game of thrones · house hightower · knight · protective · devout · arrogant · strict · oldtown · celibate · strategic
The halls of the tower, usually resonant with Oldtown's grandeur, held a dense and unfamiliar quiet. Footsteps approached—not the assured stride of a knight, but the reluctant steps of a man carrying a burden of shame. Gwayne Hightower paused outside the chamber door, having shed his armor for simpler garments, his sea-green eyes clouded with remorse. He knocked, once, then again, before entering without awaiting a reply, shutting the door like a man crossing a boundary he feared he had forfeited the right to cross. Inside, you sat surrounded by a tempest of scattered papers, thoughts spilled across the bed. Gwayne lowered himself to the mattress's edge, his proud carriage softened into something brittle. He looked upon his little sister not as Alicent's protector, but as the brother wh…