Richard Plantagenet deeply resents Shakespeare (thetalescondemn) wrote in saveatlantisic, @ 2017-05-30 13:51:00 |
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ANNE NEVILL AND RICHARD PLANTAGANET
MAY 23RD
ANNE'S APARTMENT
PG
COMPLETE |
Anne wasn’t quite sure how to begin processing all that had happened to her in the past few days. She could clearly remember believing that she had always lived here in Atlantis and, if she wasn’t absolutely certain that she never would have been capable of imagining such a futuristic world, she would have been convinced she’d dreamed the whole thing. It did feel like a dream, albeit a very real one, although it wasn’t exactly a good dream. For one thing, she had been separated from Richard. She hadn’t realised just how used to his presence she had become in the two months since their marriage or just how much her heart would ache for him when they were separated. She hadn’t even remembered that they were married - what a terrible wife he must now think her. The week living someone else’s life had given her one advantage, however, and that was a rudimentary knowledge of the technology of this world. Having believed she had been born to the life she’d found herself in, she hadn’t felt the fear of confusion she no doubt would have had she been thrust straight from her own time into Atlantis as she found it now. Although the false memories had worn off that morning, the understanding of the technology and customs of the city that she had learnt during her week as an Erudite had stayed with her and it had allowed her to make contact with Richard quickly and easily upon waking up as herself. She couldn’t express, even to herself, how glad she was that Richard was here. She couldn’t imagine just how frightened or lost she would have felt if she’d woken up that morning to realise she was all alone. Knowing that Richard was here had given her something to hold onto and focus on while she was coming to terms with the shock of her situation. Now she just had to wait for him to find her. She was sat on the sofa in the new, futuristic apartment she had woken up in that morning, anxiously smoothing down the skirt of her dress, her eyes trained on the door. Any minute, he would be here. After that… well, that was what she wasn’t sure of. - He had woken up remembering another life. A life that at it’s heart held loyalty and selflessness. Mixed however with all of the fear and paranoia and detestable acts of his reign and it had left him in need to time to work though all of it. The things he’d done. The loss of his son, the loss of...of Anne. She was here, but he realised quickly that she was young. So young in fact they they had not long been wed. She had not lived her downfall into bitterness and paranoia. She had wished, she told him, that she had not ever been Queen, and here she was not. She had been Princess to the Lancastrian wolf cub and he had found her, helped her, saved her from his brother and her sister and they had been wed. But he was a different man. And he didn’t know how she would feel about him now. He was older, he had lived so much in those years between. She was his Anne but was he her Richard? He took his time but finally he found himself at her door. They had not been placed together and in some ways he was content with that. She had left the door open of course, expecting him after their brief correspondence and so he stepped through, dark eyes finding those of his wife. “Anne” - Although she had been awaiting his arrival, Anne couldn't help but jump slightly when the door of the apartment opened. She felt her heart jump happily within her chest at the sight of the familiar, dark figure that passed through the doorway and she quickly rose to her feet, her mouth suddenly feeling very dry. Richard had changed; he looked older, sterner, more world-weary than she remembered but he was still, unmistakably her Richard. A smile spread across her face and she crossed the room towards him, intending to greet him with an embrace. Still, his expression caught her off guard and she drew to a halt, just before him, her smile turning to a look of uncertainty. “Richard?” she replied, a note of question in her voice. Tentatively, she raised a hand to his cheek, letting her fingertips trace the lines of change that age had wrought. He looked… tired. “Husband?” - Oh but she was so young. So untouched by what their life had become. Edward would be but a babe in arms if born at all. And he….Well, he would not have been King, nor likely to be. She would understand the reasons, her reasons, the Rivers witches were already too close to the throne. But he’d realised that Elizabeth Woodville had suffered in her own way and perhaps… No, it didn’t matter now. Not here. “Wife” he said in reply, confirming for her that they were at least married as much as everything had changed. He would share it with her if it became necessary but that was a pain he did not wish for his wife to suffer if she did not have to. A pain he wished he could undo for her. Oh it had been too long and he found himself unable to resist pressing a soft kiss against her lips. - Anne couldn’t help the little ripple of relief that passed through her when Richard had closed the gap between them, pressing a kiss to her lips. For a moment, she had been terrified that he was going to push her away, say that too much had changed, leave her alone in this place. She had lived through and survived a lot already but she wasn’t sure if she could cope with that. Anne let her hand slide back from Richard’s cheek until he fingers were wound into his black hair, her other arm slipping around his neck as she pushed herself up on tiptoes to kiss him more deeply. She didn’t know what had happened to him at home to make him look so weary but she knew that just the week of separation she had had to endure, while they had been separated into their factions, had been enough to make her miss his touch terribly. Eventually, she pulled back just a little, just enough that she could look up into his stormy, blue eyes once again. “I think we must have a lot to discuss,” she reasoned, a small frown creasing her forehead. “But I also think it can most likely wait a while.” She wanted to hear all about the years that clearly separated them at home but, just now, all she wanted was to be close to him once more. The memory of their conversations while they had been separated by faction felt so real and all too familiar, all too much like home. She could remember the moment he’d found her at Tewkesbury Abbey, the pair of them on opposing sides, and she knew she never wanted to feel that way about him again. Whatever happened, as long as they were together, allies, all would be well. Gently, her fingers wrapping themselves loosely around strands of Richard’s hair, Anne pressed her lips to his once more, letting her eyes flutter shut. - Yes they had a lot to discuss, but he had no wish to talk or think about any of it right now. If ever. She was happy. And he was happy to see her. He had never wanted to hurt her. Everything he had done. Every choice he had made had hurt her more and more until very simply she had died of a broken heart. He had done that. Caused that. “We don't need to do that just now. It is not important now, what went before, only that you are here with me in this strange world” He remembered how full of life she had been, kind and loving. Oh yes, another face for the world. But with him it had always been different. And no matter the rumours. He had loved her. She kissed him again and in that moment nothing else mattered. |