LOVE AND WAR
— 9. Heartbreak
Nora attempted to scream for help, but was stopped when the unknown man placed a hand over her mouth. She tried to kick him, but her legs were pinned by his.
"You can't be queen if you're not a virgin," He growled lowly, causing Nora's eyes to widen in horror.
Her instincts kicking in, Nora jerked her head forward, headbutting the man in the face. The man let go of her, clutching his nose. She kneed him in the groin before roughly pushing him off of her.
She jumped out of the bed, running for the door. Just as her hand was about to grasp the doorknob, he had grabbed her by the waist.
"Help, help!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, attempting to push the man off.
Without thinking, she spat in his face, causing the man to backhand her. Her body ended up whipping around, her face colliding with the ground.
She cried out in pain, a throbbing sensation in her cheek. A pain far worse than the numerous times her mother had slapped her throughout her life.
Her eyes widened in realization as the man attempted to kneel between her legs. No guards were helping her because the guards were on the man's side.
It couldn't be.
The only one capable of commanding royal guards to do such a thing was the king himself.
Edward couldn't do such a thing.
As she continued to fight the man who was attempting to pry her legs apart, her eyes locked on her desk, which had her plate of dinner laid out on it, including a knife to cut her meat.
With all the strength she had, she kicked the man in the groin once more. He grunted in pain, stumbling backward. As he was recovering, Nora shot up from her lying position and bolted toward her desk. The man chased after her and by the time he had reached her, she had grabbed ahold of the knife.
He went to grab her by the arm and as he did so, Nora whipped herself around to face him. She wasted no time stabbing the man in the throat, gasping loudly as the blood spilled from her would-be rapists' throat.
His eyes widened and he clutched his throat, choking on his own blood as he fell straight to the ground.
Nora stood in place, blood covering her dress and chest as she stared down at the man's dying body.
She tightly grasped the handle of the knife in her trembling hand. Tears began to fill her eyes, horrified by what she had done.
He might have been attempting to rape her, but it didn't change the fact that she had taken a life.
Overcoming her shock, Nora rushed to the door. She opened it, running out of the room and down the hall. She began to scream for the guards, seeming to forget about the part that they had done nothing as she screamed for help moments before when she was being attacked.
She turned a corner, finding herself face to face with not only a dozen guards, but also Edward himself.
Her eyes widened, as did Edward's when he saw her state. She was drenched in blood and carried a bloody knife in her hand.
The guards were quick to step protectively in front of Edward, who wanted nothing more than to roll his eyes at their actions.
He pushed them out of the way, moving closer to Nora without a care in the world. "Nora..." He trailed off uneasily, extending his hand out to her, "What did you do?"
"What did I do?" Nora cried out, staring at Edward in disbelief, "What did you do? You did this!" She screamed, a furious look on her face, "There were no guards posted within hearing distance as that man attacked me. No one could give such an order, no one but you!"
"Nora..." Edward began to say, his eyes widening in shock, "Whatever you think I did, I swear to you, I didn't do it. I never gave any guards any order."
Edward slowly walked forward, reaching his hand out to Nora. She was practically shaking in fear and as Edward tried to grab her hand, she had slapped it away.
With her luck, it had been with the hand she was holding the knife in and she ended up cutting the back of Edward's hand, in front of his guards.
Seeing that their king had been struck and cut, the guards were quick to grab ahold of Nora, striking her across the face.
"Stop, stop!" Edward was to quick to shout at the guards who had roughly grabbed ahold of Nora, "I command you to stop."
The guards looked puzzled, but obeyed him nonetheless. They released Nora from their grip and the girl looked terrified as she allowed the knife to drop to the ground with a thud.
"Explain to me, Nora, explain to me what happened and I'll help you. I swear it," He promised and Nora scoffed, tears threatening to spill from her eyes.
"Why would I ask for the help of a man who ordered a man to rape me in my sleep just to ruin my claim to the throne!" She screamed at him angrily, causing Edward's eyes to widen in horror, "Because of you, I killed a man. I have become a murderer because of you."
"I never ordered—" Edward began to explain, only to have the girl cut him off.
"I screamed at the top of my lungs for help and no guards came. Since I've been here, there have always been guards in the wing of the castle my chamber is located in. Yet this time, there was no one. Not a single guard. No one is able to command guards to do such a thing unless they're the king himself. You are the king."
Edward remained silent, not wanting to admit that what she said wasn't the truth. There was one other person. One man who had constantly nagged him about his involvement with Nora.
Lord Warwick.
"It wasn't me, Nora. I swear to you, it wasn't me," Edward promised, slowly walking toward the girl, "Lead me to your room. I'll have this all dealt with. I promise."
