crimson tide

Lady Leto Leanne Pemberley of Highcrest. Head of House Pemberley. Mother to many. "Fear the unsuspected for they have kept their secrets from the eyes of many. Deceit is in their nature. Their smiles are full of poison. Their thoughts full of your peril."

[iapetxs]

      The look on Leanne’s face said everything. A smile broke across Iapetus’s lips even as she turned somber and quiet, overwhelmed by the enormity of all they’d achieved together. So much plotting, so much scheming, so much underhandedness—it didn’t suit either of them, really, planning betrayals from below when they were made to rule on high. 

      “Leanne,” he replied, smile softening as he stood. Only a few steps and he reached her on the throne, lifting her by her slim waist as though she weighed little more than a child. Iapetus grinned up at her—his brilliant friend, his beautiful niece—and gave her a spin before setting her down lightly on her feet. 

      “None of that, now, sweetheart. This is a time for celebration. So: may I have this dance, Your Majesty?” he asked, bending low and offering her his upturned palm with a smile. 

[anniepemberley-blog]

Leanne gasped softly, the air in her lungs feeling lighter than ever. She hadn’t been lifted into the air like that since she was a little girl. She mirrored Isiah’s grin and spread her arms out above her as laughter escaped her. Once she could feel her feet touch familiar ground, she resumed a more reserved stance.

When Isiah spoke her new title so easily, she did not know if to smile or to hold her head up high as regal as she could. She decided to do both as she took his hand. King Balor certainly had a way of lifting her spirits. He was right, of course. She had to focus on the good, the happy, the success. “It would be an honor, King Balor,” she replied.

She placed her other hand on his sculpted arm and began gliding across the throne room in his arms. “Holden’s wedding seems like yesterday, when we danced last. Do you remember it?” she recalled fondly.

[coeusxcoleman-deactivated202005]

@anniepemberley

          Of all the things Coleman Balor expected to come across, the last thing would be Leanne Pemberley, on a low chair, hunched over a bunch of arrow points, sharpening them with a whetstone to deadly perfection. He paused at a good distance away from her, just down the garden path. There were guards, but they stood slouched and bored quite a bit away from where she was sitting. Leanne Pemberley. Leto. His little girl.

          She wasn’t so little now. No, she’d been strong, she’d stood regal and tall as a queen in the throne room as the Vitellos and Argos were hauled off to jail. He was so proud of her. Coleman hoped he could tell her that one day. And if Phyllis was right, maybe he could. He swallowed away a sudden lump in his throat. No time for sentiment.

          He approached her, then, barely even glancing at the guards as he passed them, although they did immediately stand a bit straighter. He imagined he could smell their fear and he smiled a little to himself. Beware of Coleman. He stopped just a few paces away from her and cleared his throat to make his presence known to the lady. “If you hold the stone at a slightly different angle the edges will become even sharper,” he said in what was almost a gentle tone of voice for him. “Or so experience has taught me. Lady Pemberley,” he greeted her belatedly with a small inclination of his head.

[anniepemberley-blog]

Between greeting and feeding the citizens of Westedell, Leanne had finally been able to find time for herself. There had been a new shipment of arrows from Highcrest, forged of the rare metals in the mountains. The recently made queen had many plans for them, but she would sharpen them first.

She normally did all of her weapon’s work indoors, in the privacy of her quarters, but the day was pleasant despite the mild heat. She needed to feel the winds and sun caressing her cheeks. She sat on a stool that had been carried by one of her guards. She began meticulously sharpening them to a murderous point.

The break of silence did not startle her to move the arrow blade nor the stone in a dangerous direction. She slowed her hands instead, and she looked up to see who spoke to her. A dainty smile rose from her lips as she looked back down at her arrows. “Like this?” she exhibited.

[asapemberley]

“Mother.” Asa could read Leanne’s moods easily, and the look in her eyes as she turned her gaze to him was a sobering one - she would not tolerate his shenanigans any longer, that much was clear. 

Even as the guards released him - much to his silent relief, it was truly starting to hurt - Asa retained the scant distance between them, too shamefaced to look at Leanne fully. He pretended to be occupied with checking his throat for injuries, letting the silence drag on before he gave in to his instinctive need to fill it. 

“Did you need me for something, mother?”  

[anniepemberley-blog]

The silence filled the space between them, and she let it fill a bit longer. She watched Asa fidget as the guilt began to spread all over his body. She strode away from the man and the crowd, fully expecting her son to follow after her. She gave her guards a subtle command by her hand, and they fell back a few paces.

