Ch. 3 - Lines in the Sand

Drezielle
§

Ser Orvus had done well in charge of Tynker during their absence, and Zel was grateful that for once, things seemed to be working right. The blood collectively on their hands did not disturb her so much. She had seen far more petty murders, with less at stake, and she knew Felsward would have been a danger to them all. Now, they might have a fighting chance. But they were only back at the tower a couple of weeks when Ser Orvus brought word that the miller's daughters, returning with the new millstone, had seen an army on the Rose Road, coming this way. Zel was sent out as a scout to learn what she could.

It was getting cold at night, but she had dealt with cold before, and Zel left her horse at the bottom of a hill and went sneaking towards the camp. It was a large army, over a thousand strong, certainly larger than the forces that trained at Tynker. They had set up a good picket, and guards, and she tried sneaking through, but a piece of her clothing snagged on one of the lines and the bells attached to it rang. She backed out and ran, and made her way painstakingly to the other side of the camp. It was marshy here, and she ended up with one leg wet and freezing nearly to the thigh. This time, she decided to go through the guards. She threw a knife, catching one in the throat, and as his partner looked over to see what had happened, she rushed him and stabbed him before he could cry out. She was at last in the camp, and was trying to edge along the tents to overhear what she could, but luck was not on her side. She tripped over a tent pole and the noise had guards running towards her. She had no choice but to run, out of the camp and back to her horse, and take off back to Tynker.

She arrived cold and damp and feeling ill. She gasped out what little she had learned and went to bed. While she rested, the others began making preparations for war. They had learned enough about Tynker's defenses to be able to capitalize on their location, and that would most certainly help. By the time Zel was on her feet again, there had been a barricade built, and fire pits, and numerous other preparations for siege made. They were finished just in time, as the army hove into view. Four riders came forward and asked for parlay, and Zel rode out with the others to talk. From the start, it did not go well. One of them was in shining, fancy armor, with a standard Zel had never seen, and Cyril explained in a low voice that it was the symbol of the Sons of the Sept, an order of holy knights thought to have vanished into history. They tried to speak to Toby, who told them to leave. Then they started appealing to Maester Cyril's reason, and Toby, feeling slighted at being ignored, shouted for them to go. When he felt they had ignored his warning and the others' protests long enough, Toby drew his sword and attacked. Zel got out of the way. There was a skirmish, and Toby injured one of the men badly enough that they all retreated, and Florie had to get in front of him before he would even listen to her telling him to ride back. It had been answer enough for the army at the mouth of the valley, and they rode in. Zel helped get their own forces ready, and soothing those who thought they had seen their lord strike the first blow. A few more stretched truths, Zel knew, would hardly be anything at this point.

Tobias
§

Tobias would have faced the army head on himself, but Florie had begged him to stay back, to lead by shouting orders rather than by example. He quelled the battle rage that came so easily to him, and started relaying orders. Cyril and Florie would be in charge of the men still in the tower, and Zel would help Tobias hold the base of the tower for as long as possible. It was a good plan, he knew, and it utilized their smaller forces to the best advantage, but the army coming towards them was formidable. He would in any case put up a good fight. Tower archers and archers on the cliff side felled the front line of the attacking forces, and then it was a battle in earnest, all clashing blades. Toby rode through, taking down enemies wherever he could, more comfortable in flat out battle than in leadership.

The hastily constructed barricades held as well as they could have hoped, but enough work by enemy soldiers, and those walls began to fall. And then came their horsed men, and the fight got bloodier. Tobias was forced to order their troops back behind the pits they had dug, and he gave the signal for Cyril's archers to light the fires. Flaming arrows hit the mark, and the fires roared up to catch their oncoming enemies by surprise, burning brilliant green. He could hear his wife shouting from the tower, encouraging their men that this was a sign, that the Seven were truly with them in their struggle. Lit by holy green fire, the battle continued.

Drezielle
§

During the battle, Zel accounted well for herself, but she knew that her strengths were better suited to other pursuits, and even as she fought, she found herself watching the battle as if from farther away. Their enemies were now almost all in the valley, and if they were forced to retreat, they could be cut off. If, of course, there was anyone to cut them down as they drew back. They had men on the cliff sides but no way to reach them, to send a message that they should move along and get to the mouth of the valley. Zel made a decision, and rode away from the battle, to the back of the tower. She shed her heaviest armor, and began to climb the cliff face. She was dizzyingly high when she slipped and then caught herself, heart pounding. A fall now would mean death. She tried again, but she was stuck where she was, and her grip would not hold for much longer. Then she heard Florie's voice faintly from the top of the tower, shouting where a handhold could be seen. With that, Zel managed to drag herself up. The climb was more painful now, and she had another terrifying slip, barely managing to catch herself on a protruding root. She didn't know how far she was from the top, only that she must keep climbing. Then, something hit her lightly on the shoulder. A rope was being lowered. She scrambled to hold onto it, and let the astonished men at the top pull her up. Now, she could direct them to where they would be most useful.

Tobias
§

Though their enemies had been a little stunned by the miracle fire at first, they had nonetheless pressed on, and the tower forces were forced to draw back even more and prepare to defend the tower itself. Toby knew he was supposed to go back in, but his wife and Cyril could easily command the men inside. And he could not in good conscience, leave men wounded outside, doomed to die because they could not retreat. So he got as many into the tower as he could, and ordered the gates shut and barred, with him outside. He saw Zel on the cliff, but could not think what she was doing there, and then the fighting was too brutal to think of much else.

This was more like it, Toby thought, battling without having to order others around. His battle rage was so strong that he didn't notice the small wounds he took, and barely realized that as he fought, his horse took injuries too. The animal was dying underneath him, and as it collapsed, he had just enough presence of mind to jump free of it. Then he heard more hoofbeats, and as he turned to look, he saw Corwin leading a new horse from behind the tower. The boy was pale, but clearly determined to do his duty, and with no way to send him back now, Toby took the horse and ordered Corwin to stay close. No sooner had he done that than a lance hit him full on in the shoulder, and Toby turned to see one of the Sons of the Sept readying himself for another blow. Toby turned and fought, but the paladin had not been fighting so hard as him, and though Toby was plenty ready to fight more, his limbs seemed sluggish. The man had dropped the lance and gotten out a morning star, and he swung it. It hit Toby square in the chest, and he could hardly see for the pain. He felt something crumple, felt like he couldn't breathe. He willed himself to move, and managed to stab his opponent, but it was not a killing blow. The man swung the morning star again, but then his horse shied. Corwin ran back away from it, and Toby could see what had happened. The young squire had stabbed the horse in the flank. This gave Toby the time he needed to heft his sword and swing it at the paladin's neck. It struck true, and the man fell, nearly beheaded.

Then, with the world a red mist around him, Tobias saw that the attacking forces were retreating, and being mowed down by archers on the cliffs, which must be Zel's doing. And then he didn't see anything at all.

Florie
§

As soon as it was safe to unbar the gates, Florie had men go out and fetch Tobias, her heart pounding. She had seen him slump over his horse, and after the fight she had witnessed, she feared the worst. She got him inside, and found that he was still breathing at least, and she called immediately for Cyril to tend to him. As they carefully took his battered armor off, she saw that where the morningstar had hit his chest, the charm he wore had crushed against his skin, and though he bled, nothing seemed to be broken. The Faith had protected him. Florie got out of Cyril's way as he worked, though she stayed close. At last, Tobias opened his eyes again, and croaked out that he wanted to knight Zel. He would not be persuaded to wait, and when Zel was brought in, he forced himself up and ordered them all outside, so he could anoint Zel in the ways of the new Faith, under the skies and with the blessings of the Seven as he now knew them. With so many changes, it was a little thing to knight Zel as a woman, and to give her a name in place of Flowers. A little stunned, she knelt before Toby, and rose as Dame Drezielle Ivy. Florie ushered her husband back into the tower and into bed, and went about taking stock of what they had. She was worried about a second push against them, with so many of their own wounded or dead, and Tobias injured as he was.

She needn't have worried. In the morning, the remainder of the forces that had amassed against them were gone. They had proven Tynker too defensible. Florie was pleased at this, but now they must use what precious little time they had to try to get into Highgarden. They sent women into the city, to seduce and manipulate important people, to wait for a signal and carry out key assassinations, to open the gates when the army arrived. Zel began working with a handpicked group that would be able to climb the walls and infiltrate secretly into Highgarden when the time came. Florie started writing letters. Their own forces were not enough, not even if they amassed more over another month or two. So she wrote to the Dornish, choosing their royalty and a few important families to send word to. Dorne had never bent the knee, had always remained apart whenever they could, and if anyone was sympathetic to a region trying to break away, it would be them. She entreated them to send their forces, and promised that their rule would mean that The Reach would no longer bow to the king on the Iron Throne. She agreed to acknowledge and help protect Dornish sovereignty. Then, Florie spent a great deal of time working on a letter to Axel Florent. She knew she could not trust him, but she knew too that she needed more than his verbal support. She needed to know that he really would acknowledge her as a Gardener and as the rightful leadership of Highgarden. Florie deliberated, and then in her letter asked for Florent to meet with them in secret, to bend the knee, and to take his place as the Hand of the Gardeners.

