Gold and Green
The six queens were better than ever.
They talked to each other about their problems more. They had the medicine they needed. They were getting better.
It was like the final cloud was removed, leaving the sun shining brightly on the six of them.
Well, there was one more problem…
That problem happened to be love.
You see, while the queens all cherished their familial relationship to each other, there were more relationships forming. Romantic relationships.
After moving past their former rivalry, Catherine was always able to calm Anne down. And Anne managed to help Catherine lighten up around everyone. They looked out for each other and helped each other greatly.
Jane and Anna were drifting closer together. Ever since they helped each other with their problems, the two could feel themselves growing closer.
Cathy and Kat held something special together. They knew that they both had their own fears, and they helped each other through them.
There was much more between the soon to be couples, but to explain all of it would take up most of this story.
No, this story is about how the mentioned couples got together.
~~||~~||~~
The day had been wonderful. It was bright and sunny outside and the queens took advantage of it. They got out of the house and made their way around London for the day, no real destination in mind.
They found themselves at the park, where the chaotic trio messed around for an hour while the other three watched. They stopped by the museum again. They went to several other places as well. It was clear that the queens had been having a fun time.
Finally, it was late evening.
“I vote we stop at the café before heading home!” It was Kat who declared, walking hand in hand with Cathy.
“Lovely idea!” Jane agreed, beaming. Several other enthusiastic agreements followed. So the queens made their way over to the café.
“I assume everyone wants their usual?” Catherine asked. It was decided on the walk that the first two queens would be the ones to go inside to get the order. There was a chorus of agreements to Catherine’s question. So the golden queen nodded before stepping inside, Anne trailing behind her. The other four queens took a seat at the table outside to wait.
The wait in line to order wasn’t long and soon the two were waiting by the counter for their food and drinks to be finished.
Anne began chattering about something she had done with Kat the day before, the chewy peppermint she received from Cathy earlier having vanished. Catherine listened patiently and (although she would never outright admit it) happily.
“But then, Jane caught us! She was pissed!”
Catherine chuckled as she gave Anne a smirk. “You and Kat of all people should know to avoid messing with Jane’s baking.”
“Chaton said it might be a bad idea...” Anne said sheepishly, twisting the tangle in her hands. “But Jane looked down that morning so I wanted to do something funny to cheer her up! Just didn’t think before I did it…”
“Don’t put yourself down, Querida.” Catherine said. She placed her hand on the center of Anne’s back. The green queen hummed happily as she leaned back into the touch, her movements with the tangle becoming less anxious. “You were trying to help Jane, and that’s wonderful. But next time, please listen to Kat.”
“Yeah yeah.” Anne agreed with a playful roll of her eyes. But then her gaze softened as she glanced back at Catherine. “Thanks, Lina.”
“Don’t thank me yet. If your next prank is on me, you will be in a world of trouble. Not even reincarnation will save you.”
Anne snickered in response and opened her mouth to reply. But before she could, voices caught the duo’s ears. More specifically, Anne’s name.
“Anne Boleyn was a horrible queen, dude!”
“Yeah, I know! Look at all the bad stuff she did! She got the former queen dethroned and sent away!”
“She got innocent people killed too!”
They continued, and the sound of something hitting the floor drew Catherine’s attention back to Anne immediately. The usually bubbly queen had dropped her tangle and was staring into the open air.
“Anne, look at me—!”
But before Catherine could continue speaking or take another step towards Anne, the green queen suddenly moved into action, bolting out the front door. Catherine could see the other queens standing up through the window. But Anne raced past them down the sidewalk until she was out of sight. Anna took off after the other queen, leaving the remaining three standing at the table, clearly stunned.
Catherine took a deep, furious breath. She bent down and picked up Anne’s tangle before striding over to the table that had made the comments.
“You know, it isn’t very nice to disrespect the dead.” Catherine huffed out. Oh, she would love to destroy these idiots properly. But reincarnation was a closely held secret by the queens, so the people making the comments had no clue of the truth. They had no idea who they truly just hurt.
The two sitting at the table squinted up at her. “I don’t see how a bitch like that deserves respect anyways.”
“Yeah, she was a monster.” The second person continued, nodding their head. “I mean, look at all the bad things she did! And sleeping with multiple guys on top of it all!”
Catherine forced herself to take deep, steadying breaths. They didn’t know the truth either. They didn’t know Anne like she did. They didn’t know how Anne had no say in anything that happened. They didn’t know the energetic queen that always brightened everyone’s day. No. They didn’t know the true Anne Boleyn.
