hadriel | Video 7 - Sewing Shop

[It's excellent he's not going to end up marrying the nun then, they'd end up arguing a lot. Passionately, but neither side would give in. Learn from this, Kelson.

He paused in his changing briefly.]

Sansa, uses a weapon?

[He liked Sansa. Quite a lot. But, well, thats what happens when you meet women over the internet, Kelson. He reached to put on his breeches, relearning how to dress himself. He had put up such a fight when he was first crowned, over the need for it all, but over the years, habits.]

We've talked over the devices, but I haven't met her face to face yet. No, I don't think less of her. Or you. I blame the world we are all trapped in, that it has forced us to put aside roles and traditions and lives we have once held dear, in favor of something we never dreamed of.

[yes, let Margaery be your guide. her grandmother taught her everything a person could ever want to know]

She does. Both the sword and the bow.

[that's what these phones need, some Hadriel equivalent of Tindr. it would make dating so much easier]

We'll have to have you over for supper one night. And at least you're putting your blame in the right place. Hadriel has forced us all to adapt in ways, well, I never thought possible. And if the Null return, you're going to be glad I know how to weild a sword.

[Kelson finished dressing and stepped out in his new attire. He's not quite sure what to think about Sansa using weapons. She always seemed so.....well, not the type. Not that he was quite sure what that type was anymore.]

I would quite like that. I've made contact with the elves too, Curufin and Maglor. They've been very helpful.

[He took a few steps forward, looking as to where she wanted him to be.]

I hope at the very least we both do not regret it, my lady.

[Margaery makes a pleased sound when Kelson steps out in his new clothing. and Margaery would never have guessed that Sansa would use weapons, either, but she could also say the same for herself. and yet, here they both are]

Aren't they? They're true and loyal friends to have.

[she goes over and fusses with the clothes a bit, checking the fit to be sure that all is well]

We'll be fine. You worry too much. [she looks concerned]

[Kelson allows himself the small joy of smiling when she makes that noise, obviously happy. He stands and allows her to check and measure and prod as she ensures everything is the correct fit. Kelson has no doubt, her work is good.]

They have been very helpful, Curufin especially. And isn't that my job, to worry about issues and try and come up with solutions?

[Kelson didn't worry as much when Morgan was with him. He missed the older man terribly, he missed his advice and his comforting presence and experience. He missed Morgan worrying so he didn't have too. Thank goodness Kelson didn't know the amount of grey hairs he gave the man.]

[anything that brings happiness is precious to her, given her experiences over the past month. and properly fitting clothes make her happy, especially when it's been made for a friend]

As a king, yes. That's your job. Unfortunately, we're a king and a queen without our countries here.

[Margaery misses her grandmother. her grandmother could solve or settle anything. she misses her wisdom and guidance]

Does that really matter? We don't stop being who we are. I took vows when I was crowned king and when I was knighted and I don't believe that simply changing locations voids that. Did you not have to do something similar? You are still a queen.

[If only her grandmother and his champion were here, they could listen to both their guidance. Alas, they were alone, and they only had their teachings and memories to rely on. It was time to fly on their own.]

I am, but I'm dead in my own world. My husband, the king, took his own life after finding out about my death.

The vows I took as queen also involved protecting my people. While I'm here, these are my people.

[if her grandmother was here, she'd likely despair at Margaery's sword training, but know that there was nothing she could do to stand in her way]

[Then Kelson and her grandmother had something in common. Kelson was despairing too but at the moment he wasn't sure what else to do about it. It wasn't like he could forbid her.]

What happens when we finally go home then?What will happen to you? You can't go back.

[Kelson lowered his eyes for a moment]

I'm sorry about your husband.

[she'd listen to her grandmother's concerns just as she's listening to Kelson's, but she feels that the decision is ultimately in her hands]

I'm going to Matt's world to join him there.

[she also lowers her eyes. Tommen was a bit spineless, but he was also kind]

He wasn't the best husband or the best king, but. . . he was kind.

[That was unfortunately a hallmark of a strong willed, intelligent woman and something Kelson was going to have to learn and deal with.]

Good. I'm glad you have a plan then.

Kindness counts for a lot, although I fear if it is not tempered with something stronger the kingdom and the crown suffer. I am sorry he was not the best husband to you.

[Kelson wondered how true this was for Tommen. Those who cannot defend their crown do not deserve to keep it. From the sounds of it, that summed up Tommen well. And one of Kelson's past Haldane King's, Alroy. He suspected Alroy and Tommen were very similar.]

[she'd be happy to help him]

I do. I have his name and address sewn into the lining of all of my clothes as I've heard that the Door mucks with your memory.

I was to be the something stronger. I was raised to rule as queen and I would have done it, had Cersei Lannister not barred my way. And honestly, Tommen was likely the best of the three.

[Tommen was easily led by others. his mother, the High Sparrow, Margaery herself. in fairness, he was never raised with the expectation of becoming king. that was something his elder brother was raised for and it turned him into a monster]

How do you know this portal or these beings who work it will send you where you want to go? We didn't want to come here in the first place.

