#funeral of Catherine parr

[tudorqueen6]

7 September 1548: THE FUNERAL of the Dowager Queen

Evesham Journal 7 September 1548: THE FUNERAL of the Dowager Queen Katherine Parr. It was the first Protestant funeral held in English. Her chief mourner was Lady Jane Grey. She was buried in St Mary’s Chapel on the grounds of Sudeley Castle, Gloucestershire, England. ‘A Breviate of the Internment of the lady Katherine Parr, Queen Dowager, late wife to King Henry VIII, and after, wife to Sir…

[katharinepar]

5 September 1548: Death of Queen Katharine Parr.

‘The former Queen died in the early hours of 5 September, harrowed with anguish and humiliation. She was interred on the same day in a chapel on the grounds of Sudeley Castle, with bizarre haste, deprived of the time-honoured rituals befitting a woman who had once been Queen of England. Katharine was not afforded a funeral effigy, nor a procession of mourners, nor did she lie-in-state, surrounded by thousands of wax candles, as her predecessors Catherine of Aragon and Jane Seymour had done. Her sole legacy to the world, Mary Seymour, passed into the hands of a noblewoman, [Katharine Willoughby, Duchess of Suffolk], and most likely died in infancy.’ D. Novakovic, The Dramatic Afterlife of Katharine Parr.

[aesthetic-solar-space]

Queen/Lady Jane Grey (The Queen for Nine Days)

Lady Jane Grey, later known as Lady Jane Dudley after her marriage and then she was known as the "Nine Days Queen". She was an english noblewoman who claimed the throne of England and Ireland from July 10 - July 19 1553.

She was the great granddaughter of Henry VII through his younger daughter Mary, making her first cousin once removed of Edward VI (Henry's son and successor)

She has an excellent humanist education, and a reputation as one of the most learned women of her day. She was married in May 1553 to Lord Guildford Dudley, a younger son of Edward's chief minister.

June 1553, Edward VI wrote his will nominating Jane and her male heris as successors to the crown upon his death, this was in part do to religion that differed between himself and his half sister Mary Tudor who was supposed to succeed him according to Henry VIII's will. This change would not only remove his half sister Mary but also his half sister Elizabeth Tudor from the line of sucession on account of their illegitimacy.

After Edwards death, Jane was proclaimed queen on July 10th 1553 and awaited her coronation in the Tower of London. Support for Mary quickly grew while most of Jane's supporters abandoned her - including the English government. The privy council proclaimed Mary Tudor as Queen on July 19th 1553, deposing Jane.

Her prime supporter and Edwards old chied minister (Jane's father in law) was accused of treason and executed less than a month later.

Jans on the otherhand was held prisoner in the Tower of London and was convicted of high treason in November 1553 - a death sentence in of its own.

Mary initially spared her life. However Jane soon became viewed as a threat to the crown when her father, Henry Grey became involved with the Wyatt's rebellion against Queen Mary's intention to marry Philip of Spain.

Jane and her husband were executed on February 12th 1554, at the time of her death Jane was only either 16 or 17 years old.

Jane was the eldest daughter of Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk with his wife Frances Brandon. No one knows exactly when she was born though there are many theories; October of '37, May of '37, May of '36, or February of '37.

Jane's mother was the eldest daughter of Henry the eighths younger sister, Mary. Jane also had two younger sisters; Lady Katherine and Lady Mary Grey.

She spoke Latin and Greek from an early age, she also studied Hebrew and Italian as well. She was a commited protestant.

She much preferred academic studies as apposed to activities such as hunting parties. She may even have believed her strict upbringing, something very common at the time, to have been too harsh.

Around February 1547, Jane was sent to live in je household of Edward VI’s uncle, Thomas Seymour, who was soon to be married to Catherine Parr. Henry VIII’s widow.

She was an attendant to Catherine up until her death during childbirth in September of 1548. She was close to Catherine and was even involved in her funeral

When Thomas Seymour was convicted of treason, Jane proceeded to return home and continue her studies.

Throughout her life she had a few engagement talks but nothing was made of them until May 25th 1553. That same day the couple was married at Durham House in a triple wedding. The wedding of on of each of the couples sisters was also happening.

The third succession act of 1544 restored Henry VIIIs daughters to the line of succession although they were still regarded illegitimate. This act also gave Henry the ability to alter the line of succession through his will. It reinforced the succession of his three children and declared should none of them leave descendants the throne was to be passed to heirs of his younger sister, this included Jane.

For unknown reasons when making the succession, Henry excluded Jane's mother as well as the claims of his own older sister.

During Henry's reign both of his daughters had been named illegitament when his marriages to their mothers were declared void.

15 year old Edward VI lay dying in the summer of 1553, with Mary still as his pressumed heir. Edward however in a draft will ("my devise for the succession") which was composed in early 1553, had first restricted the succession to (non-extistant) male descendants of Frances Brandon and her daughters, before he named his protestant cousin. "Lady Jane and her male heirs" as his successors.

Probably in June 1553 the intent was to ensure his protestant legacy - removing Mary who was a devoted Roman Catholic

Edward personally supervised the copying of his will which was issued on June 21st and signed by 102 notables. He also announced to have his "declaration" passed in parliament in September.

The King died on July 6th 1553, however his death was not announced for four days. On the 9th, Jane was informed she was now queen - claiming to accept the crown only with reluctance.

The 10th, she was officially proclaimed Queen of England, France, and Ireland. After she had taken up a secured residence within the Tower of London (usually where monarchs lived from time of accession until coronation). Jane refused to name her husband as king, since it would require an Act of Parliment.

A goal of many at this time was to isollate and attempt to capture Mary Tudor to stop her from gaining any further support.

When Mary was sure of the demise of her half brother, she left her residence at Hunsdon and set eyes for East Anglia where she began to rally her support.

Jane is often labelled the Nine Days Queen, although her technically reign goes from Edwards true death on the 6th - making it a few days longer. July 19th Jane is imprisoned in the Tower's gentlemen gaoler's apartments while her husband was in the Beauchamp Tower.

September parliament declared Mary the rightful successor and denounced and revoked Jane's proclaimation as that of a usuper.

Jane was charged with high treason as were her husband, two of his brothers, the former archbishop of Canterbury, and Thomas Crammer.

Trial by special commission took place in November 13th 1553, as to be expected all defendants were found guilty and sentenced to death. Jane's guilt of having treacherously assumed the title and power of a monarch, with evidence of a number of documents she signed as "Jane the Quene".

Her sentence was to "be burned alive on Tower Hill or beheaded as the Queen pleases."

Burning was traditional english punishment for treason when it was committed by a woman.

The imperial ambassador reported to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, that her life was ro be spared by Queen Mary.

Wyatt's rebellion in January 1554 against Queen Mary's marriage plans with Philip of Spain however sealed Jane's fate in a different way. Her father, Henry Grey and his two brothers joined the rebellion, and so the government and Queen Mary decided to go through with there verdict for Jane ans her husband.

Their executions were first seceduled for February 9th 1554 but was postponed for three days to give Jane a chance to convert to the Catholic faith.

On the morning of February 12 1554 they took Guildford from his rooms within the Tower of London to the public execution place on Tower Hill where he was then beheaded. his remains were brought back to the tower past Jane's rooms, she was then taken out to Tower Green inside the Tower to be beheaded.

She made a speech as she ascended the scaffold, the resighted Psalm 51 (have mercy upon me, o god). She handed her gloves and handkerchief to her maids. The executioner asked her for forgiveness which she granted. she then blindforlded herself. She failed to find the block by hand and cried out, once helped with her head upon the block Jane spoke her last words.

"Lord into thy hands i commend my spirit." the axe then fell beheading the young girl in one clean stroke.

Jane and her husband were buried in the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula on the north side of the tower green. No memorial stone was erected at their grave.

Jane's father was executed 11 days after Jane on the 23rd of February 1554.

Her mother, Duchess of Suffolk married her Master of Horse and Chamberlain - Adrian Stokes in March of 1555. She was fully pardoned by Queen Mary and allowed to live at court with her two surviving daughters. She died in 1559.

During Mary's reign Jane became viewed as a protestant martyr for centuries to come.

[realcatalina]

Another family portrait misdated

I am starting to get feeling that we have very wrong idea of fashion during Edward VI’s reign. So here is another family portrait(which only survives in copies saldy)-but here Edward VI is in the centre. He is already King. (Despite Henry being next to him, they did this weird posthumous portraits upon assesion of new monarch, Mary did it too.)

The painting is estimated to be c.1550. Translation-they don’t know when it was made. Just that it was during Edward’s reign. 1550 is middle value of edward’s entire reign: 1547-1553. 

So when is the portrait actually from? Well, I have two possible dates. Either spring 1547 or autumn or winter 1548. Hence max. 1548. But why?

(Read to the end there is revelation about how Mary I confused generations of Tudor fans fashion-wise.)

1st possible date is based upon death of Henry VIII, he died in January 1547. Edward here is in centre of the painting, he is already King. 

Note also that Mary has fur undersleeves and Elizabeth a cloak, so it is in cold season.

But isn’t Edward here is taller than Mary? And Elizabeth is her height exactly. How old could they be?

Well, given that Mary Rose(their aunt) sprung up late, Elizabeth could have too-so no way of telling how old she was at the time. Edward was noted to be short early on during his reign(he was 9!) but it was never in comparison to his siter. just on his own. Mary was notably short for those days. So could he at 9 be taller than his very short sister? Yeah,he could. (If he took after his father, it’s certainly possible and given amount of portraits as King where he has very long legs, I’d say it is even likely. He could have sprung up early. Genetics are weird.)

Note he is not significantly taller than her and since he is behind table, who knows if he is not standing on something to be just tiny bit taller than his sisters?

(Don’t be as naive as to think people didn’t do this in past.)

Nothing in surviving copies proves my dating-just that it is in cold season of the year. However Elizabeth’s posture is nearly identical as in one miniature:

She has her right hand tucked into the front opening of her gown.

It’s just different headwear, possibly slightly different sleeves used. Hidden in the miniature is that she has black ribbon around her neck with emerald ring. It’s WAY too big, to be Elizabeth’s. This man’s ring. Man with very large hands. It’s most likely Henry VIII’s ring:

Now you might think she hated the man for killing her mother, but i believe it’d be way more complicated than that, and she perhaps clung to only parent she had left. Or she knew it was expected to show filial piety, and put on good show. 

Some of us attended funerals of people we didn’t like and had some closure. But since Tudor royalty didn’t attend funeral, perhaps it was some way of getting closure. Mourning a bit, and then moving on. 

Combined with her being depicted with skull-who symbolism is actually explained by text in translation means ‘Remember you have to die’, it certainly points to death being on her mind. The death was fresh. Meaning  it is proabbly 1547! Given the warm clothing with fur, it’s max spring 1547. 

(There is more of text but points to same thing.)

Altenatively mourning for Catherine Parr(she died in September 1548) could bring thoughts of siblings upon death also, and could make them perhaps spent some time together, trying to console each other and perhaps have a portrait made together. So it could be end of year 1548, but I am more inclined to beginning of year 1547. 

Now I want you to look at this much later drawing of Elizabeth by Clouet, but probably based upon this family portrait(notice the ribbon)

Look at the roundness of that shape. Clouet was very good in sketches. It cannot be significantly off. Him drawing shows some roundness to the headwear and I believe indeed there was.

