#ᴄ: ᴡʏʟʟɪᴀᴍ.

[anastacia-templeton]

for: @malcontentswanns location: in the reach during the wedding of highgarden

anastacia had quite enjoyed the festivities of the wedding, especially seeing all of the new faces of lords attending. if there was one thing anastacia was interested in, it was finding herself a new man to spill her attentions onto. her last relationship hadn't gone the way she wanted, and it made her nauseated to even think of lord lefford.

the ginger maiden had been in talks with her older brother about the many lords in attendance, but one had caught her sapphire eyes. wylliam swann. not only was he somewhat handsome, he had the sort of land she wanted to inherit. there were a few other prospects, but the lady decided to try her hand at lord swann. excusing herself from her brother, anastacia made her way towards wylliam, a sweet smile across her features; mother always said you would catch more men with a honeyed appearance than sour, and she only hoped to impress him. percival had much better things to do with his time than sit around gossiping with his little sister, like avoid his exes, or something else unimportant.

blue silks of her dress were fitted in all of the right places, not a hair out of uniform, and her gloved hands clasped behind her back; anastacia inhaled only just before ending up beside lord swann. "good evening, my lord." she gave a respectful bow towards him as her eyes took over his frame; slim, his doe eyes were dark, but he was tall. anastacia had standards and she made a mental note to check off three of ten attributes for her 'perfect' match.

extending her hand towards wylliam, she continued to speak with her voice soft, "i am anastacia templeton making your acquaintance. do you enjoy the wedding so far, my lord? i, personally, would've had a different colour for my own wedding."

[anastacia-templeton]

anastacia had always been so fascinated with the logistics of weddings, how cultures came together for one night and forevermore through the children spawned from the marriage. she could only hope that her own would be as beautiful and grand -- no, she would make sure it would be.

well, lord swann certainly was dreamy with his looks. sapphire orbs watched the man brush back a strand of hair that had fallen askew against his forehead and she resisted going to fix it for him, having neutral feelings towards the man in front of her. anastacia took a mental note that he was the lord paramount to the stormlands, that he was the master of laws to the beautiful caerella targaryen, but his last words took her sort of by surprise. i'm finding the wedding, a wedding. did the lord not enjoy how romantic weddings could be, all of the eyes among them to watch a romance come together? the lady of ninestars still had her smile on her face, although starting to fall as her hand continued to be extended towards him, did he have no manners when it came to greeting a lady of her status? many questions flew through her brain as anastacia almost retracted her hand before wylliam placed a goblet of wine in her unsuspecting grasp. now, her face was in more of confusion than ever.

with an awkward chuckle coming from her lips, anastacia raised her goblet to the lord in toast, to what she had no idea but if it made him feel comfortable than so be it. "yes, my lord, i will be most excited when the time comes." taking a sip of wine, she pondered on what she could've been doing wrong to have the lord so off-put by her. was it her forwardness? was she ugly? clearing her throat, anastacia came to stand by wylliam, eyes now watching the floor instead of directed towards wylliam.

"tell me about yourself, my lord. what are your interests? what captivates you?" anastacia glanced only briefly at wylliam; she had never had such trouble conversating with any man before and she would damned if it started with the handsome lord. "i do hope i am good company, my lord. captivating, even." percival had once noted to anastacia that she was full of herself, but all anastacia saw in the mirror was perfection. how could lord swann not see the greatness standing beside him?

anastacia-templeton​:

for: @malcontentswanns location: in the reach during the wedding of highgarden

anastacia had quite enjoyed the festivities of the wedding, especially seeing all of the new faces of lords attending. if there was one thing anastacia was interested in, it was finding herself a new man to spill her attentions onto. her last relationship hadn’t gone the way she wanted, and it made her nauseated to even think of lord lefford.

the ginger maiden had been in talks with her older brother about the many lords in attendance, but one had caught her sapphire eyes. wylliam swann. not only was he somewhat handsome, he had the sort of land she wanted to inherit. there were a few other prospects, but the lady decided to try her hand at lord swann. excusing herself from her brother, anastacia made her way towards wylliam, a sweet smile across her features; mother always said you would catch more men with a honeyed appearance than sour, and she only hoped to impress him.

blue silks of her dress were fitted in all of the right places, not a hair out of uniform, and her gloved hands clasped behind her back; anastacia inhaled only just before ending up beside lord swann. “good evening, my lord.” she gave a respectful bow towards him as her eyes took over his frame; slim, his doe eyes were dark, but he was tall. anastacia had standards and she made a mental note to check off three of ten attributes for her ‘perfect’ match.

extending her hand towards wylliam, she continued to speak with her voice soft, “i am anastacia templeton making your acquaintance. do you enjoy the wedding so far, my lord? i, personally, would’ve had a different colour for my own wedding.”

