~Darling Boys and Marching Men~

Upon hearing that they were near Helmsley castle and then to be resting there, Eleanor had sent on a note.

'Hide the jewels' were the three words hastily scrawled on the scrap of paper she had found before sending a page racing ahead of the army. Helmsley was were Edward's two sons had been staying with the Grey brothers and if they were to avoid any shocks they would have to escape until the army had gone.

The Queen was relieved when they arrived, she was shown to her chambers and there was no sign of any of them. 'They are probably gone to one of the hunting lodges' she thought as she was readied for bed by Jane, after all there would be no place for them to hide in a castle teeming with servants and soldiers, each dark corner lit by a candle!

As Jane removed her armour, she let out a heavy sigh that her friend smiled at and stretched her arms and legs, finally unbound from the days ties. A nightgown of black silk was then fetched once the rest of her clothes had been discarded and slipped gently over her head; a sable bed robe placed over the top of it.

It had been a promise that Eleanor had made to herself within the first few hours of her grief that she would swear to wear black for the remainder of her days and she was determined to stick to it, even in sleep.

For how could she wear bright colours when the one who made her life bright was gone?

"Goodnight" she called softly as Jane curtsied to her and her friend nodded, sympathy swimming in her eyes before she turned and left; shutting the door with a click. Looking up at the stone ceiling, Eleanor sighed to herself.

Were he still alive, Richard would have come to her by now and they would be in each other's arms; both safe, both loved. Happy.
"You do not know what you have until it's gone" she whispered before a soft gurgle from the cradle by her bed made her look to it.

Walking over to the crib, Eleanor found the large blue eyes of her infant daughter staring up at her, tiny hands toying with her silk coverlet. Cooing softly, the babe was lifted into the caring arms of the Queen and rocked gently from side to side while she gurgled her contentment, snuggling into her Mother's chest.

"There, sweeting" Eleanor murmured as she nuzzled against the light dusting of soft red hair that covered her youngest child's head "you will always have me, mon amour"

"Hello, Aunt"

The Queen shot around in an instant, a shocked gasp escaping her lips as she came face to face with fourteen year old Edward who was stood behind her, a slight smile on his young face. Though it was a face of a boy now turning into a man's; one like his Father. His hair had grown, golden curls now reaching the shoulders of his doublet and his green eyes now told of knowledge of the world, of maturity.

"Edward...." that smile widened into a grin as his name was spoken and he bowed his head in greeting.

"Aunt" he greeted again. Surprisingly there was not a trace of anger or resentment in his voice nor in his face, it was open and welcoming as if he had been looking forward to see her! Eleanor momentarily wondered if it was an act but when she placed Katheryn back in her crib and opened her arms to him he came without hesitation, holding her tightly.

It was clear from the firm muscle she felt beneath his velvet doublet he had been training.

"What are you doing here?" She asked when he pulled away and walked to the crib, tilting his head to smile at the little girl inside "I sent a note...."

"We received it" he interrupted before raising his eyebrows in question and Eleanor realised he was asking to hold his baby cousin. She nodded, staying silent while he reached in and gathered the infant into his arms, unsure at first but he was careful and soon Katheryn was settled in his embrace "Tom and Rickon are gone" he continued quietly, settling himself by the fire while his Aunt watched "my brother too. To one of the hunting lodges but I wanted to stay"

"Why?"
He looked up as she sat opposite him.
"Because I wanted to see you" he paused, adjusting the blanket Katheryn was wrapped in "to say I'm sorry.... for Uncle Richard and for you" his words trailed away as he saw Eleanor's eyes fill with tears and she looked to the fire, trying not to cry "I wanted to offer my condolences and....to say that I want to fight with you"

Identical green eyes met in a split second and the older pair widened in surprise.
"You want to fight? Come to Middleham?" She asked in disbelief and Edward nodded, looking down at the little cousin in his arms.

