#glvrious

on most days, aeron found himself training in the courtyard. he’s been to the vale before on one of his many travels. the lord dayne remembered how much he was in awe of the towering grandeur of the eyrie. it felt so foreign for him to roam around — stairwell? stardale? staerdale. right, it was staerdale. aeron needed to get used to the new name. sweat trickled down his forehead and shirt drenched from the hours spent sparring. it was only when his opponent yielded that he thought to catch a break. breathless, he walked off to the side, dawn in hand. “lady denyse,” he greeted with a tiny smile before taking the goblet of water from one of his men. “apologies, i did not notice you there. i seemed to have been too engrossed with poking my opponent with dawn’s pointy end. it’s a good thing i haven’t lost yet else that would be a tad embarrassing,” aeron added with a slight pant. 

          to  put  it  mildly  ,  he’s  exhausted  .  their  lives  were  already  present  hell  enough  ,  did  the  king  really  need  to  demand  them  somewhere  else  ?  olyvar  was  starting  to  ease  into  his  new  tasks  ,  keeping  an  eye  on  highgarden  in  davios’  absence  and  making  sure  their  mother  did  not  arrange  any  betrothals  .  he  collapses  into  the  seat  opposite  of  alerie  ,  eyes  gazing  toward  their  stomach  for  a  moment  and  noting  how  much  they’ve  changed  since  leaving  for  summerhall  .   ❝   how  are  you  feeling  ?  do  you  need  anything  ?   ❞   he  asks  instinctively  ,  the  sudden  caretaker  of  house  tyrell  .  oly  asks  a  passing  servant  for  a  pitcher  of  water  before  turning  his  full  attention  back  to  his  baby  sister  .

he  had  just  emerged  from  the  stables  of  staerdale,  missing  his  quiet  steed  but  finding  comfort  in  the  demanding  mules  that  nosed  at  his  hands  in  search  of  a  treat,  when  his  gaze  rested  on  a  familiar  face  attached  to  an  unfamiliar  figure  ─  almost  immediately,  the  constant  furrow  between  his  brows  softened  up  at  the  sight,  her  condition  twisting  at  his  heart.  alerie  had  written  to  him  around  the  same  time  he  had  been  off  fighting  in  the  riverlands  and  though  he  had  not  been  able  to  visit  highgarden  as  promised,  the  two  had  kept  correspondences  which  was  how  he  learned  of  their  expectant  state.  (  if  things  had  not  been  as  tense  in  the  westerlands,  he  would  have  ridden  to  her,  instead,  to  serve  as  a  friend  and  a  comfort.  )  ❝  my  dear  lady.  ❞  he  approached  with  long  strides,  fondness  compelling  him  to  tease  her  gently  with  a  deep  bow.  ❝  my  dear,  sweet  alerie.  ❞  a  hand  extended,  as  though  to  pull  them  into  an  embrace,  arms  kept  spread  to  allow  them  to  initiate  contact,  if  they  wished.  ❝  am  i  the  first  to  welcome  you  to  staerdale  or  were  you  hiding  from  me  for  the  past  few  days  ?  ❞

❝  i  hope  the  festival  is  finding  you  well  ,  @glvrious​  .  ❞  he  speaks  from  his  grand  throne  in  the  courtyard  ,  no  iron  throne  but  nonetheless  one  of  gold  .  his  cupbearer  stands  not  far  off  ,  shaking  as  he  waits  for  the  king  to  empty  his  goblet  .  the  last  before  him  ,  the  very  lad’s  brother  ,  had  proven  too  slow  and  had  vanished  as  a  result  .  ❝  have  you  plans  to  enter  into  the  tournaments  ,  boy  ?  i  dare  say  you  should  .  for  how  could  a  targaryen  prince  not  compete  ?    ❞  

          being  the  spare  ten  times  over  has  its  perks  -  though  with  their  youngest  brother  becoming  heir  ,  they  worry  their  father  would  skip  over  his  eldest  children  as  the  line  continued  .  they  wanted  their  family  safe  and  meryem  had  no  interest  in  the  responsibilities  of  winterfell  .  she’s  kept  mostly  to  herself  since  arriving  in  new  valyria  ,  the  new  name  causing  the  wolf  to  clench  their  teeth  .  this  was  supposed  to  be  the  eyrie  ,  house  arryn’s  home  ...  and  because  of  the  incompetence  of  arryn  soldiers  ,  because  of  men  who  meant  nothing  ...  poppy  was  dead  .  someone  will  pay  for  that  .  after  hearing  targaryen  soldiers  praising  the  targaryen  princes  ,  one  of  them  having  something  to  do  with  poppy’s  demise  apparently  ,  meryem  did  not  leave  until  one  uttered  a  name  .  it  was  just  unfortunate  that  while  in  their  fit  of  rage  ,  rhaegar  happened  to  cross  their  path  .  perfect  ,  at  least  it  wasn’t  a  prince  they’d  go  to  war  for  .  it  happens  quickly  as  she  loses  her  temper  ,  grabbing  rhaegar  and  shoving  him  aside  from  the  sight  of  guards  .  their  hands  drop  almost  as  immediately  .   ❝   i  want  to  hear  you  say  it  ,  monster  -  i  want  you  to  tell  me  you  murdered  poppy  or  both  of  my  brothers  will  know  .   ❞

❝  hmm  ...  i  asked  the  servants  if  they  had  seen  you  ─  they  failed  to  mention  you  were  brooding  with  daenys.  ❞  she  extended  a  slitted  gaze  towards  the  hissing  dragon,  earning  a  squinted  glare  in  return  as  both  fiery  creatures,  woman  and  beast,  faced  off  in  their  quest  for  a  moment  of  his  time.  weighing  her  chances  at  success  and  the  idea  that  she  might  be  burned  to  a  crisp  if  she  failed,  larra  approached  slowly,  concern  for  rhaegar  outweighing  self - preservation.  ❝  you  look  terrible  so  i  am  coming  over  to  bother  you  until  you  smile.  if  daenys  tries  to  eat  me,  i  will  never  be  nice  to  you  again,  so  ... think  about  that  and  ask  her  to  stop  making  those  noises.  ❞

in brynden’s attempt to mingle like his mother had advised, he easily found himself lost in the sea of people crowding the great hall. neck craned to catch the glimpses of his family, the amount of attendees present slightly overwhelming him. in his desperate attempt to locate at least one of his siblings, brynden collided into someone. “my apologies, your grace.” he instantly bowed his head, he know it was a small bump and thankfully he wasn’t carrying wine or anything that would spill or stain. that would have been worse. “i was looking for my sister. i couldn’t seem to find her in this crowd.” 

“alerie,” alysane whispered as she slipped into the seat next to her cousin, taking small sips from her goblet. this was her third one of the night and the brunette began to feel queasy as she finished her second. “if i ever do pass out drunk, please do not leave me to the care of your brothers.” her eyes pleading at alerie. “i trust them but i do not trust them enough that they won’t pull shenanigans on my intoxicated self. my worst fear realized is having my face drawn while passed out. promise me that you see to it that does not happen.”