A Thorn In The Rose: A War Of The Roses TL
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Chapter 161: Chains
VVD0D95
Banned
Chapter 161: Chains
January, 1463
January, 1463
“God is cursing us.” Henry said.
“Sire?” His cousin and chief advisor, Henry, Duke of Somerset replied sounding confused.
“God is cursing us. The defeats that our allies are experiencing at the hands of Herbert are because of what we did with Warwick and with York.” Henry said. He was convinced of it, why else would God have abandoned them so thoroughly?
“I do not think God has abandoned us, Sire.” Somerset replied.
Henry stared at Somerset, wondering how the man could think such a thing. “How? We are losing.”
“We are not losing, Sire.” Somerset countered.
“We are losing.” Henry insisted. “What else would you call what happened in the east?”
“A small defeat.” Somerset said
Henry snorted. “A small defeat?”
“Yes, Sire. Nothing too serious in the long term. We still have an army.” Somerset said.
“We lost five hundred men, according to what you told me. That’s more than half our army gone.” Henry replied. He’d had to whip himself bloody after that, so many lives lost, and for what?
“We are gaining new recruits with every day that passes. Herbert’s atrocities are aiding us.” Somerset countered.
“He shouldn’t even be allowed to commit those atrocities?!” Henry exclaimed.
That was true, and Somerset’s face showed that he knew that as well. Some of the stories that Henry had heard were horrific, and they were happening on his time. It was disgraceful.
“We must leave.” Henry said then.
“Sire?” Somerset replied sounding confused.
“We must leave Wales.” Henry said.
“And go where, Sire?” Somerset asked.
“Brittany. The Queen and the Prince of Wales are there. We have the ships, we must go.” Henry said. He was convinced that was the only way he could save things. Otherwise it would get worse.
Somerset frowned. The gesture reminded Henry not of the man’s father, but of Henry’s own mother, it was an action she would make in the few times that they had met before her death. “I do not think that we should flee, Sire.”
“Why?” Henry demanded.
“Because if you flee, then all is most definitely lost.” Somerset replied.
“More than it already is?” Henry demanded.
“Sire, your cause as it currently stands is not lost. It is taking blows, but that is to be expected. We can wear down Herbert and we can expand past Wales. We just need to hold on a little longer.” Somerset said.
“How much longer?” Henry demanded. His body ached from where the whip had hit it earlier.
“I do not know.” Somerset admitted.
“And that is why we must leave.” Henry said. “I cannot stand this uncertainty.”
It was true, he wasn’t doing well. His mind was a wreck, his conscious was filled with guilt over what had happened to his cousins of York. He wanted it all to end. He just wanted it to end.
“We leave now, Your Majesty will never be able to return.” Somerset answered. Henry frowned at him. Somerset continued. “York is struggling to keep a hold of things now, but if you flee, then he will use that as a sign that you have given up. People think that you have given up, then they will not fight for you. Do you want that?”
I want England to heal. Henry thought to himself, but perhaps for England to heal he, not York needed to sit the throne. He didn’t know.
“Flee.” The devil whispered.
“Stay.” The angel insisted.
“Do you want that, Sire?” Somerset asked again, more insistently.
Henry sighed. He didn’t know. But he couldn’t show that hesitancy, and so, against his better judgement he said. “No, I do not want that.”
Somerset nodded. “Then trust me, Sire.”
Henry looked at Somerset, he had trusted the man’s father and look where that had gotten him. But Somerset was not his father. “I do.” Henry said.
Somerset nodded, but said nothing in response. The devil and the angel continued to fight.
Chapter 162: Parliament
VVD0D95
Banned
Chapter 162: Parliament
March, 1463
March, 1463
Edmund took a breath. He knew what was coming. He’d been planning for this moment since he’d returned from Wales.
The State Opening of Parliament. It was to be a grand occasion. He’d been too young to accompany his father when the last proper state opening had happened and Edward hadn’t bothered having a state opening himself after his ascension to the throne. He’d said it wasn’t practical.
Edmund had been tempted to do the same, but Margaret had convinced him otherwise. She’d told him that the people needed to know something was returning to normalcy, and that a grand procession would do just that.
Edmund had hesitated at first, but then eventually agreed. He felt the cape that he was wearing and sighed. Edward should be the one wearing this, not him.
He pushed that thought to one side when the door opened.
The Duke of Norfolk as Earl Marshal was dressed in ceremonial robes, and was to help guide Edmund from the Tower to the barge that would lead him to the Palace of Westminster. The Duke smiled at him.
“All is ready, Your Majesty.”
Edmund nodded, and stepped forward, walking out of the room, and then walking down the hallway and down the steps. This process had been done by almost every King of England since the reign of Edward I, when Parliaments had become a regular occurrence. Now he was to continue the trend. A King who should never have inherited the throne.
The guards bowed their heads as he entered the courtyard. He nodded to them, and carried on walking. Norfolk was behind him, Edmund also saw Sir William Hastings, Lord Steward of the Household, and the Earl of Essex, Lord Chamberlain accompanying him. He nodded to them and all continued.
They got to the gate that would lead them to the barge. A guard barred the way.
“Who comes?” The guard asked.
It was an old ritual, perhaps dating back to the reign of Edward the Confessor, before there was a Parliament.
“I, Edmund, son of Richard, son of Richard, son of Edmund, son of Edward. King of England and of France, Lord of Ireland, Protector of the Realm and Defender of the Faith.” Edmund said, adding the last bit on.
The guard bowed and moved to one side.
The gate opened and Edmund walked onward, descending the steps and then getting onto the barge, his squires appearing to hold his cloak so that it did not hit the ground.
