InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "R-E-S-P-E-E-K!"

Liona Colfna (darkreflection) wrote in watchers_rp,
@ 2017-04-07 19:38:00

Entry tags:

#day 001/01 may, liona, reyne

Who: Liona and Reyne
Where: Just outside Kingswood
When: Morning

Traveling had never been one of Liona's favorite things to do. Previously she had only ever gone to the Island of Trumpets and to her "doomed" betrothed's home, and neither trip had been particularly enjoyable. On the first she'd been concerned that someone was going to get word to her father or send her home and on the second, she had been too busy plotting with her cousin to pay any attention to her surroundings. This time she had had pleasant company. The Keeper must have been paying attention, because Reyne had responded to her letter, agreeing to be her 'escort' to Kingswood. To her father she had pleaded the need for a little bit of freedom that wasn't actually such, since she was traveling with a lady from Árdghal, which was like traveling with a lord from any of the other kingdoms and besides, he'd have more attention to give to her other sisters, who likely wanted it more. None of them seemed to think that their lord father was a nuisance or that he had had a direct hand in their useless mother's death...

A jolt of the carriage brought her back to the present and she blinked, focusing her eyes over on her traveling companion. "Did your sister threaten you with death to get you to wear a dress?" Liona asked, a smirk tugging at the corners of her mouth. It was the first time in her memory that she had ever seen the other Bringer dressed in such a way. She was unsure whether or not telling her it suited her would go over well, or be worth it, so she held the comment back.

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heldbytheblade
2017-04-07 10:53 pm UTC (link)

Despite having no qualms with removing the twins from her eldest's presence and placing them in their own carriage with their own escort, Reyne was quite aware that was not right exactly. Most families did not function that way. Most mothers did not have a fairly legitimate concern that their children would sacrifice each other to the Keeper, either. While far from maternal, she would rather see the twins at least reach an age where they could adequately defend themselves before Iliana made a sacrifice out of either or both of them. Assuming, of course, that they did not do precisely that to one another in His name. Familial affairs flitting out of her mind in favour of the view from the window -- fairly average -- she tried to ignore the feel of the soft material beneath her hands as they folded themselves across her lap.

Tried.

At that question her gaze rolled back around to land on Liona, shoulders pushing back stubbornly to disguise what may have been a sigh of resignation. "Not in so many words," she replied archly. Which naturally meant yes. "If I remember correctly, she requested that I not embarrass her. Since that includes dressing inappropriately..." One hand waved the rest of that elaboration away, pausing as she frowned with a mild confusion upon remembering that for some reason the sleeve needed to be looped over her middle finger. Why, was it capable of escaping? "This is the first real dress I have bothered with since my last wedding." If she ever married again, it would be in armour.

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darkreflection
2017-04-07 11:52 pm UTC (link)

The trouble of having family with connections, family that one actually cared about, was that when they asked for something you tended to want to give it to them. Liona was blessed to not have that problem since the only member of her family she truly cared about had died a long time ago. "How long will you manage to stay in dresses before you revert?" Liona would be willing to place bets on that. It was one of the numerous ways in which they were very different. Liona appreciated a good dagger as much as the next woman, but she relied more heavily on her magic than anything else, and she knew that Reyne and Nevina both were typical of their kingdom and wielded physical weapons like swords as easily as anything else.

Liona thought that was just too messy. And she liked her dresses.

"When was the last time you married?" Liona found the older wizards fascinating. She'd have been asking these questions of her own mother had she been alive, and it seemed natural enough to transfer it to Reyne, and Nevina the few times she had seen her. "And why continue to do so? You don't have a father who can force you to." The bite to those words came without conscious thought. Lionel would no doubt be looking for a suitable husband for her again with all of those 'eligible bachelors' at court.

