#unconqucred

[thlachesis]

She had learned through whispers and gossip, a tactic often overlooked by many, that the few who had been sent from court but not to Dover during the King’s absence, consisted of three esteemed council men and an almost unknown, Lady Percy. Through inquiry she had mapped the House of Percy through tongue and ear, listening to the rumours that surrounded this ambitious, over-reaching family that seemed to extend their fingers to wrap finally around the King’s own ankles. 

Well, what did she expect? They were hedonists diverted from the one true faith, broken by the desire and lust of their previous King and the mother of the current. She had heard, whether it was true or not, that the parents had always been ones to sup at the feet of their masters, to breed their children into making further claims in the higher echelons of society. She had heard it as: one daughter for the King, a son for his table and another for reservation in case the first yet died. But, what did Héléne herself know of family? She was an orphan adopted by a step-father, with dead siblings for all but one who lived in the battlefields of Italy. She wasn’t one to judge on that front, but the faith and the ambition was quite enough for Héléne to draw her battle lines. 

With manipulation, she made sure to meet Lady Percy during the festivities that celebrated the Iberian royal family — an oddity, perhaps, if one was to muse on the idea of Mary Tudor as the only true claimant to the English throne. Steadying her trained precision, she approached, her blue and white visage matched with a similarly embroidered French Hood that veiled long, thick black hair. “You are not drinking, my Lady. May I tempt you with something? I have heard that if it was not for you, and your immeasurable talent, that English would be in quite a position,” Héléne charmed in English, her mother-tongue set aside. @unconqucred

[boleynsrex]

@unconqucred

The King’s spies had returned from Florence with the warm winds, gusts that swept over the harbour and lifted the velvet waves into peaks and troughs, William’s leonine banners snapping above the tide.  Tho’ the evening witnessed a heated convening between the King and his triad of counselors, there was still the matter of the Percy woman (one of two to lurk in his thoughts) William sought to tackle.  What, if anything, could the lady impart that his advisers had stealthily omitted from their conclave?  Catching sight of her – those brocaded, conical skirts swaying by the periphery of the banquet, hooded head bent over the array of pomegranates entwined with sugared Tudor roses – William nodded and stalked in Sibella’s direction, a hand ghosting at her arm to gain her attention.

 ‘Mademoiselle Percy.’  His lips quirked into a well-intentioned smile, scanning her face for an ounce of surprise to be sought by the King.  But while those around her may have caught wind that the lady had retired from court on account of indisposition, William knew another reason to be true: she had been his convert intelligencer, the Florentine sun bathing her skin in the ecru gold of health.  ‘I am glad to see your face back at court, and thank God above that you’re well.  A word – in private – if will do me the honour, my lady?’

[truedevotions]

                                𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒  

don’t forget to gaslight, gatekeep and girlboss today. ft. @edmcndd and @unconqucred​

[julicnn]

the other two men had jaunted off early in the morning, saying something about an old friend of sorts that they must meet - though julian had half a mind to believe they were simply going to drink, considering the rougish wink that cecil had tossed him as they left. there'd been an uncomfortable silence between the pair left behind, as if neither one of them dared to speak considering their last encounter had ended with them both far more upset than they'd been before meeting. foresight had granted julian the ability to see later that perhaps he'd been too harsh on sibella, she was a young girl compared to her father and uncle, and it had been cruel to needlessly taunt her when he knew talbot's warrant was already signed. his eyes had half watched her across the rooms they occupied, curious as to why she was writing so fiercely in a journal, though he hadn't dared to interrupt her to ask. the silence carried on for another hour while julian ruminated on the task that thomas had thrust upon him before leaving, half considered if he could negate it entirely and tell thomas that she had not desired to leave.

yet, julian could never lie to thomas like that and it was evident to the other men how restless their young translator was getting, only leaving for brief moments to translate bits of information. his voice had been steady but devoid of most emotion when he'd finally shattered the silence to inform her that he'd be accompanying her to the city to give alms, her request granted by the other two council members who held seniority over julian. her face had been a conflicting mask that nearly made julian chuckle, as if a war waged within her over the hatred she surely felt in her heart for him and the passionate desire she had to leave these stuffy rooms and walk the streets. 

it took only a few quick moments for them to set off, an odd pair of sorts that descended upon the city of florence with an uncomfortable sort of gap between them. julian minded his pace, so that he did not leave sibella behind with his larger strides and gait. when she paused for a moment to speak with a merchant, julian did as well, eyes drifting shut as he basked in the warm sunlight, faint smile on his lips. he remained a thick blooded english man, but julian had never been one to shun the beauty of a sunkissed cobblestoned path.

his ears tingled slightly as sibella spoke in italian to the man, an inclination that sounded effervescent and lilting on her tongue, but stirred an unfair insecurity in julian that he did not understand the language that they shared. when she returned to his side, julian inclined his head in mild question, miffed slightly when she simply nodded and continued onward. " you know, i find it quite odd how italians accept charity in this city," he said quietly, a teasing jest in his tone. " for that exchange to an english man looked rather more as if you were buying a bauble to hide away."

closed event starter for @unconqucred ! | florence delegation.

