Charles
Lady Anna Barrmount
Grunewald Castle, Vallen

"Not in a million lives will I go back with those barbarians" Her jaw tensed for a moment as she calmed down once again "They wouldn't set foot in the north even if they were paid, and if they did they wouldn't last a day, you know how the weather treats foreigners..."

Anna glanced at the end of the corridor, where the closed door to the council stood.

"Those brutes won't accept the marriage, and even if they do they'll just try to trick me or send their worst men to die at the Iron Plaines, judging by how they speak of the north and how highly they speak of themselves. Staying here will be useless"

That's one of the few things about diplomacy she was able to learn from Yaron, and then got reminded by Sibyl in some occasions: if someone thinks poorly of you but ends up saying they will help you, they just think you're weak enough to manipulate.

Anna felt exhausted. The funeral, the hurried travel, losing her guard and horse, the fear for her sister, and now the weight of having to engage in diplomacy with a bunch of southerners without being manipulated. She was too naive and inexperienced for this.

She shook her head to push all of those thoughts aside and put a hand on the shoulder of the Wrenchest girl.

"I'll go change, if there are no answers here I'll have to go look somewhere else. You can go back in if you want and keep me informed, or you can come with me. I'll be leaving at midnight"
Lawrence
Adelhayd Wrencrest
Castle Grunewald, Vallen

Adelhayd sighed bitterly, loosely shielding her eyes with a hand as she leaned against the table. "Sacrilege," She muttered.

Ivagneth Wrencrest
Castle Grunewald, Vallen

Ivagneth looked upstairs with a frown. Going the rogue's way was out-of-character for her; the thought of running away into the night in this gods-forsaken land terrified her. At the same time, however, she doubted that her parents would have anywhere to go once this council was over. She didn't want to be stuck in this castle, and they'd probably be better off not having to worry about taking care of her, even it meant making them worry if she was dead or alive. And of course, she preferred in that moment not to be near Father. Things just weren't going to be comfortable, and she doubted they would be again for a long time. Maybe when the plague was over, things *Could* Go back to the way they were, just like he said. For now, however, drastic action was in order.

She nodded at Anna. "I'll stay and learn what I can." She took a step back up towards the room. "I'll ask a servant about where your accommodated. Till midnight, my lady. Gods keep you." Ivagneth turned and hurried to the door, and, from there, walked back to her seat with an air of nervousness.

Adelhayd looked up at her. Anger flashed across her face, but it was followed closely by a look of utter exhaustion. She extended an arm to hold her daughter's shoulders as she sat down. "How does our lady?"

"Me?" Ivagneth asked, to which Adelhayd nodded. "She's alright. Distraught. I'm going to go to her later tonight, for, uh, counsel."

"Counsel. That's my daughter," Adelhayd replied with a warm smile, and kissed her child's temple. "Such a caring girl. Poor Anna ..."
Robert
King Daniel Black
The Council Room 

The pale Northern girl returned to the council room, the Barrmount nowhere to be seen. King Daniel placed his pen down and ran a finger over his knuckles as his wife craned her neck to see if the representative of the Iron Plaines would come through the door. It remained tightly sealed. 

"A fool," She murmured, tucking a golden curl behind her ear. Daniel could not help but agree with his wife. If the Iron Plaines were in such a dire situation, then sulking about the castle was not the way to solve it. When the lives on one's citizens were in danger, it was up to the leaders to sacrifice their own happiness or comfort for the wellbeing of their people. King Daniel had been impressed with Lady Barrmount's offer of marriage, but when it came to deliver, she was nowhere to be seen. 

"Lady Barrmount must be summoned. She opened the floor for this discussion and abandoned it, wasting precious hours of council time on her whims. I do not care if she comes back to announce that she is leaving, or if she will accept the solution we've come to. She needs to be here to end her motion so that we can move on," Daniel said sternly. 

"Fucking aye," Sir Heath muttered quietly under his breath, having spent the last hour praying for the council to move faster. 

"Yes, this has been completely inappropriate," King Gregor agreed. He pointed to the Wrencrests. "One of you fetch her or we'll have the guards go. Enough is enough. If she has wasted all of our time with this farce, I will be extremely displeased."
Charles
Lady Anna Barrmount
Grunewald Castle, Vallen

The Barrmount watched Ivagneth until the doors closed behind her, appreciating her support. Yet, Anna could not evade feeling a sting of guilt.

*I'm dragging yet another person with me, like I did with my maid and the guard, and see how that ended... I can't protect them, hells! I can barely protect myself...* Her thoughts spun constantly inside her head like a wheel as she resumed her quick steps towards the chamber assigned to her *Thank the gods father isn't here to witness this, he would be so ashamed*

...

Her traveling clothes had already been cleaned, and she started to get dressed as she updated her maid on her failed attempt at diplomacy.

"My lady... I think you should give them another chance..."

"For what?!" Anna was still feeling bitter as she put the gown aside on her bed "To spend another couple hours hearing them laugh at the north and maybe stab another person? To hear them say how Vivayn is awesome?" She started to get dressed as she spoke "I have no time for this, every second that I waste not going back with help is another chance for everyone to be slaughtered! I-" Her voice caught in her throath as she unsuccessfully tried to quickly dress with trembling hands.

"Let me help"

The maid helped her with the garments as Anna tried to calm down and not cry again, controlling her breathing. 

"I-I just... I just wanna go back home..."
Dianne
Emelia Cloverbloom
Road from Vallen, Taemar

Emelia let out a sigh of relief when Marsila said he didn't get hit in the head, she did not feel like dealing with someone with a concussion. "That's good makes my job easier. You guys caught me in time, I'm about to leave in two days",  She went inside and grabbed her supplies, medical salve, bandages, alcohol, and a wet rag. She laid it out on top of a chest that doubled as a small table. She edited her inventory list to reflect what she's about to use.

She contemplated pulling out the cot but decided not to, he didn't seem that hurt.The goat was asleep in the corner snoring softly, she chuckled a bit. She went back out, "Okay I've got everything set up, what's the damage? There's only so much I can tell by looking". She turned to Siona and smiled, "Names Emelia, nice to meet you".