Chapter 6
With Anne’s abilities, it was easy to slip into the small castle.
Slinking through the shadows, on constant defense as she kept a close eye on every guard she passed, making sure they didn’t spot her highlighted against the lamp brightened walls.
The first room she found was Edward’s.
The little boy was lying in his bed. But the way he was laying sent chills up Anne’s spine.
It was almost as if he was dormant, or under a sleeping spell. His eyes were closed and he was on his back, arms at his side. For a moment, Anne thought he might be dead, but his chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm.
Anne figured it was a side effect of the spell. They had to sleep, but their minds were under the brainwashing. Still… it wasn’t pleasant to look at and Anne wondered if she would be greeted with the same sight for Elizabeth.
It was easy to tilt the boy’s head up and gently give him some of the potion. Slowly, the mark on his neck began to fade.
Anne had never gotten to know the boy personally, simply watching over him as she had done for his sisters. It would be nice to finally greet him. And Anne knew Jane would be ecstatic to see the boy.
He had his mother’s blond hair and pointed ears. Anne wondered if he had her eyes too or if he had Henry’s. Honestly… Anne hoped it was the former. But Anne wouldn’t hold it against him if it was the latter, just like she held none of his father’s doings or passed down physical traits against him.
Edward was a child, for the gods’ sakes! She wasn’t going to hold such evil against a child. As far as Anne was concerned, Edward was perfectly fine the way he was.
She left him on the bed, resolving to come back for him once she had freed the other two.
Elizabeth’s room was across the hall.
She was in the same state as Edward and for a moment, Anne could only stare at the girl.
Anne couldn’t help but recall her first night under the curse. Crying by Elizabeth’s side, the girl fast asleep at her young age and unable to hear the sobs.
Carefully, ever so carefully, she moved her fingers towards Elizabeth. The young girl continued to sleep peacefully.
The back of Anne’s fingers rested on Elizabeth’s cheek and the shadow elf brightened. She couldn’t stop the sob that escaped her lips as she beamed at her daughter.
The girl had the same gray skin as her mother, only a little lighter due to Henry’s human nature. Her ears were a little pointed as well. Something seemed to break through the brainwashing and Elizabeth actually let out a sigh of content, leaning her cheek further against Anne’s fingers.
Anne only seemed even more joyful at the sight. She perched herself at the edge of the bed, pulling Elizabeth up into her arms.
“I’m here, mon coeur. I’m finally here… And I will never leave you again.” Anne whispered.
It took several minutes for Anne to finally pull herself from her daughter. They had a time limit, the sun would be up soon.
She gently administered the potion and gave Elizabeth one last hug before taking a step back. She stared for a moment before spinning on her heel and walking out of the room.
After this, she would have plenty of time to spend with Elizabeth. So as she carefully made her way into the hall, she wiped away the stubborn tears.
She had a mission to complete.
Anne checked the room next to Elizabeth’s for Mary. The teen wasn’t there, not in the bed, not standing or in a chair. She checked the room beside Edward’s. Nothing.
Anne swiftly checked every room in the hall.
Mary wasn’t there.
Alarm bells went off in Anne’s head. She should grab Edward and Elizabeth and get out. Something wasn’t right.
But Anne wasn’t going to leave Mary behind. The girl didn’t deserve that. And Anne wasn’t going to do that to Mary or Catalina.
So Anne put the still sleeping Edward in Elizabeth’s room with his sister. She gave a kiss to her daughter’s head before securing the room and exiting.
She began to search the castle, looking for the eldest princess. She remained a shadow, sneaking along the walls and floor. (Anne couldn’t shake the feeling of being back in Henry’s castle.) Mary wasn’t in any of the rooms or the kitchen. The few guards wandered around the halls but no Mary was among them.
And finally, the throne room was left. And truthfully, Anne dreaded it.
There was never anything good that occurred in a throne room like this. But still, Anne entered, her determination to find Mary not wavering.
The throne room’s lamps lights were lit, casting the hall in a shadowed glow. Two people stood at the throne, and one was staring right at her.
“Come out, you wretched shadow!”
Anne scowled. It was the man who had conducted the executions this morning.
Ever so slowly, Anne stepped out of the shadows, staring defiantly at the two in front of her. Anne took in the second person beside the man.
Well, she had found Mary at the very least.
She was right in front of Anne, at the end of the throne room. The man was there as well, him and Mary staring at Anne, one blank and the other with a grin. Anne glared back at the man.
“Ah, it’s been many years but I can recognize that face.” The man drawled, hands behind his back. “Anne Boleyn. You’re supposed to be dead.”
“Well, death didn’t stick.” Anne said simply, tilting her head.
“I suppose it didn’t.” The man glanced around the area. “Where is your necromancer, you spirit.”
Anne couldn’t stop the bark of laughter at that. “Necromancer?” She rose her arms to the side, palms outstretched. “I’m all flesh and blood, Monsieur.”
“So you say.” The man clearly didn’t believe her. “I’ll give the king your regards. You and whatever master has brought you back.”
