Ravellaarryns​:

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

BETROTHAL ANNOUNCEMENT:

the king of the vale has graciously permitted the king of winter to take his dear sister princess rosalyn arryn’s hand in marriage. 

@rosaaaryn + @rodrikofwinter

gcuienveres​:

♕

was it something she was willing to simply let slip through her fingers as though it were merely sand upon the shores of the sunset sea; if she closed her eyes she could just about hear the distant sounds of the oceans might and wrath hitting the rocks, and it was enough to momentarily cool her off from whatever strange feelings seemed to be swirling deep within her gut. feelings of being outcasted, feelings of being slighted and the great swelling pride that seemed to burn and burn in response to such actions; for a moment she wished she could be beneath the waves once again, thoughts being drowned out by the thunderous sound of everything else around her. 

she wanted her mind to stop, she wanted her heart to stop burning as though she held a vengeance for all around her, she wanted her tongue to stop feeling as though it were a blade able and ready to hurt those around her; she knew not what dark thoughts were swirling in her mind that were causing her to lash out at those around her, and yet she felt as though she could not voice it. only pace, and hide in the grass as she locked emerald orbs upon her next prey; and rip to shreds the confidence those she believed had been some part of her very public undoing. “get to know me?” guinevere asked, any sense of the taunting, bitchy smile that had sat upon her lips completely draining - gods, what was there left to get to know when she didn’t even know who she was at this point in this life? even her name, her name was enough of a question mark that she found herself hesitating before she signed off letters. 

“trying…what you could.” her voice suddenly snapped, as though a spark of fire had suddenly rooted itself deep within her; all she could hear were excuses for the incompetence the starks had shown in their control of that night, and how she had nearly lost her life for it. instead, she had ended up being publicly shamed, stripped of her titles, and treated as though she were nothing but a common whore. “if you expect me to sit and wrap you up in blankets, tell you that you done your best, you’re very much misguided. it was not enough, and the consequences for that remain. how do you expect me to respect you, when your own men did not that night?”

“we are not family.” she spoke, resting her hands upon the her golden skirts, reflecting slightly in the crackling hearth of the fire, her tone inherently dismissive as though she were speaking to a little girl that continued to believe in fantasies and mythical tales, a harsh quip of realism. “just because i’ve somehow ended up making this choice, know i do not consider you kin, and never will.” her tone implied a scathing sense of regret, of doubt, on the choices that had led to her to this point in her life. "you were not the only one who nearly lost your life as a result of doing nothing that night.“ she almost hissed, a sense of icy anger sitting within her as she felt the urge to complete throw aside all rosalyn had put the effort into setting up on the table sat between them. “are you planning on taking any responsibility for that, or am i wasting more of my time?”

.

this was the woman her brother had chosen to marry? who he had put so much in danger for? for someone so cruel and uncaring. how could he have ever chosen someone like this? unless he might be unaware of what was lurking behind that beautiful blonde curls of hers. behind the kind smile she must have given him. her heart ached to think about what was to come if the queen of the vale was to be so heartless. gods her sister was right. here she had just thought ravella was exaggerating the terrible things that were to come with this marriage but maybe she was right.

“you somehow made this choice? my brother loves you, more than anyone else i have ever seen. he has given his whole heart to you and you are telling me you somehow made this choice? like it or not we are family as you choose to marry an arryn. you do not get to so cruelly throw that back in my face.” her heart was racing now. this was worse than any other time she had to face a heartless lady of the court. having to face their bullying and harsh words. gwen had stabbed her and was twisting the knife with her words. it took all her effort to keep herself composed. to fight back tears that wanted to pool down her face. how could anyone say such vicious things to someone else?

“enough.” rosa’s voice held with a strength unusual for the new queen. “i believe it is time for you to go back to the vale housing.” the northern queen stood up from her chair, her head held high as she looked at her brother’s new wife. “thank you for joining me here today, your grace. i will be sure to let my brother know we were able to meet. i am sure he will be curious to know. good day.” 

keep composed rosa. keep composed. she repeated it over and over again in her head. she would not let her dignity walk out that door along with her good sister. she waited until guinevere lannsiter was out of her chambers before she turned to face the window. “please leave me.” she told the handmaidens who were around. once she was sure they were gone she let the tears fall from her eyes. her hands clasped tightly over her mouth, so no sound could escape. there was only the light crackling of fire, and the muffled sobs of rosalyn stark. she did not wish for anyone to know how much the words had affected her. how they would eat away at the confidence she had only just begun to build for herself. but the queen of the north had to remain strong in these times.

 but she did not cry just for herself, but cried for the vale. for her brother. for her family. she could feel her heart breaking for them.

