#◤Larys◢ – the lord confessor: interaction

[mysterycflife]

“ I don't recognize myself. ”(larys and kyra)

"Metamorphosis is common in nature, my love," the Lord Confessor answered from his place by the fire. Putting down the book he was reading, he turned to the princess to see what @amarvelousmencgerie was doing that had made her utter such a comment. Thin lips curved into a smile as Larys watched her, observing her frame in the looking glass. He knew her not to be vain, and she had no reason to doubt her beauty in his eyes. There must have been another reason such thoughts were running through her mind. It intrigued him. Kyra was always most interesting to him when she offered a mystery. When she acted in unpredictable ways. Offered more than the boredom he felt in the presence of others.

He slowly rose from his seat and took his cane to shuffle behind her. "A caterpillar would say the same if it could see itself as a butterfly." He told her, ice-blue eyes finding hers in the mirror. He put the fingers of his free hand under her chin and raised it gently, so she would hold her head high. Nodding approvingly, he then wrapped his hand around her throat. Resting it there without pressure. "I still know you, my princess. You could never change in a way for my eyes and heart not to recognize you."

[mysterycflife]

"no matter how the wind howls, the mountain cannot bow to it." - Alys to Larys

"Even a mountain is subservient to the tides," he answered moving his feet through the cold waters of the Gods Eye. @realmofthedragon was one of the few people he was secure enough with to take off his metal boot. The water was a welcome refreshment in the summer heat. The Riverlands weren't as hot as the capital this time of year but it was still too warm to drag his useless metal-glad foot around him all day. "What did the wind whisper to you, Alys, that you feel the need to remind me of the stillness of mountains?" Ice-blue eyes turned to the woman beside him. Larys was interested to hear what she had heard during their time apart. Since his father had brought him and his sibling to King's Landing a few years prior.

[mysterycflife]

@withouthonour asked: “i have the frightful idea that i'll have to suffer it all again." alicent to larys

The smell of fresh lilacs sweetened the air around them. It had been weeks since Larys had seen the queen. First, the imminent birth, then childbed, had made his visits inappropriate. He might not be viewed as man enough to raise questions about their talks late into the night, but even some matters couldn't be hidden behind his clubfoot. But the Lord Confessor had arrived as soon as no one would bat an eye anymore. Bringing flowers and books of poetry. One because he had heard the smell could quicken her recovery and the other to fight the boredom she would no doubt feel, trapped in her bed and chambers. The gods know, he was no stranger to this particular kind of imprisonment.

"The king is a scared man, he had lost a son before. I believe you are right to assume he won't rest until he has a spare or two on top of the one you have given him already." Word of treason in the wrong ears, but not as treacherous as the ones on the tip of his tongue. Whispers of measures to prevent any of the king's seed from taking hold in her womb again. A thought he preferred to the harshness of reality they were all slaves to.

Bright blue eyes moved from her to the flowers on the table beside them. Fingers reached out to touch their delicate petals. "The gods have been merciful with you both times. Their mercy won't waver in the future." That much was a certainty to Larys. Losing her was not an option when they both still had their part to play.

[mysterycflife]

“It’s not a trip I particularly enjoy!” Larys replied as he shuffled next to his brother. Walking as many steps as reaching the top of the Tower of the Hand required had always been difficult for the Lord Confessor. It cost him a lot of time and endurance. And he could already feel that he would regret the journey tonight. Well, perhaps not regret completely. It depended on the answers he would get from his older brother. “No! But something troubles you.” He was a keen observer, and he could tell Harwin’s mind was somewhere else these last days. Or on someone else. “I wanted to offer a sympathetic ear.” And quench his curiosity.  

❝ care for some company? ❞ (Larys for Harwin)

A furrowed brow comes as his first reaction as the elder Strong looks out over the city. He knew the voice but it was one he hadn't expected to hear, not recently anyway. Their own duties kept them rather occupied and apart rather than together and once the brief moment of confusion passed, Harwin was more than happy to have his brother by his side. There's a nod, a small smile as he turns partially while taking a step to the side to give him room. "I did not expect you to be here, brother." He says, though there is no tone to show Harwin was bothered. It was quite the opposite actually and no doubt Larys knew that. "Is there something that troubles you?" Attention no longer on the view beyond them, instead blue-green gaze remains on his brother who settled up beside him.

