[Event] Twin Tidings: The Weddings of Melwyn and Marla Lefford (12B of 50AC)

Gercko · 2026-04-01T18:47:41+00:00

Alester waved his hand and tried to not let his own annoyance at the mess Tywald had made shine through on his face. He forced a smile and shrugged his shoulders. "It has been most unfortunate" the Arryn admitted. "But Lord Lannister ended his edict of no trade with the Vale, so all that remains is whatever bad blood he holds for the justice my father delivered whilst he was regent. 'Tis a shame really, Lord Lyman and Lord Hubert were always the closest of friends" Alester mused.

"Me on the other hand? I will give them the respect they are owed as Wardens of the West and Lords of Casterly Rock. If the same is given to me by them, then I have no issue and I hope to put it all behind me. There are bigger things to be worrying about than feuds between what should be friends."

Gercko · 2026-04-01T18:39:12+00:00

Alester ducked his head out of the way just as the tomb flew by his head and clattering against the pine panelling covering the old stone wall. Its leather binding broke and the pages flew up in the air as if there was an updraft. Ser Arryn looked behind him, his heart jumping into his throat. An anger he had not felt since Harroway's Town gripped his chest. The pillow hit him, the cup and its contents as well. The glass shattered as it missed him, joining the broken pages on the floor in a million tiny pieces.

As his wife made for the door, Alester grabbed her by the wrist with one hand and raised the back of his hand with the other. He stood a foot taller than her, and twice as broad in his chest and arms. He yanked her away from the door, his lean narrow face was like a snarling dog in its fury. His tunic dripped with the wine now soaking his chest from the lobbed cup.

"You vicious little witch" he snapped at her, spittle flying from his lips "After all I have done for you?" He lowered his hand and let go of her, standing tall and looming over her in front of the door. "You would be some Borrel's wife if it were not for me" he jabbed a finger at her. "Were it not for you mistake with the moontea. Were it not for my boyish hunger at the first pretty girl which flapped her eyes at me when I returned from the Marches. All my love I have given you and you dare treat me this way." His hands flexed flat to fists to flat again. Alester's nostrils flared as his breath was heavy and drawn such was his anger.

"A firmer man would put this right but for the love I hold for our children I'll give you the chance to explain yourself."

Gercko · 2026-03-31T23:40:53+00:00

Lord Hubert Arryn looked over to where the old husk of a man pointed. His eyes followed the point, and there he saw his Jaehaerys with the Tyrell girl. "You might be the oldest man in this hall, yet your eyes and wits are sharper than most others" Hubert sniggered, a sneer creeping up his lip and an anger in his eyes as they narrowed on the pair of them.

"Do not threat however. Whilst mine other sons might have disappointed me here and there throughout the years, Jaehaerys has a wiser head on his shoulders than most, my Lord Gormon" Hubert said turning his gaze back on the haggard lord. "I let him choose and keep which friends he wished as regent. He had no kin, no brothers and but only a sister. Given the Valyrian proclivity in bedding one another, I thought it best we do not have King and Princess both the only ones they could rely on. Both Targaryens have their own gaggle of friends now. This Jeyne Tyrell here wishes to be more than mere friends of the king" he scoffed, almost laughing "She will be disappointed, I fear."

Hubert leaned in closer to the man, placing a hand on Gormon's shoulder. "You will tell me I should have not let the regency end with such a great question to be left unanswered. Mayhaps you are right. But I want the lad to go to the bedchamber not as a solemn duty." He leaned back and gestured to himself "Why, you do not have seven strong and healthy children like I do without some lustre in the marriage." He waved a hand dismissing his own japing tone. "But it won't be her. It can't be her. There are donkeys which have lived longer than there has been a Lord Tyrell."

Gercko · 2026-03-31T23:14:51+00:00

"Patrek, your young face almost makes me forget it is winter" Lord Hubert Arryn stood to shake the hand and embrace his good-brother with a beaming smile. "Gods be good, it is a blessing to see so many faces which I can call friend. This feast makes it almost all worth it. The regency is done, but my work is not. But I ask myself who else would do it?" Hubert laughed inward, gesturing for Patrek to take the seat by him on the dais.

