ARGENT
§
As an anointed knight Ser Tobias had taken his vows of knighthood before the Seven, and so the following morning, after being relieved from his post at the kennels, he proceeded immediately to the sept. A boy had been murdered in Blackbane Hall under hospitality, and the Seven frowned upon such egregious actions of malice. On his way to the sept, he ran into Florie and the two of them proceeded together to pray that any curse upon their house be lifted. Having done what they felt would satisfy the gods, they then proceeded down to the kennels for the execution. Lord Garon was already there and upon seeing Ser Tobias he pulled the knight aside while Florie made a show of petting her "dogs".
"Ser Tobias, I was hoping you would do it," Lord Garon cast a glance over at the dogs, where Florie was kneeling and stroking their muzzles. "That you were fond enough of them to make it swift and sure."
"I will take the task," Ser Tobias nodded solemnly.
"We are putting these dogs down, but it is not a spectacle."
"Though it must be public... I understand."
Though these were not Florie's own dogs, it was still not a task Toby relished, so he got it over with as quickly as he could, and headed inside, where he found that Lady Felsward was sicker than ever. She had woken in a bloody sweat, and Lord Garon told them all grimly that it was as bad as when she had first taken ill. But then, with his children and Toby around him, he said that Vallya had been given a dream that she would not die until she saw one of her children married, and that he believed it. The Tyrells would be leaving that day, and it was just as well. Things were starting to look dark in Blackbane.
Toby attended Garon for the rest of the day, and went with him to speak with Jonys about the Meadowlark uprising. It would be the young lord's duty to go with Toby and put the rebels down. They spent the rest of the day preparing, and the next day, as they saddled their horses, Toby heard Jonys getting irritable as he struggled with the fasteners. Then, as Toby came to help him, he saw why. Jonys's hands were slipping on the leather because his fingers were slick with blood. There were bright red dots at the pores in his face too, and Toby realized with horror that Jonys must now share his mother's condition. He ran for Holly.
Once Jonys was settled, Garon had no choice but to charge Argent and Florie with the same duties that had been given to their brother.
The trip to Meadowlark would be a long one, because travelling with our small army would slow us considerably. I slowed things too, I suppose, in my covered carriage, but Father had insisted that I go along and so I packed up, chose which animals would be accompanying me, and settled in. I took one of the nice servant girls that waits on me, Cassie, since she's quiet and keeps herself busy. I had work to do. As soon as we were on the road, I took the coded letter out of its secret hiding place tucked away in my bodice, and I settled in to try and make sense of it. I have always been good at words, and patient, but even this gave me a headache. When we stopped, I didn't spend as much time with Argent and Toby as I would otherwise, so intent was I on my task.
The cipher was tougher than anything I'd tried to read before. But very slowly, I began to make sense of it. I had to find out which groupings of letters were words, and then I had to guess at the key phrase that had been used to encipher the text. That took the better part of a day, but I finally hit upon it-- our house words, "Silver tongue, iron fist." After that, I was able to fly through decoding the letter. Knowing the cipher and the key made it simple. I was, I suppose, so involved in my translation that I didn't bother paying much attention to the words.
When I sat down and read the whole thing through, I realized why Mother had wanted this letter burned. The letter started with something of a review of history. When the Targaryens conquered and took the throne, the kings and queens of Highgarden had not been the Tyrells. They had been the Gardeners. The Gardeners did not submit quietly to Targaryen rule, and they were at a standstill when their stewards, the Tyrells, betrayed them. After that, the Gardeners were slaughtered. It appeared that they were wiped out.
This is where Axel Florent started to talk about dangerous things in his letter. He said that he knew that the Gardeners had not been entirely destroyed, and they had kept a secret primary bloodline, a bloodline that had the most legitimate claim to the throne at Highgarden. Florent said he knew that my mother was a direct male-line descendent of the Gardener bloodline. And he hinted that big changes were coming, and between his words, I could see that he intended to make the secret known, whether we wished it or not. I couldn't condone my mother's actions, but I now understood what had driven her to them. And I understood too why it should be kept a secret, to keep our family innocent of those charges.
