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Post by Father on Oct 6, 2018 22:41:58 GMT 1
Lord Bryce seems a little taller than last Laena saw him, perhaps also better groomed. There is no hesitation in his approach, but that isn't exactly new. "My Lady looks magnificent as always, I hope she found this grand spectacle enjoyable." |
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Post by Laena Pyre on Oct 7, 2018 2:35:22 GMT 1
Laena gives a wide smile when she notices Bryce approaching her - a welcome relief after the time spent with Lord Alliser - and can't resist preening slightly at the compliment, assisted by his improved posture and appearance, which she naturally took majority credit for.
"Thank you, my Lord. And may I congratulate you on being one of the thirty-two best jousters in the realm." A blatant flattery - even she recognised he'd pretty consistently gotten easy opponents, while better jousters received poor match-ups, not to mention that not all the realm was present - but she was never one to let petty things like 'truth' and 'fact' get in the way of a good compliment.
"It was an impressive display, for sure." Of how to *not* make a political statement. She discreetly flicks her eyes up and down his body as she says 'impressive display', and quickly licks her lips before concluding. "I had a good time." Which was almost true - while she hadn't enjoyed that she was effectively working for 'free' for the crown, she was rather pleased with how well she'd done. "I trust you enjoyed your evening as well?" She almost adds a comment about Lady Ysilla presumably adding entertaining commentary, before jealousy closes her throat. Never mind that Ysilla undoubtedly has no romantic interest in him - she's another woman, and Laena doesn't want to hear him compliment any woman except *her*.
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Post by Father on Oct 7, 2018 15:20:40 GMT 1
"How about making it to the top sixteen?" He grins, he had mentioned something about Ser Lewyn setting him up against a string of mediocre knights and then Lord Leo having the honor of removing his helm, a mischievous twinkle in his eye suggest that he perhaps already knows who he will be facing in the morning, there were a few knights of only middling quality still left. "I must admit that I went here with a mind to observe what everyone is up to rather than what those mummers were enacting on the stage. A far more interesting sort of performance, I think, my lady did perhaps notice that a few of us had found seats at the back when our names probably could have given us more comfortable ones at the front, with pillows." Laena had probably not failed to notice Bryce seated next to Lords Durwell and Florent at the back, but the most likely explanation at the time would have the trio be fashionably late as well, though not so much that they had to be seated next to Lord Levalle. "All the pillows were claimed by Lord Eldon anyhow."
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Post by Laena Pyre on Oct 7, 2018 16:49:02 GMT 1
"How about making it to the top sixteen?" She grins back. "That would be very ... exciting. I look forward to seeing if you manage it." "I must admit that I went here with a mind to observe what everyone is up to rather than what those mummers were enacting on the stage. A far more interesting sort of performance, I think, my lady did perhaps notice that a few of us had found seats at the back when our names probably could have given us more comfortable ones at the front, with pillows." "You certainly kept good company for such a purpose. You were alongside Lord Marq in the battle re-enactment as well, weren't you? I imagine between the three of you, there was little that escaped your notice." For the first time, she wondered if she hadn't seriously underestimated the lord before her. Both lords Durwell and Florent had reputations for being formidable Players. If they considered Lord Bryce a peer, it was entirely possible she'd re-awakened a monster - not just charming, but cunning and insightful to boot. She remembered that Lord Marq had called him a friend (or near enough) when they spoke, and for the first time, wondered if he'd actually been honest in that assessment. Excitement over the possibility rushes through her, though she tempers it with the knowledge that it is pure speculation. "All the pillows were claimed by Lord Eldon anyhow." Laena snorts. "Well, it takes a lot of pillows to cover the three seats he was spread across." she quips. |
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Post by Father on Oct 7, 2018 22:01:55 GMT 1
"With everything going on? More than half of it I should think, though it has been some time since I played this game, it does not seem wise to try and make my comeback at their table, too high stakes for someone that needs a little warm-up first" He seems to view getting up to that level as a challenge. "I must say that my lady did a good job at hiding what exactly she might be up to, I couldn't tell what exactly from her acts alone, but I think I have a reasonably good guess, unless she is like Lord Marq and keeps the clever ones wary and the the rest believing him to be on their side." He smiles with at least a whiff of proudness in his words. "He learnt how to do that from me"
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Post by Laena Pyre on Oct 8, 2018 8:06:52 GMT 1
His words and projected attitude excite her, but Bryce's last words shoot through her body like lightning. She swallows to moisten her suddenly-dry throat as her body's moisture migrates to a lower aperture. Her eyes dilate and her skin flushes as blood rushes to the surface as her 'fight or fuck' reaction takes control. "And how skilled is the student now, compared to how good the master was, and could be again?" she asks, in a slightly shaky, husky voice.
