Closed Starter . ` Riverrun 

ravellaarryns​:

who: @rosaaaryn where: the great hall, the eyrie, the vale of arryn when: the wedding feast of queen ravella arryn and lord graham royce

The sound of a baby crying won’t leave the very fringe of her mind, as though she could just about hear it over the sounds of talking and the lute, the sounds of footsteps hitting the floor, the sounds of bodies hitting the floor. The ruling Queen of the Vale of Arryn appeared as distant and untouchable as the most holy of stars as she remained sat upon the Weirwood throne, which so many Arryns had sat upon in the centuries, decades, years and even weeks leading up to this very moment; finally the Gods had played their dominion over her in a way she had always suspected they would, and bound the houses together. 

Those houses that were always supposed to be bound, with the two same souls as it were in the very beginning. What had all of this been for, if not to start again in the very beginning? How much of a say did any of them have, over any of it? 

What the fuck was that sound? Who was crying? Her hand clenched around around the weirwood, looking down upon it; was it not a very twisted symbol of that Andal conquering over the First Men, chopping down those trees that held some sense of meaning only to sit upon it. Her hand was a fist upon the edges, her knuckles white as her jaw stiffened; those who had been in the far North had already seen a vision of those icy, dead orbs that now fixed upon the King Consort in his negotiations with the Braavosi dignitary. Why did she feel so, so far away?

 The Queen barely noticed her sister approaching her, the glow of motherhood remaining upon her porcelain features, with hair that had been kissed by fire; the only two Arryns seemingly left in the world, from what felt like  a dynasty in the very beginning. How it had all had fallen down from such dizzying heights, and how she would ensure to fix it, dragging it up if she needed to; the Arryns needed to be untouchable once again. It was the only way. 

She did not react as her sister spoke to her, though there was no doubt the women were entirely opposing figures in what their wedding day had looked like; Rosalyn the blushing bride of the Mountain, and Ravella had not cracked a smile once. That was hardly out of the ordinary though. She looked upon her sister in silence for a few moments, realising she would need to put herself through the same torture she seemed to love putting herself through. She would need to now. There was no other choice.

Oh well. 

.

the music swirled around the halls of eyrie like it had done so many times before and would continue over and over again. although to rosa is was barely audible to her, enough for her to hear what was happening and for her to enjoy the melodic tunes. when she was little, she hated being sent away from parties by her father since if she ventured too far from the room the music would be lost to her. all of the party would be lost to her the moment she was out of the doors, while her siblings could at least enjoy the sounds of it through the halls. ravella was always there for her, ready to interrupt something for her or steer their father’s anger away from her. there was a bond of sisterhood that not even their father could sever from them.

it was strange they were the last two arryns left standing. how their father must be rolling in the crypt to think his daughters would be who would carry on his legacy. it was frightening to think how large and strong their brothers were growing up and to think where they fell to. 

no. she could not think of such things at her own sister’s wedding. this was a time for celebration and happiness. the vale would be in good hands with ravella and graham. both of them cared for the future of the vale, they always had been. they needed that now, they needed people who could carry the burden of ruling.

the music reached its end and everyone in the hall gave polite applause for the dance. rosalyn had thanked her dance partner, a vale lord who said it was an honor to be dancing with one of the arryn queens. and the younger queen searched for where her sister was. and unsurprisingly , she was in the same spot atop her throne. but as she approached her sister, there was no recognition on her face. 

rosalyn knew what this marbled silence from her sister could possibly mean. it was like her sister was staring into another world. one that she could not fathom to understand. while rosalyn loved her sister so very dearly, feeling as if she was part of her own heart, she knew of the walls that ravella had built up. of the cold exterior that must be maintained for some reason. had it always been like this? or lately had the marble become more and more frequent? it was hard to say as her time was spent in her new home.

 “sister are you alright?” she asked, her voice quiet so none other would hear. but she got no response, just a silent look from here sister. oh gods she really was in that other world today. the winter queen took a seat down next to her sister, turning to face her. her hand rested gently on her sister’s hand that gripped the throne so harshly. “come back to me for a moment.” she spoke softly. “something is wrong. what is troubling you? this is your wedding day you should be dancing with the rest of us yet you sit up here all alone.” she said, her hands signing along with her words as they often did when speaking with her family. “i know you now have this new weight upon your shoulders that was not supposed to be yours…but bearing it alone is not something you must do.” she told her. “what is troubling you?” she asked again.

THE KING AND QUEEN OF WINTER are pleased to announce the birth of the twins PRINCE BRANDON STARK and PRINCESS RAVELLA STARK. the second and third born children of king owen stark and queen rosalyn stark. mother and the two children are reported to be strong and healthy.