➳

weddings were places were he often found himself feeling entirely bored: for he would never grace the dance floor with his elongated legs moving entirely offbeat, and curse the eyes of those watching. the noise was loud, and there were moments where he felt entirely fine and comfortable: and there were times he felt as though the walls would cave in if he did not get a moment of quiet. this was one of those moments where he felt as though he would die if he heard the flutes and violins continue; at this point he was sure all the songs sounded the same.

he had paid no attention to the presence of women that were also in the room until elenda had quietly come to his side, knowing not to ask for a dance: rather to note the presence of one of the women she had put upon her list. her list, the current figment of his nightmares: he noted the way a certain name had been bolded. it were not possible; maximus celtigar had made it more than obvious, and he would not meddle in the family dynamic of the celtigars. he were not rowan arryn to force her to pick between her family and himself.

why was he thinking these things? he had not even opened his mouth and told her the extent of his feelings yet. it did not mattered.

and suddenly, as though some otherworldly force read his thoughts, there was a gracious, admittedly pretty woman that stood before him: he was sure it was one of the ones on the list. her face was round, and she had cheeks that perked upward when she smiled with eyes that sparkled. she had been pointed out earlier, and now he only stood, cursing himself for not remembering her name. he only hoped she was confident enough to introduce herself by name, rather than expecting him to already know. what was her name again? what family did she come from? was it suddenly hot in here? was she looking him up and down? 

“my lady.” he greeted, bowing his head slightly; a strand of dark hair moved slightly over his forehead, though it moved back in place as he rose his head to look upon her. they would need to talk about something. anything. for a moment he wondered whether she liked rocks, and he almost wanted to hit himself with one in that moment - of course she would not. anatascia templeton: sister to the knight of ninestars. the vale. she looked more like a tully. “lord wylliam of house swann. master of laws to queen caerella targaryen, lord paramount of the stormlands..and i’m finding the wedding...a wedding.” 

his voice trailed off. he wondered why he was saying all this. he also wondered why she had extended her hand toward him. he heard her say something about a wedding, and what she would want for her own. why was she extending her hand? was he supposed to kiss it? did she want him to kiss her hand? a servant was passing with goblets of wine, and he took it seamlessly, slipping one into her extended hand smoothly. he raised his own. “you’d do well to remind your husband of that when the time comes then.”

[anastacia-templeton]

a letter handwritten with fine line work appears on wylliam swann's desk once public word has been made that he is the hand of jaehaerys targaryen.

my dearest wylliam,

i hope this letter finds you well. i write this letter to you in hopes to hear a response back as to how your travels are fairing, what beautiful sights you've seen. i am quite interested to know your position now as hand. i find my feelings as i write this as a form of longing, i quite miss you terribly. i know your duties as hand are of most importance, so when you find the time, i would love to hear your reply. augustus & agatha hope to see you soon, as you will find their fur, unfortunately, littered across this letter. i send all of my love, and wish you safe travels back to me.

sincerely yours,

anastacia elisabeth templeton

the letter is signed with a lipstick stain.

@malcontentswanns

[anastacia-templeton]

@malcontentswanns

[anastacia-templeton]

anastacia found the conversation between herself and lord swann endearing; certainly not what she was expecting from him, but it would continue to grow her interest in the gentleman next to her. she had a good ear for listening and that's just what she did while he mused over his interests. nodding her head gracefully to show she was listening to their banter, anastacia was quite enthralled with the fact that the lord enjoyed to be outside; while she could do without being outside, maybe she could grow to enjoy the outdoors. she was quite skilled with horseback and it only sparked a question if he would ever want to go riding with her through the countryside.

he seemed like a simple man of simple interests; it worked out in her favor, it meant that she could get to know his hobbies and incorporate them into her own. anastacia wore herself with pride, she would be a trophy wife to anyone who would have her, and she made it a point to accomplish it.

"you enjoy the countryside, have you ever tried horseback? i will be honest, my lord, i do not partake in walks in the woods, but maybe if i had you by my side, i could manage." she assured him with a soft smile, now watching his face. anastacia knew she was laying the heat on thick, but it was only endearing to see the lord struggle to find his words. "i do find rocks.. pretty. geodes are my favorite, actually. i have a collection of amethyst at home that i keep underneath my window so i can watch them shine in the morning." although wylliam did not respond to her question if she found him captivating, the lady tried to not let it show that it annoyed her; who wouldn't want to be in her presence?

