Carliene Stark

II Chapter 13

Carliene

"There" Elyn took a step back to study her work. She had done her best to make what uneven hairdo I had left, look somewhat presentable. My hair had grown a bit since I had been parted with my long brown braid in the Kingswood, but it barely brushed my shoulders, which was rather unseemly for a noble lady. 

"Not how you wear it in the Reach commonly, but it looks presentable" the handmaiden decided. 

I raised a hand and gently touched it. As there was no mirror around I had no way of seeing myself and had to just take her word on it. She had braided it at the sides and pinned it all up in the back. Honestly, I did not much care what it looked like, so long as it didn't get in my way. 

"Thank you" I lowered my hand, not wanting to undo any of her work by accident. We'll see what the old rose thinks of it. 

She gestured for me to stand up, circling me to take a closer look at the state of my dress. She pinched and pulled here and there, doing her best to smooth over the folds in the fabric.
"The Targaryen fleet will not stop at Oldtown?" I questioned. 

"I believe not my Lady. They split from us when we entered the Whispering Sound, heading straight for Lannisport"

I chewed on the inside of my cheek. In my head I wished them good fortune and that Lord Daven would be served what he deserved. 

Shouts could be heard on deck, along with ship bells being rung. 

"We must be close" Elyn decided, stepping around me one last time before she gestured for me to follow her. "The Lady Olenna is waiting in the captains quarters" she told me as I walked towards the short stairs instead. 

"I know, I know" I assured. "I just want to see it" I left her standing there and walked out on deck, heading to the front of the boat, my eyes glued on the shoreline. The sun had not yet managed to rise above the hills to the east, but the sky was already a bright blue, illuminating the world enough to give a great view of the surroundings. The ocean was calm and the water looked almost green, which I thought seemed almost friendly, compared to the harsh shore around Dragonstone or the large grey waves of the Westerlands. 

A few seagulls gave their high shrieks somewhere in the faded clouds above us and my head turned to the great city before us. Surrounded by rolling green hills and golden fields further north that had already been touched by the early sun'S first rays, the dark orange brick that made up most of the buildings made it look almost like we were sailing straight into a great painting or mural. There were so many ships anchored around the harbour that their masts and hanging sails made it almost look like a forest full of oddly coloured pine trees.

The Hightower was already looming over us and I had to twist my head back almost uncomfortably to be able to see the flame at the top. I stepped towards the rail of the ship in order to get a better look. The impressive structure seemed to be made of three different types of stones, giving it an interesting layering of colour. The bottom walls, which looked more like the great fortress on Dragonstone was made up of dark stone and almost seemed to grow out of the rocky island it as build upon. Atop it sat what I could only describe as the largest and tallest castle tower I had ever seen, like the entire castle and been built into one large tower. This was made up of the orange stone which seemed to be so common in the city. And atop that sat an even taller tower made of hat I assumed to be white marble.

A deep set of wonder filled my chest as I looked from the tower and over at the city again, eyes darting from one large building to the next, wondering which of them could be the citadel.

The first city in westeros. When Maester Luwin had told me about the citadel and about Oldtown all those years ago, I could never have dreamt that I would one day get to see it.