Catherine Parr
Catherine Parr. The survivor.
She was known to be opinionated. She had her beliefs and she could talk about those opinions and also her writing for hours if she wanted too.
Cathy rarely spoke up about her opinions anymore. If the queens asked a question, they received fact, not opinion.
Henry and Thomas had been too loud whenever she did speak up about those opinions. So now, she kept them to herself. When they yelled and raged, Cathy would break down.
There were other things. Cathy hated eye contact, there were days where she hated touch and other days where she craved it. There were foods and fabrics that burned or were simply too much. There were days where Cathy didn’t want to speak, so she would spend the day in her room, only coming out for necessities and avoiding the other queens when she did. Sometimes, the other queens were just too loud. There were days where everything was just too much for Cathy to handle.
Until Anne's diagnosis, the other queens didn’t know anything about mental illness. And now that they did, it would prove to be a very good reason for Cathy’s behaviors.
And it would lead to the others figuring out things about Cathy they hadn’t known before, not all related to Cathy’s illness. And it would help them better understand Cathy herself.
But first, the queens needed to discover what Cathy’s mental illness was. And even discover that she had one in the first place.
~~||~~||~~
Cathy was not having a good morning.
She was forced to wear one of her shirts that scratched at her skin as none of her other shirts were clean. Jane had put peanut butter on Cathy’s toast and tomatoes on the omelet. And now there was an argument. A very loud argument.
But it wasn’t a malicious argument, like the many from right after the reincarnation. It was one of the playful arguments that became more common in the household.
Everyone was sitting around the table at breakfast. Somehow, Anna and Anne got into an argument about who was better at a video game.
Anne’s foot was tapping rapidly against the floor as she glared playfully at Anna. Anna was grinning back smugly, arms crossed. Jane and Kat looked very amused by the argument, Kat even encouraging it. Catherine was just trying to continue eating, but everyone could see the smirk placed on her lips.
“I’m totally better, I beat your record after all!”
“Check again! I beat the score last night!”
“Bullshit!”
Cathy simply sat there, she was pushing at her food with her fork, trying to keep herself calm. But the others were practically shouting, her shirt was almost burning her skin at this point, and who puts peanut butter on toast and tomatoes on omelets anyways?
Cathy had always tried to avoid arguments. For two reasons.
One, arguments and her opinions were what almost got her killed in her past life. Henry wasn’t the only one who disliked when she voiced her opinions. Thomas hated when she did that too. And when she would raise her voice, both men would scream even louder until it became too much for Cathy to bear. There was one occasion where Thomas had gone so far as to slap her.
Two, whenever there was too much noise, it would send Cathy into a sensory overload, although she didn’t know that’s what it was at the time.
Trauma and sensory overload made for a very painful combination. So whenever an argument started, Cathy would slip away to her room.
Ever since the queens had sorted everything out and the arguments had dropped significantly, Cathy was seen out of her room more and more often. But still, there were times like these where Cathy wanted nothing more than to crawl back into her room and hide.
Cathy tried to take deep breaths. But everything was wrong.
Her shirt scratched painfully against her body. She couldn’t eat her toast and omelet. And now everything was too damn loud.
Everything was too much. Even the lights were too bright now.
She needed to get away.
Cathy shoved her way out of her chair and scrambled out of the room. She could hear loud surprised yells behind her but she continued her path. She was quickly darting into her room and slamming the door behind her.
Cathy faintly registered her own thankfulness that she had left her room light off.
She slumped down against her door, taking in gasped breaths as her shaking hands rose to cover her ears. She could still hear the others on the other side of the door.
Cathy felt her chest constricting and she could hear her own heartbeat in her ears and every gasped breath she took. The shirt was still burning and itching. Cathy struggled with the shirt for several long seconds before she finally managed to tear it off, throwing it down onto the floor, leaving her in only her bra and pants. The door was too cold against her back now and Cathy was quickly leaning forward, bracing her hands against the back of her head.
It took another minute or two for the other queen’s voices to fade away.
But even after they left, everything was still too loud. And all Cathy could do was remain hunched over on the floor, breathing heavily with tears dripping from her cheeks as her senses continued to scream at her.
~~||~~||~~
It was needless to say that all of the queens were stunned when Cathy bolted from the kitchen table.
They had stood outside the blue queen’s door for a few minutes. They could make out her heavy breathing and whimpers through the door, but couldn’t get her to open it.
So, Anna carefully led everyone into the living room, breakfast forgotten, as everyone sat down, still in shock.
“What just happened?” Catherine was the one who spoke up. Her eyes were filled with concern.
“I don’t know…” Anna replied, brows furrowed and arms crossed.
“Shit... do you think she’s okay?” Anne asked, staring back at the hallway.
“I don’t know…” Kat murmured, a worried frown on her lips.