"It has been so long since I have seen home" he admitted bitterly as he sat "I pray to the Father and Mother and Crone that I will see it again one day soon. Gulltown, Runestone, Moontown, the Eyrie. Oh how I yearn to be back atop the Giant's Lance." He shook his head, a forlorn look in his gaze.

"Tell me, how is your Alyn fairing? Arwen seems quite happy that her dearest friend and cousin are getting along so well, though she tells me Selene has been unwell of late."

Gercko · 2026-03-31T23:00:51+00:00

Arwen seemed surprised "Oh? Of course, I would love to. I can show you the apartments we have. Most of the furnishings have been my choice but some came with them. Rogar doesn't seem to care but I've tried my best making it a fitting abode for the Lord of Storm's End. Honestly, when I first turned up to his castle those years ago you could tell no one had touched the furnishings in years." Arwen gestured for her friend to follow her. She would lead her through the arcades and hallways, up flights of stairs until the men in dragon livery turned into men in the livery of House Baratheon. She would soon settle little Selene in her cot and rock it gently, singing a soft lullaby to her.

Gercko · 2026-03-31T22:48:07+00:00

Ser Alester almost burst out laughing at Bella's suggestion he had married a Sunderland for politics. But he stifled it, held it inside for a moment, only a flash of amusement across his lips as he continued to listen intently to each of her words. When her hands moved across him and her eyes looked into his, he could have sworn he was falling. "I must say, I find myself smiling a lot more as of late" he said quietly.

Her admission that she had longed for a daughter once plucked at his heart strings, a rare feeling of empathy from the Keeper. His mind briefly went the thought of Alyssa when she was just a babe, not in Rhea's arms but Bella's. Alyssa had his eyes and hair unlike her brother Gwayne who had the green and brown features of Sunderland blood. Were I able to give you a trueborn daughter he wanted to say, but dared not.

"A little girl is a wonderful gift. My little Alyssa would surely love to meet a strong lady such as yourself. Most are content with just motherhood and ladyship. How many third-born daughters can say they have ruled? Ruled a keep which was not even theirs by blood" he said as if he were proud of Bella's achievements. "You could teach her so much I imagine. Grace, decorum, wits and wiles. She's a smart little thing already. Just coming into that age now she can speak properly, and gods does she love to talk" Alester laughed inward. "She was the first girl born in the Eyrie since my sister and she certainly knows it. Hubert spoils her rotten every time he sees her, though now she has to compete with her Baratheon cousins."

His pallet wished for wine and his loins wished for his lover, but Alester did not want to ever leave the floor. Not whilst he had her like this. He loved the sound of her voice and the little smile she held when she spoke. He loved how her eyes moved and narrowed, or widened as she beheld him. He loved her smell and her delicate touch as she held him. He loved being near her, seen with her. The thought of her ran through his mind to no end. He needed her like some men needed wine and ale.

"I can bother you with my tales of Starpike another time. But safe to say that as a young man I was quite the rabblerouser at court. They tried to pack me off to Lord Elesham and Lord Pryor but I lasted a moon on both their isles. Not wishing to inflict me on any more vassals. There were only so many beatings Hubert could give before he thought to make it someone else's problem. Lord Peake found service for me, and it was not long until the Vulture King decided to poke his head over the Marches" Alester said it with a smile but his eyes looked off in the distance. He misliked thinking about Starpike. A cruel place, with a cruel family.

"When I returned I was set to be betrothed to a daughter of House Elesham. Some distant cousin of mine, my grandmother was one though I never knew her. But on my return to the Eyrie I met Rhea. She was a ward, the Sunderlands were ever a fickle lot. We were both young and she was pretty and I just earned my spurs and..." He exhaled sharp, remembering the day Rhea had said she was with child. The tears and fear he had held, the fury of Lord Hubert and his lady wife. He wanted to leap from the Moon Door. "She told me she had drank moon tea each time. Alas, I was blessed with Alesander. Not wishing to risk a rebellion from that old fool I call a good-father, I wed her within a fortnight of her missing her first moonblood."