“Sorry, but I’d rather give them in person.” Anne pulled her dagger from her belt, making sure the potion was secure.
“When I make him suffer.”
The man scowled at her response before giving her a laugh. “You already freed the prince and the younger princess, I can tell… but we will not let our executioner go without a fight.” The man gave Anne a malicious grin. “The king still requires her service. Does he not?” The question was directed at Mary.
Her face and voice were still emotionless as she stared at Anne. “I must serve my king.”
“Good girl.” The man nodded, looking very pleased. Then, he gave Anne one last glare before spinning on his heel and exiting the room.
“Execute her.”
That was all that needed to be said before a blast of fire came racing towards Anne. She dove behind a pillar, using it as a guard from the second blast.
For several minutes, Anne simply dodged and hid, looking for an opening to knock Mary out.
Anne wished there was an easy way to finish this. But to do that she would have to hurt Mary. And she wanted to keep the pain she inflicted to the girl to the minimum if not no pain at all.
After the dodging Anne had been doing, she figured it was time to start trying to go on the offense.
She had already started to use some of her shadow magic more offensively on demons and monsters, so Anne knew what she was doing when she summoned her connection to the shadows.
Tendrils of shadows burst from the floor, wrapping around Mary’s arms and legs. The girl struggled, that blank look still not fading. Anne rushed forward, keeping the shadows trapping Mary strong.
The rouge pulled out her dagger, preparing to use the handle to simply knock Mary unconscious.
But as she came closer, a sudden burst of flames caused Anne to stop in her tracks, proceeding to take several steps backwards. Mary had cast a fire spell all around her, sending the shadows away from her.
Anne’s heart leapt into her throat upon noticing new burns adorning Mary’s arms past tattered and burnt clothing. The burns had been caused by Mary’s own magic. (Usually, Fire spells were cast a little away from the skin, preventing burns. But if the caster used it on their skin like Mary just did, burns were inevitable)
And that was the second Anne knew.
Mary would kill herself if it meant killing Anne. If it meant obeying the order.
And suddenly, the battle wasn’t simply Anne trying to protect herself and knock out Mary. She was trying to protect Mary too.
Anne knew she needed to end this. Now.
If she didn’t, one of them would end up dead. Maybe even both.
So Anne vanished into the shadows. Seconds later, she was dragging Mary in with her. The brainwashed teen didn’t cry out, instead spinning on her attacker.
Her fist slammed into Anne’s face and the shadow elf let out a grunt, keeping hold. She swiftly had Mary’s arms secured but Mary simply slammed her head back into Anne’s nose.
Anne couldn’t hold back the hiss as she released Mary, more out of surprise than pain. (She could be hurt by someone when she was in the shadows only if they were in the shadows with her, but even then it was much weaker.)
Mary managed to grab Anne’s arm and pull her from the shadows as well, earning a shocked yelp. No one had ever dragged her from the shadows like that before! Anne quickly tried to recover, pulling her arm from the grip.
But Mary was faster, keeping her grip steady and quickly casting fire magic. The spell burned at both Anne’s arm and Mary’s hand, burning the both of them.
Anne cried out, finally managing to pull her arm away. Mary didn’t even flinch at the pain in her burnt hand. She instead launched another spell that sent Anne rolling across the floor.
Anne tried to scramble to her feet, clutching her arm. But Mary was already launching a blast of fire at Anne, leaving no time for Anne to move, slowed by the stinging pain on her arm.
Anne remembered the burnings from yesterday. Their screaming and the flailing. It looked like she was about to meet the same fate.
Anne waited for the fire to wash over her. In her mind, she apologized to the others. To Maggie. To Mary and Edward. To Elizabeth. To Lina…
She didn’t think she was ready for death. But… it would always be better than the curse.
The burning never came.
Anne blinked, opening her eyes. In front of her was a very familiar figure, a shield raised to deflect the flames.
Catalina.
Something shifted in Mary’s eyes for a second. The brainwashing slipped away for only a second, the shock at her mother’s presence causing it.
But then the spell returned, even stronger than before. Mary stared at Anne and Catalina, palm still raised and smoking from the fire spell.
“You are an idiot.” Catalina cast a small glare back at Anne. But her gaze noticeably softened with a sharp concern upon seeing the burn still held under Anne’s hand.
“Yeah… Sorry. But right now I think we have bigger problems.” Anne said, slowly climbing to her feet. A pair of hands helped her up.
“Annie’s right. We have someone to free.” Kat pointed out, now standing beside Anne. The rest of the queens were gathered as well, staring right back at Mary.
“Anne, what do we need to know?” Cathy asked, not looking at the shadow elf. Jane was next to the rouge, beginning to heal the burns.
“The other two are already free.” Anne told them, letting out a sigh of relief as the stinging faded. “I have the potion that can free her, I just need to actually be able to give it to her.”
Immediately after Anne hurriedly explained, Mary launched another wave of fire towards them. Kat and Cathy were both playing a note and waving their staff, summoning water to douse the flames to steam seconds before it reached them.
