~Twists of Fate~

17th of August 1473, Westminster....

Eleanor wrapped a supportive arm around Elizabeth's waist as she guided her to her bedchamber, the rest of her ladies and the midwives hurrying along behind. The Queen's breaths were heavy with pain and hot tears stung her eyes as she clutched at her belly, shoulders hunched over.

She had been in labour for most of that morning but now it was time to push and could barely think as Eleanor gently removed her fur bed robe, lifting her arms one by one so the she could help her sister with the heavy velvet sleeves.

"I cannot do it" Elizabeth gasped, her brow creasing as beads of glistening sweat began to appear on her skin as she lay down "not without our mother" at her words, Eleanor suddenly stilled where she had been laying her sister's robe at the end of the bed, shaking her head as guilt tore mercilessly into her heart.

If it were not for her, their Mother may have been there.

"You are strong" she observed sternly, forcing herself into motion again, seeking to distract herself by proving useful "you will give England a Prince on this day! A fine York Prince!"

A harsh laugh, that quickly descended into a cry, came from Elizabeth as she pressed her aching body further into the soft pillows behind her.
"A Prince called Richard" she mused, finding herself smiling a little as her sister looked at up with surprise in her face "Edward will not allow him to be called anything else" she explained and Eleanor nodded, though could not hide the look of pride that brightened her expression ever so slightly.

"Perhaps we should pray?" Lady Margaret suggested as she approached the bed and Eleanor turned to greet her only to jump as Elizabeth gave a frustrated yell.
"Oh, get out!" The Queen cried as Margaret flinched at the sharp order "get out! I do not want you here!"

"I think you have made that clear enough" Eleanor snapped as the dark haired woman scurried away, the other ladies in waiting staring after her. Though the Duchess' gasp filled the room as a blonde haired girl entered the room, her eyes darting around before they settled on the bed and a relived smile crossed her face.

"Catherine!" Mary exclaimed excitedly as she ran forward to greet her little sister, momentarily abandoning her task of pouring hot water into a china basin. Catherine embraced her elder sister with a familiar giggle that made Eleanor smile as she too walked forward for an embrace.

"Leena!" The young Duchess greeted, kissing Eleanor on the cheek as she squeezed her hands fondly "it has been a long time since we were last together"
"It has!" Her elder sister admitted "though it has only been a few weeks since I saw your Henry"

At the mention of her husband, Catherine scoffed and shook her head, her blonde curls bouncing around her face.
"I wish he were anybody's Henry but mine!" She admitted ruefully "and he wishes I were anyone's Catherine but his! But, alas, his mother has sent me to collect him from the North!"

"So you will be coming to Middleham?" Eleanor exclaimed, her eyes widening as she tried to picture small, delicate Catherine in her glittering jewels and silks against the wild moors of the North. Despite her unhappiness in her marriage, the Duchess of Buckingham had taken full advantage of the wealth that came with her title, could probably lay claim to being one of the most fashionable women at court, despite her being but fifteen years old!

"I will!" She admitted with a small smile "if you will be good enough to have me? Though I warn you, if he irritates me enough, dear Henry may just slip out of a window at some point and fall to his untimely death!"
"Cat!" Eleanor exclaimed but her little sister merely shrugged and removed the silk gloves she wore, handing them to a maid before she skipped over to the Queens bed, pushing her golden hair over her shoulders.

"Leena!" Elizabeth screamed, her slender fingers clawing at the sheets beneath her "Leena where are you?!"
"I'm here!" Eleanor replied quickly, picking up the cerulean skirts of her gown and rushing back to the bed where her sister lay groaning in agony.

It seems hours had passed as Elizabeth lay on her bed, trying to push her baby into the world, agonised cries tearing from her that became more and more exhausted. Each of her sisters tried to bring her relief with the grip of their hands (that had to be pulled away for they were in danger of being crushed in the Queen's grip) and cold cloths to her face but nothing could soothe the pain that wracked her body.

A collective sigh of relief emanated throughout the room, along with looks of anticipation, as the midwife announced she could see the baby's head, that it would only take a few more pushes before the babe was born.

