#jonquil darke

[ophelias-lamentation]

[rohanneofcoldmoat]

Always raise my brow a bit when people talk about Jonquil Darke foreshadowing Brienne's future as a positive thing, as if becoming a monarch-sanctioned tool for patriarchal violence who's there to ensure Saera watches for father murder her boyfriend but conveniently disappears when the woman she's sworn to protect is continuously compelled to have geriatric pregnancies she doesn't want (with her brother/husband using the horrific death of their mother in childbirth as precedent that it's still possible for her to have children at her age) is not the ultimate nightmare scenario for Brienne. And if you break down Brienne's own story, her conversations with Jaime about his time in the Kingsguard, his conflicting oaths, the times he was commanded to stand by and keep silent, all culminating with Stoneheart and Brienne receiving a command from her liege that she would rather die than carry out . . . I really don't think that Brienne's story is heading to a place where she swears an oath of service to a monarch.

[claudiatherelentless]

Jon *chilling in the afterlife waiting for resurrection*: So I'm named for Jon?

Ned: Arryn.

Rhaegar: Connington.

Lyanna: -quil.

[aeriondripflame]

do we think jonquil and alysanne you know…

[blueberrypancakesworld]

Shadow, Shield, Snake and Sword

Jonquil Darke x fem!princess readers

warning : fluff, comfort, small wound, reader is female, no use of Y/n

Summary : The Scarlet Shadow, or the Scarlet Strike. The noble woman of House Darke chosen to protect the queen and watch over the princesses…but what if a princess misjudges the snake's bite? Could it be that a shadow, a nobody and at the same time the only somebody might feel more than just protecting the princess?

Info : Ohh I love Jonquil such an impressive character in the book plus her titles are badass…so yeah enjoy reading ;)

masterlist

cover by me

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The shadows lay in every castle in Westeros, shadows were what kept the inhabitants safe from attackers, but they also made them afraid because it was the unknown that lingered in the shadows.

A shadow, a scarlet shadow that took place at the tournament of the golden wedding between Jahaerys and his sister consort Alysanne.

A shadow can be anything - a figure, a person, an animal or an object - everything casts a shadow, everything and everyone, and so love will also cast a shadow.

A scarlet shadow wrapped in armor at some point in the tournament, defeated and disarmed, the mysterious knight revealed his face and caused the smallfolk to marvel and praise.

A woman who would become the Scarlet Shadow of the Queen just two years later in 51 after Aegon's conquest.

The woman in the red armor who was always behind the queen, her one hand always on the hilt of her sword and her dark eyes fixed on anything that posed a threat while her lips curled into a slight knowing smile. But it was that smile and that look of shadow that would settle on one of the princesses years later.

Time passed and almost two years later the kingdom had several princes and especially princesses who all served the kingdom to marry, to become heroes and to make the king and his queen lose their last nerve and faith in the conquerors.

But it was also a time when one of the princesses, one of the older ones who was not filled with the rebellious thoughts of her sisters, seemed to be in danger of being forgotten between the pages of fate.

An inconspicuous princess, almost like a shadow of her own, white and transparent, invisible and yet always there. In addition, she was always visible to the Serpent, the scarlet-colored shadow following the white, dark eyes showing more and more amusement when she saw the princess's violet eyes looking at her.

Out from behind a bush, behind the werwood tree or behind the flowers of the garden. The princess, the white shadow as the older one called her, was not a shadow, she was a princess who seemed to have lost her thoughts about her.

She's not training precisely again, not even in the slightest thought the older one as she made her way through the passage towards the garden, her one hand no longer on the sword, knowing that the queen was safe in her chambers by the royal guard.

Her arms crossed in front of her armor-covered chest, she stood in the shadow of the columns that held up the ceiling of the passageway.

If the princess had been paying attention to her surroundings, the clatter of armor could have been heard, but she was too absorbed in slashing at a tall flower with a wooden sword.

A target, a good target if you like, but a target she wasn't aiming at properly. Jonquil's dark eyes still showed something else behind the dark glow of amusement, her duty and her own feelings.

,,You are more clumsy than your brother Vaegon the Bookworm…you are ruining the beauty of the flower," Jonquil said, seeing the younger one startle and finally recognizing the scarlet shadow that emerged from the darkness and came towards her.

She saw the princess adjust her dress and straighten her corset, which had slipped slightly due to her hasty movements. ,,Still a beauty," the older one assured her and saw how her assurance made the princess smile.

She pointed with her hand at the wooden sword the white shadow handed her, her violet eyes eagerly watching as she twirled the light sword in contrast to the metal one, threw it up and did a few simple positions with it. ,,Your sword skill my lady is truly impressive…could you teach me a little of it?" she asked after a moment's hesitation, hearing the slight smirk of the guard looking at her. Darkness met light.

A nobody met a somebody. Before the wooden sword was suddenly placed in the hands of the princess, Jonquil stood behind the high-born one, gently almost barely touching her, a light touch like a shadow, a certainty that she was there…always would be. ,,It's an honor my dear princess," she whispered, hearing the surprised gasp as they came so close before her glove-covered hands came to rest on the princess'.

