bastardblackfish

[bastardblackfish]

Bree had been dismissed for a while, and with all of her duties taken care of in the morning, she was without anything to do. Which meant she could finally explore the castle as she had wanted to do since she arrived. It was all damaged of course, much unlike the castle she had grown up in with her aunt and uncle as her father came and went pretty much as he pleased. Riverrun was an amazing place, the land so impossibly green and fertile, the rivers long and deep while the forest was thick and stretched for miles and miles. In comparison Kings Landing was much more exotic. With its near dessert like heat and air, not to mention its sandy colors and people from all corners of the world. 

She had just rounded a corner when a deep male voice rang out, the owner of it coming into view as she stepped closer. Her eyes curiously took stock of him. Rather handsome but seeming as if he would rather spend some time in solitude than with company. “I’m just passing trough ser. I won’t bother you for much longer.” she promised, her voice even and calm. Despite her words she did draw nearer, eager to look out over the view that terrace he was standing on. One peek wouldn’t be a huge disturbance now would it? 

OPEN!

the arakh sat perfectly in his hand , a bowed extention of his own arm as he swung it against in invisible enemy.   a cut to the bicep , then the thigh , and finally as the adversary stumbled on lacerated muscle , the blade was swung against his throat.  but he was not done yet.  a turn on the ball of his foot and he cut down another enemy , then another and another.  daario did not stop until his body ached and he was covered in a fine layer of sweat.  he paused a moment to catch his breath before grabbing a skin full of water , drinking some of it then pouring the rest of it down his face and neck.  

he’d only had an hours’ peace in the ruined castle by finding this out of the way terrace.  but so many had recently inflated the walls of kings landing he wasn’t surprised to see that another had found this spot as well.  a brow rose as he took in the intruder.   ❝   this one’s mine.  found it fair and square.   ❞

[bastardblackfish]

ironwrvth​:

          the gardens at the redkeep were a welcome change from the stern grass and snow blanket of the north, though the memories that came with the colourful blooms were hard to forget in such solitary and soft moments. the echo of battle still resides  the leaves and the petals of the flowers, debri scatter the grass between her fingers as she lays her hands flat against the ground  -  a small smile pulls at her lips as she leaves behind vacant thoughts to the reality of her new companion.

          “no, no.  if i am alone any longer then i may go as mad as the mad king did,” a crude jest as she gestures for the other to join her, “come and sit, join me.” might as well make friends while she is here.

Its not often that Bree gets to venture too far from her lady without the purpose of only serving. Which she is in truth fine with, its what she agreed to the day she took the job. It does mean that she is allowed to leave Riverrun and see other parts of the world, and for that alone the sacrifice is well worth it. The quiet is nice and fairly rare to Bree, who is always milling about with the other servants, navigating her way trough busy markets or following her lady to this or that gathering. Yet too much quiet leaves too much room for deeper thoughts and worries, so the bastard is glad to be able to carry a conversation. 

“Now that I can believe. Silence is nice but only in small doses. It leaves too much room for the mind to wander wildly about.” she agrees, smiling with a certain degree of gratefulness as she is offered to sit. “Thank you my lady. I’m Bryen Rivers, though please call me Bree. Everyone does.” she says as she takes a seat next to the fair woman. 

[bastardblackfish]

Making sure to knock first, Bree opened the door to her lady’s chambers and entered with a satisfied smile and a big bouquet in her hands. Her hope was that her lady would like them and that they would serve their purpose in brightening up the room. Something that had seemed a given back in Riverrun you apparently had to work for here in Kings Landing. Yet she suspected that would continue to be the case. They were only visitors here after all, coming to support the King but also to observe and attend a possible coronation of the new queen. Bree didn’t entirely know how she felt about it. Like most political matters, it had been drilled into her head how having an opinion when in her position was.. unwise. So she would rather observe, listen and see what the citizens of the capitol, and the nobles above her, decided to think. 

“My lady. I went to the gardens to get you a bouquet of fresh flowers. The room was looking a bit void of color and life, so I thought these might freshen things up a bit.” she explained as she after having bowed like she always did when entering the presence of anyone outranking her, went to get a vase. “How are you this morning?” 

