Samantha is going to wait until someone is going to leave the room
That said, if someone leaves the room at all in the foreseeable future. I can say, this was the best choice when it comes to deal with the person of Archmaester Wulvren, who is not exactly the most talkative and sociable person at the Citadel, to say the least. However, depending on your future choices, it might not have been the best option to take.
The next part is hopefully going to be finished later today. It's going to be a Drent part and it involves arguing, punching, more arguing and a certain Storm Princess who is, quite literally, royally pissed.
Drent knew, he had to make a decision quickly. He could see how Argella visibly restrained herself from doing something against Torrence. There were little hints of the anger she was suppressing. Her eyes were slightly narrowed, her lips pressed together, her fists clenched and she visibly tensed up as Torrence moved his hand a bit upwards, from her bum to her lower back and waist. Drent even had a bit of pity for the man. No one deserved a Durrandon's fury.
“What do you say?”, Torrence chuckled, as he looked at Argella. “You, me, a bottle of wine” The Storm Princess let out a sigh. “You really have no idea, do you?”, she asked in return, which seemed to confuse Torrence. “I had no idea that there was a servicemaid as stunning as you, honey”, he answered with a broad smile, gently pinching her waist.
Drent saw Argella slowly loosing control over her facial expressions and for a moment, she revealed the anger inside of her, as a sharp glare pierced through Torrence, while a low growl forced its way out of her throat. And he knew, now he had to act.
“Excuse me”, he said as he moved closer. Torrence narrowed his eyes and for the first time during their conversation he moved them away from Argella. “What is it, Golton? Can't you see that I'm talking to a lady?”, he asked. “No one's talking to you, so cry me a river!”
Drent let out a sigh. “Can't say I haven't tried it”, he answered, before clenching his fist. “You're going to thank me later” And with these words, he threw a quick, but hard punch right into his face.
“That one's for being a bag of dicks”, he added, as Torrence stumbled backwards. For a moment, Drent hoped that he would go to the ground, which would make things a lot easier. But in his current state, Torrence barely seemed to be affected by the punch. He let go of Argella, who immediately took a step to the side, looking at him with disgust. Her eyes moved towards Drent and showed a surprising approval. Under other circumstances, he could have lost himself in her eyes, but right now he had to deal with Torrence.
“The hell, Golton?”, the man mumbled in a slightly sluggish state as blood slowly started to flow out of his nose. “You... you punched me!” Drent gulped as he took a step forwards, raising his hands to calm the other man down. “Torrence, I... I'm sorry. This is for your own best. Just leave, before things get ugly”
“Ugly...”, Torrence mumbled again and Drent saw how he slowly regained his senses. A sharp, angry look got into his dark brown eyes, certainly fuelled even further by the alcohol. “You bastard!”, he screamed and tackled at Drent, while surprisingly quickly trying to punch him in the face. Drent was prepared, although he underestimated Torrence's strength. His attempt at defending himself quickly broke down under the force of the first punch and pain flashed through his lower arms as he blocked the attack. Torrence managed to throw him to the ground, jumping on top.
In his rage, Torrence was easily stronger than Drent. He wasn't a very skilled fighter, but Drent knew, Torrence had the strength to become one. Right now, this strength made him a terrible opponent to fight against. Drent wasn't able to fully block the second punch and was hit at the chin, with almost deafening power.
Just as Torrence was raising his hand again, Argella's slim figure grabbed his arm and, to Drent's surprise, managed to pull him up. The Storm Princess looked mildly pleased at Drent's actions and seemed to have calmed down a bit. “That is enough, Torrence, now...”, she started to say, but Torrence, in blind rage and in the heat of the moment, lashed out and gave her a slap in the face.
The princess was apparently tougher than Drent thought, as she managed to stay on her feet, despite the slap being hard enough to make her twirl around. In contrast to her porcelain skin, a thin red line of blood was visible on her lip. He was able to see her eyes and in them, he saw a dark blue ocean on a terribly stormy day and the fury of ten thousand years of Storm Kings.
Probably out of shock, perhaps even out of a bit of shame, Torrence took a step backwards, as he realized that he had hit her. “Seven Hells... I'm sorry, Gelly. I only wanted to talk, damn it. A simple 'No' would have sufficed! I'm sorry, but that one is your fault. Come on, let me see, perhaps...”, he stuttered, as Argella was still focussing her glare on Drent. Then, before he was able to continue, she spun around and gave him an even harder slap in the face, hitting his right cheek. Not without satisfaction, Drent noticed that it sounded just like the crack of a whip.
“What the...”, Torrence stuttered, but she cut him off by giving him an even harder second slap, perhaps even a punch, right at his chin. “I didn't...”, he tried to continue, when a third, fast slap hit his other cheek, finally causing him to stumble backwards. Perhaps out of simple decency, perhaps out of fear or perhaps out of a mixture of both, Torrence didn't even try to defend himself. “Please, no...”, he stuttered and a fourth slap silenced him, as he sank to the ground in a sitting position, clearly shocked at what just happened.
“Not... another... word... in my presence”, Argella managed to press out with clenched teeth, her voice shivering with anger. Torrence gave her a wordless nod, as he put one of his hands onto his left cheek. The look in his eyes gave away that he finally realized what a mistake he had made.
Heavily breathing, Argella continued to talk, sounding calmer with every word. “My father would have beaten you to death by now”, she hissed and looked down at her hands. The sheer force of her slap him must have hurt her as well and Drent saw that the usually pale palms of her hands were as red as Torrence's cheeks. “What people often forget when they look at me is that I am not a delicate little flower. Sure, I'm not as strong as my father, but I'm still his daughter. I think we both agree, this one hurt you a lot more than it hurt me”
Torrence gave her a nod, while she turned around and looked at Drent, her glare tarnished by something that looked like genuine concern. “What is it? Get back on your feet. You don't need me to help you, do you?”, she ordered in an authoritative tone and Drent sluggishly started to stand up. Torrence's punch had been heavier than he would like to admit.
“Your... father?”, Torrence finally said, which caused Argella's attention to snap back at him. “Who is your father?” Seven Hells, he still had no idea! Drent knew, Torrence was an avid supporter of Argilac Durrandon. The realization of what he just did could be even worse than the punishment Argella would give him without a doubt.
The Storm Princess let out a sigh, as she clenched her fists again. “Torrence...”, she chirped, in the same fake friendliness she had shown towards Ambassador Celtigar. “What have I told you, about opening your stinking mouth in my presence again?” Followed by these words, she gave him a painful kick, right between the legs, causing Torrence to fall back and to howl and sob in pain.
“What?”, Argella asked, her voice full of spite. “Are you crying now? Good! Take it as a lesson, how to treat a lady” Drent used this opportunity to walk next to her and to put a hand onto her shoulder. Halfway before his hand actually reached her, she threw him a glare. “What is it?”, she growled.
“My pr... My...”, Drent started, still unsure how to address her in this situation. “Torrence learned his lesson. Leave him be, please. He is not a bad man, just drunken and a bit rude. Give him another chance” Argella shook her head. “That remains to be seen”, she answered, before turning back towards Torrence.
The man had raised from he ground, even though he held one of his hands onto his crotch. “Fuck you, bitch”, he growled and Drent closed his eyes. This man really tried to dig his own grave. “I only tried to talk to you, to have a good time and your bloodhound punches me out of the blue. Then, you... humiliate me, as if you're someone special” He shook his head. “I'm telling you something, Gelly. You're nothing. A common smallfolk wench, and yet you're acting like the Storm King's horribly spoilt brat of a daughter!”
“Do I?”, Argella asked calmly, but Drent noticed that the last sentence finally got to her. Her voice was shaking slightly and Drent was only noticing it because he expected it. “Horribly spoilt...”, she mumbled, before shaking her head. “Some men just don't know when they should shut up”
Before Torrence could add something that would undoubtedly seal his fate, a new, feminine voice sounded. “Torrence?”, a young woman called as she approached them. She was pretty, even compared to Argella, her long hair had the colour of auburn and was tied to a loose bun. She was carrying a quiver with her and had a bow in her left hand as she quickly approached them.
Torrence gave her an annoyed glare. “Edonia...”, he growled, as the young woman reached them. She looked from the visibly wounded Torrence, to Drent and finally to Argella. Her brown eyes widened as she, unlike the man next to her, understood who was standing in front of her. “By the gods, no...”, she mumbled. “Torrence, you goddamn fool, what have you done?”
The man looked at her in an irritated manner, before shrugging. “I have done nothing, Edonia. A bit of aggressive flirting, nothing too bad, when suddenly, they start to beat me up. For fucking nothing!”, he explained, before letting out a sigh. “But, go on, enlighten me, just as you always do”
The woman, Edonia, shook her head and Drent saw the hint of tears in her eyes. “Oh, brother, this time you really fucked up”, she mumbled, as she went down on her knees in front of Argella. “Please, my princess. My brother is a foolish child. Please have mercy”
And finally, Drent saw the realization on Torrence's face. “Princess?”, he asked, as his eyes widened. “Oh gods... Princess Argella? Oh no, no!” And then, he went onto the ground, right next to his sister. Argella looked at both of them and the cold in her eyes was enough to make Drent shiver. “My princess, please, Torrence learned his lesson”, he urged her.
“Yes!”, Torrence was quick to add. “Yes, I did. I never meant to hurt you, my princess. How was I supposed to know...” She cut him off by raising a finger, demanding silence, before moving a hand towards her lips. The hint of blood remained on her fingers, as she moved them back again. “Drent”, she ordered calmly. “Remind me again, what is the punishment for striking a member of the royal family outside of a duel?”
Drent closed his eyes, as Torrence's desperate pleas got louder. “Loosing a hand, my princess”, he answered and Argella gave him a nod. “Indeed. My father follows these laws, and his father before him”, she said with a sharp voice, her glare set on Torrence. “Stand up”, she ordered him and both, Torrence and Edonia obeyed. “Follow me”
It only took the small group a moment to walk through the camp and to reach an empty tent. It was a kitchen tent, not used at night, but still filled with tables and chairs for a small army. “To the table”, Argella ordered and Torrence quickly obeyed.
Torrence gave her a nod, silenced out of sheer fear, not even able to resist her order. His knees were weak and Drent saw a dark spot in his trousers. Edonia was silent too, although she was clearly upset. “This is your fault, little brother”, she mumbled. This time, Torrence shot her an angry glare. “My fault?”, he growled. “I have been looking for you the whole fucking night! Where have you been, when I needed you?” Finally, his anger died down, replaced by desperate sobs. “Please...”, he mumbled. “Please, I don't want to...”
“Give me your sword”, Argella ordered calmly, as she looked at Drent. He had been silent so far, even though he felt pity for Torrence. Argella was following the law and was in the right, but at the same time, Torrence wasn't a bad man and he did not deserve to loose a hand over this mess. And the worst part was, Drent felt responsible. He should have tried to calm things down. Perhaps Torrence would have been open for reason.
“Drent?”, Argella asked again and he snapped out of his thougths, putting a hand at the hilt of his sword. “Please, my princess. Think about it again. What would...”, he urged her, but stopped. What would her father think? He would probably be proud. What would the people think? Yeah... perhaps that sounded a bit better. “What would your subjects think, my princess?”, he asked.
Argella closed her eyes and a sad expression flashed over her face. When she opened her eyes, she seemed to be a bit more distant than before. Drent had always doubted House Durrandon's claim to descend from the gods of wind and sea, but right now, he wasn't so sure anymore. In this moment, Argella Durrandon was a true daughter of the storm, unyielding and full of fury. “Sword”, she softly said, but her tone made it clear that Drent shouldn't object again.
Reluctantly, he unsheathed his sword, handing it to her, hilt first. And then, he saw something that shocked him. The Storm Princess was amused, the hint of a smirk had formed on her face. “Kneel down and put your hand on the table, Torrence”, she ordered and even though he knew what would follow, Torrence obeyed. Fear dictated his actions, of Argilac, not of Argella. Drent exchanged a glance with Edonia, who was shaking her head, an upset look on her face as she watched the Storm Princess preparing to cripple her brother.
“Please, my princess...”, Torrence tried to object once more, to no avail. “Close your eyes”, Argella ordered. Slowly, she raised her sword. “It's no excuse that you mistook me for a commoner. No man should treat a woman like you did, regardless of her standing. Who knows what you would have done if Drent wouldn't have been with me...”, she hissed.