Everyone went quiet.
“Jane? What are your thoughts?” Catherine spoke up. Jane had been sitting there, lost in thought as she stared down at her clasped hands. She jolted upon hearing her name, looking around at the other queens.
“Well…” Jane bit her lip. “I don’t know if I’m right or not.”
“Whatever it is, it’s an idea, right?” Anne spoke up. “About what Cathy may be dealing with? Maybe it can get us closer to the truth.”
Jane relented. “After we found out about Anne’s ADHD, I did my own research. I wanted to understand better. I stumbled upon an article on something called the autism spectrum. I became curious and began researching.”
“Autism?” Anna asked cautiously. “I’ve read about it too. You think Cathy is autistic?”
“Like I said before, I don’t know if I’m right or not.” Jane repeated.
“What are some of the symptoms?” Kat asked, she had never heard of autism, and neither had the first and second queens by the looks of it.
Jane and Anna began explaining what they knew. They mentioned symptoms related to social skills and communication, avoiding eye contact and hyperfocusing. They told the others about sensory overloads, which the queens immediately related to what just happened.
“So Cathy could have just had a sensory overload?” Anne spoke up cautiously. She seemed to be pondering something.
“It’s possible.” Catherine said with a contemplative hum.
“I haven’t really seen her stimming…” Anna admitted, her gaze curious.
“No, I’ve noticed that she rocks herself sometimes, if that counts. But it’s rare.” Kat replied smoothly. Then she gave a forlorn glance towards the hall that held Cathy’s room. “I just hope she’s okay.”
“It’s just things I’ve noticed.” Jane said, giving everyone a nervous smile. “I’m not a doctor so I can’t be sure.”
“No, no. Thank you so much for telling us, Liebling.” Anna said, giving Jane a confident smile. Then she turned her attention to everyone. “Let’s just give Cathy space. And then when she feels better we can talk to her about all of this.”
All of the queens murmured their acknowledgments. But none of them moved from their sitting positions. Instead someone flicked the television on and they all stayed where they were, waiting. They were all too worried to do anything else.
~~||~~||~~
It took a while for Cathy to regain control of her senses. And even longer for her to muster the energy to move.
But she didn’t leave her room. She didn’t have the energy to face the other queens. She also would prefer not to leave her room shirtless. She still didn’t have another shirt that wouldn't scratch at her skin, so she would simply not wear one.
Cathy instead made her way over to her desk, flicking on her lamp. She pulled out her notebook and pen and began writing. Whenever she paused in her writing, her fingers clicked at the pen.
She didn’t want to be in the real world right now, so instead, she would write.
But Cathy was soon drawn out of her creative world by hunger and a thirst for coffee. There was a small worry about seeing the other queens. But Cathy couldn’t bring herself to care at that point. She would sneak some food and coffee and get back to her room.
So she slipped out of the room, trying not to make much noise.
But before she could get into the kitchen, she heard a voice.
“Cathy?”
Cathy’s head swiveled. The other five queens were all in the living room. The television had been muted and they were all watching her. Their expressions were both surprised and worried.
“Where’s your shirt?” Anne piped up. The other queens all shot her small glares, making her shrink into her seat slightly. “Sorry!”
Cathy shrugged and shifted on her feet. “It was uncomfortable and it burned.” She said simply.
“Why don’t we get you a comfortable shirt, then?” Kat asked gently, standing and walking over to Cathy. “And afterwards, we can all talk.”
And then Kat was gently guiding Cathy up the stairs.
They came back a few minutes later with Cathy nestled in a pink sweater. The usually blue queen looked far more comfortable than she had before. She rubbed the sleeves as she sat down with Kat, keeping her gaze towards the floor.
“Are you feeling better, Mija?” It was Catherine who asked the question.
“Yeah. I’m sorry about earlier.” Cathy answered, continuing to rub at her sleeve.
“You don’t have to apologize!” Kat told Cathy. “We’re just worried.”
“That’s why there’s something we want to talk to you about.” Anna said slowly.
“Alright?” Cathy hummed looking up from the ground and around at the others, but still avoiding eye contact.
Everyone around her shifted nervously.
“We think you may have autism.” Jane finally stated. At Cathy’s blank stare, Jane began to inform Cathy about autism, only to be stopped.
“I know what autism is.” Cathy said gently, halting Jane, who blushed.
“Ah. I see.” Jane mumbled.
“I just never really thought about it.” Then Cathy tilted her head as she mumbled. “I always thought I was just weird. Everyone said it.”
Everyone in the room straightened at Cathy’s words. Then there was a flurry of words telling her how wrong those people were. The volume made Cathy flinch. Seeing this, everyone quieted themselves.
“Do you want to see a doctor about this, mija?” Catherine asked after taking a deep breath to calm herself. “It may help.”
