Katherine Howard
Katherine Howard thought she had found love at the tender age of thirteen. But then that love faded away. Only for another man to take his place.
Kat believed they loved her. It wasn’t until Henry that she realized just how wrong she was. And then, Thomas became the biggest betrayal of her life. The betrayal that led to her death.
But then she was reborn. Reborn with five wonderful women. And Kat found herself getting happier.
The relationships from her past life weren’t love, it was anything but love. The family she had formed with the queens in this new life? That was love. Although it would take a while for Kat to fully realize this.
It had taken a while before the queens truly figured out what happened to Kat. They still didn’t know the true extent of her pain. Only Anna seemed to know, and she always said it was Kat’s place to tell them when she was ready. But with what they did know, there were certain details the queens caught onto.
They way she would always look for exits anytime she entered a room.
The way she always watched them, as if they might do something at any moment.
The way she always avoided strange men with a great amount of space.
The way she didn’t like touch at first.
The details began to fade after a while, but every once in a while, Kat would find herself doing them yet again.
But everyone, Kat included, thought she was getting better.
She began joking and pranking with Anne and Anna. Debating with the two Catherine’s. She would help Jane with chores and cooking. She began seeking hugs from the others.
But it only takes one horrible person to put you back where you began and ruin your trust.
~~||~~||~~
Whenever Kat went out of the house, it was with another queen.
But as of recently, Kat wanted to try and go out on her own. She was getting better about her anxieties and fears and she wanted to take the next step.
So she went to the mall alone. She needed to get a new pack of hair dye and she could look around at the different shops while there.
The other queens had been asking if she was sure she would be fine. Kat would laugh and tell them she would be okay. They were only looking out for her. She never wanted to go out of the house alone, after all. But Kat could tell they were happy for her.
It turned out, she would not be okay.
After grabbing the dye, Kat had made her way to a clothing store.
This is where things would go wrong.
Kat had been looking through a rack of clothing when a hand placed itself on her shoulder. Kat jolted and spun around.
“Hello, darling.”
It was a man. He was taller than Kat and was smirking down at her.
Kat found herself freezing. This was exactly what she feared happening.
Kat shuddered and as the flashback pricked at the corners of her vision, Kat managed to speak. “Sir… please back away…” She backed up until she hit the wall.
“And leave a pretty girl like you all by yourself?” The man asked, his smirk almost seeming to get wider.
“Sir, please leave me alone.” Kat gasped out. Her chest was constricting and suddenly it felt like she couldn’t breathe.
“Come on, darling. You can trust me. You’ll have a wonderful time.”
Kat tried to move back but the wall prevented her from moving away further. The man’s hand caressed her cheek and his other hand snaked around her waist.
And suddenly, it wasn’t the man in front of her, it was Mannox. Then it was Francis. Henry. Thomas. All four faces seemed to blend together. Kat felt numb. The only thing she could feel was burning hands all over her body.
“Oi! She asked you to back the hell off you bloody idiot!”
The man in front of her turned his head towards the new man. But Kat could only barely tell what was happening around her.
The men argued until finally, the newcomer seemed to have enough.
He slammed into the man, sending him sprawling away from Kat. Both of them went rolling across the ground.
As the fight ensued, Kat slid down the wall. They were back. They were whispering in her ear. Telling her how much of a connection there was. They were touching her. Their hands burned.
Kat bit hard on the inside of her cheek, preventing herself from screaming. (Mannox and Thomas don’t like it when she screams.) Now she could taste blood.
She began scratching at her skin as she sobbed.
Why wouldn’t they leave her alone?
Why did everyone always hurt her?
Why won’t they stop?
They became louder. The burning intensified. So Kat scratched harder.
~~||~~||~~
The other queens had been at home during all of this. Four were downstairs watching television. Anne had been upstairs in the attic, playing a video game.
But none of the queens downstairs had expected Anne to come sprinting down the stairs. Her eyes were panicked, scaring the queens more than the sudden appearance. She held her phone to her ear, listening attentively.
But before anyone could say anything, Anne let out a shout. “Merde! We have to get to the mall! Now!”
The mall. That’s where Kat was. That thought spurred the queens into action and they were soon running down the street. They didn’t have a car, so they would run.
Only while they ran did Anne explain.
Kat had called Anne’s phone. Only, it wasn’t Kat. It was a stranger who introduced herself as Sophia Williams. She said that a man tried to make advances on Kat. She told Anne that her husband, Jacob was dealing with the man, but that Kat was in a panic attack.
