Returning to Roost (Unfinished)

Dressed in a long flowing silk gown that was a shade of indigo that perfectly complimented her eyes, Visenya Blackfyre waited in the hall of her family home for her elder brother. He'd been gone for over a month now, out amongst the ruins of Old Valyria. It was necessary that these excursions occur to keep their family as well-off as they were but Visenya hated it when Vaenor and to a lesser extent, her other brothers, were away for so long. Yes, she had her cousins for company, as well as the few others that lived in their colony, hidden away from the world but it was her beloved eldest brother that she missed the most when he was gone.

She did not even truly fear for his safety. No, they had long learned the dangers of the island their family had taken refuge on and all of the males of House Blackfyre were more than adequate to take on the threat of a few wild creatures, even if they did have sharp teeth and claws. Vaenor was protected even more so, with the legendary Valyrian steel sword bearing their House name at his side. She had her own Valyrian steel dagger that she rarely went anywhere without. Not out of fear, but out of sentiment. It had been given to her by her love, even if he was not aware of her feelings for him. That was reason enough for her to keep it close.

Soon, her mother and sisters joined her in the foyer, all of them arrayed in different color silks. Indeed. They made quite the sight, with various jewels around their necks. Visenya favored only a small amethyst and gold pendant on this day, doing her best to bring out the color of her unique eyes. Idly, she wondered if Vaenor would notice her today, finally see her in the same light that she saw him. Her left hand came up to caress the jewel at her neck as the Blackfyre woman slipped further into her thoughts. By all rights, she should have been married by now. If not her, then her elder sister at least. What was their father planning, holding his children back from marriage? Was he planning on selling his daughters to Essosian traders and merchant princes? Mayhap that was it. That he just had not received an offer of the right price for his girls. It would make sense.

As for her brothers, they were old enough to marry, but still young enough to need time to sow their seed and enjoy adventures before they were bogged down with a wife and children. Indeed, her own love was well-known for cavorting around. Their mother had said on a number of occasions to her daughters that she half expected Vaenor to come home with a bastard or two of his own. Such thoughts were the ones that kept her up at night. After all, how could she ever be a worthy bride for a man that was so worldly?

Still, as her mother chided her, Visenya managed a bright smile for her brother as he and his men entered the hall. Their mother approached him first, bidding him welcome home and kissing one of his cheeks. Rhaena, their older sister, was next, doing much the same as their mother had done. Now it was time for Visenya to approach him. She walked gracefully, gliding as she had been taught in her various etiquette classes. As she smiled to her brother, her heart began to beat wildly, speeding up even more as she leaned in to press a soft kiss to his left cheek. She lingered a second or two longer than either their mother or sister and pulled away slowly, a faint blush coming up to tinge her own face.

“Welcome back, Vaenor. I have missed you,” she said, her voice falling to a whisper at the last few words. She stepped aside to allow their younger sister Syrilya her chance to welcome their brother, settling in by her mother's right side.

Yet another adventure was once again coming to an end for Vaenor, and once again he was filled with the mixed sense of relief and disdain. This time he had taken a band of men with him on his journey to the ruins of Old Valyria. It had not been entirely by choice, but rather a tradition of sorts when making the potentially hazardous journey. In truth he had made the trip more times than he even remembered, a few times he had even gone alone and as a result had nearly met his fate on more than one occasion, though that was something he had never divulged to anyone. However, this time the adventure had been relatively uneventful, besides one minor incident when one of the men fell over the remnants of a wall; it turned out the man was unscathed and the whole incident ended up being rather dull.

It had been well over a month since his eyes had last looked upon the home of House Blackfyre, though if he was completely honest he had missed it the sight of it. He loved his family and was utterly proud to be part of House Blackfyre, but the pitiful life that they had been forced to live out on these forsaken lands was far less than what they deserved. Nevertheless, it was pointless to dwell on such things, as there was nothing that could turn back the sands of time or change the past, and in truth his life wasn’t such a bad one. With a content sigh he began to lead the men the rest of the way home. No doubt news of their appending arrival had no doubt reached them, and his parents and siblings would likely be waiting to greet him; such formalities were tedious, though he understood them to be necessary.