“Just knowing whether or not I actually had ADHD helped.” Anne spoke up after Cathy looked unsure at her godmother’s question. “If you do have it, then maybe the doctors can help you understand it better. If not, then at least we know that.”
Cathy stared back at Anne. It took several seconds but Cathy finally nodded her head. “Okay. It does sound like a good idea.”
The other queens seemed almost relieved. Jane would call and make Cathy an appointment. While waiting for the date to arrive, everyone began to do their own research into ASD, Cathy especially.
That doctor they visited was the same one who diagnosed Anne. And now, it was that same doctor who diagnosed Cathy with ASD.
~~||~~|~~
A day or two after Cathy’s diagnosis, two queens walked into the mall.
Jane was in the lead, seeming to have her destination in mind as she guided her companion forwards.
Cathy trailed behind Jane, a blue thermos in hand as she took sips of the coffee it held. The two made small conversation as they walked through the mall. Finally, Jane stopped in front of a clothing shop.
Cathy blinked as she looked towards Jane. “Clothes?”
“You mentioned that some of your clothes scratch at your skin.” Jane explained. “So I figured we would get you some new, more comfortable clothes.” Then she asked; “Your sweater is your favorite, yes?”
Cathy gave her a quick nod in response.
“Then let’s try to find something like that first!”
While they walked around the store, Jane brought up another topic.
“I also want to talk to you about food.”
Cathy glanced at Jane, taking another sip of her coffee. “Food?”
“Yes, I recently found out about food aversions.” Jane answered, turning to fully face Cathy. “And I saw how you looked disgusted at breakfast the other day.”
Cathy tilted her head before answering with a question.
“You know people with ADHD have food aversions too, correct?”
Jane let out a laugh before explaining. “That’s how I found out about food aversions in the first place. Then, when we found out about your autism, I got curious about whether or not you may also have aversions.”
Cathy watched Jane for a moment as the older queen pulled down a sweatshirt and carefully held it out for Cathy to feel. It felt wonderful, so Cathy gave Jane a nod, prompting Jane to keep hold of the shirt. “There are some foods… like tomatoes and peanut butter.”
Jane gave Cathy a sad smile. “Thank you for telling me, love. I’m so sorry about that.”
“You didn’t know.” Cathy replied gently, shaking her head at both the comment and a long sleeved shirt Jane let her feel. Jane put the shirt back immediately.
“Well, later today, I would like it if you could make a list of some of those foods? That way I can exclude them from your meals.”
“I can do that. Are you making Anne do the list too?” Cathy asked with a small chuckle.
“I already asked her before we left.”
Jane cared deeply for Cathy and Anne. She didn’t want to make a mistake like that again.
After their conversation and trying on the clothes, they bought everything Cathy was comfortable in and liked before heading home.
Upon reaching the house, Jane led the way to Cathy’s room. The women placed their bags on the bed and Jane was then striding over to Cathy’s closet.
“Now then, pull out the clothes you don’t like.”
Cathy obeyed, making her way over and beginning to pull out clothes. By the time she was done, most of the clothes were out of the closet.
Jane felt sadness pool in her chest. All of the clothes piled on the bed made Cathy uncomfortable and none of them knew it. It was no longer a wonder why Cathy was usually seen in the same clothing.
“I suppose it’s a good thing we got you all of these new clothes, then.” Jane joked, a smile tugging at her lips. Cathy smiled back with a chuckle.
“Guess so.”
The next several minutes were spent hanging up all of the new clothing. Jane pretended not to notice Cathy slipping a familiar pink sweater between the mostly blue clothing.
Jane finished hanging up the last item. She turned around and found Cathy staring at the pile of old clothing. Upon feeling Jane’s stare, she glanced at the silver queen.
“Sorry we have to get rid of all of these.” Cathy said, a twinge of uncertainty in her tone.
“It’s completely fine, love.” Jane replied. “We all want you to be comfortable. And it won’t be as if we’re simply throwing them away. We’ll give them to a charity.”
Cathy noticeably felt better after that. Then she quietly spoke up. “Thank you, Jane…”
Jane beamed at the younger queen. “Anytime, Cathy.”
Jane would later find Cathy’s food list sitting on the kitchen counter along with a thank you note. Jane would chuckle and place Cathy’s list next to Anne’s, where she could check both lists as needed.
~~||~~||~~
Cathy couldn't stop rubbing at the sleeves of her sweater as she paced back and forth. Tears drifted down her cheeks.
Cathy felt an emotion bubble up in her chest. Whatever the emotion was, Cathy knew it was directed at Anne. The green queen had said something and Cathy had blown up. Now, the blue queen was pacing in her room, trying to calm herself down.
“... Cathy? Cathy?”
