Aaralyn felt the cloth of Darne's shirt leave her hand. A small stab of rejection was there but then gone in the face of everything. Thus Aaralyn haunted Darne's steps.
After a moment she sped up and got in front of her husband. "Darne." Aaralyn stated a bit more forcefully so that he'd look at her. "Look at me, right here." She spoke. "I'm right here." Aaralyn reassured him. "Take a moment... You haven't even shed a tear for them yet."
Darne snapped back to the world of the living with Aaralyn's insistence. He looked at her, his eyes filled slightly with surprise before her words touch him.
He smiles softly "Thank you, but my duty to my family and as Lord takes precedence...But I promise, I will find the time to mourn them properly once they have been given the rest they deserve. I need to get the Sept here and get things in motion for our people to join us in paying their respects to the man and his wife, for he has touched and enriched many lives with his life's work." he said softly. A hand gently touches her face as he finishes speaking, a gesture to show his thanks and to show that he would be alright for a little longer.
He started back towards the stables once more, he wouldn't let anyone else hold the responsibility of summoning the priest for this occasion. It would be a disservice to the two for someone other than family to bear such news.
Aaralyn brushed her lips against the palm of his hand in a kiss, a reminder that she was there. "I will ensure you take time for yourself to morn." Aaralyn promised. "But I understand, I won't stop you." She promised.
When he left Aaralyn moved to find Tande. That poor woman just lost her best friend and wanted to check up and see how she was doing, or well... how she was dealing with this.
Shortly after the discovery of his parents' death, Lothar approaches the Septon about wedding himself and Tele. Sooner rather than later.
Time does march ever forward and life continues in its wake, the Septon is called, and soon the silent sisters will be called as well. To each is given the ministrations of which they surely need and the light of the Seven may be shown in even the darkest of times.
The local Septon meets with you to discuss your upcoming wedding, maybe such a happy rite will bring some joy in these trying times.
"What might I do to aid you in this time my child? "
The bodies must be tended, the souls honored, the house restored. You have the ear of the clergy, what is it you ask of him?
"Septon, I would be wed to Tele. It is past time."
Aaralyn easily finds house to be running well. The time spent transferring control and the organization leading up to the wedding serving well to prepare for the shake up. Tande on the other hand is a mess. Lines streak her face where tears once rained, though she had long ago run out of tears to keep her eyes moist. She stares off to where the bodies still lay, even though there is now walls between her and them she still seems to know right were they are. She has not spoken since the discovery.
"Hi time my boy, but you must wait the proper times. A week from the day your parents are laid to rest, whenever the silent sisters might finish their work. I will gladly wed you at that time, and it gives you time to properly grieve your loss." He nods sagely at his own pronouncement.
Lothar nods.
"Of course, Septon. What preparations do I and Tele need to make in that week?"
Darne would have begun work with the Septum. His father, while he had gained in status over the years, was a simple man a heart and had loved the life of a Merchant. So, Darne started to go over things with the man about how best to tend to the funeral. He wished to find perhaps a quiet stretch of woods to clear and create a private graveyard where the family could visit and the two could be laid to rest peacefully.
Aaralyn stepped up and gently took Tande's hand. She offered her a sympathetic smile, and a hug. "There are few words one can say." She began, though she kept it short. "Just take all the time you need Tande, and should you need anything, please know I'm here. Even if it is just a shoulder to cry on."
"Mourn your loss, there is need in the time taken to accept the loss and move forward with your life. Connect with those you love and who loved your parents just as much."
"Do you have such a place in mind?" He looks intently. His is to prepare the soul of his flock for the seven, he did not build family crypts as that was the purview of the family or those they chose to hire.
Tande seems to look almost past you as her head lulls slightly. She took the hug as it was given and raised a single side of her mouth in an attempt to smile. She motioned for the young lady to lean in closer so they could speak.
"That makes sense, Septon. I shall do so."
Lothar seeks out Darne and Aralyn, wanting to have a talk.
Aaralyn leaned in close to hear what Tande has to say.
Darne scratched his chin a bit. "I had only heard that my father had set up for this but had never ventured to see what he had chosen. Personally, I would like to choose somewhere perhaps deeper in the forest, a small grove of sorts to build the family resting place..." he said tiredly, he was certainly not prepared for this day despite his mothers failing health.
He bade the man to come with him to look over the spot his father had set aside and see if it did justice to what Darne had in mind.
