Westminster Palace
Charlotte took George's offered hand and his support to dismount her horse, locking eyes with Edward as she did so.
"Welcome to court," Edward said coldly as he welcomed them, as they fell into bows and curtsies. "Warwick. George. The prodigals return."
Edward surprised them all by hugging both his brother and her father.
Releasing her father, he walked over to her and tilted her chin up, indicating for her to rise and to follow. Without looking back, she went after him, giggling as he pulled her against him when they were no longer in sight.
She savored his lips and his familiar taste once again as he kissed her, hands roaming her body, molding it like he had done so many times before.
Seeing his chance, Edward grabbed one of her legs with his hand and lifted it, his hand grazing up and down its soft flesh as they crashed into the wall of the abandoned hallway, their tongues beginning to duel for control over their mouths.
Charlotte began to rub herself against him, her hands rapidly finding and starting to unlace his breeches. She wrapped the leg in Edward's hand around his back, pulling them even closer.
Pausing her attempts to free his throbbing member, Charlotte grabbed his hand and pushed it towards her core, the heat from her small-clothes warming his fingers.
Even as this occurred, their mouths did not relent. The kisses were sloppy and more tongue than lip, but neither one of them wanted to disengage first. Their pent up passion, lust and sexual energy was finally being released and they had no intention to stop if they could help it.
Yet one of them must eventually breathe – and so Edward broke the kiss, strands of spit hanging from their lips as they both gasped for air.
Neither he nor Charlotte took their eyes away, simply staring with open mouths, Charlotte's breathing becoming ragged as she leant against his chest, taking comfort in the warmth as she had done so many times before.
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Elizabeth pushed past the Nevilles as she left her room in a fury, headed for the Great Hall.
How dare she? How dare that woman call the butchering of her father and brother the "fortunes of war"? It was murder!
She was shocked when she entered the hall. First, at the festivities and then at the fact that they stopped once they noticed her. Had she truly been so unpleasant to be around these past few weeks? Could people not understand and respect grief anymore?
Silently, she walked across the room, declining Anthony's invitation to dance and allowing Richard's voice to fade into the background, taking her place in her throne next to her mother.
At least, until her mother abandoned her to face Warwick alone.
"Your Grace," he said suavely, bowing as little as he could get away with.
"You shouldn't even be here," Thomas snarled and she had to restrain him, hissing his name.
"Ah, such passion," Warwick smiled. "That is Thomas, yes? So the other one is Richard, to be my ward soon enough."
"Never," she hissed in return. "I never agreed to such a thing."
"Ah, but Edward did," he said simply. "When you asked for a wedding between my granddaughter and your son, Charlotte insisted I raise your boy."
"I know that you do not like me and that you plot against the king," she said, ignoring his words. "And while he may forgive you, I promise you I never will. Never."
"Lord Warwick," a voice she failed to recognize came from her side and she had to stifle a groan when she saw her mother-in-law.
"My aunt, Duchess Cecily," Warwick bowed, kissing her knuckles. "Season's greetings. Another one of us returned to court!"
"My dear son, George, invited me, to share his joy that he is soon to have an heir," the woman said with a mocking little curtsy. "Seems the force that had me exiled from the court has lost its power and Edward is a man again."
Her voice rose at the end, given that she had already started walking away.
"He has always been a man," she said pointedly as she turned around to face them once again. "But it seems that that is not enough to win the loyalty of those who are supposed to love him."
She passed George as she walked through the halls, trying to find Edward after seeing his empty office.
After missing him in all of his usual places, she turned around and headed for Charlotte's nursery with a heavy heart. Though Lily, Edmund and William spent most of their time at Pontefract, Edward had assigned a set of rooms for their children whenever they were at court.
Her heart broke when she opened the door and found him working on one of the chests where the children's clothes were kept. He was sitting on the floor, William on his lap and Lily on his back, playing with his hair and Charlotte was near them, leaning against the wall with a dozing Edmund on her own lap.
"More land for the traitors?" She spoke up after swallowing a lump in her throat. "I wonder that it does not make you sick."
