ripe for victory.

It felt amazing to be able to see someone from his past and know that he was alive and well. From what he could see, he was well. And he surely did hope that he was because it would break Benji’s heart if the other wasn’t. As he listened to the other speak, he nodded and then chuckled. “Oh heavens, I am so happy to see you again!” he simply said, not being able to hide his excitement. Hearing that he is the head of the house Redwyne, wow. Now that was something he never thought he would hear. Someone he knew becoming the ruling lord of a house. “I’m proud of you. I bet you are a great ruler and that you care about your people” he mused, always seeing the good in people even if that would be his downfall one day. 

“Of course Winterfell is cold. Hence the name” he giggled and rolled his eyes at the others question. Some things truly never change, huh? As he studied the other, his smile softened and he relaxed more and more. No need to be all formal, he knew the other after all.

it was a relief for elden to not have to adhere to such strict formalities when speaking; as much as he was well-versed in it and could be programmed to speak in such a way all day, it was equally as easy for him (and preferred) to drop the formalities and just talk, something he did very rarely now as a ruling lord. he smiled a little as his head dipped, shrugging. “nobody’s complained about my rule yet,” he said, glancing back at benji, “so i can only guess that indicates i’m doing a good job?”

“it was an honest question,” elden defended with a small laugh, “i’m sure winterfell has it’s warmer times? or is it strict with it’s climate like the reach is?”

        IT HAD BEEN TOO LONG since seung-ah had last seen her cousin. she had been reluctant to leave bear island after she had become its ruling lady. not only had she needed to adapt to her new role, but she also didn’t want to risk going too far away in case danger returned. her siblings and her people had needed her. the farthest she traveled were other keeps in the north, but no farther. even today the reach was one of the last places she wanted to visit. it would bring back too many memories of her husband and the future she lost. unfortunately that meant she rarely saw elden anymore. she had thought that the feast would give them time to reunite, but then the murder… there had been no time to talk after that.

          but this morning she had sought her cousin out, hoping they would have time to talk beyond the polite formalities exchanged during the feast.          “ i know, but we can still make the best of it. until the investigation concludes we will likely all have to stay in the capital. ”          unfortunately. all seung-ah truly wanted was to return home.

elden nodded his head a little in agreement. seung-ah was, ultimately, right; even if the situation was the least enviable, it was still a chance to see each other nonetheless and that was something he should focus on as opposed to anything else. he was sure, ultimately, that the trip down to king’s landing could be made worthwhile by concerning himself massively with his cousin rather than his overlord. 

“i remember when coming here used to be fun,” elden commented with a sigh. whilst he was more than happy to be in king’s landing, the circumstances as to why he was there made it less tolerable and took whatever fun there could be to have out of it. “do you think we’ll have to stay here longer? as heads of vassals of hightower and stark?”

He noticed how excited the other seemed due to his introduction. And that caused Benji to cock one of his eyebrows, his gaze never once leaving the other male. Benji had a good memory, he would never forget important people. But sometimes names and faces all get mashed together and sadly you mix people up. Due to being a guard, working for the lord of Winterfell, it’s hard to keep track of all the people who walk in and out of the door, in and out of the courtyard. But there is something about the other, something Benji just couldn’t put his finger on. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew who the other was. But a name, that was the hard part. He could put a name on that face even if he tried and god knows he tried. 

Looking out the window for a split second, he then heard the name and now it was the guards turn to beam like the sun. “Elden!” he gasped and closed the remaining gap, pulling the other in for a bear hug. It had been such a long time since he had seen him last. And it felt good, knowing that he was now the lord of house Redwyne? Wow, times sure does change. “How have you been?” he asked once he leaned back.

elden had to suppress an onslaught of giggles as he was pulled into the hug, half happy that even after all these years benji remained the same. speaking to benji brought him back to a time where he hadn’t had to worry about commanding such a reputable fleet nor being the head of a noble house. the last time benji had seen elden, he was the youngest son of the house - the son that was a spare to an heir and would more than likely be married off for political gain. 

even as the two broke contact after the hug, elden was still smiling massively. it’d been a good ten or so years since the two had last interacted so, naturally, a lot of catching up had to be done. “i’ve been good!” he said with a small nod, “i became the head of house redwyne which was an experience.” he paused and was silent for a few seconds, memories of the time of civil unrest in the arbor coming back to him before he smiled again, “and you? is winterfell still cold?”

