~The Devil and The Saint~

31st of July 1484, Middleham....

Lifting a torch from its metal bracket upon the wall, Edward ventured beneath the castle, waving away the guards that stood by the darkened set of stairs, covered by a curved roof, leading to the dungeons.

He had no need of them for the moment. His shoes tapping upon the stone, he peered into the inky blackness, nose wrinkling in disgust as a foul stench wafted across his face; a scent of sweat and stewed excrement, tinted with damp and desperation.

He had borne worse, the thought, and resisted covering his nose with the sleeve of his doublet, instead tilting his chin up; marching down the stairs with a renewed determination until he reached the bottom.

In the underground chamber, the cobweb-covered ceilings low, a row of cells constructed with dirty iron bars lay along the back wall. There was no light, no air but that which came from the stairs and Edward found himself squinting to find what he'd come to find.

His Mother did not know he was there, nor did his Uncle. He knew he ought not to be but could no longer resist the burning questions itching in his veins. Her would have them answered and he would face the first of his foes.

Richard Grey.

Walking over to the cells, he held the torch close to the bars, walking along until he caught sight of a figure, curled into himself, huddled against the wall on a thin, tattered blanket in equally tattered clothes. He wore nothing but his shirt and breeches and even in the dim light Edward could see his skin was covered in filth. Just as his soul was, the boy thought and the darkness he had spent the last weeks dwelling in.

He certainly was no welcoming sight, his broken nose crooked, one eye swollen shut, the skin around it blue and purple. Almost the York colours, Edward mused. No doubt the guards had subjected him to a beating or two since he'd been dragged underground.

"Grey?" He demanded and the figure flinched "Face me, traitor" Grey did as he was asked, his uncleaned, gaunt face turning toward the light, chin covered with a scraggly beard. His Uncle had told him of this pompous creature, woven from arrogance and bravado (which he had seen one or twice for himself) yet he found not one trace of it upon him then "Come here. I would speak to you"

Slowly, weakly, Grey unfurled himself and stood, walking to the front of his cell where Edward looked down at him from his great height, cocking his head to the side after a moment "It is customary to bow to your King"

"You are not my King" Grey hissed and Edward hummed, sighing before he glanced behind him at the small, wooden stool outside of the cell and sat.

"I had expected as much from you. Sit, I can see your legs shaking" However much he wished to resist, he could not, his body weakened from the endless days of dark, little food and damp conditions so he sat with a quiet thump. And Edward was higher again "I have wished to see your miserable little ferret face since the moment I learned of your existence here and now I am you are just as underwhelming as I expected. Small and weak with the insipid looks of your whore Mother"

"She is no whore!" There was that snake's hiss again and a laugh erupted from Edward's throat.

"Ha! Mayhap instead of killing you I should make you my court fool or I should cut out your tongue for your lies" As soon as it had come, the laugh died in his throat and his mocking smile fell into stoicism "No" He sighed "I will kill you, just as I will every last member of your traitorous kin" The flash of fear in Grey's eyes was not easy to miss and Edward's smile almost returned "But first I wish to ask you something. Why do you support my bastard of a half brother? He is your kin but if these past decades are proof of anything it is that blood is not thicker than water, that it is even more likely to turn upon you. The line of succession was clear, my Father never breathed one word of any marriage between your Mother and he. What on Earth could have possessed you to believe a bastard deserved the throne?"

With a sigh of his own, Grey narrowed his eyes slightly, studying the boy before him with a wary curiosity before he raised his head a little. Edward wondered what he'd expected of him, did he expect a weak puppet, a mere figurehead for his Uncle and Mother?

"Why should I tell you such a thing when you intend to kill me in any case? Why should I grant you one word of answer?"
"Because I have the power to make your death as painful or painless as I please"

Grey sniffed, weather out of distaste, illness or upcoming tears, Edward did not know.

"Because I believe my Mother and support my kin in all"

"And your answer is as simple as that?" He breathed, frowning "You were stupid enough to believe your Mother's lies? Your stupidity is the reason for the death and destruction that has been brought upon this land, that Middleham was taken and I forced to flee my Kingdom?"

"Arthur is the rightful King" He declared "The second coming of a great monarch!"

"No. That is me" Edward replied shortly before his face hardened and he drew his shoulders back. He sighed again. He had an answer at last, as infuriating as it was although he did not know what else he had expected, intelligence was not a Woodville strength "It will be all the easier to kill you, Grey for you have committed the highest of treasons and you shall die for it"

There it was again, that flash of fear, the sobering pang that slowed the heart for a moment before it began an erratic beat.

It sent power rushing through Edward's veins.