Upon reaching the store, the queens paused for only a second.
Kat was huddled against a wall. A woman was holding Kat’s wrists gently. Red marks were on Kat’s arms and legs, a clear sign that she had been scratching. Kat was limp and sobbing.
Two men were at the other side of the shop. One had the other pinned against the wall and security was making their way over to them.
Anna took several long seconds of decision but was soon striding over towards the two men and the security. Jane quickly followed, moving to prevent Anna from making a mistake.
Anne almost followed Anna, but Catherine took hold of her shoulder, causing Anne to glance back.
“Your cousin needs you more.” Catherine said simply. Anne paused before nodding and making her way over to Kat, Catherine behind her. Catherine was right, Anna had it handled.
Cathy hadn’t even hesitated, making her way over to Kat before anyone else moved.
Sophia took notice of Cathy and quickly released her hold on Kat’s hands, moving to the side.
“Kat. I need you to listen to my voice. It’s Cathy.” Cathy said quietly. “That man has been taken care of. You’re safe now.”
Kat seemed to recognize Cathy’s voice and uncurled herself slightly. “C… Cathy?”
“That’s right.” Cathy said, she was frowning.
“They… they’re back…” Kat wheezed out before hiding behind her knees again with a whimper.
“It’s just us, Kitten.” Cathy soothed. “I promise.”
“We’re right here, Chaton.” Anne agreed, joining Cathy. “Whoever you’re thinking about. Henry, Thomas, whoever. They are gone, Chaton. We promise.”
Catherine stood behind them, almost as if keeping guard. She conversed quietly with Sophia, who had joined her and began explaining what happened fully.
Kat uncurled and launched herself at the closest person, Anne, wrapping her arms tightly around her.
Anne began whispering gently in Kat’s ear as she pulled her cousin closer. Cathy stayed mostly quiet, joining from time to time but letting Anne handle the majority of the talking.
Soon, Anna and Jane walked over as well. Both were scowling. Anna dropped to her knees next to Anne, Cathy, and Kat and also began comforting Kat. Jane watched them silently, a frown on her face as she thought of everything that had occurred. It all happened so fast.
As soon as Anna and Jane rejoined the group, Catherine had made her way to talk to the security guards about what to do next.
Kat was calm now and slowly removed herself from Anne’s embrace. But she continued to stick close to the other women around her. For several minutes, everyone stayed this way, remaining close together in the middle of a store as they kept Kat calm and waited for information.
Catherine soon came over from where she had been talking to security, one of the guards walked with her. She looked cautiously at everyone. “Do we want to press charges?”
Everyone glanced at Kat.
The pink queen slowly shook her head. “I just want to go home…”
“Okay… then let’s go home.” Anna replied immediately.
The security guard that had walked back over with Catherine gave them all an understanding nod. “I’m so sorry this happened, ma’ams. That man will be banned from this mall and this will be going on record with the police.”
“You don’t need statements?” Cathy asked.
“We have everything we need from the security cameras and statements from witnesses. If we do need statements, we will contact you at a later date. Your friend already gave us your contact information.”
The queens all gave him their thanks and he made his way back to his coworkers to relay their answer.
“Can you walk?” Jane asked quietly. Kat gave a nod in return and Anne helped her up. But Kat remained wrapped in her cousin’s arm as they made their way to the entrance. Everyone seemed to form a protective circle around Kat, sticking close as they walked.
“I’m so sorry that happened to you.” Sophia said. Her and Jacob had made their way over to see them off. Both looked incredibly sorry.
“I… it’s okay.” Kat answered, a sad smile on her face. “Thank you. For everything.”
“Anytime.” Jacob replied, giving her his own smile.
The queens all gave the duo thankful nods and farewells before heading out the door.
A few months later, Jacob and Sophia would receive a letter in the mail.
It would contain two front row tickets to the new musical, ‘Six,’ which the two had been wanting to go see. There would be a message with it, ‘I don’t know if you remember, but thank you for your rescue at the mall back in March.’ The letter would be signed ‘K. Howard.’
Upon seeing a familiar woman dressed in pink in the spotlight, along with five other very familiar faces and colors, the two would be stunned.
But throughout the show, they would receive smiles and grins from the women that made them smile right back.
~~||~~||~~
When everyone reached home, a sort of pillow fort was created in seconds. Everyone piled into the living room and began both a movie day and also a sewing session. It was pretty quiet, but instead of focusing on their activities, everyone focused on Kat.
