Cordelia Arrington

oMGGGGGG I hadn’t even considered that arthur’s kill!stare is super legit since he literally just killed someone who was gonna move da moves on cordelia hahahahAHAHAHAH (ngl while arthur is mostly like NO ONE LOOK @ ME I DEF DID NOT DO IT part of him kinda wants to be all SEE THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN U TRY TO GET WITH CORDELIA AND I’M NOT OKAY WITH IT BACK OFF ASSHOLES ;DDD)

alTHO tbh arthur’s death stare would probs only encourage romanye as well????? even if he knew how serious it was #facepalm

anyway, I think he’d love her spirit and her take on things (even if he can tell that she’s super naive and has no idea what is really going on). and tbh I feel like he’s probably going kinda stir crazy and isn’t allowed to go anywhere outside of the palace w/o permission from rowena so he’s probably also just super excited whenever new faces show up at the palace just to mix things up a little haha

When you literally overkill to keep your lil sis innocent ;DDDDDDD  Honestly, Cordelia causes so much trouble and has no earthly idea smdh  part of him wants to be like THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS lkfjlksdjfkljKLFJ;KDSJLFJ IM YELLING (so is Cordelia she just doesn’t know ;DDDD)

IT WOULD ONLY ENCOURAGE ROMAYNE I CHOKED Cordelia is like ‘there is literally no downside to this relationship’ *arthur tries to murder romyane* cordelia: ‘wow who could have possibly foreseen this wild turn of events?????’

“I do a great many things that I have been warned against doing,” He said, teasingly. “And what, might I ask, are you doing wandering about all alone so very near the spot where a man’s very life was taken from him?” He asked, “Alexandir Godiva is kept under lock and key, yes, but have you considered that there may have been an accomplice to his crimes? That very person could have taken you by surprise, just as I have,” He said, resisting the urge to smile at her once more, “If I may, allow me to accompany you on the rest of your tour of the gardens,” He said, “I would surely not be much use against the man who was able to kill such a warrior as Jon Valles, but if it just the mastermind behind the crime, perhaps we might be able to outwit him together.”

Dmitrei exhaled, shaking his head, “If I knew the answer to that question, I would do it myself. No one deserves to have such a thing happen to them, but your cousin perhaps least of all. She is as fairer than even the brightest of these roses, both in appearance and character.” She had the allure of the soft petals, which hid her sharp thorns underneath that would pierce you as you tried to take it for yourself.

“You must forgive me for my remark about your safety,” He said, “I hope it did not make you uneasy. I will agree that it may not have been Alexandir Godiva, and that the man responsible may still be on the loose … but, I do not think that there is a safer place in all of Aragoth than here.” He said, “Your cousin, the Queen, has taken every precaution, as has your aunt and brother. What happened to Jon Valles, will not happen to anyone else. Still, I do think it would be wise to exercise some extra caution until it is resolved, but I should not worry if I were you.”

“It very well might have been the pirate,” Dmitrei said, “He seems to delight in both causing trouble and making poor decisions.” He paused, “But, whatever the truth, I’m sure we can trust the Queen to find it.”

“How very shocking!” teased Cordelia with a bright smile.  “Whatever shall we do with you, my lord?”  Arching her brows, Cordelia turned towards him proudly.  “I am not afraid!” she declared in a tone very convincing for someone who had just jumped at the sound of a nearby footfall.  “Not with you here by my side, Lord Massard.  I don’t believe anyone should be witless enough to attack the both of us: a member of the queen’s own council and her niece beneath her very window!”  She paused.  “Besides, we are much more pleasant than poor Lord Valles ever was.  Who would ever want to harm us?”