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heldbytheblade
2017-04-08 12:29 am UTC (link)

That, actually, was a good question. The answer to which Reyne had not been thinking about because the more she did that the faster she would realise precisely how uncomfortable she really was. One hand gave a flippant shrug, as though the answer did not really matter when it actually did, then moved to touch hair that she had not bothered styling any different than usual. "Dependent on whether my sister will let me wear armour outdoors? I can't rightly say." At this point, Reyne was half-convinced the dress would draw more attention than the alleged scandal of her armour ever could. And not for reasons that she appreciated in the least. "I feel naked without most of my blades, but this wretched thing would crease."

Giving something of a thoughtful hum, Reyne actually had to consider that answer. "Iliana is... twenty-three? So it must be at least twenty-five years." A beat while the facts and figures fell into place in her head. "Yes. He drowned himself in the bath two years later. I was far from impressed." That was enough reminiscing. She could not even remember the man's name. Liona's question was a valid one, though. "To keep up appearances. Though it meant I needn't look for my evening's entertainment outside the castle." Which was the answer suitable for the dinner table, though talk of child sacrifice was not truly necessary. "And as a means of extending the family tree to legitimise any future incarnations." That all of those relations were actually dead rather went without saying. And Reyne had not missed the edge to the reference of a father.

"Is he at it again? You're quite certain you wouldn't rather his innards decorated the floor at court?" Nevina might never forgive her, but it would be fun. Nobody would miss him. Nobody important, anyway.

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darkreflection
2017-04-08 01:08 am UTC (link)

Liona's eyes drifted to the window, taking in the surroundings, knowing that soon she would be seeing the city walls. She'd never been to the royal palace before and was intrigued to see how different it was from the one she had grown up in. "You could keep knives hidden in your sleeves and under your skirts, couldn't you?" Personally, she kept a dagger sheathed to her left calf in case she needed it for one reason or another. She had a feeling, though, if she were to pull it out at court she might get strange looks. Not that their opinions matter. Sheep.

"Ah Iliana, I must confess that I forget she's your daughter more often than not." Liona had met the other young woman on the Island of Trumpets, and they got along well enough, but it was hard for her to see similarities between her and Reyne or Nevina. Just as it was difficult to find the similarities between her and her family. The difference being that Liona would have been thrilled to have Reyne and Nevina for her family instead of Lionel. "I suppose I might carry through with one one day... I can only be heartbroken over someone I didn't know for so long." Her eyes rolled when Reyne asked if Lionel was at it again - when wasn't he? "Oh no, I think I'd love his innards spread out for the whole of court to see. However it would bring unwanted questions and attention that I don't want to deal with." She drew a finger over the wall of the carriage, sighing. "I can dream of it though. If he dies without a son then Beinn would be mine."

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heldbytheblade
2017-04-08 11:05 am UTC (link)

“Oh I have,” Reyne assured her, flipping blades no longer than her little finger out her sleeves, then sliding then back. “But it’s the principle.” Namely that of putting her in a dress. The bodice may have had a silver under-bust designed to look like a light (and highly decorative) steel-plating because she was a Mordha from Ardghal, not some simpering brat from Arcadie, but that did not meant she liked it. She liked that it allowed for movement enough to beat someone bloody, however. If Nevina could not appreciate that her older sister’s legs were covered all the way down to, and including, her ankles then Reyne was going to destroy Ardghal’s clothier and their family.

Nose wrinkling almost daintily, she shrugged carelessly. “I have spent most of her life thus far forgetting she is my daughter, I very much doubt anyone but her would hold that against you.” Though she was not ignorant of her meaning. As far as Reyne was concerned it was completely obvious that she did not possess a maternal bone in her body. She was intended to take lives, not create them, and any improvements in the twins’ lives when compared to Iliana’s childhood were due to a parental learning curve of incidents and attitudes she simply wished to avoid. Reyne was nothing if not self-serving. “They do claim one can die from a broken heart… It would certainly be an interesting way to end a lifetime and avoid marriage.” If she remarried she may actually have to try it herself. She paused. “Then you should move to Ardghal.” That being said, she was of the opinion all women were better off in Ardghal. Because it was true. The mental image of Lord Lionel’s guts and entrails strewn across, say, the Great Hall of Elkwood Castle elicited a snort of amusement. “Nevina would never forgive us even if we made it look like an accident, though he is long overdue for one.” Reyne tried briefly to wrap her mind around Mag Mell’s customs. “Would you not need to marry to inherit? Your kingdom functions backwards.”

