－𝑊𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑒－
It's the year 1469 and Isabella Woodville is sailing to Italy from an England engulfed in bloodstained rebellion to become the wife of Lorenzo de Medici. But she harbours a secret, a secret that grows with...
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~To be Young~
July 1465, London....
For the next two months Bella Woodville could often be found in the company of the Duke of Clarence. It was he that sought her out, hunting the castle during the day so that they could walk together in the gardens or dance at a dinner. Sometimes they would talk of themselves or the world around them and sometimes they did not speak at all, were simply content to sit by one another.
It was a comfort neither had known with another before but they more than liked it.
Bella found that she enjoyed his company, he quickly learnt how to make her laugh and she him, realising that she liked to make him grin that boyish grin that would light up his face, making his eyes glint. Once or twice more he had tried to kiss her (or at least that was was she though), he would hesitantly shuffle closer before trying to place her lips against his.
She didn't think that he was inexperienced with women, despite him being young, not many men of his rank were but it amused her to watch him blush and fumble when she would pull away. One day she would let him, she had realised that just a few days after they had met. She rather wanted him to kiss her, she wanted to know what it would feel like to have his lips against hers.
And more than anything, she wanted to have a true reason to cause discomfort to Isabel Neville.
The younger girl's glares followed she and George wherever they went, icy and cold but they did not let it ruin the warmth of their meetings. Nothing could dampen them, she was sure.
Apart from perhaps the looming threat that Isabel's Father posed. The Earl of Warwick slunk around court like a dark shadow in the night and all of the Woodvilles did their best to keep an eye on him. By now, his secret deal with the King of France was common knowledge among the family but still King Edward did nothing, which infuriated them all.
"He's blinded by how much he loves him!" Elizabeth (now with child) would say whenever any of her kin asked why action had not been taken. Bella thought it rather foolish to be blinded by love and her older brother Anthony agreed with her.
"It would be far better if their kinship was not firm" He said one day while the Queen paced around her royal chambers, ever faithful Leena trotting at her side; all had nodded their agreement.
They all kept an eye upon the great Earl, especially the elder Woodvilles, never more so when the court rode out to partake in one of their favourite sports. Hawking. From the great walls of Westminster Palace they made their way to the fields outside of the city, much to the approval of the people who cheered them through, Bella riding beside her Mother on a white palfrey.