Annie reached her hand out for Asa to take. “I did,” she replied simply. She was tempted to chide him as she once did when he was a boy, but she refused to do it now. He was a man, and she had to begin treating him like one. He knew what he did wrong. There was no need to humiliate him in front of her men-- his men. “As you are aware, you are betrothed to the Odells daughter, Serina.” She exhaled, chasing the irritation she had before. “I want you to meet the Odells. Do as you always do.”

[anniepemberley-blog]

@watchxr-fromabove

Leanne had just returned from her outing into town, and she was still dressed in her more modest clothing. She strode without haste through the corridors towards her quarters to rest, when she spotted Lord King Odell. “Hagan,” she called out to him as she approached.

[anniepemberley-blog]

@holdenvitello

What other way could Leanne see her friend? ( If he still considered her a friend, that was. ) The guards stood by the door, no entry or exit by the former king. “Open the door,” she commanded. One of the armored men flinched at her unrelenting tone, while the other moved to open it. Her guards followed her inside due to their strict orders of keeping an eye on their queen, but they remained by the door to give her as much privacy as they could.

“Holden?” The man’s gloom clouded him darker than she’d seen before. It created a shadow in the room, and she suddenly wished for a cloak. “I--” she did not finish, for she had nothing to say. Nothing was enough.

[anniepemberley-blog]

ashlynnpemberley:

Ashlynn smiled a bit, knowing that look in her mother’s eyes. And on any other day, she’d jump for the chance to hunt in the woods with her mother, but it simply wasn’t meant to be today. Standing, she wandered closer to Annie, taking one of her mother’s hands in her own. “I was hoping for a nice walk,” she said, drawing slow circles around the hands that were so much like her own. “Clear our heads after all of this  … excitement.” 

Leanne’s brows wrinkled for a brief moment. “A walk?” she echoed incredulously. She hummed thoughtfully. “Yes well, let’s.” She took Ashlynn’s hand with her free one and brought it to the crook of her own elbow. She fondly petted her daughter’s delicate but strong hand, as she began to walk out of the room. “Ashlynn, you must speak what is on your mind. You’re frightening me.”

[faithfullyyours-prisca-blog]

Prisoner.

Prisca folded her hands over the skirts of her dress, expecting no less. She and Leanne were friends, but there was no room for sentimentality during a revolution.

Bowing her head, she dropped to a respectable curtsy, about to reply when Titus came around the corner from the washroom, smiling with delight.

“Auntie Leanne!” he cheered, running towards her.

Her head popped upward as the guards flinched for their swords. Her arm snapped out, seizing Titus by the back of his tunic and reeling him back in. “Titus,” she hissed, her heartbeat pounding in her ears. “That is no way to behave around Lady Pemberley.”

Gathering up her son, she tucked him behind her skirts, bowing her head once more. “Allow me to apologize for my son’s behavior, Lady Pemberley,” she said. When she righted herself, her hands resumed their place atop her skirts. “I am as well as can be expected,” she said; she could force no smile to ensure her words were true. She could hardly eat nor sleep knowing her husband was locked in the cells below.

“And how are you, my lady?” she asked politely.

[anniepemberley-blog]

Leanne allowed remorse to show plainly on her face. It was sincere. She didn’t wish to bring uncertainty and perhaps even suffering to her friends. Prisca had not wronged anyone. ( She had been wronged for being a woman, a wife, a mother... )

“There is no need to apologize,” she reassured the noblewoman. Annie stooped to reach Titus’ eyelevel. “Titus, my love. Let me see your sweet face.” The young boy peeked from his mother’s skirts and came forward. He was sheepish at first, but he moved to a half-sprint into Leanne’s arms. “Oh!” she exclaimed. 

She let him go as she said, “I’ve got a present for you. Another book!” One of her guards came forward and handed the boy a velvet green book. “It is of explorers of the sea, just like your papa. I’m sure if you settled in bed and looked through the pictures while I spoke to your mother, then your mama--” she corrected. “--would surely be pleased to read to you before bed.” Leanne smiled towards Prisca then. They had much to talk about.

[leadmeoceansaway]

children’s games || annie&oberon

@anniepemberley

He had already measured the little room, but then tried to avoid wasting whatever possible amusement he could find there, as he wasn’t sure for how long he was supposed to be locked in there. He had been trapped in cages many times, yet this was surprisingly the largest one. Oberon wasn’t sure of the severity of this imprisonment. He trusted Leanne’s judgment, yet she surrounded herself of the most curious personalities of the realm — and Lord Balor among them. Amazing ! — and a vague sense of uncertainty forced him to doubt the extent of her leadership. 

