the same place we've been before :: 7/10 :: Rhovanion, OPEN

[Rhovanion Selidor]

The banners flying in the harbor made the gathering feel more like a celebration than the fleet mustering for war. From the standards whipping about, it seemed as though the Lord Llewelyn had been the first to arrive, so Dragonhall was bound to be busting with activity tonight and tomorrow as the rest pulled into port. Vyrna was not a large city and her forces were very little compared to the strength of Ashpool and Llewelyn, but as the ships sailed in with their colors flying, Rhovanion couldn't help but feel a little swell of pride. It didn't last long, because his seasickness seemed worse than ever, and even as the Highwind docked and his feet were once again on solid earth, his stomach was still in knots from the nausea.

As he made his way to the castle gates with a small party of vassals and knights, the up-and-down motion of the horse's trots did not help matters at all. Only as he dismounted in the courtyard after they passed the gates did Rhovanion finally start feeling like things would begin to look up. He shared a few brief words with Lord Hastings, one of his newly pledged vassals, and the Vyrnese party was soon attended by stable boys and servants to take what few belonging they had carried from the ships into the guest rooms of Dragonall.

He looked around and took a deep breath of sticky summer air. It hadn't been long, but it was nice to be back all the same.

[Elodie Ashpool]

She was bouncing around the castle, ecstatic there was company besides her own family and the vassals daughters once again. Elodie was almost shining in a gold and green gown, her hair twined with gold and pearls some of which might have been pilfered from Serenna's leftover belongings, but which nonetheless suited her much better than her sister anyway.

She had gotten news her betrothed was there and dragged Tarra Tresson along with her on a race down toward the main gates, though she skidded to a stop when they got almost to the doors, so they'd look dignified when they walked out. The dignity lasted about half a second anyway as she stepped into the sunlight and then all but ran toward Rhovanion.

"Rhove! You have to come! Aramis likes my idea about the sharks!" Elodie had abandoned Tarra and grabbed Rhovanion's hand. "You should see the sketches! Oh, did the dog bite you? Did you bring him? I'm sure Roma would let me have a pet here. You should send him. I forgot to write that..." She looked around behind him as if expecting there to be a dog lurking.

[Rhovanion Selidor]

She came out of the castle about as fast as an arrow. Before Rhovanion knew exactly what was going on, Elodie had him by the hand and he could only blink and stare as he tried to make sense of the words that were tumbling out of her mouth.

He stood stunned for a moment, until he realized that his mouth was open anyway so he might as well say something with it. "Uh, hello. What? I didn't think-- You made sketches?" At least being occupied with ink and parchment meant she probably hadn't caused too much trouble. When she looked behind him, he turned as well, just to make sure the little beast hadn't really stalked him all the way to Vadra. "Oh, he bit me. A few times, actually. You want that thing?" Supposedly it had been a lamb with Lady Harroway. Supposedly it had been a lamb with Lady Harroway, who he'd heard was just as wilful and used to getting her way. Maybe they were suited for each other after all.

"You did forget to write it," he told her with a twinge of hurt in his voice. "I was going to give you a reply here, but I had nothing to reply to... Were they really that bad? I knew I should have had the maester look over them first..."

[Elodie Ashpool]

"Oh, rats... oh well, you can bring it when you get back!" she said brightly, but her smile turned to a wounded look. "I was going to write, but there wasn't anything and I was going to wait til Aramis said for certain about the sharks."

She squeezed his arm. "They were lovely letters. Much better than what Shireen's writing to Lucian Dupont. Oh my gods! You wouldn't believe it. I sneaked a peek in her desk when I was trying to find the key to Alysenne's rooms... I didn't know you could write that much about kissing. It's gross. Well, come on! We're having dancing tonight and there's mummers and everything! I like having a Stepmother from Strom... How was your city?"

[Rhovanion Selidor]

"If you keep it here in Vadra, I'll see what I can do," he replied cautiously. If he was lucky, it might lose all its teeth gnawing on the soldiers' plate armor and then the problem would be solved. But Rhovanion was rarely, if ever, lucky. It would probably just make the points sharper.

"I suppose that's alright... I had lots of things to do, anyway," he admitted. He gave Elodie a skeptical look as he narrowed his eyes. "You're not just saying that to make me feel better, are you?" Then he frowned as he added, "I hope you haven't told anyone else. I think letters like that are supposed to be a private matters, Lady Elodie."

Rhovanion let her take him towards the castled, though he didn't bother to hide his groan. "Dancing? The vassals have to come, don't they? Oh great, now half of them will die laughing before we even see a single battle. You'll help me, won't you? Like before?" He rather liked mummers, but it was hard to feel any excitement for that when the shadow of the dance loomed overhead. His reply to her question was a bit distracted as he tried to retrace the steps he'd learned in his head, "The city? It's fine. The castled needed new servants and even now it still seems empty, but honestly I spent most of my time at my desk. I think by now there's ink under my nails that will never scrub out. If you come visit, you'll have to find some good hiding places that I can use. How is Ser Adhemar faring? Has he found all of yours here in Vadra yet?"

