BELOW ZERO: THE DRAGON'S MYSTERY VOL 4 (Cregan Stark x OC)

Chapter One (Alana)

CHAPTER ONE

Alana

Dragonstone

My mother sits in her chambers with my father standing behind her. His hands gripping the wooden frame of the sofa while he leans forward and stares at me while my mother has her arms crossed. Anger written across her face.

I never understood why she was always so angry. I'm the one who has every right in the world to be angry. She took me away form all I've ever known. I spent my days with Helaena and Alicent and I had friends in King's Landing. The girls there were kind to me and the ones here at Dragonstone are nothing short of rude and mindless.

Helaena was easy to talk to. Easy to laugh with. And Aegon never bothered us either. Here? I have Ser Criston up my ass every move I make. In fact, he's standing an arm's length away from me right now. Sometimes I test the theory to see how close he is. I'll turn around quickly and see if I can punch him in the armor. I usually graze the tips of my fingers and he quickly will step backward but will clutch onto his sword like he's paranoid of something.

"Why are you in such a hurry to send me away?" I ask my mother as she just broke the news to me that she's finding a match for me. I'm twenty-one years old and she still thinks she can control my every move. "You realize sending me away means I'll be on my own-"

"Ser Criston is your sworn sword until his death. When you move. He moves. Do you not understand that?" My mother scoffs. "Alana you know you cannot be hidden here much longer-"

"I didn't need to be hidden here to begin with. You freaked out over nothing." I argue. "I want to go home. I want to be with Helaena and Alicent."

My mother shook her head. "You are never going anywhere where I cannot keep eyes on you constantly."

My blood boils quickly. "But you do have eyes on me constantly! Hello! Ser Criston is up my ass! Always!"

"Tone." My father said quickly. "Your mother is and always has tried to do right by you, Alana. We aren't just 'sending you away' we are setting you up for success. Setting you up for a happy life."

"My life was happy when I lived it with Helaena and Alicent." I cross my arms in retaliation.

"I am your mother-"

"Alicent is my mother." I argue. "You did nothing my entire life. You cared more about Luke and his special interests that seemed to always get him into trouble and look! He grew out of it quickly! And Jace? You never gave a shit about him. That's why he was always gone! ALWAYS!"

"Watch it." My father circles around the sofa and stands a few steps in front of me. "Your mother and I... Alicent included... All decided that being here was better for you. You couldn't handle being in the busy city that is King's Landing. Those girls were bad influences on you. All of them. Especially that red-haired one. Whatever her name was-"

"Sarella." I argue. "And she didn't actually have red hair. They were pieces she'd clip into her hair to make it different colors."

My father shook his head. "Whatever, Alana, that isn't the point. She was bad for you. She got into your head."

Sarella did no such thing. She was a good girl. A kind girl who was terrified of having more than a cup of wine with her dinner. Helaena and I would tell her she could help herself to more but she'd panic. Only wanted water with fruit infused into it and she'd lie and tell everyone she was drinking with us when she wasn't.