want to rethink the whole 'being reckless and bad' part because even though I love you very much, I'm not not bailing you out of jail, nor any of the Queens."
"Well, you possibly couldn't bail me out of jail, because you will be there with me, " replied Jane simply. She pulled away with a soft laugh, but turned serious again when she saw the worry etched on Catalina's face.
"However, coming back on the 'Jane can't dance' part. I think you dance amazing, my love. You amaze me every time. However, if it makes you feel less insecure, we can take dance classes, and cut out the line."
"But it has gotten so iconic within the Queendom, we can't possibly cut it this late," whined Jane, but Catalina shushed her. "Your mental health is more important than the Queendom, mi amor. They'll live." The corners of her beloved Queen's lips tugged upwards, a fond smile appearing, but slowly vanished again.
"Do you really think I'm a good dancer?"
The first Queen nodded solemnly, licking her lips and drawing the blonde in for a rather generous kiss
"I think you are brilliant ." She paused, a sly grin on her face. "Do you think I don't notice your little tease before my introduction in Ex-Wives every time?" wondered Catalina casually, her whisper so soft that she wondered whether the blonde had heard it. However, Jane's cheeks tinted pink, giving away that she did hear it. A low chortle liberated from her lips as Jane hid her face in the crook of Catalina's neck, clearly embarrassed. The hispanic took a sip from the tea- which was still a bit warm and raised her eyebrow in a rather suggestive way. "Pretty, blonde tease."
" Stop ~" Jane whined. "I was just trying something, and your face was hilarious, so it kind of stuck. And I like doing it." The last part was barely audible, but it made Catalina gasp.
"Jane!" she scolded jokingly. "How naughty of you. As for me, you can't blame me for my surprise, mi amor. Of course I was surprised when you purposely pushed against me from the front ."
Jane giggled, "But you like it." Catalina narrowed her eyes, tapping the Queen's nose with a disapproving tut. "That's a secret I'll never tell."
"That's just admitting it in a cowardly way!" exclaimed Jane with an offended huff. Catalina laughed, letting Jane rest her head on her shoulder. Catalina pulled the blanket over their shoulders, and glanced at the moon. Jane followed her gaze, blindly lacing their fingers together.
"It's pretty," she remarked, barely audible due a big yawn. Catalina nodded. "It is." She pressed a kiss on the blonde hair
Thinking of nothing in particular, the pair fell into a comfortable silence. Catalina noticed Jane leaned more and more into her, then the blonde slipped off her shoulder and fell into her lap, clearly asleep. Catalina slowly shifted until she was settled next to her beloved, and took her into her arms.
" Good night, mi amor. Sleep well."
"Oh damn it. Lina, wake up!"
Hands violently shook the first Queen awake. The woman shot up and narrowed her eyes against the sun- which was right above them. She let out a yelp of surprise, turning to the blonde.
Mierda.
With a small peck on Catalina's cheek, Jane got up, "We'll never make it to the Arts in time," she fretted, pushing her beloved off the blanket and hastily folding it.
"Jane--"
"We have to hurry, Lina. Today we only have a matinee." The Spaniard put her hand on Jane's, the other cupping her cheek and making her Queen look at her. "Jane, listen to me," said Catalina sternly. "We're already late for the warming up, and you're right, we won't make it to the Arts in time. But I'm pretty sure that the Queens have already asked one of the alternates or understudies to go on today. So deep breaths, in and out. It's okay to miss a show on accident. We have alternates now, we don't have to go on stage everyday. The other Queens don't do it either."
"But still," Jane insisted. She pulled the hispanic over the field, not paying attention to the flowers this time. "Grab your phone and call Anna-- or Cathy-- the sensible ones , to tell them we're late."
Reaching in her pocket, Catalina came to the conclusion that she didn't bring her phone. "I didn't bring mine, give me yours." Jane patted her pockets, searching for hers.
"Shit," she blurted. "I forgot mine too."
"Alright, come on." The hispanic pulled Jane into a kiss. "How about we just go to the car, check what time it is and see if we can make it to the Arts or not?" Going in for another kiss, Catalina shut her eyes, but opened them in surprise when Jane pushed her chest.
"No. We need to leave. No kissing, no touching, nothing . You'll just distract me and work me up, and then I don't even want to try and make it on time."
