It's August now, and the heat is getting to me. Why do Tudor women have to wear so many layers? What is the point of it? At least Mummy and I have our own room now, away from the Maiden's Chamber. When Catalina saw the blue stumps on my back, she immediately agreed to give us our own room and spoke to King Henry about it. While our new room isn't luxurious, it's our own place. We have two beds, one is a double bed, and the other is a single. The mattresses feel uncomfortable, but they felt uncomfortable in the maiden's chamber, too. When will they feel comfortable again? I'd like to wake up and not feel hay poking me. I started sleeping on my front since my stumps feel sore whenever I sleep on my back.

I feel someone shaking me, and I snap out of my thoughts. Mummy gives me a worried look. "Don't worry, Mummy. I'm okay."
"Really? It looked like you were going to fall asleep."
"Oops. I didn't get a lot of sleep last night."
"I know. I'm struggling to adapt, too."
"It's been two months; you'd think we'd be doing fine by now."

Most of the people we work with know we come from the future, but most of them don't know from when, and even fewer know about our lives before we arrived—and we want to keep it that way.
"We'll get by," Mummy assures me as she picks up her embroidery. "Does this look all right?" I look over and see a mess.
"What is that meant to be?"
"Mr Smith."
"You might need to get more lessons."
"I feared that was the case. And you didn't tell me that people at Court appreciate a woman that can play a musical instrument or sing!"
"It didn't come up." Maybe I should've told Mummy about it. We could have practised together.

Catalina comes out of her rooms with the physician and the midwife. "Thank you for telling me. I shall inform His Majesty at once." The physician bows to Catalina while the midwife curtsies, and they head out of her chambers. We all look over at the Queen, who seems to be glowing in the sunlight. "My ladies." We all stand and curtsey to her. "Today, the Lord has given us a joyous blessing. I am with child." The other ladies hurry over to Catalina and begin fussing over her, but I hold Mummy back, and we head into a quiet corner.
"I think we need to tell the Queen what will happen," I say.
"I think you're right, but the news will devastate her." We look back at the group, and the door opens. King Henry walks in. Mummy and I are the first two to notice him, and we sink into curtseys. He sees us and beckons us towards him.
"Mistress Sarah Jane, Mistress Emma, we have a calamity."
"What sort of calamity, Your Grace?" I ask.
"We have reports of a woman with a red object making her way to Court. The object has eaten people who tried to stop her."
"What can we do to help, Your Grace?" Mummy asks.
"My wife told me that you both deal with aliens, am I right?"
"That's right, Your Grace."
"Can you please go and sort the situation out? I will hate to turn my guards against her if there is a chance she could end up becoming peaceful."
"Do you think it could be Mum?" I ask Mummy. "After all, she barely told us anything about her past."
"That is certainly one possibility," Mummy agrees, "but we should not get our hopes up yet. If we believe it's her and it isn't, that will make us more vulnerable to attack."

"I am not asking either of you to attack the woman," King Henry says, "just... try and come to an agreement with her. We could sort out a permanent residence for her in England if she becomes peaceful."
"And if it's Mum?" I ask. Uh-oh, why did I say that?
King Henry overlooks my concern, thank goodness. He seems to take it in his stride. "How would you two like it if I persuaded my wife to give her a place at Court?"
"I thought you wouldn't have agreed to such a thing," Mummy says, and looks at Catalina, then back at the King. "Why are you doing this?"
"I want to protect my kingdom," Henry explains, "but we cannot say that all aliens are hostile. If you can convince this alien to help, we can set up an organisation to help other aliens settle in England and combat hostile ones."
"I thought you would've been against aliens," I say and look around the room. Everyone is still around Catalina and have not noticed King Henry yet.
"I am against aliens that want to cause us harm. Peaceful aliens are another matter altogether."
"That makes more sense."
"So, can I rely on you two to try and convince her?"
"You can, Your Majesty," Mummy promises.

