Kingmaker

Army of York #1

"So he was slain. That boy. I warned him of stepping out of line with them. He didn't listen as always" started the Spymaster he sat with Stafford, Howard and the generals of the Yorkist army. "Never did have any patience that one. Anger issues from day one" commented one of the many generals, tossing the information file of the slain general to Stafford. "His name was James. Lancaster will have heard the name before" started the Spymaster again. He looked to the men before him. "Lancaster. Hung the boy for speaking out of turn to Lady Ava Neville. He also attacked her in the hallway so I have heard. She was pregnant at the time. And has since had a baby boy. Sir Richard is indeed the father" The Spymaster watched Stafford as he tapped the table with his fingers, his tongue in cheek as he listened. "Enough!" he snarled, slamming his fist on the table after a few seconds longer. "Enough of that traitor! She will die by the sword. As will Neville and that son of theirs" snapped Stafford, leaning forwards in his seat as he did so. "We have an army. We have men that will fight for us at a moments notice. We each have an army. Myself. Howard. Each man here commands an army. If we march all at once. We will take down Lancaster in one day"
"Lord Stafford. It would be highly illogical of us to march at once. They will spot an army of such a size before we even cross into Lancaster. They would have their own army at the gates before we are even able to get close enough to fire a bolt" commented one of the generals, watching Stafford. "You sound like you are defending them, Sir David" started the Spymaster once more. He had been interrupted 3 times now. "Gentlemen. Let me finish. Please. In slaying James, Lancaster now knows how to identify our spies. It seems all of our spies speak out of turn"
"Then teach them not to!" snapped Stafford once more. His anger being met with a glare from their King Edward. "Calm yourself Sir Henry. It is a man from your army that was sent. You should be teaching them these things" Stafford silenced with a snort at the King's words, earning a further glare from the royal. "You act as though your men are the responsibility of another. Was it not you that failed to capture Ava Neville?. Was is not you that failed to have your men strike her down when she was right infront of you in Lancaster colours? Do not blame other men for your failures, Sir Henry"
The knight growled, flattening his palms against the table. "We. Did not fail to capture Ava. We did not fail to strike her down. WE WOUNDED her. That injury will have lessened her effectiveness on the battlefield!"
"It did not though. Did it Sir Henry? She was still at the Battle on The Moors. And she was FIGHTING with the same arm you are said to have but a bolt through! She also killed your first spy with that injury! You did NOTHING to her, Sir Henry! Nothing at all worthy of recognition!" snapped the King Edward, slamming his hands down on the table as he spoke. "You have been nothing but a head in the clouds since she defected from us. ACCEPT it man! She is MARRIED to Sir Richard Neville. She has a SON by him! Drop your petty interest in her, and focus on getting that Crown back in York! If you come across her. Only THEN will you wound her significantly on the battlefield. Do I need to run you through a plan to kill her since she seems to be your ONLY FOCUS?!" snarled King Edward again, watching the knight. He could see the words in Stafford's eyes. The man wanted to say something. "Speak, Sir Henry"
"How do you propose then. That we capture her and have her tortured and killed for her treason to York?"demanded the knight, watching Edward. "Separate her from her army. There will no doubt be men around her. Get them out of the way and she's exposed. She'll no doubt put up a fight. The Lancastrians will have made sure of that. Get rid of her son. She'll become reckless. Then. You capture her. Then will you stop going on about her?"
Stafford merely snorted, leaning back in his seat. "We will use your method" He hadn't even commented on the part about getting rid of her son! A mere child! The generals around the table had silenced and hadn't commented on the rather loud exchange between Edward and Stafford. No man dared to come between the pair. It just wasn't a wise move. But the words exchanged had definitely been imprinted in each mans mind. They would attack Lancaster, they would capture Ava, they would kill her, and her son. Leaving Richard Neville to grieve and seek vengeance. He too would become reckless and bloodthirsty in order to avenge his wife and son. Thus leaving the King unprotected.
It was quite a good plan, really. But getting it to go smoothly was a whole other challenge in itself.

[Authors Note: This part was hard to write. Maybe I'm tired... I don't know]