Voice Test

[light_of_the_west]

( Wine stains her lips yet she partakes of more. What is a lioness to do when things aren't going her way? )

One might think you haven't a single wit in your head. There is danger in caging anyone. You should know your captive's strengths and weaknesses and account for them.

( Another long sip. )

Do you know mine, child? Can you even begin to understand them and use them to control me?

( . . . )

I thought not.

Comments

[shieldofrohan]

It is a cruelty beyond measure, to cage us so. I wish you luck in escaping this grip, my lady.

[light_of_the_west]

Kind words from a stranger. Do you agree that women should stick together? ( A sentiment she doesn't believe in, by the way. )

[shieldofrohan]

[She considers this for a moment. Honestly, she's never known that many women, servants aside, and every time someone's said something about women sticking together, it's usually seemed to translate to "stop playing with swords"]

...I should say rather, all those who strive for freedom must strive together. Man or woman, whatever their race or their kingdom, those of us who are caged must have a greater sympathy for others who share our straits.

[light_of_the_west]

( For that answer, Cersei raises her glass, expression vaguely approving. )

Then you are not a fool. Our sex does not determine how we will react to any given situation. ( She takes offense to how people - men in particular - assume all women are weak. ) The lot of women isn't kind.

[shieldofrohan]

I have known few women who would deny it. [She inclines her head a little in agreement, and even smiles a little, thinly] Oft ere now have I found my sex a cage. But there are worse cages, and less escapable.

[light_of_the_west]

( A small shrug follows Eowyn's assessment. )

I have often wished I were a man. ( She has often thought she was supposed to be a man. That is an honor Jamie took from her. ) To make matters worse, I have a male twin.

[shieldofrohan]

I wished the same, for many years. That I might fight and win honour, ride freely across the plains, not be relegated to dark halls and leering men with roving eyes.

When my brother rode into exile, I wanted nothing more than to follow him.

[light_of_the_west]

Then we are women with the hearts of men. ( Doomed to be miserable while the men and boys they love ride out to battle. ) I didn't catch your name.

[shieldofrohan]

[She shakes her head] We are women with the hearts of women. Courage and strength are not the preserve of men.

Eowyn is my name, Eomund's daughter. We are well met, I hope.

[light_of_the_west]

Many would not agree with you. ( If only. Fairy-tales. ) Of course, Eowyn. I am Cersei, daughter of Lord Tywin Lannister and mother of the King of the Seven Kingdoms.

[shieldofrohan]

[She essays a curtsey, or rather something between a curtsey and a bow. She hasn't totally forgotten her manners]

Then my heart is with your son, for I have known enough kings to know how heavy the burden can lie. Sometimes I think a crown is only another cage.

[light_of_the_west]

I haven't heard truer words in some time. ( She worries for him - how can she not? - but her control over him is weakening the more he grows. Being stuck between a rock and a hard place is starting to wear on her. ) He will do well enough with the support of his family.

[shieldofrohan]

[Eowyn smiles a little] With such a mother, I do not doubt he will do well indeed.

[light_of_the_west]

( She smiles thinly and leans forward. )

Are you planning on having any children?

[shieldofrohan]

Truly, I know not. Once I thought I should never do so. But I look upon the world left to us, now the war is done, and to bring life into it seems... fit.

Besides, if Faramir's house is not to perish with him, as such a noble line should not, then he should have a son.

[light_of_the_west]

Your husband? ( Ah, husbands. Another misery. ) Does he appreciate your spirit or will he use you for making heirs? All the sweet words in the world can't mask a man's intentions when he seeks a son.

[shieldofrohan]

[She nods, and frowns a little. It's not hard to see the bitterness in Cersei's words, but her experience with Faramir has been nothing like that]

He is not such a man. He knows my heart, and understands what I have lost. And, in truth, I think he fears fatherhood. His own father was... I will not speak ill of the dead.

But Faramir knows what it is to be caged by expectation.

[light_of_the_west]

Is he capable of rearing a strong son? ( No weak men will conquer her. ) A bad example can prove a beneficial lesson. Perhaps his father did him a favor.

( She arches a brow and smirks. )

He sees it from his point of view. Don't let your voice be hushed while he seeks balance in his life.

[shieldofrohan]

[Eowyn smirks right back, flashing her teeth for a moment] If he thinks for a moment I shall, then he is not half so wise as I take him for.

But he will be a good father, I think. He is a gentle man, but strong, and scholarly as well as courageous. [Her smile's a little softer now] I never thought I should be so glad that the King cared not for me.