"You saved me, my brother and I, and now it is time I tried to repay that, I know it is what my Father would've wanted" he watched as Eleanor shook her head and crossed over to sit beside him, placing a hand on his arm.

"Thank you, Eddie" she told him softly "but I have to keep you hidden....safe until the time comes when you can be known to the world again"

"But when will that be?" Edward cried before forcing himself to quieten his voice when Katheryn gave a little disgruntled cry. He kissed her forehead "I have been here for over a year! Hiding! I don't want to hide anymore! If you win, the throne is secure once more, if Tudor wins my brother and I will spend our lives on the run because he will hunt us down if he thinks we live!"

Eleanor looked away as she realised he spoke the truth. In her loss, they would have to hide forever and would be killed if they were caught "Let me do this!" Edward begged "let me have my chance to fight for our house! For my Father and for you!"

He looked at Eleanor pleadingly and sighed when she did, thinking his cause was lost.
"Fine" he looked up in an instant as disbelief registered on his face "you will have to stay hidden among the other men but you can come"
"Anything!" Edward declared "I will do anything!"

A heavy knock sounded at the Queen's door and Eleanor jumped to her feet, motioning for Edward to give her Katheryn before she shooed him towards the servants door. With a triumphant grin on his face and a nod, he slipped through the door and closed it while Eleanor called entry.

She frowned, alarmed as almost a dozen Lords strolled into her chamber and instinctively clutched Katheryn to her chest. What if they were here to declare for Tudor? What if they had lost faith in her? What if....

She stepped back when they all suddenly went down on one knee before her and placed their hands over their hearts. Looking between all of them, Eleanor tried to figure out what was going on as she slowly sank down into her seat by the fire again and gathered her bed robe around her.

"My Lords?" She enquired after a moment "what is the purpose of your visit at this hour?"

"Forgive our intrusion, your grace" the leader, Jack's eldest son and the new Duke of Norfolk, Thomas Howard said. He was a man in his early forties with a shock of red hair on his head, the same as his Father's before it went grey, and a curled beard with kind eyes that spoke nothing but the truth as they looked up at the Queen. "but we felt that with our destination growing so close we should say what is on our minds"

Eleanor began to frown again.
"On your minds?" She repeated slowly and Georgie, who was to the right of Norfolk, jumped to his feet.
"It's nothing bad!" He assured her quickly and the others nodded.

"No!" Norfolk exclaimed, gesturing for the others to rise "it is nothing bad, your grace! Not in the slightest"
"Well then" she murmured, looking down at the child now sleeping in her arms "you had better say what you came here to do so, my Lords. What is it that plagues your mind?"

"Our loyalty"

"Your loyalty, my Lord? What about it? You are all loyal to my house and to my son are you not?"
"Indeed we are!" Georgie answered swiftly "but the point is that we did not join you for the sake of King Richard or the sake of King George. He is a boy and Tudor is a man, some say it may be easier for us to join him now and some have done just that"

Eleanor's frown deepened slightly, a look of curiosity surfacing in her eyes, and she looked between the various Lords stood before her.

"But you haven't?"
"No, your grace" Norfolk answered, motioning for Georgie to let him speak. The young Duke stepped back with a nod "we joined you because we wish to follow you. You have proven to us that you can lead us as well as King Richard and we will gladly follow you to victory or to death as willingly as we did for him and as willingly as we would do for your son"

Eleanor's lips parted for her to speak but no words came out so stunned she was. These Lords, these men had just professed their loyalty to her. Not to her son, not to her husband, both York men and Kings but her. Eleanor. They had followed her because they wanted her to lead them. They believed in her.

Slowly a smile came over her face and she nodded, pushing back the tears that threatened to fill her eyes. She jumped as they suddenly all drew their swords and went down onto one knee once more, placing their polished and sharpened blades at their feet, offering them to her.

"With this, my sword, I pledge to you my service and my loyalty for as long as I am able to stand to fight for you" Norfolk boomed and eleven deep voices echoed his words, true and valiant. Placing Kathryn carefully on the cushions beside her, Eleanor stood from her seat and took another moment to look at the dozen heads bent to the floor for her.

