| Common Ground |
| Summary: | Anais and Isolde encounter each other at the market in Riverrun and discuss new husbands. |
| Date: | 13/11/2011 |
| Related Logs: | Riverrun Logs |
| Players: |
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| Marketplace — Riverrun |
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| A market with booths and goods and stuff. |
| November 13, 288 |
Riverrun is crowded with nobles, and most of them seem to be at odds in one manner or another. It's enough to see everyone travelling with guards, which probably explains why Anais has been scarce outside of the quarters given to the Terricks. But the former Banefort lady has never been one to stay locked away for long, and so now she walks through the riverside market, a handmaid at her side and a quartet of guards - some of whose Terrick uniforms still bear the creases of new construction - flanking her. She seems in good spirits, discussing the merits of a certain sheaf of embroidery threads with the merchant selling them.
Ill she may be, but the chamber is a stuffy thing and Isolde finds it hard to remain within for too long as well. Asha is with her, carrying a basket, small as it may be while the Lady walks among the people as well. Fresh air at least seems to give her some vigor and her own few guards, one being that of Ser Wayland Frey as well continue to walk at a distance behind the two. Looking to Asha, they pause beside a fruit stall, apples scenting the air. "Now that is the first thing that has smelled at all edible to me in a few days.." Intones the woman before she steps forward to look over the few and motion for Asha. "Five will do nicely, something for us later as well." Asha eyes the Lady and nods, purchasing just that as the Isolde lets her gaze wander over the rest of the market. It is the Terrick colors that make her stop and consider those who wear them.
"I love these colors," Anais muses, brushing a finger over a sheaf that ranges from pale blue to deep purple. "And these," from seafoam green to dark forest. "But more patterns would probably be more useful than more thread. Have you any patterns?" she asks of the merchant with a small smile. The man disappears with a smile of his own, searching his stock, while Anais turns to her guards. Something passes between her and the younger, red-haired guard with one of the new uniforms, almost a roll of the eyes, but it's there and gone quickly. And then she catches sight of Isolde, rising up on her toes and raising a hand to wave to the other woman with a friendly smile.
Hard to tell who exactly the guards are with at first is quickly answered when Anais turns to speak with them. The friendly smile and wave is returned with a lift of her hand and nod of her head. There are words given to those of her guard and she starts to move in the Lady Terrick's direction. Her smile grows as she draws closer and nearer still until she greets the other, "Lady Anais, I could not be certain it was you. I have not had the pleasure of speakng with you yet." She gives some room, but is within definite speaking distance. "Are you enjoying the market?"
"It's lovely," Anais answers Isolde with a smile for the row of stands surrounding them. "And it strains my ability to be responsible with a purse, as wekk," she adds, rueful. "I was glad to hear you could make it with your husband, though. It didn't seem right for all of this to be decided without you even here to offer your thoughts on the matter. I hope the journey wasn't too difficult?"
"I completely agree, though it seems we have different choices today." She motions Asha forward to offer one of the apples. Isolde dips her head a bit. "Thank you. It would be poor Lady of Stonebridge who did not arrive to address the matter. But the journey was well enough, not one of my best and sadly not on horseback as I would have liked. Yet, we made it through all the same." She then looks to the stalls. "Show me, what were you looking at?" She motions to the stall.
"Carriage?" Anais wrinkles her nose sympathetically. "Lady Evangeline and Lucienne took most of the journey in the carriage. I'll confess, I couldn't do more than an hour or two at a stretch before my entire back started to…crawl," she shudders. "I was looking at some of these threads," she explains, smile quirking at the display of colors. "I'm afraid I'm not the hand at embroidery that Lady Evangeline might like me to be, but I do have a bit of skill at weaving knotwork ribbons from thread. It seems a fair compromise."
There is a shared understanding when concerning carriages that arrives in the form of a rueful smile. Isolde looks to the threads. "Quite lovely…" She intones and nods her head in agreement. "The Lady Evangeline has had more years than either of us to perfect such practices and my dear cousin devotes herself to it as a master would. Sometimes there are things we just naturally do better. I prefer a few others things before my needlework, I will admit." She says softly as if in a conspiratol manner. "There is a great deal of knotwork that can go into ribbon embroidery, perhaps if you were to focus there. Or lacework is weaving, if you are adept I am sure you could produce something quite exquisite."
