~A Game of Hounds and Foxes~ (GOT Fanfiction)

~Three~

~Malina~

In the forest, I stand on the newly snow-covered ground. The dark lush grass of summer is gone as well as the rows of flowers from Highgarden. Is that even where I am? Do I stand in the woods of Highgarden where my father and kin reside? Or am I in the thick forests of Silverhill beyond the valley where my mother first met Lord Serrett?

No, I am somewhere entirely different.
Standing in the unfamiliar wood my eyes dance from the various trees riddled with heavy heaps of snow in the arms of their branches. Some stand larger and thicker than others but none so much that I can't see the fiery red form approach me from afar. My breath hitches as I clasp my cloak around me at the sight of the fox. From the dark wood, she approaches me softly pattering her feet in the snow. I take a step back breaking a twig beneath my feet until she stops settling down before me. As I stand looking down at her she does the same to me. She's very calm, and docile, and her green eyes are vibrant along with her red cloak against the white snow. The red of her fur looks almost as if it were a warm fire ablaze her. One I could reach out and touch. Just as I think to do so a caw from the trees rings out as I pull back looking to the heavens. From the treetops flies down a large peacock with its sapphire body and eyes dazzle like a gem upon the forest floor. As he lands his tail fans revere the bright colors of green, yellow, and purple.
As the fox looks back over her shoulder at him, I fear she will pounce and devour him, but she refrains from any violence as the two slowly wander in a circle, their eyes never parting for an instant. The fox stalks in her curious yet cunning demeanor as the peacock raises his feathers in pride and patience. I can only watch at a distance unable to move in anticipation of their reactions. It is then that the two begin a mad dash in their never-ending circle. Running faster than any animal I had seen until the image of the two fuses in a hue of fiery red and oceanic blue.
Shielding my eyes from the stir of the snow around them I hear the whirl of the winds around me. The trees seem to whisper in a haunting clamor carried by the winds until everything becomes silent and still again. For a moment I think to look and see what has become of the fox and peacock but a fear that instills within me stops. Filled with terror my body is radared paralyzed as if I were made of ice. The pounding of my heart fills my ears as does the loud thuds of something approaching me. The very trees seem to shake under the strength and force of the steps of the creature that approaches me. I know it is no longer the peacock or even the fox, but a creature of great ferocity and myth. Just as I feel the breath of the beast on my face, I feel my senses return. Just as I bring my arm down from shielding my face to look at the creature, I find myself staring at the ceiling of my chambers.

Gasping I awaken sitting straight up in bed. The sun spills through the windows of the double doors leading to the balcony overlooking the valleys of Silverhill. As the sun crests over the castle, I'm suddenly filled with dread. Today marks the end of the winter months. I know on this day I must return to my father, Lord Haygar, to our family house west of Highgarden.
"Perhaps I will have time to walk through the woods before departing." I think pulling my bed sheets back. Sitting at my vanity I grab my comb and begin brushing through my hair.
"Perhaps we can stop and see aunt Oleena." I wonder as I continue brushing. However, the more I think about papa and his opinion on tardiness I think better of it. It truly would be a shame to put him in a foul mood the moment we arrive back.
"Malina!"
I yelp as my chamber door bursts open and my unannounced sister rushes in with her nightgown on and her long dark hair in a mess on top of her head.
"Sigrid, what in the name of the father are you doing barging in at this hour?!" I exclaim clutching my hand to my clamoring chest.
My younger sister laughs excitedly "We are not going back to Highgarden or Papa's quite yet!"
I turn facing her raising a brow "No? Why ever not? Papa is expecting us to be-..."
"He's coming here." She interrupts now seeming less enthusiastic "He sent a letter, and he shall be here tomorrow. Apparently, he and Lord father Serrett have some business to discuss with us."
"Us?" now I am on my feet as my younger sister reaches clasping my hands excitedly.
"What do you suppose it's about?" she giggles settling us back down on the seat "Do you think Lord Stark wrote papa in concerns of his son and you? Perhaps me?"
I snicker "Sigrid, the day a young man like Robb Stark even glances my way will be the day the seven hells themselves freeze over entirely."
She nudges me rolling her eyes "Oh Malina, stop that! Just because a few suitors declined your hand does not mean-.."
"Every suitor." I interject.
Her lips pull in a thin line "Does not mean that there is not a match out there for you."
I smirk clasping her hand "Thank you sister, but the older I've become the more I realize that maybe I don't want a match made for me. Perhaps I can find someone on my own. Maybe he doesn't have to be so...Noble."
"Ugh! Don't be ridiculous!" Sigrid snaps yanking away from me to plop on my bed "You hardly ever go out so there is no chance of meeting anyone. Besides, you think father, or our Lord father would even think of letting you marry a commoner?"
"Papa married mamma."
She snorts "Yes and look how that turned out. An annulled marriage the moment I'm yanked from the womb and bargained between representing house Haygar or Serrett of Silverhill. We are the 'daughters of two houses'." she dramatically says with a flare of her arms.

