ROYAL BLOOD
— 4. The King's Whore
In their chambers, the ladies appointed to them were lying on their beds on the ground, resting but most definitely not sleeping. Nora seemed to be the only one to notice that.
While Cecily was playing with Katherine in another part of the room, Lizzie and Lizbeth were spending time together off to the side.
Their eyes were on Nora, however, watching her closely as she snuck around the resting ladies without being noticed.
Watching her place a piece of paper with writing on it down on a nightstand, Lizzie and Lizbeth began to walk over to Nora. "Who's it to?" Lizzie asked the woman curiously
Nora turned to the two young women, placing a finger over her lips. "They are awake," She whispered, gesturing to the Tudor spies posing as their attending ladies.
Lizbeth looked over at the three ladies before back at her mother. "Who is it to?" She asked her mother in a hushed tone, desperate to know the answer.
Nora glanced around anxiously, just before look back at Lizbeth and Lizzie. "Your aunt in Burgundy," She answered in a calm tone, "I told your brother to go to her. We must pray to God that he will get there."
"How will you deliver it?" Lizbeth asked and Nora remained silent, not answering the question.
She folded the letter up before placing it in the pocket of her cloak. "You need not know, my love, but I will need your help in getting it to that person," She whispered quietly.
No more than an hour later, when it was time for mass, Nora led the way with her daughters and step-daughters, alongside their ladies, followed after them.
She suddenly stopped, however, trying to contain her smirk as she turned to face Lizbeth and Lizzie. "I forgot my prayer book," She complained, briefly giving the two girls a knowing look.
"I'll go back and get it," Lizbeth decided and Lizzie was quick to speak up as well.
"I shall come with you," Lizzie agreed and Nora smiled at them both thankfully.
"Thank you, girls," She told them and the sisters smiled back at her.
The ladies appointed to serve them glanced between Lizbeth and her sister and then at Nora. They felt confused, not knowing who they were supposed to follow.
By the time they decided to follow Nora, they found her to be nowhere in sight.
Once getting away, it didn't take long for Nora to get outside to the courtyard without being seen. After all, she had been born and raised at that castle. She knew her way around Westminster better than anyone living there now.
Since it was raining outside, Nora used her cloak to shield herself from getting wet. She walked through the courtyard until she reached the stables, where she found the stableboy Ned.
Ned turned his head, his eyes widening in shock at the sight of Nora. "Your Grace," He gasped, quick to bow to her.
"You mustn't do such a thing again if you want to keep your head, dear Ned," She warned him in a calm tone, not wanting yet another person to die because of her.
"You have always been the Queen of England in my eyes, Your Grace, even before your marriage to the king became public. You and King Edward were always kind to me," He explained and Nora smiled softly.
"Well, he and I had no reason to be anything less than that toward you. Unlike these barbarians who now call themselves English royalty, we were never cruel toward people without reason," She explained in a calm tone, only to feel uneasy she heard a man approaching with a horse from afar.
"I know this is a lot to ask of you and if you say no, I would understand, but will you do my bidding, Ned? I swear to you, I would not ask it of you if it weren't important," She explained as she pulled out a small pouch of gold, causing him to give her a questioning look "You will need to pay the messenger."
He cautiously took the pouch and just then, she handed him another small pouch. "What is this for, Your Grace?" He asked, a deeply confused look on his face.
"I recall you having a sick mother. You may use this to help find a proper physician to care for her," She explained, causing Ned's eyes to widen in shock.
"I cannot take this," he complained, immediately shaking his head.
"You will. I cannot ask you to take such a risk for me for free," Nora demanded in a stern tone, "I give you this to show you that I am entirely grateful to you for doing this for me."
"What would you like me to deliver?" He asked, deciding to help her.
She smiled in satisfaction, wasting no time taking out a letter from her cloak. "Take this letter. Give it to a boatman you believe is trustworthy enough to deliver it. No one else must know."
Nora glanced down at the necklace she wore that was given to her by Edward. She took a deep breath, trying to contain herself as she removed it. She hadn't taken it off since the day it had been given to her, which had been nearly twenty-five years before. She felt naked without it.