Cathy blinked in surprise and she quickly glanced behind her to see Anna in the door of her bedroom. Anna walked over to her, but didn’t try to touch her or look her in the eyes.
“Anne was just making a joke.”
“It was a joke?” Cathy asked, voice muffled by her tears.
“It was. I promise.” Anna said with a small chuckle. “Anne didn’t mean any harm.”
Cathy inhaled sharply and began pacing again. The tears felt hot on her cheeks as her hands went up to grasp at her hair. She choked out another sob.
“Cathy, babes, you’re okay. I promise.” Anna tried to sooth. She sat on the edge of Cathy’s bed and patted the spot next to her. “Come sit down. I'm worried you might hurt yourself.”
Cathy sat down, but her hands remained locked onto her head and she began rocking back and forth.
Anna moved so she was kneeling in front of Cathy, but not touching her. “Follow my breathing, Cathy. Just breathe…”
It took a while for Cathy to calm down, but eventually her hands slowly moved away from her head and her sobbing and breathing slowed.
“You’re doing great, Cathy.” Anna murmured.
“Sorry.” Cathy managed to gasp out.
“Don’t apologize, Bücherwurm.” Anna said gently. “You didn’t realize it was a joke.”
“But that’s just it… I don’t… I don’t understand things like that… and I act so damn different from everyone. I’m strange and weird!” Cathy snapped, rocking herself slightly as her knees pulled up to her chest.
“You simply see things differently from the rest of us, Bücherwurm. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. And all of us love you for everything that you are. It’s anything but strange and weird. You’re just different, Cathy. We will always be here for you, and help you if you need it. You just keep being you, okay?” Anna declared, giving Cathy a confident grin. Cathy stared for a moment before giving a shaky smile in return. But then Anna’s gaze turned questioning. “I’ve rarely noticed you acting any differently than those around you.”
“I watch others.” Cathy explained in a whisper, shrugging her shoulders. “I watched what other people would do and how they would respond.”
Anna paused, blinking wide eyed at Cathy before chuckling softly. “You’re a clever woman, Bücherwurm. And… I’m sorry that you were forced to fit in like that.”
Cathy let out a small huff, lowering her legs from her chest. “There was no choice in our time.”
The two fell into a stretch of silence.
“I also wanted to talk about something else. If you’re okay with it?” Anna spoke up cautiously.
Cathy made a hum of acknowledgement, signaling Anna to continue.
“You don’t sleep much… I just wanted to make sure you’re doing alright.”
“I’m fine… it’s just… I have so much time now. Why waste it by sleeping?”
“Cathy, I don't think that’s very healthy.” Anna said seriously, straightening as she watched the younger queen.
“I'm trying to get better with it.” Cathy acknowledged. Anna slowly relaxed at this before also remembering something they’ve talked about before.
“You’ve also had nightmares.” Anna said, tilting her head.
“Yeah…”
“Is it still the survivor’s guilt dreams?”
Cathy stayed quiet.
Anna took note of how Cathy wasn’t speaking up. “Cathy? You know you can talk to me, right?”
Then, Cathy slowly spoke up. “There are the survivor’s guilt ones… but there are others…”
“Do you want to talk about them?”
Cathy paused, debating on whether or not she wanted to. Finally, she spoke up. “Sometimes… I dream about my husbands. They yell and scream and it hurts all over again. Occasionally it’s the children.” She didn’t elaborate further.
Anna hummed, watching Cathy for a moment. “You know you can come to any of us, for your nightmares?”
“Kat has been helping.” Cathy explained. “We help each other sleep.”
“That’s good. For both of you.” Anna agreed with a nod. “And I hope you know that your husbands will never hurt you or scream at you again. We won’t let them. And nothing that happened with the children was your fault. None of it.”
Cathy took a shuddering breath. “I… I’m starting to learn that.”
“All I can ask is for you to keep it in mind. And please, start coming to us if you have a nightmare, or even if you just need help getting sleep.” Anna requested gently, giving Cathy a beaming smile. “Now, do you want to stay here or go back to the others?”
“Can we stay here for a bit longer?”
“Of course we can, Bücherwurm.”
~~||~~||~~
“Did someone order something?” Jane asked, walking to the living room with a package in hand.
Anne was the one who perked up. “Ooh, I did!”
She stood and took the package from Jane. But instead of opening it or heading for her room, Anne turned to Cathy.
“Hey, somnolente!” Anne chirped. “It’s a gift for you! So do you want to open it in your room?”
Cathy tilted her head as she watched Anne, although her face remained neutral. “A gift?”
“Yup, I got you something I think you’ll like!”
“Alright.” Cathy agreed before standing and following the green queen. The others watched them go in both confusion and amusement.