[Kelson listened, ducking behind the screen again to try on the second outfit and stepped out and up for her.]

It is all well and good for the queen consort to add her strength to that of the king but the king must be able to stand on his own as well my lady. You could not always be there, nor should you be expected too.

[It sounded like Tommen, as with Alroy was simply too meek and easily manipulated to be a strong king, on his own. As with Tommen, Alroy was swayed and puppeted by his council, and with his added sickly constitution, he lacked the ability to rule on his own. The violence and unrest that followed was as much Alroy's fault as his councils for promoting it.]

Because Sorrow assured me that he could do it, send me to Matt's world as long as we survived the Null. And we will. One way or another.

[she applauds when he comes out from behind the screen wearing his new clothes]

I was expected to always be there. It was my duty. You're right, though, that Tommen could not stand on his own. He tried, but he was pulled this way and that. By his mother, by the High Sparrow, by his Small Council. By me.

[he was too meek and easily manipulated. especially by his mother who never had any goals beyond the preservation of her own power. and by the High Sparrow who wanted to spread his fanatical vision of the Faith of the Seven]

[Perhaps it was another cultural difference, but Kelson doubted that Margaery could be with Tommen all the time. The only exception he could think of was if Tommen wasn't of age, but they were clearly married so that wasn't the issue.]

You were expected to always be there? You did not have your own duties as queen consort? You cannot be with someone every minute of every day, Margaery. It's not feasible.

[Kelson gives her a grateful nod as she applauds happily.]

I hope your world is able to stabilize one day. Even if you are not there to see it.

[It had too. It might take centuries, but eventually, the fighting would fizzle out, and some sort of stability would take shape. Stability was not necessarily good, but may be better than the constant fighting. Kelson hoped someone worthy would take up that crown, and that they would not be a monster.]

[they wed as soon as Tommen came of age. and she had her charitable duties and her ladies, Tyrell cousins, to spend time with, but Margaery's primary duty was to help Tommen rule]

I had my duties to charity--visiting orphans, giving alms to the poor, sewing smocks for the less fortunate. However, my primary duty was to advise and support my husband.

[he looks very handsome in his new clothes]

I hope that it is as well. Daenerys Targaryen was on her way to Westeros when she arrived here. She's to take the Iron Throne back from Cersei Lannister and restore peace to the realm.

[Kelson thought she was lucky to marry someone vaguely her own age, at the very least not forty years her senior. Or perhaps things were different in her world than they were in Gwynedd. Still, Margaery had done well for herself, well, up until her rather untimely demise.]

That's the duty of any queen consort in Gwynedd as well.

[But Tommen would have had to stand on his own, something, it seemed, he could not do. Weak kings do not stay in power. One way, or another. Kelson brushed and smoothed his clothes, looking down, pleased.]

I hope she is able to succeed.

[With dragons he couldn't see how she could not. But, he'd never really seen a real dragon before, so what did he know.]

You've done excellent work with these garments.

[Margaery's marriages were to a man in love with her brother, a madman, and a spineless boy. she doesn't count herself especially lucky]

So I wasn't overstepping myself.

[no, that was something Tommen couldn't do. there was no denying that he was a weak king, but all of the alternatives except Daenerys were dead and Margaery had no way of knowing that she was on her way when Margaery died]

As do I. Cersei Lannister cannot be allowed to hold the throne. She is evil.

[Dany has three dragons, all devoted to their mother]

Thank you. I do try to give them my very best effort.

[It could have been worse Margaery. It could always be worse. Then again, Kelson hasn't exactly been lucky either. One marriage to a woman that lasted 30 seconds after their marriage vows and ended with him covered in her blood, one promise thwarted by marriage to his cousin after his own attempted assassination that ended in the woman choosing religious orders. Here's hoping third time was the charm and it wouldn't end like Margaery's did.]

I think whether you overstepped yourself or not is between you and your king.

[At least, he hoped he'd develop a good camaraderie with his queen, that she'd be someone besides a means to beget royal heirs. But whether her mind was suitable or not entirely depended on the woman he married.

Kelson stepped behind the screen again to change back into his original outfit, holding the new ones in his arms.]

[it could have been, but her grandmother would have prevented it. Margaery was the Queen of Thorns' prize flower and she'd not see her beloved granddaughter married to some toothless old man 40 years her senior or married to a madman. her grandmother poisoned Margaery's second husband to ensure it]

Tommen never complained. He appreciated my advice. Well, except for when it concerned his mother.

[Margaery would wish it to be so for Kelson's sake. she knows all too well what it's like to be in unsatisfactory marriages. she assumes, given their conversations, that he'd prefer a meeker, less opinionated wife.

she waits for him to emerge from behind the screen]

[Margaery's grandmother's techniques sounded an awful lot like those behind his own Camberian Council, the council of highborn Deryni like himself that purported to speak and govern the actions of their kind throughout the Eleven Kingdoms. Kelson did not like them. And turned down a seat--only offered once they had deemed him 'sufficiently ruthless'. That was not a compliment. He hoped his refusal still stung their pride.]