He wanted his enemies to be afraid, Grey to be afraid. He wanted them to tremble at the thought of his wrath, wanted them to fear the pain he would cause. He wanted them to cower and he would show them no mercy at all.

He would draw out every drop of dread that ran through their poisonous veins and lap it all up like a cat with cream, enjoying every last ounce.

Leaning forward, the torch lighting Grey's face a little more, a small smirk settled on his lips as he glared into the thin man's eyes. Oh there would be more than a flash of fear by the time he was done, he decided, all thoughts of life drained for those of death.

"Since before I returned I have thought over so many ways I could kill you, cause you the pain your kin dealt mine" He said quietly, though that only served to make his words all the more menacing "I've thought of a thousand ways I can make you squeal like the pig you are and my little brother a thousand more"

Dropping the torch between them, embers flew as the burning wood hit the floor and he leant forward, the light of the flames flickering across their faces, one determined, one more terrified by the moment. Still, Grey's hands tentatively reached out toward the warmth. Edward was tempted to grab them and thrust the dirtied flesh into the fire. Then his enemy would squeal.

Instead, he opted for regaling Grey with the various plans he'd concocted in his mind for his destruction "I thought I should hang, draw and quarter you, certainly a fitting death for a traitor but then it occurred to me that that is, well, I need to make an example of you as the first Woodville to greet the devil and we cannot have you go as all other traitors before you, can we? I want your whore Mother to tear her heart out with grief when she hears"

A hoarse laugh echoed throughout the dungeons and Edward was more than a little surprised it was not from his lips it came - though he did not allow his stony expression to shift one bit. Through his wry laugher, Grey shook his head and sighed.

"Oh she will not do that!" He said "She has never been one for demonstrative displays of affection toward her children unless it suited her. Tear out her heart?" A shouted laugh "She shall shed a few tears in the privacy of her own chambers but my death will only harden her resolve, it shall not destroy her" Edward arched an eyebrow. Those words had told him far more than Grey knew and had he wanted to, it would be then his turn to laugh.

"Well then" He replied, unable to resist a slight smirk "If she cares so little for you then I truly have no reason to keep you alive, do I? There is no use in bargaining with her or bastard brother for a few more breaths in your lungs and you certainly are of no use to me. The flesh in your head could hardly be called a mind"

All traces of mirth drained from Grey's face in an instant, leaving his skin a sickly pallor, adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed. Edward's smirk grew a little.

"That is not to say I cannot make an example of you. Let your Mother see what shall happen to each of her sons and we shall see how hardened we can make the old bitch before I strike her head from her shoulders. I could have you flogged to death and hung from the castle walls, racked until your limbs are pulled from their sockets then have you thrown from the walls with ropes around your wrists. The impact might possibly tear your arms off! And you would drown in the moat! I could have you hung from gatehouse or gelded, disembowelled and then hung from the gatehouse? Have you ever heard of the blood eagle—"

He was cut short as Grey's body jerked forward and what little food he'd been given erupted in a foul mess from his mouth, landing in a splattering pile on the floor. Edward sat up, wrinkling his nose in disgust as the man retched again "Not fond of any of those possible fates then?" He asked when more vomit splattered upon the stone floor "Well, quite frankly I do not care"

After retching a few more times, Grey grew still, trembling like a child in snow as he raised his head, eyes red, strings of saliva and sick hanging from his lips and chin, sick staining his beard. He smelt like death.

"God shall damn you for this" He hissed, tears streaming from his better eye, down his face that was covered with an ugly rash-like flush quickly spreading down his neck.

Edward felt no pity, no remorse, he felt only power and victory and in the face of his enemy, he smiled; stood.

"It is God who demands such punishment" He said, his left hand coming to rest upon the gilded hilt of his sword as his lips fell into a thin line "It is his justice, my justice, he speaks through me, his chosen vessel upon his Earth! While the bastard has the devil's whore whispering in his ear, I have the Lord. An eye for an eye, he says, and there are a lot of eyes to be had"

Kicking the torch toward the cell, which made Grey flinch back from the bars like a startled pup, he turned away, heavy footsteps echoing throughout the dungeon "Keep the torch" He said "It is tainted with your filth"

"You are a cruel creature"

Cruel. It made Edward stop in his tracks and stare into the darkness where even if there wee light he would not see it. Cruel. He had never sought to be so. His Uncle, his Mother, his Father, had taught him to be just and fair. His Father had been just and fair.

But by God had he been cruel when he needed to be; when he sought vengeance. His Mother too, he'd heard the tales of the execution of the Duke of Somerset, how she had eaten an orange and his innards were plucked forth into the daylight.