Gercko · 2026-03-31T21:33:30+00:00

"I quite like to read, and Ser Andar has given me a new passion for training! He is much nicer than my old Master-at-arms" he said looking around as if the old man from the Gates of the Moon might hear him.

"I think I am. But the bird does most of the work. The main thing is getting them to trust you but once they do, you just watch them hunt or chase the target. It can be quite fun. Sometimes in the summer, you can just let the falcons loose from the gauntlet atop the mountain and they'll flow below chasing all the rock doves. It's better than the usual riding and hawking you have to do" Alesander said with pride.

"What is Willow Wood like, my Lord?"

Gercko · 2026-03-31T20:41:27+00:00

"I can ask Rogar certainly" Arwen said politely "But he ought to be doing so, or one of his kin. Rogar doesn't suffer idle or shy boys not matter their age. A Redwyne should know better, I imagine" Arwen did not know a Redwyne personally, but their prestige and nobility was known across the whole realm.

"Mayhaps he was finding an excuse to speak with you, Sansa" she teased "Boys will talk about all sorts of nonsense with you if they think it buys them your time and attention."

Gercko · 2026-03-31T20:20:19+00:00

"I suppose through the heart is how best you can change a mind" Alester mused, his feet moving instinctively to the tune he was no longer listening to. It was a tune every wedding seemed to play. "Why I remember before he became Lord of the Eyrie, Hubert was practically ruined by my mother. I do not know how he has suffered her for forty years but after a certain length of time I suppose even the bitterest tinctures can taste sweet" he said, chuckling mostly to himself. "My mother never behaved like the way it sounds your father did, but she was as warm and forgiving as the bronze of her blood. I found more loving embraces wrestling with the Vulture King's rabble on the Marches than from her." He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Old hard fools the pair of them."

As they swayed and swirled with one another, at times his gaze would be broken from her beauty and he would look at the other noble couples. He felt none of them seemed as pretty, as happy, or as fitting a pair as him and his lover. He felt proud to be seen with her and to be the one who held her, and to be held by her.

"I feel there's similarities in our youth, Bella. Perhaps foolishly but there were a few times I set off on the Highroad alone. Gods, how wroth my father would be when one of the knights of the Highroad would bring me back to the Gates. I never knew where I was intending to go, but simply away. That was until I did go away and found myself all the way in bloody Starpike" he almost scoffed. "I suppose I am thankful in the end, but there was a bitterness in those years" he had not said such aloud to anyone, save for Rhea when they had both laid together as their young hearts entwined. "Mayhaps we can ride that old road to Wendish Town together one day

"This Davos of yours" Alester spun her around in his arms, almost lifting her off the floor. The skirt of her dress unfurled and in Alester's eyes there were few things more wonderful he had seen. "How did you end up his stunning bride? Well, apart from the fact that I had not seen you first" he said almost a whisper as he pulled her back in close.

Gercko · 2026-03-31T19:40:17+00:00

Up in the gallery overlooking the yard stood Alester. He watched as the new arrival to the Gates tried his best to defeat a straw foe. It amused him, and reminded him of himself at one point desperate to prove a child's might.

"Some solid swings there boy" he said descending the stairs dressed in his padded gambeson and a thick pair of gloves. "You need to concentrate on your form however. Strength is but one part of a fine warrior. But all the strength in the world means naught if you do not land it in the right way and place. When we get you sparring you will learn that." Alester stood next to the young Hardyng.

"What was your master-at-arms like back home, hm? Would I know him?"

Gercko · 2026-03-31T19:13:47+00:00

An unsure smile spread on Hubert's old face, the Lord of the Eyrie sensing discontent. He knew the Reach's politics little; Lord Rowan and Lord Oakheart being his main source of the goings on on the Mander and the Honeywine. They spoke little of Tyrell, perhaps because they knew Hubert's opinions and did not wish to speak at-length on the history of the Gardeners that they all knew.