The pink queen was quiet. She would respond to the questions before going back to watching the movies. She was trying to forget. Trying to ground herself back to the present. The others were worried.
It was the next day when Kat began to have thoughts.
What if the queens turned their backs on her?
They didn’t know the full extent of Kat’s past. Just that someone had hurt her in one of the worst ways possible. They knew that was also the reason she got beheaded. They didn’t know about Francis and Mannox.
So Kat’s thoughts trailed to what could happen if she told the other queens everything.
They would be like Step-Grandma, telling her that ‘nothing happened, stop lying, Francis is a good man.’ Or even like Henry, blaming her for something she didn’t even want.
Maybe… they would even hurt her like the men did. Kat took a shuddering gasp, quickly shaking that thought away. She refused to fall down that rabbit hole.
But that thought led her to thinking back about the four men and what happened the day before.
She still felt their hands on her body. Kat didn’t notice, but she began spiraling again.
None of the other queens heard her cries. She was crying too quietly.
She cried herself to sleep that night. And when she woke up later, she couldn’t bring herself to go to another queen. Maybe her thoughts were right...
~~||~~||~~
For the next few days, the queens didn’t see much of Kat. When they did, she was noticeably nervous around all of them.
On this night the queens had all gathered downstairs in the living room, doing their own activities as they chatted.
As everyone around her talked, Kat excused herself to take a shower. Everyone acknowledged this and continued their talks.
But eventually, it had been a while since Kat went upstairs to shower and the queens were beginning to get concerned.
So Anna went to go check on Kat.
“Kätzchen?” Anna asked, knocking on the bathroom door. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You’ve been in there a while and we’re all a little worried.”
But instead of an answer, Anna heard a loud bang. All caution was thrown out the window as Anna slammed the door open. A cloud of steam washed over her as she made her way to the shower.
Kat was doubled over on the floor of the shower. She was breathing heavily and crying. Her skin was almost red from the heat of the water.
Anna was quickly reaching in and turning the shower off, the water was almost boiling. Upon seeing another person in front of her, Kat let out a distressed cry and moved herself so she was pressed into a corner.
“Shit, Kätzchen. It’s okay. It’s just me. Anna.” Anna said soothingly. She grabbed a towel as she spoke. She made her way back to Kat and tried handing it to the other woman.
But even after recognizing Anna, Kat pressed herself further back into the corner of the shower.
“Don’t… don’t touch me!” Kat cried, drawing her knees up to her chest and hiding her face. “I don’t want it! Don’t be like them!”
Anna found herself freezing. Kat thought she was going to hurt her? Like those bastards did?
“Kätzchen. I will never do anything like that to you.” Anna soothed quietly.
“Then why did Thomas do it?!” Kat wailed, her voice slightly muffled. “You’re like a sister to me, Anna! Please!”
Anna took a deep breath. “You’re like a sister to me too, Kätzchen. I would never do that to you.”
But just then, the other queens reached the door and were clearly panicking.
“Go. I’ve got this.” Anna said quickly, glancing at the others.
“But—!”
“Go!” Anna urged. “She doesn’t need everyone crowding her right now.”
The queens still looked unsure but soon stepped away. This let Anna turn her attention back to Kat.
“I have a towel for you to cover yourself with, okay, Kätzchen?” Anna told Kat before calmly tossing the towel to the younger woman. She quickly caught it and clutched it close to her body, covering herself. “Did you bring any clothes?”
Kat still held mistrust in her eyes, but it was slowly fading. “On the sink.”
Anna nodded. “Okay… can you get dressed?”
Kat gave a small nod in return.
“That’s good. I’ll wait out in the hall for you, okay?”
It didn’t take long for them to be on Kat’s bed after that. Kat sat away from Anna, still watching her cautiously.
So Anna began humming the familiar lullaby. As she hummed, Anna opened her arms, letting Kat come to her. The pink queen paused, but didn’t move.
“You can trust me Kätzchen.” Anna said quietly after finishing the lullaby. “I would never hurt you.”
Kat finally moved herself into Anna’s embrace. She let herself start crying. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I thought you would do that.”
Anna hummed, holding Kat a little closer. “I guess that asshole from the shop is what caused all of these thoughts, huh?”
Kat took a shuddering breath but nodded into Anna’s chest.
“None of us would ever do that to you, Kätzchen.” Anna said sincerely.