"I murdered someone. I will be imprisoned," Nora reminded Edward, who was quick to disagree.
"As your king, I shall pardon you, does that make you feel better?" He responded in a stern tone.
Nora remained silent, hatefully glaring at Edward. She still couldn't get the idea out of her head. As much as she wanted to believe that he was at fault, she had to admit, it didn't make sense.
Why would Edward command a man to take her 'virtue' when he himself had already taken it over a month before?
There was no reason for it. It had to be someone who still believed she was a maid, but who?
Who would benefit from ruining her claim to the throne and her chances of marrying?
An hour had passed and Edward had Nora moved to a different wing of the castle. He had the body disposed of and had the servants draw Nora a bath.
When she was settled in her new chambers, Edward went to visit her, refusing to sleep that night without assuring her that he wasn't involved in what had almost happened to her.
He walked up to her chamber door. The door was guarded by two guards Edward had assigned himself, two guards he knew he could trust.
They bowed to him, just before allowing him in. The moment Edward entered, Nora, who had been sitting at the foot of her bed, immediately stood up.
She remained silent, staring at Edward closely.
Edward opened his mouth to tell her once more that he had nothing to do with it, but before he could, she had beat him to do. "I know," She stated, causing Edward's eyes to widen, "I know it wasn't you. I wasn't thinking clearly earlier. Now that I have a clear mind I realize that there is no way you could have benefitted from what happened to you."
"I'm sorry," Edward admitted softly, a sympathetic look on his face.
He cautiously moved closer to her, but as he did so, Nora took numerous steps back. "Please don't touch me," She whispered softly and Edward nodded.
"I understand," He told her calmly and Nora stared up at him, tears in her eyes, "How are you doing?" He paused, noticing the weird look she gave him, "After killing the man, I mean. I know it changes people. I myself have experienced such a matter before."
"I'm fine," Nora lied in a calm tone, tears threatening to spill from her eyes.
"No, you're not," Edward argued, gesturing down to her trembling hands, "I can see it. Your hands are trembling, just as they were when you first came to me after what happened tonight."
"I killed a man today," Nora managed to get out, beginning to cry, "I watched the life drain his eyes."
"It was self-defense," Edward reminded her in an assuring tone, "You had no choice. If you hadn't, he would have..." He trailed off, knowing by the look on her face it wasn't wise to mention what had nearly happened.
"I know, I know," She whispered softly as she nodded her head, "Still, I took a life. He could have been a husband or a father. He could have had no choice in the matter. He could have been threatened into doing such a thing. Yet despite that, I took his life away, something he'll never get to have back," She paused, tears streaming down her pale cheeks as she stared down at her shaking hands, "As I bathed, I scrubbed and I scrubbed, but I still didn't feel as though I got all the blood off. I may not see it, but I can feel it there. I can feel the blood I spilled, the life I took. I am supposed to heal people, not harm them."
"It weighs on you, as it should. I'd be worried if it didn't. But you made the right choice, Nora. You must make peace with it," Edward explained in a calm tone, but it was clear Nora didn't believe him.
"How shall I make peace with it if I don't know who was behind the attempt?" Nora asked Edward in a whisper, "He claimed that I could not be queen if I weren't a virgin. You know that I do not want to be queen, but those around you do not believe the same. There are a dozen possibilities of who may have been behind this, but I can only think of one who would benefit the most of being rid of me once and for all."
Edward remained silent, knowing what she was getting at. "Don't," He warned her in a pleading tone, despite having the feeling she was thinking the same person he was.
"The man who made you what you are today. The man who can control the royal guards as much as you can. The man who you claim to be like an older brother to you. The man I believe killed my father and no matter how times I ask you if he did, you refuse to answer me because you know it to be the truth," Nora explained in a low, threatening tone as Edward avoided eye contact with her, "I saw the way you reacted earlier tonight when I claimed you were the only one who could order guards to change from their usual positions in the castle. Your mind immediately thought of Warwick, but despite that, you never reminded me of that. Since then, you've known who was behind this, yet you've done nothing. It means you will continue to do nothing."
Edward remained silent, a saddened look on his face as he finally looked her in the eyes.
"My mother claimed that you were using me for my claim to the throne. She laughed at me for loving you. She thinks I am being foolish and naive," She explained in a calm tone, yet her expression was filled with anger.
"It's not true. I love you, Nora. I wanted you from the first moment I saw you," Edward confessed, a sad smile on his face as he walked toward her.