@owenstark

t r u t h  s e r u m

rosa | ophelia | morra | cassana | harlon | theo | mellara | axell | ellie

wyattgrafton​:

who: @rosaaaryn​

where: white harbor, godswood in the wolf’s den

heavy feet hit the pavement made clumsy by fatigue. an effort had been made in the first weeks of his stay in the city to familiarize himself with whatever culture and entertainment white harbor had to offer but somehow his troubles followed him everywhere, plaguing his thought and even alcohol in excess did nothing to drive them away. he’d even visited the famed godswood in the wolf’s den but in his troubled state even spirituality was no fit remedy. the gods in all their magnanimity and wiseness had been no match for all the questions he had. questions only he could answer. and yet in the grand scheme of things the pride of one wyatt grafton nor the fate of house grafton weren’t of great importance. not in light of recent developments. not when westeros was facing more threats than ever before. still how was he meant to fill the role his king had entrusted him with when he was so aimless, so lost as to where to even begin to rebuild both himself and his house. 

and so here he was on his knees, hands joined in prayer, searching for the words. there had been prayers on the kingfisher, only far less solemn ones. the men in his employ would often make some up to gods he’d never even heard of, gods he suspected were for a good half at least partly invented. he hadn’t prayed for much over the years. when he was a child he had made a habit of praying for strength and courage. two qualities his father insisted he lacked. and when the strength and the courage he found all on his own proved to be no match for his father fury, he’d stopped praying. there was no use in sending wishes up to the heavens, hoping against all hope that one day he’d be what waleran grafton expected of him or even more grotesque a wish that he would be himself and that would be enough. the gods couldn’t change him any more than they could transform his father. so he’d ran and turned his back on the gods and now here he was, hands shaking and joined and praying anyway. standing up and dusting snow off of his dark coat he made to leave but stopped in his haste as he heard distant footsteps, reflexively looking for a place to hide but finding to his dismay that he was exposed for all eyes to see, with nowhere to hide. catching a flash of red hair he immediately bowed his head in reverence. whether they belonged to a tully or an arryn he was no doubt in the presence of royalty. the face that came into his view still managed to surprise him though and he stuttered an incredulous “Your Grace. What a surprise! Should I leave? I wouldn’t want to intrude between you and them.” He let out, looking up at the sky with his finger pointed to the clouds, with a wink.

.

it had only been a month since everyone had arrived up in her new kingdom. just a few weeks and yet it felt like they had been living through all of this for a year now. each new arrival of news ready to seed the next roots of worry and paranoia within all of them. what else could happen next? the question itself had struck fear into so many of their hearts. and now all of them needed to move somewhere safer. somewhere they could be together and still keep their distance. the close quarters halls of new castle felt like a chessboard to maneuver through. part of her was almost thankful to leave.

however there was something she wished to do before she left.

heavily guard, rosalyn stark walked through the streets of white harbor towards where daemon targaryen had met his final moments. she had wished she did not see what had become of him. she wished she could keep the memories of him in the vale instead. all of them so young then, so unaware of everything to come their way.

the guards around her, stayed close as they neared the weirwood tree. not only were they protecting their queen but the child she was carrying. now five months along in her journey, there was no hiding her stomach. clutched in her hand was a beautiful bunch of winter flowers. walking into the garden that held the tree she paused when she noticed another man there. her heart beat raced until she realized who it was. an unusual relationship the two of them found themselves in. "please lord grafton, no need to hurry away on my account. i only came to leave these behind." she said motioning towards the flowers. "i hear from my family that the vale is leaving soon for barrowtown? are you joining them?"

@kingarryn​

“huh?” rosalyn asked, peeking her head up from her book, she clearly must have been intently engrossed into. she wasn’t sure if her brother had been speaking to her for awhile or just walked in. “i’m sorry, what did you say again?” she smiled.

kingarryn​:​

.

the falcon king was an utter mess. it felt as if his whole world was crumbling before him. the loss of his closest friend, his wife’s public banishment by her brothers, the antcipation of what the consequences of their marriage would mean for his kingdom… it was all too much for rowan arryn. the image of tyland lannister holding a knife to his sister’s throat was also still burned in his mind. he stomach turned into knots at the thought of the trauma his loved ones would be forced to carry from this night for the rest of their lives. he was to overwhelmed by his own grief and emotions that he wasn’t able to go to his youngest sister right away. it wasn’t until much later into the night did he find himself calm enough to make his way to her chambers.

he knocked softly on her door, knowing she would not be aware of the knocking unless she had a servant in the room to notify her. “thank you.” he said softly to the queen’s servants, nodding his head at them. waiting for them to leave the room, he made his way to where rosa sat. he bent down to on one knee, taking her hands into his own. “i’m sorry i did not tell you everything sooner.” he stated tenderly, “how do you fare?” 

