The King's Artist

Ch 47: April 1483

The flow of time had not stopped much to Jasper's dismay. With each passing morning, his body ached more and more, his muscles fatigued and his mind never ceased running through the numerous tasks that still needed to be completed. His hair had started to grey and his eyesight seemed to worsen to the point that he always appeared to be scowling while straining to see something in the distance.

For the past five years, work towards the English throne had not ceased. Every day the number who supported Henry's ascent to the throne grew, as did the scheming and trading and training. Even now Jasper could hear the hollering of soldiers as they sparred with one another just out past the castle walls.

Absentmindedly, Jasper wondered if Adelaide was partaking in the training for the day. It had already been a few years since she had officially accepted a role as one of Henry's generals as well as one of his advisors. Despite Jasper's initial trepidation, she grew into the position beautifully, easily adapting and fortifying her position.

Despite his marveling of her growth, though, Jasper found he missed the younger version of herself at times. The soft and rather delicate child she had been growing up that had loved to paint and lazy around the fortress why others worked was, for the most part, gone.

Occasionally, Adelaide would sketch Jasper a portrait or two while listening to his ramblings and plannings, but those moments were few and far between, and the sketches weren't much more than doodles. He used to scold her for not paying attention, but now he found himself storing every scrap of paper in his desk drawer.
Jasper couldn't entirely blame Adelaide, though, for her lack of attention to simple hobbies such as painting. She had, after all, become a vital part of Henry's growing army, with the majority of her attention diverted towards supporting him. She usually was in charge of training new troops, and quickly acquired the nickname 'Arthur the Tormenter' for the majority of her lessons left the men on the verge of death.

Jasper hadn't thought it possible to hear a single individual's name cursed so many times in a day.

As he softly snickered under his breath, Jasper heard a knock at his door. Raising an eyebrow, he got up from his seat and made his way across the room. A runner boy was standing outside panting, his face drenched in sweat as he held up a letter for Jasper to read.
As Jasper saw the seal on the front, his heart dropped.

Not caring about the messenger anymore, Jasper tore through the envelope, haphazardly withdrawing its contents. His face paled as his eyes scanned over the thin, wispy letters.

"Send for Henry immediately."

~~~

Adelaide enjoyed training the new recruits. She's been instructed by Henry to make sure they were up for the task of fighting for him, which gave her a certain degree of creative license when planning out their training lessons and schedule.

For today, she'd woken them up before the sun had risen and instructed them to begin running. She hadn't clarified to where or why, but none-the-less they had obliged.

Adelaide observed them from atop her horse as they made continuous laps through the neighboring village, down to the water, and back. They hand't been given any food that morning, so of course they were starving, but still Adelaide pushed them. Only until they all looked ready to pass out did she allow them to rest and get breakfast.

"I'm starting to think you enjoy tormenting them." Henry's voice was like silk running over her skin. She was already smiling as she turned to face him. He was trotting towards her on his own horse, the sun glinting off his hair and making it appear copper in color.

The past five years had done Henry good. In Adelaide's opinion anyway. He had lost the remainders of his youthful 'prettiness' and was now more rugged and refined. He had continued to where his hair obnoxiously long as if to match his eyelashes which still framed dark, brown eyes that reminded Adelaide of tree bark. He had gotten taller and thicker too, and she found herself staring at the muscles of his throat a lot and the veins of his arms as he flexed. He had been handsome before but that was when he had been a boy. And now, with added weight, more muscle, and all the authority of a future king— Adelaide could barely keep her hands off of him.

He had become a fine man in the last few years, and the realization was both heart-warming and heart-wrenching for Adelaide to admit.

Of course, Henry wasn't the only one to have changed in that time. It was both a blessing and a curse for Adelaide that she wasn't gifted more than necessary in the manner of womanhood. Either because of her diet or the amount of activity she partook in daily, Adelaide's chest area remained stoically flat, even with her wrappings, and normally she wouldn't have minded so much had she not previously caught Henry pouting in disappointment once. Even with her boyish build, though, the layers Adelaide adorned regularly did a good job hiding the few curves she did have, as did her height.

She was still abnormally pretty by the soldiers' standards, but Charity's presence kept the majority of suspicions to a minimum. Most of the men were under the impression that Charity and 'Arthur' were lovers, with Roland being their bastard son. Adelaide typically found such rumors laughable, but she never denied them, finding the extra layer of protection comforting.

"I just like the control," Adelaide responded giving Henry a wicked grin. He shook his head, amused.

"I knew making you a general and a training instructor was a mistake," he sighed dramatically. "The power's already gone to your head."

Now it was Adelaide's turn to laugh. Henry always looked the happiest when she laughed which just made her want to do it more.

However, as quickly as the moment came, Henry's face fell somberly, his eyes becoming hooded and serious. He suddenly looked much older than twenty-six which both scared and startled Adelaide.

"Jasper's called me to his study," Henry said with a heavy voice. "And from the sound of its urgency, I don't think it's good news."

Adelaide didn't ask any questions. She simply turned her horse around, barked a few orders to the soldiers nearest, and followed after Henry back to the castle.

////

I can't apologize enough about not being consistent with this story. I know what it's like waiting forever for a new update, so I'm really really sorry for taking so long to put up a new chapter.

I got hit with major writer's block with this story and I'm still trying to source through it. I finally concluded that the best way for me to continue was to do another time jump so I do apologize (I know some people hate those). I'll do my best to update regularly again so I appreciate everyone who has continued reading at this point. You're all my source of inspiration and it was actually reading your comments that made me come back to this story so I sincerely thank you.

- Sandie :)