"You represent neither sister." I interject "You're not of age, remember? I'm the eldest."

"Pleeeaassseee let me whine about this...!" she moans "It's well past sunrise, I've got to get on with it now."

"And speaking of Eldest..." she hisses as I roll my eyes "maybe it is not your physical appearance that you believe drives the men away Malina."
I raise a sarcastic brow "No?"
She motions "Some believe that you are not the legitimate daughter of our father. That you do not have true Tyrell and Haygar blood in you. Rumors say your blood is that of a peacock and father only found out so only a short time after I was born."
Now a twinge of pain and fear prick at my insides like a needle. I have listened to much gossip thanks to the teachings of my aunt Oleena and her sister, grandmother Viola, whom I spent much of my childhood with, but this is different. This is deeper, personal, and something that could be completely ruining my chances of living up to what an elder daughter's duty is. Who and what I am are in question not only by myself but now all of Westeros.
"Do you think that it's-..."
"True?" Sigrid interrupts before brushing off the idea with a raspberry blow of her lips "Malina, don't be ridiculous. Our mother may have been born a commoner but she's no whore. And are you not a Noble daughter? Not some lunatic who believes that the sky falls every time a horse farts."
We both burst into giggles at Sigrid's words. She flops back on my bed as I jump up to join her. When my back hits the mattress I sigh "Do you really believe papa has found a match for me?"
Sigrid smirks "I don't see why he would come all this way if it were not something important such as this. Especially forcing himself and mamma to be in the same room together."
I lightly laugh "His face is likely to be in the pigeon pie by 9."
"I give them til 8." Sigrid bets as we shake on it before resulting in giggles again.
"I bet it's you..." I start looking at her from the side as she looks back "No one is desperate enough to marry me. Not unless he's some old nasty Lord of vast land with dozens of bastard children and barren wives. Maybe one of them could see a son come from these wide hips!"
"Ew! Malina, gross!" Sigrid laughs "Papa might not be the nicest or happiest Lord ever, but he wouldn't do that to us. Especially not you."
"Or you." I reassure nudging her.
Her voice turns solum as she looks to the ceiling "Papa hates me. I know he does because he hates himself. When he looks at me all he sees is a mirror."
I frown but poke her cheek "Pretty mirror."
Sigrid giggles but I prop up on my elbow "And papa does not hate you. You just...irritate one another is all. You are quite coarse and stubborn just as he is you know."
She waves me off "Aaah, I know, but really now, does he always have to have the last word?"
I scoff peering down at her "No, YOU always have to have it."
She smiles arrogantly "Exactly. Were ladies of House Haygar and Serrett. We are curious, cunning, proud, and without rival. Our word is the final say so."
I shrug nodding in agreement liking the idea of being so outgoing, yet it goes entirely against my passive nature.
Taking hold of her hand I sit up "Then I say dear sister, let us go and eat pigeon pie for breakfast!"
We both giggle in excitement as I pull Sigrid from the bed, and we race down the stairs to the kitchens. We run and giggle as if we were children again forgetting how far from it, we are now than we ever have been.