Kingmaker

Yorkist #2

Stafford once more returned to his own doings. Pulling a small leather bound notebook from the small satchel at his side. The notebook, an old, worn leather item. It's age shown by the slightly torn edges and marks that showed its years of use. With a deep, weary sigh, Stafford pulled open the cover. The spine creaking ever so slightly. The book, a diary of sorts. Or more. A record. Contained every step of their mision. Every success. And failure. Every clue. Every misinterpretation. Every detail was documented within the old pages.
As Stafford began to write once more, setting to document the days' events. A man in his early 40's approached, resting his hand upon the seat opposite the knight. "My Lord, may I?" he asked, gesturing to the seat. Stafford lifted his head to acknowledge the man, thinking of shooing him away before his eyes settled, and his plan was changed. "Ah, Thomas! You may. It has been an eventful few days, weeks even" Stafford knew that Thomas had come to ask if there had been any news of his daughter, Ava. As much as he detested her actions, they were still family.
As Thomas took his seat, he rested his hands upon the table; locking them together as he gazed over the knights' book on the table. "Has there been any news of Ava?" he asked softly so as not to disturb anyone around them. The question fell on sensitive ears, with Stafford's lips once more forming a thin line in displeasure. "Not since the early hours of last Thursday. The last information we recieved was that she had been seen with the knights of Lancaster. She has already reached her destination. But whether or not she has been successful in anything else is yet to be seen. We are doing everything we can to seek her out, Thomas" The knight looked upon the man as he spoke, seeing the faint smile upon his lips fade once more into a frown of slight despair.
"I am most sorry for this My Lord. I know you had much planned" Thomas spoke with such sadness that his words brought out a small smile from the knight. "Do not be sorry, Thomas. It is not you that has dishonoured the House of York. It is your daughter. It may be your blood. But it is not you, old friend. I did have much planned, but my plans have changed just as Ava's had. I knew she would turn against us eventually. All the signs were there. If my understanding was correct, she will have sought out Sir Richard Neville of the House of Lancaster. But enough on her, my friend. How are you fairing? And how is your wife, Evette?"
Thomas offered a smile now, lifting his head ever so slightly. "We are well. Our son recently won a jousting tournament, and married his fiance of several years. Myself and Evette are also expecting our third child. The midwife believes it will be a boy. Lord knows we do not need another girl" Upon hearing the news, Stafford clasped hands with his old friend. "Congratulations, my friend. Congratulations to yourself and Evette, and to your son aswell. Will you be sending news to Lancaster for Ava? Or will you keep it amongst the House of York?" He had to ask, really. It was a family matter after all. "I will not. Ava has chosen to defect from us, and the House of York. Family matters no longer include her. I did not wish this upon my daughter. But she made the choice. And it was the wrong one"
Stafford nodded at what was being said. It was clear now that Ava's family had more or less moved on, and no longer wished to speak with their daughter. Even if it meant she never met her new sibling, or heard of their existence. But she would hear eventually. Be it from her family or not. News travelled fast in such families. And the House of Lancaster had ways of finding things out. "What of you, My Lord. Is there a lady for you?" asked Thomas, gazing to the knight once more. He knew that Stafford had eyes for Ava, and it seemed she was the only one. But maybe things had changed after all that had happened. "There is no one, Thomas. Not that I have seen. You know I have only ever felt for Ava. She is a beautiful girl, and has such a fire in her heart. She is skilled, and presents herself well. Has an attitude, but knows when she needs to stop it in it's tracks. With her now defecting to the House of Lancaster. It shows that she has a rebellious side. One that will be shot down by the House of Lancaster. They like their knights strong, yes. But rebellion is one thing they fear. She will not last long with the Lancastrians"
It was all a lie. The Lancastrians wouldn't shoot down her rebellious side. They already knew how she felt, and how she would deal with things. And they wanted to fuel it all. The rebellion, to them, showed courage and made her seem fearless. "It is an honour to hear you have such feelings for my daughter. And I am sorry that she has chosen to defect to the House of Lancaster. Might I ask, what made you fall for her so? More that what you have already said?" Thomas knew that he shouldn't pry too much into the knights business. But it was his daughter that the knight had feelings for. So in a way. He had the right to know. Kind of.
"It is hard to explain. She is just so unqiue to me. Of the times we spoke, she did not just see the knight that I am. She saw past it. Of the times I watched her riding her horses with the lances in hand. She seemed so skilled, yet, so graceful and determined. The way she spoke to others. The respect she showed to everyone. The way she treated others. She was a squire at one point for myself. I have never had a squire so helpful and determined to impress. My horse was always ready, he was always clean, well fed, and well rested. His tack and armour was always clean, and Ava was always around him. She always cleaned my armour and always smiled when we spoke. The banquets after the tournaments. She always wore the most beautiful dresses, and she always danced so beautifully. We danced at one point. She was so elegant. I knew she was the perfect one for me. The way she made me feel. No other had managed to match those feelings"
Stafford had truly loved Ava, and had true, real feelings for the girl. That much, Thomas could see now. It was also clear now why he had specifically asked that he and Howard be the ones to seek her out.
He wanted her back.

[Authors Note: I honestly liked writing this part too! Finally some talk from Ava's father. And finally some more insight into how Stafford felt about Ava. Do you think there's more to Ava and Stafford's relationship before all of this happened? Is there more to Ava? More to come soon!]