"You wanted me because I was of Lancastrian blood. You viewed me as some forbidden fruit. People told you not to involve yourself with me. It made you want me more. What you feel for me is not love. It's infatuation, lust. You do not love me. You may think you do, but you don't. Even you are not foolish enough to fall in love with the only person alive who has a stronger claim to the throne than you do. If I were a man, I'd surely be the one sitting on the throne right now, not you." She explained in a venomous tone.
Edward's eyes widened, staring at her with a look of betrayal. "You're saying that if you were a man, you'd challenge me for the throne?" He asked in a low, threatening tone as he took a large step toward her, "That's treason."
"In your eyes, maybe. For me, it's just facts," Nora explained in a cold tone as she took a step toward Edward.
Edward did the same until they were just inches apart. Due to the large height different, Nora had to tilt her head upwards to look into Edward's eyes. "You're still a boy, Edward, whether you want to admit it. I shouldn't be talking. I'm still just a girl. A girl forced to fend for herself after her father died at such a young age. You...You were forced to lead an army after your father died. You were forced to become king when you never expected to be such. We were both forced to grow up at a younger age than we first expected. It cost us our childhood and our freedom. The difference between us is that I didn't allow myself to be manipulated by someone who sought to rule through me. You did."
"No one seeks to rule through me," Edward argued, letting out a large scoff.
"Really?" Nora asked, beginning to laugh in Edward's face, "Then what is Lord Warwick doing? He is called the Kingmaker for a reason. I dare say if you defied him long enough, he'd attempt to put George on the throne instead. And if that didn't work, he'd switch sides and serve the Lancasters. It is so obvious that he is ruling through you, but you care for him far too much to ever see it. You're blinded by your loyalty to him."
Edward remained silent, beginning to glare at Nora almost hatefully. "You know nothing about Warwick. You know nothing of me. So why don't you just stop talking?"
"I will stop talking to you, once I've finished speaking the truth to you at this moment. Don't come crying to me when Warwick betrays you, Edward. I can see what he's doing. I swear to you, he is trying to rule through you. I know because my mother did it with my father and attempted to do it to me. My father never listened and even if it takes a while, I hope you'll one day listen to me. As much as you're supposed to be my enemy, I care for you deeply. I do not wish to watch you lose your life and your crown after being betrayed by the man you view to be family."
Edward frowned, watching as Nora walked over to the door. She opened the door, turning to look at Edward. "Now, get out," She demanded, earning a puzzled look from Edward, "I don't want you in my chambers ever again. Not until I know the person I am bedding isn't a lapdog to the man who killed my father."
Edward scoffed, an offended look appearing on his face after hearing what she called him.
"Don't worry. I don't think I want to be in your chambers," Edward lied, not wanting to admit what she was saying about him was actually hurting him, "After all, I already got what I wanted from you."
Edward suddenly froze, noticing how Nora's face fell. He expected her to snap back like she usually did, but instead, her eyes filled with tears.
He hurt her.
He had actually hurt her. He didn't even mean to say what he did. After all, it wasn't even true. He just told her what she feared was actually true even though it wasn't.
"I didn't mean that—" He began to say, only to end up being cut off by Nora.
"Don't," Nora snapped at him coldly, looking to be on the verge of crying, "My mother was right. I was stupid and naive when I chose to believe you when you said you cared for me. If I had been thinking clearly, I would have reminded myself that there was no way the King of England cared about me. Especially not you, a boy not even nineteen yet and already known as the whore of England. I'm told you've already bedded half of the woman in London. Why not add me to that list?"
"That isn't true!" Edward exclaimed, moving closer to Nora with a pleading look, "Nora, please. Believe me when I say—"
"How am I supposed to believe someone whose confessions change quicker than who's winning this war?" She snapped at him coldly, "First you say you love me, the next you claim you only wanted me to bed me once and then discard me. What shall I believe, Edward?"
Edward remained silent, not knowing the answer. She glared at him, pointing toward the open door. "Get out," She demanded, not caring that she was giving orders to the king of England.
Instead of arguing, Edward nodded, not saying a word as he left the room. Once he was gone, she closed the door. She pressed her back against the door, trying to contain her tears.
She didn't want to cry over him. She refused to give him the satisfaction. She felt stupid, though. She couldn't believe she was foolish enough to believe he truly cared about her. She viewed them to be kindred souls, but now, it seemed as though she was wrong.
A Lancaster and a York. It was bound to end horrifically.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Well then. 😬
Next chapter will have a time skip!
There will be a few of those in the upcoming chapters. It won't happen every chapter, but every few chapters, seeing as though rn it's still 1461 and the White Queen starts in 1464 🤔
So get ready for A LOT of stuff to happen.
Anyways, do you guys have any feedback on this story?
Anything you really like?
Anything you don't like?