Bronn had been observant. There had been more people in this tavern than normal and he wondered why. Until he saw the brunette and his grey eyes stared at the woman, the men around her like flys to a rotten meal, buzzing about. Bronn shot back the rest of his drink and sauntered over to the men, a few left but one hadn’t noticed Bronn and kept trying to talk to the woman.
“Scuse me, mind if I cut in?” He asked, raising an eyebrow as he made sure he was between the woman and the man, ready to start a brawl with him if need be. Bronn caught the man as he tried to get around him and he grabbed the man’s arm only to nearly miss a bottle hitting the guy and his eyes found the womans. “Guess you don’t need a knight.” It wasn’t hard to tell but Bronn was fairly sure he was in love with this woman right now.
“Will you please tell me what they’re about?! How do you expect me to help if you don’t tell me?!” “You should go and see someone about those nightmares. They’re only getting worse, aren’t they?” “Can we sleep with the lights on?” “I haven’t slept peacefully in weeks.” “I can’t tell you my nightmare this time… It’s too bad, I don’t want to have to say it out loud.” “Can I sleep in your room? I don’t think I’ll be able to fall asleep in my own bed.” “I’m sorry for waking you… I had a really bad nightmare.” “I can’t stop thinking about that weird dream I had weeks ago. It’s like it’s haunting me.” “You look exhausted. Bad night?” “Calm down, calm down. It was just a dream. It’s over now.” “You’re overreacting. Everyone has bad dreams sometimes. No need to get all weird about it.” “Are you still thinking about that nightmare? I’m sure it didn’t mean anything, okay? We’re not in a horror movie.” “You should go to the doctor. These nightmares are making you miss sleep and you’re always exhausted. Get help.” “How about you come and sleep in my bed? I’ll watch over you while you fall asleep, I promise.” “I think I’d feel less tired if I didn’t sleep at all anymore. These nightmares are killing me.” “I thought you didn’t get them anymore.” “I guess it was a bad idea to watch a horror movie before bed…” “When will you finally tell me what they’re about?” “Wow, you look exhausted. Did you sleep at all last night?” “Oh my god, that was horrible… that was so horrible…” “How about you sleep in my bed for the coming days? It can be like a sleepover. I’m sure you’ll feel good enough and the nightmares will stay away!” “I can’t breathe! It was real, it was!” “Have you tried writing them down? They might go away if you do…” “Have you any idea how worried I am? Please tell me what’s up with you or I can’t help! You look exhausted!” “Please leave the light on.” “Have you any idea what’s causing these nightmares?” “I don’t think you understand how exhausting it is to not have had a good night’s rest in weeks.”
Relena gave Viserys a disapproving look, when he talked about being with the wrong man. “That sounds like someone has experience.” The injustice of the world, a man, married or not, could sleep around as much as it pleased them, while a woman became unpure the moment she was touched by a man that wasn’t her husband, one of the reasons why she wasn’t too happy when she found Viserys in her bedchamber.
“Yes.”, she agreed, when he reminded her that people would expect them to marry soon. “But I rather seem like a picky bride than a barren wife.”, the queen explained, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “Chances that get high once a woman is with child, just look at our family history.”, as she spoke Relena was waving her hand around in the little space between their bodies to emphasise her point. “My grandmother died in childbirth, your… brother’s sister almost died each time she brought a child into this world.” For a moment she had stopped speaking, not daring to remind Viserys of his own mother’s fate. The raven haired woman let out a sigh, why was it always too hard to make a man understand the fear every woman should feel when it came to creating life? “Childbirth is to women what war is to men, and we both are standing here right now because we were willing to do everything in our power to avoid the later, therefore is it so unreasonable for me to try to avoid the first one as long as possible as well?”, she questioned, frustration dripping from each of her words.
“If I were just a woman I could live with the danger, but I am not.”