House of the Dragon Starters | Accepting | @mysterycflife

[mysterycflife]

Larys didn’t have to observe Harwin’s behavior with the young princes to know that his older brother had fathered them. Rumors were going around the Keep already, and no matter how discreet everyone involved was, no one was ever truly alone in a place like this. The rats always found a nick in the wall. The Lord Confessor had no sympathy for Harwin’s situation. He had made his bed and would have to lie in it, but he was still family. And so far, he had not been asked directly about it, although the Queen had commented and watched for his reactions.

“I’m fine,” ice-blue eyes darted over Harwin’s shoulder, observing Ser Leanor rushing the boy inside. “How are you, Harwin?” Slowly, his knowing look returned to the older Strong. “Father wants us to join him for dinner. I believe he wants your input on a possible match for Reina, and I’m invited for courtesy.” The smile that curved his lips didn’t reach his eyes. He had better things to do but listened to his brother and father discussing their sister’s possible matrimony.

It was difficult to have these small interactions he would have with the Velaryone boys. He was nothing more to them than a friend of their mother but to Harwin they were everything. He was helping the Prince Lucerys collect himself after he had taken a rather nasty spill. After brushing off the dirt and checking his knee Laenor comes to get the boy.

"I am sure he will be just fine but a trip to see his mother will not hurt, hmm? I hope you feel better, my prince." He tells the boy with a gentle smile as he watches Laenor and Lucerys leave. He is so lost in his own thoughts about all of this that he does not realize his brother is there until Larys clears his throat.

Harwin turns to look at Larys and smiles. He has to wonder how much of the interaction his brother had seen. Had he shown up before Laenor did? Had he shown up as he wished them off? "Brother. How are you on this fine day?" He asks as he turns to face his brother.

@mysterycflife // starter

[mysterycflife]

Lips remained busy with Kyra’s neck as Larys listened to what worried her. Giving her his full attention despite the distraction. He had shared her worries once when he had first discovered his affectation. They had made him feel more like a monster than all the sermons the septon had preached, or the looks his cousins, even his father, had cast his way. No ordinary man, he thought, could find such pleasure in hurting others. More so when the other person enjoyed the pain. That was before he had learned an important truth.

The Lord Confessor grasped the hand the princess was using to touch herself and entwined their finger. He looked at her as he brought their hands to his lips. His tongue darted out to brush over Kyra’s fingertips before he let his teeth scrape over the sensitive skin. “The gods made us to experience pleasure and pain equally. I’d like to believe we are closest to them when both are combined. You enjoyed the pain your septa caused because you knew it would sweeten the delight of her kisses.” He pressed his lips to her fingers before sealing his words with a kiss on her lips. “Your sister let her pride and fears get in the way of experiencing the same. There’s no shame in either.”

“I will.” The smile Larys gave his lover was accompanied by a nefarious gleam in his eyes. “But first, I want you to get on the bed, pull up your chemise and touch yourself.” Although he knew his lover didn’t like being degraded, he did push her limits from time to time by causing her some embarrassment. And he always enjoyed watching her do anything. “Don’t come until I say so!” He warned her before pushing her off his lap with a slap to her bottom. Then, Larys leaned back on his seat and made himself comfortable, picking up his goblet of wine. Looking for all the world like he was expecting to be entertained by a group of mummers.       

She looked up at him as his hands went to cradle her cheeks. Such a gentle touch from a man that she knew caused so much pain to others and found pleasure in those acts. So many questions filled her mind but she shook her head at what he believed to be distracting her. Now, that she was sitting on his lap, her body pressed against his, there were so many things she could ask him for and without a doubt, he would give them to her but it was hard to understand how she was feeling.

Taking a deep breath, Kyra smiled. "No my Lord, The Hand is far from my mind and I will do whatever it is that he asks me if it will make the king more inclined to let us marry." Now nervously biting on her lower lip as she felt his gentle lips against her, she wanted to ask and as the words started to come from her lips, they were so soft only he'd be able to hear her.

"Larys, why is it that when you pull upon my hair, I start to think of my septa who would smack me on the head with a brush and then drown me in kisses and adoration. The moment I feel the same sting on my head I want you to kiss me, touch me and bring the same feelings I had when I was younger. Nyra, on the other hand, she would scream at her and run to our father."

