[Phase 2] Birds of a Feather [Lynesse & Balon]

Lynesse approached Balon's table with some trepidation. Loose tongues questioned his honour, and his part in half a dozen unchivalrous deeds. Jealousy and cowardice in the eye and heart of the observer oft leads to such gossip concerning men of action, Lynesse reassured herself.



He had the look to fit such rumours though, with a darker countenance than his brother that was owed to more than a wealth of brown hair. There was an edge to him, an unbridled energy floating just beneath the surface. Good.



That he was committed to Ser Daemon's cause seemed certain. Whether she could convince him that her own goals coincided, or that her opinion had weight was another. Her experiences at Summerhall had left her with a sense of how precarious her position was.



"Cousin!" she greeted him warmly, "Your invitation could not have come at a better time. I half feared that on leaving Gyldenhaal you'd dropped off the face of the earth."

Lynesse makes herself comfortable in the booth, enjoying the comparative warmth of the locale to her own pavilion.

“Thank you for your condolences Balon. The official investigation was finished months ago, with my Uncle Sandor acting in his role of master of arms hunting down and executing a dozen local vagabonds. Uncle Eustace had my grandfather declare the matter closed, and so it is, if their word is to be taken seriously. On The whole this is a farce, as Sandor and Eustace has the most to gain from my parents’ death, and Lord Karl is blind to their likely role in it, or worse, is willing to stomach fratricide for the sake of family unity.”

“I had hoped to lobby Lord Jon Hightower to reopen an investigation into the matter, as Lord Karl’s liege I believe he had the authority. With Jon’s death, the matter festers, unresolvable while House Hightower remains disunited.”

Luckily enough the other Lord Jon, our uncle, remains in hearty good health. He and Lady Erena have shown Kyle and I every measure of hospitality. I am just so sorry that the cursed misunderstanding has caused a rift between them and Lady Shiera. In such times as these family must rely on one another, to weed out the truly rotten branches, don’t you think?” She asked, pointedly, leaving the question hanging for a moment before moving on.

“But I would not want to wallow in my own tragedy overlong. You must tell me of your travels and adventures since leaving Gyldenhaal as we share a cup of wine”.

Lynesse listens intently to Balon's recount, noting is sparcity, and wondering at how much he left unsaid.


"What do I expect the Hightowers to do? I expect the right-minded regent of their house to remove a the treacherous and murderous usurper of my own, if not his head from his shoulders," she fumed, before catching herself. "I'm sorry Balon that was... intemperate of me. In truth my evidence is limited and circumstantial from another's perspective. My uncles and father never enjoyed one anothers company, and the rivalry between them was often intense. Ser Eustace has implied his own culpability to me in conversation, a dark jest for an innocent man to partake in. My second uncle, Ser Sandor was absent in Dorne for years only to return the very day after the murders, to take the reins of the investigation. That strikes me as coordination, not cooincidence. I seek an investigation and not a trial because I am sure there is more evidence to be had. The ambush came from several directions and killed the guards and my parents in moments, before any could even make a break from the others, either to flee or charge, which implies a large group of killers. That is a great many witnesses, and such treacherous devils may surface if real pressure were applied to pursue them. The vagabonds executed by Sandor were surely scapegoats: none of my parent's valuables were even looted. I wear my mother's silver star," she idly thumbs the deep scratch left in the religious icon around her neck by a blow or arrowhead. It is a constant reminder of bitter loss.

"Whatever can or cannot be proven will likely become irrelevant. A politically suitable Hightower regent will remove Ser Eustace for his Dornish loyalties, and a politically unsuitable one would retain him for the same reasons. Any Hightower regency we would support would naturally  be a threat to Eustace. In the meantime he will strip Mustard Hall bare, and find what profits he can in the regency of House Daverhyl." Lynesse pauses to gather her thoughts on the next matter at hand "He has opened negotiations with Lord Eldon Merryweather for my hand. Our meeting was...uncomfortable."

“I would die to protect Kyle. He is the last hope for House Daverhyl’s survival. He is more than that,” she muses, “he is all I have left.” There was more she did not say. She would kill for him, lie for him, betray for him. She would see Dorne razed to a cinder if that is what it took to keep the wolves from his door. This and more she did not say, though perhaps her tone implied it.


“As for myself… it is hard to think about such things in so cool and calculated a fashion, but I think I have the same sense of self-preservation common to most folk. Due to the events of the past year I may have a greater appreciation for my own mortality than many. I appreciate that life forces hard choices, and that to refuse them is cowardice.”

She shrugs, as her thumb plays again over the scratched star at her throat.

“But I also believe in what my father and mother believed. There is a depth to which I will not sink. I will never forswear the gods, and I will never drag my family name into the depths of public ignominy, for it is not mine to misuse in such a way.”


