❝ Tell me losing everything is what saved you,
Tell me you finally tasted freedom.
Can you even imagine yourself in paradise?
Even the daughter of gods must know loneliness, must sometimes want nothing more than to be trapped in a hell of forevers...
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Westminster Palace, England
Lily watched uneasily from her bedroom window as William rode in with a bag over his head and his hands bound behind his back.
She watched him, impatient for the bag covering his head to be removed so she could find out if they had any physical similarities. Some of the mannerisms she had watched were similar, and his height could definitely have been inherited from her father, but she needed more. She needed to see and know more before she could come to a conclusion over whether he was an imposter or if he was truly her brother.
She was so caught up in figuring it out she hadn't even noticed that Henry had walked into the room and watched her curiously.
He stopped when he was standing behind her and wrapped his arms around her from the back. He rested his chin on her shoulder and Lily sighed, calming down when she realized it was just him.
"Look at him," Henry told her in a low tone as the bag was removed from William's head.
William looked upwards, locking eyes with Lily who turned her head slightly to look at Henry, forcing herself to pay attention to Henry instead of the man below on the courtyard.
"Any fool can see he looks nothing like a York," Henry complained and Lily tried to maintain composure as she stood beside him.
She hadn't seen William since he was fifteen, but even then, he looked so much like their mother.
"He doesn't look like a York," she agreed, her voice soft. "But he does look like a Neville."
─────•~❉᯽❉~•─────
After getting dressed, Henry and Lily were escorted into the throne room, arms linked.
The nobles bowed as their king and queen walked past them and rose when they took a seat upon their thrones.
There was a moment of silence before the doors opened and Margaret entered with her ladies.
Soon after, William was escorted in by the guards and the moment he locked eyes on Lily, he froze, his eyes widening in disbelief.
Lily tensed up as well and despite trying to avoid eye contact with the young man, she found herself looking directly into his eyes.
William felt uneasy as he stared at his elder sister, whom he hadn't seen in more than a decade.
"Your Grace," Margaret called out in a prideful tone, "I bring you the cause of England's troubles."
Margaret stepped out of the way and the moment she did so, the guards pushed William forward, causing him to fall straight to the ground in front of Lily and Henry.
Lily's breath became heavier as she leaned forward slightly. She watched William closely and as he rose back up, Lily felt more terrified than she ever had before.
