LOVE AND WAR | THE WHITE QUEEN

54

"How was your day, my lady?" He asked, still standing behind her with his arms wrapped her torso.

"Boring," She confessed, laughing quietly, "And I am sure yours was as well."

"It was," He responded, causing them both to laugh, "It is so odd. There is a war at large, yet Henry Tudor has shown no signs of getting ready to sail for England."

"He wants to attack when we're least expecting it," She answered as if it were obvious, causing Richard to give her a questioning look, "He'll wait four more months at the very least before attacking. He'll want us to get comfortable in our moments of peace. He wants our soldiers to return home to their families. He wants them to get comfortable at home and then attack just when our lives are going back to normal. It will lead to some of our men deserting, not wanting to leave their families a second time. It will leave us unprepared since we had gotten so used to no signs of war."

Richard let go of Nora, who slowly turned her body so that she was facing him. "How do you know that?" He asked, a concerned look on his face.

"Jasper Tudor was practically raised by my father. He was the son my father never had. My father taught Jasper everything he knew. Their relationship was a lot like the one Edward had with Lord Warwick, before the betrayal," She explained in a calm tone, "Henry Tudor hasn't experienced an actual war yet, but he was raised by Jasper. Jasper surely taught Henry everything he knows, which he learned from my father. And I remember everything my father taught Jasper because I had been there. They didn't think I was listening, but I was. I always was and I still remember it all, even after all these years."

"Ah," Richard simply stated, nodding his head in understanding, "Should we be worried?"

"My father had been the only man on the Lancastrian side truly capable of winning against Edward, someone who was known for his prowess in battle. What do you think, Richard?" She asked, causing Richard to sigh in defeat.

He felt uneasy by the revelation, but it made sense. More than he wanted to admit. She had a point but perhaps their side had their own secret weapon. Nora, who was a perfect mixture of her mother and father.

She had the courage and bravery of her father, the need to never back down from a fight. Not to mention, his cleverness and intelligence when it came to battle. She got her gifted way with words from her mother, the ability to get her out of anything just by using her voice.

Perhaps she could be House York's reason for winning.

____

In Brittany, Henry Tudor sat against a tree in the woods as some of his men sparred with each other. He had a quill in his hand, a piece of paper laying on his lap. Just like he always seemed to be doing, he was writing a letter to Lizbeth, not that it changed anything. She still hated him. She always would.

Hearing someone sigh, Henry looked up. He watched as his uncle Jasper walked up to him, an annoyed look on his face.

"At it again, eh, Henry?" Jasper found himself asking, taking a seat beside his nephew on the ground, "She won't write back to you. When are you going to learn that?"

"She did once," Henry pointed out, despite both of them having the feeling it wasn't Lizbeth who wrote back to him that time.

After all, it had been in a completely different handwriting than any of the other letters.

Henry might not have noticed it having similarity to Margaret Beaufort's handwriting, but Jasper did. He wasn't going to tell Henry that, though. It would make matters worse.