She sighed, slowly placing the necklace in Ned's hand. "When you have news, send this to me," She explained, tears in her eyes, "Please do not lose this necklace, Ned. It means the world to me and I cannot bear to be parted from it forever."
Ned remained silent and slowly nodded his head.
Hearing someone approaching, Nora was quick to place the cloak back over her head. "I will come and find you soon," She whispered to him softly, "I must thank you, Ned."
With that, Nora fled the stables, making her way back to the castle. When she entered the castle, with her luck, she found herself face to face with Margaret, a woman she hadn't seen since she was still her lady-in-waiting.
Margaret immediately froze when she locked eyes on Nora, a part of her feeling afraid. There was no guards around, no one to stop Nora if she decided the woman responsible for the deaths of more than half her children.
Nora remained calm, however, which concerned Margaret even more. She knew the look on Nora's face all too well. She was planning something.
"Lady Margaret," Nora greeted the woman in a calm tone.
"My Lady, the King's Mother now," Margaret corrected Nora, who couldn't help but laugh, "Is something funny?"
"You just had to make a random title for yourself, just to make yourself feel more important, didn't you?" Nora found herself asking, smiling as she shook her head at Margaret, "My Edward had a Duchess for a mother so I understand why your son had to make up some title for you just to hide the fact that you're practically a commoner compared to the mothers of the last two kings."
"And you gained your titles from being the King's whore," Margaret remarked, believing it would offend her.
"The King wasn't the only one I was a whore for, as I recall," Nora decided to say, mockingly looking around as she smirked, "I wonder how Jasper will react when he sees me for the first time in nearly fifteen years. It'll probably be as though you never existed again."
Margaret smiled in amusement, trying to hide her fuming anger. "Perhaps. But I am still confused about one matter," She paused, taking a small step toward Nora as a way to show her superiority, "What is it about you that makes all these men fall for you because I cannot seem to see it?"
"It's because you haven't had sex with me before, Margaret," Nora bluntly answered without a care in the world.
Margaret's ladies gasped in horror while Margaret's eyes widened as she tried to contain her anger. "I am called 'Your Grace' now, Lady Nora, and I receive a royal bow," She reminded Nora, trying her hardest to change the subject.
"Does it bring you the joy you hoped it would, Margaret?" She questioned, beginning to glare at the woman, "Does it bring you joy to know five innocent children to receive that royal bow?"
"Oh, so you grieve for Edward's bastards as well as your own now?" Margaret questioned, referring to little Edward and Richard, who were Elizabeth's sons, not Nora's.
"It doesn't matter whose they were, they were boys!" Nora found herself shouting angrily and she began to tear up as she tried to quiet down, "Innocent children. None of them past the age of sixteen," She paused, letting out a loud scoff as she wiped her tears, "But that didn't stop you from killing them, eh, Margaret?"
"You will address me as--" Margaret began to say, not even mentioning the fact that Nora openly accused her of killing children.
"I shall not address you with a title you only gained by causing the deaths of five of my children and two of Elizabeth's," Nora snapped at Margaret in a cold tone.
"I did not kill any children. I gained this title because it was God's Will," Margaret proudly responded and Nora found herself looking amused.
"No, it was your will. You claim to be some Joan of Arc reincarnation, but you are not. You wish you were, but I know the truth," Nora explained, taking a step toward Margaret with a threatening smile on her face, "You are a mere woman who has no idea how to get something for herself without claiming it to be God's Will. Unlike you, when I want something, I take it. I don't sugar coat it either."
"No, instead, you spread your legs for any man who gives you the slightest bit of attention," Margaret continued on with branding Nora as a whore, but the elder woman didn't care. She used it to her advantage.
"Like Jasper Tudor, you mean?" Nora explained, causing Margaret's proud demeanor to fade, much to her satisfaction, "Oh, wait. That was the other way around. He came to me, to my castle, asking for my help and when I gave it, he wasn't satisfied with that. He wanted more. He was desperate for my affection and so I gave it to him. He had me on the dining room table and other places in my castle, for that matter."
