- 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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June, 1498...
"She looks like an angel" Marian murmured with a tired smile, once again rubbing her eyes which had deep dark circles underneath "a sweet angel... yet I have been unable to find the person who has cast her into hell...who hurt my baby?"
"You have to rest!" Cecily pleaded, placing a hand on the Queen's shoulder and sighing "you have hardly slept for the past three weeks!" "I need to watch over my sweet girl...you know... last month I told my children that I could not loose Mary...I did not mean that I was able to lose them for I cannot...I said it because...well... Mary is my little baby...she always has been despite Anne being the youngest...I missed so much of her growing up that to me she is still the little babe I left in England when she was three... and I wanted to protect her from this war...I wanted her to be happy...felt as if it was my fault that she was robbed of her childhood...had I and Richard won...she would have been happy...I must protect her now, mother..."
"And you have, my dear! Well! But now tis time to rest! Annie said that she shall take over watch for now with Ned"
"Annie" Marian whispered, shaking her head "she cannot see her sister in this way..." "She already has" Cecily reasoned, gently guiding her daughter in law away from the bed where Mary lay, her eyes closed, looking as if she were merely sleeping peacefully "now come, my dear, come and rest"
As the Queen was led out, Ned took her place, tightly holding on to Annie's hand as the twelve year old stepped in behind him, her sleeve in her mouth as she took to childhood habits in her worry. "You'll ruin the velvet" her brother told her gently as they sat either side of Mary but Anne simply shook her head and kept her gaze on her sister.
"I don't care" she whispered "all I want is my sister back...you know, people think I should not be worried for her...that I shouldn't be crying myself to sleep every night as I only 'knew' Mary for 5 months before...this...but it hurts, Ned" "I know" he murmured, reaching across the covers and taking Anne's hand again "it's hard to lose the ones you love" "Like you lost Dickon?" She squeaked, staring at him as he nodded sadly. "Aye...like I lost Dickon" he replied before bowing his head.
༒༒༒
Bolting up from the covers of her bed, Lisbet let out a small cry as she was jerked from her nightmares. She had seen Mary lying dead next to Richard and Dickon and then Ned, her friend from long ago, his eyes wide open and his body drenched as he was pulled from the ocean by none other than Henry Tudor.
Without a second thought, Lisbet leapt from her bed and ran through the door adjoining her room to her husband's and flung herself down beside him, pressing herself against him while she sobbed into his shoulder.
"Oh, my love" Francis murmured pitifully as he awoke, immediately wrapping his arms around Lisbet and tucking her head under his chin "was it the nightmares again?"
