Rage, maybe
rage would lift
me up, make
me stand, make
me walk
– Marion James
≿————- ❈ ————-≾
Grace FitzRoy had lived her whole life knowing she was lesser than everyone else. She was a bastard child, the product of an unholy union. The entire court looked down upon her, the faith would prefer it if she had not existed, and there was not many who would be willing to take her in when she grew old enough to marry.
It was for that reason that she had never expected what had happened. Her father had sold her away as a ward to the Duke of York, a man whom had stood against her father in rebellion. Fear was an understatement for what she felt, for she was only a child, and how could a child discern the difference between a man and a monster, especially if they appeared so similar to her in her mind?
It was not until she reached the Duke's residence at Ludlow Castle that she could relax. For it was then that she met the kind Duchess Cecily, her two eldest sons, Edward and Edmund, her extroverted daughter Margaret and a much younger son with whom her relationship would blossom into something she had never expected.
Cecily Neville had become a prisoner of war. A harsh hand was the least of her worries, especially when it was her father's rival that was her jailer. Henry Percy was an evil man, she had quickly learned. A split lip, a few bruises here and there, it was not that bad compared to the other horrors he committed upon her body.
It was on one of those cold nights in her cell, where her gown had been torn off of her eight year old body, that she had sworn that something like this would never happen to her again. And so when Margaret of Anjou had finally came for her, she enjoyed it when Henry Percy lost a hand for what he had done to her. For even the Lancastrian Queen could not look at such a sin.
And then she was sent away, to the Queen's stepdaughter. She was to be her lady-in-waiting, and that was a position that Cecily could use well.
≿————- ❈ ————-≾
CAST
Sarah Gadon as Grace Fitzroy
David Oakes as George Plantagenet
Rose Williams as Cecily Neville
Lotte Verbeek as Katherine Howard
Max Irons as Edward IV
Aneurin Barnard as Richard Plantagenet
Rebecca Ferguson as Elizabeth Woodville
Joss Stone as Margaret of York
Dan Jeannotte as Edmund of York
Bradley James as Edward Stafford
≿————- ❈ ————-≾
THE PAINTED ROSES SERIES
In chronological order
Hymn of the Songbird - The King
[UNPUBLISHED]
Adela Neville had never been the perfect daughter. That role was left to her many elder sisters, as well as her many younger sisters. With no sure role to play except a political marriage to a man she despised, Adela made the rash decision to flee her home in hopes of escaping such a cruel fate. In an unexpected turn of events, Adela runs into the Prince of Wales in one of the towns she travels through. Perhaps this was the perfect way to save herself.
A Lie to God - Henry VI
[UNPUBLISHED]
Katherine Howard had not thought love was a thing of reality. She had always thought it was an illusion of the poets. Her parents had never had any love for one another, they were merely married for the advantageous alliance they provided. So Katherine had never expected herself to ever find love. Certainly not with the rather shy and naive King of England.
Queen's Poison - The White Queen
[PUBLISHED]
Grace FitzRoy and Cecily Neville were two sides of one deal. On Loveday in the year 1458, when York and Lancaster came together ceremonially to reconcile their two warring factions, the Duke of York and the King of England struck a deal. A daughter for a daughter, and so the bastard daughter of the King was taken to the Duke's residence, and Cecily Neville, a cousin to the House of York, was given to the Lancastrians. They were bargaining chips to their families. Honoured guests in name. Prisoners of war in everything else.
The Hour of the Setting Sun - The White Queen AU
[UNPUBLISHED]
As the wedding band was placed onto her finger, Cecily Neville came to a decision. She would choose duty over love, her child over the friends she held dear to her heart. Even if that meant that most of her family had to die for her choices, because there was truly only one thing that mattered now. The life growing in her womb, beating the crest of Lancaster on its soul.
Of the Nile - The White Queen
[UNPUBLISHED]
Judith Hughes was nothing more than a common girl when she met Anthony Rivers. Perhaps she was a bit captivating, she liked to think, with her dark coily hair and skin brown like her African mother, but she had never thought herself capable of capturing an Earl's heart. But that was exactly what she did; he did the same to her.
Prince's Thorns - The White Princess
[UNPUBLISHED]
Follow Edmund of Clarence and Anne of Lancaster as they battle with the reality that they are both the heirs of their respective dynasties
King's Will - The Spanish Princess
[UNPUBLISHED]
Follow Richard IV and Henry of Clarence as they try struggle with the heavy burden that is ruling a country, especially when everyone around you holds a knife to your back
≿————- ❈ ————-≾
And like the moon,
she had a side to her
so dark, that even the stars
couldn't shine on in;
she had a side of her
so cold, that even the sun
couldn't burn on it
– Abigail J.
Author's Note
Please read! Welcome to the reworked version of this book! I mainly edited the first 40 chapters as the writing was pretty terrible. My writing has grown a lot since a year and a half ago when I first posted this book. There are a few added scenes in a few of the chapters as well. If you would take the time to reread this story I would strongly appreciate it, as the editing process was not an easy one and I would love to hear any feedback! Any votes and comments are of course hugely appreciated, as this is what keeps me going while I create my stories!
The descriptions of the last two books in the series a lot shorter than the others, and that is because I wish to avoid too many spoilers for the future of this series. I'm not too worried about the prequels, because a lot of hints about the story of them will be dropped in Queen's Poison.
Warning! (TW) This book contains some themes and topics that may be triggering others! This includes war, mentions of torture, gore, blood, death, mentions of sexual assault, grooming, pedophilia (mainly mentioned for Cecily's past, not explicitly shown), forced marriage, childbirth, child death, miscarriages and other such things that would fit into this timeline. If any of these triggers you, I strongly advise you to refrain from reading this book! This had been your warning.
Disclaimer! This book is largely based on the show The White Queen, which was written by Emma Frost, and is an adaption of Phillipa Gregory's historical novels The White Queen, The Red Queen, and The Kingmaker's Daughter. As none of these are 100% accurate, this book will not be either. Some parts of this story take place either before the show even starts, or during events that the show skipped over, and as I am not an expert historian, these parts will definitely have some mistakes.
Copyright! All characters and plot lines that are my own original creation belong to me and I will not tolerate anyone using them without my permission! If you want to use something from my book, ask me and I will decide if you are allowed to do so. Any unauthorised use of my story will have consequences.