Relena’s eyes narrowed, when the silver haired man spoke about him ruling as regent. She tried to push away the though, but she could not help but wonder if such a thing had been his plan all along? Was he just waiting for the right moment to get rid of her? Relena shook her head, trying to rid herself of theses though, a few strands of dark hair falling into her face. “Joffrey is my rightful heir, and he is of age, if I die without producing a child there is no one that could stop him from taking the throne without sparking a rebellion, that’s why I want to get him in line before I… before we try to make a child.”
Her eyes lowered slightly, gaze falling upon his hand on her cheek for a brief moment. “I thought you were tired…”, the stag mumbled quietly, before her eyes met the dragon’s. “And you were quite grumpy a few moments ago…”, she reminded him, amusement sparkling in her eyes.
“You hear things when you live in the slums and near…unsavory
places.” He shrugged her comment off, making it clear while they both
may have been of noble birth he hadn’t had a septa or the safety that
she’d been given and born into, not for long at least. “No, it’s not.
It’s more than reasonable. But once a woman is even older than your
mother the risk gets higher as well. It’s as if theres no safe way to go
about any of this.” He could tell how frustrated she was and he was
slowly starting to understand why she was feel frustrated about her role
after marriage.
“I think it’d be easier to get the
dragons from not eating people than getting that child in line.” He
snorted “Why couldn’t Tommen been born after you?” He asked, almost
whining. Viserys didn’t want to have to deal with Joffrey as King and he
knew deep in his heart that if Joffrey had been on the throne and
Relena wasn’t here it would have been a war. Though he may had tried to
get Daenerys to marry him but Viserys knew he wouldn’t care if Joffrey
lived or died. For the man that had been cruel and wicked to his sister,
for his greed and near descent into madness….Joffrey was somehow
worse in his eyes.
“I was…” He tried to say as a yawn
caught him mid sentence. “-am, but I like these moments, just you and
me. No court or need to be formal.” He told her. “Yes….I do tend to
get grumpy when I don’t get sleep.” He was reminded of a few restless
nights during his stay with the Dothraki and that had added to his
stress and anger problems. It had not been fun. “If I recall right, you
too were quite pissed” He joked, grinning before he took her hand in
his, just long enough to bring her arm into the crook of his. “Come on,
let’s go” He exclaimed, not having done what he suggested in a long time
and he knew the perfect spot. The southside of the keep, overlooking
the bay. “Do you know the constellations?”
“Or it could be a very short winter.”, Relena replied quickly, as they walked down the hall. “If we hold the wedding and winter breaks in, people could get stuck or harmed during their journey… and we are to be married one day, does it truly matter when that day is?” As she spoke, the young woman’s eyes were roaming around, trying her best to avoid his gaze, before she suddenly stopped walking, a soft sigh escaping her lips. Viserys was trying to be kind to her, after all, according to the laws of men and gods he could demand for them to consummate the wedding as soon as the oaths left their mouths, he at least deserved her to be honest with him.
“This… this isn’t about me not wanting to… you know… it is more about what comes after…”, Relena said, pausing every now and then to find a way to put thoughts into words. “I mean that part doesn’t sound too comfortable either, as I understand it there is a lot of unnecessary touching involved but…”, she stopped after a moment, upon realizing that she was about to miss the point she was trying to make. “Once a woman is married, especially when that woman is a queen, people expect an heir to be delivered soon, but usually this queen is not the ruler, if she dies during childbirth the king just takes his next wife, if I die, brining a child into this world, I would put seven kingdoms into the hands of an infant, one that perhaps doesn’t make it through and neither the child nor I make it, Joffrey becomes the next king and I cannot let this happen until I somehow got him to behave like a normal human being. And waiting to consummate our marriage until then will not be an option because if it takes too long for me to produce an heir, people will start believing something is wrong with me and apparently the only thing worse than being a whore is being barren.”, Relena explained, clearly frustrated by the whole situation.
When Viserys pulling her into his arms, the young stag’s body stiffened right away, for no one who wasn’t a member of her family had ever dared to hug her, especially not without asking permission first.