They met in Meadowlark, since it was a location they knew well and felt comfortable in, and it would be far away enough from Tynker that Florent would not see just how thin their forces were. It was important that they get his pledge before he could raise doubts. Florent met them, clearly unhappy. Florie began to think, as he talked, that she had lost him. He said it was an insult to be asked to bend his knee before anything had been achieved, and to an Ore, no less. Tobias, showing remarkable restraint, said that Florent would be bending the knee to Florie first and foremost, and he should be willing to do that. Florent challenged that if he was to pledge to Gardener, that they stop the pretense of other names, and take up Gardener in truth. Florie agreed that they would, had been ready to discard what little secrecy they had left already. She asked Zel and Cyril to get the Gardener colors ready. Defeated on that front, Florent turned to Tobias, and said that he would only swear if Tobias made the same oath of loyalty. Florie watched as her husband nearly laughed, and assured that he would gladly swear once again to serve her. Then he sobered, and motioned them outside. They would swear, he said, under the skies. Florent stopped, frowning at this, and Florie blinked at him, and said that it was the way of their Faith. It was clear that Florent thought their belief quaint, but she didn't mind. She didn't need him to believe the same. She just needed him to swear. And so Florent, along with Toby, swore to serve her as Queen. Florie, more thrilled than she liked to admit at hearing the supplication, told him to rise as the Hand of the Gardeners.

She arranged with Florent for his forces to meet hers outside of Highgarden in a month's time. She spent that month making plans, trying to make every small advantage bend to her will.

There was still no word from Dorne.

Cyril
§

At last, it was time to make the move on Highgarden. Cyril was as keenly aware of the risks as anyone, but could not permit himself to believe they might fail. The uncertainty might weaken them, and he knew that the others looked to him for guidance. Still, Highgarden was every bit as impressive as memory served, and though their manufactured famine had just started to hit hard enough to worry the city, it was not as weakened as all that. They had to hope that getting easily past the walls would give them the edge they needed. They gathered with Florent's forces, and then lit the bonfire that was their signal to the women inside the walls. They led the battle inside, and fought hard, but Highgarden's forces were no small thing, and the first day, they were driven back outside the walls again, forced to retreat to a safe distance and regroup. From the top of the wall, guards called down until Florie and Tobias came forward, and said that Lord Tyrell offered amnesty for their army if the two of them would turn themselves over to the King's justice. They refused, of course, and that was the end of any talks.

They still had some people on the inside, but it would not be enough, and Cyril could see their forces disheartened by how easy it had seemed for the Tyrells to push them back. Cyril considered, and decided that he would burn a green hand into the hillside, to worry their opponents and give a bit of heart to their own forces. The scope of what he had in mind, though, he could not do alone. He knew that Florie and Toby were talking with Drezielle, getting ready to send her over the wall with her group, to spend the next two days making trouble in the city, stirring up dissent. When Zel finished talking to them, Cyril called her over and drew her aside. He said she would need her and one or two of her most discreet people to help him, and then he risked telling her his secret. He talked about how he had been making the green fires, and watched her expression change. It was a little disappointing, she said, but not surprising. And she would help him. A green hand burned on one side of the city while Zel scaled the wall on the other side.

In the morning, a thin blanket of snow covered the ground. They began preparing for a couple of days of healing and repairs before moving again. The next battle would be the last, Cyril knew. Winter was here, and Florie's resolve was that she would take Highgarden or die in the attempt. And Tobias would protect her, or die trying. Cyril and Zel would do their best to serve them, and they would fail or fall with their lord and lady.

They were assembling, somewhat bleakly in the snow, when there was a noise over the hillside. As they turned to look, they saw hundreds of men, many on fine horses, and at their head was a dark-skinned, handsome young man dressed in clothing entirely unsuitable for the weather. He rode forward, and introduced himself as Prince Elias Martell, son of Dorian Martell, current leader of Dorne. He greeted them with a grin and asked Florie if she truly meant what she had written. She said she did, and Elias grinned more widely, and said there was one more concession they required. Her firstborn, if a boy, would be fostered with the Martells, and if a girl, would be engaged to one. Florie glanced to her husband, then dipped her head and said it would be done. Elias laughed and grabbed her around the waist, kissing her full on the lips, and said they were allied.

Tobias frowned a bit, but he stepped forward to put a hand on Florie's back. "You must be cold," he said.

"No," Elias told him, "For the battle fire runs hot in our veins."

Toby's lips quirked. "Oh. I thought to invite you into Highgarden."

And then Cyril had archers to command, and they gave their signal, and the armies of Dorne flooded into the city with them. Cyril watched the Tyrells fall before them. Luthor Tyrell was killed in battle, and Lady Olenna taken hostage. Florie stepped into the castle and demanded that Olenna be brought before her. She said that Lady Tyrell would be locked away, deep in the dark, and maybe trotted out to see Florie's success. Cyril watched the girl he had seen frightened and uncertain not so long before backhand the Queen of Thorns across the face, and take Toby's hand to walk together to their new thrones.

Cyril stepped over behind them, and Zel did the same. Cyril wasn't certain what his place would be in this new order, but he knew he had what he had promised himself long before. The world would know his name.

Ch. 2 - Home to Roost

Tobias
§

Tobias knew that Florie was troubled, but he couldn't comfort her as much as she wanted him to. He could not tell her his thoughts on The Seven. And so he left her sleeping early in the m1. Albuquorning, and went to the top of the tower, and prayed on his own. He held onto his charm, studied the seven glittering bits caught in the copper wire, and thought how things had gone right for him when he had listened to the heresies. On the fifth morning of waking up alone, though, Florie found him there, and she asked him what he was doing. Watching the sunrise, he told her, not wanting to have a fight. Just watching the sunrise. Toby had never been the best liar, though, and Florie didn't believe them. "What is that in your hand?" she demanded.

"Nothing," Toby lied. "Come, let's go get some breakfast."

"Fine," she said, not moving. "Let's go."

After a couple minutes of fruitlessly trying to get Florie to go ahead, and her demanding to know what he was keeping from her, Toby saw what it was coming to. Frustrated, Toby threw the charm so it hit her square in the chest, and fell to the ground. Florie picked it up, and stared at him, and Toby could hardly stand to see the expression in her eyes. Then she tried to walk away, and he called after her that she was a coward if she couldn't face the truth she'd asked for. The fight began in earnest, then. Florie yelled that she had been following the will of the Seven and to commit heresy against them was unthinkable, and Toby yelled that everything good that had happened to them had been in line with the so-called heresies. He told her she was a fool if she couldn't see it, and furthermore, that she had even comitted the heresy of the Maiden by giving herself to him for love. They went back and forth, and at last Toby left her at the top of the tower, and stormed to get his sword and saddle a fast horse. He needed to be away, away from his wife and his unwanted responsibilities. So he rode out and through the valley, with no particular goal in mind. He interrupted some hunters, and his anger dissipated with the slight embarrassment of having missed them, hiding in the grass as they were. Not long after that, Corwin caught up to him, earnest and concerned, and without any other good options, he let the boy come with him. He found a tavern and bought ale for them both, telling Corwin gruffly that he could have half.

There was a commotion outside, and annoyed by the noise, Tobias went outside. He saw two of the traveling people being pushed by a small group of people towards a tree, and the ringleader of the group was carrying a length of rope. Toby stopped them, demanding to know what was going on. They were punishing heretics, the crowd said, and Toby's features hardened. As their lord, he commanded them to stop, and said that in his lands, people could worship as they liked. In silence, he freed the two and took them into the tavern. He talked to them for a while, and assured them he was of their faith, and offered his hospitality to them. They talked as they went home, traveling slowly because Corwin had managed to get rather drunk. He settled them in at home, and learned from the others that Florie had not come down from the tower. He would, he resolved with a heavy heart, send her home to her father the moment she asked. They went in the afternoon to retrieve the cart the young couple had been in when the mob attacked, and then Toby went to one of the rooms to slump into a chair, brooding, trying not to think of Florie.

When it was just getting dark, she stepped into the room, her features pale. "Tobias," she said softly, and he didn't look at her.

"I'll send you home," he said. "To your father. You will be blameless." And Toby would be killed as a heretic.

"I don't want to go home," she said, and he looked at her at last. "I thought today, as I stood at the top of the tower. And I listened. And you were right. All of the signs from the gods have happened out in the world, not in the sept. And if I accept that they have guided me, I must accept this new faith."

Without another thought, Tobias smiled and lifted her into his arms.

Drezielle
§

Drezielle had spent an anxious day worrying over Tobias and Florie, worrying at the way Florie stood immobile at the top of the tower, refusing food, and drink and even a cloak to combat the growing chill. Things were, she thought grimly, over. She didn't know where she would end up. But then Florie descended, and went to talk to Tobias, and suddenly they were laughing. There might be hope after all.