As Cathy closed the door behind her, Anne had immediately sat the box on the bed and forced it open. Cathy made her way over as Anne pulled out several items.
There was a weighted blanket, a pair of soundproof headphones, a tangle, and a fidget cube.
Cathy stared at all of it for several seconds before slowly picking up the fidget cube. She began clicking away at the buttons and was quickly captivated by the object.
Anne watched happily as Cathy messed with the cube and also looked over the other three items. Then, Cathy glanced in Anne’s direction.
“You didn’t have to get me all of this…”
“I wanted to! I found this stuff online and figured it could help you out with everything.” Anne said with a laugh.
“Still…”
“Hey, I wanted to help! Besides, I know how sucky overloads can be.”
“You get sensory overloads?” Cathy asked, surprised.
“When things get too loud sometimes or I eat the wrong thing.” Anne admitted. “I’m fine though. I didn’t even know that’s what it was until we learned about your autism.”
“I know what an overload feels like. It isn’t fine.” Cathy replied stubbornly. Her eyes remained glued to Anne’s shoulder, where she could watch Anne but avoid eye contact.
“I don’t have them too often.” Anne rebutted stubbornly. “Jane made that list of the food we avoid, and everything’s not as loud.”
“Do you overload after arguments?” Cathy asked with a sudden realization.
“Sometimes?” Anne said with a nervous chuckle. “Sometimes I do, and sometimes I don’t. It’s why I like to be alone after the serious arguments for a while. Well, that and I have to calm myself down.”
“And what about crowds?” Cathy pressed.
“It helps when Lina holds my hand. It’s something to focus on.” Anne stated simply. She wouldn’t admit it, but her problem with crowds was also a case of trauma. The crowd at her execution had been cheering for her death, after all.
Cathy made a small humming noise but didn’t press further as she continued messing with the fidget cube. Anne had also begun messing with the tangle. The two remained in silence after that.
But Cathy knew she would have to return the favor.
The next day, Anne would go up to her room from breakfast and find some objects on her bed. Her own green fidget cube and tangle, along with green soundproof headphones, all accompanied by a sticky note.
The note simply said. ‘Take care of yourself too.’
And Anne knew immediately who it was from.
It wasn’t uncommon to see the two women with the objects after that. Anne was usually seen with her tangle. She loved it because it was also equally useful in keeping her from scratching her neck as it occupied both hands. Cathy preferred the cube, for if she wanted to, she could use it one handed and continue to write while she clicked at the cube. The headphones and Cathy’s blanket were usually spotted near them as well.
Cathy had also found another way to help Anne. It turned out, peppermints tasted far too strong for Cathy, but they tasted fine to Anne. And since Cathy learned the green queen was more inclined to sugar because of her ADHD, she began buying packs of chewy peppermints for Anne. It also proved to be a useful stimulant as well.
The two women had helped each other immensely, and were still finding ways to look out for each other.
~~||~~||~~
Cathy had been surprised when Catherine had stopped her after breakfast.
“Mija, do you think we can talk?”
“Of course. My room?” At the nod of agreement, Cathy led Catherine back to her room, the older of the two closing the door behind her.
Both queens sat on the edge of Cathy’s bed, Cathy placing her fidget cube on her bedside table.
“What do you need to talk about?” Cathy started the conversation.
“There was something Anna pointed out.” Catherine began slowly.
Cathy didn’t respond, but glanced in her godmother’s direction, urging the other woman to speak.
“You wouldn’t stimulate yourself.” Catherine said, brows furrowed as she watched Cathy. “Before Anne got you your fidget toys. We have rarely, if never, seen you stimming. Unless, rubbing your sleeves counts…”
Cathy was tense as she looked to the floor. And Catherine knew she had figured something out. But this confirmation led to several depressing thoughts. And those thoughts weren’t referring to Cathy rubbing her sleeves.
“Did… someone keep you from stimming yourself?” Catherine asked cautiously.
“My husbands all thought it was weird when I stimmed.” Cathy muttered. “They hated it.”
Catherine inhaled sharply. “What would they do to you, Mija?”
Cathy paused for a long moment before she quietly began to rock herself back and forth as her breathing increased. In response, Catherine gently reached over and grabbed Cathy’s fidget cube before passing it over to the blue queen. Cathy let out a small breath as she began clicking at the buttons.
“They mostly yelled.” Cathy answered, staring at the cube. “And not just when I stimmed. They would yell when I tried to tell them my thoughts and opinions. When I argued. They were loud. Sometimes caused overloads.”
“That’s another reason why you don’t like arguments.” Catherine realized. “It reminds you of them.”
Cathy nodded.
“Lo siento mucho, Mija. I’m sorry that we all practically chased you away to your room in the beginning.” Catherine murmured.
