~Hell to Pay~

My Dearest, Eleanor,

I am in hell. Our march is slower than torture, the horses chest deep in the mud and half the bridges are washed away so we have to go for miles to find a ford. My men march with their heads down and when we rest we can't light fires as everything is soaked.

They say that this is a witches storm and I wonder to myself if their words are true. Is this your work? I can only imagine it is unless it is Elizabeth as because of the weather Buckingham cannot meet Tudor as the latter is unable to sail and that is the last thing she would want. We are quickly closing in on the traitor and I wager that in a few days he shall be caught. I will have him brought to Ludlow Castle and there he shall be hung drawn and quartered which my men think is nothing less than he deserves.

I know I appointed you regent and I hear your praises sung throughout the land each day for they say you have made yourself known to be a just yet clever ruler in my absence and I cannot deny my pride in you each time I think of it. But now, I would ask that you leave your post. Leave my Mother in charge with the children and come to Ludlow.

I do not ask this lightly, especially with you carrying our child and your role in the land but I need you, Eleanor. I need you by my side with the strength only you possess. Without it I cannot go through with my intentions. So I beseech you, my love, depart from London to Ludlow as soon as you can and I shall be there waiting.

Your ever loving, loyal husband, Lord and King,

Richard  Plantagenet ♥︎

Eleanor sighed as she ran a fingertip over the little heart Richard had drawn next to his name (as he had almost always done) but she could not find it in herself to smile at it, there was too much pain in the rest of the letter to do so.

Harry was to be hung, drawn and quartered? No, that was not possible, Richard would not do that! Not to Harry! 'Only he would' she thought as she placed the letter down on the desk in what was usually the King's study. Looking at her wedding ring on her finger, she twisted it back and forth a little, rays of sunlight catching on the sapphire in the middle as she thought. Her eyes widened as she felt the baby inside her kick.

"Even you know somethings wrong, sweeting, don't you?" She said softly and another kick answered her, making her wince a little. This babe was a determined little mite, that was for certain!

She would go to see Cecily Neville. She would know how to handle her son. Although how she would get her Mother in law to agree to change the King's mind on the fate of a traitor, Eleanor did not know. And so when she arrived outside the Duchess of York's rooms she hesitated, taking a deep breath before she knocked.

"Enter!" Despite being sixty eight, there was still no mistaking the authority and power that resided in Cecily's voice and Eleanor smiled nervously as she entered the room, shutting the door behind her. Cecily was stood at a small table, upon which were oval pieces of parchment displaying little figurines possessing golden crowns.

For a moment, Eleanor saw her Mother, Jaquetta, standing in Cecily's place, the same concentrated frown on her face as she matched her children with nobles. Only the glittering figure flashed back to Cecily as Eleanor walked over and realised it was her children Cecily was matching!

Her mouth opening a little in shock, she looked over the painted figures and began to frown. Elizabeth, Matilda, George, Cecily, Edward, Isabella, Eleanor, even Thomas, Adela and Eliza were there, their names written in Cecily's neat handwriting beneath their paintings.

"What are you doing?" Eleanor asked softly, picking up George's portrait as Cecily looked up from her work.
"This is a time of war" she said plainly "it is time alliances were made"
"They are children"
"They are fine matches for the nobles of Christendom....I was thinking the King of France for little Bess...."

"No!" Eleanor startled herself a little with the sharpness of her voice and startled the older woman also, it seemed, as Cecily's blue eyes widened "no" She said again "I will not have my children sent to the four corners of the earth when they are barely out of the nursery!"

"But it would be a good match!" Cecily reasoned, taking up Bess' portrait and putting it together with another 'King Charles' the name at the bottom read "and Richard thinks so too!"
"Richard?!" Eleanor cried in disbelief as she practically flung George's portrait back onto the table "Richard has been discussing matches about our children with you and not me?"

"Now now, no need to be so petulant" her Mother returned "he only mentioned it in his last letter. He thinks that Tudor will seek support from France and given the French desire to fight England he believes it would be good for us to forge an alliance with them!"
"Edward made an alliance with the French once! Promised his Lizzie to the Dauphin and then the French broke it!"

"Ah" Cecily mused "but he is not the Dauphin any longer is he, my dear? Louis died in August and now little Charles is the King of France! And much in need of a Queen!"
"That may be so" Eleanor replied sternly "but that will not be my Bess! She's eleven!" Taking the cards from Cecily's hands she placed them down onto the table but the older woman shook her head, sighing a little.

"You need to be secure, Eleanor" she said "if Bess was Queen of France then the country would have an ally! And your daughter would be a Queen! And you point out her age, the young King is but two years older than she! They would get along well!"

"So you think she would be happy, do you?" Eleanor cried, suddenly out of shock and angry with her Mother in law. She would not allow her children to be taken from her "an eleven year old, in a foreign court that speaks a foreign language and holds none of her family? You think that she would be happy there?"

