Yorkistgirl - I know, I've made loads of friends on ff, I wish I could meet up with them too!
RichardIII1955 - Yeah, I was shocked when I found out what George did to her, especially as I first read about him in Back to School where is a (essentially harmless) goofball!
In this chapter, Annika mentions the Extended Project Qualification. I took this in year twelve. I loved doing the EPQ. It gives you heaps of UCAS points for university and if you put the work in, it is so easy to get an A. I wrote a dissertation about my favourite singer, Madonna. Everyone called me mad and obsessed, but when I got the A, they weren't laughing anymore.
Right, enough shoutouts! Now, Annika begins her new life in Gloucester. And some of you may remember a very exciting discovery, which if it hadn't happened, would never have inspired me to write this story!
They lay contently in each other's arms. Anne rested her head upon his shoulder, whilst his arm was wrapped around hers. His slender fingers were gently fiddling with her hair.
"Richard" said Anne, still marvelling at how they were finally together "Why do you love me?"
He turned to look at her "Why not? What isn't there to love about you?"
"Tell me" pleaded Anne "Indulge me. Edouard never did"
"I can honestly say there is no woman quite like you" Richard stroked her hair softly "What woman would be bold enough to cast aside the supposed safety of her sister's home and try to find her own way in the world? Most of the women I know would have stayed, wallowing in their despair, letting people dictate their lives and pass them along like a feather. But not you"
"I didn't know what you'd like" admitted Rick, as he carried in a tray "So I went out and bought a few bits"
"A few bits?" asked Annika, sitting up in bed to look at the tray. Rick had bought croissants, toast, orange juice, cereal, coffee, tea, milk, and almost anything that one would eat for breakfast.
"Yeah, I thought it was best to give you a little bit of everything. I bought it all since I'm a rubbish cook and you'd probably get food poisoning"
"Like you did to your brother"
"Yeah. Poor George" said Rick, placing the tray down on her lap.
"Have you eaten?"
"Yes. There's no rush"
"You shouldn't have gone to all this trouble for me"
"It's nothing" shrugged Rick "I had to go out anyway to take my nephews to school-"
"The ones who hung coat hangers off of the light bulbs?"
Rick cringed "Those are the ones"
Annika smiled, and nibbled at a croissant. Rick twiddled his thumbs.
"I have to nip out today" he said eventually.
"Oh, ok. What for?"
"I also write for the local newspaper and they need me in today. Henry Taylor, the local trouble-maker, is in court again. They want me to write an article on it. Will you be all right here alone?"
"I'll be fine. I'll watch the telly again"
"I have a spare pair of keys if you want to go for a walk around Gloucester"
"I'm all right for now"
"If you want to use the bathroom, don't worry about using all the hot water. And if you're hungry, help yourself to anything"
"Thanks"
Huddled on the sofa half an hour later, Annika waved off Rick, before sighing deeply. Her stomach still hurt. Gingerly, she lifted her nightdress to look at it. There was a round fat purple and yellow bruise festering on her skin. Tears filled her eyes as she pulled it back down again. What must Rick think? That she was some poor battered charity case?
But after a while, curiosity got the better of her. She wandered up, and went to look over at the bookshelves. Rick had a lot of books. Probably even more than she did. Her eyes skimmed along the titles as she recognised her favourites. Then she pattered over to a fireplace. It was strictly for decoration, as there wasn't a real fire. On the mantelpiece, were a long line of photographs. Annika hadn't thought that men really went into family photographs.
Oliver hadn't.
'Don't think about Oliver, you're never going to see him again. You won't wear his ring, bear his children, or live off his money. You are finally out on your own' Annika told herself.
