ROYAL BLOOD | THE WHITE PRINCESS

31

"Scotland brings you one step closer to your kingdom," Nora told her son, a large smile on her face as she glanced over at Cathy, who was readying her horse to leave with George, "But...As they have yet to pledge their support, you will need to bring that York charm of yours into play. A trait you most definitely get from your father."

George stopped walking. He smiled, turning to face his mother after hearing her words. "You miss him. I do, too," He confessed and Nora nodded her head, trying to contain her sadness at the thought of George officially leaving for battle on that day.

George wasted no time hugging his mother, hoping it would make him feel better. "Goodbye, Mother."

"Goodbye, my son," She told him as she hesitantly pulled away from the hug and looked up at him, "You must be safe. I refuse to lose you as I did your brothers and sisters."

"You won't. I will win and I will restore our family to glory, just as Father would want me to," George confidently told his mother, who smiled at him proudly, "I will show them what it feels to lose what they love."

"I am so proud of you, George," She told her son as she grasped his hands tightly, "And if your father were here, he would be, too."

She sighed, taking one last look at her son before looking over at Cathy, who had her hands on her pregnant belly.

She smiled, making her way over to the woman carrying her grandchild. "Make him happy," She insisted in an almost pleading tone, "But not so happy he forgets his cause."

"It is a shared cause now," Cathy assured her, smiling at the mother of her husband, "And I shall give him whatever strength he needs to succeed."

"Perhaps, but you should also keep some for yourself," Nora reminded Cathy, smiling as she placed a hand on the girl's belly, "And make that child a boy."

"If I am as lucky as you were, I will have many boys," Cathy boasted, causing them both to smile as they linked hands and made their way over to the girl's horse.

George smiled, watching as his mother and wife walked away for a moment. However, he soon turned his head, immediately noticing how worried Cecily looked due to his departure.

"You needn't fear for me, Lady Grandmother," George assured the woman, a smile on his face as he grabbed her hands and held them in his own, "This work is God's work. And He will decide the outcome. Always remember that."

George continued to smile, lifting the woman's hands to press a kiss to her knuckles.

George began to walk away, on the verge of letting go of Cecily's hands. However, she pulled him back toward her, looking deeply into his eyes.

After a long moment, she pressed a kiss to his hand, just before allowing him to walk away. George sent his grandmother a small smile and with that, he finally walked over to where Lizzie stood with Cathy and Nora, allowing him to say goodbye to his sister.

Cecily sighed, making her way over to Margaret with an uneasy look on her face. "I doubt sometimes that it is even him," She confessed, watching as George rode off on his horse with some guards and Cathy.

Margaret frowned, turning to look at her mother with a puzzled look on her face. "You have had seven years of calling him your grandson."

"But...But the boy I knew had different eyes," Cecily stammered and Margaret continued to stare at her as if she were losing it, "I'm sure they were green."

Margaret sighed, wasting no time shaking her head. "You're mixing him up with Arthur, Mother. Arthur was always the only one of Edward and Nora's children to ever have green eyes like his father. Katherine and Lizbeth had brown eyes and the rest had blue eyes like their mother," She explained in a calm tone, giving Cecily a knowing look, "You're afraid of losing him. As I am. As we all are. But his destiny is to destroy that creature, Henry Tudor, and bring us back our peace."