“You didn’t know…”
Then, Catherine also thought back to something else Cathy just mentioned. “And you were so quiet because of their screaming too…”
Cathy didn’t reply.
“You can always tell us what you think, Mija.” Catherine said gently. “Your opinions matter. This is a different place now and we want to hear what you think.”
“Are you sure?” Cathy mumbled.
“Absolutely.” Catherine spoke with a smile. “We all want to know what that big brain of yours is thinking about.”
Cathy smiled nervously at Catherine but didn’t reply. So Catherine spoke again. “And you are always able to stimulate yourself, alright? You can do whatever you need to do, Mija.”
The older Catherine held out her arms and Cathy was quickly placing herself into the hug.
“None of you will think it’s weird?” Cathy asked quietly.
“Of course not, Mija.” Catherine answered calmly. “Your husbands were the ones in the wrong. You should be able to keep yourself happy. And I am so glad Anne found the fidget toys as a way for you to stim comfortably.”
“Are you certain?”
“You are like a daughter to me, Mija. And I know you are so much like family to the others as well. We all just want you to be happy.” Catherine explained, her voice steel with determination. “We will never yell at you for your own thoughts, opinions, and feelings. And we will never yell at you for keeping yourself comfortable and happy. We are so proud of you, Mija.”
Cathy didn’t reply anymore. Instead she pressed herself closer to Catherine. The golden queen wrapped her arms a little tighter around Cathy in response.
The two would remain there for long after their talk ended.
~~||~~||~~
Catherine had been right when she said that the arguments were the reason Cathy spent most of her time in her room. But that wasn’t the only reason.
There were some days when Cathy simply didn’t want to talk. So she would remain away from interactions and hide in her room, where she didn’t have to speak. She could simply write.
And today was one of those days.
By this point, it was late in the evening. Cathy was still hunched over her desk, fidget cube clicking in one hand and a pen scratching away at paper in the other.
Suddenly, there was a knock at her door. Cathy didn’t hear it at first. But then there was another knock. Cathy paused and looked over at the door.
“Cathy?” Cathy easily recognized Kat’s voice. Still, she didn’t move.
“I brought you something to eat. You haven’t been out much today so I figured you were hungry.” Then, Kat shyly added. “I also wanted to make sure you were okay.”
Cathy stayed seated for a few seconds longer before pushing herself out of the chair and making her way over to the door.
She slowly opened it and Kat beamed upon seeing Cathy’s face.
“Hey there.” Kat said with a grin.
Cathy simply blinked at Kat. Kat continued smiling as she then asked a question. “Can I come in?”
Cathy nodded and opened the door further, allowing Kat to enter the room. She handed Cathy the plate of food she had brought. Cathy took a seat at her desk again, spinning her chair to face Kat as the other queen sat on the edge of Cathy’s bed.
“We haven’t seen you out of your room all day.” Kat spoke up. “Are you doing okay?”
Cathy glanced at her before shrugging.
“Do you want to talk about what’s going on?”
Cathy stared at Kat for several seconds before slowly shrugging again.
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. But is it okay if I stay in here for a while?” Kat asked with a hopeful smile. “I don’t want you to be alone.
Cathy seemed surprised but then nodded as she turned her attention back to the food and her writing.
They remained in a comfortable silence for about half an hour. Kat laid on Cathy’s bed, scrolling through her phone. Cathy remained perched in her rolling chair, working on a story.
But then, Kat heard a voice.
“There are days where I don’t want to talk. And I felt like that in my past life too.” Cathy finally explained, her voice barely above a whisper. “... Though, there were things I loved to talk about for hours. But Henry and Thomas didn’t help… they hated it when I would go on rants.”
Kat watched Cathy carefully. She mentally cursed Henry and Thomas. Of course they made things even worse. Being almost killed and constantly berated for speaking definitely did not help when you already had trouble speaking.
Then, Kat made a quick decision.
“Wait right here.” And then Kat was quickly slipping out of the room.
Cathy felt confused. But Kat was quickly returning. She held a book in her hands and she silently handed it over to Cathy, a nervous grin on her face.
Cathy stared blankly at both Kat and the book. “Sign language?”
“Well… you said there are some days where you don’t want to talk.” Kat explained, shifting anxiously. “And with sign language you don’t have to talk!”
Cathy opened the book as Kat continued to explain. Apparently, the pink queen had already been interested in sign language. And now, she wanted to share that interest with Cathy, who Kat felt would love this knowledge.
Cathy stopped Kat mid-ramble by standing up and pulling Kat into a hug. “Is this okay?” Cathy questioned.
Kat relaxed happily into the hug. “Yeah.”
They remained this way for a long moment until Cathy spoke again. “Thank you.”
“Of course! And for the record… I love hearing you rant. Screw your husbands.”
Cathy let out a hum in reply to this but actually untensed further.
