Elizabeth of the 80 Winters
What if Elizabeth Woodville survived until 1525 when she was 88 and after a huge effort from her daughter she was restored to court in order to be Henry Duke of York's godmother in 1491, And she survived to see the birth of her great-granddaughter elizabeth I who in this story was born in 1523?
I thought of writing this story about Elizabeth Woodville because I am a huge fan and I would like to include her reactions to her daughter's unkind treatment from lady Margaret Beaufort and Anne Boleyn's Marriage.
My interest in Elizabeth started since I read Gregory's the White queen so here...
Bless her soul! Hissed Elizabeth Devoutly after the messenger embarked The threshold of Bermondsey abbey in order to tell her the wonderful news! Henry her hated son-in-law allowed her to come back to court, after he imprisoned her here in order for her to stay out of trouble, her dear ally and now beloved friend Margaret Beaufort had her hand in this, she seized triumph like a fisherman would catch the finest salmon he saw in the pond and ignore the other fish, She insisted in only being one milady the king's mother in this kingdom, not two, she was as greedy as a fat fishwife, as a boy in a pastry; with her inflience and imense pride.
'Elizabeth' she Said Cooly 'help, me pack my trunks please, we are to go to court'
'Milady!, I am most happy to help and share your joy' Shrieked Elizabeth Tilney the countess of Surrey and Arundel future Duchess of Norfolk and faithful lady-in-waiting to Elizabeth excitedly
'We shall see our beloved daughters' squealed Elizabeth
Elizabeth Tilney herself had a beautiful daughter called Elizabeth After her greatest friend, Late Queen Of England, Ireland and France, Duchess of York and Cornwall, Countess of March, Ulster and Cambridge. Just a commoner who marries Edward IV, just for pure Passion, lust and Love.
Elizabeth Woodville considered elizabeth Tilney as her greatest friend, she herself was was born a little more than a commoner and she even called her Eliza. Elizabeth's own daughter was know queen of her late husband's arch-enemy Henry VII, the man whom imprisoned her here and now kindly released.
The packing did not take long for there was not much to pack seeing that Elizabeth had only 3 dresses left, it all started when Richard III her biggest arch-enemy ever seized all her thousands of dresses for her kind husband Edward IV made new sets of them since the fashion changed lately and she was allowed to keep them but then thrifty Richard III seized them all and cut them to puny Anne Neville's size because he was to thrifty to make her a new pair, but no one was more thrifty then king Henry, her daughter's gowns weren't made out of any expensive material And her jewellery were made out of țin because He didn't want to spend a groat on silver! While doing the last steps of packing she encountered a locket she opened it, there was a picture of Edward IV her late husband, tears spilled out of Elizabeth's Deep Brown eyes, she longed him to be here with her; to see the tyranny of his brother Richard, her accomplishment of crowning her daughter and for him to be here with her and feel his breath on her cheek and his arm around her wrist, she remembered the nights they passionately made love the days they were constantly longing for each other before they wedded, she missed him very much she always had a heart problem since he died because it broke her heart to see him in such pain. She is still in mourning wearing black for his sake, it must have been love but it's over now, the moment they meat till time has run out.
'what happened? Milady?' asked Eliza
'Nothing, just a bleak moment I am currently in' noted Elizabeth tearily
't'is King Edward, right?'
'Ay'
The Elizabeth blinked her tears back and said 'I can't imagine how it is to attend a court where my husband wasn't sitting on the actual throne' said elizabeth faintly, after opening her wardrobe and pulling out a beautiful conical golden conical headers embroidered with gold and with a lace veil hanging down from the point of it.
Since Richard 'III' the false king has stolen her gowns she only had three, they were broken and mended all the time, they were all black, Richard promised her them because she said they were for mourning, so around her mourning gown she sew remaining cloth of gold on the neckline and sleeves and wore a few gold necklaces and rings.
'I fear that Conical Headresses are out of fashion ma'am' said Eliza dismally
Elizabeth sighed and asked
'then what is the fashion?' Blurted Elizabeth
'Wimples' replied Eliza
'How?' asked Elizabeth
'Margaret Beaufort, Margaret Beaufort wears then and most ladies at court do too' replied Eliza
Elizabeth sniggered and replied 'I will never inspire myself from that simple nunner-woman' blurted Elizabeth, 'then I shall wear my coronet'
The carriage was waiting outside Elizabeth and her companion slipped out of the Abbey and encountered the fresh air and London, that was for 20 years her city, the city that she not only ruled but was also beloved there.
This was the first Chapter of Elizabeth of the 80 Winters, I hope you liked it, please review and give suggestions about the storyline and what I can do better; I accept Criticizm with open arms, If you like the wars of the roses you might like to check 'Princess of York' about my claimed character Cecily of York or 'The other Neville Girl' about Isabel Neville.
Ps Any innacuracies I might make are for the sake of the story!