So why are these bellow this flat? Not rounded at all?

Because on left is white band with coif, and on right is black bend with unturned veil of hood. Turning of inner lining from inside to outside adds bit of volume to french hoods, so do certain hairstyles beneath. But since Elizabeth is c. 14 in here, she probably doesn’t haveas long hair as some older women, or she wears them bit positioned more down, or bit more at front-as is usual with the band towards end of 1540s.

So Elizabeth gave us clues as to dating. But is there depiction of Mary based upon this painting? 

I am not sure. There might be an original. Or at least was:

Sometimes royalty had larger portrait made and then smaller version of it made also, at same time. And this portrait is interesting for 3 reasons.

A) Imo it’s by both William Scrots and Hans Eworth

Scrots you’d probably guess(just look at the pearls) but the slight pout, that is something Eworth tended to do. And this proves they worked together. Scrots was on royal payroll, so he was probably master of workshop, of which Eworth was part of. 

B) The resemblence to Elizabeth!

I mean, if I wanted to screw your head, i’d say it is Elizabeth and not Mary! But brows say it is Mary. So maybe, they didn’t take after their mothers as much as we are lead to believe. Maybe more after grandmother.

C)Mary looks extremely young and carefree

Many women on her mother’s side kept youthful looks for long. Her apparently all the way to end of her father’s reign. And then stress during Edward’s reign aged her significantly.

But she also looks extremely carefree and I wonder about the reason. I mean if her father just died, she doesn’t seem to care in slightest(nor even pretend to). Or worry about her brother’s overzealous protestanism. Maybe she wasn’t aware yet how bad it would turn.

Or it was painted prior to Edward’s ascession. 

We see all the time Henry VIII’s reign as 1509-1547, but he died in January 1547. That year would basically belong to Edward, so when doing chronology we should end Henrician fashion in 1546. 

I was kind of wondering-Elizabeth was painted by Scrots in c.1544-1545, Parr had at least 2 portraits done in c.1545, Edward was painted in c.1546, and I have a candidate on Henry VIII’s portrait by Scrots as well.

So where is Mary’s from this time? Notion that everybody else gets portraits and she is left out is ridiculous. She was in favour. 

But this portrait could be it. If Elizabeth’s was 1544 and Mary’s from 1546, it could just barely fit fashion wise.(because these differences don’t appear overnight). It’s not impossible. 

But how come Mary in 1546-1548 wears this?!

Shouldn’t it be 1553-1558? Yes, and no. The outfit indeed fits Mary’s image as Queen. But she looks too young and there is no mark of stress of Edward’s reign, present in portrait in Fitzwilliam museum(look in past posts) and in her portraits as Queen.

And it fits with how shape of french hood and of black band moved in 1540s in england. (Believe it or not. But if you don’t, be polite and try to disprove me with evidence.)

Imo Mary, upon becoming Queen, tried to erase Edward’s reign. And it didn’t end with getting rid of all the political decisions he made. Imo it was so traumatic to her, that for while she completely rejected the fashion styles of his reign.

She would not wear them(at least temporarily/or to degree), and instead she returned to her ‘safe place’ to time when her father was alive, and decided to continue to from there. 

Mary reversed in fashion to 1546/1547. In 1553! Usually when monarch or Queen Consort does this-whole country does it too. In her reign, i am not so sure it happened. 

(I need to check some misdated portraits of Antonio Mor, because there is big lack of female portraits from 1550s and there are some of english women by Mor dated as 1560s-1570s)

Perhaps her marrying Philip lead to confusion. Now do we do stay true to English style? Should we start lean to Spanish style or Netherladish or other? What should we wear to please the Queen?

So that was another family portrait and Mary confusing heck out of Tudor fans, I hope you enjoyed it and I off to finish another post.

[mochiiikko]

➸❥ A foggy stage

𝐍𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐆𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 !

Agere, Regressor!Catherine Parr, Caregiver!Catherine of Aragon, Technically accidental regression but not really, Cathy goes non-verbal, 2110 words of me projecting my regression onto my blorbo, kinda baby space but no age is mentioned.

↳ Catherine Parr, Catherine of Aragon

𝐀𝐨𝟑

2.110 words

Cathy fidgeted with the microphone in their hand, bouncing slightly on their heels. 

There was an urge to bite their wrist at the back of their mind. One which they strategically ignored. 

Cathy counted the people on stage. They already knew, it wasn't that hard to know.

2 alternates, playing Kate and Jane. The other 3 were the actual women. 

They'd just finished don't lose your head. And Cathy was mentally preparing so they wouldn't miss a cue. They still had the feeling they would, though.

Anne's voice blasted inside their ears. Not really helping considering their sound sensitivity. It never quite bothered them as much as it did now normally.

"It's called wearing yellow to a funeral! Hit the lights!" Anne cheered.

Cathy quickly shook out of their thoughts, trying their very best to ignore the growing fog in their mind. 

"Catherine was a mASSIVE-"

The others quickly yelled to stop her. Cathy flinched at the noise. 

Anna walked up to Anne, Cathy hesitating before following along. "When did we decide you were the winner?"

Cathy lost their line in the fog for a moment, bringing the microphone to their mouth before faltering. 

"She wants another turn." The alternate for Kate quickly stepped in, shooting a concerned glance Cathy's way. 

"Over my dead body!"

No no, they'd come to this point they had to survive through the show. They took in a quick breath, trying to steady the panic in their chest which seemed to worsen the barrier forming in their mind.

"Anyway i do believe it's my turn next." Jane's alternate spoke, the queens turning to her.

"You? Queen, please!" 

They tried their very best mocking laugh and brought their microphone to their mouth. "I mean are you being for real?"

"Yeah weren't the one he truly loved?"

"Didn't you give him the son he so desperately wanted?"

"Yeah, like, i had a daughter and he literally chopped my head off." Anne grinned, though giving a small concerned side eye to Cathy when she noticed them fidgeting an unusual amount. 

"Yeah, okay i was lucky. Okay i was, really, lucky."

Cathy didn't bother intently listening to the rest of the monologue, they could recite it by heart anyway. They scanned the audience, how well they could see almost every face in the theater always surprised them. They always thought it'd be rather hard considering how dark it was.

Cathy turned to look at their godmother, who unlike them was intently listening to the monologue. The look on her face didn’t much help the survivor’s current state.

“..It’s because.. i.. loved him!”

The tune of heart of stone started playing, to which the queens immediately reacted in heading for the stairs. When Cathy was sure the others wouldn’t notice, they started biting at their wrists and fingers.

That wasn't a good idea, it seemed. The fog in their mind turned to something Cathy couldn't ignore but neither fight off much. 

Cathy turned to look at the other queens, who were either focused on the song or making quiet small talk.

The survivor whined, biting down harder on their skin while their free hand went to squeeze and hit their thighs. 

A hit came harder then they'd meant it to, making them flinch and apparantly also alerting Catalina. 

"Cathy?" Catalina took out one of her in ears, scooting a little closer to her goddaughter. She gently placed her hand on their shoulder, making them whine. 

She softly worked their in-ears too, taking them out by the strings and hoping to god that wouldn't damage anything. "Hey there Mija, can you look at me?"

The tone didn't help Cathy's state at all, actually it might have been what threw them over the edge. 

Nevertheless they did as they were told. The look in their eyes immediately betrayed their state to Catalina. 

"Oh, sweetheart." Okay yeah, Cathy had fully slipped by now. "Let's get you out of here alright?" 

Cathy couldn't bring themselves to argue, and neither did they fight it when Catalina alerted Anne before taking their hand and leading them off stage. 

Catalina led them to her dressing room, instead of the one they shared with Anna.

There, Catalina sat them down on the couch. As Cathy searched their extremely foggy mind for an age to describe how they were feeling, Catalina set out to find anything add some extra comfort to their situation. 

They were biting, right, a regressed Catherine Parr loves to bite things. Catalina knew that all too well after being used as a chewing toy one too many times. She'd bought a few chewing sensory toys, now if only she could find the one she kept in the theater. 

"Ah! Got it!" Catalina cheered, heading to Cathy and slipping a chewing bracelet onto their wrist. "There we go, so you don't hurt yourself, alright chiquitita?" 

Cathy nodded, starting to bite at it the moment they could. 

"Alright love, i'm just going to get two alternates to cover for us for the rest of the show okay?" Catalina said, kneeling in front of them and holding their free hand. 

Cathy whined, which Catalina chuckled at, but they nodded again eitherway. 

"I'll be back soon, Cariña." She reassured before leaving to find any alternates to take their place.

Cathy continued to chew as they waited, leaving the growing icky feeling in their stomach to identify and deal with when they got out of their headspace.

It didn't take long for Catalina to return, at which point Cathy realized they couldn't hear the muffled music from their in-ears anymore. 

The moment the older woman was in reach Cathy whined and reached out to her, putting on the best puppy face they could to get the snuggles they desired.

Catalina obeyed with a laugh, picking Cathy up and getting a comfortable position on the couch before allowing the younger to adjust themselves into her embrace.

"Hi there." She grinned, gently rubbing Cathy's cheek with her thumb which they gladly leaned into.

Cathy waved in response, a bright smile on their own face.

Catalina raised a brow. "No talking today?" She hummed giggling slightly when Cathy stuck out their tongue in an attempt to gather an answer.

"Too.. tiny." They responded, almost hesitantly. Catalina's grin widened at the realization, giggling slightly. 

"I see. Too much fog in the mind to remember how words work?" Cathy nodded enthusiastically, incredibly happy that they were understood. "Alright querida, that's okay." 

Catalina set to work softly undoing the hairstyle they wore for the show, imagining it not being the most comfortable thing, Cathy shot her a small confused look, tilting their head. 

The first queen did so successfully, setting aside their spiky crown and ruffling their hair before gently working it into a normal enough state. She made a mental note to brush their hair when they were satisfied with the cuddles.

Cathy puffed out their cheeks in a response as Catalina messed with their hair. Catalina barked out a laugh, poking their cheek in return. 

"I think i still have a few of those cookies Jane made. How about that baby? Hm?" Catalina asked, gently untangling a few more strands of Cathy's hair.

Cathy let out a small gasp, before nodding happily. They quickly jumped off the couch and waited with open arms.

Catalina shook her head fondly, getting up and doing as requested. The universe was so merciful for making Cathy easy to carry.

Catalina hoisted them up on her hip. Cathy immediately cuddled into her, resting their head on her shoulder. 

She hummed, smiling as she started her very short journey to the lunch room where she'd stored the left-over sweets. "You're really deep, aren't you?" 

Cathy looked up and tilted their head in confusion at the question.

"Oh yup, that's all the answers i need." 

Now admittedly, opening the doors was a challenge but nothing Catalina hasn't faced before. 

Catalina set the little onto the counter, searching the cabinets for the container she'd left the sweets in.

Cathy whined at the lost contact, immediately searching to get it back by reaching for one of Catalina's hands. 

The older humored them with a smile, swinging their intertwined hands back and forth as she searched. 

"Oh, here they are." Catalina got out the container with a little more effort then it would have been if she had both hands. 

"Should i break them into little pieces? I know cookies and those kinds of snacks can be a bit hard for you when you're so young like this." 