Elizabeth pressed her aching body further into the bed, as if the bloodied sheets and pillows damp with her tears would be able to provide her with an escape. Eleanor quickly took one hand again as Cat took the other and Mary gathered clean sheets, a wary look crossing her face as Margaret Beaufort returned.

She had been sent on a fools errand for herbs for everyone knew the Queen hated the very presence of the Stafford woman, no one really knew why she had been accepted into Elizabeth's household and retinue! But now the Duchess of Gloucester motioned for her to approach, instructing that she was to clean the babe once it arrived.

"Push, Lizzie!" Mary cried and once again the palace halls echoed with the screams of the Queen as her nails dug into her sisters hands, making both Cat and Eleanor clench their teeth together, trying to control startled yelps.

"He's here! He's here!" Cat exclaimed as Elizabeth's legs collapsed onto the sheets, her body automatically curling up as she groaned and Eleanor knelt by her side, mopping at her brow. The seconds passed by but no cry filled the room and a stab of pain shot through the Duchess' heart as she looked up, gaze flicking between the worried expressions of the other women present.

"Where is he?" Elizabeth mumbled, her eyelids fluttering as the pain and exhaustion threatened to send her into unconsciousness "where is his cry?" She tried to lift her head from the pillows as the small child was passed to Lady Margaret, who stared helplessly at the baby, tears surfacing in the depths of her dark eyes.

"Oh god" Cat whispered, shaking her head as she shrank back against the bedpost, closing her eyes. A shrill cry suddenly filled the room as the baby took his first breaths and alarmed cries escaped from all who looked on as the young Prince seemingly came to life in Margaret's hands. A shuddering gasp left her lips as she started at the child in her arms, passing him to Eleanor, who wrapped him in a blanket, before she stumbled back into a chair, fully aware of the flabbergasted stares that were being sent her way.

"You have a son, Lizzie!" The Duchess announced as Mary and Cat helped the Queen to sit up in the large state bed "your own Prince Richard!"
"Prince Richard of England!" Catherine laughed, her horrified expression turning to one of joy as she clasped her hands together, her golden rings clanging together a little as they collided.

But Elizabeth did not respond, simply stared in wonder at the living, wailing babe in her arms before she turned her tearful gaze to Lady Margaret, a genuine smile, devoid of all hate, spreading across her lips.
"Thank you" she gasped, nodding "you brought my boy to life....thank you!"

꧁꧂

Eleanor smiled once more, looking up at the ceiling while she giggled almost childishly and entered her chambers to see Richard sitting by the fire. He was staring pensively into the flames, an unopened letter in one hand and a stern frown etched onto his face that Eleanor became determined to turn into a smile as merry as her own.

Sidling over to him, she began to gently comb her hands through his hair as she stood by his chair, her smile widening as he looked up at her, an almost relived look entering his eyes.
"Leena" he greeted softly, taking one of her hands and pressing a kiss to her fingers before he guided her to his lap, watching as she sat down and arranged her skirts.

"I suppose you have heard of your miracle nephew?" She chuckled, her fingers reaching to fiddle with with buttons on his doublet "your own little namesake?" Richard merely hummed in reply, studying his wife as he caught her eyes, amusement playing about in their green depths "what?" She asked playfully before leaning forward to press a chaste kiss to his mouth.

Catching her chin with his hand as she pulled away he sought a deeper kiss, coaxing her lips to part as he settled a hand on her waist, gently caressing her skin through the fabric of her silk gown. He felt her smile into the caress, causing him to smile too as she drew away, though only a little "what's troubling you?" She murmured "I know you well enough by now, husband, to know when something is troubling you"

Doubt at once entered his expression and a frown once more settled on his face as he breathed a heavy sigh. It was if he was trying to search for the right words to say yet they appeared to run from him as he silently opened and closed his mouth.

"I've had a letter from Jack" he began at last and Eleanor tilted her head.
"Jack?" She mused "is he going to be coming to Middleham again? I've been longing to see him"

"That's just it, sweetheart" Richard continued hurriedly "he is at Middleham....but he is not alone....Katheryn and Johnny are with him" at once Eleanor's face paled, all the rosy colour that had filled her cheeks fading away along with the joy that she felt as she swallowed heavily.