I was so preoccupied with these things that I was no help in the business of Meadowlark. I learned later that it had gotten military very quickly, despite Argent's sweet words. Deklin Rakespear, the leader of the rebellion, would be brought back with us to face my father's justice. They had chosen a man they thought looked promising, and installed him temporarily as head of the town. So when they came to me that night, successful, they didn't understand my withdrawn attitude. I confessed that I had deciphered the letter, but I begged my brother not to ask me what was inside. But he is as stubborn as I am, and argued until at last, reluctantly, I told him and Toby what I had found. So now we all share this terrible knowledge, and I'm not at all certain what we will do with it.
§
Argent awoke late the next morning, preferring to stay in the sanctuary of his room rather than face the crowd of guests going to the execution of the two hounds. Certainly it would be wiser not to be present should it be discovered that the dogs were in fact not Swift and Bramble; therefore, he spent the first part of his morning trying to decipher the mysterious letter that Florie had so cleverly nabbed. The whole thing made him cross-eyed, and he eventually concluded that he would have significantly more luck trying to resurrect Colin Florent's corpse than understand the contents of the letter. Perhaps if he spoke with his mother again, he could convince her to divulge more information, and with that thought Argent was out of his room on the way to Lady Vallya's chambers. Just as he arrived at the door, it opened, and Holly Greyfell nearly toppled into him.
She excused herself and strongly advised that Argent leave Lady Felsward be for now, as she was having a particularly bad day with her illness. Argent's patience with Holly, his mother, and bad days was running quite thin, so he lightly brushed Holly aside and went into the room. He needed to know what was in letter, and no amount of his mother's seizuring (feigned or otherwise) would stand in his way now. If only reality were that merciful. What Argent saw made him forget entirely about the coded letter - his mother was lying in bed, drenched in blood. Her bedsheets were slick with it, and little slivers of crimson were seeping from her eyes and the side of her mouth. Her breathing was shallow and her forhead was beaded with little droplets of red, as if she were sweating blood.
Argent whirled around and asked Holly what was wrong with his mother and what could be done to remedy it. The nurse looked helpless, and said that she was neither a maester nor a surgeon and so she did not know. Argent's worry for his mother took over and he snapped at Holly, causing her to burst into tears and leave in a rush. He felt incredibly guilty for it, because he knew how stressful the past two days had been for everyone in household. He also would have to inform his father immediately about what was happening with mother - he always seemed to be the bearer of bad news these days. Argent left the chambers and caught everyone just as they were re-entering Blackbane Hall, presumably from the execution. Lord Garon, looking grim, was not difficult to find, and upon informing him of the latest development with Lady Vallya's condition the entire house was flung into a frenzy. New bedlinens and cloths were gathered, the kitchens were told to cook a large beef shank just past raw to get blood back into Lady Felsward, and Argent was sent to find Jonys and Florie.
When his siblings had been found, the three of them gathered by their mother's bedside with Lord Garon. Their father looked grimmer still, and he kept his gaze fixed on Lady Vallya's unconscious form.
"When we were younger, shortly after your mother and I got engaged, she took ill with a fever," Lord Garon began quietly."It was vicious and she had to remain in bed for weeks. There was a period of time where even the maesters thought we would lose her. And I remember one day sitting beside her when she awoke from sleep, and she told me of a dream she had. She told me that she dreamed she attended the wedding of one of her children, and because she had not yet done so she knew she would not die." Lord Garon finally looked up at the three of them.
"And she did not, she made a marvellous recovery. We've seen the worst this sickness has to offer, and even though it looks awful now, she still has yet to see one of you wed. So, your mother will not die today," Lord Garon seemed to take a great deal of solace in this, and even Argent felt momentarily comforted by this story.
Having been present for the execution of the hounds, it seemed as though the guests in House Felsward were more than ready to return to their homes. So, while Lord Garon made his official goodbyes to the Tyrells and the Redwynes, Jonys, Florie, and Argent were left to attend on their mother. When it seemed there wa snothing else the three of them could do for Lady Vallya, Argent left to find Holly.
