The Doom of Valyria

[thekittenqueen]

WHO: Margaery Tyrell
WHERE: Bungalow #53
WHEN: 09/10
OPEN TO: Robb Stark, Jon Snow, and others
WARNINGS: Mentions of death, injury, blood
STATUS: Open

---

During the Quake (Closed to Jon and Robb)

The quiet had lasted too long, lulling Margaery into a sense of false security. The day had passed easily, the majority of her chores completed and section of her land tilled and prepared for planting in the morning. With her work completed and her animals fed, she had returned inside her bungalow to make supper. It was one of her better days, at least, nothing was badly burned and it actually smelled appetizing.

Everything had been set on the table when the shaking began, soft at first, but enough to send Margaery into a panic. She could see green behind her eyes again, the sudden roar of Wildfire sharp in her ears, and the screams of the dying around her. She stumbled from her chair, darting towards the front door when the ground shifted violently from under her.

The walls vibrated angrily and the sound of crashes came from outside, her animals crying out loudly. Her vision became distorted and her feet twisted under her. The floor split and raised itself, the foundation becoming dislodged. Margaery stumbled, tripping over a large gash that opened beneath her.

Her body vaulted forward and collided against the edge of her side table. Stars appeared behind her eyes, her head ringing and aching as a stream of warmth poured down her cheek. She knew without seeing that she had injured herself, but was unable to move or think. She stared up at the ceiling in a daze, watching as her light fixture swung about, pulled in all directions by the quake.

Finally, it became dislodged and hurled towards the ground, inches away from Margaery's head. She flinched as glass flew around her. Her dinner table collapsed, throwing her meal on the ground. Plaster fell over her, larger chunks landing beside her and on her legs. She could move, she knew as much, she should move, but terror and pain kept her rooted against the ground.

The ceiling fractured above her, the beams collapsing on themselves. It would give, but only if a measure of weight was put on it. Finally, the shaking subsided. Her heart thudded in her chest as she listened to her house's protests. Water sounded from upstairs, likely rushing from broken pipes. The ceiling creaked and groaned, its weight giving out slowly. There was a loud scratching from above, her bed slowly sliding across the floor. The floor had angled towards the fracture, tipping her bed towards its weakest point, just above Margaery's head.

It's going to give. The bed will break it and it will all fall on me. Gods, I'm going to die here. She thought to herself, trying to prompt her body into moving. Still, it would not listen to her instincts. She felt paralyzed, vulnerable to death once again and once more unable to flee.

Later in the Evening (OTA)

She stared at her home in wordless horror. It had all happened so quickly but everything seemed to be ruined. It could be repaired, but for now, she was homeless and all of her plans had been upended.

The grounds in the animal pen had been cracked, gashes were scattered across the grass, overturning the dark soil and ruining the places her animals grazed. None seemed to be injured, thank the gods, but they were as spooked as Margaery was.

Her deck had collapsed, the support beams were dislodged, thankfully not entirely downed and broken across her porch. She had no idea where to begin repairing things or what to even do. There supplies were limited already. The damage of the quake would stretch everyone thin. How could she ask for more help when there were others just as bad, if not worse off than her?

She sank to her knees and covered her face with her hands. She couldn't cry, but this left her very close to it.

Comments

[tooktheblack]

When the earth began to shake and it was a much stronger quake than those previous had been, Jon's thoughts immediately went to Robb and Lady Margaery. These sorts of quakes were nothing like anything he'd ever experienced in Westeros and considering how shaken Lady Margaery had been by the first ones, he could only imagine this one had her terrified.

He took quick stock of his own house and deemed the damages something that could be repaired later before heading off along the road to see about Margaery and her home. "My lady! Lady Margaery! May I come in? Are you all right?"

[king_in_the_north]

Robb would not have considered himself a staunchly religious man by any means, but the first time he had felt one of the recent ground tremors, his first thought had been the anger of the gods. A strong, childish fear had leapt up within him, clutching tight to his heart until the brief moments had passed, and even after hearing the discussions of some of the others, of the talk of plates and shifts and pressure and science, still that tiny ember of fear remained.

Out in the woods this day, he had frozen, caught hard by his own terror like the rabbit dangling from his hand, his fear only snapped by shame, and only after the shaking had stopped. The rabbit he dropped, instantly forgotten, and bolted toward the village and Margaery's home.

He was sprinting down the road when he spotted Jon's dark head moving in the same direction. Whatever relief he felt was snatched entirely away when he saw the state of the house.

