~Childbed Fever~

The Duchess of Gloucester had been in the grip of fever for over a week when the royal trumpets blared at the gates of Middleham castle, announcing the arrival of the Queen.

Elizabeth Woodville rode into the courtyard with a flurry of guards behind her, each bearing a royal standard. She was surprised to see the amount of commoners that filled the courtyard and her eyes widened at the sight.

As soon as news of Eleanor's illness had gotten out into the streets, the North had been in uproar, with hundreds flocking to middleham from across the Gloucester's lands to pay homage to her. Their numbers and determination for their prayers to make their beloved Duchess well had moved Richard to tears more than a dozen times.

Their loyalty to her and he was strong, something Elizabeth had not realised, strengthened further by their distribution of the French wealth a year prior.

That had certainly won them eternal love from the people, though a permanent resentment from the King and Queen.

Well, Elizabeth at least. Edward had gotten over it after about a week!

She resented how her sister had managed to win over the people, how she had won their hearts and they loved Eleanor as if she were their Queen and not her. 'She is getting too powerful' she thought.

Elizabeth's cold eyes swept across the servants and peasants that curtsied to her as she dismounted before she walked inside, intent on finding her sister.

She and Edward had been on royal progress around the country when news of the Duchess' illness had reached them and she had immediately set out to the North. It had taken her four days to reach Middleham and she hoped it was not too late. Surely if it was black banners would be lining the castle walls? Someone would be there to tell her as she arrived.

The only person she encountered as she stalked along the deserted halls was Francis, his footsteps the only thing breaking the eerie silence.
"Your grace" he greeted, almost falling into a startled bow, rather alarmed by the appearance of the blonde woman that stared at him with suspicion.

He knew little of what had transpired between she and Eleanor, only that they were more than at odds with one another and he was surprised, to say the least, that Elizabeth had appeared.

She nodded her head in a cold greeting before removing her gloves, clasping them tightly in her fists.

"Where is my sister?" She demanded and Francis turned around, walking down the hallway, leaving the Queen to follow. Elizabeth huffed a little as she did so. As they walked through the great hall she suddenly stopped, an icy glare settling on her face as she saw George sitting in a chair by the fire.

He was almost hunched over, a goblet of wine clasped tightly in his hands, though it was full to the brim. He had not drunk a drop for once. Almost as if he could sense her presence, the abhorrence that practically radiated from her each time she encountered him, he looked up sharply.

"Ah, sister" he greeted, a mocking smile sweeping across his lips as he sat up.
"What are you doing here, Clarence?" She asked tersely and George could not resist laughing.

"Hm, let me think" He replied, not making any effort to sound polite or civil for he was long past that "I'm here to support my little brother because his wife, who I may add is probably my closest friend living, is dying! Is that not why you are here? Or are you come to set fire to something?"

"If something was to be set on fire I would leave that to you, George" Elizabeth returned before a little boy toddling into the room, wooden wolfhound in hand took her attention. The child made a beeline for George, a grin lighting up his face as he held out his small arms.

"Ah! Come here my little namesake!" George said brightly as he swept baby George from the floor and into a hug, making the little boy giggle.

So this was Eleanor's eldest son, the Queen wondered to herself. He peered over his Uncle's shoulder at Elizabeth, eyeing her curiously.
"Who dragon lady, Uncle Georgie?" Baby George mumbled and his older namesake forced himself to refrain from laughing out loud as he stood.

"That" he said "is the Queen, your Mother's sister, little one, but I would say she has not exactly been acting 'sisterly' of late" his last words were laced with an undertone of knowledge. Something she immediately recognised.

He knew about the Scottish war.
Of course he did! Either Eleanor would have told him or Richard had! But she was not going to satisfy his suspicions of her with a response and so simply stalked from the room, gliding up the stairs which she assumed would take her to Eleanor.

Reaching the top of the stairs, she once more encountered Francis who was lingering outside the Duke and Duchess' rooms.

"I assume you wish to see your sister, your grace?" He asked quietly and Elizabeth nodded, walking towards the ornate doors only to feel the younger man's hand on her arm "he hasn't slept for more than four days, the only way we got him too was slipping a sleeping draft into his wine he has not eaten either....he has not seen the children since Eleanor has been ill, he has been by her side ever since Bess found her...."

"Her little daughter found her?" Elizabeth whispered, shaking her head sadly as Francis nodded. Reaching into his doublet he produced a small bottle filled with a sandy coloured power.

"This is the sleeping draft, your grace" he said with a nod "he has not let anyone get within ten feet of him or Eleanor so we have been unable to administer it....would you try? Please?" Slightly taken aback by Francis' concern for his friend, Elizabeth slowly nodded, taking the bottle and slipping it into her sleeve and assuming the 'he' was Richard.

She turned towards the door once more and opened it, slipping inside the bedchamber before she closed the door behind her. What first hit her was a heavy wave of incense that came from a dozen or more candles gathered on a table.

The bedchamber was dark, the only light coming from the candles and the shards of sun that slipped through cracks in the bolted shutters.