-end-

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

kingarryn​:

.

so she knew for awhile now. he couldn’t help but nod at her words, not overly surprised or upset that ravella had informed rosa of his marriage to guinevere. it was not that he was purposely keeping it from her, but rather, he feared that his news would only add stress to her; stress she did not need due to her current condition. he knew stress was not good for the baby. it also didn’t help that pregnancy was a terrifying concept to rowan arryn; having lost his late wife to childbirth a little over six years ago now. the uncertainty of it all was difficult for him to tolerate; the not knowing how his little sister will fare and if she would survive the labour. he did not wish for her to be taken from him like his wife was. he tried his best to not think about it. “i swear i wanted to tell you. i just didn’t know how. i’m sorry.” he took both her hands into his, giving her a gentle squeeze. “but i can promise you that moving forward, there will be no more secrets between us. i swear to it.”

he felt a sting of pain form at the back of his throat when she mentioned daemon’s body; still in disbelief over all that has happened. “truthfully?” he asked, his voice hardly above a whisper. “awful. i don’t know how to feel. it’s a lot. it feels like everything we have fought for these last ten years were for nothing with him gone.” he couldn’t bare to say his name out loud.

.

a part of rosa wanted to be upset with her older brother for keeping such a secret from her. something that would so deeply affect not only their entire family but the entire vale. but another part of her could understand why he did it. there was no secure way to get the message to her without risking it falling into the wrong hands. that would have been them all in far more danger. rosa gave his hands a tight squeeze back, “you don’t have to tell me every secret. you deserve to have things that are just for you. but if you promise to tell me the important things then i will be happy. there is nothing you can’t tell me.”

“it was not for nothing rowan. look where we are, look how far we all have come. we keep things going, the change going for daemon. i wish more than anything he was here now, i truly do.” it was hard seeing rowan in such a way, knowing how close he and daemon were. the years they all spent together in the vale had helped to shape who they all were as people. as rulers now. daemon’s death could not be vain. “right now, it’s okay to be sad or angry or anything you are feeling.” there were only a few times that rosa had ever seen her brother like this. and it broke her heart each time to see it. but she was glad he could be open with her instead of bottling it away

rosa knew her husband was busy and this would be just another thing to add to his growing list of tasks but it was important to stop this in its tracks. "i was getting ready for the wedding with my ladies in waiting and we were discussing the upcoming wedding. young lady mara mentioned how lucky this new queen would be that the first man she got to be with on her wedding night was her husband...." rosa took in a deep breath to continue the story, unhappy with the news she had to present. "after some questions it seems that mara's sister was made to sleep with the lesser lord who looked after her village. and she had no idea that the first night had been banned by law."

Owen wasn't prepared for his morning to go one way or another. He had the routine of his meals and meetings and sparring and sketching and circling back to meals through various points. And honestly, he let his council run meetings without him. And the wedding season seems even busier than most of those seasons.

"Of course, my wife. What's on your mind? Has something happened?" Owen asked as he began to pile food on his plate.

rvrprnc​:

open starter.

days spent in solitude. constrained to his chambers. his only company a crow that would check in on him, perch atop the inner casement … waiting. waiting for something. waiting for him? oh, and the targaryen guards. though, he could easily admit he preferred the crow. no matter it’s mirthless forewarning. 

at the opening of the doors, the thought vanished. maybe he could admit, but he would not. the guards entered for other than to deliver one of the three unloving meals of the morning, day, night. now they were to take him for a walk? brynden rolled his eyes in response. strike one. two more, no walk. “ ugh … ” he ran a hand through his lengthened locks. “ very well. ” he then followed. two led before him, two behind. he wondered if he should try to sneak off, but even he was not dimwitted enough to realize they were on an island and unfortunately now, the trout, even if it could swim in salt waters, was only his houses sigil. 

.

the day had a slight chill to the air, enough to nip at the skin but still it was one of the rare days it still felt wonderful outside. pulling her cloak tighter around her, she was happy to get away from some of the bustle of the castle. a nice quiet walk, she was expecting. but up ahead on the pathway rosa was able to catch a glimpse at him. brynden. he looked so different from when she saw him last. the night of the ball he was dressed up, like they all were. ready to have a fun night. but all of that was turned upside down and it seemed even more so for all of the tullys. part of rosa knew she should just keep walking but before she could stop herself her feet were carrying her closer and closer. "brynden!" she called out, forgetting proper etticute for the moment but she hoped he would forgive her.

after a moment she was able to catch up to him. "you're outside. i....i am so glad to see you." it was the truth. she had been so worried for her friend since news of his imprisonment had reached her. her gut had told her that there was no way he could be part of this. seeing him now he looked different, and not just the long hair. there was something else. "are you alright?"

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?"

C A L L A    L E F F O R D

“How she needed just that at present; to disappear for a bit, to escape. She wanted the soothing feeling of the wind in her hair, the reins in her hands, and the simple notion of having control of at least one small thing in her life.”

penned by eva

@calla-lefford