ROYAL BLOOD
— 8. Ransack

     The following morning, Lizbeth woke up, feeling uneasy when she found herself still laying in Henry's bed, her head on his unclothed chest. She, too, was naked, which caused her to feel even more uneasy.

She slowly sat up, trying to remain as quiet as possible. She looked down, sighing at the sight of the blood on the sheets.

With proof of their consummation, there would most likely be no way of their marriage ending unless one of them was dead.

She climbed off the bed, trying to be as quiet as possible. She walked over to where her nightgown laid on the ground. She placed it back on her nude body and as quietly as she could be, she snuck toward the door.

"Sneaking away from your own husband?" Henry suddenly spoke up, causing Lizbeth to sigh in defeat as she slowly turned to face him, "Now, that was something I would have never expected."

"What did you expect, Henry?" Lizbeth asked as she sighed deeply, "That I spend the morning with you and we would eat breakfast together as if we were some happily married couple?"

"No, but I thought we could try to work out the ill feelings we have towards each other. We are husband and wife now. We will rule England as its King and Queen. I do not want us to be at odds with one another," Henry explained and Lizbeth remained silent.

She wanted to agree, but she knew she couldn't. She knew if she stayed, the feelings would resurface and she couldn't allow that to happen.

"I-I must go," She stammered, just before fleeing the room.

Henry watched on, sighing in defeat.

____

Lizbeth returned to her rooms that morning to find Lizzie standing outside, waiting for her. Lizzie turned when she saw Lizbeth walking toward her and smiled widely. "How was it?" She asked and Lizbeth nervously smiled, "Was he gentle? Rough? Did you like it?"

Lizbeth remained an emotionless expression until she reached Lizzie. "It was good, really good," She whispered to her, gradually beginning to smile, "I didn't expect to like it, but I did."

"You must tell me more," Lizzie insisted and as Lizbeth opened her mouth to explain, the door opened to reveal Nora standing before her.

"Look who has finally returned," Nora sarcastically commented, "I was afraid Henry was too rough with you and you wouldn't be able to return for a couple of hours."

"He was not rough, but I did not like it either," Lizzie assured her mother, despite the last part being a lie, "I do not think he has the skills to truly satisfy a woman."

Lizzie's smiled faded and she turned to Lizbeth, a frown on her face.

"Perhaps he, too, was a virgin," Nora pointed out and Lizbeth forced herself to laugh, despite feeling uneasy, "I'm told your coronation will occur tomorrow. I hope you're ready."

"How did you--" Lizbeth began to ask, only to be cut off as her mother walked back into the room.

Lizbeth sighed in defeat, turning her attention to Lizzie, who remained calm. "Haven't you realized by now, Lizbeth?" Lizzie asked her sister in a calm tone, "No matter if the Tudors are in power or not, they will always be people around us loyal to your mother. She is the queen in all but name, after all. She has spies all around England. She always will."

"Yet she does not trust either of us," Lizbeth confessed, a disappointed look on her face.

"You are married to Henry Tudor, Lizbeth," Lizzie reminded her in a calm tone, "And I am loyal to you. Of course she would not tell us everything."

Lizzie exchanged a look with Lizbeth, just before walking back into their chambers together.

____

In the courtyard, Henry and Lizbeth walked out together, wearing the king's and queen's robes for their coronation.

The crowd applauded and Margaret sat nearby on her horse, watching the scene occur. She watched on, smiling at Henry, but didn't like the idea of how he was having Lizbeth crowned alongside him.

   Inside the castle, Cecily watched on from the window of the room she shared with her sisters, cousins, and Nora. Teddy stood near her, jumping on the bed.

She watched Henry and Lizbeth being led to their horses, a hint of jealousy in her eyes.
"So, Lizbeth has a king to wed, but what about the rest of us?" She asked the group, sounding annoyed.

"Who's king?" Teddy asked, his eyes lighting up, "Is it me?"

Nora smiled at the boy's question. She walked over to him, picking him up before placing him down on the floor instead of the bed. "No, my love, and you mustn't say such a thing again, do you understand?" She asked kindly as she cupped her face in her hands.