"For the nobles, my love, and this is what it is to be king," her husband said simply. "I give out wealth and favors or else they may wish that good old Henry was back on the throne, or his son, Edward, or my brother, George. Or, God forbid, Margaret Beaufort's son, Henry Tudor."
"Let's have Lancaster back!" Charlotte said mockingly.
"She surely cannot hope for him?" Elizabeth scoffed. "There are too many others in line before him!"
"Ah, Warwick! There you are! I have something for you," Edward smiled brightly as Charlotte's father walked into the room, while the woman herself barely acknowledged him. "So, how are our newlyweds, hmm? Is your daughter mad with love for my troublesome brother George?"
Warwick chuckled. "They give thanks that God has blessed them with a child so soon," he looked at his grandsons briefly before looking at Edward once again. "They have hopes it may be a boy."
Edward smiled, pressing a kiss to William's forehead. "We all pray for sons."
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Anne stood in the queen's chambers, waiting for Elizabeth to return so she could help ready her for bed before leaving. The other ladies were all gone, but she was placed on a stricter schedule, due to her father's actions.
The door opened and she turned, setting down the jewelry box she'd been organizing and watched as Elizabeth led Edward into the room by the hand. The queen smiled slightly at the sight of Anne, while Edward failed to realize she was even there. Elizabeth smirked before turning to Edward and starting to kiss him.
"Mmm," Edward hummed in response, beginning to kiss down the blonde woman's neck. "Something's made you very hungry, hasn't it?"
Elizabeth laughed and Anne tried to avoid eye contact with either of them as she walked towards the door. There were some things she definitely did not need to witness.
Elizabeth noticed and was quick to speak up, however. "You will wait," she demanded sternly and Anne tried to contain the tears welling up in her eyes as she turned to face them again.
Edward was still kissing across Elizabeth's neck and chest while she turned to face Anne slightly. "Unlace my dress."
Edward laughed, not knowing who she was talking to. Elizabeth had, after all, kept his attention solely on herself and blocked Anne from his view. If Edward knew who exactly was there, he would have put a stop to it immediately. To Anne, this was basically torture. Elizabeth knew this.
Elizabeth moaned wantonly as she and Edward kissed. She tried not to let her satisfaction show on her face, feeling as Anne started to untie her dress. The younger girl struggled doing so and Edward sighed in annoyance. "Hurry up!"
However, he lifted his eyes to look at who was attending to Elizabeth, his eyes widened in horror when he realized it was no mere servant. It was Anne.
Warwick's daughter. A girl he had grown up regarding as his own annoying little sister. The girl Richard wanted to marry. Charlotte's sister.
"Anne," he spoke softly, a guilty look on his face as he pulled away from Elizabeth. "Forgive me."
He was on the verge of saying something else, only for Elizabeth to cup his face in her hands before making him look at her. She leaned forward and kissed him passionately, guiding him towards the bed, diverting his attention from Anne.
Anne looked away, tears on the verge of escaping her eyes as she picked up Elizabeth's dress from the floor. She was just about to leave, when Elizabeth removed Edward's shirt and threw it in her direction. It landed on her head and she scrambled to take it off of her, the tears falling down her cheek.
Leaving Elizabeth's chambers, Anne ran to Charlotte's rooms, entering to find her sister on her bed, looking at a piece of embroidery with the York and Lancaster roses. Anne recognized it as one she and Isabel had worked on before William was born.
Her sister looked up at smile, motioning for her to join her. Anne mustered a smile before climbing atop the bed.
"What is it?" Charlotte asked softly, brushing her fingers through Anne's curls.
"I can't bear it," she cried. "The Queen is awful to me."
"Hush," Charlotte soothed. "It won't last much longer. I'm trying to get permission for you to go back to Middleham."
"Truly? I can't bear it any longer, Charlotte. I can't! She treats me terribly."
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Would you like longer chapters? I'd keep up the same schedule, but I can edit the rest of Act II to make them longer, maybe around 2k and some 3k if it's needed.