"when i am not attending parties i quite enjoy playing the pianoforte, i enjoy reading in my home's library," anastacia had a thoughtful look in her eyes as she continued, "i enjoy baking, candle making, riding by horseback and flower arranging." it all made her seem like a proper lady which she had no shame in, "i also have dabbled into learning different linguistics across westeros. there's not much to do when you're a lady, all of the fun stuff is left to the men."

standing a little closer to the lord, anastacia said confidently as she watched the lords and ladies dance across the floor, "maybe sometime soon, you may come adorn my crystals i keep at home."

anastacia-templeton​:

anastacia had always been so fascinated with the logistics of weddings, how cultures came together for one night and forevermore through the children spawned from the marriage. she could only hope that her own would be as beautiful and grand – no, she would make sure it would be.

well, lord swann certainly was dreamy with his looks. sapphire orbs watched the man brush back a strand of hair that had fallen askew against his forehead and she resisted going to fix it for him, having neutral feelings towards the man in front of her. anastacia took a mental note that he was the lord paramount to the stormlands, that he was the master of laws to the beautiful caerella targaryen, but his last words took her sort of by surprise. i’m finding the wedding, a wedding. did the lord not enjoy how romantic weddings could be, all of the eyes among them to watch a romance come together? 

the lady of ninestars still had her smile on her face, although starting to fall as her hand continued to be extended towards him, did he have no manners when it came to greeting a lady of her status? many questions flew through her brain as anastacia almost retracted her hand before wylliam placed a goblet of wine in her unsuspecting grasp. now, her face was in more of confusion than ever.

with an awkward chuckle coming from her lips, anastacia raised her goblet to the lord in toast, to what she had no idea but if it made him feel comfortable than so be it. “yes, my lord, i will be most excited when the time comes.” taking a sip of wine, she pondered on what she could’ve been doing wrong to have the lord so off-put by her. was it her forwardness? was she ugly? clearing her throat, anastacia came to stand by wylliam, eyes now watching the floor instead of directed towards wylliam.

“tell me about yourself, my lord. what are your interests? what captivates you?” anastacia glanced only briefly at wylliam; she had never had such trouble conversating with any man before and she would damned if it started with the handsome lord. “i do hope i am good company, my lord. captivating, even.” percival had once noted to anastacia that she was full of herself, but all anastacia saw in the mirror was perfection. how could lord swann not see the greatness standing beside him?

➳

he wished he did not see the smile begin to slip off her face; the look of hesitancy and confusion within her orbs that made him wonder where he had made another social blunder. from time to time he was able to realise just when something in the conversation had gone somewhat awry, though these times were quite rare and far in-between; people had that thing they did with their faces. their expression faltered just slightly, and over the years he had come to realise it was definitely a bad sign. 

he saw sparkling orbs slip ever so slightly, and he felt a buzz within him: not one that was excited, but the buzz that came with nervousness. 

“that’s good, right?” he asked. as she continued to speak on her own wedding. was that why she was speaking to him? she was on the list. had elenda said something to her? he was not entirely sure why he was nervous; it was rare for women to come up to him and present themselves in such a forward way. he found himself wondering what the purpose was behind this conversation: he who hardly spoke to others outside of work, especially those who were not his close inner circle: consider the stormlanders, who seemed to be knitted together in a court where they would always be viewed as less. 

“better you are excited at your own wedding, rather than being...dragged to the sept.” what was he even on about this point? he did not know whether this conversation was going as awfully as he seemed to paint it in hues in his mind; he knew not why she was even here. “happens sometimes. very awkward.” shut up wylliam. wylliam, shut up.

the woman’s orbs were now looking at the ground rather than him, only glancing up briefly: it was different to the forward words that came from her lips, and he knew not how to read the situation. had he made her uncomfortable? he had never sought to make her uncomfortable; or make her feel as though he found her uninteresting, even if he did. there was no need to appear rude or dismissive, especially as she was just doing what ladies were taught to do: ellie was the same, networking at social functions as much as she wished to have her head buried in a book. 

tell me about yourself. the question made him want to die. what was there to even tell? at one point he felt as though he had forgotten everything about himself. “i am an avid enthusiast about nature. stonehelm is in an area of profound beauty...not as inaccessible as the vale, though. able to walk without fearing a shadowcat. or falling off a mountain.” there was a moment where he said the words, and thought they would be enough. he realised he needed to continue to expand; she looked as though she wanted more details. 

“preservation... currently of the game within the kingswood to ensure increased amount of hunting does not impact the livelihood of those peasants who require the game to actually sustain livelihood.” and he had rambled. there was no need to go into so much detail there. “i also enjoy collecting rocks.” no detail there. he did not want to ramble again. captivating? did she ask if he found her captivating? wylliam laughed. that was socially appropriate, was it not - especially considering she must have been joking. surely, she were joking. he did not answer her question, merely nodding slightly. “what are your interests, when you are not...here?”