┏━ tribulation.
( SCENE 10 ) ━┛

ISMENE had to threaten Aubrey many times in order for her to wear a dress to her own wedding. The woman found it quite humorous, though, as her friend had protested the entire time until Ismene had finally warned she would tear away her trousers and blouse in order to get her in a dress. Ismene would be damned if she didn't wear a dress, for it was her wedding and she was to be queen. The former Stark wanted to make sure her very future good-sister looked like a true one.

Ismene worked diligently in readying Aubrey in enough time to actually arrive to the ceremony. Amid the light and blissful mood that had filled her heart and momentarily replaced the melancholy, Ismene had graciously provided a dress for Aubrey. They were rather short on dress makers, it seemed, so Ismene saved the day with one of the few she'd brought with her from home.

After working for so long, Ismene finally stepped back and grinned. "I think I'm done," she says, marveling at her masterpiece of a friend. "You look beautiful Aubrey, like a true highborn lady."

"Gods," Aubrey mutters and Ismene watched as she toys with the skirt of the cream-coloured dress. She had to admit to herself that seeing Aubrey in a dress was refreshing.  "If my father could see me now..."

"He would say the same as I," Ismene states with a grin, noting how much of a beauty Aubrey was was. "That you are as radiant as the sun itself."

Ismene's brow furrows in confusion once she sees Aubrey stiffen. She is left wondering if her compliment had come out wrong in a way and she feels confused and guilty. Aubrey looks pained, truly, as if she'd been told something utterly crushing. Fenrir seems to notice Ismene's discomfort and wanders over to her side to place his large fluffy head under her hanging hand.

After a long spell of silence, Ismene cautiously takes Aubrey's forearm. "Aubrey, what's wrong? Calm down, dear. Neve, please fetch her some water."

Neve gave a nod, quickly rushing to fetch her lady a chalice of water as Ismene kept soothing her.

Ismene was utterly surprised when Aubrey sank into her arms, in a way she might have herself in the past but now it was Ismene being the rock. It was unsettling to be the comfort of Aubrey in such a vulnerable state, as she was normally the strong one, but Ismene stood sturdy for her.

"I want her here with me, Ismene," Aubrey says in between her cries while Ismene leads her to a chair. Aubrey sits. "Why did the gods have to take her?"

Ismene understands then that Aubrey cries out for her mother, a woman long gone but still very alive in Aubrey's heart. Ismene can only think of her father, as she feels the same way.

"For so long I could never understand your pain, but most recent I find myself comparing to yours. I don't understand either why we were chosen to lose the ones we love at a young age. I am a mother, but you were simply a child." Ismene pulls back so she can take Aubrey's face in her hands.

"Dry your eyes, my dear sister," Ismene tells her. Using her fingers, Ismene begins to cleanse her face of her tears, proceeding to wipe them on her own dress skirt. "Your mother may not be here like she deserves to, but you have so many loved ones present. We are here for you, Aubrey, always."

As if to offer his own form of comfort, Fenrir sits in front of Aubrey. He looks at her with his big golden eyes before licking her cheek gently that had previously been soaked with tears. She lets out a airy laugh despite feeling so frail.

"Calming breaths, m'lady," Neve soothes from her side as she passes her a chalice of water. Aubrey takes it with trembling hands and downs the entire thing, mumbling a quiet thanks to her maiden hand.

After a few silent moments have passed, Aubrey wipes her own face dry and exhales deeply. "I apologize," the heir begins, rubbing Fenrir's head. "I wasn't planning to break down."

"Don't apologize, m'lady," Neve says as she takes Aubrey's hand and gives it a gentle pat. "You cannot help pain when it begins to blossom from within. Would you like some more water? I can fetch you some more if you would like."

"Please," Aubrey utters.

As Ismene watched Aubrey break down over her mother, she only wished she could have been in a different situation herself. She felt the desire to enact revenge, for her father was wrongfully killed. Yet Aubrey grieved over a mother who was simply taken too early in life at the expense of the Gods coin landing on the wrong side. The Gods didn't have anything to do with Ismene's father. It was entirely in the hands of man.

"Ismene," Aubrey places a hand to her lips, a guilty gesture. "Please forgive me. I never meant to break down like I did. It's just...if you knew what those words meant to me..."

Ismene then understood. Aubrey's mother must have used those words when she was little, meaning they held some sense of bittersweet reminisce. "Your mother," she says. "Did she use to say that to you?"

Aubrey nods. "Yes. It was a phrase my father would tell her after they first wed. He called her his sun nearly every day. Saying those words were our way of telling someone you love them." Suddenly her smile vanishes and is replaced by a frown. "Those were one of her last few words she ever spoke to me. I haven't heard them in years, only in my dreams."

"Perhaps it should be me that is apologizing," Ismene says, feeling utterly guilty. "If I had known..."

"I know," Aubrey tells her, a gentle smile forming on her lips. "That is why you are my dearest friend. We never purposely harm one another. Even though it is not necessary, you are forgiven."

❆

LUKAS stood just outside the Mandal green tent, awaiting the appearance of his cousin. He was to give away Aubrey to Darik, something he only did for her and not the man he now called his king. Even though his resentment for Darik had slowly begin to fade, he wouldn't admit it to anyone. There was too much that had happened for him to merely forget it all.

He paced back and forth, able to hear the the talking of his wife and cousin, but not what they said. He could only imagine how nervous Aubrey must be, as he had been nervous himself the day he wed Ismene. He could still remember the day he watched her walk toward him in her lilac dress and white furs, looking like a dream. To think he had children with such a beautiful woman was beyond him, as he thought he didn't even deserve someone like her.