"Yes, Aunt Nora," Teddy sheepishly answered. He smiled widely, nodding his head in understanding.

"It isn't fair that we are not allowed to our own sister's coronation," Cecily continued to complain. She sighed, taking a seat down on the bed, "I'm sick to death of being cooped up here."

"It is to take precautions. Think about it, Cecily. What if they were to cheer for us?" Lizzie questioned, raising a brow at her elder sister, "The Londoners love the House of York. They cannot risk that."

"Our cousins are there. And Aunt Eliza," Cecily argued and Nora's smile immediately faded.

"Well, they have turned their coats to Tudor. Us, on the other hand, have not. Henry will want to make a show of the Yorks he does have on his side," She explained in a stern tone.

Outside in the streets of London, guards rode on their horses as they escorted the king and queen through.

People clapped and as much as the Tudors didn't want to admit it, it was obvious they were mostly cheering for Lizbeth. Even now, they loved her, just like they loved her father.

While Henry rode through the procession with a face of stone, Lizbeth smiled, waving at the numerous peasants who called out for her. She politely waved and she turned her head, noticing how Margaret was glaring at her.

Lizbeth smiled at her daringly, just before she continuing to wave to the small folk.

When they finally reached the palace, Henry and Lizbeth stopped at the beginning of the aisle.

They glanced at each other, locking hands before they began to walk up the aisle together, toward their thrones.

Lizbeth felt uneasy, but she maintained composure.

The people of the court bowed to them as they walked past them. They finally released the grip onto each other's hands. They walked up the steps, exchanging a look before taking a seat on their thrones.

They were handed the ball and scepter and while Henry was visibly uneasy, Lizbeth maintained composure.

They looked forward, remaining unreadable expressions as the crowns were placed upon their heads.

Margaret stepped forward, a proud look on her face. "God save the King!" She called out loudly, expecting the people to repeat after her.

However, before she could do so, Jasper Tudor stepped forward as well. "God save the Queen!" He shouted out loudly, knowing it was necessary for them both to be included and it was foolish of Margaret to think she didn't have to include Lizbeth.

"God save the King!"

"God save the Queen!"

Lizbeth and Henry turned to each other, exchanging a lingering look. Henry smiled slightly at Lizbeth as they exchanged a look. However, upon noticing his smile, Lizbeth had looked away, much to Henry's dismay.

_______

About a month had passed since then. One day, Lizbeth felt uneasy as she traveled to the garderobe to use the bathroom. It was usually that time of the month where she'd have her monthly courses, yet it hadn't arrived yet.

She traveled there, Lizzie walking with her alongside their ladies, who followed her everywhere she went.

Once arriving, she pulled the curtain closed. She looked down the hole through the hole in the floor as she reached her hand underneath her dress. "Please bleed. Please bleed," She whispered to herself, tears beginning to form in her eyes as she removed her hand from being underneath her dress to see that she had not bled.

She softly gasped, a small cry escaping her lips. At that moment, Lizzie entered, a sympathetic look on her face.

She turned to her sister, beginning to cry. "Oh, Lizbeth..." Lizzie sighed, making her way over to her sister before she hugged her tightly.

Moments later, the two York sisters returned to their rooms. They turned their heads, seeing that one of their ladies was doing Cecily's hair while the other did Katherine's.

Their mother stood off to the side, staring out the window. Lizzie gave Lizbeth the look that told her she should tell Nora the truth, but Lizbeth sighed and shook her head.

Just then, Maggie entered, holding out Nora's necklace. Lizbeth frowned, shocked to see the piece of jewelry not on her mother's neck. She had never seen her mother without it. How had she not noticed it before?

"A stable boy handed this to me, Aunt Nora," Maggie informed Nora, who smiled gratefully as she was handed the necklace, "He says you dropped it."

Their ladies walked over, hoping to hear something in the conversation that they could tell Margaret about.

Nora smiled at them politely. Without a care in the world, she walked past them. However, as she began to walk away, the ladies followed her.

Once they were gone, Lizbeth walked away as well. However, before leaving, she turned to Lizzie briefly and nodded in encouragement. Lizzie nodded back, just before turning to Maggie. "Maggie, would you do something for me?" She asked her cousin curiously, "Would you get some herbs for Lizbeth?  For her belly pain. Neither I nor Lizbeth can go as we are followed by the ladies."

