Alexandir Godiva

One loyal friend is worth ten thousand relatives.

[quillington]

I am the blood of the dragon. I must be strong. I must have fire in my eyes when I face them, not tears.

[radulfusosmunt]

OOC | Radulfus & Alexandir

So, Radulfus fought in the Southern Isles - hoping he wouldn’t have to marry Jacquetta ldksjflkjf #whoops  Anyway, even tho he’s a more minor noble, I do feel like the nobles are more likely to associate w each other, etc, so I’m sure there’s at least a chance that these two know each other.  I def think Radulfus would enjoy Alex and his wit quite a bit!!  Radulfus does have some ~authority issues and he’s v impulsive, but I also feel like he’s a pr redoubtable warrior, so he’s handy to have around in that respect if not the others.  I also feel like Alex is someone he could listen to more readily - but Radulfus ~does want glory etc so there’s also that laksjdlkfjsdf he’s a hot mess but he does mean well…for the most part…unless you’re Remon Vipont ;D

[alexandirgodiva]

So, I can see where Alexandir would really like Radulfus ... but I can also see where he would get under his skin!!! I think he’d appreciate every and any decent fighters he could get and he would def utilize those who had skills vs. those who were just bodies to make up numbers -- but if Radulfus has authority issues (especially if he has had them in the past and Alex was made aware) i can see where he’d be less likely to trust Radulfus to do as he commanded!

If they met in the West though - I can see where he’d be more likely to like  him in that kind of a setting though ??? Especially since the company in the West is god awful, Radulfus would like like the best person in the world tbh haha 

[godwincaulmont]

OOC | Godwin & Alexandir

idk if alex’s ever been out west but if so these two have probs met!!  I def feel like all the lords of the area would 100% turn out to meet alex w their entire retinue and yeaH obv Godwin would’ve been involved w that.  That being said, idk if they would’ve exchanged a single word or what hahaha but yeah!!

[alexandirgodiva]

I feel like Alexandir has definitely been out west (although it has probably been years and years atp). I don’t think he’s a fan, honestly, given the company and even though he has extensive property there, I don’t think it’s a priority to go back?? ANYWAY, I can see where Alexandir was hosted by the Wystans once, and he found both lord and lady (and one of their daughters haha) so insufferable that he retired early and basically snuck out of his rooms for some alcohol and I can see him possibly ending up drinking with Godwin/some of the other guards or something and basically having a better time w/ them then he did with “better company” 

[lizzydobbs]

Bonus Alexandir: Man In Solitary Confinement Can’t Break With Reality Fast Enough

[lizzydobbs]

Alexandir Godiva: local man nearly dies at family reunion, says: ‘idk what i expected’

[quillington]

the blood of the dragon

[joffreyvymont]

OOC | Joff & Alexandir

Ok, so…again, Joff would have been about 8 at the time, buT when Alex came riding into the South w his army and the Godiva colors, Joff was so!!!!!!!! excited!!!!!!!!! like, if he hadn’t met him before (which…I’m guessing he had bc they’re kind of extended family in a sense re: their siblings’ marriage???) it was like woW!!!!!!!!!!!!! but honestly even if he had met him before it was like woW!!!!!!!!!!!!! who am i kidding lbr here also bc Joff was like ‘this is what my bro was talking about the godivas have come south again to protect us!!!!! and we’re gonna find aalis!!!!!! and we’re gonna fight back!!!!!!’ and, like, only one of those things happened but at least Alex stopped the Southern Isles forever ++ he did at least look for Aalis!!!!!!!! and Joff was like ‘WOW someday I’m gonna be just like that!!!!!!!’ and like…not true but anyway my main point here is that that made a huge!!!!!!!! impression on Joff and he’s like *finger guns* you’re alright @ Alex bc he’s trying to play it cool but in his heart he’s like woW!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Annnnnnyway, long story short, Joff would love to see Aalis ruling Aragoth bc…#goals but if not Aalis, Alex bc, again, Joff cannot say it enough: woW!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Also he dreams of the day that they will all be united (all the Vymonts + Alex + maybe???? Helena????? he doesn’t really know her so jury’s still out on that one since she ~might be rowena’s mini-me who knows) as one big happy family and peace will be restored and Aragoth will flourish once again <333333  Which…like…this is Aragoth so that may literally never!!!! happen!!!!! but it won’t be for Joff’s lack of trying tbh.  And he is realistic (read: cynical) but he’s also idealistic (yeah idk how that works either klajsdklfjkdajf) and dreams of a better world so that’s just a lot happening in his brain esp bc he’s also!!!!!!! hot-headed!!!!!! and honestly it’s just a miracle he’s still alive *thumbs up*

[alexandirgodiva]

OMG so Alex loves!!!!! the Vymonts!!!!!! so much!!!! And yeah, he def considers them to be ~kind of~ family since his sister married into their fam!!!!! That being said, he def feels sUPER guilty about a) both of their siblings died while he survived!!!! b) allowing allais to be lost c) taking 15+ years to find aalis and still not being able to find aalis (all the while, she’s probably only like 2 miles away from the palace where he stayed when he was in the south #whoops #fail) and so yeah ... I feel like he doesn’t feel worthy of their kindness a lot of times b/c he feels responsible for their sorrow and I can see where he would leave abruptly a lot and idk I can see where he might come off as rude sometimes (but can also see where the vymonts might also see that his conduct stems from guilt??? idk??? up to you????) 

anyway! he wants to do the best he can for them and unfortunately his sister is basically a hostage (can’t remember her name r/n #whoops) but when he was in the capital (and not being a prisoner) he for sURE did his best to look out for her and made sure that she was happy and comfortable <333

so yeah! he for sure likes joff a LOT and would be so!!!!! happy to hear that he is doing his own search for aalis, b/c alex is pretty much feeling like no one is going to take up that cause, now that he’s about to die, and he also knows that the longer she goes w/o being found, the less likely it is that she will be found. 