"I wondered about that recently, actually," Anais admits, nodding once. "The lacework. I've heard it can be challenging, and it's nice to have something that occupies the mind as well as the hands. But the truth is that I don't see well up close," she admits, looking up with a small smile. "Needlework is…well. Impractical, at best. The weaving, at least, is more pattern than sight. I'm not sure how lacework would relate to that." She pauses, smile flashing broader and crinkling the corners of her eyes. "Also, the image of Jacsen spilling over in lace is ludicrous at best."
That last makes Isolde's lips press together in an amused smile, "It does, doesn't it?" A short laugh and she then says thoughtfully. "Your family lives along the coast, the sailors carry something to see the land at times do they not? Perhaps if someone were to make you something, perhaps a larger reproduction and not one that sees so far, you could use it to position over your work?" She tilts her head and gives a it a faint shake, "A thought, only that." She reaches out to pluck up thread with a golden hint beneath its rich purple. "How are you finding the Roost?" She asks in a conversational tone.
Anais' lips curve, and she shakes her head slightly. "Those are terribly expensive, I'm afraid. Usually from Myr. And the glass used in the sea glasses are actually quite small. I shudder to think what it would cost to make one of a size for embroidery." She sets down a sheaf of thread, pausing to murmur thanks and flash a smile to the merchant when he comes out with a few patterns. "Aside from the fact that there are plenty of people capable of doing embroidery. Why force it on someone who isn't?" As she flips through the patterns, her smile curves once more. "The Roost is…different from home. I'm still adjusting, I think. As the Roost is adjusting to me," she adds, rueful. "If it is not, perhaps, what I expected, I think I am also not what they planned for."
"Is that not the case for us all…" Isolde says in regards to the last. The patterns brought out are looked at by the Nayland Lady and the thread set back in favor of some dulled silvers, greys and blues. "Nothing is ever as it seems, Lady Anais…" She says, continuing to pick out a few more thread colors, a beautiful near white with some flares of soft yellow in it. "But there is always a place for us, maybe as we had not thought. But you will find it. It is a matter of carefully manuvering who you are." She smiles at the thought and then looks to her. "It is also a step for the Lord and Lady of the House to realize that one day, they will no longer rule the Roost. A change for them…that in some cases worry them more than they let on. Control is a great thing of comfort to many Lord and Lady."
Anais looks up to Isolde, a faint smile finding her features. "I am sure it's only natural for there to be a period of adjustment," she agrees. "And in the case of the Roost, there has been a great deal of adjustment in a very short period of time. Stonebridge as well, I'm sure. I'd heard you were spending some time in Hag's Mire, though?" She pauses, plucking a pattern from the stack with a soft laugh. "I think that name may be less appealing than Banefort, as such things go."
"Well it certainly is a Mire…it is not less than that." Isolde intones and carefully sets the threads down to the basket that Asha carries before gathering a few more. "My new family is quite different from the one I had grown accustomed to.." She agrees. "But there are the blessings that come with such differences. My husband is quite the …blessing in himself." She admits to the woman beside her. "My hopes lie with him. I had never thought that would be so in the match. But he has proven otherwise." She nods her head. "The Mire makes me miss some things, but there are lessons I am sure you are learning at the Roost, as I am learning at the Mire."
"The sound of the sea," Anais admits, choosing a few more patterns from the stack before collecting a few skeins of thread. "It was such a constant at home that I find it oddly quiet at the Roost sometimes. It's good to hear that you're pleased with your husband, though," she adds with a small smile, reaching over to press a hand to Isolde's arm. "I know we can't always have the choice, and love is not always an option, but…it's still better when there is a chance."
Isolde does not expect the touch and she pauses in her choosing of threads for Igara. Looking to Anais, she meets the other Lady's gaze. "Love." She smiles faintly at that. "Sometimes I think we forget what it actually means. But you are right. He cares for me and in exchange I have vowed to do the same for him." She gently touches her free hand to Anais' on her arm. "It seems you are at least content with your match as well. The Gods serve different purposes than our own wishes. By chance this is what is meant to be. A reason for every change." She then smiles all the more. "The sea, is not so far from you at the Roost. And there are other sounds..the countryside is filled with hum of crickets and birds. In time your ears will come to find them as familiar, I am certain."
"Jacsen is a good man," Anais agrees, letting her hand fall as she turns to one of the guards. The man in turn passes over a few coins to the merchant, and Anais pauses to offer her thanks as she gathers the thread and patterns to slip into her handmaid's basket. "Though this is not what he planned for, either. I suppose it's a good thing that we're all adaptable people, isn't it?" she asks with a wry smile.
