When Robin heard the Lord’s responses he furrowed his brows, and chewed on his bottom lip. my prince, your attention, serve at your pleasure. Leowyn knew what he was doing. He was Master of Whispers he must have been good at playing with others minds, getting them to say things….do things they normally would not so he could squeeze information out them. Robin also knew how much of the Myrish Pear Brandy he had consumed was throwing him off his edge, he wouldn’t have said what he had without the drink in his system, but it was too late to backtrack now….especially after what the other had said. He was simply trying to throw him off more, or mock him, and Robin couldn’t tolerate either. He had to regain the over hand, call Leowyn on his bluff, take the pressure that had now been put on him, and put it back on the Master of Whispers. Robin under normal circumstances would usually never be so brazen, but with the Myrish drink, he felt a sense of courage running through his bones to be more assertive with the lord. 

“How noble of you to not wish to dampen my mood on my name day. Unfortunately, your rather boring gift did such a thing.” Shifting in his seat, his eyes looking over Leowyn’s futures another time. “You want to please me so badly? You truly want my attention over the attention of women? Then prove it, Lord Corbray, take off your clothes and you shall have as much of my attention and my pleasure as you wish.” Bringing his drink to his lips, and taking a long drink, his eyes not breaking their connection with Leowyn’s so that the older man knew just how serious the Arryn Prince was. 

.

     While he had a knack for being disingenuous with other people, Leowyn was being nothing but honest with the Arryn prince. His loyalty lied with Robin’s family, and thus, to use his tactics garnered for his title as Master of Whispers on Robin would have gone against whatever little moral code he had. In hindsight, Leowyn should have recognized that he could have come across crass or brazen — or even condescending — to the younger male. That was the furthest thing from his goal. If anything, he wished to do whatever necessary to stay in the prince’s good graces.

     “I apologize. I shall be more inventive next time,” Leowyn decided.  The older male had certainly not been expecting the words that parted from Robin’s lips, and it was quite apparent on his face by the way his blue eyes widened. He moved from his seat, a little hesitant at first. He was usually such a confident and bold man, but Robin had so expertly flipped the table on him. Such a request would have been surely a joke, but the prince’s body language suggested anything but. “As you wish, my prince,” he declared. Leowyn inched closer to the younger male, nimble fingers working at the buttons on his velvet doublet. His undershirt followed suit. Once the fabric was torn from his body, his muscles on full display, Leowyn’s gaze returned to Robin’s. His digits unlaced his breeches before tugging them off his frame, leaving him in nothing but his smallclothes. “Should I, or would you like to?”

   Robin was his brother’s Hand, it fell to him to handle many matters, both by his brother’s request and because Robin felt that these things needed his attention, so he could compile reports for his brother. That meant he also took meetings with the other Small Council members, usually individually. Right now he was meeting with Leowyn Corbray, the Master of Whispers. Robin thought the man was arrogant, and boorish. He was a decent enough Master of Whispers, Robin was certain though he could find two dozen men just as good with a far better personality. Yet, Rowan did not wish to offend one of their most powerful vassals and so refused Robin’s many attempts to have Lord Corbray replaced. 

This meeting was now about three hours in, it was dark out, and Robin was starting to feel the effects of his fourth glass of his favored Tyroshi Pear Brandy. While Robin did not usually drink so much during meetings he found in order to deal with Lord Corbray one on one, he needed some help. The meeting had been arranged so that Leowyn could share all his info on the River King, the River Lords, and the Riverlands. So that he could develop the best battle plan, or in the case of an attack the best possible defense for the Vale. It had only taken a few moments before the Master of Whispers was getting on Robin’s nerves, his bawdiness was……grating. Leo was taking about something but Robin had truthfully stopped listening, and for some reason, maybe it was a mixture of boredom, and curiosity or it was because of the Tyroshi Pear Brandy, Robin found himself cutting Leowyn off with an unrelated matter, 

“Why did you throw the joust for me? An arrogant man like you, I imagine you would have revealed in the victory, the cheers, the…..women who would have given you attention for it, you are after all a very eligible bachelor, with a decent enough face.” His eyes moved away from Leowyn, before he wet his bottom lip with his tongue, and started speaking again, “aAnd you could have won the whole thing if you had wanted. You won the archery tournament, you could have won both. Yet, you chose not to…….why? Tell me.” 

@leowyncorbray​

     There was one thing Leowyn prided himself on, and that was being able to quickly assess people in situations. Needless to say, he could tell the young prince was wearing thin with patience when it came to him. Truth be told, he could understand the seeming disdain the younger male held for him. The two had never interacted outside of official business or small talk — or, of course, the joust at the prince’s birthday celebration, but Leowyn did not really count it. Such was the case now, though this meeting had drudged on longer than their prior encounters. The River King was their biggest priority at the moment, and both knew they needed to be prepared, should anything devastating occur. 

     Leowyn noted silently the the number of glasses Robin had already downed. He didn’t remark upon them, as it was not his place, but it was good to know what the prince liked. Perhaps down the road, he could use that fact to get into his good graces. Time would only tell. So Leowyn carried on, explaining his position to the the raven-haired male. He could sense the boredom in his gaze. He could understand why Robin was losing interest. He was young after all, and war did not seem to be suited to his interests. Still, the matters were pressing, and Leowyn would have been remiss not to elaborate his views on the possible conflict. He only found himself speechless when the other male interrupted him. He hadn’t quite imagined the conversation turning to such a topic, but Leowyn was relieved, if he was being truthful. 