[light_of_the_west]

Good. ( She has a feeling Eowyn won't take kindly to being hit. Cersei withstood the abuse with Robert, but not without making his life a living hell where and when she could. )

You have found yourself a catch. ( There's that ambition! ) There was a time you sought to be Queen?

[shieldofrohan]

There was. [She's actually rather embarrassed by that episode, but she brought it up, and she's not about to back away from it] Though there was more to it than that. King Elessar is a good man, proud and true, and he was kind to me in a time when few men were. I thought to travel with him, to see him reclaim his throne, to fight at his side, for he of all men seemed to believe that I could. [She juts her chin a little, as if daring Cersei to judge her] And, yes. I thought to be queen.

But he loved another, and I fear to him I was but a lovelorn maid. I was another woman then.

[naturalborn]

Do be careful, my queen. You can tell much of a person by the quantities of drink they choose to imbibe.

[light_of_the_west]

On the contrary, you can tell much of a person by how drunk they become on their wine. Do I seem drunk?

[light_of_the_west]

A shame his heart was taken. Love can be a potent poison. ( One she has tasted - much to her contempt. ) You would have been a good Queen. Your father failed in securing the match.

( What is love, baby don't hurt me~ )

The heart can be swayed.

[naturalborn]

You seem expectationally lucid, but that isn't to say you aspire to be. I mean no offence, of course; I'm stamped with my old man's rhetoric.

[light_of_the_west]

( The smallest of smirks curves her lips, dangerous and thin. )

I aspire to be myself, Lord Bolton. Only a fool would lose his - or her - wits around those who delight in flaying men.

Tell me, do you flay your women too?

[naturalborn]

[The young Northman shows his teeth, off white like smoky quartz. He's well accustomed to criticism.]

We are a reasonable people, but men are not governed by reason. Words fail and lose lustre. But pain, my queen. Pain is always new. We simply establish a dialogue where language cannot.

[He shakes his head, a humble child.]

It is the fate of barbarians. Those who aim to undo us all. Your enemies.

[light_of_the_west]

( They have something in common. She has learned well to turn a deaf ear to naysayers. )

A useful talent in extreme cases. ( But unnerving at dinner parties. ) Pain comes in many forms. You've only utilized the physical.

[naturalborn]

[What a peculiar woman, the regnant, to reprimand him then suggest a form of torment more insidious still.]

I couldn't agree more. To unravel the skin is not enough, better to sic his consciences on him and let it loose.

[And speaking of parties. He comes animate, bowing and unfolding his arms in welcome.]

I ask you grace us with your presence next you ride North. You will find the Dreadfort can be a most hospitable place.

[light_of_the_west]

( Cersei is one of a kind - more tyrannical man than delicate woman according to their society's standards. But she feels she has to be that way. With her eyes on the throne and her family carrying daggers in the dark, she has to stay on her toes. )

Let him love. Let him experience the joy and then show him the pain.

( Spirits break so easily under such circumstances. )

As the name implies. ( Dreadfort sounds warm and cozy. ) Forgive me for being rude, would you like a drink?

[lt_blade]

I'll wish you luck in escaping, ma'am.

Here, I keep thinking I've escaped this place, then I find myself back again. Only compensation is that it's not boring.

Oh, and also the mun admits to not having the time for games as she'd like.

[naturalborn]

[His glove falls over his crisscrossed chest and he exhales heavily with relief. His was a gruelling journey.]

Ah, if you would be so kind!

[He is quick to fill his own glass and not of any avarice but a wish to do it himself. He inherited his father's vigilance. His hand rises the glass.]

To the unanimity of our houses, through mud and through blood.

[light_of_the_west]

( She makes an absent gesture with her hand. )

Indeed. We have much in common and I pray our alliance will serve us well far into the future.

( There's no measuring the amount of blood that would be spilled if they came to blows. )

[light_of_the_west]

Luck has never served me well. ( She'll merely wait for an opening. ) If I need entertainment, I could have it brought to me.

( The perks of being a Dowager Queen. )

Games can have deadly consequences. She would do well to put her full mind on the task rather than leaving you with the scraps.

[lt_blade]

Half of life is all about luck-the other half is working luck as you'd have it. [It's something she knows all too well.]

She learned that lesson awhile ago, after a few good 'I told you so's.

Only wish other muns weren't so impulsive. Maybe it's the same with yours, if she doesn't have your strengths and weaknesses. If that's the case, then maybe you'll find a way out.

[shieldofrohan]

My father died when I was a child. My uncle... [...was kind of busy having poisonous words dripped in his ear until nothing else mattered...] ...was much distraught and distracted at the time. His own son had died not long before.

Even had it been our custom, neither would have arranged it for me.