@ladyroslintully​ 

[bastardblackfish]

Bree found menial tasks to be entirely relaxing. In ways that as she grew older, she had understood that other found them awfully boring. At first she had wondered if there was something wrong with her. Because who could genuinely say that they liked to wash the floor or polish and dry cutlery? But then her father had shown her how to clean and sharpen the knife he’d given her, and he had talked of how such small simple tasks were so soothing and helped him get out of his own head. It was probably not that big a deal but to her younger self it had been such a proof that they were truly related, and that she had inherited something from him that few others seemed to. Thinking of her father made Bree’s stomach feel heavy with longing. She hadn’t seen him in such a long time now and she was getting a bit worried. 

Finishing picking flowers for her lady’s chambers, deftly fastening the thread she had brought to keep the bouquet together, Bree proceeded to walk back the way she had come. And then someone ran right into her, pretty hard too, causing her to loose her footing. Wincing and groaning a little as she fell flat on her backside, Bree blinked up at the blonde male, taking his hand as he offered it to her, figuring it was the least he could do. She wanted to be short with him, especially noticing that her bouquet was now sewn all over the garden path, no longer intact in the slightest. But his apologetic grin and the words that followed made it hard to be too mad. Its only flowers. Smiling a bit wryly, Bree proceeded to answer. “Its absolutely fine. And I am.. my flowers not so much but.. I’ll pick new ones. How are you?” 

walking through the red keep, tommen didn’t know where he was going. he was simply letting his feet carry him. he was completely lost in thought. daenerys was now ruler, or trying to be, of the seven kingdoms. his mother was nowhere to be found. despite the fact that he was back in kings landing, a place he never wanted to return to, tommen could feel a sense of peace washing over him. he could feel the tension that he held in his shoulders releasing. the biggest issues of all were done and over with. things were finally starting to get a sense of normalcy around here, or so he thought. wondering outside he made it to the gardens. he remembered coming here in his youth. playing with his siblings, getting his sword lessons from his uncle jaime not too far from here, sitting by the fountain listening to storise from his uncle tyrion. it was then that times were so simple. that the only thing to worry about was learning the houses and who had command over which part of the seven kingdoms.

having being so lost in thought he truly wasn’t paying attention to anything, he didn’t even see the person he ran into until he felt them both tumble towards the ground. with a quick shake of his head, tommen pushed himself to the feet and glanced at the other. offering them a quick hand and bringing them back to their feet he gave a small grin. an apologetic grin. “ terribly sorry about that, are you alright? ”

[bastardblackfish]

In bree’s opinion, her lady’s room was looking both sparse and colorless. so in an attempt to change that, she had decided to head to the gardens she’d heard many of the maids speak of. They all sounded as if they didn’t think the garden was worth seeing now that it was no longer intact, though that was such a foolish notion. If not all were destroyed, then this garden and any garden at that was worth seeing. The colors in flowers and not to mention the size of them were quite different from back home. Riverrun had beautiful nature and pretty flowers to pick but they were nowhere near as extravagant as the flowers in the capitol. 

noticing another perched near a patch of untouched grass and beds of flowers, Bree neared where she was, hoping she would be alright with her picking enough to make a bouquet for her lady’s room. when she came nearer though, she can hear the other woman speaking as if to herself about what she wonders might be a family member or a close friend. Her tone implies its someone dear. Bree feels bad for intruding on her time, biting her lip before she decides to at least ask if she needs some time alone there. “no need to apologize my lady. I’m sorry if I intruded. Do you need to be alone in the garden for a bit? I can talk a walk and then come back if that would suit you better.” 

          the bravery to step back in the southron kingdom came entirely from her family and the north themselves, building her back up from the cracks that had formed upon the trauma and misdeeds of the past. the crumbling walls, the injured soldiers and the smiling nobles were oddly welcoming sights to the eldest forrester woman as she left the inner walls of the red keep and to the solitary silence of the blooming gardens. 

          though partially destroyed and hit by the battle, flowers still bloomed and water still flowed from the fountain, and it all was still as calming and beautiful as it had been when mira was a handmaiden and a more naive girl to the world of the seven kingdoms. perched against an untouched section of the gardens, the lady admires the fresh blooms of scarlet snapdragons as the hum of a familiar song calms her wandering mind. 

