❝ There was a feeling of inevitability when I met you. And our lives were fated to converge like some cosmic dance. And I think I had to break your heart and you had to break mine. ❞
As Cressida Black's lungs ceased to draw breath, Aurelia Martell's...
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Evergreen Cove, February 109 AC
To my dearest friend,
I'm happy to know that you are well and that my last letter found you easily. Your letters always bring me joy.
As you may know by now, Lord Matthos grows sicker in Highgarden. I think people expect me to take this chance and marry his daughter, his firstborn and say the Reach will follow the example of the Iron Throne — that as the heir to the realm is the firstborn child of the King, so should the succession be decided for the other keeps. But you can tell my mother not to fret — I have no intention of marrying the Lady Desmera. She may be beautiful, but she is vain and arrogant. She will have to content herself with the Arbor instead of the entirety of the Reach, I have no wish to usurp Ser Randyll.
So, with all sorts of nobles coming to my gates and seeking an audience, with men trying to gamble away their daughters' hand in marriage to a man of Targaryen blood, I find your letters to be a solace. The calm within the storm, you could say.
With the news of my uncle's remarriage, I started wondering. While the Hightowers must be celebrating, I'd lie if I said it was the same here nearer to Highgarden. The Tyrells feel slighted — they are the Lords of the Reach and have a daughter of an appropriate age. Even if their great hope for the lady was to marry her to me, a King is a fine catch for any young woman. That the Hightowers reached so far, without even sending a letter to their lords prior to the announcement is troubling.
As I mentioned, this has led me to think. I have been inundated with marriage proposals ever since I took charge of the Cove. Yet, you are a Princess of Dorne and descended from one of the most powerful houses in the Stormlands, if not the most powerful after the Baratheons. You were a ward to my aunt and are known as a protégée of my mother and your position in the royal nursery only enhanced you in the eyes of many. All this I say, because many naturally wonder why your brother hasn't arranged a marriage for you and why he delays it so. You are of the most eligible matches any lord could make and yet you have no intended.
If there is anything I may do to help in this matter, as your friend, please let me know,
Edrick Daerys, Lord of Evergreen Cove
━━ ⋅𖥔⋅ ━━✶━━ ⋅𖥔⋅ ━━
March 109AC
Aurelia practically flew off her couch when she heard the gentle knock against the door of her rooms.
"I had to see you for just a moment," Jamie whispered, pulling her into a warm embrace as they pushed the door closed. He buried his face in the crook of her neck and inhaled deeply. "So much."
She let herself sink into his hold, the hard planes of his chest as familiar to her as the curves and dips of her body. Jamie pulled her into a long kiss, and his lips soon became more and more insistent against hers, hungrier than they had ever been before.