Kyra took his hand though and used his fingers to trace along her bare thigh, and then up to her stomach. "Will you take me to your bed and touch me the way you did last night? I don't think I could ever grow tired of your fingers all over me."

[mysterycflife]

While more experienced than Kyra, their intimacy was new to him, too. There were establishments in King’s Landing that allowed the patrons to do what they wanted with the women working there but he had never cared much for it. It had never given him the thrill it did with Kyra. Perhaps because there was no truth in the interactions there. The prostitutes played a role. They had no genuine desire to submit. Received no pleasure from it but the coins afterward. It made Larys apprehensive to return there. But there was no deceit with Kyra. No falsehood when she spoke to him the way he did and followed his commands. When she submitted to the pain and pleasure he gave her. Her reactions were honest. It made him want to discover more. Push them both to their limits.

He enjoyed how she reacted to his touch, but he could tell thoughts were still racing through her mind. His speculations were confirmed when she looked up at him with lilac eyes. Asking him a silent question he didn’t know. It made him stop his ministration to cup her cheeks gently and lean down, pressing a light kiss against her lips. “You’re still thinking, my princess. And my inklings is it’s as much about us as those outside.” Another kiss. His tone was understanding. It was important to him that Kyra understood that she wasn’t pressured to do anything she didn’t want. She had as much power as him. He would never hold it against her if she asked him to stop whatever they were doing.

With more gentle touches, he coaxed her off her knees and onto his lap, pulling her petite frame against him. Lips moved to her neck. “What worries you, my love?” He asked. “Is it still the farce the King and Otto Hightower force you into?” While it would go against Larys plans to eliminate the King or his grandfather, the Lord Confessor had no scruple about the act. Not that crowing Aemond would help him more. The younger son was ambitious and over-confident. He would not listen to his council, and riding the largest dragon alive made him an undeniable threat, even to those close to him. Aemond might get the idea of marrying Kyra. That risk alone was unacceptable. Not when he was still in negotiations to make her his wife.

Kyra didn't look up after asking him such a silly question. She was aware that he loved her in a fierce way she'd never experienced before by anyone. She'd seen how love of the others in her family was expressed, pain anguish desire of those you can never have, all of these things were the Targaryen way. She wasn't made this way and when she loved someone, she wanted to be their world, their existence and that need to be someone's only love she'd found in Larys.

Her reply to his question was soft and barely more than a whisper. "No, my lord. I don't wish anyone else to ever see me this way. I'm only yours."

Some might think it was a sexual game of farce between them. Her saying things to make him feel a certain way but they'd be wrong. The words were pure raw and exactly how she felt. Kyra rarely said anything but truths when she was with him because she'd found from others who lied to him, the Master of Whispers, Lord Cofessor always knew the truth of the matter. Telling him lies only made things harder on you in the end, when it seemed all must face him in some way.

Still not looking up at him, she nodded as he walked from her, not turning but she didn't need him to check to see if she was following him, because she wanted to be near him in these moments of intimacy, their own intimacy that she'd never heard others whisper of. Of course there had been a time when she wondered why other people didn't share hours as they did, Kyra learning what he desired of her and him showing her a world that she didn't know she could experience. It was strange but whatever it was, whatever he did to her, she couldn't seem to get enough of him, his praise and the way he looked at her when he was showing her this new world.

As he placed the pillow down, Kyra had learned that he wanted her to kneel in front of him. Once there, she moved her hair to one side so that when she was guided to rest her head on his knee, her bare skin was exposed but also, he could run his fingers through her hair an act she often enjoyed. The moment he told her of his wishes, she felt a sense of pleasure shoot through her, hoping he wouldn't find out but she assumed however it was he knew, she'd not be able to keep her desires from him.

It was in that moment as she was lost to the idea of his fingers traveling over her skin that he touched her hair, a gentle touch although she hadn't been expecting the sear of pain when he lightly pulled her hair. She didn't move, didn't look up at him, but she knew he'd see that the exposed skin on her shoulder and neck was covered in goose flesh with the sensation of the slightest discomfort. It reminded her of the way she'd feel when she was younger and her Septa would strike her with her brush before pulling her in to press kisses to her face saying that if she'd been still like she was told, she wouldn't have to hurt her. Why was she like this, why did the feeling of stinging pain make her instantly think of the kisses she received to replace the sting.