The steam created a sort of smoke screen and the queens split.
Without words, they had a quick plan.
Kat and Cathy leapt out of either side of the steam first, racing across the side of the room, dodging and ducking blasts of fire. They began to launch small spells that served as distractions. Catalina and Jane soon followed them out.
While Mary’s attention was away from the steam, Anna and Anne did something different. The barbarian threw Anne up to the ceiling using a bit of magic to increase her strength. Anna was then leaping forward to help the other queens.
Anne vanished into the ceiling’s shadows, where Mary least expected her to come from.
Mary was being attacked from all angles, the attacks coming close to hitting, but doing nothing more than graze or miss entirely.
With all the distractions, Mary never noticed the shadow dropping from the ceiling.
Anne landed on Mary’s shoulders. The sudden force pushing down on her made Mary’s knees buckle and she went toppling to the floor, Anne proceeding to knock Mary out with the handle of her dagger.
Mary was out cold and Anne rolled over next to her before propping up in a sit next to the princess. She couldn’t stop the relieved sigh that escaped her.
They had freed Mary. They had freed all three of the children.
They had their kids back.
Catalina was next to Mary and Anne in less than a second, Mary between the two queens. The others swiftly followed.
“How much do I need to give her?” Jane asked, carefully taking the potion from Anne. She began to heal the hit to Mary’s head and the burns.
“The rest of it.” Anne answered, leaning back on her hands with a relieved sigh. It was silent for a moment as Jane healed, the group catching their breath.
Anne glanced up at Cathy and Kat. “I left Elizabeth and Edward up in one room together. Can you…?”
“We’ll get them.” Kat agreed, her and Cathy quickly rushing through the doors in that direction.
So the remaining four sat around Mary for a moment. But Anna and Jane noticed Catalina giving them a small stare.
Both understood and Anna was helping Jane stand. “I need to talk to Jane about something, we’ll be right over here if you need us.” Anna told the two, letting Jane guide her to a spot a little bit away.
Anne and Catalina sat in silence for a moment. Anne observed Catalina, watching the way the woman was looking at Mary with a sad smile on her face with a tint of concern.
“She’s okay…” Anne said, rubbing Catalina’s knuckle with a small smile. “And I’m sorry for running off…”
“If I know you, then you were trying to protect us.” Catalina said simply, her gaze flickering between Anne and Mary.
“I…” Anne didn’t know if she melted from embarrassment or a small happiness that Catalina knew her that well. “Yeah, I did.”
Catalina brought Anne’s hand up to press a kiss to the knuckles. “I’m not… too mad. Just please don’t do this again. You almost died.”
“I’ll do my best, mon ange.” Anne said, a joking smile on her lips.
Catalina noticed the smile, earning a fond chuckle. “All I can ask... You’re still in trouble, though.”
Anne groaned, but it was more playful than anything.
Catalina gave one last look to Mary, gently reaching out to caress her daughter’s cheek for a moment (Anne noticed the hesitation Catalina had before making the contact, she had done the same after all).
Then, the paladin stood up, giving Anne one last nod before she carefully made her way to Anna and Jane. The trio began to talk and Anne was certain it was about their next move.
Anne simply kept an eye on Mary, content to let the others handle this part. She felt pretty exhausted after that battle, only increased by Jane’s spell that also had a calming effect.
“THERE!”
The four queens all whipped around, finding a large group of guards staring back at them.
“Kill them! Keep the princess alive, the minister wants her and her siblings brought back to him!” The captain declared.
The other queens stepped forward to intercept the guards, leaving Anne by Mary. Kat and Cathy emerged from the hall, the two other children in their arms. Their eyes widened upon realizing exactly what was happening.
In a manner of seconds, a guard possessing magic fired a blast at the group, but something went wrong. Anne didn’t know why or how, but the spell ended up hitting the ceiling.
The roof above Mary and Anne began to collapse. Anne’s eyes widened at the sound of cracking and she was quickly throwing herself over Mary, trying to protect her.
Anne couldn’t stop the yell that escaped her lips as the roof collapsed over them, debris and dust flying. But… they weren’t crushed.
By some miracle, the wood and stone had gotten caught, leaving them a space under the collapsed roof where they now laid, huddled under wood and stone.
Past the ringing in her sensitive ears, Anne could hear yelling outside.
“ANNE! MARY!”
“YOU FOOLS! THE KING WANTED THE PRINCESS ALIVE!”
“ANNE, MARY! CAN EITHER OF YOU HEAR ME?!”
Anne could only groan and cough in response, clutching her head with one hand, the other managing to prop her up over Mary. That arm wavered dangerously and Anne pushed back so she didn’t fall on Mary. She sat on the floor, slowly reorienting herself to the new darkness and waiting for the ringing to fade.
It seemed the person outside might have heard her groan though, talking hurriedly to someone else. After that, Anne heard fighting, the sound of clanging metal, music, and spells.