As if summoned by his meditations, he saw the aforementioned woman. He smirked, welcoming, lazily resting his elbows on the bars of the cell. “Ah, Lady Leanne, have you come to inspect the accommodations?” He regarded her as the knight opened the gate to let her in, and he quietly chuckled, still not turning around to face her. “Of all the things I imagined us doing together, meeting in a cell was never one of them. Quite interesting, isn’t it?” 

[anniepemberley-blog]

Leanne stepped towards the cell, her guards reluctantly staying a few steps behind her. If Oberon wished her harm, let him do as he pleased. She would not cower from him. “I, too, never imagined that so shortly after our reunion, you would be imprisoned for loyalties to my sister’s family.” ( You’ve made a grave mistake, friend. )

She wished to help him, and if not him, his wife and child at least. How unfair that a woman and her child would be punished for the miscalculation of her husband. A world run by men-- and she still ruled her own KINGDOM. She suppressed a smile as her thoughts ran beyond her.

“I am more interested in what you plan on doing next? Your mind is never at rest, is it?” She was glad to keep the tone of the conversation light, although she had instinctive feeling that this was only a show. Oberon and she had always said more in silence than actual words.

[anniepemberley-blog]

hamish-vitello:

Rats scurrying. Squeaking. Nibbling on his fingertips. Or were they a mere figment of his fever-dreams, whenever he managed to nod off? Layers of stone pressing down on him from above. Had they truly buried him alive, in some empty marble casket down in the Vitello crypts, like Father had crawled out of? His leg, burning. Always burning. It was pain it burned with, not flames - wasn’t it?

Hamish blinked. The sound of a voice… was that real? Slowly, with some effort, he raised his head from his place against the cell’s back wall, scant inches from the spot where the wildlings had dragged and then left him, days ago now. He thought. It was hard to tell the time. “Is- is someone there?” he rasped. “Please. Don’t leave.” Please.

The deeper Leanne moved within the dungeons, the worse the stench seemed to grow. The smell of fear stung her nose despite the handkerchief she used to cover her face. Her guards stomped along beside her. She was hardly unarmed, but it was a last resort. The boy she sought was of no threat to her anyway, but his mother, in her desperation, was capable of anything. The Queen of Highcrest was not foolish enough to think the confinement of a dungeon cell was enough to keep her sister’s influence inside of it. She had to remain VIGILANT.

Hamish’s cry made Leanne’s expression fall. Although she held grudges against both Antony and Hypatia, she held no such feeling towards Hamish. She was hardly the sort of person to enjoy torturing people either --it was too much.

The door to the cell was opened, and Leanne stepped inside with a torch. She did not mind her silk skirts skimming the filthy floor. It was the least of her worries. “Hamish? It is your aunt, Leanne.” She held out a skin pouch with drink to sate his thirst. “I’ve come to see how you are...” She bit the inside of her cheek. That wasn’t true. She had heard of his verdict. She wanted to help him.

[fortisvenxtor]

Eyes were on him. Someone wanted his attention, and El finally gave up on hoping that the longer he ignored them, the more they’d get the hint and leave him be. ( He’d have thought that even the people here would be smart enough to not bother a man smeared with blood and warpaint, but the kneelers never failed to surprise him. ) “You need something?” he finally snapped, looking up from where he’d been sharpening one of his knives. 

[anniepemberley-blog]

“Your company,” she replied as she stood tall. Her gloved hand held her bow, which was weathered with age and use. She was in her hunting gear, and the hood of her cloak hid the majority of her face. “Unless you are required elsewhere.”

Leanne had watched him from far away, considering the whispers that she had managed to snatch from thin air of the wildling-- who had befriended her daughter. It was possible that it was not him, but she didn’t care. She had wanted an excuse to escape the overflowing dungeons and the noblepeople’s begging. Being a fair ruler had its hardships.

[lamentingheath]

Of love and marriage

[lamentingheath]

He couldn’t tell exactly how she felt about this new information, if it madehim look more like a problem in her eyes because he wasn’t just one of Asa’sone-time flings or if she simply didn’t think that they had lasted that long. “Yes, I’ve been away for some time and we met again recently.”

Although he had been silently expecting and dreading this moment, it was still a shock when Leanne announced itclearly, the words harsh like the crack of a whip. His eyes widened, surpriseturning into distress turning into anger as he clenched his jaw. He wantednothing more than to shake her up for staying calm while she said those words,but instead his fingers gripped the arms of the chair harder.