"Go in!" he shouted as he pounded up the front steps, frantic as he shouldered his brother out of the way to give the door a rough push, only to find it would open but a scant few inches.

[thekittenqueen]

The sounds of knocking and voices were distorted in her ears, there was only the throb of her left temple and the ringing in her head. She could hear the sound of the bed scraping against the floor again, the groaning of the ceiling. She stared at the fracture in dazed wonder, trying to remember what thoughts raced through her mind the moment she knew she was to die.

Her hand pressed to her head, feeling the sticky heat of blood trickling down her cheeks. Was it Jon she heard calling her? The sudden sound of the door, jarred her awake. Wood colliding with rubble as someone tried to step inside. There was too much debris. She needed to get out, to leave this place before everything collapsed in on top of her.

The door was blocked, but the windows were not. She pushed herself into a sitting position, her legs bruised and aching. Grabbing a piece of her broken table, she crawled towards the windows. She couldn't stand, but she could get the attention of the men outside. With all of her might, she slammed the table leg against the pane of glass, hearing it crack against the weight. She was shaking, the world around her turning fuzzy as her vision distorted. One last time, she smashed the window, this time hearing it give under the weight.

She collapsed against the ground, whimpering from the pain and effort.

[tooktheblack]

Jon heard the crack of the glass and ran to the window, pulling himself through it and into the house itself. There was extensive damage, yes, but not so much that he couldn't navigate through and find where Margaery was. She looked to be injured and Jon pushed down his own fear and panic to help get her out of the house and somewhere safe.

"My lady," he said, crouching next to her. "My lady, where are you injured? If I'm going to pick you up, I don't want to hurt you more."

[thekittenqueen]

She could feel someone pulling through the window, the sound of feet crunching on the broken glass. She rolled herself to her back, trying to open her eyes and focus on the man next to her, but could only see his outline. Her legs were numb, save for the sharp tingles that randomly appeared, the only guarantee that she had not suffered the fate of Bran Stark.

Blood stained the entirety of the left side of her face, stinging her eyes and staining her skin. Her head hurt, but there was no clear place yet. Everything was ringing and aching. She wanted to leave, she wanted to flee, but questions were being asked and she had no idea how to speak. She pressed her hand against her head, the only indication of where she could think she was injured. Everything else seemed minor in comparison, but adrenaline might be masking other hurts.

Forcing all of her focus, she managed to at least whisper, "Robb?"

[king_in_the_north]

Still pushing uselessly at the door, Robb tracked Jon's movements as he darted to the window and then climbed through. After one final, pointless shove, Robb hastily followed, his heart catching hard in his throat at the sight of Margaery, blood slicked across her hands and face, her body covered with a fine, pale dust like a shroud.

No, he wildly thought, knees wanting to buckle, thinking her dead until she stirred, her focus shifting blurrily to Jon, soft relief flickering across her features.

His hands poised against the broken casement, he hesitated, fingers grasping roughly, a tremor shaking briefly up his arms to his shoulders as he watched them there together in the drifting motes of dust. Blood trickled thickly between his fingers, palm sliced open on a jagged piece of glass, unnoticed.

[tooktheblack]

"My lady, I have to lift you," Jon said, sliding his hands beneath her to do that very thing. She was slight, yes, but clearly she'd been injured grievously; how else would one confuse his dark hair and long, Stark face for the Tully good looks of his brother?

"Put your arms around my neck, if you can manage?" Jon eased her into his arms and lifted her, carrying her over toward the open window.

"Robb! Robb, I need your help."

[thekittenqueen]

She gave a small whine as pain shot through her like an arrow's tip. Fog seemed to roll over her, staunching out images and sound until she felt like she was going to slip into unconsciousness. The ringing grew louder, masking the sound of Jon's voice into a dull murmur.

The feel of him soothed away her fears, letting her adrenaline pass until she was left weak and exhausted. Someone had come for her. She couldn't discern who it was, but she was pulled from the rubble and back to life.

Somehow she managed to wrap her arms around Jon's neck, pressing her head against his chest. "Thank you," she whispered to him, the heat of the outside licking at her face like a flame. His shirt would be stained from her blood, but such things didn't seem to matter now.

[king_in_the_north]

Jolted at last into action by Jon's voice, Robb reached to lift Margaery carefully through the window and into his arms. It was a difficult business with the window and casement in splinters, but the ominous creak of the house around them made him hasty. He thought he'd cut her until he realized the smear of bright blood across her arm was his own.

"Hurry," he said to Jon as he stepped back, worried eyes darting to the interior. "It doesn't sound like it will hold for long."