Kat pulled back and kept her eyes on Cathy’s forehead as she asked a question. “When do you want to start learning?”
“... Can we start now?” Cathy’s eyes were bright with intrigue and excitement.
“Anytime you want!”
So both women sat next to each other on the floor and opened the book. They would spend hours pouring over and learning this language. They would teach it to the other queens and anytime there was an occasion where Cathy didn’t want to talk, or even if the others didn’t, everyone would use sign language.
But there was always something special when Cathy and Kat talked to each other using sign language.
~~||~~||~~
It was a bright morning and the queens all decided to have a picnic in the park for lunch. After a chaotic morning, they all packed up food and items and made their way over to the park.
They chose a more secluded spot that wouldn’t be too loud. Anne, Kat, and Anna were all quickly vanishing into the trees with loud laughter as Anna and Kat both realized just how much Anne blended in with her green clothing. Catherine and Jane took the path, chatting as they took in the beautiful nature.
Cathy had remained with their stuff. She was writing as she clicked at her fidget cube, occasionally taking a sip of coffee from the familiar blue thermos.
She completely zoned out to the world until she felt something grab at her shoulder. Cathy jolted and threw herself away from the sudden touch. Her thermos was knocked over and her notebook flew from her lap, but Cathy kept a tight grip on her pen and fidget cube as she looked wide eyed towards the source of the touch.
It was a woman, who immediately began yelling. “I have been trying to get your attention for several minutes!”
“What?” Cathy found herself questioning. But it wasn’t just the woman’s words, Cathy also questioned why the woman was yelling at her.
“That’s right! Now then, my son wants to play with your toy, so hand it over. I’ll give it back before we leave.” The lady continued, holding her hand out.
“I don’t understand…” Cathy trailed off.
The lady huffed. “The cube!”
Cathy felt herself tense and her grip tightened on the mentioned fidget cube. “Ma’am. I would rather not…”
“You are a grown woman! You should know how to share!” The lady cried, throwing her hands in the air and causing Cathy to flinch.
“Ma’am please—“
“Don’t ma’am me!” The lady snapped.
Cathy could feel herself reaching the tipping point. All she wanted was for this lady to go away and leave her alone. She wanted quiet and she wanted the other queens.
“You will get this back when my son and I leave!” The lady finally exclaimed. Then, she reached forward and snatched the cube from Cathy’s hand.
That was what finally sent Cathy over the edge. Her breathing increased as she curled in on herself. Her hands flew to her ears and she began to rock back and forth. It resembled the scene from when Anna had to calm her down, only this time was a sensory overload. And no one was there to help her.
Every one of her senses assaulted her and Cathy could do nothing else but hunch over on the floor, letting out a cry.
The lady was saying something but Cathy couldn’t make heads or tails of what it was between everything going on around her.
Suddenly, Cathy could feel a cube gently being pressed into her hands. Then, her headphones were carefully slipped over her ears. Everything became muffled but Cathy could still make out words.
“It’s just me and Chaton, somnolente.” A familiar voice soothed. “The others are dealing with that bitch.”
“You’re okay, Cathy.” Kat’s voice said. Cathy was instinctively pressing herself towards Kat’s voice and arms slowly wrapped around her, pulling her closer to a familiar body. “Is this okay?” The pink queen asked.
Cathy managed to press a nod into the crook of Kat’s neck as she sobbed. Kat’s body shielded her closed eyes from the bright sunlight. The cube in her hands, headphones over her ears, and the pressure wrapped around her worked to ground her.
“We’re here for you. Just breathe.”
~~||~~||~~
When Cathy had first gone into her overload, the other queens had all been walking back to join her.
Then they heard Cathy’s cry. They all stopped in their tracks and they could easily make out the scene in front of them.
Cathy was hunched over, in the beginning of an overload. A woman stood over her, screaming. She held a familiar blue cube in her hands.
“See?! It wasn’t that hard to share! Now stop throwing a temper tantrum like a child and get over it!”
All of the queens were quickly sprinting over and springing into action. Anne and Kat move towards Cathy, and once they’d reached her Anne was quickly pulling her own green fidget cube out of the pack she had left with Cathy. Catherine, Anna, and Jane were moving towards the lady.
“What are you doing?!” It was Catherine who yelled. The lady jolted and seemed surprised.
Then she straightened and fixed them all with a happy look. “Oh good! Maybe you can get this grown adult to stop acting like an idiot child!”
All three of their glares seemed to get more dangerous.
“Ma’am, hand over the cube.” Anna said in a low voice. It wasn’t a request.
The lady’s face twisted into a scowl as she realized they weren’t going to help. “No! My son wants to play with it! That bratty woman needs to grow up and learn how to share!” She snapped.