The Targaryen felt the coldness of the leather, the darkness cast by the shadow and yet the heartbeat that matched hers. It was something indescribable…something that did not exist between such devotion, perhaps even love, depending on what you wanted and should call it.

,,The flower is small and inconspicuous, yet there is a power in it, a power that can cut through a swift sword," she read, and from the shadows the princess made a precise move on the stem that would have been severed had the princess not stopped at the last moment.

,,If-if you wish, it can kill," the violet-eyed girl said, looking slightly behind her at the appreciative face that drew a smile, ,,If it can be gentle and make the opponent dance," she continued, repositioning herself slightly before the shadow rolled out again.

The sword moved towards the flower and stopped in front of the stem again and the princess used her sweet tongue to nudge the flower and make it dance in a swinging motion.

,,A dance that eventually weakens and then," she began, not even realizing how the shadow had decapitated itself behind her and let the princess do it, ,,and then death comes," Jonquil finished the sentence and watched as the princess cut through the air with the sword made of wood and the flower's head lay on the flat tip of the sword.

Silence fell for a moment before a joyful ,,I did it!" came from the princess, who presented the sword and the flower to the guardian.

Before Jonquil took the scarlet-colored flower and came closer to the princess, she tucked the silver-blue hair behind the younger girl's ear and put the flower behind her ear. ,,And now the prize is yours," she said, letting her fingers linger on the princess's cheek for a moment before releasing the moment of temptation and giving her hand a gentle squeeze instead.

,,The dragon in you is strong, pretty princess, keep training in the shade of the weirwood tree and the shadow will come on its own," she reminded her, her dark eyes casting a knowing look before she pulled back, her hand returning to the hilt of her metal sword and the scarlet shadow disappearing into the shadows of the royal family.

But the viper had seen the princess's look of admiration and something like devoted love…it was only a matter of time before the scarlet shadow would settle on the princess again.

In the garden, where only the flowers bore witness to the two shadows that grew closer and closer with each disappearance and reappearance and would become one.

[coldraindropsss]

jonquil darke the scarlet shadow good queen alysanne

[waitingforsecretsouls]

Thinking about them again, and Jaehaerys & Barth truly are criminally underrated as a duo when they've got one of the most fleshed-out dynamics and friendships in the entirety of Fire & Blood.

The fact that any and all moments of emtional honesty and vulnerability we have on Jaehaerys are relayed through Jaehaerys and Barth exchanges (even as far back as his feelings on the Alyssa & Rogar marriage!), that all of Alysanne's proposed reforms to make life better for the common people only get pushed through with Barth's support, that it's Barth who has the most nuanced and sympathethic views on Jaehaerys and Alysannes neglected younger children (primarily Saera, by far the most "controversial" of said children. He clearly sees her as starved of love and attention, whereas Jaehaerys only sees the "acting out" aspect of it without even trying to get at potential underlying causes); Alysanne literally brings in Barth as support in trying to mollify Jaehaerys' stance on Saera similar to how his support of her planned reforms previously made Jaehaerys accept them; the juicy tibid that (alledgedly) he esteemed Alysanne higher than Jaehaerys, yet was and remained primarily categorized as the latters friend, Barth as the foremost researcher of dragons and other aspects of the "higher mysteries" meaning he likely got permission to study some Targ dragons from up close and maybe even in their more natural habitat on Dragonstone, publishing multiple books later decried as heresy by the faithful Baelor yet Barth himself was a Septon as well, and Jaehaerys was read to from one of said books on his literal deathbed suffice to say approved of Barth's studies to say the least...Also the episode where he has to dissuade Jaehaerys from trying to get him (Barth) elected as High Septon is just cute. Yes, certainly power-grabby motivations but also supporting his bestie in his career. Shrugging of the classism for a moment in making him hand of the king is another goodie. I'm not exaggerating when I say that at times Barth unironically reads as third in their marriage, of sorts (his keener insight into their younger children, the way his opinion is the tie-breaker in anything except the Saera-issue (not for lack of trying though), the way we never get anything similar to how he confides in Barth between Jaehaerys and Alysanne. Don't get me wrong, it's certainly logistically implied but getting an explicit example or two would have been nice nonetheless. The one instance I can recall is Alysanne writing to Jaehaerys regarding Silverwing's unwillingness to cross the Wall but that's the wrong order and more a "WTF" than confiding deep emotions)...

And that's not even going into potential shipping aspects of it, regarding the divide in class and culture and faith (Jaehaerys and Alysanne did grow up in that early period where Targaryen adherence to the faith was more lip-service), Jaehaerys and Alysanne's likely co-dependency developed by how Targaryens see innocent childhood affection as signs of romantic interest and warp these relationships (as we are shown with Baelon and Alyssa as well), how they were child-hostages together cut off from all other siblings which certainly contributed to their resolution to only marry each other, and how you can play with the eventual break-down of these perceptions and the Targ exceptionalism and theirs as a great love story as their children and marriage fall apart, Jaehaerys arguably lashing out against Alysanne and trying to re-establish their ideal Targaryen family unit with the later, forced, pregnancies but it's NOT working...The tragedy of Jaehaerys as some flavour of repressed, partly by how Westerosi society rolls, partly by how Targaryen family traditions and cycles cycle, how it would add another bitter twist to his and Rhaena's estranged relationship (both looking at the other and being jealous of what they're squandering (what they themselves rejected; Rhaena the crown and Jaehaerys relinquishing said crown))...

