A/N: Wow! Eight reviews! Thanks so much guys! I can't tell you how much I appreciate this! It means so much to me. To all of my reviewers: I love Catalina (Catherine) too and I think that she is very overlooked (not to mention misused by Henry! grrr). That is my simple and consistent reason for writing this fic about her. Anyway, here is chapter two. Please read, review, and enjoy!


Chapter Two:

Catalina shivered as she knelt in prayer on the cold stone floor of the chapel. Although she was very much trying to concentrate on the words being spoken by the monk, she could not stop thinking of her future country and people…and husband. She had never even seen a picture of him… The slow and deep chant of the monks was the only sound in the room aside as Catalina dutifully rose from her place and approached the monk. Sinking down onto her knees before him, he placed his hands on her head and said in his deep and thunderous voice,

"May God bestow His favour upon you and protect and guide you as you make your journey across the sea to one day become Queen of England."

Catalina bowed her head in acceptance of the blessing and returned to her place in silence. After the mass had ended, Catalina returned to her chambers and found her ladies-in-waiting bustling excitedly and packing the last of the gowns, headpieces, jewellery, etc. They all stopped as soon as she entered the room, however, and curtseyed. One of the ladies, a young girl of about fourteen or so, was standing at the window and watching the celebrations below.

"Look, milady!" she said eagerly, pointing to all the banners and silks of all colours.

There were brilliant reds, royal purples, deep pinks, light greens, and blues that matched the color of the bluest sky. Catalina stood breathlessly by the window and was reminded of all the pleasant things that would be hers when she was Queen of England. It would not all be unpleasant. Some of it, perhaps…but not all. Behind her, she was vaguely aware of Leonora instructing Catalina's other ladies-in-waiting what to fetch or where to place a particular gown. She smiled to herself. Below her, she suddenly noticed a small party of men in bright attire coming towards the palace.

The English embassy, no doubt, Catalina thought. They have come to take me back with them…

Turning around, she clapped her hands together,

"Ladies," she said. "We shall now make our entrance and greet the English ambassador and his retinue."

So saying, she motioned for them to follow her in pairs of two with the exception of Leonora, who remained single and only slightly behind Catalina on her left side.

As they descended the staircase, Catalina reached for Leonora's hand and held it tightly. Leonora was, at this time, about twenty years old, a few years older than Catalina herself. It was this difference in age which made Catalina so attached to Leonora. Her mother, Isabel of Spain, although she doted on her youngest daughter, had had very little time to spend with Catalina throughout the last sixteen years. Consequently, Catalina had become extremely close to Leonora. Though not quite as close as a mother's relationship with her daughter, it was the most intimate relationship (and therefore sense of stableness and security) that Catalina had ever known. Once in the courtyard, the little cluster of women was met by loud cheers from the small crowd of nobles and courtiers. King Fernando and Queen Isabel were there too with the English delegation. The king first spoke,

"Today we are here to confirm the engagement of our daughter, the Infanta Catalina of Spain…"

Here loud clapping ensued and it was several seconds before they quieted. The king continued,

"…to his Royal Highness, Prince Arthur of Wales…"

The crowd again expressed their happiness at the prospect of such a union and clapped enthusiastically.

"…in the hopes that this matrimonial alliance may help to unite our two great countries."

The ambassador replied to the king in a dialect Catalina did not understand, but the tone made it clear that the offer was graciously accepted. He went on for quite some time and Catalina guessed rightly that he was flattering the king and queen (and probably herself) and elaborating on what a great privilege it would be to have the great Spanish empire as an ally. When he finished his speech, he stepped up to Catalina and she held out her hand to him as he respectfully raised it to his lips. Catalina smiled,

"Your Excellency does me great honor."

The Queen Isabel now spoke and invited the Englishmen to dine with them in the great hall before going back to sea. This proposal was quickly assented to and the ambassador held out his arm to Catalina. She accepted it somewhat shyly and Leonora fell back slightly to allow the ambassador to take her place.

Dinner that evening was very splendid indeed and Catalina lost count of the number of courses. Seated at the head of the table were the King and Queen. The English embassy sat at the King's right hand and Catalina and her sister, Maria, were seated on the Queen's left. After that came all the nobles of the court according to rank and importance. Catalina, knowing that everyone's eyes were on her almost all the time, felt very much as though she were on display. Well, she would have to get used to it, for she supposed that being on display was something that was expected of queens. When, at last, the feast was over, and the majority of people had left the hall, Catalina retired also, intent on getting a good night's sleep. This, she thought, would be the last night that she would be able to sleep in peace. It was a long journey to England and she was not sure how well she would be able to rest with the constant rocking of a ship beneath her. When she had finished undressing and slipping into a white shift, there was a soft knock on the door and Catalina found herself staring into the face of her mother, Queen Isabel.

"Well, my daughter," she said. "Tomorrow you are to leave you father and I…"

Catalina nodded slowly and bit her lip to stifle a sob.

"I wanted to give this to you before you left," her mother continued.

As she spoke, she reached into the folds of her gown and produced a rosary with ivory beads. She took Catalina's hand and pressed it into her palm.

"My younger brother, your uncle Alfonso, gave this to me just before he died," she said.

Tears started to well up in her eyes,

"He was only fifteen…"

She sniffed briefly and then, suddenly, embraced her daughter and held her tightly. Catalina fought hard not to cry and tried to smile when the queen released her hold.

"Goodnight, Catalina," she said quietly.

Then, with a quick rustling of her dress, she turned towards the door and disappeared down the dimly lit corridor. Catalina stood still and watched, knowing in her heart that she would never see her mother again.


A/N: Well, there's another chapter done! I hope you liked it! As always, please please review and I promise to do more!

Justine