Eventually the ringing and confusion did fade and Anne could only listen anxiously to the fighting outside, hoping that her friends would be safe. Faintly, she wondered if they would get her and Mary out before they died.
The adrenaline wore off and Anne could feel the remnants of burns across her body (the ones Jane didn’t get a chance to heal) begin to sting. But Anne did her best to ignore it, despite the hiss that would escape her every so often.
Eventually, Mary woke up too.
(The fight was continuing, but seemed to almost be at an end. Anne knew it wasn’t the end of the story though, they had to get them out without causing the stone and wood to collapse further and who knew how long that would take.)
It started alright, Anne watching as she slowly blinked, waking up slowly. Mary stared at her for a moment through the darkness, making out her outline and bright emerald eyes. And then, Mary remembered.
A strangled gasp escaped her lips, her eyes widening in horror. She curled into herself, sitting up and tucking her knees to her chest.
The teenager stared at her shaking hands. The hands that had murdered people.
“Woah, it’s okay. Mary look at me.” It was Anne’s voice that made Mary jolt up. She was still trembling.
“What did I… what did I do?”
Anne’s heart broke upon hearing the sorrow and fear in that voice. This was a teenager. A teenager forced to murder people. A teenager breaking down in realization of exactly what she had done.
“I need you to breathe, Mary…” Anne tried to sooth, inching forward to hold onto Mary’s hands. “You’re safe now. You’ll never have to hurt another person again.”
Mary squinted through the darkness at her. “Boleyn… are you here to take me to hell?”
Anne couldn’t stop her eyebrow from raising. “Already condemned me to hell, huh?”
When Mary flinched, curling in further, Anne winced as she realized that was not the best joke to make. Really, she felt terrible for the girl, joking was the first comfort her mind went to. It was just that sometimes, she forgot to think before she spoke.
“No, kid. I’m not here to take you to hell. You’re alive and well and absolutely none of it was your fault.”
“You’re supposed to be dead.” Mary huffed, her breathing still not calmed but a defensive glare on her face. “Why did you free me, spirit?”
Anne couldn’t stop the small chuckle of amusement. “I’m no spirit, Mary. I’m alive. You can feel my hands, can’t you?”
Mary stared blankly at her through the darkness, her breathing calming slightly by the distraction. “But father said you died to an illness.”
Anne let out a spiteful snort. “Your father is a coward and a liar. I never died of an illness, and the other queens lived too. You saw them, didn’t you?” At Mary’s small nod Anne continued. She supposed the girl was too tired to really think about Anne being back. “That’s right. And now, he’ll never hurt you like this again.”
“Hurt me…? I was the one who killed those people!” Mary’s breathing picked up again and she ripped her hands away from Anne to stare at them. “I did it with my bare hands!”
Fire suddenly sparked from the palms of Mary’s hands. Anne backed up slightly at the sudden spark of magic. But through the light Anne could see the increasing horror on Mary’s face.
Anne was by her side again and gently placing her hands on Mary’s shoulders, one arm wrapping around Mary’s back.
“You must be exhausted, Mary… why don’t you dispel that and lay down for a little bit?”
“I can’t… I can’t!” Mary could only stare at the flames.
“You can. I know you can… just breathe with me, love…” Anne soothed.
“I hurt you… I hurt you… I killed them!” Mary choked out, the flames growing stronger with her emotions.
“I know I’m the last person you want to be telling you something like this. But absolutely none of it was your fault.” Anne told the teen, her arm wrapping a little tighter as she too stared into the flame. “All of it was Henry. He’s no father. He used you, he controlled you. Literally.”
In her head, Anne realized just how dead Henry was. Everything he had done only increased the queens’ rising tempers. His abandonment and abuse. Killing people and hurting people. And now this.
“I could’ve resisted!” Mary snapped back, Anne didn’t move away as the flames grew bigger. Her burns stung and for a moment, Anne thought Mary was going to set their small space on fire. “I almost broke free at first! But instead I bowed to his whims! I failed Elizabeth and Edward…” Just as quickly as her flames grew, the flames dimmed to the tiniest spark. “I failed mother…”
“Hey, no!” Anne turned so Mary was in front of her, the flame in Mary’s hands between them. “Listen to me, alright? Your mother adores you. She’s always looked for a way to see you again, all of these years. You did nothing to fail her. And you didn’t fail your siblings either. You failed nobody. You were forced to do the burnings, okay?”
Mary stared at her for a long moment before looking back to the flame. The disbelief was clear in her eyes.
But slowly, the flame dimmed to nothing and both fell silent.
Just as Anne thought she calmed Mary down to a manageable level, it looked like more memories of the burnings returned. Mary’s face suddenly clenched up with pain, horror, and disgust.
“I… screaming! The smell!”
Mary suddenly turned, vomiting. Anne only rubbed her back, pulling hair out of the way. She held the exhausted teen up on shaking knees, ignoring her own exhaustion.
“Let it out, Mary… breathe…”
Eventually, the teen stopped vomiting and Anne gently moved the both of them away from the vomit, laying Mary on her back after making sure she wouldn’t vomit again or choke.