To which we also have the criminally underexplored Alysanne & Jonquil Darke relationship. Her sworn sword, sticking so close to her it gave her the nickname "Scarlet Shadow" (explicitly due to how seriously she took her duties). Alysanne forbidding her and another "favourite" from taking part in the tourney to celebrate the opening of the Dragonpit because the fighting resulted in so many injuries, the dramatic irony of Jonquil being employed due to the attempted assassination of Alysanne which she blamed for the death of her son Aegon only to have to witness Alysanne eventually forced into late pregnancies resulting in the early deaths of the resulting children...Can't tell me she didn't hate Jaehaerys. Jonquil being instrumentalized in Saera's punishment and through her Alysanne as well (imo) despite her pleading with Jaehaerys to be gentle on Saera, potential eventual conflict arising from that with Saera's later estrangement and Alysanne's desire to re-connect with her...Also just had the realization while typing this, regarding the in-universe-myth of Jonquil and Florian the Fool, a knight who falls in love with Jonquil upon seeing Jonquil bathing in the afterward named Jonquil's Pool...A myth that get's canonically used to describe/flatter the Jaehaerys & Alysanne match...Well, Alysanne hired Jonquil after being attacked in said pool, Jonquil is literally named after one half of said legendary duo and a (mystery) knight! Connecting some dots, maybe not intended but certainly connectable and a few too many common ingredients to be entirely a coincident.

[swallowtail-ageha]

I just KNOW that when Big J was away Alysanne was getting her pussy smashed by Jonquil Darke

[rosaluxembae]

Jonquil Darke makes me so hopeful for Brienne :3

[stromuprisahat]

Queen Alysanne would remain within [Maegor’s Holdfast] until her child was born, but the experience [attack at Jonquil's Pool] had shaken her and set her to pondering. “I need a protector of mine own,” she told His Grace. “Your Seven are leal men and valiant, but they are men, and there are places men cannot go.” The king could not disagree. A raven flew to Duskendale that very night, commanding the new Lord Darklyn to send to court his bastard half-sister, Jonquil Darke, who had thrilled the smallfolk during the War for the White Cloaks as the mystery knight known as the Serpent in Scarlet. Still in scarlet, she arrived at King’s Landing a few days later, and gladly accepted appointment as the queen’s own sworn shield. In time, she would be known about the realm as the Scarlet Shadow, so closely did she guard her lady.

Fire and Blood (George R. R. Martin)

The slender mystery knight known only as the Serpent in Scarlet also had a great following; when finally defeated and unmasked, “he” proved to be a woman, Jonquil Darke, a bastard daughter of the Lord of Duskendale.

...

Manderly also staged a small tourney in the queen’s honor, to show the prowess of his knights. One of the fighters (though no knight) was revealed to be a woman, a wildling girl who had been captured by rangers north of the Wall and given to one of Lord Manderly’s household knights to foster. Delighted by the girl’s daring, Alysanne summoned her own sworn shield, Jonquil Darke, and the wildling and the Scarlet Shadow dueled spear against sword whilst the northmen roared in approval.

[szyszkasosnowa]

Rhaenyra/ Nettles/ Jonquil Darke/ Laenor (with very vague Seasmoke)

Some sketches from Fire and Blood.

[ophelias-lamentation]

new fanart challenge <3

[claudiatherelentless]

Reading Fire and Blood and wishing that Alicent had a sexy lady knight as her sworn shield like Alysanne and Jonquil rather than of Ser Crispy Coleslaw

[visenyaism]

Do u think queen alysanne and jonquil darke got a lil fruity when the Quarrels (or whatever) were happening?

[talltalestogo]

Path

I find no jonquils. /

My path is barren and dark. /

Even the sun hides.

.

.

#path #jonquils #sun #hides #barren #dark #I #poem #poetry #haiku #senryu #photo #haiga #oldnorthknoxville #davidebooker #february #friday #021624 #2024

[atopcat]

I don't know what Rhaegar said to convince Lyanna to run away with him but I really don't think it was "wanna be my side chick/baby machine?".

This is Lyanna Stark, the Knight of the Laughing Tree, the girl who didn't want to marry Robert because he'll be unfaithful, who wanted a sword in her hand but was denied because of her gender.

Do you know what would convince an impressionable young girl to defy her father? The opportunity to become a KNIGHT.

I honestly think Rhaegar deceived her with promises of a knighthood, to become the new Jonquil Darke, a woman in the Kingsguard who wouldn’t be forced into an unwanted marriage because she's not allowed to marry.

Lyanna wanted freedom and a chance to create her own destiny, what she didn't was to be trapped and pregnant in Dorne.