Re: [D4, EN] The Lady and the Dragon (Closed)

by **Baelon Drakeson** Mon May 11, 2015 10:18 pm

"
Something along the lines of 'we appreciate your offer, but your terms are too steep', perhaps. Or perhaps indicate that due to the trial - Athelstan's guilt and my part in showing it - your people are worried about reprisals, and would not welcome armed Ironborn. The former may see an offer of lower terms, which you would then have to find another way to decline. The latter may cause some affront."

He turns his head slightly away, shadows falling over his eyes.

"
Of course, you can also say we have decided to choose other houses and that we are very sorry we cannot choose them as well."

by **Lady Corrine Marsten** Mon May 11, 2015 10:23 pm

Corrine listened carefully, nodding slowly as she took in his advice.

"
The latter sounds to have a balance between politeness and finality, so I may use that. I greatly fear offending anyone. I don't want it to lead to me being trodden on though. I am so used to just being straightforward, but that is not always best, especially not in a place like this. How do you get by, not being eaten alive by those who would step over you to get what they want?"

by **Baelon Drakeson** Mon May 11, 2015 10:37 pm

He stands, letting her hands drop. He turns and walks back to the other side of the fire.
He answers without turning back to look at her.

"
Usually... usually I assume that everyone has a motive, an angle... even the good people are looking out for themselves and their own.
I can't blame them, aren't we doing the same? Just because someone has a motive for their own ends doesn't mean that they don't care..."

"
Don't go with that last one. It sounds well enough on the surface, but in truth it cuts like a razor.
It leaves the other to decide for themselves why they are unworthy, the unchosen one.
That can lead to hurt an resentment not intended."

by **Lady Corrine Marsten** Mon May 11, 2015 11:10 pm

"
Good point. I shall give the matter more thought. It seems I will likely be damned, no matter what I do,"
she sighed sadly.

She stood and went to his side.

"
Baelon, for what it is worth, I am truly sorry to have caused you unhappiness. It was never my intention. If you will, I would embrace you in friendship. Whatever the future holds, I value your presence."

by **Baelon Drakeson** Tue May 12, 2015 12:13 am

"
Probably best to be honest - an alliance between our houses was unlikely to begin with, and Athelstan's actions have made it impossible.
What supporting them now would cost us in other allies far outweighs what they can offer in return. The money issue is really secondary."

He does not respond to the second statement.

by **Lady Corrine Marsten** Tue May 12, 2015 4:10 am

"
Very well. I don't like lying anyway, and I'm terrible at it,"
Corrine agreed.

His lack of response to the rest left her unsure what to do next. There was an awkward silence before she broke it.

"
Well... I suppose I ought to rest,"
she said tentatively, glancing at her tent.

by **Baelon Drakeson** Tue May 12, 2015 10:45 am

"
Yes, I ought to as well, to ensure a full recovery before tomorrow's joust..."

He turns toward her.
"
Lady Corrine, if there is any service you need performed, do not hesitate to ask.
House Marsten has been more a home to me than anywhere else I've lived, and
I have naught to repay that with but gratitude and service. My sword is yours...
at least until the campaign with the clans has concluded. After that... perhaps
I will take up traveling again. I have seen many wonders of Westeros, but there
is always more to see."

by **Lady Corrine Marsten** Tue May 12, 2015 2:50 pm

She gave him a small, sad smile, took his hand and gave it a little squeeze before releasing it again.

"
Thank you, Baelon. We are fortunate to have you."

by **Baelon Drakeson** Thu May 14, 2015 5:08 am

"
Goodnight, Lady Corrine."

Baelon steps out of the firelight, darkness enveloping him like the arms of a jealous lover.
Feeling restless, he does not return to his tent immediately, but rather meanders to the same copse of woods where he spoke with Gwyn on the first day of the tourney.
Staring up to the sky, he ponders the vast expanse of nothingness;
the moon and stars are largely hidden by the clouds, creating a blanket of darkness that mirrors the darkness in his heart.

by **Lady Corrine Marsten** Thu May 14, 2015 12:34 pm

Corrine gazes pensively at the stars, silently berating herself for the mess she has made. However, she does not get to do so for long, as she sees Gwyneth appear nearby, out of the dark. She remembers Dunstan's invitation, and waves Gwyneth over.

"
Gwyn! A moment, if you will!"

by **Baelon Drakeson** Thu May 14, 2015 12:45 pm

[OOC: I might be having another scene in this thread, so I'm leaving it open for now.]

by **Lady Corrine Marsten** Thu May 14, 2015 5:11 pm

[ooc: No probs]

by **Gwyneth Drakeson** Fri May 15, 2015 4:32 pm

Gwyn, en route to the Lyras encampment nearby, is starting to feel her exertions from the night before.

It's been a very long day.

But she manages a tired smile for her cousin as she makes her way over.

"
Corrine! I've barely laid eyes on you since we met at the joust! How are you?"

by **Lady Corrine Marsten** Fri May 15, 2015 5:19 pm

"
Exhausted, quite frankly,"
she replies. "
But I have good news for you. I got your dear Lord Dunstan to accept your hand in marriage! We are all invited to breakfast with the Tullisons tomorrow. "

She smiles hopefully at Gwyn.

by **Gwyneth Drakeson** Fri May 15, 2015 6:06 pm

The world slipped a notch, and seemed to settle into a new equilibrium with a clunk Gwyn felt in her bones. Her legs wobbled.