She had so many questions but didn't know if he wanted this to be a time of learning or just an intimate moment between them so as her head was on his knee, Kyra looked up at him, her lilac eyes searching his face for the answer, hoping that she could feel the stinging pain again only this time he would train his kisses over her skin as well.

[mysterycflife]

Larys suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. Not necessarily at Alys, but at the sentiment shining through in her words. Power was an illusion. The young lord had always had the notion, but it had become clearer now that he resided at the center of power in King Landing. And it confirmed something for him. He wasn't looking for power. He wasn't looking to leave a legacy but scars. Larys wanted to hurt the world around him as it had hurt him.

"It's not on you to tell me who to get close to or who to manipulate," he replied in a stern tone. "And if you are as knowledgable as you claim to be, you would know that Queen Alicent has no power at court. The King married her to have a young cunt to fuck and a fertile womb to produce heirs." He had sympathy for her. Alone at court with her ambitious father, who had used her to get close to old King Jahaerys and now to King Viserys. They all underestimated her and, at the same time, forced her into a box she struggled to get out, still believing it would advance her or her son.

"No, but it will be one to change the world, more than any other. Dragons will be gone from the world for many moons." Alys told him, her eyes watching through the fog at the isle that sat in the middle of the lake. She had spent plenty of days there. Most believed her to be crazy to go there, but it was peaceful for her, it was a place to hone her skills.

Her eyes travelled to the younger Lord and grinned. "and that is where we come into play, we weave and sow ideas into their minds, we make ourselves stronger and it will be us that end up controlling how to world is run. Being in Kings Landing gives you the chance to manipulate things into how you want it, especially if you get closer to the new Queen, become her confidant, get her to trust you and you will go far My Lord."

[mysterycflife]

Lary’s ice-blue eyes had an appreciative look as the dress fell to the floor, leaving the princess in only her red chemise. Her long hair falling over bare shoulders. He brushed it aside to let his fingertips wander over her skin longer. “Would you like to be seen like this by the rest of the court?” he asked, teasing her by withholding his answer. Of course, Larys wouldn’t like having the other men at the Keep see Kyra dressed this way. This was meant for his eyes only. And while he never judges others for following their desires, for it made them all human, he preferred to keep the things closest to him private. Kyra was one of those things. His princess.

“Come,” he beckoned her in a honeyed tone as he shuffled back to his seat in front of the fire, not turning to see if she followed. He was sure she would. Sitting down and putting his cane aside, he put one of the pillows on the ground between his legs, making it apparent he wanted her to kneel there. The small smile on his lips was encouraging. This was not meant to be inherently sexual in nature. He tried to get her mind off everyone else in the Red Keep and their opinions about her. About them! They didn’t know much about their relationship. But even the Master of Whisperers couldn’t control everything said in the Castle, and their behavior with each other, while discrete, made it obvious that they were close to each other. Some wondered how close it was, although no one believed it to be physical. How could a beautiful woman like Kyra ever be attracted to a cripple?

“Let’s not think or talk about anyone outside this chamber for the rest of the night, my love. We might not be able to leave the capital yet, but we’ll be able to escape it for a couple of hours with just the two of us here.” Larys petted her hair, guiding her head so Kyra could rest it against his leg. Every few strokes, he pulled her hair a bit.    

Reaching up as Larys began to untie the laces on the back of her new gown, she pulled the emerald hairpin letting her straightened hair tumble down her back and over her now bare shoulders. As the heavy fabric fell to the floor, she was left in a night shift that clung to her body so that it wouldn't be seen in the dress she'd been wearing. She'd always been partial to red, picking a color that very little of her family would wear but that she believed highlighted the color of her skin and as she began to learn more about what her beloved liked, she found certain colors he seemed to favor over the black and gold dresses she was required to cover herself in.

As the breeze in his quarters seemed to leave bumps upon her skin wherever his fingers roamed, she sucked in a deep breath. She could feel the dragon inside her waking to greet the Lord Confessor but she knew, as others would have scoffed at, that he had tamed the dragon in her with his words, touch and her desire to be what he thought she was capable of being. Each time they were together seemed like a learning experience in the way that something being just slightly uncomfortable could bring her pleasure. She liked it, like being his and feeling like her flesh was his to use as he wanted to only for him to worship her body once she'd been pushed to her limits but never beyond.