"Seems like I have to continue."
With a sharp glance, Catalina raised her hands, giving Jane room to step away. "Alright, sorry, hermosa. I can't help it, you're so gorgeous." She chortled when the Queen's cheeks slightly reddened at the compliment, but chose to ignore it rather than to acknowledge it.
As they made their way through the flower field again, Catalina hummed a song, lacing their fingers together. Jane subconsciously pressed a soft kiss to her beloved's knuckles, which made Catalina laugh. "I thought we weren't supposed to kiss, querida?" There was a pause. "I can just feel you rolling your eyes at me."
"Good, because I am."
"That's kind of rude, Janey, if I'm being honest." The blonde hipbumped her with high pitched laughter. "Then don't be honest, plus I am rude."
"You are not rude. In fact, you're the sweetest person I've met. And that says a lot since I've met a lot of people in my life." Catalina snaked her arm around Jane's waist, pressing a kiss on the Queens cheek. "But I'm so happy I met you."
"Stop it, I'm blushing~" murmured Jane, covering her cheeks with her free hand. The first Queen chuckled, slightly squeezing her waist.
"Good, I like it when you blush. You look absolutely adorable, and sweet. And I'll always fall in love all over again, because that's what you do to me."
"It's really hard not to kiss you right now," Jane breathed, then mumbling something and pressing their lips together. She let out a sound of protest when Catalina pulled away with a grin. "Nope. No kissing, no touching, nothing . You'll just distract me and work me up, and then I don't even want to try and make it on time," she mocked her.
Jane's jaw dropped slightly. "Did you just say the exact same words I said just a few minutes before?" Catalina arched her brow playfully.
"Did I? I did not know you said the same words, excuse me for my actions, Queen Jane. Grant me your forgiveness, my Queen," she pleaded dramatically, throwing her hands in the air. Jane struggled to withhold her laughter as she turned to look at Catalina, folding her arms in front of her chest.
"Then beg, Catalina de Aragón. I'd like to see you try." Poking the golden Queen in good nature, she pressed a chaste kiss to her beloved's lips, which made the latter groan, "when will I get a proper kiss?"
"Soon enough." Jane grabbed Catalina's hand and started walking towards the car again. The first Queen protested by standing still, but a glare from the blonde made her walk quickly. Once they reached the car, Catalina hurried to open the door for Jane.
"There you go, my Queen." She kissed Jane's knuckles and went to the driver seat. As she started the car, she scanned the area, giving the blossom one more glance. "Okay, where are we?" she mumbled softly.
"There is a sign," Jane pointed out. Catalina nodded and drove towards it. The third Queen seemed confused, but Catalina recognized the name. "Oh I know this. Kat, Anne and I have been here before."
“Wait a minute. You-" Jane gestured at her- "and Anne? You and Anne ?" Now the other Queen was confused too, and slowly cocked her head to the side when she said; "yes?"
"I thought you always said you didn't care about Anne," Jane teased, laughter bubbling from her lips. Catalina let out a snort, "I don't. But Katherine does."
"Lies." Jane poked her side, but stopped when Catalina's attention diverted from the road. "Alright. Playtime's over, pay attention and don't go over the speed limit, even though we're late."
"You're most likely to go over the speed limit when we're late, not me," said Catalina, raising her eyebrow at her. "But I'll let it slide." With a roll of her eyes, Jane asked, "when will we arrive at the Arts?"
"I think in twenty minutes or so." She put a reassuring hand on Jane's thigh, squeezing it gently. "Angél, it's fine. They'll forgive us. Although I doubt they're angry at us. I'm sure Grace and Courtney went on. And it's a two show day, so we can always go on tonight. However, I don't think the Queens will let us come on."
"Huh?" Jane sounded genuinely surprised. "Why wouldn't they?" Catalina gave her a side glance, giving her a half-hearted shrug.
"Because we already stayed away from the matinee, surely they'll think we didn't want to perform as we never showed up. Once we get there, they will either be performing the Megasix or they're already finished."
"You're right." Jane turned up the volume. "Why don't we have a show here, then?" She grinned before singing along to the music. "Come on!" she laughed.
The other groaned, "this is French, you know French! I don't!" Jane giggled and stuck out her tongue, before singing again. "After this we're going to listen to Spanish music, so you know how I feel."
