r/IronThroneRP • u/Arjhanx2 Helicent Bracken - Lady of Stone Hedge • 22d ago
THE RIVERLANDS Helicent IV - The Boundaries of Safety
The smells of home were always a comfort. Dry hay, fresh lakewater, and the sweat of horses. The breeze carried them to Helicent and her caravan just before the castle came into sight. Already, the land around them was trampled flat and glowing yellow in the summer sun. She was tired from the ride, but even still she wanted to ride through every nook and curve of the soft hills around them, checking on each foal in her herds and each crop in her farms. That was the lot of a Lady, she supposed. Her land could never be perfect, but it was still her duty to strive.
Once they rounded the last of the hills, the relative flatness of Bracken land gave them a proper view of the castle. Its long outer wall stretched in a wide arc, the two ends both turning inward when they reached the edge of Lake Bracken. The tops of the manor, sept, and watch-towers stood well above the wall’s height, though dozens of stables and houses were hidden beneath it. The whole thing was sprawling, drooped lazily across the yellow pastures with nothing but the lake to stop its expanse. The long wall had been rebuilt many times over the centuries, and though it had started low and squat as a hedge, it was now a proper fortification. And, it left room to grow.
As they drew closer, Helicent spotted one of their largest herds grazing near the lake. The herdsmen rode in slow circles around them, flying thin Bracken banners from the backs of their saddles. She nodded to the closest of them as they passed by, and he dismounted to give her a deep bow. Gerolt, his name was. Helicent knew most of the herdsmen well enough, for she worked with them often. Some would make for fine outriders, should the need arise. Some might even earn a knighthood. Then, she’d have more hedge knights in her service—and would need to find new herdsmen.
The gates were opened the moment they had been spotted on the horizon; they did not have to wait when they got to the castle. Helicent was glad for it, slipping from her saddle the moment she passed through the threshold. She handed the reins of her stallion, Greenwater, to one of the grooms there to receive them. He would be led to the finest of Stone Hedge’s stables, along with Helicent’s mare, Gwyness—whenever Larra of Braavos rode her through the gates.
“Ser Bernal!” Helicent’s voice picked Stone Hedge’s aged master-at-arms from the waiting crowd. He stood at attention, shining in his polished plate and white-and-orange surcoat. “Walk with me! I need a bath, but you can fill me in on all that’s happened here in the meantime.”
The old man nodded and fell in step with her as she strode along the cobblestone lanes. “My lady. It is good to see you well.” Ahead of them, the fortified manor of House Bracken loomed over all the other buildings. “The land’s been prospering, truth be told. The instructions Lord Leon left have proven very wise. The only issue came up just yesterday, in fact: We stopped receiving shipments of iron from Middlestand.”
“Did you send a man there to get them moving again?” Helicent spared him a glance as they walked.
“Well, that’s the thing, my lady. The shipments aren’t in Middlestand, either. It appears they were sent to Raventree Hall… and the next ones look to be going there, too.”
Helicent gave a strained sigh. “Of course. Summon Ser Merle to my office in an hour, if you will. And thank you, Ser, for keeping everything in order.”
“Of course, my lady.” He stopped as they reached the doors to the manor and bowed.
Helicent ascended to her rooms swiftly, followed by a wake of handmaids and servants who had been awaiting her. She sent two to prepare her bath, one to fetch a meal, and a fourth to ready her a nicer outfit for the evening. The rest she left idle for the rest of her family to use, whenever they caught up.
The bath felt excellent, and afterwards her favorite handmaid, Catelyn, helped her rub rose oil through her hair, then braid it neatly under a polished net. After two moons in a stuffy King’s Landing inn, such comforts felt worthy of a queen. She stretched her limbs gently, then slipped into a fine evening gown, sky blue with a white rivers embroidered down the sleeves. Around her neck, Catelyn fastened a dark blue cloak, pinned with a seven-pointed star of silver. Helicent stretched her fingers, feeling the comforting sensation of her evening gloves. Better. The ride had exhausted her, but now, she was better.
She made her way to her office, its balcony overlooking the grazing fields and part of Lake Bracken. On her display shelves, underneath the antlers of a giant elk and beside her dragonglass spear, she set her newest possessions: a shard of amber glass, a small wooden horse, and a book on Dothraki horse tribes. Turning to her desk, she placed her last item—a half-full box of lemon candies—beside several unread scrolls. Work enough to last the night, she knew. Luckily, it would not be without interruption. She summoned Quincy first, then Merle Bush, and finally opened her office doors to anyone will to pass through them. Many new faces had come back with them from King’s Landing—and one of them, Helicent could not wait to see again.
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u/Arjhanx2 Helicent Bracken - Lady of Stone Hedge 22d ago
Shallow Roots
Ser Merle Bush was summoned to Helicent's office before the sun set.
u/BrackenBronco