paradisa | Twenty-Second House of Westeros ♛ Action ♛ War of the Five Kings

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alayne stone (sansa stark)

Twenty-Second House of Westeros ♛ Action ♛ War of the Five Kings

I've thought oft on it, being here in this castle-- [And how much she misliked being a captive.]

But how many people come from places where they've just outlived a war? I mean not a rebellion or an uprising, but something that's truly torn the land and the people.

[She pauses, her voice low.] Even for the right reasons.

I doubt not the effectiveness of it, but I am neither a soldier nor a knight. I know little of weaponry save the armor of a lady, what's been taught to me.

[It's been the hardest thing about picking up a bow. Weapons were something her brothers had, Arya can have her sword. But even here, what use are words when the Castle can so easily corrupt all you have? Family still means something to her, even if she doesn't publicly bare the name Stark.]

How do you recover what you can never have again? What is home when all that's left are ghosts?

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These are sorrowful words from one so young, words that would sooner spurn me to act. Yet I know not what to say or do that might bring you peace. Is it so desolate, that you cannot see it as a change, rather than abandonment?

Your words are kind, my lady. But there is naught to do here, and I have held these thoughts for as long as I have been here.

[Perhaps it is solace she is looking for, but none can be found while Alayne exists. There is too much at odds within her. Thoughts and memories of a girl now missing in the realm.]

And how long is that, gentle child?

Eight months here. Though I am a woman grown, my lady. [Even with the guise, Alayne is a year older than Sansa claims to be.]

[ The amusement is hard to hide from her voice, despite the heavy subject matter. Anne calls most women younger than her by that, regardless of how ready they are to marry. ]

I have no doubt of it, by your words alone. It is difficult to tell much, leaving so much faith in these books and their translations. But I see they can be a useful outlet when pursued, or at least I may hope that they help you find success in this venture.

I do hope you have not kept these pains deep on your heart these entire eight months.

[Marriage is the last thing on her mind. She knows it well enough, save a wife's duty.]

I wish to know how others have dealt with it. [Loss especially. Duty is easy enough, though her only ally is Lord Baelish.]

The Castle keeps one busy.

My husband would have much wiser words to counsel you on the effects and burdens of war on the people. But you seem to carry a heavy enough burden, do you not think? And already seeking to carry others'.

To me, if you have been so busy and so distraught, it sounds as if it is leisure you require.

The burden does not lie with me, my lady. I am but a bastard to a lord. [Or so the story she says. There must always be a Stark in Winterfell.]

Leisure is something unneeded. I have things to do here.

[This...hits something very old and very powerful within her. Something she tries very hard to keep buried.]

Home, then, must be what you build from the ashes.

[ Oh, it's you again. She takes a bit of time to mull it over but eventually decides to answer her. Rather than speak, her words are replaced with an elegant text. ]

I have outlived wars, but I was not a participant. There will always be causalities in war and not all of them bare physical scars.

Sometimes, what you have lost cannot be recovered. I am sorry.

You needn't apologize to me. [Not when she's no longer in Winterfell herself.]

[Not that it is easy.]

One would have to reclaim their home then.

I could not give you an answer. Maybe.. [ Tap, tap. She wants to give her an answer but, without knowing what was lost, she's grasping at straws. Finally, she writes: ]

The most I can say is that, even if something has been lost, you had it once. Even if you are unable to hold it now the heart never forgets.

Does that help?

Or else begin anew, yes.

[There are no easy answers to something like that.]

War is constant in Italia. I do not think I have known a time where there was not some measure of war between the states... and the war is on all sides. It is pervasive.

But I would not talk of such things over the journal. Shall I take you riding again?