Cathy pouted, reaching for cookies and completely ignoring the question. 

Catalina raised a brow, grinning slightly in amusement. "Mi tesoro, you gotta answer." She chuckled when Cathy whined again.

"Come on, Princesa. You don't need to say anything, just shake your head yes or no." Catalina said softly, rather amused at the ever growing pout on Cathy's face. 

Cathy whined again but nodded even though they didn't stop trying to reach for the treat.   

"Alright love, but i gotta use both my hands alright? You can hold onto me though." The older let go of Cathy's hand, to which they immediately reacted to by wrapping their arms around her waist.

Catalina started breaking the treats into smaller pieces, handing them to Cathy when she'd finished a piece. Cathy happily munched down, cooing in content. 

"Be careful, Nena. Don't eat that fast. I'm not taking these safety measures only for you to choke because you're eating it all so fast." Catalina chuckled, gently holding Cathy back from downing another piece. 

Cathy whined and pouted, trying to chew faster. 

"Oh lord, Amor, wouldn't you rather enjoy your treat instead of going so quick that it's all gone so soon?"

Cathy gasped, quickly shaking their head. Catalina chuckled. "Then you gotta slow down." 

Cathy considered it, ultimately deciding it would be a good idea to not hurt themselves by eating cookies. 

"Good choice, Mija." Catalina giggled, allowing Cathy to continue eating her snacks.

"If Anne asks, tell her I gave you a few slices of an apple." Catalina added, breaking apart the last cookie and handing the small pieces to her goddaughter. 

Cathy tilted their head but nodded, munching on the last piece as Catalina cleaned up the evidence. 

"Was that tasty, Amor?" Catalina asked, smiling softly. Cathy nodded enthusiastically, a bright smile on their face. 

Catalina giggled. "How about we head back, we can play a bit or watch one of your cartoons yeah? And we can go watch the girls do the megasix later if you're up for it."

Cathy nodded, clapping happily as Catalina picked them up and set them on her hip again.

"What would you wanna do?" Catalina asked, adjusting Cathy so they were securely on her hip before setting out for her dressing room once again. 

Cathy opened their mouth to respond. But hesitated and retreated back while biting on their index finger.

Catalina hummed, gently showing them their chewing bracelet to remind them to bite that instead. "It's okay Princesa, you can choose when we get there." 

When they arrived Catalina set Cathy down and got our her emergency Cathy toy box, but also grabbed her laptop for if the regressed girl wanted to cuddle and watch a cartoon instead.

Cathy made a show of reaching for the laptop from their spot on the floor.

They pointed at it when Catalina came close enough to pick them up again, looking ul at her with the most innocent eyes Catalina had ever seen.

"So a show? Alright, Tesoro, get comfy on the couch."

 Cathy nodded, getting up to waddle over to the couch. Where they, once again, made a show of whining and reaching for Catalina's hand.

Catalina barked out a laugh. "I'm coming, i'm coming." She grabbed the laptop and sat on the couch. She readjusted the both of them so they could comfortably cuddle while watching their show.

Catalina gave Cathy a few to choose from, some thing's not too hard to follow in consideration of how young they seemed.

After Cathy made their choice the two cuddled closer to each other, the younger staring in wonder at the screen.

They looked up. "Ca.. Catty." They mumbled, their face contorted in concentration as they tried to find the right words. "Love you." 

Catalina cooed, her heart positively melting as Cathy reached to press a small sloppy kiss against her cheek. 

"I love you too."

@autisticscotty @woofberry-regrets-everything

Hi hi! You two seemed pretty interested in this fic so i thought i'd tag you so you wouldn't somehow miss it <3 sorry if you didn't want to be!

[audreygcblog]

The Pawn

Throughout her life, Lady Jane Grey was used and manipulated by the men to who she was closest. She never asked to be the figurehead of the protestant overthrow of the English crown, yet she did not have control over the plans her uncle and father had for her. After reading her letters in class, I was compelled to look more into the life of England's nine-day queen.

Childhood

In the year 1547, Catherine Parr, the wife of the late King Henry VIII, and Thomas Seymour were married. Lady Jane Grey was the great-granddaughter of the king, and when she was nine years old, she was sent to the home and put under the care of Catherine Parr. Parr took control of the education of both her stepchildren and Lady Jane Grey.

In 1548, Queen Catherine Parr died in childbirth, devasting ten-year-old Lady Jane Grey. She was the principal mourner at Catherine Parr's funeral. Afterward, Lady Jane Grey was sent back home and quickly returned to be the ward of Thomas Seymour.

Unfortunately, now that she was under the care of Thomas Seymour, he saw an opportunity to use Lady Jane Grey to his advantage. As she was third in line for the throne, he made it his goal to wed her to his nephew and her cousin Edward VI. By doing so, he could ensure Lady Jane Grey's ascension to the throne and he could have been able to use her to gain power for himself.

During this time, Edward VI was nine years old and too young to rule by himself. Edward Seymour, Thomas Seymour's eldest brother, was placed as regent. Edward Seymour exploited his power as regent, which aggravated the rest of the Regency Council and his younger brother Thomas who wanted the power for himself. 

In desperation, Thomas Seymour broke into the nine-year-old's private apartment and was promptly arrested. He was sent to the Tower of London and executed in 1549. The plot to wed Lady Jane Grey to the young king was put to an end, and she was sent home.

Becoming Queen

At the age of fifteen, Edward VI was very ill. In the first version of his will, Edward was not aware that he was terminally ill. In his first draft he had chosen his heir to be a male Protestant in his family. Therefore, he disinherited his half-sisters, Mary and Elizabeth, and proclaimed his heir to be the one of the children of his cousin Lady Frances Grey or the children of her children. Those children being Lady Jane Grey and her sisters.

In 1553, it became clear that the king was going to die soon and not a single male heir had been produced. With no other choice, Edward changed his will and made Lady Jane Grey his successor.

Upon Edward VI's death, Lady Jane Grey was brought brought to her father-in-law's residence to be told by the Privy Council that she was to be queen.

Lady Jane Grey was very confused and worried about becoming queen. She did not calm down until her husband and family arrived. It is even rumored she fainted after being told the news of her inheritance of the throne.

She accepted her fate and prayed that God would guide her in leading the people of England. She was graceful and elegant during her coronation until she had to wear the crown. Although she has accepted her succession to the throne as being God's will, she still felt like she did not deserve such a title.

A Welcomed Death

The eldest daughter of Henry VIII, Princess Mary, demanded she be put on the throne along with the support of many who believed her to be the rightful Catholic heir.

Soon, Mary built up her own army and rebelled against the newly crowned Queen Jane. During the attack on the palace, Queen Jane's father ran to safety while leaving his daughter behind in the Tower of London. There she became a prisoner and was soon sentenced to death for treason.

In her final letters, she wrote to both her sister and father, assuring them that she was going to be happier in heaven than she ever was on earth. Lady Jane Grey's letters reveal she was dissatisfied and full of sorrow during her lifetime. She was not worried about her own death as much as she was worried about the little sister she was leaving behind. She wrote, "And as touching my death, rejoice as I do and consider that I shall be delivered of this corruption and put on incorruption, for as I am assured that I shall for losing of a mortal life, find an immortal felicity. Pray God grant you and send you his grace to live in the love."

To her father, she said, " ... I yield God more hearty thanks for shortening my woeful days... yet, my dear father, if I may without offence rejoice in my own mishap, herein I account myself blessed, that washing my hands with the innocency of my face, my guiltless blood may cry before the Lord, 'Mercy to the innocent…In taking [the crown] upon me, I seemed to consent and therein grievously offended the Queen and her laws … to me, there is nothing more welcome than from this vale of misery to aspire to that heavenly throne of all joy and pleasure, with Christ our saviour."

With willingness and maintenance of her pride, Lady Jane Grey was beheaded on the Tower grounds.

Conclusion

For her entire life, Lady Jane Grey was considered nothing more than a way to gain Protestant power in England. She never wanted to be queen, yet had to pay the ultimate price for it. After researching more about the life of Lady Jane Grey, I have concluded that she was just a scared seventeen-year-old girl who wanted to do the right thing. Her innocence and goodness were taken advantage of by the people around her. Hopefully, Lady Jane Grey is resting in the peace she never got to experience in her lifetime.

Works Cited

Lady Jane Grey - Britannica

Lady Jane Grey - Historical Royal Palaces

Lady Jane Grey - Letters

[valkyries-things]

CATHERINE PARR // QUEEN OF ENGLAND

“She was Queen of England and Ireland as the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 12 July 1543 until Henry's death on 28 January 1547. Catherine was the final queen consort of the House of Tudor, and outlived Henry by a year and eight months. With four husbands, she is the most-married English queen. She was the first woman to publish an original work under her own name, in English, in England. Catherine enjoyed a close relationship with Henry's three children, Mary, Elizabeth and Edward. She was personally involved in the education of Elizabeth and Edward. She was influential in Henry's passing of the Third Succession Act in 1543 that restored his daughters Mary and Elizabeth to the line of succession to the throne. Catherine was appointed regent from July to September 1544 while Henry was on a military campaign in France; in the event that he lost his life, she was to rule as regent until Edward came of age. However, he did not give her any function in government in his will. Following the king's death, she assumed the role of guardian to her stepdaughter, Elizabeth. She died in childbirth in 1548, and when she had her funeral, it was the first Protestant funeral in England, Scotland or Ireland to be held in English.”

[famousinuniverse]

Henry VIII’s six wives-The six key women in Henry VIII’s life

Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived. This is the rhyme most commonly associated with the six wives of Henry VIII, chanted in classrooms around the world by children learning about the Tudor king and his family. It’s a mnemonic device many of us learned as children to remember the fates of the six women – Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard and Katherine Parr – who became Henry VIII’s queens between 1509 and 1547. But who were these women and just what did it take to catch the eye of a king?

1. Catherine of Aragon (Divorced): Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536): Demoted for Bearing No Son

Born in Alcalá de Henares, Princess Catherine was betrothed to England’s Prince Arthur at the age of three. A devout Catholic, she was married to Henry for nearly 24 years and never acknowledged the annulment of their union. By 1526, Henry was infatuated with Anne Boleyn and dissatisfied that his marriage to Catherine had produced no surviving sons, leaving their daughter Mary as heir presumptive at a time when there was no established precedent for a woman on the throne. He sought to have their marriage annulled, setting in motion a chain of events that led to England's schism with the Catholic Church. When Pope Clement VII refused to annul the marriage, Henry defied him by assuming supremacy over religious matters in England. In 1533 their marriage was consequently declared invalid and Henry married

Catherine of Aragon (1485–1536)

2. Anne Boleyn (c. 1501-1536): The Union That Sparked Reformation, Beheaded

Anne Boleyn was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. Henry and Anne formally married on 25 January 1533, after a secret wedding on 14 November 1532....Henry VIII had Anne investigated for high treason in April 1536. On 2 May, she was arrested and sent to the Tower of London, where she was tried before a jury of peers, including Henry Percy, her former betrothed, and her uncle Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk; she was convicted on 15 May and beheaded four days later. Modern historians view the charges against her, which included adultery, incest with her brother George, and plotting to kill the king, as unconvincing.

