King Henry is going to issue a new law. While I do not know what it is, I have heard members of the Privy Council talking about it. From what I can gather, they are talking about giving a pardon to a certain group of people. Who these people are remain unknown. Could they be talking about my friends and family? Is King Henry willing to pardon them? Should I ask for their pardon?

So many questions are running through my head, and focusing on one is difficult. Now I am back at Court. There is little I can do. There is no queen to serve. I find myself in the gardens most days, and spring will soon be here. I love walking among nature; especially now I find it helps me clear my head.

During one of my walks, I see Laura. I start backing away. "Wait!" She calls. "I need to talk to you." I turn and run back inside. There is no way I will let her near me. My heart pounds as I race through the corridors. I glance back once and run straight into someone.

It's King Henry. I curtsey. "Please rise, Mistress Emma."
I rise. "Your Majesty, I just saw Laura in the grounds."
"And you ran away?" I nod. "But I thought you were a soul stealer."
"I don't feel ready to fight her yet."
"I can understand that." I notice he has something in his hands—my bracelet.

But I gave it to Catalina before she left in the TARDIS. How does the King have it? "A man named William Murdoch gave this to me. He said you would need it."
"He would be right."
King Henry gives it to me. "How do you know him?"
"He will be my husband, Your Majesty. We get married in 1912."
"That is a long wait."

I don't need him reminding me. I shut my eyes and try to stop the tears from falling. "You already love him."
"Yeah." I open my eyes. "But it won't work. He'll die shortly after our marriage, and..." I burst into tears. I haven't even noticed I'm crying in front of the King of England. "He's not even born yet, and I don't know what I'll do without him."
"You will get through it. You still have several hundred years until then."

The King is right. I must prove to myself that I can make it until 1894. After that, I will be much closer to meeting William. I can do it. I will do it.

I dry my eyes and take a deep, shuddering breath. "I will go to the others and let them know the plan is off."
"Very well, Mistress Emma. I will send my best guards into the gardens and see if they can catch Laura."
"Tell them good luck from me." I curtsey before pressing the button.

When the light fades, I find myself standing in the TARDIS. I can't see any of the Titanic officers, but they could be around. "I told you plenty of times," Anne yells, "we cannot go back for Emma!"
"But he's got both Ruby and Emma. Do you want the King to get more of us?" Catalina screams back. "Emma is critical for our plans. We cannot do this without her."

"You'll have to," I say. Everyone turns and looks at me.
"Emma!" Catalina says. She runs over and pulls me into a hug. The others gather around, and Mummy stands by my side. "Wait, what do you mean?"
"I'm pulling out of the plan. It was a stupid mistake, and I'm owning up for it. The rest of you should, too."
"Are you insane? We are too deep now. King Henry will kill us all!"
I shake my head. "He released me from the Tower and said he wanted to keep me around."

My phone starts ringing. "Hold on; I better get this," I answer the call without checking who is calling. "Hello?"
"Did you not check your texts?" Luke demands.
"I've been imprisoned for who knows how long! No, I haven't. What's happened?"
"The video was a hoax."

What?

The video that spread everywhere, the one that was in the news, was a hoax? Why would someone do that? Was it a big conspiracy theory, or was it sent to throw me off? I guess I won't know now. "Thanks for telling me," I say. "At least I can keep history on track now. But please, let me know if anything else happens."
"Will do." Luke hangs up, and I smile. At least I know my brother will help us no matter what.

"We have to return to Court," I say. "King Henry will likely pardon us."
"You hate King Henry," Catalina says.
"Yeah, and I came this close to killing him." I hold my thumb and finger together, with only a millimetre between them.
"They're almost touching."
"Exactly." I fold my arms. "I am going to forget this happened. What about the rest of you?"

Mummy walks over and stands beside me. "I am with you, no matter what. We're in this together."
"Thanks, Mummy." I hug her, and she hugs me back.

When we return to Court, we find Mum there. "Mum!" I run over and throw my arms around her. "Are you all right?"
"I am okay," she says as she rubs my back. She looks up and notices Mummy. She holds her arm out, and Mummy joins the hug. "The others?"
"They won't listen. They're still intent on our 1531 plan."

Mum groans. "I can see why they are, but..." Her voice trails off, and she drops into a curtsey. Mummy and I turn and drop into curtsies when we see the King approaching.
"Rise," he commands, and we stand. "There is no sign of Laura. The guards searched the grounds but found nothing."
"I see," I say. How else am I supposed to answer that?

King Henry quickly realises I won't respond with anything else. "My council are helping me put a law into place to ensure that nothing like this can happen again. It will be called The Smith-White Act."
We exchange glances. The King wants to name an act after us. "I've never heard of such an act, even in my time," I say.
"Did you do a lot of research?"
I nod. "However, not all my books were correct. Maybe this is another thing that someone tried to cover up."
The King nods. "But why would someone hide this from you?"
I shrug. How should I know?
"Well, The Smith-White Act allows anyone part of any plot to kill me to swear their loyalty to me, and they will be spared."
"That is very kind of you, sire," Mummy says.
"As most of the people involved are critical to the future, I want to keep as many of them alive as possible. As you three have already abandoned the plot, you are spared."

All we need to do is wait for the others. I hope they see sense and swear their loyalty to the king.