Snake in the Grass (Unfinished)

Tyene Martell's Post

It was actually a rather beautiful day. Everything had to at least appear perfect, and when things went her way it was easy enough to appear content, serene, and calm.

She had begun making another concoction, a rather interesting poison that made a person's innards rot. The thought placed a smile across her soft lips as she ensured that the correct amount of the particular poisons were used.

A soft frown replaced the smile as she looked for a particular venom that she was sure was originally full and correctly preserved. It was rather odd that anything was not as she had left it ensuring that nothing was labeled purposely. It was her own method on how things were categorized, and she was damn sure that no one would be using her creations and variables against her or her family.

Tyene's ire rose as it choked her as she tried to meticulously organize everything to ensure that it was all there; except for that venom. She growled and barked for Freyda to appear before her.

A young girl entered quickly with shuffling feet, her head lowered in fear and respect. "Freyda, were you cleaning in here the other day?"

"No, my lady." The timid girl said.

A blond brow rose at the answer, "But you know who was in here?" The woman's hand gripped the girl's chin and lifted her green eyes to meet her own blue.

"Y-yes, my lady." Freyda responded with a voice wary with fear.

"Are you purposely being dense? Who was it?" She lifted her voice just the slightest bit, causing a whimper to escape from the servant.

"Milia!" Freyda yipped as she tried to get out of the path, if her mistress should decide to strike her. Of course, being held by the woman made it impossible and just increased her ire significantly.

"Where is the girl currently?" Tyene demanded. "She is in the servant quarters, my lady." the girl responded.

The woman's eyes rolled and she picked up a green vial with a golden stopper and looked at Freyda. "Take me to her." Freyda nodded, and at a rather quick pace led her to a woman that was in bed, breathing very shallowly. Her hands were bound and it was quite obvious the woman was cleaning her lab and had knocked the poison. Thinking she could simply clean up the mess and put the vial back, as if it would not effect her.

"Next time, tell me immediately. I do not want any clumsiness in the lab any longer." She stated softly. "Y-yes, my lady." Freyda replied, understanding that this was exactly the reason why she was not allowed to clean her mistress' work table.

With a quick examination, Tyene had noticed that the woman's hands were already being eaten away and blackening. "What a waste. What good is a servant with no hands?" She said to no one in particular.

The antidote would perhaps save the girl's hands from having to be cut off at least, but every girl had their vanity. The better alternative would have been to kill her to save her from such a pitiful life. "Freyda, you do realize that if Milia had told me sooner, I could have saved her hands from rotting off? Was your friendship worth your friend's hands? What she cleaned up would then start eating up her arms and need to be cut off..." Just in case the girl did not understand what had transpired.

Clean linens were torn up and the hands were washed and the antidote was applied. "You will take care of Milia's hands until I return." She said, and just as quickly she swept from the room.

Tyene was not an entirely cruel woman. Every once in awhile she had a heart, and often times the motives were what drove her, as well as the method of how she felt it was necessary to react to the situation. The girl had almost lost her hands for her clumsiness and lying by omission. The punishment fit the crime, but killing off a servant was a waste, at least to her.

Another servant was hailed, and a mount quickly bridled to take her out to pick up the ingredients that needed to be replaced. "A shopping expedition." She gave as the excuse, to leave. Anything that she could not grow herself was procured by her personally. In this she did not trust a soul to get it done properly.

Tyene was on her way to a rather dingy market in a not so nice part of town, a place where she would hopefully be able to procure her ingredients. Tyene, fair skinned and ethereally beautiful, stood out amongst the crowd despite her efforts to blend in. Moments after arriving in the market, a man approached her, thinking that perhaps she was a whore. Tyene only stared at him with her enormous, cold blue eyes, until the man backed away and disappeared, unnerved. Tyene disliked most people, and admittedly not her favorite thing in the world to do. She should have brought a guard with her, she realized irritably.

