[Phase 1] Cry Uncle [Laena & Aerion]

She nods agreement at his assessment of the tourney. "It did a very good job at exposing just how few who claim to be chivalrous truly are. And then it cut down their numbers even further. I doubt things will get any better before this whole rebellion is over, one way or the other." She snorts, and shakes her head. "So much for being a beacon of light." Before impulsively hugging her brother again. "It's good to see you, too."

Her smile is at first proud as he describes her children's progress, before it turns melancholic, followed by an eye-roll at her brother's linguistic word-games. "Yes, well, he's still too young to worry about him spending time with hor..ses just yet, thank the Seven. So long as you are willing to be firm on them when required, I'm sure they'll turn out fine."

Her smile fades, and her face becomes serious. "There is another matter I want to talk to you about. An important matter. A 'meddling elder sister' matter. My spies deep within the heart of House Starkwood have told me you're interested in pursuing Lady Victaria Rhysling's hand." She lets that claim hang in the air for a moment, before she clarifies with a grin. "Ashara told me.

"So, naturally, the first thing I did on hearing this was to dig into her, see if she's a woman worthy of my only fullbrother. And, well, I have concerns." She waits to see how he reacts to this before continuing. Men can get unreasonably defensive over women they're interested in.

Laena opens her mouth, but can't vocalise her thoughts for a few moments, before she changes what she tried to say, and simply quietly says "Thank you."

She nods. "Related to that. I do not wish for my words to be taken as insult to her - indeed, she seems rather admirable. But ... a woman's role, a wife's role, is a subordinate one. Look pretty, represent the house well, fulfil your duties to bring about the next generation, and don't even think about having a say in how the house runs.

"This is a large part of why Lady Regents and Heads of House seldom do well - like a man dying of thirst in the desert to water, so are they to power. And Lady Victaria Rhysling is a very strong-willed and self-assured woman, who has had time to get used to power, to get addicted to it, and to shape the house to support her. She will part from even a drop of power as willingly as that dying man would be dragged from an oasis, and with the house as she wills it, it will take a truly heroic effort to take it.

"She may - *may* - be willing to take your advice on matters, but ultimately she will do what *she* wants - she's reportedly not one to ask for much advice from those around her. All she will willingly let you do is look pretty, represent the house well, and fulfil your duties to bring about the next generation." She echoes the description of a woman's role with a slight smirk on her face. "Now, I could be wrong, but everything I learned about that woman says to me that she may happily give you the title of 'Lord Protector', but would die before she gave up any of the powers associated with that title.

"There is something in our blood that calls to us. Sings to us. Brings us to brilliance and destruction in equal measure. Empty titles and useless trappings of power will not appease it. So I fear that you would not be happy in such a situation."

She raises an eyebrow. "Survive? If that is your goal, the course is clear: take no sides. Make friends on both sides. When the war comes, do your duty and serve Lord Ulbert. Seek no heroics, just fulfil your duties. There is still a risk of death, of course, there is no entirely safe course of action. But if you simply want to live, that will give you the best chance.

"I am not saying you should do that, but always remember that it is an option. An honourable one, even. Just not an ambitious one.

"If your sole guiding star is ambition, then there is a similarly obvious path: do as you were doing, and marry Lady Victaria, get her pregnant as soon as possible, then murder her once she's given you a healthy heir.

"I am not saying you should do that, but remember that it is an option. A profitable one, even. Just not a moral one.

"The problem comes in that I believe you are both ambitious and moral. And I have difficulty imagining a pairing of traits more likely to see you dead. Like seeking to duel Ser Daemon with your hands tied behind your back.

"What you flatteringly call my 'spies' are woefully inadequate for plotting a reliable plan to meet the needs of both your ambitions and your morality.

"But I do have *a* plan. Naturally.

"Lord Leo Tyrell is in a bad spot politically. Powerful, yet vulnerable, with rebellious houses seeking to supplant him from below, and the possibility of the crown replacing him from above. Not to mention that his family are hardly united politically.

"He needs friends. Him and his family both. Powerful, influential friends would be best, but they are rare at the best of times. I think at this time, he'd appreciate any kind of friend. Not a false friend using the façade of amiability to draw him into one side or the other, but a true friend, hoping simply to support him. Not offering political opinions unless asked directly.

