(fifth lemon cake) video ✧ open to both courts

[steeledskin]

Fellow Shardholders. [ what follows is a rehearsed speech, likely written beforehand and committed to memory. sansa stark (better known by most as alayne stone) sits before her locket in troichean beinn. she has, pinned to the shoulder of her fine silk dress, a direwolf. every instinct in her body tells her she should not say what must be said. should not announce what must be announced. but before his absence, her father had been giving her gentle instruction in how to meet these responsibilities. it makes her weep to imagine disappointing him -- yet she is far out of her depth. she needs help. but the speech she must do on her own. ]

With a heavy heart I tell you that Lord Eddard of House Stark -- Lord of Winterfell, Warden of the North, and a Keeper of Cothromach -- has left these lands. H-he is gone. [ she does not elaborate upon the very grief of his absence, but the cause cannot be too difficult to surmise: else why should anyone's heart be heavy for a man returned to his own world? ]

Yet if Lord Stark has made you promises or oaths of any sort, no matter your court, I wish to see them honoured and fulfilled. [ it takes tremendous will not to beg for the opportunity. she swallows hard. ] And if any have in turn have sworn service to him, I tell you now that I am his eldest daughter and the noble city of Cothromach has deemed me heir to his title. And to his duties. I would be humbled if those sworn to him would consider entrusting me with those same vows -- though I understand asking you to put your trust in a daughter of his house is not a thing easily done.

Likewise, if any in these lands wish to take refuge or make their homes in Cothromach, I would speak to you. My Lord Father wanted to see the city built up to its proper glory, and any Shardholder willing to join us in the task will be welcomed within its walls. For now, Lady Meera Reed sits as castellan while my family travels. Once my efforts in Troichaen Beinn are finished, I look forward to to returning as Sansa of House Stark.

[ by now her voice is shaking and it was a challenge merely to say her true name. it had been a lie, of course: she does not look forward to being herself once more. she knows such honesty runs against every lesson taught to her in the south. honesty leaves her open. vulnerable. but in the south she'd not had jon. nor arya, really. nor any manner of true ally -- none like those allies who have helped her in these lands.

it is for those sweet supportive souls that she speaks her final piece. it is the most difficult thing to ask, and it isn’t hidden behind rehearsal. it is not courtly. ] To those who knew and cared for the girl Alayne Stone: I apologize for my falsehoods. I swear I meant no harm. Please -- forgive me.

[ this confession is done. and so too was alayne stone. ]

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[dragmire]

[Had Ganondorf known that the man he met at the gates of Caer Glaem was the man spoken of here, he might have hesitated in speaking. But he did not make or know the connection between the two. Though the sigil of the wolf was of note. The boy king Joffrey had spoken of wolves. He had his own wolf at home that needed dealing with.

His tone remained diplomatic all the same.]

You are young to inherit so early. [So he says! But he was born a king and so always had that weight upon him.] But I expect you will manage all the same.

I am Ganondorf Dragmire, Lord of Castle Mair. When you have returned to your rightful place, I would speak to you on matters of trade. Our courts may be at war, but that is no reason our people should go without.

[He was keenly interested in the capabilities of the dwarves. He had seen hints of what they could manage from his time in Redgate. Troichean Beinn was a long way to go for trade, but Cothromach was close. Too close to Caer Glaem to be easily captured and held, but close enough he could still make some benefit from it.]

[steeledskin]

[ he may not know her, but she knows him. he was the one who had threatened stragglers in unseelie lands. and sansa believes she and gendry had been in genuine danger under that threat. waver, too, had spoken of one ganondorf.

she feels her throat constrict. the past few days -- as she'd wrestled with the necessity of announcing herself -- she's understood this gamble. that those who might indeed be enemies might respond. and then she would have to hold conversation with them as if it did not make her blood roar and her pulse tremble. ]

My lord. [ sweet. polite. that will never change, she promises herself. she will deal as sweetly with them as she always had with the lords and ladies of westeros. ] Mair and Cothromach share so little distance between them. It's only fitting you would want to speak of trade. [ her poise stays stiff. she barely flickers in the locket's frame. ] Perhaps some delegation ought to be decided upon.

