Re: [D3, LE] A Quiet Interlude (Closed)

[Gwyneth Drakeson]

Still unable to look at Baelon's face, Gwyn's right hand stole up to cover her mouth as he went on, explaining how his decision was because of her.

Against the crushing guilt, she summoned the only weapon she had left;
anger.

"
Don't make this about me,"
she gritted, lowering her hand. "
There was a time I would have left with you, wherever you wanted... There was nothing I wouldn't have done for you. Where was this then?"
When Gwyn looked up, her eyes were rimmed red. "
You're still a knight in my service,"
she said;
trying for imperiousness but falling somewhere inside 'petulant.' "
I...I do not give you leave to die, do you understand?"

[Baelon Drakeson]

Baelon smiles. Nothing cheers him up like talking with Gwyn, even if she's mad at him.
"
Gwyn, I would have loved to have taken you with me and shown you the world, but then what? I was living from generous host to generous host, occasionally working jobs in between, but even I knew that couldn't last. What lands have I? What fortune to live off, what castle to shelter in? None. What right have I to ask any woman to live like that?"

He shakes his head.
"
Fear not, my dear Gwyn. I have no intention of losing, let alone dying. I grew up with some of the finest soldiers in Westeros, hardened by the war raging around us. When I was a squire on Dragonstone, my master Ser Peyton Darke decided that the best way to keep me from seeking out a dragon to tame was to wear me out with double guard shifts and constant practice sessions. There were days where I was drilled from sun up to sundown. It was a hard life, but it has prepared me well for this. I give you my word, I will not fall."

[Gwyneth Drakeson]

Gwyneth's shoulders sagged, as the little fire she'd managed to kindle flickered out.

"
I'm such a fool,"
she lamented as she came towards Baelon. "
I know you can't be mine..."
Her hand fluttered up to take a lock of his long white hair between her fingers. "
You'll always bound free, and...I suppose that's part of your charm."


Abruptly she tugged on that hair, just enough to hurt a bit, and her eyes turned fierce.

"
But I will hold you to your word. Fight not just for yourself, but for me as well. If your devotion to me got you into this...let it help get you out too."

[Baelon Drakeson]

His hand impulsively raises and cradles the side of her face.
"
I won't always be unbound, and I swear I will someday have lands and a castle of my own, or a position of prestige in a higher house than Marsten...
but I don't know when. That uncertainty, Gwyn, that is what stopped me..."

He drops is hand and takes a step back, ignoring the sharp tug as his hair is assaulted once again.
"
Until then I'm nothing in this society Gwyn. And I can't give you - or anyone else - nothing. I wouldn't forgive myself."

[Gwyneth Drakeson]

It was an old litany that rose up in Gwyneth's heart. For her it had never been his ability or inability to provide. It had been his wandering eye and heart.

But these were old wounds, the kind of scars that old veterans could boast about and tell stories to impress the recruits. These hurts were dull and almost comforting in their familiarity.

She took a deep breath, and felt some modicum of calm reassert itself. Fragile, but sufficient. Baelon was no slouch on the field, but she wouldn't leave it up to just him. She needed to see this ironborn kinslayer. Take his measure, and decide what needed to be done to ensure that her white stag remained alive and free. Just coming to that conclusion, deciding that she wasn't wholly helpless, helped steady her.

With a smile, Gwyn released Baelon's hair and stepped half a step back to a more demure distance.

"
...or, possibly, marry my cousin. It's fine, Baelon. Nothing that happens in the future takes away what we've shared. Now that my little breakdown is done with...how fare things with the Coldbrooks? I was hoping to meet Garret again, but we haven't formally agreed to so I'm not sure he'll come."

[Baelon Drakeson]

At the mention of Corrine, Baelon's face falls again.
"
I fear your cousin's heart belongs to another, though I know not who;
and I'll not touch a woman who loves another."

He shakes his head.
"
If you can, go to her and find out her heart - not for my sake, but rather for hers, and for the House."

He pauses, collecting his thoughts.

"
As for the Coldbrooks, I have not spoken with Davain since our last meeting. We have made arrangements to meet tomorrow, a couple hours before the joust.
I see no reason you could not join us, if you wish."


OOC: Pending approval by Davain;
waiting for response to PM. If not we can come up with some excuse why you couldn't actually be there.

[Gwyneth Drakeson]

"
I'd like that, if it's not inconvenient. I'm afraid I haven't gotten much useful information from Garret, but things have moved quite quickly...and that's no bad thing."


Gwyn tilts her head, picking up on Baelon's woe. She smiles and reaches out to touch his arm.

"
Don't put too much on a rejection from Corrine just yet. She's not much younger than me in years, but has been quite a bit more sheltered than I. She barely knows her own heart, I wager...be it who she wants or who she doesn't."


She looks up the path a bit, towards where the trees of the Godswood rise up against the darkening sky.

"
What have you heard about Sofia Blackwood, by the way? I've gotten wind that her betrothed betrayed her...but something about the story bothers me. It's said he struck her when she confronted him. It makes me wonder where all that anger came from."

[Baelon Drakeson]

"
I'm more worried about her getting her heart broken by a scoundrel, or do something rash without concern for the consequences.
Your cousin doesn't have your strength of mind."

Perhaps this whole seeking Corrine's hand thing was a mistake. Is that the road I wish to travel?
"
About Lady Blackwood, I have not heard much, to tell the truth. Who is she betrothed to again? Some Frey?"

[Gwyneth Drakeson]

"
Ser Benjen,"
Gwyn agreed. She shook her head. "
Maybe I'm reading too much into it. She is said to have slapped him. At any rate, I'm going to try to see her...to offer my condolences, of course. It really is a pity. Their wedding might have helped mend things."


"
I wonder who'd benefit from things not being mended."

[Baelon Drakeson]

"
Ser Benjen... he has a very unlovely reputation. If she slapped him, I would not be surprised if he hit her back.
As for who would benefit... the Brackens are probably happy about any problems the Blackwoods have, but Lord Haig doesn't seem the type to be this subtle.
Do you know if either the Blackwoods or the Freys have declared for the blacks or greens? Perhaps an enemy of one side or another was trying to disrupt an alliance."

[Sponsored content]