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darkreflection
2017-04-08 02:16 pm UTC (link)

At the sight of the little blades and with the addition of her dress being a matter of principle more than anything else, Liona smiled. It was refreshing to see that even the older Bringers still had someone around who could make them do what they didn't want to. It made her feel better about having to listen to her father, even if she would have traded him for Nevina without a second thought. Wearing a dress was a small price to pay for only having a sister to worry about. "Good." Liona did not actively seek out the irritation of other Bringers, but it was good to know that should Ilian hold her forgetting Reyne was her mother against her, Reyne herself would not. One was more frightening than the other, after all.

"Keep it in mind for next time you're too old," Liona suggested. She had no intention of using it herself. She was still truly young and her family was still all too alive and Creator-worshipping fools on top of it. "Nevina should learn that not everything is about her plans." Of which Liona only vaguely knew; having heard a few stories about the other Mordha sister and the reason behind her move to Kingswood. "Yes, unfortunately, but Lady Delyth has been regent of Mag Mell these last four years while the little lord grows old enough to take it in his own right, so should I marry and he inherits my castle-" She had worked very hard to make it unappealing to priests and the like in her lifetime. "-after I have a son, then it would be mine until he was old enough to rule." She'd spent a little bit of time thinking about this. "Of course it means having a son." Her lips twisted in distaste at the idea. What good was a son? He'd never inherit her Gift and could be, at best, a second-rate follower of the Keeper.

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heldbytheblade
2017-04-08 05:17 pm UTC (link)

“I would,” the older woman admitted without much thought on the matter. “But I do not know what dying of a broken heart looks like. Are there symptoms other than sulking over a man?” She thought not, frankly, but then the last genuine heartbreak-related event she could recall was Nevina’s. Over a century ago. Reyne snorted outright. “Do you want to tell her that? -- because I shan’t.” Mostly because she had no problem with her sister’s plans. “Besides, I am sister to one of Princess Rona’s ladies-in-waiting, Lady of my House, and Iliana is undoubtedly looking for a man,” she counted the list of reasons for her to behave on her fingers. They were boring and commonplace, but also common-sense. And if she wished to remarry herself… “So behave I shall, to the best of my ability.” Which meant she could not truly make any promises and it would be foolish to ask any of her.

Reyne was far from slow on the uptake, but the switch from female inheritance to male inheritance hurt her head because it was ludicrous, and it took her a moment or so longer than it would otherwise have done to follow what Liona was actually saying. “Keep having children, killing the sons off before they come of age, and remain the eternal Lady regent?” Aging issues aside, it did not sound like a bad idea to her. “And kill off enough of the daughters so you can come back as them.” She gave a shrug that roughly translated as ‘there’s your answer’. Whether or not it worked in the long term depended solely on Liona. Her own reincarnations probably would not have worked if she did not make a point of giving herself terribly violent deaths. Carrying the title of Lady Mordha was virtually synonymous to a short lifespan unless you were aware the woman herself was Gifted. “Although you could just put an illusion on a daughter when you had company,” she added. Why was she still thinking about this?

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darkreflection
2017-04-08 08:00 pm UTC (link)

"I think that is all there could be to it. I think I was doing a good job at pretending to it, with all those hours 'pining' in my tower." Her father would likely never know that those were the best hours of her life, and the only time when she really felt like herself at Beinn. Her tower was her safe space, and the only place where she still felt somewhere close to her mother. And the Keeper, of course, she gave her prayers there and still thought about if the Keeper would like her father for a sacrifice. "I do not think I will. She may not like it." Talking about it with Reyne was one thing, talking about it with Nevina was something she would avoid. She'd have behaved like Reyne as well.