She pauses, furrowing her brow as she takes another sip.

“Which Eustace has already used as a weapon against me, knowing I will not gainsay him as my lawful regent in his negotiations with Lord Eldon.”


“Hearing you ask such a question fills me with both hope and dread Balon, for I know you do not idly do so. Say on.”

"You are kind to say that Balon, and you and Ser Titus have already shown me more kinship than sixteen years with my Dornish uncles."


Lynesse's nose wrinkled in a hint of disdain. A year ago she would have been revolted by the proposition, but now she could reconcile it as one of several unpalatable options "It would certainly not be my first choice, but you make a compelling point. The thought of Eustace being undone by his own machinations certainly has a ring of justice to it." 

"But the risks are high. At a stroke I make House Merryweather's many enemies my own. Marriage alone does not guarantee me influence in a house, and I would need to jockey for position with others: Lord and Lady Orme, his knights and sellsword retainers, maesters, septons and the like." She had been thinking on Erena's advice on this since Summerhall. "I would need to be more than a wife to Eldon if I were to truly carry influence in Longtable. I would need to show that I could open doors for him in Mustard Hall, Gyldenhaal, and Oldtown. I would need to be able to bend the ears of knights and lords who would not otherwise heed Lord Eldon. In a time of crisis within House Merryweather, I would need to be able to call on swords loyal not to Eldon's sister, vassals, allies, or knights, but to me alone."

She looked at him seriously, gauging the strength of his committment, beyond mere words of support "I would need you to be one of those swords, Balon, although I imagine you would be too proud to take service with Lord Eldon, even if I were able to secure you a position of honour, or title?"


"I know some of their daughters of these houses, who served as handmaids in Oldtown, but few of the lords in more than passing; as I was a girl of three and ten when I served as handmaid there. Some in House Cuy and Bulwer I expect to share common goals. I shall seek out Lady Jeyne, on your recommendation."

That he was willing, if not eager to serve beneath Eldon in furtherance of their shared goals spoke highly of Balon's dedication and judgement, encouraging Lynesse. 

“I know you have a bright future Balon, and more than that of a Lords master at arms, even a lord as influential as Lord Florent.”

He had hinted, in talk of children and Lord Eldons passing, at a dangerous, perhaps despicable course that lay ahead, and one that she would not walk alone, “If I am to marry and bear Eldon heirs, I will not see them assailed as Kyle and I have been, hounded from a childhood home by rivals and hangers on. You have good reasons to avoid Eldon's service. All I need is your word that in my hour of need, you will not desert me and mine to the wolves that lurk in Longtable’s halls.”

On Lord Gormon she felt instantly out of her depth, though she knew Balon and Titus held him in high regard. “Lord Gormon could offer much and more, but he is your family Balon, not mine. I will follow your wisdom on whether is is well advised to speak with him on this matter.” And by the gods I hope not to live and regret it.

On gambling, she could not help but laugh, “Balon even were gambling not a venial sin, I am a destitute ward, with coin for carriage-man and alms, not a great lady of Lannister, Frey or Butterwell to be making my point with loose gold.” She wondered if he was showing off his own wealth, which was an impressive gesture, or implying something more.

"I will not dismiss other suitors out of hand, but I have a duty to see my brother sit his seat in Mustard Hall, which I cannot fulfill if I am married outside of the Reach. If even half of what is said of Lord Eldon is true, then there is much to fear in a match made with him. I am not fearless, Balon, but I think I buried much of a young girls' fancies and dreams with my parents."

“I do not pretend to know Lord Eldon well, but he does not strike me as a man driven by politics. I am not sure that he needs to be converted to or from a particular stripe, although all ambitions would be thwarted if he took a position directly opposed to our goals,” she acknowledged.

“We will need to better understand his ambitions, beyond his life of luxury and a bevy of champions at his disposal. If we become the ones who can provide for him what others cannot, we gain leverage and influence with him,” she said, rephrasing Erena’s advise to her.

“Though I would be reassured and glad if you were to join me in Longtable, I wonder if this would not defeat this goal: as a sworn sword you would be in Eldon’s power, whereas as a knight of influence and esteem outside his House, my ability to call upon you would raise my esteem in Eldon’s estimation. He has many knights, but I have not heard that Eldon has a great many commanders amongst his forces. With large scale conflict in the offing, gaining prestige in this area would raise your value in the eyes of many, Eldon among them.” She pondered this thought for a moment, “Is it possible to build such a reputation, given your current impasse with House Blackbriar? I have heard rumours…” she ended the thought vaguely, wondering if Balon would go into specifics unprompted.



“I would be glad for your presence with Lord Gormon, Balon, and I am sure that such a meeting would need to be clandestine. It would not do for me to be seen as an informant or agent of House Peake, as it makes me a target for all of those opposed to Lord Gormon’s politics.”