rollergirl she's taking chances/just love to see her take them on

[number_unlucky]

I had to say that the first twenty-four hours after I snapped out of it were definitely the worst. I spent most of the day in bed by myself, looking up at my roof, wishing it was actually dropped fiberboard with cracks to count, like every hospital I'd ever been in. It would have made the thinking easier

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[anneotherboleyn]

Anne had seen her name on the list of nominees for this Council, and she had not yet decided what to do about it. It was unlikely that anyone who knew of her or her background would find her fit for the position, as it would always be harlotry she was famous for. What a fat lot any of them knew; how she had worked for the separation from Papism, her ambitions and what she might have done as Queen, had they allowed her to be more than a womb.

Despite her indecision, she dressed in crackling crimson and went to the bookcase, hoping that there would be something to guide her. "The Art of War," she murmured, taking the book in her hands. "Now this is a book."

[number_unlucky]

"It's sort of dry," I said, "but once you get into the style, it makes sense. I had to read part for..." And that was when I looked up at the English woman and saw that she was dressed in dark red and looked really familiar. Dark red fancy medieval Ren Faire clothes. "For school."

[anneotherboleyn]

Turning a bright, crisp smile on her, Anne said, "They'd have been more honest to give us this than five hundred Bibles and catechisms. This is what any woman hoping to survive in court needs." Out of habit, her fingers went to the gleaming B at her throat. Once assured it was there, they dropped again.

"Not that we were allowed school, in the fashion it's done here."

[number_unlucky]

Natalie Portman wasn't British. And wouldn't walk around in this kind of period outfit. She almost looked like a queen, and I suddenly wasn't sure if I should be doing a curtsy or what the protocol was.

"Uh, I can imagine," I admitted. "Well, it's definitely not a bible, and it's definitely good for understanding human motivation, from what I remember, so it'd be good political sense."

[anneotherboleyn]

"Excellent," Anne said brightly. She swept forward, and held out a delicate, if somewhat bejeweled hand. "My name is Anne Boleyn. It's a pleasure to meet a woman with a sharp mind."

[number_unlucky]

What.

I sort of gaped at her for a moment, but the pleasant look on her face (and the fact that she had a head, yet), snapped me out of it, and I shook her hand firmly but gently. "Likewise. I'm Dr. Remy Hadley," I stammered, not sure if I should bow over her hand or kiss it or something.

[anneotherboleyn]

Anne hid her sudden urge to laugh. Instead, she just continued to smile. "Don't worry; I'm well recovered these days. I take it from your expression that you're familiar with my... history?"

At least she was used to being infamous.

[number_unlucky]

"Yes," I said, glad she was at least aware of it so I didn't have to dance around the topic. "It's a little hard to miss. I'm really sorry, I'm just not used to the big gaps in time around here."

Also, she was gorgeous. Clearly Henry VIII was a fucking moron.

[anneotherboleyn]

That was a thought Anne would have drank to, really.

"They can be difficult to manage," Anne agreed, clasping her new book to herself, allowing it to be coquettish. It would not be the first time she'd flirted with a woman-- in fact, when she thought about it, there were many royal ladies that enjoyed such a thing without even acknowledging the truth of it.

"I took it upon myself to find out what came after me, not long after I arrived."

[number_unlucky]

Was she...no, that really wasn't possible. "That was probably wise of you," I agreed, "though it took some bravery. I was shocked to find out about the election that took place a month after I left home..."

Well, I could flirt a little, even if the skirts were way over the top.

[anneotherboleyn]

Anne positively gleamed, having been given the opening for one of her favorite topics, even if it wasn't conducive to what she'd been doing. "Oh? It's thrilling to realize the changes that can happen," she said. "I read of my daughter. They said a woman would never rule England."

The gleam broke into a grin. "I do love it when those prickish old men are wrong."

[number_unlucky]

"She was a very good queen, from all accounts."

Seriously, at that last statement, I couldn't help but laugh back. "Honestly, you probably figured it out from what you read," I admitted, "But god, that is one thing that never changes, Ms. Boleyn. The world still gets pushed around by old white guys with issues who get most things wrong."

[anneotherboleyn]

"You will call me Anne," she told Remy, with the sort of confidence that had won her a crown. "And a woman's work is never done, they say. Tell me, what is your line of work?"

A gamble, but Anne could not imagine that this woman was not some sort of professional something.

[number_unlucky]

I will, will I? I thought, but I had to remember the cultural differences--not like I didn't have that drilled into my mind in med school. "And you can call me Remy," I said. "I'm a doctor. A medical doctor."

Not like I could ask in return, I already knew.

[anneotherboleyn]

Anne's smiled returned brilliantly, but not as a courtier's pleasing turn of mouth, but as something sharper and more like she would have offered to her dear George. "Now, that seems to me to be a wonderful step up from what a woman with a clear mind could have found in my day. Surely the men do not control all things."

[number_unlucky]

I could tell it was an honest smile, and that was good, because she was the kind of woman you could smile at a lot. "Not everything," I assured her. "Just a lot of things. There's been work moving forwards, as I'm sure you know, but things are a little limited. Mostly...subtly. Not so direct, not banning women from doing things, just cuts and digs and backhanded laws."