"W-what?" She breathed, her voice shaking slightly as she drew her hands into her lap, tried to rise only for Richard to tighten his grip on her, keeping her firmly on his knee while a pleading look settled in his eyes "W-what are your bastard's doing at our home...." she felt his grip slacken a little as she whispered the word he hated but suddenly found she could not move.

"I didn't know" he murmured, trying to take her hand, but she snatched it away, taking to playing with her rings "the letter only arrived this afternoon, I had no idea that...."

"Show me" she demanded, startling her husband as she looked up with tears trembling on her lashes "show me the letter....now" nodding, he immediately handed her the parchment, flinching as she snatched it from his hand and began to scans the lines of quickly written writing. He sighed as she crumpled the letter in her fists before flinging it into the flames, watching as the fire engulfed the paper, turning it to ashes.

"You see now why they are there?" He asked quietly and Eleanor stood, folding her arms as she began to pace back and forth before him. She shook her head, once....twice....a third time before she spoke, her voice harsh and grating as if she were trying to suppress a tidal wave of rage or grief.

"The village where they and your whore...."
"Do not call her that" Richard ordered tersely and she shot him a look of venom from beneath her lashes.

"Fine" she replied shortly "the village where they and your mistress reside has had a bout of the plague....Jack has brought them to the North to keep them safe....but....no!" Her voice rose to a shout as she suddenly turned on her husband, tears beginning to fall "no! I will not have them in my home Richard! Not now! Not ever!"

He leant back in his chair, shoulders sagging as he watched Eleanor turn away again, her hands going to her sides, fists curling into the silk of her skirts.
"They are my children" he explained as gently as he could "my son and daughter....Kate cannot care for them as I can, cannot keep them safe as I can which is why they are to live with us.... despite their birth they are still the daughter and son of a Royal Duke!"

"No" Eleanor muttered, resuming her pacing as if it would help "place them at Sheriff Hutton! At Pontefract! Anywhere but Middleham! I will not have them near Bess and Matilda....I want them kept separate...."
"But why?" Richard cried as she went to sit on their bed, her chest heaving unsteadily "I know that this is difficult for you but...."

"I don't want my daughter's near your harlot's brood!" She yelled "they are your heirs! They are your legitimate children, my Lord, and I do not want them to be around...." she suddenly halted her words as she dissolved into sobs unable to continue, hunching over as she pressed a hand to her mouth.

Richard was by her side in a moment, crouching down beside her as he took her free hand, bringing it to his lips. She only cried harder, her hair falling over her face while a heated flush crept up her neck.
"I love our daughters" he told her firmly "little Bess and Matilda, I will always always love them, my darling just as I...."

"But you love her" Eleanor spat, pulling her hand from his grasp as she once again stood, retreating to the window in a flash "and do not try to deny it! I know full well that you loved that woman Kate! That your children were born of love! Besides she....she has triumphed where I, your wife, have failed!" Her words failed her again as she leant against the window frame, holding out a hand to stop Richard when he tried to walk to her. Closing her eyes for a moment, she took deep breaths, tried to control their shaking as he attempted to steady her voice.

She had known that this day would come sooner or later, that Kate's children would one day invade her home but she had always pushed the thought aside, refusing to accept it. How she regretted that decision now! Perhaps if she had prepared? No, she had not known that the two children would be at Middleham when she left in July but if she had forced her mind to accept that one day they would be there then perhaps she would have found it easier?

"I know that they are your children" she said softly, opening her eyes again "a-and that you want to see and support them is inevitable....it is admirable that you want to acknowledge them" she saw Richard's eyes soften a little and at last let him approach her, sighing as he gently placed his hands on her waist "but must they be at Middleham?"

"They must" he admitted, drawing her closer, relived that she appeared to have calmed down a little, her anger seemingly leaving her and creating a form of sadness in its place "Katheryn is four, soon to be five, John is only three....they have both been uprooted from their home, placed in a strange land in a time of panic! To move them again would be...."

"Unfair" Eleanor finished with a sigh "it would be unfair to them....I will not see them Richard, I will have too someday but not straight away"
"But...." Richard began, only for her to put a finger to his lips, shaking her head.

"Give me time" She whispered "if I have to accept them then at least let me get to know them on my own terms"