Just before Ser Toby and Meryn Payne were set to duel each other in the courtyard, Argent placed a bet with a Redwyne courtier that Ser Toby would come out victorious. He won 25 silver stags because of it, and now approached Holly with pouch filled with his winnings. He sincerely apologized for his behavior towards her earlier and presented her with a bonus for all of her continuing efforts in tending his mother. Holly's eyes grew wide at the sum, and she threw her arms around Argent in acceptance - House Felsward needed all the friends they could get right now, and it wouldn't do to have bad blood with the servants, Argent thought to himself darkly.
She excused herself and strongly advised that Argent leave Lady Felsward be for now, as she was having a particularly bad day with her illness. Argent's patience with Holly, his mother, and bad days was running quite thin, so he lightly brushed Holly aside and went into the room. He needed to know what was in letter, and no amount of his mother's seizuring (feigned or otherwise) would stand in his way now. If only reality were that merciful. What Argent saw made him forget entirely about the coded letter - his mother was lying in bed, drenched in blood. Her bedsheets were slick with it, and little slivers of crimson were seeping from her eyes and the side of her mouth. Her breathing was shallow and her forhead was beaded with little droplets of red, as if she were sweating blood.
Argent whirled around and asked Holly what was wrong with his mother and what could be done to remedy it. The nurse looked helpless, and said that she was neither a maester nor a surgeon and so she did not know. Argent's worry for his mother took over and he snapped at Holly, causing her to burst into tears and leave in a rush. He felt incredibly guilty for it, because he knew how stressful the past two days had been for everyone in household. He also would have to inform his father immediately about what was happening with mother - he always seemed to be the bearer of bad news these days. Argent left the chambers and caught everyone just as they were re-entering Blackbane Hall, presumably from the execution. Lord Garon, looking grim, was not difficult to find, and upon informing him of the latest development with Lady Vallya's condition the entire house was flung into a frenzy. New bedlinens and cloths were gathered, the kitchens were told to cook a large beef shank just past raw to get blood back into Lady Felsward, and Argent was sent to find Jonys and Florie.
When his siblings had been found, the three of them gathered by their mother's bedside with Lord Garon. Their father looked grimmer still, and he kept his gaze fixed on Lady Vallya's unconscious form.
"When we were younger, shortly after your mother and I got engaged, she took ill with a fever," Lord Garon began quietly."It was vicious and she had to remain in bed for weeks. There was a period of time where even the maesters thought we would lose her. And I remember one day sitting beside her when she awoke from sleep, and she told me of a dream she had. She told me that she dreamed she attended the wedding of one of her children, and because she had not yet done so she knew she would not die." Lord Garon finally looked up at the three of them.
"And she did not, she made a marvellous recovery. We've seen the worst this sickness has to offer, and even though it looks awful now, she still has yet to see one of you wed. So, your mother will not die today," Lord Garon seemed to take a great deal of solace in this, and even Argent felt momentarily comforted by this story.
Having been present for the execution of the hounds, it seemed as though the guests in House Felsward were more than ready to return to their homes. So, while Lord Garon made his official goodbyes to the Tyrells and the Redwynes, Jonys, Florie, and Argent were left to attend on their mother. When it seemed there wa snothing else the three of them could do for Lady Vallya, Argent left to find Holly.
Just before Ser Toby and Meryn Payne were set to duel each other in the courtyard, Argent placed a bet with a Redwyne courtier that Ser Toby would come out victorious. He won 25 silver stags because of it, and now approached Holly with pouch filled with his winnings. He sincerely apologized for his behavior towards her earlier and presented her with a bonus for all of her continuing efforts in tending his mother. Holly's eyes grew wide at the sum, and she threw her arms around Argent in acceptance - House Felsward needed all the friends they could get right now, and it wouldn't do to have bad blood with the servants, Argent thought to himself darkly.
TOBIAS
§
§
As an anointed knight Ser Tobias had taken his vows of knighthood before the Seven, and so the following morning, after being relieved from his post at the kennels, he proceeded immediately to the sept. A boy had been murdered in Blackbane Hall under hospitality, and the Seven frowned upon such egregious actions of malice. On his way to the sept, he ran into Florie and the two of them proceeded together to pray that any curse upon their house be lifted. Having done what they felt would satisfy the gods, they then proceeded down to the kennels for the execution. Lord Garon was already there and upon seeing Ser Tobias he pulled the knight aside while Florie made a show of petting her "dogs".
