A Shadow and a Wolf

Mira VI

She woke up lying on her tummy, her right cheek resting on a pillow, a warm breeze caressing her back from her waist to her shoulders. She saw through the window the sun illuminating their chamber. She sighed, feeling comfortable and peaceful. The Hightower was a beautiful place to live and the streets of Oldtown were a pleasant place to walk. Oldtown was everything King's Landing wasn't. Clean, organized, pleasant, beautiful, safe, well fed, full of life.

She turned her head towards her husband, lying in the same position than her. He was still sleeping. She smiled fondly while looking at him. Just like her, the blanket only covered his body under his waist, though Mira wouldn't mind if there was no blanket at all. Since they met, he had let his hair grow a little and had strands of it falling on his forehead. Mira liked it. She could discard his hair when she was close enough to kiss him or look at him deeply in the eyes. He wasn't muscled like his brother Garlan, but he had some thin muscles on his arms that were strong enough for her taste. They were strong enough for her to feel safe whenever he took her in his arms, just like he did last night. The memories she had of that night brought another smile on her lips and she closed her eyes for a moment to revive them.

She opened her eyes again and quietly removed the blanket from her legs. She seized a dressing gown laying on a nearby chair and put it on her. Gerold once said the only thing he regretted from her northern origins was her modesty whenever she left their bed. It was half a joke and half a wish, but Mira wouldn't give up on this. She had no problem sleeping without clothes beside her husband, but it wasn't appropriate to wander naked in their chambers. She walked as silently as she could to the bathroom and discretely called Saryn, her handmaiden, to prepare a bath. Fifteen minutes later, Mira was resting in the tub. Another fifteen minutes later, she was all dressed and prepared for the day, wearing a grey gown with white on the shoulders. She had already dressed all alone when Saryn came back. Even after two months in Oldtown, she still kept the habit to prepare herself for the day on her own, like she did when she was in Margaery's service. Saryn only had to arrange her hair like she used to style it in King's Landing. Mira thanked her when she was done and Saryn left. Mira hadn't grown very close to her handmaiden. Saryn wasn't very talkative. She missed Sera.

Mira went back to their bedroom, her husband still sleeping in the same position. She went to her desk and started to write a letter for her best friend, trying to give her news while not making her too envious. Mira pitied Sera. She wished her friend was married like her to a good man. She had grown to appreciate Gerold during the last month. He had his flaws like everyone, but he was kind and gentle all the same, and had many other qualities Mira could only love. She didn't know if she loved him yet, but she enjoyed her time with him, day and night. She would repay it to Margaery one day. Without her, she would be married to the heir of Highpoint in this very moment. Who knew how her life would be if Ser Kevan and Roose Bolton had succeeded in their plot? She couldn't imagine herself living happily with a Whitehill. Mira was done with her letter very soon and sealed it.

She then took a copy of Frozen she found in one of the many libraries of the Hightower and resumed the reading she started yesterday. A discussion between Anna and Elsa brought a smile upon her face. You can't marry a man you just met. Sometimes they didn't have the choice to do it. Saryn brought their breakfast. When she left, Mira realized her husband was now lying on his back and was looking at her. A small smile he had on his face widened when she looked at him.

"How much time have you been watching me?" she asked with a thin smile as well, returning to her reading.

"I don't know. Not enough time, I guess." She kept reading, knowing Gerold loved to watch her.

He had loved it ever since they met before the entrance to the Hightower. She had to admit she didn't hate the attention. There hadn't been many men interested by her in King's Landing and Highgarden, though there had been some. But she preferred the way Gerold was interested in her, admiring her when young men in Highgarden had tried to convince her to spend some intimate time with them, whether it was in one of the many gardens, the maze or in their own personal chambers. Mira always refused. Only her husband would ever know her. As a highborn lady, it was to be that way, and Mira didn't have to regret it up to now.