That Jon Valles had provoked Alexandir Godiva, and that Alexandir Godiva had provoked Jon Valles, could not possibly be called into question.  It was a fact, witnessed by half the court, and indisputable for all that.  Whether further provocation had occurred - or vengeance simply taken - was less sure, but there seemed no one more likely.  Even if Alexandir had murdered Jon, Cordelia didn’t much blame him.  Naturally, the Queen could not overlook a murder and some slap on the wrist would need to be administered: perhaps she would give Raimbeaucourt or Evie elsewhere, perhaps Alexandir would be kept under house arrest for some time...Nothing was clear, but as murders went, killing a man like Jon Valles didn’t seem so very awful after all.

“Is there a particular accomplice you suspect?” inquired Cordelia in a conspiratorial tone.  “You’d not keep such a thing from me, would you, my lord?” she added with a soft smile.  “Our friendship is much too important for the keeping of any such secrets, I’m sure.”  Folding her arm into his, she smiled brightly.  “I should be very glad of a gallant companion,” she replied.  “One cannot be too careful in such circumstances, but I shall feel very safe indeed in the company of the cleverest man in Aragoth.”

Her spirits, kept artificially high by the social necessity of conversation and distraction, dipped again at the thought of Lynessa’s misery.  It puzzled her how such a wonderful woman might be so easily and all-consumingly ensnared by such a blackguard, but her regard could not possibly be questioned, now.  “That is so,” agreed Cordelia.  “She has all the beauty of both her native Houses.”  Cordelia’s Aunt Avelina was fond of saying how very great the resemblance was between Lynessa and Nycole Arrington of old, but Cordelia didn’t think it could be so exact as her aunt insisted.  The descriptions did sound right, but one could never say for certain after so many centuries.  Still, it was a comparison Avelina had always proved eager to draw.

“It is not you,” assured Cordelia.  “I confess I am...agitated, but if there is a fault in it, it is owing to my own anxiety over Lynessa,” she paused, before going on.  “And if anyone has been stirring me up, well, I’ll own Arthur has me rather in a state, as well.  I think he fears greatly that, rather than Jon, it might have been I who was killed.  Which is ridiculous...Jon had a great many enemies, but who on earth should want me dead I can’t for the world imagine!” she declared, naively.  “He has been most affected by the events, certainly.  I suppose he feels a bit responsible for our cousins, as he is the head of House Arrington, but I really don’t see what on earth poor Arthur could have done to prevent this heinous murder,” she added, insensible of the irony in her words.

“I didn’t think it’d break through,” He confessed, “Seems I didn’t know my own strength,” He added, raising his eyebrows as he grinned at her. But his smile fell when she mentioned that they might be skinned alive if they were seen. It sounded an exaggeration, but if what Alaric had told them all about the Arringtons the night the dragons and their riders fell, he decided to put more faith in those words. If the Lord of this castle truly had killed his very parents, what might he do to him for breaking a window to try to steal away one of his servant girls for the evening?

Perhaps that thought alone should have been enough for him to abandon his plan completely, but instead he simply followed her under the cover of the trees.

“I was trying to get your attention.” He said, “I was going to sneak in the castle, but I saw you at the window and thought it would be more efficient,” He tried to smile, but then he added, “ – you won’t be to blame for that, will you?” He asked. If she would be, then he knew that he’d come forward and take responsibility and that that would be the end of his uncle letting him out of his sight. That is, if he made it out of here alive … if Lord Arrington did not kill him for this, then Charles DeGrey would.

“Will you be missed if you leave for an hour or so?” He asked, “My uncle and my friends – we’re having a little feast at our camp in the woods and, well, would you like to meet them?” It sounded silly when he said it aloud. Still, he wanted her to meet everyone and what better time then now, when they would all be together? He hadn’t exactly told anyone that he had made a friend, but he didn’t think they’d mind: it wasn’t as if they would discuss any secret plans while she was with them and as long as Arya stayed in the woods, he didn’t see the harm in it.

