Oathkeeper

Chapter 50: Sapphire Isle

Tarth was only quiet on days like today when the Gods of Nature expressed their grief throughout the isle. The usually chipper morning tune of the birds had ceased, the clouds turned grey as the rainy tears brewed inside them, and the winds blew harshly sending out cries through the whistles of the rustling tropical leaves.

The knights of the castle piled into the sept shortly after his immediate family lined up along the table where his cold, hardened, motionless body laid. His children stood clustered together on the left end, with the new Lord leading the line, and his grandchildren stood on the right. The Septa slicked her thin greying hair back as she approached them to say a few final words.

The twins stood over the body, feeling uneasy towards their first and final encounter with their grandfather. Ilizabeth remorsefully felt guilt riddle through her body as it naturally cringed in repellency. Her stomach knotted, and her mouth pooled with saliva at the sight of his deathly pale hue. She clenched her eyes shut as her body found itself leaning into her mother's side.

Meanwhile, her brother stared intensively. Aside from attempting to analyze and store the features of the deceased relative, he hoped to be taken back in time. That the Gods wished to show him something, just as it did in the Godswood and on the ship. His legs jittered impatiently and his fingers tapped sporadically against his thigh as he mumbled words of encouragement to himself. Still, nothing happened, nothing apart from an excruciatingly long service.

The final words of the Maester snapped Brienne from the haze of past memories with her dad. His death only served to conflict the emotions of his eldest daughter, leaving her alone to heal from the mixed messages she'd been holding onto for most of her life.

She watched her siblings whisper words over his expressionless face, hoping for something unexpected to disrupt the funeral so she could avoid her turn with him. But still, nothing happened. The room felt eerily quiet as she took one large step forward. She leaned over his face, moving closer to his ear in the hopes that he could still somehow hear her, and whispered a final thank you. Her expression remained blank as she moved back far enough for the knights to march over and remove the man from the table.

Everyone stood still, allowing for the clanking of metal chained armor to fill the looming silence of the hall. They waited until he was taken down to the crypts where his remains would lay until the end of time, then they broke their hold. The bell rang, its high pitched resonance pierced those with sensitive ears as the people shuffled in clusters while exiting. Then the Tarth family went too, returning the great sept into the still holy environment it was constructed to be.

Upon their arrival at the castle, the family dispersed in numerous directions; Sibil was pulled away by a trustee of his, Lady Ceria and their son returned to their bedchamber, Jon returned to his stand, and Brienne slipped away unknowingly. Leaving Rilley with both her and her sister's children, who were all eager to get on with something more entertaining than the mourning process.

She managed to keep them entertained within the castle walls for a few hours, then the brooding clouds parted from their blockade in front of the sun. Its heat beamed down on the island, especially down to the sandy shore. The twins toes tingled at the thought of feeling the grain beneath their feet, the cool sapphire water leaving salt on their skin as it crashed and pulled away.

The four children rushed down the endless flights of stairs, skipping a few steps dangerously as they ignored the low growls of their stomachs. Each of them caught a whiff of whatever deliciously dead animal was being grilled in the castle for their supper tonight. Rickon and Ilizabeth were too excited to splash around in the water to even think about eating, while Rilley cursed herself for not bringing a loaf of bread.