~Longing for Adventure~

September 1465, Westminster Palace....

On blankets of blue silk, four of the Woodville sisters reclined gracefully in the gardens, making the most of the last summer sun before it turned to cold Autumn and Winter.

Bella and Mary smirked, hushing the other when one dared to giggle as they watched their little sister. Tired from her pregnancy and relaxed in the air's warmth, Elizabeth had fallen asleep but she would rest little as her youngest sister had taken a chance for fun.

She always had done and she always would!

After claiming a dove's feather from amidst the emerald blades of grass she had crawled over to her golden haired sister and proceeded to tickle her nose with it. The Queen sneezed in her sleep and wriggled, drawing a fit of girlish giggles from Mary whom Bella nudged.

"Shush, you silly goose!" She whispered hurriedly and Mary pressed a hand to her mouth.

Bella harboured an amused smile on her face as she watched little Leena shuffle along the blankets and tickle Elizabeth once more, this time on her ear. She squirmed a little but remained in sleep all the same. The redhead grinned and shuffled around her older sister's body, peering at her peaceful face before lightly brushing the feather above her Cupid's bow.

This time the Queen rolled over, so quickly she had Eleanor pinned beneath her and her growing belly, making the little girl squeal in surprise. Elizabeth's eyes snapped open and she began to laugh, tossing back her golden head.

"Did you truly think I would not wake, dear one?" She exclaimed before taking to tickling her youngest sister and the others laughed while Eleanor shrieked and squirmed, a wide grin on her face. Her sister rolled off her and cradled her growing her belly in her hands. Leena was quick to follow her, shuffling to her side once she had regained her breath and placing a small hand on her swelled stomach.

"What do you think it will be, Lizzie?" She asked and the ears of her two other sisters pricked upwards eagerly. It would do good to know weather Elizabeth carried a little Prince or Princess for England! The Queen sighed and continued to run her hands over the silk that covered her belly, placing one atop Eleanor's.

"Edward hopes for a boy" she said and Bella huffed.
"That is because Edward is a man" she declared, grinning when Leena nodded fervently.
"England needs a Prince but I think a Princess shall do just as well!" She rolled over onto the blankets again and stared up into the sky "I think we women can be just as powerful as the men!"

"I second that!" Mary called and the Woodville sisters erupted into giggles.

"My my! What have we here?" They all sprang to their feet at the sound of Edward's amused voice, smoothing out their silk skirts to see the King strolling towards them. He did not wear his crown but still his golden hair shone in the sun so that he appeared regal.

Elizabeth gave an overjoyed cry and rushed into his arms, letting him kiss her before he put a hand gently to her belly.

"Our little Prince" he murmured and Leena raised her eyebrows "what is that, ma petit boule de feu?" She shook her head but Edward grinned, releasing the Queen and Eleanor squealed as he chased after her, scooping her from the floor in no less than three strides!

"Put me down!" She demanded through her shrieks of laughter, wiggling in his arms but Edward did not relent and carried her unceremoniously back to the group.
"So!" He announced, putting her down in front of him. "Do you not think I am capable of producing a Prince, Leena?"

"No!" She retorted, sticking her little nose up in the air and folding her arms "I just wonder how you know it is a boy oh high and mighty King!" His grin widened.
"You are straying close to treason, my lady" he teased and Elizabeth laughed beside him, taking his hand.

"Leave her be, my love! I am sure Leena knows best!"

꧁꧂

"I should like to visit Leeds castle!"

Bella turned onto her side as Eleanor announced her latest plans that night. The young girl was starting at the canopy of their bed, fingers absentmindedly playing with the ties of her nightgown "Edward gave it to me, I should like to see it!

Bella raised her eyebrows and flopped back onto the pillows, preparing herself for another night of relentless planning. Ever since Leena had been made Countess of Rutland she had talked of little else, it was all that was on her mind! Just a week prior she had laid claim to a map of England, stolen one of her sister's quills and marked out her lands before pinning the parchment to their wall.

Bella raised her head, looking at the map and slipping from the bed. If she was to endure her sister's incessant chatter she may as well help with her plans! Studying the lines that sculpted England into the page she soon found Kent where her sister's new castle lay.

