maidensbxne

[maidensbxne]

truth serum: what are your thoughts on the lannisters, seeing as you are in the process of working with one?

"it is a relationship of righting wrongs. not of friendship. lions are ironmen are not intended to be anything more. guinevere is an intelligent woman, i will give her that, and her actions have done good for many women who deserve their old lives back, but i do not trust her as far as i can throw her, which weighted down by all the jewels and fine fabrics she dons, is likely not very far."

[maidensbxne]

truth serum: rumours have it that the greyjoys are joining the former blacks; how does this make you feel about your love with cedric tyrell's mistress of ships?

"as a captain of the iron fleet my loyalty lies with the greyjoys. the drowned god knows the sails of the maiden's bane to fill with air whenever they are called upon the king. as a woman, there is nothing that could sway me from my love of the lady redwyne.

i would sooner tie myself to the mast in a storm than be apart from her or do her any direct harm — blacks and greens be damned. if my king were to ask that of me, well, it does me no great joy to think of the situation i would find myself in. it scares me, to think what i might do for alysanne. a dangerous place, to find oneself with a lady of the arbor, no?"

[maidensbxne]

truth serum: what is your relationship like with your father, lord blacktyde?

"i have not seen my father for any length of time bar an evening in the same port for years. he and i have never been especially close — it was not a daughter he wanted, but another son. although i suppose i gave him something closer to that than my mother got to a daughter.

my role under my king-and-sister keeps me far too busy for nostalgic visits to my home port in blacktyde, and from what my brothers tell me, his longship, the black moon, is rarely at berth in the islands either."

[maidensbxne]

TRUTH SERUM

feel free to ask anything, in character or anonymously, and my character will be forced to answer truthfully.

gysella | harrion

[maidensbxne]

[maidensbxne]

Her voice was deep and warm; I drank it in like sweet wine 

     — Hermann Hesse, Demian, (1919)

@alysanneofthearbor

[maidensbxne]

In my dreams I am kissing your mouth and you’re whispering ‘where have you been?’ I say, ‘I’ve been lost but I’m here now. You’re the only person who has ever been able to find me.’

Sue Zhao (via augustusrps)

@alysanneofthearbor

[maidensbxne]

guinevere lannister​

morra greyjoy​

even as time ticked forward, suns and moons passed morra could not forget that day in lannisport.

there was so much…screaming. more than she had ever heard before. morra had been raised as any greyjoy would, understanding that raids and fighting were apart of her. every drop of blood that pulsed through her veins were salted with the fights of her ancestors before her. ‘you were born to fight morra. you were born to take what you want. kill who you want.’ she could still hear her father’s words in her head. the first kill for an iron born was cause for a celebration not something to be worried over. yet, she could never get those screams out of her mind. there was no shaking the gut feeling she had on that day that something about this felt wrong.

so perhaps she had been a fool on that day to have done what she did. looking at a room full of women staring back at her in horror. blood dripping from her axe, splattered across her face and clothes. other saw an opportunity for something great. the capture of a lannister princess. the glory that would come from that. the cheers from fellow iron borns. the respect that the drowned god might bestow on her if she had made the other choice that day.

the drowned god would forgive her.

staring into the room of the women hiding that day she did not see a prize to be had. but women, like her, scared of what was to come. women who she had no qualms with. women who had nothing to do with this battle. they did not have the bear the consequences of foolish lords and ladies and kings and queens. people who did not care about them.

so she had hid them that day. made sure no one else had gotten near them.

and now she sat across from one of them now. except now they were on the same side, something morra was not sure would ever happen. morra listened carefully to what the princess had to say, and her sister before she spoke. leaning forward, she rested her elbows on her legs. “i believe we are after the same thing princess guinevere.” she told her. “there are mistakes both of our families have made before us, and we are fortunate enough to be in a place where we can correct one of those. i do not think this will fix all the damage that has been done but i believe steps must be taken.

reaching forward morra took the glass of wine from the table and took a sip from it. she had no fears that the lannister princess was going to try and poison her. not after all they have been through, not when there was so much at stake. so much to be won back. “i had my decision long ago in the halls of lannisport. i got the shit kicked out of me for it later by my father, but i would make the same choice again. and i want to make that now.” she told her. “this can be a new start…for all of us.”