"And this is how you all feel?" She asked. The Lords nodded in unison.
"We would have all come" one volunteered "but we didn't want to crowd your room so the most powerful of us came. We assure you, your grace, all the men who have joined your cause would happily lay their swords at your feet as we have done tonight"

Slowly, Eleanor began to nod again and straightened her back, pushing back her shoulders so that she stood at her full height; took a steady breath.
"I thank you all for your words and your pledges" she declared before gesturing for them to rise "I accept your services with all the gladness in my heart and I swear to you that I will strive to be worthy of your loyalty with each day I lead you"

A dozen swords slid back into their sheathes and their owners bowed low under the watch of their leader, who's hands had begun to tremble under the sleeves of her robe.
"Goodnight, your grace" they all said before filing out of the room one by one.

Left alone with her daughter, Eleanor stood still for a moment, for a minute, for an hour or more she did not know and never would. She stood there, staring at the now closed door while the fire crackled to the side of her and a new hope began to bloom in her cold and shattered heart.

She had the noble's love. She had the people's love.

She had a true chance.

꧁꧂

"John! Eleanor it's John!" Eleanor shot up from the covers as Marie burst into her room at dawn with a smile on her lips and as excited as her Queen had ever seen her. It took a few seconds before her words sunk in but once they did Eleanor was wide awake and throwing back the bed covers to reach for her robe.

"John?" She exclaimed in a flurry "Which John? My John? Johnny?"
"Yes, Johnny!" Marie cried, fetching a simple black gown and practically throwing it over Eleanor's head; tying the laces with expert fingers while her Lady fumbled with her shoes.

John was here? Her John had come back? When? Why? Was it true? Could it be true? Was John here?

Hand in hand with Marie, the two flew out of her room and dashed down the steps, Eleanor taking every opportunity to look out of windows to catch a glimpse of black hair or hear the merry laugh that was so familiar to her she could hear it then as she thought.

'No' she thought as she heard it again. That was a real laugh! John's laugh! There and then she felt her whole body awaken fully with a form of new life as she ran into the great hall and there, embracing Georgie with all the enthusiasm in the world, really was John!

"Johnny!" She cried and suddenly had the young boy, no, young man, bounding towards her.
"Maman!" He exclaimed as he dashed into her arms and picked her up, spinning her around like she were a feather until she demanded to be put down for the sake of her pride "Mother, it gladdens my heart to see you!"

"Not as much as it gladdens mine" she replied when she drew back, lovingly studying his face before she pulled him back into another embrace "oh, my son" she breathed and felt him hug her tighter.

Together they went back to her chamber and John settled himself by the fire, little Katheryn snuggled happily in his arms while Eleanor was properly readied by her ladies. Once fully dressed in her black finery and her crown on her head, she went to sit opposite him, unable to tear her gaze from the fifteen year old boy that was playing peekaboo with his youngest sister.

Already he seemed entranced by the little red head, declaring his adoration for her as as soon as he heard she was the namesake of his late sister.

Oh how she had missed him during the months he had been away!

A surge of love filled her heart and she suddenly found herself rushing to him and kneeling at his feet, taking one of his hands and kissing it as she began to cry; black skirts pooling around her.

"Oh my boy" she wept, smiling up at him, smiling properly for the first time since that desolate day when her world had been destroyed "you've come back to me!" tears filling his own eyes, John nodded and pulled his hand gently back to kiss hers.

"I had to, Maman" he told her "after Father" he took a shaking breath "after Father...." he shook his head and suddenly broke into sobs, placing Katheryn aside so that he could bury his head in his hands. Eleanor was with him in an instant, wrapping her arms around him and holding him tight while he cried.

While they both cried and mourned their loss.

Once he was calm again, John revealed he had rallied two thousand troops under Eleanor's name all by himself and another three thousand had joined him and his men as they rode across the North to join their Queen. A feat that took her breath away. He was a York, a white rose pure and true and his love for his family was unbreakable.