He listened to her concerns for her people and he gave a slight nod. “No, it doesn’t” He replied, as he almost had to whirl himself around when he realized she had stopped walking, wondering just what was wrong. What comes after? So she wasn’t worried about them persay…but, children and the line of succession. “If you are with the wrong man…there’s, reasons for the touch-just-”Viserys groaned not sure how to explain the idea of pleasure and proper comfortable sex to the girl who clearly raised more by a strict septa than her mother.
Relena went on for longer than he expected but he felt it was good to hear her fears and concerns. No one wanted Joffrey on the throne, not until in his opinion he’d stop being ‘mad king’. He noticed her body stiffen, Viserys had an idea he should asked but it was too late for that now. A hand ran up and down her back, soothing her a bit, or at least trying to and kissed her forehead briefly. “People will expect us to be married soon as it’s announced as well. They will expect things of us no matter what we do.” He stated softly, his voice light as he spoke, still rubbing her back. “Our child will sit on it’s throne when we are gone. There is always a chance of death” His family knew that all to well but Viserys hoped that his family history wouldn’t carry over to his own children and wife.
“You and I will rule the Seven Kingdoms with and without children. Joffrey will not touch that throne. Even in the worst case scenario. Should you die, I will rule as King Regent, it may not be a position but I will die before he sits on it and is not a fit ruler. OneAerys II is enough.” He explained, there was a fierce protectiveness in his voice now. Viserys pulled back from the embrace and he gave a content sigh, a hand slipped to cup her cheek, biting his lip subconsciously because he wanted to kiss her. Rid her of all of her fears and keep her safe.
“Have you ever stargazed before?” He asked her as his hand dropped from her cheek, thinking better on his feelings. “It’s just dark enough to see the stars and soon it will be sunrise. It’s beautiful…the stars melting away from the sky and the sun rising in it’s place…”
He smirked raising an eyebrow. “Well I can go back to shouting if you’d prefer?” He asked,eyes twinkling with amusement until he hear her next words and his face fell cheeks getting rosy in color and he stuttered. “No that’s not…I didn’t mean it…I mean if we’re being honest I mean I do think about you but–not” Viserys groaned as he was shushed by Relena even after told him not answer. Greatful to not have to go on.
“I was going to pull you in for a short embrace and tell you that I’m an idiot but…” He shrugged “I didn’t know how you were feeling about” he did a vauge gesture between them. “Ah, well. Glad to know how to win the wars at home” the words slipped out and for a minute he stared at her. Home. This place, Westeros was home the keep was home but now….home was staring at him and he felt his heart beat faster as it had when he declared him affection for her.
“You should get back to your Chambers…and I mine. I’m quite sure I can get some good sleep now that times passed” he suggested quickly hoping to pass over the way he had looked at her, spoke about her. “Has…ah..Lord Stark suggested a date for our Wedding?” He asked
“A very kind offer, but no thank you.”, Relena declined his offer of continuing to shout at each other with a little grin upon her lips. Her hand came down upon her forehead, slightly covering her eyes as Viserys kept talking, after all there was a reason why she had told him not to answer her question. “You should just stop talking…”, she muttered quietly, uncertain whether she was talking to him of herself. The queen raised an eyebrow, giving the Targaryen a strange look when he was gesturing between them. “I truly think you need to sleep.” Relena lowered her gaze for a short moment when he spoke of home, uncertain what she was supposed to reply, therefore she simply remained quiet until he spoke of his chambers again. “Well, if your sister is still… busy, the chambers in the maidenvault are all empty.”, she informed him, her eyebrows narrowing a bit before mumbling: “And we should really change the name of that.”
The young stag got ever so flustered when the wedding was mentioned, blinking several times, while she took a deep breath. “No, he hasn’t yet… but I was thinking that… perhaps we should wait until the impending winter is over? I mean, the snow could start falling any day now…” If she was honest, Relena wasn’t looking forward to the wedding, it had nothing to do with Viserys, but once a woman was married, there were certain expectations of delivering and heir as soon as possible, but she wasn’t just any woman, she was the queen and childbirth was to women what war was to men.