[ would he rather the unseelie saralegui have my seat? trade is well and good, but she cannot trust this man. ]

[dragmire]

Agreed. Perhaps I might visit your city for myself. I understand it is a wondrous place to behold.

[It would not be the first underground city he had visited. He had been impressed with the Goron city, but he also knew them to place little value in artful pursuits.]

[steeledskin]

I've been there -- [ some warmth flushes her voice. the quiet understanding that she is somehow perhaps made better by having enjoyed cothromach's hospitality before the question of inheritance even arose. ] And I can say I am proud of it already. Certainly, you will give us fair warning before you visit. I would see you well-hosted.

[ and all preparations attended to. ]

[dragmire]

It would be unseemly to do otherwise. [If and when he scouts the area, he will do so discretely.] In turn, you would be welcome to visit the city of Mair. It does not make for a pretty sight, but there is a pride in its walls all the same.

[steeledskin]

In time, yes. [ it will do her good to spend some concentrated time and effort within cothromach's walls. ] Provided you are willing to welcome a retinue as well. I'm afraid to admit that ladies do not travel lightly.

[ she is perfectly comfortable with undermining herself in this fashion. she is no warrior; she will not pretend to be one. but she will surround herself with strong arms and loyal hearts. ]

[dragmire]

You are welcome to it, but I must admit, I know little of the way of foreign ladies. The women of my people have always traveled light. But I shall offer courtesy, nonetheless.

[He thinks of it as a weakness in others. She is cut from the same cloth as the Hylians, but then, so too were most in this land, Seelie or Unseelie.]

[steeledskin]

-- Do I understand, then, that your women also travel unescorted?

[ a mild tick of curiousity. but also a desire to hear him speak more. ]

[dragmire]

Who would escort them? [This he asks scathingly.] Among the Gerudo, only one man is born every hundred years.

[It was obvious who that man was. And so he had little sympathy for whatever weakness she might demonstrate in her requirements for escort or retinue.]

[steeledskin]

Only one? [ the repetition bought her time. a soft chirp to introduce a comfortable pause in the conversation while she let her thoughts trickle through the implication he's making. ] Certainly, that man must hold a place of high honours.

[ because yes. it is obvious who that man is. one of those men -- because one-in-a-hundred did not been only. in any case, she took his scathing tone and she absorbed it. rude as the rhetorical had been, she has endured ruder -- and likely would again. ]

[dragmire]

He is born to be their king. No other king or queen can claim a birthright so divine.

[And it HAD been divine. Even before he was corrupted by ambition, he had been treated as though he were a god. It was little wonder he began to believe that was the case. Every ruler's life had been by accident or by coincidence, but his had been preordained before he was ever conceived.]

[steeledskin]

Your Grace.

[ it is instinctive. it is ingrained. she understands the thin threads of the conversation and understands that he is that king -- though it's no title he used here. and yet she will fall upon it and use it until told otherwise. she thinks she knows how to talk to kings. ] Your people -- [ your women ] -- must miss you awfully.

[dragmire]

[The courtesy is appreciated, especially when he finds it so often lacking among the Seelie who claim to hold chivalry so high.]

I miss them greatly. There is little a king would not do to be reunited with his own people.

[And in that, he explains the scope of what he is willing to do. There are no lines that cannot be crossed when something so important is what awaits him.]

[steeledskin]

[ little a good king would not do. but her correction sticks in her throat. sansa is not convinced that the mere word imparts perfect love for a people. she knows king joffrey did not love his subjects the way she would have loved them as queen -- wanted to love them. and be loved in turn. but now being the mere keeper of one city for one day has already overwhelmed her.

perhaps it is just as well she never managed to ascend so high. the fall would kill her if she did not learn to fly. ]

Then I take it you did not leave them by choice. [ a soft breath. she is fitting pieces together in the space between words. ] I've heard it said that those taken into the Unseelie court are not asked honestly for their participation in this war...?