Once the others had gotten onto the barge, he looked at the Lord Admiral, and said. “Begin.”
“Begin!” The Lord Admiral yelled, and the barge and the other barges around them began to move.
Edmund inhaled the air, revelling in how it seemed so clean, usually London’s air stank to high heaven. Not today though, today it seemed as though God himself had decided to clean it all. Hopefully that was a good sign.
So much still needed to be done. Wales was a mess, Pembroke had written to say that Owen Tudor remained at large, but the Welshmen on the borders were bending the knee. Slowly but surely. That was good, but Tudor needed to be dealt with, of that, Edmund knew.
The bastard had killed his brother, and would need to be killed as well. But there were other concerns as well.
Mainly the massive amount of reform the Kingdom needed.
The taxation system needed an overhaul, the roads needed repairing, the navy needed work. So much to be done, and the Kingdom was still divided. Or at least it would be as long as Henry of Lancaster and his get were alive.
“Your Majesty?” A voice said, pulling him out of his thoughts.
Edmund turned and saw Sir William looking at him. Edmund raised an eyebrow and Sir William gestured to their left. Edmund turned and saw people standing there, by the banks of the river cheering. He blinked, not just a small group of people, but a lot. They were flying the Royal Standard, and the standard that he had adopted shortly after becoming King. A White Rose.
Edmund smiled and waved to them.
“There’s more, Sire.” Sir William said.
Edmund followed the man’s eyes and saw that there were indeed more. People lining both sides of the River, waving, cheering, singing. Edmund smiled and waved at them. That helped ease some of his tension, he had to admit, but there was still a lot more to come before he could be fully relaxed.
The procession continued for another perhaps twenty or thirty minutes before they pulled into the dock next to the Palace of Westminster.
Edmund took a breath and then got off the boat. He was greeted by the Captain of the Guard, who said. “The Palace is secure, Your Majesty. The Lords and Commons are present.”
Edmund nodded, and then walked forwards, stopping before the entranceway, where his wife was waiting for him. Margaret was dressed in the Royal Colours and looked beautiful beyond words. He smiled to her and took her hand. “Shall we?” He asked.
“Let’s.” Margaret replied smiling.
Edmund smiled and then barked a command, the doors to the Palace opened, the trumpets sounded and they entered the hallway that led to where Parliament would be waiting for them. Edmund’s heart was thudding as they moved. The biggest occasion of the year was approaching and he just wanted it to go without a problem. He didn’t think it would, but who knew.
They stopped before the doors of the House of Lords. The Guards banged on the doors thrice, then opened them. Edmund didn’t move. Instead, the Lord Chamberlain walked forward, carrying the Crown of State, once the man had gotten halfway into the chamber, Edmund walked forward. The Lord Steward and Earl Marshal followed. They stopped when Edmund reached the Lord Chamberlain.
The Archbishop of Canterbury appeared then and took the crown from the Lord Chamberlain. He walked forward and walked up the steps, stopping before the throne. Edmund and Margaret followed. They both turned and sat on their thrones. The Archbishop then placed the crown atop Edmund’s head, walked forwards, turned, faced Edmund and Margaret and bowed, then still facing Edmund walked backwards and took his seat.
Edmund took a moment to gather his thoughts, and then he spoke. “My lords and honourable gentlemen, welcome to this first meeting of Parliament. We meet at a most interesting time in our Kingdom’s history. Whilst a rebel sits in Wales plotting, the rest of the Kingdom is trying to heal and move forward.”
He heard the murmurs of approval at that and continued. “Therefore, we have crafted legislation for this new Parliament that we feel will become the first step toward healing the nation.”
He took another breath and looked around the room. “Firstly, we must pass Bills of Attainder against the following: Henry of Lancaster, Henry Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, Owen Tudor, John Clifford, Baron Clifford, and Lionel Welles.” Edmund felt Margaret stiffen at his side, she had known that the attainder against her step father would be coming, but still, it couldn’t be easy.
“These men are the surest cause of tension and dissent in the realm and must be dealt with.” Edmund said, there were murmurs of approval at that.
“Secondly, we wish to introduce legislation that will repair our roads and stimulate trade, and reverse the decline in our administration and financial system. Therefore, we propose the following Roads and Ways Bill, The Sheriffdom Act and the Financial Courts Act. We believe these three bills shall be crucial to repairing our Kingdom.” Edmund said.
He paused to see if there would be any dissent, when none where forthcoming, he smiled and said. “Let the debate begin!”
The first one is the ideal scenario, the Yorkists will be biting off more than they can chew, the second scenario... it doesn’t bode as well.Attacking or being led
VVD0D95
Banned
Wouldn't say they're biting off more than they can chew, Salisbury is in the north after all. But it wouldn't be ideal for them.
I suppose, though it would definitely be a problem, they’d have to fight on two fronts. It could give the Lancastrians a bit of breathing room too.
VVD0D95
Banned
One front surely, Pembroke's handling Wales with his retainers and with Welshmen who've bent the knee.
I mean, Henry and Somerset have a few holdings left, and according to the latter, they have a chance to make a comeback. But yeah calling it a single front isn’t too unreasonable.
Exciting! Hopefully edmund can lead england well. i wonder how margaret's mother and stepfather will react to both the attainder and margaret becoming queen.
Good to see it back! I feel for Edmund... He has to be king now, which he doesn’t exactly seem to like, but at least he seems to know what he’s doing so far! Also, poor Richard. George, get it together and stop taking it out on your brother!
Are we looking forward to the madness of King George before he too ends up offed by the Tudors, assassins extraordinaire?
Not trying to pre-empt the author btw.