But they were woefully ignorant to some of the good Anne had done in her past life.
The other three queens came racing through the door before Catherine could form a reply.
“What happened?”
“What’s wrong with Annie?”
One of the stranger's eyes lit up with realization. “Are you really telling me that lady ran out because of the truth? Anne Boleyn wasn’t a good person, she needs to accept that… Damn...”
And then, the other queens also had their own realization. They all looked ready to spit their own fire right back at the strangers. They were about to speak up, but Catherine beat them to it. The first queen’s expression was cold.
Catherine took yet another deep breath, before looking at the two strangers. Her grip on the tangle tightened and as she spoke, her voice and expression were steel. “Anne Boleyn did some bad things, yes. But she never had any choice in the matter. None of the queens had any choice, really. And both of you clearly have no idea of the good things she did while queen. I hope you two learn to do better research before talking about people like this.”
And then, Catherine was spinning around and leading the other, still furious, queens outside.
“It had been a good day, too.” It was Jane who muttered, shaking her head.
“People are ignorant and can’t keep their mouths shut.” Kat huffed, glancing back inside through the window.
“They are simply morons who can’t respect the ‘dead.’ Anne is more important right now.” Catherine rubbed at her brow, trying to control her temper. Everyone nodded their heads and murmured their agreements.
“Anna went after her so hopefully they’ll be back soon.” Jane agreed.
“Speak her name and she appears.” Cathy spoke up, drawing everyone’s attention.
Anna was walking up to them, cursing in German. “Verrücktes Mädchen is fucking fast. I lost her when we rounded a corner.”
There were several curses from most of the members now.
“Alright, we have to split up and find Anne.” Catherine declared, taking control of the situation.
Everyone was quickly stating where they were going to go and figuring out a very quickly made plan.
“If no one finds her in two hours, meetup back at the house.” It was Jane who spoke, earning nods from everyone.
All of the remaining queens split up, quickly rushing off to find their final member.
~~||~~||~~
Catherine headed for the park. She remembered how happy Anne had been running in the forest with Anna and Kat. The other queens could handle everywhere else. Something was telling Catherine that she should check that forest.
So she did. She entered the park’s gate and headed straight for the forest. She walked around for what seemed like hours. But a glance at her phone showed that it had only been one hour rather than multiple.
Finally, Catherine came to a stop underneath a rather large tree. She took a break and decided that Anne probably wasn’t in the area. But something stopped her from leaving.
There was a noise from above her, followed by a muttered French curse.
Catherine looked up and couldn’t stop herself from gaping in surprise.
Anne was perched up high in the tree, partially hidden by both the color of her clothes as well as the tree’s leaves. She was staring down at Catherine with wide emerald eyes. Anne had clearly been crying and still had tears on her cheeks, but luckily, Catherine couldn’t spot any blood on Anne’s neck, although it was hard to tell from this far down. The green queen had frozen to her spot on a branch when Catherine looked up. Now, they both stared at each other.
Catherine’s face morphed into a small smile. “There you are, Querida. We were all worried about you.”
Anne didn’t respond. First thing first, Catherine needed to get Anne out of the tree. So she made an offer. “I have your tangle if you would like to come down and get it.”
Anne actually seemed to relax at the news that Catherine had her tangle. She began scaling back down the tree.
Upon taking her tangle back from Catherine, Anne let out a breath of relief and began messing with the tangle, a happy smile crossing her face. Catherine smiled herself upon seeing this. While Anne was distracted, Catherine pulled out her phone and shot a text to the other queens.
GoldenMother: I have Anne. Don’t worry about us, we’ll head home soon.
After sending the text, Catherine silenced her phone and put it back in her pocket. She turned her attention back to Anne, who had sat back against the tree, still using her tangle. Only now, she was frowning, lost in thought.
Catherine sat down next to the other queen. “What’s on your mind, Querida?”
Anne jolted from her thoughts. She glanced at Catherine before glancing back down at the tangle. “It’s nothing, Lina.” Anne muttered.
But Catherine continued. “If it’s about what those two said, they were completely wrong.”
Anne growled and her grip on the tangle tightened until her knuckles were white. “You and I both know they were completely right!” She snapped, head whipping up to look Catherine in the eyes.
Anne’s eyes were filled with fury. But hidden behind that anger was despair and resignation. She truly believed their words.
“Anne—!”
“I’m a monster, Lina!” Anne cried out. Suddenly, all of her anger drained out of her and she sobbed. The tangle dropped to her lap as Anne brought her hands up to scrub at the now falling tears. “I’m a goddamn monster…”
Anne pulled her legs up to her chest as she continued to wipe at her eyes. Then, someone slowly took hold of her hands, pulling them away from her face.