"Well you can't, because we don't have our phones here, so we can't choose songs," Jane shot back. "It was pure luck that it was a French song." The hispanic scoffed.
"Pure luck, yeah right . You're wicked, Seymour. Wicked ," she sighed, a hint of drama lacing her voice. Jane hummed playfully, licking her lips and resting her chin on the palm of her hand.
"We make a perfect match then, hm?" she retorted. Catalina gasped, clearly offended. "Don't forget you called me wicked first, Aragon!"
"Oh hush, woman. We've arrived." The blonde immediately straightened and released herself from the seatbelt. "Hey-- Hey, calm down. Let me park the car first before you go jumping out."
Impatient, Jane waited until Catalina finally parked the car and got out, barely waiting for her girlfriend.
The blonde bolted inside, Catalina following a bit slower. They heard the Queens belting the Megasix, and Jane opened the door to the dressing room, expecting no one there. However a cheerful greeting made her jump, her heart nearly stopping.
"Hello!"
"Crap, we're so sorry Collette," the Queen apologized after she was reminded that her heart was doing its job again. The second understudy burst out in laughter, "it's okay. Both Grace and Courtney were bloody restless today. They needed to do something to get their energy out today. I doubt I would've survived if they were bouncing around here. Anne told us you were away, but she didn't know where you went."
Jane turned to Catalina, head cocked to the side. "I haven't spoken to her last night, have you?" There was an accusing undertone in her voice that Catalina did not like, yet she still nodded slowly. The other gasped in shock. "You lied to me!"
"Please don't be mad," blurted Catalina. "She just popped up behind me and said she could handle everything and not to tell you!"
"As your girlfriend, I feel very offended that you chose to listen to your enemy rather than your girlfriend."
"Enemy?!" someone exclaimed, they sounded slightly out of breath. " Enemy ?! My, oh, my. Dear cousin of mine, how could you possibly say that about us? We are like two peas in a pod! Our bromance is something everyone aspires to have!" With a disapproving tut, the second Queen flung her arm around Catalina's neck. "Isn't that right, my bro?"
"Bromance--" Anna of Cleves- who had followed Anne Boleyn into the dressing room, wheezed. "Where were you two? We've called, but your phones were in your room, however, you weren't."
"Hello to you too, Anna," Catalina remarked with an amused tone. "We were in the middle of nowhere. Both couldn't sleep, so we went for a drive." The German nodded, showing that she understood. She made room for her girlfriend, Katherine Howard- who was looking quite tired.
"Boleyn, come on. Let Kat and Cathy change on their own," ordered Anna, pulling Anne's arm. With both Queens giving their girlfriends a kiss, they left the dressing room.
"Have you seen Grace and Courtney?" asked Jane. "I want to thank them for covering for us." A shout sounded from the other dressing room, "We're here!"
The third Queen quickly pecked Catalina and rushed out of the dressing room. After she left, Anne's head popped up, a serious expression on her face. "Can I talk to you?" Sensing the seriousness, Catalina nodded, and followed her.
"What's up?" she questioned as soon as they were out of hearing distance.
"Jane. Is she feeling better?" Anne wondered, glancing over her shoulder. Catalina hesitated a moment.
"I think she's feeling better- normally I can tell, but this time I cannot. She quickly spilled what was bothering her last night, though. I was glad that she did. It was clear she felt better after sharing it with me. "
"What was bothering her?"
"I'm sorry Anne, but that's not my place to tell. I don't want to break Jane's trust. If she wants you to know, I'm sure she'll tell you soon enough." Anne nodded, and then did something which surprised Catalina, she hugged the Queen. "You're a good person, Lina. I love you- as a friend of course, I don't want to deal with jealous Cathy and Jane," she added quickly. Catalina let the nickname slide- which she had strictly forbidden, except for Jane. Jane just ignored her and had continued to call her Lina.
"I love you too, Bo-Bo."
"Aww! Look at you!" Katherine squealed, snapping a picture before the two could pull away. She cackled, "perfect blackmail material." Pausing for a moment, she waved her phone through the air and then folded her arms in front of her chest. "So, when are we getting a cat? I would like any cat, but preferably an older one from the animal shelter- like one who has been there the longest, because I think they deserve a home too, you know? They've been there for so long, and then they never truly get a loving home."
