The Elopement

[Barry Goldwater]

The day had come for King Edward V and Soleil of Berwick would make their own move, the former's first independent of the will of his mother and regents - to elope, away from the capital which lay under interdict, and thus where they couldn't have their marriage ceremony be done (as had been suggested by Edward's sister, the Princess Elizabeth). Instead, they would depart the city as part of the Earl of Cambridge's army, which had spent much of this year and the last running around the country storming Hansa outposts and which would now have to go back to Westenhanger after completing that duty, and marry at the first church they found outside of London.

[Alexandrine]

I'm just assuming they just dragged her along, they need a witness :p
---

So there she was, Elizabeth found herself at the front of an army. She was not marching into battle, nor were these men. These man were going home, as any man should. Elizabeth however, with her two companions - better known as the love birds, were heading out of the city for a whole different reason. They were not there to conquer lands or men, but to conquer hearts. And seal it with vows and rings. Thinking of rings, she did not know if her brother thought to bring any ring. But that was no problem, she had a few around her fingers to spare. Jewels and stones could be replaced. This moment however, was a once in a lifetime opportunity for them. Elizabeth was happy to help them - founding a binding alliance with both royals; her brother the king and his future queen was a great start at the beginning of their reign.
She had provided Soleil with one of her best dresses as her wedding dress; not many would be there to see it, but still a bride was supposed to be pretty she had concluded.

[Gandalfus]

Anxiety filled the King's heart, fearing discovery, but he felt that at least he was safe in the company of so many armed men. He'd claimed he was going to pray, and had found ample time and opportunity to slip away unnoticed while the court was pre-occupied with some matter involving his uncle Gloucester. He idly clawed at the ring upon his finger that had once belonged to the Mortimer Earls of March, bequeathed upon his grandsire Richard Plantagenet by the last of that line. Soleil and himself had fortunately found a willing accomplice in her father, the Earl of Cambridge, and thus the King of England had been smuggled from Westminster to be secretly married at the nearest parish.

[Barry Goldwater]

The nearest parish outside of London that the Earl of Cambridge had found for his daughter's wedding to the King - a match he himself hadn't thought possible, even when he managed to pick up the latent signs of attraction between the two in their last years at Ludlow - was the church of Kenley, near Croydon in Surrey. This seemed like it suited all of their needs; Kenley was an utterly insignificant village, primarily comprised of farmland with only a sparse smattering of houses that didn't look like peasant hovels and a small church. It was also close enough to London that, if needed, the Princess Elizabeth and/or the King could return to London before the sun rose to ward off suspicion.

Cambridge would, of course, be present alongside the Princess as another witness to the ceremony.

---

Soleil of Berwick was feeling as nervous as King Edward, perhaps more. The day of her dreams was upon her, but the potent combination of finally being together with the boy she loved - a king, no less, which made her feel this entire affair was something out of a fairytale - and anxiety over what might or would happen if they were discovered made her feel the urge to vomit suddenly. Still, she did her best to hold herself calm and had taken deep breaths to control her shaking and suppress her mounting nausea; she wasn't planning on throwing up on her beloved this day.

So now, here she was, dressed in a fine dress provided by her soon-to-be sister-in-law and about to enter Kenley's humble church to be wed to her oldest friend. "Are you nervous, Edward?" She whispered, proper styles of address forgotten in the moment, moving to take one of his hands in hers; soon enough he'd just be 'Edward' to her again, just as he could simply call her 'Soleil' and not 'my lady', anyway. She definitely sounded and looked nervous, herself.

[Gandalfus]

Edward was, as always, dressed like a King in the latest Burgundian fashion; an open black doublet revealing the white-gold embroidered shirt underneath. He stood alongside his bride to be, with her father and his own sister acting as the sole witnesses, the priest an older, balding man that had been cajoled into performing his royal marriage by the Earl of Cambridge's powers of persuasion.

"Not at all."

It was a sin to lie in a church. Edward grinned wolffishly.

[Barry Goldwater]

"Really? Well, to be honest, I am." Soleil answered sincerely. Still, she edged a little closer to the King and stood a little straighter, as if absorbing some of his projected confidence. "But just for you, I'll try not to faint when we cross the threshold." She added jokingly, partly trying to defuse the tension in her own gut, and now smirking slightly in turn.

