First House of Westeros ♛ Dictated ♛ I am Alayne Stone, Father

[songsandstories]

[This place held wonders that Alayne had not dreamt of, not even as Sansa Stark. When she first awoke, it was disheartening. This was not the Vale, old as it may be. It took her some time to leave in search of answers, but now that she was in the lobby, she was better learned of this place, though she held little trust in its inhabitants.

Cautious as she was to whoever could be listening, she took to the speaking book. Alayne needed answers.]

I am in search of a man. If anyone knows the whereabouts of Lord Petyr Baelish, I would be in your debt. [Which is something to say, regardless of her name or who she is. But finding him is of the utmost importance.]

I have just arrived. I know not of what my purpose here may be. They call this place Paradisa? That is no House I have ever heard. Pray tell, whose bannermen does it belong to? [Although calling out Petyr Baelish's name has already allied her. And then, perhaps not. The Vale was its own now, Petyr working what he could against Lysa's council. Still, it was the easiest way to gauge where she stood.]

Comments

[squirrelhunter]

Ain't no-one here by the name o' Baelish. Not that I know of.

[songsandstories]

[So the talking book speaks. Alayne stares back at it.]

How can that be? I was just with him in the Vale.

[squirrelhunter]

Y'ain't where y'were. The castle takes us from our homes an' traps us here. Y'ain't gonna be goin' back until the castle lets ya.

[songsandstories]

I know enough about traps. [Although an inanimate object has yet to do so.]

Can you tell me whose House this castle is under? It is clearly not in the North, for Winter has come.

[squirrelhunter]

It ain't under no house. Some sorta magic, people say. No-one knows fer sure.

Action?

[wintercat]

[Catelyn stops in her tracks when she hears that voice, almost afraid to believe it. But then she turns and- there she is. Different than she last saw her, but a mother knows her daughter.]

Sansa? [Emotion chokes her voice, keeping it to a near whisper.]

[songsandstories]

[The voice hits her before she even sees her. How is this possible? How is Petyr not here, and yet her mother stands so close. Her real mother. The illusion of Alayne Stone nearly falls a part right then and there.]

Am I dead? [It can only be the answer. If she lies in the same place as her mother. Have the gods finally taken her?

But then she stands, much taller and older than Catelyn remembers.]

I-- please, do not call me that. [She can't outright lie to her mother.]

[wintercat]

[How much time has passed for Sansa? Enough that...she has seen what Catelyn has only been told will occur. Enough that she has grown and is swiftly becoming woman.]

No, you are not dead, my darling girl. [She moves to embrace her daughter, any concerns she might have over her odd request outweighed by the overwhelming relief she feels at seeing her alive.] What would you have me call you but your name?

[songsandstories]

[That is a relief at least. If she had died without Petyr. She swallows when her mother hugs her, a little taken aback. Such kind gestures are still foreign to her.]

Sansa is dead. With Joffrey. [She needed to keep this. It was all she really had left, with so much destruction and death in her life.]

Please, I beg of you. It is not safe to use that name. I am Sansa Stark no longer.

Action!

[demontobeloved]

[Have a demon shimmering into the lobby, Sansa. Cole yawns and stretches as he materialises in the centre.]

[songsandstories]

[And that just makes her stare up at him. Wildlings talked of such things. Their gods. But Catelyn said she was not dead? Had she beheld one of the seven?]

[demontobeloved]

[Pff. Cole? A god? He's flattered.

He does notice the girl staring at him, however, and looks down.]

Oh, god. I thought the castle was done with this...

[The way she's staring means Cole's assuming she's new.]

[songsandstories]

[She dips her head at that. She did not mean to stare. She has never been in the presence of a god.]

I did not mean offense, your... Grace. [What do you call a god?]

1/2

[persequor]

[ When Arya hears that voice—Sansa, that's Sansa, it can't be anyone else, it can't—she drops the journal. ]

[persequor]

[ She stares at it where it fell, surprise warring with some unnamed, unknowable emotion on her face. The last time she saw Sansa, she was standing there, she was there with the queen and the rest, she smiled at Joffrey before...and now she's asking for Littlefinger? It doesn't make sense. Confusion and the hurt she's tried to bury for weeks lead her to snap. ]

Littlefinger isn't here, stupid. We're not even in Westeros anymore.

[songsandstories]

[Oh, she knows that voice. First her mother and now her sister. No, not mine. She corrects herself.]

My father was with me just before. [Because she had to keep up pretenses. Even if Arya was sure to call them out. Still, she was safe. That was what mattered. No one had heard of her in months.]

[persequor]

[ 'My father was with me just before'? Her confusion deepens. When was this? She can't be talking about the execution. It must have been before. So she wouldn't know.

Anger—at Paradisa, at Joffrey, at stupid Sansa for always being stupid even if it's not her fault this time—darkens her tone. ]

He's not anymore. [ Her voice adopts a suspicious edge. ] And why would our father have sent you to find Littlefinger?

[scinlae]

I fear you will not find what you are looking for, girl. [ She enters the lobby through the main doors, movements as graceful as they are predatory. Green eyes glued to the new girl, scanning, judging, formulating ideas. She's new, of course, it is easy to see even if she had no said so openly. ] For there is no man with such a name within these walls.

Nor does Paradisa have bannermen, no guards, no knights, nor lords to bend knee too. [ A shame, she thinks, if it had she could surround herself with a better cloak of protection than the shadows she had taken to hiding in. ]

[songsandstories]

[She straightens when she is called girl.]

I have been made aware. [Her words are simple, but have an edge.]

[scinlae]

Oh, but do not fret. [ A grin spreads across her face at her straightening. ] There is always a chance he may join you soon. Although such things are hard to predict.

[songsandstories]

I am not fretting. He is the only one who knows me. [The one who had been there, created Alayne Stone. No one else understands.]

[ruined_jaw]

[Jono had been on his way out to the city when he comes across the young woman speaking to her journal. Just by looking at her, he can tell she's a new arrival. He tugs at his mask to make sure it's secure before "speaking" in a voice Alayne will only hear in her head.]

Paradisa's not part of any kingdom you'd be familiar with, luv. Sort of a...world unto itself, for lack of a better word. It takes people from their homes for a reason only it seems to know. Unless he's just arrived, there's no one by the name of Petyr here, that I know of.

Sorry I can't be more help, but welcome just the same.

[songsandstories]

[After a moment, her hand goes to her ears and she looks up to find the only person around.]

How are you doing that?

[ruined_jaw]

[Jono rubs his hand over his face. Sometimes he forgets that not everyone was used to telepathy. Granted, he had no choice in the matter, but it made communicating with people without explaining his powers at length impossible.]

It's called "telepathy". It allows me to project what I want to say into your mind. I can't hear your thoughts or anything, so put that out of your mind. I used it because...well...because I have to. Because I can't otherwise speak. I'm sorry if I startled you. My name's Jonothan. I'm trapped here same as you.

[songsandstories]

Are you a mute? [She questions, tilting her head towards him. She isn't scared or trying to be offensive. She is just curious.]