~Written in Blood~

Eleanor wiped away another tear as she rode through the gatehouse of the Tower of London with Elizabeth and Bella who were both silent in their grief, their faces white and eyes swollen red.

They had rode in silence for near a week and a half as the royal party made its way back to the capital under a bleak cloud of misery. As the days past, more news came of the deaths of Baron Rivers and John Woodville, one piece being that they were executed at Kenilworth Castle.

At once Eleanor had declared with a sob that that must not be possible as they were there just a month before and then she had found herself clinging to the last shred of hope she had in her heart that she and her father may be alive. Only for it to be crushed when the men and servants began to address Anthony as Earl Rivers.

Guards rode beside them at all times and always surrounded the castles and manors that they sheltered in at night, though this did little to make the Woodvilles feel safe.

Edward was Warwick's prisoner, most of the old nobility hated their family and would be glad to see them overthrown with George in his elder brother's place as King.

'Parliament would not allow it" Elizabeth would always rage whenever the idea was raised but her younger sisters were not so sure. After all, Warwick was the King Maker and he was currently Kingmaking.

The portcullis came down behind them, creating a loud clang as the heavy metal hit cold stone and then the gates were shut and bolted, would remain so until they were either breached or ordered to be opened by the Queen. Eleanor felt a chill run down her spine, making her shiver, just as she had done upon entering the tower for his sister's coronation four years ago.

Seeing the two Grey boys waiting for them on the tower steps, their faces ashen with despair, Elizabeth gave out a small cry and didn't wait to be helped from her saddle; rushed over to her sons and embraced them.

Her sisters were quick to follow with the Princesses in their arms and nodded to Tom and Rickon as they entered the tower in the same saddened silence they had withheld for days and nights.

Eventually, they reached a dimly lit room and saw Jacquetta Woodville, dressed in black and standing hunched over by the fire. Placing Lizzie and Mary down onto the bed beside her, Eleanor steps forward.

"Mother" she whispered, her voice turning to a strangled sob as her walk turned into a run and she wrapped her arms around Jacquetta who immediately began to weep as the rest of her children and her nephews joined her.

"What kind of a monster is he? For I am sure he can be no man!" Eleanor yelled as she stormed around the bank of the river Themes with her sister while their mother watched on with tears rolling down her cheeks "there was no trial! No charge! There was no chance for a defence? It was an execution!"

"And I shall have his head for it!" Elizabeth cried "And George's too! For rebelling and for what he has done to our Bella"
"Poor Bella" Jacquetta whispered "my poor sweet child...."
"I cannot bear it mother" Eleanor sobbed as she knelt down and clutched her mother's hand, watching as she took a letter from her pocket.

"He sent me this before they killed him....it tells me to be happy....sends you his love....oh John is such a loss to me" she wept "he had his whole life ahead of him....and when you raise a boy and he becomes a man....you begin to think that he is safe....that is he protected....I should have seen it! I have the sight, Leena! I should have seen it!"

"We will have revenge" Eleanor swore as Elizabeth knelt beside her "Warwick will know pain....George will know the pain that the loss of a child brings....I swear it, mother....you have lost a son and so shall he! I promise you...."

"What would that achieve?" Jacquetta sighed as Eleanor gasped for air, almost choking on her tears "it will not bring them back and there will
be war again"
"But they still have Edward!" Elizabeth cried, standing "I must avenge my father and brother or God knows I shall go mad!" Wiping her face with the sleeve of her gown she looked imploringly at her mother "I've tried to do it differently!" She said quietly "I tried to do what Edward asked and make them all my friends...."

"But now....we want them dead" Eleanor finished and Elizabeth nodded, slowly reaching out to take the letter Jacquetta offered.
"Tear off a corner....write their names out in blood....heat the charms and keep them in the darkness....do it by the riverside on this waning moon...."

"We will not fail you and Bella, mother" Eleanor murmured "I promise you that"
"Oh, my sweet child" Jacquetta sobbed, holding the girl close to her "you could never fail me...."

That night, Bella watched the moon emerge from the clouds, tears in her eyes as she saw Anthony depart for the North while the shimmering rays fell upon the Themes.
"Who heard her?" She whispered and Eleanor and Elizabeth looked up from where they were lacing ribbons through the metal loops on top of two lockets they had found.

"Who?" The Queen asked, frowning when Bella did not look to her.
"Melusina...." she replied quietly "one of us must have heard her sing before Father and John died....one of us must have...."
"I did" Eleanor answered, tucking the pendant up the sleeve of her gown "I heard her song just as Anthony arrived....I don't know by I heard it so late....they were executed at least three days before!"

"That does not matter now" Elizabeth said, placing a hand atop her sister's "what matters is that we avenge our kin; make sure that Warwick and George pay!"

