Requiem of the Rose King

Civil war grips Medieval England as the houses of York and Lancaster vie for the throne. Richard, the Duke of York's youngest son, wants nothing more than to see his father crowned king, but he struggles with a secret that he fears to confront.

Richard desires to stand on the battlefield with his father, the Duke of York, but his mother Cecily denies him this wish. "Your words will become a curse, one that spells doom for others." Locked in a tower, Richard discovers that King Henry VI of the House of Lancaster is also housed inside. He fervently hopes to kill him and offer his crown to his father...but meanwhile, the Duke of York is taken captive after a fierce battle against Queen Margaret and her Lancaster forces.

The Duke of York is dead. The Earl of Warwick pushes the late duke's eldest son Edward as king, and Edward steps up to the responsibility. The decisive battle between the Houses of York and Lancaster takes place outside of London, and Richard is there, once again swinging his sword in search of blood. "In the darkness, all I see is the color of blood. That is why I must fill it all in..." As blood rains down like rose petals, the battle ends with the House of York victorious -- and the kingmaking Earl of Warwick is already planning Edward's marriage.

Edward has fallen in love with Elizabeth, a widower and lower-ranked noblewoman who approached him at a party. He meets her in secret on many occasions, disguising their encounters as hunting sessions. One day, as he accompanies Edward, Richard meets Henry, the young shepherd he once met before. Neither know who the other truly is, but they find themselves together after fleeing to a villa to avoid a rainstorm. "I don't care who you are," Henry says. "It's you yourself that I like, after all." Richard responds with stony silence, as the rain continues deep into the night.

The wedding of Edward and Elizabeth has opened a vast rift between the House of York and the Earl of Warwick. The repurcussions continue at a later dinner party, where Richard meets the Duke of Buckingham. "Richard," the duke says, "has it ever occurred to you? You, too, could become king...!" The advice throws Richard, but in his mind, the words of his father the Duke of York ring loudly: "Let my name live on...the name of the king." Then, as Richard stands before his father's portrait, the Earl of Warwick steps in.

Elizabeth gives birth to a baby girl, as Edward and his younger brother George grow more and more hostile toward each other. Meanwhile, the Earl of Warwick pushes a wedding between his second daughter Isabelle and George, bringing him even closer to his former enemies in the House of Lancaster. Queen Margaret challenges Warwick to prove his sincerity by offering his eldest daughter Anne's hand in marriage to Edward of Westminster, from the House of Lancaster. But before he commits, Edward has someone he must meet first -- Richard, a man already well familiar to him.