Later in the evening

[seekingvinland]

When the shakes started, Thorfinn had actually been at home which lucked out better than last time something went wrong in the abode he shared with Jo, and now Kol. Not long after the damage was assessed he had stormed off into the woods. His temper boiling for the first time in a long time and he knew it would be bad to stay around people so he vanished until around sunset.

He was making his way back as the pretty light of dusk filled the sky, he could see damage as he made his way closer. Reaching the street he came to a stop when he saw a woman sink to her knees. Margaery. He recognized her hair, he moved down the street and stopped wide eyed when he saw the damage. Were the animals alright? That didn't matter just yet.

"Margaery, are you hurt?" He asked as he knelled down to look at her, but didn't try to touch her. His fists were both bruising and bloody, but that was just from taking his anger out on some poor tree, he was lucky to not have broken anything, but he was not concerned with himself as much as the kind woman he sees in the woods so many mornings.

[thekittenqueen]

She looked up in surprise and distress, worried about how much of her sorrow he had witnessed. Whatever they shared, she would always feel shame at any who saw her true fears and emotions. It was a habit she could not shake from herself, even as she tried to begin anew. It was a trait learned from birth and not easily forgotten.

As her head tilted up, a bandage peeked our from beneath her hair. Her left temple dressed and cleaned. A spot of blood bloomed underneath the fabric, staining the soft white with crimson. The wound had opened once more in her movement.

"No," she said, gathering her composure. "It is just so overwhelming."

[seekingvinland]

His eyes took in the sight of her bandages and sorrows and stayed kneeled, his arms resting on his knees. He didn't reach out, didn't try to touch the wound or address the look he saw cross her features.

"Much, yes. Fenrir not pleased." He spoke with his minor understanding of how things worked. When he had no real answers he defaulted to his relgion. "Glad your not hurt." He replied after a moment, looking from her to the house. Pushing up to his feet he moved to look at the damage looking a bit worried.He didn't know how to fix this. "Still staying here?" he questioned a note of concern.

[thekittenqueen]

He didn't draw attention to it, for which she was grateful There was humiliation enough brought on by her own sense of pride, she couldn't bear her sorrow to be commented or focused on. Such things she preferred to pretend didn't exist.

"The gods can be cruel." She was not overly religious, her pretense around the sparrows had killed whatever remained of her faith. Such fanaticism, all for the purpose of power, showed how little purity there was in the faith. This wasn't the work of the gods, this was the earth moving beneath them.

She didn't know how to answer that. "If it can be repaired," she murmured, not eager to give up the place that had been hers. She had worked hard to make it feel like home. Now it seemed to be taken from her, it cut deeper than any knife. "For now I am staying with the Starks." She quickly added, "You are not hurt?"

[seekingvinland]

Thorfinn hated people taking notice of his wounds, so he gave her the same respect. His knuckles were scabbing over, and half swollen, and a bit of a ripped sheet tied around his upper right arm from his own injuries. He had enough respect to give her the same respect and pretend not to notice. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. She already seemed strong so these wounds would help her along her path, as much as it hurt seeing a friend in pain.

"Yes, but we strong, we show them. They not break us." He spoke in a more positive tone. "I think fixable." He spoke looking back to her now that he stood with his hands on his hips looking over the damage. Even if he didn't understand these houses he had a basic grasp of how some structures work. "A log there." He pointed to the broken beam. "Pushed up it hold." Granted he knew he wasn't strong enough to do that kind of lifting alone. Even with Einar's help it wouldn't be easy and he didn't have Einar here. The name Stark pinged something deep inside of him. A memory of a man taking a seat beside him under a tree, offering him a whetstone. Lord Eddard Stark. He took a breath looking back at her confused a moment, then as if the crack in his expression hadn't happened he forced the smile back up. "That good, Stark's good people." Not that he had met either of Eddard's children here... he only knew of Robb back home, just one talk the day he went home to his fate, the day of the tournament. As the memory clicked he looked at Margaery. His mind painting the the details, a beautiful dress and styled hair... Oh by the gods, how many people from that other land were here with no idea? Was there other versions of himself running about?

Her question snapped him out of the thoughts. "No, nothing to worry about." He spoke with a wave of one of his hands.

[thekittenqueen]

She didn't feel strong, despite her outward appearance. Weakness wasn't something she was accustomed to showing, whether it be with family, friends or enemies. The earthquake had rattled her worse than she would care to admit. Her nightmares had steadily increased, but who knew how much worse they would be now? Thank the gods that she was with men she trusted to keep her secret.

