Monster // Petyr Baelish

8. Inspired By Royalty

Cruel Summer/ Maegor the Cruel out now!

"So do I write Petyr and tell him that... we are fake engaged and he needs to play along or... I set avalon off on him?" Rieka offered awkwardly and Arya stared back at her. "I just dont know what to say."

"How about hey, we are engaged now... or father is going to kill you when you get to the capital." Arya pondered.

"Really helpful Arya." Rieka agreed.

"What did you think of Prince Joff, sister? He's very gallant, don't you think?" Sansa questioned looking to Arya, she already knew what Rieka thought of Joffrey.

"Jon says he looks like a girl," Arya said. Sansa sighed as she stitched.

"He does have a feminine face." Rieka agreed.

"Poor Jon," Sansa corrected. "He gets jealous because he's a bastard."

"He's our brother," Rieka declared. "You best remember that. He's family, treat him as such."

"I will be queen one day." Sansa corrected. "I dont need-"

"Decency?" Rieka pondered and Sansa rolled her eyes. "Dont want to claim the mad queen title before you ever get the crown."

"Sansa's work is as pretty as she is," Septa Mordane declared. "She has such fine, delicate hands." But Arya was a different story. "Arya has the hands of a blacksmith." their septa would always declare with distaste.

"Arya, Rieka... why aren't you at work?" the septa asked moving closer to them and leaving Mycella's side. "Let me see your stitches." Arya wanted to scream. Rieka grumbled rolling her eyes.

"Here," Arya said, surrendering up her work. The septa examined the fabric.

"Arya, Arya, Arya," she tsked. "This will not do. This will not do at all."

"And what of my work, septa?" Rieka questioned holding up her design. Septa Mordanes smile dropped.

"Burn that... and in the presence of royalty!" Their septa scoffed.

"I crafted it, inspired by royalty." Rieka agreed. "But stark colors for the letters. You see it? I shaded it light to dark."

"Damn, thats good though." Arya remarked looking over the Fuck Off, with little flowers around it.

"Thank you, now lets fuck off." Rieka agreed dropping her stitch down but ARya picked it up chasing after her.

+

"I'm going to be hand of the king... Sansa is engaged to Joffrey and Rieka is going to meet Petyr Baelish." Ned grumbled.

"Jon must go," Catelyn declared.

"He and Robb are close," Ned said. "I had hoped ..."

"He cannot stay here," Catelyn said, cutting him off. "He is your son, not mine. I will not have him." Ned would do Jon no kindness by leaving him here at Winterfell without him. The look Ned gave her was anguished all the same.

"You know I cannot take him south. There will be no place for him at court. A boy with a bastard's name ... you know what they will say of him. He will be shunned." Catelyn armored her heart against the mute appeal in her husband's eyes.

"They say your friend Robert has fathered a dozen bastards himself." Catelyn declared her face pinched.

"And none of them has ever been seen at court!" Ned blazed. "The Lannister woman has seen to that. How can you be so damnably cruel, Catelyn? He is only a boy. He—"

His fury was on him. He might have said more, and worse, but Maester Luwin cut in.

"Another solution presents itself," he said, his voice quiet among their shouts. "Your brother Benjen came to me about Jon. It seems the boy aspires to take the black." Ned looked shocked.

"He asked to join the Night's Watch?"

+

Jon was watching the action of the lords and princes training in the courtyard below as he sat in the window, he was to go unnoticed while the royals were here, that was Catelyns demand. He was so absorbed that he seemed unaware of his sisters approach until his white wolf moved to meet them. Nymeria stalked closer on wary feet. Avalon bound forward lunging over Ghost and bumping into Jon. Ghost, already larger than his litter mates, smelled Nymeria, gave her ear a careful nip, and settled back down. Jon gave her a curious look.

"Shouldn't you be working on your stitches, sisters?" jon pondered and Arya made a face at him.

"I wanted to see them fight." Arya corrected.  He smiled. "And Rieka made the septa furious with her stitches."

"Its funny when she's furious." Rieka agreed.

"Come here, then." Jon agreed. Arya climbed up on the window and sat beside him, to a chorus of thuds and grunts from the yard below. To her disappointment, it was the younger boys drilling.

"What did you make this time?" Jon questioned and Arya held it out.

"Oh, nabbed it did you?" Rieka mused.

"She would have showed mother and you would have gotten in trouble." Arya agreed.

"What a good sister, but sansa will tell her and mother will hate me still." Rieka assured.

Bran was so cute as he trained with Tommen. He wasnt a fighter, he was a climber, he was didnt like swords and archery. But he was trying his hardest. Rieka whistled out catching his attention as Jon held the stitch in his hands, he laughed out as Bran waved up at her.

"You are better then all of them." Rieka remarked. "Knock them all to the ground." Jon chuckled handing back her stitch.

"I like this." Jon remarked.

"Thank you, I try." Rieka agreed.

"You are going to need to make me one before you leave." Jon added as Tommen fell to his ass and Joffrey cackled out.

"A shade more exhausting than needlework," Jon observed.

"A shade more fun than needlework." Rieka corrected. "Okay now help me, what am I supposed to say to Petyr?"