eachdraidh | (fourth lemon cake) voice ✧ open to both courts

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(fourth lemon cake) voice ✧ open to both courts

Fellow Shardholders. [ of either court! ]

I would speak to a man of law -- should any find himself amid our numbers. [ such a profession is unknown to her, but stiles has explained some occupations and tenets of his world and this one in particular piques her interest. sansa stark could make use of such a man who might be bound by her confidentiality. of course, she does not quite understand the ins and outs of the arrangement.

but that's why she asks today: to learn; to plan; to piece together little patches of her defence. ] Anyone who would call themselves lawyer. I would speak with you. That is the word for it, yes? [ lawyer. ] My apologies if I've gotten it wrong; I'm only a simple girl and I am unwise in these matters. I want to learn about the things that are mysteries to me.

[ like whether a lawyer's strange binding powers of argumentation would even apply in these lands. once her conversations are finished, she snaps the locket shut and can be found in the library -- where she organizes books she doesn't care to read, because the practise soothes her and distracts her mind from its darker thoughts. or else come the evening she sits in her chambers, and allies of hers are welcome to stop and knock. ]

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[ He nods, leading her forward. The walk through his rooms - a royal suite, he's since learned, grander than the rooms that others have been given. He supposes it's fitting, seeing as he considers himself a king; King Renly. Loras had urged him for that and he bites back his upset sound, swallowing it back.

When they reach the doorway that leads to his room Renly drops Sansa's arm gently, leaving her at the space between the rooms. She is close enough to see into the rooms but not so much that she is actually inside - to save her some dignity. He walks inside, to the end of his bed, and touches the roses. ]

My gift.

How appropriate -- [ she says the words she must say, though she isn't certain there is anything at all appropriate about any inch of this revelation. this secret. ] And how pretty.

[ and how easily disguised as your lady wife's symbol, not only her ser brother's. ] Do they require tending? [ she asks with a polite cant of her head. ] They have no soil!

No, they are quite magical. Very apt, I think, for this place and the gifts they have given myself and Loras before this.

[ And, as he says Loras' name, the roses seem to move, as if blowing in the wind, and the echo of a laugh is heard -- familiar to both him and Sansa both, Renly is sure. He swallows the lump in his throat, expression tightening. ]

As I said. Quite magical, my lady.

[ she knows his laughter. and, indeed, after the first few notes she looks sharply from the roses to renly's face. a quiver in her brows expresses all her momentary disbelief -- and she can understand why these flowers must be precious to him.

and she wonders how long he has spent alone, triggering their sweet sound, and shunning the unpredictability of the spaces beyond these chambers. she would not blame him if he stayed here often; she imagines she would do much the same. ]

Some piece of him remains. And you are his guardian. I know you will take such good care of these pretty petals.

[ Renly feels himself go tense as her gaze goes straight to his flowers. She might know his secret, she might be aware of his love and affection, but that does not mean he is entirely comfortable with how boldly it is being shown to her right now. He resists the urge to reach out and touch the soft petals, an eternal reminder of his lost love and the things he wishes he could have.

Still, he turns back to Sansa, stepping out of the room and nodding his head, offering her a tender little smile and a lift of his lips, masking his soft gaze. He can pretend that he doesn't feel his heart breaking each time he hears the laughter. ]

I should think so. I have always had a particular fondness for flowers, ever since I was quite young.

[ He motions back to the study with a gentle hand. ]

Now. We were to talk?

[ ...what a brilliant tactic. she recognizes it even as it unfolds within her heart: lord renly has revealed more of a vulnerability to her, and so she feels instinctively beholden to share hers in turn. even being aware of the possible manipulation, she cannot help but fall for it. after all, what renly shows her is no less real or true for having been revealed intentionally.

she takes a step back. and she does not speak again until she is sat in his solar. ] There is a marriage vow I would see broken, my lord. But I don't know how to break it.

[ Renly pours her a glass of water before he moves to sit down, putting the glass beside her, within arm's reach. He offers her a tenderness that he's sure has been missing for a while before he leans back in his chair, scratching at his jaw with a gentle absent twist that, in most people, makes them think he's barely considering them. When he looks over once more his expression is a little softer.

