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harrion;
both the gods old and new knew he’d been tolerant and kind in the wake of his wife’s actions. another would’ve ordered she leave winterfell. he had remained silent as she shut herself away and even permitted not only her but also her sister to remain in winterfell for weeks despite them both making his home miserable for his siblings and him. but he was only human. the wolf could only swallow its snarls for so long. however, he willed his hackles to fall. a heavy sigh fell from his lips. ❝ it doesn’t feel like that. ❞ at the very least it felt like ravella didn’t remember how the events had unfolded; rather, reframing the narrative to suite her and paint the starks as false villains.
Ravella was trying her best to remain calm, keeping her head low aas she tried to make emends for her own wrong doing. however it was quite difficult when all the fault was blindly placed on her. she swallows hard, she knows she must endure in order to regain if only the ever sightless fragment of her life, that included apologizing for her own wrong part and putting her own pains away, it was a sacrifice she was willing to do. “well it is truth, i am trying my best harrion, truly.” her voice shakes a bit, but she remains put, gathering all her strength thanks to her son in her arms.
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cailin;
house stark’s close relationship to both the arryns and the tullys had made worshipping the seven more possible whilst in winterfell , but in a region that followed the way of the old gods , cailin was still a part of the minority . however , though they rarely had the time in winterfell to visit the sept , they quite liked the peaceful silence within it . “ i must confess that it is odd to see his grace as a father . i can’t seem to shake the image of him when we were young . ” cailin’s uncle had served as tylon’s master of ships for many years , and cailin had been visiting winterfell for as long as she could recall . she had been there off and on throughout all the stark children’s childhoods , if merely in the background at points . “ i would like to , i think , ” they ponder , eyes trained on their hands . “ not any time soon , though , i fear . my position on the council keeps me busy . when we are … when helaena and i are wed , she too will be occupied with seagard’s affairs most of the time . ”
Ravella’s eyes wonder from a corner to the room to the next, listening to cailin, having such a normal conversation felt odd, in a good sense. “i can only imagine,” she gives the other a sly smile as she thinks about it, “although i always pictured him to be the father he is, over protective and proud, benjen will have a role model just as great as the late king was to his gace.” and if she could have one thing, she hoped she got to see that, a great bond between father and son was a special one, she had come to see in the past. the kind of tightness and loyalty only the starks would be able to show him. “well, wanting one is good, the time will come when you will feel it in your heart that it is right to do so. same for the lady helaena. children are a blessing.” she had known so even before she had been a mother.
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belthasar;
“ it is a difficult balance , ” he concurs with a nod . the fallout from compounding events in winterfell had been of little interest to belthasar on a personal level , only further solidifying his beliefs with regards to the the northern royal family ; the king taking action at all , however , had surprised him . though he doesn’t know the details of the queen consort’s relationship with her sisters , their banishment from the stark apartments might prove wearisome , especially when tensions continued to be so high within the stark household . his own distance from his family is self - imposed , keeping him from experiencing much guilt over it anymore , but the queen needn’t know that , “ but now may be a fine opportunity . to show support . ” the blackwood name being on the list hadn’t escaped him , after all .
A balance she didn’t think she would ever reach with them, specially when it was hard to be in the same room as them for long periods of time. they only knew how to be fully cordial with each other in small amounts and mostly if they were outsider eyes and ears. even when harrion had banned them from the starks apartment she had only mourn the loss of one of them, celia had been a refuge to her in the pass months and she felt terrible for not being able to side with her. and now that one of them found themselves in the dongeons, she was double the loss, all she knew it was she wanted to get her out, send everyone home and go back to how things were before. “yes, it seems now its a better time than ever.” she sighs. “although i am still unsure how this all happened.”
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visera;
“ people are angry , ” visera pauses , voice still hushed , conscious of rhaelle sleeping nearby . “ aren’t you ? angry ? ” shifting her gaze from her lap to her uncle’s side profile , visera wonders what it must be to be in his position . tasked with aiding and advising a man who valued no one’s opinion but his own , linked to him in both politics and blood . if visera woke up one morning in rhaegar’s body , aedar would surely be dead by nightfall . “ if i fall to a lazy noble wielding a secret dagger , i deserve my fate . ” she jests , shrugging loosely and tapping her uncle’s arm with her elbow lightly , an attempt to diffuse the dark mood that she had brought with her .
Rhaegar blinks, once, twice, then a few more times, perplexed by her questions. a question no one else had asked them, perhaps because they did not cared or because they were scared of their answer. but visera was far more straight forward than many, and more brave too. “i am, am livid, not just angry.” and he had been in kingslanding too, but this was different, this time his own flesh and blood was in danger, it was a different kind of anger. “but this anger won’t help us, if anything it might trample us.” he shrugs before he laughs, echoing in the chambers, he perks knowing it will disturb the babe, but the lightness remains. “perhaps that’s not far from the truth, but i wills till hope is not the case.”
