Thorn of Winterfell

Inquisitive Minds

{consider this a calm before the storm}

After a long bath, Syana dressed again in warm clothes against the rising wind outside. She knew it was growing colder as the day wore on and made sure to wear one of her many fur cloaks. As she dressed to join the prince waiting for her in the courtyard, she thought of her brother. Cregan had been in strategy meetings all day today and likely would be for the foreseeable future. The king consort had finally decided to show himself and began directing everyone immediately. Syana had not been invited to the meetings and she was not upset at being excluded. She knew Cregan would tell her anything important ahe missed. She was thinking instead about how jealous he would be that Jace was allowed out to meet with her.
The prince, on the other hand, would likely not be pleased. He'd been trying to get Daemon to talk to him since they'd arrived without success. Somehow she did not think these meetings meant he was any more inclined to speak to him. It would be all the worse if the king consort had been ignoring him. She struggled to put her thoughts aside as she walked down the long and empty halls. It was chilly inside and dark even with the sun still well up in the sky. The dark stone seemed to leech all of the warmth from her. She thought of Winterfell, always warm and cozy. For a moment she felt a horrible pang of homesickness. She wondered what her mother was up to all alone in the castle with baby Rickon. Probably bossing the staff around if she had to guess.
As she stepped outside she swept all thoughts of home away. She was here now and there was a war on. She'd had but just the barest hint of it before and it would only get worse from here. Picking her way down the steps to the yard below, she could see the prince waiting for her. His hands rested against his pommel and he wore an annoyed pout on his face. His eyebrows drawn together in contemplation. She did not enjoy his expression, worried he would be frustrated again. In her time of knowing him, it had become apparent the prince did not like setbacks. He was persistent, sometimes annoyingly so. She also knew Daemon was becoming a setback for him. She did not bother with a fair greeting to the prince, knowing that would only sour his mood further. Instead she nodded towards their destination and the two set off together. They walked in silence for a while though it was a tense silence she wished he would break. And eventually he did.

"He wants to leave."

Syana was so taken aback by his words that she drew up short, turning to face the prince. "He wants to what?"

Jace was looking past her, out beyond the walls as he spoke. "He doesn't want to hold it. Says we should move on and wants us to move towards King's landing with him."

She stared at him for a moment truly at a loss for words. They began walking again and she realized they were headed towards Vermax.

"Are you planning to leave us then? Has there been any word from the queen?"

After a beat she thought better of herself, blushing. "That is if it's pertinent I know, of course."

She was so used to her brother telling her everything whether it mattered or not. She had to keep reminding herself that she was not important in these hierarchies of power. She heard the prince laugh and turned, red faced to confront him.

"Of course you can know. Look, I'm doing you a great honor."

Syana looked up towards where the prince was gesturing, confused. Then she saw it, brilliant like a streak of sunlight across the clouds. It was the queen's beautiful yellow dragon, Syrax. She was even more confused then and suddenly anxious. She was going to meet the queen! She shot a dire look at Jace who was still laughing. He looped his arm through hers and began to lead her towards the Queen's landing area. She was trembling as they approached. Wasn't she supposed to curtsey? She decided to wait on that as the queen dismounted and immediately ran over to pull her son into a hug. Syana watched as Rhaenyra pulled back from Jace to lovingly cup his face. She looked away, feeling an ache for her own mother at the action.