anastacia-templeton:
anastacia found the conversation between herself and lord swann endearing; certainly not what she was expecting from him, but it would continue to grow her interest in the gentleman next to her. she had a good ear for listening and that’s just what she did while he mused over his interests. nodding her head gracefully to show she was listening to their banter, anastacia was quite enthralled with the fact that the lord enjoyed to be outside; while she could do without being outside, maybe she could grow to enjoy the outdoors. she was quite skilled with horseback and it only sparked a question if he would ever want to go riding with her through the countryside.
he seemed like a simple man of simple interests; it worked out in her favor, it meant that she could get to know his hobbies and incorporate them into her own. anastacia wore herself with pride, she would be a trophy wife to anyone who would have her, and she made it a point to accomplish it.
“you enjoy the countryside, have you ever tried horseback? i will be honest, my lord, i do not partake in walks in the woods, but maybe if i had you by my side, i could manage.” she assured him with a soft smile, now watching his face. anastacia knew she was laying the heat on thick, but it was only endearing to see the lord struggle to find his words. “i do find rocks.. pretty. geodes are my favorite, actually. i have a collection of amethyst at home that i keep underneath my window so i can watch them shine in the morning.” although wylliam did not respond to her question if she found him captivating, the lady tried to not let it show that it annoyed her; who wouldn’t want to be in her presence?
“when i am not attending parties i quite enjoy playing the pianoforte, i enjoy reading in my home’s library,” anastacia had a thoughtful look in her eyes as she continued, “i enjoy baking, candle making, riding by horseback and flower arranging.” it all made her seem like a proper lady which she had no shame in, “i also have dabbled into learning different linguistics across westeros. there’s not much to do when you’re a lady, all of the fun stuff is left to the men.”
standing a little closer to the lord, anastacia said confidently as she watched the lords and ladies dance across the floor, “maybe sometime soon, you may come adorn my crystals i keep at home.”
➳
“you’ve got me there, lady anastacia. i don’t have the memory for languages. i mix up the words, you see. end up saying something entirely rude to someone’s face.” a slight laugh came from him at his confession. wylliam swann had always found himself thinking complicatedly about the manners of socialising, especially since there had been times where he had gotten quite the emotional reaction as a result of his presumed blunt tongue and rudeness, which he had never intended to come across that way at all. he had always found himself sitting within the great castle of stonehelm's hall, quieter than the other two of his siblings who seemed able to socialise with just about anyone. “consider that a fair warning.”
meanwhile he found himself wondering how they seemed to find ways to speak about almost anything and everything under the sun, entirely naturally, as though it were the waves coming in and out of the shore.
meanwhile, he found himself awkwardly fumbling and tripping over his own words, coming up with random points that made no sense, or focusing entirely only on what he found interesting. it had taken him some years to understand and pick up social cues more clearly, to ensure he heard what the other was saying clearly.
"yes, my lady...i've ridden a horse before." he spoke, his tone almost trailing off as he looked upon her face: bright red hair, delicate features that looked up at him with as much attention as he reminded himself to give her. it sounded as though he thought she were implying the obvious, and a slight wisp of his chocolate coloured hair came over dark brown orbs as he looked down upon her, clearing his throat slightly. he kept talking, so he did not sound as though he were being sarcastic. “as a boy, i found myself falling off quite a lot. there was one time my horse actually sent me flying into mud, and i broke my arm.” he raised his arm casually, as if to show it were more than fine now.
