We do not hear from Matilda after she arrives at Hybrid Palace. Why is that? Anything could have happened. At least we know Alice should be free now. There are barely any plague cases in London.

Cromwell is avoiding us. He ducks into random rooms if we walk down a corridor or leaves a room when we enter. It's driving King Henry nuts. "The man should not avoid you!" He bellows when I mention it. "I will have a word with him!"

The only time Cromwell can't avoid us is during Privy Council meetings. Even then, he avoids our gazes. "This is getting ridiculous!" King Henry roars. "You have no reason to avoid Sarah Jane and Emma. Explain to us why you are avoiding them."
Cromwell stands up, wringing his hands. He glares at me. "Alice and Matilda are dead."
"What?" Mummy's voice is quiet.
"What happened to them?" I ask. "Did the plague get them?"
"I ordered their executions. It was easy to forge everyone's signatures."

Mummy bursts into tears. Cranmer and Wriothesley jump up and grab Cromwell. I vault over the table and grab Cromwell by the neck. "They did nothing wrong." I snarl. "How could you?"
"Enough!" King Henry yells. "Cromwell, you are dismissed from the Privy Council until I deem you fit to return."
"But I—"
"Get out!" King Henry grabs a book and throws it in our direction. It hits Cranmer, but Cromwell decides to flee. "Thomas, I am sorry."
"It is all right, Your Majesty." Cranmer brings a hand to his cheek. "I will be all right."
King Henry sighs and looks at Mummy. "I understand if you and Emma want to leave. You will both have places in the Privy Council if you wish to return."
"Thank you, Your Majesty," I say, "I think we need a break."

The door bursts open, and a messenger from Hampton Court arrives. "Your Majesty, the queen has gone into labour."
King Henry rises to his feet, wincing as he puts weight on his injured leg. "We will leave immediately." The messenger bows and leaves. The other members of the Privy Council begin gathering scrolls and books. King Henry limps over to Mummy. I walk over and join them. "If you both want to leave now, I will not stop you."
Mummy shakes her head. "The queen might need me."
"And wherever Mummy goes, I go," I say.
"Very well." King Henry walks over to the doors, and the two doormen pull them open. "We leave within the hour."

We hurriedly pack our belongings. I hate moving from one place to the other. The twenty-first century now sounds extremely appealing. No one would stab me in the back. I don't have to move on the order of the monarch. I would be free to do whatever I wanted.

I took everything from my time for granted. The music, the literature, the food. I would love to eat pizza again. Can I try introducing it here? That might not be a great idea. I dread to think how the Tudor court would butcher it. I miss reading my favourite books and having the time to read. I spent so much time researching Tudor England that my last year in my own time passed me by. I was a fool.

Mummy shakes my shoulder. "We need to leave."
I nod and help her take our trunks outside. "Mummy?"
"Yes?"
"Do you miss our time?"
Mummy stops and nods. "I sometimes regret joining you. It feels like being flung into a violent sea and told to swim."
I chuckle. "It can feel like that." I sigh. "I miss home."
Mummy puts her trunk down and hugs me. "I wish we could return home."
"You can."
"What?" Mummy pushes me away and looks at me, anger evident in her eyes. "If you think I will abandon you here, you have another thing coming. I am not leaving you." We pick up our trunks and put them in the courtyard so some of the servants can take them.

What are we going to find when we enter Hampton Court?

It is dark when we reach the palace. King Henry practically throws himself from his horse when we reach the courtyard. "Where is my son?" He yells.
A servant runs towards us. He is out of breath when he reaches us. "Her Majesty is still in labour."
"Then Doctor Butts shall attend her." King Henry hurries inside, dragging the poor servant with him.

The only thing we can do is wait. When dawn arrives, Mummy and I collapse in bed when someone knocks on the door. "I'm coming!" I call, rolling out of bed and sluggishly walking to the door.

"Surprise!" Multiple people yell when I open the door.

I stare at the faces of my old friends and Luke. Tears fill my eyes when it finally sinks in. Someone decided to listen to us. Our friends are here.
"It's great to see you!" Rani says as she pulls me into a hug.
I hug her back. "I missed you all so much!"
"Hey, don't turn the waterworks on yet," Clyde jokes. "We come bearing gifts." He points back to the wheeled shopping basket full of pizza, bottles of fizzy drinks, plastic cups, board games and books.
"You guys are the best. Mummy! Look who's here!" I invite Clyde, Rani, Maria, and Luke inside and shut the door behind them.

Mummy pushes herself up from her bed and beams when she sees them. She runs over and pulls Luke into a hug. "I missed you so much!"
"It would have only been a few months," he says, hugging her back.
"What?" Mummy lets him go and looks at Clyde, Rani, and Maria before her gaze returns to Luke.
"This is October 1509, right?"
"No," I say, "October 1537. Queen Jane's still giving birth."
"We're almost three decades late!" Rani yells.