[eviebeaumont]

Wings | Evie & Alexandir

[alexandirgodiva]

eviebeaumont:

Hot tears blurred Evie’s vision, and she hated them.  Hated that they existed, hated that she had cause to shed them, hated that there was no way past them.  Hastily, she brushed them away.  Now was not the time for tears.  His speech had been lovely and brave and kindly meant, but for all that, it only made her feel trapped, trapped in this awful place that so closely resembled the world she had once known, but had so very little in common with it.  Part of her wanted to cry out that this could not be real, could not be happening, but the cold of this pit bit at her, the stench filled her nose: every sense attested to the utter reality of this awful predicament.

“Then, then-” she bit her lip.  “Then I will say nothing more for my family’s sake, but you must not ask me to do nothing.  Tell me, if our positions were reversed, would you let me die for so paltry a cause as Jon Valles?  I do not believe that you would, so you must not ask it of me, either.”

Evie breathed out slowly.  “The South,” she said.  “You could go to the South, and straight aways.  My sister, as you know, is betrothed to Loys Mortain and means to go to him almost at once.  We might smuggle you amidst her caravan and once there…I did not meet him, myself, but Celia tells me that Loys is a most noble and honorable lord-” Evie heard a rather loud burst of laughter from one of the neighboring pirate cells and gave the very dirty blond pirate a glare worthy of her mother before soldiering on.  

“And, surely, you must the two of you be acquainted.  He might provide you refuge, or at least recommend someone who might or, or furnish a ship to sail far away from here, somewhere you might be safe.  And if not Loys, there is Lord Barret who I know you served alongside and who, they say, some in the south would see crowned over Rowena.  He might well be able to put you in touch with likeminded souls.  And if not my sister to ferry you there, then by some ship.  There are more than enough smugglers in these parts, I know that much.  There are ways,” she insisted.  

“The trouble is only how to-” Evie clutched one of the bars, wrapping her fingers around the cold metal.  “Perhaps I could prevail upon Helena for a key.  Or…something,” she shook her head.  Could she trust Helena?  Who was to say?

Evie shook her head.  “Don’t say that!  Jon Valles is already dead.  Let him be dead.  No one else need die for that abominable man!  He brought enough misery in life, why must he shadow the living with it now that he is gone?”  She bit her lip.  “My father - yes, he had his faults, but…He used to say that, with enough ingenuity, there is always a way.”  Of course, Cecyl had mostly been referring to sneaking other women around Avelina, she’d since learned, but that much did not bear mentioning.  It was the principle that was relevant to this discussion.

She was quick to wipe away her tears and despite her urgent movements and the low light, he had still managed to see them. Upon seeing her so distressed at his own situation, he realized he would have given anything to ease her anxiety, but he had no comforting words he could offer. He hadn’t even a clean handkerchief to spare. 

She was a smart girl and he found that he both loved and hated that she had turned his words on him. He realized immediately that had their positions been switched, she was very right in assuming that he would not let her die for a crime she did not commit. “You see through me, my lady,” He said, managing something of a proud smile as he spoke, “I would not rest until you were free. Perhaps it is unfair of me, then, to ask this of you. But I ask it anyway. I want you to be stronger than I would be in your situation; I want you to be wiser.” Nothing good would come of her involvement. 

He gave her another smile - this one softer but sad - when she discussed the prospect of him being smuggled to the South. “I am a small man and it would not be hard to smuggle me into tight spaces. I would gladly make the long trek to the south inside one of your sister’s trunks if it meant I would survive but ... “ His voice trailed, “But the trouble lies in freeing me from this cell ... and with Loys once we reach the South. As for the lord there ... I will agree that Loys Mortain has his heart in the right place but ... he leaves most things up to his step-mother. I don’t think there is a thing he would keep from her and she cannot be trusted. She would never do anything to compromise her position and harboring me would be a great risk. In fact, if she ever discovered me, I’m sure she would turn me over to the Queen, eager to claim all of the rewards and appreciation my niece would have upon my recapture.” 

He shook his head, “No, going South with your sister would be unwise ... at least as long as Margery Mortain remains there.” Upon her marriage to Lucian Moran, perhaps then it would be safe. Loys would certainly still write often to her, but Alexandir was also sure that she and her new husband would destroy each other before his letter arrived. That union, he was sure, could be no happier than he and Avelina might have been. 

“But do not misunderstand me,” He said, “I would escape my fate if I could. If there was a way that I could be set free, with no danger to you, then I would take it. The chances that I would end right back up here are very high. I have some allies, but more enemies. And, unfortunately, given my size it is hard for me to disguise myself. Freeing me will, in all likelihood, would only buy me time. And I will not have you suffer the rest of your days, so that I might have a few more in the sun.” 

