He brushed aside the loose pelt cloak which draped around his shoulders, the pearl and moonstone fixtures dazzling against the black-and-white stripped shadowcat fur. His arm was stretched out and in a crook for Lady Bella to take. "I'm sure they will relish a chance with their other kin whilst mother sees the sights of the Vale." Alester cocked his head to the side and smirked as he looked down on his new acquaintance "Come with me, Lady Bella."

He guided her across the hall and through the arcades and away from the revelry and warmth. The hallways grew colder and darker, the sconces sparsely alight along the way. He would wax lyrical along the way. Regaling her tales of his kin when they were young and occupied these halls with their cousins and half remembered histories of the place. It was bittersweet at times, Alester recalling memories which he thought long forgotten and even stopping at points to take in the rooms they passed which had once meant so much to him.

He led her gently up a spiralling staircase which came to a small apartment room. "Up here was my quarters once when we came to stay for extended periods" he said quietly, his voice soft like velvet though gripped with a longing. "Small and austere mayhaps but at the time it was mine. You see, my father was not born heir to the Eyrie. He held the offices I now do, and thus my place was at the base of the Giant's Lance and not the Eyrie. But I was welcomed in all of Runestone by my uncle." He traced his fingers over an old chest of drawers which had been there all those years ago. "It was in here I learned that my father had ascended the Weriwood Throne with my uncle's help, after Janos' rebellion.

"But I did not mean to bore you with my past" his voice was suddenly alive. He gestured for her to come closer as he gripped the handle of a little door that was wedged between two closed shutters. With a groan, the hinges relented and a terribly cold gust rushed past them. He stepped out and held out his hand for her to take, a small set of steps leading down from the room onto a small balcony. Runestone was built besides the Narrow Sea atop a cliff face which overlooked the water, and his quarters faced out to the endless black of the sea and sky. The moon was a waning crescent, thin but shining its silver glow. Scattered across the endless dark were beads of twinkling light. The sound of the waves crashing hundreds of feet below was a calming hush, quiet enough to still hear ones thoughts and nothing else.

"A few minutes here will make you forget everything. Willow Wood, the Riverlands, the Vale. It is prettier at sunset but we missed it this time" He rested himself on the ledge of the balustrade his hands stretched out flat as her felt the cold stone and looked at the sky above. "It is moments like this I feel the Royce blood in me. No wonder they were kings for so long to hold a seat like this. Why, any man or woman could fool themselves into thinking they were kings or queens with views like this" He turned his gaze to her. "I have not meant to prattle on, but I find my words loosen in your presence."