Anne shook her head as she laid Mary down. Her night vision allowed her to keep an eye on Mary, who was simply closing her eyes, but her jaw was tense.
Anne couldn’t shake how broken her heart felt. A teenager was seeing death like this. Death that she was forced to cause. Mary thought of herself as a monster.
And Anne knew it would have lasting effects.
“Are you going to kill me…?”
For a moment, Anne only stared. And then, she slowly sat down next to Mary. She even threw her dagger to the other side of the space before laying on her back like Mary was.
“What makes you think that, Mary?”
“I…” there was a long pause. “Father… mother… everything…”
The sad part was, Anne knew there were probably several issues causing this line of thinking.
Henry’s influence for one, who knew what he had told the kids about them, especially after Cathy’s departure (Henry had already been saying small comments, Anne wouldn’t be surprised if he only increased the cruel stories of six evil queens). There was her history with Anne, before the curse. Maybe the brainwashing spell was still having a small effect on her. And the burnings…
“Mary. None of it was your fault.” Anne said gently, reaching over to take Mary’s hand. “Henry… he’s the one who put you under a spell, separated you and your mother so long ago. And maybe… I have some blame too.” She turned her head to meet Mary’s eyes. “But no one will be killing you over something you were forced to do. None of us are gonna let that happen.”
Mary’s eyes welled up with tears but she still stared almost blankly at Anne. For a moment, the room was filled with the sound of sobbing and the noises outside. But eventually, Mary calmed and the two fell into a silence, simply listening to everyone outside. At one point, Anne heard Catalina yelling at someone, earning a chuckle from the rogue.
“It’s true?”
“Hmm?” Anne glanced to Mary again.
“All six of you… all of you are alive. Even…”
“Lina’s alive too. And she can’t wait to see you again, promise.”
“I thought I would never see her again.” Mary let out a wistful sigh. “I thought she was dead…”
“She’s right outside, Mary.” Anne gave Mary a grin. “And once those guys get us out, your mom is going to kill me and then hold you hostage with affection.”
Mary couldn’t stop the snort of laughter. “Why is she going to kill you, Boleyn?”
“Being reckless.” Anne’s grin turned a little sheepish, but that mischievous glint never left her eyes. Yeah, they established Catalina wouldn’t kill her, but what was a little joke? “I was definitely not supposed to come and try to free you guys on my own.”
Mary was quiet, processing that bit of information. Anne was about to say something when calmly, “thank you.”
The thanks felt forced, like Mary didn’t want to be thanking someone. And Anne knew that Mary probably had that fear of being weak, not good enough, that her mother had. Thanking Anne probably took a lot of the teenager’s will.
“You don’t have to thank me.” Anne shook her head, even though her and Mary weren’t looking at each other. “I know it’s hard to do.”
Mary actually seemed to relax a bit at that, but the girl was still tense. She was trying to sort through the burnings, her mother being alive, her father’s brainwashing. It was all too much.
“Don’t think about that right now. Just rest. You used a lot of energy during that fight.”
Mary glanced at Anne, unable to see her. But the princess knew that silence wouldn’t help. “Elizabeth missed you. She talked about you whenever father wasn’t nearby.”
Anne felt her heart swell at that bit of knowledge. “And I missed her… I didn’t think she would remember me. She was so young…”
“I don’t think she ever spent a day not thinking about you at least once.” Mary nodded to herself. “She always asked what you were like out of father’s influence.” Something else sparked in Mary’s mind and she tensed. “Father… he will be coming for us.”
A small snarl escaped Anne’s lip, all of that joy gone. “I’d rather be cursed again before I let Henry near you three.”
Mary stared at her with narrowed eyes, trying to process two different things. “Even me?”
“You’re a good kid, Mary. You were just angry with me, nothing wrong with that. And of course… brainwashed.” Anne shrugged, giving Mary a small smile.
“I am not a child. I am the princess to this kingdom.” Mary huffed. But that familiar curious glimmer sparked in the princess’s eyes. “You… mentioned a curse?”
“That’s a long story…” Anne hummed. She felt tired and suddenly the burns stung a lot more. “Why don’t we just rest for awhile, hmm? The others will get us out any minute.”
Sure enough, the voices and sounds had gotten much closer and Anne was sure they’d break through any moment now.
“Alright…” a pause. “Again, I’m sorry, Boleyn.”
“Let’s worry about it all later, yeah? We already talked a bit.” Anne tried to pull her hand away, give Mary some space but the girl actually clung onto the grip. “Just relax, Mary… I’m sure you’re tired after everything, hmm? You’ll need your energy for when you see your mother. She’ll be happy to see you.”
Mary’s grip relaxed and both of them fell into silence. They simply waited for the others to reach them.
And after a few minutes, Anne could feel herself drifting off. Next to her, Mary did the same. Despite the noises outside they fell asleep, the exhaustion from their earlier battle finally taking its hold.