In the morning, they all dined with the two travelers, and the man explained that they had not even meant to be in these lands, since it was close to here his sister had been attacked as she traveled with her parents. She had been saved by a knight and his friends, he said. They pulled out the charms they had been given, and showed him, and he said it was indeed his mother's work. Fate had brought him here, he said. Zel noticed that Florie seemed to have regained a keenness in her expression, and it was clear that now she was plotting again. Tobias talked about being willing to fight for their beliefs, and when they had finished with breakfast, Toby and Florie took Zel and Cyril aside and the planning began fresh.

They had always lacked support, and there was no way that they could rally an army from the people of their lands. But now they had something they could use-- the defense of what believers called the True Faith. Those of the Faith were facing extermination, and now that even Florie accepted the new beliefs, they could provide a haven and leadership. They had a great deal to do. The first thing was to establish a presence, and eventually a link between the reclaimation of the Gardener heritage and the True Faith. They would also need to spread the word, quietly, that their lands would harbor those facing persecution. Over the next month, Zel went on numerous small missions to neighboring lands. Her job was to spread the Gardener symbol, a green handprint, as well as caricatures of septons and other symbols supporting the new faith. Zel was also charged with putting these things in unlikely places, and she snuck where she could to do so. People were starting to move into the land, and next, Florie set her sights on her former home. Without Felsward land, and the resources it offered, they were still far too weak to make their move on Highgarden, even though they intended something more secretive than an all-out war. They planned a trip for the end of the month, and Florie seemed resolute that she would convince her father to support the cause, or do what must be done if he would not.

Florie
§

Now that Florie's conversion was complete, she felt renewed, as if she were at last seeing clearly those things that had been obscured before. Her day in the chill on Tynker Tower, staring over the land and listening to the birds and the wind, had made her realize everything she supported meant supporting what she had thought to be heresy. She was right, though, she knew, so it could not be heresy, not in the eyes of The Seven. Now, she knew things that must be done, and she could not permit herself to waver.

Florie tried not to let her nerves overtake her as she traveled with the others to see her father. She would have to resolve to fight him if he would not act with them, come what may. The others were tense too, she could tell, but it was plenty warranted. She was pointing them on what was swiftly becoming a revolution. She had originally thought to take Highgarden from the Tyrells, to use that seat of power to force the other major families to accept the shift. But now they seemed to be drawing a firmer line, and she had to accept that now, achieving their goal would mean a major split in Westeros. The kingdoms had been united by force, after all, and what they were promising was a return to older ways, to a world where Gardeners had been kings and queens of the Reach, a time before the forced merging of the kingdoms. It was a heady thought, but when Blackbane hove into view, something in Florie shrank back. Not so long ago, she had been a little girl chasing butterflies in the fields here. Now, she was pretending to have power she did not, rebelling against every authority she had grown up with. She did her best to steel herself as their party was admitted carefully into Blackbane.

She started talking with her father, and from the beginning, it did not go well. Garon was offended by the request, because it implied that they were not being subservient to him, their lord. Florie tried to sidestep it, but it was a sticking point for him. She was going to take another tactic when she had a shock. Jonys showed up at the door asking if there were guests, and the way he stared and felt his way into the room showed him to be mostly blind. Garon said the Maester should look to him. Jonys no longer bled, he said, but now he could barely see. Florie hugged her older brother carefully. Like everything here, he seemed diminished, and not just because of his ailments. She steeled herself, and told her father again that the uprising was coming, and that she would be at the front of it, as the Seven had guided her. Her father spat something about the heresy, and tried to persuade her that Argent would hate her for her sins. Florie couldn't help it; she lost what calm she had, and they were nearly shouting at each other when at last it was too much for her. She put her head in her hands, in tears. "You're right," she mumbled. "Of course you're right."

"Florie!" Toby hissed.

She knew everyone was looking at her, but she could barely breathe for tears. How could she have thought she could really go through with this?

Cyril
§

Cyril knew he could not permit Florie to let her father think he had won here, but the girl wouldn't seem to listen to anyone now. He could not help her until the situation was changed, and luckily he knew how to do it. Though he had helped in the last month of planning, he had also spent time alone with his kits, working out a few secrets he knew he should have. Florie and Tobias were ardently faithful, and though Cyril would not make the mistake of calling his friends credulous, he knew that religion made people inclined to believe what they might not otherwise. Cyril knew you couldn't count on distant gods, even the more personable variations promised by the "true faith," for the signs their followers craved. To motivate a group of believers, especially one being asked to go to war, miracles might be necessary. Cyril did not believe there were any miracles, and perhaps there never had been. But he did know arts that would appear miraculous, and he set to work to make sure that for his lord and lady, he could secretly produce miraculous occurrences.

Now, with Florie a wreck and Garon looking a touch triumphant, Cyril reached discreetly into one of his pockets and took out a small jar. Behind him was the fireplace, and deftly, he emptied the jar's contents into the fire. The flames suddenly flared brilliant green, and slowly, everyone's attention turned to the firelight. "It's a sign," Cyril said, voice certain. "Look, the gods speak even now, the fire burns Gardener green."

Garon stared, and Cyril could see he had taken the bait. They could change the situation now. Garon surged up, and said that he saw now, that he would use the miraculous fire to purge Blackbane of its curse. He thrust a torch into the flames and went down the hall to Vallya's room, and through it, to her garden. He set the drying plants ablaze, and then began taking her things and fueling them into the fire. Cyril helped, and as he did so, he dosed the fire with more of his powder so it would keep its color. The others helped fling things in, and they muttered conversation as they passed one another. Could Garon be trusted to change? This was a step, but he could lose his nerve and turn them all in before they could fight back. Florie managed to compose herself a little, but Cyril didn't trust her for level-headed decisions, not in this house, with her family. He agreed very quietly with Toby. Something should be done.

Jonys came to watch in the doorway, to ask about what was going on. Florie explained, haltingly, but then turned to watch as the last of her mother's things were flung into the fire. Garon went and stood in front of it, his features tinted strangely in the green light. This was the chance to make it all fit, Cyril knew. He would have to trust Tobias and Zel to do what was needed to help. Suddenly, he looked past Florie, as if in alarm. "Jonys!" Nothing was wrong, of course, but Zel, quick on the uptake, rushed to him, tripping him up a bit so he stumbled. Florie turned, eyes wide, to her brother, and as Zel distracted her and they fussed over Jonys, Cyril saw Tobias step close behind Garon before he could wonder what was happening and put a hand over his mout and the other around his shoulders. He wrenched Garon's head around and Cyril was close enough to hear a snap.

Then Toby pushed Felsward into the fire and stepped back, reaching out false astonishment. "Lord Felsward!" They told Florie and Jonys that he had stepped into the fire as if suddenly compelled. It was a neat story, and if Florie could believe it, one that would leave her guiltless. Now their goal was accomplished. Jonys, though technically lord, would be a puppet, malleable in their hands. Felsward lands were theirs.

Ch. 1 - Foundation

Tobias
§

Toby awoke much too early with Florie shaking him. He tried to pull the covers further over his head, to sleep more. But Florie called his name again and reluctantly, he blinked his eyes open and asked what the matter was. She said that petitioners had been arriving since the first night, and now there was a crowd of commoners who wanted to speak with their new lord. "You should talk to them, Florie," Toby said, a little panicked. "You're better at it."

"I can't," Florie insisted as she hurried to dress. "You are their lord. You have to talk to them."

Unhappily, Toby got dressed too. He didn't want this, didn't know how to be a lord. Knighthood, he knew, and fighting, and hunting. Not speeches and politics. He didn't know what was expected from him. Florie sent for Cyril and Zel, and they all went to the top of the tower, coaching Toby in what to say as they went. He just had to introduce himself, to reassure his people that the times of uncertainty were over, that the raiders were gone. At the top of the tower, with so many people staring at him, he nearly forgot everything he should say. But he managed a speech with all of those points in it, and he got through it. The people cheered, but it was clear he had not yet won them. They'd had too many years of poor rule to be swayed immediately. He said he would hold audiences, and hoped to just get the day over with.

He and the others settled in in the main hall of the tower, listening to various complaints. Many were easily dealt with, but a few stood out as larger problems. One was a long-standing land feud, and the way the three men involved talked of it, and the way others were paying attention to them, it was clear that if Toby could solve this, he would be better than the others. The next important matter was the Miller's daughter, who was just old enough to be into womanhood, and who came with two smaller children, her siblings. She explained that the raiders had killed her parents, and burned part of the mill, and although the mill was being rebuilt, the millstone had cracked in the heat of the fire. Toby didn't need her explanation to know that it was vital to the whole area that a new stone be found. One of the last petitioners was a big, bearded man who looked used to hard work, and he introduced himself as a farmer, and raised the issue that in the drought, animals had been killed and eaten, and he begged of his lord two new breeding animals. He could not give much, he said, but he had one thing. At his word, a boy shuffled forward. The man introduced him as his second son Mark, and said that for the animals, he would pledge the boy into Toby's service. Toby waited for Florie to nod almost imperceptibly, and agreed. The boy was young, not much older than Corwin, but it was clear from his now-lanky body that he would grow to be as towering as his father. A short while later, they were thankfully done with the petitioners, and now had to work out a course of action.

