AGOT AU Part 1
I can't remember if it was for my birthday or Christmas, but my mother insisted on buying me something even though there was nothing I needed, and so she got me a Kindle. It sat completely unused on my shelf until last Wednesday, when I finally used it to buy the first book of A Game of Thrones (I'm just gonna call it that because that's what everyone knows it as), and I am now on the second book (and very confused because gifs I have seen and the story I am reading are suggesting different things happening to a certain character, but I'm waiting for it to play out and explain itself I have discovered what it means. And I am sad.).
The problem for me with these big fantastical worlds is that I get lost in the mentality and devour the stories (well, I managed to hold off on buying the second one for a few days in hope of getting stuff done, but that didn't really happen) until all the books are gone and I'm left with this reality, which is a pretty crappy and very different one, how dare you lie to me and fill me full of hopes you evil writers you. But being lost in the mentality carries over to my other things, and I've been playing a more medieval-y mindset neighbourhood of sims (not characters from the book, wouldn't trust myself to write other people's right) instead of my legacy, and, well, of course this happens too... (Rating: U)
Seth didn't understand adults. There was a war going on, that much he knew, but they were not yet involved in it and he didn't understand why. Apparently all they discussed in his Lord Uncle Sean's council meetings was whether they should go into it, but they didn't.
Eventually he expressed his frustrations to his mother. "I don't understand why we're not fighting too. Whenever there's a war there's a good side and an evil side and we're good, so we should fight and win!"
His mother gave him an amused but pitying look, and he didn't like it. "Seth," she sighed, "war is a lot like fighting or arguing, but bigger. Tell me, when you and your sister argue and fight, who is the good and who is the evil?"
That did make him think. "I'm right," he stated certainly, "but... Sara's not evil, she's just wrong."
"According to you, at least. Things are rarely a case of good and evil, and even right and wrong isn't always clear or obvious. Say I were to start buying you and your sister treats. Would it be more right to divide them perfectly equally, or should she receive more as she's older and has lived longer without? I'm sure you would argue to have what she has, and I'm sure she would argue that she should have more. Wars have been fought for similar reasons, though perhaps over property and titles rather than treats. And I should hope that you would not try to kill each other in battle over such a matter either."
Seth had hit his elder sister in fights before - though little more than she had done first or in return - but the idea of her going away forever made him feel very upset, just at the idea.
His mother read his face. "And that is the other problem with war, my son. Terrible things happen to people and they die. And even in the most wrong or evil of armies, there will be good men who were forced to fight, somebody's son, perhaps a brother, perhaps even a father. Sometimes wars have to happen anyway, and songs and stories are created to glorify them as they can't be taken back, but it is a serious decision to make. Your Lord Uncle is right to weigh the decision carefully, rather than lose the lives of so many for insufficient cause."
Seth knew his mother was very wise - on his Lord Uncle's council and everything - so he didn't try to argue, but he was still unhappy with it. He was disappointed that the world wasn't so simple as good and bad, and, to tell it true, he was bored when he knew such excitement was going on elsewhere, even if it was a good decision not to be part of it. He was advised instead to think of tournaments, where there could be glory and magnificence without the danger and death of war, but he was only eight, and the only way he'd be going to any tournaments any time soon was if his Lord Uncle held one himself, or perhaps if Seth was made a squire, and even that would have to wait a few years.
But he didn't have to wait long for excitement to turn up when a raven brought news that had the adults very anxious and swiftly massing their hesitant army. From the snatches he, Sara and his Lady Cousins heard, it was about the seat of the House Jalowitz, with whom their House had been allied in the last war. It was confusing though; House Jalowitz had already been at this war for a while and Lord Sean hadn't joined before, despite their former allegiance, so Seth didn't understand why, if the Jalowitzes were losing, it made that big of a difference. But even still, the men rode off to battle or whatever, and the children were left to try to wheedle it out of their parents and other adults.
Only once they'd pointed out their other observations to Seth and Sara's mother - and she'd checked with Lady Opal on what she was content with her children to know too - did they find out more. "Lord Sean was content to let House Jalowitz and their allies fight their own battles, but in their absence another enemy force has invaded their castle and, word says, is doing terrible things to its remaining inhabitants, and the Lord Jalowitz is too engaged in his current battle to turn back and defend his people."
