Haunted || Leo Valdez

62 - They're Six

Anne had been hoping to find Katherine first, that way she could've gotten a quick debriefing. She could find out how to act around the other queens, know what to talk about, what not to talk about, whether or not they'd actually liked their costumes.

Henry looked around in wonder at the city as they walked. Anne didn't attempt to start up a conversation with him, and he didn't even ask if she was sure they were headed in the right direction or if they were almost there. Anne had the feeling he would've been fine wandering aimlessly around Rome for hours on end.

Anne went down the list of her fellow wives, trying to remember everything Annabeth had been able to tell her about them in the five minutes they'd had before they'd parted ways to go on their various mini-quests.

First, Catherine of Aragon.

Ugh, Anne thought. No need to go over her. She had plenty of experience with Catherine. She was so annoying and stuck-up. She was so proud of her Spanish accent, the fact that she was the daughter of the Queen Isabella of Spain, the very queen who'd funded Christopher Columbus' journey to the New World.

After Catherine had come Anne herself, and after Anne had come Jane Seymour, who'd been, as the stupid introductory song went, "the only one he truly loved."

Rude, Anne thought with a roll of her eyes.

Seymour had been the only one of Henry's wives to give him a son. She'd died in childbirth. The musical portrayed her as a kind, motherly woman who'd married Henry for love. Her solo song had been moving, emotional piece about her unconditional love for her family, whereas the title of Anne's had been a pun about her own death. Of course, Jane wasn't to blame for that, and Anne was looking forward to meeting her.

After Jane Seymour had come Anne of Cleves. She was from Germany and had been married to Henry for a mere six months before their divorce. Apparently Henry had been so revolted when he first saw her that he'd wanted to divorce her at once. Henry probably felt bad for her, because he gave her a huge sum of money following the divorce along with the title The King's Beloved Sister. She outlived all the rest of the wives while doing her thing in her palace in Richmond.

Henry began pursuing Katherine Howard soon after that. Katherine had always been painted by historians as a deceptive seductress, but Six the Musical portrayed her as a naive girl who kept falling in love with the wrong people and getting hurt. Katherine had been beheaded when Henry discovered she'd been sleeping with one of Henry's courtiers, Thomas Culpeper. Her last words had reportedly been, "I die a Queen, but I would rather have died the wife of Culpeper."

Finally, Catherine Parr, the last wife. She'd been in love with Thomas Seymour and wanted to marry him, but Henry intended to have her as his wife, and she felt like it was her duty to marry him. She'd been close with all three of Henry's children and personally took part in their education. She'd been the first Queen of England to publish a book under her own name. The musical portrayed her as a generally composed person with a rebellious side that she wanted to let out so she could follow her heart and all that jazz.

Anne sighed. That was all of them. She wasn't worried about how they'd treat her; she was confident that, since they all had something in common, they would get along just fine. Except maybe her and Catherine of Aragon. All of that toxicity and resentment might still be there.

Then there was the matter of names. There were three Catherines and two Annes. Sometimes it got a bit confusing with just Anne and Annabeth, since they had similar names and people kept mixing them up on accident. What was she going to do now? Maybe it would've been smart to invest in a sheet of "Hi! My name is:" stickers.