Author's note: And we're back! Hi everyone and welcome to the new year, glad to see you. Hope you've all had a wonderful time celebrating the holidays and relaxing during these cold, Winter months. But enough chatter, on to the new chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own A Song of Ice and Fire or Game of Thrones. They belong to their rightful owners. Any characters you see here that are not from those stories are my own.
Chapter Seven: George R. R. Martin Can Fuck Off
Or as I like to call it: the catchphrase of any SI to this fandom.
Addam left at first light.
There was quite a crowd to see him off. All of his uncles, aunts, cousins, and grandparents were there. Children from the kitchens, stables, and the like that he'd befriended. Household knights, Septon Uller, Maester Harwin, the steward and other higher-ups in the castle. It was touching to see how many people were here to say goodbye.
Though the most heartbreaking of goodbyes came from little Darlessa. As Addam and Damon led the train out of the castle gates, Darlessa broke out into tears and tried to chase after them. Fortunately, Melissa swooped down in time and kept her daughter from running out under the horses. The two of them struggled in the grip for some time. Though, if you asked Jasmine, it may have had something to do with the tears welling at the edge of Melissa's own eyes. As Darlessa began breaking out of her mother's hold, Septa Merrella stepped in and took the girl from Melissa's arms. In that instant, Melissa found herself surrounded by friends and her good-sisters. Holding her steady as they tried to console her.
They probably understood her plight better than most. How many mothers are forced to see their sons off at eight years old? In Jasmine's world, that was a rarity; but, here, it was practically customary. Every highborn lady in this castle has seen a brother or cousin leave their home. They knew that, someday, they may have to say goodbye to their own children as well. Letting them go off to become cupbearers or squires. Networking and gaining friends for future political advantages, as Addam was doing now. That or wait until they're old enough to be sent off to the Citadel or the Wall or, worse, to war.
Jasmine could easily recall how lonely and sad her own mother had been when her kids left the nest to go to university or travel abroad. And that all happened when her kids were in their late teens. At eight year old? She'd probably have had a heart attack.
Though it wouldn't be all that bad for Addam. Melissa's good-sisters were telling her as much in hushed toned. Casterly Rock is only a two weeks ride away. Less, if you travel as a small group. He'll be well taken care of and would train under the best instructors. Best of all, he will be with family.
With family.
"Maester Harwin," she mumbled, just audible enough for the man beside her to hear. "Just so that I understand this clearly... how, exactly, are the Marbrand and Lannister families related? I get the connection with Lia, since she's a Lannister by birth, but how does Addam relate in all of this?"
"The two houses are close by blood and bond." The maester noted. "Lord Joseth's elder sister, Lady Jeyne, was wed to Lord Tytos and mother of the present Lord Tywin. As well, Lady Lia is good-sister to Lord Tywin. Which endears House Marbrand to the Lannisters in this generation as well as the last."
Jasmine's mind spun around that information. Feeling like a fly attempting to avoid the tangle of a poisoned web.
Though the fly ended up sticking onto one of those strings. One that screamed out a single thought:
"You've got to be fucking kidding me!"
"So, wait, you're telling me that Daven, Anders, and Damon are cousins to Tywin Lannister?"
"That is correct."
"And Lia is J- Tywin's sister-in-law?"
"If that is your people's word for good-sister, then yes. As well, they too are cousins as her late father, Lord Jason, was brother to Lord Tywin."
Jasmine nodded in understanding; but, secretly, fought down the urge to do a facepalm. That was, that is just way too much information to take in.
Lia is Joanna's sister? Sister to the Joanna Lannister! And married to a first cousin of Tywin fucking Lannister. Which makes her both aunt and first cousin once-removed to Jaime, Cersei and Tyrion. Which also means that Jasmine is living in a castle full of Tywin's cousins.
Just, HOW?
Jasmine gave a small shudder at the thought as she watched as the last of the escort party ride passed the gate. Geez, she'll never get over this little trinket of trivia. Really, there were no words to describe it.