Through the blurry tears, Anne could make out gold. Catherine had moved to kneel in front of her and was now holding her hands in a gentle grip.
“Querida. You and I both know that none of what happened was your fault. You never had a choice in anything. You were always manipulated at every turn. By your family and Henry. You are not a monster.”
“What about the men… George… I got them executed.”
Catherine grit her teeth. Damn Henry. “It was not you who gave the order. Henry did. Their deaths were not your fault.”
Anne stared at the ground, clearly still unsure.
So Catherine took a deep breath. “Do you want to know what I see in you, Querida?” Anne gave her a glance, urging Catherine to continue. “I don’t see a monster. I see a beautiful woman with a big heart. She is always there to make us laugh when we’re down. Her pranks and jokes light up the household. If you hurt one of us then it’s not just Anna you have to go through, we have a green queen who is just as dangerous. She doesn’t know how to keep her mouth shut sometimes, and she annoys me to no end, but that’s just a part of her, and it’s just as beautiful as the rest. I could continue, Querida, but I think I have said enough.”
Anne was staring wide eyed at Catherine, trying to take in all that Catherine had just told her. She bit her lip, about to say something else when Catherine added something else.
“And if you still believe you caused everything that went wrong in your past life… Then at least believe that you have more than redeemed yourself, Anne.”
Anne didn’t say a word, continuing to stare. Catherine deemed this good enough. Anne may not believe her yet, or maybe she did, but either way, this was a start at the very least.
During their long silence that followed, Anne was still staring, brows furrowed, at the ground. She actually looked ready to cry again.
“You have something else on your mind…” Catherine said slowly, taking in Anne’s expression.
“Lina, I don’t know…”
“Please talk to me, Querida…”
Anne began speaking slowly, clearly uncertain as to whether or not she should be saying this. “I got to thinking about how the person I have a crush on… they won’t return my feelings because of everything I did.”
Catherine felt her heart drop slightly. Anne had a crush. But she quickly stopped herself from frowning, instead giving Anne a sad smile.
“Oh, Querida… anyone would be lucky to have you as a partner.”
Anne’s cheeks flushed and she seemed to shrink slightly.
“I have my own problems with a crush…” Catherine admitted.
“Woah, really?” Anne asked, surprised and slightly intrigued. She purposefully ignored the twinge of sadness in her chest.
Catherine nodded her head with a hum. “My crush is another woman, for one thing. It took me a while to come to terms with my sexuality and my religion. Sometimes, I still struggle with it. Jane and Cathy have been a wonderful help.” Then, Catherine’s eyes darkened slightly. “And I think we all have the Henry problem…”
Anne let out a bitter laugh, her own eyes gaining a dark look. “Fear of abandonment and being abused? Yeah, the Henry problem is an accurate name.” Then, she gave Catherine a sad look. “Sorry you’re having to deal with that, Lina. I think your crush would be lucky to have you too.”
“Thank you, querida.” Catherine said sincerely, smiling gently at the green queen, who beamed right back.
“No… thank you… for all of this.” Anne said, shaking her head.
“Of course. You are anything but a monster, and I want you to understand that.”
Anne’s eyes glinted with uncertainty. “I think… your talk helped.”
Catherine nodded. “That’s all I can hope for. I hope one day, your doubts fade away… and I think I can say that I wish that for all of the others as well.”
Anne hummed in agreement and the two fell into a peaceful silence.
“So…” Anne placed a teasing smirk on her lips, wanting to lighten the mood. It doesn't reach her eyes. “Who does the great Catherine of Aragon have a crush on?”
Catherine glanced at Anne and decided it was now or never. “She happens to be sitting right next to me.”
Anne froze, her grin falling away to a stunned expression as Catherine’s words fully registered in her mind.
“You’re… you’re joking right?”
“Can I prove it to you?” Catherine asked, still conscious of their past relationships. She was inches away from Anne now. Their breath mingled together as they observed each other.
Instead of giving a response, Anne decided to take her own leap of faith and move herself closer. Catherine saw her movement and met her halfway.
The two queens captured each other's lips as they both felt joy bloom in their hearts. They relaxed into each other as they deepened the kiss.
It was as if time around them stopped as they simply enjoyed the other. But eventually, the need for air decreed that they separate.
They both sat close together, trying to wrap their minds around what just took place. Finally, Anne spoke up.
“Why me?”
“What do you mean, Querida?” Catherine questioned. She had a very good idea as to what Anne meant. But she wanted to try and hear Anne’s whole reasoning.