“Says the woman who stole something important to our friend.” Catherine said, growing more irritated. “If anything, you’re the brat in this situation.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Catherine noticed Anna whisper something to Jane. The silver queen nodded and was rushing off in a different direction.
“Important?! It’s just a little cube!” The lad screeched.
“Then why are you still trying to steal it?!”
“Because my precious baby wants to play with it! And because of all of this, you will not be getting it back!” Then, the lady was spinning on her heel and striding over to the table where her son sat.
“Give it back! Now!” Anna growled. Her and Catherine had followed after her. The lady gave the cube to her child and was quickly turning back around to face the two women.
“Your entire group is a danger to everyone in this park! I’m calling the cops to escort all of you out of here!”
Catherine and Anna both looked at each other, clearly questioning the lady’s sanity.
“No need, ma’am.” The lady turned around and found Jane standing with two police officers.
The lady's eyes lit up. “Officers! That woman over there stole my son’s toy! I got it back but now these women right here are harassing and insulting me! One of them even threatened to assault me!” She glanced at all three queens with a smug look. Catherine and Anna both looked ready to argue and Jane was turning to both officers, also about to protest.
In reality, the two officers had seen the entire event unfold. They had already been about to intervene when the other queens arrived and Jane had reached them.
“We will have to validate your claims first.” The female officer said.
“We also have security cameras set up around the park. There’s one right over there too that probably caught everything. So I guess we can simply check the feed.” The male officer said, hiding a smirk.
The lady paled. Then, she grabbed the cube from her child and practically threw it at Catherine, who quickly caught it. The lady grabbed her items and was quickly pulling her whining son toward the entrance.
Jane let out a breath of relief as she turned to the officers. “Thank you officers.”
“Of course, ma’am! We hope the rest of your day goes better.” The two officers bid farewell to the three queens and left the scene.
With the drama over, the three queens quickly went back to the other half of their group.
By this point, Cathy was looking much better and had taken her headphones off. The arriving queens took seats with everyone, Catherine handing over Cathy’s blue fidget cube.
“Don’t worry. We kicked her ass.” Anna said with a smirk. Cathy gave her own weak smirk in return.
“Thanks.” She rasped as she slowly handed Anne’s green cube back. In response, the green queen traded Cathy her pen and notebook.
“Of course, love.” Jane replied. Everyone fell into silence as Cathy slowly opened her notebook and began to write, calming herself further.
She was eventually snapped out of it by a noise. Cathy glanced up and was surprised.
“What are you all doing?”
The others, except Kat, who was still holding Cathy on her lap, were all packing up the stuff they had brought.
“We’re going to head home, love.” Jane explained gently.
“Yeah! We can have the picnic in the living room instead!” Anne cheered.
“We never agreed to that, Querida.” Catherine replied in a deadpan.
“But it’ll be fun! We can move the furniture out of the way and put the blanket on the floor!”
Anna laughed. “I’m with Anne on this one. We weren’t able to have the picnic here so let’s do it in the living room!”
As the other queens began chipping in with the conversation, Cathy glanced up at Kat. “We don’t have to go home because of this…”
Kat gave her a smile. “After what just happened, I think all of us need a calmer setting. You especially. Am I right?”
Cathy bit her lip before quietly admitting. “Home does sound nice.”
“Then that’s where we’ll go. We just want you to be safe and happy.”
“And I want the same for all of you.” Cathy said in return. Kat giggled happily at that.
So all of the queens made their way back home. Upon reaching the house, Anna and Anne both immediately began moving the living room furniture to the walls. Catherine and Jane both shook their heads in resignation as they sat the food on the kitchen table and spread the blanket out on the now cleared floor.
Kat and Cathy were the first to sit down, Cathy moving herself back into Kat’s arms. Catherine had sat down next, and Anne moved to place her head on Catherine’s lap. The golden queen pretended to be annoyed, but her fingers began brushing through the second queen’s hair anyways. Jane and Anna sat down last, their bodies leaning against each other.
Everyone, Cathy especially, relaxed as they enjoyed each other’s peaceful chatter.
~~||~~||~~
Catherine Parr was known as a survivor.
The truth was, she never felt like a survivor. She fit into the crowd and watched as horrible things happened. She learned to hide her opinions and who she was.
But the other queens were slowly unraveling that point of view. They were helping her become the person she always wanted to be.
She talked more. She made her opinions known. She would go on her rants while the others listened eagerly. And when she didn’t feel like talking or if she just couldn’t, she would sign.
She wasn’t weird. Like Henry, Thomas, her other two husbands, and everyone else in her past life thought she was. She simply had a different view than others.
If she had been reincarnated alone, Cathy wouldn’t be a survivor. She would be a shell of the person she is today.
But with the other queens by her side, helping her heal just as she helps them. Cathy knows she is a survivor in this life.