Nora paused, smirking sadistically as she walked toward Margaret. "Is that what you want to hear, Margaret? Do you want to hear about how years later, he arrived at my doorstep again when I was living at Pembroke Castle and took me again? Several times, actually. He spent an entire year living with me and that's how I formed a bond with Henry. A bond you never got to have with your son. Is that what you want to hear, Margaret? Or what about the time when old King Henry became King again and Jasper had me then as well?"
Nora knew the last part was a complete lie, but she wasn't going to let Margaret know that. It satisfied her to see that despite being in a significantly lower station than Margaret now, she still had power over Margaret than the latter didn't get to have over Nora.
"Enough," Margaret managed to get out, unable to hear anymore.
"Call me a whore, Margaret. I really do not care. Just know that the man you love wanted me and not you for years and while you played the abstinent little saint, living your life miserably, I was branded the whore, yet I still got everything I wanted out of life while you didn't," Nora explained without a care in the world.
There was a moment of silence between them, just before Lizbeth's ladies arrived. Margaret and Nora continued to stare at each other for a long moment. Nora smiled in satisfaction while Margaret had a scowl on her lips.
"We will call with you this afternoon and if lady Lizbeth begs forgiveness for her sins, perhaps, my son will grant it," Margaret explained, causing Nora to laugh.
"My Lizbeth has committed no sins and even if she has, it would be cold day in hell before you find her begging for forgiveness from people she hates. But if you insist, you can try," Nora explained, just before walking away with her ladies scurrying to follow after her.
Margaret turned her head, glaring daggers into Nora's back as the woman walked away.
She believed that once Nora lost everything that she would be more submissive, but she wasn't. She was still the same, if not worse.
What Margaret seemed to forget was that when Edward became king, Nora was left with nothing.
The titles that were supposed to be given to her after her father died had been taken from her. She had nothing to her name, only the clothes on her back.
However, two years after that, she was Duchess of Bedford in her own right and one of the richest women in England.
Seven years after that, she was the richest woman in England, holding the titles of Duchess of Bedford, Countess of Pembroke, and Countess of Richmond.
A year after that, she was named Princess of Wales, heir to the England throne, and all of her children legitimate.
Twelve years after that, Edward died and she became Queen Regent and Queen Mother. She was not only the richest woman now, but the most powerful.
Two years later, which happened to be now, she had nothing but her pride but still, she was more powerful than Margaret would ever be.
______
That day, in her rooms, Nora was standing near the window, looking out of it when she heard the announcement that the king was coming.
She stood toward the back, allowing Lizbeth and her two half-sisters to stand in front of her alongside Katherine.
She could see the hatred and rage already consuming her eldest daughter and sighed. She prayed to God Lizbeth didn't do anything they would later regret.
When the door opened, Henry entered, wearing his crown.
Nora maintained composure, despite the fact that she hadn't seen Henry since he was a boy and now, he was king and the reason her eldest sons were dead.
Henry froze slightly as his eyes locked on Lizbeth while Lizbeth found herself smirking slightly at the sight of the large bruise on the side of his face.
Each of them bowed, all except Lizbeth, who remained in place. She slowly looked down at the ground, balling her hand into a fist as she tried to contain her anger.
"It is good to see you, Princess Lizbeth," Henry greeted Lizbeth kindly, bowing his head slightly to her.
Lizbeth slowly lifted her head and smiled at him. At that moment, Henry expected Lizbeth to at least try to be nice to him, but he was wrong.
"Unluckily for you, the feeling is not mutual," Lizbeth snapped at him while maintaining a smile.
Margaret's eyes widened in shock and she immediately became confused when Henry didn't scold the girl for speaking in such a way.
"That is no way to speak to the King of England!" Margaret scolded Lizbeth as she glared at the girl, "You will apologize and address the king with respect."
"I will show no respect toward the man who killed my brothers!" Lizbeth growled at Margaret while Henry didn't say a word.
He expected this out of Lizbeth. He was a fool to ever think she would even try to be nice to him. That wasn't her. She would speak her mind whether they liked what she said or not.
"Lizbeth, enough," Nora warned her daughter in a low tone while Cecily and Lizzie exchanged a look.
Lizbeth turned to glare at her mother before looking back at Henry. "If it pleases, Your Grace, I shall apologize, but I can't say it will be genuine," She told him and even that was difficult for her.