Lady Tiana's eyes were round and fearful. "So they're hurting the people? Even the women and children and elders?"
"So it would seem."
"So they're definitely the evil ones now," Seth stated, half question.
"Yes," mother admitted unhappily.
Obviously it was horrible, but Seth liked the simplicity of it now. Those who went and attacked helpless women and children and elders deserved nothing better than what they got, and Uncle Sean and his army would go and justly slash them to pieces, then be celebrated across the land for doing so. Sara and Cousin May agreed, but Tiana was scared of what kind of monsters those people would be and what they would do to their father and everyone if things went badly. They all jibed her for her fear and lack of faith, but it was all Seth could do to stubbornly ignore the grain of fear planted in the pit of his stomach and the scary ideas that tried to flower from it. He didn't admit to the nightmares he'd had after it either.
And time was cruel, making them wait days to hear back, all of them growing more anxious as time passed, meaning that Tiana was almost permanently on the verge of tears the day before news finally came. A raven came first, with news that seemed to be at least mostly good; they had certainly won, though the adults weren't celebrating as much as the children expected, so they assumed something wasn't right and Tiana remained on her tearful verge with fear that something awful had happened to Lord Sean, but Lady Opal quickly reassured her once she'd noticed. By and large, their army and its men were well; some injuries and a few unfortunate deaths, but not of anyone the children had known personally. The adults' unhappiness was more in relation to what the army had found of the castle's inhabitants, but the children had known of that already, and it certainly only strengthened Seth's sense of righteousness and pride in his own Lord and people. Except when it occured to him that, had Lord Sean chosen to join the war to start, that could have happened to their own home instead. That was certainly a chilling thought, though Seth would have fought them all with every bit of strength that he had, but he was still only eight; he would have been lucky to kill more than a few, perhaps not even any.
A few days after that Seth was disturbed from his sleep by the sound of a lot of people outside, the sound of armour and horses as well as conversation, and knew that the army must have returned. He debated waking Sara, but he decided he wanted to spy for himself. She'd be annoyed and might hit him, but he reasoned that he could claim he was less likely to get spotted on his own, though she probably wouldn't buy that either. Creeping onto the balcony overlooking the main hall, he justified it all the more by how male everyone was, and Seth would be a man one day too, while Sara would be a lady. A fearsome and wise lady, like his mother could be, but still a lady.
In fact, the talk he overheard was not very interesting, and while one knight or soldier was exciting, they got tedious after seeing enough of them, especially ones he didn't know. He was tired and on the verge of returning to his bed - Sara would probably laugh at him in the morning instead of hitting him and claim she would have known it would be boring, even though she definitely wouldn't have - except he wanted to see his Lord Uncle return to the castle first. Eventually he did along with the best of his knights, all looking just as glorious as the songs would claim, at least to Seth- And one of them was carrying a child Seth didn't know. It was hard to tell, since the boy seemed to be asleep and curled in the knight's arms, but he couldn't have been more than a year or two younger than Seth, and he was dressed quite well. He must have been important to be dressed like that and brought all this way, but Seth wouldn't risk his mother's wrath by revealing himself and their frequent hiding place to the adults, he'd have to wait and find out in the morning. And so, after Lord Sean had ordered the boy to be housed in a comfortable room in the North tower near the maester, Seth slipped back to bed and dreamed of victory and heroic rescues.
Sara slapped his arm in the morning when he told her about what he'd seen. "I bet I would have known if you'd woken me!"
"Nuh-uh, all you could do was look, and I can tell you what you would have seen. He looked six or seven, he had dark skin like Lord Sean and cousin May, and he was dressed in nice clothes. They didn't say anything about him, except where Lord Sean wanted him put."
Sara looked thoughtful. "I think I remember what Lord Jalowitz looks like, and I think he had dark skin too. Maybe he's a Jalowitz?"
"That would explain his clothes. Wonder why they brought him here, they got his castle back."