“Nothing, my princess, I swear. I only wanted to talk and perhaps I was a bit too...”, Torrence started to say, his eyes still closed, as Argella moved her sword downwards. The moment it hit the table, a loud, cracking noise was heard and Torrence let out a surprised scream.
He slowly opened his eyes, as Edonia let out a sigh. Drent just stood there, looking at the Storm Princess in confusion. The sword was rammed deeply into the table, but it had missed Torrence's hand by several inches. The man looked up to the princess, his mouth open as he raised his right hand, still completely attached to his body. “You pissed yourself”, the Storm Princess remarked dryly.
“I... you... why...?”, he stuttered and Argella shook her head. The loose bun she was wearing her hair in finally gave up and strands of long, black hair fell down onto her shoulders. “No”, she silenced him. “I don't want to hear it. I only want to hear your prayers. You'll stay the night here, praying to each of the Seven, begging them for forgiveness and thinking about what you did wrong. I will sit in front of the tent and listen, so you better pray at the top of your lungs. If you stop before we leave this camp, you will still loose your hand, have I made myself clear?”
Instead of answering, Torrence immediately lowered his head, defeated, but perhaps a bit thankful. “May the Father look down upon me...”, he started to recite one of the better known prayers to the Seven. Satisfied, Argella turned around. “Drent, Edonia, with me”, she ordered. Edonia gave her brother a last look and Drent saw that Torrence responded with an angry glare, not interrupting his prayer.
As soon as they were outside, Argella handed Drent his sword without saying anything. Finally, a smile formed on her mouth, as she noticed the distraught faces of Drent and Edonia. “What?”, she asked. “I wonder how long it'll take him to notice that I'm gone”
Drent raised his eyebrows, but it was Edonia who said something first. “You do not intend to listen to him, Princess Argella?”, she asked. Argella shook her head and a joyful chuckle found its way out of her throat. “Have you seen his face? Priceless!”, she exclaimed. “No, Edonia, I do not intend to listen to him. I also don't intend to punish him any further”
“He hit you”, Drent answered, looking at the red spot just below her lip. “Indeed”, Argella agreed. A smirk flashed across her face, although it was without any joy. “And if I remember correctly, I hit back. Four times, actually. And I kicked him where it hurts the most. I am a Durrandon of Storm's End and I know my own strength. I guarantee, I hurt him a lot more”
Before she could say another thing, Edonia put her arms around her, in a way that was certainly not befitting for a member of the royal family, pulling her into a close hug. “Thank you”, she mumbled. “Torrence can be an ungrateful prick, but he's still my little brother. Whenever he comes off as rude, he just tries to look tough. He is not a bad man. And I... I thought you would...” She cut herself off and separated from the Storm Princess, tears of joy in her eyes.
Argella gave her a stern nod. “I know what you thought. Torrence thought the same”, she said and put a hand to her wounded lip. “Your brother hits like a little girl. That alone should be punishment enough”
“I am sorry, my princess”, Edonia answered. “It looks like I misjudged you” Argella gave her a forgiving nod. “It's alright. You're not the only one who has a wrong opinion on me. They follow my father out of love. I don't want them to follow me out of fear”, she answered and flashed Drent a smirk. “At least Drent realized that I never intended to mutilate Torrence, right?” She finally caught his facial expression and her smirk vanished immediately. “Right?”, she asked again.
As much as the disappointed look in her eyes upset him, Drent had to shake his head. “I'm afraid you played your role quite well, my princess”, he answered, remembering the deceptively real fury in her eyes back when she was talking to Torrence. He had to admit, he hadn't thought she would be capable of mercy.
Argella gave him a smirk that looked more forced than genuine. “I suppose I have”, she answered, avoiding to look him in the eyes. “And now excuse me, it has been a long night and I have learned a few interesting things. Also, I really need to get out of these filthy rags. How do my servicemaids manage to stay in them for all day?”
With these words, the princess stormed off towards her tower, leaving Drent and Edonia behind. For a moment, her voice had sound terribly upset and Drent was more than surprised by this. Was she upset to learn what he had thought about her?
“I think I might have hurt her”, he mumbled and Edonia gave him a questioning look. “Her?”, she asked. “Drent... your name is Drent, right? Listen, she's the Storm Princess. If my brother's slap can't hurt her your words won't do it either” She let out a sigh as she looked back to the kitchen tent. Torrence's faint praying could still be heard. “Or at the very least she can't afford to be hurt by this”
“Perhaps I should apologize”, Drent added and Edonia shook her head. “I don't think that would be a wise idea. We are commoners, Drent. Nothing we do has an impact on them. We don't apologize to royalty, we only try to stay down and not get noticed by them, while they play their game of thrones”, she answered. “Trust me, she is a bit upset at best, but not genuinely hurt. But hey, if you want to talk to her, go on, I won't stop you. I need a break after this though. I'll meet up with a few friends at the campfire” A slight smirk appeared on her face, as Drent noticed that Torrence started to pray a bit louder in his tent. “Your welcome to join us, unless you rather want to try to get lucky with your princess, of course”
[Try to talk to Argella][Join Edonia and her friends at the campfire]
Drent
Drent knew, he had to make a decision quickly. He could see how Argella visibly restrained herself from doing something against Tor… morerence. There were little hints of the anger she was suppressing. Her eyes were slightly narrowed, her lips pressed together, her fists clenched and she visibly tensed up as Torrence moved his hand a bit upwards, from her bum to her lower back and waist. Drent even had a bit of pity for the man. No one deserved a Durrandon's fury.
“What do you say?”, Torrence chuckled, as he looked at Argella. “You, me, a bottle of wine” The Storm Princess let out a sigh. “You really have no idea, do you?”, she asked in return, which seemed to confuse Torrence. “I had no idea that there was a servicemaid as stunning as you, honey”, he answered with a broad smile, gently pinching her waist.
Drent saw Argella slowly loosing control over her facial expressions and for a moment, she revealed the anger inside of her, as a… [view original content]
Drent
Drent knew, he had to make a decision quickly. He could see how Argella visibly restrained herself from doing something against Tor… morerence. There were little hints of the anger she was suppressing. Her eyes were slightly narrowed, her lips pressed together, her fists clenched and she visibly tensed up as Torrence moved his hand a bit upwards, from her bum to her lower back and waist. Drent even had a bit of pity for the man. No one deserved a Durrandon's fury.
“What do you say?”, Torrence chuckled, as he looked at Argella. “You, me, a bottle of wine” The Storm Princess let out a sigh. “You really have no idea, do you?”, she asked in return, which seemed to confuse Torrence. “I had no idea that there was a servicemaid as stunning as you, honey”, he answered with a broad smile, gently pinching her waist.
Drent saw Argella slowly loosing control over her facial expressions and for a moment, she revealed the anger inside of her, as a… [view original content]
I think Edonia has a point. I don't think we should mess with the royals right now, I think we should prove it later on. Yeah, there's my main reason for picking this option... yeah, that's it... totally not because of other reasons...
Drent
Drent knew, he had to make a decision quickly. He could see how Argella visibly restrained herself from doing something against Tor… morerence. There were little hints of the anger she was suppressing. Her eyes were slightly narrowed, her lips pressed together, her fists clenched and she visibly tensed up as Torrence moved his hand a bit upwards, from her bum to her lower back and waist. Drent even had a bit of pity for the man. No one deserved a Durrandon's fury.
“What do you say?”, Torrence chuckled, as he looked at Argella. “You, me, a bottle of wine” The Storm Princess let out a sigh. “You really have no idea, do you?”, she asked in return, which seemed to confuse Torrence. “I had no idea that there was a servicemaid as stunning as you, honey”, he answered with a broad smile, gently pinching her waist.
Drent saw Argella slowly loosing control over her facial expressions and for a moment, she revealed the anger inside of her, as a… [view original content]
Drent
Drent knew, he had to make a decision quickly. He could see how Argella visibly restrained herself from doing something against Tor… morerence. There were little hints of the anger she was suppressing. Her eyes were slightly narrowed, her lips pressed together, her fists clenched and she visibly tensed up as Torrence moved his hand a bit upwards, from her bum to her lower back and waist. Drent even had a bit of pity for the man. No one deserved a Durrandon's fury.
“What do you say?”, Torrence chuckled, as he looked at Argella. “You, me, a bottle of wine” The Storm Princess let out a sigh. “You really have no idea, do you?”, she asked in return, which seemed to confuse Torrence. “I had no idea that there was a servicemaid as stunning as you, honey”, he answered with a broad smile, gently pinching her waist.
Drent saw Argella slowly loosing control over her facial expressions and for a moment, she revealed the anger inside of her, as a… [view original content]
Drent
Drent knew, he had to make a decision quickly. He could see how Argella visibly restrained herself from doing something against Tor… morerence. There were little hints of the anger she was suppressing. Her eyes were slightly narrowed, her lips pressed together, her fists clenched and she visibly tensed up as Torrence moved his hand a bit upwards, from her bum to her lower back and waist. Drent even had a bit of pity for the man. No one deserved a Durrandon's fury.
“What do you say?”, Torrence chuckled, as he looked at Argella. “You, me, a bottle of wine” The Storm Princess let out a sigh. “You really have no idea, do you?”, she asked in return, which seemed to confuse Torrence. “I had no idea that there was a servicemaid as stunning as you, honey”, he answered with a broad smile, gently pinching her waist.
Drent saw Argella slowly loosing control over her facial expressions and for a moment, she revealed the anger inside of her, as a… [view original content]
Drent
Drent knew, he had to make a decision quickly. He could see how Argella visibly restrained herself from doing something against Tor… morerence. There were little hints of the anger she was suppressing. Her eyes were slightly narrowed, her lips pressed together, her fists clenched and she visibly tensed up as Torrence moved his hand a bit upwards, from her bum to her lower back and waist. Drent even had a bit of pity for the man. No one deserved a Durrandon's fury.
“What do you say?”, Torrence chuckled, as he looked at Argella. “You, me, a bottle of wine” The Storm Princess let out a sigh. “You really have no idea, do you?”, she asked in return, which seemed to confuse Torrence. “I had no idea that there was a servicemaid as stunning as you, honey”, he answered with a broad smile, gently pinching her waist.
Drent saw Argella slowly loosing control over her facial expressions and for a moment, she revealed the anger inside of her, as a… [view original content]
Drent
Drent knew, he had to make a decision quickly. He could see how Argella visibly restrained herself from doing something against Tor… morerence. There were little hints of the anger she was suppressing. Her eyes were slightly narrowed, her lips pressed together, her fists clenched and she visibly tensed up as Torrence moved his hand a bit upwards, from her bum to her lower back and waist. Drent even had a bit of pity for the man. No one deserved a Durrandon's fury.
“What do you say?”, Torrence chuckled, as he looked at Argella. “You, me, a bottle of wine” The Storm Princess let out a sigh. “You really have no idea, do you?”, she asked in return, which seemed to confuse Torrence. “I had no idea that there was a servicemaid as stunning as you, honey”, he answered with a broad smile, gently pinching her waist.
Drent saw Argella slowly loosing control over her facial expressions and for a moment, she revealed the anger inside of her, as a… [view original content]
[Try to talk to Argella] Edonia and her friends? BORING more Argella please!
I'm loving Drent and Argella's relationship, can't wait to see more! . It's funny because I didn't really like Drent at first (to be fair that was probably because of a specific choice that won that I really didn't like] and now I'm loving his character.
Drent
Drent knew, he had to make a decision quickly. He could see how Argella visibly restrained herself from doing something against Tor… morerence. There were little hints of the anger she was suppressing. Her eyes were slightly narrowed, her lips pressed together, her fists clenched and she visibly tensed up as Torrence moved his hand a bit upwards, from her bum to her lower back and waist. Drent even had a bit of pity for the man. No one deserved a Durrandon's fury.
“What do you say?”, Torrence chuckled, as he looked at Argella. “You, me, a bottle of wine” The Storm Princess let out a sigh. “You really have no idea, do you?”, she asked in return, which seemed to confuse Torrence. “I had no idea that there was a servicemaid as stunning as you, honey”, he answered with a broad smile, gently pinching her waist.