[edmcndd]

closed starter for @unconqucred ! pre execution of elisabeth talbot, post the announcement of her private ceremony.

when sibella had been born, edmund had spent hours lurking around corners and sneaking behind maids to attempt to grab a glimpse of his new sister. he had stared at her with wide eyes as the infant cried, a frantic nod as his mother's maid whispered that it was now his duty to ensure that sibella was protected - just as he so often did with little isobel. years later, edmund still carried that weight as he stood in his sister's bedchambers waiting for sibella to return from wherever she'd ran off to. he'd been in a similar position as hers before, trapped at court while he was forced to watch his grandfather die at the hand of an unforgiving executioner - there'd been no gracious older sister to beg for clemency for his sake. perhaps sibella is blessed with a small mercy for this.

edmund doubted that she would see it as anything but cruel, for she'd been so quick to shun the court games that they played so delicately. far more of a bleeding heart on her sleeve than he'd ever been allowed to wear, forced into a mold that granted him no soft emotions for their aunt - only a bitter fury for the callous words that elisabeth had dared to write. he'd never voice his thoughts to sibella, yet edmund wondered if their aunt truly cared for his sister if she'd been so willing to cast her on the block beside her.

the idea bled into the same tortous loop that haunted his mind as of late, if their father shall turn on his own kin . . . what protection did he truly offer to his own children? a cowardly man who had allowed his eldest to speak where he had not dared. and was edmund doomed to succumb to the same folly, shall he aid one day in piercing blade to his own sisters' backs? no, edmund staunchly refused - from this moment onward, his heart cared little for any blood of his that was not sibella and isobel. he'd lay his neck on the block for them before he allowed any harm to befall either woman. 

the door opened, pulling edmund from his thoughts as he turned to face sibella. his face remained a wall of neutrality, not daring to show her any of the war that raged within his heart. his eyes took in the evident pain in her gaze, he longed to reach for sibella and comfort her now - as he may have once when they were children and she was scolded. but, duty lay between them still and edmund had to maintain a force that would protect her. " sibella, sit with me, there are things we must discuss."

[bloodydayshq]

ACTIVITY CHECK.

the following blogs have forty-eight (48) hours to return to the dashboard or contact the admins for an extension.

@princessedevalois / @richardofrochford

@jvdiths / @allington

@sebastiandelorges

current hiatus list: @agneseymour, @unconqucred, @edmcndd (&co).

[bloodydayshq]

please follow & welcome the following roles: additionally, our following list has been made public.

@cecilyfitzrys

@edmcndd

@sebastiandelorges

@johnseymour

@richardofrochford

@ursularich

@thunyielding

@boleynsrex

@leiccsters

@agneseymour

@unconqucred

@philippaed

@thquldnunc

@ivorylaced

[thlachesis]

It had been a lucky guess, a drawn arrow plucked into the midnight mass of secrets that emerged from innocent lips in waves of succulent gossip. But her reserved modesty seemed to rub against Héléne’s efforts of seduction, her eyes then narrowed with an annoyance that only coloured the maid of honour as stubborn as she had been rumoured to be. Still, she put on a smile, tilting her head to one side as Lady Percy looked around the room in some lost dream, a goal thus misplaced, a target already passed. Love, it seemed, made anyone do such reckless things — or so, that was yet another assumption, for what else would confuse a girl as intelligent looking as she but the matter of the heart? Héléne had never been so close to the affairs, however, for having her heart broken by the death of her father and then her mother in quick succession, she thought only to hold her heart at arm’s length, to keep a great manner of emotions then deep beneath the surface. 

“Oh, I am glad to see that you are feeling well enough to join us then, my Lady,” she added with haste, before taking a cup of wine for herself — a jar of water then presented in the other hand to slip against the table, her body joining the other’s despite the lack of invitation. And though Héléne did not mean to test the friendliness of the girl in question, it was as if there was something poked out from beyond the precipice, something important looming in the background. With a smile, she poured the water, her eyes then dropping to concentrate instead. “Alnwick, is that where you grew up?” She asked, deciding on perhaps a different tactic. 

