Post by Laena Pyre on Jan 3, 2019 1:29:52 GMT 1
Access to Lord Leo Tyrell: 6d6k5+6 29 Pass
[For purposes of narrative, this happens some time after Her Skin as Cold as Ice.]
Laena genuinely hated her father, but even she had to admit, his blood was a great gift. How often in all of Westerosi history has a lady from a branch line of a politically-insignificant house been granted an audience with a Lord Paramount simply through the asking? Not often, she was prepared to wager, but here she was, in a receiving room, about to speak to Lord Leo Tyrell himself without all the gossiping servants around.
If she plays this wrong, things could go very, very badly for her.
If she plays this right, she could deal with a significant problem, and prove her value to Lord Marq to boot.
Time to roll the dice.
"Lord Leo," She gives a respectful curtsey. "Thank you for seeing me at such short notice. I .." she swallows. "I should start with an apology. You've put so much time, money, and effort into making such a grand tournament, the likes of which I doubt I will see again in my lifetime, and politics ensures it will be remembered for all the wrong reasons. Your problems seem so great," she takes in an anxious breath "and I'm afraid I'm here to add to them." She clutches her skirt in her hands. "I do feel bad about that, but you're the only one I can turn to."
She takes a deep breath. "I must also admit that this whole affair was instigated by me. While digging into matters, to ensure I keep informed about goings-on, I stumbled across work a maester had done on Lord Lucas Meadows' ancestry, which revealed no-one in his alleged ancestry had the platinum hair he has. I decided to follow-up on this before the maester did, and found claims that Lord Lucas had been born a mere seven months after Lady Johanna returned from spending time in King's Landing without her husband, who fell ill and died shortly thereafter."
She swallows, and lowers her gaze. "I was naive. I was expecting to uncover some juicy scandal. Which," she shrugs, "I guess I did, but I didn't expect a likely murder to come attached." Her fingers fiddle with her skirt. "I panicked. It was too big for me. So, I did something stupid. I told people about it, figuring that once I did, it was no longer my problem alone, since I was no longer the only person who knew.
"That went ... about as well as could be expected. After a couple of days of slander against me in the rumour mill, and Ser Aladale Levalle, of all people, confirming what I'd heard about the chronology of Lord Lucas's birth, Lady Johanna accosted me this morning." She takes a deep breath. "She was .. mad with rage." Her hands gently tremble in memory. "She demanded that I publicly recant my testimony, and claim that I was blackmailed into it by Ser Aladale Levalle - implying Lord Levalle was behind it all. She .." she swallows again. "She said that since I'd 'gone after her child', as she saw it, if I didn't do as she said, she would come after mine." Her eyes are wet with the fears of a mother for her children. "She said ... she said I knew how she dealt with threats to her son, and my children wouldn't fare any better than her husband had."
With a few moments' focus, she manages to still her trembling hands, and raises her eyes to meet Lord Leo's again, still nervous, but determined. "She didn't say as such directly, but I believe she wouldn't act so boldly if she didn't believe your authority eroded away by the events of the tourney.
"I don't.
"I believe in you. To the point where I am willing to risk my children's lives on being right. That you are Lord Leo Longthorn. A man to be respected, both in the jousting lane and outside.
"That you are willing and able to discreetly and quickly confirm the truth of what I have said regarding Lady Johanna, and prosecute her for the murder of her husband, to conceal her adultery and secure her son's inheritance. And in doing so, save me from the loss of my children should I defy her, or the revenge of the wronged Levalles should I comply."
[For purposes of narrative, this happens some time after Her Skin as Cold as Ice.]
Laena genuinely hated her father, but even she had to admit, his blood was a great gift. How often in all of Westerosi history has a lady from a branch line of a politically-insignificant house been granted an audience with a Lord Paramount simply through the asking? Not often, she was prepared to wager, but here she was, in a receiving room, about to speak to Lord Leo Tyrell himself without all the gossiping servants around.
If she plays this wrong, things could go very, very badly for her.
If she plays this right, she could deal with a significant problem, and prove her value to Lord Marq to boot.
Time to roll the dice.
"Lord Leo," She gives a respectful curtsey. "Thank you for seeing me at such short notice. I .." she swallows. "I should start with an apology. You've put so much time, money, and effort into making such a grand tournament, the likes of which I doubt I will see again in my lifetime, and politics ensures it will be remembered for all the wrong reasons. Your problems seem so great," she takes in an anxious breath "and I'm afraid I'm here to add to them." She clutches her skirt in her hands. "I do feel bad about that, but you're the only one I can turn to."
She takes a deep breath. "I must also admit that this whole affair was instigated by me. While digging into matters, to ensure I keep informed about goings-on, I stumbled across work a maester had done on Lord Lucas Meadows' ancestry, which revealed no-one in his alleged ancestry had the platinum hair he has. I decided to follow-up on this before the maester did, and found claims that Lord Lucas had been born a mere seven months after Lady Johanna returned from spending time in King's Landing without her husband, who fell ill and died shortly thereafter."
She swallows, and lowers her gaze. "I was naive. I was expecting to uncover some juicy scandal. Which," she shrugs, "I guess I did, but I didn't expect a likely murder to come attached." Her fingers fiddle with her skirt. "I panicked. It was too big for me. So, I did something stupid. I told people about it, figuring that once I did, it was no longer my problem alone, since I was no longer the only person who knew.
"That went ... about as well as could be expected. After a couple of days of slander against me in the rumour mill, and Ser Aladale Levalle, of all people, confirming what I'd heard about the chronology of Lord Lucas's birth, Lady Johanna accosted me this morning." She takes a deep breath. "She was .. mad with rage." Her hands gently tremble in memory. "She demanded that I publicly recant my testimony, and claim that I was blackmailed into it by Ser Aladale Levalle - implying Lord Levalle was behind it all. She .." she swallows again. "She said that since I'd 'gone after her child', as she saw it, if I didn't do as she said, she would come after mine." Her eyes are wet with the fears of a mother for her children. "She said ... she said I knew how she dealt with threats to her son, and my children wouldn't fare any better than her husband had."
With a few moments' focus, she manages to still her trembling hands, and raises her eyes to meet Lord Leo's again, still nervous, but determined. "She didn't say as such directly, but I believe she wouldn't act so boldly if she didn't believe your authority eroded away by the events of the tourney.
"I don't.
"I believe in you. To the point where I am willing to risk my children's lives on being right. That you are Lord Leo Longthorn. A man to be respected, both in the jousting lane and outside.
"That you are willing and able to discreetly and quickly confirm the truth of what I have said regarding Lady Johanna, and prosecute her for the murder of her husband, to conceal her adultery and secure her son's inheritance. And in doing so, save me from the loss of my children should I defy her, or the revenge of the wronged Levalles should I comply."