Drent saw Argella slowly loosing control over her facial expressions and for a moment, she revealed the anger inside of her, as a… [view original content]
Drent
Drent knew, he had to make a decision quickly. He could see how Argella visibly restrained herself from doing something against Tor… morerence. There were little hints of the anger she was suppressing. Her eyes were slightly narrowed, her lips pressed together, her fists clenched and she visibly tensed up as Torrence moved his hand a bit upwards, from her bum to her lower back and waist. Drent even had a bit of pity for the man. No one deserved a Durrandon's fury.
“What do you say?”, Torrence chuckled, as he looked at Argella. “You, me, a bottle of wine” The Storm Princess let out a sigh. “You really have no idea, do you?”, she asked in return, which seemed to confuse Torrence. “I had no idea that there was a servicemaid as stunning as you, honey”, he answered with a broad smile, gently pinching her waist.
Drent saw Argella slowly loosing control over her facial expressions and for a moment, she revealed the anger inside of her, as a… [view original content]
Drent
Drent knew, he had to make a decision quickly. He could see how Argella visibly restrained herself from doing something against Tor… morerence. There were little hints of the anger she was suppressing. Her eyes were slightly narrowed, her lips pressed together, her fists clenched and she visibly tensed up as Torrence moved his hand a bit upwards, from her bum to her lower back and waist. Drent even had a bit of pity for the man. No one deserved a Durrandon's fury.
“What do you say?”, Torrence chuckled, as he looked at Argella. “You, me, a bottle of wine” The Storm Princess let out a sigh. “You really have no idea, do you?”, she asked in return, which seemed to confuse Torrence. “I had no idea that there was a servicemaid as stunning as you, honey”, he answered with a broad smile, gently pinching her waist.
Drent saw Argella slowly loosing control over her facial expressions and for a moment, she revealed the anger inside of her, as a… [view original content]
Drent
Drent knew, he had to make a decision quickly. He could see how Argella visibly restrained herself from doing something against Tor… morerence. There were little hints of the anger she was suppressing. Her eyes were slightly narrowed, her lips pressed together, her fists clenched and she visibly tensed up as Torrence moved his hand a bit upwards, from her bum to her lower back and waist. Drent even had a bit of pity for the man. No one deserved a Durrandon's fury.
“What do you say?”, Torrence chuckled, as he looked at Argella. “You, me, a bottle of wine” The Storm Princess let out a sigh. “You really have no idea, do you?”, she asked in return, which seemed to confuse Torrence. “I had no idea that there was a servicemaid as stunning as you, honey”, he answered with a broad smile, gently pinching her waist.
Drent saw Argella slowly loosing control over her facial expressions and for a moment, she revealed the anger inside of her, as a… [view original content]
Drent
Drent knew, he had to make a decision quickly. He could see how Argella visibly restrained herself from doing something against Tor… morerence. There were little hints of the anger she was suppressing. Her eyes were slightly narrowed, her lips pressed together, her fists clenched and she visibly tensed up as Torrence moved his hand a bit upwards, from her bum to her lower back and waist. Drent even had a bit of pity for the man. No one deserved a Durrandon's fury.
“What do you say?”, Torrence chuckled, as he looked at Argella. “You, me, a bottle of wine” The Storm Princess let out a sigh. “You really have no idea, do you?”, she asked in return, which seemed to confuse Torrence. “I had no idea that there was a servicemaid as stunning as you, honey”, he answered with a broad smile, gently pinching her waist.
Drent saw Argella slowly loosing control over her facial expressions and for a moment, she revealed the anger inside of her, as a… [view original content]
Drent
Drent knew, he had to make a decision quickly. He could see how Argella visibly restrained herself from doing something against Tor… morerence. There were little hints of the anger she was suppressing. Her eyes were slightly narrowed, her lips pressed together, her fists clenched and she visibly tensed up as Torrence moved his hand a bit upwards, from her bum to her lower back and waist. Drent even had a bit of pity for the man. No one deserved a Durrandon's fury.
“What do you say?”, Torrence chuckled, as he looked at Argella. “You, me, a bottle of wine” The Storm Princess let out a sigh. “You really have no idea, do you?”, she asked in return, which seemed to confuse Torrence. “I had no idea that there was a servicemaid as stunning as you, honey”, he answered with a broad smile, gently pinching her waist.
Drent saw Argella slowly loosing control over her facial expressions and for a moment, she revealed the anger inside of her, as a… [view original content]
Drent
Drent knew, he had to make a decision quickly. He could see how Argella visibly restrained herself from doing something against Tor… morerence. There were little hints of the anger she was suppressing. Her eyes were slightly narrowed, her lips pressed together, her fists clenched and she visibly tensed up as Torrence moved his hand a bit upwards, from her bum to her lower back and waist. Drent even had a bit of pity for the man. No one deserved a Durrandon's fury.
“What do you say?”, Torrence chuckled, as he looked at Argella. “You, me, a bottle of wine” The Storm Princess let out a sigh. “You really have no idea, do you?”, she asked in return, which seemed to confuse Torrence. “I had no idea that there was a servicemaid as stunning as you, honey”, he answered with a broad smile, gently pinching her waist.
Drent saw Argella slowly loosing control over her facial expressions and for a moment, she revealed the anger inside of her, as a… [view original content]
Drent is going to join Edonia and her friends at the campfire
I am a bit unsure which outcome I actually favour this time. On the positive side, this will make some character development a lot easier for me. On the negative side, I would have loved to write more stuff for the Storm Princess and I guess some of you would have liked to read it. What you're missing out on for now is a bit of backstory for Argella, Argilac and probably for Drent too, as well as an, in my opinion, more satisfying end for Drent's Chapter 5 storyline. Yes, the next Drent part is going to be his final part in this chapter. However, one very positive thing is, a few other characters from Drent's storyline who have been greatly underused in this chapter will now get a bit of spotlight in his next part. Another positive thing is, I would have had a bit of trouble in giving some of these characters the development they deserve, while I have plenty of opportunities later to give a bit of Durrandon backstory. And, objectively spoken, Argella had a lot of time to shine in this chapter, and while it was a lot of fun to write her, I gladly take the opportunity to develop the other characters as well. Characters like Edonia or Garen are interesting characters too and have their important roles to play as well, after all.
The next part might be out later today. I'm really not sure on this one, as I have some other stuff to do as well. But I made good progress while writing and I hope that I will manage to finish this part somewhere in the next few hours. It is going to be the final part of Alys' storyline in this chapter. It's probably a bit unfair that I have to finish her storyline already, while others, like Richard, Ilish or especially Kersea (whom I have not forgotten about) have storylines that are just about to start. However, it feels right to have this part at this point of the chapter. Also, I really need to finish this chapter, as I can't wait to introduce some of the new characters for Chapter 6.
And now, prepare for a shout-out. A new interactive story is about to start, set in the Walking Dead universe. This new story is named Our Final Days and it is written by @AAA_Jane. As mentioned, the story has not started yet, so I can't say much about it, except that I am very much looking forward for it and I have a good feeling for it. As always with these shout-outed stories, is that even a verb, it could use a few more people who are willing to participate. That's where you come in, by creating characters and by hopefully later reading the story once it has started. This might be the first story I gave a shout-out to that has not even started yet, so this could be your chance to be part of a promising story from the very beginning. If you are interested in checking it out, follow this link
A few hours before noon, Alys was awoken with a start by the sound of someone knocking at her door. She opened her eyes, for a moment looking around, inspecting the room she was in. A guest room in Harrenhal... At least she was still alive. A smirk formed on her face as she rose from her bed. She was still alive, alive and somewhat free. All in all, it could be worse.
“Who's there?”, she asked through the closed door, walking closer towards it, barefooted. The cold ground would have been mildly uncomfortable for others, but for her, it felt just like home. “A... Adrew Frey”, a meek voice was audible from behind the door, if barely. “I am the... the squire of ki... King Harren” Yes, she remembered the thin, pale boy who became a victim of the king's rage yesterday.
“What do you want?”, she asked. For a moment, there was only silence. Alys used this opportunity to look around the room for her clothes. She found them and... Alys froze in shock as she looked at the small bundle of clothes. What shocked her was that the dirty clothes she just took off yesterday evening were now laying folded and cleaned on a chair next to her bed. She knew she had locked the door, she had checked it twice! Has someone sneaked into her room, just to clean her clothes?
“Lady Alys?”, the voice of Adrew Frey sounded, disrupting her disturbing chain of thoughts, as she started to dress. “Lord... Ser... Anturion, the pirate, he asked for your presence. He is attending a meeting in the Great Hall and re... requested that you accompany him. He does not wish to leave you here alone”
Well, she wouldn't want to stay here alone either way! Not with the kings sons near her. Harrick wasn't too bad, but the others, Harlan and Harndon, they compensated his lack of revolting maliciousness more than enough. And then there was the eldest, Harmund...
She walked towards the door, opening it and revealing the lanky figure of Adrew Frey. The boy gave her a shy smile and lowered his head. “Mylady Alys, you look radiant, if... if I may say so”, he greeted her.
“Thank you, Adrew”, she answered with a kind smile, before looking down the hall. “Where's Edward?”, she asked. “Or Prince Harrick?” The mention of the kings youngest son caused Adrew's smile to vanish. “The prince is already at the Great Hall, together with his br... brothers. Anturion and his mercenary have accompanied them. Lady Alisa is waiting for you down the hallway”, he answered shortly, avoiding her questioning stare. “Please follow me”
With these words, he started to walk down the hallway, barely giving Alys the time to close the door to her chamber. As he had promised, Alisa Karstark was waiting for her at the door that lead out of the king's tower. It was obvious that she noticed Alys' clean clothes immediately. She gave her a questioning look, and Alys answered with a slight shrug. Instead of pressing the matter further, Alisa smiled at Adrew and her smile made her look surprisingly approachable in Alys' eyes, despite the facial scars and the harsh look on her face. “Thanks a lot, Adrew”, she said. “I'm taking her from here on. Go back to your duties”
Adrew opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but closed it again and instead only smiled shyly. He took a bow in front of Alisa and Alys, before turning around and walking down the hallway. Alisa looked after him, the look in her blue eyes showed the hint of pity. “So, someone was in your chamber at night, to bring you clean clothes”, she deduced. “Was it the young prince? Harrick, I mean”
Alys looked at her reproachfully, noticing that she slightly blushed. “That is...”, she said, before Alisa started to chuckle. Alys gave her an irritated glare, before she had to join in on the chuckle. “Oh, you...”, she grinned. “I don't know who it was. Probably a servant. No one with bad intentions”
Alisa's smirk vanished. “I doubt anyone here has good intentions”, she mumbled as she opened the door that lead down the stairs. Alys followed her and had to take big steps to keep up with her. “You still think it was a good idea to run away from home, just to avoid marrying my little cousin?”
Alys let out a sigh. She knew, the topic would come up sooner or later. “Truth be told, I don't know”, she admitted. “I never met Dante before” Alisa shook her head. “I know what you want to ask now”, she answered. “Sorry to disappoint you. I can't tell you much about him. For what it's worth, he was a sweet kid the last time I saw him. He was also seven years old” A smile flashed across her face as her eyes got a distant look in them. “But even back then, he was different from the others. My brothers, my other cousins, they all wanted to become knights back in their childhood. Dante was different. He was six years old when he learned how to read”
“You miss home”, Alys concluded and Alisa gave her a short nod. “Sometimes”, she admitted and took a deep breath as they had reached the foot of the stairs, walking out onto the courtyard. In the morning light, Harrenhal had a strange beauty. The gargantuan walls, higher than every building Alys had ever seen in her life, allowed only a few rays of sunlight in the courtyard. Dimly illuminated, the castle managed to hide the evil it housed. The air was refreshingly cool and the rain from last night had managed to wash away most of the smell a castle like this naturally had.
“Why have you left Karhold?”, Alys asked and Alisa's facial expression darkened. “Take a lucky guess”, she growled. “Why do you think I like you so much, little lady?” Alys gave her a questioning look, before she understood suddenly. “You mean... Who was it for you?”