Cyril
§

Maester Cyril had taken notes as Florie asked, and heard all the petitioning. He saw the others acting for the first time as fully autonomous figures of authority, and saw Toby's discomfort. And he saw something else, something that didn't quite sit well with him. They were acting as lord and lady, and he was acting as an employee. There was no hint of the closeness they had all developed. It was like they had now put up walls that had not been there before, and worse, it seemed that if Florie was planning anything, she wasn't sharing it. She said nothing to him as they talked about finding a reliable way to split the disputed land, and Cyril went alone to the town smith to comission a chain that they could use to measure by. It was all so mundane, like the lofty goals of before had been forgotten. But he did his duty and kept silent. He watched as Tobias and Florie sent for a millstone from the town with the Felsward iron mines, then sent men to purchase a great number of breeding livestock. Tobias and Florie knew they would have to shore up their defenses, so they offered animals in return for sons being turned over to serve as soldiers.

A week went by, and it was filled with the simple minutiae of running Tynker and its lands. Then the measuring chain was ready, and they all travelled to the disputed farms. Cyril did his best to put aside his irritation at ordinary surveying, and to be patient with them. Toby and Florie were young, and clearly a little overwhelmed. Maybe now that they were on the road again, their greater goal would come back into focus. The land around Tynker got more beautiful the further into it they got. It was grassy and full of little streams and brooks, and would recover well into fine, fertile land. He could see the temptation here, that this place was a comfortable holding, if not prosperous now, then easy enough to make it so. He wondered if the others, frightened by ambition, would want to stop here.

Then they arrived at the farms, and Cyril's business was the tedious task of parceling out the land and hearing the suspicions of the farmers. Even though all the men agreed to the conditions set by their lord and lady, and agreed to abide by the new parceling, it was clear that each was seeking an advantage for himself. One of them invited the party to stay the night, and not knowing enough to be politic about it, Tobias agreed. That had the others muttering about favoritism, and one of them tried to get Cyril to favor him. Cyril met his attempts impassively, though. None of these men could offer him anything of import. He finished his task, a little disgusted at having to deal with such small matters. Maybe now, they could get something real done.

Drezielle
§

Zel left the others to their politics, for the most part. She had helped Florie and Tobias purchase all the livestock they were repopulating the land with, in return for land promised to her. A good deal of it had been left empty due to attacks by the raiders, and after winter, it would once again be fine, fertile soil. It was a good trade, and a good fallback if, in the end, she was left with nothing else. She would, she knew, just keep going along, working things to her best advantage, as she'd always tried to do. She enjoyed the hospitality of the farmers they stayed with, and heartily approved of Toby's plan in the morning to breakfast with each of the three families. Toby, who was still enough of a boy to have an appetite for it, grinned his way through three breakfasts, and ended with all three families feeling better about the entire arrangement. Zel enjoyed this kind of diplomacy-- one that didn't involve complicated plans, and did involve lots of food.

They camped on their way back to Tynker, and that night, Corwin came to her tent. He looked anxious, and asked if she could sleep. Zel made sure all of her boys' clothing was well in place, and let him in, refraining from snapping that she had already been mostly asleep. Corwin was clearly anxious, and as he talked to her, it became clear that he was anxious that with Toby's new responsibilities, he would lose his place with his knight. Zel tried to reassure him, saying that there was no way Toby would forget about him, and that she was sure Corwin would stay by his side. The boy wasn't certain, still, but it was enough to get him to sleep.

The next day, back at Tynker, even with things there going well, there was tension. Toby was having to decide how many of Lord Felsward's forces to send back, and how many he could safely keep for longer, while they tried to gather their own forces. Florie was engrossed in overseeing her sept being built, and Cyril seemed unhappy. Wanting something to go a little better, Zel went and talked to Toby, bringing up Corwin's anxieties. They decided to take Corwin and the new boy, Mark, and train in the courtyard. It would also serve the purpose of giving Zel more familiarity with a sword without so much danger of exposing her gender. Toby seemed more comfortable this way, happier in the elements he was familiar with. But after a time, Cyril came to speak with Toby, and Zel saw his expression darken again as they talked.

Florie
§

Florie was praying at the site where the sept was being built, trying to gain the calm and focus that her prayers had come to bring her. Hands clasped, she stared at the empty spaces where the Seven would reside, and she whispered familiar words, asking for guidance. She noticed she was not alone, and she turned, seeing Cyril standing a bit behind her. He apologized for interrupting her at prayer, but she shook her head, and moved close to speak to him. He started talking of house matters, but it was clear something else was on his mind. Then he said something about whatever plots she was not sharing, and Florie saw what had been bothering him. She drew a breath, and said that there was nothing she had not shared with him and that she knew the danger this new home held, the danger of becoming complacent, of letting their goals slip out of reach. Cyril was a little relieved, she could tell, but he still held himself stiffly, still talked with a reservedness he normally kept for others. Florie tried not to be stung by it. Both of them had ambition that stretched well beyond their experience, and both of them knew just how much was at stake. Florie promised she would write to Florent, and would think about what to do. Then she asked him, haltingly, if he would speak with Toby, because he'd been bothered by something, and wouldn't tell her what. Cyril agreed to talk to him, but offered no comfort. Florie supposed that neither of them could afford it right now.

She slept fitfully that night, and felt the cold stealing in through the windows.

She was walking with her husband, through their new, lush lands. Fall was taking over, but it was not unpleasant, and there was still growth around them. In fact, up the side of a cliff face, there was a heartbreakingly beautiful rosebush, with the roses in full bloom. Florie pointed them out to Toby. She had to have one. Without a second thought, Toby climbed a way up the cliff to try and reach the roses. The cliff face was too sheer, though, and he couldn't make it up. Undaunted, he ran off and returned with armfuls of lumber and stones, and piled them against the cliff. They added little height, though, so he brought Corwin, who stood on his shoulders and reached in vain for the flowers. They both left, and returned with Cyril and Zel, who started helping to build a scaffolding of sorts, and they came back with men to help build. Every so often, Toby would climb the scaffold to see if it was high enough. It got dark, and it got cold. Florie could see frost starting to form on the sides of the scaffolding. It was entirely frost-rimed by the time Toby tried climbing again, and Florie couldn't tell him it was too dangerous. He reached, straining, as his fingers brushed the leaves of the bush. But the frost made him slip, and the scaffold was high. He could not catch himself, and he fell all the way down. Florie ran forward, and the others vanished, and she could only see Tobias's broken form. She knelt by him, sobbing, as snow began to fall.

She awoke in tears, and freezing cold besides. She pressed herself against Tobias, and he woke, staring at her in concern. She told him about the dream, and said she didn't want her ambition to make her lose him. "We just didn't do it right in your dream," Toby said, stroking her hair. "And I'm alive. See? I'm fine. I'll be fine."

In the morning, Florie was still cold, and she wrapped a cloak around herself as they ate breakfast with the others. Once she had a warm drink in her, she shared the dream with them too, and listened as the others discussed what it might mean. It showed, Cyril said, that they needed a plan, a firm one, that took them all the way to the end. And they all agreed that if they could not succeed by winter, they would not succeed at all.

Ch. 5 - Bad Faith, cont.

Cyril
§

Cyril's morning routine consisted of feeding the ravens in the rookery and checking for new messages, and usually, it was an easy task. The birds seemed on edge, though, probably because of the arrival of three newcomers, each bearing a message. One of the ravens was of poor temperament, and scratched him across the face as he retrieved the message. In a somewhat poorer temper, he unrolled the scrolls and read them. The first was a message from the Citadel. It was a routine message, checking to know if he had detected any signs of winter in his lands. The second was a notice from the High Septon. It addressed the dangerous new heresy being spread, and that for a period of three moons, any heretic could visit a sept, renounce the heresy, and be cleansed. After that, all heretics were to be put to death. Moreover, it was decreed that any remaining godswoods be felled and burned. The third scroll was a message bearing Targaryen colors, and it said that it had come to light that Lord Darklyn was a heretic, which meant that he was absolutely a traitor. Cyril tucked those away for delivery and as it was early yet, he penned his response to the Citadel first. No, he told them. There had been no signs of winter's approach.

When Cyril made his way to deliver the messages to Lord Felsward, Tobias and Florie were already present, and a dirty man who looked to be one of the smallfolk. The man was clearly petitioning, but it was not to Felsward he spoke. It was to Tobias. Cyril listened as he introduced himself as Lannon Rivers, from near Tynker Tower. He said there had been a band of Dothraki raiders going through the countryside. They killed, pillaged, and burned buildings and crops to the ground. Thousands, he said, and would Lord Ore come and put them down? Toby looked a little taken aback by it all, but he said he would, and Lannon took his leave. Garon turned to Toby and his daughter, and they talked about leaving for Tynker. Since they had not had time to amass forces of their own, Garon said he would send a hundred men and fifty archers with them to deal with whatever threat this was. That it was truly a group of Dothraki was inconcievable, but clearly, it was a frightening force. Cyril presented his messages then, and it did not escape his notice that as he relayed the septon's message, Toby looked a touch uneasy, and raised his fingers to a little leather string around his neck. Cyril had kept the heretical charm himself, as an academic matter, but it was tucked away in his things. He wondered how long Toby would secretly wear his.

