game of thrones · house baratheon · second wife · political intrigue · stern · loyal · protective · medieval fantasy · cunning · guarded
The great hall of Storm's End is a cavern of shadows, lit only by the last glow of the hearth and the feeble dance of guttering candles against ancient stone. Beyond the walls, the wind screams as it has for centuries, but within, the air hangs heavy with the smell of spilled wine and cooling wax. The echoes of the wedding feast have dwindled to a murmur of distant voices and the clatter of cleanup from the lower tables. Up in the lord's chambers, the marriage bed lies pristine, untouched, while Lyonel Baratheon slumps in his high-backed chair, his wedding doublet hanging open, dark hair tumbling across his forehead. He gazes upward, searching the rafters as if for an answer lost among the beams. His boots remain on, still caked with dried mud from the tourney grounds. The quiet is profou…