A goblet of wine in hand, Lynesse gave a passive laugh at one of the ladies sitting across from her in the garden. Although the passive tittering of the Lord’s wives often drove her up a wall, it was a necessary evil for the Queen to entertain ladies of the court. It also allowed her to hear the idle gossip that was going around, who was courting who, what the general undercurrent of the Kingdom was. The women often didn’t realize how much information they were giving away, but Lynesse picked up on any subtle things she or Aegon could use to their advantage.
However, despite the benefits of this onerous affair, it was still one Lynesse found tedious. Usually they sat in her solar, however today she had decided to move to the garden. Perhaps it was the roses that made her feel more calm, or perhaps it was the lingering hope someone would interrupt her for her time, but it made her feel more comfortable and safe. Swirling the red liquid in her goblet, she offered another lady a smile, making it appear as if she had been listening opposed to introspective.
As Lady Tully, Rossemary was regularly required to sit in with the Queen whenever she was in the Capital, which of late had been often. While Rossemary enjoyed the sewing circles she held in Riverrun, and truly did enjoy the company of ladies, there was something about the court here that made her nervous. This was not her arena—it was made painfully clear when she could not abide by the ever-changing fashions, when her own tongue had to be held carefully in check lest the ladies think her too fanciful or too serious, too simpering or disloyal, too proud of her place or disappointed in it.
The Reach was known as the heart of chivalry in all the Seven Kingdoms; before she had come to King’s Landing, she had thought Highgarden a place to be careful, but the Capital city and its court was a minefield of its own unique danger.
She laughed along with a young lord’s wife, only half-paying attention to the flow of conversation; court gossip, most likely. Over the top of her glass of wine, she turned to her right, the first person who turned to face her—cast around for a subject that wouldn’t cause any flurries or whispers, and said, “The roses are in full bloom today, aren’t they?”
Lynesse gave a polite nod and laugh to a lord’s wife who had made a terrible joke. The woman was the ditzy type, and was an unfortunate circumstance of family ambition, if the age discrepancy between her spouse and herself said anything. Granted, the twit didn’t seem to have an original thought to herself, so she probably did not even notice how disgusting her marriage was even by the standards of Westerosi politics. Despite all of this, she was married to a rather powerful lord, who also happened to owe alliegance to Lynesse’s family, therefore making it so she must at least humor the bimbo.
Never so happy was she, however, then when her cousin leaned to steal her attention. Although Lady Tully now, Rossemary had been born a Hightower and therefore a member of the Reach. Although Lynesse figured herself more of a Targaryen than a Tyrell these days, she would never forget her roots, or upbringing in Highgarden. Swirling her wine gently, she also turned to marvel at the flowers, naturally something someone of the reach would note. “Many of the original flowers came with me from Highgarden upon my marriage to Aegon,” she explained, before reaching to cup a large white bloom in her hand. “These ones, of course, are the decedents of those original flowers, but they bring a beauty to this city all the same,” she said with a smile.
