Flashback scene - Ser Arstan returns to Starfall

[ihateseagulls]

Random flashback scene.

Ser Arstan: ME (degausser on Fan Forum)
Lady Asheria: Sofia (MovieManiac on Fan Forum)

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[ihateseagulls]

Ser Arstan Estermont
To say he was utterly surprised by her words would have been an understatement. You will stay here until you figure out a way that will not make your story end this way. He repeated her words several times in his head. When Arstan finally found the courage to travel the long way to Starfall he did not know what he expected, much less desired. Of all the possible scenarios he had played out in his head while on the road, none of them ended with the offer Lady Asheria made him. Had she tossed him out the front gate upon first seeing him, he would not have been surprised. Arstan deserved no less. But this … this …

Arstan realized that this is what he had wanted all along. He simply had no hope that such an opportunity might present itself to him and so he did not dare to even dream of it.

Arstan followed Lady Asheria in silence, still overwhelmed by her kindness. He thought of something else she said. I shall not see another son of his die before his time again. Arstan felt his stomach fall to the floor. He remembered Lord Edren’s sadness the day the babe he believed to be his heir had perished. The child had been so young, and the family distraught. To even be mention in the same breath as Lord Edren’s true born son inspired something deep within Arstan’s very being. The moment they exited the crypts, Ser Arstan spoke … his voice trembling before gaining strength.

“Lady Asheria …” she turned to look at him, and he immediately fell to one knee, bowing his head to her. “I promise you will not regret this incredible kindness you have done me.” Ser Arstan remembered the day he had pledged himself to King Maegor Targaryen. At the time he did not fully comprehend the gravity of the words he spoke or the oath he would take. Today was different. Today he understood the words he would now speak. “I promise to serve you as I once served your father. You have offered me a roof, and if it please you, my Lady, I would offer you my sword.” Ser Arstan drew his sword from its sheathe and laid it across his knee, head still bent in submission. “If you would have me, Lady Asheria, I promise to honor and protect both your person and your House. I will not fail you again.”

[ihateseagulls]

Asheria Dayne
They left the crypt as quietly as they entered it. She just wanted to wish him a good night when he suddenly spoke again and was down on one knee. Asheria was startled to say the least. She thought about his offer. She did not know what would make her a greater fool. Accepting or declining it. Should she really accept the oath of a man who broke his oath to the King himself? Should she refuse the sword of one of the most skilled knights in the seven Kingdoms?

She looked down at him for what seemed like a long while. "My father taught me kindness but he also taught me pride, Ser. You have wounded the pride of my house when you broke your oath. My kindness shall allow you to heal this wound. But... I swear it by the old Gods and the new... if you break your oath and shame the name of the man who knighted you once more... my kindness will end." She spoke with a strong voice but after just visiting her fathers grave she could not manage to make it sound cold.

This was a risk. If she was wrong about him this she would regret it forever. But if she was right the shame that was brought over her house could be made forgotten. When the seven Kingdoms heard that the Knight was honorable and sworn to her house again they would understand that the mistake he made did not define his whole life. "Rise, Ser Arstan." She finally told him. "Tomorrow we will speak about your new responsibilities."

[ihateseagulls]

Ser Arstan Estermont
The gravity of her words were not lost on him. Ser Arstan knew she was going above and beyond the call of her station by affording him a roof for shelter. By offering him her sword he was asking her to take a large gamble with him. If she rejected his sword he would not have blamed her, and part of him wished for nothing more than to speak up and advise her against this arrangement. His was a sullied reputation and she had been right in saying that his shame had also brought shame down upon the honorable House Dayne. Words were wind. He could speak the words and make the oath but only time would heal the wounds he caused, and only time would prove his words true or false.

And time was the only thing he could rightfully ask her for.

When she commanded him to rise, he did so slowly, though his gaze remained glued to the floor. “Your kindness and your generosity have not been misplaced, my Lady. I do not expect you to take my word for it, for words have always been wind. But I will bring honor back to your house, even if it takes the whole of my life to do so. My life is now yours.” He lifted his gaze finally and gave her only the smallest of nods before continuing to follow her up to the main hall. Arstan stood at Lady Asheria’s side silently as she gave instructions to the Maester of Starfall to find him more permanent lodgings. When the Maester instructed Ser Arstan to follow him, he did so but not before turning to Lady Asheria one last time. “Goodnight, my Lady. And … thank you.” He might have said more but one look at her face told him that no more words were required.

From here on out only his actions would have any true meaning.