As he joked with her, Cordelia tried to look self-possessed, but ended up grinning back.  There was an artless air to Roran, utterly unstudied, that was wonderfully refreshing.  Perhaps he was not so polished a flirt as Romayne Vitalis or as cultivated a one as Dmitrei Massard, but Cordelia trusted Roran more, which meant the flirtation was more real.  Of course, Cordelia wasn’t looking for anything, really, save a little excitement (she knew what to expect from her life too well to look for much more than that, but what could be more exciting than sneaking off under false names for a forbidden adventure?), but it was a flattering thought nonetheless.  

“Well,” she replied, coquettishly.  “You have my attention.”  She laughed when he spoke of efficiency.  “I daresay you were correct in that.  I can’t seem to dream up a much more immediate approach,” she teased.  “Short of climbing the walls yourself which...would be a terrible plan.”  

Fain was nothing if not ostentatious and, short of the Imperial Palace, was the largest hall in the East.  Unlike the other royal family of Aragoth, House Arrington was keen to publish its glories, something it did at every opportunity.  No sooner did one leave the main road to the path which led to the entrance of Fain than one encountered twin lions on either side of the road, their plinths almost as tall as a man on horseback, the lions themselves stretching on and on and on.  As a child, Cordelia used to climb a nearby tree and climb onto their stone backs, playing all across the breadth of them.  These greeting lions were so far from Fain, itself, as to be out of view of the castle, and that was only the beginning.  An effort to climb Fain would be foolish in the extreme and was, thus, something she mentioned an alternative too ridiculous to entertain.

Though Cordelia was doing her best to appear statuesque and beatific, she couldn’t help coloring at that, said with such impulsive sweetness.  “No,” she assured him in a low tone, biting her lip to conceal its smiles.  “I won’t be held accountable for that.  Everyone thinks it was some poor bird that flew through the glass.  No one will be held to blame.”

Celia ran, quickly as she could, to meet her cousin. Wrapping her arms tightly around her, she pulled her into an embrace. “I was worried about you, too.” She said. The castle wasn’t the only place for rumors: the small towns and villages were full of them, too, and it seemed that the noble families of Aragoth never stopped providing them with things to gossip about. Half of the things Celia heard on their journey she didn’t believe at all, and others she certainly didn’t care to (such as her sister marrying Valles) but that hadn’t stopped her from being concerned for her loved ones back at home.

“But, as you can see, I am unharmed,” She promised, smiling as she pulled away.

She laughed when Cordelia told her what she had heard. James Garin wanting to be king was perhaps the most absurd things she could think of! She imagined that he’d hate every minute of it. “No, he had no such plans,” She said, grinning, “And he certainly didn’t try to marry me. Thank the gods for that. He wanted the ransom and nothing more.”

Cordelia asked her to tell her everything, but the truth was, Celia didn’t know where to begin and for the first time in their relationship, she wondered how much she ought to say. Celia had always been an open book when it came to Cordelia: she shared her inner most secrets with her without even a second thought. But there was much to say about what she had seen and some of it may sound traitorous when she spoke it aloud. She thought about how she might have reacted to such information (how she did react when James first tried to tell her of it!) and in the end, she settled on saving the condition of Aragoth for later.

And then there was the issue of Loys Mortain and discovering that James was Loys and Loys was someone much different. She hadn’t yet told her mother this (eventually she would discover that something was amiss, the moment she met the real Loys, but for now she figured that telling her that James had met her before, deceived and then stolen from her, causing her to agree to marry a man she thought was someone else, would not help his case).

“I – I don’t know where to begin.” She confessed, “So much has happened.”

“Worried about me,” teased Cordelia, still half-serious.  “Don’t be silly.  Why, what on earth would happen to me, here?”  Yet, if Celia’s ordeal had proven anything, it was that anything could happen to anyone.  Still, Cordelia had never been one to relent to melancholy if faced with any other option at all.

“Thank all the gods for that!” exclaimed Cordelia, smiling through the afterglow of her own worry.  She could hardly believe the blessing of Celia’s safe return...just as she could hardly believe the horror of her having been stolen away in the first place.

