-- ᴏ, ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ, ɪ'ᴠᴇ ʙᴇᴇɴ ᴄʀᴜᴇʟᴇʀ.

with eldest brother by the crown prince's side , arnolf remained by sister in law's . signs of confusion upon his features clear up and now there is suspense instead ; already one of distrustful nature , lord stark was convinced more than ever the pack had to remain together . " that doesn't sound good . " stating out the obvious , he puts cup of ale to the side . " we must leave as soon as possible . i hope they will not attempt to hold theon here longer than necessary . "

blank shock on faces was enough to send the chill of superstition down asha's spine, but those were not emotions nor thoughts that she would state out loud. liege greyjoy gripped their own mead in its elegant cup, mask up and fastened to the red - brown of her hair. " well, of course not. nor one of her doppelgängers. " blunt, harsh tones not personal to anyone, just expected from their person. refusing to raise their hand to toast. " and they have just made a great fool out of her and all who were watching. "

" hmm . " lord stark hums , the severity of the situation only now becoming more clear to him . he held little care for the dragons and their endeavours in front of deitys that were not his , but any sort of deceit or blasphemy leaving a sour taste in his mouth . " they make fool of the gods above all . honorless . "

gerion raises an eyebrow , as if an outrageous statement had been made in his presence . he finds nothing but sincerity painted on the other's features and for a moment lord lannister wishes to entertain what he considered as naivety . " we could only hope and dream , my lord . " quite the opposite of what he wanted , really , for what better than lack of stability in the dragon's den . " but we shall also prepare for the worst . may the gods protect us . "

there was something beautiful about the monstrosity of a throne the queen sat upon . gerion found himself watching from a far , with the hall almost empty as lieges walked in an out . left unnoticed for the most part , lannister turns abruptly at the sound of kin's voice . he cannot help the smirk that paints his features . " it is awfully romantic , cousin , is it not ? and hope is given to all the maidens around westeros - with enough determination anyone can marry the crown prince . "

open starter (accepting replies)

celebrations had put gerion in an excellent mood , drunk off the silent chaos that ensued afterwards . oh , how he wished to be a fly in the wall at the next small council . all he could satisfy himself with as of now , though , was conversing with notable lieges , changing his own opinions and demeanor as a chameleon to get them talking . " i suppose . at least until her grace makes a statement . i , for one , would hate to be the object of her wrath at this moment . " although queen rhaena had kept her composure as expected , gerion could note the dragonfire beneath the lavender .

open starter ›› ft. trystane tyrell when: a day or two after the martial rites. status: accepting replies

never one to be overly pious , lord lannister could still feel the uneasiness somewhere deep beneath his chest . his own home haunted by the ghosts of the crimson rain , perhaps they'd come all this way to haunt him . he had held his breath unintenionally . " that , or the calm before the storm . "

lord lannister is caught off guard amongst curtains and tapestries of the dragons as a voice calls out to him . onyx orbs and black cat meet white cat in return , mirrors of each other , thus a spark is ignited . initial sense of surprise has worn off and gerion recovers , a hand leaned comfortably against crimson fabrics , demeanor relaxed and curiousity set aflame . " tonight's secrecy is merely an illusion , my lady . " it would all come to light eventually , that much gerion was sure of . for those who got that extra drop of bravery behind masks , at least . " but i have always been fond of games . "

" you and i both . " arnolf decides to help himself to said dornish red after all , fills up a goblet to the brim and raises it towards old friend before it is brought up to his lips . a bit too sweet for his taste , but it warms him up nicely . " speaking of brothers , we should probably save mine at some point - he enjoys southerners less far than yours . i think this is the tenth liege of the night attempting to talk his ear off . " eyes dart to theon across the hall , performing boresome ruling lord duties ; he'd kept an eye on all loved ones , or at least attempted to . focus shifts elsewhere though as arnolf notes his goblet to be already empty and refills it . it seems like there is some defrostation going on after all ; a bit hesitant at first , but lord stark had felt the urge to let it out , have someone to talk to . " i haven't told you . i am to be married soon . "

" shut up. " was all rickon could muster up in reponse after a few moments of silence, that along with balled up fisted landing on elder brother's shoulder. he reaches out towards full plates, enjoying himself some honeyed meat as well. " when are we to have some fun at last? i am growing bored out of my mind. "

no words are uttered for a while ; lord stark simply extends a hand to smack the behind of little brother's head . then they shall carry on as if nothing had happened . " mother is already pissed at me . whatever i have planned , you will take no part in . "

⟣ ─ ˑ 〃 ۫ 🪽 ❛ 𝐢𝐟 𝐢 𝐚𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 — ❜ voice trembles with new - found confidence , see : roslin tully is a wallflower : a delicate thing standing in peripheries : longing , waiting . ❛ shall we join the floor ? ❜ tonight , the lady roslin is not in attendance . in her stead , the white rose stands : confident . the rose takes the suggested northern forwardness in stride . ❛ i do hope you dance better than you converse , my lord . ❜

he had brought this upon himself , hadn't he ? forwardness in return of his own . set in one's ways , arnolf had decided to endure the feasts to the best of his abilities , counting the seconds to his return to winterfell . he'd already refused passing offers of dancing , so his first instinct is to repeat words that have left his mouth already - no chance , but the white rose now stood tall and confident , almost endearing as lips curve upwards beneath the chilling mask of an ice king . " oh , i do . i'm an excellent dancer , especially after a gallon of ale . " eyes dart between the rose and lively dance floor and so for the first time this evening the stark leaves his seat , an arm extended in offering . perhaps it was time he attempted courtesy . " my lady ? "

the feast was far from what rickon stark was used to or what he usually enjoyed, but ale and celebratory atmosphere helped untie young lord's tongue. masks or none at all, he wouldn't know half the people in this hall anyway, which made conversing somehow more enjoyable and thrilling. he raises an eyebrow at the other's remark; usually he would take offense, but now, it only intrigued him. " i would suggest you pick your words wisely. the sphinx is half-god, half-man, after all. "

he might not enjoy the queen's festivities , but arnolf could admit her grace was more than generous when it came to food and drinks , so he helped himself to plenty of ale and honeyed meat . interrupted by little brother's arguments , the stark spares few words before he continues with one's chewing . " a half - wit is what you are . "

" you ought to believe me , lord bee , although our masks do a fine job of concealing identities , others are not so fortunate . " a lie , for gerion was ( to his pleasure ) able to recognize lord marbrand , he'd rather not reveal it , but instead indulge in dornish red and petty gossip . " every soul in the westerlands knows who actually fathered her child , but her lord husband . quite unfortunate . "