“I know! And I still believe that! But I just—!”
Anna shushed her. “God, Kätzchen… you’ve been through so much. You have every right to not trust us. Everyone else has betrayed that trust. None of us blame you for that.”
“I’m sorry…”
“You don't need to apologize. It’s every single one of those assholes’ faults for making you feel unsafe.” Anna said, glaring at the wall. “We earned your trust, but then the bastard from the shop made you doubt everything again.”
Then, Anna looked at Kat with determination in her eyes. “We will prove to you that you can trust us. However many times we have to do it. We will always prove it.”
For a long moment, there was silence. But then Kat let out another small sob as she pressed her face into Anna’s shoulder.
“I don’t wanna be hurt anymore.” Kat managed to get out, her voice cracking.
“And we will never let it happen again.” Anna whispered to Kat. “I promise you. You can trust us and we will always protect you. We all protect each other. That’s how it works in this house.”
Kat’s arms tightened around Anna. The two sat there for what seemed like hours. Kat continued crying as Anna held her close, as if protecting Kat from the world.
Soon, Kat’s cries faded out and Anna quietly asked a question.
“Are you okay with me going downstairs? I need to tell the others that you’re okay.”
“Yeah. I think I’ll be okay.” Kat said quietly, but her gaze flickered with uncertainty.
“Do you want to come with me? We can tell the other queens about what’s going on if you want?” Anna offered upon seeing Kat’s conflicted look.
Kat wanted to trust the other queens. But the traitorous voice in the back of her mind continued. Telling her how horrible an idea it was to trust them.
She shook that voice away. It would come back. But for now, she wanted the other queens to know. She wanted to trust them.
Kat gave Anna a nod. “I want to tell them. About everything from the past life too.”
“Do you think you can talk about all of it?” Anna asked, giving Kat a concerned look. Kat had broken down more than once when talking about her past.
“No… but… can you tell them?”
“Of course. You’re okay with this?”
“Will any of you leave me? After everyone finds out the truth?” Kat asked quietly, not meeting Anna’s eyes.
“Kätzchen. I told you we would never hurt you. That includes leaving you. We will never do that.”
“Then I want them to know.” Kat said simply, giving Anna a nervous smile.
Anna gave Kat a nod and smile back. “Why don't you try and get some sleep?”
Kat took a deep breath. She didn’t want another nightmare. But she had to admit, sleep sounded wonderful at the moment.
Soon enough, Kat was curled up under the blankets and Anna stood by the door, ready to turn the light off and go talk to the other queens.
“Wait!” Kat said quickly before Anna could turn the lights off. Anna turned around to look at Kat curiously. The younger queen had pulled a book from her bedside drawer and was flipping through the pages. She stopped on a page and held the book out for Anna to take.
Upon taking the book, Anna’s eyes softened with understanding.
It was the history book on the queens that Kat had bought. It was littered with sticky notes, index cards, and highlighted paragraphs of truths, fiction, and more context to all of their histories.
Kat had asked all of the queens if it was okay for her to look into their pasts and ask questions. Everyone was more than happy to answer questions and Kat had turned it into a personal project of sorts.
The page it was opened to was Kat’s own history. More specifically, Kat’s past, so-called relationships. Sticky notes and index cards with more context and the truths. Words and sentences that were false were crossed out, almost viciously. The words on the sticky notes were shaky, showing that Kat had probably been crying while writing.
“Do you want me to show them?” Anna deduced. The other queens didn’t know everything. They only knew pieces from what Kat would either scream in her nightmares, or what she quietly admitted, the latter of which wasn’t much.
“Please?”
Anna readily agreed with a smile. “Try to get some sleep, Kätzchen. And remember, none of us would ever hurt you. We are not them.”
Kat pursed her lips before giving Anna a sad smile. “I know…”
Anna’s smile turned sad as she quietly turned off the light and closed the door. “Feel better soon, Kätzchen.”
~~||~~||~~
Anna would explain everything. She would tell the others everything that happened to Kat. She would show them the book. She would tell them about how hard it was for Kat to trust anyone, the other queens included.
There would be many emotions.
Fury. Fury such as when they found out how young Kat had truly been the first time it happened. Thirteen. She had been thirteen when Mannox had his way with her. Anne almost punched a hole in the wall upon hearing this.
Hatred. Hatred towards those who wronged Kat. The people who ignored the truth. The men who had betrayed her. Made her believe that they loved her when it was nothing more than their own gain. Men who got Kat killed.