     “Well, my prince, it was your birthday after all,” Leowyn started. “I had already won. Yes, I could have taken both victories, but it would not have been right to dampen your day. I serve at your pleasure, do I not?” He posed the question with an arched brow. “Besides, who said I would like the attention of the women? Perhaps I wanted your attention.”

    @leowyncorbray

when hearing the news that leowyn corbray was first appointed to her brother’s small council, as the master of whispers of all positions, ravella remembered an icy fury building from the depth of a gut, a fury that she knew she could not allow to make her loose lipped or irritable considering the events of what had occurred during her report orientated trip to hearts home some years ago. they had both sworn to never speak of what had occurred that night; that ended with them both treading along the rocky shores of hearts home, on a rickety old pier with their blackened cloaks covering their faces. and yet, it seemed as though the man had continued down a path of ambition, wishing to raise his ranks from his family’s considerably poorer background of all the noble families in the vale. it had been some time since the appointment had been reported to her, and that icy fury had turned to an aloof detached relationship that orientated around work and nothing more. they held eachother at a considerable distance, just as they had in physical distance for the many years after the incident before leowyn took up the post of master of whispers. 

“what do you hear of a location?” she enquired, sitting across the man at a long oak desk, entering the chambers after her brother’s meeting with his advisors and taking a place at the table. she did not know where exactly leowyn got his information from, however she wondered whether he too had some sort of connections to essos; where so much of westerosi politics seemed to trail back east. the river king, and the tyrell king, had reportedly started their march north toward the mountains of the vale; though they would not dare try and push into the safety of the vale, as no others had done before; no, they would have to strike first.

ravella found herself increasingly tense, knowing it could not be her generation of the arryns that would be the first to allow their home to fall to outside forces. nature itself was on their side; shielded by the enormous scale of the mountains of the moon. but still, their borders stretched along enough along the west, against the enmity of riverlands, and all advisors knew having a grip on the exact location of the intended meeting of the troops would allow them to concentrate their own population of soldiers where it mattered post. “how is it that merchants from essos know something we should?”

leowyn was well-aware of the disdain ravella held for him. he was vigilant about keeping his distance from her, opting not to remind of her that fateful night those years ago. thought he dared not speak a word about the incident, the memories flooded his mind whilst in her presence. leowyn could still feel the chill of the sea’s breeze on his skin as they trudged along the pier, doing their best to conceal any evidence of his crime. leowyn would still contend the man deserved it, given the persistence to ignore his sister’s will. it mattered not to him what the man’s aspirations were; he had a duty to defend and protect his family as the head of their household. while he much preferred things not to end in such a violent manner, leowyn felt confident enough that he had successfully defended his family’s honor. remorse for the death simply did not exist, but rather, for his choice to entangle ravella into his own mess. perhaps if he had, the air between them would not have been so awkward and tense.

a lot had changed since then. his own aspirations had come to fruition with a position in the king’s council of advisors. that was all he needed to satisfy him, a seat at the table. leowyn had been fortunate to accrue a network of connections who provided him with information through his travels and wealth. it only seemed right that he should serve at the king’s hand. he took his every meeting seriously, as if it were his first or his last. such was the case with the meeting they had just finished when ravella took a seat at the table. blue eyes widened, and he bowed his head just slightly. “i am not sure there is much to know yet,” leowyn answered. he sighed, shaking his head. there was much he had yet to confirm, just whispers of things. “there is talk of a purchase in essos, so my sources tell me,” he explained, hands folded against the table.

leowyn himself was frustrated with how little he knew. he had yet to shake them down, which was always a possibility. he wanted to play his cards right, though. he could not mess this up, and he was well-aware of that fact. “the other thing that is of importance is that he has somehow acquired weapons. from whom, i am not sure... but i assure you, you shall be one of the first to know.”

kingarryn​.

@robinofthevale @leowyncorbray​

while the rest of his court was preparing for a night of diversions and festivities, rowan arryn decided to remain safely tucked away in the eyrie, free from the prying eyes and endless mysteries that the merchants of essos were surely going to offer for their guests at the masquerade ball. rowan was aware that the targaryens would be attending the ball tonight in attempt to find more details regarding the tully king’s latest plot, but given they were known for their silver-coloured locks and violet orbs, rowan doubt that his friend’s plan would be successful. only a fool would not be able to recognize daemon targaryen through his mask. alas, rowan still wished his friend the best of luck.

instead, rowan decided it was in his best interest to summon his inner circle which consisted of his second and hand, robin arryn, his master of whispers, leowyn corbray, and his top military general, for a small council meeting. this would ensure that their plans regarding the next impending war would not be overheard by their enemies. it made rowan uneasy to know that he has been forced to welcome his enemies into his own court, to walk through his own home and having to constantly be looking over his shoulders.

rowan entered the room, noticing that he is the first to arrive. he takes his seat in one of the nearby chairs, purposely avoiding the empty chair at the head of the table. with his inner circle, there was no hierarchy. they all had one purpose: to serve the best interest of the vale. 

and because of that, they were each other equals.

    Robin knew that the other royals and nobles were going to some party of debauchery, though it was not something that the youngest Arryn would attend. Such foreign fantasies and flights did not entertain Robin, and he wanted no part of it. His brother was evidently of the same mind, and had decided not to attend. When he heard that his brother was also gathering them for a meeting, he raised an eyebrow, shocked that Lord Corbray wasn’t going to be at the part, he had been sure that such an arrogant man would love such an event. Making his way to the council chambers, Robin took the seat at the head of the table, moving his papers in front of him, before he finally acknowledged his brother. “The others are late. We should begin without them.” 

@leowyncorbray​