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willas;
willas nodded. many had made their dissatisfaction with the martells’ conduct clear, but having been in their position before, he felt they were now doing what they should’ve done immediately after the first threat had been found. perhaps then this matter would’ve been resolved before the wedding and less discontent would fill the castle. ❝ i agree. hopefully, hubris will catch the culprit or new details will shed light on what occurred at the wedding. i only criticize that they waited so long to begin this inquisition, but time cannot be turned back. at least they are acting now. ❞
Rhaegar did not feel like he was in any position to judge how the martells chose to solve the problem, not after how poorly they had to handle the incident of kingslanding thanks to his dear brother. he hoped the martells, while misplaced, would have far better luck than they did considering they seemed to have a better head of their people to begin with. not that he would admit that out loud. “hope, hope, is all we got isn’t it?” he sounds far more crude than he intents. “but yes, i can only hope this damn inquisition finds the answer and they release my sister from that wrenched place.”
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rhaenys;
every day that passed and their family was still breathing was a relief to rhaenys. even with recent events including another death of a noble from a dornish house to the inquisition they had been forced to be a part of. despite the distance that they put between themself and their family at times, it is reassuring for them to see them each day unharmed, especially reila and rhaelle for rhaegar's sake. “ we can only hope and trust those we have been our faith in. each day we are granted to live be another we are thankful for. take it one day at a time brother and do not let your doubt overwhelm you. ” it had worried them when pimchanok had been taken by the guards, learning that their youngest sibling was locked away in the dungeons and for what region they could not even fathom. yes, pim hadn't been present during the fire but they had been injured all the same. “ i do not understand why they would take pim for further questioning. why they would lock our sibling away in the dungeons. ” her other family members might take it as a slight that a targaryen was locked away, but rhaenys tried to keep a level head about everything, even this.
It takes everything in him not to tell his dear sister how deep his fears were, how close he would come to tapping into that targaryen madness everyone spoke of if anything was to harm even a hair from the head of either rhaelle or reila. it itched closer and closer with each passing day they had to be locked away from what he consider safety and right for them. but he remained as strong as he could and fought to see through that blind that kept trying to take over his better judgement. “i assure you, dear sister, i am doing the best i can to hold on to the little sanity i have left. although being this exhausted does help to keep me out of trouble, or so i think.” he returns to sit close to her, elbows resting on his knees as he leans forwards. “i am trying to figure out the same, although it could have to do with something she said or did. then again i am surprise we are not all being held down there with all the signs pointing at us, almost as if it had been planned that way.”
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erich;
erich does not think she would have liked the man he was in his youth. brash and reckless, far more like how his younger siblings tended to be, especially lukas. with age came had the realization of responsibility falling on his shoulders and it had weighed him down to an extent. he was still an islander, that would never change but life had changed. “ a bit of reckless than brave, i would think. how else would i have gotten the scars that i do ? ” he shrugged as he spoke of the lines on his upper body that she had seen, remnants and memories of his years at sea. sunspear had become just another place he had no desire to visit again. there were few places he would prefer to be in. “ i know we will need to part, but it will be better to be free from this place, for us all. ” a pause as he moves a hand to play with her hair, “ i could spare a day or so, before i need to return to harlaw with you if you wish. ” his crew could be easily convinced to resupply near highgarden before they left for the islands. “ for now, what can we do that would get your mind off things ? ”
They both had grown quite a lot from who they had been in their youth, it was certain however that they would’ve never gotten along back then. lale had her greater faults, that unsettling need to be perfect with a narrow path to follow, she would’ve never approved or erich, nor would’ve allowed herself long enough to figure out other wise. to that young erich she would’ve been no more than a stuck up lady from the south. “and as much as i would wish you did not had them, i do admire them more than not.” she sings back gently as she remembers her fingertips tracing over them any chance she got. the offer was tempting, but after the things her and her siblings had gone in dorne, she could not imagine leaving them so soon. “i must remain in highgarden for some time, i am afraid, but i do understand you too must return home. i will write and visit as soon as i can, i promise.” she gazes up to meet his eyes, wondering how long they would do that dance until they were faced with the tough decision that hung over their heads. “although i would love to have you if only for a couple of days, you know that.” she smiles at him. “you already have, don’t you see.” she reaches up to cup his face, standing tall to place a soft kiss on his lips.