Liona nodded with a smile. "Something very much like that, yes. Or perhaps only for long enough to find the perfectly subservient husband in Árdghal who has no sisters to inherit his lands and take those instead. Something will work out. I have time." More of it than her father or half-sisters did. She smoothed out an imaginary wrinkle in her dress, craning her neck for a view of the city walls. "I'm not as gifted with illusions as you." She could perform them, but she hadn't practiced as much as she did with blood. "I imagine that you will get approached by at least two men today," she added on with a little smirk. "If you want another husband you will have one before the next year is up."

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heldbytheblade
2017-04-08 08:43 pm UTC (link)

Reyne thought on it a moment, a small blade from the Keeper-knew-where gently tracing the edge of the window. "I do not think Mordhas were ever meant to die from heartbreak," she said at length, as though she had ever experienced the sensation in all her years. "We transfer that death onto as many others as possible." There were no prizes regarding to whom she may have been referring. Though she supposed that since they were Bringers of Death, that should not have been at all surprising. When it came to discussing the concept of personal boundaries in murder with her sister, Reyne smiled. No, she did not think it would happen.

"You do at that." Reyne almost unconsciously mirrored Liona's attempt to see the walls despite having taken this route so many times she knew they ought not be in view just yet. Especially since the trees had gotten taller. "I would say you make me feel old, but that would be a lie." She had 109 years on Liona and felt not a day older than she looked. Was she supposed to feel like some old hag when she did not look the part? -- What? Oh, illusions. "I forget," she admitted freely. It was easily done when one's sister also had an affinity for Illusions. "As a child I thought all the Gifted used Illusions." Well, it was true. Though the near-prediction regarding men took her a little by surprise. Not because Reyne was at all modest but because she did not consider herself to be looking her best. "Usually I get approached because by their standards I'm half-dressed, but in this?" She plucked at her skirt. "Truly?" Needless to say she was not a fan of herself in more feminine attire.

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darkreflection
2017-04-09 02:07 pm UTC (link)

"Your very words speak to that end," Liona agreed. We Make Our Mark. To those not in the know it might seem simple enough, but to her, it meant more. Surely their service to the Keeper made a mark on the world without the world even realizing it. Nevina was apparently doing her best to make sure her mark echoed through the centuries. "Much better than mine." Her lips twisted in disgust at the thought of her family's words and banner. Could they be more pious? "Though I suppose one could say Deliver Us from the Creator and her soft-minded followers." It was her dearest ambition to one day say that to her father as he lay dying in his bed, or perhaps crumbled at the foot of a long flight of stairs, broken and bleeding out, as her mother had been...

Liona honestly didn't know how old Reyne or Nevina were, only that it must be significant as Nevina had held a grievance against a king who was several rulers ago. She wondered if Reyne knew how old her mother had been. "And as a child I couldn't imagine any magic without paying in blood." Her mother had taught her that. The Island of Trumpets had untaught it, mostly, but Liona still knew that her strongest magic came when blood had been given first. Her own or someone else's. The surprise on Reyne's face regarding men made Liona laugh in amusement. "Yes, in that and yes truly!" Liona shook her head, still chuckling. "Has it been so long since you have worn skirts that you forget the figure you have in them? You look beautiful, Reyne." If a bit off to Liona's eyes because yes, she was used to her in armor and leggings instead. "The men here do not know how you normally dress. The only one who will bat an eyelash is your sister. Who, I imagine, is likely waiting close as she can get to the gate without being obvious."

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heldbytheblade
2017-04-10 11:53 am UTC (link)

"Would that we could claim that to be their purpose," Reyne sighed. "Every woman of our House before myself and Nevina worshipped the old gods. Only the Keeper knows where they plucked those words from." Probably His influence for future generations... Though she could not help but grin at what Liona twisted her own family's words into. "Add 'Watchers' to the beginning and you have yourself a bedtime prayer for your children." It was about as sweet as a prayer intended for the Keeper was inclined to be. If she had any more of her own, she would teach it to them and find a way to credit Liona.