.

a new start. the idea sounded beautiful in itself - for how lovely would it be, to turn a page and begin again, as though this were the first day of life, where all past pain and suspicion ceased to exist? there was a time where perhaps the lioness of lannister was naive enough to believe in such notions of new starts, during the days where she believed in the games of courtly love, of mythical creatures and stories of a time long gone. as much as she may feel some shame for her stubbornness, still rooted in memories of old, guinevere did not wish for a new start; not yet.

there are mistakes both of our families have made before us; the words of the greyjoy king, though no doubt said with the intention of promoting peace to begin again, with the experience of a ruler, had guinevere feeling increasingly unsettled. not at the words of the woman, but rather, the fire that seemed to sit at the lowest pit of her stomach. was it vexation? that emotion had not coursed through her bloodstream from the day she saw the kraken sweeping through the harbor of lannisport, sails billowing in the wind, darkness long since swallowing the sky. the banquet she were attending that night had soon turned into a dinner she would forever remember.

still - there was a common aim the two kingdoms wished to reach, and guinevere knew she would feel more comfortable cooperating with the ironborn woman than their men. she thought them more animals than real men, though she kept that on the tip of her tongue. the greyjoy king had saved her life that day; she knew little of why, but perhaps it was an indication of a heart that was warmer than guinevere could yet understand. "your involvement is appreciated, from both my house and myself.” she spoke, her tone polite as she rested both her hands above the table; rather than nervously on her lap as her emerald gaze remained fixed on both the women. there was something of a sisterhood between them; similar to how the women in her own household had banded together.

the logistics were the important aspect of how this would play out; not the feelings attached to the project, as much as guinevere wanted to simply remain under her sheets and forget. ��if i were able to come to a rough estimate, based on names from those attending the banquet and witness testimonies from the small folk, would you determine it possible to cross reference it with your own reports?” she asked, knowing this would require a return trip home. but how were she to travel, with the riverlands in the condition they are now? “it’d require my absence from the eyrie, though correspondence can continue through ravens.”

@maidensbxne​​

—

a fresh start sounded lucrative. for a people so dedicated to the old way, the ironborn would not follow easily. but they respected their god, and their king, and if it was their will it could come to pass. it would be symbolic too, for them to see morra take another definitive step towards righting what had been wronged. the men may not see it straight away, but their womenfolk would. ironborn though they may be, as harsh as the isles who raised them, they had hearts beneath their stone and gysella believed that they dreaded seeing the yellow haired captives that now haunted their homes and streets. 

she held her tongue as king and princess spoke with the precise tones of diplomacy, the master of laws ran through the logistics of such a play as this. there had been shoddy records left by lord farman who had held her position under the reign of morra’s father, but there were records nonetheless. “there will be some, princess. they can be cross-checked, although i think we may find some names don’t match up - we could conduct a census of sorts for the rest, find a way for women to come forward in a safe manner. and if some salt wives from other conquests are caught up in it and allowed to leave, well...” she flicked a look at morra. “would that truly be the end of the world?” 

for the first time in a while, this job brought her some excitement. she could not wait to see these women transported back to their homes, reunited with families who thought them long lost, and lives they did not dread living. she did not keep salt wives, she did not condone the keeping of salt wives, and yet it was such an ingrained practice in their culture, in their worship of the drowned god, for her and her sister to remove it completely was a task that would sooner see to the two of them deposed than anything else. 

they had to be cleverer than that about it. and if there was anything gysella knew about her sister, it was that she was clever. 

[maidensbxne]

alysanne bracken​

—

alysanne’s brow rose, lips quirked at the corners. her attention was fixed on gysella, though she kept an eye on her son out of the corner of her eye. hoster continued to play, unconcerned by the worries and stresses of those who cared only for his welfare. “they defend their house while acting as if their father acted alone,” alysanne acknowledged. “and perhaps he did, though i find that most difficult to believe.”

her lips pressed another kiss to the inside of her lover’s wrist, the smile that she offered the ironborn for gysella alone. there were moments, like these — where it seemed so natural to sit in a room without worrying who might see them — when alysanne wished for more. and yet she knew that her future was to guide her son, much as gysella’s was to traverse the rivers on behalf of her king.

alysanne had not expected anything less from the woman who so often shared her bed. and still she wondered why she could feel the coil of disappointment furling deep in the pit of her stomach. “you would take up arms against me?” she inquired, her voice shaking only slightly on the end of each word. “against my son?”