"There!" She exclaimed, pointing to it and a rustle from behind her told her Eleanor had sat up and was most likely staring at her with a look of excited wonder.
"Oh, you are so clever, Bella!" She giggled, clapping her hands together and scrambling out of bed. Grabbing her bed robe, she padded over to her sister's side "you shall come too, I hope, I wouldn't be able to do without you!" She paused "and you can bring George"

Bella spun around only to see Leena looking up a her triumphantly.
"What?"
"Oh, fiddle faddle! I'm not a fool! You are always sneaking away to meet with him! You like him, Isabella Woodville!"

She folded her arms, looking down at the small redhead in front of her. It was true, Eleanor was often all seeing but she was three years her senior, surely she was not so transparent that a twelve year old could see her emotions so plainly! The girl merely arched an eyebrow, waiting for a reply.

"Tell me I'm wrong" she muttered, moving out of the way just in time to avoid a sharp elbow to the ribs.
"You're not wrong" Bella admitted and Leena gave an overjoyed whoop, skipping back to the bed.
"So!" She called "do tell!" Her sister frowned, leaning against the chamber wall.
"Tell what"

Eleanor rolled her eyes.
"About George of course! It is true, I have seen you two kissing during your meeting...."
"You have what?!" Bella cried, her eyes turning as wide as saucers while her sister simply shrugged.
"I followed you once" she said "just as I followed Lizzie when she went to meet King Edward with our nephews Rickon and Tom!" The older girl groaned.

"Dear Lord don't tell me that you brought them too! Really, I don't know why I don't smack you sometimes you nosy minx!"

It was bad enough that Leena had caught her alone with George though she did not know why she hadn't expected it! Eleanor was a curious little thing and couldn't resist the beckoning finger of mischief when it crooked. The only thing that could make it worse was if she had brought their nephews (Elizabeth's sons by her first husband) along with her! She was practically a saint compared to them and their antics!

To her great relief, Eleanor shook her head.
"No" she replied, taking to playing with the velvet coverlet on their bed "but I must admit, I would rather like to kiss someone the way I saw you kiss George!" Bella smiled, jumping onto the covers beside her.

"And so you shall!" She promised, taking one of her sister's hands to kiss it "I admit, it is nice to kiss and it is nice to be held, to feel safe"

"Is that how it is? Truly?"
She nodded, suddenly finding a blush begin to stain her cheeks as she thought of the way George kissed her. He had done so many many times after the day of hawking two months prior and she could not deny that she had enjoyed every moment of it!

Each time he drew her aside into a hidden alcove or they snuck away early from a dinner, their intertwined hands concealed within the skirts of her gown, she would feel her heart swell in her chest, and butterflies rush through her veins like a million sparks! He would hold her close, whisper her name into her hair like she was the one thing he craved more than anything in the world and it excited her, thrilled her; made her want more!

They were sure to hide wherever they went and in all honesty that made them anticipate their meetings more! Although, it seemed they would need to be even more careful if they wished to avoid Leena's curious gaze. Bella shook her head.

"We must plan your trip to Kent!" She said and in an instant Eleanor had fled the bed again and was studying the map on her wall in earnest.
"I hope Mother shall let me go!" She whispered "I am to be thirteen in two weeks and I don't see why not, especially if you and George are to accompany me! I shall be quite safe!"

"You will" Bella replied, settling back onto the pillows "I am just not sure if I shall be"

꧁꧂

Tucked away in the bushes of the Westminster gardens, George looked up at the winding path that led back to the palace. There was where he waited each evening as the sun went down, just an hour before dinner when the rest of the court was readying for the evening feast.

It had been a spot found by Bella and a time appointed by him, together devising the perfect meeting place where they could talk and wander without fear of being watched or followed by any! He feared Isabel's eyes most of all, that girl would surely tell tales to her Father out of spite if he saw he and Bella together and that he really couldn't bare.

"George!" His head darted up at the familiar call of his name he had grown to adore more and more each day.

It was no secret to him that he had fallen for the beautiful young woman that now walked towards him with her flaxen hair and brown eyes that sparkled at the sight of him! Since the coronation feast she had ensnared his mind as if she had woven some form of spell and he was determined to have her and to keep her as his own dear love.

'Love' he thought, it was a strange word to him though when he looked upon Bella in the evening light and she smiled, curtsying prettily, he knew there were no other words on earth that he could put to how he felt about her. Her charm, her wit, her beauty, her effortless grace and humour, there was nothing about her that he did not like.

Well, apart from her family but that mattered little to him then.

