LesbianHybrid: Can you please let us back in the house?
SilverSeymour: We aren't finished yet! Give us a few minutes more before you think about returning.
I sigh and put my phone away. 'Are your friends still not letting us back in the house?' Mum asks.
'Not yet,' I agree. 'They are still decorating and setting everything up.' We are sitting in the park, waiting for Catalina, Anne, Jane, Anna, and Kitty to finish decorating so we can head back home. We would go into town, but many shops are shut after the Thames drained itself.
'I hope we can go back soon,' Mummy says, and she starts shivering. 'I'm freezing.'
'It's your fault for putting on a thin coat!'
'Well, you always told me that Qetesh are cold-blooded.'
'When did I say that? Besides, you're not a Qetesh.'
'Last year.'
'I was lying.' Mum turns away from Mum.
'I don't believe you! The one time I think I learn something about your species and you tell me that you were lying.'
'It was to get you to shut up, or the Crimson Chapter would have found us!'
'The what now?' I ask. 'Is the Crimson Chapter why you left?' Mum and Mummy share a look.
'Emma, what do you remember about my job when I worked at Planet Three?'
'Not much,' I say. 'I was a young child back then, but I remember you did a series that exposed companies that were doing something illegal.' My parents give me a look. 'Juno told me about why you left, about that last company you exposed. Were they innocent?'
'No,' Mummy says after a pause. 'Emma, I was set up,' I can see tears building up in Mummy's eyes. 'After the series ended, I was looking forward to spending a tremendous amount of time with you both, but when Planet Three fired me, that put an end to it. People were following me even before that last episode, so Ruby and I had to make it look like we abandoned you.'
'If we took you with us, people would get suspicious,' Mum explains. 'Many couples who travel usually don't have a child with them; we would have to enrol you in different schools, and we would never get the chance to run if we had to. You would also have been the new girl so many times, and you wouldn't have liked that.'
'Do you forgive us for leaving you?' Mummy asks.
'Of course, I do,' I say. 'If anyone asks me about what happened, because that could happen someday, I will tell them that you were only doing what you believed to be the right thing and that you tried to keep me safe.' Mummy is smiling when I finish talking.
'That is all I can ever ask of you, Emma. But people shouldn't ask about that; I want to put Planet Three behind me.'
'Yes, but it's a good idea to have a plan in place in case someone does ask,' Mum assures her. 'At least we know what we're going to say if something like that does come up.' My phone beeps and I check the message.
SilverSeymour: You can come back now
'Right, we can head home,' I say and stand up. 'Thank you for having that conversation with me. It must have been a long time coming.'
'We would have had to talk about it at some point,' Mummy agrees. 'At least we have everything in the open now.' I nod, and we set off back to Bannerman Road.
When we step inside, the house is dark except for the living room. 'Hey, Emma,' Jane says, opening the door to the living room. 'We're ready.' I smile as Jane takes my hand and leads me into the room.
The living room looks really Christmassy, thanks to the Christmas party yesterday. There are also balloons and a banner reading 'Happy Birthday'. Besides the coffee table is a pile of presents. Mum and Mummy enter and add their gifts to the pile.
'Thank you,' I say to my friends.
'We weren't able to do much for the decorations, but we still wanted it to be special,' Jane explains.
'I love it,' I assure her. 'You were creative with what you had.'
'I also made a cake, and Kitty and Anna iced it.'
'Yes, Mum wouldn't let me make another cake because she keeps arguing with Dad there,' Kitty says. This is not the first time that Kitty brought up her parents' arguments.
'Is it still no better?' Anna asks. Kitty shakes her head.
'But today isn't about me.'
'Kitty, if you need to talk, then do so,' I say. 'My birthday celebrations can wait.' Kitty sighs.
'My parents had problems since I started Park Vale.'
'So it's gone on for longer than we've known?' Catalina asks. 'Kitty, why didn't you tell us?'
'Because history views me as a slut and an air-head who never gets anything right!' Kitty bursts into tears. 'I thought if I revealed my family's problems, you would think that I'm a traitor to my family!' I turn to Mum and Mummy after Kitty's revelation, and they both look shocked.