"I want him to be proud of me" he said as Eleanor dabbed at his face with a handkerchief "I want him to be so proud of me"

"And he is!" She told him; he began to cry again "your Father was so so proud of you and he loved you! He loves you so much!" John looked up, nodding weakly before he clung to her again, wrapping his arms around her neck and weeping openly onto her shoulder.

"Just as he loved you, Maman" he murmured sorrowfully "he loved you more than the sun and more than the moon....more than life" he raised his head, carding a hand through his hair, an action so simple yet so like Richard that it drove Eleanor to tears again.

"We will avenge him!" she promise fiercely "We will avenge him, John, I swear to you!"

꧁꧂

Just as she had predicted, it was almost sundown when Eleanor's army reached Middleham the next day but that did not make her return to her home any less emotional that she had anticipated, in fact, it was more so. As the familiar thatched roofs of the village came into view, the golden and orange rays of sun behind them, she found tears filled her eyes.

Memories flooded her mind, as bright and vibrant as the day they were made. She felt the breeze of the North against her skin just as it had been the first day she arrived and felt life rush through her veins, her love for Richard burning as bright as it ever had within her battered heart.

And then, as the castle came into sight with its tall turrets and towering walls, smoke rising from the chimneys and a flag carrying a white boar and a golden Phoenix, she found she could hold her tears in no more. Shoulders shaking with silent sobs, Eleanor kicked her destrier into a gallop and rode towards her home, unable to wait any longer.

'My children' her mind cried 'my love' she did not care for grace or decorum at that moment or for fancy announcements that would be called out on trumpets. All that mattered was the desperate need inside of her that rose with each second with each step closer she came to the castle. She needed her children, she needed them in her arms.

And they were there as she rode into the courtyard.

Screams of 'Mama!' And 'Mother!' Filled the air as the children poured out of their home and dashed down the castle steps while Eleanor jumped from her horse. They had been waiting for her since dawn; watching anxiously from one of the tower windows.

All dressed in black with tear stained and ashen faces, her eight children at the castle made a beeline for her with their arms outstretched and desperate yells escaping them.

"Oh my loves, my hope, my darlings!" Eleanor cried as she dropped to her knees on the courtyard cobbles and welcomed her children into her arms. They all leapt at her at once, each seeking for a way to cling to their Mother and share in her loving embrace which they thought would soothe all of their pain.

It had been many weeks since they had seen her and now they were determined not to ever ever let her go again. No, they would keep their Mother always in their sight. Their Father had been taken, she could not be taken too! But they would help her avenge him.

As she kissed each of them in turn, wiping away their heated tears and holding them tightly as if they were all babes again Eleanor could feel their grief turning to anger and soon enough they each began to yell.

Yell, shout, swear at the tops of their voices, anything to make their rage at the world and at Tudor known. Even the very youngest such as Adela and Anthony at two and one had anger brewing inside them and hurled rocks into the floor while they cried angry tears, shrill screams replacing the words they knew.

"I will kill them for what they have done to us!" Edward declared fiercely when he saw his brothers ride into the courtyard and George jumped from his horse, pulling him into a hug "I will kill them!"
"We will kill them, Ned" he replied "we will kill them all!"

"They murdered Papa!" Matilda screamed.
"They killed him!" Isabella yelled and Cecily shook with sobs; rushed to their Mother again "so I will kill them!"

"Let me see the army" Edward demanded and George clapped him on the arm, a stern frown on his face as he wiped away his tears with the sleeve of his doublet, motioning for his brother to do the same.

"Come, little brother" he said, forcing his voice to steady before he took it upon himself to wipe away Edward's tears when the nine year old continued to cry. "We are Yorks and with Papa gone we are York men now, Ned, and we have to be strong, just look at John" the two looked to where their older half brother stood beside the Duke of Bedford, strong and confidant in his armour, and George slung an arm around his brother's shoulder "we must be like him and Georgie"

"We must" Edward mumbled miserably, forcing his feet to drag along the cobblestones and look out across the fields to where his Mother's army was setting up camp, colourful tents springing up on the green grass that displayed sigils of noble houses.