Mothers are sensitive subjects sometimes, yes. From what I've heard, his mother was not the best influence.

[That was putting it kindly. While his own mother Jehana was not nearly as bad as Cersei, she did have her moments. Attempting to take over your son's council and deprive him of his right to govern on his own, and trying to get those she didn't like executed? Not Jehana's best side.]

It was certainly difficult enough extricating myself from mine. Or as much as possible with her still living in the castle.

[As for wives, his first wife Sidana would have probably been extremely meek, had she lived. The ~~lust~~ love of his life Rothana was....not. She was extremely opinionated and stubborn and it was fortunate that it did not work out as they would have probably killed each other. Passionately. With any luck, his future wife would be somewhere in the middle. Strong willed enough to have her own opinion, but knowledgeable enough to know when to hold her tongue, or at least voice it or take steps to get her way without butting heads with her husband.

[Kelson stepped out from behind the screen, in his original clothes once again, lifting a hand to smooth his hair]

[best to not make such a comparison in Margaery's hearing. she adores her grandmother and is extremely grateful for her teachings. she sees her grandmother as the woman who made Margaery who she is and Margaery likes who she is. she would love it if her grandmother were to arrive in Hadriel]

She was the worst possible influence, only interested in furthering her own power and reach. I don't think she truly loved anyone except herself.

[Cersei slaughtered hundreds of people to ensure that Margaery and the High Sparrow were dead]

Does she not have a childhood Keep she could be sent to?

[Margaery would be very curious to meet Rothana. if only so she could give Kelson a bit of gentle ribbing over his apparent disapproval of Margaery's own opinions and stubbornness. what, is she just not his physical type~~? and Margaery never butted heads with Tommen. he was happy to satisfy her slightest whim (with the exception of sending his wretched mother to Casterly Rock)]

There's a mirror in that corner. [she points to it]

I wish I could say there were not others like her in the Eleven Kingdoms but I fear that kind of monster is universal.

[He remembered a time, back when he had first gained his crown at a young and innocent fourteen, after his first kill. Kelson had wished there had been another way. Now he knew better. You don't keep monsters alive. Grieve for the loss of a productive life, yes, but some monsters are simply that.]

My mother, Jehana was a princess of a neighboring kingdom. I'm afraid she would take a return home as exile.

[And in that matter, Kelson is as immovable as Tommen is on the matter of his mother. He does loves her, but does not like her, but nor is he willing to jeopardize their already strained relationship.]

When she gets angry she goes off to a convent, Saint Giles. Last year however she brought part of the convent back with her to the Rhemuth.

[Kelson shakes his head.] She is still Queen until I marry.

[Kelson walks over to the mirror she indicates and undoes his hair, smoothing it out again and starts to plait it in a four strand braid. As for Kelson's physical type, even Kelson doesn't know what that is yet. He could use some experience. Any experience. Actually looking at a woman and letting himself think she's attractive would be progress.]

Unfortunately so. And people like her will always find those to further their goals.

[were Cersei to arrive in Hadriel, she'd last about a minute before Margaery executed her]

Ugh. So that's out as an option. You say she is religious? Can she not be persuaded to take vows as a--a whatever they call women in religious orders in your world?

[Margaery's mother died when she was young, so she never fully bonded with her]

She brought the convent with her? However did she manage that?

[she meets his eyes frankly]

All the more reason to marry.

[were she in Westeros, Margaery would be entirely willing to help him decide what is attractive (spoiler alert, it's her), but here in Hadriel. . . she's already in love with two men. one here, one not]

[Kelson would understand, there were people back home who would not last five minutes in Hadriel if he saw them.]

I could try. As Deryni, she's convinced she's damned. That's what the Church taught, and up until a couple of months ago there were laws forbidding Deryni from entering holy orders. She fervently believes and I'm not sure anything I can ever say or do will convince her otherwise. She's already convinced I'm damned because I take pride in who and what I am.

[Kelson grimaced, remembering the day he heard his mother had arrived and his gut clenched]

As due her rank, she took with her several nuns and a priest who had been assigned to her care. Upon her arrival at Rhemuth I offered to assist in arranging ladies in waiting for her as suitable for her rank. She refused.

[There was that grimace again.]

She didn't even want me to walk her to her apartments.

[That had stung. Jehana was really mad at Kelson. She may love and fear for him as any mother would but she was angry and petty the rest of the time when he wasn't in mortal peril.]

Yes. I know. I did try you know? Twice. The girl didn't live 30 seconds past our wedding vows. The other.....

[Kelson trailed off. Thinking about Rothana was still painful. He refused to leave it alone, he couldn't leave it alone. Couldn't stomach the idea of it being over and that she simply refused to marry him because of circumstances beyond her control. He didn't care, he could fix it. Apparently, no one taught him that no means no.

If Kelson realized that Margaery too was after a crown, well, that was one of the reasons he'd kept the women at a distance. He was convinced they didn't want him, they wanted the crown. And, well, he was right. He just had to do it anyway.]

Edited 2018-05-26 02:47 (UTC)

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