TW: Um... Insanity, I guess? Oh, and a couple of near-deaths too I suppose-

"Mother!" England screamed, racing to London's side and shaking her, wiping the dank cellar water off of her face. "P-Please wake up... Please... I told them not to hurt you, please, I didn't want this... I can't lose you, Mother..." Tears streaked his face as he gazed hopelessly at her stiff body, now realising why the others had gone to such an effort to keep her from him and coming to the daunting revelation that he was probably without his mother forever.

"E-England?" London murmured, her eyes flickering open and blindly gazing around, desperately searching for her son in the pitch-black, lifeless cellar she had been abandoned in.

"I-I'm sorry, they took you from me... It's midnight, I had to sneak down here..."

"England, please," London cooed softly, finally squeezing England's hand, "It's ok... Who exactly are you talking about?"

"C-Cambridge, York... The other man, the scary one... I don't think anyone else knows you're here... I think York thought you died..."

"Ok..." London whispered, desperate for answers and for at least some ice for her forehead, which pulsed in agony. "Get one of the others for me, dear? I can't stay here, I'll freeze..."

"Alright..." Still sobbing, England dashed out of the cellar, allowing some light from above to seep into the room briefly. As expected, it was constructed of damp stone and... Ew, was that a dead rat? Vile!

London had no idea how long she lay there before the door was practically pulled off of its hinges and the brightest of bright colours whirled into the room, spinning, dancing around her head in a whirlwind of beauty and pain. And then the colours faded away, leaving only a black void.

***

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, LEAVING HER DOWN THERE?!"

"WE THOUGHT SHE WAS DEAD!"

"WELL SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN IF ENGLAND DIDN'T FIND HER IN TIME!"

"QUIET, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE! THIS WAS YOUR IDEA AFTER ALL, WASN'T IT?!"

"WE AGREED NOT TO HURT HER!"

"Please, my rose... You have to understand..."

"I DON'T UNDERSTAND! AND SHE'S CLEARLY PREGNANT TOO! HOW COULD YOU THREE-"

Is it that obvious? London thought to herself as she pressed her ear to the wall, intrigued by this supposed 'plan' that the Roundheads spoke of. From what she had gathered, both from eavesdropping and from England's sizeable mouth, they (or Northamptonshire, presumably) had plotted her kidnap, and Nottingham had promised England that she wasn't to be hurt. However, the plan didn't go as intended and harming her was their last resort, or something of the like. York had been carrying her and presumed her to be dead, so he had been thrown in the cellar in order to avoid the wrath of England and the other counties and towns within their network of allies. And yet, her darling son had found her alive, though her injuries were severe and despite his lack of knowledge of her whereabouts.

It had fallen silent now outside. Well, other than some angered whispers that seemed to be directed at York that she couldn't quite make out. Had fists been thrown at someone? Possibly, judging by the angry red mark on Northamptonshire's face as she pulled open the bedroom door and awkwardly sat opposite London.

"You, ma'am, are an idiot." London stated, eyeing her captor. "An observant idiot, but an idiot nonetheless."

"That might be the nicest thing you've ever said to me," Northants smiled insincerely. Was that guilt on her face? Anger? Confusion? Maybe even a lust for blood..? "I'm sorry about this, London..."

"I'm more concerned by the fact that York doesn't know how to check if someone is breathing or not despite having two very useful tools called eyes."

She giggled at that. That was... unusual for Northamptonshire; she was infamous for her permanent misery. "I should have checked what they had done... I'm so sorry, I assumed you were already in here..." She whispered regardless.

"People have done worse."

"...Like what?"

"During the Wars of the R-"

"Actually, never mind."

"That's what I thought," London sniggered. "You poor little traumatised cry-baby. What's happening out there?"

"The arguing stopped. York slapped me, England started crying so Nottingham took him for a walk. I came in here... I think Cambridge was crying, I don't remember..."

"Ah yes, your lover was weeping for you, was he?"

"I- I keep forgetting you know about that..."

"That's why I'm here, I take it? Because I know?"

"To a degree." Northamptonshire conceded, "But now is the most inconvenient time for Monarchy to lose such a powerful city, I think you will agree."

"Ah." Truthfully, London had no idea what this witch was referring to, but her enemy couldn't possibly realise that, for the satisfaction she would gain would be damning. "I notice that you don't appear to have a plan?"

"Support is growing, as I'm sure you know." Northamptonshire smiled icily, the bruise on her cheek now matching the one on London's forehead. "We have equal - if not greater - support than you, with only a handful of neutral counties left. We have power, we have hope and we have desire. Where there are hope and desire, there's unity, something you Cavaliers could only dream of. That's your greatest weakness, and that's how we will seize victory."