“Does he know about this?And how do you think his betrothed will feel when she finds out that his heart belongs to another?”

[anniepemberley-blog]

“I am glad of the rekindling of your relationship,” she clarified. Asa was certainly a much happier version of himself when he was in no short supply of affection and/or adoration. She wanted her boy to be ignorant of the hardships of life, although it was obvious it would not be that way any longer.

The fresh pot of tea arrived, and she poured slowly, watching the wisps of steam disappear into the room. She took a sip from her cup and settled it into the saucer. She observed all of Heath’s physical reaction to her news. He was ready to fight, not flee. ( Finally a good sign. )

“He does,” she replied simply. Leanne considered his question, her expression now an amused one. “I have faith Asa and his betrothed will grow to love one another. Perhaps not so passionate but love all the same.” The lady and Asa had similar temperaments, and who could not LOVE her golden boy? So many already did...

[hectorpriamidesarchive-deactiva]

MYTHOLOGY MEME | (3/5) OTPs

APOLLO AND ARTEMIS  cherished their mother, who had gone through such an ordeal to bring them into the world. Not long after their birth, the giant Tityus attempted to rape Leto in a sacred grove near Delphi. Leto called out the names of her children, who quickly rescued her by showering arrows upon the giant, killing him instantly. For Tityus’s offense, Zeus consigned the giant (who was his own son) to eternal torment in the Underworld. Artemis and Apollo also defended their mother’s honor (or perhaps their own pride) when Niobe, the daughter of Tantalus, boasted of having more and better children than Leto. The two killed most (or all) of Niobe’s children, leaving Niobe to weep eternally. Artemis and Apollo remained close to each other forever. Both siblings would become associated with the skill of archery, and they enjoyed hunting together. In addition, both had the power to send plagues upon mortals. (x) 

[anniepemberley-blog]

@asapemberley @ashlynnpemberley

[haydenbattaglia]

He froze. Closed his eyes. If he closed his eyes, he could nearly pretend this was real. If he didn’t look back at her, he could nearly submit to whatever the price of her affection would be. “He didn’t,” Hayden mumbled, almost inaudibly, as her arms protectively wrapped around him. He did not move, did not return the embrace. “He didn’t,” he said again, louder. “I was just a thing to him.”

And if his own father hadn’t loved him, if his own mother didn’t, how could he expect Leanne to? He was only the bastard spawn of a man whose death she had admitted to craving. He wasn’t even of her blood. There was no reason for her to care about him beyond what he could do for her or her children.

And yet he was so fucking stupid as to actually want to hug her back. He wanted to accept the comfort she seemed to give so freely, the thread of love which seemed to unspool from her endlessly, immeasurably. He wanted to believe it was real. Hayden released a choked sob, and he hated himself for it. Blinking furiously, he pulled back at the same time she did - and tamped down on his disappointment. Because why shouldn’t she pull away? When he kept pushing her away and refusing her whenever she wanted to close the distance between them, why shouldn’t she?

He roughly wiped a hand across his eyes, took a ragged breath - stifled the sobs threatening to escape. He wasn’t even sure where that need to weep had come from. Was it because of the death of the father who had never loved him, the death which was at least partly on his hands? Or was it because even now, even after she had comforted him as a child, fed him, clothed him, then visited him in prison, treated him like her own son, her words were like wind?

Even if he had thought himself worthy of them, they would’ve swept right past him. She didn’t know, after all. She didn’t know what he’d done. Even if she loved him - somehow, impossibly - she wouldn’t once she knew. Would she? “I told you before, didn’t I? I want to believe you.”

He just couldn’t.

[anniepemberley-blog]

Leanne made every effort not to flinch at Hayden’s remark of being a “thing” to the dead king. She had inevitably felt the same, although she had deliberately pursued Zion and brought this sentiment on herself while she was alone, pregnant, and fearful for the future of her children.

She sighed and replied in a stable tone, “I always suspected that man never knew the meaning of love. He understood love as sharing his fortune through gifts. A smile or a compliment was meant to be the highest of blessings.” She could almost taste the bitterness in her own mouth as she spoke. “Many required--no desired his attention... but he is all but one man. A man who thought himself to be equal of the Gods... yet he could not care for the many children he gave life to.” She shook her head as she muttered, “Selfish prick.”