"She may and besides Bess' French is practically perfect!" Cecily replied with a small shrug, taking up the portraits again "but soon Charles will find a Queen and any hope of an English and French alliance will be out of our grasp! Do you want to supply Tudor with help, Eleanor?"

"Of course not!" Eleanor exclaimed, throwing her arms up in the air and striding to the window. "but if you think for one moment that I am going to sell my eldest daughter, a child, to a foreign alliance then you are wrong, Mother, very very wrong!" She heard Cecily sigh heavily, exasperation more than anger overcoming the older woman and she walked to the window where Eleanor stood, gripping her wrist rather harshly as she spun her around.

"I once told you you would look beautiful as Queen and you do" she stated firmly "but you are not Queen to simply sit on a throne and look pretty, Leena. You are there to rule and to rule you must make tough decisions. Decisions such as this" Eleanor scoffed slightly.

"As sending away my eldest daughter?"
"Many Princesses, many noble girls, marry younger than her, Eleanor! It's the way things are done!" Cecily pointed out "I know it is hard to let go of her but she will be the Queen of France! An alliance will be forged, Richard's power and security on the throne will be strengthened!"
"And what about Bess? What about her? She's eleven and will be in a court of strangers! Without friends and without her Mother and Father! It's unlikely she will ever see the shores of England again!"

"Then make it not so!" Cecily cried, irritated "Go and see her when there is peace, invite the French court to England once it is stable!" She shook her head a little and went back to the table. She thought Eleanor would know the customs of the nobility by now, that betrothals between royalty were often formed before the two engaged could even walk!

'Once a Woodville, always a Woodville' a part of her told her but she shook her head again even as the words crossed her mind. Eleanor was no Woodville, she thought, stealing a glance at the redheaded Queen still stood by the window. She was a Plantagenet. She simply needed guiding in matters of marriage. Sighing a little, Cecily walked back to Eleanor and placed a gentle hand on her arm. Eleanor looked at her, the anger in her eyes softening a little.

"Give your permission for the two to be betrothed" she reasoned, holding up a hand as she saw the Queen prepare to protest "betrothed does not mean married, Leena, it means betrothed! Let them be betrothed and then if you still feel as you do now in a few months time then you may break the arrangement if you wish. Besides, even if the betrothal still stands, some women do not join their husbands until they are fifteen at the least! You were sixteen when you were married were you not?"

"Against my will" Eleanor pointed out "but yes, I was sixteen when I married Richard"
"I know it's hard to let go of your children" Cecily continued softly "but you must do it at some point so why not do it for good? Your daughter shall be the Queen of France, secure and with power! An alliance will be forged, you and Richard shall be more secure! Let Charles and Bess be betrothed, Eleanor. It can only help your cause"

Turning away, Eleanor crossed her arms as she thought 'betrothed does not mean married' Cecily had said and she was right, betrothed did not mean married. Charles had been betrothed to Lizzie for seven years yet they were not married were they?

And it was also true that the King and Queen of England needed allies, Richard needed allies to defend his realm. Slowly, she began to nod to herself and looked back over her shoulder to where Cecily stood, watching her with hopeful eyes.

"Send word to France" she said slowly "and offer a betrothal between my daughter, Princess Elizabeth and King Charles of France"

Cecily smiled.

꧁꧂

November 1483, Ludlow....

Royal trumpeters lined the ramparts of Ludlow castle, their instruments calling out as the Queen of England rode through the castle gates and into the courtyard, her ladies and baggage train behind her. On the steps waited Richard, his crown on his head, shining in the sun and a look of pure relief in his eyes as he saw his wife.

The rebellion was over and had been since three days prior. The rain Eleanor and Bess had conjured had ensured Harry had had to face Richard alone and now the ill fated Duke of Buckingham was imprisoned in the castle, his army destroyed and his hope gone along with his very life.

As Eleanor's horse came to a halt she could not help but smile as Richard rushed forward to her, an almost boyish grin on his face as he held out his arms. Gracefully she slipped from her saddle and immediately melted into Richard's warm embrace, relishing the feeling of his arms around her once more.

"God's bones I've missed you, Eleanor! My Leena" He murmured as he tilted her chin up with a finger and kissed her as fiercely as his pride would allow in public. She smiled, feeling warmth spread throughout her before she drew away. "How is baby?" He asked, placing his hand against her belly "and the children? And you? Are you well?" Eleanor chuckled a little and took his hand.

"Let me get out of this chill and then you may have your answers!" She declared and Richard nodded, leading her forward.
"Your Queen has returned!" He boomed and the noblemen on the steps bowed, placing their hands over their hearts. After all, their fealty was not only to Richard but to her too!

"Long live Queen Eleanor!" They chorused.