We spend the next few hours eating pizza and dozing. I've forgotten how good pizza tastes. "It's official," I say, "we need pizza in the sixteenth century."
Clyde, Rani, Maria, and Luke laugh. "Food here cannot be that bad," Luke says.
Mummy and I pull faces. "Some of the things we've eaten are questionable at best."
"Emma ate a priest."
"What?" Everyone turns to me after Mummy's statement.
"An evil priest," I remind her. "He was killing hybrids."
"More hybrids?" Clyde gives me a shocked look. "I thought you were the only hybrid."
Mummy shakes her head. "They are fairly common here."

Maria pulls out a customised board game. "Does anyone want to play Monopoly with no rules?"
"You'll have to remind us of the few rules that game has!" Mummy laughs.
Maria goes over the few rules, and we begin playing.

Someone knocks on the door when it's my turn. "Not now!" Mummy yells. "We're busy."
"It sounds like it," Cromwell snaps. "Get out of there now!"
"Has the king ordered it?" I ask. "Is the baby born?"
"No."
"Then shut up and go away, Cromwell!"
Cromwell mumbles something as he walks away. "Stupid man," I growl, folding my arms.

There is no news of either Jane or the baby as darkness falls. Mummy starts pacing and looks towards the door. "I wish there was something we could do to help."
I nod. "Changing history sounds like a good idea right now."
"What do you mean?" Rani asks.
Mummy and I tell the short story, leaving out a lot of details. "I originally came back to try and kill the king, not get on his Privy Council."
The others laugh as someone knocks on the door. "Who is it?" Mummy asks.
"Me," King Henry says.
"I don't recognise anyone called me."
King Henry laughs. "No, I mean it is me, the King of England."

Mummy gets up and opens the door. "Any news?" She asks as she steps aside to let him enter.
King Henry ignores that Mummy hasn't curtsied. "Nothing yet. Butts suggests cutting the baby from her. As if I will give him permission while Jane is alive!"
"You were right to refuse to consider it," I say, "Jane will give birth naturally, Your Majesty."
King Henry nods. "That is good to hear." He looks at my friends. "Who are they."
"People we know from the future. These are our friends Maria Jackson, Clyde Langer, and Rani Chandra, and my brother Luke." Maria and Rani do their best to curtsey, which is almost impossible as they are not wearing skirts. Clyde and Luke bow.
"I never realised you had a brother." King Henry looks out of the darkened window. "These are hard times. How can any of us know what is to come?" He looks back at us.

"Where is the king?" Someone yells. "He is not in his apartments."
Mummy runs over and opens the door. "He's in here."
A messenger runs in. "Your Majesty, it is a boy. A strong, healthy boy!"
King Henry pulls me into a hug. "God has blessed our realm with a Prince of Wales!" He lets me go and turns back to the messenger. "And Jane?"
"Weak, Sire, but still living."
"This is amazing news. I must see her." He limps past the messenger and heads out the door.
"Mistress Smith-White?" The messenger asks. "The Queen wishes to see you."

I follow him down the hallways towards the Queen's apartments. Jane's ladies let me in, and I see Jane lying in bed, her face pale and covered in sweat. Lady Mary kneels beside the bed and holds her hand. She looks up at me. "Your Majesty, Mistress Smith-White is here."
Jane smiles. "Emma, you are here."
"Of course I am. I will always come if you call me."
"I had a son."
"Congratulations." I walk over and sit on the edge of the bed. "How are you?"
"This birth will kill me. I know it."
I look away from her. "You will live until after the prince's christening."

Jane squeezes my hand. "Then I want to live as much as possible. Emma, will you become my mistress?"
"Are you sure?" I stroke Jane's cheek.
"I would not suggest it if I was not." Jane's brown eyes sparkle with delight.
"All right," I say, "I will do it."

I send a letter to Mum at Jane's request. "I want her to ensure nothing goes wrong," Jane says, "and she is the best person to do it."
Jane dictates the letter while I write it, and she signs her name at the bottom. "I hope she comes before it is too late."

Mum arrives on the fourteenth, and a maid-of-honour shows her to Jane's rooms. "Your Majesty," she says and curtsies, "I am glad to see you."
"As am I. Please, sit."
Mum sits on a nearby chair. "I will be happy to help. My powers can ensure no harm comes to you while you do the deed."
"Thank you."
"But I must insist that I sit just outside the door."
I frown. "How come?"
"I don't need to know what you two get up to in the bedroom!"

Edward's christening is the following day. Most of the court is taking part, as are Lady Mary and Lady Elizabeth. Jane looks out of the window, watching the procession in the courtyard below. "I did it." She turns to me and smiles. She looks towards the closed door. "Is Ruby out there?"
I peek my head out to check Jane's private chamber. Mum and Mummy are sitting with Joan. I close the door. "She is."
"Time is short." Jane wrings her hands. "I want to do it. Now."
"There's no pressure."
"Please." Jane falls to her knees. "I will die soon. Let me have a positive memory to take with me."
I sigh. When Jane puts it like that, how can I refuse? "All right, but if you need to stop, tell me."