She nodded, knowing that he was right. She hadn't been broken in the black cells or by Septa Unella. She hadn't caved when she saw Loras tortured or beaten or broken. She hadn't showed her terror when her path was blocked in the Sept in those last moments. She couldn't let this earthquake take her strength from her now.

Her eyes scanned over her house, "Do you think it can be saved? Truly?" She had no desire to give up on her home. It was hers, the first place that had been truly hers. She wanted it more than any other home here.

"They are good. Both Jon and Robb are kind and honorable men."

[seekingvinland]

Strength wasn't always shown in the body, these were things he learned on the farm from another woman. He though she was very strong and didn't want to see this world break her... but part of that could be him praying to never see something like what happened to Arneis happen again. He would be a better friend this time.

He nodded then motioning her up with a turn of his hand. "Come, look and see." He spoke as he usually does in his heavily accented words as he moved towards the house a bit more waiting for her to. He had never heard of a Jon Stark, mmm maybe Lord Eddard had another son. It wasn't important. Thorfinn hoped to meet them both eventually. Maybe he'd be lucky and Robb would remember him. He doubted it though, he didn't even look the same anymore.

[thekittenqueen]

She was determined not to be broken by any means, but this day had tested her resolve and strength. The horrors that she experienced in King's Landing had hit her again at full force. Now, she couldn't block out the memory of the rumbling of the Sept and the flash of Wildfire before her eyes. It would haunt her nightmares, she knew that without experiencing it yet.

She followed him towards the house, wrapping her arms about her waist. Whatever trepidation or worry that she might have, she pushed it down, eager to see if there was a way to save the house. "The animals were spared, thankfully."

That Night - Closed to Robb

[thekittenqueen]

She didn't expct to sleep that night. Even after she was securely conveyed to her room in the Stark house and the tremors did not follow them, she knew that the night would offer her no relief or comfort. As the moon rose steadily, it filled the blackness with a permeating light. Peering through the trees, the leaves shifted the gentle silver of the moon into a harsh green. The shadows on her floor took shapes, twisting into the last images in the Sept. The High Sparrow, ripped apart by the flames. Loras clutching at her form, his face haunted and broken. Her father, hanging his head in sorrow and acceptance.

Somehow the night shifted and the house disappeared. She was returned to Westeros. The ground shook beneath her feet, a deafening roar filling her ears and chasing away the sounds of the wilderness. "Let me through! Let me through!" There were bodies around her, blocking her path and closing in around her.

No, it wasn't people, it was the walls of the Sept crumbling on top of her. The dust filled her lungs, suffocating her until she felt like she was swimming in the fountain once more. It wasn't water rushing around her, it was ash and blood.

Margaery jolted up in her bed, her eyes opened wide as the dream disappeared. The terrors of the night released her from its hold. Whatever sleep she thought wouldn't come found her. Her hands clutched at her blankets, her palms damp and shaking. Her breath felt labored in her chest, paining her as she tried to regain her composure.

She had been alone in the black cell and in her home, suffering enough fear for two lifetimes. She wouldn't suffer the night alone again. Pulling herself from bed, Margaery wrapped her blanket around her body (scrubs were unsuitable for sleeping, so she never bothered to wear them). Slipping into the hall, she tip toed towards the room that she knew was Robb's.

The door opened silently and Margaery drew to his side, crawling into bed beside him. Her sheet still wrapped around herself, allowing him a measure of modesty as she curled against his body. Her head rested against his chest, letting the sound of his breathing and heartbeat break the quiet of the night.

[king_in_the_north]

The day had been exhausting by every measure. Threaded through the alarm and anxiety had sprouted an unshakable guilt, himself helpless to protect even those things most precious to him. It mattered little that Margaery's injuries had proven minor -- Seeing her cast down and bleeding had shaken him, summoning memories that had been lurking on the edge of his awareness since Jon had found him shivering on that bench. Beneath that, too, a lingering and raw insecurity, his brother a true savior and Robb the pampered stand-in.

Sleep had come to him like a mercy, his body and mind heavy from the day, and he was deep enough in its thrall that he at first noticed Margaery simply as a comforting and familiar weight at his side. Pulling in a slow, deep breath, he reached instinctively to tuck her closer, awareness dim and distant until the scent of her hair at last permeated the fog.

He came to suddenly, almost violently, his whole body jolting to the side and nearly off the edge of the bed. Thank the gods that he'd been aware enough of Margaery being in the house to keep on his trousers.