He exhaled, “Helena may be able to help you but ... you must be absolutely certain you can trust her. I know she is your cousin and i know you love her dearly, but she has been so far removed from everything for so long ... I don’t know that she could be made to see things for how they are. Rowena loves her sister dearly - it is the one thing that can be said for her. She will do anything to keep her in the dark and will do anything to silence those who threaten that. Applying to her for aid, cannot be worth that risk.” 

He smiled again, this one even sadder than the last. “Those are inspiring words, my lady, ... I only wish I had known them to always be true.” 

[alexandirgodiva]

Alexandir Godiva: *spotting Avelina Beaumont near a man who hanged himself* So. Did you just talk to him for a really long time?

[quillington]

[dezoddestriksyon]

Glitter & Gold | Dezód & Alexandir

[alexandirgodiva]

dezoddestriksyon:

“For however little he may enjoy his constant brooding, he certainly enjoys sharing his misery with others, when given the chance,” commented Dezód, blinking his fractured eyes.

“Yet, for all those desperate men,” he replied, tilting his head.  “Only one you…for how ever many Alexandir Godivas there have been.  I admit, I’ve lost count.  Poetic, hmm?”  Stepping off Alexandir’s cot, he neared the other man, motions now fluid, now jagged, as always be seemed to be.  “I’ve a secret for yeh.  The dragons will come again.”  He giggled and left Alexandir to wonder whether he meant the literal or metaphorical variety - when, in fact, he most certainly meant both.  Dezód wrinkled his nose.  “I like yeh better without yer patience, dearie, and with nothing left to loose.”  He unleashed a shrieking giggle.  “Men are more honest that way.”

Dezód shrugged slowly with most hands, as though performing upon a great stage.  “Ah, but never fear on that account, dearie.  It is I that shall entertain you,” he added, pointing at Alexandir.  “I do,” he cooed when the Duke asked after his niece, and Dezód knew, as he had known from the beginning, that he had him, now.  His smile was half a sneer.  “But I’ll be needing something in return.”

It was easy, this, the stuff he lived for.  Dezód liked nothing better than reeling his prey in, knowing that at last they had heard him.  Alexandir had proven a particularly difficult mark, but that only made him all the more worth the waiting.  “I’ll give you a hint,” he added, narrowing his eyes.  “She is alive…for now.  But she needs someone to help her, desperately, or soon she won’t be.  Much like you,” he added with another shriek of laughter.  “Didja know, it’s the Godiva way.  All different, but all live lives just on the brink of death.  Yeh can’t help it.  Yeh live in Aragoth.”

Dezód licked his lips when he heard Alexandir’s query, and sank back onto his cot, crossing his legs.  “It’s not hard, nothing ye’d prize over dear Aalis’ life, surely,” he replied, narrowing his greenish eyes.  “Gods know, there’s few enough else who love her in this world and none of those particularly…” he scrunched up his nose.  “Trustworthy.  Who will she rely on,” he added, pointing to Alexandir.  “If not her dear, lost uncle?  I can ensure that she survives.”

He came to his point.  “I want yer promise, your word of honor,” he added, gesturing grandly.  “That when I come asking a favor, yeh won’t deny me.”  He leaned forward.  “What can it possibly cost yeh?  Yeh won’t be here long enough to rue it, will yeh?”

He felt himself tempted, so tempted to agree. What can it possibly cost yeh? Yeh won’t be here long enough to rue it, will yeh? He doubted that he would. His days were numbered. He had few of them left. With the way time passed here, in these cells, he may have only hours left. 

And she was alive! But in trouble! She needed aid! And here, now, for the first time in his life, he felt that he was close, so close, to being able to help her.But what aid could he offer her from his prison? He would be dead soon and he had no one to call upon to help him. The only person he trusted was Evie Beaumont and he could not put her in any more danger than she already insisted to put herself in on his behalf. 

“What good would that knowledge do me now?” He asked, finally, defeated. “You and I both know that one day, dead or alive, I will leave this cell. But if I will even consider making a deal with you, I need to know that I will be able to do something for her.” He paused, “And I cannot believe that you would do this for me without having something in return. What happens if I die before you are paid?” He asked, “Do we consider our debt settled or are will you seek my next of kin to settle my debts?” And who would he consider that to be? His lost niece or the niece who lost her? 

[charlesdegrey]

OOC | Charles & Alexandir

[alexandirgodiva]

charlesdegrey:

lksdjflaksdjfkljsdkljfsjd OH. MY. GODDDDDDDDDD I HAD NO IDEAAAA LKDSJAFKLSDJFKLJDSLKFJKDSJFAKLJDSKLJFJKSD THAT’S COMPLETELY INSANE AKSJDFKLJSDF that’s my fav new fact of the month ak dsjfklsdjfkljdskjf