"Yes, but it'd be hard to defend there and here, and noble people are valuable hostages if bad people can get them, especially the men. Maybe if he's here they think the evil people will be less likely to try to attack again."
Sara was clever and had good ideas, but they needed an adult to tell them to know for sure. Which was a bit of a problem as nobody was forthcoming and the boy didn't seem to have left the tower since he arrived, so explaining how they knew there was a new boy there would always make their mother suspicious.
"We just overheard some knights talking about it. Honest."
The added last word only seemed to make their mother more suspicious. Seth should learn to lie better.
"What does it matter if you tell us? We're more likely to spread word if we're going around asking everyone than if we know. Who is he? If he a Jalowitz? Can we play with him?" Seth wanted to know so much from this boy, whoever he was.
Their mother surveyed them both with a frown. "I don't think he will be able to play with you for a while, if at all. He was hurt before the army fought the attackers off and is being tended to by the maester. In any case..." she sighed, "he is a Jalowitz. Rodney Jalowitz. Son and heir of Lord James Jalowitz. Their maester was slain and the castle still not fully secure, so he was brought here for healing and safekeeping. How long he remains will depend on the war and his father."
"So he's too hurt to play?" That was horrible in and of itself.
"For now at least."
"Maybe I could go cheer him up," Seth suggested. He was always making his cousins and siblings laugh. He'd been told before that, were it not his promise as a potential knight - not to mention being a close heir of the castle until Lord Sean had sons or at least grandsons - he might have been made a Fool. Some would take that as an insult, but Seth was quite flattered. Making people laugh and smile was one of the best things in the world.
His mother finally smiled a little. "I will make the suggestion to those looking after him, if and when they judge him well enough. But don't be too impatient; it was not a case of falling and scraping a knee. What happened to him... It will take a long time to heal."
Their mother was right, as always. It was over a month before the suggestion was broached in return, and not just to Seth. His elder sister, little brother and Lady cousins were asked to visit too. His little sisters complained about being left out, but Seth didn't think Rodney Jalowitz would want to spend time with a couple of four year old girls.
Their mother took them aside before they went. "Look, I want you to remember and understand. What happened in his castle was so bad that Lord Sean rode out immediately to stop it, even without council first. I would not have you all know what precisely, but that boy knows and experienced it first-hand. If he seems strange or ungracious, still your tongues about it. He has been through enough."
They looked at each other and nodded before leaving warily.
The room Rodney Jalowitz had been given was a very pleasant one, with morning sunlight shining through the East-facing window with a view of the castle to the outer walls and a cool Spring breeze playing through, but it seemed to do little to cheer the boy up, and Seth suspected very quickly that they would fail too. In all probability, this was the maester's idea and one the boy had scarcely agreed to. At least Seth could see him now; though his skin was dark, that of his face was notably paler, and the whites of his large, green, haunted eyes were shot with red, as though he had not been sleeping, or had been crying, or possibly both. Seth remembered his mother's words to create sympathy instead of fascination and judgement. And besides, though the boy's expression was grim, Seth knew enough of appearances to judge that his features would be considered very fine, especially if he brightened.
May and Tiana approached first, with May speaking as the elder twin. "Fond greetings, ser," she started and ignored her better-trained sister frowning at her for using the wrong honorific. "I am May Ryman, and this is my twin sister Tiana, and these three our close cousins: Sara, Seth and Brendan. We hope that everything is to your liking. We would have visited you sooner, but we were informed that you were still too unwell. I do hope you are feeling better?"
He nodded slightly, though he certainly didn't look it. After a moment he did add, in a rough voice, "I'm not a knight," though it sounded more of a miserable statement than a sincere clarification.
"Forgive my sister," Tiana broke in smoothly, "she does not pay enough attention in our courtly lessons. In any case," she continued brightly, now ignoring May's frowning, "if you should wish for company of someone closer to your own age, I'm sure that most of the time any one of us should be happy to visit. At least until you are finally free to return home."
Apparently that wasn't the right thing to say, as he looked away and appeared to be trying valiantly not to cry, but set his jaw and nodded curtly.
"Perhaps we ought to go for now if he has no objections," Sara said hesitantly, "I'm sure he knows how to contact us when he desires it."