She picked up the first one, seeing two mischievous looking blond boys sitting next to an older girl, who was also blonde. Perhaps these were his nephews and his niece. The second one she looked at was older, and it showed four boys, all varianting with age. The youngest and smallest one was Rick. He'd had long dark hair even then. One appeared almost an adult, the other in his mid-teens, and the third just a few years older than Rick appeared to be. Annika guessed they were his brothers, although he had only ever mentioned two to her. Maybe they'd fallen out. The next two photographs were a wedding photographs. The same man who was the oldest in the photo of the four brothers was in the first one; he was the groom, standing with a pretty blonde lady as his bride. She resembled the children in the photo of Rick's nephews and niece. It must be his oldest brother Edward. The other wedding photograph was of the second youngest boy in the photograph of Rick and his brothers. There was a second photograph of two children, who resembled the adults in the second wedding photograph. Maybe these were two more nieces and nephews, although Rick had never mentioned them to her. The fifth photograph was of Rick, when he was even younger, with a man who, judging by his dark eyes and hair, could only be his dad. Rick was clutching the reins astride a horse, as the man supported him. The sixth photograph was of Rick and a man she didn't recognise, wearing graduation caps and pointing at a scroll of white paper, their mouths open in mock surprise. Perhaps it was one of his friends. He'd mentioned a guy called Frank to her last night, hadn't he?
She snooped into the kitchen, and looked in all the cupboards. Most of it was ready meals. Annika recalled him telling her he couldn't cook. In one cupboard, she opened it up to find half a pharmacy stuffed inside. There were painkillers, heat patches, cooling patches and some leaflets about scoliosis.
'So that's what he has...' Annika thought to herself.
After having a brief wash in the bathroom, she pattered back into the bedroom to dress. She chose a simple navy cotton dress to keep comfortable, but to cover her injuries, and sandals. It was still warm outside. Her hair, she tied back into another straggly ponytail.
Even then, she couldn't resist a peek in the wardrobe. There also appeared to be some sort of back brace thing, sitting at the bottom.
'The poor guy!' she thought again.
Collecting the keys he left her, she left the flat and started to walk downstairs.
"Good morning!" greeted a voice. She peered over. A man going down to the basement flat greeted her. This must be Aiden.
"Good morning" replied Annika.
"Are you one of Rick's friends?"
"Ah, yes"
"He's really nice guy, isn't he? I thought he was a bit moody when I first met him, but once you get to know him, he's so loyal. He'll stick by anyone. I'd known him for two weeks when – you've probably heard of Henry Taylor by now – when Henry Taylor spray-painted the word faggot on my window. Rick was furious! He helped me scrub it all off and then called Henry a pathetic uneducated dunce. Well, he didn't like that. Henry's got it in for Rick's family, you see. He's been sniffing around that niece of his a lot lately. I better warn him, that boy is no good"
"Yeah, I've heard of Henry"
"Oh, well, I won't keep you" said the man "See you soon!"
Annika wandered out into the streets. It was empty, as it was a weekday. The kids were all in school, all the adults were at work. She wandered around the roads, trying not to go too far in case she got lost.
Apart from the cuts and bruises, there was also a pain in her chest, by her heart. A lump sat in her throat. Her head told her the pain was fictional, that it was just a broken heart, and it could be mended. It was impossible to walk without it throbbing. Her eyes were dry now. She couldn't cry. That was a relief. She wouldn't embarrass herself in front of anyone anymore.
After an hour, she headed back to Rick's flat, and let herself in. Exhausted from her walk and emotions, she lay on the bed, half-awake, half-asleep. Rick arrived mid-afternoon. He spotted the half-open door, and chose not to disturb her. His day had been good so far. Henry Taylor was looking at a custodial sentence, and good. He'd leave Eliza alone.
When he picked up his nephews, he closed his bedroom door and instructed them to be quiet, without feeling the need to explain about his guest.
"Are you going to talk to your girlfriend on the computer today, Uncle Ricky?" asked Daniel.
"No" snapped Rick "And she's not my girlfriend!"
"Have you two had a row?" asked Nathan.
"No"
"Have you two had S-E-"
"No!" yelled Rick.
"We had sex education today, Uncle Ricky!" announced Nathan.
"I don't care" Rick grumbled.