An annulled marriage, then. Something he himself has been considering since he learned of his nephew's marriage to his wife. ] There are some reasons for a marriage to be broken. If the vows were spoken at sword point or by a Sept that was not in his right mind then the marriage may be declared illegal. Furthermore, if the marriage was not consummated it can be set aside by the High Septon without cause -- there need be no witnesses for that, just a request from one of the pair.

[ she curls her fingers around the glass but does not drink. ]

Only we have no High Septon here, my lord. Only fairies and kings and strangers.

I think the King and Queen must have some form of Sept themselves. I would not think otherwise. If you asked them kindly I am sure they could direct you to where best to find one of their kind.

[ He leans forward, careful. ]

Who's marriage do you wish to see annulled, my lady? I have given thought to the matter myself, with regards to my own lady wife and her marriage to Joffrey.

[ ah. so ser loras kept some of her secrets -- though perhaps only because it was not important enough to tell. sansa nods her head and swears that she will tell renly of how she'd seen the very ending of lady margaery's marriage with her own eyes.

but for now? ] My own, my lord.

I see.

[ He nods his head, tapping absent fingers on the side of his chair, tilting his head with curiosity. ]

Allow me to ask, then. Was your marriage consummated, Sansa?

[ the question comes with no ceremony. no pomp. no introduction. hard and sharp like a knife, it lays across not only her heart but the thick muscular cord of her sensibilities. her moment of panic is clear: her well-maintained mask cracks just a little bit, and she looks as if she might fall to tears.

tears of joy. tears of happiness. tears of gratitude. because lord tyrion had been an ugly unfortunate husband, but he had not robbed her of her maidenhood. even so, the matter is personal and unseemly so her cheeks flush with humiliation. ]

No. No. My Lord Husband did not -- he did not demand it of me.

[ Renly moves, then, drawing a silken handkerchief from his sleeve and handing it over with not ceremony, shaking his head. He did not mean to be cruel, of course, but it was important that he ask. It is better to pull the bandage from the wound and ask it swiftly than drag it out as though it were not a question that was sure to come. He nods, leaning back in his chair. ]

Then we can certainly have your marriage annulled. All you must do is request it, my lady, and we will bring it to the attention of the King and Queen. Their laws cannot be so different from our own.

[ He bows his head, offering a hand should she want it for comfort. ]

You will be a Stark once more.

[ the hand she shuns, but the silk cloth she dabs to her cheeks and relishes its cool feel on her skin. ]

And if my Lord Husband were to ever arrive...[ but, oh! she had not identified him. and with a barely-noticeable wince, she clarifies: ] If Lord Tyrion were ever to come here to either court, my lord...

It would matter not. [ Renly lifts a shoulder, shaking his head. ] As I said, it takes only one to annul a wedding. If you wish to no longer be his wife then that will be it. [ He glances up, astounded, in his turn, that she would be wedded to the Imp. ] I am sorry you have been put through such trials.

In his own words, he is not the sort of husband young girls dream of. [ and then -- quite sadly: ] But also is not Joffrey.

No, he is not. There are not many that could be worse than Joffrey, I imagine. [ He shakes his head. ] I... Know what it means to not be the husband that most dream of, my lady. I will do what I can to aid you.

No, my lord. [ she shakes her head. ] I imagine you would make a perfect husband.

[ it is a sad commentary on how far sansa has fallen in her esteem of the marriage institution: an ideal husband might indeed be one that would be happier ignoring her for another, even if that other is a man. ]

I think you mistaken, my lady, but I thank you for the compliment.

[ He smiles at her, as benevolent as ever, before he stands to pour himself his own glass of water, swallowing it with a careful motion. ]

I can speak to the monarchs for you, if you wish.

Please. I would be so very obliged.

[ she does not note that her father does not know -- like as not, she doesn't have to. she would not be here talking to lord renly if she had her father's confidence to indulge. but sansa wants the matter settled before lord eddard hears a single word of it. ]

Then I shall do so on your behalf.

[ His glass is placed down and he moves and settles himself back in his chair. ]

It would be honour to aid you, dear Sansa.

And as with so many of our conversations, my lord, I would beg you to keep it between ourselves and Their Graces.

Of course. I would not mention it to anyone else.

[ The only person he would dare speak to is gone, after all. ]

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(fourth lemon cake) voice ✧ open to both courts

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