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Post by Father on Oct 14, 2018 14:36:01 GMT 1
The septon appears to have lost them in the maze, a poor chaperone if there ever was one, or at the very least a lousy septon as collusion appears to be the logical conclusion.
Bryce is hardly disappointing, not really out of practice, if he had stayed faithful to his wife of fourty years, she must have given him plenty of rewards in return, though this was a man that evidently could make almost any lady feel like the one and only within an hour, given years, she would likely not even find it in her to even once envy the queen, even if the queen was Shiera Seastar and the king Daemon Blackfyre in all their youthful splendor. His readiness to seduce her and the apparent ease with which he did it does suggests that he once led a wild life, perhaps before his marriage.
Skipping ahead, then?
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Post by Laena Pyre on Oct 14, 2018 16:20:20 GMT 1
Laena does not lie passively. She makes efforts to control the flow of their lustmaking, but in a testing way, letting him reassert his control of the situation without rancour when he proves himself worthy, which he inevitably does; presenting the idea that were he less of a man, she would take control in a moment.
That she does not have to decide if she would 'throw' the contests should he not prove up to the task pleases her greatly.
Before too long, even such petty schemes are beyond her, and all that remains is pleasure.
*****
Afterwards, while they still lay together, Laena resting her head on his shoulder as his arm draped over her possessively, she begins gently playing with his chest hair, while looking up at his face, eyes wide. Her body at once telling her that she'll have several aches later, but also that, for right now, all is right with the world.
"That was ... pleasant." She swallows nervously, but hides it with a smile. Her utter inability to stand, and the lethargic movements of her arm reveal the understatement for what it is. "But I have to ask: you have revealed, in both word and deed," she casts her eyes down briefly, her cheeks still so red that any further flushing is obscured, "that you had an active and varied youth. Now .. we are here. I need to know ... was all this just you recapturing the glory of youth? Now you have seduced me, are you done with me? Wanting to move on? Or," she swallows again, "are you actually serious? About u- About maybe there being something m-" unable to find a way to ask what she wanted without seeming needy and pathetic should she be just a conquest, she manages to find the energy to shift her body slightly, permitting her to bury her face in his shoulder nook again. What she'd said would hopefully get her question across, and she didn't want to see his eyes if they were already looking around for the next foolish, desperate woman to woo into his bed.
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Post by Father on Oct 14, 2018 18:14:40 GMT 1
"I cannot claim to have given much thought beyond this point." He ponders her words. "An old friend told me that I should loosen up a little, so I did, I very much doubt that this was what he meant." A smile forms on his face as he thinks of Donnel. "I simply asked myself why not, the worst that could have happened was to receive a no, and I would insult your intelligence if I believed for a moment that you did not know exactly what you were walking into when we entered the maze"
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Post by Laena Pyre on Oct 14, 2018 20:34:13 GMT 1
Laena certainly doesn't deny his assessment, but nor does she respond to his answer for a few moments, idly playing with his chest hair still, without raising her head, as she considers her options through the happy-fog filling her head.
In the end, he was impressive enough that she didn't want to throw away any chance she had with him. So, she raises up her heavy head, so she could look him in the eyes as she finally responds. "I like you." She says bluntly. "And I am serious about you, else I never would have entered the maze with you.
"I'm not perfect, I admit. I'm no maiden. I have children from another man. If I was truly half as virtuous as I present myself, I never would have entered the maze with you, serious or not. I'm flighty and distractable if something doesn't interest me, and close to obsessive if it does. And were we to marry, I'd want a lot of bedroom attention to meet my needs. Now I've helped reawaken your true self, and you're your intelligent, charming, and experienced self, you may well feel you can woo a better lady."
She retracts her fingers into a claw shape, pulling the chest hairs they were tangled with taught. Not strongly enough to pull them out, just enough to sting slightly and get his attention. Her eyes blaze.
"You can't."
"I put my saliva on you, amongst other things. You're mine! Now, you may not accept this yet, that's fine. I'm not one to back down from a challenge. I will show you my good sides until I'm the only woman who exists in your world. But understand that you being terrible in bed was your last chance to lose my interest."
She lets his hairs go, and levers herself up, 'just-fucked' hair cascading over her shoulders, so she can look down at his face for her final pronouncement. "You are irrevocably interesting to me now."
She straightens herself, and, with a small grunt of effort, sits up, speaking in a more casual, dispassionate tone, as she tries to focus her eyes on locating her clothes. "Of course, as a lord, you must consider other things beyond simple interest and pleasure. Such as how useful it would be to have a house as steadfast as Starkwood at your back. We've already had two assassinations so far this tourney, and a definite chance of more still to come. Things are heating up, and sooner rather than later, they *will* boil over. That will be a bad time to be standing alone, or with only fair-weather friends."
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Post by Father on Oct 15, 2018 0:50:33 GMT 1
"My lady makes it sound like a challenge!" He sounds half jesting, half serious. "Lord Marq might have Ladies Tanda and Amerei mad about him and at each other's throats, but two Great Bastards fighting over me, now that would be something else entirely. But I would have to pick out a match for my lady, Mya Rivers mayhaps, she seems the adventurous type, and not one to back down from a challenge." Maybe he is just dodging the question of marriage, as that would necessitate his return home.
