The Destitute Queen || h.s. au

4. Harry

A/N: I know that on the cast list it says that Catherine is played by Jodelle Ferland, but that's not until she's older, later on in the book. This is what she looks like in this chapter, except her hair is dirty blonde rather than what it looks like in this pic.

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October 24th, 1549

     "Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" a high-pitched voice yells in my ear. I jolt awake in fright, only to see Catherine smiling at me. She climbs up onto my bed and starts jumping. "It's my birthday! Get up!"

     "Alright, I'm up," I yawn, rubbing my eyes and sitting up. I look out the window of my luxurious room and see that the sun is only half-risen. "Catherine, the sun's not even up yet. Go back to sleep," I lay back down and pull the blanket over me, closing my eyes.

     "But it's my birthday!" She excitedly yells, still jumping on my bed. She jumps down and tugs my blanket off. I sigh and sit back up again.

     "Okay, I'm awake. Now what?" I ask. She stops smiling and thinks for a moment.

     "I don't know," she shrugs. "Can I have my presents now?"

     "Why are you asking me?" I say. "I don't know, go ask Mother."

     "Okay!" She exclaims and runs out of my room. I groan and fall back onto my bed. I completely forgot about Catherine's birthday, she's turning five today. I get out of bed and walk to my drawers, taking out my clothes for the day. Mother always says not to leave our bedrooms while wearing the clothes we slept in. She also says a prince shouldn't have to dress in peasant clothes, she usually tells me that after I say that I don't want to wear the clothes made for me.

     I choose to wear dark blue today, so I take out the set of pants that are dark blue, embroidered with gold patterns, and I sigh. I hate gold. I put them on, leaving my other pants on the floor. I take out the matching robe and take off my top. I put on a white, long sleeved shirt on and then grab the robe, walking to my mirror. I slowly pull the arm sleeves up my arms, and button the front. The robe is pretty tight on me, and the back reaches the back of my knees, while the front is shorter.

     I pick up my clothes and fold them, and then I make my bed so the servants don't have to. Then, I walk out of my room. The curtains are all up, so the hallway is really bright. I sigh at how far away the dining room is from my room, I have to go all the way down to the first floor and past the ballroom. By the time I get there, everyone is already seated and eating.

     "Look who finally showed up," Louis says. I ignore him and take my seat between Liam and Catherine. Father is sitting at the head of the table, Liam is on his left, and Mother is on his right. Louis is sitting next to Mother. I turn to Catherine, who's frowning.

     "What's wrong?" I ask, grabbing my fork and taking a bite of my eggs.

     "Mother says I can't open my presents until after supper," she crosses her arms and sinks into her seat.

     "Sit up straight, please, Catherine," Mother orders. Catherine quickly sit up in her chair and grabs a piece of bread. "These eggs are tasteless," Mother coldly states. She turns to the servant standing by the table and hands him her plate. "Take all the plates and tell the head chef to fix this."

     The servant nods and takes out plates one by one. When he gets to me, I shake my head. "You don't have to take my plate, I like the eggs."

     He nods again, leaving my plate on the table and walking away, struggling to hold five plates at the same time.

     "Catherine," Father calls. "What would you like for your birthday, my dear?"