who: @cerissalefford where: the private apartments of guinevere lannister within the castle of highgarden, in the run up to the westerlands departure from the kingdom of the reach. this is set following lord eren marbrand's recent visit to the princess, and before the wedding of lenora lefford to jaehaerys targaryen.
it was her that had called for the lady of golden tooth to emerge from the side chamber that fateful day, pushing aside the heavy curtains where she had been holding the very thing guinevere found the most precious in this world. what leo lefford did not see after his departure and the door swung shut, was the sound of gasps and the raw emotive reaction that came with the household seeing what had become of one of their own. it was cerissa that had brought with her a white sheet from guinevere's own bed.
"and lady lefford is soon to be princess of the crownlands."
"and the stormlands."
and it was that sheet that guinevere herself draped over the corpse of the boy until the silent sisters arrived to take the body. he had died a martyr in her eyes. he would be blessed with salvation and peace for his suffering. for the injustice he had faced at the hands of a blade. the sound of her own knife against the plate broke her from her thoughts, before she dropped the cuttry against porcelin. there were many women that sat in another room, no doubt talking among themselves as she dined alone.
flickering her gaze through a veiled curtain, she saw cerissa sat alone. staring at her hands. her lips opened slightly, as though she wished to say something that would never come out. so instead, she called her name, just as she had done all those days ago.
"come and join me." she wanted to eat alone. she would not.
she had sent the lord commander a message requesting the information of origin for the choir boy, so she may forward her condolences to his family. condolences, and a purse of that tainted gold that would help them cover the money he no doubt would have sent back to help provide for whoever put a roof over his head. was that not how they fixed all in this cursed world?
she would wait a reasonable amount of time before seeing the lord commander once again, reminding him of the request. she would ensure he remembered the look on the boys face as the life seemed to lift from his body, and his soul leave him right before their eyes. she wondered what was behind the eyes of her youngest cousin upon hearing the sounds of what had happened, only noting that something was off in the way she seemed more jumpy than usual in the days that followed.
"i thought to save you from their constant buzzing. surely you hear enough about the wedding amongst your family."