[Day 11] Sapphires and Sophistry [Laena & Balon]

"No." Laena shakes her head. "He's innocent. I don't even think 'they' truly believe it - they just need to accuse *somebody* to preserve the façade that this is still a nation of laws, rather than sheer bloody chaos.

"I wish I knew who really *was* the poisoner. I thought it most likely Ser Jonothor, being manipulated through his hatred of the Dornish, but it seems he's also innocent. Of that, anyway."

Laena subtly looks around for listeners, before leaning in slightly, and lowering her voice. "I *do* have a lead on the mastermind, though it's looking quite likely to get a bit ... messy. And when gambling with high stakes, the best way to ensure you can walk away intact is to have a special card up your sleeve no-one expects." She takes a slightly shaky breath, locks eyes with him, and places her palm gently atop his upper pectoral for that personal connection. "Should it come to that, can I call on you for help? Speaking honestly, it may be dangerous."

Laena sighs. "That's what everything I've seen and deduced points to, but if you are asking about *certainty*, I'm the wrong person to ask. With my bloodline's hereditary madness, I cannot be *certain* you are not merely a figment of an attention-deprived mind, let alone about the innocence of a man I've never met face-to-face."

"No." She responds casually. "*Someone* will face him, you stepping down will change nothing about his fate, and a lot about your own. And I care little for his fate, and much for yours. I will be watching to see how you treat a Donishman you know to be innocent, however." An enigmatic little smile, followed by a frown. "He is supposed to be rather skilled on foot, however. Do not let pride convince you that getting severely injured just before the Grand Melee is a good idea. Your prior actions could well have made you a target there for those with malicious intent. Better to yield now, should it prove necessary, rather than sustain so many injuries as to result in .. worse later. A man forced to yield in a duel still has the opportunity to marry me. A man slain in the melee does not." A moment later, her face furrows slightly, like she's put out she's said as much as she has.

Laena readily nods. "To the best of my ability, I will." A soft smile. "Hopefully, it won't come to that. But I'm glad to have you if it does."

Laena gives a wicked smile. "Oh? I was always of the opinion it was your confidence which strained credulity."

She accepts the kiss, but shakes her head at the question. "I point out your confidence, then advise a knight on how to fight. I should let you behave naturally, and merely observe, rather than interfering just yet. Meddling is just too deeply embedded in my nature, it seems."

Laena frowns in suspicion momentarily at the request, but he *had* just promised to risk his life for her, so she decided to make the effort and actually trust him, at least briefly. She closes her eyes, but angles her head down ever-so-slightly, which, combined with their height difference, would make stealing a kiss more awkward. Not impossible, but he hadn't earned the easy road yet.

Laena raises an eyebrow. "Well, I look forward to that claim being proven true."

Laena's eyebrows raise as her eyes finally convince her brain as to what she's seeing. "It's beautiful." she breathes. It was clearly an expensive piece. With so much of her royal stipend going to funding her network, she could rarely afford such a piece, and certainly Ser Vernan never bothered with such an expensive romantic gesture.

Carefully, she takes the circlet, turns it around, and rests it gently on her head, adjusting it slightly until it was at the correct elevation. When she's satisfied, she realises she's been grinning widely throughout, and her face immediately snaps to a stern expression. "Disappoint me, and I'll have it melted down for scrap, and the proceeds donated to a Dornish war orphans fund." She threatens, before her face softens. "But thank you. It's a very thoughtful gift."

"Wiser men might be more concerned over that idea." Laena quietly mutters, before responding with a mock-conciliatory smile. "Always? You clearly have not spent enough time close to young children. No, this is 'special event when the children aren't around' jewellery. I swear, if there were beautiful and expensive jewellery made from inch-thick steel, one child or other would still find some way to bend or break it within a *day*. Still, if the feast tonight goes ahead, you can expect me to wear it then."

"So long as she's merely sceptical, rather than outright hostile, I'll prove myself to her through my deeds afterwards. I look forward to hearing how well you do with the others."

"Which of us has Valyrian blood, again?" Laena mutters to herself rhetorically.

There's a small but perceptible wince when he asks about her experience, though she doesn't elaborate. "Once Lord Ulbert is at least not hostile towards the idea, we can arrange something. They do love meeting new people."

Laena gives a small shrug. "If, in many years, Landar were as infatuated with a Lady with a reputation for cunning as you are with me, I'd be at least as wary, so don't judge her too harshly for it."

She nods acknowledgement. "Good fortune to you, Ser."