The Shadow Queen of Tywin Lannister

XXIII. The Happiness a Marriage Brings

The morning after the wedding, Visenya woke up later than she usually did. Surprisingly, her sleep was rather peaceful and she was glad she did not have any more Dragon Dreams; especially those talking of death.

Her eyes opened slowly, taking a moment to adjust to the sunlight entering through the window before she felt a single finger roaming her chest. She blinked and turned her head to the side, pressing her cheek against the pillow as her eyes landed on Tywin.

He was lying on his side, awake for some time now and he seemed to be busy tracing her mark with his finger. Visenya had been born carrying the Dragon Whisperer mark above her right breast, the inked dragon figurine forever embedded on her skin.

As a young child, she never understood it since Dragon had long disappeared from Westeros. Even that dream of hers about three dragons, felt too distant for her to be involved in any way.

Tywin, had a silent fascination with it ever since he saw it during their night together at Casterly Rock; since the last person known to bear that symbol was Naelys' lastborn daughter.

"Since you like it so much, I would be happy to give it to you if I knew how" she commented, feeling in rather a good mood.

Their eyes met and he slowly withdrew his finger. "Someone has woken up in the mood for jokes, I see" he commented, making her roll her eyes.

She slowly lifted her upper body, letting the bed sheet pool on her lap as she pushed her wild hair behind her. She could feel their slightly curly tips falling to the middle of her back, a long time needing a haircut but she hadn't truly bothered with them.

She did not comment anything else and instead stretched her body to fetch her clothes, that had been discarded on the floor. Eventually, after some small struggle, she pulled the clothes on the bed and started to search for them.

To Tywin's surprise, she produced a small dagger from within the pile and for a moment his muscles tensed; seeing her holding the lethal weapon. Yet, she barely looked at him as she freed one of her bare legs from the covers and instead brought the blade closer to her ankle.

She placed the blade against the skin and with a quick move, she left a shallow gash on the skin; blood slowly flowed from the wound and fell in droplets on the white bed sheets. However, the amount was not enough and Visenya was about to add another slash when Tywin grabbed her wrist, stopping her from marking her body more.

"What do you think you are doing?" he asked, more annoyed than angry at the morning drama.

"The maids will come soon to check the bed sheets. How do you think they will react if there is no blood?" she asked him rhetorically and she saw him leaving out a heavy sigh.

"This is ridiculous. Not all women bleed in bed and it is known that horse riding can break a woman's hymen" he pointed out, surprising her with his knowledge of the female body.

"I know but you know how they are. We can't risk it"

There was a silent staring contest between them since Tywin refused to let go of her wrist and she just wanted to end with this idea and have one less worry in her mind. To her surprise, he used his free hand and pulled the dagger out of her hand.

"I honestly don't even want to know where you hid that blade yesterday" he commented and created a similar slashing wound on his leg. He barely made a sound or even let his facial expression change as his blood fell on the bed sheets as well.

Visenya could only stare silently at what he had just done and yet her amber eyes softened at the sight. A ghost smile had appeared on her lips and at that moment she knew, that even though their feelings for one another never reached the level of lovers; he was still a good man, who understood her and did not judge her.