Sadness. A deep sadness for Kat, who didn’t get to live as long as she should have. Who was betrayed at every corner until the biggest betrayal got her beheaded. Beheaded for something she had no control over. Kat, who couldn’t trust them due to being betrayed by every person she let herself get close to.
Kat had begun trusting all of them. But one cowardly man had turned the confident woman Kat was becoming, back into the meek woman they had first met.
And right then, the queens made two vows.
One, they were going to prove to Kat that she could trust them. It didn’t matter how long or whatever it took, the queens were going to let her know this.
Two, they would never let Kat experience pain like that again. They were going to make sure Kat had the best life possible. She had been given a second chance, and the queens were going to make sure it was a happy one.
They would never let anyone lay another harmful hand on Kat. But for now, they needed to regain her trust.
~~||~~||~~
While Jane enjoyed some music from this life, she found herself somewhat missing music from her past life. That’s why this morning, as she was cleaning the living room, she began playing lute music from her phone.
For a while, it was peaceful, most of the queens were out and Kat was upstairs, leaving Jane to listen to the old music.
But suddenly, there was a pained wheeze.
Jane spun around and found Kat. The pink queen was standing halfway down the stairs. She was staring at nothing, eyes wide with terror.
Suddenly, a gasping noise escaped her lips and the younger queen was spinning around and flying back up the stairs. She tripped halfway, causing her knee to hit the stairs with a frightening bang, but she simply continued to scramble upwards.
Jane immediately felt panic and she was quickly rushing after Kat.
Jane reached the top of the stairs and saw pink hair vanish behind a pink door, followed by a loud slam. She made her way over to the door and could hear faint sobbing and whining behind it.
“Kat? Katherine, sweetheart, it’s Jane.”
Jane continued with her quiet reassurances as Kat sobbed on the other side of the door. Finally, the crying trailed off and Jane made a request.
“Can I come in, sweetheart? I just want to make sure you’re okay.”
It took a long minute for there to be any sort of reply.
Then slowly, Kat’s door inched open. Jane gave Kat a sad smile upon seeing her. The pink queen had been noticeably crying and was still trying to catch her breath. She was watching Jane cautiously.
Jane entered the room and closed it behind her. “Breathe with me, okay Kat?” She began saying.
Kat nodded and soon her breathing slowed. Jane was about to ask if she was alright when Kat flung herself into Jane’s arms. The younger queen had thrown all caution aside.
Jane took a deep breath and wrapped her arms around Kat in return. She guided them over to the bed and sat Kat and herself down.
“Can you tell me what happened, love?”
“Mannox… Mannox was t...teaching me the lute when he first… when he first…” Kat broke off into a sob and Jane was quickly pulling the girl into another embrace.
“Shhh, it’s okay, love. I’m sorry I asked.” Jane murmured. “And I am so sorry for playing the music.”
Kat shook her head into Jane’s neck. “Didn’t know.” She mumbled.
“And how is your knee? I saw you hit it on the stairs.” Jane asked.
“It’s okay. A little sore but I don’t think it’s broken.” Kat answered, glancing at the mentioned body part, which was already red and bruising. Jane let out a hum of relief and both went quiet. Then, Kat spoke up.
“Thank you, Mum.”
Immediately, both women pulled back from the hug and froze, staring at each other wide eyed.
“I’m so sorry, Jane! I just… you always try to comfort me, and you do such mum-like things—!”
Kat was cut off by Jane letting out a laugh that slowly made Kat relax.
“There’s no need to apologize, Kat. It is perfectly alright with me. And you’re absolutely welcome. For everything.”
~~||~~||~~
The next day, everyone else had left the house, leaving Kat alone. So the pink queen eventually decided to make her way downstairs and maybe watch television for a while.
Kat paused halfway down the steps.
Instead of no one being home, Catherine sat on the couch, watching television.
The golden queen was watching her with a smile, having heard her coming down the stairs. “Hello, Gatita.”
“Uhm… hello?”
They simply watched each other for a moment.
“I suppose you came down for a reason?” Catherine eventually asked.
“I wanted to use the television but I’ll just go since you’re using it.” Kat said, ready to turn around.
“Nonsense. Come sit.” Catherine said. Kat slowly made her way over, watching the older Catherine.
They remained in silence as Kat sat down, and the younger queen slowly relaxed as she turned her focus to the television. It was playing a random movie.
“You can change the channel if you would like.” Catherine spoke up.
