O M E R   F L O R E N T

ravellaarryns​:

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though she quietly appreciated rosalyn’s gentle comfort, no doubt a reflection of the optimistic innocence that the fire haired woman had been able to contain through most of her girlhood and even now, a queen expecting an heir of the wilderness that was the north, the woman found herself strangely unable to fully find herself comforted. not because of reasons to do with rosalyn being unable to break through some emotional wall, but ravella herself genuinely believed there was nothing to be comforted for; an epitome of marble sat upon the wooden chair, perhaps a reflection of the sternness that was alfrid arryn himself, in the time where the falcons became kings once again; she had championed the break from the crown of the dragon, and would champion anything for the vale.

and, however unknowingly miserable that may be perceived by the kind eyes of rosalyn arryn, the princess of the vale would always champion the vale over herself without a second doubt; without even recognising her choices. “it will be.” she spoke, her tone matter of fact as though had already made her peace with the idea; she was thankful for the fact that lord grafton himself was hardly the type to be restrained and place boundaries upon her, for the boundaries and expectations he himself discarded. her icy orbs rolled slightly at the mention of happiness, as it seemed all made foolish decisions based on such petty emotions that were not considered needed when fulfilling duty, “my happiness lies in the stability of the vale; when it is firm, so am i.”

and right now? it felt like it was anything but. ravella simply nodded, as though the request was enough; the gods knew she would appreciate being away from the eyrie for what felt like the first time in years; she did not understand what madness had come over their home in recent weeks. she paused somewhat, noting an issue that her baby sister would be fretting of; the comment of that fanatical lunatic, regarding the blood moon. “superstition is nonsense, rosalyn - you know that.”

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ravella had always been someone to sacrifice so much for the greater good of her siblings, of the vale in general. there were many ways rosalyn had observed this throughout their years together. and she was sure there were many ways that she never saw happen. secrets perhaps her sister would hold close to her forever, only coming out when they absolutely had to. she knew this about her sister. it did not mean she couldn’t dream of something better for her. a dream where her sister’s happiness would match the sacrifices she had made. 

so many people talked about the strength of men during times of war. how much they did to help everyone. very little people talked about the strength of the women. rosalyn had a front-row seat to all that her sister had done during war times. maybe this marriage would be a good thing. another move her sister would make to better their homeland. time would only tell. but rosalyn had some power now, a power she never had before. if something was to go wrong rosa wanted to be there to catch her sister if she needed. it was her turn.

“people everywhere believe in superstitions ravella. not just in the north…” she frowned. “if this child is to be born under a blood moon, even if he is not cursed people will believe him to be so. i will do everything in my power to keep that from happening. i will not let some pirate’s words follow my son throughout his entire life…” how on earth she could prevent something like this, she had no idea. but she would do everything she could to make it so. “oh!” suddenly rosa grabbed her sister’s hand placing it on her stomach. “do you feel that? i think he is saying hello.” so much trouble had come their way already and she was sure there was much more to come. but right now, in this moment they could just be two sisters enjoying this special moment together.

wyattgrafton​:

⋅ ◆ ⋆

with fire kissed hair and blue eyes to match, rosa arryn stood out among her siblings whose dark hair matched their often austere moods. despite recent events and although wyatt caught a flash of apprehension across the woman’s face, the youngest arryn daughter was of a much more sunny disposition. for one her curiosity seemed genuine and unmotivated by hidden motives. a far cry from the conversation he had entertained with rhys arryn a few weeks ago, which had been filled with silences and double meanings. wyatt didn’t know rosa well and with the two of them now residing in completely different parts of the kingdom opportunities to get to know the newly anointed queen of the north would be few and far between.

he’d admired rosa’s resilience over the years as she hadn’t been dealt with all the blessings some of her siblings had been but she had made a place for herself in the world despite her struggles and he had no doubts even the harshness of the north was no match for her strength. he did wonder if the northern men and women were truly treating her as one of their own even as he saw heavily armed guards flanked at her side. the vale and the north differed in traditions as they did in many other things and surely adapting must not have been the easiest thing. now that she was with child however he assumed must of the pressure that rested on her shoulders must have lessened somewhat.

he shrugged at her comment regarding his prayers. “i appreciate the sentiment but in truth i was starting to feel a bit tired of kneeling. besides there’s only so many prayers i know by heart.” he could count them on one hand and even those he was ashamed to say he didn’t fully recall. if anything he’d become most familiar with prayers to the drowned god during his travel at sea. he’d even prayed to them once during a particularly memorable storm. “i’ll be joining them, yes. i assume you’ll stay in winterfell considering your condition. your brother has many skilled advisors with him, i wouldn’t worry too much. if you need anything, know that you can always write to me. i’ll do my best to be of assistance.”