—

"whether or not he acted alone, he acted in their interest." gysella shrugged. "to me, there is little distinction." she was uneasy with so many of the tully line turning their cloaks - they betrayed their father who gave them life, there was no telling who would be next. 

 the blood in her veins seemed to hum with warmth as alysanne's soft lips pressed themselves against the back of her wrist. she knew that smile was just for her, and she treasured it as a king might treasure his crown. 

she may as well have left her tongue at the seashore where she had disembarked for all it was worth. gysella could find nothing to say, and opened and closed her mouth like a fish gasping for air. this was why she should never have given her heart to a woman of the green-lands, and yet she contained more guilt than regret. "alys." she brought alysanne's delicate hand to her lips, and then rested her cheek on the ringed ball of her knuckles. "do not ask me questions i do not know the answer to. please. not tonight."

[maidensbxne]

TRUTH SERUM: what are your true feelings regarding alysanne?

“ i love her the way i have never loved another soul in all my life. she is to me as salt is to the sea. ”  

[maidensbxne]

alysanne bracken​

alysanne could admit, to herself — and to gysella, she thought — that the tullys might not always be so reviled in westeros. she had been surprised at the knowledge that the other houses had not wished to punish the children for the sins of their father — actions, she had always believed, should not be unpunished. “it baffles me at times,” she admitted to gysella. “how that family will have no consequences for its actions.”

hoster continued playing on the floor and alysanne’s eyes lifted up toward her lover. “how many beautiful women from raventree hall do you see?” she inquired, one eyebrow quirking in amusement as she lifted the goblet of wine back toward her lips. she pressed a kiss to the inside of gysella’s wrist, fingers lightly skimming over the other woman’s skin.

thinking of the future, of the reality that was to fall upon them, was not something alysanne wished to do. she had strength alone, of iron and steel at times, but she would not deny the comfort and the joy that gysella had brought to her. “then you will have a decision to make,” she finally said, eyes fixed on the other woman. “on if you wish to go to war against me.”

—

"if they were islanders, they would have been drowned weeks ago for their transgression." killed in a manner that the drowned god allowed, but every last one of their family line would have been sent to his halls. "i see them, walking about as though they do not represent to others like their father that justice will be kind to their kin when they too, try something."

something darker flickered in gysella's eyes than the softness that she was used to in alysanne's presence. she was not known to be lenient as king morra's master of laws - and she was certainly not one to be so soft on treason as these greenlanders were. but the kiss on her hand pulled her back. "there is only one." she hummed, cupping the curve of alysanne's cheek with her hand. "only one."

she shook her head. "there is no choice. i have sworn oaths alys. in front of morra and my god." gysella met her lady's eyes with all the steel she could muster. "it is not my wish. but i cannot risk breaking them - the doors of his halls will not open to me. my kin... they will hate me for refusing to fight."

[maidensbxne]

morra greyjoy​

taking the mug of ale, morra took her seat across from her sister. there was countless nights that the two of them did just this while at sea. the waters rocking them both, the stars and moon giving them light as they drank the night away. their laughter being swallowed up by the sounds of the waves. they were some of her favorite memories she had with gysella.  

after taking a rather large sip of her drink, she took in a deep breath thinking about the others back in the vale. “half of them are more frustrating than the next. i swear they are all going to kill one another one day over petty comments they love to throw at one another.” morra said rolling her eye. “half of them need to get laid honestly. i think it would calm the lot down.” morra snickered as she took another sip of her drink.

“listen there is something else i need to ask you about. something important.” battles were on the horizon for them all. normally the iron born did not get involved in such battles unless they were paid to do so but gaining friendships and alliances were more important than ever. the greenlanders needed to see that the iron born were willing to play nice with everyone. it would be for the better of the kingdom, she knew that. but still she hated putting her men and women at risk like this. even if most of them were itching for another fight.

—

“so many problems would be solved on this mainland if they just managed to unwedge those sticks from up their arses and enjoyed their lives.” life on the isles was not an easy one, but at least they did not moralise every interaction in the name of their gods - the drowned god bid them fuck and fight and drink to their heart content, after all. 

gysella’s interest was peaked by morra’s insistence that there was something else. was this southern war not enough? she knew her sister would not bring it to her for counsel if it were not urgent, and of important stakes. from her tone and wording, she knew that much. “aye. go ahead then. i suspect you want us to play nice with more greenlanders, yes?” so much time around them warranted only one thing. the ironborn could hardly play nice with each other, gysella had found since she’d been made master of laws under the new king, but if anyone could rally them around it was the woman she called her sister. 