“Are you sure?”
“Go ahead.”
But before Kat could reach for the remote, the character on screen said something.
“I’m sure that there’s a connection between us—!“
Kat froze.
Connection.
They always said there was a connection.
Kat’s heart and breathing picked up speed. She quickly began to spiral as she pressed her hands over her ears. Their voices were back telling her how much of a connection there was.
“Kat? I need you to follow my voice, Gatita.”
Only one person called her Gatitia.
Kat blinked, still half out of it. She could faintly tell she was in a living room.
Catherine was kneeling in front of her, not touching her. The television had been turned off.
“Catalina?” Kat practically slurred.
“That’s right, Gatitia. It’s Catalina.” Catherine said quietly. “Can I touch you?”
Kat paused for a long moment before giving a shaky nod, slowly lowering her hands from her ears.
“Alright, I’m going to take your hands, okay?” Catherine waited for a nod before gently taking Kat’s hands into her own.
Kat let her gaze drift around the room before Catherine spoke again.
“Don’t focus on anything else, Gatita. Just focus on me for right now.” Then Catherine asked. “Can I hug you?”
Kat slowly shook her head.
Catherine gave her a smile. “That’s perfectly fine. Then, why don’t we have a little quiz?”
Kat blinked at her, noticeably confused. But she was uncurling from her position, which was a good sign.
“I ask you questions about mine and the other queen’s past lives, along with other facts from history and you can give me the answers.” Catherine explained, giving Kat a smirk. “I saw all of the sticky notes in your history book. And not just in the book about our past lives.”
Kat blushed and let out a small laugh at this. “Well, they were wrong about stuff.
“So they were.” Catherine said with her own laugh. “Does this sound fun to you?”
Kat nodded, almost excitedly.
So Catherine began to quiz Kat. Kat became happier and happier as they went along with the quiz. Catherine was soon able to move back to her side of the couch. But the quiz continued long after Kat calmed down. Catherine had to go find some of Kat’s history books at one point.
“Thank you, Catalina.” Kat said quietly. She shifted over and held her arms out. Catherine happily leaned into the hug.
“Of course, Gatita.” Catherine said quietly. “And I want you to know that you can always come to the other queens and myself. For anything you need.”
Kat hummed, giving Catherine a shy smile.
“Yeah… I know.”
~~||~~||~~
The other queens had left the house yet again, leaving Kat and Anne behind. Both queens remained in their rooms, doing separate activities.
But at some point, Kat got hungry.
Kat didn’t bother to put on her choker, instead simply heading downstairs to the kitchen.
Jane had left pie in the fridge. Kat beamed. Jane’s pies were always delicious. She had to cut a piece, so Kat pulled a knife out of the drawer.
Hm. There was an itch on her neck.
Somehow, in her sleep deprived state, Kat forgot the knife was in her hand. So when she reached up, the knife sliced at her skin.
Kat yelped and quickly pulled the knife away. She looked at the knife and her eyes widened frantically. There was blood on the knife. So Kat shakily rose a hand to where the knife had cut.
Kat pulled her hand away and a startled scream escaped her lips. Blood was trailing down her fingertips and hand.
She had toppled to the floor and was staring at her hand when Anne came racing around the corner. Anne froze and for a moment, her hand drifted up to her own scar, which was concealed by her choker.
But she quickly snapped herself out of it and grabbed the first aid kit out of the cabinet. Anne silently thanked the fact that Kat and Jane decided they needed a kit in the kitchen after the broken glass incident.
She dropped next to the sobbing Kat, pulling open the first aid kit.
“You’re okay, Chaton.” Anne soothed. “It isn’t too bad. I promise. You’re okay.”
“Annie?”
“That’s right! It’s Annie. You’re in our home, in the 21st century.” Anne began trying to ground Kat. “You’re perfectly safe, you just had a little accident. We’re gonna fix it.”
Kat listened, taking deep breaths as Anne dealt with the cut.
“Talk to me, Chaton. What do you need?” Anne asked quietly as she finished bandaging the wound.
“I don’t… I don’t know.” Kat murmured with a shrug.
“Okay… then why don’t I clean everything up and we watch a movie, yeah?” Anne said with a hum and she put supplies back in the first aid kit.
“You don’t want to plan a prank?” Kat asked teasingly.
Anne seemed surprised by the sudden sarcasm but grinned. It was a sign that Kat was getting better.
“Well, if you really want to do that we can.” Anne replied with a laugh.
