The House of Flowers

[Deleted]

They descended the staircase and Mally allowed Tilda to lead her over to Ser Anselm. Her eyes flicked over him, and when he looked at her, she gave him a smile.

[Lilith Royce]

Tilda giggled. This was strange because Tilda never giggled, she was too much of a school mistress for such a thing. "It is our honor to meet you good ser," she said dipping a curtsey. "We are the Avalon sisters, your cousins on your mother's side, we have just arrived here from the Reach."

Anselm smiled warmly at both of them, "I did not know I had such beautiful cousins," he said gallantly, letting his eyes linger just a few moments longer on Mally, or so she thought.

[Deleted]

"I didn't know our cousin was such a gallant white knight," Mally said in a lilting voice. She saw Tilda's blushing cheeks, and smiled inwardly. Tilda had never blushed for a boy, and it was rather bad timing to blush for a white knight. "The king must be relieved to have a great sword like yours," Mally said to Anselm.

[sara]

Betrina arrived in King's Landing tired and hungry. Now, where would her sister be. She struggled to remember exactly where Tilda had gone. Their mother's family was it? Oh, what had she said!? Flowers! That was it, Flowers.

She looked round her searching for a friendly face to ask. Her eyes locked with a man across from her and she smiled.
"Excuse me. Could you tell me where I could find the Flowers family please?"
The man laughed. "Depen's. There's 'ell of a lot o' Flowers'. But you'll be wantin' the Flowers, girl, the merchants?"
Betrina racked her brains for any recollection of what Tilda had said. Merchants? Yes, maybe. It was better than nothing. She nodded.
"Yes, I think so."
"'ouse o' Flowers. Behind yeh love." The man grinned at her again and wandered off leaving Betrina to push open the door of the house he'd told her, and peer inside.

[Deleted]

"What is this, some kind of family reunion?" Mally stood with her hands on her hips, staring as Betrina entered. I tried to escape that, she thought resentfully. They'll start following me around now, and I can't meet Bones or Dane or even sniff after Thorne. And Lord Stark... A flush crept up her cheeks.

[Lilith Royce]

ooc: time warp but what the hell

Tilda heard another voice coming in the door, "Betrina," she said in surprised tone, "Ser Anselm, this is our middle sister, Betrina."

She turned to Betrina, "What are you doing here?" and then added, almost as an afterthought, "How very nice to have all of us together again."

Anselm laughed and twinkled at all three of them. "I am overwhelmed by the beauty of my family but I need to get back to my duties for the king. I look forward to seeing all of you again soon."

[Deleted]

"You stay here?" Mally asked Anselm.

[Lilith Royce]

He laughed at the sisters reaction to their third sister's arrival. "I do not live here, Miss Avalon, but I do visit my parents on a regular basis." With that, he kissed the hand of each of them and took his leave.

[sara]

"I was bored, Tilda. It was dreadfully tedious with the both of you gone, so I thought I'd see what the attraction of King's Landing was. And don't worry, I shan't cramp your style and trail after you constantly. You shall hardly have to see me."

ooc: Being forced off the computer now, so bye! I'll be back tomorrow.

[Deleted]

Mally looked visibly relieved. "Well then, let's get something to eat." She walked into the kitchen and began cutting vegetables. It had been a while since she'd last eaten.

[Lilith Royce]

Food was something they could all agree on and the Flowers' cook didn't mind them working in her kitchen--they all were obviously familiar with such a setting.

[Deleted]

The three sisters were experienced and able cooks, and soon Mally put down three trenchers on the rough-hewn wooden table and piled them high with stew and meat. The cook fetched them beer - it wasn't particularly good, but it was enough.

Mally ate hungrily. Although her sisters were making her nervous, it felt almost reassuring to be in a safe, respectable home, and off the streets. She hoarded the money she earned carefully, and had never really indulged in good food.

[Deleted]

When Mally secretly slips away to meet a gang member, he whispers something to her. She shrugs coolly and goes back to the Flowers house.

[Lilith Royce]

Tilda went back to her temporary home at the House of Flowers, threw herself on her bed and wept copiously for four hours. Mally didn't understand, she'd been protected too long from the rougher side of life and now seemed to think just making money was the only thing important in life.

She hadn't see Shona Betts, older sister of her childhood Libbi Betts, paint herself, flaunt herself at the local pub, get pregnant again and again, lose her babies, and then finally die of that horrible disease, pustules covering all of her body. Everytime she thought of Mally's lovely face, that golden hair and peach skin that she'd adored and envied since childhood, covered with pustules she broke into tears again. And yet the fight was larger than Mally, it shouldn't be only about saving Mally but saving every young girl from ignorance, poverty, the slavery of prostitution and the dangers of disease.

After hours of weeping (to the great concern of her aunt), she made a resolution. She would do something about this. First, as Mally had so obscenely pointed out, she needed money. She would do what she did best, write and teach. She had a long conversation with her aunt about the working of the Market Square and arranged to rent a small spot in the square. With a light chair and her portable writing table, she would have her own copying business.

Then she would find a way to save the bodies and souls of the whores of King's Landing, by all Seven she swore she would.

[Lord Rhodri Arryn]

Dark words come on dark wings to the House of Flowers and the Black Shields. Soon after Urri Hastwyck, Lustrig the Lance and a number of other men sworn to that company depart their masters, hire ship and travel to Gulltown.