He did not know when he had truly fallen for her, though it was certain he had desired her from the moment he had laid eyes upon her! It seemed that he had simply woken up one day and Cupid had been waiting on his bed to shoot him with the arrow of love! It was a fear he did not admit to himself that she might not feel the same.

"Well" she chuckled, rising from her curtsy while he continued to stare at her "are you not to greet me?"
"Of course!" He exclaimed, snapping from his trance to reach for her hand and draw her close, bestowing a gentle kiss to her lips. Her arms instinctively wound around his neck and he instantly relaxed into her embrace, like he were floating upon clouds.

Bella nuzzled into his neck, breathing in his scent. It was one of leather and soft lavender that seemed to cling to whatever was near to him and she was well aware that it clung to her after their meetings like an invisible rope. Not that she minded, she had made it her mission to pass by Isabel Neville more than once just after seeing George and had revelled in the shock that had registered on the younger girl's face.

Drawing away, she smiled up into his face and led him to the stone bench that was placed perfectly at the centre of the cluster of bushes that surrounded them.
"We must find another place soon" she remarked, plucking a quickly browning leaf from its branch and watching it crumble in her fingers "the air turns cold"

"It can never be cold with you here" he told her, drawing her on to his lap and grinning when he remembered how she had squealed in surprise when he had first done this. Now, she was relaxed and sat happily on his knee, one arm around his neck and her free hand intertwined with his. He brought it to his lips just as he had done the night of the coronation.

"You are a flirt" she murmured "a flirt with charm, George Plantagenet" he smirked at her, pulling her closer to him and sweeping her hair aside to kiss her neck "I have news"

"And what might that news be, sweetheart?" He asked, chuckling at the small gasp that escaped her when his lips met her skin. It took her a moment to gather her words again.

"Leena wants to visit Leeds castle"
He 'hm'd' at that, far more preoccupied with making her breathless and fall apart in his arms than her little sister's antics, despite how much he liked the little redhead "and she wants us to go with her" his head shot up quicker than lighting struck, eyes widening as though he didn't believe her.

She nodded to reassure him and he began to grin, his eyes suddenly lighting with a million different ideas, all of which she was sure would bring her to her ruin. The blue depths sparkled mischievously, flicking to her skirts, then to her lips. She gulped slightly, knowing what he wanted.

"We would be alone" he murmured softly, resting his hand on her thigh before slowly sliding it down her leg, beginning to gather her skirts in his hand. She nodded, her breaths beginning to shake with anticipation. This was wrong, she knew it was wrong, she could not give him what he wanted....but she wanted too.

She wanted his hand underneath her skirts, trailing along her skin, gliding between her legs....

No! She caught his wrist and he looked at her again, clearly rather stung by her rejection but he retracted his hand all the same, deciding to settle it on her waist instead.

"You are so impatient" she tutted "that is something I have learnt about you, George" He raised his eyebrows.
"Can you call me nothing but that?"
She sighed, tilting his chin up with her hand, feeling the soft hairs that dusted his chin. He would be able to grow a beard soon, though she didn't think it would suit him.

"What would you wish me to call you, my Lord? I am more than happy to call you a handsome dog?"
He shook his head, crimson flush appearing on his cheeks that Bella was almost tempted to laugh at. He always prided himself on remaining so stern and manly, even in front of her sometimes yet now he was just the sweet boy she had fallen for. George gulped.

"I would like it if you called me your love"
Bella felt her heart melt within her chest, a burning warmth flooding her veins as he spoke.
"My love?" She repeated, biting her lip slightly when he nodded "why? Am I....am I your....love?"

He nodded and suddenly she could barely breathe. There was nothing in her world but the boy before her and the hopeful little smile that had appeared on his lips.

"You are" he murmured "I think I have fallen in love with you, Bella" she stared at him, dumbstruck, any words she wanted to say drying in her throat for she could barely comprehend his! He had fallen in love with her? With Isabella Woodville?

It was with a sharp pang she realised she felt the same. Her heart was his.

Raising her hands she gently cupped his face while he waisted with bated breath for her reply "Have I offended you?" He asked, suddenly scared that he had made a blunder but Bella began to laugh, tears of happiness springing to her eyes.

"Offended?" She exclaimed, seeing him relax "how could I ever be offended? I am....lord I don't know what I am but I assure you it is anything but offended" she paused "my love"

George grinned and crushed his lips to hers, holding her like he would never let her go.