Before long the prodigal son had returned to what had become their ancestral home, and just as he had known they would be, every last one of his immediately family were waiting for him within the main foyer. Compared to them all, Vaenor was poorly dressed. There was no silk on his person, only leather and wool and cotton; travelling clothes, suited for the extreme heat and terrain of Old Valyria, not for the fancy halls of his family home. Nevertheless, his clothing and dirty appearance was no doubt expected, and as he dropped his belongings on the marble floor by the large wooden doors a cheeky grin spread across his face; it was his mother he stepped towards him first.

"Mother," Vaenor began as he opened his arms wide and began walking towards her, embracing her into a hug.

"I am glad to see you returned to us unharmed Vaenor." he said as she broke the embrace to plant a soft kiss on his left cheek, as was custom.

"It’s good to be unharmed." he said in jest as she moved aside, making room for his older sister, Rhaena, moved towards him for her turn. Vaenor opened his arms and embraced her too, allowing her to plant another kiss on his left cheek. "Rhaena, what a splendid sight you are to behold."

"I see that your time away has not changed you." she said in response, his smiling at him as she broke away and moved to stand next to her mother. Next it was his younger sisters turn, Visenya, and as she gracefully reached him she looked up and smiled brightly.

"My, my," he began as he embraced Visenya. "Has my little sister grown even more lovely since last I saw her?" She didn’t reply, but instead leaned in to kiss him, moving on to the tips of her toes to reach his cheek. Her kiss, unlike the two previously, was on his right cheek, and rather than a simply peck on the cheek, her lips pressed against it and lingered - or at least he originally thought they had, though it was over too quickly to really tell. She broke the embrace and looked back up at him as she spoke.

"Welcome back, Vaenor. I have missed you." she said quietly. Vaenor leaned in closer to her, so he could whisper.

"I would have missed me too." he said through his grin, standing tall once more as she moved away next to where his mother and sister were now standing.

From there onward the formalities continued, Vaenor shaking the hands of his two younger brothers, Daemon and Haegon, and receiving yet another kiss from his remaining younger sister, Syrilya. Last was his father, who didn’t speak as Vaenor stepped towards him and bowed his head in respect. This concluded the greeting formalities that their family always went through each time one of them returned from a long journey, which was usually only when Vaenor went away on some sort of adventure. However, the next part appealed to Vaenor the most. It had been a long journey with nothing but travelling supplies to fill his stomach, but now came the feast! Just the mere thought of it began to make his mouth water, and so as he looked around at his family, he found that he could not contain himself.

"I’m ravenous," he began, though in truth he wasn’t merely ravenous for food alone. His other carnal desires had also been neglected for far too long. "Is the customary feast prepared?"

Word Count: 900.

While their home was not as grand as some of the castles that she'd heard stories about over in Westeros, Visenya was happy with her life, for the most part. While she enjoyed going riding in the woods and exploring their sheltered island, the idea of leaving for another part of the world had never really occurred to her. Yes, when she was a child, she'd had such foolhardy notions that her father and brothers could take Westeros but then again, every girl wanted to be a princess at such an age. Now that she was older, she'd learned her place. It was not that she did not want her family to come out of exile. No, she wanted that greatly. However, she was far more practical now. Age had mellowed her desires and now she was content simply being a Lady of House Blackfyre and of Valyria. However, as she celebrated more and more name days, she knew that that would soon being changing, no matter how much she wished it wouldn't.

At first, Visenya hadn't even noticed that her beloved was dirty. Of course, she had known he would be but it mattered so little to her that it barely registered to her as she kissed him. His quaint remark about her growing more lovely was something that she let slide off her back. No doubt he had said similar things to the other females in their family. Still, it was somewhat comforting that he had missed her at the very least. His snide comment about missing himself made her smile brightly at him. While it could be a bit self-indulgent and arrogant, Visenya adored her eldest brother's sense of humor, even if it wasn't her own.