Even if she'd been melancholic as of late, he wasn't upset nor angry with her. He understood she was still grieving, rather horribly in fact, and he wished he was able to rip away all her pain at once. Being one of the few lady's at war didn't help her situation either. The most he could do was give her the space she needed, as she wished for isolation. He knew many judges him for doing so, but no one understood their relationship. He wasn't going to say anything about the sword in the trunk, either.

The tent flaps rustled as Fenrir pushed his out, looking up to Lukas with his golden eyes as if to greet him before looking back to the tent once more. The flaps parted again, revealing Aubrey.

Lukas was utterly shocked to see his rebellious cousin dressed so femininely. Aubrey looked like any mans dream, garbed in a cream colored dress he knew was Ismene's. A Mandal green cloak covered her shoulders, and her blonde locks were let loose like the northern ladies liked to do. She looked as if she'd been crying, but he didn't want to say anything at first. From behind her, Ismene appeared, offering her husband a weak smile he thought was better than no smile.

"The valiant Aubrey Mandal actually marrying has bested my better opinion," Lukas jests, a wide grin tugging at one side of his mouth, a thing he often did. "Yet here we are, you're all ladylike now because of my beautiful wife."

Ismene smirks for real this time, which was what he was aiming for.

Aubrey shrugs, she herself smiling. "We thought the same thing of you, cousin, yet here you are married to my dearest friend," the heir jabs back. She lets out a laugh.

Lukas grins devilishly like he liked to do, offering his arm to his cousin. "Shall we make our way toward your doom?"

Aubrey swats his arm, laughing a hearty tune. "You're never short a joke," she chuckles as they begin to walk at a leisurely pace. Ismene and Fenrir had disappeared, most likely to find their places near the ceremony area.

"How could I be? Would I even be Lukas Estemore anymore? I think not," he says.

Aubrey sighs heavily after they'd spent a moment in silence. "Was it this nerve racking for you?"

Lukas shrugs, thinking about the Godswood and the snow and the beautiful dress Ismene had been wearing. He had put up a tough facade that day, but when he finally saw her, it crumbled. At the time, he didn't love her, which had made marrying her even stranger. It all ended well, though, as now he wouldn't go back on it for the world.

"I guess I was," he sighs. "I didn't love her. Nor was I entirely set on marrying anyone at the time. I was rather self consumed back then, I suppose," Aubrey nods dramatically, which makes them both laugh. "But once I saw her, the seed was planted, and now you can see the fruit that has grown from it. We are happy, as were we fortunate. Not many get to marry the ones they love, as you are doing now. I pressure you to cherish this with all that you are."

"I am blessed," Aubrey admits. "With a father who wishes for me to choose whom I love, I am not burdened with the life of a typical noble lady. You and Ismene are fortunate enough to have fallen in love, as some are not even that fortunate."

Lukas nods in agreement, as she was right. If they hadn't fallen in love, he wasn't entirely sure what he would do. Ismene was the air he breathed now and he was ashamed of the stupid boy he once was, who hadn't wanted anything to do with her. He was beyond thankful he didn't end up as his father had, with a woman who was beautiful but hated him deeply. He could only imagine a life like that.

"Do you think you'll enjoy being queen?" Lukas asked. They were grower nearer to the area as he heard muffled conversation. "With all the responsibility and such."

Aubrey shrugged. Lukas expected that she hadn't taken much thought to it. "Queen is a term I never really dabbled on," She admits, looking up to him. "Before this war, I'd never been passed the Neck, let alone seen the world like a queen should. The idea that I would one day be a queen had never crossed my mind."

Lukas laughs before he finally catches the first glimpse of the gathering crowd. "Well, my queen, it looks like your arrival is highly anticipated."

Just as Aubrey looked away from Lukas, the crowd turned. Eyes of Ismene, Catelyn, Henrik, Terran, and Neve locked on the pretty northern beauty, who was escorted by her tall cousin. Lukas kept his gaze trained ahead as they walked passed the small group to stand under the tree.

Once they stopped before Henrik, who stood at the front with Darik heir below him, the two awaited the commencement.

"We gather here beneath this moon," Henrik begins allowed, his icy eyes looking between Aubrey and Darik. Lukas was surprised to see his father's melancholic mood seemingly washed away that night. "To bring two hearts together as one."

"Darik, what is your claim upon this woman?"

"I come this eve to lay claim upon this woman, Aubrey of House Mandal, heir of Cotherstone, the daughter of Lord Darren Mandal, as my wife, as the mother of my children, as my queen."

At Aubrey's side, Lukas smirks to himself. His cousin was a queen indeed and she would help lead them to victory.

Henrik turns to face his son, who is standing st attention. "Lukas, are you prepared to lay Lady Aubrey's hand in this man's on behalf of her lord father?"

"I am." Lukas unwinds his arm from Aubrey's and takes her hand, placing it in Darik's awaiting palm. He then peels away from the center, slipping in beside Ismene and Fenrir.

"We gather here beneath this moon," Henrik begins. "To bring two hearts together as one."

With their hands clasped together, they turn and face each other as Henrik continues. "Aubrey, what say you?" All eyes are on the battle born woman as they await her response.

"I take this man, as my husband, as the father of my children," she says, her tone slightly shaky but she holds her compose as she smirks. "As my king."

"I am his and he is mine," Aubrey voices the traditional words.

"I am hers and she is mine," Darik says with her.

"Lords, ladies, soldiers of the north," Henrik says with a wide grin and a happy gleam in his eyes. "Beneath this memorable moon and in the sight of the Old, I present to you, our King and Queen of the North, Darik and Aubrey Stark."

Ismene watches as Darik sinks down, locking the two into their vows as the king and queen of the north with simply a kiss as they were proclaimed by those who witnessed. She feels a little more content inside, gazing at her very own Queen and King.