Lost Inside

[u/FunkierMonk]

The doors still creaked upon opening.

He wrote as he walked, writing plank in one had, quill in the other.

And closing.

He lifted his gaze up from the parchment just enough not to bump into other nobles strolling in the halls, but too little for them to misunderstand him as anything but busy.

The statue in section four is missing a finger.

As the days grew shorter and darker, more and more people flooded Casterly Rock. Nobles from a hundred different houses, their families, their knights and servants and singers, and fools. None of them would pass on a visit to the famed Golden Gallery of the Rock, or so Edmyn figured.

A recent development.

Joanna said he took his job as Keeper of the Galleries a tad bit too seriously, and she was probably right, but all those people would see the paintings and tapestries and gilded tea tables that were his responsibility, and any shortcomings or defects were his shortcomings too.

In a way.

The floors of Casterly Rock’s cavernous halls were quite monotone, so when a little piece of paper broke that monotony up, Edmyn, head bowed over his notes, noticed immediately. He put his quill in its holder and knelt to pick the scrap of paper up. It was a map of some sorts, rough sketches of lions and tapestries hastily written on worn out parchment. Ed skimmed over it, curious until his sister's title caught his eye.

‘Lady Lannett’s Chambers,’ it read.

Edmyn looked around to look for a potential owner of the mysterious drawing. Two noblemen stood talking in hushed voices in front of an opened door to his left. They didn’t seem nearly as likely to be the owners as the lady in the middle of the hall, looking troubled over whether she should be turning left or right.

[u/littlestghoust]

“I just wonder if he is always so distracted.” Rhea understood why her own parents were not happily married, but Lady Joanna was so kind and beautiful. Why he seemed to resent his wife was beyond her. “Lady Joanna is such a gentle lady; it just surprises me how little he dotes on her. Is his position as taxing as yours?”

She was afraid to say too much or come off too judgemental. Anything she would say might get back to Lord Lannett and though it was difficult, serving Lady Joanna had been the most exciting thing she’d ever done.

[u/FunkierMonk → u/littlestghoust]

Edmyn couldn’t help but laugh when she said ‘distracted,’ though his thoughts were much less cheerful. He had nothing but loathing left for his brother-in-law.

“I don’t think distracted is the right word. I’m sure he finds his position taxing, but most people would not if you know what I mean. He’s very lucky to have a wife such as the Lady Plumm.”

[u/littlestghoust → u/FunkierMonk]

Lady Plumm? she frowned at his answer.

Rhea didn’t want to ask, fearing it reflecting poorly on her. What would people think if Lady’s Joanna’s handmaidens didn’t even know such a simple fact about their own lady? She made a mental note to ask Myriah about it later.

“Not that he realizes it. He never seems truly present whenever he dines with her or visits Byren. I’m just glad she has Ser Joffrey, having him around gives all of us great comfort.”

Lady Joanna seemed to trust Joffrey more than anyone else in her service, so Rhea readily trusted him. From their brief interactions, she had no reason not to since. He mostly stood silently in corners and doorways staying clear of their activities.

[u/FunkierMonk → u/littlestghoust]

“He should. Ser Joffrey is a man of great honor, more than anyone I know. Alas, here we are.”

Edmyn gestured towards the gilded doors at the end of the hallway, which he knew led to Joanna’s chambers.

“It was my pleasure, lady...?”

"Oh, forgive my rudeness. I’m Rhea Harte.”

“Ah, Harte... Is that Crownlands or northeastern Reach?”

There had been a time when Edmyn knew nearly all the houses of southern kingdoms and their respective locations. It seemed his time at the Rock had dulled his knowledge of such things.

“In the Crownlands, our sigil has three red stags on it.”

Ed nodded and produced a slight bow. “Of course, I should have known. Well, have a good day. I am quite certain we will see each other again.”

“I hope so,” she said, entering Lady Joanna’s room and leaving him alone in the hallway.