𝐶𝐻𝐴𝑃𝑇𝐸𝑅 𝑋𝑋𝐼

                                    

                                          

                            

                                
                            
                              
                                  
                              
                              
                                
                                  
                                  
                                
                              
                             
                            
                            
                          
                          

~The Captured and The Culled~
Holding a sleepy little Marie in her arms, Constance stood at the bottom of the castle steps clad in her bed robe and nightgown. With one trembling hand, she stroked her daughter's dark hair to soothe herself, secretly happy that the five year old did not seem to notice the chaos around her. 
Instead, she rested her tired head on her Mother's shoulder, eyes fluttering closed as they rejected the light blurring her vision after being pulled from her bed too early. Constance rocked her back and forth, watching the men at arms that departed Tamworth castle in their polished armour, anxiously. 
Their swords at their sides they looked a menacing sight, dangerous with an urge to kill their enemies, but would they be enough to crush the might of the Warwick and Clarence forces?
The King was loved by the people but the Earl was too and had been far longer than Edward. Despite her loyalty to her husband, accompanied by the adoration she bore him, the Queen found herself wondering who would prevail. 
"Ma Mère?" Her sleepy daughter mumbled when one particularly cloud crash of metal against metal startled her from her slumber. 
"Yes, little love?" 
"Where is Papa?" 
"I'm here, my darling!" Though she was quiet, Edward's confidant voice answered her question and she looked up to see her strong Father striding towards her with a smile on his face. A wide grin spread across her rosy lips at the sight of the shining warrior that marched in her direction. He was a ferocious beast of metal and velvet that fluttered behind him in a blinding array of murrey and blue adorned by threads of gold. 
Her little hands reached towards him as eagerly as a magpie would for a jewel and, when he was in reach, she clambered excitedly into his arms. How many hours she'd spent settled into his strong embrace, she didn't know but was more than happy to spend an eternity in it. 
Despite the coldness of his polished armour pressing against her skin through her nightgown, she cuddled close, nuzzling affectionately into the warmth of his neck. 
"Where are you going?" She mumbled and her parents exchanged worried glances over her shoulder, Constance shaking her head when she saw Edward part his lips to tell the truth. 
"To the stars!" He answered instead, prying her from his chest so that he could swing her above his head like a little bird until she squealed with delight; fully awake.
"Will you come back?" She giggled and her Father immediately nodded, ruffling her hair when he passed her back to Constance. His wife was nowhere near as enthusiastic as his daughter, harbouring an anxious look on her face, represented in the dark crescents that lay beneath her eyes.