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helaena;
her role required a constant facade, sometimes thin veil and other times a mask, because even on a seemingly calm day the spy’s job didn’t cease. senses must always be attuned to possible information. however, that was a truth known only to the princess and herself. to others, even the tyrells, she was a mere noble lady. one who’s smile did genuinely brighten upon hearing the other’s words. ❝ you are too kind, lale. they haven’t, though we visited brightwater keep on our way to dorne. i don’t believe we’d be able to stay for more than a day, unfortunately, due to cailin’s duties to his grace. ❞
Lale nods, completely understanding the other’s reasoning. “i wouldn’t expect anything more, specially after our time here, i imagine everyone wishing to return straight to their homes and their regulars lives, i know what i crave the more is some sense of normalcy for once.” it was weird, but a dull day of nothing special sounded better than another failed event of any sort. “and besides the invitation is open to any time you two happened to be visiting our lands.”
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vareena;
vareena smiles when lale agrees , knowing it’s her sister’s duty anyway and not a burden , she’s still thankful. the younger rose always tried to help out , but this time her body was forbidding it. “ i’m certain they are all fine , but i think checking on them should help. ” she knew people would be upset , angry , and ensuring their vassals knew they cared about them was important. a heavy sigh slides from her lips , she’s tired , just wishes they were home. “ i know. i’m trying. ” she was sitting , after all. it was a start.
Vareena had always been the most giving of them, or so she always thought, her thoughts were always with others often at the expense of herself. however she did not disagree with her and her course of actions, she was more than glad to take over her list of people to check in with specially if that gave her a peace of mind to remain put. “it won’t hurt, that for certain. its giving them if the sightless peace in the middle of this inquisition and madness.” had she not know any better she would’ve jumped to accuse the mad kind, it had his signature all over it. “i know its hard.” she gives her a knowing smile.
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ferah;
‘ it sounds as if it will be our only way home, ’ ferah agreed with a nod of her head, shifting kazim on her hip. more than anything she craved normalcy for him, all the rapid changes weren’t anything that she wanted for him to have to keep experiencing. exposure rather than sheltered as she had been, but not to the extent that it had been. ‘ especially if they continue to call more people to the dungeons, and i certainly hope that they won’t. ’ uncertainty often did things to people, though, and she was starting to feel its affects too. ‘ i’ll see if they have anyone free to attend to do us. ’
The questioning should be something for her not fear, she had nothing to hide, this time anyways, yet it still turned her stomach upside down at the thought of being under such scrutiny, something she never took well. however she had no choice. “it is my biggest fear, to end up there, any of us. we must be careful with our words, thread lightly.” she shakes her head, it was the only thing they could do, it wasn’t an option to not cooperate, and even then it would only look worst if they didn’t. lale reaches over to gently hold her nephews hand for a split moment as she smiles at him, how much she wished she could save them from such times. “very well.”
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calla;
aedar ruled with fear, but there was little he could do to someone that he no longer held power over. already calla felt like he had taken what happiness she’d held and broken it to pieces, leaving a person that no longer had anything to lose. her family did not feel the same, the only reason they kept their feelings to themself in most situations and would not voice them unless they asked. ‘ i’m not afraid of them. ’ it was hard to be, when she had known each other them all of their lives, had raised visera and rhaena alongside their mother and had once been so integral in king’s landing. ‘ he gets away with things because people still are. if he wishes to kill me then so be it. i will be more of a headache gone. ’
Mazhar wonder if he had gone through what call did if he too would be entirily unsensitized to what the dragons could do to him. if one of the stags of his house was to perish by their hands, he perhaps too would care little for the attachment between his head and his shoulders, although he liked to believe he would be far more chaotic than calla’s strongly opinionated voice. then again it was all theories in his head, and he hoped they remained like so. “that makes one of us.” he feared for their rage and their madness and what it could do to his lands and his people, specially now that the dragons were no longer a legend. “if you have any scheming plans that could stop them, just know i am always all ears.” he jests, or sort of.
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tobias;
he attempts to relax as mazhar does , but there is something so fundamentally against his nature about it , and he can only be marginally satisfied with shifting to a position that doesn’t stretch the skin over his burn as much . “ i admire your optimism , ” something tobias lacks as of late , much more concerned that a scapegoat would be made rather than the true attackers being apprehended . “ hopefully some useful information can be found with their inquisition . ” a beat . “ have you already been called ? ”
Weather he truly believed in how positive he was being or not would not stop him from only giving encouraging words, specially to tobias who had already gone through enough to on top of that had to heard the storm of fears that brew within him. in fact, no one would ever get close enough to it, of that he was certain. “someone around here has to be,” he gives the other a smirk, half jesting but meaning his words. “if there is no other leads, it might be more troubling for everyone, but specially the martells.” although he doubted nothing else would be found while harshly questioning their guest who were now no less than prisoners. “i have, have you?” he wonders, just in time for the handmaiden to return with their refreshments.