Brows drawing together in thought, Reyne tapped the window with the back of one nail. "I cannot tell if one or both of the twins has an affinity for blood or if they just like playing in it. It is an irritation." Disturbed servants aside, the more they played with blood the better they became with its magic. If their affinities lay elsewhere it was most confusing for their mother. And the very level of Liona's entertainment confused her further. Reyne was not at all accustomed to being laughed at, and though she did not think she was being mocked, she was far from sure what was so amusing about what she had said. "Since the last was my wedding, you mean?" Which they had established was before Liona was born. Wedding dresses also has a tendency to be a touch more conservative than what she wore now. At least, they used to be. "I know what I look like, but if I do not the appeal then why should--" Reyne very nearly bit her own tongue off to halt that sentence. "Court. A special breed of man." One she had also been avoiding. The thought of Nevina waiting made her smirk a little. "Only so I'd be within hexing distance if inappropriately dressed..."

It was taking all of Reyne's self control not to demand why they were not there yet. She did not remember the journey taking this long. "I do not recall carriages being this slow." Nor could she recall the last time she was actually in a carriage as opposed to riding on horseback, but that was neither here nor there.

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darkreflection
2017-04-11 12:27 am UTC (link)

"As you are now the Lady of Mordha, I believe you can claim their purpose to be whatever you wish." Liona found it fascinating that Mordha had never been made up of Creator worshippers and yet here they were, on their way to a festival dedicated to that very god. She wished she could say the same about her house, but alas, Colfna had always been pious, or so her father and the histories she had found on her family claimed. They had even produced, to her stomach's distaste, no small number of priests and priestesses, and even a High Priest of Mag Mell several generations back. She'd have been more interested to know if they had ever produced anyone who had been proven to serve the Keeper before her, but there was nothing in any records about that. Her mother's family was a different story, but as they were from Mag Mell, the maternal line hardly mattered. Sadly. "If I ever have children then that's the tale I'll tell them of the words I was born too." If. Liona didn't know if she had the right temperament any more than Reyne did to be a mother. Likely she would create a miniature version of herself, or a boy burned in the flames in the name of the Keeper.

She was intrigued by the mention of Reyne's twins. "If they do have an affinity for blood, then perhaps we should convince my father that they should foster at Beinn and I could teach them what I know. They could be good for my little sister as well." Liona was determined to get Liselle to follow the same path as hers and any help she got would be appreciated. She did not apologize for her laughter, nor would she. It was funny to her to think of Reyne not realizing how appealing she looked as she was dressed. Men would be tripping over their own tongue at the sight of her. "I can imagine that she will have a few on the tip of her tongue just in case. Or if you look like you'll take the hand off the first man who offers you help." As for the matter of their arrival? "Since I have never been to this part of the Kingdom, it is all longer than I recall. I find that I far prefer ships to carriages." At least she was not stuck traveling with Lionel. He would likely not arrive for another few days due to stopping far too often. "Do you think they will announce me on my own or wait until the rest of my family arrives?" She would rather go on her own as she was already quite different from them.

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heldbytheblade
2017-04-11 12:02 pm UTC (link)

“Then I claim your version,” Reyne stated without hesitation. Somehow the words sat alongside their sigil more convincingly that way. The banner was old, as if Reyne’s own age was needed to be any proof, as was the family. They had no histories written about them, nobody had ever tried to untangle their webs of lies and half-truths to discern their true lineage. It would be folly. Reyne had trouble enough trying to follow her own ‘lives’. The House of Mordha had made their mark enough to remain despite very little of the public knowledge being true. As far as the Lady of the House was concerned, the jubilation was far less about the Creator as it was the number of nobles and Creator-loving idiots thrown into a barrel called Kingswood, all while the Keeper handed her a harpoon. That in and of itself was her idea of fun, never mind that her sister was doing her utmost to wreak havoc from the very top… “Do not visit the Island of Trumpets while pregnant,” Reyne warned. “Things like Iliana happen.” Not that Reyne had anything specific against her eldest. She just knew how to be terribly inconvenient.