“Aye, I'm sure you would have, Vaenor,” she restrained herself from going any further. To do so would not be becoming of a lady and if she ever hoped to marry someone half as decent as her brother, she had to appear the lady to their father at every moment possible. The idea of marrying another man turned her stomach but ever the dutiful daughter, Visenya would do what her father asked of her. No matter how much it might break her heart. After all, there was no room for love in the nobility. Perhaps she could grow to have affection for whomever her husband was to be but her heart would always belong to the scruffy looking man before her.

When Vaenor asked about the customary feast, Visenya laughed and drew in a deep breath. Even from the foyer, she could smell the crusts of the various loaves of bread that the staff had been baking all day. Of course there was a feast. Vaenor knew they would not welcome home the heir of House Blackfyre without a proper feast and ceremony, even if he had not gone that terribly far. Lightly she slapped her brother on his left arm and rolled her eyes at him, something her mother would no doubt chastise her for later.

“No, brother dearest, you are going to have to starve. No feasts for smelly boys with dirty hands,” she taunted him, winking at the end just to further show him that she was picking on him. Their other siblings laughed, even their father chuckled but of course, their dear mother looked down her nose at Visenya. Still, it was worth it to make the majority of her family laugh.

As they began to walk towards the banquet hall, the dark-haired eighteen year old wondered just how much of Vaenor's trip they would hear about over dinner. He would, most likely, censor his stories for their parents, revealing only the full truth of his time away to their brothers. His sisters' ears were too tender to hear all about the harrowing events of his trip but they would still get a few more details than father and mother would.

They all sat down at their assigned seats at the long banquet table. Visenya was situationed between Daemon and Sirilya and across from Rhaena. Vaenor sat the place of honor at the right hand of their father but the fact that they were so far apart at the table did not stop the younger girl's lilac and indigo eyes from drifting to him far more than was typically considered appropriate. Servants weaved in and out around the table, bringing light dishes for appetizers first and serving a chilled ice wine to refresh their pallets before they moved on to the heavier courses.

Her hand lifted her goblet to her colored lips, taking two long sips, hoping to cool the fire she was beginning to feel. The first dish they ate was a cheese pastry that went well with the icewine and again, Visenya found herself looking towards Vaenor to see if he was enjoying himself. Idle conversation had broken out amongst everyone but no one bothered to try and engage Visenya so she busied herself with her pastry, focusing completely on it when she wasn't sneaking a peak at her brother. After taking another long pull from her goblet, Visenya cleared her throat.

“So, brother, do you have any daring tales of adventure to share with us? Did you find any interesting artifacts?” she asked, careful to keep from looking like she was prying into his life. No, instead, she merely appeared to be the sister with wanderlust, wishing she too could be out in the forests, having a spot of danger and adventure.

Almost as soon as Vaenor had finished speaking, he heard Visenya laugh from behind him; he’d have recognised that laugh anywhere. Turning to face her with a raised brow, he caught her rolling her eyes at him just as she slapped him playfully on the shoulder. "No, brother dearest, you are going to have to starve. No feasts for smelly boys with dirty hands." it had been the wink that followed that really surprised Vaenor, causing him to laugh along with all of their other siblings, who seemed to find the taunt equally as funny; even their father appeared to be amused. For the moment Visenya had appeared to have forsaken her shell. It was quite the rare treat to see her like this, rather than withdrawn from the world. Vaenor made a mental note to enquire into this when there was less focus on her.

“Oh, well, my apologies. There wasn’t many places to bathe on my way home. I’m afraid you’ll all just have to put up with a smelly and dirty young man until I’ve finished gorging myself on delicious food.” no doubt his less than subtle joke about his more promiscuous nature would not go unnoticed, but then that was the point. However, before any other conversation could be picked up, the family began making their way towards the banquet hall. With every step that Vaenor took he could smell more and more of the mouth watering aromas, each intertwining with the next until he could no longer make out the specific smell of any one dish. He could barely wait to begin eating.