[thekittenqueen]

She sat up as he lurched backwards, catching at his arm before he could topple from the bed. It wasn't the reaction that she was hoping for, but what else could she expect from Robb Stark? They had agreed to propriety and this was anything but. She knew very well that he would ask her to return to her room, giving a number of excuses about how this wasn't right, he was only a man, please Margaery! She could say it all to herself without him speaking a word.

She couldn't go back to the darkness of her room and the silence that unnerved her. She couldn't face the nightmares and the tremors that still seemed to run through her body. They could be chased away, but only at his side. Whether she was on the edge of the bed or the floor. It didn't matter, she needed him.

"Robb," she whispered his name, shushing him softly. "Go back to sleep. I'm not here for that. I...didn't want to be alone."

[king_in_the_north]

Seven hells, she wasn't even dressed, and all the honor in the world couldn't have stopped Robb's wide-eyed gaze from sliding across her pale, moonlit skin to the place where she had a sheet tied precariously across her chest. She sounded in earnest and her expression was open with vulnerability, but how was he to believe she truly had only innocent intentions when beneath the sheet she hadn't a stitch on?

"Margaery," he began, and swallowed roughly as he sat up, a fine tremble in his fingers as he moved to slip quickly to his feet. Gods, but she was beautiful, like the shape of her was made for his bed, and it was only by his last, shaky scrap of willpower that he didn't crawl back across the mattress and press her into it with his hips.

"You cannot stay here, not like... that." She seemed so entirely set on thwarting his plans that he might have been cross had he not been combating his arousal instead.

[thekittenqueen]

She was frustrated and tired, strained from the events of the day and his focus on the trivial, as opposed to her request, were the only reasons she wasn't thinking about seduction. She wasn't ashamed of her form or her body, nor did she feel compelled to leave the room for any reason, not until the sun was peeking across the sky. If he was so frightened by her, she had the simple solution to the problem.

"I will sleep on the floor, if you prefer." She said, shifting to the edge of the bed, her back turned to him. The soft glow of the moonlight illuminated her skin, lighting her auburn hair with silver. Save for the bandage on her head, there was no outward sign of the damage done. It was only in her eyes that her haunted and frightened state appeared. It wasn't something she could admit aloud, but trusted him to understand and recognize the torments in her mind.

Save for their voices, thankfully low enough not to alert Jon to what was happening, the house was quiet. The floor boards creaked and groaned, the normal complaints of a house settling. Still, it sent a shiver up her spine.

She made the declaration that she was happy to sleep on the floor, but she waited, expecting to hear that particular, honorable protest that would naturally come from him.

[king_in_the_north]

He watched her there until the pause became uncomfortable, not because he was calling her bluff, but because his heart had seized painfully in his chest, the past holding it in a sudden vise, and he did not know what to do.

"Stay in the bed," he said at length, his voice flat, defeated, and moved to perch in the chair in the corner, his head in his shaking hands.

[thekittenqueen]

She sighed, hearing that sound of defeat and pain in his voice. There always seemed to be a constant battle between them, his need for honor and her desire to live as she pleased. It wasn't wise to argue with him or make him feel so out of sorts. She looked down at the sheet, tired and upset at the reaction she had caused.

"Robb," she said gently, not turning to look at him. She didn't want to see what she had done to him or the response he gave to her insistence. There had been so much horror this day, seeing him crumpled in the chair would break her further.

"I did not come with that intention. I am capable of remaining still, whether in chair, corner or bed. I am not attempting to force your hand." She pulled the sheet tighter across her. "If you would rather I leave, I will." It was said with a measure of apprehension, her voice choking in her throat. Despite her attempts to shield herself and keep from showing her fears, her resolve couldn't withstand her nightmares.

The thought of the empty room left her shaking as silent tears pricked at her eyes. Gods, but she thought she was safe here. She moved from the bed, finding the nearest corner and drawing her knees to her chest. It was where she had rested in the black cells, and oddly, it was a comforting place to return.

[king_in_the_north]

It hadn't occurred to Robb before that moment how little he actually knew this woman who had so snagged his attention and heart. He'd imagined her own demons as being somehow diminished next to his own, but she'd lived in King's Landing for gods only knew how long, swimming amongst the cruelty and machinations of the Lannisters. He'd known she wasn't an innocent, but imagined her still as unblemished, a flower leaning toward him as if he were the sun. Seeing her there on the floor tore at him in a way he could not have ever expected.

"Margaery," he whispered as he instinctively crossed the distance to her, his own troubles forgotten. He slid arms beneath her knees and around her back and lifted her, carrying her back to the bed, where he sat and cradled her against him.

"I'm sorry," he quietly said, the words a soft plea pressed against her hair.