I CREY BC DRAGONRIDER ALEX LAKDJFKDSJF  Honestly I feel like the dragonriders were a pr good group to hang w…yknow until they WEREN’T at least #whoops *side eyes cassius*  And I def feel like there were some good times to be had by all <3  Not to mention the stories lkadjfkljsd

im lauGHING bc this is truly avelina’s worst nightmare come true alksdjfkljsdkjf alex is just out there, somewhere close, but she knows-not-where, plotting against her and her loved ones and her goals she always knew this day would come ;DDDDD  Nice job making that happen for you, avelina, tbh klasjdfkljsd

anywAY lsdkjfdksf omg his knowledge would be insanely!!!! useful!!! to the eastern resistance for…however long he chose to stick around it would truly make a lot of difference to them esp, as you say, bc they’re loosing guin!!  ++ alex has a lot of connections all across aragoth that could potentially help out…also some that could def hurt but yknoW esp bc he knows rowena personally so even once she moves on to things he hasn’t heard about he can probs make better judgment calls on ‘well, she’d probs do x!’ instead of them just being like ‘guys what’s the most evil thing we can possibly think of to do in this scenario bc that’s the only insight we have into her character rn’ ;DDDD jk jk

that being said, im thinking about it a lil more and…im not really sure how he’d get the message to him?  do you have any thoughts on this?  bc they still have guin rn, yes, but they also think that alex is literally going to die in like the next couple days/weeks and have no way to access him rn and ofc have no idea that half of house beaumont is working on plans to free him until he is free…and once that happens he’s just…in the wind…so maybe char would have to send him a message once he’s settled elsewhere????? unless you have an idea for how they could get in contact before then?  bc obv he’s way more useful to char before he goes south…but that would be a way to link of the eastern and southern resistances, too, so there’s that???????  thoughts?

HAHAHAH we are truly insane (and have a slight problem w/ this rP????) but anyway it is a good thing that we have at least killed 1 of those peeps (rest in pieces jon) but ALSO that they are in different regions so they can’t all talk w/ each other ;DDD) 

YESSSSS I feel like the dragonriders are generally just a great group of people?!?!?!?!?!?!! like I feel like every now and again there are some bad eggs (or y’know some good eggs that are just easily corrupted by pretty girls ;DDD) and yeah it is a good place to go and pick up some nice friends ;DDD

WHAT IS THE MOST EVIL THING WE CAN THINK OF IN THIS SCENARIO I LAUGHED OUT LOUD OMG!!!! (it’s funny b/c I feel like they actually think that way oMG) 

ACTUALLY yes ... so that makes a lot of sense haha and something that i hadn’t thought of??? B/c I feel like Guin is already making her way north atp and can’t really get to him and I feel like the resistance doesn’t have enough r/n to make trying to break alex out or get word to him worth the risk??? like they have roran and they can’t risk exposing that they do until he is trained enough to be of some good haha .... sooooo yeah. I feel like alex knows that there is a resistance in the east but he doesn’t know how to find them .... so yeah, maybe they try to reach out to him later???? or maybe he tries to reach out to them??? i feel like he will probably, then, go south with james and eventually he and james will hook up with the southern resistance maybe????? and, if that’s the case, the southern resistance wants different things than the eastern one but I feel like maybe alexandir may be able to unite them??? since he is a godiva and the easterners want helena on the throne and the southerners want ned ... but both the easterners and the southerners trust alex i think and he may be able to get them to agree??? or at least put aside their differences long enough to try to take rowena and cassius down???? haha idk we don’t have to decide on that now, but I do think you are right that the east probs wouldn’t be able to get a message to alex until later so it’ll probably be awhile until they can interact again :) 

[cassiusmontagu]

Break the Fall | Cassius & Alexandir

[alexandirgodiva]

cassiusmontagu:

The ghost of a smile twitched at the corner of Cassius’ mouth and he nodded softly.  “It’s our most closely guarded torment of all,” he drawled.  He had always liked Alexandir Godiva.  Fifteen years before, he had always found amusement in the truths he brought to bear and, he found, even now there was truth in his cynical humor.  “I gather Lady Beaumont has already been here?“

He said this, not because it was somehow lost on him that he, himself, was clearly one of the most hated people in Alexandir’s life (this neither surprised nor particularly wounded him because he had already known it to be true) but because she was the only person, besides Rowena whom he had already mentioned, whose company could be in the same echelon of unpleasantness, now that Jon Valles was dead.  She was, also, for all her delusions of grandeur, the only person who cared enough to deign muddy her skirts with one final visit in these dreadful pits.

“Sadly, I doubt you shall ever see your loving niece, again,” he replied.  “Save, perhaps, at your execution.”  He imagined Rowena would not miss that long-desired event for anything in this world.  Cassius pictured her enthroned as she watched the axe fall.  She would wear black touched with purple and sit high above him, the snarl of triumph concealed only by a veil…and then Alexandir would be far beyond them all.  Cassius felt a wave of nauseous envy for that sparse gift.  “Our gracious queen does not make a habit of visiting prisoners.”  Cassius, however, was here often.  She kept the last dragonrider around specifically for those unpleasant tasks with which she chose not to waste her own time.  “Though she does usually display much more tolerance for murderers than she has in your case.”

Cassius nodded slowly, raised his eyes to the damp green algae which ran slick over many the walls.  What a miserable place to live out his last days, Cassius thought.  He might have expected at least respectable house arrest, given his rank, under any other regime, but who could be surprised that Rowena had waived that courtesy.  “If it were any decent person,” he mused.  “They would come forward and own their crime rather than allowing an innocent to die for them.  But then, perhaps they have no heard.”  

Indeed, Cassius somewhat suspected that it had not been a man, at all, but some poor woman with whom Valles had once meddled and had somehow survived his attentions.  It would have been easy for such a one to have come under the employ for such an event - and to have been roused to anguish again by the event, as well - as an extraordinary number of servants had been necessary to carry off the lavish festivities.  It also would have been just as easy for her to issue out in the grand exodus afterwards.  She may not even know that Alexandir was dying in her place, as word traveled somewhat slowly out to the smaller villages.