Listening to him talk about the ships, he sighed and nodded as he looked at him and then out the window. It was beautiful around here, that he had to admit. Back home there was not many colors, only grey and white. But here it constantly felt like a painting. He was stuck inside a painting and he was not complaining about it because it was breathtaking. It was refreshing to see something that had life instead of being surrounded by cold and harsh weather that could kill you if you weren’t careful. But that’s also the thing, he was more used to that weather than the constant warmth. Would he ever get used to being here? No. But there was no other place he would rather be. 

Hearing the mention of a guard that rambled in Winterfell, Benji couldn’t help but giggle. “That must have been me. And for that I apologize. I often times tend to ramble about all sorts of things” he explained and then sighed, shaking his head at himself. “So you have been in the North? Maybe we have met? My name is Benji Glover. Maybe that rings some bells?” he asked, tilting his head to the side.

after hearing the name, elden’s face brightened significantly. there wasn’t much in the north that had made his time bearable but the conversations he had with the very guard in front of him had made the time a little more fun. perhaps too excitably, elden nodded his head. “my father sent me there when i was young, to gather knowledge or something.” he waved a hand dismissively because even now, years after his time in winterfell, he never knew what the true reason was as to why he was sent there and not highgarden.

whilst trying to tame his smile, elden couldn’t help but giggle himself as he ran a hand through his hair. “there’s no need to apologise, those conversations were the best.” he stopped, giving the window another quick glance before looking back at benji, “it rings some bells.” he feigned embarrassment for a few seconds, the cheeky smirk on his face growing by the second. “maybe i should introduce myself? lord elden of house redwyne, ruling lord of the arbor.”

The other seemed familiar to the guard. As he tried to search his memorise, he then came up with nothing and sighed, just watching the other who seemed to be a lord of sorts. He could see that thanks to the fancy clothing. “The docks. Ah, great choice” he said, a lover of nature and the sea, it was actually a perfect choice. But he was biased after all. He could spend forever infront of the sea or in it even. Something about nature have always calmed the guard. Even up in the North, the cold winters always made the guard feel happiness. A happiness people couldn’t bring him. Sounded rather sad, but it was the truth. And a truth he wasn’t ashamed off. As he continued to study the other, the guard crossed his arms over his chest and smiled warmly. Never once wanting to come across as rude. This was nobility after all and his job was to act kind even if they didn’t deserve it.

“Sadly I haven’t. I have been rather.. distracted. And I know that’s not a good thing to hear, coming from a guard and all. But I have always had a tendency to dream away when nothing happens around me. And today seems to be a calm day” he rambled and felt his cheeks heat up due to that fact alone. He really should stop rambling about things that wasn’t important.

his smile softened and he nodded a little. “i never thought i’d say the ships of the arbor are something i miss but here i am.” there was a window near the two of them and elden took the chance to look out of it for a second, “the ships here don’t match those found back home but a ship is a ship nonetheless.” like the other, he felt like he knew the taller from somewhere - his name perhaps on the tip of his tongue.

elden laughed a little at the man’s monologue, seeing the telltale signs of embarrassment as endearing. he tilted his head to the side slightly. “you wear the stark colours - you’re from winterfell, no?” he asked, “there was a guard there that rambled all the time - it was humorous.”

true or false meme: accepting!

“true! i learnt how to sail and navigate shortly after i learnt how to wield a sword.”