“Yes. Sleep. Sleep sounds good” he told her, nodding in agreement. “The maiden vault does need a name change. Viserys heard the hesitation in her voice when she spoke about the wedding and his mouth dropped open.
"O..oh.” he started trying to not sound disappointed “it’s just the winter could last longer than anyone expects…” Viserys sighed before taking a step closer to her. “If I could I’d marry you now.” He admitted to her taking her hand in his, a firm grasp on her hand. “But if you wish to wait…than so be it. Who am I to disagree with his queen and wife?” He asked, a soft chuckle came from his mouth.
“I will propose the same thing Tyrion did to Sansa, Relena. Our wedding night and onward if you do not wish for me to…us to… consamate than I won’t force it upon you.” He let her know, no matter how much he wanted her in and outside of the marriage bed he wouldn’t be a brute and force himself on her.
“Though if I did try I know very well that you would chastise me into submission and yell at me” if tonight had been any indication that was. The elder Targaryen pulled the Eldest royal into his arms and kissed her forehead. “Let’s get some sleep.” He told her as he started to walk towards the door
Viserys slowly got up to meet with her as she chastised him. “Well it’s a good thing your not a septa.” He replied. “Right…” Viserys found himself giving the smallest of chuckles at his own rash impulsiveness had caused such a rift between them and he crossed his own arms over his chest. “I’m sorry.” He admitted his wrong doing’s even quicker than he thought he would. “I should have thought better of my actions.”
Viserys frowned as he glanced away from Relena. “You were my first thought. When I was restless and trying to get back to sleep as Dany-” He shook his head as he stepped closer to her. “You were right. My actions could have ruined what you have been keeping so well together.” Viserys shrugged as he looked at her, a hand reached out to her, a form of a treaty. “Please accept my apologies. I invaded your privacy, angered you needlessly…” His hand wavered. it felt too stiff and formal a thing for them, especially now that they were to be married soon.
“But I like to think I would have made a good one.”, Relena mumbled, trying to hide the hind of amusement in her voice. A dark eyebrow rose, upon hearing Viserys apologize. She had not expected this to happen so easily, most men she talked to always expected her to apologize for everything and to submit, not matter how often she made clear that such a thing would not happen. Her eyes roamed around, uncertain what she was supposed to do or say. “Well… I had actually expected a bit more screaming to be honest…”, she muttered.
“I am the first thing you think of when you hear your sister being… indecent?”, she asked, for a lake of a better word, before quickly raising her hand. “Forget it, I don’t think I want to hear the answer to that.”, she added before he could say anything. For a moment Relena’s eyes feel upon his hand, before they rose to look into his, her head slightly tilting. “That seems a bit odd, considering that we are to be married, don’t you think?”
,she questioned, with a frown upon her forehead. “But just so you know, this marriage will work perfectly if you keep saying stuff like that and by stuff like that I mean saying that I am right.”, she said, the hint of a smirk in the corner of her lips.
He smirked raising an eyebrow. “Well I can go back to shouting if you’d prefer?” He asked,eyes twinkling with amusement until he hear her next words and his face fell cheeks getting rosy in color and he stuttered. “No that’s not…I didn’t mean it…I mean if we’re being honest I mean I do think about you but–not” Viserys groaned as he was shushed by Relena even after told him not answer. Greatful to not have to go on.
“I was going to pull you in for a short embrace and tell you that I’m an idiot but…” He shrugged “I didn’t know how you were feeling about” he did a vauge gesture between them. “Ah, well. Glad to know how to win the wars at home” the words slipped out and for a minute he stared at her. Home. This place, Westeros was home the keep was home but now….home was staring at him and he felt his heart beat faster as it had when he declared him affection for her.
“You should get back to your Chambers…and I mine. I’m quite sure I can get some good sleep now that times passed” he suggested quickly hoping to pass over the way he had looked at her, spoke about her. “Has…ah..Lord Stark suggested a date for our Wedding?” He asked
I start school tomorrow as well so posts will be slow to go this week and i’ll be out of town from 6-9th but will be on mobile and what not when i’m not on my laptop.
Goldnwulf 