AN: I'm immensely gratified that I'm not the only hopeless person bewitched by THE HAIR. There should be like a department in the clone club dedicated to lauding THE HAIR, and i'm pretty sure it would include every single clone clubber.
And Beth! Please tell me I'm not the only one desperately waiting for a backstory. She had less than a minute of screen time but has managed to make my feels explode all over the place.=(
Aaaand, thanks for reading and commenting, it really means a lot, feedback is one of the best things a writer can ever have.
For the second time, Scott's mouth drops open "Oh my gods. She's a Selmy."
For the others, it was "Oh my gods, it's a woman."
For Cosima, it was "Oh my Alison, it's Beth!", her friend's eyes still wide in equal parts astonishment and alarm that the status quo was broken.
For Felix, it was Oh my gods, look at your silly faces.
Scott continues glorifying someone who he clearly looked up to as a hero."Her father is a legend among knights. He was the previous and youngest to become Lord Commander, but he died during the rebellion. If not for his sacrifice, the outcome would have been different." He was so caught up in his explanation that he was late in noticing the dagger looks Alison was throwing him, her eyes flitting to Cosima.
When he finally understands why, his face goes slack, giving her an apologetic look. "Oh, forgive me, I didn't mean to bring it up." but she waves it away, murmuring "It's fine. I wasn't even conceived yet. I never knew them." but her eyes give away the what ifs of every child who grew up not knowing how it would have been to have siblings. The barbaric slaughter of her brothers and uncle in the very same room they were standing in was something everybody knew. After all, it was what sparked the Cosima's father to amass the largest southern army of fierce and frightening vipers and join the rebellion.
Felix, ever the situation handler, but more of actually pitying the remorseful expression on Scott's face, diverts the conversation.
"Remember this day then, and feast your eyes on the first ever female Kingsguard."
Charity snorts in disgust. "This is madness. How can a girl be a knight, and a Kingsguard of all things? How is she supposed to protect the King when she's inferior? She must have done something to get the spot."
"I heard from Ser Chad that someone hacked one of the Kinsguard, that's why there was a vacancy, it must be her." Aynsley found this out during one of her 'meetings' with Chad.
"Impossible. I heard she was sleeping with one of the Kingsguard, Ser Paul I think, and she spends too much time with the other one. That must be it, she might even be sleeping with the Lord Comm-"
"I suggest you watch your words, Lady Charity, the Lord of Whisperers is with us. First of all, she's not a girl, she is a woman grown, and our great King has his reasons, and whatever those may be, I'm sure she is very much deserving of them." Alison couldn't stop the need to defend the only child of the previous Lord Commander, something that she herself can't understand. It must be because I sympathize, in a way. That must be it, being a Kingsguard must be a demanding responsibility.
Aynsley and Charity, however, think she is defending the King. "Of course, Lady Alison, we meant no disrespect to the King." Their attitude goes to being curious. "So, what's going on between the two of you? I hear you shared a moment with him yesterday. I've seen him looking at you numerous times a while ago. I think he likes you." Alison blushes at this.
"He was just asking how the trades are going, and if there's anything he can do to help. It's nothing."
"Nothing? Nothing?! We all know that that's not nothing, Lady Alison." Aynsley gasps.
Yes. Her mind squeaks a little, flattered and proud that of all the women in King's Landing and here, where the kingdoms have gathered, he still chose to look at her. She feels like she's done right by catching the King's eye, the penultimate goal for a Lady as dictated by society.
"I see Lady Meera. Come with us, Lady Alison, and tell us all about it." Charity promptly looks at her.
Alison spots Meera below, then gazes once more at the kneeling knight by the throne, sunlight glinting off the golden armor.
She looks so brave, she thinks absentmindedly.
"Lady Alison?"
"Hmm? Yes, I mean no, I think I'll stay here with Princess Cosima, Lord Felix, and Maester Scott." Her choice draws different reactions.
Cosima looks at her with surprise, Felix with suspicion, Scott with newfound respect, and the blondes with confusion.
