Game of Thrones Imagines Book Two

The banner "man" - Part 5 - Jory x Reader

(Y/n) paced the thankfully quiet barracks. The other men most likely still in the local villages doing goodness knows what to some poor women. But that was not why she couldn't sleep. That was not why, that despite the fact that she was dead on her feet, she could not rest. In truth, her inability to take advantage of this golden opportunity to close her eyes while the barracks was as quiet as the grave, was due to what Jory had said. (Y/n)'s mind filling with thoughts of him joining the others and laying with another woman.

She knew that she had no right to think that he couldn't be with whoever he wanted to be with. He wasn't hers. And she most certainly wasn't his. But just the thought of him in the arms of someone else. The thought of him kissing someone else, was driving her insane. It was making her heart ache. And she had no idea what she could do to stop it. No idea how she could drown out these terrible thoughts.

Slumping onto her small bed, (Y/n) dropped her head into her hands. For the first time since she had decided on her course of action. Since she had made her way to Winterfell dressed as a man, she was beginning to regret her decision. Yet even if she wasn't disguising herself as a man, that didn't mean Jory would like her if she showed him that she was in fact a woman. It could be that he only liked her as a male friend. A colleague. A brother in arms. And perhaps she would never find out. But no! She couldn't think like that. She had come all this way to fulfill her father's dream. Her own dream of being a part of the household guard. So now that she had another dream, maybe her father, the gods, would look down on her and make her new dream come true. Somehow, they may find a way of bringing her captain to her. Of making it possible to be a woman, as well as a bannerman.

(Y/n) let out a heavy sigh, as she finally lifted her head from her hands. The wrappings that she used to bind her breasts, felt tighter than normal. Like they were crushing her entire chest and making it impossible to breathe. The shirt and breeches that she wore, seemed coarser against her skin than normal. The material making her squirm and itch. Her short hair suddenly feeling dirty and heavy. She knew that it had been some time since she had been able to bathe properly. It difficult, or should that be impossible, to fully clean herself when she was surrounded by the men, and all she had was a small bowl of cold water with which she had to pretend to shave her non-existent stubble. So perhaps she could take the opportunity to use the bath house. The Stark family would all be in bed. The only people awake would be the night guard, and they wouldn't be patrolling anywhere near the baths. So why not? She could unwrap herself. Bathe properly. She could let the hot water soothe her aching bones and muscles. She could wash her hair, and feel like a woman again, if only for a short time. And maybe, just maybe, it would take her mind off the captain, and make it possible for her to sleep when she returned to the barracks.

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(Y/n) ducked inside the bath house. The warm air inside the room making her sigh happily, as she closed the door behind her. There was something about the smell of the warm air that made her smile. It reminded her of her childhood before her mother had passed away. Of the small bath house that her father had built to the side of their home, where she would sit in the hot water and splash about, as her mother sang and sewed. And now more than ever, she needed to immerse herself in the softly steaming water. To wash away all her concerns. All the thoughts of the training that she would have to go over again with the others, in the morning. For now, she could be (Y/n), and not Sebastian. She could be herself.

Quickly, she pulled her shirt over her head, and untied the knot on her breeches. The clothing pushed to the side by (Y/n)'s foot, as she turned her attention to the bindings that were wrapped around her chest. (Y/n) breathing deeply, as the last of the restrictive strips of material joined her clothes on the floor. The bannerman carefully climbing into the bath and lowering herself into the water.

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Jory made his way through the corridors of the great castle. He knew that he shouldn't do it. That the bath house was really for the use of the Stark family only, but the captain had found himself unable to sleep. Found himself pacing his small room. His mind filled with the strange reaction of Sebastian when he had mentioned that he should join the others in the villages. And the only way that he knew to relieve his troubled mind, was to lower himself into hot waters in the bath house. That even if it wouldn't help him solve the riddle of the young bannerman, at least it may distract him from all the other things that he had to think about. From the weight of responsibility that sometimes felt heavy on his shoulders.

Jory knew that perhaps he shouldn't have been so shocked by Sebastian's reaction to the notion of partaking in the pleasures of one of the willing young women in the village. It was true that he was still young compared to most of the other men. In fact, Jory was sure that despite having watched the bannerman try to shave, he actually had nothing on his chin to warrant a blade ever meeting his skin. And given that, the boy may still be a virgin. That he may even be nervous around women. Yet Jory had a feeling that it was more than youth and naivety that had led to the ardent protest. He had heard from the others that this wasn't the first time that the young man had made excuses not to join the rest of them. Yet what was he to say? He was not one for going to the villages, himself. He had always hoped that one day, he would open a door and there would be the woman he would fall in love with. The woman that would be happy to settle down with a simple captain of the guard. A woman.............

Suddenly Jory's thoughts stopped, as he pushed open the door to the bath house. His eyes growing wide, as the top half of a woman appeared from under the water of the bath. It was true that he could only see her back. Only see a shock of short hair. But it was obvious that whoever the mystery bather was, she was every inch a woman. The subtle movement of the muscles in her arms and shoulders. The water trickling down her neck, seeming to pull him further into the room. Seemed to call to him. His mind filling with the possibilities of what beauty the front of the woman could hold. Jory not caring that the family had no visitors. The captain only knowing that he had to announce his presence. That he had to see her face.

"Ahem. I am sorry, milady. I didn't know that anyone would be up at this late hour." Jory quietly remarked. His eyes growing even wider, as the woman spun around. The face that he saw, finally answering some of his many nagging doubts and questions about the young Sebastian Sharpe that Jory had had since their first meeting.