“Hmm, the movie idea sounds great.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do!”
So Anne quickly cleaned up the kitchen and cut two slices of pie. The green queen helped Kat stand and both women took their slices over to the couch. They pulled up a random movie to watch.
As they watched and ate, the two pressed themselves close together, comforted by each other’s warmth.
They remained that way for the rest of the evening, even when the other queens returned.
~~||~~||~~
Kat hasn’t been sleeping. The last time she slept was after the shower incident with Anna. The lack of sleep would have repercussions.
Kat had been in the living room when they appeared.
Mannox. Francis. Henry. Thomas.
All four of them were here. They were all around her, taunting her and whispering sweet words in her ears. They were reaching out and touching her. Their hands burned again. Kat squeezed her eyes closed as she screamed.
Oh god, they were back. Why were they back?
“Kat…? Kat!”
Kat felt her eyes snap open. She was pressed up against the back of the couch. The men were gone.
Cathy was crouched in front of Kat and watching her cautiously. Her hand rubbed at her shirt sleeve, a nervous tick.
“Cathy?” Kat managed to get out. “They were here… they were here!”
Cathy felt herself tense. Kat thought she saw the four men?
“They aren’t here, Kat. I promise.” Cathy said quietly.
“I saw them, Cathy! I saw them!” Kat yelled, her panic returning.
“Kat, how long has it been since you’ve slept?” Cathy asked, smiling almost nervously.
Kat’s gaze darted up to Cathy’s face, the other woman’s eyes quickly flicked away from her own. Kat seemed surprised, but answered. “A few days, maybe?”
Cathy hummed. “Maybe it was a hallucination? I read that it can happen with loss of sleep.”
Kat paused before nodding slowly. “Maybe…”
Cathy grimaced. “They aren’t here. I promise.”
Kat nodded her head, and seemed to be reassuring herself as well, taking deep breaths and twisting her hands together.
“Is it alright if I hug you?”
Kat nodded and Cathy was pulling the pink queen into her arms. Kat hugged Cathy back tightly.
“Cathy. They won’t leave me alone.” Kat wheezed out.
“They aren’t here, Kat.” Cathy said. “I promise you. I promise. They are gone and buried. They aren’t here.”
“Cathy, what if they do come back?” Kat asked, grasping at Cathy’s arm. There was terror in her eyes.
“Then we’ll keep them away.” Cathy said simply, she tugged Kat closer, letting the taller woman bury her head into her shoulder. “They won’t get near you again, I promise. I won’t let them. None of us will.”
The two were quiet for a long moment after that. They simply basked in the reassurance of the other being there.
“I’m tired.” Kat finally mumbled with a hum.
“Do you want to go try and sleep?” Cathy questioned calmly.
“Yeah.” Kat didn’t think she would have a nightmare. She was tired and everyone's words from across the week were helping her.
But just in case...
“Stay with me?” Kat asked quietly, looking hopefully at Cathy.
“My room or yours?” Cathy asked in return. Kat beamed and both women got to their feet. The pink queen simply led them to the closest bedroom, Cathy’s.
Kat only realized how tired she truly was as she laid down.
“I’ll be right here if you need me.” Cathy said. She had kept space between them and was on the side of the bed against the wall, leaving room for Kat to escape if she wanted to.
Kat stared at her for a moment before shifting to where she was closer to Cathy. “Hug?”
Cathy let out a hum of surprise. “Are you sure you’re okay with that?”
“I’m sure.” Kat replied with a small smile. So Cathy opened her arms and Kat slipped into the embrace.
They remained this way for a long moment before Kat moved out of the embrace. She gave Cathy one last smile as she moved back to her side of the bed. Then, both of them fell asleep.
They would wake up in the morning holding each other.
Kat would wake up first. She would at first freeze with fear. But she would slowly relax back into Cathy’s warmth and fall back to sleep.
Cathy would wake up later. She paused for only a moment before simply falling back to sleep.
They would remain this way until they were called for breakfast.
~~||~~||~~
Over the next few days, everyone began to notice Kat recovering once again. She began to crack sarcastic jokes with Anne and Anna. She talked happily with Catherine and would read and chat with Cathy. She helped Jane with chores and store runs.
On this specific day, Kat has been having a wonderful morning.
It was one of the rare days when she didn’t have a nightmare and she woke up feeling refreshed. She had made her way downstairs and found that Jane had made her favorite. After happily eating, Kat was shooed away before she could even think of helping Jane with the dishes. She had been having a happy conversation with everyone in the living room when Anna suddenly interrupted.