After a little more discussion, it was decided that Cyril would accompany the two to their new home as well, since Jonys's medications were well in order, and Cyril had proved a valuable help to them before. He was relieved, because it put him close to his partners in crime, as it were. He got his things together and soon, the party was off. Zel traveled with them, since she was more theirs than Garon's, and one again, it was the four of them wandering off to deal with an unknown problem.

Drezielle
§

The group stopped at the same inn where they had first learned of trouble at Tynker, and once again, the feel of the place was tense and unhappy. The people they spoke to supported the story they had heard, that hundreds of Dothraki were attacking anything in their path. They did, however, get some new information--the last farmstead known to be attacked. So they left the men to camp and Zel rode with the others to investigate the Colton's farmstead. Their house and fields were nothing more than ash. This was not a Dothraki trait, and Zel was glad of that. Whoever these men were, they weren't to be feared the way real Dothraki would be. And here, there were signs of which direction the riders had gone, hoofprints and other indication of the passage of many horses. Zel offered to use her skills to scout, and meet the others back where they were camped.

Zel bid farewell to the others and rode Smoky along the path the riders had taken. She studied the tracks, counting. There might be as many as a hundred of them, and they were all headed southwest, which, overland, was the direction of the gorge where Tynker Tower sat. It was not a promising sign. And as the tracks continued in the direction of the tower, Zel started moving more cautiously. She didn't want to accidentally catch up with this group, whomever they might be, and find herself dead. It was a good thing that she tied Smoky and started scanning the trees, because sure enough, there were lookouts. She was stealthier, though, and was able to spot them before they could spot her. She moved along slowly, and found the lookouts posted at steady intervals, their placement suggesting what they had feared. The bulk of the group must be at the tower. Unable to get any closer with ease, Zel returned to her horse and rode back to meet the others.

They debated that evening about what to do, and whether their forces were enough to retake the tower. None of them believed that a horde of Dothraki had really come to settle here, but it was clear these men were a formidable force. The tower was defensible, but it also made retreats difficult. They decided that if they attacked quickly and relentlessly, they could make it into the tower, and prevent their enemies from using their numerous horses to their advantage. With this in mind, they rode towards the tower.

Tobias
§

Toby sent Zel ahead of them to see if they could spot lookouts. They wouldn't be able to keep the passage of their small army secret for very long, but any extra time would be advantageous for them. When Zel found a lookout, she took Cyril along since he was the better marskman, and Cyril felled the first easily. They found another, a little further along, and Toby's first indication that something had gone wrong this time was Cyril's scream of pain. Toby spurred his horse over the hill he'd sent them off to, and found Zel dragging Cyril back out of range. He had an arrow sticking through his shoulder, the tip coming all the way out the other side. He was bleeding and pale, and now they had been spotted, so there was precious little time to move. Zel helped Cyril back onto his horse, and Toby couldn't stay to worry. He had to lead them to the tower.

Tobias was far more used to single combat than to leading an army, but he was still confident in doing so, and their plan was as solid as they could make it. With Cyril injured, Zel would hang back to watch over him and Florie, and Toby would be in the middle of it. He hadn't even wanted Tynker Tower, but like it or not it was his now, and all the dubious honors that came with it. Like it or not, he had to protect it now. He had men coming up through the valley, with archers at the sides. He wanted to move in on the tower quickly, so that the bandits wouldn't have time to get on their horses to ride against Toby's unmounted forces. The company moved in and the fight was on. The men certainly were not Dothraki, not even close. They were ordinary thugs, and they fell quickly.

At the top of the tower next to a tattered banner made of multicolored strips of cloth, and a man rose up next to the banner and called for a halt, and that they surrendered. With the battle raging strong around him, Toby almost pressed on as if he had not heard, and called his men back. "Come down from there!" he yelled to his opponent. Several minutes later, the leader of the bandits emerged, and he, unlike the others, looked as if he might be Dothraki, though the two men who stepped forward with him certaily were not. He introduced himself as Maves Dothrak, and he eyed Toby for a few moments before speaking.

"So you would be Lord Tynker," he said.

"Ore," Toby responded.

Maves puzzled a moment, anger and confusion warring in his features. "Or what?"

"Lord Ore," Toby corrected. "But this is my tower."

Tobias considered what to do. This would be an awful lot of men to put to death, but he didn't want them anywhere nearby. He pulled back a bit as Florie and the others rode forward, and they spoke in low voices about the merit of sending these men away and unleashing them on someone else. They decided that it would be best to send them north, out of these lands, and to where they might be a further distraction, drawing eyes away from the south. He told Maves that he and his two lieutenants could ride out, and that the rest of their men would be on foot. They would travel north, and would not attack until they were out of Felsward lands.

Florie
§

Florie, after the hastily hissed discussion over what to do with these men, rode a little closer to watch Maves as Toby gave his order. Boldened by seeing a smaller force ahead of him than he initially had, Maves started to argue. She listened to a little bit, and to a few insults traded back and forth between Maves and Zel, and finally, she'd had enough. Who was this man to presume that his ugly banner actually meant something to them? Didn't he see that to leaving with his life and the life of his men was a mercy? She speared him with a look, and repeated her husband's instructions, her voice smooth and cold. He tried to say that it was like asking a wild animal, or even a trained one, not to hunt, but he was looking at her with a different expression now. She smiled coldly and said that any animal could be brought to heel. She repeated the instruction, and said that he would travel until he was someone else's sorrow. Florie heard the quiet that her voice had brought, and saw something like fear in Maves's eyes.

The rest of it was a matter of organization, and seeing that the raiders didn't try anything as they left along the canyon. Then Florie shook herself, and began work on the more mundane matters of seeing the extent of the repairs needed in the tower, getting the men working towards fixing the place up to be livable. They took Cyril in and Toby tended to his wound, and the next week was busy with repairs and recovery. By that time, Florie was was anxious. There was no sept at Tynker, and she was feeling its loss keenly. She knew the others didn't understand her need, didn't quite see things as she did. But she knew she needed that space, so she had the men start work on creating a small sept for her in the tower. It would have to be enough.

Ch. 5 - Bad Faith

Drezielle
§

Zel watched the wedding guests leave, and soon enough on the day after the wedding, Blackbane was mostly empty. That evening, only the Florents and Osgrey Meriweather remained. Zel kept to herself, knowing that if she was needed, she should be ready. In the morning, she awoke to Florie at her door. She groggily let her friend in and listened as Florie explained that Osgrey had been to her room that morning to press his suit, and she had barely put him off, and had sent him along ahead of her to speak to her father. Florie knew that it might be dangerous for her to follow, so she wanted Zel to go listen at the door. Zel threw on her wig and skirts so that she could go and appear to be cleaning near Lord Garon's door, and listened in as he revealed the truth to Osgrey. Osgrey grew angry, saying Garon had broken his word, and Garon responded that when he had, his daughter was no longer his to give. Zel listened as Garon defended Toby and Florie, and tried to find a way to keep friendly with Longtable, but Osgrey would have none of it, and Zel had to scurry out of the way as he stormed out. Garon stepped out, and sent her to find Flowers. She readily agreed, and changed hurriedly, and was sent again to gather the others.

Garon brought them into the room and shut the door, telling Florie and Toby that he had made their marriage known to Osgrey, and he had ridden off in anger. He paused, his features grim. Osgrey, he continued, must not make it back to Longtable. Cyril and Toby showed surprise, and so did Florie, but less so. Zel had thought, as she was sure the others had, that the scheming in Florie's nature had mostly come from her mother. Clearly, her father was not to be underestimated either, and it was chilling to listen to Garon describe how he would be sending them to kill Osgrey, and that it must be done outside of their land, and be made to look like a bandit attack. He told Florie that she would be going as well, because she needed to see what she had wrought.

Zel hurried to help with the preparations. They would have to ride carefully, to catch up with Osgrey but without his knowledge that they were on the road as well. They planned some as they prepared, and decided that once they were a day or so away, Zel would begin to ride ahead overland to see how far they were from Osgrey. Zel was happy to be riding again, and she tried not to think too hard about their errand.

Cyril
§

Cyril rode close to Toby and Florie as they left Blackbane. He listened as Toby recounted how Lord Florent had spoken with him before he left, and how they had agreed to use Tynker Tower as a safer place to send and recieve messages. They had also talked about needing to make a decisive but still secret strike against Highgarden. They all agreed to this, of course, but none of them were sure yet how to go about it. It was not far enough into the season for the caterpillars to have caused much damage, and their resources were small. Still that problem would have to wait. The more immediate issue was what to do to kill Florent. They rode and as evening drew on, they sent Zel ahead. She reported that Florent had left the road to spend the night at a small holding, and they could ride past and be ahead of Florent in the morning.

