The Rose of Lancaster | The White Queen

Prologue

1458, Westminster, London, Marian is 5...

Hopping down from the window seat, dark brown waves swaying gently from side to side, Marian Plantagenet, skipped over to her mother and knelt by her throne, gazing up at her.

She had her mother's eyes, dark and inquisitive, everyone at court said so and when Margaret of Anjou caught her daughter's gaze she smiled one of her rare, enchanting smiles and promptly held up a hand, halting the conversations of her many Lancastrian advisors.

"Oui, ma chérie?" Margaret said, raising an eyebrow.
"Why must the Duke of York die, ma mére?" The girl asked, tilting her head to the side and also raising an eyebrow in an attempt to copy her mother's now serious expression.

While sitting quietly in her little window seat, watching her twin brother (Edward) at his lessons with his sword master, she had overheard the Lords and her revered mother (the Queen of England) talking about the man they had nicknamed 'the Devil' : Richard, Duke of York. Marian had heard that name many a time around her, had even met the man himself though to her he did not look much like the Devil. She thought the devil had horns and deep black eyes, not brown curls and blue eyes like the Duke did.

Still, she had been taught he was a bad man. Her brother had told her he was trying to steal their father's throne and make himself King. Marian wondered why they could not just simply share the throne but when she had asked Edward this he had simply laughed and called her a simpleton before running inside to steal a sweet meat from the kitchens, returning after a while with one for her too which she gladly accepted.

Now, Marian sat at the Queen's feet, waiting for her to answer her question. The Lords had been saying that the Duke must die for his crimes, that he must be captured and publicly executed along with his co-conspirators. Margaret looked up for a moment her usual, pensive frown crossing her features as she looked at the men surrounding the table next to her before she glanced down at the little girl again.

"He must die" she said, her French accent still strong despite her 13 long years in England "because he is a traitor, as are his brood and the men that stand with him. They are all traitors who seek to usurp your father from his rightful position as King" she paused, seeing her daughter had understood almost nothing of what she had said and so let out a small sigh and changed tactic "the bad men wish you were not a Princess anymore, ma chérie"

The little girl gave out a startled gasp, reaching up and removed the golden, bejewelled circlet that sat upon her head; studying it intently.
"But I like being a Princess, ma mére!" She said, eyes widening a little as her gaze shifted back to her mother.
"And you shall stay a Princess" Margaret replied "but in order to do that the bad men must die!"

"I still don't understand why they must die, ma mére" Marian said, placing the small crown back on her head and frowning "why do you not simply tell them off as you do I and Ed? Maybe then they shall learn their lesson? It does seem terribly unfair"

The Queen let out a bitter laugh, tossing her head back and raising her eyebrows when she looked down at Marian again. She reached out, placed a hand to her daughter's cheek.

"There is one thing you should learn, ma chérie, that shall serve you well in life if you learn it now"
"And what is that, ma mére?" Marian asked, her brow furrowing in question. Her mother let out another harsh laugh.

"All is fair in love and war"