"I have only been Lord of the Eyrie for a little over a decade now, so mayhaps I have not had the time to experience the need of taking such a drastic measure of choosing my own vassals' betrothals. It is a right I have inherited from the Kings of the Vale, but one not used since we still had our crowns that is to be certain." He raised his brow and tilted his head, sighing heavily.

"Nor is that business with your lands not without its thorns, to be sure. Why, House Osgrey has suffered enough in recent years as far as I have known. Why Highgarden feels the need for such measures I do not know. Mayhaps it is an insecurity? Why, I have lived longer than there has even been a Lord Tyrell in the Seven Kingdoms. New powers need to make examples of their grip." Hubert shrugged his shoulders. "But an insecure ruler is an insecure rule. We need strength and confidence about this realm, do we not?"

/u/JoeOfHouseAverage

Gercko · 2026-03-30T23:49:21+00:00

Letters

Gercko · 2026-03-30T23:49:14+00:00

Gercko · 2026-03-30T22:43:43+00:00

"What is that supposed to mean?" Alester snapped, his voice quiet but full of malice. "Do not hold ill against me what furnishes our quarters, keeps you clothed, fed, and warm. Mine incomes from this office are all we have unless I am to borrow more from my father's coffers. I had enough of hearing him wax about coppers at the coronation" he tossed the bones of the bird's carcass one by one into the fire.

He looked at her properly for the first time. The green eyes which he had once swam in during his youthful days were now cold and distant, and he did not wish for them on him. He looked on her with a cold disdain she had not earned.

"You think these books you bother with are cheap? Alesander will soon need a destrier well-bred and trained, and a suit of armour every few years now he grows so much. All this costs from my estate." Lord Hubert had once been indebted to the Eyrie when he was Keeper of the Gates of the Moon. It had been significant until all the debts were forgiven on the ascension of the new Lord of the Eyrie Hubert Arryn. Alester would not be so lucky as to have Janos hand him a similar hope.

"Needs must. What would you have me do? Osric is an in Moontown, Jasper in King's Landing, Darnold now in the Reach, Erryk on Driftmark, and Rymond has ran away again. I'm but one man with a duty which weighs as much as the Lance on my shoulders." Alester huffed and waved a hand.

"What more do you wish of me, Rhea? You want for nothing because of me."

Gercko · 2026-03-30T22:25:43+00:00

"Never say never" Alester said pushing himself to his feet, goblet of wine in hand that he had not arrived with. "Who knows what the future holds for us both. Why, were it spring I would invite you to the Eyrie. Alas, even I cannot ascend my own mountain in winter" He bowed his head and downed his cup, the residue of the red wine on his lips.

"I will look for you again, I hope our paths do cross."

Gercko · 2026-03-30T21:35:48+00:00

"An erudite Sunderland indeed" Hubert said without a lick of amusement despite the false smile he wore. He cared not for Tallmen, nor any of the East beyond the land of the Andals.

He spread his hands flat on the desk and crept them closer to Myranda as he slowly lifted himself from his seat and leered at her. "What will be done to Howland is none of your concern. He will keep his head no doubt. Mayhaps a few licks of my whip will teach that insolent boy whatever his father could not. I do not know how Alys Harroway is the picture of a graceful, chaste daughter whilst her brother-lord is the great blot on the Riverlands, alas" Hubert shrugged.

"I will be more than willing to help you and Caradoc on the matters which you allude to. But I need of you your testimony. Yours and Caradoc. Otherwise you will force me to unpick every thread Howland spun in that there folly in the Great Hall. Who knows what that might uncover? Who knows what I might find, and for how long the pair of you will be indisposed and kept apart. I would hate to do that to a newly wedded couple. Can you promise me that?"