Anne stared at the ground, expression unreadable. “I’ve hurt you, Lina. I hurt you in our past lives and in the beginning of this life…”
Catherine watched Anne closely as the former spoke quietly. “I won’t deny that you did. But… now I know who you truly are. You are an amazing person who got dealt the wrong hand in her past life. And in the beginning of this life, you were hurt and angry. You had been killed for something you didn’t even do.” Catherine continued. “I could list all of those traits I already told you, and more, if you want to know why I fell for you.”
There was a stretch of silence.
“Why do I feel like you’re trying to become a therapist?” Anne asked with a blush and shaky grin.
Catherine chuckled. “I can assure you that isn’t the case.”
Anne shuffled closer to Catherine. “You really think all of that? After everything?”
“I do.” Catherine stated, nodding her head.
Anne couldn’t find any words. So she captured Catherine’s lips in another kiss.
They soon separated again and both stared at the other with joy and still a little bit of shock. They fell back into silence, basking in the moment.
“Why don’t we head home?” Catherine finally asked, glancing toward the now darkening sky. “It’s getting late, and I’m sure the others are worried.”
“Home sounds wonderful…”
~~||~~||~~
It was night by the time they reached home, the sun completely gone. When they stepped into the house, it was clear that Jane had forced everyone else to bed.
“Are you hungry?” Catherine asked in a whisper, not wanting to wake the others. They never got to eat back at the café.
“Famished!” Anne agreed with a small laugh. The two found leftovers from the previous night's dinner and quickly ate. They shared quiet laughter as they whispered back and forth, pure happiness fluttering in their chests. They were both still feeling disbelief that it had actually happened. That they returned each other’s feelings.
Anne was far more cheerful and calm than she had been in the park. Catherine was chuckling and smiling as she listened to and told stories.
Eventually, they finished their food. So the two women headed upstairs. They separated for a moment to go change into sleep clothes in their own rooms.
After changing, Catherine carefully made her way to Anne’s room. She paused upon opening the door. Anne stood in front of the mirror. The green queen was in her sleep clothes and her hair was down, but she still had her choker around her neck. Her fingers were tracing the black fabric and she had a thoughtful look on her face.
Catherine stepped over, making sure Anne could see her in the mirror. She gently wrapped her arms around the shorter queen’s stomach, holding her close. Anne leaned back into the embrace with a happy hum.
“I understand if you are uncomfortable, Querida.” Catherine said soothingly. “You can keep the choker on if you want, as long as it won’t hurt you.”
Anne bit her lip, but she knew she could trust Catherine. She stepped forward out of Catherine’s arms and held her hair out of the way of the clasp.
Catherine was about to say something, surprised, when Anne practically whispered, “Help me take it off?”
Catherine’s gaze softened. “Of course, Querida.” She carefully undid the clasp, making sure to avoid touching the raised skin.
Once the choker was pulled away, Anne slowly turned around to face Catherine. The queens had seen her scar a million times before Anne got her choker. But this was the person she fell in love with looking at her scar.
As far as Anne was concerned, the scar was a mark of her past mistakes. The past mistakes Catherine knew about. The scar was ugly, just as Anne’s past was.
Anne was snapped out of these thoughts by Catherine moving.
The golden queen gently leaned down to place a kiss on Anne’s forehead. “You are beautiful, Querida. The scar could never ruin that.”
Anne found a small smile stretching across her lips. “Thanks, Lina.” She replied, kissing Catherine’s cheek in return. Then, she added with a smirk. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
“I could argue the same, Querida.”
Anne tittered as she shared a smile with Catherine. The two made their way over to Anne’s bed and laid down.
Anne curled up close to Catherine, laying her head on the golden queen’s chest and letting Catherine pull her closer. Anne wrapped her arms around Catherine’s middle in response.
“Is this okay?” Anne asked quietly.
“I’m perfectly fine.” Catherine replied. “You?”
“This is perfect.” Anne murmured back. “Can we talk more in the morning? About what we are… and our fears?”
Catherine’s hand trailed up to Anne’s head, where she gently began to scratch at Anne’s scalp. She has done this before and Anne loved it. It had sparked the joke that both of the beheaded cousins were like cats, instead of just the younger cousin. “Of course we can, Querida. For now, let’s just go to sleep. It’s been a long day and we have all the time in the world to talk.”
Anne hummed happily at both the touch and Catherine’s words as her eyes drifted close. It didn’t take long for Catherine to follow.
The two ex-queens held each other close as they drifted to sleep.