Anne Boleyn (c. 1501-1536)

3. Jane Seymour (1508-1537): Died After Giving Birth to Male Heir

Jane Seymour was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen following the execution of Henry's second wife, Anne Boleyn. She died of postnatal complications less than two weeks after the birth of her only child, the future King Edward VI. She was the only wife of Henry to receive a queen's funeral; and he was later buried alongside her remains in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. Postnatal is the period of time immediately after childbirth, and is defined for the baby.

Jane Seymour (1508-1537)

4. Anne of Cleves (1515-1557): Strategic, Six-Month Marriage

Anne was born in 1515, on either 22 September, or more probably 28 June. She was born in Düsseldorf, Germany. Anne arrived in England on 27 December 1539 and married Henry on 6 January 1540, but after six months, the marriage was declared unconsummated and, as a result, she was not crowned queen consort. Following the annulment, Henry gave her a generous settlement, and she was thereafter known as the King's Beloved Sister. Remaining in England, she lived to see the reign of Edward VI, and the coronation of Mary I, outliving the rest of Henry's wives.

Anne of Cleves (1515-1557)

5. Catherine Howard (1523-1542): Beheaded on the grounds of treason

He was 49, and she was between 15 and 21 years old, though it's widely accepted that she was 17 at the time of her marriage to Henry VIII. Catherine was stripped of her title as queen in November 1541 and beheaded three months later on the grounds of treason for committing adultery with her distant cousin, Thomas Culpeper.

Catherine Howard (1523-1542)

6. Catherine Parr (1512-1548): Peacemaker Who Outlived Henry

Catherine Parr (she signed her letters as Kateryn; 1512 – 5 September 1548) was Queen of England and Ireland as the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 12 July 1543 until Henry's death on 28 January 1547.

Catherine was the final queen consort of the House of Tudor, and outlived Henry by a year and eight months. With four husbands, she is the most-married English queen. She was the first woman to publish an original work under her own name, in English, in England. Catherine Parr. Catherine enjoyed a close relationship with Henry's three children, Mary, Elizabeth and Edward.

Catherine Parr (1512-1548)

In common parlance, the wives of Henry VIII were the six queens consort of King Henry VIII of England between 1509 and his death in 1547. In legal terms, Henry had only three wives, because three of his marriages were annulled by the Church of England. However, he was never granted an annulment by the Pope, as he desired, for Catherine of Aragon, his first wife. Annulments declare that a true marriage never took place, unlike a divorce, in which a married couple end their union. Along with his six wives, Henry took several mistresses

My husband just dropped this on me, unprompted:

Divorced, beheaded, died,

Divorced, beheaded, this is Mambo No. 5

[letsgoravendors]

Cathy *after Henry died*: We are here to celebra— I mean mourn the death of King Henry VIII.

Cathy: His death is a tragedy -cause he lived way too fucking long

Cathy: And he will be missed -by no one

[mega-knight-of-breath]

Kitty censor

Anne, practicing her lines: Catherine~

Cathy, Catalina and Kat, hearing their name: ?

Anne: Was a MASSIVE-

Kat, sliding in front of her and covering her mouth: Catholic!

Kat: *looks around frantically for...something*

Jane, appearing right behind her: Nice save!

Kat: AH!

[averlym]

I saw your art of Cathy and Kat reenacting Heathers and I was wondering if you could give us some more Catherine’s as Heathers AU, please and thank you

“Catherine, Catherine, and Catherine

I love Catherine, Catherine and Catherine~~”

[queerbauten]

Henry VIII: Would you ladies be there for me if I were going through something?

Catherine of Aragon: No. Absolutely not.

Anne Boleyn: I hope it sucks, whatever you're going through.

Jane Seymour: I hope it emotionally scars you for the rest of your life.

Anna von Kleve: I hope you reach out to me, so I can ignore you.

Katherine Howard: [doubled over laughing]

Catherine Parr: I can’t wait to go to you funeral, knowing that I could have changed that outcome.

[reginakhoward]

Ex-Wives Solos:

I feel like we don’t talk enough about how the little solos each queen has sets up the sexist stereotype they are shoved into by society and then how they are broken down in their song.

“If you try to dump me, you won’t try that again” For Catherine of Aragon, it’s the petty, angry ex-wife. It reminds me of a crazy ex-girlfriend trope where the ex is basically painted as evil for trying to get revenge on her poor, nice guy ex. Then, in No Way, “Please tell me what you think I’ve done wrong... You’ve got nothing to say” totally flips the script, the audience realizes that it’s Henry that is the crazy one, trying to find all these ways to get rid of her be it sending her to a nunnery or saying she’s cursed with infertility. No Way shows us that Aragon not only has a right to be angry, but also that she has been biting her tongue this whole time to what Henry has been doing to her, in a show of restraint and strength.

“Why did I lose my head? Well, my sleeves may be green, but my lipstick’s red” makes it seem like Boleyn is using her sexuality as a weapon. Anne has been characterized this way in much of history, she is the classic “Other Woman”, the whore with “the plan to steal the man”. In DLUH, we see a different side of Anne, one where she seems a lot less calculating, more helpless and clueless. Superficially, this throws her into yet another stereotype, of the “Dumb Blonde”, so to speak. Looking deeper into the lyrics, however, a lot more is revealed. The people making many of the decisions are the men in her life. Her father tells her to get ahead. Henry pursues the relationship, breaks things off with the church, and cheats on her. Anne is subject to the environment she has been thrown into, reacting to things instead of acting a lot of the time. She “didn’t mean to hurt anyone” (although she does make many decisions that do hurt people), but pays the price of Henry’s insanity.

“Jane Seymour, the only one he truly loved” would make Seymour the “Perfect Wife”. She’s doting, she’s dutiful, in the picture perfect relationship. She has the perfect husband, she has the heir to the throne, even in death, she has the queen’s funeral (the only one out of six to receive it), and buried beside her love once he passes. However, in Heart of Stone, we see that not everything was as easy as it seemed. “You can tear me down”, “I’ll stand the test”, and the other descriptions of turmoil show that Henry was not as good to her as we’d like to believe. Although perhaps, in his own fucked up way, he did love her, he did not treat her well. Many like to say that Seymour was not abused and shouldn’t win the “competition” because she didn’t have to deal with much from him, but reading between the lines shows that she dealt with his abuses in silence. She was not weak, but she wanted so desperately to make it with him and Edward, that she stuck it through until her untimely end.

“But I didn’t look as good as I did in my pic” implies that Anna of Cleves A. believes that and B. accepts it, which is a stark contrasting point in Get Down. From the beginning of Get Down she paints the picture that while, yes, what happened to her is awful, she did not lie down and accept what Henry decided was to happen for her. She used what happened and made her life amazing, far more wonderful than it would’ve been if Henry was still involved in her life. Although historically this could be far from the truth, Six Cleves is one bad bitch flipping that rejection and making it a victory.

“Lock up your husbands, lock up your son, KHoward is here and the fun’s begun” is one of the most apparent flips once we get to AYWD. It’s carried through the song, as at first Katherine is “wanting” (don’t get me started on the statutory rape here) her encounters, but then we quickly learn the truth. She leads us to believe, like Henry believed, that she was a promiscuous woman not worthy of the throne, until we realize she was only a girl who was taken advantage of. Her stereotype is a very well-known and believed one as much as Anne Boleyn’s, so it’s refreshing and heartening to see the musical portray it in a different way for the KHoward character, and I’m so glad they did it this way.

“I’m the final wife…. I’m the survivor” For Catherine Parr, all she mentions in her intro is that she was the final wife, the one who survived, and other things to do with her being Henry’s 6th wife, or one of the Six. When we get to IDNYL, we are introduced to Catherine as a person, the things she did, the people she affected, outside of Henry. We are shown HER real story, not reliant on anyone else. Parr sets us up to believe that she was merely one of Six in order to make the reveal of her breaking off/having agency even more impactful. She went from one dimensional to 3D this way, which I think was a really cool way to segway into giving all the queens agency in the last part of the show.

Overall, I think it’s a really cool device that was used through the show, because of how rooted it is in our perceptions. Most people have a preconceived notion of these queens from their real lives and our understandings (or lack thereof) of what happened to them. For Six to break those really emphasizes how they are telling their own stories, “taking back the microphone”, and freeing themselves from abuse, which is always a story the world needs to hear. 💕

[blackdiamondwrites127]

Lost Stars in the Night

Hi guys! So this epilogue took longer than I planned. First was that I accidentally deleted my progress and had to start all over again so that was annoying. Next was my work started to become a bit hectic thus losing my free time to write. And lastly, my grandfather died last week. The funeral was yesterday and oddly enough, after the funeral, something pushed me to really finish this epilogue. So here it is. The last piece to my most recent writing project. Thank you again for reading this! I truly appreciate each and every feedback given.

The following characters belong to:

Isabella I of Castile, Ferdinand II of Aragon, and Juan Trastámara: @weirdbutdecentart

Isabella Trastámara: @lexartsstuff

Marion Trastámara and Elizabeth 'Liz' Seymour: @vanessaseymour

Juana 'la loca' de Castile: @ellielovesdrawing

Maria Trastámara, Maria of Jülich-Berg, and Sibylle of Cleves: Yours truly

.

Characters (Description and characters change with each chapter): 

Catalina Trastámara - Age twenty nine years old. She's the captain of the expedition team six whose goal is to scout areas to see if they are suitable for expansion. Her years-long goal has been to locate her father's main office to find answers about the vaccine he had given her when she was just a toddler. She wanted to find the formula so they can replicate it and distribute it to the survivors. She's currently in a relationship with Jane Seymour and has three children from a previous relationship.

Anne Boleyn - Age twenty seven years old. Her family came to Campamento Zaragoza when she was ten and has stayed there since. She's the vice captain of the exhibition team six though she often takes charge alongside Catalina rather than taking charge when Catalina is absent. The two had a rocky start given that Anne was the woman Catalina's ex cheated on her with but the two eventually became close friends. Often bonding over their useless ex. She's currently in a relationship with Catherine Parr and has a daughter from a previously mentioned ex.

Jane Seymour - Age twenty six years old. She's a member of the expedition team six. She's mostly the voice of reason of the group and somewhat of a mother hen. Always fussing over her teammates to make sure they're okay. She and her older sister, Liz, have been living in Campamento Zaragoza since most of her life. She's currently in a relationship with Catalina Trastámara and has one son from the same ex Catalina and Anne shared.

Anna La Marck - Age twenty six years old. She's a member of the expedition team six. Often referred to as the 'muscle' of the group, she's usually the one taking action first when it comes to conflicts the team encounters. She was born in the early months of Campamento Zaragoza's life span and has lived there since then. She's currently in a relationship with Katherine Howard, having been best friends for years as they grew up together. 

Katherine Howard - Age twenty five years old. She's a member of the expedition team six. She's the youngest member of the team and is their go to mechanic when they have vehicular troubles. Just like Anna, she was born in Campamento Zaragoza and she's currently in a relationship with Anna La Marck, having been best friends for years as they grew up together.

Catherine Parr - Age twenty seven years old. She's a member of the expedition team six. Considered as the informant of the group. She's usually the one going head first into research when they need information on something. She has one daughter from a previous relationship and i's currently in a relationship with Anne Boleyn.

