The year is 1464.
The War of the Roses rages on; a great showdown between Lancaster and York.
Yet, asleep in her bed, fiery-haired Melissa Woodville dreams of splintered shields, broken swords, and the resounding screams of wounded men in the Battle...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
THAT NIGHT, MERE hours after the king had proposed marriage to her sister, Melissa tossed and turned in bed, her sleep fitful and restless. She dreamt of Bosworth, of blood staining crisp white roses, and the screams of men dying on the battlefield. She dreamt of her sister, who walked up the aisle of Westminster Abbey in a beautiful golden gown, her stomach already swollen with child, and then, she dreamt of herself, older and transformed, walking up that same aisle, wearing those same coronation robes, sat beside a man whose face was blurred out. She dreamt of many things, unpleasant seeings courtesy of Mother Melusina, and probably would have dreamt more, had she been allowed.
"Melissa. Melissa!" Jacquetta Woodville's soft, hissed voice roused her from her slumber.
"Mother?" The girl groaned.
"Get up. Get ready. You are to be a witness at your sister's wedding." The woman commanded.
"Why me?" Melissa moaned, already half-awake and rubbing at her eyes.
"Because I said so. Now, wear your dress and come downstairs. Quickly now!" Jacquetta left, then, leaving her daughter to rouse herself.
Melissa would have loved nothing more than to lay in bed and go back to sleep, but knowing of her mother's unmatched wrath when her unequivocal commands were not obeyed, she slipped out, pulled a long, blue dress that had once belonged to her older sister, Anne, over her shift, and left the cramped bedchambers.
Her mother was waiting outside by the manor's entrance, and as was Elizabeth, both of them visions in blue. Looking down at her own attire, the girl couldn't help but snort. To outside eyes, it would look like they had color-coordinated.
"Finally!" Elizabeth exclaimed, seeing her. "You took your time."
"It is your own fault for not informing me that this was happening today," Melissa glared at her. "I would have risen earlier, otherwise."