Maggie frowned, noticing the look on her cousin's face. "What kind of pain?"

Lizzie sighed, turning to exchange a look with Lizbeth from across the room before she looked back at Maggie. "It's her monthly course. That is all."

Maggie smiled, nodding her head in agreement. "What herbs does she need?"

____

Nora walked through the gardens of Westminster, wearing her hood. She made sure not to be seen as she made her way to the stables, where she found Ned waiting for her.

"Do you have news for me?" She desperately asked as she rushed over to Ned and removed her cloak.

She frowned, noticing the disappointed look on Ned's face as she took the letter from Margaret of York into her grasp.

     Dear sister,

I wish that I could give you joy and good news about our your precious white rose, but I cannot.

Our blooming flower has yet to arrive in Burgundy and it has me fearing for the worst. Henry Tudor had banned all trades between Burgundy and England, leaving there not to be many opportunities for your precious rose to arrive here by ship.

   Each day, I continue to pray for his arrival. He is our last true hope, after all. Until next time.

Folding the letter back up, Nora turned to Ned, trying to contain her sadness, but it was clear he could still see it. "I...I went to your home as well, Your Grace," He informed her, an uneasy look on his face.

"And what did you see there?" She asked in a whisper.

"Utter destruction," Ned informed her in a fearful tone, "Everything you once had inside has been destroyed. Windows have been smashed and doors have been ripped off its hinges. The banners of white roses that used to decorate the place have been burned. The orchards have been plundered and the garden...The garden made in honor of your daughter..." he trailed off, noticing the look on Nora's face.

"What happened to the garden, Ned?" She asked worriedly as she moved toward him, on the verge of breaking down.

"It has been destroyed, Your Grace. Completely destroyed. It is clear that it had been done on purpose just to spite you, seeing as though the garden is quite far from the castle itself," He explained and Nora began to quietly cry at the thought of the memorial made of her deceased daughter being by Tudor men, "Worst of all, the soldiers who were there to collect you and your daughters...they were told to slaughter any boys they had found within a mile of there that looked to be younger than eighteen. The bodies of some of the servants' sons lay dead in the front of your castle, Your Grace. It is a horrific sight."

"By whose orders?" Nora asked Ned in a growl, tears spilling down her cheeks.

"My Lady, the King's Mother," Ned informed Nora, who let out a loud, humorless laugh.

He stared at her in concern, watching as she smiled while wiping the tears from her eyes. "I didn't even to ask. Of course, it was her," She answered as she turned to look at him, "I wonder if Lord Strange ever told her that my darling boy George made it out alive, that he intends to claim vengeance on them all for what they've done, starting with her."

"Your Grace--" Ned began to say, but Nora quickly cut him off.

"I thank you, Ned, for giving this to me, but I must take my leave," She replied in a calm tone.

Later on, Nora was walking back to the rooms she shared with her daughters when she suddenly stopped.

Maggie was walking toward the room as well from the opposite direction, holding mandrake, which concerned her.

"What is it you have there, Maggie?" Nora asked, causing Maggie to stop walking and turn to face her aunt.

"Oh," Maggie chuckled nervously, gesturing down to what she had in her hands, "Lizzie told me to get it for Lizbeth because she had belly pains."

Nora looked down at the root, a saddened look on her face. She sighed in defeat, knowing what it meant. She remained silent for a long moment, forcing herself to maintain composure as she smiled at Maggie as if nothing was wrong.

"I should go bring it to her," Maggie was on the verge of walking into the room when Nora stopped her.

Nora grabbed her niece by the arm, causing Maggie to stop. She turned to look at her aunt, a concerned look on her face. "I shall bring it to her," She assured Maggie, lighting taking the mandrake from the girl's grasp, "I must speak to her anyway."

The moment Nora walked into the room, Lizbeth's eyes went to her mother. Nora sighed in defeat as she stood near the fireplace. She turned to look at her daughter, a disappointed look on her face.

She gestured for her daughter to walk over before she turned her back to her.

