Once Bitten, Twice Shy

4

Day 1

I woke up with a jolt, surrounded by darkness apart from a white glow illuminating from the window. The room I lay in was pretty bare, only a bed in the corner and a desk littered with all sorts of things I'd never seen before, it immediately felt lonely, and if it wasn't for the overwhelming feeling of exhaustion weighing me down, I'm sure the infinite thoughts and theories running through my head would have sent me mad. My body pleaded for sleep, despite just waking up, so I dragged myself to the bed, letting my mind switch off and return once more to the unconscious realm of peace.

I spent days wandering through the empty halls, nothing but the thud of my footsteps to distract me from the endless sea of questions that engulfed me. The house was always dark, I had searched and searched for candles but found only one, so instead I spent the hours staring out through my bedroom window at the bustling city in the horizon, too scared to go out and experience it for myself. The house was surrounded by fields, hidden by a wall of fur trees with a long path through the middle that led to the outside world. There were no horses, no carriages, no maids or servants. I was completely alone in this desolate maze of dark corridors and rooms I had no use for. Each morning I woke up, explored the house, and went to sleep, repeating the endless cycle of loneliness day after day.

"Hey Catherine?" Cathy's voice broke through Aragon's thoughts and brought the woman back to reality, as she perched herself on the sofa beside her the next morning with two cups of coffee. "Anne... what's the deal with her?" she phrased the question carefully, passing her a mug and taking a small sip from her own.

Since her arrival, Cathy had gravitated towards Aragon more than any of the other queens, seeing her as a mother figure and a guide to help her through this new life. Aragon had reciprocated this feeling, taking on the task of mentoring her god-daughter for the first few days.

Aragon let out a deep breath. "H-her last life left her with some serious scars, both inside and out. The people she trusted let her down, she's been hesitant of everyone ever since." Cathy turned herself towards her slightly, crossing her legs beneath her body and nodding for her to continue, eyes giving Aragon her undivided attention as she spoke. "The only time we get a glimpse of the old Anne is when she's with Kit; The girl's her spirit guide." Aragon chuckled. "She came a few days after I got here, I found her curled up in a blanket under the stars, wide eyed and terrified without a clue what was going on. Of course at that point, given our history, I probably wasn't the friendly face she was praying to see..."

I woke once again, to a new day. This time It wasn't to the dark, dingy house I'd come to know, since I'd figured out the new source of light. It was much more effective than carrying a candle around on a saucer. I checked the date, noting the passing of five days since I got here, and began my normal routine. Each day I discovered something new, like the wardrobe full of vibrant new clothing, or the shelves stocked full of cookbooks and recipes. Id even taught myself about the new technology, discovering the names of all the futuristic things I'd witnessed. I guess when you wake up in a different century on your own you have to learn to fend for yourself. A couple of days after I got here I decided I needed to get up off my sorry ass and try to make the best of this second chance, teaching myself to cook, and clean and at least attempt to understand the world around me, filling my days with films and music and books about everything imaginable. I'd like to think that I adapted quite quickly, considering.

That night, I went through the house, switching off each light before I came to the living room. Outside on the grass was something I had never expected to see. There was a girl, huddled up with a blanket around her shoulders, slightly rocking herself back and forth in panic. "my god" I gasped to myself, (forgive me lord) before rushing out the back door to the figure. "What are you doing out here you must be freezing!" I said, my motherly instincts taking over from any common sense I might have had. The girl jumped back in fright, whipping her head around to face me, the fear evident in her eyes. And that's when I recognised the face. She stared at me for a moment, seemingly more scared than angry at the thought of seeing me again. "Boleyn." I could see her trying to shuffle away from me, still staring, like a dear in headlights, at my face. I realised that this poor girl had clearly been through some trauma and decided it best not to add to that right now. "come on, its okay lets just get you inside." I spoke gently and held out a hand, waiting for her to decide whether she could trust me or not. She slowly rose from the grass, tentatively taking my hand and never once removing her worried gaze from my face. I noticed a small black band around her neck, presumably a piece of modern fashion to match the new clothing, but couldn't help the suspicions that arose to what might lie underneath it, considering the vulnerable young girl before me that replaced the Anne Boleyn I once knew.

I led her through the house up to one of the five empty rooms, giving her the space to make herself at home and entering my own room. She didn't speak a word the entire time, or for many days to follow, just came down in the morning and retreated back to her room after breakfast. I lay in bed that night, unable to let my mind rest about the girl in the room next to me, and the four empty rooms next to her.

"Catherine?"

"hm?" once again, she returned to reality, breaking from her daydream of memories.

"You okay? You kind of zoned out there for a minute." Cathy said, a half concerned, half amused look on her face.

"yeah, sorry, just remembering..." She shook the thoughts out her head and focused back on the subject at hand. "It was just the two of us for a long time after that, we put two and two together and assumed we'd find jane at some point in the next few days. But she took longer than expected. It was very quiet around here at that time, we mainly just kept to ourselves. I tried to teach her about all the new things I'd discovered but I made the mistake of introducing her to the TV first, she spent days cooped up in her room watching Disney movies on repeat." She chuckled, earning a small giggle from Cathy.

"When Jane eventually appeared she felt awful for what happened to Anne, supposedly she had a part to play in her execution." Aragon shrugged before continuing. "She made it her mission to earn Anne's trust and basically became a mother to her, and of course subsequently Kat when she came along. She coped pretty well to the change, compared to the rest of us. Made this place a home, instead of a dingy old building." She smiled at the thought. "And managed to gradually coax Anne out her shell, the three of us making a nice little family. Of course at the time we didn't know about the rest of you, until Anna showed up, screaming bloody murder and frightening the lives out of us." Cathy let out a laugh, fixated on the story. "Then followed Kit, and, then it just a waiting game until you got here."

"How long have you been here?" Cathy inquired curiously.

"Around a year, give or take a couple months." Aragon mused