“Teddyn Forrester”, Alisa answered. “Lord Forresters eldest son. A good match for a thirdborn daughter, as my father called it” Alys gulped. Nobody back at home liked to talk about Alisa the Kinslayer and she had never really cared. After all, who would have guessed that she would ever meet this woman? She knew, the topic was difficult to approach, but she still had to do it. Now that she met her, the curiosity was slowly eating her up. “And... your brother?”, she asked. Alisa shot her a cold glare. “A mistake”, she answered. “That's all I'm going to say about Rohar”
Her body language made it clear that their small talk was over. Alys pressed her lips together, regretting that she had brought the topic up. In silence, the duo walked over Harrenhal's courtyard, towards the Great Hall, a building that deserved its name without a doubt. The doors were widely opened and large enough to allow a hundred men at once to enter, yet thick enough to deny it to a thousand, if necessary.
The hall itself was filled with people. Guards, civilians, both Ironborn and Riverlanders. Judging from the banners, several Riverlords were present in this room, as well as several lords of the Iron Islands. Most prominently was the sigil of House Hoare. Last night, Alys had barely paid attention to the marvellous architecture of this building. And even now, she was slightly distracted by the masses of people the hall was able to host.
Despite the crowd, it was easy to spot Edward. He and Carvin stood in a separate booth, intended for the kings personal guests, located a few metres left to the thrones. To the right, a second booth contained the kings sons and their entourage. Harlan, Harndon and Harrick stood there, their clothes as dark as their eyes and in at least two cases, as dark as their hearts. Alys wasn't surprised to see Harlan's hounds standing close to him, including the one with the long beard, who had shown her mercy the other day. And finally, on his throne, sat Harren Hoare. The King of the Isles and the Rivers was wearing his black armour and the long, spiked crown on his head. He was sitting on his throne slightly slouched, looking bored. Yet, there was an inherent cruelty in his eyes as he watched Alisa and Alys walking down the hall, past a thousand men.
It was Edward who spotted them first. A friendly smile formed on his lips, as he approached them. “Lady Alys, Alisa. It's good to see you. And just in time” His smile got wider as he looked at Alys. “Have you slept well, mylady?”, he asked. Alys gave him a slight nod. “As good as one can sleep, surrounded by psychopaths”, she answered.
“You can get used to it”, Edward answered with a chuckle. “I haven't slept a single day in the past fifteen years in which I was not surrounded by psychopaths” Alys gave him a sarcastic smirk, her good mood returning with every passing second. Before she was able to answer, a loud thumping noise silenced her. It was King Harren, who had smashed his gloved fist down to the throne's armrest. Even if the hall was full with people, he only needed one attempt at silencing all of them.
“Bring them in”, the king growled with a harsh and hoarsy voice. “The accusers and the accused” Alys narrowed her eyes at these words, looking at Edward. “Why are we here today?”, she asked. Edward gulped as he looked at the main gates. “Because of what happened yesterday. You got lucky, mylady. While you have been... hunted, Harlan's older brother and his men assaulted a nearby farm that was hiding a group of girls. Surprisingly for Harmund, he left plenty of survivors. The farmer, Woody Lincoln, and one of his assistants are here today”
Alys did not answer to this. She was only able to stare at Edward in sheer terror as she realized how narrowly she averted the same fate. She remembered Tomard, the friendly farmhand who had offered her a place to stay the night at Lincoln's farm. If she had accepted... she had to close her eyes, her good mood vanished immediately. On top of that, her gaze fell on Harlan, who looked back at her, with pure, unadulterated hatred.
The large doors to the sides of the great hall, leading deeper into the castle, were opened. Accompanied by half a dozen guards, four men walked towards the throne. The two on the left were clearly farmers. One of them was a scrawny old man, with short, white hair, a wrinkled face and a long beard that reached his chest. He was moving slowly and had to lean on the second farmer, a much younger and more muscular man.
To their right, two men walked and it was out of question who at least one of them was. Harmund Hoare was looking a lot like a younger version of his father, although his hair was fuller and he had a short beard. Next to him walked a slightly younger man, with long brown hair, which he had tied to a short ponytail. He was clean shaven and had unusually tanned skin for an Ironborn. Both men had smug smirks on their face as they watched the clearly distraught farmers.
As soon as they had stopped in front of the throne, Harren raised from it, walking closer. “Harmund Hoare and Rell Vessels”, he growled. “Why am I not surprised by this?” He looked to the farmers. “And you... who of you is this 'Woody'?” Unlike his son, Harren wasn't smiling. His anger wasn't immediately noticeable, but Alys saw that he had his armoured fists clenched and she heard how dangerously calm his voice was.
“It is him, your grace”, the younger man said, looking at the old man, who was now standing next to him by his own power. Harren narrowed his eyes in slight confusion, as he shook his head. “Can't he speak for himself, or what?” The younger farmer gave the king a nod. “Indeed, your grace. My employer has fought for your father. During the war, a head injury cost him his voice. But he has a sharp mind and...”, he started to explain, before Harren let out an annoyed sigh. “I'm not interested in his life story. You talk for him”, he snarled, shooting a glare at his son. “Why don't you tell us what happened? Speak loudly, I'm sure the Fishlords want to hear every word, with their greedy little ears”
The farmhand gulped and Alys was close enough to notice the tears in his eyes. Woody looked even more distraught, clearly trembling with sadness and anger. “They came without warning”, the man started to explain. “A dozen men. They had dogs and weapons” He pointed at Harmund and his companion. “These two lead them. They were the worst. We... seven girls had spent the night with us, to seek shelter from the storm. None of them survived, although some of them had to suffer for hours”
He paused again, until Harren let out an annoyed sigh. “Yeah? Anything else? Hurry up a little bit”, the king growled. The farmer continued with a weak, shaky voice. “Prince Harmund claimed three girls for himself and gave one to his companion. The other three were raped by his guards in the open, handed round like... like objects, while the prince and his companion took the barn for their needs”, he continued, again pausing for a short moment. “A girl tried to run. They shot her in the legs and ordered the dogs to maul her. And... your grace I have seen what your son has done in that barn and it was worse than everything I have ever seen. He...”
Thankfully, Harren silenced him again, this time by letting out a dark chuckle. Alys realized painfully that this man lacked any kind of empathy. Still, his anger was there and it was real. It was a cold-blooded anger, born out of calculation. “I think I have heard enough”, he answered and looked at the accused. “You have anything to say in your defence?”
Harmund's smug grin only got wider, but his companion, the one the king had called Rell Vessels, took a step forwards, which caused the prince to glare at him. “Before you judge us, your grace, you have to know that I have done nothing. I have not killed the girl your son gave to me and I treated her gently”, he explained.
Harren's cold, joyless chuckle got a bit louder. “I'm sure she was fucking grateful”, he answered. “At least until you gave her back to Harmund. What has he done to her? Slit her throat like a pig, gutted her like the little fish she was?” He looked at Harmund. “Was she still alive when you did your worst?”
The prince smirked at his father, who in turn only glared at him without even a hint of amusement. “You know me, father, don't you?”, the prince answered and Harren gave him a nod. “Son...”, he said and Alys saw him clenching his fist. “This time, you really fucked up” And before Harmund could react, Harren threw a hard punch with his armoured glove, right into the prince's face, sending him to the ground. “What you do in your private time, I couldn't care less. But you...”, the king hissed and Alys understood. Harren wasn't upset because of Harmund's crime, he was upset because of how public he had made it. His anger was little more than a political manoeuvre.
Before the king was able to continue, Harmund jumped up, now equally enraged, blood flowing out of his nose, a knife in his hand. Instead of defending himself, Harren just stood there calmly, as the prince jumped up, holding the knife directly at Harren's throat. The sound of at least a hundred swords being drawn was heard, as the kings guard slowly approached.
“Careful who you hit, father”, Harmund spat. “I'm not Harlan or Harndon, who are too stupid to hit back. I am not afraid of you” Harren only shook his head, as good as possible with a knife to his throat. “Boy, you should”, he growled. “Want to slit my throat, huh? Well, then DO IT!”. His voice got louder. “DO IT AND YOU'LL BE THE KING, UNTIL THEY PUT A FUCKING SPEAR THROUGH YOUR NECK!”
For a moment, Harmund and Harren just looked at each other, united by their hatred at each other. Then, Harmund lowered his knife, taking a step backwards and Harren started to laugh. “As expected, you little bastard. Even Harlan is more a man than you”, he mocked him, causing the prince to narrow his eyes again. “Go to your chambers, boy. I'll deal with you later”
Harmund gave him a weak nod, before he turned around and stormed out of the hall, each of his steps oozing of hatred, oozing of fear. The king turned his attention at Rell Vessels, who was pale now. Harren put a hand on the young man's shoulder and shook his head. “And you... I would kill you on the spot, Rell, but yesterday, I had a very interesting talk with a revered guest. I'll explain it later, but for now you'll stay alive”, he growled and Alys noticed Edward grinning widely.
“What's so funny?”, she asked with disgust. Edward shook his head. “I'm not amused, mylady. But if the king just implied what I think he implied, then he just considered to make me a very rich man” He looked at his companions. “All of us”
Before he could explain this topic further, Alys' attention was drawn back to the king, who was now walking back to his throne. “The kings justice was dealt”, Harren proclaimed, but was cut off by the young farmhand. “Your grace, with all due respect, but what is with us?”, he asked, not noticing the glare the king gave him. “Harmund's men slaughtered two pigs and a cow. They smashed a door, destroyed a table and several weeks worth of grain. Who is going to compensate for our loss?”
“Compensate...”, Harren growled as he walked closer to the farmhand. The man gave him a defiant nod. “Indeed, your grace. Woody is an old man. It took him a lot to come here today. I think it is only fair to...”
He did not manage to continue. With a quick movement, the king grabbed him by the throat and started to throw punches at him. Other men would have screamed in rage while beating a man to death. Harren stayed silent, his dark eyes on the other hand yelled his anger out for everyone who was close enough to see them.
“Stop it!”, Alys screamed weakly and in panic, as Harren started to kick the dying man, with none of the other men even trying to intervene. The king only stopped as the man was little more than a bloody pulp on the floor of his hall. A murderous glare was shot at Woody Lincoln, who had sunken to the ground, crying in helplessness. “Two pigs, a cow, a door, a table and several weeks worth of grain...”, the king mumbled, visibly calmer. “And one farmhand, is that right, Woody?”
As the old farmer did not answer immediately, Harren grabbed him by the shoulders, forcibly pulling him back to his feet. “I said, IS THAT RIGHT, WOODY?”, he yelled at his face and this time, the man gave him a silent nod. The king let go of him and this time, the old man managed to stay on his feet. “I'm a bit surprised that Harmund hasn't burned down anything. I have to compliment the boy on his manners”, Harren chuckled. “If you get a good deal, you can replace your losses with thirty silver coins, but since I'm in a generous fucking mood, I give you fifty”
With these words, he walked back to his throne, a smile on his face as he looked at the bloody mass on his floor that had been a human being just second ago. “Throw the remains of this fishfucker to the dogs. And someone, bring Woody here fifty silver coins and help him home”, he ordered loudly.
Out of the corner of her eye, Alys saw that Harlan's entourage, the bearded man and the other two, were preparing to leave the hall, disgust on their faces. She gulped as she looked back at Harren, who was sitting down on his throne again. “Next case! I'm in a mood for some justice!”, he yelled and Alys let out a disgusted sigh. Could she really take more of this?
To her surprise, she saw that Carvin prepared to leave too. She shot him a questioning look and he pointed at Harlan's men, who were just leaving the hall. “You see the lanky one? Hjalgar Dipshitson”, he explained. “Got a score to settle with him. A little archery contest” A hint of concern was visible on his face as he put a hand on her shoulder. “You look pale, little lady. A bit too much for you?”, he asked, as she still avoided to look at the bloodied corpse of Woody's farmhand. “Care to leave with me? You don't have to stay if you don't want to”
Alys
A few hours before noon, Alys was awoken with a start by the sound of someone knocking at her door. She opened her eyes, for a momen… moret looking around, inspecting the room she was in. A guest room in Harrenhal... At least she was still alive. A smirk formed on her face as she rose from her bed. She was still alive, alive and somewhat free. All in all, it could be worse.
“Who's there?”, she asked through the closed door, walking closer towards it, barefooted. The cold ground would have been mildly uncomfortable for others, but for her, it felt just like home. “A... Adrew Frey”, a meek voice was audible from behind the door, if barely. “I am the... the squire of ki... King Harren” Yes, she remembered the thin, pale boy who became a victim of the king's rage yesterday.