~~||~~||~~
Eventually, the group did free Mary and Anne. Upon finding the two laying still, Catalina thought the worst. The relief was incredible upon realizing that they were both simply asleep.
Catalina had carefully picked up her daughter. So much taller and older than the last time Catalina had been able to see her. She kept close to Anna, who was carrying Anne, cradling her daughter close.
Jane was holding Edward and Cathy held Elizabeth. Kat kept guard, keeping an eye out and flute at the ready.
They went back to their camp on the outskirts of town, away from the damage and the guards.
Jane whisked Anne off to a corner under a tree to make sure the burns had been healed (much easier than poison), reluctantly leaving Edward with Anna.
Kat had followed after her cousins. Cathy sat with Elizabeth, who was slowly waking up.
This left Catalina with Mary.
It was a while before the girl woke up. During that time, Catalina sat by her side, watching over her daughter closely.
The princess was in a rather deep sleep, exhausted from everything that had happened. Occasionally, she would become restless in her sleep, her whole body tensing, but she would relax just as quickly as she tensed.
Catalina couldn’t stop the anxiety and worry in her chest. But all she could do was wait for Mary to wake up.
And eventually, she did.
Even with Anne’s reassurance, Mary woke up just like she did earlier. The talk with Anne was no fix and Mary thought of it as mostly an agreement to deal with it later.
She woke up with a gasp for breath. She remembered everything she did now. She squeezed her eyes closed, curling in on herself with a choked sob.
How could she live with herself after all of that? After being unable to stop herself from becoming a monster.
An achingly familiar Spanish lullaby was hummed. One Mary faintly remembered from her childhood.
After a moment it began to calm Mary. The teenager’s tense muscles relaxed and the memories were pushed to the back of her mind. Fingers ran through her hair and Mary opened her eyes.
Catalina was smiling sadly down at her. “Mary…”
“Mother?” Mary whispered.
“That’s right, Princesa. I’m right here.” Catalina’s voice was also a whisper. “By the gods… you’ve grown so much…”
Mary pulled herself up, twisting to grab her mother in a desperate hug. “Madre…”
“It’s alright… I’ve got you now.”
“Madre, I’m a monster.” Mary sobbed, not bothering to hide the tears.
“Mary—!”
“You and I both know I am! Why else would those people be dead?!”
“Mary, look at me…” Once her daughter finally looked at her, Catalina continued. “You are not a monster. Would a monster regret and panic over what happened?”
“I…” Mary trailed off, having no rebuttal.
“That’s right, Princesa. If you were a monster, you would love what you did.” Catalina shook her head, the sheer determination taking Mary aback. “And none of it was ever your fault. It was Henry. Henry was the one who put you under a spell.”
“I… I could’ve resisted harder. I could’ve…” Mary tried weakly. She was a monster! Why didn’t her mother, a paladin of all people, understand?
“No, Mary… it was all Henry…” Catalina took a deep breath. Mary really believed that she was the monster… “He was the one who made you do it. And he will never have such power over you again. I swear it to you.”
Mary didn’t believe her. She couldn’t at the moment. But Henry… Mary could believe that part. “You swear it?”
“I swear.”
With that, Mary began to relax. Whenever she closed her eyes, all she could see was the burnings. The last, fleeting look of terror on a person’s face before the flames engulfed them. The flames she casted.
But she managed to push those memories away for the moment, focusing on her mother’s steady presence. Silence overtook them, but it was calm.
“I thought you were dead.”
Catalina turned back to Mary with a sigh. “I never died… and I’m sorry for leaving you with Henry. I don’t think I can ever apologize enough.”
Mary looked to the ground, contemplative. “I don’t blame you… I blame father. Maybe Boleyn…”
Catalina winced at Anne’s last name, but relaxed slightly upon registering the ‘maybe.’ “Your father… no, he isn’t your father… Henry’s changed. Perhaps once he was good, maybe he never really was. But he’s changed for the worst. He’s become twisted and cruel.”
“You’re all trying to stop him, aren’t you? That’s why you’re all together.” Mary asked, looking at the other queens around them, her gaze lingering on her siblings and their interactions with their own mothers.
“Yes… I’m afraid I might have to leave you for a little bit longer…” Catalina finished in a whisper.
Mary didn’t seem angry. “I’m not worried. I think… if anyone can defeat him, it will be all of you.”
And besides, Mary thought, if the queens failed then it wouldn’t be as if she would be alive long enough to despair for it… and if not death, then brainwashed again…
Mary shook that thought away with a deep inhale through her nose. “So… lets spend this time together. And I’ll be there to greet you again once you all win.”
Catalina brightened, tugging Mary into her side. “Do you want to talk, or simply sit for a while? I’m sure you’re exhausted.”
“Talk, please?” Mary didn’t mention that talking would push away the memories more than silence ever would.
So they did.
~~||~~||~~
“Anna?”
The barbarian glanced to the boy sitting next to her under the tree. “Yeah, Eddie?”
“What’s going on?”
The boy and woman stared at each other for a moment before Anna carefully spoke. “Well, Edward… you and your sisters were in trouble. So we came and rescued you.”
