snow and stars| jon snow

xix: needle

Sansa and Arya had been with her for a month, and still there was no word from Jon. Andromeda was warming up to the Stark women, though. She and Arya sparred together, and it was a different type of challenge for the both of them. Arya had never fought a Dornish fighter and and Andromeda had never really fought someone from the North with such talent. Sansa started sewing with the other Queen, and even though Andromeda hardly liked sewing, she thought that she could do something with Sansa. She feared that her and Arya would become closer and tear a rift between the three, seeing how much her and Arya actually got along. She had grown to like Arya a lot, and Arya had grown to like Andromeda.

Sansa and Andromeda sat sewing quietly, hardly speaking during their peaceful work. Sansa's eyes were darting to Andromeda and back to her work every so often, until she finally spoke up without stopping her progress. "You love my brother, don't you?"

   Andromeda nearly dropped her fabric. "Queen Sansa," She said, sighing. "I prefer not to talk about it."

   "Do you love him, Your Grace?" The red haired queen pressed, finally setting her things aside to look at the half Dornish beauty in front of her. Sansa could now see the full front of her crown as her head was bent. There were so many stars that she couldn't even count them, not that she was ever exceptionally good at math.

   Andromeda took a second before answering. She would not cry, she could not. "More than you could ever know."

  "How long have you loved him?"

"I've loved him since he first stepped on my land, Sansa." She said somewhat wistfully. "Jon and I share a connection."

   "Are you saying this because you love him or because of his status?"

   Andromeda scowled, feeling as if time had slowed once the words passed from Sansa Stark's lips. "I have everything I want right now. Why would I want to be with a king of a foreign country?" She answered coolly. "I love Jon because he is Jon. For no other reason do I love Jon."

  "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Because he doesn't answer me anymore." Andromeda spilled, not caring that it made her vulnerable. She was sad, sad that the one who she was meant to be with wouldn't take the time of day to tell her something, anything. "I don't know how he feels about me anymore."

   "You don't seem like the type to be upset over a fling." Sansa pointed out. "What really happened between you and Jon?" Andromeda winced. "Just between us queens."

    "I..." Andromeda trailed off. "It's going to sound crazy. Crazier than my abilities, but it comes with the territory." She explained.

  "I'll listen, I've seen some crazy things." Sansa said, her voice becoming quieter. "Things that most can't imagine, and from that the North has only grown stronger." Andromeda just nodded, giving her a sideways glance.

"Every Queen of Ilta is given someone to make her happy. Usually it's to take some of the burden off of being Queen, someone compatible to her in every way. It's a way of insuring not only that the Queen will have children, but also that the kingdom won't fall. Sadly, not every Queen meets her match, which is called a soulbond." Andromeda explained to Sansa, who had a blank look on her face. "Queen Pandora was a woman who lived a long time ago, she reigned at the time of Aegon's Conquest. She and Aegon happened to be bound at the soul, and that's how she got Aegon to leave Ilta be the first time."

   "Is this soul bonding a figure of speech?"

"No, the gods take our souls and tie them by a string to whoever our match is. I'm getting to that." She smiled a wobbly smile at Sansa. "Our gods, Idalia and Neoma, are the goddesses of the Day and Night. Since the beginning of the families, they always wanted a Targaryen and a Vela to procreate. So they tried with Pandora and Aegon. Obviously, it didn't work. So, they stopped trying with Targaryens, until recently."