Chapter Text
“Anne are you drunk?” a voice asked, not angry, but more so inquiring with heavy concern for the women standing in front of her, hair wind-blown and complexion paler than usual.
“Drunk?” Anne slurred, laughing. “Babes, ‘course ‘m not. Does this look drunk to you?” she smiled; a lopsided grin took shape on her lips. Anne’s movements were off balanced as she moved closer into Catherine, swinging an arm over her shoulder.
“Don’t Anne,” Cathy spoke, shrugging her off. “Jane has been worried sick! You said you were going for a walk, not to a bar!” Cathy spoke precisely, trying not to sound as annoyed and as upset as she felt. She wasn’t one to lose her temper, she was often the level-headed as methodical one in such situations; but this had happened one too many times. “Let me go fetch Jane.”
Whilst Cathy left momentarily to fetch Jane from the downstairs study, she left Anne perched silently on a large, grey-purple sofa. Anne was in tatters. Her brown hair had fallen wildly out of place, scattered across her face and sticking to unwashed make-up. Her clothing was rough and ragged, not the pretty top and skirt she had worn going out. And her make-up was in ruins; mascara stains from tears running down her cheeks and lipstick half rubbed off.
“Anne, love, where have you been? It’s been hours,” Jane spoke, rushing quickly into the living room, hands shaking a little in fear. Anne was an adult, she could make her own choices and be back whenever she wanted to, Jane had told herself in a futile effort in calming down. Anne had been leaving midday and coming home past midnight for the past few days, and it was really starting to play up to the anxiety of the other girls.
“Oh just, places,” she giggled, trying to stand up to face Jane directly, even if she was a bit taller than her anyway. Her effort to stand up was really just an effort of collapsing into Jane, whose heart was racing faster than it had ever. It was so unlike Anne.
“Annie, please,” Cathy chimed in, all frustration now replaced with anxiety.
“Love, please go tell the other’s she’s home and safe, okay? I think Katherine has gone to bed, but I’m not sure that she’ll be asleep,” Jane chimed in. It was better to get Cathy out of the situation and let the other girl’s minds rest easy.
Cathy hadn’t been able to sleep, even if she had attempted rest before the morning, since she realised how long it had been since Anne was at home. Worry had flooded into every aspect, making writing even too much of a monumental task for the fears plaguing her. Jane hadn’t slept either as she felt it was her obligated duty to stay awake until notice of Anne coming home, even if Catherine had offered. But still, even at the return of the dishevelled Anne, neither woman felt like they would be able to sleep easy even still.
“Anne, I need to know what’s going on, okay? We can’t help unless we understand,” Jane spoke in a calm manner, still cradling Anne who hadn’t quite made it to standing even in an attempt too. She felt so light and so warm to hold, almost comforting to have in her arms, even if she had come back in such a state.
“Was no-where, Janey,” Anne spoke, drawing out her constants like a child might while whining for a new toy or a sweet a parent hadn’t allowed them. “Well, ‘xecpt maybe the pub… and a park and that other pub… mmm, maybe I did go places,” Anne huffed out another laugh, this time it was more of a dry laugh as she realised, pushing off of Jane, her face falling into a deeper pallor than it had been.
“Anne?” Jane inquired, suddenly thrown into more nervousness than previously. “Are you alright?”
Anne shook her head, crushing her persona that had been displayed as the happy and bubbly drunk. She wasn’t feeling like that at all… drunk beyond belief, sure, but she was filled with sadness and dread, not the happiness she so fervently displayed, all so Jane and Cathy and the others wouldn’t worry as much.
“Henry,” Anne spoke, taking a gulping of air before she pitched forward into Jane once again, this time fully unconscious and leaving Jane unable to take a breath or move the woman in fear of them both falling.
Her only option was to call for help.
“Catherine,” Jane spoke, only at barely above a talking whisper, fearing waking somebody up. But in that attempt and no one coming to her needed aide, she very carefully took a step backwards, gently setting an asleep Anne onto the plush sofa, before making her way silently out of the room. Oh, how she hoped she wouldn’t be gone long.
Pattering quickly up the stairs, immediately she knocked for Catherine of Aragon. The second figure who, whilst not particularly having an affinity for Anne, would do anything in her power to make sure they were all safe – including Anne.