.

“would you give me a moment good sirs?” the queen said giving a small glance over her shoulder to the guards flanking her. hesitant for just a moment they back up enough to give the two of them a little privacy however there was no way she doubted they would be leaving her sight. a light dusting of snow had begun to fall from the hair, clinging to whatever it touched. a small halo of white begun to appear around wyatt’s dark hair as it fell. her own sprinkled with the same soft snowflakes.

there was not much she knew about wyatt himself and yet so much she was learning about his family. and then of course there was so much she was learning about him from ravella, although given her attitude about him she did not think that was the most accurate portrait of him. rowan seemed to have a good view of him however, and it was a rare time that she disagreed with her brother’s visions of things.

“my condition?” something about it struck her as odd. but the soft smile of rosalyn stark did not leave her face. “thank you lord grafton for your kind thoughts but i can assure you i will be traveling with barrowtown with both of my families. my husband and i both believe it is for the best right now.” stepping around him, she carefully bent down to leave the flowers for daemon. he didn’t need his prayers here, she had given enough of them on her own. rising back to her feet with her center of gravity off center with her stomach was a little more tricky as the days went on. “my brother surrounds himself with smart men and women, he always has. i think he has a knack of seeing things in people that other’s do not see. i have no doubt he is in good hands. but it is good to know you can also be of assistance.” the red head turned to look back over at the grafton lord. “i too am of service if you need anything. despite my condition, i can assure you i am very capable still. you are new to the court of the mountain. it can be different but a good place but it can take time to find ones place, however.”

gcuienveres​:​

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she held her breath as her corset strings were tied by some of the pale faced serving girls she seemed to have been allocated since her transition to the vale, and gods know they bored her; nothing of excitement, no small hints of mischief, no interesting or passionate conversations. just voices that sounded like mouses, overly timid and sickeningly sweet. did she even want to attend this small lunch her good sister had welcomed her to? definitely not this morning; it would be more entertaining to watch paint dry. the last she had spoken to the woman had been some days before her wedding; in which she had spent most of the event outside with a certain arryn king. 

she found the queen of winter was essentially, unremarkable; as plain faced and timid as the mice now forced within her service, and gods knew she forced a smile to cross her features, though it did not meet her eyes. looking over the small set up, including tea, guinevere found herself incredibly underwhelmed. “how very sweet, your grace.” she spoke, her eyes looking over her surroundings, judgement clear in them. “you tried your best, at least. even if it looks as though it were done for my fifteenth nameday.” 

she remained silent as the woman spoke of sentiments that guinevere realised she cared nothing for, she was not joining the arryn family for her husband was not an arryn - and all of  a sudden the entire thing seemed entirely pointless, causing a trickster-like smirk to play upon the woman’s lips and glden features. feigning fake interest in the objects rosalyn showed her regarding the eyrie and the vale, guinevere looked at her, disengaged. “well considering winterfell is now your home, it is only natural you would want to bring all you can. lest you choose to take comfort in dog furs.” 

‘nothing else, thank you. i am watching my waist.” she spoke, her orbs looking upon rosalyn’s pregnant belly. she had no comprehension of how scalding or how subtle her digs were; slipping from her lips as she took a cup of tea from the serving girl without even the slightest hints of meeting the girl’s eye, let alone a thank you. “yes, the night your incompetency nearly lost us both our lives.” at mention of the secret she had managed to keep buried for months being exposed that night in white harbor, guinevere’s face dropped; no longer even faking a smile, keeping unnaturally uncaring eyes upon the woman who was her good sister. 