Catalina sighed, softly smiling at the way she had rambled. It was clear she really wanted a cat. She pulled the pink-haired Queen into the hug as well and leaned in to whisper in her ear, "I'll talk to Jane about it. I'm sure I can convince her." When Katherine processed it, she gaped at the Spaniard.
" Really ?"
"Of course. Maybe we can get two. Jane is easy to convince."
"Bloody easy," Anne added with a solemn nod.
"We are not getting a cat," Anna butted in. "I'm going to steal the cousins from you, Aragon, Cathy needs them." With a good humoured scoff, the Queen pulled away from the beheaded cousins.
"Alright, I'm going to see if Jane's ready. I'm in the mood for food and we haven't had the time to eat breakfast yet." However, Jane already came towards Catalina, wearing a tired look. The latter opened her arms, offering a hug, which Jane fell into with a sigh. Resting her chin on the blonde hair, Catalina said, "shall we go and get some breakfast? You must be starving."
Her beloved hummed in agreement, pulling away slightly to press their lips together in a chaste kiss, then returned to their original position. A feather-felt kiss upon her head made the blonde smile.
There was a silence for a second, which was broken by Jane who said; "I'm rather offended that you think I'm easy to convince."
The remark made Catalina freeze and her reaction caused Jane to laugh. "I'll think about getting a cat. Kat has actually pretty good reasons for the older cats. And I honestly agree."
An excited gasp from behind them made the couple turn around. Katherine was standing behind them, hands clasped together and a bright smile on her face, which quickly evaporated when she met Jane's gaze. She booked it into the dressing room.
Jane's shoulders shook with laughter, and turned back to kiss her partner. "Je t'aime, my Lina."
"Te quiero, my Janey."
"Alright lovebirds," Cleves called out from the dressing room, "that's quite enough fluff for the day. Kindly escort your love out of the nearest exit and leave."
"I'm just gonna ignore the fact that you and Kat were just cuddling two minutes ago," came Anne's muffled voice, followed by a slap and a shriek. Then Katherine shouted something incoherent in surprise
The first and third Queen exchanged vacant glances, and nodded. Removing themselves from the situation, Jane laughed. "I'm really not in the mood to pacify whatever is about to happen." Catalina let out a laugh too, nodding once again. "Yeah, me neither. Where do you want to go? Home or to that cute place?" she asked while they were walking towards the car.
"I don't have any money on me right now, and I'm pretty sure you don't either. So should we just head home?" suggested Jane, getting in the car. Catalina followed and opened her mouth, however before she could answer, Anne came bolting out of the theatre, frantically shouting and waving at them. The second Queen yanked open the door and dove in head first.
"Drive! Drive! Drive!"
"What is going on?" Catalina demanded, clearly not intending to drive away. Anne gulped and ducked. Jane and Catalina saw Anna charging at the car. When the German had pulled Anne out of the car, Cathy and Katherine came rushing out as well.
"Literally don't ask," the sixth Queen huffed as Katherine desperately clung onto her girlfriend. "Anne started something she knew she couldn't win. Please go home." Cathy sounded so tired that it nearly made Catalina laugh.
"Can you handle it?" Jane asked, not sounding so happy herself. Cathy nodded. "Yes. Now get out of here."
With a sigh, Catalina started the car and drove away, glancing over her shoulder for a brief moment to see Katherine forcing Anna inside, followed by Anne getting scolded by Cathy.
"I can't believe I love them," Jane laughed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "But I do and I just... my gosh."
"You just perfectly described how I'm feeling every minute of the day." Catalina scoffed and put her hand on Jane's thigh and didn't remove it. The blonde raised a brow, glancing from Catalina to her thigh, then decided she was comfortable with the gesture and eased into the seat.
"I asked Grace and Courtney if they would like to cover for us tonight, and they said yes. So... want to get wasted?"
"Let's not do that, because I'm not in the mood to be scolded by my own god-daughter in the morning after a rather wild night."
"Why wild night?" Jane asked, arching her eyebrow with an amused smirk. Her breath hitched when Catalina squeezed her thigh.
"Mhm, we shall see, my love."