Isabella Trastámara - Age forty four years old. She is the acting head of the camp alongside her wife. She took up a leadership position after her mother and she's been running the camp ever since. She followed in her mother's plan of land expansion and was quite successful over the years with the camp expanding as far as Girona and they added fishing to their agriculture sector. She and her wife, Liz, adopted a baby boy when his mother died giving birth to him.

Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Seymour - Age forty four years old. She is the acting head of the camp alongside her wife. She retired from her captain position after many years but she still represents the expedition and patrol sector as its head. She and her wife, Bella, adopted a baby boy when his mother died giving birth to him.

Juan Trastámara - Age thirty six years old. Married to Margaret Habsburg and they have a little three year old girl they named Isabela after his departed grandmother. He's working in the armory division designing and creating wearable protection that the border patrollers and security division wear.

Juana Trastámara - Age thirty five years old. She was married to Margaret's older brother, Philip, who abused her for years until he was killed in battle. Their marriage resulted in six children that she fiercely protects with her life. She's currently in a relationship with a woman named Harley Harmony. She's a member of the security team and often patrols the streets with her team.

Maria Trastámara - Age thirty two years old. She's currently in a relationship with their long time partner, Gabriel Cursae. Her knack for mathematics got her the position of head of the inventory division and is responsible for keeping track of the camp's main inventory numbers.

Marion Trastámara - Age thirty two years old. He's currently in a relationship with William La Marck, Mari and Johann's third child and only son. They work as Campamento Zaragoza's only tattoo artist. His most common customers are those from the fighting sector and their most commonly commissioned pieces are portraits and names of departed loved ones. His proudest work is the Trastámara family crest that they tattooed on himself and their siblings.

Jocasta ‘Joyce’ Howard - Age fifty five years old. She's Kat's mother and she works at the hospital as a midwife alongside Mari, who's a nurse in the maternity ward. She's kept her daughter in the dark when it comes to her life before the End.

Sibylle La Marck - Aged twenty eight years old. She's engaged to Katherine James, who now runs the nursery. She's a member of the security team and often patrols the main gates with her squad.

Katherine James - Aged twenty six years old. She's currently engaged to Sibylle La Marck and she's a caretaker at the nursery after inheriting it from her mothers. Despite being and actual Tudor, she kept the last name, James, since she was raised by both her adopted mothers.

Henry 'Hal' Trastámara-Tudor - Age ten years old. He's Catalina and Henry Tudor's oldest son. He was named after his own father but looks more like his mother. He started despising his name after his father hurt and cheated on his mother so he prefers going by his nickname. He replaced his father by becoming his sisters' male role model.

Mary Trastámara-Tudor - Age seven years old. Catalina and Henry's second child. She's what you call a 'daddy's girl' but that label suddenly became useless after her father left them. She was still hoping her parents would get back together but stopped when her mother introduced Jane to them and she's stopped looking for her father since. Perfectly content with having Jane as a second mother.

Lillia Trastámara-Tudor - Age three years old. Catalina and Henry's youngest child together. She's her father's 'least favored' child due to her physical defects. She was born blind in one eye and her right hand didn't develop fully. Henry blamed Catalina for birthing a child with defects and unfortunately, little Lillia heard those arguments between her parents and blamed herself for them eventually splitting.

(Before you proceed, be warned that the story contains graphic descriptions of violence, blood, gore, death. Please proceed with caution)

------------------------------------------------

Epilogue

Catalina cries out when the nurse inserted the needle in her arm. Fernando held his youngest steady so she wouldn't squirm and injure herself with the needle. The nurse praised the toddler for being good after she had pulled out the needle and put a cartoon band aid, the tot had chosen prior to the shot, over the injured area.

"I'll submit the report to the department head. I'll also schedule the second dose six months in advance for you. Gracias for coming here, señor," the nurse said and left the room.

"Look at you, pequeña! You're quite brave," her father praised. Handing her precious Pancho back to her. She immediately took the plush monkey and hugged it close for comfort.

"Papa. It hurt," she whines. Gently rubbing the arm that received the shot.

"I know, pequeña, but you were brave and I'm proud of you for being a brave girl," Fernando reassured. Kissing his daughter's forehead.

Catalina pouts and pushes him away. She jumped off his lap and marched to the corner. She sits down on the cold tile floor, crosses her arms over her chest, and glaring at her father. Fernando knew that she was displeased with him. Luckily, he knew just the offering to get back to her good graces. But first, he must test the waters.

"Catalina."

The toddler lets out a 'humph' and looks away. 

"Catalina, mi pequeña preciosa."

"Humph!" 

Time for bribery then.

"Would you like to go to the ice cream shop for your favorite mango ice cream?" Fernando offered. He smiled when the toddler slowly turned to look at him.

"Mango ice cream?" she asked with a tone of hope in her voice.

Her father smiled and nodded. "Mango ice cream," he confirmed.

Catalina grins wide and stands up from the floor. She runs over to her father and tackles him in a hug.

"Ice cream!" she excitedly said.

Fernando chuckled and lifted his pequeña Catalina up in his arms. 

"Let's go get some ice cream but don't tell mamá where we went, okay? It's our secret," he reminded.

The toddler nodded and hugged her father's neck as they exited the room.

.

Name: Catalina Trastámara

Age: 3 years old

Sex: Female

Height: N/A

Weight: N/A

Blood Pressure: N/A

Consent from subject's guardian: Approved

Vaccine dosage: N/A

Vaccine side effects: none so far

Vaccine effectiveness: Yet to be determined though the subject has shown immunity to the virus when exposed to a very small dosage of it.

Examiner's Note: The subject's immunity seems to have developed significantly after being given the latest vaccine. It's not perfect but it's better than the last one which was given to the subject's older siblings. Further examination needed.

Catalina shuffled the papers. Rereading everything again. She's known for years that her father had her and her siblings vaccinated against the virus that brought over the End but only her records were left in the laboratory. She couldn't find anything about her older siblings.

The letter her father penned to her stated that the vaccine given to her was the updated one and far more effective but she wasn't sure of that and she's not willing to get herself bitten by an Infected to find out.

Sure the numbers had dwindled significantly over the years but it's better to be on the cautious side.

"Lina, we found more in the other room." 

Catalina puts the papers back in the folder where she found them and safely put them away in her backpack. One of her teammates and vice captain, Anne Boleyn, walked over to her and handed her more papers. Catalina quickly skims them over. Then she noticed something about them.

"These are…these are documents for developing the vaccine," she said. Quite surprised that they've found it already.

"Yep. It states the components and process needed to make the vaccine," Anne said. A smile on her lips.

Catalina couldn't help but get emotional. After years of searching for her father's headquarters, they finally found the very thing that can make the world right again. 

The world can finally heal and humanity can start over again.

"This is exactly what we came here for and we've got it. Let's head back and give this to Bella," she said. Putting it in a secure folder and tucking it in her backpack. Her old friend, Pancho, strapped snuggly to it.

"I'll gather the others so we can leave. Let's meet up outside," Anne said and left to go find the others. 

Catalina decided to do a bit more investigating. She exits the lab and makes the long trip up the flight of stairs. She wanted to see her father's office. To see if she could still remember what it looked like the last time she's been there. She finally reached the executive floor and she had to catch her breath for a minute after climbing up several flights. 

"Really wish the elevators were working," she mutters to herself before exiting the fire escape and entering the floor. 

It wasn't hard to locate Fernando's office. It was easily the one with the large double doors bearing the Trastámara family crest. 

"Bella did say that papá was always extra."

She pushed the old door open and inside was a time capsule. Except for the thick layer of dust, and a bit of decay, everything was exactly the same. As if her father hadn't died at all. Catalina enters the office and looks around. She remembers visiting this office with her mother and older siblings. She remembers playing on the carpet with her beloved Pancho and sitting on her father's lap while he worked. Letting her press the enter key or the space bar from time to time.

Catalina walked over to the executive desk and used a discarded paper to wipe off the layer of dust. She traced the wood until she felt the small, barely visible carvings on the wooden surface. She smiles to herself as the memory of her swiping her father's keys and using them to carve out her name on the wooden desk. Fernando scolded her for damaging his very expensive desk but he never did replace it. 

"I think he would've framed it if he had the chance," Catalina said to herself. Chuckling softly.

Something else on the desk catches her eye. It was several small framed photos. She reached out for one and wiping away the dust on the glass revealed a family photo.

Catalina immediately recognized herself as the little toddler in the photo. Bearing a wide and happy grin at the camera with Pancho clutched in her arms as she sat on her father's lap. She recognized her older siblings as well. Juan and Juana sitting next to each other and the twins, Maria and Marion, sitting on their mother's lap. Their oldest sister, Isabella, sat between their parents. Happy smiles all on their faces. 

Those were the days.

She looked towards the other framed photos and wiped the dust off each one. Her father kept framed photos of her, her older siblings, and his wedding portrait with their mother. She noticed that the wedding photo had the most elaborate frame out of all the photos. The frame seemed to be made of real gold. Worthy of such a powerful couple at the time.

"I never knew you personally, papá. I only had the memories of you in my early childhood as well as Bella's stories about you. I wished I knew more," Catalina said. Staring at her father in the wedding photo. 

She grabbed all of the framed photos and put them in her bag. She also grabs an expensive-looking pen from one of the drawers that bore her father's signature on the cap. Making sure they're secured in her bag before sling it over her shoulder. She heads to the door of the office to leave but before she exits, she looks back and says, "Adios, padre. Te querio." She exited the office and closed the door behind her.

.

"So what took you so long in there, Lina?" Anna asked as she sat in the truck's passenger seat. Right next to Kat, who was driving.

"I went to my father's old office," Catalina answered as she sat next to Jane.

"Found anything useful?" Cathy asked as she read through the other papers that they had found. Making mental notes that she'll transfer to her notepad once they arrive home.

"Well…I found some old photos of me and my family plus his favorite pen."

"I'm sure your siblings would love to see those, darling. Especially Bella," Jane said. Smiling at her girlfriend and placing a hand on her knee. Catalina smiled gratefully at her.

"It's strange, really," Anne said. "We all grew up in a dying world, trying to revive it without even knowing what it used to be before the End.

"Yeah. We're making all this effort and yet we didn't grow up in a normal setting like our parents did. We only have their stories as a basis," Kat agreed with her cousin.

"And foggy memories," Catalina added.

Anne looked over to their team leader and a question popped up in her mind.

"What was your family's story, Lina? Before the End," she asked. Voicing the question.

"Me? Well for starters, I remember my family being rich. Like living in a large mansion and such. Both my parents run their own successful and well known companies. In fact, I remember that my parents were about to head to work when the End happened," Catalina recalled. Still remembering that very day like it was yesterday. She even remembered her breakfast that she had that morning. Fried egg sandwich with mayonnaise, cheese and the bread toasted perfectly. Pairing it up with a cold glass of her favorite mango juice. 

A fitting last supper for a child her age at the time.

"Same thing with my parents. They came from rich families in Germany though I was told that they were disowned when they had my sister, Sibylle," Anna contributed.

"I remember your parents telling my madre that they were just about to finish university when the End happened," Catalina added.

"I was told that my family was mildly rich back in France. Like not millionaires per se but we can afford a couple of fancy cars, private schools and things like that," Anne said. She still remembered France a bit but not that much. All she knew was that she was quite fluent in the language despite not remembering living there as much.