No, wait, there is.
It's weird. Just plain weird.
Somehow, someway, she'd ended up falling out of the frying pan, or hurricane in this case, and into the lion's den. -An abominable mash of idioms, but perfectly accurate as a pun with all things considered.- After all, these people are the Lannister's cousins. Of all the people she could have ended up around, what are the odds?
Then again, if family trees in the Westerlands are as layers as this, maybe it was inevitable? There are plenty of Lannister cousins running around, after all. Chances are that they've married into all of their vassal houses at some point or another, right? Hell, you could go even further with that. When you get inter-kingdom marriages, like with Melissa and Ryella, chances are that all of the noble houses in Westeros are related. It'd make sense. After all, didn't Robert Baratheon manage to get dibs on the throne just for having a Targaryen grandmother, or something like that? Every highborn family seems to have some sort of blood or marital connection. It's all just a matter of how far on the six degrees of separation.
Only, in this case, I've somehow ended up two degrees off from the major Lannister players in the Game of Thrones. Which means that learning how to live and survive here just got to a whole new level of ridiculous.
The crowd began to part as the gates closed. People moving on to their daily routines. The ladies stayed behind, Melissa refusing to leave, the others staying by her side. Jasmine made an aborted move to go to them. Instead, heading out to see if the builders need a volunteer for the day.
She couldn't be around the others right now. She needed time. Time to think. This revelation has opened up a whole new can of worms she hadn't expected. It was one that needed careful deliberation.
The builders had enough hands for the day's work. So, instead, Jasmine got roped into peeling potatoes in the kitchen. Which was fine for her. Having a mindless task makes it easier to think.
It also gave better access to a cup of clove tea. So that was useful.
As she drank the medicine and worked her knife through the Sontaran-headed vegetables, she let her mind swirl around the issue at hand.
Okay, let's consider the full implications of a two-degree separation. Now, odds are, the families like to visit each other. With Damon and Addam on their way to Casterly Rock right now, that's a given. ...Man, Addam's going to live with them. Poor kid. Let's hope that at least he and Jaime will get along alright. But, it still begs the question, would the Marbrands ever go to visit? If so, I'll just avoid going on the trip. Done.
But, if the Lannisters ever come to Ashemark, would I be able to avoid them? Not likely.
So… okay, there's got to be some contingency plans, right? How do you deal with a pride of Lannisters and not invoke their wrath? Alrighty, let's see:
Step One: Never piss off Tywin. See the Reynes and Targaryens for reference.
Step Two: Never piss off Cersei. Too many examples to count. What, with her constant paranoid antagonising, sending people off to Qyburn for his experiments. Oh, and wildfire. If this Cersei does anything like Season Six, hoo-wee are we in for a deadly lightshow!
...side note: don't go to King's Landing when this shit goes down.
Step Three: Be nice to Tyrion. The poor guy has a shit life and a shit upbringing and could use some compassion. Not to mention that he can be like his family if you piss him off.
Oh, and finally,
Step Four: Find a way to pull off Step Three without screwing up Steps One and Two.
You know what. Maybe I should just opt for avoiding the scenario altogether for now? Ya, that's a good idea.
...I am so screwed.
"Switzer!" Gendel's voice bellowed over the sound of steam and clanking pots. Jasmine jumped at the booming voice, breaking from her train of thought and nearly dropping the vegetable in her hands. Once she caught her bearings, the startled woman gave a huff of embarrassed laughter; and took one last swig of her tea before heading over to see him.
She'd hoped to get use to Gendel's booming calls by now. Then again, from edged reactions around the room, it doesn't seem like anyone ever really gets use to it. Can't say she'd blame them. The head cook is an imposing figure for those who work in the kitchens. Broad shouldered, hairy as a bear, and had the sort of arms that could work a meat cleaver as easily as a knight holding a battle axe. Gendel was the sort of man whose presence could fill a room. If you went out of line or, heaven forbid, ruined one of his culinary creations, a single menacing stare from his black eyes was all it took to get most of the staff scurrying for safety.