The Spaniard parked the car in the driveway, stifling a yawn, making her beloved yawn as well- who groaned and stretched her muscles.
"Even though I felt like I slept pretty good, I still feel very tired."
Catalina nodded with a smile, opening the door. "Same. You slept against me for the most of the time. It was absolutely adorable."
"Yes, I noticed when I woke up, locked in your arms." There was a blush on Jane's cheeks as she spoke. Catalina chuckled and let her inside first. "Don't be like that. You like to be held while you sleep."
"Stop exposing me," Jane protested, although a bright smile was spread across her face. "But you like to be held too, my love." She gently jabbed Catalina's chest, clicking her tongue.
"Getting all sassy? I like the change in demeanor," teased Catalina.
With a wink, Jane turned and walked away from the Queen, swaying her hips. Catalina produced a teeth-sucking noise- which made the third Queen call out a loud 'pervert'.
She quickly made her way to the kitchen and stood behind Jane, brushing away the blonde hair. A heavy sigh left Jane's lips as Catalina pressed a kiss in her neck, pushing her against the counter.
Jane spinned around and saw that Catalina's pupils were blown, surrounded by a golden haze. With a sharp inhale, she pressed herself against the golden Queen.
"We'll have breakfast later," they said in unison.
Catalina locked her fingers around Jane's wrist and pulled her upstairs. With a gasp from the blonde, she pushed her against their bedroom door, relishing in the giggles that left her lips.
"Now, can I finally get a kiss?" wondered Catalina, trailing her finger along Jane's jaw and arching her brow. "Te quiero," she continued, her voice thickened by her natural Spanish accent. It made the blonde's knees go weak.
Poised, Jane licked her lips and raised her eyebrow suggestively. "Why not come and see?" Her hand slowly ascended to open the door. But Catalina was first, kicking open the door and shoving a giggling Jane inside.
And then the door slammed shut.
It has been a few weeks since the first visit to the tree, and Jane had been feeling better, but not right now.
Jane was beyond pissed .
Not because Anne had ran into the wall, or the vase, or the- you get the point.
No, Jane was pissed because she lost her balance during Haus of Holbein. She had reached out to grab Catalina to help regain her balance, but only grabbed a string of her costume. But of course, the bloody string just had to break, resulting in her sliding across the stage on her knees, getting burns from her fishnets in the process.
Which still hurt like a bitch .
And then, she stumbled again over the confetti during the Megasix. Luckily this time, she did manage to grab onto her beloved to keep her balanced.
Oh, and her voice cracked terribly during Heart of Stone, (not during the climax, thank goodness, she would've never shown her face ever again), and she was mad at herself for it.
The others had mishaps as well, as Anne tripped on the stairs during Don't Lose Your Head, Katherine accidentally kicked Cathy in All You Wanna Do, Catalina nearly swallowed a piece of confetti and Anna's microphone had stopped working in the middle of Get Down.
It wasn't a good showday, to say the least.
And now, she was stuck with a very pissed off girlfriend and Anna while hearing Anne and Cathy do the thing , in the other dressing room.
Jane could go on forever how unsanitary, annoying and most of all, just straight up disrespectful, and uncomfortable it was.
In a weird position on the small sofa (how they managed to curl up there without falling off was a mystery) in the corner of the dressing room, she was gently playing with Catalina's hair to calm the Queen down, barely managing to maintain her anger in herself. She was still in her costume, because hell she's going to change with her girlfriend in the room.
That's like getting drunk and then playing a rather spicy round of Truth or Dare.
It'll escalate.
Badly. (Not that she's complaining.)
Yes, it has happened before. (The only thing she knew was how to scream Catalina's name.)
No, she's not in the mood now.
Anna turned up the music to drown out the sounds from the other dressing room and stamped over to the closet with extra clothing. She grabbed a sweater and sweatpants and just took off her costume. She then put on the sweater, apparently not noticing the big, pink 'K' on the front.
Katherine giggled and kissed her cheek. "That's my sweater." Anna looked down and smiled, her eyes lightened up. "Well, how do I look?" The other let out a giggle again.
"Very cute, obviously ."
Jane hummed in annoyance when Catalina moved, her anger was just calming down.
"Come on, hermosa. Let's get changed too and let them walk home." With a kiss, Catalina nudged the grumpy Queen into a proper sitting position.