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aranya;
curbing her words, even when they drifted close to dangerous territory, had never been a skill aranya had possessed in spades nor one she ever cared to increase her skill with. much, she suspected, to the dismay of her parents and perhaps her brother too. but a storm didn’t concern itself with those in its path. it thundered no matter who matter might hear. she did have enough sense to not speak as frankly as she did now around most others, however. ❝ any cage is unappealing, ❞ she agreed with ease. ❝ it appears they are finally acting with this inquistion, which is better than nothing. have you been questioned yet by the ruling princess? ❞
Hee only nods in agreement, if there was anything the baratheon children shared that ran deep in their bones was how much they had always enjoyed and appreciated their freedom. being caged up had never been responded with anything less than hostility, even he had gotten burned with their sister when he had intended otherwise, a lesson learned. “yes, cannot say i enjoyed it either. then again no one likes being in a close room with the potential of saying something incriminated.” he sighs. “have you?”
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aiyla;
aiyla smiles at the compliment of dilan, her eyes falling to her daughter that is consumed by her toy. ❝ thank you. luckily, she got my looks. ❞ her words come out as a jest, the other not knowing to what she’s comparing anyway, and in reality, she’d rather dilan have her brains. ❝ i think we all hope to leave soon, but it’s appreciated. ❞ each day seemed no sooner, though. the best they could do was try and keep things as normal as possible for their little ones.
Narcissa giggles, a softer gesture than she had since the night of the wedding, it felt almost refreshing to do so under the heat of the day. “well i shall take your word for it, my lady.” she jests back. her own mind drifting to if the aster would look more like his father or herself, either way he would be a handsome man, she thought. “yes, i cannot imagine anyone wanting to stay here longer after all, if its not required that is.”
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sharra;
while sharra believed that none of her family needed to be called into questioning, she knew that grace wouldn’t extend to narcissa even if she wished for it to. while she was in close proximity to the arryn family, she wasn’t a part of it and there was little that the princess could do in terms of advocating on anyone’s behalf. ‘ from what i have been told, the questions themself are not difficult. ’ odd, in sharra’s mind, for them not to be but she hoped there was a reason behind that. ‘ it is alright to be intimidated. if one wasn’t, i would suspect they were the cause behind all of this. ’
It wasn’t the difficulty of the questions, if not how poorly she had always handle situations like that, and while this was a thousand times more serious it only reminded her of the times she found herself in trouble as a child and all she could do was cry out of both guilt and resentment. she was now an adult, for the most part that was, she could only hope to handle the situation a lot better than those times. “i assume is all about where we were and who we saw. i saw the dance floor and then chaos.” she recalls in blurry snippets of memory. “well that could potentially be said for those overly nervous and paranoid, don’t you think?”
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sharra;
her decision to believe in her good family came with a conscious effort to do so, but her confidence had started to falter. a fact that sharra wouldn’t reveal to anyone, not even her family, as she knew that it would mean that the little time that she’d already spent in dorne would come to an abrupt halt — the moment they were all released, she would return to the vale with everyone else. ‘ they are more fit than many, in many regards. ’ sharra held no love for the southern royalty, and had made no attempts to hide it while not in the position she now in. ‘ if we all just answer the inquisition as we should, it will be fine. ’
Being questioned was something that truly terrified her, she had never heard good stories about inquisitions, and with how unwell she could take to questioning and her awkwardness she hoped and prayed to her gods and the universe she would not get herself in trouble by stumbling with her own words. cissa caresses her swollen stomach as she ponders. “i must confess the whole idea of that makes me extremely nervous.” she looks out the window as she sighs. “i have nothing to hide and i know that should be enough, but still.”
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alicent;
all alicent wanted once they were free of this place was to remain in the vale for many, many months. she felt like she’d hardly had a moment to be the ruling lady of the vale in the vale since her marriage, and she would not have her firstborn, the vale’s heir, be raised on the road, knowing foreign lands more than their own. ❝ i have half the mind to refuse whatever summons arrives next. ❞ and there was little jest in her voice. ❝ that is true. ❞ thankfully, she’d learned what foods didn’t upset the baby by now. ❝ we are both well. i swear they kick and move more and more with every passing day. ❞
The corners of her mouth turn slightly up before she speaks, “and i would gladly remain by your side. besides when the child comes you might want to spend as much peaceful time with them as possible, the early days are the sweetest, at least that’s my personal opinion.” they were so little and so cuddly, the new born smell was intoxicating. “well as hard and uncomfortable as those kicks are sometimes its a great sign that they are healthy, at least that’s what i got told with aster.”
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