"In short, you don't know what you're doing. Foolish girl."

"You're rather...outspoken for a hostage, aren't you? Remember, I could quite easily shut you up."

"And how would you do that without killing me, hmm?"

"I..." Northamptonshire breathed, clearly resenting herself, though rather enjoying the prospect of violence, "I would simply kill the child."

"Who, England?"

"Not England, you halfwit. That child." Smiling sadistically, Northamptonshire slipped her hand over London's stomach, pressing down as gently as the delicate pregnancy would allow until London realised exactly what pain she intended to inflict if she refused to give in.

"No... You wouldn't... I heard you out there, you defended me..."

"I'm not above betraying my word," Northamptonshire sighed, relieving the pressure, but keeping her hand firmly over the baby bump. "And there would be no evidence, seeing as nobody else knows."

"Fine... Fine, you win..." London stuttered. She was near certain that Northamptonshire was bluffing, but that wasn't a risk worth taking.

With one final bloodthirsty smile, Northamptonshire left the room.

***

I said that. I said I'd kill it. I'm evil, I'm evil, I'm evil... I did that, I'm becoming like them, I'm insane, I'm insane, I'm going insane...

"R-Rose? ...Darling? Can you hear me?!" Cambridge practically screamed, shaking Northamptonshire harder by the second. No response. "LOVE, PLEASE! PLEASE, LOOK AT ME!"

Nothing.

I'm crazy, I'm crazy, I'm crazy... I'm evil, I'm an evil witch, I'm-

"NORTHAMPTONSHIRE, PLEASE!" Cambridge yelled, grabbing her shoulders and wailing loudly enough to trouble York downstairs. Slowly, his love's eyes travelled upwards, her empty gaze meeting his at last. "What happened to you..?"

"I'm going crazy..." She whispered, her voice steadily rising into a screech with every word spoken, "I'm evil, I was going to kill it, I'm a murderer, I'M EVIL-"

"N-No..." Cambridge whispered, colour draining from his face, "Come with me... We're going to bed, ok?" Nodding silently, Northamptonshire took his hand, stumbling along numbly behind him as he lead her into his bedroom and tucked her in. It didn't take her long to succumb to sleep, but Cambridge did nothing but watch her, terrified of what was to come.

***

"Why did you do that?" England muttered, rocking nervously in his seat opposite York.

"I... I'm sorry, England," he sighed, shame written all over his face, "We have some personal disputes, me and London, and I think I wanted her gone, truthfully... It was selfish of me, I know..."

"I didn't think you could ever hurt anyone... You're so gentle and nice and sweet..."

"Not in battle, I'm not. Ask Lancaster."

"Oh... And um... Are we going to war soon?"

"Soon," York nodded, "Last night, Nottingham informed us that the enemy has allied with one of her brother's other towns - a gentleman by the name of Newark, apparently - meaning your father is going to attack us if we don't do something soon."

"We need a capital... Are you..?"

"Not me... If I become our capital, all of Lancashire would likely join the Cavaliers-"

"What's the Cavaliers?"

"Your father's team, in affect."

"Ohhh!" England nodded slowly, "But who's our capital?"

"Me," Nottingham smiled, appearing from behind England and squeezing his arm gently.

"OOOH YAY! YOU'RE THE BESTTTT!"

"Awh, thanks kiddo!" she giggled, internally debating adopting the child. "Now, if you're our future country and I'm your capital for now, we need to write to your father and declare war!"

"YAYYYY!" England screamed, "...How do we do that?"

"Get some paper and I'll show you!"

***

"Hello..."

"Hello, my love," Cambridge whispered.

"I'm sorry..."

"Why, darling?"

"This is all my fault."

"What is?"

"Everything..."

"Northamptonshire, listen to me," Cambridge smiled mournfully, internally screaming in pure panic, "I don't know what's wrong with you yet, but London spoke to me, and I've written to your mother. You need rest... I think it's stress that's done this to you: stress and trauma. We still have time before the Monarchy receives our declaration of war and you aren't to face the burden of leading our side, that's Nottingham's job now. Please, rest my love. You need it..."

"Ok..." Northamptonshire muttered, "Tell London I'm sorry... I shouldn't have... I don't know why I..."

"It's alright, love," Cambridge cooed, "I'll tell her. She knows that wasn't you, it's the first thing she said to me, other than 'you're a submissive little rat, aren't you?'."

Giggling at that, Northamptonshire went back to resting against Cambridge's shoulder, now seemingly at relative peace with herself.

"Goodnight, my rose. Sleep well..."

[Well that was... Interesting. RIP my planning, that was useless.]