"My mum wouldn't say anything about our family so I don't even know who my dad was or if I had older siblings or not. I just know that she was, and is, a midwife," Kat said. She remembers her mother would have this sad look on her face whenever Kat would ask about her father or possible siblings. She decided to drop it after Joyce had snapped at her to stop asking about it.

"I recall my madre finding your mum at a petrol station convenience store while we were on the road to escape the herd," Catalina commented.

"Oh yeah. She told me about that one plus the dog bite that was mistaken as an Infected bite incident." 

"I was told my family was like upper middle class. My dad used to be a police chief in London and my mum recently graduated with a nursing degree before the End," Cathy said. Not really remembering about London much since she was just a baby and she and her parents had already gone to Spain for a vacation when the End happened.

"Liz only told me what she remembered about our family home. Not much about our family in general. I knew I had many siblings and that we used to live on a ranch with horses and such. Though she often tells me stories about the man that took us in at the peak of the End," Jane said. She vaguely remembers Gonzalo but she knew him enough from the stories Liz tells about him as she was growing up.

"You mean my godfather?" Catalina asked.

"Yes. I think his name was Gonzalo, right?"

She smiled and nodded. She doesn't remember her padrino quite well but her older sibling's stories about him makes her think that he was truly a kind man who was harshly taken away from this world.

"I've heard about the story of your uncle, Lina. The first leader of Camp Zaragoza. Was he really a murderous psychopath?" Anna asked.

"He was my half uncle. And yes. Bella told me all about what he did to my family. Especially my madre," Catalina said.

"Eesh. Thank god my family came later long after he died," Anne said.

"Thank god we were too young to know and experience his tyranny," Cathy added.

Catalina was silent for a moment. Then she said, "he killed my grandmother, my grandfather, my godfather, and tortured my mother and sister." 

"Oh…sorry," Cathy quickly apologized.

Catalina shook her head. "No. It's okay. It was all in the past. Though I still remember my mother having really bad nightmares after. She would come to my room and lay next to me and would cry herself to sleep," she said.

"Oh my god…," Kat muttered.

"I'm so sorry, Lina," Jane said.

"Sometimes I wish I could have done something back then to make her feel better…" 

"Well, if it helps, you found the formula that could make the world better again," Anne said.

Catalina looked at her and nodded gratefully.

"Yeah." 

.

The group arrived back at the main camp and the gates opened to let them in.

"Glad you all came back safe," Sibylle said as she approached her sister and her group. She and Anna shared a hug and gave each other pats on the back.

"You bet we did. Not much Infected roaming around these days anyways," Anna said. 

"And just in time for mutter's birthday too," Sibylle said.

"Oh that's right! Kätzchen, let's stop by your mum's place first before going to mutter, ja?" Kat smiled at her girlfriend and nodded. "Sure!" she said.

"I'm going to Bella's office to deliver the goods. Cariño, can you do me a favor and look for my other siblings? Tell them to go to Bella's office once you find them, Catalina said.

Jane smiled. "Of course, darling. I'll be sure to do that before I pick up Eddie," she said.

The leader of the group smiled gratefully then left for her oldest sister's office.

.

"Welcome back. How was your expedition?" Isabella asked as her youngest sister entered her office.

"See for yourself," Catalina said and placed the folders on the desk in front of her eldest sister.

Isabella and her wife, Liz, looked through the papers. Then the two shared shocked expressions when they realized that what they were holding was the bible of the very vaccine they've been looking for.

"Oh my god…this is actually the formula!" Liz exclaimed.

"It's probably outdated by now but it's enough of a basis to use to create our own stronger vaccine!" Isabella said.

"Great job, Catalina! I'll bring this to the lab immediately!" Liz said. Gathering the papers and hurrying out.

Isabella smiled at her sister and hugged her. "This is a great start to making things right again! Muchas gracias, Catalina," she said. Catalina smiled and hugged her back then pulled away. "I actually found something else there too," she said. Grabbing her bag and rummaging through it.

"What else have you found?" her sister asked.

The youngest of the Trastámara children laid out the framed photos one by one on her sister's desk. Isabella looked at them. Her tears welling up with each photo she sees. She started to sob quietly when her eyes laid upon their parents' wedding photo.

"I found these in the papá's office. It was still the same as I remember it. Only a bit dusty," she said.

Isabella picked up their framed family photo and looked at it. Smiling sadly at the happy faces of her family.

"I miss those days. Those days where all I worried about was what university I should attend after graduation. I often wished I went to Madrid University like mamá and papá did," she lamented. 

"You never told me. What really happened to papá," Catalina said. Looking at Isabella.

The older of the two wiped her tears away and looked down. She carefully placed the framed photo of their parents on her desk. Moving it next to hers and Liz's own wedding photo.

"Papá was bitten by an Infected. He had died and came back as an Infected and attacked mamá. Mamá had no choice but to shoot him," she recounted. Still slightly bitter at her mother for keeping this fact a secret.

"And mamá hid that fact for a long time?" Catalina asked.

Isabella nodded. "She did. I was mad at her for lying to me but…later on I realized she did it to keep us together to survive. Lord knows what would have happened if she had told me that she shot papá. I would have left with you all in my car and…probably not survive that long," she said.

"The herd would have mostly gotten to us." 

Isabella nodded. "It was mamá plans that got us through those hellish and dangerous months when the herd reached Campamento Zaragoza," she said. 

She remembered it as if it was only yesterday. They had finished the fortifications of the walls and secured every inch of the territory. The herd had arrived some days after they had finished and everyone lived in fear for several months. No one could go out to scavenge. They were all trapped inside behind tall walls and had to rely heavily on their existing resources. They even considered opening fire on the herd but wasting ammo was not a viable option. Isabella had to do her best in keeping everyone calm during those months and wisely ration their resources. Thankfully, their crops survived through the months. The herd itself died out slowly as the Infected rotted away until there were only bones left. The strong stench of rot caused a lot of people to be sick and the leadership council needed to have oxygen masks made for the people. Especially those vulnerable.

"What I hated during those months was the stench. I probably threw up every day during that time and got sick often," Catalina said. A look of disgust on her face as she remembered the memory of her youth during those times.

"Well hey at least you got through it," Isabella pointed out.

"Yeah but I probably lost my sense of smell for a long while after." 

Isabella chuckled. She reached up to ruffle her sister's hair but Catalina nimbly ducked away and stuck her tongue out at her.

"You're so childish, Catalina," she said. Grabbing her by the shoulders and rubbing her knuckles against her head.

"Ah! Bella no!" The youngest cried. Struggling to get out of her sister's grip.

Isabella laughs and finally releases her. Catalina pouted as she fixed her hair. "And you say I'm childish," she retorts.

"We all are in a way. It's nice to act childish once in awhile," the older of the two said. Catalina smiled and nodded in agreement.

A knock on the door broke the brief silence the sisters shared. 

"Come in." Isabella called. Going behind the desk and sitting down. Business as usual. The doors opened and Juan peeked in. "You called for us, Bella?" their brother asked. Entering the office with the rest of their siblings behind him. Isabella frowns in confusion.

"No I didn't," she said.

"Actually, I did. I had Jane call you and the others up here," Catalina said. Her older siblings looked at her in surprise.

"What for, Lina?" Maria asked. Standing next to her twin.

"I wanted to show you what I found in papá's office," she said.

This immediately got their attention and they crowded around the table. Looking at the photos of their family.

"Oh my god…I never thought we'd see these again," Marion said as they looked at the framed family photo. It was the last one they took before the End happened.

"And papá kept all of these in his office…," Juana whispered. Tracing the features of her younger self.

"Wow…I…I'm starting to get emotional…," Juan said. His voice cracked a bit.

"It was quite emotional for me too. Being in his office earlier. It was still the same as I remembered it. Like he never left," Catalina said.

The siblings had an emotional moment together. Huddled in a large group hug and reminiscing the years of innocence that were harshly taken away from them when the End occurred. 

"I love you guys. I couldn't imagine a life without any of you. Even though you guys drive me up the wall sometimes," Isabella said. Earning her a laugh from her younger siblings.

"You'd probably be a spoiled only child without us," Marion quipped.

"Yeah but I ended up spoiling you guys instead," his oldest sister said.

"Such is the life of the oldest child," Maria remarked.

"Here here!" Juan said. The siblings shared another laugh.

The six of them stayed in Isabella's office for awhile. Just talking and reminiscing the past years they've had together.

"Mamá really did everything to give us the life she would have wanted. Even at her expense," Marion said. Their siblings nodded in agreement.

"We wouldn't have made it this far without her," Juana said.

"Yeah," Maria said.

"Speaking of mamá, I should get going. I haven't seen my children yet since I came back here after arriving back," Catalina said. Grabbing her bag and packing the framed photos in it.

"You're going to the farmhouse after?" Juan asked.

"Yep. I'm taking a well deserved vacation after the expedition," the youngest said. Slinging her backpack over her shoulder.

"Alright then. I'll just communicate the reports to Anne," Isabella said.

"Thanks Bella. I'll see you all in a week."

"See ya!"

.

Catalina arrived at the day care and got out of her truck. She was about to head inside when someone called out to her.

"Catalina!" 

She turns and smiles when she sees Joyce heading towards her. 

"Hola, señora," she greets. "Looking for Kitty?"

"Oh I already met up with Katherine earlier. She and Anna are currently headed to the hospital to surprise Mari," Joyce said.

"Oh that's right! Today's her birthday, right?" 

Joyce smiled and nodded. "I think they'll be holding a party later. Anyways, I wanted to ask you a favor and it's okay if you refuse," she said.

"We'll see then. Fire away," Catalina said.

"Do you still remember the petrol station where your mother found me?" Joyce asked.

"Somewhat. I think we pass by that particular station a few times during our expeditions. Why?" Catalina asked.

"Well on your next expedition, I was wondering if you could stop by the museum near that petrol station and take Katherine there. That's where I…I lost my family," she sadly explained.

"Oh. I see. Well, I'll be sure to make a short pitstop there for Kitty." Joyce smiled gratefully. 

"Thank you, Catalina. Katherine's been asking about my family for years and I feel bad for keeping it away from her. She deserves to know. Hopefully their belongings are still there." 

Catalina nodded in understanding. Kitty has told the group many times how she'd want to know about her own family but her mother was still grieving them after all these years.

"I'm heading off to Girona later. I'll stop by and check if I find myself down that path," Catalina reassured.

"Thank you again. I'll see you around, Catalina," Joyce said.

"De nada, señora."

Joyce gave her a small hug before heading off on her way again. Catalina watched her go with a sympathetic smile. From what Isabella had told her, Joyce was the only survivor of her family when they found her. So it was understandable why she's still grieving and refused to tell Kitty anything about them.

She made a mental note to herself to stop by that particular petrol station sometime.

"Mama!" 

As soon as she comes in, she grins and opens her arms to catch her children as they tackle her in a group hug. Ten year old Hal, seven year old Mary, and four year old Lillia all laughed happily as they piled on their mother.

"You're back!" Mary said.

"Yes I am! I just got back earlier. Have you three been good while I was gone?" their mother asked.

"Sí! We missed you though," Hal said.

"Miss you so much!" Lillia added.

"Oh I missed you too, mi niños!" Catalina said. Pulling her children closer. Then she looked at the three of them with a small frown.

