iconless starter for @theeldestsun.
The capital is cold! I thought our brother was losing his mind when he requisitioned an entire trunk of blankets (perhaps this was his way of handling the loss of his only sister), but as it would seem, our brother is not, in fact, insane. To think that this is what they consider a summer is laughable. I would pay good dragons to see some of these court ladies make it through one week in the desert. And the sea is different here, too, somehow. The water is dark and turbulent, it broods like my husband. There is sand, but it, too, is darker, and mostly rocks. Great craggy boulders like mountains standing against the sea. The water beats against it and the sound is reassuring.
Every day I go to take walks to explore the castle, and every day I get lost and have to have a kindly servant explain where I am and how to get back to my rooms. Thus far, these girls are the only friends I have here. Which is to say, I have none. I wish now that I had brought more of an accompaniment from Dorne, but those that are already here seem better suited to court than I do. The speak with confident ease and seem not to notice the staring, or the change in tone when one of us walks in the room. If it were you, you would know just what to say to them. You would say something about the state of affairs and your brilliance would be undeniable. Or Oberyn. He would smile like he does, and make a joke, and the room would be charmed. It seems I did not inherit these traits. My smile is quiet, and I try not to speak so as to give very little opportunity to embarrass myself.
I don’t tell Rhaegar how lonely it is here because I think he very much feels the same, and I wish not to be a burden to him. I want only to make his life warm and bright and full of laughter and dancing. I’ve decided when he plays his harp, I will sing with him, and maybe my voice will carry the love in my heart to him.
I am almost to the bottom of the page, but I beg you not forget me here. My brothers are my only refuge; your love and counsel are the twin pillars that keep me a Dornish queen.