Henry remained silent and shook his head. "There is no need to apologize," he assured her and Lizbeth tried to contain her satisfied smile.
Margaret turned to Henry with a look of disbelief on her face. "Henry, you cannot let her treat you in such a--"
Henry lifted his hand, telling his mother to be quiet before she could finish her sentence. "Enough, Mother," He demanded in a stern tone, "I can handle this."
Lizbeth finally curtsied to Henry as she realized just how much she could get away with.
Nora studied her daughter closely. She finally began to understand that Lizbeth was merely testing how far she could go without angering Henry. She knew exactly what she was doing.
"I thank you for your kindness, Your Grace," Lizbeth responded and Henry quietly laughed.
"I thought I said there was no need to apologize or even thank me when we both know it wouldn't be genuine," Henry reminded her in a pointed tone.
"It seems you're right," She replied and couldn't help but smile as she avoided eye contact with him.
Margaret and Nora both found themselves staring at Henry, noticing the way he gazed at Lizbeth with the smallest of smiles on his face.
Not being able to take it any longer, Nora spoke up. She lifted up a pitcher of wine and walked toward Henry, carrying a glass as well. "Would you like some wine, Your Grace?" She asked kindly.
"Only if my future queen will have some as well," Henry responded, his eyes remaining on Lizbeth the entire time.
Lizbeth knew for a fact he was only doing this to make sure her mother didn't poison it. Everyone there knew she had a skill with poisons.
"If Mother were to poison you, she wouldn't do it in such a fashion. She isn't a fool. I can't say the same about your mother," Lizbeth snapped at Henry, who remained unbothered while Nora and Margaret did not.
Nora turned to Lizbeth, finally growing fed up with her daughter. "Lizbeth, stop it," She growled at her lowly.
As Nora spoke to her daughter, Margaret turned to her son, an angry look on her face as well. "Henry, you dare let her speak to me in such a way?"
Henry smiled in Lizbeth's direction as he spoke in a hushed tone to his mother. "I rather her get all of her anger and hatred out now than spend the rest of my life married to a woman who might just kill me in my sleep," He explained her and Lizzie chuckled when she heard Henry's comment.
Margaret noticed, though, and sent the girl a glare, causing Lizzie to cover her mouth.
Nora poured Henry a glass and then handed Lizbeth another. Lizbeth kept her eyes locked on Henry, glaring at him.
He smiled tauntingly at her, raising his glass at her. Lizbeth did the same, but maintained a cold expression. Once Henry began to drink his wine, Lizbeth handed her glass back to her mother, which Henry noticed.
"What, you don't like wine?" Henry asked curiously.
"I love wine. I just don't like you," She answered and Henry found himself smiling slightly, amused by her ruthlessness when it came to snapping at him while Margaret simply looked furious.
Nora glanced between Lizbeth and Henry, feeling uneasy when she noticed her daughter staring back at Henry for once with no anger or hatred in her eyes.
"My other daughter Katherine and her sisters, my step-daughters, Cecily and Lizzie," Nora introduced the other girls and Cecily seemed to be the only one smiling as she curtsied before the king.
"My mother is arranging for your allowance to be paid," Henry informed them in a calm tone as he took a seat in a chair near the window.
"Your service as my mother's lady-in-waiting will never be forgotten, Lady Margaret. But for both our sakes, the betrayal experienced by your hand will," Lizbeth explained and Margaret tried her hardest to maintain composure.
Nora couldn't help but smile in amusement and at that moment, a small laugh had escaped Henry's lips. Margaret whipped her head around to look at him and Henry was quick to hide his laughter with a cough.
There was a moment of silence as Margaret stared at Lizbeth. She stood there for a long moment before walking to stand beside her son.
Henry watched Lizbeth closely, noticing how she turned to exchange a mischievous look with Lizzie while Cecily rolled her eyes. "Dance for me," He suddenly spoke up, causing Lizbeth to look away from her sisters and turn toward him instead.
"I beg your pardon?" She frowned in confusion.
"Dance for me," He repeated, causing Lizbeth to exchange a look with her sisters and her mother.
Henry snapped his fingers, telling the musicians he had brought with him to play their instruments.