“Alright, Queens. Why don’t we all get dressed?” Anna requested, standing from the armchair.
“Where are we going?” Kat found herself asking.
Anne chortled as she passed Kat. “It’s a secret, Chaton!” Everyone else also seemed to know where they were going.
Needless to say, Kat was confused.
The car ride was uneventful. But when they got closer to wherever they were going, Anne covered Kat’s eyes.
This only made Kat’s confusion and anxiety worse.
They stepped out of the car and Kat was led several paces forward. The other queens were all giggling and laughing happily.
Anne removed her hands and Kat felt her mouth drop in surprise.
It was the museum Kat had been wanting to visit for several weeks now.
“We know you have been wanting to come here for a while.” Catherine explained upon seeing the look on Kat’s face. “And we also wanted to do something special considering… the problem from a few weeks ago.”
“We’ve been planning this since the mall incident.” Anna said, giving Kat a smirk. “It’s why most of us were out of the house sometimes.”
“And after this, we’re gonna head to your favorite restaurant!” Anne said, excitement rolling off her in waves.
“And then we’ll head home and most likely do a movie night.” Jane said. Kat wasn’t sure if she imagined it, but she was fairly sure she saw Anne give Jane a challenging glare at that.
“Come on, let’s go in!” Anna said with a laugh, moving towards the door.
Cathy, who had remained quiet through all of this, watched Kat. Kat beamed back and held out her hand. Cathy gently shook her head. Kat gave an understanding nod, her smile never fading as she moved to walk next to Cathy, making sure not to touch her.
The museum had been just as exciting as Kat hoped it would be. The other queens only added to that excitement.
Anne was reenacting pictures and statues, grinning happily at Kat all the while. Catherine easily kept pace with the second queen, keeping her out of trouble. Jane and Anna stayed together, Anna sometimes helping Anne with her re-enactments. Kat began to ramble about different facts for each exhibit, and all the queens gave her their attention. Cathy especially was hanging onto every word the fourth queen said.
The restaurant had been just as fun.
Catherine and Cathy began a conversation on a book Cathy had recommended to the golden queen. Jane and Anna were talking to Kat about everything they had seen in the museum. Anne kept flitting happily between both conversations, stealing food when she thought no one would notice (everyone did, they simply didn’t say anything).
After the day’s events, everyone headed back home.
Upon stepping in the door, Anne pivoted on her heel to smile at Kat. “Which would you rather do? Movies or video games?”
Kat took a moment to ponder. “Video games.”
Anne gave Jane a smug grin. “Told you!” That explained the challenging look from the museum.
Jane sighed and shook her head, an amused smile tracing her lips. Kat couldn’t stop giggling as Anna and Anne raced up the stairs to get everything they needed. Catherine and Cathy vanished into the kitchen as Jane led Kat into the living room.
Soon everyone had returned and found their places. Catherine and Jane were pressed into Kat’s sides and Anne was on the floor in front of Kat. The three kept enough room for Kat to move if she wanted to. Cathy and Anna had stolen places on the armchairs.
Anne and Anna began to squabble over who would win the brawl. Jane was chuckling fondly at the argument as she chose her own character. Kat began talking to Catherine about their chosen characters. Cathy remained quiet, already having chosen her character, watching everyone else.
Later, after the first fight, a voice spoke up above the cheering and whining.
“Thank you.”
Everyone paused in their chatter, turning to face Kat. They all seemed to know immediately what Kat was referring too.
“I told you we would prove it.” Anna said simply, giving Kat a grin.
“There’s no need to apologize.” Catherine said.
“We will always be here for you.” Jane continued. “And we know you would do the same for us.”
“We won’t let something like that happen again.” Cathy declared. “We promise.”
“So does this mean you’re willing to help with pranks again?” Anne asked with a smirk.
“Of course!” Kat agreed with a laugh.
The others let out playful groans but were noticeably amused.
Everyone was happy.
~~||~~||~~
Anna was right, Kat realized. The queens around her were proving time and time again that she could trust them.
And if that shred of doubt came back, Kat knew they would simply prove it again.
So as she watched her friends— no, her family, laugh and chatter around her, Kat couldn’t wipe the smile off her face.
They would protect her. And she would protect them in return, be it mentally or physically.
Katherine Howard finally felt safe. Safe, happy, and hopeful.