Edward’s eyes lit up. “Like in the stories?”
Anna laughed, looking back up to the sky. “That’s right, like in the stories.”
“Is she my mother?” Anna’s head whipped back down again at the question. Edward was staring at Jane, where she stood with Anne and Kat.
“She… she is Eddie. How did you know that?” Anna asked curiously, keeping her gaze on the child.
“Father has her portrait in the hall.” Edward blinked up at Anna. “Father said Mama died.” Edward looked so confused.
Anna froze for a moment, remembering the sight of Jane laying in the wreckage of the carriage. “She, uh… she almost did, kiddo. But she did live. And she’s so happy to have you back.”
“Then why isn’t she with us right now?” Edward questioned again as he looked over to where Jane was with Anne and Kat.
“She had to heal a friend of ours. She’ll be over here in just a little bit and then you can get to know her, hmm?” Anna perked up upon seeing Jane make her way over. The cleric’s gaze locked into Edward and tears sprung into the corner of her eyes again. “See, here she comes now.”
Edward and Jane only stared at each other, Jane kneeling to Edward’s height.
“Hello, Edward…” Jane choked a little on a hidden sob, her anxiety clearly taking a hold. “Do you… do you remember me?”
Edward nodded, brightening slightly. “Father has your portrait hanging in the hall! He says you’re his favorite and that you’re my mother!”
For a moment, Jane and Anna both tensed.
“That’s right Edward. I’m your mother.” Jane finally said. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be there for you, dear.”
“It’s okay, where did you go?” Edward asked, looking back at her curiously.
Jane couldn’t stop the small laugh at how curious the boy was. Though, it was to be expected in the situation. “I got into… a little problem. But Anna came along and rescued me.”
“Just like you all did for us?”
“That’s right, Edward. Just like we did for you.”
“I’m glad! Anna’s nice!”
Anna laughed at the boy’s praise. “I’m glad to hear that you think so, Kiddo.”
They fell into a gentle silence. Jane was still realizing that her son was in front of her, talking to her.
Edward hummed, tilting his head. “Are we gonna go back to father together?”
Jane froze in her tracks. Of course… Edward still seemed to love his father. Upon seeing that Jane couldn’t answer, Anna spoke up. “I don’t think so, Eddie. Your father’s busy…”
“Is father bad?” Edward looked from Anna back to Jane.
“I…” Jane’s mouth felt dry. Should she tell the truth? “Why do you think he is, lovely?”
“He yelled at Mary and Lizzie a lot. He lied about you. I remember him trying to do something to me and Lizzie. Mary tried to protect us but he did something…” Edward trailed off, confusion clear in his eyes.
Anna and Jane shared a glance. Did Edward not remember like Mary and Elizabeth seemed to? Both queens simply chalked it up to Edward being a younger age than Elizabeth and Mary, after all Mary remembered more than Elizabeth from what they had gathered.
(Edward would remember bits and pieces later on. He would become timid around Mary for a while until Jane finally figured out the problem and explained ever so patiently what had actually happened.)
Anna gave Jane a patient nod. Edward deserves to know.
“No… no Edward, your father’s not a good person.” Jane lowered her gaze. “I’m sorry.”
Jane blinked when Edward wrapped her in as much of a hug as he could, arms over her shoulders. “It’s okay, mother.”
Jane let out a watery laugh, pulling Edward fully into her arms. “You’re so smart… I’m so sorry I couldn’t be there for you, so so sorry…”
Edward didn’t reply, simply nuzzling further into his mother’s arms.
Anna knelt by both, pulling them into her arms. They stayed that way for a long while, Jane relishing in being able to hold the son she never got to see become such a smart young boy.
She would be making up for lost time now, just like her fellow mothers. And Jane knew Anna and Edward would forever be with her, be it physically or in spirit.
~~||~~||~~
“You have to talk to her eventually.”
“I know, Chaton. But… what if she doesn’t want to talk to me?”
Kat sighed, watching the other queens interact with the kids. Elizabeth sat with Cathy and kept casting glances over their way. Kat knew they were having a similar conversation.
“Annie… Elizabeth’s always looked up to you. Whenever Henry wasn’t around she’d usually find some way to mention you.”
Anne looked away from Kat, fixing her gaze on a small bird perched in a tree nearby. A mother bird checking on its chicks. “I’ve never been able to be there for her, Chaton.” Anne watched, numb, as the mother bird flew away again. “I was always gone.”
“You’ve worked yourself into a spiral, Anne.” Kat took her cousin’s hand, giving it a squeeze to draw Anne’s attention back to her. “Even as a shadow, you watched over her… I think that says something. And I promise that Elizabeth adores you.”
Anne simply gave her a small huff.
“Maman?”
Anne’s head jolted up to look at the speaker. Her eyes had widened at the familiar voice, it was only aged slightly.
Sure enough, Elizabeth stood in front of her, Cathy at her side. Cathy gave the preteen a nod and Kat gave Anne’s hand another squeeze before the bard and wizard left them alone.