"Perhaps, yes…" Isolde nods her head. "Though I do suppose we all wait to make another adjustment on the words of the Lord Tully." The Lady picks out one last thread, looking over the cool indigo that nearly fades to a purple. She sets that as well within and takes from the pouch that Asha offer her. She passes over the money to the merchant and then turns to face Anais more fully. "I let your Lord husband know that I wished I could have wished you well on your wedding day. But I shall tell you as well. I hope you find happiness and the Gods bless your union."
Anais smiles swiftly, the expression crinkling the corners of her eyes. "Thank you, my lady," she replies, warm. "I appreciate that. I was sorry to see you weren't able to make it, but it was kind of your good-uncle to show for the tournament." Or at least those are the polite words to say about the man you suspect of arranging an assassination for you.
"You mean Lord Rygar? I know he is older, but he is a cousin." Isolde laughs a little and draws a long breath. "I am sure he enjoyed his time." She muses on that and then looks to the other stalls along the way. "Shall we walk together and browse what is left of the market?" She asks of Anais. "You can tell me more of your home, of your father's that is."
"Ah, my apologies," Anais laughs, shaking her head. "I am terrible at keeping the relationships straight. I'd be happy to walk with you, though. Perhaps you can help me to resist spending too much," she grins swiftly, conspiratorial. "I already picked up a few things for Gwyn and Cayt. I'd like to get something for Jacsen, I think. Though perhaps I should wait until I see how this all works out."
"Gifts are good for any occasion…I would not wait.." Isolde says with a smile. "And I will do my best to keep you as frugal as I can, Lady Anais, though I daresay if there is something I wish for, I will not hesitate." She grins a little and the guards fall in behind them, her own wearing the orange and green to the yellow and purple of Terrick. "Though I am not certain what you might find here for the Young Lord…"
"Nor I," Anais admits, moving on toward the next booth and looking pensively over the wares there. "It's strange. Not knowing him well enough to even know what to buy him as a gift, yet…being wed. You'd understand, of course," she adds, looking over with a small smile. "I can't say it isn't something I expected, of course. But that doesn't make it any less strange."
"Well, knowing Lord Jacsen as long as I have…" Isolde pauses to think. "Scrolls, anything that would offer him help in studies or in texts would probably we a welcome gift." She admits and then presses a hand down to smooth her skirts. "Being wed doesn't always mean you understand them…my Lord Husband can be as different from my first thoughts as night to day sometimes. Your husband will surprise you in days to come." She gives her an understanding look.
"He ever does," Anais agrees quietly, moving on to another booth. "I always thought I was good at reading people," she muses. "Perhaps it's only that it means so much more to read him correctly that makes it…seem harder with him." She shakes her head slightly, as though dismissing the topic, before looking up with a small smile. "But that is hardly an appropriate topic, isn't it?"
"What is appropriate?" Isolde asks Anais directly. Waiting a moment before continuing, she then adds, "Appropriate changes with your company…so perhaps you mean to say you do not wish to discuss that in my presence. Which is just fine as well." Her smile grows some. "Talking is better than reading, especially in the case of your husband if he does not shirk that duty of spending time with you. Besides, you have so little time to get acquainted in your new meaning to each other, take your time."
Anais's lips curve, rueful. "Mmm. Appropriate is not my favorite word, to be entirely honest. But I try." She walks in silence for a few more moments, then casts a sidelong glance toward the other woman, brow arching slightly. "I don't suppose you'd know who Ser Jarod's…lady friend is? He seems to have been having trouble, but I don't know nearly enough to be of any help. And I would like to be of help. Jarod is…a very good friend."
"Ser Jarod?" That makes Isolde pause a moment, "He was saying to have some trouble the last I talked with him, but I do not think I have had the pleasure of meeting any such woman. Considering. I will be of no help to you in this." She sighs though and looks to one of the stalls as they pass, slowing to get a look at some parchment. "He is a good man, Jarod. A good friend too. It seems to me whoever this woman is or was…dear to him. I can truly be of no help but perhaps you, Lady Anais will offer him some counsel is I can not."
Anais sighs softly, shaking her head. "I tried to. But it sounds as though it was probably too little, too late." She looks up then, smile faint. "I thought maybe if it was someone he'd been off and on with for a while…but it seems not. What about you, then? Has the Mire any colorful characters?" she asks, smile quirking once more. "The town drunk who stumbles pantsless into a fountain every now and then?"