Her mind tried to point out that he could be lying - he'd hardly be the first man to lie to impress a woman, her father's (presumed) seduction line of 'sleep with me, or I'll have you executed' would have been notable for its honesty. But her mind struggled to be heard over the body's excitement.
"I, uh, I have made clear that I intend for me and my future husband to be of one mind on matters political, and I don't intend to make political statements before marriage that could be used to hurt him." A child's game, perhaps, compared to the level of intrigue he's talking about, but better to succeed at a simple game than fail at a more complex one, she tries to reassure herself.
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Post by Father on Oct 8, 2018 13:28:43 GMT 1
"If the master is worthy of the title, a good enough student will always surpass him, my lady." His admittance seems to be more a matter of pride in having lifted the other man higher than himself if anything else. "Setting the daughters of two of the most powerful men of the Reach against each other, and then having the confidence to play the dice with the Red Lion so early into the tournament? I might have told him how to pull something like that off, I might have thought him the tricks needed to do it, but to put it all together so well that even Lord Florent thinks he has been caught up in their rivalry over him, I have never done something quite like it." He pauses, his eyes lighting up with conspiratory mischief. "That being said, I haven't actually tried. Perhaps my lady and I should do something about that?"
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Post by Laena Pyre on Oct 8, 2018 16:17:44 GMT 1
Laena feels a swell of pride at his praise of Lord Marq's scheme. Certainly, her part in it was small, but even small parts can wreck plans, done poorly. A pity she could never admit her participation.
"What did you have in mind?" She asks, half-excited, half-suspicious. "Considering that you were saying you were still warming up." Still, she can't hide that she's half-sold already.
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Post by Father on Oct 8, 2018 17:07:16 GMT 1
"I suppose there is the rub, my lady" he makes a motion for them to leave the gathering of people. "To do this, we would need several objectives, and then we must find the opportunity to make the universe bend in pursuits of them, usually such opportunities are not found, they are created. He pauses a bit for emphasis. "My problem is that while I once had many things I wanted to accomplish, most of which I have scratched off the list, and the rest no longer seems worth wanting. That is where my lady enters the picture, surely such a young and ambitious creature can provide us with a long list to work with?"
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Post by Laena Pyre on Oct 9, 2018 17:08:25 GMT 1
Laena takes a few moments to consider her options. Getting married? Probably not the kind of objective he's after. Murder Lord Merryweather? Probably a bit too bloodthirsty for a first scheme - maybe save that one for after marriage. The Ser Balon situation? Enough people are acting on that one already. Hmm.
"I have an idea, if you find it a fitting objective for our first scheme together." She begins carefully.
"My cousin Ashara has been a reliable ally to me whenever I ask, asking nothing in return. As I understand matters, Lady Maegelle Cordwayner is *most* displeased with Lady Ashara's betrothal into her family, and given the power that lady wields inside her house, both Ashara and I believe that her unhappiness is assured, and her death of 'accident' or 'disease' before she can bear child scarcely less so. Plus, recent political indications are that the joining of the two houses serves neither's interests, even less than they did before. It would be good if the Cordwayners could be persuaded to take the political 'hit' of breaking the betrothal, without hurting Lady Ashara's reputation. Or killing Ser Symon." She adds, after a moment's consideration.
"Is that acceptable to you?"
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Post by Father on Oct 9, 2018 17:29:01 GMT 1
"The likelihood of Lady Maegelle being so utterly vicious is rather small, very few have it in them to take part in cold blooded murder, but for each of those there are hundreds of people that are simply cruel and act out on their frustrations to make life miserable for others." He considers it for a moment. "Such people are the most gratifying to bring low, a worthy adversary to be sure, but would my lady not work against the wishes of her own lord in this?
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Post by Laena Pyre on Oct 10, 2018 9:40:01 GMT 1
Laena gives a small nod of acknowledgement. "To your first point, that Lady Maegelle may not be capable of murder, perhaps I am too cynical and jaded by the sight of so much visceral hatred of the Dornish that I can all too easily see nobles taking desperate measures to protect the purity of their bloodline - not holding the knife themselves, certainly, but making their wishes known to those who could." She shrugs. "I would be happy to be wrong in this.