.

“i knew. i knew the first day you all arrived here at the north. ravella told me so. i was just waiting for you to share it with me.” rosalyn never wished to be angry at any of her siblings. especially not now, not when she hadn’t seen them all for so long. all of them were important, all of them being pulled in hundreds of different directions with different duties and responsibilities to maintain. still, she had missed her eldest brother dearly and it felt like she had yet to see him. maybe he was avoiding her, avoiding telling her the news or avoiding disappointment. 

the new northern queen didn’t know what it was. whatever the reason was rosa was sure to forgive him. they all needed to be strong now. “i am shaken up. seeing daemon like that….the chaos of everything. the sword…” she paused, knowing she didn’t need to say more. everything happened in the blink of an eye. she had tried to take control of everything but there was too much happening. a small seed of disappointment was left inside of her that she could not help better. maybe she could have helped her brother and his new wife now. who’s to know?  “and you rowan. how are you faring?”

truth serum

@mellaratully @harlonvflowers @kingvmorra @opheliafowler @cassvstark

dear cedric,

i hope your travels back to highgarden have been well. you departure was so sudden i was not able to find you before you left. i'm sure it is important business why you are away and not because you grew bored of all of us at the vale. 

i'm unsure if you knew when you'll be traveling back to the vale with all the talks of battles and fighting going on. (are you fighting? you know you all don't have to fight but you are so very similar to my brother. i’d be very happy for some company back in the eyrie.)

smudge might be the only one relived with your departure since that means kit is not lurking around every corner to make a new snack out of him.

i do have some news my friend....it seems like my wedding is going to be sooner than expected. the fighting ahead has moved everything along. and i know it is probably going to be a stretch and i’m sure you have other important thing to do.... but i would really love for you to be there. you've been a dear friend and i want you there for the day. it would mean a lot to me.

of course i understand if you have other obligations and cannot make it.

i hope you are well

your friend,

𝖗𝖔𝖘𝖆

@visxionaries

TRUTH SERUM

feel free to ask anything, in character or anonymously, and my character will be forced to answer truthfully.

rosa | ophelia | morra | cassana | harlon | theo | mellara

starkwhitewolf​:

torrhen sighed, she was so young and innocent. he admired the strength of her kindness and generosity, for that was something that was more powerful than the strength of a thousand men. to have a good heart, and good judgement, made for a much better leader. at least, that was his opinion. sure, there were those who believed otherwise, but he did not care to hear those opinions, anyways. “rosa, it’s not that simple.” he replied, trying to keep his voice gentle to not cause her any pain. “of course i want that too, but strength is not always something to show those around us, we have to be strong for our child and make those difficult choices for his sake, no matter what others may think of it.”

although he could not feel his child on the outside yet, he was certain the baby was growing strong. he had the strongest mother he could think of. he was surprised by how quickly his feelings for rosa had grown, and while it was just the way of his family and a northern trait to be incredibly protective of one another, he could not afford for the enemy to see her as his ultimate weakness. even if she hated him for it, if it came down to her going south was the safest thing, that’s what would happen. “i will not do anything unless absolutely necessary, but you should know that is an option on the table as of now.” he sighed, slowly removing his hand and pacing over towards the fire. “we still don’t know what we are up against.”

.

however neither of them liked the idea she knew he was right. there was more than just strength to show others she could stay here. it would be stubbornness then. something that had been the downfall of hundreds of kings and queens and would the the cause of more. letting pride get in the way of what was the best choice. how blessed she was to have a man who did not put his pride above his family. someone who truly cared. a wolf looking over his pack, ensuring they were all safe. “i understand. i pray that it will not come to it but if it does i will not fight your decision.” it would be hard enough to leave his side, they did not need to leave in anger. simply she would count down the days until they were reunited once more. but for now she had him here, they had each other. she would hold onto that tightly.

“i don’t think any of us know what we are up against. every day it seems to be growing bigger. if it didn’t happen here it was bond to explode out somewhere else.” rosa said following him over to the fire, taking a seat to soak in the warmth. and to get off her feet for just a moment. “torrhen, we will find those people and each day we can discover new clues that will lead us to the source of what is truly happening. but i believe we should expect the unexpected when it comes to these men.” she said, her eyes watching the fire dance.

 “i have heard of people whispering about the dead rising. old stories of the north, but could it be real? could someone be trying to harness a power we don’t know? there are things we cannot explain...your own sibling has a gift, does she not?” there was much she did not know of the north and the ancient stories but she wanted to help in whatever way she could. at least let her husband know he was not alone in his thoughts.