[maidensbxne]

— alysanne bracken​

—

she wondered, sometimes, if gysella thought her quite rash, prone to impulse with an inherent need to see things through. certainly the thought of overtaking the tullys had become much more real with the knowledge that grover tully had sent assassins and mercenaries after the monarchs of other kingdoms. it was certainly an idea that would benefit from detailed planning, from having allies and soldiers to support her son instead of a flimsy idea. “but will they ever be so hated as they are now?” she inquired.

a brow arched. to another she might have laughed, but she knew gysella well enough to know the ironborn woman spoke the truth. “if not the trouts, who else will you use your precise methods of persuasion upon?” her gaze grew softer.

the question surprised her so much that alysanne nearly started, though she set her goblet back on the table without a drop of wine spilling out. it was a valid concern, she knew, and though she was so incredibly fond of gysella, alysanne would put none before her son and his best interests. still, it did not seem … necessary to make such harsh statements even when her own plans were not finalized. “it is my hope that you do not,” she looked the other woman in the eye. “provided you don’t attempt to challenge my bannermen to any duels.”

— 

"perhaps not." the tully's were westeros' current scapegoats of choice and rightly so, in gysella's opinion. it was impossible to know how long that would last, and she supposed that was a chance alysanne did not have the liberty to take.

"beautiful women from raventree hall, perhaps." she smiled, a much softer expression than those her face usually wore. "though that it another method of persuasion all together. and there is only one truly worth my time." ever since the first time she had seen alysanne, travelling with her men across the country, she had known she must have her. beautiful and cold and impossibly maddening. she was all the lady blacktyde had thought of for months.

gysella met alysanne's gaze and then shied away from it. she knew it was likely much less optimistic, the realities of their future. "and when my king asks me to march against the riverlanders? against the men with your banners and your father’s... what then?"

[maidensbxne]

guinevere lannister & morra greyjoy

the queen of the westerlands had agreed that the meeting of those belonging to either side of that day would be held in the lannister apartments, though it was with some insistence did guinevere manage to ensure it was small, and remained between the three women in question. the guards stationed within the room were not up for discussion, and as the women took their seat at the rounded oak table by a hearth, there was a long stretch of silence as the setting sun basked the chambers in a warm amber glow. there was wine should her two ironborn guests desire it, though guinevere herself took light a silent sip of a herbal green tea that was often stocked in her chambers; it helped to ease her anxieties, as well ensure she slept some hours through the night. 

“your acceptance to this meeting is appreciated by the house lannister; i trust we know an element of what we are here to discuss.” the woman began, flickering her gaze over at the greyjoy and the blacktyde; more unfamiliar with the latter considering they had never exchanged formalities, nor did she see her face on the day of the sack. guinevere remembered many a face from that day; and many a story, though it became somewhat blurred at some points. “it is of my understanding that the ironborn are dedicated to the cause against grover tully, therefore this can be a period of respite from the raiding and attacks along your eastern front, and our western shore.” however brief it may be.

“it is in the interest of house lannister that we engage in an operation to retrieve those victims seized in the sack of lannisport and have them returned to their kingdom in the west.” she paused again, thinking of whether coin would be necessary to persuade them; she would hold off, the woman decided - unless it were necessary. 

there comes a time when one must confront the very thing that often plagues the mind; resulting in many a sleepless night, and of half-awake dreams consisting of the faces of strangers she saw in passing, through a crack in a bookcase, before the woman squeezed her emerald gaze shut - hoping for the ground to swallow her whole as the sounds of screams and crying turned to an ominous silence as the hours stretched by. when the small collection of women finally emerged from behind the secret room, the marble floor scattered with trinkets from the clothing of the women that had once inhabited the stately home of the lannisters of lannisport; the marble floor stained with a crimson, as their faithful guards lay passing over to the next life, or long since departed. 

“we live in a world of hierarchy and orders; for that reason i will not seek to engage in  questioning motives, or loyalties.” she paused momentarily, placing her cup down onto the table, blacks, greens .. all the same eventually. “simply righting the wrongs those before you committed will benefit our relations in some regard.” 