Before Jasmine could ask what he needed, the bear-like man handed off a tray with two roasted chickens into her arms. "Lord Joseth's holdin' a meeting 'n the Oak Room. Randa'll show ye the way." He gruffed, gesturing off to the small group of maids carrying their own trays of bread, butter, cheeses, plates, and the like.
Breathing out the last dregs of nervous tension, Jasmine flashed him shy smirk. "Right away, sir!" she nodded with a playful half-curtsey.
That antic got the big man laughing. He squeezed a tightly gripped hand on her shoulder and gave her a broad grin. "Ye best watch yerself, woman. Don't think them knights would be happy with ye callin' e'ery man ye see a Ser." He goaded.
"Aww come on." Her voice gave a teasing whine. "I keep telling you, where I'm from, you can call any man sir. None of this knightly titles bullshit."
The cook bellowed another laugh. "Aye, as ye say. Then keep callin' me Ser, if it please ye. Won' see me complainin'." He gave her a pat on the back, strong enough that it pushed her forward to the maids as he made his way back to his dinner preparations. She huffed a laugh along with him as he passed by.
Some of the girls gave her a confused look. Probably because Gendel is usually only that affable when he's drunk. Though Jasmine could only give a playful shrug in return. The first time she called him 'sir' had been an accident out of habit. The intimidating man had been confused at first and thought she was insulting him. Though, after blundering over an explanation as to why she said it, he ended up finding the whole thing hilarious. Strange foreign mistranslations and all that. Though nowadays she just says it to get a laugh out of him. It's a silly little thing, but it turns out that stoking the big guy's pride can have its perks when it comes to getting easy jobs during kitchen duty. So, bonus.
She followed Randa and the rest of the maids through the long-side door of the Oak Room. It was a comfortably-sized meeting hall at roughly twenty-five by forty feet. It's walls decorated with colourful tapestries of men hunting deer, boars, pheasants, and other creatures through an Autumn wood. Opposing the second entry, the back wall held a large tapestry depicting the hunters feasting and drinking with dancing maids under a grand oak tree with blazing red leaves that seemed to flick with fire as they blew into the wind. It was a lovely work of artistry. Some of the best she's seen in the castle so far.
At the center of the room stood a large oak wood table spanning fourteen by five feet, with enough chairs to sit twenty people. Though today that number sat at thirteen. Lord Joseth sat at the head, flanked by his wife, Lady Sybelle, and the steward. Among them sat the lord's available sons, his brother Alesander, the maester, the castellan, two men whose faces Jasmine had seen about the castle, and three others she did not recognize.
Some amongst the thirteen acknowledged their presence as Jasmine and the maids went about setting food and drink at the table. The rest were too distracted to notice. Engrossed over reports and book keeping records. She caught flashes of conversation as she worked. Talk of wheat, barley, sheep and other supplies. The current supply of labour as farmers worked the harvest. There was concern of time, one of the unknown men insisted. They needed more people out of the mines and into the fields to get as much food harvested and stored as possible before the soon-approaching Winter.
That last bit of information pricked her ears to attention.
Winter? Hasn't it only been Autumn for a month now? It had to have been six weeks ago, at most. She'd visited the rookery when the white raven came to herald the end of Summer. So it definitely wasn't too long ago.
Then why are they talking about Winter now? Don't seasons here last for years? They had a ten year Summer in the books, with a two year long Autumn right after. So how does that make even a lick of sense?
While putting down a plate and set of cutlery in front of Harwin, Jasmine flashed her eyes over a letter in the maester's hand. Some words jumped out at her. Citadel. Findings. Change. Season. Prepare. Winter.
Well, I'll be damned.
She stuffed the information to the back of her mind and switched her focus to the task at hand. That knowledge was something that needed to be looked over, when she had the time to spare for it.