"Are you sure?" Charity asks.
"Yeah, are you sure?" Cosima repeats, genuinely concerned for her friend's mental state.
"Yes, quite sure."
Charity draws back. "All right then, I suppose you can always tell us another time." They join Meera in the crowd below.
Beth rises from her position, bows to the King, and goes back to where she was standing guard.
"I thought for sure you were going to wear a codpiece."
"Shut it, dipshit." and she uses the movement of putting her helmet back on to elbow-shove Ser Arthur standing beside her, her friend and now fellow Kingsguard.
He chuckles, but offsets it with his next words. "For real though, you're going to have to prove the size of your metaphorical codppiece."
"I thought I already did, which is why I'm standing here beside you."
"I know that, but really, it will be hard being the only one not wearing a codpiece in a codpiece-conscious and dominated circle. The Kingsguard is a brotherhood, but you're the first ever female to be initiated, and you'll have to prove yourself to everybody else aside from myself." She snorts and he presses on. "It's gonna be hard Beth, somebody is always gonna say something, even of your fighting skills have improved and is very commendable."
She says nothing, stonily gazing at the crowd because she knows it's true.
"Don't stare at them like you wanna kill them, word's already spreading that you hacked poor Ser Mandon to pieces, beheaded him, swam in his blood, probably drank it too."
"I applaud their imagination, it really knows no bounds." she says, more amused than offended.
"Exactly, their imagination knows no bounds." He didn't have to say the other rumours of how she got in the Kingsguard out loud, they both knew how the people's tongues wagged about other people. She looks across the room, near the Iron throne where the Lord Commander and other Kingsguard are stationed, eyeing one in particular, and as if sensing her gaze, Ser Paul's blue eyes locks on hers.
Regret. Grudging respect. Hurt. Perhaps even a sense of moving on. Spanning the throne room, this is what flows between their gazes, a silent agreement of understanding, even if it was just for the moment.
Delphine dips her head, golden curls tumbling gracefully to the side with the movement.
"Your Grace." The way the words slip out of her mouth with a different cadence and inflection as she says them clearly marks her non-Westerosi origin, furthering her allure as a foreigner, making half of the room sigh all over again. She sees Grand Maester Aldous, beckoning for her to join him, and decides to walk towards him since it seems the logical action to do so.
"So, how does it feel being unmasked and revealing your identity for the first time." He asks, following her as her feet takes her anywhere, away to escape the gaping and gawking.
"It...feels" awful, dreadful; like it makes me want to cringe "...exactly the way I imagined it to be." She is not blind on how she looks, and is very aware of the reactions she draws from people, which is why she opted to hide her identity, an advantage for her since it allowed her to accomplish more work, in quiet and in private. In unveiling herself, she knows that she is catapulted into prominence, now becoming the biggest talk and hottest topic of the whole western continent.
"Not all bad, I hope."
She smiles and it appears flawless but she is struggling on keeping it plastered and not make little puppy growls. There will be people constantly digging and asking. Dieu, I am going to miss the peaceful silence. Despite my abilities, I will not be able to escape notice all the time. I will be like an ant being scrutinized through a magnifying glass.
"I have to tell you, even though I already knew, when I first saw you, who and what you were, seeing you walk that aisle , my dear you absolutely took my breath away, me and every occupant in this room. Although who would have known, that the famed Present Iorgenia and the foreign expert are one and the same?"
Who would have known indeed. Those who do know only do because I let them. She just keeps smiling instead.
"I've already notified your attendance and purpose to the little group I have chosen to work with us. They were told only what they needed to know, of course. I look forward to start working with you" he says with genuine excitement. Perhaps a little bit too much. There is something in the way he says it that makes her backtrack for a moment, but only for a moment.
"Likewise." In truth, she herself is excited, circumstances notwithstanding. Her passion for knowledge and science has always marked her, even in both worlds, and the thought of working and exchanging information with like minds in the most advanced medieval laboratory, plus the extent of materials available, gives her an anticipatory thrill.