—

gysella was uncomfortable in the presence of so many guards wearing the lion of house lannister. she knew they were not a people who held any love for the ironborn, and was grateful for the familiar weight of her axe on her hip and her sister by her side. in a meeting with her king and a princess, gysella knew her role was not to take charge as she was so used to doing on board her ship. she sat as directed, on morra’s right hand as always, and poured wine for the two of them without taking a sip. she did not trust that the lion did not drink from the same pitcher, even if this was supposed to be a meeting of peace and collaboration. 

whether or not she wished to agree with the lannister woman, there was no question that they sat at this table with the same desire. it did not bring her any joy to walk through lordsport or pebbleton to see empty-eyed women staring at her from the doorways of their captor’s homes, or populating the brothels of pyke, their golden hair long paled to yellow in the harsh lands they had been bought to in the bowels of the ships that had bourne them from lannisport. had they all once been as beautiful as the princess who sat before them? 

her people were raiders, and her own ship was littered with trinkets she had earned paying the iron prince. bear skins from bear island, jeweled earrings from the westerlands, barrels of wine from the reach - they were the things that made her ironborn, and her dedications to her god. she was a woman too, though. before she was ironborn, perhaps. her father had made sure it would not make her a victim, her misfortune of being born a daughter and not a son - she’d had an axe in her hand as soon as she could hold one without toppling over, and the boards of a longship under her feet as soon as she could walk.

it was not her being stolen from her home, it was not her being made a saltwife to a raider, and yet she saw herself in every woman carted back to the isles with her hands bound and her greenlander skirts ripped to shreds. 

gysella leaned her elbows on the table and leaned forward, sharing a look with morra. “we do find ourselves unlikely allies against the riverlands, princess.” she laughed, the irony staining her chuckle. “and perhaps in this, if my king finds your proposition beneficial to our people.” our people being the ironborn? or the women? gysella did not mind. 

[maidensbxne]

— morra greyjoy​

the traveling back and forth between the gates of the moon and gulltown was starting to get more and more annoying with each passing trip. part of her just wished to stay with her people at the port town. but that would be impossible, despite how much she might want it to. if she were to leave then who would help the other kings plan this battle? surely they all needed as much help as they could get. morra was going to make damn sure she was not left out of any planning of this all, no way she’d simply let the men take over without any regard.

this trip back to gulltown was important since she would be marching back with some of her men to get ready for the upcoming battles ahead. while others set sail to try and meet them back at the riverlands. at least word had gotten back the iron islands to prepare themselves there.

the smell of salt in the air was a welcome sign to her. like a wave of familiarity washing over her, bringing comfort that she was at least one step closer to being home. there was one place she needed visit first, and that was the most important visit. gysella. her pseudo sister and one of the people she trusted most in the world. and trust was needed as they were being sheltered in an unfamiliar land. walking up on the ship, dark eyes darted around to spy her friend. the flickering flames of the fire up ahead on the tripod cast enough light for her to spy her friend there. “gysella, have we spent so much time apart we need such formalities?” she said pulling her into a strong hug. “i have missed you dearly, my sister.” she smiled as she held her friend before pulling away. “and you know exactly what i need after that trip.” she said motioning towards the ale she had set up.

—

gysella snorted a familiar little laugh. “i’m just teasing you, sister.” perhaps they were not sisters by blood, but the lady of blacktyde found that in the case of morra greyjoy, the saltwater was thicker than water. the sea was their mother, and the drowned god their father. she returned the hug with strong arms, wrapping them protectively around the other woman. gysella had missed her, and she embraced her so that she might feel the relief at the two of them being back together again. 

when they pulled apart, gysella held her king at arms-length for a moment, and ran her darks eyes over her face and body. she wished to make sure no harm had befallen morra - even if she knew that if anyone had dealt her any blows, they would likely be off somewhere looking far, far worse for wear. 

“sit, drink - there is plenty more where that came from.” she sighed, and retook her seat. “you’ve had a long ride.” she took a sip from her mug of ale and gave morra a second to get settled before she started badgering her for news. “how goes coexisting with the greenlanders? are they as insufferable as they seem?” the battle plans had been on her mind for weeks, along with the haunting idea of dying so far from the sea. she was eager of any news pertaining to their newfound allies. 

[maidensbxne]

Hermann Hesse, Demian, (1919)

@alysannebracken

[maidensbxne]