In which Nora of Lancaster continues to fight for her family and their rightful place on the throne of England, despite all that she has lost already.
THE WHITE PRINCESS
BOOK TWO IN THE COUSIN'S WAR SERIES
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
At Westminster Palace, in her rooms, Lizbeth laid on her bed alongside Lizzie. Teddy stood near the fireplace, smearing something unknown to them on the wall. Cecily sat near the window, doing needlework. Maggie was sitting at the edge of the bed as Lizzie ran her fingers through her cousin's hair.
"There is no news from anyone?" Lizbeth asked as she sighed in frustration, "Mother? The King?"
"Perhaps she's not allowed to, Lizzie," Cecily spoke up, causing Lizbeth to turn to her with a weird look.
She knew something that she didn't, she just knew it.
"She would find a way, you know she would," Lizzie argued defensively.
Cecily found herself rolling her eyes. She was annoyed that Lizzie was always on Nora's side, despite her being the cause of their mother's unhappiness as queen.
"Ruth isn't even here," Lizzie realized as she glanced around to see one of the ladies nowhere around.
Lizbeth sighed, turning to address Maggie. "Maggie, will you go to the stables and ask Ned, the stable boy, if he's been passed any letters?"
Maggie obediently nodded her head, just before leaving the room.
Soon enough, Maggie made it down the steps to find that it was pouring outside. She was on the verge of walking onto the dirt when Ned stopped in front of her on his horse.
She worriedly glanced around, seeing the dead bodies that were wrapped in sheets. There was another dead body, too. It belonged to a guard and it wasn't wrapped in a sheet like the others.
One of the guards rushed over to his side and knelt beside his body, checking to see if he was alright.
"Get back!" Ned warned Maggie in a stern tone as he climbed off his horse, "There's sickness."
"Sickness?" Maggie frowned, a concerned look on her face.
"Plague, or something," Ned replied, not knowing the right answer, "I don't know. They sweat and then they drop down dead. You mustn't take it to the queen."
"Is there any word from the Queen's mother, my Aunt Nora?" Maggie asked concerned.
"Word?" Ned frowned in confusion, "She's up there, in the old tower. Would you return these to her?" He asked as he held up Nora's necklace and Katherine's ring.
Maggie quickly grabbed ahold of the ring and the necklace. She returned to Lizbeth's chambers, only to be stopped by Cecily before she could actually enter the room.
She had been forced to tell Cecily the news instead of Lizbeth and Lizzie. She didn't know if it was a good idea, but she was forced to do it anyway.
