Post by Horas on Jan 21, 2009 22:52:12 GMT -5
Ever since Jennelynn returned home, she had been kept busy. Her mother was determined to prepare her for life in Dorne, and now she had no peace.
It irritated Jennelynn a little. She wanted to play with Cyrenna and Selwyn, who were old enough to play games and ride with. Selwyn was eleven and already rode better than Jennelynn, and it was a constant challenge to race him. Cyrenna was only ten, but she was good at come-into-my-castle, and she loved to play cards. And Jennelynn had bought a kitten for her eight-year old brother, Alesander, but now she could not spend time with him because of her new duties. Jennelynn thought she could understand how Elinor had felt when she was first engaged.
The queen had engaged Maester Villiers, the Dornish maester of Storm’s End, to come to King’s Landing and tutor Jennelynn in the customs and laws of Dorne, and Dornish families – Villiers was a noble-born maester descended from House Allyrion. He was a strict, austere teacher, but very thorough. Jennelynn knew his methods well, and they settled down to their studies quite amicably – or at least, as amicably as Villiers could get.
“How can you tell a salty Dornishman from a sandy Dornishman?” he asked her one day.
Jennelynn frowned in thought. “I think…the sandy Dornishman is a little darker?”
“Not always,” Maester Villiers said. “That’s the problem. Salties and sandies often look alike, especially to an untrained eye. The best way to tell them apart is the accent.”
Jennelynn shifted uncomfortably. In most of Westeros, it was insulting to call a Dornishman “sandy” – the slur had arisen during the Dornish wars, and was most offensive. Dornishmen themselves, however, were perfectly untroubled to call each other “salty” or “sandy” or “stony”. Jennelynn instinctively knew that in Dorne, she would be considered a foreigner and “sandy” from her mouth would not be well received.
She practiced the different accents of Dorne herself, to grow accustomed to them, and Maester Villiers himself imitated them for her. She would close her eyes and listen intently, and then try to name the region that the accent was from. The most important accent, the slightly more cosmopolitan speech of Sunspear, was the one she had to imitate the most.
“It is important to be a Dornishwoman,” Villiers told her, just as her mother always did. “Everyone must accept you as one of them.”
Lady Marianne Yronwood, her mother’s senior lady-in-waiting, was entrusted with teaching her the ways of the Dornish court and nobility. She was a tall and graceful lady, and Jennelynn admired her very much. Under Lady Yronwood’s instruction, Jennelynn learned the dances of the Dorne, and how to dress.
“Sandsilk is most popular for cloaks and vests,” Lady Yronwood said, showing Jennelynn her clothes. “It is mainly because the wars made the Dornish very proud of their culture, but also because it is very hardy and beautiful. You will wear sandsilk very often.”
Jennelynn loved the clothing of Dornish men – long, flowing robes with their wide sleeves and jeweled belts, silk and satin, and with such bold colors. The women wore robes too, some of them of shimmering silk. Jennelynn would have copper bands in her hair, jewels in strange designs, and snakeskin sandals dyed in whatever color she liked. During the day when she was indoors, she would wear layered linen robes with a striped silk undertunic. They were all beautiful. They were mouthwateringly beautiful. Jennelynn thought she would rather enjoy this part of being a Dornishwoman.
Both Maester Villiers and Lady Yronwood taught Jennelynn the politics of the kingdom – which families had feuds or friendship, who was rich and who was poor, who had the greatest influence with the Prince, and so on. She memorized the sigils of the great Houses and the names of their lords. In some of the politics, Jennelynn was taught mostly by her mother – how to watch and learn about a situation, how to gain friends at court, how to keep them and how to influence them. Her mother taught her also to be patient, watchful and calm – she would need all her wits about her to survive in Dorne. Sunspear also had strong Braavosi influences of late, and Jennelynn was taught to never try to antagonize the Braavosi openly. They were still allies.
Then, from Lord Antario Yronwood's castle, she received a gift - a golden sand steed. The sand steeds of Dorne were famous, and Jennelynn stared when she saw her new filly.
"You will have to get used to these animals," her mother said with a smile. "They are rather hot-tempered and difficult, I'm afraid."
"Not difficult," her Uncle Brynden chuckled. "Just a little high-spirited."
With Lady Yronwood and Uncle Brynden behind her, Jennelynn mounted her dancing filly, who shone pale gold in the weak sunlight. She was built as delicately as a deer - slim and swift, with a narrow, beautiful head and large, expressive eyes. Her neck was long and graceful, and her mane and tale were fine and silky. She stood taut and alert, trembling.
"She is fire made flesh," Lady Yronwood said softly.
Jennelynn gently squeezed the filly with her knees, and that was enough to set her off into a smooth, fast trot. She rode the filly around the large riding ring, slowly gaining confidence even as she tried to maintain the filly's pace - the horse kept trying to go faster. Then she let the filly go into a canter, and her gait was delightful. Jennelynn felt like she was flying, soaring.
When she tried to rein in the filly, the horse half-reared in protest, much to Jennelynn's alarm.
"Ride her around once more," Uncle Brynden ordered. "Master her."
And so, with some trepidation, Jennelynn sent the horse into a canter again, this time shortening her reins immediately and maintaining tight contact with the filly's mouth. She fought to keep the filly's pace steady, so that she wouldn't accelerate. Finally, she gradually began to slow down, putting pressure gently but steadily as she pulled back on the reins. The filly tossed her head a little, but after some struggle she obeyed and came to a halt.
"Not a bad start at all," Lady Yronwood smiled. "We'll make a Dornish princess of you in no time."