May and Tiana curtsied swiftly and moved with her, though Brendan whispered "But he's sad!" rather too loudly after Sara as they went, making them cringe.
Seth left last, sneaking the final glimpse of their guest, tears finally rolling down his face, before he guiltily shut the door.
The problem for me with these big fantastical worlds is that I get lost in the mentality and devour the stories (well, I managed to hold off on buying the second one for a few days in hope of getting stuff done, but that didn't really happen) until all the books are gone and I'm left with this reality, which is a pretty crappy and very different one, how dare you lie to me and fill me full of hopes you evil writers you. But being lost in the mentality carries over to my other things, and I've been playing a more medieval-y mindset neighbourhood of sims (not characters from the book, wouldn't trust myself to write other people's right) instead of my legacy, and, well, of course this happens too... (Rating: U)
Seth didn't understand adults. There was a war going on, that much he knew, but they were not yet involved in it and he didn't understand why. Apparently all they discussed in his Lord Uncle Sean's council meetings was whether they should go into it, but they didn't.
Eventually he expressed his frustrations to his mother. "I don't understand why we're not fighting too. Whenever there's a war there's a good side and an evil side and we're good, so we should fight and win!"
His mother gave him an amused but pitying look, and he didn't like it. "Seth," she sighed, "war is a lot like fighting or arguing, but bigger. Tell me, when you and your sister argue and fight, who is the good and who is the evil?"
That did make him think. "I'm right," he stated certainly, "but... Sara's not evil, she's just wrong."
"According to you, at least. Things are rarely a case of good and evil, and even right and wrong isn't always clear or obvious. Say I were to start buying you and your sister treats. Would it be more right to divide them perfectly equally, or should she receive more as she's older and has lived longer without? I'm sure you would argue to have what she has, and I'm sure she would argue that she should have more. Wars have been fought for similar reasons, though perhaps over property and titles rather than treats. And I should hope that you would not try to kill each other in battle over such a matter either."
Seth had hit his elder sister in fights before - though little more than she had done first or in return - but the idea of her going away forever made him feel very upset, just at the idea.
His mother read his face. "And that is the other problem with war, my son. Terrible things happen to people and they die. And even in the most wrong or evil of armies, there will be good men who were forced to fight, somebody's son, perhaps a brother, perhaps even a father. Sometimes wars have to happen anyway, and songs and stories are created to glorify them as they can't be taken back, but it is a serious decision to make. Your Lord Uncle is right to weigh the decision carefully, rather than lose the lives of so many for insufficient cause."
Seth knew his mother was very wise - on his Lord Uncle's council and everything - so he didn't try to argue, but he was still unhappy with it. He was disappointed that the world wasn't so simple as good and bad, and, to tell it true, he was bored when he knew such excitement was going on elsewhere, even if it was a good decision not to be part of it. He was advised instead to think of tournaments, where there could be glory and magnificence without the danger and death of war, but he was only eight, and the only way he'd be going to any tournaments any time soon was if his Lord Uncle held one himself, or perhaps if Seth was made a squire, and even that would have to wait a few years.
But he didn't have to wait long for excitement to turn up when a raven brought news that had the adults very anxious and swiftly massing their hesitant army. From the snatches he, Sara and his Lady Cousins heard, it was about the seat of the House Jalowitz, with whom their House had been allied in the last war. It was confusing though; House Jalowitz had already been at this war for a while and Lord Sean hadn't joined before, despite their former allegiance, so Seth didn't understand why, if the Jalowitzes were losing, it made that big of a difference. But even still, the men rode off to battle or whatever, and the children were left to try to wheedle it out of their parents and other adults.
Only once they'd pointed out their other observations to Seth and Sara's mother - and she'd checked with Lady Opal on what she was content with her children to know too - did they find out more. "Lord Sean was content to let House Jalowitz and their allies fight their own battles, but in their absence another enemy force has invaded their castle and, word says, is doing terrible things to its remaining inhabitants, and the Lord Jalowitz is too engaged in his current battle to turn back and defend his people."
Lady Tiana's eyes were round and fearful. "So they're hurting the people? Even the women and children and elders?"