sibella  passed  through  the  great  hall  with  an  inquisitive  eye,  recalling  a  smaller  number  of  courtiers  prior  to  her  return  than  the  crowd  present  at  the  feast.  a  scan  of  the  room  quickly  made  it  clear  that  there  were  nearly  as  many  spanish  and  french  courtiers  as  there  were  english.  vaguely  familiar  faces  peppered  the  hall  and  the  sweet  sound  of  the  continental  languages  titillated  her  eardrums.  she  would  have  been  eager  to  sink  her  teeth  in  a  foreign  conversation  if  her  mind  were  not  otherwise  occupied.  cerulean  eyes  once-overed  the  sea  of  people,  searching  for  the  face  that  she  had  since  committed  to  blessed  memory.

instead  before  her  she  found  lady  héléne,  a  figure  with  whom  she'd  be  completely  unfamiliar  if  it  were  not  for  her  travels.  her  brief  months  at  the  french  court  were  hardly  spent  in  any  proximity  to  the  serpent  queen  and  her  household  of  vipers.  yet,  it  was  no  secret  how  they  slithered;  no  amount  of  resplendent  fashions  could  disguise  their  scales.  "alas,  i  am  not  very  easily  tempted,"  sibella  replies  politely.  her  hand  enclosed  over  a  glass  of  the  plainest  ale,  she  raises  it  to  her  eyeline,  as  if  toasting  to  their  acquaintance.

"even  if  i  were,  my  doctor  has  recommended  only  ale  as  i  recover  from  a  recent  malady.  what  you  have  heard  —  though  i  cannot  imagine  from  whom  —  is  an  inaccurate  folly."  she  gritted  her  teeth  and  pushed  the  lie  through  the  slim  gaps.  "if  i  were  not  a  horrid  liar  and  an  adherent  to  the  truth  i  would  claim  the  story,  as  it  does  illuminate  my  modest  talents.  in  complete  truth  i  was  indisposed  and  away  at  my  family's  home  in  alnwick.  it  is  a  mere  coincidence  that  my  absence  concurred  with  that  of  the  king's  council."  

[boleynsrex]

The lady proving herself acquiescent to his request, William leveled Sibella with a regal, wordless nod, the easy apathy splayed across his countenance indicating to no one the intimate parley that was to follow.  With the hand still lightly resting on her elbow, the King steered her in the direction of the large, oak doors, manned by a pair of sentinels adorned in rich livery, pried open at the sight of the sovereign approaching.  Once out of sight, William dropped his hand from his arm – allowing distance to form a healthy cleft between himself and Ned’s sister.  A wholesome shift, of course, from his procedures with the elder Percy girl.  ‘I did not intend to tear you away from your luncheon.  I found the atmosphere too stifling for us to speak freely.  Are you still hungry?’  He asked, tossing Sibella a sidelong glance.  The girl was tall enough that he could amble with long, confident strides – fingers flexing at his thighs with otherwise-veiled anticipation.  ‘You may speak freely with me, Sibella.  In your travels, you are my superior; and in gratitude for your service and truth, I am your humble servant.  You need only tell me what you desire in turn.’

the  retinue  that  had  been  deployed  to  florence  returned  to  english  shores  and  to  the  gates  of  hampton  court  palace  under  the  covert  cloak  of  night.  when  the  trio  of  councilmen  went  down  one  hallway  towards  the  inner  sanctum,  sibella  diverted  with  bowed  head  towards  her  family's  apartments.  edmund  and  isobel  were  nowhere  to  be  seen.  much  to  her  surprise,  slumber  came  effortlessly  despite  the  damning  intelligence  occupying  her  thoughts.  in  the  morning  she  would  resume  the  routine  she'd  swiftly  left  upon  receiving  her  summons.  once  more  she  would  braid  her  hair  and  don  her  hoods,  and  carry  on  as  if  her  mind  were  not  pregnant  with  a  multitude  of  emotions.

she  took  her  place  amongst  the  wildflowers,  her  back  turned  when  she  felt  a  hand  upon  her  arm.  upon  sight  of  the  tudor  auburn  tresses  she  descended  into  a  curtsy,  percian  blue  eyes  bewildered  that  her  king  desired  his  attention.  had  he  mistaken  her  brunette  tresses  for  that  of  her  sister?  no—  it  couldn't  be,  for  she  too  was  familiar  with  commiting  to  memory  every  part  of  one's  dearest.  if  his  majesty  cared  enough  to  gift  isobel  the  locket  that  hung  between  her  collarbones,  surely  he  would  know  the  back  of  her  head  from  across  the  room.  and  thus  it  was  confirmed  to  sibella  that  it  was  she  that  he  sought.  i'm  well?  was  illlness  the  excuse  concocted  for  my  absence?  very  well.  lithe  fingers  reached  to  her  chest,  where  her  malady  might  have  been.  "i  thank  god  that  he  saw  to  it  that  i  may  see  my  family's  safe  return  to  dover  and  the  welcome  of  the  spanish  to  your  blessed  court."  she  offers  a  solemn  nod  to  his  request,  her  eyes  angled  towards  the  nearby  passageway  to  clandestiny.