Training and reading; that was what Tristan’s off-duty days mainly consisted of. He was far from the best swordsman that ever existed, or he even had known, and despite his brief training sessions with Prince Josmyn he still had a long way to go before he was even reasonably good with a spear. On top of this he had never been in sort of position that he now held, and it was taking a lot of his time just making sure that he knew all the customs and laws of Dorne so he could do his job properly; not to mention the countless other pieces of information he needed to know as well. All of this coupled with the intense heat was almost too much for him to cope with.

However, today was not one of his off-duty days. He had decided that to better known Dorne and its people, that perhaps it was time that he left the confines of the Tower of the Sun and got to know the people of Sunspear; what better way to get to know the people he was serving and protecting than get out there and get to know them? It seemed such the logical and obvious decision to him that he couldn’t believe that he hadn’t thought of it sooner. And so Tristan Rydralle, Captain of the Guard of Sunspear and the Tower of the Sun, was on patrol in the capital city of Dorne.

It had been a relatively normal day, as normal as things in a foreign land could feel to a person. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened during his patrol of city. Many of the Dornish men and women looked on at him like the stranger to their lands that he was, despite his position. He did not blame them, for he had been given the position without any prior experience, when there was no doubt many better Dornishmen already suited for the job. Nevertheless, Tristan had no intention of giving up his position and so he would try his best to do the job set to him by Prince Josmyn.

His crimson armour shined brightly in the midday sun, his orange cape of the Sunspear Guards flowing behind him, as he moved through the busy streets. He was proud of his armour, besides his sword, spear and longbow there wasn’t a single thing that he owned that he was more proud of. Unlike all other guards in Sunspear, who carried their spears in their hands and a sword at their hip or, Tristan also carried his trusted longbow over his shoulder. He was more comfortable using that than a blade or spear, though he knew due to circumstances that he often had no say in, the latter two would need to be used out of necessity, though it did nothing to help him fit in amongst his new people.

The heat was unbearable, especially in his armour, but he made every attempt to conceal his discomfort. Complaining about the heat would not help him fit in, in a kingdom that was always extremely hot. With a sigh he raised a heavy hand to his brow and wiped a thin layer of perspiration from it, but when he finally lowered his hand he noticed something out of place beginning to happen directly ahead of him. A young woman, no older or younger looking than he, stood in front of a man who appeared to be giving her some trouble. Tristan moved forward, as inconspicuously as he could in his armour, and stood in a noticeable position a good few paces behind the woman. She wasn’t saying anything, the man in front of her doing all the talking, but upon looking over her shoulder and seeing Tristan watching him, spear in hand, he slowly backed away and moved from the area.

Now that she was free from the harassment, Tristan spoke up. “I hope he wasn’t bother you too much?” he asked, his foreign accent ringing true. It was only then that he realised where in the city he was, a notoriously rougher area, if what he had been told was true. He had plans to change that, as soon as he was adjusted into his position. “This isn’t the nicest part of Sunspear. Is there anything I can help you with?”

Word Count: 724.

Tyene Martell's Post

Tyene had already begun to turn away, intent on procuring her ingredients as quickly as possible, when she heard a foreign accent behind her. “I hope he wasn’t bothering you too much?” The man said. She turned around, and recognized him instantly. He was the same tall, dark haired man she had seen hanging around Josmyn. A guard, perhaps? Tyene was unsure. “This isn’t the nicest part of Sunspear. Is there anything I can help you with?”

Tyene couldn't help but smile, with the combination of his accent and his silly chivalry, Tyene was flattered. It appeared that the man did not recognize her as Josmyn's sister, although he could just be feigning ignorance, she couldn't say. "Thank you, Ser, for your kindness. I appreciate your concern for my wellbeing."

She spoke truly. If the man had indeed intended her harm, she would likely have appeared to be a helpless maiden. Those who knew Tyene knew otherwise; Tyene was known to hide poison underneath her fingernails. Poison deadly enough that a simple scratch could leave a man in spasms for days. Tyene would neither confirm nor deny whether these accusations were true[/font][/font], but it did make a man wonder. Tyene paused for a moment before she decided whether or not to turn away from the man. Perhaps he could prove....useful. Or if nothing else, he'd make for a nice bedding at some point. She giggled aloud at the thought and continued.