Luckily it wasn’t long before they were all seated at their specific space on the banquet table. Vaenor had always loved his seat of honour besides his father, though it was hardly the most entertaining place at the table. Nevertheless, the table wasn’t particularly long and it allowed them all to converse while enjoying the scrumptious food. In truth Vaenor focused mainly on his meal after initially sitting down, only speaking to other when they spoke to him. He hadn’t eaten a meal even slightly as nice as this since leaving on his journey, and at the moment that the food first touched his pallet he would have almost gone as far as saying that he enjoyed it more than sex; then again, it had been quite some time since he had partaken in that too.

The sound of someone clearing their throat caught everyone’s attention, and as Vaenor looked in that direction he noticed that it had been Visenya. "So, brother,” she began. “Do you have any daring tales of adventure to share with us? Did you find any interesting artefacts?" Vaenor had a mouth full of food at the time, so taking a few moments to finish chewing and then swallowing it, he we this mouth with some rich tasting wine before he finally began.

“Well naturally, a trip into the Old Ruins is no easy feat. It is a journey fraught with unknown danger and perils.” he said, waving his arm in front of him in an overly dramatic fashion as he looked around at them all. “Alas, such tales are not fit for the ears of such young children.” he said, glancing with a grin down the table to the youngest of his brothers and sisters. “So I will begin with gifts that I have brought home for you all!” He stood and clapped, and with that several servants entered the room carrying various bags, trays and items. They all stopped just behind Vaenor, who then turned and took an item from the first tray.

“Father, this I gift to you,” he began, placing a small chunk of what appeared to be metal, down on the table in front of him. It was hardly extravagant, or valuable in appearance; it didn’t even shine in the light of the room. “Not all is how it first appears. This is Valyrian steel in its un-tempered state, and it is but a small amount of what I found; the rest has been sent to the forge. There is enough for countless weapons, of our own design.” Vaenor wore an incredibly smug smirk. He knew full well just how valuable his gift to his father could potentially be for their House.

“Mother, you are a hard woman to find a suitable gift for.” he joked, taking two small items from the tray and holding them out across the table, one to his Mother and the other to Rhaena. Within his hands resided two delicately designed broaches in the shape of a dragons head, incrusted with rubies and other previous jewels. “Two beautiful broaches for two beautiful women.” he said with a pleasant smile. However, he immediately turned and picked up yet another small broach from the tray, moving around the table to where young Syrilya was sitting. Vaenor bent down to draw level with her eyes, before handing the broach to her. “And that’s not to say I’ve forgotten you Syrilya. For you, the third and last dragons head.” It had been a symbolic find, not only because the Dragon was their House sigil, but because he had specifically found three.

Vaenor moved around the table and back to the servants, where he picked up what appeared to be an old book. “And to you Daemon, my brother, this should help you in your studies of the old ways - a tome on the magics used in Old Valyrian - previously believed lost.” he handed the book to him and ruffled his hair. “You may not appreciate it much now, but in time you will.” when he moved to the servants again, he took a rather large shield off of one of them. It was metal, extremely heavy looking, and was decorated with a single headed black dragon over a golden field. It had been found as such, and though it was not their House sigil, Vaenor believed it to be perfect. “And for you, little Haegon, a shield fit for a Blackfyre within the Golden Company!” he rested it down against the side of the table next to the youngest Blackfyre sibling. “Perhaps too big and heavy for you now, but you’ll grow into it! And when you do, it’ll protect you well.”

“And do not worry, I have not forgotten you my dear sister.” he explained to Visenya through a grin, as he moved round to the servants for the final time. He gently removed something from a sack, clearly taking great care as he turned to reveal it. It was a plant seated in a pot, though it was far from normal. Unlike anything any of them were likely to have ever seen, its stem was a dark indigo colour, while its light violet petals sparkled like natural jewels. “Knowing I would be unable to top the dagger I gave you for your birthday, it was difficult to find something suitable for you Visenya. But as soon as I saw this plant, I know this was it.” he moved around the table as he spoke and gently lowered it onto the table where she sat. “It is unique, not only in its strange colouring. The only one of its kind, as far as we could tell. I thought it suited you.”

Word Count: 1,222.
Total Word Count thus far: 2,122.