- 𝐸𝑚𝑝𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑠 𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑒, 𝐸𝑚𝑝𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑠 𝑓𝑎𝑙𝑙 -
It's the year 1485 and King Richard III has been slain at the battle of Bosworth along with his beloved wife and Queen, Marian of Lancaster. Their eldest daughter, Lisbet, is given little time to...
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October 13th, 1491, Lisbet is 17...
Creeping through the secret door that connected their rooms, Lisbet tiptoed up to where Francis slept before jumping onto the covers and shaking him awake.
Francis let out a yell and immediately pinned his attacker to the bed, holding the knife he always kept close to him to their throat. "Damn you Lisbet!" He hissed when he saw it was her and quickly rolled off her placing his dagger to the side before he began to laugh "you do this every year, you know!"
"What? Wake you up at around 5 in the morning by shaking you as if I'm trying to exorcise a demon?" "Exactly!" Francis chuckled "now let me guess... you are 17 today, my sweet?" "Your sweet?" Lisbet repeated with a giggle "and you know full well I'm 17 today! And so I came for my kiss"
"Your kiss?" Francis echoed as if he had no idea what she was talking about when in truth for the past four years they had been practicing this tradition. "Yes!" Lisbet said with false solemnity, holding out her hand "for luck in my next year of life"
Flashing her a grin, Francis took her outstretched hand but instead of kissing it, he pulled Lisbet down beside him and cupped her face with his hands, pressing his lips against hers and feeling as if he had entered heaven itself when she responded by gently parting them.
"Lisbet? Lisbet where are you?" The sound of Bianca's voice made the pair spring apart, jerking them roughly from their own little world as Lisbet leapt from Francis' arms and shot through the door, back into her bedroom.
༒༒༒
The court clapped and smiled as Queen Marian and Princess Lisbet danced together, looking remarkably like one another with their brown waves and eyes.
"You look beautiful, ma chérie" Marian whispered as she twirled around her daughter, admiring the gown of red velvet and ermine she was wearing. "All thanks to you!" Lisbet replied "after all you were the one that commissioned this dress, mama!" Marian laughed, tossing her head back and almost losing her crown in her mirth.
"I have not yet seen you dance with Francis, this night Lisbet" "And why should I dance with him mama?" Lisbet snapped, causing her mother to laugh again.
"It is clear to me how you feel about one another and I wonder you do not take every opportunity to be in one another's company!" She said and Lisbet scoffed.
"I do not know what you mean, mama!" She stated but Marian arched an eyebrow as the music came to an end. "Oh I think you do" she said while she glided past, the jewels of the English Queen's crown glinting in the candlelight "or have you forgotten I've been in love before?"
The celebrations for the York Princesses' 17th birthday passed in a whirl of wine, music and vibrant colour. Ambassadors and nobles from all around the continent had attended the evening (although Lisbet suspected they had come for talk of war with England instead of her), all bringing expensive gifts, each of which the Princess and her kin marvelled at.