"Fine." She swallowed back a whine as Catalina lifted herself from the sofa, leaving her alone. She then stood herself and groaned when she couldn't find her zipper. Delicate hands pushed hers away and dragged it down. She sighed and murmured, "thanks, Kat." Shrugging off the costume- aware of Catalina's eyes on her, she looked down at her knee. It was red, painful, and burning.
She couldn't help but say, "just my luck." as she pulled a shirt over her head and inspected her knee further. Catalina suddenly grabbed the waistband of her fishnets, cocking her head to the side in a way to ask for permission to take it off. The third Queen nodded, and let Catalina carefully pull them down.
"Oh crap, that doesn't look good," Katherine blurted as the fishnets came off, showing the burn on her knee. Anna came back with a wet cloth and handed it to Jane- which she gratefully took and pressed it against her skin, hissing slightly at the stinging.
After cooling the burn for a bit, Jane decided to get fully dressed and go home. She was rather glad that they didn't have stagedoor tonight, she was afraid that she might've snapped at someone if they did.
Now completely dressed, the Queen was done with the sounds of the couple next doors and walked out. She then slammed on the other door, screaming the words, "for Heaven's sake! If you two just had waited for twenty freaking more minutes, you could've had sex properly!" After a few moments- and a few crashes, the door opened to see a heated (and luckily dressed) Anne, both from anger and... her activities.
"Jesus Christ , fuck off , Jane. Honestly. You're not the only one who had a bad showday."
If Anne had said it normally, Jane would have agreed and understood, but the way Anne had worded it, set something off inside of her. She opened her mouth to fire back a not so friendly comment, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her.
"Anna, drive the others home when they're done. We're leaving."
With her mind still clouded with anger, she refused to leave, which ended up in being thrown over Catalina's shoulder.
Bad decision.
"You- I hate you! Let me go! Put me down!" Jane then spat every swear word she could think off, even adding Katherine's creative ones.
She noted that 'fiddlesticks' wasn't going to do the trick.
Only when they were outside in the cold night air, and Jane was back on her feet again, she seemed to notice the anger tears streaming down her face. She sobbed for a minute before letting Catalina pull her into her warm embrace, shielding her from the cold.
"¿Estás bien, mi amor?" asked she- after letting Jane weep into her shirt. The third Queen sniffed, wiping away her mascara and nodding. "Now I am, thank you. And... sorry."
"For what, my love?" Catalina wondered, head tilting in genuine surprise. Jane blushed out of embarrassment. "For the amount of swear words I threw at your head just five minutes ago." The first Queen erupted in laughter.
"Well, to be fair, throwing you over my shoulder when you've had a bad day, isn't a great move in the first place."
Jane giggled through her tears, but slowly stopped when Catalina cupped her cheek, making her look into the enticing, golden eyes.
" Te quiero, Janey ."
A pink blush roamed over Jane's cheeks as she smiled and mumbled, " I really don't deserve you, je t'aime, Lina ." With a soft kiss, hands found their way to her thighs and lifted her into the air. Jane buried her face into the crook of her beloved's neck, hooked her legs around Catalina's waist and let herself get carried towards the car.
They sat in silence until Catalina spoke up, "do you want to go to the field?" The third Queen perked up, nodding. The pink tree always seemed to cease her negative feelings when she was there with her beloved.
"Yes, please," she whispered.
Catalina hummed and grabbed her phone, typing something. Then she clicked her tongue and started the car.
"Your wish is my command, my Queen."
A shy smile spread across Jane's face as her beloved placed her hand on her thigh again, and gave her a loving smile. But then she remembered what had happened, and her smile vanished, guilt flashing across her features. "I have to apologize to Anne, though. And Cathy," she confessed, tearing her eyes away from Catalina. "I wasn't nice to them."
"But Anne wasn't nice to you either, you both have to apologize, hm?" Catalina reasoned, pecking Jane's hand. "It'll be fine. They love you, and you'll be forgiven in no time. It's just a bad day today, and that's fine ," she added quickly. "That can happen."
"Yes..." Jane zoned out for a bit, watching the landscape pass by and listening to Catalina's voice as she was softly singing along to the music.
It felt like hours until someone snapped their fingers in front of her face, making her jump. A low chuckle brought her back to the world.
