(third lemon cake) voice ✧ open to both courts

[steeledskin]

( VOICE: OPEN TO BOTH COURTS )

Fellow [ ... ] shardholders. Seven blessings upon you all.

[ sansa is back in caer glaem, but there is no visual recording to accompany this address. (perhaps foolishly) she believes she may be somewhat protected from joffrey's attention. she would avoid an address altogether, but she feels there are those in the opposing court who ought to be quietly warned against the evil presence in their midst. trouble is, she doesn't know their names. and so here is a quiet attempt to draw out some of those people she'd spoken with at the very outset of using these lockets. ]

These lands are impressive. I have spent the larger part of two turns of this moon travelling them. Their roads are hard, perhaps, but I find myself oddly...pleased that I made any progress at all. [ there is a quiet (and honest) reverence in her voice. improvement and daring is not a thing she expects of herself, and so the mere understanding that she can now build a fire or ride a horse for days? it kindles something in her heart. a spark of pride. ] Seelie. Unseelie. Both territories boast beautiful landscapes -- I should like to see them painted, perhaps. Are there any artists in either court? Painters? Sculptors? [ ... ] Have we any musicians? These kingdoms must have their own songs. I would fain learn them.

From what played at the first feast, I imagine fairy music must always be a delight.

[ a protracted conversations, perhaps. but she hopes to catch the ear of wary allies and would-be friends. and as for her public behaviour? ah, well. she will be alayne stone a little longer. she is not ready to reclaim herself in one headlong rush. small steps and little leaps must be made. ]

(ooc: this post comes on the evening of june 27th. if your character is in caer glaem and is more apt to find here somewhere around the castle, go ahead and hit me with an action thread instead. i'm good with it. )

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[steeledskin]

So now I ask, Ser Free Man -- what is your name? What ought I call you?

[caditquaestio]

...Valentino. For the saint, or the Spaniard citadel. As you like, Lina.

[steeledskin]

Valentino. [ ... ] It is a pretty name. But you should call me Alayne Stone -- for all these other names you use [ helena. lina. even donna, which she mistakes for a name... ] are too pretty for me.

[caditquaestio]

They are only names. They could have been any other, Alonza.

[steeledskin]

[ having two names is painful enough-- ]

No. Please, Valentino. It is Alayne; call me Alayne.

[caditquaestio]

Hmmmmm. Well. Well, well. Must I?

[steeledskin]

Please.

[caditquaestio]

As you say, as you say.

[steeledskin]

[ all this desperation makes her heart beat painfully. she wants to calm down. she wants a distraction.

softly: ] Would you tell me more about your beautiful sister?

[caditquaestio]

[ - ah. Inevitably, that rouses - melancholy, is it? Yes. That. ]

...certainly. Her name is - Lucia. Her hair is spun gold, her eyes are the sky. We are unlike in this. She is pale, but it was not born of sickness. Her hands are - very small. I fear to crush them when they fall in mine.

[ He laughs. ]

She cries when she will not have her way, but I have told her to do it sparingly, else it will not work long. She is learning.

[steeledskin]

She is fortunate to have so caring a brother. One who will explain to her the impatience of the world.

[caditquaestio]

[ And colder - ]

We are family. Apart, we are dust. Together, we are stone.

[steeledskin]

[ despite the cold, she feels more close to these words of his than she did to any of his prettier sentiments. the lone wolf dies but the pack survives -- hadn't that been said, once? she frowns. ]

Stone -- [ she tells him ] -- is an apt word.

[caditquaestio]

Why, perhaps I do have all this wit you've said to see in me!

[steeledskin]

Wit is easily seen, Valentino. [ ... ] Virtue less so.

[caditquaestio]

Ah, what's this? Helena calls me common.

See here, Lina: God be thanked virtue is in short supply, else we'd all be dull and dullards.

[steeledskin]

[ she is in a rush to correct him: ] I did not mean you lack it! Only...only that its qualities are not so apparent. And--

[ she is out of her depth; whatever wit she has, she keeps it locked under panic. ] My apologies. I should have have spoken so roughly.

[caditquaestio]

At ease, Alandra. My pride has bled, but survived the wounding.

[steeledskin]

[ it bothers her, of course, that he does not use the name she gave him. but she had already made her thrust for its usage and feels too embarrassed to try again. ]

I would that I had not bled you at all.

[caditquaestio]

Well, then, we can have fair trade: you'll owe me a bleeding.

[steeledskin]

[ ...his words echo painfully in her ears. she'd bled enough for others, hadn't she? though she suspects the young man plays and japes, she cannot help but feel threatened.

softly, softly: ] Have mercy on me, Valentino. [ her tone is wry. forced-playful. so she might make herself joke along with him. ]

[caditquaestio]

...of course. Saint Valentino patrons love and betrothal. He must show all the mercies.

[steeledskin]

Betrothal!

[ she doesn't really know about saints. but she's confused by the sudden usage of this word. and why it might crop up now. ]

[caditquaestio]

Hold there: I didn't choose the man's skills.

[steeledskin]

How does one have skill in a thing such as betrothals?