"Given how he gave you your spurs, I can hardly think of a better person for the role. And after the war, hopefully the house will still be powerful enough to express gratitude to their friends, with the extent of it likely largely depending on if they were on the winning or losing side.

"Plus," a small smile. "I won't deny I greatly appreciate how supportive he was during the Lady Johanna situation, and want to help him in turn."

"It is worth remembering that while Lord Leo's sympathies are known, he has pledged allegiance to neither side. Sensibly so, to my mind. He has far more to lose than he has to gain.

"Unfortunately, it is here in the detail that my plan suffers. The best course I can give is 'take opportunities as they arise'. For example, during the Black Tourney, I heard a few rumours criticising him for not being able to curtail the worst behaviour of others. Naturally, I did what I could to shape public opinion so that when the dust settled, blame landed on the shoulders it belonged - the people who actually *committed* the acts, cowards hidden in shadow, rather than Lord Leo." She says without a trace of irony audible.

"The good news is that an honest knight honouring the man who knighted him will hardly be seen as an aggressive power-play, and is unlikely to generate rancour from either side, so you've got a fair degree of flexibility."

She frowns a moment. "Also, try to avoid getting caught up in the Kingsbridge-Longtable feud. While the moral side is obvious, they are rather outmatched in terms of power, and completely overwhelmed in terms of cunning. The only hope they have is to gather up allies to support them, be it individuals or houses. And were I Lord Eldon, I would naturally choose to erode said support in such a way as to discourage future assistance being given. He's so despicable that it's easy to forget just how dangerous he is.

"Anyway, in terms of allies, I'm not sure. If you want, I can try and spend some time investigating other lady heads of house, such as Lady Gwynesse Grimm, for instance, see if perhaps any of them are better suited?"

"You are correct that both sides have valid arguments, but the precedent it would set to have the throne decided by popularity rather than primogeniture terrifies me, I admit. No matter how good the king, there will always be those who feel marginalised or slighted, and there will always be far more who want more than they have.

"It could well set us on the path of having a civil war over the throne literally every generation. The Kingdom would not survive."

"If I am nearby, I can give you a nudge. Else, just do what you can."

"Did you never meet our father?" She asks dryly. "Large man? Rather lascivious? Got you squired under Lord Leo Tyrell himself?" Her tone turns more serious. "Anyway, I doubt the King would ever deny somebody the right to appoint a champion - not only would that break with our traditions, opening him to attack, it is also a decision which would come around to bite him through his enemies, since he's obviously reliant on champions himself."

"Lord Eldon was betrothed to a lady who despised him. I don't just want you married, brother. I want you *happy*."

Hmmm. Went to an orgy, cold-bloodedly murdered a woman complicit in the murder of Lord Bryce, investigated the actions of Lord Gorman, fucked Lord Marq... no. Not going to mention any of those things. "Nothing too exciting. Spent a fair amount of time writing an entirely accurate and unbiased history of the Black Tourney - as I said, making sure blame was cast where it belonged. Travelled a fair amount, including spending some time with our new sibling Malyk, who is just as charming and eccentric as you would imagine." She puffs out a breath as she thinks of anything else. "I think that's mostly it in terms of notable things. It may not sound like the most exciting of lives, but it's a *lot* more new and interesting than simply rotting away in Starkwood lands waiting for a betrothal which will never come."

Being very familiar with her, Aerion easily sees a spark of interest in his sister's eyes, as she enjoys being challenged intellectually. "What a fascinating claim. You say that the more 'good' a king is, the less likely they are to suffer rebellion. It seems inevitable that King Daeron will suffer a rebellion, yet our father did not. So, I have to ask: how do you define 'good', in this case?"

"Indeed. What makes Lord Eldon notable isn't how terrible he is, but how *overt* he is in his terribleness. For every overt monster in human flesh there is likely a score or more who are simply more covert. Never forget that even men deemed 'honourable' did little to nothing to reign in our father's excesses, but are all too happy to rebel now."

"Any lady would be lucky to have you. I'll see what I can do."

"I think I can arrange that." A familiar grin. "Just don't drop jam on the pages as you read it.

"And yes. While I suspect Lord Ulbert suggested it at the behest of Maester Ronnel, to get me out from under his feet, I certainly can't complain at the result. I'm so much happier being out and about, meeting new people, experiencing new things. It's like for the first time in quite a while, I'm actually *alive*, rather than just 'living'."