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rosa felt her cheeks burn bright at her words. “i wish i could do more however since neither of us are at our home i fear i lack the supplies to make a proper welcoming tea like i would wish. but i didn’t want to do nothing at all for you, that would feel even worse. perhaps when things are normal once again we will be able to do a welcoming properly.” something was different now though, she could feel it in the air. she could see it in the words she spoke to her. the comfort of dogs? it was a terrible thing to say.

memories  started to flood back to her in that moment. times back in the eyrie court when she was still so young. completely unsure about herself and lacking all self-confidence at all. there had been other young ladies of the court who would fake their smiles and compliments towards her. then behind her back laugh and say absolutely terrible things. things they whispered to each other knowing she could not hear it. but she could see them, she could lipread what they were saying. it was worse knowing that. that was the thing about lacking hearing, you learned how to read people’s faces easily. she could not relay on the inflection of people’s voices to understand the meaning behind the words. but it was their face that rosa would read. the young lady’s words were full of kindness but their faces told her another story. it was fake. the looks on guinevere’s face felt the same. the same fakeness she had grown up dreading to see. she felt like she was looking into a mirror in that moment. that she was just the young lady too afraid to stand up for herself against them.

the look in gwen’s eyes felt like it was stabbing at her gut. but rosa had practice with women like this. she had learned how to hold in anything she was feeling, wait until she was alone to let it out. it had been years since she last had to do this. she hated being back here. “of course… we can just enjoy the tea then.” habit took over and rosa felt herself rubbing her stomach. of course, she was going to look bigger, she was six months pregnant at this point. but the midwives had all told her she was looking well for how far along she was. maybe she wasn’t? maybe she was looking bigger than…no no. she would not let herself go back into old habits of letting the words of court women get to her. 

together they could still salvage this small welcoming party. perhaps it was just nerves that was getting the best of her good sister. certainly, there had been some kindness within her when she came to bring her flowers at the news of her engagement to the king of winter. they had a wonderful conversation then. there was kindness when rosa had caught her speaking with her brother during her wedding. they had both been smiling, they looked happy. there was kindness within guinevere, she knew that, right?

but one insult after another insult was being thrown in her face. the last one felt like she had been slapped. the queen of the north paused, unsure what to even say back to her. “my incompetence?” she repeated, stunned that she had seen the words correctly. the fake smile now gone from her face. maybe she was seeing the real guinevere now, what was lying beneath it all. did her brother know? or had she tricked him? “in the chaos of everything that had happened i was trying to control what i could. i was trying to help your family before that choice was taken away from me. i don’t believe any of us acted perfectly that night, nor would i expect any of us to given what happened. how does one have a clear mind after seeing a friend butchered in front of them…” rosa frowned, she did not need to defend herself. especially not after a blade was put to her throat that night. 

the queen sat up straighter in her seat. she could take control of this back, she could try. “do you really wish to discuss such unpleasant things right now?” she asked her, pouring herself another cup of tea. “i invited you here to welcome you and to get to know you better. we are family and i wish to start things off on the best foot we can. can we do that?”

ravellaarryns​:

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         “I CAN IMAGINE IT WOULD BE PEACEFUL AMONGST THE DEAD.”  her comment was casual; a sly indication to her dark sense of humour, referencing to the barren lands surrounding the harsh, ancient beauty of winterfell. it was a quiet place, away from the bustling of a city and much further north than most southerners would visit lest on route to castle black at the wall. there was beauty in isolation; whether it were atop the highest mountain within the mountains of the moon, or within the cold white landscape of the rugged north. ravella of house arryn found the most peace in order and routine; in knowing what to expect and remaining steadfast to the traditions the arryns had followed for thousands of years. 

after all; the andals invasion of westeros had started with the vale of arryn; her own bloodline tracing back to the andals rather than the wilderness of the first men. she thought the reason the arryns had held onto their grip on power for so long was their understanding of their people, their landscape, and their traditions; there was safety in sticking to what one knows. and for the vale, it was military warfare and knighthood being used solely within the vale of arryn; historically at least. since the dance of dragons, her family had spilled vale blood for outsiders; just as most of westeros had done - and yet it were the first in a long history for the vale of arryn.

there had always been something different about rowan; his mindset, his opinions, his view that differed greatly from the way alfrid arryn had taught the rest of his children. it was something she resigned herself to ignoring; for she knew him to be steadfast in his pursuit of fulfilling duty, as they all were. he was her brother, he was her king; she would never dare to question him before their subjects, for then she would be questioning her blood and her own line. and now? there was different, and then there was being poles apart from what she thought she knew of rowan arryn. even rhys admitting his secret was less of a shock than what had been brought upon the family; a shadow, and a lion’s roar.