Knocking, she spoke gently.
“Catherine… Catherine I need you.” Jane stepped in.
“Jane? Cathy said Anne was home – everything alright?” Catherine asked, the same inquiring tone that Cathy (who was perched on the edge of Catherine’s bed, notebook in hand) had used to ask Anne if she was drunk or not, if not slightly harsher.
Gently, Jane shook her head. “Please come downstairs. Anne…” she took a breath, forcing back the tears that were carefully welling up behind her eyes. “She’s fallen unconscious and,” Jane paused again. How did she tell the others about “Henry”? “And she mentioned Henry.”
Without speaking, Catherine stood up, placing the blanket that she had been wrapped in over Cathy who was shivering - be it in cold or fear, she didn’t really know. “I’ll be back in a minute, okay? Don’t worry about Anne too much, she’s the picture of resilience,” Catherine spoke, forcing a small smile.
And then a knock placed on Catherine’s door, making the three girls jump slightly. “Yeah?” Catherine asked, walking toward the door which was only open by a crack.
“It’s Anna, babes. I’ve got Katherine here, wanted to see how Anne was,” spoke Anna, her tone quite neutral as it often was.
Jane gulped, looking at Catherine and Cathy, not sure what to say. There was enough that Katherine had on her plate to be worrying about Anne, who, most likely, was too drunk to think coherently, meaning the “Henry” she mentioned, could mean anything. But still – the fear that it could be their Henry reincarnate plagued Jane, even if she was sure that she hadn’t been treated badly.
“Come on in,” Catherine prompted as the door opened to reveal an obviously tired Anna and Katherine, pyjamas crumpled and slightly off coloured.
“Jane?” Katherine immediately said, her blonde hair whipping quickly as she laid eyes on her mother figure who seemed incredibly out of sorts. “What’s wrong? Is Anne okay?”
Katherine asked, her voice rising higher in fear as she moved closer to Jane.
“Everything is fine Kitty,” Jane spoke, her voice wavering in lie.
“I can tell it’s not. I’m not a baby, Jane,” Katherine retorted, her voice still pitched with fear.
Jane’s mind shot back to Anne, her passed out image on their soft sofa. The memory pressed harsh, pushing her to leave the room to check on her.
“Catherine, could you explain, please?” Jane asked, running her hand through her hair as she dashed out of the room, leaving no explanation to Katherine or Anna of what was happening. The only way Jane could tell that Catherine had told them was the sound of Katherine’s distant crying. She wished she could be in two places at once.
“Anne?” Jane spoke as she pushed open the cream-white door to the living room. There, she found Anne with her head in her hands, conscious.
Her whole body was shaking; the buns she had put in as per usual had fallen in dark brown strands all around her face, which was covered by pale, slightly bloody hands. There was obvious signs that something had gone down whilst she was out. Even though Anne had been doing the same thing for three days, this was the worst state that Jane had found her in.
“It was him, Jane, it was…” Anne paused a moment, sobbing heavily into her hands. “‘was Henry.”
Quickly, Jane rushed to her side, moving an arm around her shivering form and grabbing the softest blanket she could find on the sofa and wrapping it around Anne’s back, hoping it would warm her up or calm her down even slightly. Anne squirmed beneath her touch for a few seconds before relaxing into it, resting her head onto her shoulder.
“Don’t want Henry… want Elizabeth,” Anne choked out, still drunk and not making full sense, slurring most of her words. Fresh tears spilled down her face in rapid succession.
“I’m so sorry, love,” Jane was at a loss to words as her chest constricted with fear that Henry may have well also have been reincarnated.
“Don’t want him to hurt Katherine,” Anne cried. “Jane, what do we do?”
“I need to calm you down first, alright? Take deep breaths with me,” Jane prompted, counting five in, hold for six and out for seven. “You’re doing well, love,” Jane continued, rubbing slow and concise circles on Anne’s back as she kept breathing with her. “Once we have you calmed, I’m going to make you some tea and then get you to bed, okay? I want to hear everything that happened once you’ve gotten a chance to process everything,” Jane finished, hoping for a nod from Anne. Anne nodded.
“Can I go to sleep?” Anne asked, voice shaking, head held up. Jane nodded.
“Let me get you some water of tea first; I don’t want you to get dehydrated,” Jane nodded, rubbing Anne’s back once more as she stood up.