"
I...what?"
she asked dazedly. "
Did you just say that Dunstan...agreed to marry me?"

by **Lady Corrine Marsten** Fri May 15, 2015 6:11 pm

"
It took a bit of coaxing, but yes. Your marriage will forge an alliance between Houses Marsten and Tullison, and to celebrate, Dunstan has invited all prominent members of House Marsten, including Edmund and Kevan, I believe, to breakfast, mid-morning tomorrow."

She stood and held Gwyn's shoulders, a genuinely happy smile on her face.

"
Isn't this wonderful? You shall marry the man you have wanted for so long! He's a fine one too! You chose well!"

by **Gwyneth Drakeson** Fri May 15, 2015 6:17 pm

"
A bit of coaxing?"
Gwyn asked, her eyes turning hard. "
A bit of coaxing?! I've spent nearly a year! And you...just...come in at the end and..."

She pulled away, but didn't take more than a couple of steps before stopping. Her heart was slamming, but it didn't feel the way she'd always thought it would feel. She felt cold and clammy, and a vicious feeling of loss tore at her as she looked up at the sky. It was just because Corrine had snatched away her victory.

"
I would have convinced him,"
Gwyneth said to the stars. "
I would have."

It was a faint protest though, a petulant one that should have been uttered by a maid younger than she was.

by **Lady Corrine Marsten** Fri May 15, 2015 9:18 pm

Corrine looks at Gwyn in confusion;

"
I... I don't understand. I thought this would make you happy."

by **Gwyneth Drakeson** Fri May 15, 2015 9:24 pm

"
It will, I'm sure..."
Gwyn says distantly. "
Once it sinks in. It's just... Imagine that you were chasing down something in a hunt. A prize beast. Time and time again, he eludes you...but there is a kind of bond between you two. You respect him as much for his ability to elude you as for his strength and beauty. On and on you go, and finally you see hiim breathing hard, see him take a tiny stumble here and there. It's been a fine run, but you're about to win."

She trailed off for a moment. "
That last arrow you bring to your cheek is almost...tender. You almost want to let him go."

"
...and then another arrow takes him in the neck, and some hunter you hadn't even known was there pops out of the bush, and congratulates you on a fine hunt, and offers to let you keep the carcass."

Gwyn sighs.

"
It's just not the same."

Finally she turned and gave Corrine a sad smile. "
I'm completely mad, aren't I? You've handed everything I wanted to me on a silver platter, and all I can do is complain that I'm not the one he yielded to."

by **Lady Corrine Marsten** Fri May 15, 2015 9:27 pm

"
I'm sorry,"
Corrine says miserably. "
I didn't mean to ruin it for you. I thought I was helping,"

by **Gwyneth Drakeson** Fri May 15, 2015 9:37 pm

Gwyn's expression softened further, and she nodded.

"
I know. And you have. I just need my last tantrum before I finish growing up, I suppose. And it doesn't help that I've barely slept since last night."

Abruptly a question bubbled out of her.

"
How did you do it, exactly? How did you get him to agree?"

by **Lady Corrine Marsten** Fri May 15, 2015 9:58 pm

"
I persuaded him that a marriage was a stronger alliance than exchanging tapestries and the like. A more lasting friendship between our houses. We still have to exchange some stained glass and so on, but it was just something I though I could add to the deal. It was a spontaneous notion. I am sorry that I took your victory from you. That was not my intention. I hope you can forgive me."

by **Gwyneth Drakeson** Fri May 15, 2015 10:05 pm

Gwyn gave Corrine a quick hug, even as her thoughts threatened to disintegrate in the maelstrom of emotions inside her.

"
It's vanity,"
she said quietly. "
My vanity, my pride. I wanted him to want me is all. Now I'll never know if he does. But he's still a good deal more than most maids like me will ever get...I have nothing to complain about. I shall be Lady Tullison, and you shall be Lady Marsten, and we and our Houses will be friends. We will stand against the clans, and all this will soon become something we laugh over when visiting one another."

It was all true, what she was saying...Gwyn knew it. Why did it feel so hollow?

Is it true? Or will it be like before? Alone in a castle full of people who are silently wishing I'd just leave?

by **Lady Corrine Marsten** Fri May 15, 2015 10:12 pm

Corrine smiled at her cousin;

"
I hope that will be the case very much, Gwyn. And I am sure he does want you. He did not object to marrying you at all, he just hesitated a bit about the timing. His protestations were neither forceful nor convincing,"
Corrine confided with an encouraging look. "
So I think I was talking him into something he would have done anyway, but was taking his own sweet time about it."

She gave Gwyn's arm a friendly squeeze.

"
Anyway, I am sorry for accosting you with all that. I've just had a difficult conversation with Baelon, so I had hoped to brighten the mood a bit."

by **Gwyneth Drakeson** Fri May 15, 2015 10:15 pm

Gwyneth's expression sharpened, as she abruptly began paying more attention to what Corrine was saying. A difficult conversation with Baelon?

"
Is this about...you and him?"
she asked. "
Your conversation?"

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