These rare beams fell upon the large bed, slightly illuminating the form of her little sister. Eleanor was laying beneath thin covers, her chest rising and falling in small, shallow breaths. As she exhaled a scratching noise escaped her throat, almost as if she was inwardly clawing for breath.

Beads of sweat covered her forehead and the rest of her body, the body that jerked uncomfortably every so often. Elizabeth's eyes then shifted to the man that was knelt by the bed, clutching onto one of Eleanor's limp hands as if it was the only source of life for him, as precious as oxygen.

Richard's head was bowed, his eyes trained on his wife. His chains of office and rings were nowhere in sight, leaving him in his breeches and boots with a shirt that hung unusually loose on his frame. He had lost weight.

A goblet, though filled with wine, lay untouched on the small table a few feet from the bed and Elizabeth made her way forward, her footsteps silent as she slipped the bottle from her sleeve.

Pulling the cork from the top she tipped an estimated teaspoon of the powder into the liquid, hoping it would be enough to send Richard to sleep. Then she could do what she came to do.

In all it had been rather a stroke of luck that Francis' had handed her the very means for her to accomplish her plan for she couldn't do it while he was awake. As she moved closer towards him, she could hear him murmuring to himself. No, not to himself, to Eleanor.

"....And you know that the children love you with all their hearts" he said softly "and I love you, Eleanor....how I have loved you. But I have never deserved you...."
"Richard?"

Before she could take another breath, she found herself gasping as Richard shot to his feet, grabbing the dagger her had at his side and pointing it towards whoever had intruded upon his grief.

Elizabeth thought that he might lower the blade once he realised it was her but he did not, only pointed it with more determination. His skin was pale and pasty and he sported livid purple circles under his eyes. 'Sweet Lord' she thought almost fearfully 'his eyes'

The usual calm deep blue that reflected trust was nowhere to be seen, seemingly dulled to black in the dim light, giving him an almost wild appearance. His eyes were rimmed with red, puffy from constant tears that had refused to dry, and bloodshot.

"What are you doing here?" He asked lowly and Elizabeth took a step back, arms raised as if in surrender "have you come to take her away from me? Well I won't let you! I won't let you take her from me as you tried to take me from her with that bloody war of yours you...."
"Calm yourself, Richard" Elizabeth instructed firmly "I am not here to take Leena from you, I promise"

"How can you promise anything?" He snarled "we all know you cannot keep the promises that you make! And leave misery in your wake in doing so!"
"You need rest"
"I need my wife and for you to get out of my home!"

Elizabeth was tempted to roll her eyes though remembered just in time that she was in fact not the one sleep deprived and holding a knife. She let out a sigh of relief when Richard suddenly dropped the blade, flinching as it fell to the floor with a clatter and he turned back to the bed, kneeling beside Eleanor once more.

"I cannot bear to lose her" he whispered, taking her hand again as Elizabeth came to stand beside him "the physician says she will die....it has been a week and her fever has not broken. But I will not give up on her! My Eleanor is strong. She will live"

"You need rest" she said again, her tone gentler this time but Richard only shook his head.
"No" he said firmly "no I will not leave her. I have failed her before, I will not fail her again! I will stay by her side and no one will take me from it! I promised her that I would never leave her while she suffered and I will not leave her now, Elizabeth so do not try to convince me with honeyed words. It will not work"

"I can see you care for her deeply...."

"Care for her?" He repeated, momentarily looking up "I love her! I love her more than my own life....I would give anything....anything....that she may live but all I can do is sit here and watch while she slips away from me. From our children! They cannot lose their mother! I cannot lose my wife! She is half of my very soul and without her I would be lost"

Elizabeth sighed, she was in no mood for professions of love, nor was she in the mood for watching Richard cry as he began to do so, heavy tears rolling down his cheeks and onto the bedsheets.

"Here, drink" she ordered, picking up the goblet and almost shoving it into his free hand. Her eyes widened with surprise as he took a large gulp, almost draining the contents of the goblet entirely 'drink and sleep' she prayed.

Her prayers were answered in no less than two minutes when Richard began to mutter something about feeling dizzy before he fell to one side, onto the floor. Rather pleased with her work, Elizabeth stepped over his sleeping body to where her sister lay, upon the brink of death.

Now was the time to summon Melusina.

꧁꧂

Eleanor felt a strange sensation as she opened her eyes, an almost dazed state that made her feel as if she had just come out of a long dream. She had no idea how long she had been away from the world for, had no idea anything was really wrong at all.

All she remembered was Richard leaving to go and check on their new babes and then the feeling that her skin was on fire before her head hit the pillow.

Staring up at the canopy of her bed she tried to piece together the fragments of memory that began to return as her mind woke but everything held a certain fuzziness to it, as if someone had blurred her memory on purpose!

"I can remember hearing voices" she muttered to herself "it was Richard I am sure...." turning her head to the side, she groaned as her neck ached. How long had it been since she last moved? Her brows knitted together when she saw Richard was not beside her. He should be, she thought, for the room was dark, as dark as night, so she guessed it must be late.