“What do you want?”, she asked. For a moment, there was only silence. Alys used this opportunity to look around the room for her clothes. She found them and... Alys fr… [view original content]
Alys
A few hours before noon, Alys was awoken with a start by the sound of someone knocking at her door. She opened her eyes, for a momen… moret looking around, inspecting the room she was in. A guest room in Harrenhal... At least she was still alive. A smirk formed on her face as she rose from her bed. She was still alive, alive and somewhat free. All in all, it could be worse.
“Who's there?”, she asked through the closed door, walking closer towards it, barefooted. The cold ground would have been mildly uncomfortable for others, but for her, it felt just like home. “A... Adrew Frey”, a meek voice was audible from behind the door, if barely. “I am the... the squire of ki... King Harren” Yes, she remembered the thin, pale boy who became a victim of the king's rage yesterday.
“What do you want?”, she asked. For a moment, there was only silence. Alys used this opportunity to look around the room for her clothes. She found them and... Alys fr… [view original content]
Alys
A few hours before noon, Alys was awoken with a start by the sound of someone knocking at her door. She opened her eyes, for a momen… moret looking around, inspecting the room she was in. A guest room in Harrenhal... At least she was still alive. A smirk formed on her face as she rose from her bed. She was still alive, alive and somewhat free. All in all, it could be worse.
“Who's there?”, she asked through the closed door, walking closer towards it, barefooted. The cold ground would have been mildly uncomfortable for others, but for her, it felt just like home. “A... Adrew Frey”, a meek voice was audible from behind the door, if barely. “I am the... the squire of ki... King Harren” Yes, she remembered the thin, pale boy who became a victim of the king's rage yesterday.
“What do you want?”, she asked. For a moment, there was only silence. Alys used this opportunity to look around the room for her clothes. She found them and... Alys fr… [view original content]
Alys
A few hours before noon, Alys was awoken with a start by the sound of someone knocking at her door. She opened her eyes, for a momen… moret looking around, inspecting the room she was in. A guest room in Harrenhal... At least she was still alive. A smirk formed on her face as she rose from her bed. She was still alive, alive and somewhat free. All in all, it could be worse.
“Who's there?”, she asked through the closed door, walking closer towards it, barefooted. The cold ground would have been mildly uncomfortable for others, but for her, it felt just like home. “A... Adrew Frey”, a meek voice was audible from behind the door, if barely. “I am the... the squire of ki... King Harren” Yes, she remembered the thin, pale boy who became a victim of the king's rage yesterday.
“What do you want?”, she asked. For a moment, there was only silence. Alys used this opportunity to look around the room for her clothes. She found them and... Alys fr… [view original content]
Alys
A few hours before noon, Alys was awoken with a start by the sound of someone knocking at her door. She opened her eyes, for a momen… moret looking around, inspecting the room she was in. A guest room in Harrenhal... At least she was still alive. A smirk formed on her face as she rose from her bed. She was still alive, alive and somewhat free. All in all, it could be worse.
“Who's there?”, she asked through the closed door, walking closer towards it, barefooted. The cold ground would have been mildly uncomfortable for others, but for her, it felt just like home. “A... Adrew Frey”, a meek voice was audible from behind the door, if barely. “I am the... the squire of ki... King Harren” Yes, she remembered the thin, pale boy who became a victim of the king's rage yesterday.
“What do you want?”, she asked. For a moment, there was only silence. Alys used this opportunity to look around the room for her clothes. She found them and... Alys fr… [view original content]
Alys
A few hours before noon, Alys was awoken with a start by the sound of someone knocking at her door. She opened her eyes, for a momen… moret looking around, inspecting the room she was in. A guest room in Harrenhal... At least she was still alive. A smirk formed on her face as she rose from her bed. She was still alive, alive and somewhat free. All in all, it could be worse.
“Who's there?”, she asked through the closed door, walking closer towards it, barefooted. The cold ground would have been mildly uncomfortable for others, but for her, it felt just like home. “A... Adrew Frey”, a meek voice was audible from behind the door, if barely. “I am the... the squire of ki... King Harren” Yes, she remembered the thin, pale boy who became a victim of the king's rage yesterday.
“What do you want?”, she asked. For a moment, there was only silence. Alys used this opportunity to look around the room for her clothes. She found them and... Alys fr… [view original content]
Alys
A few hours before noon, Alys was awoken with a start by the sound of someone knocking at her door. She opened her eyes, for a momen… moret looking around, inspecting the room she was in. A guest room in Harrenhal... At least she was still alive. A smirk formed on her face as she rose from her bed. She was still alive, alive and somewhat free. All in all, it could be worse.
“Who's there?”, she asked through the closed door, walking closer towards it, barefooted. The cold ground would have been mildly uncomfortable for others, but for her, it felt just like home. “A... Adrew Frey”, a meek voice was audible from behind the door, if barely. “I am the... the squire of ki... King Harren” Yes, she remembered the thin, pale boy who became a victim of the king's rage yesterday.
“What do you want?”, she asked. For a moment, there was only silence. Alys used this opportunity to look around the room for her clothes. She found them and... Alys fr… [view original content]
Alys
A few hours before noon, Alys was awoken with a start by the sound of someone knocking at her door. She opened her eyes, for a momen… moret looking around, inspecting the room she was in. A guest room in Harrenhal... At least she was still alive. A smirk formed on her face as she rose from her bed. She was still alive, alive and somewhat free. All in all, it could be worse.
“Who's there?”, she asked through the closed door, walking closer towards it, barefooted. The cold ground would have been mildly uncomfortable for others, but for her, it felt just like home. “A... Adrew Frey”, a meek voice was audible from behind the door, if barely. “I am the... the squire of ki... King Harren” Yes, she remembered the thin, pale boy who became a victim of the king's rage yesterday.
“What do you want?”, she asked. For a moment, there was only silence. Alys used this opportunity to look around the room for her clothes. She found them and... Alys fr… [view original content]
Alys
A few hours before noon, Alys was awoken with a start by the sound of someone knocking at her door. She opened her eyes, for a momen… moret looking around, inspecting the room she was in. A guest room in Harrenhal... At least she was still alive. A smirk formed on her face as she rose from her bed. She was still alive, alive and somewhat free. All in all, it could be worse.
“Who's there?”, she asked through the closed door, walking closer towards it, barefooted. The cold ground would have been mildly uncomfortable for others, but for her, it felt just like home. “A... Adrew Frey”, a meek voice was audible from behind the door, if barely. “I am the... the squire of ki... King Harren” Yes, she remembered the thin, pale boy who became a victim of the king's rage yesterday.
“What do you want?”, she asked. For a moment, there was only silence. Alys used this opportunity to look around the room for her clothes. She found them and... Alys fr… [view original content]
Alys
A few hours before noon, Alys was awoken with a start by the sound of someone knocking at her door. She opened her eyes, for a momen… moret looking around, inspecting the room she was in. A guest room in Harrenhal... At least she was still alive. A smirk formed on her face as she rose from her bed. She was still alive, alive and somewhat free. All in all, it could be worse.
“Who's there?”, she asked through the closed door, walking closer towards it, barefooted. The cold ground would have been mildly uncomfortable for others, but for her, it felt just like home. “A... Adrew Frey”, a meek voice was audible from behind the door, if barely. “I am the... the squire of ki... King Harren” Yes, she remembered the thin, pale boy who became a victim of the king's rage yesterday.
“What do you want?”, she asked. For a moment, there was only silence. Alys used this opportunity to look around the room for her clothes. She found them and... Alys fr… [view original content]
Alys
A few hours before noon, Alys was awoken with a start by the sound of someone knocking at her door. She opened her eyes, for a momen… moret looking around, inspecting the room she was in. A guest room in Harrenhal... At least she was still alive. A smirk formed on her face as she rose from her bed. She was still alive, alive and somewhat free. All in all, it could be worse.
“Who's there?”, she asked through the closed door, walking closer towards it, barefooted. The cold ground would have been mildly uncomfortable for others, but for her, it felt just like home. “A... Adrew Frey”, a meek voice was audible from behind the door, if barely. “I am the... the squire of ki... King Harren” Yes, she remembered the thin, pale boy who became a victim of the king's rage yesterday.
“What do you want?”, she asked. For a moment, there was only silence. Alys used this opportunity to look around the room for her clothes. She found them and... Alys fr… [view original content]
Alys
A few hours before noon, Alys was awoken with a start by the sound of someone knocking at her door. She opened her eyes, for a momen… moret looking around, inspecting the room she was in. A guest room in Harrenhal... At least she was still alive. A smirk formed on her face as she rose from her bed. She was still alive, alive and somewhat free. All in all, it could be worse.
“Who's there?”, she asked through the closed door, walking closer towards it, barefooted. The cold ground would have been mildly uncomfortable for others, but for her, it felt just like home. “A... Adrew Frey”, a meek voice was audible from behind the door, if barely. “I am the... the squire of ki... King Harren” Yes, she remembered the thin, pale boy who became a victim of the king's rage yesterday.
“What do you want?”, she asked. For a moment, there was only silence. Alys used this opportunity to look around the room for her clothes. She found them and... Alys fr… [view original content]
Alys
A few hours before noon, Alys was awoken with a start by the sound of someone knocking at her door. She opened her eyes, for a momen… moret looking around, inspecting the room she was in. A guest room in Harrenhal... At least she was still alive. A smirk formed on her face as she rose from her bed. She was still alive, alive and somewhat free. All in all, it could be worse.
“Who's there?”, she asked through the closed door, walking closer towards it, barefooted. The cold ground would have been mildly uncomfortable for others, but for her, it felt just like home. “A... Adrew Frey”, a meek voice was audible from behind the door, if barely. “I am the... the squire of ki... King Harren” Yes, she remembered the thin, pale boy who became a victim of the king's rage yesterday.
“What do you want?”, she asked. For a moment, there was only silence. Alys used this opportunity to look around the room for her clothes. She found them and... Alys fr… [view original content]
Alys
A few hours before noon, Alys was awoken with a start by the sound of someone knocking at her door. She opened her eyes, for a momen… moret looking around, inspecting the room she was in. A guest room in Harrenhal... At least she was still alive. A smirk formed on her face as she rose from her bed. She was still alive, alive and somewhat free. All in all, it could be worse.
“Who's there?”, she asked through the closed door, walking closer towards it, barefooted. The cold ground would have been mildly uncomfortable for others, but for her, it felt just like home. “A... Adrew Frey”, a meek voice was audible from behind the door, if barely. “I am the... the squire of ki... King Harren” Yes, she remembered the thin, pale boy who became a victim of the king's rage yesterday.
“What do you want?”, she asked. For a moment, there was only silence. Alys used this opportunity to look around the room for her clothes. She found them and... Alys fr… [view original content]
Comments
The Voting is closed!
Samantha is going to wait until someone is going to leave the room
That said, if someone leaves the room at all in the foreseeable future. I can say, this was the best choice when it comes to deal with the person of Archmaester Wulvren, who is not exactly the most talkative and sociable person at the Citadel, to say the least. However, depending on your future choices, it might not have been the best option to take.
The next part is hopefully going to be finished later today. It's going to be a Drent part and it involves arguing, punching, more arguing and a certain Storm Princess who is, quite literally, royally pissed.
Drent
Drent knew, he had to make a decision quickly. He could see how Argella visibly restrained herself from doing something against Torrence. There were little hints of the anger she was suppressing. Her eyes were slightly narrowed, her lips pressed together, her fists clenched and she visibly tensed up as Torrence moved his hand a bit upwards, from her bum to her lower back and waist. Drent even had a bit of pity for the man. No one deserved a Durrandon's fury.
“What do you say?”, Torrence chuckled, as he looked at Argella. “You, me, a bottle of wine” The Storm Princess let out a sigh. “You really have no idea, do you?”, she asked in return, which seemed to confuse Torrence. “I had no idea that there was a servicemaid as stunning as you, honey”, he answered with a broad smile, gently pinching her waist.
Drent saw Argella slowly loosing control over her facial expressions and for a moment, she revealed the anger inside of her, as a sharp glare pierced through Torrence, while a low growl forced its way out of her throat. And he knew, now he had to act.
“Excuse me”, he said as he moved closer. Torrence narrowed his eyes and for the first time during their conversation he moved them away from Argella. “What is it, Golton? Can't you see that I'm talking to a lady?”, he asked. “No one's talking to you, so cry me a river!”
