❝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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Westminster Palace
Jacquetta's words washed over him, but he refused to believe them.
Charlotte, his Charlotte, was going to marry Edward of Lancaster. Tales of his cruelty were widely known and Warwick was still going to sell his oldest daughter to him as his wife.
It had to be in order to spite him. It was a slap in the face to him. If he had announced his marriage to Charlotte, none of this would be happening. Their children would be known as legitimate, Edmund would have taken his place at Ludlow already and Lily would be engaged to a crown prince in the continent. Even if he did not take Warwick's advice so readily as he had once done, he would not have done this with his daughter on the throne.
It was all his fault.
Charlotte was presented as the future wife of Edward of Westminster to spite him. After all, Anne was a better marriage prospect, barring her lack of Lancaster blood. She was younger and still a virgin. It was all part of Warwick seeking revenge on him for listening to others and no longer taking his counsel blindly.
Warwick wanted power and by refusing him, he had made an enemy. First, he married Isabel to George and tried to supplant him with his brother. Then, he acted as though everything was fine when that failed before mounting another rebellion, taking his family with him as he fled. Having Charlotte as the future Lancaster queen would grant him the power he craved.
If he closed his eyes, he could still feel her soft, dark tresses curling around his fingers. He could still inhale her sweet, lavender scent. If he kept them closed for long enough, he could hear her laugh, he could feel her trembling underneath him as she fell apart. He kept them closed and he could feel her hands on his chest as her hips rolled alongside his, his hands grasping her back as she sighed softly into his ear, driving him to completion.
He held the hilt of his sword tightly, trying not to scream. He wanted to rage. He wanted to destroy everything that stood in the path between him and Charlotte. He wanted to run to her and hold her in his arms and never let her go.
─────•~❉᯽❉~•─────
Valogne, France
"Lady Charlotte, Lady Isabel, Lady Anne. You have a visitor." Charlotte turned her head as the maid spoke and a tall, hooded figure entered the room.
"Lady Sutcliffe!" Anne breathed.
"Please, do not call out. I only wish to speak with you."
"Why? What do you want?" Isabel questioned.
"I have a message for your husband, Lady Isabel. Please, I can't stay long. Permit me to speak with you."
"You may speak with us," she said, her voice strong. "There are no secrets between us sisters."