"So it would seem."
"So they're definitely the evil ones now," Seth stated, half question.
"Yes," mother admitted unhappily.
Obviously it was horrible, but Seth liked the simplicity of it now. Those who went and attacked helpless women and children and elders deserved nothing better than what they got, and Uncle Sean and his army would go and justly slash them to pieces, then be celebrated across the land for doing so. Sara and Cousin May agreed, but Tiana was scared of what kind of monsters those people would be and what they would do to their father and everyone if things went badly. They all jibed her for her fear and lack of faith, but it was all Seth could do to stubbornly ignore the grain of fear planted in the pit of his stomach and the scary ideas that tried to flower from it. He didn't admit to the nightmares he'd had after it either.
And time was cruel, making them wait days to hear back, all of them growing more anxious as time passed, meaning that Tiana was almost permanently on the verge of tears the day before news finally came. A raven came first, with news that seemed to be at least mostly good; they had certainly won, though the adults weren't celebrating as much as the children expected, so they assumed something wasn't right and Tiana remained on her tearful verge with fear that something awful had happened to Lord Sean, but Lady Opal quickly reassured her once she'd noticed. By and large, their army and its men were well; some injuries and a few unfortunate deaths, but not of anyone the children had known personally. The adults' unhappiness was more in relation to what the army had found of the castle's inhabitants, but the children had known of that already, and it certainly only strengthened Seth's sense of righteousness and pride in his own Lord and people. Except when it occured to him that, had Lord Sean chosen to join the war to start, that could have happened to their own home instead. That was certainly a chilling thought, though Seth would have fought them all with every bit of strength that he had, but he was still only eight; he would have been lucky to kill more than a few, perhaps not even any.
A few days after that Seth was disturbed from his sleep by the sound of a lot of people outside, the sound of armour and horses as well as conversation, and knew that the army must have returned. He debated waking Sara, but he decided he wanted to spy for himself. She'd be annoyed and might hit him, but he reasoned that he could claim he was less likely to get spotted on his own, though she probably wouldn't buy that either. Creeping onto the balcony overlooking the main hall, he justified it all the more by how male everyone was, and Seth would be a man one day too, while Sara would be a lady. A fearsome and wise lady, like his mother could be, but still a lady.
In fact, the talk he overheard was not very interesting, and while one knight or soldier was exciting, they got tedious after seeing enough of them, especially ones he didn't know. He was tired and on the verge of returning to his bed - Sara would probably laugh at him in the morning instead of hitting him and claim she would have known it would be boring, even though she definitely wouldn't have - except he wanted to see his Lord Uncle return to the castle first. Eventually he did along with the best of his knights, all looking just as glorious as the songs would claim, at least to Seth- And one of them was carrying a child Seth didn't know. It was hard to tell, since the boy seemed to be asleep and curled in the knight's arms, but he couldn't have been more than a year or two younger than Seth, and he was dressed quite well. He must have been important to be dressed like that and brought all this way, but Seth wouldn't risk his mother's wrath by revealing himself and their frequent hiding place to the adults, he'd have to wait and find out in the morning. And so, after Lord Sean had ordered the boy to be housed in a comfortable room in the North tower near the maester, Seth slipped back to bed and dreamed of victory and heroic rescues.
Sara slapped his arm in the morning when he told her about what he'd seen. "I bet I would have known if you'd woken me!"
"Nuh-uh, all you could do was look, and I can tell you what you would have seen. He looked six or seven, he had dark skin like Lord Sean and cousin May, and he was dressed in nice clothes. They didn't say anything about him, except where Lord Sean wanted him put."
Sara looked thoughtful. "I think I remember what Lord Jalowitz looks like, and I think he had dark skin too. Maybe he's a Jalowitz?"
"That would explain his clothes. Wonder why they brought him here, they got his castle back."
"Yes, but it'd be hard to defend there and here, and noble people are valuable hostages if bad people can get them, especially the men. Maybe if he's here they think the evil people will be less likely to try to attack again."
Sara was clever and had good ideas, but they needed an adult to tell them to know for sure. Which was a bit of a problem as nobody was forthcoming and the boy didn't seem to have left the tower since he arrived, so explaining how they knew there was a new boy there would always make their mother suspicious.