“i couldn’t send a raven - for fear of it being read by the wrong eyes. it stays between us, rosalyn. not even your husband can know yet, as he hasn’t informed any of our allies.” would they have allies after this move? how could they consider them allies, when their own king married into the enemy? “it seems the king decided to gift us a lannister queen; for love, as he supposedly says. he eloped.”

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this moment felt familiar to the new northern queen. the two sisters huddled together in secret. during the war it felt like the two of them worked quietly behind the scenes to ensure everything was going to be alright. secrets whispered between them of everything they knew or what they had found out from their brothers. in that time it felt like all she could trust was her family. even to this day some of the secrets shared in that room had stayed between the two of them. only to be uttered to themselves. this would be a new secret to add to it all. but now it felt strange to have to keep it from her new growing family. rodrik would understand though, she hoped he would.

ravella’s words struck rosa harder than she expected it to. part of her knew that if ravella couldn’t send a raven then it must be important. but she never expected this.

a lannister queen? how could that even be possible? a flicker of a memory came back to her in that moment. her wedding. the night was so full of laughter and happiness that the small memory had been buried somewhere within her mind. but she remember it now. the small fleeting moment between her brother and gwen. it was only a small moment she caught before she was pulled away. but it was a look. had she missed those moments all along? were they right in front of them all but they were too busy to see it. and did that make her a bad sister for not seeing something that could make her own brother so happy? “they must really love one another” her voice quiet. “why else would he do something like this? risk so much if it wasn’t for love.” like a story in one of her books. “how could he not tell us of his plans though….”

the floating sound of laughter and giggling filled the hallways near the arryn princess' room. inside young ladies scampered and bounded around as they all gossip and chatted about the latest news to come out. the engagement of rosalyn arryn to the king of winter. some of them ladies of the vale, others some of her ladies in waiting but all of them there to share in the exciting news and congratulate the princess.

a smile seemed stuck on the red-headed princess as she talked with the other ladies about it all. when would it be? would they travel to winterfell? would it be here? what would she wear? comments on how handsome her husband to be was. questioning if it meant she would be a queen. rosalyn didn't mind the questioning, in fact it was nice to be /excited/ for something for a change. for some happy news to be present in her mind and not all the tragic things that had befallen her recently.

a knock at the door pulled rosalyn's focus away from the ladies as one of the guards came in to announcement the arrival of her sister. excusing herself from the still mirthful ladies, she moved over into the other room to find her sister waiting. "ravella!" she smiled, hurrying over to her sister to hug her. "i am so glad you are here. i was going to come and see you later but this is much better."

@ravellaarryns​

C A E R E L L A    T A R G A R Y E N

“the weight of a crown is heavy, and she had seen the way ruling had put such stress on her own mother. she knows in order to weather the storm she will need to rely on others, but she’s always had a hard time with that.”

penned by brooke

@caetargaryen

starkwhitewolf​:

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deep in thought as he was, it took him a moment to process that rosa was right there. rosa arryn. she was a natural beauty. the match had been made to connect their two kingdoms, but torrhen never had any objections. for one, he was an honorable man bound by duty, and to the north. he knew his marriage needed to be incredibly beneficial for his kingdom, and it was. he would be lying if he said it was a love match, it was simply an arrangement, a convenience for both of them, but he’d also be lying if he said that loving rosa arryn didn’t come easily for him. she was beautiful, kind, smart, and she brought out the best things in him. while it seemed he learned something knew about his wife every day, there were times where it simply felt they knew each others own thoughts.

he stood up, looking at her a moment before walking up to her and wrapping his arms around her. it seemed day after day they were bombarded with new stressors, he wanted a moment to simply be with his wife. he was not very open with his emotions, especially in the company of others. torrhen preferred to keep his thoughts and feelings to himself unless it was necessary. feelings only overshadowed good judgement, in his opinion. there may be times that would prove important, but he believed those times were rare. “rosa.” he replied, firmly, but voice low an gentle, for him. “how do you fare? and the child?” as he spoke, he signed as he kept his voice low. he knew what was said to her. the king in the north was privy to all that was happening around these parts, except for the mysterious signs being left, of course.