One of Henry's advisors, I don't know his name because he doesn't appear at Court a lot during Henry's reign, tells us where the alien is. "Are you sure you can tame her?"
"Tame is the wrong word to use," Mummy says, "no alien is ever tame. Peaceful, yes, tame, no." The two of us set off in the direction he pointed out.
"What if it's not Mum?" I ask. "Would we be able to convince whoever it is to live in peace alongside humanity?"
"There is only one way to find out."

We arrive at the edge of a wood. The King loves hunting and enjoys riding, so we'd obviously be close to a few acres of woodland. If the alien is near here, it could be disastrous for the Court. We must do everything we can to ask the alien to live in peace. We enter the wood. The birds sing as if nothing is wrong, and sunlight glitters through the leaves. "How do we find her?" Mummy asks. "We don't even know—"
A woman in a long red dress jumps down from a tree and tackles Mummy. Mummy tries pushing her off, but the woman is much stronger. I dash over and pull the woman off. She throws me to the ground and goes for Mummy again. But Mummy has picked herself up and is running for a tree. I jump up and tackle the woman to the ground. "How dare you attack Mummy like that!" The woman struggles and eventually pushes me off. She turns, and wide, fearful brown eyes stare back at me. "Mum?"
"Do I know you?" She asks. Oops, it's the younger version of Mum. How did I make that mistake? I look over at Mummy, who is stepping away from the tree.
"Are you all right, Mummy?"
"Yes, I'm okay." Mummy looks over at Mum. "Ruby?"
"How do you know me?"
"Emma and I are from your future."
"I don't have a future on this planet." Mum stands up and starts walking, and Mummy and I chase after her.
"What makes you say that?" I ask. "Of course, you have a future here! Mummy and I wouldn't be here if you didn't." Mum stops walking and looks at us. "I'm your daughter from the future. If you didn't have a future on Earth, I wouldn't exist."
"What's your name?"
"Emma Smith-White."
Mum turns to Mummy. "And yours?"
"Sarah Jane Smith. Emma's our daughter."
"Ours?" Tears fill Mum's eyes, and she looks between the two of us. "How is that possible?"

I look at Mummy, and she nods. "I was born on the 24th of December 1993."
"But I don't want to stay on Earth, so why would I?"
"Emma, is it all right if I talk to your mum alone?" Mummy asks. I nod, and the two of them move away. I sit down on the Earth and think for a while. Why would Mum want to leave Earth? What happened to her? Mum always gave us the impression that she arrived on Earth early in King Henry's reign, but were we wrong? We barely know anything about her childhood and none of us like asking her.

The birds are singing, and I try to tune my thoughts out so I can listen to them. I won't get many more peaceful moments like this, so I should make the most of it. I can also hear the gentle bubble of a stream. I stand up and look around, but I can't see it. "Mum, Mummy, I'm going to look for the stream."
"All right," Mummy agrees, "don't be too long. King Henry will expect us back at Greenwich soon."
"Did she just call me Mum?" Mum asks as I run off in search of the stream.

I find the stream a few moments later when I get deeper into the wood. I sit on the bank and think. The grass is soft and wet beneath my fingers, and yes, I will ruin my dress, but I don't get much opportunity to think at Court. Everything smells fresh and clean like it does when the rain stops. It's a calming scent, and it helps me clear my mind.

"You all right, Emma?" Mum asks. I look over at her, and she sits down beside me.
"Yeah, I'm feeling better now. I don't get much of a chance to think these days."
"I see. I have not had an opportunity to think about my circumstances since I arrived on Earth."
"How long ago was that?"
"I am not sure, but I first arrived in Ancient Egypt."
"You've been on Earth since Ancient Egypt?" Mum nods. "How did that happen?"
"It is a very long story and doesn't have a happy ending."
"My story won't have one either, but yours will eventually."
"Are you sure I am your mum?"
"Positive. Mummy and I both recognised you from our future."