"You know, there is something you could help me with. My name is Tyene Martell, and I am sister to Prince Josmyn. I am here in this market looking for very specific herbs, it may take me some time to find the shops that sell these herbs, but I must be quick about it because a woman's life is at stake. If you would be so kind as to lend me your...company whilst I look, I would be terribly thankful.”

Tyene tried her best to look look serene and innocent.

The very moment that Tristan finished speaking and the woman turned around, he realised just how unnaturally beautiful she was. Unlike any woman he had ever seen, especially here in Dorne - though his time in this inferno of a land had been short. Her skin was pale much like his own, lacking the usual tan that many of the Dornish men and women had, and her hair was an equally light coloured blonde. Her appearance had caught him off guard, likely quite noticeably too, nevertheless he quickly composed himself and listened to her as she began to reply to what he had said to her.

"Thank you, Ser, for your kindness. I appreciate your concern for my wellbeing." she responded through a smile. She had called him Ser? He could understand the mistake. After all, he was dressed in armour and was being chivalrous to her - both were what he would personally link to a man who had been lucky enough to be named a Ser. He was flattered, after all he had always dreamed of being a Knight, but alas he currently was not, though that was not to say he was not proud of his current position as Captain of the Sunspear Gaurds.

“Your words are too kind, but I am no Ser, rather I am Captain of the Guards of Sunspear.” he informed her, a great deal of pride in his voice. His position meant a great deal to him, especially since he was a baseborn man. However, having heard what he had just said, the beautiful woman responded with a giggle; he wondered what was running through her mind, though there was no way for him to know. Soon enough she spoke, giving him a slight insight into what he had been curious about.

"You know, there is something you could help me with.” she began. Tristan was listening to her every word quite intently; if he could help her, then he would do so. “My name is Tyene Martell, and I am sister to Prince Josmyn.” this shocked Tristan, perhaps even more so than her beauty had done. So this was Princess Tyene Martell? The very same Princess Tyene who had called out during Prince Josmyns coronation ceremony. Prince Josmyn had told Tristan some details surrounding his fellow siblings, including Princess Tyene, but he hadn’t been entirely detailed about them or her.

“I am here in this market looking for very specific herbs, it may take me some time to find the shops that sell these herbs, but I must be quick about it because a woman's life is at stake.” this was all Tristan needed to know. It mattered very little what he wanted, even if it did conflict with what Princess Tyene wanted. He was a sworn sword of House Martell, he had vowed to protect the people of Sunspear and serve Prince Josmyn and all of his kin; this included Princess Tyene, without a doubt. Add to it that another persons life hung in the balance? He would have helped without question or thought. “If you would be so kind as to lend me your...company whilst I look, I would be terribly thankful."

She looked and sounded so innocent to the Northerner as she smiled after her request. He doubted he’d have been able to refuse her even if he had wanted to. “Of course!” he exclaimed. As chance would have it a small guard patrol happened to be passing, and with a brief signal from him one of the guards came over to them. Tristan still hadn’t earned the respect of his men, and he had a feeling they look on at him in contempt, as an outsider, but so far none of them had directly disobeyed an order he had given them, and he was thankful for that.

“Guard, an important task for you and your men. You will be given a list of ingredients, rare herbs, and you are to track them down immediately any vendors who sell them and bring them back to me. This is Royal business, so I need you to show us the meaning of haste.” at the mere mention of the Martells, the guard perked up considerably, nodding his head in understanding. With that Tristan turned to face Princess Tyene. “If you give this guard the names of some of the ingredients you are looking for, I will help you search the immediate area for the rest.” he explained, purposely not mentioning Princess Tyenes name aloud, just in case she was hoping to keep her presence here outside of common knowledge.

Word Count: 769.
Total Word Count thus far: 1,493.