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‘you will marry a great man one day my daughter’ her mother had said that to her hundreds of times. rosa still could remember the time her father scoffed as her mother told her that. it seemed to only encourage her mother to tell her it more and more. letting her know that she was worthy. rosa knew her father never thought she would be able to marry. who could look past her faults? there was no hiding how he felt about her. part of her wondered what her father thought of her now if he could see her. married to a king. his own daughter a queen of an entire kingdom. his daughter who he assumed would be nothing but a burden to the family. 

and yet here she was. married. a queen. and soon to be bringing in the heir to the north into the world. rosa had known her marriage was to help both the vale and north. but torrhen was a good man. there was no denying that. neither of them expected the feelings to rush to them so quickly. it was like the books she read growing up, stories of love and the ends people would go to for it. she always knew she would marry a great man. but torrhen was more than just a great man. he was strong and capable and so very very smart. and deep down he was caring, affectionate. he wrapped his arms around her then and she felt completely safe. like nothing outside their walls could touch them if he stayed by her side. the queen watched carefully as her new husband signed out his words to her. here in this room with torrhen she felt safe. and yet the man’s words still rung out in her ears. his threats. “i would be lying if i were to say i didn’t feel scared.” she said, her hand clutching her stomach. “what if his words are true. what if what he said….” she shook her head, not wanting to think on such a thing.

location: the stark lodgings, barrowtown

the wind outside rattled the windows around them, the storm still not ceasing to stop. she had never seen anything like this before in her life. she wondered if those from the north had heard of a storm lasting this long before. maybe that is why sleep was so illusive to her that night. she had tossed and turned for hours before giving up. pulling a dressing gown over herself she wandered down the hall to a small common area that connected all the various stark’s rooms. one of the guards on the nightshift kept a watchful eye over her queen as she took a seat by the fireplace, in front of a dragonchess board. 

she had spent nearly an hour slowly playing a game against herself when she heard the sound of another door opening. craning her neck to see, she was surprised it was another stark away “adam?” she called over to him in a hushed voice, not wanting to wake the others. “could you not sleep either?” she laughed. “i feel like i was tossing for at least a few hours. the midwives have told me it’s a common thing this far along. i just cannot seem to find a way to get comfortable.” her eyes wandered down the hall where her husband slept. there was no need to wake him when it was something small like this. might as well be one of them who got a full night’s rest. “would you like to join me for a game?” rosa asked him motioning down to the dragonchess board. “would be nice to play against someone else.”

@adam--stark​

location: winterfell, a week after the fighting in the broke started

@bethanystark​

there hadn’t been many times when rosa was left alone in winterfel. from the start of their marriage they had been by each other’s side. she found herself comforted by his presence, even if he was in another place in the castle. and the times he was gone she was at peace with the knowledge he would be home again soon. but this was much different, more unpleasant than she was expecting it to be. anxiety curled in her stomach like a knot, waiting to see what would come next.

war was not safe for anyone. not even a king. not even the wolf king.

as the days went by she found herself out by the weirwood trees more and more, praying to safe return of all her family. may they come back victorious and unharmed.

that early morning her stomach still felt like it was twisting and turning, but she assumed it was the nerves getting to her once again. luckily enough she was going to get to spend most of the day by her goodsister’s side.

“good morning bethany.” rosa greeted as she walked into the council room. one of the handmaidens came to her side to give her something warm to drink to try to fight off the early morning chill in the air. “have we gotten any news back from anyone? do we know if they have arrived yet?”

D O R Y  U M B E R

“he was even more excited to return to winterfell. he may have been an umber from the last hearth but winterfell had always been a home to him. ”

penned by maeve

@atychiphobiias