Kyra looked up at him, as her lips trembled at the way his eyes were devouring what belonged to him, the princess that men coveted but that he took of freely because she loved only him. Popping up on her toes, she smiled naively. "I do think that I prefer to be dressed this way but I do not think that you'd like it if I left the room with almost nothing upon my skin, my Lord."

[mysterycflife]

Larys hummed softly as he listened to Alys, his gaze focused on the horizon. The Isle of Faces was barely visible through the low-hanging fog on the water. Even on a beautiful sunny day like this, where the men of the castle had ridden out to hunt, something was haunting about the lake. But Larys had never minded it. He had crossed it once to visit the island in the middle. Only a few years ago, it seemed like a lifetime.

"It won't be the first or the last," he had dreamt of dragons falling from the sky like dead birds. Suspected it was what she was alluding to. "Men are predators, we cannot stay peaceful for long without rattling the bars of our cages." A corner of his mouth raised a bit into an enigmatic half-smile.

Alys sat next to the younger Lord, her eyes looking out at gloomy lake. She never got moments of peace like this anymore but it was nice to have such company to be able to enjoy it once more.

"Inside every storm, there is peace before it rages once more." She told him, her bare feet shifting in the shallows of the lake, her eyes moving from in front of them to him. "There is a war coming, a war that will change all of Westertos."

[mysterycflife]

Larys let her turn, looking down at her fondly as their eyes met again, fingers moving through the hair at the nape of her neck. "We all have to act in this mummer's farce. Spectacles and presentations are as much part of a war as brutality. Your sister has to play the part of dutiful wife and mother to the future king. And you, my dear, have to be the representation of all your sister left behind when she crowned herself Queen on Dragonstone. The small folk and the Lords must look at you and wonder why you are here and not with her." Larys leaned in to kiss her forehead, an unusual gentle gesture for the Lord Confessor. One reserved for no one but the woman in front of him.

"And there are part of this is do not mind." An impish gleam lighted his eyes as his gazes wandered down to her bosom. Fingers followed, moving over her skin as light as feathers from the back of her neck to where his eyes lingered. He had sat in on the council meeting where Otto Hightower had raised the issue plaguing her now. And he had agreed with the man that there was use in dressing and parading Kyra like this. Argued the merits he had told her now.

Ice blue eyes raised again. "We can't leave yet, my love. It's not time. Our presence is still needed here. I promise that nothing will happen to you, and once the time is right, we'll find a way to escape and leave everything behind. Until then…" Larys reached behind her and opened the lacing of her dress. The maids had done their best to knot it tightly. But he was practiced by now opening those knots. "if the dress bothers you so much, take it off." They were alone in his chambers, and his servants knew not to disturb them unless they had permission.

It was as though the King would never see her as she truly was. She would never want him, never be his to play with the way their father seemed to do with whomever he happened to want. Even the King's own mother had been almost a child bride herself, barely eighteen. Now, she was being changed to look as though she was a paramore of her brother but as one often did when they were related to the king, they did as they were told. "I know it's natural but I prefer to wear things that cover my skin. His own wife isn't required to wear something quite so garash, Larys."

Her words were soft and as she looked down at the rings upon her fingers, each given as gifts from men in her family, she hated how she must be in this rotten court. Only the Lord Confessor understood her, encouraged her to be who she wanted to be. The weight of having his back against hers made her look up into the looking glass to see his eyes. Maybe he liked her looking the way she did but it was always so hard to read what he was feeing. The moment she felt his finger under her chin, she looked back at herself, now looking the same as her mother, as the flower of the realm as she so often was called when they called her sister the darling.

Swallowing as his hand found it's way around her delicate neck, right above the necklace that had been given to her by him, she closed her eyes for a moment, relishing in the control he had over her. Why was it that when he controled her, made her do as he wished, she found a solace in the act but when her brother the king controled her, she just wanted to rebel. Finally, with his hand still in place, Kyra turned so that she was facing him, looking up. "Do you like it? Do you like the way I'm being forced to dress for a show. I'm to stand next to my borthers and sister as all the Lords come and all they will see is my mother, they will see how much I've changed to be beautiful but my sister has changed to be dark and a usurper. I want to run from all this. Please take me away from all of them before we will die in their war. I don't want to be a casualty to something I didn't want."