Redfork Menace

The Mourning Ceremony

Shanda stared out her window, watching the drops of rain run down the glass slowly. Thunder rolled over the castle in waves, the sky a pit of shadows reflecting the somber mood of the day. There was no wind that day, giving the air a stagnant feel and bells rangs in long ominous tones, giving a haunted mood to everything. She was dressed in a long white gown, the sleeves nearly dragging the ground alongside her. A gold belt around her waist was her only accessory, her hair hung in waves around her shoulders. She did not have the heart to look in the mirror, afraid to see her mother's ghost looking back at her.
Her mother had died in an ambush on the Kings road two years ago while returning from Shipbreaker Bay. Imagine surviving the rough seas in a perilous journey and arriving to die on the "safest" road in the kingdom. There had been little evidence pointing towards the reason for the massacre either. Nothing had been taken from the carriage, no luggage disturbed. Her mother still wore all of her jewelry even. It was strange beyond measure and no one had yet stepped forward with any information. The carriage had been found by a passerby who had notified the nearest neighbor, who had brought news to them.
To say it had been devastating to their family would be an understatement. Her father never truly recovered from it and refused to mention her at all. Royce was worse of all though. He harbored a deep bitter hatred that he couldn't seem to overcome over the matter. Given the circumstances, Shanda could see why. The mourning ceremony tended to use the deceased as religious symbols for the gods rather than celebrating their lives as individuals. Royce could not stand to hear their mother talked about like a saint.
So despite the oppressive mood hanging around the castle she felt excited still. She had managed to free herself, Royce and Martyn from the ceremony. The Septon had agreed they could just as easily conduct the mourning rites along the Redfork. Her father had insisted Martyn accompany them and that had suited her just fine. She'd get to leave the castle walls and free her brothers from the ceremony. They would share stories of their mother and maybe splash about the river before returning home. The main thing they had to do was wait long enough for the ceremony to end back home.
In the days that had passed since her last outing, the stormy weather had persisted. Some days it was merely a drizzle, others it raged and poured. But they did not see the sun for days and days. It was worrisome that the storms were here so early and so intensely. Late autumn storms weren't uncommon but typically it would be sticky and hot in the river lands in the late summer. What's more, the storms here rarely persist this many days. A storm would roll in, rage and then leave. Today's soft pitter patter was tolerable for an outing.
She had instructed her brothers to meet her at the east gate, wanting to avoid their chances of being held up together before they left the castle. Her father would love to find a reason to delay them if he could. It was still very early and the morning fog covered everything. It was hard to make out which way she was going in the yard and only found her way to the east gate by memory.

"There you are sister, about time." Royce snapped, clearly already agitated.

Martyn stood stoically beside him looking paler than ever. Okay, maybe her imagining them frockling in the river had been a tad bit optimistic given the day.

"Good to see you too brother. Martyn, are you feeling alright?"

"Fine. Let's get this over with." The glassy look in his eyes did not inspire confidence within her.

The three of them exited the eastern gate and Shanda began to lead them towards the river. She took care to lead them further east before cutting north. She wanted to avoid the center of the borderlands where conflict raged between the two houses. Her father had finally bothered to set his own guard in the borderlands, useless as they seemed. She hadn't seen a single one since they'd set out. Where exactly where they guarding? Their guards seemed to be baited in fights every other day. And they were fights only, not a single death had occurred following the arrest warrant. Reports from the border indicated if they engaged to kill, the Blackwood guards would disarm them before beating their opponents bloody but perfectly alive. There had been a marked increase in broken arms however and that was a disturbing image for her.
They walked for ages, to avoid the Blackwoods, but also because she enjoyed being outside again. Even if one of her brothers looked on the verge of throwing up and the other practically had steam coming out of his ears. The tall grass was swaying softly and the ground wasn't completely wet, giving them a semi solid surface to walk on. Occasionally a bird would swoop off in the distance, perhaps looking for a dryer spot.