"We just overheard some knights talking about it. Honest."
The added last word only seemed to make their mother more suspicious. Seth should learn to lie better.
"What does it matter if you tell us? We're more likely to spread word if we're going around asking everyone than if we know. Who is he? If he a Jalowitz? Can we play with him?" Seth wanted to know so much from this boy, whoever he was.
Their mother surveyed them both with a frown. "I don't think he will be able to play with you for a while, if at all. He was hurt before the army fought the attackers off and is being tended to by the maester. In any case..." she sighed, "he is a Jalowitz. Rodney Jalowitz. Son and heir of Lord James Jalowitz. Their maester was slain and the castle still not fully secure, so he was brought here for healing and safekeeping. How long he remains will depend on the war and his father."
"So he's too hurt to play?" That was horrible in and of itself.
"For now at least."
"Maybe I could go cheer him up," Seth suggested. He was always making his cousins and siblings laugh. He'd been told before that, were it not his promise as a potential knight - not to mention being a close heir of the castle until Lord Sean had sons or at least grandsons - he might have been made a Fool. Some would take that as an insult, but Seth was quite flattered. Making people laugh and smile was one of the best things in the world.
His mother finally smiled a little. "I will make the suggestion to those looking after him, if and when they judge him well enough. But don't be too impatient; it was not a case of falling and scraping a knee. What happened to him... It will take a long time to heal."
Their mother was right, as always. It was over a month before the suggestion was broached in return, and not just to Seth. His elder sister, little brother and Lady cousins were asked to visit too. His little sisters complained about being left out, but Seth didn't think Rodney Jalowitz would want to spend time with a couple of four year old girls.
Their mother took them aside before they went. "Look, I want you to remember and understand. What happened in his castle was so bad that Lord Sean rode out immediately to stop it, even without council first. I would not have you all know what precisely, but that boy knows and experienced it first-hand. If he seems strange or ungracious, still your tongues about it. He has been through enough."
They looked at each other and nodded before leaving warily.
The room Rodney Jalowitz had been given was a very pleasant one, with morning sunlight shining through the East-facing window with a view of the castle to the outer walls and a cool Spring breeze playing through, but it seemed to do little to cheer the boy up, and Seth suspected very quickly that they would fail too. In all probability, this was the maester's idea and one the boy had scarcely agreed to. At least Seth could see him now; though his skin was dark, that of his face was notably paler, and the whites of his large, green, haunted eyes were shot with red, as though he had not been sleeping, or had been crying, or possibly both. Seth remembered his mother's words to create sympathy instead of fascination and judgement. And besides, though the boy's expression was grim, Seth knew enough of appearances to judge that his features would be considered very fine, especially if he brightened.
May and Tiana approached first, with May speaking as the elder twin. "Fond greetings, ser," she started and ignored her better-trained sister frowning at her for using the wrong honorific. "I am May Ryman, and this is my twin sister Tiana, and these three our close cousins: Sara, Seth and Brendan. We hope that everything is to your liking. We would have visited you sooner, but we were informed that you were still too unwell. I do hope you are feeling better?"
He nodded slightly, though he certainly didn't look it. After a moment he did add, in a rough voice, "I'm not a knight," though it sounded more of a miserable statement than a sincere clarification.
"Forgive my sister," Tiana broke in smoothly, "she does not pay enough attention in our courtly lessons. In any case," she continued brightly, now ignoring May's frowning, "if you should wish for company of someone closer to your own age, I'm sure that most of the time any one of us should be happy to visit. At least until you are finally free to return home."
Apparently that wasn't the right thing to say, as he looked away and appeared to be trying valiantly not to cry, but set his jaw and nodded curtly.
"Perhaps we ought to go for now if he has no objections," Sara said hesitantly, "I'm sure he knows how to contact us when he desires it."
May and Tiana curtsied swiftly and moved with her, though Brendan whispered "But he's sad!" rather too loudly after Sara as they went, making them cringe.
Seth left last, sneaking the final glimpse of their guest, tears finally rolling down his face, before he guiltily shut the door.