carellen-smallwood - Tumblr blog

carellen-smallwood · 2 years

Text

location: stark camp chapter one: the lion's bride - part one

At the arrival of the raven from King's Landing, it became clear that Carellen could no longer stay in the confines of the hall and would have to join her lord father with the other Tully bannermen. Naturally, with Ravella refusing to leave the hall without her authoritative gaze she opted for her daughter to be accompanied by a septa. The very idea of Carellen traveling to the Stark camp sent her mother into a tirade. Not only would their keep be left even less defended but Carellen would be out in the world where anything could have happened to her. That idea was instantly rejected by her daughter who felt her time in the motherhouse had been ample time with the septas for the rest of her life, and a simple guard would be enough to make the journey to meet with her father and make the rest of the journey. Under that stipulation, Lady Smallwood relented and she was allowed to leave with the spare guard, Penrod.

The journey itself was simple enough, traveling just a few days to reach the camp along the King's Road. Surely, they were not that far away from where home was. The septon received the raven from her father of his whereabouts. Lord Theomar had sent his instruction for Carellen to travel to the Stoney Sept where she would meet with one of her father's men who would then escort them the rest of the way to her father and the camp.

Within the next day her trunk was packed and she was shuttled off into the carriage her mother insisted on. That arrangement did not last long and Carellen was astride the horse brought by the guard for her to make the journey on. Out in the open like this, she was able to really be free. Taking in the air and the light on the road was refreshing to her and filled her with so much life. The trip to Oldtown was stuffed inside the wheelhouse her great-aunt used for the motherhouse's business. It had been suffocating to make the trip in and she resented being inside a carriage ever since.

The ride south to the Stoney Sept was easy enough and she was exchanged between the guards and Penrod was sent back to Acorn Hall, with Beren. He had been with her family since her father was a boy and it was only natural that he would be who her father had sent to collect her. Beren had been the master-at-arms for many years and she trusted him with her life. Within a few days she was reunited with her father and his men and adjusted into camp life.

One morning she had been told by Beren that the horses need tending. After getting her yoke of water from the well, She started her way over to where the horses of her father's men were located, to see someone was standing with an agitated mount she did not recognize. Usually the different bands kept with their own, so while adjusting the yoke, she began walking up to the turned back that was just behind the shoulder of the horse. The horse seemed to be struggling with its foot, and they were having a time holding the animal still.

Hurrying her pace, she let her hand run up the side of the animal in an attempt to calm the animal, letting him see her. "The horse can't see you, standing under him like that.." she said looking over at the face before her.

#oath.start #oath.openstarter #location: stark camp

5 notes · View notes

carellen-smallwood · 2 years

Text

º . ♔ ⸻ the capital of king’s landing welcomes CARELLEN of HOUSE SMALLWOOD, the LADY OF ACORN HALL. News borne by a raven sends word that SHE bear(s) a resemblance to LILY JAMES the 24 year old CIS WOMAN is reputed to be BRIGHT and CHEERFUL , but with the eyes of court watching their every move, they might turn out to be IMPULSIVE and GUILELESS. [Enneagram: Type 2-The Helper] When songs are sung, their verses speak of [[Bits of bramble stuck to skirt and straw in curls, a cygnet swan floating through the mist, hands that smell of earth, sunlight dappling the fallen leaves, ]] whispers throughout the seven kingdoms claim that their allegiance lies with HOUSE SMALLWOOD, where they conspire to RETAIN HER BIRTHRIGHT, but in the end fealty means little when you play the game of thrones.

Bio:

Living under the watchful eye of Ravella Smallwood was no simple childhood. For some, it seemed that way. There were only a couple years separating her two children but there was a vast difference in their futures. Lord and Lady Smallwood had made plans for their children accordingly - Ackley was to be raised as the heir and the younger daughter, Carellen, was to be raised as all ladies in the Riverlands were. All of the days passed pleasantly, without much excitement.