“I do not deny it,” he replied.  “Indeed, that is just what I meant.  You see, I stand on this side of your cage with you in there.  I have yet to taste justice for my crimes.  But I shall,” he swallowed and contemplated the most horrific circles of the demon god’s hell.  “I shall.”

Cassius gazed at Alexandir in quiet as his thoughts roved.  Always, he had clung to it: That, at least, I did not do…Those were not my crimes, and never stopped to contemplate what might have happened in slightly different circumstances.  “You’re right,” he said, at last.  “If she had asked it of me, I would have slaughtered them, as well,” he admitted, finally.  “I would have slaughtered them all.”  His breath came in a cloud of cold vapor as he glanced down.  

He had always considered his a more noble murder (oh, yes, he had made that mental disparity) because the deaths he had wrought had been upon armed warriors.  He had harmed no children, killed no prisoners, hunted no unarmed women.  Yet Rowena’s crimes matches his in this: both had murdered their families; both had murdered opponents who could not possibly hope to best them.  Hers were lesser in this: she had murdered only half a dozen, where he had slaughtered hundreds.  

He returned his gaze to Alexandir.  “But I did not do it.  I wish I could tell you what became of your niece, now, but I cannot.  Neither I nor Rowena know what became of Aalis Vymont.  She may still be alive out there, somewhere.  Perhaps,” he added, drolly.  “It was she who ended Jon Valles.  We shall most like never know as Rowena will no further investigate the case.  She does not wish anyone ever to know that it was not you who killed him.”

Cassius’ jaw clenched shut as he heard Alexandir words.  They wriggled through his veins like parasites to sap whatever hope was left from him and he stood, as though winded, before a Alexandir like a man beaten.  His eyes were hooded in the scant light of this wretched hole and he felt at once at home in the muck and mire.  It was true: he’d hoped for a confession, a catharsis, an absolution: he had hoped that if Alexandir had said ‘yes, at least you did not do that,’ that it might feel like forgiveness, for Alexandir was the last living victim.  “You are right,” he acknowledged.  “It is the fate she and I both deserve…But I am too much a coward, even, to do that.  I do not think it shall ever be I that will kill her, but I think that one day, she will kill me.”

He looked away and back again.  “I came,” he said, softly.  “For that, I confess it.  But I came, too, because if you are to die, I owe it to you to look you in the eye and hear whatever it is you would say to me.”  He paused.  “And I came because, once, we were friends.”

“I feel you would do well to advertise it.” Alexandir commented dryly. “These cells seem to be rather crowded as it is. If it was known, I doubt anyone would even have thoughts of going against the Queen. These cells would be empty, your Queen would sleep peacefully at night, and you would have a much easier job. There. My final bit of advice to you both.” He added, “I suppose must leave it up to Romayne Vitalis to make the council meetings interesting, for however long he has left.” Without them, all that would be left were Rowena’s most loyal subjects. When she spoke, Arthur and Cassius both seemed to obey without question. 

“You are right there. But I am no murderer, so she lacks any tolerance she would otherwise have for me. I suppose if I had actually murdered Jon Valles, then I would not be here, as she does, as you have said, have a rather high tolerance for murderers. As I am not one myself, I must settle for being punished like one.“

He laughed then, hollow though it was. “Is that supposed to make me feel better? Or you?” He asked, raising an eyebrow, “So, you did not slaughter my family nor did you know that was Rowena’s intention and yet you admit that you would have done it, had it been asked of you?” 

“Tell me, has all of this been was it worth it?” He asked. He knew it could not have been. Cassius exuded misery. In the past fifteen years, he wondered if he had once smiled beyond a sneer. Whatever dreams he’d had for his future with Rowena, this could not have been it. “Do you love her still?” 

He did appreciate his candour. He might be the only one strong enough to kill Rowena (Dezód aside, but Alexandir did not think he would wish to remove her from the playing board). Once, Alexandir had hoped that he might, but it seemed now that even Cassius knew he could not. “A fitting end for you.” He remarked. It seemed there was nothing he would not do for her, nothing he would not stand back and watch her destroy. She’d taken everything from him and yet still, he obeyed. 

“Yes, we were friends once,” He said, thinking back on that time with a sour taste in his mouth. “But that was only because I sorely misjudged you and your character.” One he hoped never to make again. In truth, the betrayal had been the biggest blow that day. His family had all died, but they had been killed by because of the intentions of someone he had once trusted; once loved. If he had seen what Cassius truly was, might he have stopped it all? 

[tristanlanquetot]

OOC | Tristan & Alexandir

[alexandirgodiva]

tristanlanquetot:

I’m laughing bc this is even more relevant now since he’s about to be sent to the headsman…only to escape at the last moment.  Tristan when he disappears: ‘he was right…he IS immortal!’  jk jk  Although!  This does also bring up something else…Is Tristan also the head executioner for Rowena, or is he more or a secret thing?  Like, basically, is he the one due to cut off Alexandir’s head any time now or since his death this time would be official, does that duty go to someone else, this time?