Result:
- Jennelynn gains Expert Horse-riding
- Jennelynn gains Novice Intrigue
It irritated Jennelynn a little. She wanted to play with Cyrenna and Selwyn, who were old enough to play games and ride with. Selwyn was eleven and already rode better than Jennelynn, and it was a constant challenge to race him. Cyrenna was only ten, but she was good at come-into-my-castle, and she loved to play cards. And Jennelynn had bought a kitten for her eight-year old brother, Alesander, but now she could not spend time with him because of her new duties. Jennelynn thought she could understand how Elinor had felt when she was first engaged.
The queen had engaged Maester Villiers, the Dornish maester of Storm’s End, to come to King’s Landing and tutor Jennelynn in the customs and laws of Dorne, and Dornish families – Villiers was a noble-born maester descended from House Allyrion. He was a strict, austere teacher, but very thorough. Jennelynn knew his methods well, and they settled down to their studies quite amicably – or at least, as amicably as Villiers could get.
“How can you tell a salty Dornishman from a sandy Dornishman?” he asked her one day.
Jennelynn frowned in thought. “I think…the sandy Dornishman is a little darker?”
“Not always,” Maester Villiers said. “That’s the problem. Salties and sandies often look alike, especially to an untrained eye. The best way to tell them apart is the accent.”
Jennelynn shifted uncomfortably. In most of Westeros, it was insulting to call a Dornishman “sandy” – the slur had arisen during the Dornish wars, and was most offensive. Dornishmen themselves, however, were perfectly untroubled to call each other “salty” or “sandy” or “stony”. Jennelynn instinctively knew that in Dorne, she would be considered a foreigner and “sandy” from her mouth would not be well received.
She practiced the different accents of Dorne herself, to grow accustomed to them, and Maester Villiers himself imitated them for her. She would close her eyes and listen intently, and then try to name the region that the accent was from. The most important accent, the slightly more cosmopolitan speech of Sunspear, was the one she had to imitate the most.
“It is important to be a Dornishwoman,” Villiers told her, just as her mother always did. “Everyone must accept you as one of them.”
Lady Marianne Yronwood, her mother’s senior lady-in-waiting, was entrusted with teaching her the ways of the Dornish court and nobility. She was a tall and graceful lady, and Jennelynn admired her very much. Under Lady Yronwood’s instruction, Jennelynn learned the dances of the Dorne, and how to dress.
“Sandsilk is most popular for cloaks and vests,” Lady Yronwood said, showing Jennelynn her clothes. “It is mainly because the wars made the Dornish very proud of their culture, but also because it is very hardy and beautiful. You will wear sandsilk very often.”
Jennelynn loved the clothing of Dornish men – long, flowing robes with their wide sleeves and jeweled belts, silk and satin, and with such bold colors. The women wore robes too, some of them of shimmering silk. Jennelynn would have copper bands in her hair, jewels in strange designs, and snakeskin sandals dyed in whatever color she liked. During the day when she was indoors, she would wear layered linen robes with a striped silk undertunic. They were all beautiful. They were mouthwateringly beautiful. Jennelynn thought she would rather enjoy this part of being a Dornishwoman.
Both Maester Villiers and Lady Yronwood taught Jennelynn the politics of the kingdom – which families had feuds or friendship, who was rich and who was poor, who had the greatest influence with the Prince, and so on. She memorized the sigils of the great Houses and the names of their lords. In some of the politics, Jennelynn was taught mostly by her mother – how to watch and learn about a situation, how to gain friends at court, how to keep them and how to influence them. Her mother taught her also to be patient, watchful and calm – she would need all her wits about her to survive in Dorne. Sunspear also had strong Braavosi influences of late, and Jennelynn was taught to never try to antagonize the Braavosi openly. They were still allies.
Then, from Lord Antario Yronwood's castle, she received a gift - a golden sand steed. The sand steeds of Dorne were famous, and Jennelynn stared when she saw her new filly.
"You will have to get used to these animals," her mother said with a smile. "They are rather hot-tempered and difficult, I'm afraid."
"Not difficult," her Uncle Brynden chuckled. "Just a little high-spirited."
With Lady Yronwood and Uncle Brynden behind her, Jennelynn mounted her dancing filly, who shone pale gold in the weak sunlight. She was built as delicately as a deer - slim and swift, with a narrow, beautiful head and large, expressive eyes. Her neck was long and graceful, and her mane and tale were fine and silky. She stood taut and alert, trembling.
"She is fire made flesh," Lady Yronwood said softly.
Jennelynn gently squeezed the filly with her knees, and that was enough to set her off into a smooth, fast trot. She rode the filly around the large riding ring, slowly gaining confidence even as she tried to maintain the filly's pace - the horse kept trying to go faster. Then she let the filly go into a canter, and her gait was delightful. Jennelynn felt like she was flying, soaring.
When she tried to rein in the filly, the horse half-reared in protest, much to Jennelynn's alarm.
"Ride her around once more," Uncle Brynden ordered. "Master her."
And so, with some trepidation, Jennelynn sent the horse into a canter again, this time shortening her reins immediately and maintaining tight contact with the filly's mouth. She fought to keep the filly's pace steady, so that she wouldn't accelerate. Finally, she gradually began to slow down, putting pressure gently but steadily as she pulled back on the reins. The filly tossed her head a little, but after some struggle she obeyed and came to a halt.
"Not a bad start at all," Lady Yronwood smiled. "We'll make a Dornish princess of you in no time."
Result:
- Jennelynn gains Expert Horse-riding
- Jennelynn gains Novice Intrigue