An Inconvenient Flame [Sandor Clegane]

Chapter 13 - The arrival of the stag

The days passed rather slowly after that. Each morning, Astra came to fetch me, yank me out of bed before I washed and dressed for the day. It was the same tedious routine each day, not much fun transpired and the only thing I looked forward to, where going on the usual walk through the garden. It brought me some calm, but mostly solitude. Some days Astra joined me, others I walked alone, or as alone as I could because there were always two guards following close behind me.

I scowled at them when they came to close and sat back down onto my heels. I had been pretending to pray, upkeeping the innocent image my sister also abused quite a bit. When I checked up on her this morning before going out for the walk, she was looking paler than usual, she was still flowering. This was already the fourth day.

The queen had kept a smug expression when coming to check up on Sansa on the second day. How I had wanted to wipe it off her face, something I accomplished by reminding her I hadn't yet begun. She couldn't just marry me off to whomever she chose because I wasn't desirable. I couldn't bear children, not yet anyway.

I smiled at the memory of the queen's expression thereafter and shifted further back up onto my heels to stand up. I uncurled to my feet without any issues and sot the guards another glare when I passed them. Today they were both rather young. They usually changed but it had mostly been the same two old men, that kept their distance, unlike these two.

The garden was brimming with life and unlike the usual chatter, there were one particular subject going around. The usurer Stannis Baratheon was sailing towards Kings Landing. His fleet would be here within nightfall and lay siege to the city. I was quite invested in the conversation of two women walking right ahead of me. hand in hand, they walked slowly while talking ang giggling.

However, when one of them finally noticed me, properly because the two guards behind me were making so much damn notice, they scurried away before I could hear any more of their conversation. I groaned and tossed myself down onto a nearby bench instead, shooting the two guards yet another glare. This time they understood and stepped back, but not longer than still within reach.

I threw one leg over the other, crossing them before resting my arms on top of my thigh. It was a rather warm morning and I hand to lower my shawl from my shoulders. astra had picked out a dark green dress, which I had altered a bit because I found the dresses often provided to me a bit to unflattering, often a size too big for me. I wasn't as good with a needle and thread as Sansa, but I knew what I were doing.

My thoughts soon drowned out everything and I just stared at the waters nearby. How the sun was reflected on the water, almost as if the sea were made of millions of gems. Everything Astra had explained to me a few days ago, were still not enough to satisfy the initial curiosity and had only left me to ponder about it.

Astra had made it sound like it was noting, and something even women could gain pleasure from whereas I had always been told it was solemnly for the act of procuring children. Feeling a bit embarrassed, I held a hand to my head and inhaled deeply. What was becoming of me?