The trick for not being caught up with the crushing feeling of home sickness? Don’t think about it too much. That was what Benji was trying to do, not think at all about how much he missed the North. He had sworn to follow the Starks everywhere they went. And that now meant far away from his home, far away from where he knew his surroundings. Here he was a stranger and it caused him to be on high alert, scared that something bad would happen to him if he wasn’t. It felt good though, to be able to see the lord he served do whatever he could for his house, for his people, for the North. But try not to think about that either, Benji. Don’t walk down that dark road of crushing thoughts and insecurity. As he walked around the castle, humming quietly on a song, he felt someone walk into him.

His gaze moved from the floor up to the other male. A warm smile formed on Benji’s lips as he shook his head. “Hey, it’s okay. I wasn’t paying attention either” he assured the other, not wanting him to take all the blame when they both had been clearly off somewhere else, not paying attention to where they were going. “Are you okay, you seem lost?” he then asked.

elden nodded slightly, a small smile of gratitude thanking the man for taking half of the blame. as he stood straighter, hands trailed downwards on his clothes to brush away any creases that could’ve been caused by the knock. holding his head a little higher, now conscious that someone was watching him and therefore posture was important, he shook his head at the man. “not exactly. i’m looking for one of my personal guards - he told me he’d escort me to the docks of king’s landing.”

he stopped, taking in the man’s appearance. it was obvious to him now, as he stopped and looked, that the other was a knight of sort and judging from the colours and emblems displayed on the armour he was loyal to house stark. memories of his time in winterfell flashed back to him before he smiled a little. “i don’t suppose you’ve seen him?” he asked, “he’s wearing the colours of house redwyne.”

roaming around the red keep and, to an extent, king’s landing itself could only satisfy elden’s needs temporarily. as much as it was a good chance to see the capital of the seven kingdoms, converse with many nobles and have a celebration before the unfortunate event, elden pined for the arbor. he missed the warmer climate and missed seeing the ships of the arbor rather than the royal fleet. he yearned for the sense of normality to return but, seeing as house hightower was under suspicion and his house was pledged to them, he was unsure on when that would happen.

truthfully, the thought that the colours of the house he was sworn to being seen at the murder occupied elden’s thoughts massively; his already tentative loyalty to the noble house weakening somewhat. still, he remained optimistic as always that house hightower would prove him wrong and he’d be able to happily pledge loyalty once again. he was so lost in his thoughts that he walked into someone from behind, causing him to step back and bow swiftly. “my apologies,” he said quickly, before the person could turn around, “i hadn’t been looking where i was going.”

true or false meme: accepting!

“true. it’s more of a distaste to the drink rather than a hatred but it’s definitely not my alcohol of choice.”

for elden, one of the only good things about coming to king’s landing was the chance for a catch-up with his cousin, the ruling lady of bear island. since his succession as not only head of house redwyne but the lord of the arbor, elden found himself having less time to visit those who meant a lot to him and more time spent overseeing the great fleet and the well being of his people. seung-ah knew that elden’s loyalty to house hightower had been greatly damaged following his brother’s crimes against his house; the older had been a staunch hightower supporter and thus caused the ruling house to be tainted for elden. as such, it was no surprise that the colours of house hightower being seen during the murder didn’t sit well with elden.

standing out on the veranda of the room he had been allocated in the red keep, elden turned to seung-ah with a small smile. “when i hoped we’d be able to meet again and spend time, these weren’t the circumstances i imagined.”

*.:｡ ✧( BYUN BAEKHYUN , 25, HE/HIM ) a little bird told me that they have seen  ELDEN REDWYNE  roaming the capital, the  ruling lord  of  THE ARBOR , and loyal to  HOUSE REDWYNE & HOUSE HIGHTOWER. there have been whispers that they’re  optimistic & diplomatic. however, some would say that they’re  judgemental & rebellious . may the old gods and the new gods be watching over them !