“I am very relieved to hear it!  That blackguard doesn’t deserve you, little less to usurp our wonderful cousin!  In fact, I can think of hardly a soul living less deserving!”  After all, to have stolen Celia away, he must have been even worse than Jon Valles - and Cordelia could hardly even picture so odious a villain!  “I heard your mother put a stop to his ambitions, and good thing too.  He must be the worst man in all of Aragoth!  You must have been terrified!”  Taking Celia’s hands in her own, she squeezed them in an effort to give some encouragement.

Guin grinned, “I’m always surprised to see anyone else, myself,” She admitted. Surprised was, perhaps, an understatement. Hearing another step in the tunnels often made her worry as to who they belonged to. So far, she had never come across anyone else but Cordelia, but she was certain that they were not the only ones who knew about these passageways. Cordelia had even told her that Celia, at least, knew.

“I’m glad to hear it! Still, I would be glad of your guidance and company.” She was, of course, happy to chat with Cordelia but if they were caught by someone else, now it seemed much less suspicious that Guin was down that at all and she relaxed some.

“I only saw Evie,” She confessed, “She is well, but … I think she is worried for both her sisters.”

Guin did not know Lynessa Beaumont well, but she worried for her, too. She would make an effort to get to know her after the wedding – they would be cousins after all – but until then it seemed she and her mother were always busy with preparations. Although Guin wasn’t sure that any amount of planning would be enough to ready her for her husband to be.

Guin smiled softly, “Indeed, he is. One cannot blame him.” She added. She loved her sisters and cousin, dearly. And she supposed, if she were Arthur she would have a hard time choosing amongst them, as well. Still, that did not mean she liked him any better for it. She wondered if he didn’t mean to marry any of them, at all.

“That is true,” She said, “And yet, for all his constancy, I’m not sure I’ve been able to make him smile,” She said, teasingly.

“Oh, yes,” agreed Cordelia.  “It always startles me!  I never expect to see anyone here.  And when I do, I always feel almost as though I’ve been caught doing something quite naughty,” she laughed, having no idea that Guinevere felt the same way...because she was.

"Good,” replied Cordelia, good-naturedly.  “These passageways are much more pleasant with company, anyway.  Not that I’d be alone with just Aegor,” she added, grinning towards the horse as though he were in on the joke that he was an animal and she was not.  “Companionship is always welcome.”

Glancing away for a moment, Cordelia nodded.  She tried to construct a cheerful reaction, but found no way to pull it off.  She smiled, a little sadly.  “She has reason to be,” she admitted, softly.  “Lynessa is most piteously grieved, and Celia...”  She bit her lip.  “Celia seems unhappily changed by the event.  She no longer has that peace about her she once possessed...Natural, given what she’s been through but...tragic.”  Celia, of course, had seen the world and was no longer so innocent of the truth as her cousins, but not realizing this, Cordelia mistook her newfound wisdom for misplaced anxiety, having been kidnapped.  “We must all do our utmost to assure her that, at last, she is safe.”

She paused, thinking of Guinevere’s situation.  “I’m so very sorry about your father and your cousin,” she added in a low voice.  “I never knew my father, but...I cannot imagine how cruel a loss it must be to those who know that joy.  Certainly, I can’t imagine loosing Arthur.”  She paused.  She did not know what to say about Jon Valles.  She’d not cared for him, herself, but he had been Guinevere’s cousin.  If anyone had ever seen goodness in him, Cordelia felt sure, it must be the Fontaines.  “And my cousins are my dearest friends.  To loose them...It’s all so awful for you...”

As she said that one could not blame Arthur for his...interest in her sisters and cousin, Cordelia glanced away.  It seemed she was not the only one made uneasy by the whole thing, but she didn’t have the desire to speak anything against her brother.  Instead she said, “Whoever he chooses will be someday one of the greatest ladies in all of Aragoth.  One cannot fault him for being careful in his selection, I suppose.  It must be difficult to have to make such a choice, especially knowing its consequences against the ones you love.”