          “talia would enjoy these flowers, i’m sure she would say something clever and sing a tune to remember their bright colour always.”  her voice is soft, a thought made aloud without hesitation before the scuff of feet behind her captures her attention. “apologies, i find my mind wanders when i am in this garden. good and bad times merge into one.”

[bastardblackfish]

It was rare for her to have a purpose to be in a bar this early in the evening. Usually she went when her lady no longer needed her for the night and at that time the establishment tended to be much less crowded. But her lord had required a barrel of the ale they sold here, and he had asked Bree to fetch it as she was usually more reliable than some of the male servants who if brazen enough could be prone to take the ale for themselves. Bree on the other hand knew better. Not to mention she had been with the Tully’s since the day after their wedding, six full years now, and both the lady and the lord tended to rely on her for this or that. Which only made her feel all that more valuable, knowing she was someone they both trusted. There was little she wouldn’t do to ensure either of them were happy and satisfied. 

Once inside, Bree tried to avoid the throng of bodies, and almost managed to do so, that was before a dancing girl all but crashed into her and sent her sideways, bumping her shoulder hard against what had to be a male one, considering the plash of pain her own exuded. “I’m-” she began, turning to the one in question. However her words died on her lips as she stared at the man before her, felt the blood turn to ice in her veins the longer their eyes were locked. Aegir of Pyke. She would never, ever forget him. Much as she wanted to. “You’re the only awful character around here.” she replied, her tone cold though her voice lower than she wished it to be. 

Bree felt frozen in place, unable to move. If she simply walked away, would he follow? That would be the logical thing to do, but was it the cleverest? She couldn’t imagine what horrors he might unleash if he were to recognize her and have any desire to torture her some more. “Actually my lord needs me to fetch a barrel of ale for him so sadly my night is still not my own to do with as I please.” Bree tried to wipe the stare of horrific recognition and replace it with a friendly, if not at least neutral expression. “But I’m sure there’s plenty of other women to share a drink with.” 

   the days following his arrival in the tattered remains of kings landing had been unbearingly boring. not only did being in the dreadful town bring up unsavory memories of people he’d lost, it also meant being around a variety of people that would no doubt piss him off. the fact that he had to be on his best behavior also pissed him off, unable to act upon the violent thoughts that crossed his head, especially when random people caused issues with him as they did now, bumping into him as he tried to make his way to a table to sit. the moment he felt the pressure of someones body colliding with his, a flash of red hot anger flooded his veins.

    lucky for him that he was a master manipulator. a deep breath in brought forth a pretty, charming smile, nothing but soft lips and pointed teeth. a shark laying in wait.   “   should really be careful about where you’re going, there’s some awful characters around here.   “   and he was one of them. as if his reputation didn’t consist of cities burnt to the ground and men torn apart limb by limb with his bare hands. as if everyone who knew him personally hadn’t saw him kill at least one person simply because he didn’t like them. but, he was supposed to be behaving. so here he was. playing nice.

   “   if you aren’t on your way somewhere already, my shipmates have abandoned me for their chances at a landlover for the night, and i have been left to my own devices. care to join me for a drink   ?   “   least he could do is have some fun with it.

[bastardblackfish]

“We’re all capable of being bastards. Believe it or not the word has more than one meaning.” - Bree Rivers 

[ KATIE STEVENS , SHE/HER」 ➳   banners are raised for BRYEN 'BREE' RIVERS , BASTARD OF BRYNDEN TULLY OF RIVERRUN. they are TWENTY FIVE years old and can often be described as THE OBSERVANT.  their allegiance lies with HOUSE TULLY, it’s brought them to king’s landing to/for SERVE LADY ROSLIN AS HER HANDMAIDEN. their songs will sing of GENTLE HANDS DOING PRECISION WORK, A QUIET NATURE INSPIRING CONFIDENCE AND EASE, WORDS SPOKEN WITH A LOT OF THOUGHT AND WISDOM, AN UNNERVING CONFIDENCE IN HERSELF, AND A WITTY PERSONALITY. let’s hope they don’t lose their game of thrones. [ sirius, gmt+1, 29 yrs ]

facts ;