Christ, as if she didn't already have enough things to worry about!
By nightfall she'd exhausted herself to the bone. Finding every excuse possible to distract herself for the rest of the day. It was hard to concentrate on nothing. When they had gotten back from the Oak Room, Randa and the others had spread the news all about the kitchen. Everyone was talking about it. That, or talking about Damon and Addam's departure to Casterly Rock. Both of which would cause a clusterfuck of emotions and mental spin-around for Jasmine to hold herself steady.
What she needed right now was to just go to her room and straight to bed. Better to be unconscious than think about any of the events that unfolded today. It was all such a giant pain in the ass. So it was better to not bother with it now and deal with it after the information settled in her skull.
Jasmine left the kitchen and walked out into the court towards her chambers. The air was brisk and cool to the touch. Dark all but for starlight and the occasional torch. Until her eyes could adjust to the light, Jasmine walked along a stone half wall that served as a barrier between the open court and a supply of hay for the stables. Keeping her hands just grazing over the cold stone as she stumbled through the dark.
Halfway through the path Jasmine felt something catch at her foot. Her feet shuffled and tried to keep balance, but ultimately failed as she fell to the ground.
"Ah, fuck!" She yelled out. Hissing in pain against the cold, hard ground. She bent up a leg to leverage herself off of the ground, only to have it slip before she could try. She didn't bother trying again. Feeling herself lose energy as soreness from the day's work came catching up to her. "Great. That's just what I needed." She moaned. Her limbs went limp, using the last of her energy to adjust against the wall and use it as a headrest.
Relax. Her instincts called. You need to calm down.
Take a deep breath. She breathed in and out once.
Good. Okay. Now keep going. She closed her eyes. Focusing on her breathing. Letting the touch of brisk night air and the smell of horse and hay fill her lungs.
That's it. Your body needs to rest, that's all. Her muscles relaxed with each breath. Smoothing her body out in waves.
Give it a few minutes. You'll be able to get up then.
A deep breath out, and the breathing went shallow. Her eyes fluttered open. Turning a cool gaze towards the night sky and its ever-growing glimmer of starlight.
In all fairness, she thought passively, this view is probably the one good thing about living in this world.
In Westeros, stars covered the skies in a blanket of light. Showering the sky like mist over a waterfall. At home the sky had only the faintest freckles of light, coloured instead by orange-purple clouds drifting through. It had it's own beauty, but it didn't compare to this.
She stayed that way, watching the stars. Faint hues of colour mingled or stood apart, depending on the cluster. The were so many stars. So much to see. Though, sad to admit, there were none that she recognized. No dippers or Orion. No Polaris. In its beauty the stars offered their own form of mockery. A reminder that she was an alien under an alien sky.
Back on the earth the wind blew in strength. Carrying the cold with it and wrapping her in a chilling embrace. Jasmine shuddered. Breaking away from the sky to wrap herself deeper in her arms.
She hated the cold. Hated that Winter is coming. That will be here so soon! It doesn't even make sense! First the books say it lasts for years, and then has it change up after a few weeks? It was such a stupid, nonsensical idea. Oh sure, sounds fun for a plot, but who would ever want to live here? Bad enough to have to live close to the Lannisters. Now she has to worry about fucking Winters and ridiculous seasons? How do people even survive in this level of chaos? It's a stupid planet with stupid seasons and George R. R. Martin can fuck off for all I care!
"Is your sailor bothering you again?" A voice joked from beside her.
Jasmine jumped from the ground. Turning her head to spot Anders standing a few feet away. A teasing smile on his face.
"What?" She squeaked in confusion.
"Your sailor. Is he troubling you?" He asked again.
Jasmine responded with a squirt of her eyes and a noise of confusion. Wait. Had she said all of that out loud?
That expression only made the young knight laugh. "It's no secret. There are others whom have mentioned you've taken habit to curse the name of some sailor." Anders walked over and stepped onto the wall. Flipping himself over and landing onto a haystack.