'We'd never think like that,' Anna says.
'We're all friends here,' I say.
'And two of us are your cousins,' Jane adds. 'If you need somewhere to stay for a couple of days, Mum and Dad will always welcome you.' She turns to the rest of us. 'That goes for the rest of you as well. You are always welcome into the Seymour household.'
'You will always be welcome here, Kitty,' Mum says. 'That goes for the rest of you as well. If things aren't going well at home, remember that our door is always open.'
'Thank you,' Catalina says. 'Kitty, do you know why your parents were fighting?'
'Remember, when our parents and siblings were reincarnated?' Catalina, Anne, Jane, and Anna nod. 'Isabel told them that I was not interested in dating boys, and they tried to stop me from dating people I would want to. But when I joined secondary school, they started arguing even more. It got worse when Emma arrived.'
'What have I got to do with it?' I ask.
'Isabel might have told them that we had a romantic relationship for a while in Tudor England.'
'Whoa, whoa, whoa. What?'
'And there we go, I messed everything up again.'
'No, no, you didn't. You didn't mess anything up, Katheryn. I think it is worthwhile that I know to keep history intact as much as possible. Thank you for telling me that, Kitty.' Kitty gives me a brief smile.
'Now, I won't worry you with my burden now.'
'But we will talk another time,' I tell her. Kitty nods. 'If you ever need to talk, we will be happy to listen.'
'Thank you.'
Mum and Mummy sit beside me on the sofa as I want them to be part of the celebrations. My friends didn't argue with me. 'You miss this version of Ruby a lot when you are in Tudor England,' Jane says, 'so it's best if you spend as much time as you can with her now, so you have those memories.'
'Why just Mum? Don't I miss Mummy too?'
Jane curses. Mummy and I share a look. What is the meaning behind that? Maybe I should try something different. 'Do I talk about her a lot?'
'You talk about them all the time,' Catalina says. 'We never got bored with the stories you told us about your parents.'
'What stories?' Mummy asks.
'And there's the journalistic sense kicking in,' Anne laughs.
'No, really, what stories?' My friends start giggling, and we end up joining in as well. 'What? What's so funny?' We all continue laughing and soon try to stop ourselves. But then Anne starts laughing, and we can't help but giggle with her, and it sets us all off again.
'I think I needed that laugh, thank you, Sarah Jane,' Jane says.
'Yes, but what stories did Emma tell you?'
'You'll have to ask her when she comes back,' Anna says. 'She repeated the same stories to me until you two turn up.'
'When we what?' Mum asks.
'Schießen!'
'I think we should have told them sooner,' Jane says. 'Emma's future involves them, too.' I sigh. Today is not going the way I expected it to.
'Right, um...' Mum says as she tries to think of something to say. 'What are we meant to say to that?'
'Your choice.'
'That doesn't help!' Mummy is laughing. 'Oh, you think this is funny?' Mum has a smile on her face. Mum leans over and starts tickling Mummy.
'Ruby, stop!' Mummy giggles. 'You know I'm ticklish!'
'Mum, stop tickling Mummy! I'm getting squashed between you both!'
'Sorry, Emma,' Mum says. She moves back, and I go to sit with my friends. I can't believe that my parents would still sometimes act like children.
'We were in Tudor England?' Mum asks.
'For a while, yes,' Anna confirms. 'It was during my reign, and Emma messed up big time.'
'Please don't tell me she killed someone!'
'He was meant to die the next year,' Kitty says. 'And he was also a rapist and a murderer.'
'Yikes. I hope he stayed dead.'
'Culpeper—' Kitty starts screaming, forcing Anna to stop. 'Sorry, she hates that name.'
'I can imagine why,' I say, folding my arms.
'Sorry, who is Culpeper?' Mummy asks as Kitty continues screaming.
'One of the people who abused Kitty.' Kitty stops screaming and leans on Jane's shoulder. 'We try to bring it up as little as possible, but this might be one of those times.' I watch as Kitty closes her eyes, exhausted. Anne places an arm around Kitty, and we all fall silent.