The Bringer’s eyes widened in amusement. “Oh, do not tempt me.” Reyne was entirely unashamed in wanting to know how quickly Lord Lionel would crumble. “I’d be curious to see how he would handle their disappearance if they were called to the Island of Trumpets when family trend seems to dictate.” So herself and Iliana were not a trend, but a mother could hope. The smile that spread had a sadistic twist to it. Indeed, Reyne wanted Lionel to come to her and try to explain why her children were missing when she likely knew why and before he did. She was not at all above using her own daughters as instruments of torture. “I always look like that,” she pointed out, not finding it a good enough reason for her sister to hex her. “Horseback provides more shortcuts but there is no room for luggage.” Had she been alone and not in need of at least one dress, Reyne would simply have ridden in as much of a straight line as was possible. Though her horse would not have thanked her. “Since he appears to be well behind even the twins, you will likely be announced on your own.” Of the opinion Liona should be head of her House anyway, she gave a shrug. It wasn’t as though Tanis and Medeia were going to be introduced at court. They were eleven, and somewhat illegitimate. “Can you recall the last name I used? Somebody will tell me how much I look like her and I shall have to lie and say she’s my… aunt, I think.” Reyne glared at the roof of the carriage as though it had the answer and would not tell. “I hate court.”

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darkreflection
2017-04-11 04:20 pm UTC (link)

Liona nodded. "No, I think I would rather give birth wherever I lived. Unless the Keeper called me to the Island for the birth." That happened. Though her hope was that if that ever happened for her she would give birth to a girl and give her over to be raised as the next possible Hand of the Keeper. Could there be a greater honor for a Bringer of Death than to know her own flesh and blood would be the voice of the Keeper on this earth? The last had come into power not too long ago, but Liona was a wizard. She could be giving birth for many years to come. She could offer up half a dozen different girls to be raised that way if she were so instructed, and have no more attachment to one than to the last. She would only offer attachment to a daughter she kept and raised as her own, and then only in memory of how her own mother had behaved towards her before her death. Honoring her mother was one of the very few things that Liona had any interest in doing.

"Consider the option laid onto the table if you wish to see what happens." Amusement had seeped into her words as she imagined her father's face at the scenario of having to explain to Reyne were her daughters had gone if they indeed did go to the Island. Or if they were found in the presence of a murdered servant. "He doesn't have to know that they are not precisely legitimate. Lying to him is easy." Keeper knew that she had been doing it for years about a wide variety of things, from her religion to her magic to her whereabouts when she had followed her own summons to the Island at the proper time. Liona honestly wondered how wild a lie she would have to tell to have Lionel question her.

"Better to be announced on my own, though likely not long after you." Nodding absently, Liona twirled a lock of her hair. "Whoever you were last I do not know, it was before my time." She, she knew, would be told how much she looked like her own mother. The difference was that she was not actually the one who had been her mother, not yet. "I wonder if my mother ever came to court..." Liona's eyes went to Reyne, a question clear in them. There were many things she hadn't known about her mother when she died, and the answer to some of the questions had come from Reyne. She knew more about her mother than the man who had married her could ever claim to. "Surely there are good things about it. A chance to meet people we never have and perhaps the Keeper has some who he would like to... be no more." Liona was not squeamish about it, she was a Bringer of Death. "Imagine, the High Priests and Priestesses altogether in one spot. How can that be passed up? Perhaps that is why we are here."