Drent let out a sigh. “Can't say I haven't tried it”, he answered, before clenching his fist. “You're going to thank me later” And with these words, he threw a quick, but hard punch right into his face.
“That one's for being a bag of dicks”, he added, as Torrence stumbled backwards. For a moment, Drent hoped that he would go to the ground, which would make things a lot easier. But in his current state, Torrence barely seemed to be affected by the punch. He let go of Argella, who immediately took a step to the side, looking at him with disgust. Her eyes moved towards Drent and showed a surprising approval. Under other circumstances, he could have lost himself in her eyes, but right now he had to deal with Torrence.
“The hell, Golton?”, the man mumbled in a slightly sluggish state as blood slowly started to flow out of his nose. “You... you punched me!” Drent gulped as he took a step forwards, raising his hands to calm the other man down. “Torrence, I... I'm sorry. This is for your own best. Just leave, before things get ugly”
“Ugly...”, Torrence mumbled again and Drent saw how he slowly regained his senses. A sharp, angry look got into his dark brown eyes, certainly fuelled even further by the alcohol. “You bastard!”, he screamed and tackled at Drent, while surprisingly quickly trying to punch him in the face. Drent was prepared, although he underestimated Torrence's strength. His attempt at defending himself quickly broke down under the force of the first punch and pain flashed through his lower arms as he blocked the attack. Torrence managed to throw him to the ground, jumping on top.
In his rage, Torrence was easily stronger than Drent. He wasn't a very skilled fighter, but Drent knew, Torrence had the strength to become one. Right now, this strength made him a terrible opponent to fight against. Drent wasn't able to fully block the second punch and was hit at the chin, with almost deafening power.
Just as Torrence was raising his hand again, Argella's slim figure grabbed his arm and, to Drent's surprise, managed to pull him up. The Storm Princess looked mildly pleased at Drent's actions and seemed to have calmed down a bit. “That is enough, Torrence, now...”, she started to say, but Torrence, in blind rage and in the heat of the moment, lashed out and gave her a slap in the face.
The princess was apparently tougher than Drent thought, as she managed to stay on her feet, despite the slap being hard enough to make her twirl around. In contrast to her porcelain skin, a thin red line of blood was visible on her lip. He was able to see her eyes and in them, he saw a dark blue ocean on a terribly stormy day and the fury of ten thousand years of Storm Kings.
Probably out of shock, perhaps even out of a bit of shame, Torrence took a step backwards, as he realized that he had hit her. “Seven Hells... I'm sorry, Gelly. I only wanted to talk, damn it. A simple 'No' would have sufficed! I'm sorry, but that one is your fault. Come on, let me see, perhaps...”, he stuttered, as Argella was still focussing her glare on Drent. Then, before he was able to continue, she spun around and gave him an even harder slap in the face, hitting his right cheek. Not without satisfaction, Drent noticed that it sounded just like the crack of a whip.
“What the...”, Torrence stuttered, but she cut him off by giving him an even harder second slap, perhaps even a punch, right at his chin. “I didn't...”, he tried to continue, when a third, fast slap hit his other cheek, finally causing him to stumble backwards. Perhaps out of simple decency, perhaps out of fear or perhaps out of a mixture of both, Torrence didn't even try to defend himself. “Please, no...”, he stuttered and a fourth slap silenced him, as he sank to the ground in a sitting position, clearly shocked at what just happened.
“Not... another... word... in my presence”, Argella managed to press out with clenched teeth, her voice shivering with anger. Torrence gave her a wordless nod, as he put one of his hands onto his left cheek. The look in his eyes gave away that he finally realized what a mistake he had made.
Heavily breathing, Argella continued to talk, sounding calmer with every word. “My father would have beaten you to death by now”, she hissed and looked down at her hands. The sheer force of her slap him must have hurt her as well and Drent saw that the usually pale palms of her hands were as red as Torrence's cheeks. “What people often forget when they look at me is that I am not a delicate little flower. Sure, I'm not as strong as my father, but I'm still his daughter. I think we both agree, this one hurt you a lot more than it hurt me”
Torrence gave her a nod, while she turned around and looked at Drent, her glare tarnished by something that looked like genuine concern. “What is it? Get back on your feet. You don't need me to help you, do you?”, she ordered in an authoritative tone and Drent sluggishly started to stand up. Torrence's punch had been heavier than he would like to admit.
“Your... father?”, Torrence finally said, which caused Argella's attention to snap back at him. “Who is your father?” Seven Hells, he still had no idea! Drent knew, Torrence was an avid supporter of Argilac Durrandon. The realization of what he just did could be even worse than the punishment Argella would give him without a doubt.
The Storm Princess let out a sigh, as she clenched her fists again. “Torrence...”, she chirped, in the same fake friendliness she had shown towards Ambassador Celtigar. “What have I told you, about opening your stinking mouth in my presence again?” Followed by these words, she gave him a painful kick, right between the legs, causing Torrence to fall back and to howl and sob in pain.
“What?”, Argella asked, her voice full of spite. “Are you crying now? Good! Take it as a lesson, how to treat a lady” Drent used this opportunity to walk next to her and to put a hand onto her shoulder. Halfway before his hand actually reached her, she threw him a glare. “What is it?”, she growled.
“My pr... My...”, Drent started, still unsure how to address her in this situation. “Torrence learned his lesson. Leave him be, please. He is not a bad man, just drunken and a bit rude. Give him another chance” Argella shook her head. “That remains to be seen”, she answered, before turning back towards Torrence.
The man had raised from he ground, even though he held one of his hands onto his crotch. “Fuck you, bitch”, he growled and Drent closed his eyes. This man really tried to dig his own grave. “I only tried to talk to you, to have a good time and your bloodhound punches me out of the blue. Then, you... humiliate me, as if you're someone special” He shook his head. “I'm telling you something, Gelly. You're nothing. A common smallfolk wench, and yet you're acting like the Storm King's horribly spoilt brat of a daughter!”
“Do I?”, Argella asked calmly, but Drent noticed that the last sentence finally got to her. Her voice was shaking slightly and Drent was only noticing it because he expected it. “Horribly spoilt...”, she mumbled, before shaking her head. “Some men just don't know when they should shut up”
Before Torrence could add something that would undoubtedly seal his fate, a new, feminine voice sounded. “Torrence?”, a young woman called as she approached them. She was pretty, even compared to Argella, her long hair had the colour of auburn and was tied to a loose bun. She was carrying a quiver with her and had a bow in her left hand as she quickly approached them.
Torrence gave her an annoyed glare. “Edonia...”, he growled, as the young woman reached them. She looked from the visibly wounded Torrence, to Drent and finally to Argella. Her brown eyes widened as she, unlike the man next to her, understood who was standing in front of her. “By the gods, no...”, she mumbled. “Torrence, you goddamn fool, what have you done?”
The man looked at her in an irritated manner, before shrugging. “I have done nothing, Edonia. A bit of aggressive flirting, nothing too bad, when suddenly, they start to beat me up. For fucking nothing!”, he explained, before letting out a sigh. “But, go on, enlighten me, just as you always do”
The woman, Edonia, shook her head and Drent saw the hint of tears in her eyes. “Oh, brother, this time you really fucked up”, she mumbled, as she went down on her knees in front of Argella. “Please, my princess. My brother is a foolish child. Please have mercy”
And finally, Drent saw the realization on Torrence's face. “Princess?”, he asked, as his eyes widened. “Oh gods... Princess Argella? Oh no, no!” And then, he went onto the ground, right next to his sister. Argella looked at both of them and the cold in her eyes was enough to make Drent shiver. “My princess, please, Torrence learned his lesson”, he urged her.
“Yes!”, Torrence was quick to add. “Yes, I did. I never meant to hurt you, my princess. How was I supposed to know...” She cut him off by raising a finger, demanding silence, before moving a hand towards her lips. The hint of blood remained on her fingers, as she moved them back again. “Drent”, she ordered calmly. “Remind me again, what is the punishment for striking a member of the royal family outside of a duel?”
Drent closed his eyes, as Torrence's desperate pleas got louder. “Loosing a hand, my princess”, he answered and Argella gave him a nod. “Indeed. My father follows these laws, and his father before him”, she said with a sharp voice, her glare set on Torrence. “Stand up”, she ordered him and both, Torrence and Edonia obeyed. “Follow me”
It only took the small group a moment to walk through the camp and to reach an empty tent. It was a kitchen tent, not used at night, but still filled with tables and chairs for a small army. “To the table”, Argella ordered and Torrence quickly obeyed.
Torrence gave her a nod, silenced out of sheer fear, not even able to resist her order. His knees were weak and Drent saw a dark spot in his trousers. Edonia was silent too, although she was clearly upset. “This is your fault, little brother”, she mumbled. This time, Torrence shot her an angry glare. “My fault?”, he growled. “I have been looking for you the whole fucking night! Where have you been, when I needed you?” Finally, his anger died down, replaced by desperate sobs. “Please...”, he mumbled. “Please, I don't want to...”
“Give me your sword”, Argella ordered calmly, as she looked at Drent. He had been silent so far, even though he felt pity for Torrence. Argella was following the law and was in the right, but at the same time, Torrence wasn't a bad man and he did not deserve to loose a hand over this mess. And the worst part was, Drent felt responsible. He should have tried to calm things down. Perhaps Torrence would have been open for reason.
“Drent?”, Argella asked again and he snapped out of his thougths, putting a hand at the hilt of his sword. “Please, my princess. Think about it again. What would...”, he urged her, but stopped. What would her father think? He would probably be proud. What would the people think? Yeah... perhaps that sounded a bit better. “What would your subjects think, my princess?”, he asked.
Argella closed her eyes and a sad expression flashed over her face. When she opened her eyes, she seemed to be a bit more distant than before. Drent had always doubted House Durrandon's claim to descend from the gods of wind and sea, but right now, he wasn't so sure anymore. In this moment, Argella Durrandon was a true daughter of the storm, unyielding and full of fury. “Sword”, she softly said, but her tone made it clear that Drent shouldn't object again.
Reluctantly, he unsheathed his sword, handing it to her, hilt first. And then, he saw something that shocked him. The Storm Princess was amused, the hint of a smirk had formed on her face. “Kneel down and put your hand on the table, Torrence”, she ordered and even though he knew what would follow, Torrence obeyed. Fear dictated his actions, of Argilac, not of Argella. Drent exchanged a glance with Edonia, who was shaking her head, an upset look on her face as she watched the Storm Princess preparing to cripple her brother.
“Please, my princess...”, Torrence tried to object once more, to no avail. “Close your eyes”, Argella ordered. Slowly, she raised her sword. “It's no excuse that you mistook me for a commoner. No man should treat a woman like you did, regardless of her standing. Who knows what you would have done if Drent wouldn't have been with me...”, she hissed.
“Nothing, my princess, I swear. I only wanted to talk and perhaps I was a bit too...”, Torrence started to say, his eyes still closed, as Argella moved her sword downwards. The moment it hit the table, a loud, cracking noise was heard and Torrence let out a surprised scream.
He slowly opened his eyes, as Edonia let out a sigh. Drent just stood there, looking at the Storm Princess in confusion. The sword was rammed deeply into the table, but it had missed Torrence's hand by several inches. The man looked up to the princess, his mouth open as he raised his right hand, still completely attached to his body. “You pissed yourself”, the Storm Princess remarked dryly.
“I... you... why...?”, he stuttered and Argella shook her head. The loose bun she was wearing her hair in finally gave up and strands of long, black hair fell down onto her shoulders. “No”, she silenced him. “I don't want to hear it. I only want to hear your prayers. You'll stay the night here, praying to each of the Seven, begging them for forgiveness and thinking about what you did wrong. I will sit in front of the tent and listen, so you better pray at the top of your lungs. If you stop before we leave this camp, you will still loose your hand, have I made myself clear?”
Instead of answering, Torrence immediately lowered his head, defeated, but perhaps a bit thankful. “May the Father look down upon me...”, he started to recite one of the better known prayers to the Seven. Satisfied, Argella turned around. “Drent, Edonia, with me”, she ordered. Edonia gave her brother a last look and Drent saw that Torrence responded with an angry glare, not interrupting his prayer.
