28I DO NOT OWN THE TUDORS. ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO SHOWTIME AND THE SHOW'S CREATORS. I AM WRITING THIS STORY PARTLY AS A TRIBUTE TO MY OLDER BROTHER AND AS A TRIBUTE TO QUEEN KATHERINE HOWARD WHO DESERVED FAR BETTER THAN HENRY VIII.
London, England. May 3, 2019.
It was late at night as brothers Anthony and Ethan Barker sat at the kitchen table with their two flatmates playing a high stakes game of Uno.
Anthony was 19, tall and lanky with brown hair that went down to his shoulders. Most importantly, he was looking cool under the pressure despite his younger brother being almost incapacitated with nerves beside him.
Ethan was only a year his brothers' junior, huskier with a small goatee and a moptop of shaggy brown hair and was naturally more cautious than his brother.
They were both studying abroad though their priorities differed slightly in that Ethan was pragmatic and possibly right to baulk at the stakes whereas Anthony, a history major, only really cared about European history and sexy women, which might explain why he just bet Ethan's rent on tickets to Windsor Castle.
"Anthony, you bet my rent money for the month!" he whispered to his older brother. "What if we lose?"
"We won't lose," Anthony promised. "I have a good feeling about this hand."
"But what if we do lose!" Ethan repeated uneasily, obviously unsure about betting his rent on a 'good feeling'.
"Then you can sleep in the closet for the next month," Anthony replied dismissively.
"Uno!" their flatmate Andre shouted as he laid down a blue 7.
Now all four players were down to their last card. Ethan's rent money against private passes to Windsor Castle. The passes ran roughly £500 while Ethan's portion of the rent was £400, so it was a good deal; If they won, that is.
"Moment of truth, someone's weekend is about to change," Anthony goaded.
Dolph, their other flatmate, didn't have a card to play and frowned when he drew from the deck and still had nothing. It was Ethan's turn next, then Anthony's.
"Shit?" Anthony asked, watching his brother draw a card from the stack.
"Shit." Ethan huffed, glaring at the red 6 and slapping his cards face down in his lap.
"It sucks to be you if you don't have a blue or a 7 because I have a blue 6." Andre bragged to Anthony.
Anthony's leg bounced nervously. He didn't have any suitable cards and it was up to him to get lucky, so he slowly drew one from the deck. He looked at it and sighed.
"I'm sorry Ethan." He said as his younger brother turned red.
"What's this sorry shit!" Ethan yelled. "You bet my damn rent money, you asshole!"
"I'm sorry Ethan," Anthony repeated. "but you're gonna have to ride on a train...because we're going to Windsor Castle! Wild and a yellow 5! Uno, out!" The elder Barker threw his cards down, winning the game. The younger Barker was cheering and gloating as relief flooded his features.
"Yeah!" Ethan exclaimed. "We won and you lost, numbnutses!" Andre grabbed Anthony by his shirt collar and made a fist.
"You lucky shit." He gritted through his teeth as the elder Barker prepared himself to be punched. But Andre released him to turn and deck Dolph right in the face.
"You stupid, stupid, stupid son of a bitch! Do you know how much I paid for those!" Andre swore as at his friend while the punches flew.
"Holy shit!" Anthony exclaimed as he caught his breath. The Barker brothers both chuckled at this as they revelled in their victory.
"Dude, I can't believe that we are actually going to Windsor Castle!" Ethan exclaimed as he and his brother retreated back to Anthony's room to smoke a victory joint.
"I know, I've always wanted to go." Anthony agreed. "Ever since I watched that one film about Henry VIII."
"Yeah, I mean what kind of dude gets 6 wives?" Ethan asked as he passed the joint to his brother.
"Henry's got issues, I am not gonna lie," Anthony replied as he took a long drag from the weed.
ANTHONY AND ETHAN ARE ABOUT TO EMBARK ON THE ADVENTURE OF A LIFETIME. REVIEWS NEEDED AND APPRECIATED.