Walking to the kitchen, she hadn’t heard the girl coming down the stairs, walking into the kitchen. It was Catherine, looking completely exhausted.
“I came down to get a cool cloth for Anne and to see what’s going on,” Catherine stated, suppressing a yawn, closing the gap between her and Jane.
Jane shook her head: “I got her as calm as I think she’s going to be okay while not sober. Has mentioned Henry and Elizabeth and…” Jane looked away, grabbing a mint tea bag.
“Catherine, do you think Henry could be reincarnated?” she asked, her hand shaking as she set the kettle to boil.
“No – no of course not. Anne is drunk and she’s probably been drinking for a while. It changes your perspective on how you see and feel like – and Anne gets emotional. She probably mistook someone for him,” Catherine spoke, spitting the word “him”. “Try not to worry about what she said, okay?”.
Finding that Catherine was focusing too heavily on Jane’s well being, and feeling odd at that, she drew the attention to Katherine Howard. “Was Katherine alright? I heard crying. I’m sorry I couldn’t be there-“ Jane worried, trying to keep her tone steady as the kettle whistled to a boil.
“Katherine was absolutely fine, just worried, that’s all,” Catherine stated, withdrawing some truth for the sake of Jane. She’d tell her later, anyway.
Drawing the kettle, she carefully poured the boiling water from the beautiful red metal kettle into the mug which was patterned with yellow and pink cupcakes - Anne’s favourite mug. A twinge of fear that she would spill the scorching hot water washed over her as she poured, ignoring Catherine’s set face. She was thinking, Jane could tell as much.
Placing the kettle back down and grabbing a spoon to mix the tea, she turned to Catherine again. “What are you thinking about?” Jane inquired, a little worried and a little curious.
Pulling out of thought, Catherine swallowed. “Nothing. Let’s get this to Anne and get her to bed. We can discuss everything that’s happened tomorrow, yeah? And, so you know, Anna and Katherine are sleeping in Anna’s room, neither could sleep.”
Nodding again, they entered the room, Jane with the boiling mug of tea thoroughly warming up her hands. Anne had her head back in her hands, being cradled. Small tearful sniffles could be heard from the women, her chest rising and falling quickly, not methodically. There was no point in trying to get Anne to change into her pyjamas, Jane wasn’t even fully sure that Anne would be able to make it to her bedroom down the hall. Perhaps the sofa would be the best option?
“I have your tea, love, and I found Catherine,” Jane halfheartedly smiled as Catherine gently took the tea from Jane and handed it to Anne. “Would you like to sleep here tonight?” Jane asked because there was almost no way she was getting to her own bedroom.
“Please,” Anne agreed, taking a sip of the tea before yelping a little due to how hot it was, but taking a few sips more anyway.
Pondering slightly, Jane nodded towards the kitchen again, hoping that Catherine would get the message. Jane had a few questions. Luckily, Catherine understood, nodding, and getting up with a, “we’ll be back in a second”, to Anne.
“Did you tell Katherine about Henry?” Jane frantically asked, suddenly terrified for the idea of a panicked Katherine.
“I didn’t. She doesn’t need to know unless it’s confirmed. I told her that Anne had fainted, was drunk, and upset,” Catherine said a little drily, her whole demeanour changing after seeing Anne. Figuring Catherine was simply just tired, Jane nodded, not giving into how the tone made her feel. “I’m going to head to bed,” Catherine said, not looking for Jane’s approval as she walked off.
Had she said something wrong? Done something wrong? Jane’s mind began to run as she slowly made haste back into the living room where Anne was residing for the night. Forgetting her own worries, Jane took a seat beside Anne who was finishing the last few drops of her tea. She seemed significantly more grounded than before, shaking less and significantly less visibly distressed.
Taking the cup from Anne’s hand, Jane flashed a genuine smile, helping lay Anne down and covering her with the soft blanket from before. Graciously, Anne accepted laying down, falling into deep rest almost instantly.
“Do you want me to stay?” Jane asked, standing up. Anne nodded, then Jane nodded, standing up to turn the main light off.
Sitting down, Jane picked up a book. Who was this Henry? She turned lamplight on, taking one last glance over to the sleeping form which was Anne Boleyn. Was Henry back?