[dragmire]

[He makes a deep, unhappy sound to confirm her question.]

They are not. We are bound by unfathomable power to be carried away like hunted beasts so that we might kneel at the feet of a foreign king and queen to try and curry favor with them. Our king does not speak or acknowledge we exist, while our queen speaks sweetly to us as though she acts for our own benefit.

[Ha! And yet he plays the part expected of him, because how else does one play the game. For each time he demeans himself in another's court, he is given only more desire to one day rip them both off their thrones and claim this land as his own. He did not choose the drabwurld, but its rulers would pay the price for making their war into his own.]

[steeledskin]

[ and yet you hold mair for her. but sansa knows better than to talk on the lockets as if the kings and queens could not hear them. she imagines their magic might let them tap into the very thoughts of shardholders.

instead, she speaks around the problem: ] It was my Lord Father's wish to stand apart from either court. [ and yet depend upon caer glaem all the same, but she will not tell this lord of mair so. let him imagine her as one who would stay neutral, she thinks. ]

[dragmire]

The self-titled Lord Magister who ruled this castle previous tried to do much the same, before I was bade welcome to lay claim to it. It is those who seek peace that suffer the most in times of war.

[If there is any kindness in him, it is to tell her that she will fare better to choose a side than to have one picked for her when it is too late.]

[steeledskin]

[ quietly: ] I know there is another such Unseelie shardholder who has been promised a claim on my Lord Father's city.

[ she is not yet prepared to call it mine. another weakness. ]

[dragmire]

I was unaware. [And how curious it to discover this. His concern was not for an Unseelie victory. No, what he wanted was a long drawn out war to deplete both sides while he grew in power and influence. He frowned.] Why tell me? Queen Morla may bid me raise my own armies to win this city for another.

[steeledskin]

[ she remembers the map. she knows where mair is and where cothromach is and where caer glaem is. she and jon have gone over the details -- and she has leaned upon his wits so heavily since her inheritance was made known. mair had been their chief concern but she doubts any lord -- wise or foolish -- would dare take an underground city so close to caer glaem with on so small a rumour. ]

I imagine -- [ she uses the word carefully -- not wanting to sound strong. it isn't a hard sell, seeing as how she hardly feels strong. ] I imagine armies will come from one direction or another. What I say now won't change it.

[dragmire]

Do not underestimate the power of words, Keeper. Do you suppose it is in my interest to see your city fall to another among my court or for it to remain as it is, separate from this conflict?

[This in itself is a trial for her. He already thinks of her as weak, but he will see if she is stupid as well. He can forgive neither, but he can respect cleverness when it exists.]

[steeledskin]

[ keeper. her breath catches when she hears the title. hers, now. she has others: in these lands, she is the lady of winterfell so long as her brothers are absent. but keeper of cothromach is hers. ]

I imagine -- [ that word again. she hides behind it like an excuse. like saying i am only a girl do not mind me ] -- that your interests change dependent on how loyal you are to your court. You speak of it with cold terms but...

[ but words are wind, whatever power he suggests they have. ] I would not presume to ask you whether you look to advance yourself or your High Queen. You have no reason to answer honestly, your grace.

[ or to answer at all. ]

[dragmire]

My loyalty to Queen Morla is absolute, Keeper.

[He says this convincingly enough, for whatever that may be worth.]

But rivals... Those are tedious things, don't you agree?

[steeledskin]

[ lady sansa has never had a rival. not a true one: not in the wider world. she has had oppressors and she has had enemies and she has had terrors. but she has not had rivals. and yet --

my house has rivals. and look what those rivals have done to the great name of stark. ]

Tedious would not be the word I would use, your grace. Especially if words are to be as powerful as you say they are.

[dragmire]

Well spoken. Presently, I stand now at the front lines of this conflict. Should Cothromach fall, I will be safe and secure in my castle with little fear of the war reaching me. It may yet be advantageous to allow another to suffer the brunt of the war. Why waste armies and resources when another is eager to do the same in my stead?