As soon as they were outside, Argella handed Drent his sword without saying anything. Finally, a smile formed on her mouth, as she noticed the distraught faces of Drent and Edonia. “What?”, she asked. “I wonder how long it'll take him to notice that I'm gone”
Drent raised his eyebrows, but it was Edonia who said something first. “You do not intend to listen to him, Princess Argella?”, she asked. Argella shook her head and a joyful chuckle found its way out of her throat. “Have you seen his face? Priceless!”, she exclaimed. “No, Edonia, I do not intend to listen to him. I also don't intend to punish him any further”
“He hit you”, Drent answered, looking at the red spot just below her lip. “Indeed”, Argella agreed. A smirk flashed across her face, although it was without any joy. “And if I remember correctly, I hit back. Four times, actually. And I kicked him where it hurts the most. I am a Durrandon of Storm's End and I know my own strength. I guarantee, I hurt him a lot more”
Before she could say another thing, Edonia put her arms around her, in a way that was certainly not befitting for a member of the royal family, pulling her into a close hug. “Thank you”, she mumbled. “Torrence can be an ungrateful prick, but he's still my little brother. Whenever he comes off as rude, he just tries to look tough. He is not a bad man. And I... I thought you would...” She cut herself off and separated from the Storm Princess, tears of joy in her eyes.
Argella gave her a stern nod. “I know what you thought. Torrence thought the same”, she said and put a hand to her wounded lip. “Your brother hits like a little girl. That alone should be punishment enough”
“I am sorry, my princess”, Edonia answered. “It looks like I misjudged you” Argella gave her a forgiving nod. “It's alright. You're not the only one who has a wrong opinion on me. They follow my father out of love. I don't want them to follow me out of fear”, she answered and flashed Drent a smirk. “At least Drent realized that I never intended to mutilate Torrence, right?” She finally caught his facial expression and her smirk vanished immediately. “Right?”, she asked again.
As much as the disappointed look in her eyes upset him, Drent had to shake his head. “I'm afraid you played your role quite well, my princess”, he answered, remembering the deceptively real fury in her eyes back when she was talking to Torrence. He had to admit, he hadn't thought she would be capable of mercy.
Argella gave him a smirk that looked more forced than genuine. “I suppose I have”, she answered, avoiding to look him in the eyes. “And now excuse me, it has been a long night and I have learned a few interesting things. Also, I really need to get out of these filthy rags. How do my servicemaids manage to stay in them for all day?”
With these words, the princess stormed off towards her tower, leaving Drent and Edonia behind. For a moment, her voice had sound terribly upset and Drent was more than surprised by this. Was she upset to learn what he had thought about her?
“I think I might have hurt her”, he mumbled and Edonia gave him a questioning look. “Her?”, she asked. “Drent... your name is Drent, right? Listen, she's the Storm Princess. If my brother's slap can't hurt her your words won't do it either” She let out a sigh as she looked back to the kitchen tent. Torrence's faint praying could still be heard. “Or at the very least she can't afford to be hurt by this”
“Perhaps I should apologize”, Drent added and Edonia shook her head. “I don't think that would be a wise idea. We are commoners, Drent. Nothing we do has an impact on them. We don't apologize to royalty, we only try to stay down and not get noticed by them, while they play their game of thrones”, she answered. “Trust me, she is a bit upset at best, but not genuinely hurt. But hey, if you want to talk to her, go on, I won't stop you. I need a break after this though. I'll meet up with a few friends at the campfire” A slight smirk appeared on her face, as Drent noticed that Torrence started to pray a bit louder in his tent. “Your welcome to join us, unless you rather want to try to get lucky with your princess, of course”
[Try to talk to Argella] [Join Edonia and her friends at the campfire]
[Join Edonia and her friends at the campfire] This sounds more fun.
[Try to talk to Argella]
I'd take the princess over Edonia any day
[Join Edonia and her friends at the campfire]
I think Edonia has a point. I don't think we should mess with the royals right now, I think we should prove it later on. Yeah, there's my main reason for picking this option... yeah, that's it... totally not because of other reasons...
[Try to talk to Argella] More princess action please.
[Join Edonia and her friends at the campfire] Fuck the princess. It will be good when Aegon comes to fuck her up.
[Join Edonia and her friends at the campfire]
[Join Edonia and her friends at the campfire]
[Join Edonia and her friends at the campfire] Argella is great, but I think it would be safer for Drent to only approach her when she asks it
[Try to talk to Argella] Edonia and her friends? BORING more Argella please!
I'm loving Drent and Argella's relationship, can't wait to see more!
. It's funny because I didn't really like Drent at first (to be fair that was probably because of a specific choice that won that I really didn't like] and now I'm loving his character.
[Try to talk to Argella]
[Try to talk to Argella]
[Try to talk to Argella]
(try to talk to Argella)
Damn biatch she won't get away so easy!
[Try to talk to Argella]
join edonia and her friends at the campfire
[Join Edonia and her friends at the campfire]
[Join Edonia and her friends at the campfire]
A campfire seems better to cook marshmallows. A part from that, it is better (and safer) not to be in royal buisness
[Join Edonia and her friends at the campfire]
[Join Edonia and her friends at the campfire]
The Voting is closed!
Drent is going to join Edonia and her friends at the campfire
I am a bit unsure which outcome I actually favour this time. On the positive side, this will make some character development a lot easier for me. On the negative side, I would have loved to write more stuff for the Storm Princess and I guess some of you would have liked to read it. What you're missing out on for now is a bit of backstory for Argella, Argilac and probably for Drent too, as well as an, in my opinion, more satisfying end for Drent's Chapter 5 storyline. Yes, the next Drent part is going to be his final part in this chapter. However, one very positive thing is, a few other characters from Drent's storyline who have been greatly underused in this chapter will now get a bit of spotlight in his next part. Another positive thing is, I would have had a bit of trouble in giving some of these characters the development they deserve, while I have plenty of opportunities later to give a bit of Durrandon backstory. And, objectively spoken, Argella had a lot of time to shine in this chapter, and while it was a lot of fun to write her, I gladly take the opportunity to develop the other characters as well. Characters like Edonia or Garen are interesting characters too and have their important roles to play as well, after all.
The next part might be out later today. I'm really not sure on this one, as I have some other stuff to do as well. But I made good progress while writing and I hope that I will manage to finish this part somewhere in the next few hours. It is going to be the final part of Alys' storyline in this chapter. It's probably a bit unfair that I have to finish her storyline already, while others, like Richard, Ilish or especially Kersea (whom I have not forgotten about) have storylines that are just about to start. However, it feels right to have this part at this point of the chapter. Also, I really need to finish this chapter, as I can't wait to introduce some of the new characters for Chapter 6.
And now, prepare for a shout-out. A new interactive story is about to start, set in the Walking Dead universe. This new story is named Our Final Days and it is written by @AAA_Jane. As mentioned, the story has not started yet, so I can't say much about it, except that I am very much looking forward for it and I have a good feeling for it. As always with these shout-outed stories, is that even a verb, it could use a few more people who are willing to participate. That's where you come in, by creating characters and by hopefully later reading the story once it has started. This might be the first story I gave a shout-out to that has not even started yet, so this could be your chance to be part of a promising story from the very beginning. If you are interested in checking it out, follow this link
Alys
A few hours before noon, Alys was awoken with a start by the sound of someone knocking at her door. She opened her eyes, for a moment looking around, inspecting the room she was in. A guest room in Harrenhal... At least she was still alive. A smirk formed on her face as she rose from her bed. She was still alive, alive and somewhat free. All in all, it could be worse.
“Who's there?”, she asked through the closed door, walking closer towards it, barefooted. The cold ground would have been mildly uncomfortable for others, but for her, it felt just like home. “A... Adrew Frey”, a meek voice was audible from behind the door, if barely. “I am the... the squire of ki... King Harren” Yes, she remembered the thin, pale boy who became a victim of the king's rage yesterday.
“What do you want?”, she asked. For a moment, there was only silence. Alys used this opportunity to look around the room for her clothes. She found them and... Alys froze in shock as she looked at the small bundle of clothes. What shocked her was that the dirty clothes she just took off yesterday evening were now laying folded and cleaned on a chair next to her bed. She knew she had locked the door, she had checked it twice! Has someone sneaked into her room, just to clean her clothes?
“Lady Alys?”, the voice of Adrew Frey sounded, disrupting her disturbing chain of thoughts, as she started to dress. “Lord... Ser... Anturion, the pirate, he asked for your presence. He is attending a meeting in the Great Hall and re... requested that you accompany him. He does not wish to leave you here alone”
Well, she wouldn't want to stay here alone either way! Not with the kings sons near her. Harrick wasn't too bad, but the others, Harlan and Harndon, they compensated his lack of revolting maliciousness more than enough. And then there was the eldest, Harmund...
She walked towards the door, opening it and revealing the lanky figure of Adrew Frey. The boy gave her a shy smile and lowered his head. “Mylady Alys, you look radiant, if... if I may say so”, he greeted her.
“Thank you, Adrew”, she answered with a kind smile, before looking down the hall. “Where's Edward?”, she asked. “Or Prince Harrick?” The mention of the kings youngest son caused Adrew's smile to vanish. “The prince is already at the Great Hall, together with his br... brothers. Anturion and his mercenary have accompanied them. Lady Alisa is waiting for you down the hallway”, he answered shortly, avoiding her questioning stare. “Please follow me”
With these words, he started to walk down the hallway, barely giving Alys the time to close the door to her chamber. As he had promised, Alisa Karstark was waiting for her at the door that lead out of the king's tower. It was obvious that she noticed Alys' clean clothes immediately. She gave her a questioning look, and Alys answered with a slight shrug. Instead of pressing the matter further, Alisa smiled at Adrew and her smile made her look surprisingly approachable in Alys' eyes, despite the facial scars and the harsh look on her face. “Thanks a lot, Adrew”, she said. “I'm taking her from here on. Go back to your duties”
Adrew opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but closed it again and instead only smiled shyly. He took a bow in front of Alisa and Alys, before turning around and walking down the hallway. Alisa looked after him, the look in her blue eyes showed the hint of pity. “So, someone was in your chamber at night, to bring you clean clothes”, she deduced. “Was it the young prince? Harrick, I mean”
Alys looked at her reproachfully, noticing that she slightly blushed. “That is...”, she said, before Alisa started to chuckle. Alys gave her an irritated glare, before she had to join in on the chuckle. “Oh, you...”, she grinned. “I don't know who it was. Probably a servant. No one with bad intentions”
Alisa's smirk vanished. “I doubt anyone here has good intentions”, she mumbled as she opened the door that lead down the stairs. Alys followed her and had to take big steps to keep up with her. “You still think it was a good idea to run away from home, just to avoid marrying my little cousin?”
Alys let out a sigh. She knew, the topic would come up sooner or later. “Truth be told, I don't know”, she admitted. “I never met Dante before” Alisa shook her head. “I know what you want to ask now”, she answered. “Sorry to disappoint you. I can't tell you much about him. For what it's worth, he was a sweet kid the last time I saw him. He was also seven years old” A smile flashed across her face as her eyes got a distant look in them. “But even back then, he was different from the others. My brothers, my other cousins, they all wanted to become knights back in their childhood. Dante was different. He was six years old when he learned how to read”
“You miss home”, Alys concluded and Alisa gave her a short nod. “Sometimes”, she admitted and took a deep breath as they had reached the foot of the stairs, walking out onto the courtyard. In the morning light, Harrenhal had a strange beauty. The gargantuan walls, higher than every building Alys had ever seen in her life, allowed only a few rays of sunlight in the courtyard. Dimly illuminated, the castle managed to hide the evil it housed. The air was refreshingly cool and the rain from last night had managed to wash away most of the smell a castle like this naturally had.
“Why have you left Karhold?”, Alys asked and Alisa's facial expression darkened. “Take a lucky guess”, she growled. “Why do you think I like you so much, little lady?” Alys gave her a questioning look, before she understood suddenly. “You mean... Who was it for you?”