That’s a great point, and I agree!  I do think that Alexandir is sort of ~the one who got away~ bc I feel like to get the attention of Rowena for such an important task, his success rate was probs 100% before Alexandir passed out hahahaha  AlsO, you mentioned that Tristan was assigned to kill Alex twice.  Does that mean that Tristan marched South w him (to kill him) bc that’d make a loT of sense but it would also mean that they may know each other atp?  (Which, if so, might actually be part of why Tristan ~didn’t manage~ to kill him during the Southern campaign).

That’s a great point that they might have known each other ~back in the day!  I can def see that!  I do think that they probs didn’t know each other ~that well~ at the time, bc Tristan isn’t really one for knowingly/willingly signing up to kill ppl he knows personally hahahaa gotta draw that line in the sand ;DDD

But yeah if we don’t go w the ~campaigned together in the south~ thing, then I agree that this’ll essentially be a first meeting bc Tristan deF avoids him as much as possible thanks to the history (Alexandir doesn’t know) they share as you mentioned hahaha  He’s not overly eager to soak all of ~that emotional mess in hahaha like I mean, they’ll probs have seen each other around the palace, but not talked much bc if Tristan sees Alex coming, he probs turns and walks the other way hahaha

... okay so honestly i have no idea what I was referring to when I said that he was hired to kill him twice????????? (this is what happens when I wrote my last comment to Tristan in April 2015 lol) 

sooooo .... yeah .... I’m not sure if we actually plotted something if it that was just my mistake (both seem equally likely lol) but for now I guess I’ll just go on that he had only tried (and failed) to kill him once????? 

ANYWAY, I think I that Tristan is ~supposedly~ just a bodyguard/head of the Queensguard but he is also secretly an assassin?? I could see where he might double as an executioner too tho, if you like? (honestly that’s up to you??) 

[jamesgarin]

Find A Way | James & Alexandir

[alexandirgodiva]

jamesgarin:

“Ah, yes,” responded James.  “I’ve met her, as a matter of fact.”  That was all the acquaintance he could possibly claim with the lady, who had been polite enough but displayed more of idle curiosity than anything more.  But he’d heard much and more from her sister.  Lynessa’s bracelets, he’d realized, would not be so easily stolen, and he’d moved on to her little sister.  He was glad, now, that he had.  “Though our encounter was brief.”  He arched his brows.  A coup, indeed, and worthy, he thought with the ghost of a smile, of his old friend Alymar.  It was just the sort of thing he would have enjoyed mulling over, and James found himself missing Alymar all at once.  I’ll not miss you too much just now, old friend, he thought.  I’m like to see you soon.

He had no idea just how soon.

“Hmm,” mused James.  “I suppose if you were going to do something as addlebrained as wedding Jon Valles, that would be the only way to do it…in and out, wonderfully fast.”  He shrugged.  “I suppose if you’ve two troublesome citizens you’d rather not keep around, a good way to take care of the problem would be to off one and say the other did it.”  James was, of course, assuming Rowena was behind it.  “Not to mention, betrothing both to your cousins would allay suspicions of your involvement.  So, I suppose, in another world…you might have been murdered following your Beaumont wedding and Jon Valles might have taken the fall.  I confess, I’m glad it wasn’t the other way around.  This pit is miserable enough as it is.  I shouldn’t like being caged side-by-side with Jon Valles one whit.“

James poked at the now-cold meal he’d been brought some time before.  Listlessly, he picked up the too-soft apple.  “I’m from the South, I know why the Queen might see you as a threat and want you dead…but…Why should Avelina Beaumont want that?”  James bit into the apple.

“In truth, these rank scandalously poorly,” he replied.  “Of course, one expects a certain element of drear in a prison cell, but these are sheer misery: no light, not a dry spot to sit.  But,” he added.  “I’ve heard from a dear friend that the cells at Soarhall are far worse.  The cold,” he added with a shrug.  But then, James was not built for cold.  “But I’ve not been there, myself.  The last prison I endured was a balmy beach and, I confess, I miss it now…active volcano and all.”  He paused, tilted his head to gaze upwards.  “I don’t think even the gods can see us down here,” he remarked, but then that was easy for him to say.  He did not believe in the gods.

James chuckled.  “Trust my instincts to find her favorite daughter,” he supplied with a shrug.  “In my defense, I imagined she’d be a more reasonable personage at the time…gods know why.”  He shrugged.  “Well, aren’t we in a pretty pickle, then?  The pair of us, toppled by the House of Arrington,” he added, mockingly.  James did not think much of the primordial House of Arrington or its old ways.  He despised the very idea of tradition.  Old ideas seemed to take on a hallowed aspect but James saw it the other way: once those ideas were new.  Now the were dead and stale.  “I suppose I can hope all she’ll want is my head and I can keep the rest…while I’m alive, anyway.  I don’t much care what happens to me after that.”

James arched his brows.  “That is…wonderfully convenient for her,” he replied.  “Imagine what it must be to have such luck,” he drawled.  “I wonder if she counted the deaths of her siblings as equally fortuitous,” he mused.  “But mostly I pity you.  I hope I shall not have to endure a visit from her.  I rather misliked the one and only meeting we did have.”