'He tried to rape Emma, and she was having none of that,' Anna says. 'She actually ate him before Henry found out. He threw a huge fit.' Anna starts laughing. 'It wasn't funny at the time. Henry was shouting at Emma, and she was screeching right back at him.' Anna looks directly at me. 'He already threw you in the Tower once, and he promised Jane that he would only do that once.'
'Why did he throw me in the Tower?'
'Buggery Act,' Catalina, Anne, Jane, Anna and Kitty cry.
'I should have seen that coming,' I say.
'You were my mistress in secret, and Henry was furious when I told him before I died,' Jane says.
'Wha?' I ask. Was I mistress to both Jane and Katheryn? How did that happen?
'Great,' Jane groans. 'Can we please not talk about history? We'll all end up saying something that you're not meant to know about, and you'd try and change things.'
'Only things I don't like,' I remind Jane.
'Exactly. That's why we shouldn't tell you too much.'
'Is that why you didn't tell me who I have children with?'
'Why did you not tell us?' Mummy asks.
'It's a future thing, and—'
'It would have been nice if you told us.'
'I only found out about a month ago—I needed time to think it over. One of them is with someone I hate—'
'Things might change,' Mum says.
'I highly doubt it.' I lean against the back of the sofa. 'I've always hated Henry, always will.'
'He might be different when he's younger.'
I shake my head. There's little chance of that happening. Even if it does, I will make myself hate him. I may have to marry him, but I'll make sure I don't enjoy it. Mum notices the tension rising in the room. Before she can say anything, our phones start buzzing. We all take them out to see what's happening. 'Guys...' Catalina says. 'Someone hacked into our group chat.'
'What? How did that happen?' I check the group chat and find that there is a new username that I don't recognise.
TheBestKing
TheBestKing: You ladies are nothing, and I'm going to prove it. This time tomorrow, you will lose everything.
SilverSeymour: Henry, is that you?
TheBestKing changed their username to TheBestHenry
TheBestHenry: How did you know?
LesbianHybrid: We're kicking your butt H****!
TheBestHenry: MY NAME IS NOT A SWEAR WORD!
LesbianHybrid kicked TheBestHenry out of the group chat.
'Well done, Emma,' Anne grins.
'I can't believe that Henry did that,' Anna says. 'It's ridiculous.'
'His threat still worries me,' I say. 'He said that we'd lose everything.'
'It's just Henry,' Mum says. 'He can't do that much damage.' We all turn to look at her.
'Seriously?' Catalina asks. 'This is the guy who uprooted Catholicism, created his own religion so he could marry a woman who wasn't interested in him, had two of his wives murdered, threw your daughter into the Tower, forced himself on a literal child—'
'I was sixteen!' Katheryn yells back.
'He was forty-nine! And he forced your daughter to have sex with him as well! If that's not damage, then I'm not Catalina of Aragon.'
'You are Catalina of Aragon,' Jane says.
'Exactly,' Catalina agrees. 'He's done so much damage to us over almost five hundred years!'
Yeah, there is no way that I'll ever like Henry. He's too full of himself and thinks that he's the best person in the universe. But I have my friends; they understand how I feel.
When we nearly finish celebrating, and everyone is about to head home, my friends take me to one side. 'We need to tell you something important,' Kitty says. 'The other person with who you have a child with—'
'What about him?' I ask. 'Please, don't let him be someone terrible.'
'No, quite the opposite,' Jane assures me. 'Will was a great man. He saved so many people, and when it mattered, he was a true hero.' Will. At least I have a name. But I don't know his last name, or when I meet him, so I cannot find him.
'We want you to remember that, and we will keep reminding you,' Anna agrees.
'Who's Will?'
'Emma, listen to us. You never got over his death. You still haven't.'
'What do you mean, still?'
'There is an older version of you living with me,' Catalina says. 'That's why I keep one of the doors locked whenever you come over. That room belongs to—mierda!'
'I guess I shouldn't ask any more questions.' The queens nod, and we start moving towards the front door.
'Have a lovely Christmas,' I tell them before letting them out.
'Merry Christmas,' the others chorus, and they move away, into the night.
