Blood And Ice: Deeper Into Darkness (A Literate RP)

♕ Chapter One: Silver And Crimson ♕

Note: This chapter will run from Sunday, May 3rd to Sunday, May 10th. 

There is nothing Westeros loves and fears more than a wedding. As the noble and ignoble alike gather for the wedding of the Crown Prince and Royal Princess to their Velaryon cousins, there is trouble and mystery brewing everywhere. 

The wedding is set in the impeccably-kept Royal Gardens, where servants are abuzz, keeping all of Westeros amply supplied with food, wine, and the occasional banter. Those attending mingle as a sort of pre-reception to the festivities, having the opportunity to admire or critique one another at their finest. 

Everyone is wary, well-aware there is a murderer on the loose. After the sudden death of the eldest Lord Velaryon, it appears as if every soul in the kingdom is keeping an eye out for a bit of poison in a goblet or a discrete, sudden thrust of a knife. Even those who have no sins to burden their conscience are left wondering if there is someone they may have wronged, and if they will end up paying the ultimate price. 

The Princess has changed, her often cold and icy demeanour thawing in recognition that this day may very well be one of the best days of her life. Her young but romantic bridegroom, with all his guile and charm, has won her heart---at least for the moment. 

Meanwhile, the Crown Prince is dressed and nervous at the prospect of fulfilling his duty to his family and kingdom. While he feels no love and little physical desire for his beautiful but sheltered, virginal cousin, he hopes that friendship is enough to create the basis for a happy marriage. In time, he will learn to look at her with the desire he holds for his mistress. In a gesture of good faith and dedication to the future, he has forsaken his desirable but ambitious mistress. He is ready to become a good man, a good husband, and a good future King. 

Little does he know that the Velaryon bride has other plans. 

She is nowhere to be found, having told the Queen a secret she fears may prove her undoing or cost her beloved his life. She has secretly pledged herself and "unofficially" married a nobleman of no better rank or ambition than herself. It is only through inadvertently playing on the Queen's worst fear, that she will give the Prince a line of illegitimate children that continues a dark family secret, that she secures her freedom. 

The Velaryon bride must tell her groom-to-be why she is leaving him at the altar, and the Queen laments the disappointment and whispers it will bring to the kingdom. Meanwhile, some of her favoured lords and ladies are meeting with her prior to the wedding, in order to share secrets and request favours of their own. 

Everyone in Westeros seems to have an agenda as they flirt, drink, gossip, and plan to make this happy day one of their own. With many arranging to return to their homelands shortly after the wedding, those just looking to have some fun and throw caution to the wind are in their element. No one can see the brides or grooms quite yet, and the royal family and those who attend them are cloistered inside the Red Keep, for fear of ruining the show to come. 

With everything beautiful but somewhat ominous under a partially cloudy sky, it is hard to tell whether it is meant to be a joyous silver wedding, or one marked by crimson and crushed rose petals. 

Let the festivities begin!