❝you think Achilles was of impressive descent?
touch me one more time❞
The one where King Edward IV is captivated by Charlotte Neville and their love has far-reaching consequences. For Charlotte had a place in Edward's heart no one could tear her fr...
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"Lady Warwick!" Anthony Woodville looked up in surprise from where he was putting away the tourney swords.
"Forgive me ... I don't mean to interrupt you," she said with a smile.
"It is no matter, can I do something for you, my Lady?" he asked her, turning properly to face her.
"Actually, there is a question I wanted to ask you," she told him.
"Go on," he said, a slight frown creasing his brow.
"I've noticed you spending time with my daughter," Anne said with a raised brow, holding back a grimace at calling Charlotte so.
"Lady Charlotte?" he questioned her, the frown deepening.
"Yes," she confirmed, "and I wondered what your intentions were towards her."
"Well ... I ... uhm ..." he stuttered out.
"Not entirely honorable?" She guessed.
"Well ... she's a beautiful woman," he said by way of explanation and she smiled wryly.
"She's also a highborn Lady," she reminded him.
"I know," Anthony said quickly, "I would never ... uhm ... dishonor her in such a way"
"I'm glad to hear it," she said with a slight smile, despite knowing the Woodville boy would not be the one to dishonor her. Charlotte had already given her maidenhead to Edward, she knew it even if her husband remained oblivious. She could see it in the heat of Edward's gaze, how his hands strayed more than was considered proper, how Charlotte held tightly to him when they danced.
To one who was looking for the signs, it was obvious.
"I think she is a little beyond my station," he confessed.
"Nonsense," she said at once, "your mother is a dowager royal duchess and of royalty herself."
"I have little money," he added.
"She has more than enough for both of you," she brushed away his worries.
"You really think she would consider me?" He asked her, hope in his eyes.
"I think she would be mad not to," she told him, managing a warm smile.
"Well ... thank you, Lady Warwick," he said brightly, a gleam in his eye.
"You're most welcome," she said, inclining her head to him before turning to walk away.
Anne walked away then feeling immensely satisfied with herself. If Sir Anthony was half as charming as she believed him to be she was confident that he would soon have Charlotte right where she wanted her to be. Edward would have no choice but to allow their engagement and then ... well then he would be free to make a choice about his future wife without Charlotte clouding his vision. The sooner she belonged to another, the better and Sir Anthony seemed like the perfect choice. ─────•~❉᯽❉~•─────
The warm water felt satisfying on her bare skin, as did Edward's soft caresses as he rubbed the bar of soap down her skin.
A tell-tale smile on his face, Edward loosened his hold on the soap, letting it fall into the water as he placed a suggestive kiss on her ankle. Charlotte's head fell back as she giggled, kicking her legs out. Edward just narrowly missed being hit by her feet by ducking low, though he seemed more amused than annoyed or angered as his fingers twisted around her calf.
He pulled her along the water, until she sat on his lap, their bare chests touching as they gazed at one another intently, his member pressing up against her thigh.
"Are you happy, mon coeur?" Edward stared up at her, the vulnerability in his voice reminding her that though he was a king, he was only twenty years old and that she herself had only recently turned seventeen.
"How can I not be?" With a quick move, she lowered herself, to rest her head on his chest, feeling the beat of his heart beneath the skin as his hands traced circles on her back.
"Can it stay like this?"
Edward's brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"
Glancing up, she frowned. "Us. Westminster. England. Can it be like this forever? The two of us, together, happy."
Edward cupped her cheek and brushed his lips against hers. "I promise you, we will always be together. Forever. This, I promise you, mon coeur. Nothing will tear us apart. Because nothing can defeat love, my love. Omnia vincit amor."
"Omnia vincit amor," she agreed.
─────•~❉᯽❉~•─────
Holding court was the most tedious part of Edward's day but it was also the most important and so he always made sure to sit himself up straight in his throne.
Someone he wasn't expecting was announced then and he raised his eyebrows slightly, dread filling him for some unknown reason as Sir Anthony Woodville walked into the hall and bowed before him. Edward was suspicious, there were only a few reasons that a man of Sir Anthony's standing would come before him and only one Edward could think of right now and he did not like it, not at all.
In his creeping unease he failed to notice how Lady Warwick's eyes lit up and how she sat forward a little more in her chair as Sir Anthony approached the bottom of the dais and bowed lowly to Edward. He didn't notice the small smile of satisfaction spread across her face as Sir Anthony opened his mouth to speak the words he was dreading to hear.
"Your Majesty," Sir Anthony began, "I have it in mind to take a wife and I come to ask your permission"
"A wife?" Edward repeated, "I must say I am surprised. I believed you had come to court to negotiate for your nephews inheritance. Not that my stance has changed."
"That is true," he admitted. "And I understand. This woman has captured my heart."
"And does she return your affections?" Edward asked him.
"I can only hope so Your Majesty, and I can only hope you give me permission to find out," he said.
"And who is this woman who has so enraptured you?" Edward questioned.
"Lady Charlotte, your Grace, Lady Charlotte Neville," Sir Anthony told him and Edward froze.
He had been expecting it of course he had. He had known it, had they not been seen walking around the castle, sharing kisses and whispers in public? But, Charlotte had told him it was nothing, that she was merely entertaining him until he gave up and left court. She had said her heart belonged only to him. Had she lied? Did she feel the same?
Edward swallowed hard, he could feel his mother's eyes on him and he saw Sir Anthony's turned to the floor. He knew he should say yes, he had no reason not to say yes. But he had been the one to share Charlotte's bed, he was the one who was learning every inch of her body. He was the one who had known her since they were children, while Anthony had known her for only a month.
There was only one thing he could say.
"I'm sorry," Edward said, "but I cannot give you my permission."
