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.