"Emma!" Mummy calls. "King Henry will be expecting us back at Court soon."
"Right!" I call back and stand up. Mum also stands and brushes herself down. "So, what are you going to do?"
"I want to get revenge on what the Ancient Egyptian people did to me, but because I can't, sticking with you and Sarah Jane is the least I can do."
"I think you'll be delighted with that decision," Mummy says. "Come on, we better introduce you to King Henry and Queen Catherine."

The sun is setting as we return to Court. Commotion fills the Court, and we spot Maria waiting for us. "What took you so long?" She asks.
"We got caught up talking," Mummy says.
"Who is this?"
"I am Ruby White," Mum says, "Sarah Jane and Emma have been looking for me for a few months."
"I don't think they mentioned you to us."
"We did," I argue, "I told you—"
Maria covers my mouth when she realises what I'm trying to say. "Not here, Emma!" She hisses. "You always said that Court is homophobic, whatever that means."
"It means they hate people who are not attracted to the opposite gender." Why do I sound like I'm a breathing dictionary? At least I can sort out any confusion if either Mummy or I talk about the future.
"Thanks for clearing that up. King Henry and Queen Catherine want to meet the three of you." She leads us inside, and we follow her back to the Queen's apartments.

King Henry is still there, which doesn't surprise me. He's so excited about his child that he wants to spend as much time with the Queen as possible, especially when he knows how dangerous childbirth is. Mummy and I curtsey when he notices us, and Mum follows our example. "Your Majesty," Mummy says.
"I see you and Mistress Smith-White were successful in your mission."
"That is right, Your Majesty," I say. We rise out of our curtsies, and King Henry looks at us. He finally looks at Mum.
"What is your name?"
"Ruby White, Your Majesty."
"What are you doing on this planet?"
"I was originally sold to Earthlings," Mum growls, "but I escaped."
"You were a slave?" I always thought Mum arrived on Earth through her free will. "But you never—"
"I would never want to tell that story. But I returned because I wanted to, not because I felt loyalty to this planet."
"Why were you sold to our planet?" King Henry asks.
Mum falls silent and stares at the floor. "I would rather not reveal that reason, Your Majesty."
King Henry looks judgemental, but that soon slides. "Will you live in peace with humanity, Mistress White?"
"I will," Mum promises.
"Then you are more than welcome to stay here at Court," Queen Catherine says. "I believe Mistress Smith and Mistress Smith-White have already prepared for your arrival."
"That is right, Your Majesty," I agree.
"Can you two show Mistress White around, then? The three of you will probably rely on each other for several months."
"More like several centuries," Mummy mumbles.
"What was that, Mistress Smith-White?"
"It's more likely we will rely on each other for several centuries."
"Oh, yes, you all must live through several centuries together."
King Henry gives Queen Catherine a confused look. "Several centuries? No one can live for several centuries."
"Emma and Sarah Jane are immortal, and I believe Ruby is as well."
"I think I am," Mum admits, "I died a few times but kept coming back." At least we know that now. It will save me the trouble of trying to make her immortal.

King Henry questions us, and we try to answer his questions without giving too much away. I think we did all right, but you can never be sure. Afterwards, we show Mum around and introduce her to K-9. "Mum, this is K-9. He is from the future like us."
"Does he bite?"
"No, but he does shoot lasers when we're up against aggressive aliens," Mummy says. "Don't worry; you have nothing to fear from him."
"Greetings, Mistress Ruby," K-9 says.
"Do you always call someone mistress or master, K-9?" Mum asks.
"Negative; only close friends and the Smith-White family gain that honour."

We retire to bed early, and Mum looks over my blue stumps. "That is your tentacles growing," she says.
"Tentacles?" I scream. "Your older self never mentioned anything about that!"
"Oh? I guess she thought you might not get them—but then again, I am her, so I would have known you did not know. Sorry, did that make sense?"
"Yes, especially as I'll meet myself in a few centuries. I can't believe I must go through all those conversations again."