"What's a condom, Uncle Ricky? Nathan won't tell me" said Daniel.
"Ask your mother" instructed Rick.
"She won't tell me either"
"Then ask your dad" said Rick.
"Ask Uncle Georgie, he's nice to us" swarmed Nathan.
"You tell me!" insisted Daniel.
"No!" Nathan giggled.
"Shut up, both of you!" snapped Rick.
Annika listened to the exchange, gently patting her bruise, hoping it would heal faster. For two days she lay and wandered around in a stupor. On the morning of the 12th September, Rick opened the door.
"You should come and watch the telly"
"Later" sighed Annika.
"No, really, you should come and watch the telly"
"What's going on?" Annika sat up. She peered through the gap in the doorway at the news. Blasted across the screen was a skeleton with a badly twisted spine, lying in a ditch.
"...the bones of a body believed to be Richard III have been found in a car park in Leicester..."
Annika scrambled up, and hurried to the television screen. Rick hurried to her side, and sat down. She watched in awe.
"They found him" she whispered "They've actually found a body. I knew they'd been searching...the Richard III Society had had some notices about it on their site...but they found something!"
"See" Rick smiled "I told you you'd want to see this"
"That's brilliant" Annika beamed "Just what I needed to see. Oh, Rick. Thank you"
"It wasn't me..."
"I'm sorry I've just been laying around for the past few days. I haven't even contributed or anything"
"It's not your fault. You were vulnerable. You needed help"
Annika nodded, and lay her head on his shoulder "Thank you"
Rick was touched, and a little startled at her contact. But it felt quite nice. He breathed in her scent. She smelt like honeysuckle. He wanted to clutch her close and tell her everything would be ok, but he worried that he'd scare her off. Regardless of their frank discussions and intimate conversations online, there were still boundaries. Neither of them knew what body language the other responded to. Would Annika appreciate it if he leant forward as he spoke? Or would she find it creepy?
"Perhaps we should go out" suggested Rick.
"What do you mean?"
"We ought to go out. For breakfast. Get to know each other better"
Annika nodded "We should"
As they left, Rick offered Annika his arm, and she took it. Gloucester looked brighter than when she had first wandered around in a daze. People greeted Rick, and then nodded at her, with a knowing gaze.
"This is my favourite little breakfast cafe" said Rick, holding open the door for her.
They sat down at a booth. Someone had left a copy of the Guardian on one of the chairs. Annika flicked it open to a page about Richard III's skeleton.
"I don't know if I've asked you already" said Rick "But why do you like Richard III so much? I don't want to seem rude or anything, I'm just curious"
"You did, once. But I've reflected on it and thought about it some more"
"Have you?"
"Yes" Annika nodded "At the Battle of Bosworth, he knew it was all lost. People urged him to flee, and offered him their horses, but he didn't. He decided that if he was going to die, he'd die a king. He was brave. And he was loyal. He married Anne purely for love. Many men in those days married women for their titles, their lands, but Anne had been stripped of them, and she'd been branded a traitor by her marriage to the Lancaster heir. He was the king's brother. He had money, he had power. He could have had any woman he wanted. But he married her. Those are the qualities that I admire in a man"
"What made you like Oliver? If you don't mind me asking, I mean, to me, he doesn't sound a bit like that, he sounds like an ass"
"I don't mind you asking" Annika shook her head "When I first met him, we were in our last year at university. At that age, before we'd gone into the world of work and adulthood, we were both a pair of idealistic dreamers. He thought he was going to revolutionise primary school education, and I thought I was going to become a world renowned historian, or something. I admired how kind and selfless he seemed, and I thought I could cope with his teaching career, but then, I couldn't, and everything just turned so ugly"
"You were right to end things when you did" Rick shifted, and decided to change the topic "And what about Anne Neville? Why do you like her?"