"Ser Tobias, I was hoping you would do it," Lord Garon cast a glance over at the dogs, where Florie was kneeling and stroking their muzzles. "That you were fond enough of them to make it swift and sure."
"I will take the task," Ser Tobias nodded solemnly.
"We are putting these dogs down, but it is not a spectacle."
"Though it must be public... I understand."
Though these were not Florie's own dogs, it was still not a task Toby relished, so he got it over with as quickly as he could, and headed inside, where he found that Lady Felsward was sicker than ever. She had woken in a bloody sweat, and Lord Garon told them all grimly that it was as bad as when she had first taken ill. But then, with his children and Toby around him, he said that Vallya had been given a dream that she would not die until she saw one of her children married, and that he believed it. The Tyrells would be leaving that day, and it was just as well. Things were starting to look dark in Blackbane.
Toby attended Garon for the rest of the day, and went with him to speak with Jonys about the Meadowlark uprising. It would be the young lord's duty to go with Toby and put the rebels down. They spent the rest of the day preparing, and the next day, as they saddled their horses, Toby heard Jonys getting irritable as he struggled with the fasteners. Then, as Toby came to help him, he saw why. Jonys's hands were slipping on the leather because his fingers were slick with blood. There were bright red dots at the pores in his face too, and Toby realized with horror that Jonys must now share his mother's condition. He ran for Holly.
Once Jonys was settled, Garon had no choice but to charge Argent and Florie with the same duties that had been given to their brother.
Florie's Journal, Excerpt
§
§
The trip to Meadowlark would be a long one, because travelling with our small army would slow us considerably. I slowed things too, I suppose, in my covered carriage, but Father had insisted that I go along and so I packed up, chose which animals would be accompanying me, and settled in. I took one of the nice servant girls that waits on me, Cassie, since she's quiet and keeps herself busy. I had work to do. As soon as we were on the road, I took the coded letter out of its secret hiding place tucked away in my bodice, and I settled in to try and make sense of it. I have always been good at words, and patient, but even this gave me a headache. When we stopped, I didn't spend as much time with Argent and Toby as I would otherwise, so intent was I on my task.
The cipher was tougher than anything I'd tried to read before. But very slowly, I began to make sense of it. I had to find out which groupings of letters were words, and then I had to guess at the key phrase that had been used to encipher the text. That took the better part of a day, but I finally hit upon it-- our house words, "Silver tongue, iron fist." After that, I was able to fly through decoding the letter. Knowing the cipher and the key made it simple. I was, I suppose, so involved in my translation that I didn't bother paying much attention to the words.
When I sat down and read the whole thing through, I realized why Mother had wanted this letter burned. The letter started with something of a review of history. When the Targaryens conquered and took the throne, the kings and queens of Highgarden had not been the Tyrells. They had been the Gardeners. The Gardeners did not submit quietly to Targaryen rule, and they were at a standstill when their stewards, the Tyrells, betrayed them. After that, the Gardeners were slaughtered. It appeared that they were wiped out.
This is where Axel Florent started to talk about dangerous things in his letter. He said that he knew that the Gardeners had not been entirely destroyed, and they had kept a secret primary bloodline, a bloodline that had the most legitimate claim to the throne at Highgarden. Florent said he knew that my mother was a direct male-line descendent of the Gardener bloodline. And he hinted that big changes were coming, and between his words, I could see that he intended to make the secret known, whether we wished it or not. I couldn't condone my mother's actions, but I now understood what had driven her to them. And I understood too why it should be kept a secret, to keep our family innocent of those charges.
I was so preoccupied with these things that I was no help in the business of Meadowlark. I learned later that it had gotten military very quickly, despite Argent's sweet words. Deklin Rakespear, the leader of the rebellion, would be brought back with us to face my father's justice. They had chosen a man they thought looked promising, and installed him temporarily as head of the town. So when they came to me that night, successful, they didn't understand my withdrawn attitude. I confessed that I had deciphered the letter, but I begged my brother not to ask me what was inside. But he is as stubborn as I am, and argued until at last, reluctantly, I told him and Toby what I had found. So now we all share this terrible knowledge, and I'm not at all certain what we will do with it.
No comments:
Post a Comment