Then the church doors opened, and it was clearly time for the ceremony to begin. Here we go, she thought.

[Gandalfus]

"It's time..."

Breathed the King, gripping her hand tightly. The priest stood before the altar, expectantly, watching the couple edge forwards. Edward had little idea how a marriage ceremony worked, but the priest had briefed him upon all the details beforehand. Elizabeth would present him, as proxy for his own mother, and Cambridge would present Soleil to the altar. Then would come the exchange of vows and rings, with Edward producing the ring of the Earls of March - once worn by his own mother - as one of the binding bands of matrimony.

[Barry Goldwater]

The wedding ceremony itself went by much more quickly than Soleil had anticipated, though that may have been due to its secretive nature and the lack of an audience beyond her father and Princess Elizabeth. The bride and groom were presented, vows and rings exchanged - Edward's, of course, was far greater and more prestigious than anything she could offer - and finally they sealed their love with a kiss.

With the ceremonies out of the way, it would be time for the newlyweds to seal their love again, with something rather more than a kiss. A minor local manse had been rented by her father in haste for this purpose, and so Soleil found herself re-entering Edward's presence: no longer dressed in the fancy wedding dress Elizabeth had provided her, she now wore simple white linens and her honey-colored hair flowed freely past her shoulders. With a shy smile and bright red cheeks she approached Edward, slipping out of her slippers as she did so. "Well, Ned..." She finally managed to say once she was close enough to embrace him, and plant another (for now, light) kiss on his lips.

[Gandalfus]

Edward of York had also gotten changed into a simple nightshirt, for once allowing his fine blonde hair to hang loose, uncovered by a hat and unburdened by a crown. The King returned her embrace and kiss, thin fingers beginning to lightly fumble with her clothing.

"We should..."

The King's eyes indicated her nightshirt, and he awkwardly chuckled. It seemed England's ruler was not only inexperienced in ruling, but in love also.

[Barry Goldwater]

"We should." Soleil simply affirmed with a nod, and shy as she might be about this, she nonetheless helped the King get rid of her own clothes. When they were done and every inch of her was exposed to her beloved, she would help undress him in turn.

It seemed the two newlyweds were in for that timid, awkward first time of wholly inexperienced virgins. Still, Cambridge's daughter was determined to please Edward however she could, even if she didn't know how to best - after all, they had the entire night to 'practice'. She took a breath, placed one hand in his and turned to the bed. "It's said that bastards have no virtue. Let me prove those who say that wrong, by giving you mine..."

[Gandalfus]

The couple navigated their way through their first night together admirably, entwined together between the marriage sheets, leading each other in the ways of love. In the end, the marriage was consummated, the King thoroughly enjoying himself in the endeavour. Hopefully, Soleil did too, and as far as the King knew she did indeed. Edward did not feel ready to become a father no more than he had been ready to become King, but it was possible that their union would bear fruit and the realm would have a Prince of Wales once again.

[Barry Goldwater]

At the end of it all, Soleil was left exhausted, but not in any way displeased. Edward had been sweet and gentle to her in bed, and she had done her best for him in return; she was even more pleased to find that he enjoyed her as much as she did him. Besides the physical side of the night's lovemaking, she was also tremendously gratified by the knowledge that they - who had played together as children - were the ones to make each other into man and woman. As she caught her breath and cuddled with her royal husband, between panting, planting soft kisses on his cheek and nuzzling his golden hair, she remembered to ask one thing before drifting off to sleep.

"Ned, if you're still awake and if we...if we have a child, what should we name him? Or her?" The thought of giving birth and being a mother didn't seem so bad (although for the former, entirely because she had no experience in the matter...) if it was to Edward's child.

[Gandalfus]

"I haven't... Thought..."

Panted the King, lean chest rising and falling in swift motions. His brow furrowed, hinting at trouble with the notion he could well be a father.

"For a boy? Edward.. No, too many. Richard, maybe."

The King, looked over at her, eyes betraying sensitivity.

"A girl... You can decide."

[Barry Goldwater]

"Richard it is...for a boy, then." Soleil replied, equally out of breath. "For a girl...Anne, maybe, after your grandsire's mother, or Cecily after your grandmother?" Both were royal-sounding names, far more appropriate for a princess than anything like Soleil's own name.