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Post by Laena Pyre on Oct 15, 2018 12:53:14 GMT 1
Laena gives a tired sigh. "The Terror of the Red Keep? Maybe. Or maybe if you try, we'll both team up against you. Don't play with dragons unless you want to get burned." With a grunt of effort, she stands, and starts redressing. "Of course, you're assuming that you'll be the only one being fought over. You may feel that you don't have much time left. Well, I'm twenty-one. I'm already out of time. My attractiveness is fading by the *day*. Plus, everything I said about house Bridges applies also to House Starkwood. Sooner rather than later, Lord Starkwood will come to me and say 'Since you have been unable to marry by yourself, I've arranged a marriage for you, which will give us an alliance we desperately need. Because of your blood, I cannot force you, so decide: marry this boring man, or wait with the rest of us for our House to be overrun for being isolated and vulnerable, and pray for a quick death'. And then what do I say? 'Sorry, I'd sooner watch you all die and be killed myself than marry that man'? There is a limit to how selfish I can be. "Don't misunderstand. I will use what little time I have available to win you over - you are, without a doubt, who I want. But I am a realist. If I run out of time, I will settle for a half-decent man, in order to avoid a terrible one." She looks over at him. "And who knows, maybe a lesser man who actually wants *me*, rather than just my body, will win me over." She can't quite hide the acid sharpness in her tone in that line. A Better Tomorrow - Is Bryce at all possessive? - Awareness (Empathy): 5d6k4 10 Pretty sure I got no clue. "Whatever happens, understand this clearly: I am not my mother! I will not simply hang around as a convenient whore for you. I will be your wife, or I will be *nothing*."
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Post by Father on Oct 15, 2018 14:12:56 GMT 1
"Playing with the two of you would be a pleasant way to go" He quips before turning more serious "But if you are to be my wife, I will have to return and upend just about everything I have set in place back home"
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Post by Laena Pyre on Oct 15, 2018 19:52:49 GMT 1
Laena takes a breath. This is it. This is what she's been waiting for. He's interested, but practical concerns are getting in the way. If she can allay his concerns, he's hers. Maybe not immediately, but soon. If she can't convince him, ... likely she'll have to look elsewhere. Her body tingles with energy over how much impact her next words will have over her life.
Abandoning her clothes, she kneels beside where he's propped up against the wall, breasts still exposed, but her tone is serious and respectful of the issue.
"Ser Desmond is a treasure of your house, and you are lucky to have him. He is intelligent, diligent, and selfless. So please believe me when I say I mean no insult when I say he has absolutely no charisma at all. It is simply the truth. And you know full well how important charisma is: when you spoke about the heart of your house, you mentioned good relations with your liege lord, and friends of wealth and influence. Again, I do not intend to be harsh here, but how many friends does Ser Desmond have? How many new connections has he formed for your house though hosting parties? How well-disposed is Lord Leo to him personally?" She gives him a moment to consider her questions, but she clearly doesn't expect answers.
"I understand why you'd want him as regent, especially compared with Ser Farman. When it comes to the decision-making for the day-to-day running of the house, I'm sure he's excellent. But that's the difference between a regent and their advisers. A regent can turn to their advisers for those decisions, and with an advisor like him, an even vaguely sensible regent would. But only the regent themself can represent the house to other lords, and deal with them as peers. Which is the one area Ser Desmond falls short. If you were to ask Ser Desmond himself, I'm sure he'd agree that a charismatic regent is important."
She swallows, nervous. This is the moment of truth. Time to roll the dice. "Marry me. Give me more children. Entrust the regency to me. Yes, lady regents are not ideal, but to believe that anti-Dornish sentiment will decrease after effectively yet another war against them is naive, and Great Bastards can break rules like that much more easily than others. I see and understand the value of Ser Desmond. The vast majority of decisions will be his, regardless. I will just be the charismatic front before Ser Desmond's brains. Let me be useful! Beyond simply providing relief and heirs. If you let me, I could be a real asset to your house. And were we to have children, that would completely avoid the problem of Ser Farman technically having a stronger claim than Ser Desmond, and having the charisma to, sooner or later, make a push for it." She swallows again. "How sure are you he's just meeting with the staff in his visits to The Perfumed Lady?" Again, she's clearly asking to make him think, rather than expecting an answer.
"I understand that you're concerned over your legacy. What will happen to your house without you there. I genuinely believe that I can help. That I can be useful."
She touches above her heart. "Regardless of title, I will always be a wife and mother first, so I want you-as-man to want me-as-woman first. But I believe I can be a useful asset to you-as-lord as well, more than worth disrupting your well-laid plans for."
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Post by Father on Oct 15, 2018 22:43:39 GMT 1
"What you are asking is not a decision to be taken on a whim." He says gravely after a moment's pause before getting into a more light-hearted mannerism that Laena first would have thought is Ysilla's, it must have rubbed over on her, but she is like that most of the time and rarely if ever as much as halfway serious unless it's about chasing fun. "And certainly not right after the one making the proposition have worked so hard to fill a man's mind with such pleasure that he would be hard pressed to think clearly. There are some advantages to being old" Neither of them having any idea about just how true these words are proven to be in an inn not too far from here.
scene?
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Post by Laena Pyre on Oct 15, 2018 23:06:25 GMT 1
Laena nods at his deferment, and smiles, ducks her eyes, and flushes at his joking reasoning. "Agreed. Take time. Discuss it with your family. Discuss it with Lord Ulbert if you want. It is an important decision, for both of us. If you gave an instant 'no', I'd be insulted. If you gave an instant 'yes', I'd be distrustful that you might change your mind once the heat of the moment had passed. I'm glad you give it the serious consideration it deserves."
She stands. "Regardless, I need to be getting back, before people start talking. We bastards, Great or no, have to always protect our reputation."
She starts hurrying to put on the remainder of her clothes, before hesitating slightly, flushing again, glancing sideways at him, and whispering a quiet "Thank you."
[Agreed, scene.]
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