"Did your father come and visit you while I was gone?" she asked.

As she expected, all three of her little ones shook their heads with sad faces. Their father was notorious in making empty promises after all.

"Of course he didn't. He's probably with his latest side fling of the week," Catalina mumbled.

"Welcome back, Lina! Glad you guys made it safe," Kath said. Walking over to them with a smile on her face. Catalina smiled back as she stood up.

"Hola, Kath. Thank you for looking after my little rascals here," she said. 

"No problem! They behaved as usual so it was no trouble at all," Kath said.

"Did your brother visit them at least once?" Kath shook her head.

"Nope. He didn't even visit Elizabeth and Edward. But what did you expect from my useless brother?" 

"Nothing. There was nothing to expect from him. Though it's probably for the best that their father isn't in their lives to influence them. Well we better get going. Thank you again, Kath!" 

Kath smiled and nodded. Catalina took her children out of the nursery and got them in her truck.

"Can we go to the farm today, mama?" Mary asked. 

"Yeah! We go swimming!" Lillia said.

"We are going there, niños. We'll be staying there for a week," Catalina said. Getting in the driver's seat.

"Yay!" the three cheered. They loved going to the farm. Especially when it was close to the beach and they could all go swimming, fishing and go dig in the sand to hunt for crabs for dinner.

"Let's stop by the house first to pack up," their mother said and drove off to their humble home.

To her surprise, Jane was already there when they arrived and had already packed their things for them. 

"Cariño? When did you get here?" Catalina asked. Urging her children to their rooms to get their bags. The blonde smiled at her and said, "I heard you're going to stay in Girona for a week so I thought I'd pack your bags in advance and house sit for you while you're gone." 

Catalina chuckled and gave her a swift kiss. "You somehow always know things in advance," she commented.

"It's a talent," Jane said. Cuddling close to her girlfriend.

The couple stood in silence for awhile, just holding each other close. Catalina broke the silence first.

"Jane."

"Hm?"

"What do you think about moving in together?" 

Jane looked up at Catalina with a happy grin. "I would love to move in with you!" she happily said.

Catalina grins back and the two share a loving kiss. "The move will be easy since the children already get along quite well. Why don't you and Eddie move in completely once we get back from Girona?" 

The blonde nodded. "I would love that!" she said. The Spanish woman smiled again and gave her another kiss. 

Things really are starting to turn out for the better.

.

Catalina parked her truck in front of the old farmhouse and got out. She helped her little ones down from the vehicle and they walked up to the front door. She unlocked it with her key and went in. Hal, Mary, and Lillia immediately rush upstairs to get to their rooms and unpack.

Meanwhile, their mother went to the living room and towards the homemade altar. She pulls out the framed photos from her bag and carefully places them there.

"I didn't hear you come in." 

Catalina smiled. "I didn't want to wake you and I'd thought I'd surprise you," she said. Turning around to face her mother.

Isabel smiled as she hobbled over her youngest. Leaning heavily on her husband's old cane. The left sleeve of her shirt was dangling about with each step. Catalina went over to her mother and hugged her.

"The little ones woke me with their excited chatter, but you still managed to surprise me. How was the expedition?" she asked. Pulling away and turning towards the altar. Her eyes widened at the sight of the framed photos. She let go of the cane in favor of reaching out to one of the photos, her wedding photo, and taking it in her hand.

"H-How did you…?" 

"We found the formula for the vaccine but I also found these in papá's old office. It was untouched all these years," Catalina said. Going around and picking up the dropped cane.

"Oh Fernando. Mi amor. You were always the sentimental one out of the both of us," Isabel muttered as her thumb gently traced over her late husband's features on the photo.

"I can take you there sometime. See his office and all," Catalina offered.

Her mother shook her head. "The past has passed. I buried your padre a long time ago in our old home. It wasn't a proper grave per se but he would've wanted it if there were no other available options," she said. Gently setting the photo down.

"Mamá…the others and I are planning on traveling home next month and we'd like you to come with us," Catalina said.

Isabel looked at her daughter in confusion. "Traveling home?" she asked. Her youngest daughter nodded in confirmation.

"Sí. Back home to the mansion. Pick up some old things we left there for sentimentality. Maybe even pay our respects to padre."

Isabel thought for a moment. Going back home after all these years sounded great but she's not sure if she's ready to go back yet.

"I'm not so sure, mija. It's been some decades since we left the mansion," she said.

"I know but it'll be nice if you'd come with us."

"I'll…I'll think about it, mija. I'll be sure to give my decision when the time is right."

Catalina gave her mother a small smile before handing her the old cane back. Isabel quietly thanked her. Taking the cane and leaning against it for support.

"Let's go sit and talk. I haven't seen you in weeks," she said. Hobbling over to the couch. Catalina followed right behind. 

Isabel carefully lowered herself to sit on the couch with a slight groan. Her daughter went to help her but she waved her off and sat down heavily with a sigh.

"You're having trouble sitting again. Maybe you should go to the camp to get your back checked," Catalina suggested. Sitting next to her mother.

Isabel shook her head. "No. I don't want to," she said. 

"But why? The doctors can help you."

"Ever since I got bit by an Infected years ago, a bit of the virus is still in me. Even after I had to cut a part of my arm off entirely. There's no cure for me, Catalina. I just have to live with it."

Catalina couldn't help but look at the stump of an arm her mother has. She could still recall that very day. Her mother had stumbled back in camp with her entire forearm cut off. She was pale, bleeding heavily, and a bit of bone was sticking out through the open wound. The hasty patchwork she did on the stump is probably what saved her just in time. She got to drive back long enough before she could pass out from blood loss and got her severe injury treated just in time.

"What was it like? Cutting your own arm off?" Catalina asked. She's been curious since the incident but didn't have the courage to ask.

Isabel lets out a chuckle. "Why? Planning on cutting a certain body part of yours in case of an Infected bite?" she joked. Her daughter chuckled as well.

"Maybe when I'm desperate enough. Right now, I'm just curious. What was going through your head that time? What made you do it in the end?" Catalina asked. Isabel grew serious and looked down at arm. Glaring at it. 

"Mamá?"

"I thought of you."

Catalina was surprised at the answer. "Me?" she asked. Pointing at herself. Her mother nodded in affirmation. 

"Yes you. You and your siblings are what made me do it," Isabel said. "I realized that Bella couldn't take care of you all by herself if I was gone. Plus, I knew they would make her my replacement when she wasn't even ready yet. It was hard enough without your papá but without me…she, as well as the rest of you, wouldn't be able to have the life you have now." 

Catalina nodded. It does make sense. Even though Isabella was eighteen at the time, she's still somewhat of a child herself. Needing guidance to get through adult life. So sacrificing a part of an arm was a small sacrifice in order for Isabel to live and be the guide her daughter needed. The youngest Trastámara was snapped out of her thoughts when her mother suddenly chuckled again.

"Care to share what made you giggle like a niña?" Catalina asked. Playfully raising an eyebrow at her mother. 

"I just realized that cutting my own arm at a church altar made it look like I was offering a blood sacrifice to the Lord. Though in a way, it is somewhat like that. I was praying for God to save me and have mercy on me while screaming in pain," she casually said. 

Catalina looked at her mother with a horrified expression. The mental image of her mother severing her own arm off made her a bit disturbed and nauseous. "Lo siento, mija. I didn't think that the image would be disturbing to you," Isabel apologized after noticing her daughter going a bit pale.

"Mamá…why? Why not try another way?" her daughter asked.

"I was scared and desperate. I was alone with an Infected bite on my arm and a blade. I wanted to live and, by God's will, I will live. For the sake of the only family that I have left," Isabel said. She pulled the old blade out from the cane. She could still see the part that she used to cut off her arm. The sharp edge chipped when she got to the bone of her forearm. Catalina placed her hand over her mother's and gently pushed the blade back in the cane. Isabel sighs and sits back on the couch. The youngest child looked at her in worry.

"Can I tell you a secret?" she asked. Catalina paused for a second before nodding. "Go ahead."

"Promise me you won't tell any of your siblings. Especially your hermana."

"Okay."

Isabel closed her eyes briefly, took a deep breath to gather her courage and faced her youngest fully. 

"I've been feeling bouts of severe pain in my arm since the bite and had some sort of addiction to painkillers," she said. Placing a gentle hand on her amputated arm. Catalina looked at her in shock.

"Mamá! Why didn't you–" she exclaimed.

Isabel held up a hand to cut her off from saying more. "I didn't want you all to worry. So I kept it to myself and smuggled small doses of painkillers from the medical inventory during weekly counting to bear with the pain and show that I was fine," she explained.

"But mamá, keeping such a large secret from me? From the others? We could have helped you!" Catalina said.

"That's the problem. You couldn't," Isabel said. Her daughter looked at her in shock. "Not even I couldn't help myself. I tried other methods. Trust me, I did but the pain was unbearable and pills were the only temporary solution. I didn't want you all wasting your time worrying over something you can't fix instead of focusing on your own lives. So I decided to keep it all to myself and let my children live their lives with no worries or distractions. Especially from their madre."

Catalina had tears streaming down her face. Her mother had been feeling excruciating pain for years and she couldn't do anything about it. She felt somewhat betrayed. Isabel smiled reassuringly and wiped the tears with her thumb before pulling Catalina close to kiss her forehead. 

"I'm happy I kept it from you. I didn't want you all to worry about me. Especially when you were still growing into people you wanted to be," she said. Pausing a bit to collect herself as she was fighting back her own tears. After a few deep breaths, she continues, "I never really had a childhood. My mamãe, your avó, had early onset dementia and I had to take care of her when your abuelo Chacón wasn't present. At the same time, I was studying and taking care of my younger brother as well since he was still a child and mamãe couldn't really take care of him. I didn't want you all to go through that. You deserve better." 

"Mamá, we could've found a way to help you! Don't you trust us?" Catalina asked. Sobbing once more. It truly hurt her to learn that her mother was suffering for their sake. Isabel smiles at her daughter again.

"I do. I trust you all but there's just some things that a mother has to keep in the dark to protect her children. While I had no regrets in taking care of your avó, I still longed for the childhood I never had," she said.

Catalina couldn't take it anymore. She pulls her mother in her arms and hugs her tightly. Isabel wrapped her one good arm around her daughter and gently rubbed circles in her back to comfort her while Catalina cried on her shoulder. 

The mother and daughter stayed like that for a good while. Only pulling away after Catalina had run out of tears to cry. She wiped away the tears as she recomposed herself while her mother sat back against the back of the old couch.

"I would like to be buried at home. Next to your padre," Isabel suddenly said. A longing smile on her face.

Catalina looked at her mother in confusion. "You're saying that as if you're dying," she said lightheartedly. Laughing a little in hopes that her mother was just joking.

Unfortunately for her, Isabel didn't laugh but the smile remained. 

"I am." 

"Mamá don't say that. I get that you're old but you're–" 

"I'm dying, Catalina. I went to Campamento Zaragoza last week to get my daily check up and the results weren't good this time around. The doctor said that the virus from the Infected bite had mutated into cancer and I have about a year left to live if I'm lucky enough."

Catalina looked shocked at this. Her mother was dying and she only had a year of her life left. 