She was surprised by his emotional outburst. Leanne had not seen such an honest response from Hayden, since he was a boy, who was unable to hide neither shame nor glee. She wished she had held him a little while longer.

The noblewoman interrupted him, so that he may not speak about it any longer, “That is enough for me.” She cupped his cheek and kissed his other cheek. She brought her hand down to hold his hand. “Now, I expect you to manage well on your own?” She was hinting of the days to come. “If you ever need help, my men will come to your aid. It is both your right and choice to accept or reject their help.”

[ashlynnpemberley-blog]

“If it’s followers you seek, Mother, I recommend Asa, Every young man and woman would flock to your side eagerly with one of his smiles.” Ashlynn replied, stiff in her skirts. She was all too aware of the silk on her skin, shifting uneasily where she rested in her mother’s rooms with herbal illustrations splayed across her lap. ( every now and then, her eyes would drift to the open window ) She snapped the book closed. Setting it rather gently to the side, Ashlynn looked up to her mother wide cautious, hopeful, eyes. “Might I suggest another outing? One that doesn’t involve politic-ing around Westedell?”

[anniepemberley-blog]

A witty reply from a witty young woman -- although Leanne suspected anything Ashlynn said would have been twisted in some way in her mind to shed a favorable light on her daughter. “Oh?” She coyly inquired, “And what do you suggest instead?” Her fingers itched to hold a bow and arrow, and she already knew Ashlynn’s were as well.

[iapetxs]

      A smile teased at Lord Balor’s lips before he wiped it away. Leanne looked impossibly tiny sitting in the throne, a delicate doll with flushed cheeks and dark curls spilling over her shoulders. But all five feet of her radiated power, voice coming as strong as it had when the throne room was full of their enemies and her spine as straight as if it was made of steel. Leto, beautiful Leto. She was as bright and brilliant in this life as in the last. 

      “My gracious Queen Pemberley,” he greeted, approaching the throne and lowering himself to one knee. His cloak swept out behind him, black as night; his eyes smiled up at her despite his purposely somber expression. “Lady Protector of the Kingdom of the Mountain and the Vale. It is an honor. You are addressed by Isiah Balor, ruler of of the Kingdom of the Rock, your ally and friend to your house until day the sea turns to flame and the sun rises in the west.” The smile was definitely creeping along the edges of his lips now. “I await your benevolent judgement.” 

[anniepemberley-blog]

Being addressed as a queen sent a jolt through her, and she was a tad ashamed of herself for being so hungry for power. However, it did not change the fact that she had achieved it in the sea of skepticism and criticism. 

She allowed a sincere smile to spread across her lips. It was neither goading nor humble. It was filled with the very grace her mother had scolded into her as a girl. “It pleases me to be both your ally and friend,” she replied as she extended her hand to be kissed. “I, too, promise to be your ally and friend until the sea turns to flame and the sun rises in the west.”

Her expression turned somber. “Isiah,” she murmured. She was suddenly emotional by what had been achieved, and she made every effort not to cry in front of him. But she was just so TIRED... The trial of the Vitellos could not come quickly enough. She wanted all of it to be over, and she wished to return to Highcrest very soon.

[anniepemberley-blog]

@faithfullyyours-prisca

“Open the door,” Leanne commanded. She stood before Lady Deyes’ chambers with her guards flanking her. The doors were opened to reveal a dimly lit room. Leanne quickly ordered her servants to bring more light into the room. “Do I have to specify not to treat our prisoners the way the Vitellos have treated their prisoners? We will not repeat their mistakes.” She grimaced inwardly. She had specified that Prisca was a prisoner.

She turned to the other woman. She didn’t dare smile. It would be mocking if she did, even if she did not mean for it to be that way. “Prisca,” she began. “Are you--well?”

[asapemberley]

It simply burst from his lips - a torrent of heated words that his throbbing, inebriated mind just couldn’t keep up with.

And only when his throat closed up ( not of his own volition, mind you ) and air refused to flood his lungs, did Asa realise that perhaps this would be the last time he’d be allowed to take things a touch too far. 

[anniepemberley-blog]

“Guards.” Her tone was even, and her head was high. It was like clockwork to see her son act out. It was time. She had mended troubles with her daughter, now it was Asa’s turn. “Do you not see the crest of House Pemberely on his chest?” She tsked her tone in disapproval, her eyes icy at the man who held Asa with a firm grip. “Your family will thank you when you release him to me. I will ensure your safety if you do so.”

Leanne did not speak to Asa, He knew what he did wrong. He didn’t need to be lectured like a boy. Not anymore.