Lizbeth exchanged a concerned look with Lizzie before she walked over to her mother alone.

"What is it, Mother?" Lizbeth asked, only to feel uneasy when she watched her mother hold it out toward her.

She tensed up, not knowing how her mother would react to her rash decision.

"I have a skill with poisons. Did you think I would not figure out what it was for?" Nora asked her daughter in a frustrated tone, "Are you pregnant?"

"I can't, Mother," Lizbeth argued in a stern tone as she shook her head in disapproval,
"I can't have his child. All I have ever wanted, all my life, is to marry a man for love. I thought that man was Henry, but not anymore."

"You know, my love, that girls of your nobility cannot do that," She whispered to her daughter softly, a saddened look on her face.

"You did," Lizbeth pointed out and Nora was quick to argue.

"I had the luck falling in love with the King of England--" Nora began to say and Lizbeth shook her head.

"And so did I," Lizbeth replied in a calm tone, "Before he was king, at least."

"My marriage to your father was only made public when he was dying. Before that, I was named the King's whore. Before that, I had been forced to marry another man who wasn't your father," Nora explained in a soft tone, making it so that their ladies couldn't hear them.

"I do not want to carry his son...not like this. I do not wish to be treated like the Tudor's broodmare, something to only be used to breed heirs that have York blood in them," Lizbeth explained, beginning to tea rup as a shameful look appeared on her face.

"You must," Nora insisted on a pleading tone, "This is not just his child, it is yours as well, Lizbeth."

"It is not mine. It never will be," Lizbeth argued, trying not to cry, "This creature has been put inside me by a monster and it will never belong to me. It will belong to the throne."

"It is not a creature, Lizbeth," Nora argued back as she shook her head, smiling slightly, "It is a baby. Your baby. My grandchild."

Tears in her eyes, Lizbeth gestured toward the mandrake. "I thought I might outwit him. By killing it before it may be born. I hoped for him to believe that I was infertile. So that he may try to take another for his bride and put me aside by naming our marriage invalid somehow, as Father did with Elizabeth to be with you fully in his last moments," She explained and Nora sighed in defeat.

There was a long moment of silence between them, just before Nora finally spoke up, tears forming in her own eyes. "The stable boy brought news from home."

"Is there news of him?" Lizbeth asked, her eyes lighting up at the thought.

"Lady Margaret told the soldiers to murder any boy they found there," Nora whispered, trying to contain her tears.

"And did they?" Lizbeth found herself asking, her voice breaking, "Find him?"

"They killed any boy they could get their hands on. Any of them could have been your brother. Your aunt in Burgundy says he hasn't arrived there and that the ships going from England to Burgundy have been banned from traveling there," Nora explained and as she continued on, she began to cry, "Lizbeth... They..." She trailed off, placing a hand over her mouth to stop herself from crying out, "They've destroyed Bedford Castle. Tore it upside down and even ruined your sister's garden."

Unlike her mother, Lizbeth didn't feel sad when she heard the news. Instead, she felt angry.

How could they do such a thing to the last thing they had left to remember her sister by?

Hadn't they done enough already?

"They all deserve death for what they've done to this family," Lizbeth explained in a venomous tone as she balled her hand into a tight fist, "We just got him back and now he's taken from us?"

"I think they'll get their vengeance," Nora softly admitted, her lips curling upwards, "Some say that small folk are sick along the route the Tudor army took through Wales. They're blaming it on them. Perhaps they'll bring about their own destruction."

She paused for a long moment, letting out a large sigh, "I know one thing, though. You mustn't blame this baby boy for what his father and his family have done. You mustn't ever judge a child for its family's mistakes. And if you have do have this baby boy, he will be ours, not Henry Tudor's. Ours. We will make him strong and tall and our own rose of York. But I can't make you do something you don't want to. The choice is yours, my Lizbeth."

Nora stood up from her seat. She stood up and made her way over to Lizbeth. She bent down, pressing a kiss to her daughter's forehead before she walked away.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Margaret done fucked up by ruining Grace's garden. 🤷🏻‍♀️😬.

We all know she hates Nora, but that was WAY too far.

Lizbeth's pregnant tho 😬