A Dragon In Wolf's Clothing ~A Game of Thrones fan fiction~

Chapter Twenty Seven: Eastern Winds

Lyanna felt seasick.

She had never been on a boat before, and neither had Winter, who was in the corner of their cabin, shivering. Focusing all of her energy on not throwing up, Lyanna felt the pain of her loss leave her momentarily. Alize, who had sailed to King's Landing from High Garden, was sewing in the corner quietly, unaffected by the current.

'I'm lucky to have her,' Lyanna thought, looking over at her handmaiden. 'She's so loyal and gentle, if she dies because of me... damn, why do all of my thoughts eventually turn to death?'

"Maybe you should do something to take your mind off sailing," Alize suggested. When Lyanna used to want to take her mind off things, she used to take Snow out for a ride, but how could she ride on a ship? Instead, she found a scrap piece of parchment and a quill and began to write a letter.

'Jon,

I expect you already know about father's execution. I'm guessing you also know that my son was killed by the commander of the city watch. It was awful, but I didn't write to give you the details.

I wanted to write this to you to tell you that you won't be seeing me for a long time. I miss you terribly, but if I go North, I'll put you and the others in danger. That's why I'm going to disappear for a few years. I'll be back, and when I do come back, I bet you I'll still be better than you at fighting.

Love from your sister,

Lyanna Snow'

She knew she probably shouldn't have put that she was leaving, but it was too late. When they come to the shore, she would find a bird to take the note to castle Black. And when she sent the bird, she would begin her search for Daenerys.

"You might want to get some rest. It's a long way to Essos and we've got a lot ahead of us," Alize suggested, and Lyanna nodded, pacing over to the corner of their cabin where the bed was. Bed, it was more of a platform with straw and blankets thrown over it, but Lyanna would have rather slept on a bed of knives than still be in King's Landing.

Unbuttoning her heavy leathers, Lyanna stripped until she was in just a thin underdress, where the large, red scars were highly visible. She would bare those for the rest of her life, like the scar on her jaw from when Littlefinger had sent the assassins after her, and the stretch marks around her belly from carrying Brandon. None of those marks on her body would fade, nor would they fade from her mind. What had happened in the south had changed her. She had left the north a girl, she left the south a hardened woman.

"Do you want me to blow out the candles?" Alize asked, as Lyanna laid on her side, carful not to aggravate her scars. She shook her head, her newly short hair tickling her jaw as she did so.

"No, please don't," She'd had trouble sleeping in the dark since Brandon was born, the night she killed her first man. The thought of her son caused her chest to ache, and, as if she sensed Lyanna's discomfort, Winter paced over, licking her cheek's gently before curling up at her side, sighing heavily.

Alize nodded, not saying anything else. She looked back down at her embroidery work, wondering why she was still sewing. It had been something for Brandon, but as much as it hurt to think, Brandon was dead, so why was she carrying on? Was it to distract herself from the thought of what had happened the day before?

Alize had grown up in High Garden to stories of gallant knights and beautiful maidens. She had dreamed of being a princess, but instead became a carer to her younger brothers and sisters, all six of them, until her mother died. Her father saw no more purpose in her after her mother's death, and so shipped her off to King's Landing to 'be of some use'. As much as it had pained her to think, she was excited for this new adventure. Although she loved her little brothers and sisters, she wanted to look after princesses, help them with their hair and listen to their woes and maybe one day, earn a high enough status to marry a knight, a handsome knight who would love her very much and bring her nothing but happiness.