- 𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑚𝑎𝑦 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑟𝑒𝑖𝑔𝑛 -
It's the year 1464 and Eleanor Woodville lives at Grafton Manor as one of the younger daughters of Jacquetta and Sir Richard Woodville. At 11 years old, her worries are little and her joys great but her o...
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~ The Oak Tree ~
March 1464, Grafton Manor...
Staring aimlessly at the wooden beams that held fast above her head, Eleanor waited with baited breath as she felt her elder sister, Elizabeth, move beside her.
For hours now she had been tossing and turning, occasionally covering her little sister's face in a mass of blonde curls that were a stark contrast to the fiery copper locks that flowed from the younger girl's head. Loath to disturb her favourite sister or bare the brunt of her tired wrath, Eleanor had stayed silent, curious about what disturbed Elizabeth's rest. She was about to find out.
As silent as a mouse, for the first time in what seemed like an eternity, Elizabeth drew back the bed covers and reached for the lilac gown that lay at the end of her bed, gathering it swiftly into her arms before she sighed and tiptoed away, causing her sister to shut her eyes as she glanced over.
Once she was safely gone, Eleanor finally found the courage to open her eyes once more and slowly slid from the warm covers of her bed, shivering in the March air that had filled the unheated chamber that she shared with her seven sisters: Elizabeth, Anne, Margaret, Mary, Isabella, Martha and little Catherine.
As she gazed upon the sleeping forms of her golden haired kin, Eleanor frowned slightly and curled a fist around her own red locks, huffing a little as she once more wished for their beauty.
"Being vain?" A voice called softly from the side of her and Eleanor sucked in a breath as she saw Isabella leaning against the wall next to the bed she shared with Catherine, her white nightgown fluttering around her ankles "I warn you, Leena, you do not want to wake Cat! Lord knows I shall not be the one putting her to sleep again!" The two glanced at the six year old who was sleeping peacefully before grins spread across their faces.
"Don't worry, Bella" Eleanor whispered as she took the older girl's hand and led her back to her own bed, pressing a finger to her lips "I'm going to find out where Lizzie has gone!"
Bella raised an eyebrow. "Lizzie?" She questioned before looking to the empty sheets and sighing, a look of dismay clouding her calm expression "she went to him then"
'Him?' Eleanor thought as she peered up into the fourteen year olds face, searching for the truth. Who could this man be? One of her brothers perhaps? But why would Elizabeth feel compelled to sneak around for them? They all lived under the same roof!
"Who is he?" She murmured at last and Bella looked down at her, a strand of dark blonde hair falling over her face. "The usurper....Edward of York"
In a second Eleanor found her sister clamping a hand over her mouth, amused irritation flashing in her eyes, for she had immediately cried out, her mind fearing for the fate of her sister. "Now I must go to her!" She whispered helplessly as she pushed Bella away only to find herself pulled into a hug.