"Colorful?" Isolde hmmms and then laughs a little. "I have not mingled enough in the actual town, but the Mire has it's own…colors if you will. That alone makes it interesting." She admits and leaves the parchment in favor of following beside her companion. "There is enough space though to ride and once one goes further south, there is Oldstones as well. Where you are learning embroidery..I am learning from the Dowager some simple nuances. She really is knowledgeable." Yes, knowledgeable.
"Simple nuances?" Anais echoes, quirking a brow curiously. "Nuances of what?" She pauses for just a moment at a booth that holds musical instruments, though she doesn't linger for long, turning her attention back to Isolde.
"It is hard to express truly. She is a woman of wisdom. I could put in term of…well.." Isolde thinks a moment and then looks to Anais. "She is teaching me to play a game called Cyvasse. My Aunt Arianna is skilled in it and I know some of the pieces involved, but she is a rather skilled woman at the game, the Lady Dowager." She looks at the instruments as well. "Do you sing or perform, Lady Anais?"
"I dance," Anais answers, a touch of regret in her smile. "My sister is more of a musician. I play a few instruments half-decently, but for the most part, I have always enjoyed dance. I've heard of cyvasse," she adds, looking up briefly. "Though I can't say I've played much of it. I've watched my father play it with my brothers, though."
"I did not spend my time with music either, my mother did not see it's merit." Isolde admits and then lifts up a small fife, turning it about to check the craftsmanship. "The Lady Dowager finds that Cyvasse is to be a …rather needed skill. I do not doubt it has helped her in her long years. But as for a gift to your husband. I ams ure you have skills, as you say that others do not. I ams ure he would appreciate those skills. What is that you can do? Make a gift of that to him."
"I somehow suspect that dance is not dear to his heart," Anais notes with a faint arch of her brow, shaking her head. "Nor riding to the hunt. Nor hawking. Jacsen is…not the husband I was raised to expect," she admits. "But then, I am not what he would have expected in a wife, I think. We'll make peace with it in time."
"Or, you teach him to understand why you love the things you do. To appreciate it at the least.." Isolde intones and then smiles some. "But you are both strong in different ways. It is our weaknesses that will undo us all. Perhaps you two are more alike than you think, perhaps in needing each other more than you know." She tilts her head. "Expecting something is far different then needing something."
"I don't think either of us is the sort to easily admit to needing something," Anais laughs softly. "Though I suspect you've the right of that. Anyhow." She waves a hand, moving comfortably through the crowds. "It seems Lord Tully wishes our families to negotiate the matter of Stonebridge between outselves, if we can."
"I see no harm in trying to negotiate. Though the Nayland and Terrick rivalry is an old one." Isolde sighs. "I am hoping that time will have that fade. It serves our lands to no better, in my mind at the very least." She frowns some and walks with Anais as they move away from the stall. "Did you have such ..problems in your own lands?"
"Banefort?" Anais wrinkles her nose, then laughs. "No. In fact, I recall thinking often when I first arrived that Lord Tywin would never allow this sort of behavior among his vassals. And in Banefort in particular, we're more concerned with fighting Ironmen than ourselves." She looks to the other woman, tilting her head thoughtfully. "It seems to me that everyone insists they don't want this rivalry to continue, but no one seems willing to take steps to end it."
"Each side thinks the steps too costly…is what I gather. I have spoken with my goodbrother about lowering taxes and tariffs. That is what seemed to be plaguing the Roost the most. But even before Stonebridge, there was no love between Nayland and Terrick." She frowns and presses her lips together. "My father…he followed the Terricks and with the Naylands right on our borders, we kept a relative peace. I do not think I have seen this rivalry so pronounced til now."
"The value of Stonebridge lies in the taxes and tariffs," Anais smiles ruefully. "It's no surprise that neither side is willing to compromise on those." She considers the other woman for a long moment, then simply shakes her head. "Well. I suppose we will see where it all ends."
"Yes, I do suppose there will be some sort of ending, though I fear a beginning to other problems in it's stead." Isolde comments. But there is a faint smile. "We are not likely to see much of each other, Lady Anais. Why do we not enjoy our time in the market and let Riverrun keep the problem to itself." She says with a warm smile.
"I think that is an excellent plan," Anais agrees, her own smile easy as she strolls among the stalls. "After all, with both of us married, I expect it will be some time before we have another excuse for a grand gathering or tournament again. This is likely to most exciting gathering we'll see for a bit."