As Carellen spent her early days running from her septas, they tried to force her into doing her needlework and practice dancing and singing - she would have rather been where her brother was, with their father learning about all of the lands that were theirs -no, they were his. None of it was to be her’s and she knew it. She loved it anyway, the land filled her soul with contentment and urgent need all at once. The oak groves surrounding the keep were filled with the laughter of the children and the land was happier from it. When they had their time to be free, they spent it together. They were the best of friends and were made the happier being together. The warmth and light from their happiness filled the surrounding radius with hope for the future. She never wanted to be sent away from this happiness with her family. However, she was to be raised to be the best lady house Smallwood could produce so she could be given away for more land or the allegiance of more men - whatever the need was, she was to fill it. She had no idea how soon all of that would change.

The air had been hanging heavily around them for weeks and word from the surrounding villages of a sweating sickness made their mother frantic for her beloved children. No matter what was done, however the sickness still found its way to the keep and into the children. They were locked away for fear of catching the disease. Soon, both children were bed bound and the fear of losing both of them hung in the air. Only a small number of days passed before Ackley succumbed to his fever, leaving Carellen as the heir to Acorn Hall, only five years old and completely unaware how much her future has changed.

As the years passed, Carellen tried to fill the void that her brother’s passing had left in the family, but her mother had never fully recovered from Ackley’s passing and resented the fact that the spare was not taken instead. It didn’t help matters when she would speak of him as if he were still with them - sending their mother into an episode of wailing and mourning all over again. Carellen didn’t understand why at first, but she had figured out long ago that her mother had made plans and she was the means by which those plans failed. All she could do was carry on, hoping to be viewed as a worthy heir. Her father on the other hand, saw the need for her to be capable of retaining the power over the keep from whoever he chose as her intended. He would have Acorn Hall ruled by someone not of the Smallwood line. She would have to receive the education of a lordling that her brother had begun to receive from a septon. Lady Smallwood made it clear at the beginning that she did not see it fit for a lady to receive such an education and viewed the whole thing as improper. But, as the years passed Carellen began to take the place of her older brother but as more of a reflection of him. It was as if her father believed he could almost mold her into the son he lost.

As she grew older, it became clear she could no longer enjoy this unrealistic childhood. She had been spending far too much time with the master of the sword, reading the histories or just running wild in the stable. Refusing to dress as a lady and many other reasons became the source of all the headaches for her mother, who felt she did not need to learn anything but how a woman of her position should behave. She became adamant that Carellen wasn’t going to be able to find a husband if she continued to run unencumbered as if she were a wild stable boy. Becoming frustrated in the years that followed, Lady Swann decided that she could not shape her daughter into the lady she should become from at home in Acorn Hall.

The decision was made to send the girl to be trained by Ravella’s great-aunt in Oldtown when she was ten. Her mother felt she had been running feral for too long. Carellen had never been out of the Riverlands and viewed the whole experience as the best opportunity she could have been given. The day dream was shattered when she was made to actually perform the duties of a young woman destined to be the lady of a noble house. She realized she was sent to the convent so she could not be free like she wished. After much kickback towards her great-aunt, Carellen began to accept that these were necessary for her to be able to be free. It didn’t hurt that she did enjoy some needlework and excelled at dancing. With the guidance of the septas at the motherhouse, Ravella was gifted with the daughter she felt that she deserved. After living in Oldtown for 10 years, Carellen was returned to the Riverlands and to Acorn Hall. She had been shaped and molded into a beautiful young woman of twenty who had excelled in her lessons of grace and beauty. Having spent so much time in the motherhouse, she was still left with a sense of naivety towards the world.

As tensions rise in the Riverlands, Lord Theomar was called away as the bannerman of House Vance leaving Carellen back home and with her mother to keep Acorn Hall running while he is away. Their time is being well taken up by providing for the common folk and their household alike. Until the raven came calling the lords and ladies to the capital for the wedding between King Joffrey Baratheon and the lady Stark. Carellen has never been beyond the Riverlands, and is excited to venture abroad as the heir of her family to represent at the royal wedding in the capital. However, the excitement is quickly replaced with worry as she is told by her lady mother that she is expected to wed within a few months. She didn’t know why she expected that day to never come; she had tried to put it off for as long as she possibly could. Whoever her mother chose for her, he would never measure up to her expectations of her future husband.

#oath.intro #hc #hc: bio

4 notes · View notes