[Elodie Ashpool]

"Then she should have locked the drawer." Elodie's grin was smug and she completely ignored his views on privacy. "You know she was talking about kissing him a lot, and some other things. I wonder if father wouldn't be fascinated to know she's done that stuff... And Adhmar is lovely, for your information. You can meet him later. I made him swear he'd dance with me this evening. I'm sure you'll be thrilled to get to tell him everything but don't worry I found some new ones."

Elodie put her hand on his arm. "New servants? Oh my gods, did you hire gypsy ones? I always thought it would be fun to have gypsy servants. Father said they're not all dead too."

[Rhovanion Selidor]

"Hmmm..." Rhove gave her a look that plainly said he did not approve, but left it at that. Lady Shireen really should have known better than to leave her drawers open... Though he was a bit aghast at her suggestion to tell Lord Ashpool. "You wouldn't really tattle on her, would you? I thought sisters were supposed to bond over secrets or something. I won't tattle on you to Ser Adhemar, for what it's worth. I mean, I won't tell him everything. How could I deprive him of the wonderful experience of learning for himself?" Hopefully the man still had had hair left by the end, assuming he hadn't torn it all out in frustration.

"No gypsies, but a few new servants from the city. Vyrna's not near enough to the mountains. But you've heard right, they're still up there, though the sickness hit them hard. They're pledged to your house now. Allistair McGovern was one of them, and he's been named lord of Freysa for his service to your father. Maybe they'll come to Vadra now for some of the parties? Their dancing is different from what they teach at court though. I saw it sometimes in the taverns when I went to tourneys with my knight master."

[Elodie Ashpool]

Elodie sniffed. "Sisters don't bond at all, are you mad? Don't you have sisters? Shireen would give dramatic readings to the whole entire castle if she found I wrote something like that to you. And tell father. And Aelina. And then she'd never once let me forget it as long as I lived. Just like she did when she caught me holding Derryn March's hand..."

She sighed. "Lord McGovern, that's right. I forgot about him. A bunch of the girls were giggling over how pretty he is." Elodie brightened about at the idea of dancing and nodded. "That'd be nice. Some of the Stroman girls knew gypsy dancing- they practice it even. Maybe I should ask Roma for lessons."

[Rhovanion Selidor]

"Sometimes I think I must be," he admitted. Then he patted her hand on his arm and gave her a reassuring smile. "Well, it's a good thing I write very boring letter then. Assuming she can read the writing well enough to find out, that is... Wait, when was this hand-holding? With Derryn March? The one with the spots? ... Or was it Tarryn? Maybe I'm not even thinking of the right one." The poor boy hadn't always had spots, of course, but sometimes that was the sacrifice one made for becoming a man.

Proud to finally show off that he knew some important happenings, Rhovanion walked a little taller as they came out of the sun and into the castle. "I guess he's alright. I wouldn't really know. But they say he has a sister, so perhaps she could teach you. When the war's done, they're sure to come to court."

[Elodie Ashpool]

Elodie pouted. "Tarryn's got spots. Derryn was taller, with dark hair. And it was last winter, in Solbra." She muttered something after that might have been 'not like you care' but could have been something impugning Shireen's honor just as easily.

Her eyes widened, her huff forgotten. "Estetis' noses! Are you for certain? A gypsy's a lady?! Ooh, I wonder who'll be brave enough to wed her..."

[Rhovanion Selidor]

"Oh." Rhovanion thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, you're right. I only remember Tarryn from the tourneys he's squired at. Oh well, when he gets a bit older the helm with cover his face anyway. Spotty knights win just as often as anyone else." Rather caught up in his own reminiscence of tourneys past, he didn't really hear anything beyond what he wanted to.

With a laugh, he caught sight of Elodie's wide eyes and grinned. "That's how the story goes. I haven't seen her myself, but the knights that came with Lord Tresson said she's been staying in Hsynga for quite some time. As to who'll wed her... Who knows? With a lord for a brother and a new dowry, she shouldn't have too much trouble. Besides, marrying a gypsy girl takes no less courage than marrying a dragonmaid. Some desperate fool's sure to risk it." He winked at her and smiled.

[Elodie Ashpool]

Elodie giggled but she still shook her head. "I can't imagine any lord in Sanka would want half-gypsy children. What if they decide they'd rather traipse around than be lords after him? They might make good hedge knights, I suppose, or ambassadors like father was..." A shadow crossed her face then. Even though Jacques was the lord now he kept on wandering...

"Are wars very long, Rhove? I know the old one was years and years..."

[Rhovanion Selidor]

He was quiet for a moment before answering her. "They can be. They can be short, too. It's hard to tell sometimes. Stoft wasn't long, but there will be sieges in Ovador. Those can last for months, sometimes even a year or more. In Atranta--"

He stopped before he went any further. Elodie didn't need to hear about battles and war history, but it was much easier to recite what he knew about the past that to admit all the things he didn't know about the future. The real answer to her question was one that neither of them would want to hear, so he tried to nudge things towards another direction.

"Never mind that. It's a boring story. We'll be back before you even start to miss us, don't worry." With an unwavering smile and a look tinged with curiosity, he tried to catch her eyes. "So, are you going to grant me a token to keep me from harm? I'd be a sorry knight riding into battle without one..." They'd be sailing, of course, but the image was still nice.