Name: Bryen “Bree” Rivers Age: 25 yrs House: Baseborn daughter of Brynden Tully / Loyal to House Tully Role: Handmaiden to Roslin Tully Sexual orientation: heterosexual / bicurious  Romantic status: Single

biography ; 

if you had been able to ask hoster tully how he felt about having an unplanned, baseborn niece, he would have told you he was deeply ashamed of his brothers actions and the child who was proof of it. 

though as an older man with health issues, he also found himself much in need of the girl on his older days and ended up becoming quite fond of her. 

bryen’s mother was a lowly village woman that brynden bedded on one of his many journeys to patrol and safeguard the riverlands in the name of his older brother. 

knowing how the child would have little to no opportunities if she remained with her, bryen’s mother showed up at Riverrun with the babe only a week after having given birth. luckily for her, brynden was at home and recognized her, able to verify her story and make the decision to claim his daughter. 

from that moment forward bryen was raised at Riverrun, though with few others than the servants children to play with as both of the lords daughters had come of marital age and been wed to great lords before she was old enough to know them. 

hoster tully did however do much to keep the girl out of the public eye and a secret to those at Riverrun, while to his dismay, his brother did the opposite, taking bryen with him on patrol or when being sent out to deal with other lords, ladies and men of importance. 

suffice to say that bryen, or bree as she prefers, lived two very different lives. one at Riverrun, and another when leaving the stronghold. 

her aunt made sure she received all the necessary schooling though, lacking for nothing in terms of learning how to be a proper lady, even though bree would never gain such a title. 

as a child bree was curious but a little shy. she could be really bold and witty with those she trusted, but with strangers she would be quiet and respectful. 

as a young adult she has learned much from the position she is in and how the world treats bastards. which means she fully knows her place, and only oversteps when its to take proper care of someone or if she thinks them in danger. 

when she was 18 years old, bree accompanied her father to one of the shore villages in the riverlands. while he crossed the river to deliver a message to one of the greater houses, she chose to stay behind at the house of one of her childhood friends. that first night the village was raided by men from the iron islands and bree ended up as the sole survivor of the sacking of the village. she was made to watch several villagers be killed in front of her after having pleaded and tried to convince the men to spare their lives and show mercy. aegir pyke was the one in charge of the raid and the one that made her watch each horrifying death. 

trough the entire experience, bree fought not to cry, though when a little girl was murdered slowly in front of her she broke down. 

the night and not to mention being left on the shore after surrounded by corpses, including those of her friend is burned into her memory and she tries very hard to think of it as rarely as she can.

she is pretty good with a knife, as her father taught her how to defend herself with one, however she wasn’t allowed near any swords or bows, as those weapons were considered not for the likes of women. 

using her hands have always been something bree enjoys and is very good at, so when she was asked to be handmaiden to her cousin edmure’s new wife she happily accepted. 

its been very clear to her from the beginning that lady roslin truly needs someone who has her back and who supports her and cares for her in ways that not many other does. bree hopes that trough hard work and gentle mannerisms, the lady feels as if she has a confidante in her. 

bree considers herself as someone who has much to offer and who is able to see much others might not notice as she has the habit of observing the people around her in silence and go unnoticed as she is ‘just’ another servant. 

yet she also makes sure that when she is asked to speak that her words are well thought out and hold what wisdom she can offer. 

when she’s with people she trusts, she is still very much a lively and witty girl, prone to tease and joke around. 

the fact that she is unmarried at her age doesn’t bother bree one bit, and she’s not at all the type to question her own worth or sense of self. instead she’s at ease with who she is and fairly confident without being arrogant. 

she also doesn’t envy any of the trueborns because in her eyes they have less freedom and room to be themselves with all the rules, protocols and focus that lies on their every move. unlike some bastards she’s glad to be one and for the most part not ashamed of it.