For a moment, Elizabeth and Anne could only stare at each other.
“Elizabeth?” Anne finally whispered, her voice croaked with the tears in the corners of her vision. “You… remember me?”
“I… I do.” Elizabeth whispered, not moving from her spot.
Anne still stared from her spot under the tree, leaning forward. “I… I’m happy to hear that. You were so young the last time you saw me.”
“It’s kind of faded. But I remember pieces. And I saw a portrait of you…” Elizabeth mumbled, clearly still in a bit of shock. “They said you died.”
Anne softened, her shoulders slumping as she leaned back against the tree again. Despite the sudden loss of energy, she kept her gaze locked with Elizabeth’s. Anne remembered what she told Maggie.
“Who… who said I never died?”
It wasn’t a joke like last time. It had to be forced from her lips, choked out. The pain of the last time it was said had been carefully hidden away. There was nothing Anne could do to hide it this time.
Elizabeth froze at the sobbed response. But she made no reply of her own.
“I didn’t think I would get to see you again, mon coeur.” Anne’s voice was a whisper as she smiled tearfully.
Elizabeth took a small step forward. She wanted to rush forward and hug her mother. But… was it really her?
“I…” Elizabeth fidgeted, looking so painfully hopeful. “Can you prove that you’re really… you?”
Anne blinked for a second before nodding with a small smile. “Smart girl…” she stood up but didn’t step towards her daughter. “Well… You always loved to draw. You were always a fussy child, but you calmed easily. Let’s see... And… I have my locket… the one with your picture. I never went a day without looking at it after I was freed.”
Anne was playing with the mentioned locket, allowing Elizabeth to get a glance at the gold piece of jewelry. That was what convinced her. Elizabeth stared Anne in the eye as she took slow steps forward. At the end, she picked up her pace to a fast walk before throwing her arms around her mother’s waist, burying her face into the woman’s shirt.
Anne froze for only a second before a soft smile appeared on her face. She closed her eyes and pulled Elizabeth as close as she could. For several minutes, both could only cry as they reunited.
Anne moved the both of them to sit down under the tree. They sat there, not moving from each other’s arms. Anne tensed upon hearing a question fumble from Elizabeth’s lips.
“Where did you go… Why did you leave?”
“Mon coeur… I never left you.” Anne whispered, pulling back to look Elizabeth in the eyes. “Tell me, do you remember a shadow?”
Immediately, the girl’s eyes widened with realization. “That… that was you?” At Anne’s nod, Elizabeth gained a fresh wave of tears in her eyes. “I… you really were with me… that’s why father was so insistent on you not being real…”
Anne nodded, mentally cursing Henry. “I didn’t want to leave, either…”
“Father…” Elizabeth muttered, quickly figuring out the cause behind Anne’s curse.
After all, if her father wasn’t afraid to brainwash her and her siblings, then who was to stop him from cursing her mother?
Anne nodded with a shuddered breath before pulling Elizabeth into another hug, this one seemed even more desperate. “He cursed me to be a shadow. To be nothing. I couldn’t hold you… I couldn’t… I couldn’t…”
“You’re free, Maman. You’re free!” Elizabeth tried to reassure, but she was crying just as much as Anne was. It had been so long since they had seen each other, Elizabeth barely had any memories of her mother.
“I am, I am… And I won’t ever leave you again.”
After that, all they could do for a while was cry.
~~||~~||~~
The next morning, Cathy told everyone a plan. Take the kids back to the ladies’ house. Stay for a few days with them, and then return to gathering the army.
Henry’s main form of gathering sacrifices was gone. But everyone knew he was going to simply execute people himself. And the old man capturing souls had gotten away, most likely getting the souls to the king. The guards that retreated were soon to arrive for them as well. So they had to keep on their toes.
And all three of the kids understood this, even little Edward.
So they would treasure the next few days they had with their reunited mothers. And when they went off to save the kingdom yet again, they would cheer for them. They knew they could take back the kingdom.
So after talking with the civilians, who were more than happy to help with their cause, everyone packed up camp, preparing to head back to regroup with the ladies.
The kids chattered happily with the queens as they finished gathering camp and set out on the road. Everyone noticed the haunted look in their young eyes, Mary’s being the most prominent. They had either slaughtered people or watched and trained to do it themselves one day.
But the queens tried to keep the mood up, wanting to help the kids away from the dark place (it didn’t stop the deep talks over the next few days).
Anne and Catalina shared a glance and smiles as they began walking the path. The couple was just happy to see each other happy. They had their children back.
They would have to tell the two that they were dating at some point. But honestly, Anne and Catalina didn’t think it would be a major problem.
“Come on, mon coeur. Let’s talk as we walk. I want to know more about you.” Anne said, keeping a hand between Elizabeth’s shoulder blades.
“You already know about me.” Elizabeth rebutted. “I want to learn more about you, Maman!”
“Yeah, but I want to hear about you from you… so let’s trade stories, hmm?”