Harlon | Morra | Theo | Ophelia | Cass | Mel

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.

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?”

Eleanor Tomlinson for Schon! Magazine (2021) ♥

how do you feel amongst the starks? do you truly feel around family?

rosa paused, unsure exactly how to answer. “it is complicated. there are times i feel at home amongst the other starks. they all have been as welcoming as they possibly could be. but...” she paused. “there are still times i feel like an outsider. maybe with the baby’s arrival i won’t feel so much like that. i would like to feel fully at home”

@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.

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

TRUTH SERUM: Are you disappointed with Rodrik's fury stick? He sure wears a lot furs. Is it to hide something?

“i.....i do not know what you are talking about.” rosa said, trying to understand what was happening. “is this something i should know about? i am confused i’m sorry.”

letter sent to @ravellaarryns after a few weeks after fighting breaks out

dear sister,

i have missed you terribly since my visit back home to the eyire. it warmed my heart to see you once again and i hope i will be able to visit you again soon. please give my love to graham as well, it was wonderful to see him and i am so happy for the two of you. i know i said it about a dozen times when i saw you in person but i know in my heart you will be an amazing queen. i am so proud of you.

there is some slight unfortunate news upon returning back to the north. it seems not even us could escape the trouble in the iron islands. some of the escaped men have found their way into our woods and have joined forces with the thenns. theon and the others have left to deal with the issue. 

however with bad news come some good news. a week after theon left to fight i discovered i may be with child. the midwives here have confirmed it and they believe it may be more than one. but it is still too early to tell for sure. i have yet to tell my husband yet as i am afraid it may be a distraction while he is fighting. but i am in good hands and being well protected and taken care of. i wanted you to know as quickly as i could tell you.

i love you so much. and eddie says the same.

your loving sister,

rosa

setting: in the private dinning area within the norths lodging in highgarden. set the morning after the wedding of the new king and queen of the reach

much had been swirling in the queen of the north's mind since she heard the news from her lady in waiting. she did not wish to spoil the wedding night for anyone in the north so she decided the matter could wait until the morning. once owen had settled down at the table, and she had gotten eddie set up in his high chair to eat the queen of the north turned to look at her husband. "darling…i have something i would like to speak to you about. i think it could be a problem." she said, her hands signing along with some of her words.

@owenstark

standing up from her seat, the queen moved to the spot next to her husband and reached out to take his hand. a gentle touch but one to let him know she was there, to help calm him as she could see the tension building within him. even if she could just help to take away some of the stress from him she would. she wished to take all of it from him.

"it seemed that she did not know. i am sorry i had to bring you this news so early in the morning. but i knew you'd find it just as important as i did." she frowned. "i think the criers may be needed. at least in the lands we cannot fully trust their petty lords."

she squeezed his hand as she spoke, understanding his worry. a feeling growing up in the vale she was very accusumed to. "no i do not think they disobey you. i have seen the way your lords look to you. they respect you as a man and a king. i do not think many disobey you. especially after you lead them to a victory in battle with you by their side. they would foolish to do so. this petty lord is foolish to think no one would find out about this."

rosaaaryn​:

there was no doubt in rosalyn’s mind that her husband wouldn’t take this seriously. when they had discussed the new laws of the north they had done so together. she never felt pushed aside or made to feel less than. the laws of the north were an effort for both the king and the queen. after all it was both of their duties to look after the people within their kingdom. men and women alike. “i can get you her name and the husbands name. i don’t think she knew of the law that was passed, she seemed surprised that i mentioned it. the sister did not seem to know either. i doubt she wanted to sleep with the lord before her own husband.” she said, recounting the look of shock on her face when rosalyn had mentioned about the banning of the practice “from what she knew there was at least five wives that had to follow this rule. and those are just the ones she knew about. gods only know how many there actually is.”

rosa hated the thought of what these poor women had to go through because of one narcissistic man. did that mean there were other laws that were not known? most of these people could not read themselves. how else were they supposed to find out about these laws if their lord did not tell them “perhaps we need to find a way to ensure these new laws are reaching everyone. i don’t want to think about what other laws this man might have not told his people…”

o.

“She didn't know? I expressed that it should be announced and now this petty lord must be stripped of lands and titles. Lest he makes me look a fool among my own people and courts. What sort of King cannot handle his own people?” 

And he didn't show much of his anger to her but there is a tension in his shoulders and it's obvious what choice he will make. It was time for examples to be made and when a King stepped in to punish petty lords it bruised the egos of their ruling Lords. It showed a lack of trust from the King to his Lords, a lack of trust the didn’t have when he denied their lords the title of Duke.

“We must send out criers as were used in the old days. The smallfolk can't read. They must know what their lords and knights don't tell them.” Owen felt a brief worry creep into his shoulders, “Do you think they disobey me far and wide?”