“For all the trouble it has caused me, I can’t say I dislike the efficiency of it all. They’ve killed two birds with one stone.” He shook his head, “I do not think the Queen was behind this. She’s wanted me dead for years but … I know Avelina was behind it. She was too happy to see her daughter wed Valles. Her one redeeming quality is her love of her daughters. It is a crazed, possessive love, but love all the same. She dislikes the idea of marrying them to anyone. I don’t think she could bare to see it happen unless she knew that they would be happy. And Lynessa would not have been happy with Jon.” He paused, “But she had help. She did not act alone. Someone helped her. This plot was not her own.” It went off too perfectly to have been planned by her.

“I do not think it was the Queen … Avelina plays the loyal subject well but … she’s let it slip more than once that she knows what Rowena truly is. Who would be fool enough to trust her? Her nephew, Arthur, might … but he would not breathe if the Queen herself didn’t allow it. She’s been seen very often in the company of Dmitrei Massard. He is clever enough to plot such a scheme and see it carried through but … I expect he is also too clever to tie himself to a sinking ship. Avelina may have won, for now, but she will ultimately be her own destruction. And that, I suppose, is a small comfort just now.”

Alexandir laughed at the thought of being trapped with Valles, “Yes … and just when we thought these prisons couldn’t be anymore drearisome. I expect one of you would be dead long before the executioners came for you.” Even unarmed, Alexandir had no doubt that James would have bested him. Jon Valles liked to think himself one of the greatest warriors in all of Aragoth. But he was slow and stupid and overconfident. He would have been no match for James who could have both outwitted and outfought him without much effort on either count.

He smirked when James asked him why Avelina should want him dead. “Oh, she’s wanted me dead even longer than the Queen. We were to marry once, she and I. I’d been blindly optimistic at the time that we might even be happy.” He laughed at that now. How foolish he had been!  “What a cursed union that would have been. I don’t know why she hated me: perhaps it was because I was a born a Godiva, or a dwarf, or that I was to be her husband despite her protests. But she hated me. And she’s hated me since with a blind fury. She’s convinced herself that I am to blame for every horrible thing to have ever happened to her. I am the great mastermind behind it all. It is flattering in a way. I myself have tried to explain how I might have accomplished half the things she’s accused me of, but I’ve always fallen short. For all of my many, many faults, she thinks I am far and away more conniving than I can even imagine myself to be.”

He laughed, “The only way to escape Avelina Beaumont is death. You do well in counting yourself lucky that she has not paid a visit to you yet – of all the horrors of this prison, the inability to escape her has been the worst. But she may yet come to you. You, too, have committed crimes against her that she is not likely to forget. Although take comfort in the fact that they shall never be as heinous as my own. She is like to think that I plotted the kidnapping myself, and you are only the sorry fellow I hired to carry it all out.”

[eviebeaumont]

Wings | Evie & Alexandir

[alexandirgodiva]

eviebeaumont:

“I know you didn’t,” replied Evie, confidently.  There had never been any doubt in her to that.  “I think all of Aragoth knows it, in some way or another.  If they truly believed it, they would speak of proof, and not in fathomless circles.”  She glanced away, unable to meet his eyes.  She felt ashamed, just then, to be her mother’s daughter.

It was a hard revelation, to see not only her cousin and queen avoiding a subject that could save a life - her own uncle’s life, no less! - and still harder to watch the work of madness wrack her mother’s brain.  In her cousin, she remained unsure as to her mental state, but in the passing weeks, her mother’s emotional state had become only more clear.  It was a horror, she found, to watch it take hold in someone who - for all of her flaws - Evie loved.

Evie, like everyone else, had heard the whispers before: the madness of House Arrington was a hushed legend.  All her life, however, Evie had discredited it.  Growing up surrounded by Arringtons, she had seen no evidence of the worrisome strain said to run through her own bloodline…till now.  House Godiva had first risen up in resistance to it and, if this was the behavior exhibited in those times, she could not blame them.  Evie felt like rising up, herself, and they were her own family.  It seemed to have perhaps effected the Queen; certainly, it lived in Avelina.  Evie didn’t blame either, entirely, for it.  After all, madness wasn’t something they could help, and she wanted to find a way to help them, but she did blame them for their conduct here.

It was clear to Evie that they both knew the truth - and willfully chose to ignore it.  The reasons for their intentional ignorance were unclear to Evie, but that was hardly of utmost importance just now.  Its effect was obvious and Evie could not let it stand.  

As he spoke of his guilt, Evie shook her head.  “Don’t say that,” she replied.  “I don’t pretend to know of what you accuse yourself, but I cannot begin to believe whatever it is it would require your death!  And I certainly know enough of your good deeds to think they must expunge whatever private faults you may have.  Do you forget that it was you who answered the call when the South was at its most desperate and liberated an entire people from a threat they had known for generations?  Or that it was you who brought freedom to the hopeless and abolished slavery in our very midst?  Surely these actions alone atone for much and more, even by your own reckoning, and they account only for your most recent triumphs.”  

And, I would have thought, Evie considered.  They would count for more in the eyes of the Queen.  This, however, did not bear saying just then.  Clearly, she would have thought wrongly.

Evie nodded, eager to perform whatever task was at hand.  “What is it?” she inquired, when he said he wanted her to make a promise.  She paled a bit when, however, she heard his requests.  “I…That is not possible,” she responded, softly.  “You ask me to stand by and let an innocent person die for a crime they did not commit.  I would not do that in the case of a stranger, little less a friend.  I believe in doing the right thing, Your Grace.  I don’t pretend to know much, anymore, but I do know that what you ask is not right.”