“should you ever find yourself visiting the stormlands, you'll realise a great majority of activities consist of the outdoors. people love both the rainwood and the kingswood greatly; there are even hermits and reclusives that live within them. nobles and smallfolk find great pride in such areas of natural beauty." he did not necessarily say she would be with him however, and that was not intentional, but rather a result of him speaking on matters he found interesting. "i understand why you are not fond of the outdoors, my lady. the vale is not the place for such activities...lest you find yourself...butchered by...mountain clans."
he almost winced at his words as he continued, inwardly wondering why he were still speaking. “but you will not be butchered by anyone in our woods. if anything, i am being mindful of the amount of hunting done on woodlands by nobles for sport. there are people who rely on the population of stags for a living.” did she care about this? no. so why was he talking about it? seven knew.
and yet, at her mention of geodes, wylliam almost found himself wondering if he had heard right. never had someone spoken to him of rocks at a wedding, or an event such as this one: he almost choked himself ensuring he did not ramble on endlessly, much to her detriment. it would be rather embarrassing, would it not? “i have this hammer that cracks geodes open in one go...it’s weirdly satisfying, honestly. but i have a collection of geodes, that goes on for rows within my chambers in stonehelm. one took three months for me to extract the geode from the basalt...morgan and magnus thought i was going mad, but i was sure of it.” he spoke as though she would simply know who he was speaking about. “lord wylde and lord...wylde.”
“uh...sure, if i find myself in ninestars for some reason. you can see the three month geode, if you end up in stonehelm.” he smiled down at her, moving slightly so someone could walk by them. “deal?”
as she listened to wylliam speak, the lady of ninestars couldn't help the gentle smile across her face. something that lord swann wasn't was harsh, brash, angry, and she found that their small conversation put her at ease that she didn't have to uphold such standards that had paved their way across her brain from her other relationships. sure, they weren't even together, just having a simple conversation but the feelings were there that she was grateful that lord swann was different than lord lefford. leander had a chokehold, metaphorically and physically, on anastacia but she felt it slipping away the more she heard the lord swann speak. a small laugh left her as wylliam gave her a fair warning that he wasn't into linguistics, which was fine; many women had to find things to occupy their time, she didn't expect that from him for him to be well versed.
their conversation was going smoother than she thought and a wave of relief washed over her that she could quell her petulance for at least one evening. the only chance someone had to get to know the true her besides running her mouth with nonsense like a madwoman. anastacia resisted to brush the curl of brown hair falling across his face away, instead beginning to play with her own fingers out of nerves. so much behind those dark orbs; mysteries, wonders, dreams, she felt like she could eventually drown into him and she wouldn't mind. anastacia steadied herself mentally to quiet her impulses.
"oh dear," she stated with a feigned gasp, a hand resting against her chest. blue orbs flickered towards his arm then back at lord swann, "thank goodness your arm is properly healed now, gods know what you'd do without it." she teased gently, a smirk across her face to show her playfulness. the conversation might be awkward to wylliam, but to anastacia, she was enjoying herself far more than she had thought.
the vale had it's own secrets hidden within them and anastacia found herself drawn to the darkness of the woods, silently wondering if it would just swallow her whole or have her suffer at it's own hands. the mention of mountain clans brought her cousin, axell royce, to mind and how he towered over her like a giant. how he murdered people at his own hands without a single blink. maybe that is what lord swann referred to. she hadn't toured that far into the stormlands to enjoy the beauty of it, but the way wylliam spoke of it, she could only imagine how gracious it must actually look. "i do find that conservation of woodland animals very important, without them, we are to waste away. maybe you can tell me more of your projects if we are to speak again." at the mention of some sort of object to crack open the beautifully jeweled stones, anastacia's eyes twinkled in wonder, already noticing that this was the lord swann's soft spot. for stones hidden deeply in the caves of rainwood. "the wyldes do have control of the rainwood, i do hope they let you explore when you wish."
catching his smile for the first time in their rambling conversation, anastacia's cheeks turned softly pink, looking down to not show how shy she had just felt in the presence of wylliam. all anastacia could hear was her mother's scoldings; how petulant she might be to be blushing in front of a lord that hadn't even taken an interest for her, how desperate she must be for a man's gaze. shaking off the feeling, anastacia gave wylliam a smile in response with a small nod, "you have yourself a deal, my lord. and you must show me the rainwood, i have not had the pleasure to go far into the stormlands but it's been on my mind to travel, so if i ever find myself there, i will write to you and hope that you will show me around."