Cruelty was in his blood when it came to vengeance and now he sought it as much as he sought his throne.

Cruel.
It was better than being dead, he thought, or a lost King exiled from his Kingdom.

Still, he had not craved it.

With one last glance over his shoulder, Grey was only a dark shadow, outlined by the orange glow of fire.

"If I am it is your kin who have made me so"

༻᯽༺

"You asked to see me, Uncle?" Edward called as he stepped up onto the northern ramparts where his Uncle stood and the wind immediately brushing his golden hair against his face. Despite the heat, the breeze was sturdy that day and he knew he was not the only one who would be giving thanks for that - he did so hate the closeness of the summer sun!

Richard looked out into the fields where blankets of green were quickly turning into tapestries of pointed material in all colours, little figures marching between them, around them, in and out of them, up to the castle and back again. Edward could not help the small smile that lit his lips at the sight.

"Indeed I did, your grace" Richard replied with a bow Edward immediately waved away as he came to stand beside him "Look there" He pointed to a group in the near distance made up of about one hundred or so, on horseback and on foot "The Howards" He explained and Edward leant across the battlements as if that would help him see his allies clearer.

"Jack is here?" It had been an arrival anticipated for many weeks!
"And his son, Thomas" Richard confirmed with a short nod "You should ready yourself to greet them"
"There is no need to fetch my crown if I am to greet John, Uncle! He's known me as long as you have! I distinctly remember him throwing me over his shoulder and saying he would launch me at Francis like a cannonball when we played at battle!"

Even Richard could not withhold a smile then. Those years had indeed been golden. But they were over.

"You were not his King then" He replied, glancing at his nephew when he sighed, retreating from the battlements and crossing his arms "He will now treat you as such as will Tom"

"As he did my Father"
"And his son will yours, Edward" A gentle hand appeared on his shoulder, squeezing "Once the war is won, such deference will continue but when you are alone with your loyalists you may wave such ceremony away as your Father did too!" He certainly would, Edward thought, he did not like the invisible wedge it drove between him and those he loved as if he were sitting on a cloud and they standing on the earth.

"But that is not what you wished to speak with me of, is it?" He wouldn't have called for him simply to see another band of soldiers arrive when it seemed every other hour
Richard quirked an eyebrow.
"No, lad. I wish to talk about your little talk with a certain traitor in our dungeons last morn"

Edward's face was immediately flushed, cheeks as red as the Lancastrian rose, like a child caught taking an extra sweetmeat at supper. He couldn't help but lower his gaze, guilt nudging his heart - though it had no true reason to be there. He'd always shared everything with his Uncle, always followed his commands and while he had not been explicitly forbidden from a visit to the dungeons he still felt as if he had! Most likely because, well, his Uncle was not meant to find out!

"How do you know that?"
His cheeks only reddened further at Richard's laugh.

"Oh come now, Edward, you may be King but this is my castle! There is not one step a person can take within these walls without me hearing of it and with you taking so many steps down to the dungeons, you may as well have come to my chambers and screamed in my ear where you were going directly. I wouldn't have objected"

"My Mother may have!"
Richard hummed. She could not shield him from battle, or that which had already happened but that did not mean she would not try to shield him from what could be prevented.

"That may be true, lad, but in all honesty, I am proud of you" Edward's head shot up to meet his Uncle's gaze with a confused frown "You had the will and strength to face the enemy and from what I hear Grey hasn't stopped shitting himself from what you said to him!"

"Proud?" Edward repeated. He'd hoped for such a reaction (he always did) but had expected a stern reprimand if he was discovered, not praise even though his Uncle encouraged bravery in the face of the enemy! "But he could not harm me. I did not fight him"

"My dear boy!" Richard chuckled and a bashful smile overtook Edward's lips "Have I not taught you that strength lies not only in the body but in the mind?" Indeed he had, his nephew thought.

"All I did was tell him the ways in which I could kill him and discover why he supported Arthur!"
"But you had the courage to face him! You had questions and despite one of the causes of your pain, your kin's pain, lying in the dungeon, you were determined to have them answered and look the demon in the eye as you did so! You are to be commended for such strength at such a....youthful age. Some men can never muster the courage for such a thing"

Edward shrugged, unable to muster a suitable reply in his bashful state which had turned the tips of his ears pink - though he leant into his Uncle when his arm encircled his shoulders fully.

"I suppose"
"You suppose?" Richard laughed "How did you say you would kill him? Hanging drawing and quartering?"

His nephew averted his eyes again, only increasing his amusement. He was like his Father in so many ways but while he possessed his confidence, he also possessed a shyness, a nervousness almost, that appeared with praise from the people he loved most. His father had always basked in it, Edward (unless he had prepared himself) always seemed unsure on how to respond.