"To your second point, that I would be working against the wishes of my Lord?" She purses her lips, and cants her head from side to side in thought. "I suppose, from a certain point of view, that's true." She admits. "But it is worth contextualising. Lord Ulbert is a great ruler in many respects - his father left him a disaster, but he put in a lot of work, made a lot of smart decisions, and really turned things around for the house. While their circumstances are rather different, I feel there are a lot of similarities between him and your Ser Desmond. However, that includes a common weakness: personal ties. Internally, House Starkwood is on solid footing, almost solely due to Lord Ulbert's efforts. However, externally, we're isolated, and Lord Ulbert is desperate to change that. So much so, that when an opportunity to marry his daughter to the heir of a more powerful house arose, he was so excited by the fact that he *could*, he didn't stop to consider as to if he *should*. The house needs firm allies, and events are proving that House Cordwayner just does not meet that criterion. So, while this may technically be going against his *stated* wishes, it is fully in line with the *spirit* of his desires, that of improving the house's situation. Were this not in an area he is acknowledgedly weak in, I almost certainly wouldn't interfere. But it is, so I am."
She taps her fingers against her thigh briefly, but says no more, seeing how he responds to her argument.
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Post by Father on Oct 10, 2018 12:37:19 GMT 1
"One should indeed imagine that Lord Ilyn in betrothing his son and heir to a Starkwood would be inclined to side with King Daeron" Bryce notes, everyone had seen which side the lady Maegelle had taken just now. "It would be difficult to have any marriage before things have been settled with fire and blood" Laena knows Highgarden well enough to see that he is leading them towards the hedge maze, an appropriate place for those in a conspiratory mood, and other things, a septon follows at a polite distance, not one she recognizes. "But if Lady Cordwayner would resent your cousin as a match for her son, that may not matter and Ser Normyn would surely back his good-sister."
"Had these rumors about the supposed affair between Lady Maegelle and Ser Normyn taken a stronger hold, there would be more to work with, if there is truth in them, then things might shift to interesting places, the gallant Ser Roland might then have to take his supposed nephew's place as Lord Ilyn's heir, perhaps also in front of the septon with Lady Ashara, a much more palatable choice, would my lady not agree?" He strokes his beard in thought, obviously starting to see things coming together, how could he have any idea about Ashara's preference not to be wed at all? "But that would require someone to confirm that such talk is true, assuming it even is. While the plot of the tale has a certain appeal that resonates with the perceived motives of the characters featured in it, it might just be a conclusion drawn by all those thinking that no woman would want Lord Ilyn if they could have Ser Normyn, but they all forget to ask themselves why Ser Normyn would care to indulge such desires, a Great Bastard of his looks and prowess could surely win himself the hand and heart of a lady of far better quality."
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Post by Laena Pyre on Oct 10, 2018 15:19:59 GMT 1
Laena lets herself be led away. With a septon following, claims of impropriety can be avoided, and, truth be told, she liked the maze. Growing up, she learned a lot about the true nature of men (and ladies) by sneaking around the maze when she should not.
She frowns in thought. "My pardon, maybe it is merely my facile understanding of the matter, but substituting in Ser Roland for Ser Quentin doesn't appear to help the situation much, if at all. Ser Quentin is, as I understand things, by no means malevolent, merely his mother's puppet. Ser Roland may be more inclined to attempt to defend Lady Ashara were they to wed, but I have met the man: as far as I can tell, his intentions are truly noble, but he has a level of mental sophistication I tested myself against when I was six years old, and frequently bested. He is quite literally probably the worst person I've met to protect against a subtle campaign of abuse and intimidation. And were they to marry, Ser Roland would have to return to the Cordwayner lands, when it is likely that if he got on with the rest of his family, he wouldn't have left to begin with. Not to mention that Lady Maegelle would be utterly furious over the 'theft' of her son's birthright, and is even more likely to provoke drastic action. So, aside from them being miserable together, rather than Ashara being miserable alone, I'm not sure what is gained."
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Post by Father on Oct 10, 2018 16:46:44 GMT 1
"I would have assumed that upon the revelation of her infidelity, the Lady Maegelle would rather quickly find herself with few options but to take a septa's vows. He counters, before admitting. "However, she might be just the sort of harridan that refuses to give up any sort of privilege and will fight all the harder to get back at all who wronged her. He ponders some more. "Ser Quentyn might be the weak link, a man so dominated by his mother tends to be quite inclined to walk the paths others have laid out before him, we might perhaps lead him astray and give thus Lady Ashara a pretext to declare herself of no intention to marry him with none finding fault in such a decision. Though I must say that is rather too vicious for my taste, Ser Quentyn is innocent in all this, and causing so much collateral damage as such tactics necessitate is inelegant." He pauses again, to think it through. "I think confronting Lord Ilyn is the sensible next step, perhaps he might let slip the truth about Ser Quentyn's parentage, or maybe he could be convinced to simply let the Lady scuttle the agreement if that is her wish?"
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