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heldbytheblade
2017-04-11 07:45 pm UTC (link)

If Reyne had ever bothered to stop and wonder how so many lords and ladies got their affairs set in order over even a short journey, she now knew. It was the conversation brought about due to travelling by carriage... A thought that flitted across her mind and vanished as quickly as the question of whether she and Liona had ever actually talked so much. That her attention was stolen to continue a line of conversation was not entirely lost on her.

"If he is not careful your father may end up leaving Elkwood with twin fiends in tow." Whether Tanis or Medeia would actually wish to go was not a detail she had any interest in. They were eleven, what could they possibly know? "They are more legitimate than not," Reyne defended. Though it was her own pride complaining of the illegitimacy, not the girls'. "I may be unmarried but the name is mine to give them." Which was why so many seemed to take them at face value. Because bastards simply did not carry the family name. Really, Ardghal was not that foreign.

Brows knitting in confusion, Reyne's head tilted. "I remember your birth, I would be impressed if it was before your ti--" Her gaze rolled round the carriage interior as something clicked into place in her head. What had Lady Analeigh called her? Aurelia. "You spent the first few years of your life referring to me as 'Rae' or 'Ow'," she reflected. "You could not say my real name. I forget how your mother learned it." Then at some point the odd syllables had turned into the name she wore now. She could not put her finger on when that happened either. Damned inconvenient. But speaking of Analeigh: "Styin..." The name felt strange to say and jarred the dusty shelves of Reyne's mental library. "I was around for her debut." Which meant someone had died an untimely death, but that was just par for the course. She refrained from now stating the obvious fact that Liona did indeed look like her mother, then paused. "Her actual debut." Because naturally, it should seem obvious that Analeigh may have had a second pseudo-debut -- why would that not make perfect sense?

"As a general rule, I avoid meeting too many people for good reason. Unless they're to die." Reyne could not claim to be squeamish either, she was positively brazen and did not care if their driver heard. Though she had placed an illusion of a silent carriage on them hours ago, and frankly, he ought to have checked by now to see they were truly still alive. "It is certainly why I am here. I think I may actually be excited." Which was another reason the driver needed to hurry.

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darkreflection
2017-04-13 02:13 pm UTC (link)

Liona merely smiled at the idea of pious Lord Lionel taking back to his castle the daughters of one of the most renowned - in the right circles - Bringers of Death. And then having to deal with the fall-out. After all, Liona said she would help them learn about blood magic, she had never said she was going to play nanny. Liona blinked when Reyne mentioned the legitimacy. She hardly thought it a matter worth looking into. "That is true enough. If they have the name of their noble mother no one would even think to ask where they came from." Wise people didn't think to ask many things of Reyne at all. Lionel, however, wasn't a wise man. Liona could only hope he might one day say the wrong thing at the wrong time and bring down a wrath she was certain would be wonderful to behold.

"So just after my time," Liona inferred, trying to remember a time when she thought of Reyne as anything but that. She couldn't recall it, which meant that it had been before the event that had shaped her life more than Lionel had ever thought it would. He had no doubt hoped that removing the mother would remove her imprint on the daughter and it had done nothing but the exact opposite. "Analeigh Styin..." What Liona would give to carry that surname in place of Colfna. "If you could question the dead, I would ask her why she chose Lionel." She truly would. There was nothing attractive about the man, his lands were not the best that could be hoped for, he had no interest in the Keeper... Liona had many questions for her mother that would do nothing but rattle about her head for the rest of her life.

Smiling again at Reyne's excitement, Liona glanced out the window."I just wish to see if the princes are as handsome as everyone says. They're as single as they say, except for the one your sister's northern lady married. Would it bother Nevina, do you think, if one of them married?" Liona had no intentions of leaving Kingswood any more married than she had come to it, but Lionel would push her and offer up and perhaps seal a deal without her agreement since she was just a girl. She had to be prepared for all the possibilities. "If it would and my father makes any statements towards that happening, you may get your wish of seeing his guts on the floor." Who would put them there would be the only question. Liona imagined Nevina might be quite quick about anything that threatened her century-long revenge.

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