Kingmaker

Warning #2

It wasn't long before men started to notice something wasn't right. Once the men had all celebrated their wins and gathered their coin, they had looked to Ava. But she wasn't where she had been sat just an hour earlier. Several of the men set out with laterns to search for her in the darkness of the castle grounds. Her horse was sleeping in his stall, so she couldn't have gone far. 4 of her men walked together, one held a lantern whilst 3 held swords for protection if necessary. As they walked, they thought the worst. Had she taken off alone to scout York? Had she simply gone off to bed for sleep? Sir Richard would check their room, and had done so. Returning with no sight of her. Still, the soldiers walked until they came upon a body. One of the men almost tripping over the feet. He cussed, motioning for the lantern to be drawn closer so he could cuss out the person whomever lay on the ground in darkness. He assumed it was a stable boy. But he was very wrong.
As the light was drew closer, they saw the colours of Lancaster. The blood, then the face of Ava. Bloodied and tired. The scroll now tied to her waist with the gag still tight in her mouth. The York flag was as visible as ever, as was the York seal on the scroll. One of the men pulled Ava into his arms, calling for Sir Richard and Sir George. Also calling for the gates to be locked as he did so. Ava had flinched in his arms, her own moving across her stomach. Sir Richard came running, yelling for medical supplies and for cloths as he cut the York flag from her mouth. "York... King Edward" murmured Ava, gasping, pushing the scroll into Neville's hands. "King Edward has returned.... York will come back.... If King Henry doesn't give up the throne... Don't let him give up..." she murmured again, resting her head back as the soldier lay her on the ground. "How'd they do this to you?" questioned Neville as he wiped her cheek, working on stitching it almost instantly. He had no time to lose now. "The fighting.... The darkness. No one saw them coming. Not even me... I didn't see who they were... Three of them" She could barely speak as tears pricked her eyes. Neville had finished up her cheek and had since lifted her tunic to see the source of the blood. The bruising, the small cuts, the very evident broken ribs and cracked sternum. Neither could be treated with what they had. All they could do was apply a bandage with a heated medicinal paste that would sooth the pain and heal the bruises. Bones would have to set themselves.
As Neville treated his wife's injuries. Plantagenet read the scroll that had been left with Ava.
"King Edward has returned. King of York, and the rightful King of England. He will sit upon the throne and your Henry will be returned to the tower of London. You'll find this scroll attached to whichever poor sod we got our hands on. Listen to these words, Lancaster. King Edward will get the throne once more. And all of you will be treated accordingly. Your soldiers. If they don't die in the battle. Will be forced to either join York, or be exiled.
Ava. You know what will happen.
Sir Richard Neville. You will join your wife.
Sir George Plantagenet. The dungeons are a fine place for men like you.
And lastly. King Henry. The tower of London will be 'graced' with your presence once again.
Lancaster. Your end is near"
The scroll was signed simply by York. No given names of whom wrote it, or the names of those that had attacked Ava. She was definitely a high priority target. Almost level with the King himself on how highly she was listed. Ava had shivered at the words. The full impact of the threat hitting her hard, but she really wasn't going to let it stop her from defending the Crown with her life. The beating she had taken tonight was aimed for the King. Yet she had taken it for him. The King had been sat meer feet from her after all. Maybe she had left herself exposed on purpose incase of things like this? No one would ever know.
As Ava stood with the help of her husband, she spoke to her men. "Gentlemen. Don't let York threaten or scare you. It's their way. Fear mongering. This attack... It hurts. And it's knocked me back a little. I've took many hits, but I do so for Lancaster. I couldn't scream for help. They gagged me with their vile flag. Even so. I stood. I took what they had to give. Until they dropped me. Their attack tonight was meant to be for our King Henry. You wondered why I asked for him to be guarded. I feared for attacks like this. I took it tonight for our King. And I will take it many more times until I breathe my last breath. Gentlemen. I would do this for all of you. I would do this so that you can all return home to your families. You're my men. And I'm supposed to protect you. It's all I can do" she had leaned against Neville, tired and weak as she had spoken. She just needed sleep, and a few days rest. Her army had stared at her as she had spoken, hearing how she would take more and more beatings just to save them or keep them from getting hurt. Many of the men had said they would fight for her, and Sir Richard had nodded his thanks for their kind words.
In silence now, Neville led Ava back to their room. Casting worried gazes to his wife as she had pulled off her tunic. Kicked off her boots and tossed her jodhpurs aside before laying in bed to try and sooth her aching body. He crawled into the bed beside her after discarding the same clothing items. It was a warm night, so underwear was perfectly acceptable as sleepwear. He gently cuddled her close, bringing her head to his chest as he hugged her. Deep down. He knew York were powerful now with the return of their King Edward. He knew that Ava knew this aswell. He feared for Lancaster now. The throne could go back and forth several times over the upcoming months. They needed time to build a bigger army. And for Ava to heal.
Lancaster wouldn't back down. Nor would they be beaten. But things could, and would get difficult over the next few weeks. The threat grew each day.

[Authors Note: Wanted this to be so much longer. But my back is starting to hurt pretty bad, and I need a break from the computer. It's almost 1AM too, so I should probably sleep too]