(How did I let a month and a half get away...)
Lothar searches for his brother and sister-in-law, but it seems he searches in vain. The two have become so busy with the running of the house and all of the grim business, the only time he would be able to interrupt is in the darkening hours and that might be... inconvenient, depending on their own nightly activity. He is able to leave message with the servants that he would wish to speak with them... but the first he gets a chance is the day his parents are placed in their final rest.
Tande leaned in close, the stench of sweat and fear coming off of her was palpable. The lines in her face had grown haggard, her eyes a strange bulging red in puffy sockets. She spoke and it was the voice of sadness incarnate upon the house. "Thank you...." She whispered and collapsed, the exhaustion finally taking her. She looked peaceful in sleep.
The site was one of simplicity. A low hill perched near the river, with an old willow sitting a lonely vigil as the water slowly flowed past. There was a low roll of grasses and a carpet of some tiny yellow flowers that struggled to poke up from the ground. A slight breeze rustled the willow tree.
Lothar walks, lost in his thoughts, Tele at his side.
Today is the day, and his feet bring him ever closer to his parents' funeral.
Aaralyn quickly stepped forward to catch Tandi as she fell. Quickly she motioned for the guards to help carry the poor woman to a place she could properly rest. After seeing to Tandi's comfort, Aaralyn stepped in to fill the role and lead the household. Just because this was a sorrowful day didn't mean everything stopped running. Preparations needed to be made, the proper people needed to be informed, and more. Aaralyn simply saw to it all, each one piece at a time.
Mourning the loss of Lord Naelareon in his own way, Maester Anders now spends most of his time in his study, studying old books on the sickness that took the elderly couple. He escapes his research only to handle the affairs of the house with typical precision, as is his duty.
He writes to the Iron Isles, still searching for a shipbuilder. He writes to the Karstarks to negotiate wood shipments in exchange for foodstuff. He keeps apprised of news from the kingdom, concerned about mounting tensions...
Darne looked over the serene location. He'd have not picked it himself but as he looked out at the river, he knew that this would have been what his father had wanted for his burial site. It was calm, it was quiet, and it had a good view of the river.
He shook his head and looked to the Septum. "This will be fine, I shouldn't have been so quick to try and 'fix' this." he said simply. He stared out at the river and just watched it for a time, not saying a word for perhaps too long.
Tele clings to you as the drowning man clings to a rock while the tide tries to drag him under. Her eyes dart hither and yon searching for the next great change, the next upending of her world now placed once again on its head. It is clear that the woman has been left exhausted by the fearful dark depths and dizzying grand heights her life has bounded between since she had left harrenhal much less than a year ago. She found her only comfort in her love now, the last stone that she might hide behind for shelter from the storm.
As you take up yet another role in the workings of the household, one thing becomes shockingly clear, the people were worn thin and wear. Try as you might to keep it hushed and muted, knowledge still trickled out about the Prince and the fate they may have narrowly escaped as well as the horrid end of the slow wilting death that had befallen the previous lord and lady. Whispers fluttered between scullery maids and servants alike, the beginning rumors of some dark curse or shadow being drawn over the family and their small folk.
Words came slow, another precious resource that seemed to be drying up with the winter winds. Karstark predicted the shipments would not travel until the winter. You have found a ship maker, but he is too old to make such a journey now as the seas turn... and his repute is of questionable status as well. No word has come from King's Landing in some time, but one glimmer of good tidings does see through as river run sends condolences to the house in their time of mourning.
"We all find what we can to try and find the feelings of control we lose at a loved ones passing. Grief is a hard horse to ride in the best of times."
These are the words the man chose to respond with at the time, and they are the words that now ring in Darne's ears as the moments draw close. How would he tame such a horse, and what would he do if it decided to throw him?
Aaralyn couldn't help but hear the whispered around as she took up running the place like a proper lady if the house should. She couldn't deny that after everything that had happened they needed something on their side. Even if it was something small.
For the moment she could focus on what the house needed, making arrangements for them while these hard times where still upon them. Once the ceremonies for the burials where taken care of then she would think of something to help the house and raise the spirits of those she was now responsible for.
Darne remains silent, left to ponder the words the sept had to offer him. The ride back to the hall was a quiet one, almost overbearingly so. He knew in the coming years that his mettle would be tested, both his steel and his mind.
He hoped for all their sakes that mind, steel, and tongue were as sharp as Valerian sword.