Aldous slows down from his steps, and she turns to face him when she notices him falling behind.
"Ah, just the person I wanted to see." he says after squinting for a few moments, spotting black robes at the distance. It takes her a moment to realize where her feet have taken them, and that they have just alighted on the left wing. She watches uncertainly as he puts his hand up, gesturing at someone behind her.
And then she feels it, a forceful tug similar to the unexplainable vague sensation she felt when she snuck in during the preparation of Ethan's body. This time, it felt like an invisible internal string has just yanked her backwards with the force of a sledgehammer. This time, she follows her instinct, unable to resisit. This time, when she does, the tugging pulls away the air in her lungs, freezing her, along with her sense of time.
There, a hundred paces away, a pair of dark rimmed eyes is intently watching her.
Cosima.Delphine can feel her heart jump out of her chest, running full speed towards the other way. Cosima, her mind whispers once more, it's her. It's her, it's Cosima.
Aldous' muffled voice in her head becomes clearer when she faintly hears the word 'introduce', causing absolute mayhem in her. She has longed and yearned for this moment to happen and always thought that she'd know exactly what to do, but now that she's actually in the moment, it only feels as if she's drowning on air.
She is faintly aware of someone in black robes hurrying over towards them, her eyes still soaking in the red orange clad figure ahead,
"Maester Scott, this is the extraordinary potions master we'll be working with, Delphine." Both men look at her expectantly, waiting for a response, then notice her silence and the way her eyes are focused towards the small group Scott just left.
"I can introduce them." Scott blurts out. Aldous concedes, noting how the foreigner was staring with such intensity.
"Of course. Shall we?"
His voice finally elicits a nod from her, kicking her muscles to move. She mentally thanks and congratulates her legs for not losing their function as she walks in a trance, the three of them approaching Alison, Cosima, and Felix, her gaze never wavering nor breaking.
One by one, she notices the similarities and differences as the distance gets smaller. She looks different somehow, but so much more the same. Her skin is more tanned, with an olive tone. Even her hair is in micro braids, and oh, mon dieu, she's wearing glasses, even if they look rudimentary, and she stops herself from melting into a puddle at how adorable Cosima looks.
They are finally face to face, and what she felt when she turned around does not compare to what she's feeling now. Here, up close, Delphine wants to weep in relief at how healthy and alive Cosima is. She's here, in front of me, no sickly palor, no dark circles under her eyes, no bony prominence. Even when we used the embryos Helena left behind, it wasn't a cure.She clenches her fists, taking all of her willpower in resisting the urge to reach out and touch her, to ascertain that this is finally reality and not just another dream.
All those nights of wondering, of being haunted, of laughter and love and pain...Cosima...
"Uh, uhm, everybody, this is Grand Maester Aldous and Delphine of Lys." Scott presents then turns to them. "And this is Lord Felix, Lady Alison Tully of Riverrun, and Co-..Princess Cosima Martel of Dorne."
"Thank you Maester Scott, I believe the herald has already done the job." Aldous' comment registers in Delphine's mind, Wait, Scott? and she finally breaks eye contact to truly see the Maester she hasn't bothered looking at moments ago.
Merde, it IS Scott. Her eyes sweep towards the other two who were looking at her, one with curiousity, the other with wonder. Alison! And Felix! She cannot help but feel a tinge of trepidition at way the Lord of Whisperers eyes her up and down, reminiscent of the way he arched his brow at her, spatting her name as if it was an insult.
It's Delphine! She's got baggage. And even when she tried being civil with him, murmuring a small "Felix" in acknowledgement, he still rolled his eyes in distrust and forced a "Delphine" out of his mouth.
Non. It is not them. They are different people here. They are not the exact same person. But even with her self reassurances, her response is instinctual, because when she looks at them, at him with his darker skin, her with her auburn hair, she still sees the same core, still sees Felix Dawkins and Alison Hendrix behind their Westerosi counterparts.
Her eyes go back to Cosima who was still looking up at her with a serious expression.