Jasmine stared at him wide eyed, mind reeling. How much of that had he heard? How much of that rant was said out loud? But, instead of asking, she watched him warily as he propped his head up with a crooked arm and flashed a charming grin.
"So tell me. What has this accursed sailor done to invoke such contempt?"
Other than write this planet into existence? She thought to herself.
Perhaps he hadn't heard it all? Suppose that makes for a close save? Though the man -Tywin's cousin, she reminded herself- kept his eyes on her. Waiting to hear her answer.
So, instead of that train of thought, she sighed and gave a shrug. "Nothing, It's something stupid."
Anders gave a knowing smirk. "I much doubt that. Speaking as a married man, when a woman speaks that way about a particular man, it's usually because he has wronged her in a deep and cruel way."
"Ya, no. It's nothing like that." She waved off. It was definitely not meant the way he was implying. "Wait, are you saying that Lia's talks like that about you?" Does that woman even know how to swear?
"Of course not, I am in every way a gentleman" He answered with a flourish. "And you are evading the topic at hand." He pointedly remarked.
Jasmine rolled her eyes at the boast, but allowed him to go back to his questions. "Okay, you're… somewhat right. It's not something he did to me, not purposefully anyways, but, how do I put this?"
Ya, how DO I put this?
"Alright. So, at that meeting you had today, everyone was talking about it being Winter soon. But, in the books... I mean, in Martin's books describing Westeros, he always gave the impression that this place was so… magical. Fantastical. A country that could have decade-long Summers and Winters that last a generation. But, instead, it turns out that your seasons are so... (ridiculous? all over the place?) so short. It's confusing!"
"That is what's troubling you?" The knight snickered at the bizarre confession. "Hardly worth such a degree of contempt, Switzer. Though, if it would appease you, we did have a rather harsh Winter the year before last that spanned three years."
"Uh-huh. Right." She turned to him and gave the slightest tease of a smirk. "And how about last year, hmm?"
His grin dropped as he considered that. "That year held each season."
"And this year…"
"...Will do the same." He admitted.
"Mhmm. That's what I thought." She mumbled absentmindedly. She sat herself on the wall. Turning her gaze back to the stars above.
Anders gave her a skeptic look. "You cannot expect me to believe that your kingdom is any different."
"Course it is." She muttered without much thought. Then paused, hearing what she was saying. She had just stumbled on a topic with far too many eggshells to handle. Of course their worlds were different. Earth moved on an axis that stayed nearly constant at 23.5 degrees. That tilt and the path around the sun were the reasons that her world has seasons the way it does.* With solstices and equinoxes dividing the year in quarters, giving each season its fair share of time.
But then there was Planetos. A place where seasons could move like Mercurian days one decade and Saturnian the next. This world ran on some secret magic she didn't understand. Perhaps the seasons were caused by R'hllor and the Great Other battling for control, not unlike the Zoroastrian gods of old. Her most humourous theory was that powerful creatures lived in the centre of the world with the power to twist the axis. Speeding or slowing its turn at will. It sounded completely bonkers; but, seeing as she appeared to be living in a fictitious universe, there wasn't much point in trying to base this world's logic on her reality.
"Actually, forget what I said. It's not that different after all." She kept her eyes glued to the sky. Hoping her face looked as neutral as she'd hoped.
From her left she could hear the young knight sigh. "You are a strange woman, Switzer."
"Says the man snuggled in a pile of hay." She dismissed with humour.
"It's straw, not hay." He corrected. "Furthermore, it's quite comfortable. You should try it."
Her view of the stars became skewed as a handful of straw landed on her hair and covered the top half of her face. She could hear a guffaw of Anders' laughter as she blew away pieces from her eyes and brushed the larger straws from her head. Glancing at him, she found the knight's form was shaking with laughter as he hung off the edge of the pile.