But wait, she could hear his breathing, steady and slow, she would recognise it anywhere and only had to turn her head a little more to see him lying beside their bed, a blanket carelessly thrown over him. Eleanor's eyes widened, though her head spun as she tried to sit up. What on earth was Richard doing sleeping on the floor?!

"Sit back, Leena" a stern voice said and Eleanor found herself being pushed back onto the pillows once more by Elizabeth's cold hands. At first she was at a loss for words, wondering if she was hallucinating for the sight of her sister was certainly the last thing she expected to see in the North, let alone in her bedchamber!

"What has happened?" She asked as Elizabeth tucked the covers around her "why is Richard on the floor? Why are you here?"

"You had childbed fever" the Queen answered as if it were a mere cold, ignoring her sister's gasp "Richard would not go to sleep so I gave him a sleeping draft and then I healed you...you were dying Leena"

Eleanor started up at Elizabeth in shock. She had been dying? From childbed fever?

"And you came to me" she whispered "you helped me"
"It was my duty" Elizabeth returned with a small shrug and immediately Eleanor's expression turned cold.

"Did you do it out of love or out of duty?"

The Queen sighed, thinking about her response for a moment before she shrugged again.
"Duty" she answered nonchalantly and Eleanor shook her head, surprised at the pain that cut into her heart like a knife at one word.

It was one thing to know her sister no longer cared for her as she did. It was another thing entirely to hear it spoken aloud. "once it might have been love but you are not the sister I used to know"

Eleanor raised her eyebrows.
"Nor are you" she returned, pausing slightly before a humourless laugh left her lips "actually, no, that is a lie. I think you have always been as cold hearted as you are, always as vicious as you are....I was simply too blind to see it"

Elizabeth paused in straightening the covers, eyes flicking to Eleanor's before she drew herself up to her full height, her expression passive, almost uncaring.

"I have saved your life" she murmured "using magic I may add and all you have for me are accusations on my own character?"
"Of course not" Eleanor sighed "I am thankful, of course I am! You have saved my life and I thank you for it!"

"But it still not enough to secure loyalty from you...."
"Oh God Elizabeth....you really did come here out of duty didn't you? Duty or the coldness of your own ambition. Well, there's the door" she jerked her head in the direction of it "you're more than welcome to use it!"

Elizabeth scoffed, sitting down in the chair she had placed by the bed.
"Jesus Christ, Leena. Are you determined to paint me as a demon now?" She shook her head "they have taken you away from me....I wish you had never married him!"

"Who has taken me away from you?!" Eleanor cried, forcing herself to sit up though it made her head spin "and you wish I had never married Richard?! May I remind you that you were the one who forced me into marriage in the first place!"

"Well he has taken you away from me" Elizabeth hissed "just as George has! Even Edward! They have all taken you from me!"

"Just as you tried to take my husband from me?" Eleanor retorted "and yes I am talking about the war with Scotland. You were angry with me so you decided to take the man I love from me, take the Father of my children away from them. Have you never stopped to think that after you did that that it would take away the last shred of loyalty I held towards you, Elizabeth?"

Elizabeth looked up, something akin to guilt surfacing in her eyes before it was replaced with a cold anger that almost made Eleanor tremble. The Queen rose from her chair, offering no reply as she walked to the door, her sister's eyes following her. As she reached the threshold she turned, observing Eleanor one last time as her lips moved.

"Richard has taken you away from me and for that I will never forgive him"
"You tried to take Richard away from me" Eleanor replied cooly "and for that I will never forgive you"

"Maman!" The excited scream of John made her jump as the little boy forced himself through the open doorway and past the Queen, paying no attention to her at all. As determined as ever, he made a beeline for the bed, hurling himself over the sleeping body of his Father, and into Eleanor's arms before she even had a chance to speak "Maman!" He crowed with delight once more; little arms clasping tightly around her neck and it was only then that the word he had screeched with such conviction and happiness settled on her.

He had just named her as his Mother.

"Oh my sweet boy" she sighed, cuddling him close as she ran a hand through his dark curls. "my sweet sweet boy"

He had only been three when he arrived at Middleham and now he was six, had gone three years without seeing Kate and his memory of her had faded beyond reach.

The only Mother he now knew was Eleanor. The only Mother he now wanted was Eleanor and it almost gave her all of her strength back, her heart bursting with joy in the knowledge that he would honour her as such, even though he did not realise what happiness he had brought.

"Are you well again, Maman?" He asked brightly, sitting up in her arms and reaching out to tap her nose as she often did to him. Once more the name made her dizzy with glee and Eleanor nodded, grinning.

"I am, Johnny, and when I am well I will take you on your first hunt! Then you shall be able to properly shoot some birdies!" John beamed and threw himself into her arms again, giggling.

Eleanor looked over his shoulder, shivering slightly when she saw the doorway was empty of all but the torchlight from the corridors. Elizabeth had slipped away as if a mere ghost in the night but somehow her presence still lingered, an ever present reminder of the threat she posed towards Eleanor and her family.

Instinctively Eleanor held John closer, kissing his hair as she realised the extent she would go to to protect her family.

She would do anything.

Anything that was necessary.

Even kill.

And something told her that, one day, it may come down to that.