Evie had read nearly every book in Sebastyan Godiva’s grand multi-level library at Ravenwood, but she knew now that she still understood little and less.  Mere days ago, Evie had thought herself a knowledgeable sort, but the past twenty-four hours had been elucidating in the extreme.  She had learned, at last, that she knew not whom to trust.  She also now knew that, if she were not careful, the queen clearly had no scruples about beheading innocent relatives.  She knew she did not fully understand the game they were playing, and that there was no safety net and very few rules.  But she also knew that she couldn’t live with herself if she turned a blind eye to the things she now understood to be true.

Still, Evie wasn’t about to be any more foolish about this than she had to be.  Glancing away in thought, she bit her lip.  Finally she said, “You don’t think the Queen can be convinced, do you?”  She was ready to believe it.  Aragoth was not the prosperous and happy land she had once believed it to be.

There had always been tension between Avelina and Alexandir and Evie couldn’t dismiss the nagging fear that this was the culmination of that anger.  She knew her mother would not be convinced - but Rowena had always been eminently more sensible than Avelina.  Surely, surely…

Evie exhaled softly.  “Perhaps not the Queen,” she allowed.  “But there is a solution to this.  Somewhere, somehow.  I just need to find it.”

Evie found herself wishing she could apply to Lynessa.  She knew that Lynessa would do anything to help Evie, but she also knew that - as much as she might wish to do so - she was in no state to fix this particular issue, and besides how could Evie ask that of her?  To help free the man who stood accused of murdering her husband on her very wedding day?  Even though Evie knew he was innocent, she also understood it was perhaps too much to ask in Lynessa’s current state.  And even if that were the case, Lynessa’s mind and heart were no clear places just now.  For once, there was no one to swoop in and fix it for her, but Evie was resolved.  She would find a way.

He could only offer her a sad smile. There was much she did not know about the world. He wished she could know less of it. It was a sad, terrible place. Her mother had been able to shield her for years and he supposed that had given her some peace and happiness, but what a cruel awakening was in store for her when that veil that had been placed for her protection had been fully ripped away. It was better for her to know the truth, he supposed, but he still found that he would rather she did not. 

A rare thing he and her mother had in common. 

“Do not look for justice here,” He said softly, “You will not find it.” And injustice in Aragoth only bred more injustice. If Evie tried to find the truth or if she tried to help him, it would only end with both of them behind bars.

She stood so determined; so resolute to help him. He found he loved her for it, but he knew that he could not (would not) allow her to tangle herself up in this. There was no sense in it. He had not been able to save Aalis, but he may be able to save her from her own self-destruction.

“Your words bring me more comfort than you know,” He admitted, “I find I have very few friends in this world, but I am honored to be able to count you as one amongst them.” He paused, “But please, you must, you must listen to me. I know you want to do what is right, but in this world you will have to learn to pick your battles, or you will die.” 

“Do you know what you risk by advocating for my freedom? Your own life, yes, but also the life of your family. Trust me when I tell you that your cousin does not take betrayal lightly and if she thinks you are going against her ... it will shed doubt upon the loyalties of your mother and sisters, as well. And to what end? Her mind made up is rarely altered.” 

He shook his head, “And if I cannot walk out of this prison as a free man, which does not seem at all likely, I would have to make some manner of a grand escape. And where, then, should I go? I could not survive in the wild. I know my own strengths and weaknesses to know that. I have allies in the south to whom I could apply for aide, but harboring me would come with a great risk to them and their families.” 

His hands grasped at the bars, “There is no happy ending to this story. You say you cannot stand by and watch an innocent die, but nor will I go to my grave knowing that I caused harm to come to you. One way or another, I will die. It might as well be here. I’ve come to terms with it, and so should you. And even though I did not have a hand in your new brother’s death, I would choose this outcome a hundred times. If I must die, so that Jon Valles may die, also, then so be it.” 

[edmundbrowne]

OOC | Ed & Alexandir

Ok, but I feel like Ed would hella respect Alex!!!!!  And like, ok yes he’s in jail now for murder and all, but Ed still remembers w great affection that time Alex caught Ed reading a book when he was supposed to be cleaning and let it slide ;DDD  Jk, idk if he did that but yknoW ;D  Anyway, I do feel like Ed has as good a chance of knowing Alex in some way (still probs not well tho cuz yknow duke vs the help hahah) since he was living at the Imperial Palace for awhile, so Ed probs served him some suppers and that sort of thing on occasion, possibly?

[alexandirgodiva]

NO THAT ABSOLUTELY HAPPENED!!!!! I feel like Alexandir would also really like Ed??? Not that they know each other super well b/c Alex has only been back to the East for a year at the longest and in that time a LOT has been going on and he’s a little bit distracted haha but he’s definitely always kind and courteous to the servants! tbh I think he prefers their company to like most of the people he deals with on a daily basis???? like he likes evie and helena??? but that’s it???? and he’s like surrounded by arthur and rowena and cassius and aVELINA and dezod and jon (rip) and it’s not ???? a great good ot bad ratio lol 

anyway, I can also see alexandir taking the time to talk to him about the book that he saw him reading that he wasn’t supposed to read haha and also 1 time he def talked to him about the south and what it is like there and alskfjsa he just really loves that ed is curious and wants to know!!!! things!!! and he’s more than happy to answer any of his questions and encourage his love of reading :)