Jasmine tsked at the sight. "Brat." she muttered under her breath. Only to switch to a mischievous smirk as she stood up and gave the knight a quick tug, making him fall to the dirt.
Anders made an oomph sound as he landed on his back, and groaned as he sat up and rubbed his head. "That was entirely unnecessary." He complained.
"Ya, but it was still funny." She quipped. Taking a small step onto the wall, she flopped herself onto the bed of straw and gave a sigh. "You're right, it is pretty comfortable." She remarked through closed eyes, relaxing herself deeper into the pile. From her left she could hear Anders mutter something under his breath, followed by the sound of him getting up and brushing dirt from his clothes.
All sound rested for moment as Anders lingered where he stood.
"There is one thing that I don't understand." He remarked. "Why does it trouble you so to find that we can have short seasons? Most would pray for a short Winter, yet you seem disappointed."
Jasmine opened her eyes. Staring into the starlight as she considered that observation. "I'm not… disappointed." She began. Honestly, she hated the cold. She'd never want a long winter. Certain not one that lasts for years. That being said, a part of it still bothered her. About as much as it bothered her to learn about his family tree. Though she isn't entirely sure why that is. So what could she say to explain it?
She thought on it a moment, attempting to transform feeling into words. "It's more that this place is... different from what I had expected. It's unsettling."
"Why unsettling?" He asked.
She paused as she considered that. Turning to him slowly, and biting her lip as she felt the emotion bloom into meaning. An epiphany rose to the surface. "Because it means that I understand less of this world than I'd thought. That there's still a lot that I have to learn." She averted her eyes and clenched at the straw below as her true concern came out. "That there's so much of this world that I can't predict for."
Turning her eyes back to him, she found Anders crouched at eye level on the straw. Eyes reflecting a look of sincerity that hadn't been there before. "I understand your concern, Switzer. You have only come here in the last few months, and it has been hard to grow accustomed to our ways." He put a reassuring hand on her arm. "But I believe that you will find a way to change that. Have patience. In time you will be able to build a home here. Of that I am sure."
Jasmine gave a slight sigh and offered the knight a small smile. "I'll keep that in mind. Thanks, Anders."
"You're welcome, Switzer." Then he offered his hand. "Shall we retire for the evening?"
"If it's all the same for you, I'm going to stay out here for a while longer. The stars are nice out tonight."
He nodded in return. "Then I shall leave you to your stargazing." He got up and sat up on the wall. "Good night, Switzer."
"Good night, Anders."
She watched as Anders twisted off to the other side of the wall and left for the inside of the castle. Once his footsteps faded, she allowed her smile to fade as well.
Honestly, at this point she wasn't sure what to make of Anders or his family. He and Lia seemed like kind people. Joseth, Daven, and Damon were… rough around the edges, but she liked them well enough. But they're Lannisters. Well, close relatives, at least. It shouldn't have made a difference, but that knowledge just seemed to cloud over everything.
Then there was the conversation itself. A nice little heart to heart; but, mostly, it helped to put the situation into a better perspective. That this world is more unpredictable than she'd thought. Or, at least, that there is more to this world than she had realized.
Then again, it is an entirely different planet. One complete with it's own histories and cultures. She had only been exposed to two years worth of history through the eyes of others, half of whom aren't even alive yet. It never had to deal with, say, the lives of Tywin's cousins or seasonal changes in the off years. Those years are more or less a flurry of unknowns. All that today proved was that there is so much unaccounted for. So much that she can't prepare for.
She plopped back down onto the straw and breathed out a lung-full of tension. Watching the air cloud with the slightest hint of the coming cold. Letting her thoughts float with it as it drifted into the night.
If I can't prepare for it, I'll just have to find a way to work around it. Somehow.
Note:
*Turns out that there's more to seasons than what I initially wrote here, and it might actually ring true for Planetos. If you're interested, I made a video about it on youtube. Just add this to the slash: watch?v=FaDb21En5DU