The next day, they worked to set an ambush. Florie was exhausted, no doubt in part due to it being the first night since the wedding guests arrived that she and Toby had not been forced to separate. Cyril had politely ignored them, but it was no mystery what the two had spent too much of their night on. They rode a little ways, but not yet out of Felsward lands. After some discussion, they decided that they could safely dispatch their target here, and then take him up to the river that bordered their lands and dump him in. The plan they came up with would be enough to stop a few people, let alone one man. There was a curve in the road that bordered a hill, and Toby would armor up and wait just around the curve. Cyril would be up the hill a bit, in the trees, waiting with his arrows. Florie would be safe beside him, and his job would be to shoot the horse and make it stumble. Zel would be in the brush on the other side of the road, throwing daggers ready, and she would be there to aid as needed and prevent retreat. They sent Corwin a little way up the path in the other direction, to keep watch for other travelers.

They waited. Florie was still and silent next to Cyril, and he could only guess at what she felt about this. And then there was no more time to wonder, as the sound of hoofbeats announced Osgrey's approach. Cyril watched, sighting carefully, waiting until the horse had passed the spot they had designated, and then he let loose an arrow. It hit the horse in the flank, and the animal began to rear in panic and pain. He quickly got another arrow and let it fly as Zel came from the bushes and threw one of her knives at the animal. The horse fell, and Osgrey tumbled to the ground.

Tobias
§

Tobias waited out of sight, listening as his companions took Osgrey from his horse. Then he rode out. Osgrey had only a moment for recognition to set in, and no time at all to react, to even draw his sword. Toby swung at him as he rode by, and Osgrey's head fell from his shoulders and rolled on the ground.

They all came down to the path to help clear the scene. They carried the body to a campsite they'd selected nearby, where they hung it up for the blood to drain like an animal they had hunted. Grisly as it was, it was necessary if they were to carry the body to the river without being in danger of discovery. It was a long, tense night, and in the morning, they rode the rest of the way to the river, dumped the body in, as well as his sword, shield and armor. The body would soon be unrecognizable, and the metals would quickly rust at the bottom of the river. Westeros could be a dangerous place, everyone knew. Nobody would be able to suspect them for Osgrey's disappearance. The journey back to Blackbane was relatively quiet, with each of them wrapped in their own thoughts.

Once back, they all went directly to Garon to report. He confirmed with them that Osgrey had been seen travelling home, and that the killing had gone swiftly and efficiently. Toby reported the facts quietly and gravely, and as he did, he saw Garon watching Florie. Her features were set and, Toby had to admit to himself, a little cold. He knew they should not be surprised. This was not the first death she had seen, and her resolve to see her actions through had never wavered. Still, it was disturbing to see, and clearly even more disturbing to Garon, who told her roughly that Osgrey had been a good man, and that she should pray to the Maiden for forgiveness. She dipped her head in acquiesence, and left quietly, with her father staring unhappily after her. Then Garon turned his attention back to the group. He spoke with Toby about the need to act while the eyes of the kingdom were turned on Duskendale, and how unready they really were. Toby agreed, and they concluded that if at all possible, they must find a way to put their influence on the Duskendale situation again, to extend it as long as possible. With this to think about, they concluded the meeting. Garon sent Cyril off to tend to Jonys, and then he looked at Zel for a while, and charged her to think about what she was to the house, as she would need a title. She departed in another direction, and after they had all departed, Tobias went to join his wife in the sept.

Florie
§

Florie knew she should feel an appropriate grief about Osgrey. She knew that she should feel horror that they had killed a man in order to keep themselves from condemnation and suspicion. Somewhere in herself, these feelings did flicker through, but they were locked away. Her father had ordered her to pray to the Maiden for forgiveness, and she did. She prayed too that the Seven would continue to guide her footsteps, as they had so far. This newfound coldness in her must have its place. And, she knew, there were personal prices to be paid for her ambition and her will. Certain softer feelings could not stay in the same place as her resolve.

Later, once again in her own bed with Tobias beside her, Florie should have slept soundly. But even under the covers, even next to her husband's warmth, she was freezing cold. With that cold came uneasiness, and she knew that if she kept tossing and turning, Toby would wake, so she let him sleep and she got out of bed, shivering, and went to walk the halls. For some reason, she hadn't thought to put on slippers for some reason, and the stones were frigid under her bare feet. She passed by an open door, and realized an even colder draft was coming from within. She realized it was her mother's room. She stepped in, and realized that the door to the garden was open, that autumn chill was seeping into the hall this way. Florie hurried forward to close the door, and saw that the moonlight made the overgrown roses look black and frosted over. The whole garden looked eerie and cold. Florie's hand touched the door, but she stopped, staring, as she realized that she was not alone. There was a figure sitting on her mother's garden bench, and no soo$945 ner had she registered this that she realized from size and build that it was Colin Florent. Dark blood still oozed from his neck wound. As Florie watched in horror, he turned his ruined face to her.

She awoke with a muffled sob, disoriented as she realized that her walk through the hall and all that followed had been a dream. Just a dream. But she was still freezing, her body as cold as if she had been out of bed. Unable to bear the feeling alone, she shook Toby awake, curled into him and mumbling that she'd had a bad dream. He comforted her, and built up the fire to warm the room. He asked what the dream had been, and she couldn't tell him. In the firelight, safe beside him, her alarm seemed silly. She knew it would sound so. So she said it was about the coming winter, and left it, and Tobias held her close, and sang an old ballad to her, and she started to feel warm again. She made him promise that they would leave soon to conduct their affairs from Tynker Tower. She wanted to be free of Blackbane and its cursed and bloodied stones. At last, with these assurances, Florie slept again.

Ch. 4 - Night Blossoms

Cyril
§

Now that the marriage was no longer a secret, Cyril knew that Lady Vallya would hear of it. He had seen the unspoken worry in her family over whether this was close enough to seeing one of her children wed that it would be too much for her. In the evening, though, her health was no poorer. Cyril excused the girl who was Holly's replacement, and watched the lady of the house for a bit, thinking. As long as Vallya lived, his position was in jeopardy. He had, he thought, pledged to serve the house, but he had not been prepared for a member of his house to threaten him as she she had, and surely, the lady's growing instability was a threat to the house as a whole. He wasn't sure he agreed with his own reasoning, but it gave him the strength to do what he had been considering ever since the conversation that morning in the sept. Carefully, as Cyril mixed the lady's usual dose of arsenite, he added three pinches of sweetsleep powder, enough that, especially in this weakened state, Lady Vallya would not wake up. Cyril left her chambers and shut himself in his room, wondering at his own actions.

He had just murdered the lady of the house, and though he knew that in the coming battles it would be a mercy to her family, he could not feel entirely easy with his choice.

He was expecting the yells in the morning, and he came running with his kit to make a show of inspecting the lady for life. Then he sent grave word to Lord Garon that Vallya had passed, and waited as the family gathered outside her room. Garon drew his children and Toby inside, shut the door, and explained that he would be putting off Lord Osgrey, but not telling him yet of the secret marriage, because he did not wish to cast a shadow over Jonys's wedding. Florie knelt at her mother's bedside, and though she shed tears, her expression was distant. Cyril knew that the grief for Lady Vallya, for all in the room, would be no longer than was absolutely appropriate. And not even the suspicious Garon looked at him askance. Cyril knew he had succeeded. Nobody would know what he had done..

The month between then and the wedding passed quickly. Funeral arrangement were made, wedding plans were begun, and Florie made sure that discreet preparations for the coming winter were in place. Cyril kept to himself during that time, and if he was quieter than usual, nobody noticed. A few days before the end of the month, guests started arriving, and Blackbane was soon overflowing. There were Redwynes, Tyrells, Lannisters, and numerous smaller houses. Blackbane was as pleasantly decorated as it ever got, and the Felswards were soon busy fulfilling their obligations as hosts, as well as keeping their secrets well under wraps. Florie and Tobias didn't dare spend too much time together, and Cyril wondered how the knight's rather short temper would fare with this. The maester himself had a relatively easy job at this point, keeping a discreet eye on Jonys and helping where he could to get the wedding done with.

Florie
§

The festivities had begun in earnest, and the first of several nights of feasting had begun. Florie could not enjoy the feast, though. Too much was riding on this time. There were, frankly, too many chances for error. Florie had spent some time finding Zel a dark wig and training her to walk in skirts, and now Drez the serving maid was grumpily serving wine at the main table. At least, Florie thought dryly, the former highwayman wasn't doing anything overtly manly. Florie had Osgrey at her side, and she did her best to be gracious to him. But he kept casting dark looks at Toby, and she knew that he had picked up an undercurrent that made him suspicious. Florie did her best not to notice when, as soon as they had finished eating, Osgrey pulled Tobias aside. They both emerged looking courteous and none the worse for wear, which was a relief, but it meant that Osgrey then installed himself firmly at Florie's side. She would have made her pleasantries with him there and left well enough alone, but Florie saw Axel Florent trying to catch her eye across the room. She sent Zel over to see if he would pass a message to her, but he would not, so she was left trying to find something to occupy Osgrey. She eventually got him talking military things with her father and Jonys, and she slipped off and asked Zel to watch while she went to speak with Florent.

