Two Tudor Thieves

Cathrine of Aragon

Cath was very confused, "What do you mean 'Author'?" She asked.

The girl smiled, like this was all normal, "Exactly what it sounds like."

Cathy studied her, she seemed unsure. Cath was still confused, "Is that like your name?"

"No, of course not, that would be silly."

"Then why did you say that?" Anne joined the conversation.

"Because that's what I am."

"An author?" Jane questioned, grabbing Cath's hand as she did so.

"Well yes, but that's not all I am. It's my title while I'm here though."

"And where is 'here'?" Cathy raised an eyebrow as she wasn't entirely convinced herself.

"Well..." The 'Author' paused, "God, I always hate this part." She sighed, "Well, first of all," She looked at Cathy, "tell me your understanding of what an Author is."

Cathy paused for a moment before responding, "Well, an author is a writer..."

"I think we all know that."

"Yes, um, but in the sense I believe you're referencing, an author can create worlds. They make characters, settings, and a whole new universe. Books act as a portal into those worlds for that Author, and in that world, they have absolute power. At least that's what the children's book I read stated."

Anne frowned, "You're basing this off of a children's book?"

The Author smiled, "She's not far off actually."

The other queens looked at the girl in surprise, they thought that Cathy was going mad up until this point.

"I'm not?" Cathy seemed just as surprised.

"You just got one part wrong," The Author smiled, "we don't have absolute power, but we can play a part in the plot if we desire. Most Authors choose not to travel into their own stories because doing so comes with its own responsibilities. But I've always had a knack for adventure, and I enjoy meeting my characters, most of the time anyway."

The queens stared at each other for a second before Anne spoke, "So... so you're saying that we're fictional?"

"Not entirely." Cath let out a breath at this, "But mostly yes, the only 'real' factor of this story is that I based you off of former Tudor queens."

"So we are fictional?!?" Anne looked distressed.

"If you wanna put it that way, yes."

"Are we not real?" Jane's face had gone pale.

"Of course you're real! What part of fictional means 'not real'?"

"That's literally the definition." Cathy took a seat beside Anne.

"But that's not the point!" The Author was getting rather annoyed now, "You're just not from the same reality as me, that doesn't make you 'not real'."

"A reality that you created!"

The Author sighed, "The way I like to think about writing is that Authors don't create worlds, we simply have a gift of looking into others."

"But can't you just rewrite anything you want?" Cathy leaned forward, interested in this new information.

"Sure, but whenever I do it doesn't mean that what happened before never came to be. It's simply tucked into the corners of reality."

"So do you know the future?"

"Of this world? Not entirely, my being here has changed the plot, but I do know who each of you is and everything about you." The Author said casually.

Kitty shifted uncomfortably in her chair, "Everything?"

"Yes." The Author looked at the young queen with sadness in her eyes.

"Well then," Anne stood, "let's test that. Where was I born?"

"France."

"Who in this group am I related to?"

"Mrs. Seymour and Mrs. Howard. Your cousins."

"What do I do for a living?"

"Do you really want me to tell everyone?"

Cath laughed a little and Anne looked at the group, "I think she's legit."

"Duh." The Author crossed her arms.

Jane looked at the other queens before asking a question of her own, "Why are you here? You said that not all authors have to visit their, uh, stories."

"Well," The Author seemed to be debating how much she wanted to tell them, "I wanted to have some fun! This world really is something if I do say so myself."

"What kind of fun?" Cathy looked The Author up and down.

"What isn't fun about getting to visit with former Tudor queens?"

Cathy frowned, "I'm still confused about that, how can we have been queens?"

The Author smiled, obviously enjoying this, "I based you off of historical figures."

"OH MY GOD!" Anne was bouncing in her seat, "Who was I?"

"Well, you were the second wife of King Henry the Eighth, and you're from France." The Author purposefully left out the fact that Anne was beheaded.

"Oh," Anne looked disappointed with her answer.

"How do you travel into this world?" Cathy asked, wanting to know more.

"I have my ways." the Author sat on a table.

Cathy frowned, "Okay... well, you said something about responsibilities."

"Ah yes!" the Author clapped her hands together, "I do have a few of those," She pulled out the book and blue quill, "while I'm here I have to record the plot."

Cath didnt like how she used the word plot, but Anne beat her to asking a question, "So," Anne reached for The Book, "can I just write anything and it will happen?"

"Woah!" The Author pulled The Book away, "No touchy." She tucked it back into her bag, "None of yall are allowed to touch it, not to mention write in it."

"Why not?"

"I can't tell you," The Author looked Cathy in the eye, "It's against the rules."

Cathy frowned, "What rules?"

"There we go!" The Author stood, "Took you long enough. Now, the rules," She paused, "You can't write anything that benefits yourself, no bringing characters into the real world, and no one from a story is allowed to touch the book!" The Author smiled, "Those are the main three, the second one is flexible though."

"Okay..." Cath thought those rules seemed straightforward enough, she just shouldn't touch the book. That shouldn't be too hard, but Cath made a mental note to keep an eye on Anne, she was most likely to be the one to mess things up.

(A little note: The Author is NOT based off of me cuz that would be too weird)