"Anne was who led me to Richard" explained Annika "I always liked historical fiction. In my last year at school, I completed the Extended Project Qualification, to improve my chances of attending Warwick University. I decided to write a book about women in the medieval times, and I read some books and she was mentioned. I did a bit of research, and I was just intrigued. There are very little details about her life, just her date of birth and death, coronation, and details about the events happening around her. And I just wondered, what must it feel like, to be passed around England and France like a pawn, and I just wondered, about her and Richard's relationship, and I just feel like I need to know. Did they love each other? I think they did. So to find out about her, I had to find out about Richard. And I did. And now, I'm a Ricardian"
Rick gazed intently at her, listening to her every word.
"You must think I'm mad" dismissed Annika.
"No" Rick shook his head "I'm interested. It's important to you"
"Have you lived in Gloucester long?" asked Annika, as they strolled back to his place.
"Since I was eighteen. I moved here for university. My brother George went to a different university, but he moved here because of his wife's job. I'm glad he went to a different university, otherwise he'd have ended up living with me!"
"If I lived with my sister, we'd end up killing each other at the end of the week. Even when I was eighteen, and dad was driving us to my halls at uni, we were mucking around and play-fighting in the back of the car. I was poking her with an umbrella. He stopped the car and told us off like we were kids!"
"Yeah, that's me and my brothers. Although my brother, Ed, is twelve years older than me, so he's more of a dad"
"Was he the one in the photos on your mantelpiece? One of the ones getting married?"
"Yeah, that's him and his wife, Bethany. The other one is George and Ellen, his wife"
"And the photo of the two boys and the girl, are they Ed's kids?"
"Yeah. The girl is Eliza, and the oldest boy is Nathan, and the youngest one is Daniel. I don't have to look after them today, thank God"
Annika giggled "What about the other two kids?"
"That's Daisy and Warren, George and Ellen's children. They're sweeter than Nathan and Daniel, and much less annoying"
Annika giggled "So that's why you don't moan about them! And the picture of you on a horse. Was that your dad with you? You looked like him"
Rick nodded.
"Do you still go back to York to see him and your mum?"
"I go to see my mum. My dad died when I was ten"
"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry"
"It's ok. I don't mind. It was a long time ago. It was a car accident, out on the moors. My second oldest brother was killed too"
"Was that the second oldest boy in the photo of you four?"
"Yes"
"I'm so sorry"
"It's fine"
"I can't imagine losing someone like that"
"It was a long time ago" said Rick "I'm over it. Well, kind of. Sometimes it hurts. But it's in the past"
Annika opened her mouth to say something comforting, but Rick scowled.
"Oh great. Look. Kids bunking off school"
Annika looked over at where he was glaring. Suddenly, he scowled further.
"That's my niece!"
"Your niece?"
"Eliza. Daniel and Nathan's sister" Rick strode up to her and tapped her on the shoulder "Shouldn't you be in school, young lady?"
"Uncle Rick!" gasped Eliza. Her friends drew back.
"What are you doing?" asked Rick.
"Nothing" replied Eliza.
"Hey, look, it's Henry!" cheered one of her friends. Annika turned to see the infamous Henry Taylor strolling down the street.
"Is this what I think it is?" Rick frowned.
"It's a Staff Development Day" announced Eliza.
"Look who it is!" jeered Henry, from across the street "Eliza's freaky deformed Uncle!"
His mates all cheered and laughed. Annika noticed two bright pink spots flare in Rick's cheeks. She clutched his arm protectively.
"Get lost, Henry" snapped Rick "Stay away from her. Or her father will hear of it, and him, I, and our other brother will be onto you. Eliza, go back to school, right away!"
"Are you going to listen to Uncle Hunchback?" taunted Henry "Or are you going to come with us and be my girl?"
"Eliza, don't listen to him, and go to school. You don't want to get mixed up with scum like him" warned Rick.
Eliza nibbled her lip "Look, I'm not hurting anyone by being with him. I won't do it again"
"Yeah, you heard her. Come on, Eliza, let's go smoke some weed" taunted Henry, slipping an arm around her shoulders. He pulled her along after him. Eliza looked uncertainly over her shoulder, but soon followed him.