Slowly, Lizbeth walked to stand in front of him, an annoyed look on her face.
"No," Henry suddenly spoke up as the musicians were about to play, "Lady Cecily. I think, perhaps, you have more grace."
Cecily smiled at the offer and immediately walked forward, causing Lizbeth to look offended while Lizzie was annoyed.
They exchanged a look with each other, which Henry noticed. After that, he immediately thought of an idea he planned to use solely to piss Lizbeth off.
"Your sister Lizzie can join as well," He spoke up and despite not wanting to go against Lizbeth, she knew she had no choice but to obey. Lizbeth knew that as well and didn't blame her when she walked to stand next to Cecily.
Rolling her eyes, Lizbeth began to walk toward her mother. However, before she could walk past her, Nora grabbed her daughter by the arm. She knew Henry was doing it to piss Lizbeth off after all that she had said to him since she arrived and she refused to let him win.
"The girls can dance together," Nora demanded and Henry nearly laughed at the look on her face.
"Mother, no," Lizbeth whispered to her mother, an angry look on her face.
"Lizbeth, yes," Nora argued back and Lizbeth rolled her eyes as she walked to stand beside her sisters.
Lizzie stood in the middle with Lizbeth to her right and Cecily to her left.
The music started and the girls began to the dance with a curtsy.
Cecily danced with glee and a smile on her face while Lizzie simply looked bored. Lizbeth, on the other hand, looked as though she was about to snap.
However, despite Lizbeth dancing with the least grace and an angry look plastered on her face, Henry's eyes remained on her the entire time and not once did they ever go to Cecily and Lizzie. Cecily stared at him seductively while Lizzie was rolling her eyes. However, Henry paid no mind to either of them.
Margaret watched Henry, whose eyes were fixed on Lizbeth.
Nora soon noticed as well and smiled in satisfaction.
At the end of the dance, the girls curtsied again while facing the king. Briefly, Lizbeth and Henry locked eyes. His eyes lingered on her and for once, Lizbeth found herself staring back at him, her eyes softening.
Her kind expression soon faded, however, and became consumed with anger and hatred once more, much to Henry's dismay.
Once Lizbeth began to glare at him again, Henry drank the rest of his wine before abruptly standing up.
He slowly walked toward her, the expression he now wore cold as well. "My mother has decided on a motto for you."
"I don't get to choose it myself?" Lizbeth asked and frowned in confusion.
"I'd be afraid of whatever you would make up for yourself," He confessed and Lizbeth smiled slightly.
"Perhaps you have a point there," She admitted softly.
Henry stared at her closely for a moment, his eyes softening. However, after he snapped himself out of his thoughts, he walked out of the room while his mother remained.
"Humble and penitent," Margaret recited Lizbeth's new motto, causing the girl to scoff loudly.
"Two words that don't describe me in the slightest," She complained, but of course, she was ignored by the woman.
"You would do well to abide by them," Margaret glared at Lizbeth before walking out of the room.
Once everyone left and the door closed, Lizbeth was quick to speak up. "I pray my brother's challenge to the throne is revealed soon so I do not have to marry that bastard."
"He does not seem to want to marry you either," Cecily taunted her elder sister and while Lizzie looked annoyed by her sister's comment, Lizbeth looked almost hurt and worried.
"Of course he wants to marry her," Nora scoffed as she walked toward her daughter, "Who wouldn't?" She smiled, affectionately stroking her daughter's cheek, "Even when she was still considered a bastard, your father had countless men coming to the castle, solely to ask for her hand in marriage. And none wanted her more than Henry Tudor. I dare say he still feels that way, even if he does not want to admit it."
Lizzie smiled, exchanging a look with Lizbeth while Cecily rolled her eyes and tried to contain her anger.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
I love the dynamic between Lizzie, Lizbeth, and Nora.
Nora clearly has a soft spot for Lizzie she doesn't have for Cecily, especially after what happened with Arthur.
She basically treats her like a daughter and she, Lizbeth, and Lizzie are constantly plotting together now 😂
You can see Lizbeth is indeed her mother's daughter tho by the way they both talk to Henry and Margaret 😭😂