"Have you ever heard of the blood eagle?" He replied after a few moments, earning a roaring laugh from his Uncle that made his shoulders shake.
"Was that Marie's idea?"
Edward grinned, his Uncle knew them so well and while Marie had often discouraged her brothers from thoughts of brutal revenge she was, at times, partial to those of her own.

"She may have mentioned it"
"By God!" Richard laughed, patting his nephew's shoulder "You certainly are your parents children!"

"In what way?"
Edward's head whipped to the side and his grin faltered a little bit at the sight of his Mother emerging from the castle. If his Uncle knew of his escapade, she certainly did!

"Lady Mother" He said, moving from his Uncle to offer a small bow which she returned with a curtsy.
"My King, my sweet son" And when she opened her arms, he was more than happy to move into them, closing his eyes as he was enveloped by them and she pressed a kiss to his hair.

Such peace only lasted for a moment though as he was well aware of the army outside the castle walls where he stood in full view of their gaze. Separating from her, they rejoined his Uncle and Constance placed her hands on the battlements, looking out over the fields of tents with a sigh.

"Have you spoken with him?" She asked Richard who nodded, arching an eyebrow as he looked at Edward who clasped his hands behind his back, glancing at his Mother "You know I would have preferred for you to speak with me beforehand, Edward. While you are brave you cannot discard the thoughts of your councillors to do as you wish" She continued and he nodded, stepping forward to join her at the battlements, leaning against the same one.

"I know" He replied quietly. While he was far taller than she, he always felt smaller in her presence (not because she made him feel so), a need to please "but I needed to do it, ma mére, I needed to face him"

"And you did" She looked up at him, a small smile on her face as her hand came to cradle his cheek "For which I am sure your Uncle has told you he is proud and I am too, my love" She gave him no chance to reply, nodding to the side as she spoke her instruction "Go and prepare for the Howards, Edward, they will be here soon"

Inclining his head, he quickly strode along the battlements "Oh and, Edward?" He turned around at his Mother's voice to see her smiling at him, hands clasped before her.
"Mother?"

"I hope you more fearful of his fate than hell"
His Father's grin lit his face and he nodded before disappearing into the castle, leaving his Mother chuckling as she turned back to the field only to find a bent arm offered to her.
"A walk, my Queen?"
She took it with a small smile, glad she had the chance to.

"Thank you, my Lord. The Howards have made it then" She continued as they began to walk along the castle walls at a leisurely pace "but we still have had no word from our De La Pole cousins?"

"They are still held fast it seems" Richard sighed, hooking his free thumb into his belt, fingers drumming quietly against the brown leather "but they will be free soon once Edward has won. The Percys have refused to answer the bastard's call to arms" Constance raised her eyebrows.

"As I rather expected. That family knows how to keep their own blood safe in almost every situation. They love to sit on high fences while others fight on either side and then sneak to the faction of the victor once they become clear. It is something I resent but even I can see its appeal. They stay alive and while their power may not always thrive, they keep what they have"

"They have fortified Alnwick castle"
"Again, as expected" She paused for a moment, drawing in a sharp breath as her steps halted "You will protect him will you not?" She asked hurriedly, turning to him "On the field? I cannot lose him nor bear the thought of him in pain" She had yearned for him for so many years, lost so many babes to hold him in her arms and kiss his cheeks, to see him walk and talk and smile. He was her first boy to live, so very precious, so very like his Father, and she who had watched him grow would watch him grow further. He'd just turned fourteen.

She would not lose him in blood and tears as she had so many of his brothers. He was hers and he would not be taken.

"Of course I will!" Richard told her, trying with all his might not to gather her to him. Her distress pained him more than his own "I will protect him with my life as will all others! I cannot prevent him from injury and it is not a promise I will make but I can do all in my power to keep him from death and I will. What has prompted such a worry?"

"It had no need of being prompted" She replied, looking over her shoulder to the scores of tents and men that lay beside the castle "but to see his support materialise, gather their weapons and armour, makes my worries all too close. The thought of my sweet boy leading them...." She shook her head and he nodded, watching as the Howards drew ever closer, almost at the castle gates.

They had a few precious minutes until they would be called to the hall to greet them and in those minutes he could soothe her pain, even if it was only momentarily.

"Come" He whispered and steered them back along the short path they had taken along the ramparts "Let us go to the chapel then I may hold you"
"In the sight of God?" She asked, a small smile appearing despite the tears pooling in her eyes - Richard's arms around her would undoubtedly ease her mind and to know he would do it before their Lord made it all the more precious. He shook his head.

"I care little when it comes to you"