"Look!" George exclaimed, pointing to one of the tents, trying to lighten his brother's spirits a little "the Nevilles are here! Georgie's kin! They're our cousins! He says his sister's husbands have joined Mama too" he paused, scanning the field "the de la Poles are here as well! And even the Woodvilles, Mama's kin!" Edward nodded, silent but this time not for grief.

He stepped out of his brother's embrace and almost stumbled forward as he gulped at the sight of pennants fluttering in the distance. Pennants of white and green.

Tudor green.

The red rose and the red dragon.

A sight gasp came from behind him and heard the heavy thud of running footsteps as George saw the enemy too and dashed back to the castle.

"They're here!" He cried, waving his arms with wild abandon to catch the attention of the others. John looked up, frowning at the yell of his little brother.
"Who?"
"The Tudors! The ones who murdered Father!" He lowered his voice a little and looked back across the endless fields before his eyes "thank fuck we beat them to it"

꧁꧂

Stepping out onto the battlements, Eleanor found she did not need the silk shawl she had wrapped around her shoulders before leaving her chamber. The night was warm, the air still and silent as if God himself was holding his breath in anticipation for the battle to come.

It was strange, truth be told, for usually the night before a battle was bright and rowdy as men spent what might be their last hours on earth in search of pleasurable fun. But at Middleham, all was quiet; as statuesque as a graveyard.

She had tried to sleep, truly she had, knowing she needed her strength for the next day and at first thought that a familiar bed would provide her with rest but she soon realised she had been a fool to think that. She couldn't sleep in that bed, not anymore, not without Richard and knew she never would be able to.

There and then she knew that after the battle was won the next day, she would never return to Middleham.

She couldn't face it. The home she loved was home no longer, not without Richard by her side. 'Perhaps home is more of a person than a place?' she wondered to herself as she waved a hand and dismissed the guards along the ramparts.

Taking a deep breath, the thud of boots faded away and Eleanor closed her eyes, leaning against the battlements, listening to the silence of the night that was only disturbed by occasional shouts from the camp that lay across the fields from the castle. The Tudor camp.

If it were not for the constant flicker of torches dancing in the distance, the intermittent sounds, it was almost as if it were not there at all but Eleanor knew it was. That was where her enemies lay. That was where Richard's murderers rested and ate; breathed.

"What I wouldn't give to slice each of their throats" She murmured bitterly, a heated rush of anger flooding her veins and clouding her sight with pure hatred until a soft voice from the side of her made her jump.

"Aunt Leena?"
The Queen's eyes widened and she spun around to see the figure of fifteen year old Eliza standing next to her; black hair flowing freely down her back and her eyes wide with tears. She was the dark haired image of her Mother.
"Oh, my darling Eliza"

Within moments they were locked in a tight embrace that was infused with all their sorrow, all their loss and pain, all of the turbulence that filled their lives at that moment.

"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner, I was putting Maggie and Teddy to bed" Eliza whispered hurriedly as she tried to search for the right words to say. Eleanor merely shook her head and held her tighter, combing a hand through her hair as if to try and soothe herself or assure herself her niece was truly there.

Drawing away slowly and wiping away the streaks of tears that dampened her cheeks, she took to staring out into the night once more and tried to steady her breathing "does Bess....does Bess know about her Father?" Silence and then a stifled sob filled the air, one that was quickly smothered with a hand.

"I don't know" Eleanor admitted, almost fearfully "I don't know, Eliza....I tried to write, I wanted to but.... but I couldn't, I cant! I can't write it down! Cecily said she would do it but then we heard of the threat heading to the North and rushed here....she must know, the news will be all over Europe by now I just hope that they broke it to her gently" A heartbroken and weary sigh "how I wish she was with me....my baby"