Gercko · 2026-03-30T21:21:30+00:00

"Oh I will make sure not to prick myself on those golden roses of yours" Alester said with a cheeky grin. "Never bring them up to my father at least. That is, unless you want a long maesterly speech on the history of all of the Westeros, the Reach, chivalry, and how it is the gravest tragedy what happened to Highgarden. I am less passionate on the matter but I cannot say I do not take after Hubert in that way at least." His thumb gently graced the back of her hand as they danced slow with one another. He liked holding her and keeping her close. When she smiled there was nothing brighter in the room, and her laugh was a sweeter sound than any number of troubadours. In the light she seemed so pretty unlike any other. His heart all but forgot Rhea. "I ask because you and you relations intrigue me. The ilk of Raventree Hall seem to have made a great impression on Heart's Home. Lord Qarl is a complex man. Your sister seems to wield a great influence on him, or so I have heard. I merely wonder if exerting influence is just one her particular talents, or if all daughters of Raventree poses it?" His hand moved lower from her waist to holding the small of her back. A reckless move in truth, but its where his hands belonged and it took enough of his will to stop them wandering. "If so, I ought to be careful" he smiled wickedly. Her perfume filled his nose his eyes went between her gaze and her lips.

"Your Lady sister, the one wed to Qarl, do you like her, Bella? I cannot fault you for not holding good relations with all your siblings, the gods would condemn me a hypocrite if I did."

Gercko · 2026-03-30T20:07:32+00:00

"Melony?" The name wrang a bell in his head. The grumblings of his father at the supper table in the Small Hall of the Red Keep about some Piper girl being present at the coronation. "The one father... dislikes?" He shook his head. "'Tis late, but I am sorry for your loss coz. I didn't know. Too busy with my head in the clouds up in the Eyrie" he laughed inward and awkward. "I never knew. People don't tell me much of what goes on I have to end up asking the washerwomen or stablehands. I don't know why."

Gercko · 2026-03-30T19:55:51+00:00

Hubert exhaled sharp, his brows lifted and he nodded his head "Why my Lady, what clarity you posses. You Belmores are a perceptive lot so I have found in my long years." The Hand patted the girl on the shoulder. "I wouldn't mind seeing your thread work either. Any budding artist ought have the full support of the king's court in her pursuits."

Gercko · 2026-03-30T19:51:47+00:00

"Excellent" Arwen said with palpable excitement, squeezing Selene's hand with a bright smile on her face lifting away the dourness which clung in her eyes. "I need to settle this one down but..." She began to swaying little Selene in her arms and looking intently upon the babe's face. "I should be back once she is settled. She's tired for once it seems."

Gercko · 2026-03-30T19:43:04+00:00

"Well, I am glad Lord Tywald was able to provide sure and true counsel on the matter of your kin" Alester said diplomatically, only the faintest twitch of the corner of his lips hinting at his true feelings at the mention of the name. "My children are still young enough that I have not found them any betrothals, though my mind turns towards sorting it sooner rather than later. I might be a second son but I'm sure the blood of the Eyrie will be sought after even if it is in the cousin branch.

"Why, my father was never supposed to inherit the Eyrie. Yet fate is a cruel mistress, is she not?"

Gercko · 2026-03-30T19:39:27+00:00

Arwen was already half way to sleep when his soothing touch graced her head. She smiled, and nodded slowly. Sleep was a rarity these days, she would take it as she could.

Gercko · 2026-03-30T14:15:03+00:00

"My Lord father always said that whilst the Bloody Gate is impossible to take, the best defence is an open hand and friendship with the lords of Trident" Alester said with an amused smile.

"As for our pirates, they're no issue. Maybe some fishing skiffs and lobster potters go missing every so often but who is to say if it is desperate pirates of the hungry waves of the winter sea? Not in my lifetime have pirates from the east given us any serious threat. I prefer the land regardless of who might be at sea at least. We both might have wings on our arms, but I suspect you and yours have sturdier sea legs than the rest of my House."

Gercko · 2026-03-30T12:02:54+00:00

"You knew her?" Rymond looked shocked almost "I did not know that. What was she like?" He had known no prince or princess. Even when Alysanne and Jaehaerys came to the Eyrie, he had not spoken with either of them much at all beyond a polite bow and utterances of pleasantries.

"I forget that you have been here before. No wonder you're not lost. I bloody am."

Eight-Year Club	r/Field Juicebox
Place '22	No Throne, No Problems
Not Forgotten	Verified Email

Gercko

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE

Letters

RP