"Janey, you were far gone, weren't you?" asked Catalina- who was waiting for her outside. With a blush on her cheeks, Jane scrambled out of the car and closed the door. She waited for Catalina to lock it and inhaled deeply, already smelling the different scents of the flowers.
It lifted Jane's spirits, and she felt herself lightening up. She grabbed Catalina's hand and laced their fingers together while they walked across the field.
"I'm happy with our life, Lina." She pointed out the obvious. Pressing herself into Catalina's side, the latter sighed of relief.
"I'm glad you are, mi amada. If you are happy, I'm happy." Cataliba scrunched her nose at how cheesy it sounded, but once again, Jane just had that effect on her, so she let it slide.
"That sounds so cheesy but I love it," Jane giggled, all her worries from earlier slowly fading away. She stopped her significant other- aware of the frown on Catalina's face.
Then Jane stood on her toes, and Catalina closed her eyes, expecting a pair of sweet lips upon her own. But in fact, they never came. Only the hot breaths- which suddenly disappeared as the third Queen darted away, her beloved on her heels.
"Dios mío- Come back here, you bloody tease! How- how are you so fast?!" Catalina screeched. It turned out, Jane was a lot faster than she seemed. The two flew over the field, sending flowers into the air.
Catalina reached out, managing to grab onto Jane's waist. They stumbled to the ground, rolling on for several meters because of their speed. She was greeted with a flurry of giggles as Jane eventually landed on top, her blonde hair covered in flowers. They panted for a while, both not bothering to move as they were rather comfortable in the position they were in.
The first Queen tucked a lost strand of blonde hair behind the other's ear, and beckoned her down for a messy kiss. With a low hum of surprise when Catalina's hands wandered to hold her hips, Jane deepened the kiss.
The kiss was needy and passionate, and the Spaniard only registered it when Jane's hands tangled into her curls. Panting when they parted, she noticed that Jane's cheeks were slightly red. She leaned up and met Jane halfway, their teeth clicking together at the force of it. The third Queen let out a soft whine when Catalina bit her lip and dragged it between her teeth. The noise made the grip on her hips tighten. One hand ascended up her shirt, but then- to Jane's disappointment, stopped.
"We probably shouldn't do it here," Catalina whispered, amusement lacing her voice. She slowly released her grip from Jane's waist.
"We shouldn't," Jane sighed, however not moving from her position. Instead, she pressed her lips on Catalina's again. "But--" another peck- "we can just kiss."
Reluctant, the first Queen pulled away, ignoring Jane's arched brow. "Yeah right. Like that's gonna happen. 'Just kissing'. It always escalates between us." The blonde laughed and shrugged.
"My goodness, you're so right," she wheezed, rolling off the Queen. She got up and offered her hand to Catalina. Once the latter was back on her feet, she thanked her with a soft kiss.
When the third Queen giggled, Catalina smiled, intertwining their fingers. "Shall we go to the blossom- for real now and watch the sunset?" She narrowed her eyes and glanced at the sun, which was indeed setting. Jane nodded in agreement.
"Of course. We have to walk quickly if we want to witness it though, we went quite far."
"It isn't that-- Oh never mind. We did go further than I realized." The first Queen let out a breathy laugh, joined by her beloved.
"I was fast, wasn't I?" Jane shoulder-bumped her. "You almost couldn't keep up."
"Almost, and I managed to catch you, don't get too full of yourself, Seymour." Catalina laughed gleefully, pressing a kiss on the other's knuckles.
"Soon to be Aragon-Seymour," the blonde replied smugly, a challenging tone in her voice.
"How did you know?" retorted the other as smug as Jane, mimicking her tone. The answer had caught the third Queen off guard, and Catalina found it quite amusing. She physically stopped to stare at her. " Really ?"
With a shrug, Catalina grinned, gaze fixated on the blossom in the distance. When Jane didn't follow, she halted and turned. "Are you coming, mi amada?"
"Y-yes," Jane choked out, hiding her red cheeks- and her bright smile. (Which Catalina totally saw.)
Once they were underneath the tree, watching the sunset, Jane realized how blessed she was, with an amazing partner who loved her more than life, a loving family, a life she was truly happy with.
She realized it right there.
Underneath the blossom.
The End.