Stelsa, the girl crafted from the broken leftovers from the Gods, is far from the expectations of a normal lady. Her father, Aaeron Meryls, and her uncles sought to train her in the way of the blade. Many whisper about her origin - is she bastard li...
"For this was not a woman's realm, IT WAS A MAN'S REALM."
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THE COLD WAS SUCH A comforting feeling for Stelsa these days. When the snow began to fall, it would linger in her dark hair and gently kiss her skin. It doted over her like a mother does her children, ensuring she was safe and loved within its care. Every morning that Stelsa awoke to see the frost covering the windows, she found a sense of peace filling her mind. Every morning, except for this one. She had tossed and turned all night, disturbing Polaris enough that she had chosen to sleep on a blanket near the fire.
But Stelsa could not stop.
Her mind was consumed by one letter — she had practically memorized it now in the early morning light. Aemond's penmanship was pristine, as any prince's should be, but his words were more so of the boy he was.
The boy she loves.
She had come all this way to get away from the heartache, yet she felt like a young girl learning of love for the first time. She felt hopeful. There was no room for heartache at that moment. Aemond still remained as he had before Cassandra had entered the Red Keep. She was not to be his wife. Aemond was still Aemond... he was still her Aemond.
You speak of the weirwood providing you a place to feel closer to me. I wish I could share a similar sentiment, but I find that you have consumed both my waking and sleeping mind. Every corner of this Keep is possessed by some form of you. It is not a feeling I desire to feel any longer, but a physical closeness that I yearn for these days.
Stelsa's mind kept repeating that portion of his letter as her heart thrummed against her chest. He yearned for her. He admitted so right there before her very eyes. Is it possible that all this time, Stelsa's affections had not just been her own? Did he desire her in the way she desired him — had she found a place inside his heart as he had found a place within hers?
A low grumble from Polaris made Stelsa glance over, catching the golden gaze of her wolf in the dim light of the morning. She arose from her spot and yawned, exposing her sharp teeth as she stretched her back. Polaris shook off the lingering tiredness as she wandered over towards Stelsa, pressing her nose against the girl's extended palm. "Polaris... What am I to do?" Stelsa questioned the wolf as she took her face between palms, squishing her fluffy fur. "If he wanted..to wed...he would have asked, right? He simply meant it as a friendship." The creature just stared at her, almost unamused by her questions. Even as she said those words, Stelsa knew they were not true.
Stelsa pushed to sit up in the bed, laying against the headboard as Polaris turned and padded away from her once more. Stelsa rose from her bed instead, following after the wolf. "Polaris, what do I say back to him? Do I just question if he meant to add the comma? I cannot just force his hand-" Stelsa grabbed her cloak and wrapped it around her shoulders as she opened her chamber door.