~~||~~||~~
Over the next few days, Catherine and Anne hid their relationship. They were still unsure how the others would react to their relationship. They logically knew the other queens would love them no matter what, but there was still that small anxiety in the back of their heads.
They would share kisses and sweet whispers when alone. They were still trying to take things slow. Their last, very much failed, relationship called for that. But their trust in each other as family had already been built, now they simply needed more trust in each other as lovers.
They had almost been caught by the other queens several times. Like the time they had made out and Kat almost caught them.
Their first date was almost busted when the queens got curious about where they were going alone together.
So, in hindsight, they really should have been more surprised by the fact that it had taken this long for the others to find out.
Everyone was preparing for a movie night. At some point while Catherine and Anne were upstairs, the others left to the store to get ice cream for everyone. If they took the opportunity to be together, then who could blame them?
So both of them found themselves in Catherine’s room. Simple kissing and teasing soon turned into a make out session, with Anne against the wall, eagerly meeting Catherine’s lips with her own. They very quickly lost track of time.
But it turned out, a trip to the store didn’t take long at all.
There were several noises from the doorway that made them stop in their tracks.
There was loud laughter from Anna, a sort of squeaking noise from Kat, shocked silence from Jane, and a blank stare from Cathy.
“I knew it!” Anna announced as her laughter finished. She held an extremely smug grin, directed at the queens next to her. Then she spun to the couple. “When did you two get together?”
Catherine and Anne were both taken aback by Anna’s simple reaction. It was as if they hadn’t been pinning each other against the wall and making out. It was Catherine who slowly answered. “That night when Anne ran off…”
Anna’s grin got wider. Anne turned her attention to Kat. “You’re not upset, are you?” She asked, seeing the shocked look on Kat’s face.
That shocked look morphed into a grin. “Of course not! I’m happy for you, Annie.” She gave them both a teasing smile. “Though, I definitely wish I didn’t find out by seeing you two all over each other.”
Anne yelped as she tried to hide her blush. Meanwhile, Cathy glanced at Catherine, who was now watching her.
“As long as you two are happy.” Cathy said with a small smile and nod, as if sensing Catherine’s question. “Then that’s all I need to hear, Madrina.”
“Yeah, like Cathy said.” Kat scratched the back of her head sheepishly. “Sorry for freezing like that. I was surprised.”
They didn’t know this now, but each of the other four queens would pull both of them aside separately to tell both of them to look out for and protect each other, accompanied by passive aggressive, almost playful, threats. And Catherine and Anne were less afraid, and more warmed by the fact that their little family cared enough about both of them to warrant a talk, even though they all trusted both of them extremely. And when that happened with both of the other couples as well, then no one was really surprised.
“Anyways!” Anna said before anyone else could add something. “Jane and Kat owe Cathy and I money!”
Anne couldn’t stop the cackle that escaped her lips. “You guys bet on us?”
“We bet on whether or not you guys got together the night Anne ran off, or the night you guys went out alone together.” Jane explained with her own nervous laugh.
“Cathy and Anna won?” Catherine asked. She sounded annoyed, but everyone could see the amused smile that betrayed her tone.
“That’s right.” Cathy agreed, an almost smug smirk on her face.
The chatter continued for another minute, everyone debating the bet, congratulating Catherine and Anne, and general chatter about the secret most of the queens had just discovered.
“Why don’t we start the movie night, queens? Before the ice cream melts?” It was Jane who finally asked, beginning to herd the other three downstairs. There was a chorus of agreements.
The other queens trotted out of the room, leaving Catherine and Anne still standing there.
“Looks like we didn’t have to worry after all, Querida.” Catherine murmured, her voice accompanied by a small laugh.
“I figured we didn’t. Just… anxiety, y’know?” Anne replied.
“I get it.” Catherine said with a nod. “Now, why don’t we join the others for that movie.”
“But what if I want more kisses, ma reine?” Anne asked teasingly, kissing Catherine’s jaw.
“There’s nothing stopping us from kissing downstairs, now that the others know our little secret.” Catherine answered smoothly, biting back a laugh.
Anne tilted her head, a smirk tracing her lips. “You have a point.”
Before there could be any more banter, a shout came from downstairs. “Oi, lovebirds! We’re going to take all the ice cream for ourselves if you don’t get down here!”
Both queens paused. Then, Anne was quickly rushing out of the room. Catherine couldn’t hold back her laughter any longer as she trailed after her energetic girlfriend.
There was no one else that she would rather have been blessed with in this new life. They didn’t need Henry’s love, they had each other now. And everyone around them supported them fully.