“Teddyn Forrester”, Alisa answered. “Lord Forresters eldest son. A good match for a thirdborn daughter, as my father called it” Alys gulped. Nobody back at home liked to talk about Alisa the Kinslayer and she had never really cared. After all, who would have guessed that she would ever meet this woman? She knew, the topic was difficult to approach, but she still had to do it. Now that she met her, the curiosity was slowly eating her up. “And... your brother?”, she asked. Alisa shot her a cold glare. “A mistake”, she answered. “That's all I'm going to say about Rohar”
Her body language made it clear that their small talk was over. Alys pressed her lips together, regretting that she had brought the topic up. In silence, the duo walked over Harrenhal's courtyard, towards the Great Hall, a building that deserved its name without a doubt. The doors were widely opened and large enough to allow a hundred men at once to enter, yet thick enough to deny it to a thousand, if necessary.
The hall itself was filled with people. Guards, civilians, both Ironborn and Riverlanders. Judging from the banners, several Riverlords were present in this room, as well as several lords of the Iron Islands. Most prominently was the sigil of House Hoare. Last night, Alys had barely paid attention to the marvellous architecture of this building. And even now, she was slightly distracted by the masses of people the hall was able to host.
Despite the crowd, it was easy to spot Edward. He and Carvin stood in a separate booth, intended for the kings personal guests, located a few metres left to the thrones. To the right, a second booth contained the kings sons and their entourage. Harlan, Harndon and Harrick stood there, their clothes as dark as their eyes and in at least two cases, as dark as their hearts. Alys wasn't surprised to see Harlan's hounds standing close to him, including the one with the long beard, who had shown her mercy the other day. And finally, on his throne, sat Harren Hoare. The King of the Isles and the Rivers was wearing his black armour and the long, spiked crown on his head. He was sitting on his throne slightly slouched, looking bored. Yet, there was an inherent cruelty in his eyes as he watched Alisa and Alys walking down the hall, past a thousand men.
It was Edward who spotted them first. A friendly smile formed on his lips, as he approached them. “Lady Alys, Alisa. It's good to see you. And just in time” His smile got wider as he looked at Alys. “Have you slept well, mylady?”, he asked. Alys gave him a slight nod. “As good as one can sleep, surrounded by psychopaths”, she answered.
“You can get used to it”, Edward answered with a chuckle. “I haven't slept a single day in the past fifteen years in which I was not surrounded by psychopaths” Alys gave him a sarcastic smirk, her good mood returning with every passing second. Before she was able to answer, a loud thumping noise silenced her. It was King Harren, who had smashed his gloved fist down to the throne's armrest. Even if the hall was full with people, he only needed one attempt at silencing all of them.
“Bring them in”, the king growled with a harsh and hoarsy voice. “The accusers and the accused” Alys narrowed her eyes at these words, looking at Edward. “Why are we here today?”, she asked. Edward gulped as he looked at the main gates. “Because of what happened yesterday. You got lucky, mylady. While you have been... hunted, Harlan's older brother and his men assaulted a nearby farm that was hiding a group of girls. Surprisingly for Harmund, he left plenty of survivors. The farmer, Woody Lincoln, and one of his assistants are here today”
Alys did not answer to this. She was only able to stare at Edward in sheer terror as she realized how narrowly she averted the same fate. She remembered Tomard, the friendly farmhand who had offered her a place to stay the night at Lincoln's farm. If she had accepted... she had to close her eyes, her good mood vanished immediately. On top of that, her gaze fell on Harlan, who looked back at her, with pure, unadulterated hatred.
The large doors to the sides of the great hall, leading deeper into the castle, were opened. Accompanied by half a dozen guards, four men walked towards the throne. The two on the left were clearly farmers. One of them was a scrawny old man, with short, white hair, a wrinkled face and a long beard that reached his chest. He was moving slowly and had to lean on the second farmer, a much younger and more muscular man.
To their right, two men walked and it was out of question who at least one of them was. Harmund Hoare was looking a lot like a younger version of his father, although his hair was fuller and he had a short beard. Next to him walked a slightly younger man, with long brown hair, which he had tied to a short ponytail. He was clean shaven and had unusually tanned skin for an Ironborn. Both men had smug smirks on their face as they watched the clearly distraught farmers.
As soon as they had stopped in front of the throne, Harren raised from it, walking closer. “Harmund Hoare and Rell Vessels”, he growled. “Why am I not surprised by this?” He looked to the farmers. “And you... who of you is this 'Woody'?” Unlike his son, Harren wasn't smiling. His anger wasn't immediately noticeable, but Alys saw that he had his armoured fists clenched and she heard how dangerously calm his voice was.
“It is him, your grace”, the younger man said, looking at the old man, who was now standing next to him by his own power. Harren narrowed his eyes in slight confusion, as he shook his head. “Can't he speak for himself, or what?” The younger farmer gave the king a nod. “Indeed, your grace. My employer has fought for your father. During the war, a head injury cost him his voice. But he has a sharp mind and...”, he started to explain, before Harren let out an annoyed sigh. “I'm not interested in his life story. You talk for him”, he snarled, shooting a glare at his son. “Why don't you tell us what happened? Speak loudly, I'm sure the Fishlords want to hear every word, with their greedy little ears”
The farmhand gulped and Alys was close enough to notice the tears in his eyes. Woody looked even more distraught, clearly trembling with sadness and anger. “They came without warning”, the man started to explain. “A dozen men. They had dogs and weapons” He pointed at Harmund and his companion. “These two lead them. They were the worst. We... seven girls had spent the night with us, to seek shelter from the storm. None of them survived, although some of them had to suffer for hours”
He paused again, until Harren let out an annoyed sigh. “Yeah? Anything else? Hurry up a little bit”, the king growled. The farmer continued with a weak, shaky voice. “Prince Harmund claimed three girls for himself and gave one to his companion. The other three were raped by his guards in the open, handed round like... like objects, while the prince and his companion took the barn for their needs”, he continued, again pausing for a short moment. “A girl tried to run. They shot her in the legs and ordered the dogs to maul her. And... your grace I have seen what your son has done in that barn and it was worse than everything I have ever seen. He...”
Thankfully, Harren silenced him again, this time by letting out a dark chuckle. Alys realized painfully that this man lacked any kind of empathy. Still, his anger was there and it was real. It was a cold-blooded anger, born out of calculation. “I think I have heard enough”, he answered and looked at the accused. “You have anything to say in your defence?”
Harmund's smug grin only got wider, but his companion, the one the king had called Rell Vessels, took a step forwards, which caused the prince to glare at him. “Before you judge us, your grace, you have to know that I have done nothing. I have not killed the girl your son gave to me and I treated her gently”, he explained.
Harren's cold, joyless chuckle got a bit louder. “I'm sure she was fucking grateful”, he answered. “At least until you gave her back to Harmund. What has he done to her? Slit her throat like a pig, gutted her like the little fish she was?” He looked at Harmund. “Was she still alive when you did your worst?”
The prince smirked at his father, who in turn only glared at him without even a hint of amusement. “You know me, father, don't you?”, the prince answered and Harren gave him a nod. “Son...”, he said and Alys saw him clenching his fist. “This time, you really fucked up” And before Harmund could react, Harren threw a hard punch with his armoured glove, right into the prince's face, sending him to the ground. “What you do in your private time, I couldn't care less. But you...”, the king hissed and Alys understood. Harren wasn't upset because of Harmund's crime, he was upset because of how public he had made it. His anger was little more than a political manoeuvre.
Before the king was able to continue, Harmund jumped up, now equally enraged, blood flowing out of his nose, a knife in his hand. Instead of defending himself, Harren just stood there calmly, as the prince jumped up, holding the knife directly at Harren's throat. The sound of at least a hundred swords being drawn was heard, as the kings guard slowly approached.
“Careful who you hit, father”, Harmund spat. “I'm not Harlan or Harndon, who are too stupid to hit back. I am not afraid of you” Harren only shook his head, as good as possible with a knife to his throat. “Boy, you should”, he growled. “Want to slit my throat, huh? Well, then DO IT!”. His voice got louder. “DO IT AND YOU'LL BE THE KING, UNTIL THEY PUT A FUCKING SPEAR THROUGH YOUR NECK!”
For a moment, Harmund and Harren just looked at each other, united by their hatred at each other. Then, Harmund lowered his knife, taking a step backwards and Harren started to laugh. “As expected, you little bastard. Even Harlan is more a man than you”, he mocked him, causing the prince to narrow his eyes again. “Go to your chambers, boy. I'll deal with you later”
Harmund gave him a weak nod, before he turned around and stormed out of the hall, each of his steps oozing of hatred, oozing of fear. The king turned his attention at Rell Vessels, who was pale now. Harren put a hand on the young man's shoulder and shook his head. “And you... I would kill you on the spot, Rell, but yesterday, I had a very interesting talk with a revered guest. I'll explain it later, but for now you'll stay alive”, he growled and Alys noticed Edward grinning widely.
“What's so funny?”, she asked with disgust. Edward shook his head. “I'm not amused, mylady. But if the king just implied what I think he implied, then he just considered to make me a very rich man” He looked at his companions. “All of us”
Before he could explain this topic further, Alys' attention was drawn back to the king, who was now walking back to his throne. “The kings justice was dealt”, Harren proclaimed, but was cut off by the young farmhand. “Your grace, with all due respect, but what is with us?”, he asked, not noticing the glare the king gave him. “Harmund's men slaughtered two pigs and a cow. They smashed a door, destroyed a table and several weeks worth of grain. Who is going to compensate for our loss?”
“Compensate...”, Harren growled as he walked closer to the farmhand. The man gave him a defiant nod. “Indeed, your grace. Woody is an old man. It took him a lot to come here today. I think it is only fair to...”
He did not manage to continue. With a quick movement, the king grabbed him by the throat and started to throw punches at him. Other men would have screamed in rage while beating a man to death. Harren stayed silent, his dark eyes on the other hand yelled his anger out for everyone who was close enough to see them.
“Stop it!”, Alys screamed weakly and in panic, as Harren started to kick the dying man, with none of the other men even trying to intervene. The king only stopped as the man was little more than a bloody pulp on the floor of his hall. A murderous glare was shot at Woody Lincoln, who had sunken to the ground, crying in helplessness. “Two pigs, a cow, a door, a table and several weeks worth of grain...”, the king mumbled, visibly calmer. “And one farmhand, is that right, Woody?”
As the old farmer did not answer immediately, Harren grabbed him by the shoulders, forcibly pulling him back to his feet. “I said, IS THAT RIGHT, WOODY?”, he yelled at his face and this time, the man gave him a silent nod. The king let go of him and this time, the old man managed to stay on his feet. “I'm a bit surprised that Harmund hasn't burned down anything. I have to compliment the boy on his manners”, Harren chuckled. “If you get a good deal, you can replace your losses with thirty silver coins, but since I'm in a generous fucking mood, I give you fifty”
With these words, he walked back to his throne, a smile on his face as he looked at the bloody mass on his floor that had been a human being just second ago. “Throw the remains of this fishfucker to the dogs. And someone, bring Woody here fifty silver coins and help him home”, he ordered loudly.
Out of the corner of her eye, Alys saw that Harlan's entourage, the bearded man and the other two, were preparing to leave the hall, disgust on their faces. She gulped as she looked back at Harren, who was sitting down on his throne again. “Next case! I'm in a mood for some justice!”, he yelled and Alys let out a disgusted sigh. Could she really take more of this?
To her surprise, she saw that Carvin prepared to leave too. She shot him a questioning look and he pointed at Harlan's men, who were just leaving the hall. “You see the lanky one? Hjalgar Dipshitson”, he explained. “Got a score to settle with him. A little archery contest” A hint of concern was visible on his face as he put a hand on her shoulder. “You look pale, little lady. A bit too much for you?”, he asked, as she still avoided to look at the bloodied corpse of Woody's farmhand. “Care to leave with me? You don't have to stay if you don't want to”
[Leave with Carvin] [Stay in the Great Hall]
[Stay in the Great Hall] Nah, I want more Harren.
Who's the next part going to be?
(Leave with Carvin)
[Leave with Carvin]
[STAY]
[Stay in the Great Hall]
[Stay in the Great Hall]
(Leave with Carvin)
[Leave with Carvin]
[Leave with Carvin] Screw this! i'm out!
I'm loving the Dante references
.
TeamKarstark
[Leave with Carvin] I wanna see more Torvin
[Stay in the Great Hall]
On one hand I think Carvin could use some more screentime, but on the other hand I rather enjoy these Harren parts
[Stay in the Great Hall]
TeamKarstark
[Stay in the Great Hall]
[Leave with Carvin]
[Stay in the Great Hall]
[Leave with Carvin]