Florent looked her over and carefully brought up the fact that she had a fiance, and that the arrangement might complicate things. Florie held back a slightly hysterical giggle and said that things might not be as they appear. Florent frowned, uncomprehending, and Florie lowered her voice and explained her secret marriage to Tobias. Florent looked a little taken aback, and Florie wondered if he'd thought her willful nature was something he could control. He continued. on to tell her that he had indeed sent to Duskendale. He'd sent someone to say that he would also support opposition to the unfair levies, and that if Darklyn took a stand, so would he. He would, of course, withdraw that support and say he never sent anyone, but the message would hopefully be enough to stir Darklyn to ahction. Florie smiled prettily, curts.ied, and took her leave of him. It would be too dangerous to talk for very long.

She had hardly had time to turn around when she saw a disturbance near where her family had been standing. She rushed over and saw Jonys down on his hands and knees, reaching as if for something hanging in the air in front of him. Hallucinations were a new symptom, and they scared her, but Florie saw Toby and Cyril already at her brother's side, so she turned and went to Lysette and Bethany to brush it off as her brother having had too much to drink in his excitement. They were hesitant to accept her explanation, but none of the Felswards were showing any alarm over the incident, so as Toby and Cyril led Jonys out, Florie was able to divert their attention and continue making pleasantries. After a time, Zel found her and told her how once outside of the hall, Jonys had seemed better off, more lucid, and then had fallen asleep. Florie supressed a shudder. It could have been the closeness of the party, the heat and noise. She supposed that was what the others must think. But she could not help thinking that may be this was more of the curse, another dire warning of how they could not stay in Blackbane.

Tobias
§

Tobias sat outside with Jonys for a while, letting the young lord sleep off whatever had happened to him. The cool night air was nice, and Toby didn't have to make so much pretense of courtly manners he didn't really have, or hear people calling him "Lord Ore." He was just starting to relax when he heard a laugh, and he turned to see Ilyn and Meryn Payne. They traded a few nasty comments back and forth, and Toby's temper rose. Ilyn said that Toby's victory in the melees had been entirely due to Ser Orvus, and leaned in with a smile and said, "I will live to see your head on a spike."

Toby wanted very much to try and wipe the smirk off of Ilyn's face, but he just stared back at the man. "Only if I do not fight you again."

The Paynes turned and left, and Toby was just getting comfortable again when Garon strode up with Cyril in tow. Garon looked his son over, and ordered the maester to make more of his energizing tonic, despite the risks. Jonys had to make it through these couple of days, and with the semblance of health. No sooner had they prepared the dose and fed it to the slowly waking Jonys, when a number of young knights announced their intention to go to the Drunken Knave and toast Jonys's wedding. Jonys would have to be there too, so with a sigh, Toby helped him back into the hall to announce that he was going to bed, and then took him to the Knave. It was a fine old tradition, and should have been enjoyable, but Toby was too focused on keeping Jonys well enough for his wedding. When the young lord went to relieve himself, Toby waited a few minutes and followed, and found Jonys slumped. Jonys tried to argue when Toby told him it was time to go home, but Toby was taller and far stronger, so he just hefted Jonys over his shoulder and walked him back to Blackbane. They would both have to be ready for the hunt in the morning.

The morning dawned clear, and the hunting party headed for the woods. Florie was along, cheerfully sending her hawks off without any real hope that they'd bring anything back, and Toby saw that she was mostly watching for anything to go wrong. He trusted his wife to handle herself, so even though he wanted to stay close to her, Toby kept most of his attention on Jonys. The hunt had them scaring a deer, and it might have gotten away, but Tobias jumped from his horse and went after it. He killed it, albeit unconventionally, with a spear, and suddenly Toby was, to his embarrassment, the champion of the hunt. It clearly rankled Jonys, who started muttering about needing to make a kill of his own, and as it got late, he got more and more irritable. People were starting to talk about heading home when Jonys dragged Toby off a ways and said he needed to get a kill. Jonys had more skill than Florie, at least, and he managed to track something into some underbrush. He shot, and missed, and the angry bobcat he'd cornered came snarling out of the bushes. It set upon Jonys, and Toby did the only thing he could. He leapt into the fight and killed the bobcat, which had Jonys angrier than ever. But the damage was done, since the commotion had gathered a crowd, and it was too close to dark to do any other hunting.

That night at the feast, Meryn Payne stepped up to Toby to congratulate him, and the smile he wore wasn't quite his usual smirk. He said that they should put the past behind them, and start fresh as two gentlemen should. Toby raised his eyebrows, but said he would follow Meryn's example. He knew it was all a show, the question was, what for?

Drezielle
§

Zel had not enjoyed her time as a girl and had been relieved to go on the hunt in her usual boy's outfit. She had also resolved to spend her evening sneaking the halls, to see what secrets she could learn. She knew that they needed leverage, now more than ever. She was waiting anxiously for the feast to be over, when she saw her friends looking concerned. Two people had vanished from the festivities. Meryn and Lysette were nowhere to be seen. Florie rose and hurriedly excused herself, and gestured to Zel, ordering her off to check Meryn's room while she checked Lysette's. Zel found Meryn's empty, and found Florie in the hallway. Florie explained that she had just broken up an encounter between the two, and had a few choice words for Lysette's sense of propriety. Jonys was now with Lysette, saying goodnight to her, and any drama had been averted. They just had to make it through to the wedding in the morning, and then they could at last be done with that much, at least.

As soon as most of the guests were in bed, Zel slid away and dressed in black so she could easily sneak through the dark halls of Blackbane. She listened at doors, mostly hearing nothing important. Then she got to the room the Paynes were in and heard the voices of Meryn and his father.

"I'll feel better than that knight come morning," Meryn was saying. Zel stopped, and pressed her ear more firmly against the door.

"Don't do anything foolish, lad," Ilyn's voice came, low and grave. "We're in their house."

"I won't do anything /foolish/ uncle," said Meryn, his voice holding laughter. It was enough of a warning sign for Zel. She left off her spying and ran for Toby's room. "Ser Tobias!" She hissed at the door. She heard only odd, muffled noises inside, so she went in. She wasn't prepared for what she saw. Toby was on the bed, looking barely conscious, and Maester Cyril knelt by his open bag on the floor, but was fumbling with the things inside of it. He looked relieved when Zel came in and tried to speak to her, but it seemed his tongue was swollen and she couldn't understand a word he said. He very carefully picked up a needle and motioned stabbing himself with it, and Zel realized what must have happened. They were poisoned.

Trying not to panic, Zel asked Cyril to show her how to make the antidote, since his fingers were shaking too badly to handle his own equipment. Slowly miming to her, Cyril showed her what to add together, what to burn and what to crush. When she was done, Cyril picked up a larger needle than he'd shown her before, and had her coat it in the antidote. She stuck him with the needle, and then Tobias, getting the antidote into their blood. Both improved after that, breathing more easily and looking less ashen. Toby kept saying Florie's name, and once Zel was satisfied that both men had gotten enough of the antidote to live, she went and got Florie, who rushed to her husband's side. The men explained once they were able that someone had put the poisoned needle in Toby's pillow, and Toby had managed to get to Cyril, but when Cyril found the needle to investigate the poison on it, he had stuck himself on accident. Zel and Florie watched them through most of the night, and by morning, Cyril and Toby were well enough to stand, at least. They could all go to the wedding, to see that it went over well.

The ceremony was beautiful, despite it all, and none of them missed the shock in Meryn's eyes when Tobias showed up apparently healthy. Zel watched Florie catch the young man's eyes, and she favored him with a very dangerous smile. Then the predatory look vanished from her face and she was the picture of joy and innocence. Jonys and Lysette were wed, and then as evening drew on, they were sent to their marriage bed together. At last, that much was done, and the Felsward household could breathe a little easier.

The revelry was in full swing, and Zel had followed Florie outside a ways so they could both get fresh air. Then she heard the sound of hoofbeats, quick and urgent, and she tugged Florie towards the gates. As the rider drew nearer to the torchlight, they could see his colors-- Targaryen red and black. This was a rider from King's Landing. He asked for the lord of the house, and a somewhat drunken Lord Garon soon joined them. The messenger said that there had been an uprising in Duskendale, and that the king had ridden out to negotiate, but the situation escalated too quickly, and the king had been taken hostage. Tywin Lannister had ridden out of King's Landing, and they feared more forces would be needed, so the banners were being called. Florie moved close to Zel and sent her to find Florent. Their needed opportunity was about to arrive.

Ch. 3 - Branches

Cyril
§

Dawn, Cyril imagined, came far too soon for the newlyweds. Still, while it was early and the sun was just barely cresting the horizon, Toby was at the door, saying that they were to all meet in the sept. The knight went off to relay the same message to Zel, and they all filtered into the little sept. Florie came last, looking a little tired but otherwise composed. She was dismayed to find that Corwin had attached himself to Toby and didn't seem to want to leave. At last, Toby called the boy over and told him to go to the kitchens to have a picnic prepared for later in the day. Corwin grinned at that and hurried off to have it done.