"Mamá, there's still time. We can have you treated. We got the formula for the vaccine. We can cure it!" she desperately rambled on.

Isabel simply shook her head. 

"No. I don't want any treatment. I am old and I'm tired. I want to live out my last remaining days with my family and not be stuck in a hospital bed. Please understand my wishes, mija. Now that you and your siblings have your own lives with your own families, I can finally stop trying to survive and just rest with your padre," she said. 

Catalina felt hopeless. Her mother was dying and she couldn't do anything about it. "What do you want me to do? What do you want us to do?" she asked.

"Mija, don't stress yourself too much. I'll tell you and your siblings what I want you to do in due time. Let's just focus on right now. Okay?" 

Catalina furiously wiped away the stray tears and nodded. "Okay." Isabel smiled at her daughter and kissed her forehead once more. They can worry about the future later, right now is what's important for the both of them.

"Gracias, Catalina. Now, tell me all about your expedition." 

--------------------------------------------------

Prev

[thetudorslovers]

"Catherine remained in a state of delirium throughout 3 and 4 September. In spite of her anger towards her husband at the memory of his conduct with Elizabeth, she still loved him dearly and, during her lucid intervals, she was comforted by his presence. There was nothing that anyone could do for her and, as the hours passed, she grew steadily weaker and was aware of her surroundings less and less. In the early hours of Wednesday 5 September, between two and three o’clock in the morning, Catherine Parr, the last queen of King Henry VIII, passed quietly away, only six days after the birth of her daughter and at the age of just thirty-six. No one who had been in attendance on Catherine during the previous few days was shocked by her death, but everyone was deeply saddened by it as Catherine had been loved. It was still central to Thomas’s ambitions to display Catherine’s high rank and he ordered that a royal funeral be prepared for her in the chapel at Sudeley Castle, with all ceremony as befitted a queen. Catherine would have been glad of this and she would have been equally pleased to know that her funeral was conducted wholly in accordance with the reformed rites of the Church.

Shortly after Catherine’s death, her body was embalmed and she was placed in a lead coffin. The chapel was ‘hanged with blacke clothe garnished with schoocheons of maryages, vizd. King Henrye th’eight and her in pale under the crowne, her own in lozenge under the crowne. Allso th’armes of the lord Admyrall and hers in pale without crowne���. The chapel seats were covered in black cloth and a hearse was prepared, surrounded by tapers, on which Catherine’s coffin was to rest during the service. When everything was ready, the coffin was carried in procession into the chapel with the black-clad members of Catherine’s household following solemnly. Thomas, by convention, was absent, and the most conspicuous of the mourners was the tiny, ten-year-old Lady Jane Grey who acted as chief mourner. Once inside the church, the choir sang psalms in English and three lessons were read, again in the vernacular. The mourners then made an offering of alms, in accordance with their ranks, and Catherine’s almoner, the famous reformer Miles Coverdale, took to the pulpit to make a sermon. Coverdale’s sermon was intended to reinforce the queen’s Protestant beliefs and he took great care to:

"declare unto the people howe that thei shulde none there thinke seye nor spredde abrode that the offering which was there done was don anye thinge to perfytt the deade but ffor the poor onlye. And also the lights which were carid and stode abowte the corps were ffor the honour of the parsson & for none other entente nor purpose."

Source: Catherine Parr by Elizabeth Norton

[janeyseymour]

I saw the second preview of six and here are my thoughts (along with a few fun stories at the end):

My heart literally fell out of my ass when the queens started walking out They changed a few small little things here and there and it was perfect If six doesn’t win best lighting at the Tony’s I will sue Ex-wives was WOW I literally could not stop smiling Some of the poses were different 

ADRIANNA FREAKING NAILED NO WAY

I am convinced she just is beyonce always

She’s just fantastic in that role and that’s what I have to say about that

Ig abby danced a little too hard during no way because she kept messing with her wig after

Actually she lowkey played with it throughout the whole show and it was adorbs

Britt was helping her fix it and like pointing out where it was a little cray (also abby’s wig looks so good omf)

ANDREA IS- WOAH DURING DLYH

Her delivery throughout the whole show was a bit more mature, but it was still so babey I love her

(On a side note someone today told me I look like Andrea, which is very kind but so untrue because I literally look like a broken thumb and she is gorgeous)

Her “IM NOT SORRY” was amAZING

She like low-key cut made the whole head joke short and im kinda sad ab it, but it was still fantastique

Through the “Wearing Yellow To A Funeral Bit” abby looked confused through the entire thing and I was cracking up

HEART OF STONE HOLY SHIT

She was INCREDIBLE and her dress was so pretty and sparkly and I just wow 

Shes just so pretty in general like ma’am how do you do that please drop the skin care routine 

The emotion that was conveyed was enough to make me tear up BUT I DID NOT CRY AND I AM VERY PROUD OF THAT 

she did the “you lift me high” line and kinda went into this airy place in her voice and it was angelic and heavenly and all the good things

HER RIFFS WERE JUST DFJDHJLFH

She was just fantastic and thats all I have to say 

Thats a lie I have so many things to say about that woman but the time will come

HOH was a whole acid trip there was a point during this song where I literally just took it all in and then thought “Janey, you really spent your hard earned money to go on an acid trip for a solid few minutes good job”

Their dancing is hilarious and thats that

ABBY SAYING “BUT WE CANNOT GUARANTEE THAT YOU’LL STILL WALK AT FORTY” I had to stifle a laugh because my queen is indeed 40

THE GERMAN ACCENTS HAD ME QUAKING

Brittney Mack is… all bad bitch energy and I was living for it

She is a queen

When she did the “my horses can trot up to twelve miles an hour”- in the boot (not that I watch those…) abby is always making a 😳😶😲 kind of face and this time she just couldn’t stop smiling and it made me laugh

WOOF

Her reveal was SO GOOD she literally just started checking out her nails while everyone just applauded… AS THEY SHOULD

When britt told the person to get up, this person full on WENT and britt was like shook it was hysterical

THE INTERLUDE BETWEEN GET DOWN AND THEN KAT’S ROAST WAS ICONIQUE

i dont think it was here but I cant remember where it was but BRITT WAS PLAYING WITH ABBY’S WIG AND IT WAS REALLY CUTE SHE WAS LIKE PLAYING WITH THE ENDS OF IT AND AWH

justice for the beheaded cousins 

BOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOO BABY MARY HAD THE CHICKEN POX AND YOU DIDN’T GET TO HOLD HER HAND… YOU KNOW ITS FUNNY BECAUSE WHEN I WANTED TO HOLD MY NEWBORN SON…. IIIIII DIIIIIIEDD. Abby lowkey went feral and I loved every second of it and then her pose after got so many laughs it was truly amazing

THE K HOWARD ROAST WAS JUST SO GOOD IT WAS SO GOOD

Aywd destroyed me

I also teared up here but I did not let those babies fall because I was not about to ruin my look

justice for my pink queen

Her delivery is insane and honestly its gotten better and I didn’t even know that was possible because WOW SHE WAS ALREADY STUNNING BUT DAMN MY HEART GOT RIPPED OUT OF MY CHEST

The whole “Catherine not singing” bit was fantastic

Abby looked so confused the entire time 

Andrea’s “hahaha what” was perfecto 

when Anna said “should we really be doing this” someone in the audience went “yes” very loudly and made the queens break for a solid second abby almost forgot to say her line and you could barely hear it because the audience was laughing at the rando 

Anna acknowledged it and just went “I know” before turning to the queens and saying “I know” it was hysterical 

“I’m Catherine parr, I draw the line in arbitrary places bLaH bLaH bLaH”

THE CLAPPING- BRITT GOT IN HER FACE AND JUST *CLAP. CLAP. CLAP.”  It was the funniest thing oh my gosh

“Are you sure Catherine? I-we don’t mind if you wanna sit this one out… I mean you must be exhausted from all those backing vocals”

IDNYL WAS INSANE AND ANNA UZELE IS WICKED TALENTED LIKE DANG

I dont know if this was intentional or not but when they all start to understand the purpose of parr’s thing- abby is the last to stand up and in my head im like “no yeah that makes sense because shes “the one he truly loved” and shes still trying to get to a point where shes realizing he wasn’t all that great and I dont know I just really like that minor detail

The whole “remember that I was a writer…” part got loud cheers, especially from abby it was very cute

She did a new riff on the “we all disappear” line and WOW my eyes went so wide it was so good I was genuinely shook

the “i dont get it” was sooo good

“My sixth finger” was said so casually and so determinedly that it was a whole new joke and I loved it

“Everyone notices Jane cant dance” -abby just looking so sad

“Yeeeaaaahhhhh. I read!” Was so cute and she sounded so proud of herself it was adorbs

The way they just stood there awkwardly was amazing and got so many laughs it was so good

When sam said the line about competing, abby really almost cut Anna’s line out but she caught herself and it was funny I dont know if anyone else noticed it, but I did and it was glorious

REMIX

“Rise abo-o-o-o-ove” WAS BEAUTIFUL THEY WERE IN SUCH GOOD HARMONY

AGAIN, ANNA’S RIFFS HOW DOES THAT WOMAN DO THAT AT THE END OF THE SHOW LIKE SHIT

After it was over, of course it got long applause and the entire time abby was doing her like “sparkle hands” but also awkwardly moving her arm kinda like a noodle and then going back to sparkle hands and it gave me a good chuckle

Six

The slow acoustic part was so soft I died

The harmonies was delicious

The audience was so hype

Megasix

Super hype

Amazing

Fantastic

All the good things ever

Basically it was just adorable and amazing and absolutely stunning

The new costumes are gorgeous and the lighting is wild if they don’t win best lighting for Tony awards I will full on riot

Aragon and Boleyn interacted a lot and so did Seymour and Cleves and it was very very sweet

Abby interacted with the band a lot to the point where she almost missed a cue and it was very endearing

AND THEN THEY DID THE CURTAIN UP THING AND FIRST OF ALL WOW THEY ARE ALL SO CUTE AND IT WAS SO SWEET SEEING THE WAY THEY ALL WATCHED EACH OTHER WHILE THEY WERE SINGING AND I JUST JDKFDJLA

abby’s hair is SO LONG but I am here for it

So I was looking for my friend when I hear “Make some room, make a path!” From a security guard, and the queens legit walked RIGHT PAST ME

I wanted to go to the theatre anyway to take pictures, but when I saw them, I did follow them back to the theatre because wow I wanted to bask in their glory I didnt even want to talk to them I just wanted to be in their presence

So im like, walking behind them when this happens:

I guess abby saw someone she knew because I heard this “abby!” And then she was like “OH MY GOD” and like RAN to hug them and i legit almost walked right into her/got stepped on but i freaking stopped like a noob i should’ve just let her run me over but I did not I just stopped in my tracks and let out a soft “aH” and then went around her

And then I got to meet a friend and apparently toby heard us squealing and watched us hug for a solid however long so that was awkward

And Julia schade was like talking to him and stared at us for a good amount of time

And then I was walking away and passed Julia again and she kept looking at me, but she was talking to someone else and I think she thought I was going to stay to talk to her (and I would have loved to) but I didnt I just gave her a smile, a nod, and a little wave because I can not do confrontation like if I could not confront abby ma’am I cannot confront u either I am SHY

And that is a very detailed run down of my time in nyc at the brooks