Roughly — too roughly, perhaps — Daemon grasps his eldest daughter's arm, jerking her back and demanding her attention. He is not one to be rough with his children, nor one to mistreat them, but the Red Keep has eyes and ears around every corner, and his emotions run high. He has been forced to betray his wife, his queen, just to protect his child. ( Would Rhaenyra truly have Rhaena's head for her involvement at the Gullet? He'd like to believe not, but . . . )

Hastily, the Rogue Prince pulls Baela along — down a secluded corridor, violet eyes scanning their surroundings. When he is confident that no one is near, he speaks, barely above a whisper. ❝ Did you know? ❞ he asks, brow furrowed heavily with the worry of a father. ❝ Were you aware of who rides Sheepstealer? ❞

°✧*:·゚  𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐍𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐄𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐒 open / accepting ( x )

side by side the king and queen of king's landing strolled through the garden of the red keep. jacaerys had the gardens filled with wildflowers so baela might admire them whenever she pleased. they were all currently in bloom, filling the garden with color. it was the perfect excuse for the pair to take a walk. not that he needed to be prevailed upon to join baela on a promenade anywhere. above the castle vermax and moondancer flew about each other, filling the air with their song. jacaerys pauses before a colorful bush so he can pluck a flower for his queen. he offers it to baela before his brow furrows in amusement. "that feels like a lifetime ago, does it not?" jacaerys hadn't loved baela until viserys had passed on, forcing them all into a civil war. it wasn't until he stood beside baela upon the council that he began to see her more as the girl he had grown up with. now there was nothing he would not do for his queen. "now here we are. king and queen of the seven kingdoms." jace gives baela a soft smile tinged with sadness. "i often wish we could go back to our time together on dragonstone. before everything."

❝  ⠀  your grandmare and meleys are dead.  together, during the battle.⠀  ❞    she'd try to be more delicate, in a different time.  if her mother closed her eyes and never opened them again,  if they lived in peace.  but they do not,  much to her regret.   meleys is in pieces being paraded around king's landing like the greatest warspoil of all time.  but she won't tell her that part.  some things don't need to plague her babies.     ❝  ⠀  iksan vaoreznuni.   ❞    she murmurs.  she's angry.  she's angry this is the direction life has taken.  that half her family is gone in what feels like a blink.  laenor isn't here to lean on.  her mother's body hasn't reached them yet, if they can find her.  they cannot even lay meleys to rest with her.   that she couldn't ride with her.  but she's going to do whatever she can to change such things.  

𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐑 𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐁𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐊𝐅𝐔𝐋 𝐑𝐇𝐀𝐄𝐍𝐘𝐑𝐀 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐀𝐂𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐌𝐎𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 enough to allow her to roam within the castle walls as long as she had an escort. alicent & helaena spend more of their time within the walls of their shared chambers so what time she can spend just roaming the hallways or in the godswood feel like a well needed respite from being cooped up. ( it is more than she expected. rhaenyra claims she cannot 'favor hightowers' yet she had granted them whatever they wished within reason. perhaps it is ... a soft spot, perhaps it is because she, deep down, does not want any harm or discomfort to come to them. alicent knew she would not harm helaena in the least. ) hands gather skirts as feet begin to climb the grand staircase back toward her chambers, head lowered for a moment as to avoid the surprised or pities stares of rhaenyra's court. it is why, when head lifts, she is surprised to see her. ❛ lady baela, ❜ feet stop mid step, ❛ i had not expected ... ❜

His body and mind were tired and yet he found himself restless. He wandered around, deep in thoughts, but by some coincidence (or was it someone's guidance?) Corlys found his granddaughter on her own. He wondered if she, too, was restless and found it hard to fall asleep. For a moment, as he came to stand beside her, neither of them really said anything. Perhaps they were thinking about the same things, perhaps something different entirely.

@moondanceir : How many must perish before they yield to reason?

✧˖°.⚔️.°˖✧ 𝐃𝐄𝐕𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐃, 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆, & 𝐎𝐁𝐒𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐕𝐄 ✧ open / accepting

A soft smile decorates plush lips while a vivid pink color takes up residence upon Jace's face. It was rare for someone to elicit such a reaction from the prince who was ordinarily very buttoned up. "I'm not going far, my heart." Jacaerys was touched by her concern, and after narrowly surviving the Gullet he understood the sentiment. "I'll be back before you know it." Looking up from the Painted Table he reaches for one of Baela's hands so he might take it into his own. He lifts it to his lips so he might kiss over her knuckles as he often did. "You could always accompany me. I'm merely supposed to pay a visit to White Harbor, but the queen never said that I must make the journey alone.." Jace smiles at Baela, compelling her with that very same twinkle in his eye that had nearly killed him before.

@moondanceir gets a starter!

It's a journey of heartbreak. It's a journey of loss, and yet one that Marin hopes her half-sister knows she doesn't take alone. Marin flies to Dragonstone with her before she takes off again in search of Sheepstealer. Damned dragon. What madness is it that brought him south? What rider shares her foolish spirit that brought them to climb atop a wild dragon?

She and Mistweaver fly as far as she dares before she returns to Dragonstone. There will be plenty of time spent in the sky in the coming days. Now, she has a half-sister in mourning.

Mistweaver flies low over the water, hunting for fish while her rider walks up the long path to the castle. Caraxes flies above; not a welcome sight for her, but perhaps Baela can enjoy the comfort of a loving father in a way Marin cannot.

She searches until she finds Baela, then comes to stand beside her. She lets the silence stretch as long as she thinks it can without becoming tense.