Florie drew closer to the rest of them and said that she had been thinking hard about what they should do. On their own, she said, they would have little enough to offer Florent. They needed lands and men and funds, things that Blackbane gave them access to, but that would be severely diminished if they were to leave. Cyril saw the other two looking the same way he felt. To stay here would mean telling Lord Felsward the truth. And if he reacted badly... they might not even make it out of Blackbane. They began arguing, keeping their voices hushed, but footsteps in the hall announced Jonys. He swaggered in, and snorted at their apparent piety. Toby politely invited him on the picnic, but Jonys seemed restless, and declined, but told Florie that her father wished her presence. Jonys turned, and they were about to let him go when Florie called him back. She gave her brother a long look and said that she knew they had never been as close as she and Argent, but now they only had one another. Gruffly, he told her not to talk about Argent like he was dead, but Florie just pressed on. She asked him what he would do if he could aspire to greater than the Arbor. Taken aback, Jonys said he didn't know what she meant. Toby hissed her name in warning, but she didn't pay attention. Cyril took a step back to distance himself from the situation, watching Florie try to angle her brother into admitting some ambition. But Jonys was not rising to the bait, so Florie at last let him go with a frustrated little huff.

No sooner had they started arguing again about the wisdom of the decision Florie wanted to make when Lady Felsward appeared in the doorway, looking better than she had recently, but with a strange expression on her face. "Maester," she said, "If I might have a word with you."

"Of course, my lady," Cyril said, and moved out to the hallway with her. She said she had heard that Lord Garon had spoken with him about answering only to him when administering medications, but that she wanted Cyril to know that the lord needn't be troubled by small things, and that Cyril should continue to minister to her on her orders. Cyril started to talk about how he had made a promise to the lord of the house, and Vallya stepped in even more and closed bony fingers hard around his wrist. "If you cannot do this for me, then the letter I have already written will be sent to the Citadel. The letter describes how you took advantage of me in my weakened state and had your way with me. They will recieve the letter, and then your body. Do I make myself clear?"

Chilled, Cyril stammered agreement, and took a moment to compose himself before returning to the others.

Florie
§

Florie knew she could not keep her father waiting for long, but she wanted at least one of the others to see what she saw, that to leave as fugitives would be, ultimately, to admit defeat. She knew she wasn't convincing them, but she knew, too, that they would not break from her decision. So she went to see her father.

She barely heard Garon when he started to talk. He was saying something about how he knew that this wasn't what she had expected, but Longtable would be a good place, and how he hoped to visit his grandchildren there. Florie touched the seven-pointed star she wore around her neck, gathering strength and resolve. Then she looked her father straight in the eyes and said there was something she needed to tell him. She started off with how he must have known something was suspicious about Colin Florent's death. She pressed on and past his incredulity as she named her mother the murderer, and described the letter that Florent had sent. And then the fight started in earnest. Florie had to convince her father that her course of action had been the best, had been divine will. She had to show him that she was every bit a capable woman and not a little girl peevishly defying her father. She had to keep from crying.

Garon tried to bring Argent into it, how they both missed him terribly and about how much harder it would be to bring him back this way. The thought stung her, but Florie rallied, telling him with a sad smile that he didn't know Argent as she did, and that he had left with full knowledge of the treason, had shown ambition even greater than hers, and how his move was in part a bid to protect the Gardener bloodline. That had her father stunned, and so she finished out that she had agreed to aid Florent. Very carefully, Garon said that he loved his daughter and would not abandon her, and that her treason would have to be his. He would get her out of this, he said, and before she could protest, asked if she had moved against Highgarden. So she told him about the caterpillars. He put a hand over his face and said that surely she had not moved against King's Landing. Florie swallowed hard, and said she had sent word to Florent that an uprising could likely be stirred up in Duskendale. She saw a thread of something she had never expected to see in her father's eyes when he looked at her. It was horror. It only increased when, her voice shaking, she said there was one more thing he had to know.

"I married Tobias, Father, in secret."

Garon stared at his daughter. "In a sept?"

"Yes."

"With... witnesses?"

"Maester Cyril and Zel Flowers, yes."

"And..." Her father's expression was very near rage. "Consummated?"

Florie wanted to crumple, but she didn't let her gaze waver. "Yes."

"Then go," Garon said, voice low, "And fetch your husband and your witnesses."

Florie looked at her father and saw, angry as her father might be, that she had been successful. Battle won, she dared not question him now.

Tobias
§

Anxious, but not really knowing what to do, Tobias went to the kitchens to see how the picnic was coming along. At least, he resolved, if they had to take off running at moment's notice, there would be food ready. Cyril and Zel joined them, and they chatted for a bit, trying to avoid the uncomfortable topics on all their minds. After a time, Florie stepped into the kitchens, as pale as Toby had ever seen her. She gave the others a cursory glance, then stepped up in front of Toby. "My lord husband," she said, very softly. "My father requests our presence."

Toby felt like the bottom of his stomach dropped out of existence. So that was it. She had told Lord Felsward. He looked at the others, and saw Cyril and Zel looking like maybe they might run out right there. "I'll protect you," he told them in a low voice, deciding that the lord deserved to be heard out in any case. Reluctantly, they came along, Florie leading the way. Once they were in the room with Garon, he barred, the door, checked outside the windows, and looked them over. He confirmed that they all knew what his daughter had done, and said heavily that Tobias was an orphan, foundling, a good squire and loyal knight, and had become something he never thought he would be-- a son. It seemed a dubious honoring at best to Toby. After years of wishing that Garon would see the boy he had raised as his own, now it was a forced thing. But Garon had turned his attention already onto Zel, saying that Highwayman Flowers would have to be bound into Felsward service. Zel looked relieved, saying that she agreed, and had not collected pay at any rate while in their keep. The only thing left was to send her letter of resignation, which Florie had already promised to draft. Garon grunted his acknowledgement and looked to Cyril. "That chain around your neck is short, Maester," he said, slowly and carefully. "And I /will/ bring you to heel on it." Cyril just dipped his head graciously, as if they weren't all terrified. Garon stepped back and said darkly that now he must back his daughter's treason, and now that he was aware they would once again answer to him as their lord. Everyone nodded, and Garon sent the others out, saying he would speak with Lord Ore alone.

Tobias tried not to be nervous as he faced Lord Felsward. Garon gazed at him for a minute, then assured that Toby had married Florie out of love, and that the knight would be certain to protect her. She had, Garon said, extended herself beyond her father's ability to protect her. Therefore, her new husband would have to.

"What will you say?" Toby asked quietly after the silence had stretched for a time.

Garon looked up at him. He looked tired, and now less angry than resigned. "To Longtable?"

"To the world."

"I will tell them the truth. That you have wooed her since she was five, and there is no separating you."

Toby nodded, and the conversation drifted a bit. Then Garon started to talk about honesty, and no more secrets, and Toby knew he must out with the last thing he had been withholding. Slowly and carefully, he talked about how years ago, he had taken the beating for Argent over the laming of Lord Felsward's best horse. And the he said how Argent had repaid that debt, by taking the blame for Toby had done to Collard Greyfell. After this, he promised that was all. There were no more secrets.

Drezielle
§

Zel watched Florie pace back and forth near the kitchens. It said something about how agitated her friend was, since for all she made shows of it, Florie was not given to idle fretting over the things she had wrought. The maester was with them, but he seemed lost in his own thoughts, the lines of his face drawn tighter than usual. Zel, for her part, could hardly believe they had made it to this point with nobody sentenced to death or imprisonment. Where everyone else was still on edge, Zel permitted herself relief. They would be through this, and she would serve the Felswards or the Gardeners, whatever they ended up calling themselves. She would have a place here, and maybe, just maybe in the future, something much grander.

She stopped Florie, tired of her restlessness, and drew her aside. She told Florie she had been thinking, and that Florie had been right. She could not always have a man beside her, especially a man who was not her husband, and Zel knew Florie might need her help more often. Reluctantly, Zel continued, saying that she would like Florie to assist her in sometimes being a girl. Florie's strained features broke out in a grin at that, and she readily agreed, promising to teach Zel some more womanly behaviors. They were talking of what would need to be done to keep Zel's two personas separate, since besides dresses she would at least need a wig, when purposeful footsteps sounded in the hall. They turned to look, and Zel saw Toby, his expression difficult to read. But then he pulled Florie to him and kissed her. Zel coughed and looked away, only to see the kitchen servants staring as if the couple had just sprouted tails.

"We are to go on that picnic," Toby said when he pulled away. "Now."

Florie laughed, and helped strongarm the other two into going. Corwin was delighted, and helped speed them along. Toby explained as they walked through the orchards that Garon would be telling Longtable of the wedding, and it was best for them all to be gone while he did so. Zel watched the young couple walking ahead of her and couldn't help but wonder-- with news of the wedding in the open, and the bond accepted by Lord Garon, what would become of Lady Vallya?