At the mention of the Duke of Clarence, Bella put a hand to her belly and fled the room, slamming the door behind her.
"He's broken her heart" Eleanor whispered as she retrieved a lantern and lit it "He's abandoned her and their child"

"And we shall curse him for it....as well as the pain he has dealt our family, now come" Elizabeth replied as she pushed open a secret passage that led down to the riverbank.

The glistening waters were lapping slowly at the edges of the green grass as the two Woodvilles knelt side by side on the river bank, placing the lantern between them. Eleanor could feel a form of nervousness brewing inside of her, a kind that twisted her stomach into knots. She knew how dangerous magic could be if it went wrong, her mother had told her, but there was a part of her that did not care at that moment.

'So what of the consequences?' She thought as her sister tore a corner off the letter she had and then another, passing the second to her. George deserved to be punished. He had ruined Bella's life, left her alone with an unborn babe and a broken heart now turned cold with hatred.

"I shall curse Warwick" The Queen murmured "for the execution of our most beloved father and brother....for the pain he has caused us, our family and our mother....and you, Eleanor...."
"I shall curse George" she finished with a nod "for the pain he has caused mother by having a hand in the murder of her son, John, and for breaking Bella's heart and abandoning her...."

Each pulling a leaf to them, they drew their pendants from their sleeves and lay them on the ground, Eleanor's with a black ribbon, Elizabeth's the same. The latter then brought out a small knife from her cloak and her sister's eyes widened as she beckoned for her to hold up a hand.

The Countess looked uncertain as she held out her arm, shivered as her wrist was caught in the Queen's icy cold grip, her slender fingers wrapping around her arm like vines, steadying her before she held the knife to her skin.

In one, almost tender, motion, Elizabeth sliced across the palm of Eleanor's and and grimaced as the girl hissed, a small cry threatening to break free from her throat as she watch blood begin to seep from the wound.

Elizabeth screwed her eyes shut as she did the same, biting her lip before looking to her sister and nodding as they both made a small fist and watched as drops of blood began to rain down upon their leaves, hiding the green that represented life and replacing it with the red hue of death.

Reaching into her cloak, the Queen drew forth two sharpened quills and passed one to her sister who was watching her intently for further instruction. Slowly she dipped the tip of the quill into her blood and brought the torn paper a little closer as she began to write.

"Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick I curse you....for the murder of Richard Woodville and his son, my brother, John Woodville....for the pain and suffering you have caused my kin, the sons and daughters of Melusina....let all of you plans be damned to hellfire as your soul shall be after your death....let you slowly lose hope and descend into darkness as you lose all you hold dear, your power, your family, your life....damn your sword arm on the battlefield....let if fail you so I may have my revenge and your name shall shamed throughout Christendom, leaving your line to slowly die until it is dry of life and forgotten forever....lost to the mists of time....my mother, Melusina, goddess of water, here the plea of your daughter, Elizabeth Woodville and help me in this curse so that I may avenge your sons"

Eleanor watched in awe as her sister finished her curse, gently blowing on the bloodied parchment before folding it neatly and placing it inside her locket. She then opened the top of the lantern and held the metal pendant over the flame, gently circling it around the fire, watching with intense eyes.

"This will bring us our revenge, Eleanor" she whispered "but now, tis your turn"

The Countess nodded and watched as the last few drops of her blood landed on the leaf before she took up her quill and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.

"George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence I curse you....for the hand you had in the death of my dearest father and brother....I curse your line to anguish and despair, to pain and to tragedy and I damn your name to forever be one that is only spoke of when the words are of treachery and betrayal....I damn you to hell for causing a mother the loss of a son and as payment you shall lose your firstborn son by your wife to the mercy of the dark waters which powers the magic within my veins through the Goddess Melusina....I curse you here for the betrayal and deceit your wicked hand has dealt my sister, Isabella Woodville....for the wreckage of her heart and the destruction of her mind....for the breaking of her most sacred trust and the robbing of her innocence....mother of the sea and the rivers, Melusina, hear my curse and hear me, Eleanor Woodville, well....damn George Plantagenet and his line to this curse so that I may avenge your sons and daughter"

Opening her eyes, Eleanor suddenly felt as if a weight was attached to her very heart, holding her down but she ignored it, folding up the paper and placing it into her locker; holding the charm over the flame of the lantern.

After a few moments she tied it around her neck, revelling in the momentary pain the hot metal caused as if binding the curse to her very flesh. She knew it was done.

"What now?" She asked quietly as she turned to Elizabeth who had was wearing an expression that blatantly displayed pride in her little sister as she tied her own charm around her neck.
"Now, we wait for the curses to work....it may take months....years....but if we have patience we shall see that we succeed!" She replied "and....we must see you married"