"I'm afraid Lady Rachel is requiring me and the Grand Maester to attend another small council meeting." Felix redirects, already stepping out of the group and waiting for Aldous to follow, who turns to Delphine before he does.
"Will it be alright if I leave you with Maester Scott and these two lovely ladies?"
"Of course. I trust I am in good hands."
"Lord Felix, let us go then."
They make an odd pair as they walk away, one clothed in pure black robes, the other in artful and glamorous colors.
Alison, trained and bred in social conversations, puts her skills to use.
"I hear you're an expert and that you'll be helping with the Maester's work."
"Yes, she will be" Scott replies enthusiastically for her. "Hey, Cosima's sort of an expert too, she's always researching. She's the brilliant maker of the best wine in all the Seven Kingdoms" he boasts.
Wine. Of course she'd still be brilliant even in this male dominated world. Of course she'd still be researching and creating something. And of course it would be wine. Green brown eyes look down at dark ones with adoration, the memory of wine bottles in their both hands as they escaped the scene of the crime with fingers intertwined coming to mind. Wine. I also tasted the remnants of wine the first time she kissed me. Sacre bleu, now I want to kiss her.
Cosima was still intently looking at her.
Badly, she adds, her teeth instictively catching her bottom lip.
"Well," Scott claps his hand "it is an honor to have two masters here then. One of wine, and one of-"
"Poison?" a voice brazenly cuts in.
Cosima's words all catch them off guard, most of all Delphine, brows arching in confusion and concern. She wasn't expecting hostility, even if it was veiled, from Cosima herself. This causes her to look, truly look past her haze of emotions, at how the smaller woman was regarding her.
Distrust. Alarm. Doubt. Apprehension.
It cleaves her chest in two, a familiar sensation that she doesn't give much thought as to why because she is suffocating from the sharp kick between her lungs. Somehow, she manages to school her features into pleasant neutrality. Suddenly, all her fears and nervousness from all those times she wondered how different Cosima would be comes rushing back. Was I wrong? Are the differences really that pronounced?Is she a totally different person? But no, that isn't...it's Cosima, I can feel it.
"N-no, potion." Scott was unsure if it was an honest mistake or not.
"Oh, right, of course, my mistake,"Cosima smiles but it lacks the usual warmth and sincerity in her trademark smiles "it's so easy to interchange the two, just one letter apart after all, right?"
Alison was livid, as expected, her eyes as wide as the smile on her face. "What are you doing?" she hisses between clenched teeth, shifting her body so half of it is facing Cosima, indicating how serious she is, then faces Delphine when the Dornish simply looks at her.
"Forgive her, she's usually cheerful. She has had trouble sleeping, and events like these always make her crabby. I'm sure a proper restful night will fix her up."
"No, no, it's okay, she's right. Potion, poison. They are just a letter apart, as she says." Delphine smiles, hoping this would somehow reassure Cosima and ease the situation.
"I'm going to accompany her to her room, to make sure she gets that rest, she's tired."
"I'm n-"
"Very tired." Alison interferes, already holding Cosima's arm in a vise-like grip and proceeds to drag in a deceptively forceful manner.
"I hope to see you again" the blonde murmurs when they pass, and this time, the charm and placation in her voice is gone as she drops her eyes, the sting and injury apparent.
Cosima grunts in response.
The moment they were out of earshot, Alison rounds on her friend and rants while pacing."By the mother, what is wrong with you? She was being polite, even after you insulted her, and you still refuse to act decently! You're not being yourself, Cosima, you're usually an open and trusting person, you always give people the benefit of the doubt, so why? Why were you acting that way? She's done nothing to deserve that kind of treatment, why do you have to be so rude to this wonderful person who is practically a stranger!"
"Because she's not a stranger!"
The ends of the blue grey gown swirl to a stop, the sound of pacing footsteps halting.
"What?" The incredulity and confoundment is overflowing.
"I've seen her before."
It's the year of the sheep, but the only thing that comes to mind is Helena. Because BAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.
And I only realized that the Civil Wars' Poison and Wine is perfect for them.