The beginning of the new year brings pain for King Henry and Queen Catherine. "My baby!" Catalina screams when Mum, Mummy, Maria, and I sit with her for a while. "Why will God take her from me?"
"God thought it best to take her from you now," Maria says, "but you and the King are young. More children will follow."
"They will," I assure Catalina.
Catalina looks over at me. "You are from the future. Do any of my children live to adulthood?"
I pause as I consider my answer. If I tell Catalina, it could destroy her. But not telling her the truth could cause an equal amount of damage. What should I do? "Is it all right if I talk to Mum and Mummy before I tell you what I know?"
"It is bad news: I know it!"
That's it: I can't not tell her. "You have one child that survives to adulthood, but it's a girl."
Hope begins twinkling in Catalina's eyes. "One child is better than none. What's her name? When is she born?"
"We might want to tread carefully," Mummy warns. "If Emma tells you too much, something could change."
"It's unlikely," I shrug and turn back to Catalina. "Your other children die of natural causes, so it's unlikely anyone can do much to save them. Mary is born on the 18th of February 1516. I dare not say much more."
"That is all the information I need to know, thank you." Catalina leans on Maria for support. "At least I know the Tudor dynasty will continue. But my poor baby..."

"You are allowed to mourn your children," Mummy says, "I tried for children for years, but it wasn't until I conceived Emma that I finally had a child."
I stare at Mummy. Her eyes are full of tears, and she folds in on herself. "I never realised. Mummy, I'm so sorry."
"It's all right." Mummy pulls me into a hug. "I've got you and Luke, and I wouldn't change that for anything in the universe." Mummy then pulls Mum into the hug, and Maria and Catalina soon join.

I never realised what pain my parents went through before I came along. How long have they tried to have children before I came along? How desperate did they become? I will not ask these questions now; the timing isn't right. I'll wait for everyone's emotions to settle before I ask them.

I hope this is the start of incredible things to come. If we can draw strength from each other in our worst moments, we can rely on each other no matter what. "Catalina?" I ask. "There will be other ladies joining your household that will know my secret. How would we want to tell them?"
"I am not sure," Catalina says. "That is something we need to think about. When does the first lady arrive?"
"I think it's in three years since the next one is Bessie Blount. We also have Margaret Lee, Jane Parker, who will later be called Jane Boleyn, Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour."
"So many women," Maria says, "and we will interact with them all?"
"Yes, but it's over years. Bessie Blount leaves in 1519, while Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour join in the 1520s."
"So, we have a couple of years to explain everything to Bessie," Catalina says, "and tell her how to keep history on the right track."
"That's right," I agree, "but I know we can do this. We are all strong women, and Mummy and I never once let a problem get in our way."
"I am a problem solver," Mum says, "if something is going on you need me to fix, I will be a useful ally."
"Having a queen on your side will help," Catalina adds, "if there are any rules that need changing, I can talk to my husband and try and sort something out."
"I do not think I can be much help," Maria says.
"You will be great," I assure her. "You helped Mummy and I settle in; you can do that with Bessie, Anne, and the two Janes."
"You think so?"
"I know so. You helped Mummy and I settle in; you will be amazing with the others."
"She is right," Catalina agrees. "I will be up and around soon, so I can help."

We begin making plans for our next steps. As far as we know, things will be quiet for a while. It will be some time before Bessie arrives, so we have plenty of time to sort everything out.

One day, Maria asks if we can go for a walk in the gardens. It's still winter, so we both wrap up warm before we head out. "How many pregnancies will the queen have?" She asks.
"Six."
"And only Princess Mary survives?" I can only bring myself to nod. "Then we must do everything we can for her."
"How can we help her? She is going to be born a princess." I do not tell Maria the struggles and hardships Princess Mary will face throughout her life. How can I tell her or Catalina that? They don't even know how Catalina's marriage to Henry will end. Maybe I should tell them soon, but I don't want to say anything until Anne arrives—it will involve her, too.

I will wait a while before I tell anyone.

As Mum, Mummy, and I settle down, the questions I thought of earlier are still nagging me. I can't ask Mum, she has no idea what she will go through, but I don't want to put Mummy into an emotional situation yet. She'll get enough of that in the years to come.

However, by morning, I could not hold my questions back. Mummy and I are having a walk in the gardens when I finally ask her. It is freezing, as it would be in winter. At least our layered dresses are keeping us warm. "Mummy, how many years have you tried for a child?"
"About ten years. I was in my early thirties when I told Ruby I wanted a child, and she agreed it would be nice to start a family. Eventually, we thought the problem was with ourselves rather than the other. We didn't want our lack of a family to destroy our relationship."
"That makes sense. What happened next?"
Mummy stops walking, and I pause beside her. She suddenly curtsies, and I look ahead of us. King Henry is walking down the path. I sweep a low curtsey as well.

"Good morning, Mistress Smith, Mistress Smith-White."
"Good morning, Your Majesty," we chorus, and the King heads on his way. We continue walking.
"Where were we again?" Mummy asks.
"You and Mum blamed yourselves as you didn't want your lack of a family to destroy your relationship."
"That's right. Well, we turned to UNIT. The Brigadier got some doctors to examine both of us, and they couldn't find any problems with either of us. No one was quite sure what was going on. We conceived you at the UNIT headquarters on the outskirts of London."
"Really?"
"Yes." Mummy smiles at the memory. "We stayed there for a few months while the doctors worked out the next steps, but it turns out that we didn't need their help. Maybe the change of scenery helped, but we aren't quite sure. But I was so glad when I discovered I was pregnant, but I didn't dare get my hopes up until the third trimester. That was when we started organising everything to prepare for you." Mummy looks distant when I look at her again, and I decide I shouldn't probe her further.