THE NIGHT | arthur dayne

Chapter 6

Jorelle walked along the water with Rhaegar and Arthur. It felt weird. She had only walked these paths with her mother or alone and she especially never would have imagined she'd be with the prince.

"Have you ever been to Kings Landing?" Arthur asked. He walked to the right of Jorelle on the edge of the path, hopping along the rocks.

"Not that I can remember," Jorelle replied. "My father says I wouldn't like it there."

"You'd fit in well but you'd probably hate it," Rhaegar said. He pushed Arthur, who stumbled off of a rock. Jorelle didn't even turn to look at them and continued walking.

"Do you like Kings Landing?" She asked.

Rhaegar shrugged. "I don't have a choice. I have to like it," he replied.  He sounded sad about it. That made Jorelle sad. She spent so much time around the same people, that some things just never crossed her mind. The Lannisters only cared about being powerful and Jorelle, Cersei, and Jaime, would do almost anything to be in Rhaegar's place. Jorelle never even thought there was a possibility of someone not wanting that.

She wished he could just give his position away to someone who would cherish it.

"Do you like it here?" She asked.

"It's quite different. The people here are loyal to your family."

"Are they not loyal to yours in Kings Lansing?"

He didn't respond.

"And you, Ser Arthur, do you like it in Kings Landing?" She stopped talking and turned to him. He seemed a bit surprised that she's addressing him.

"I'm a knight, I'm honored anywhere," he smirked. "Of course I like it. Especially when there's tourneys to win."

"You're such a fool," Rhaegar laughed. Jorelle smiled.

Their fun was interrupted when Cersei runs towards them. When she saw Rhaegar, she stopped running and started to walk, picking up her dress slightly so it didn't drag through the dirt.

When she got close enough, she curtsied. "Good evening, your grace. You fought very gallantly today," she said. Jorelle held back a moan at how annoying Cersei was.

"Thank you, my lady," Rhaegar replied.

Cersei turned to Jorelle. "Can I speak to you for a moment?" She grabbed Jorelle's arm and pulled her aside into the trees.

"I was actually quite enjoying myself and I think it's rude of you to interrupt," Jorelle said.

"I don't care. Why are you talking to the prince?"

"Because he's nice to me."

"Has he said anything about me?"

"No. The decision about the betrothal is his father's," Jorelle replied. She looked up at Rhaegar and Arthur laughing with each other. "Besides, I don't think you would like him."

"Of course I would. He's a prince," Cersei said.

"You haven't even spoken to him."

"Oh don't act like you're all high and mighty now because you've spoken to the prince twice!" Cersei yelled through a whisper so the prince wouldn't hear her. "You don't have to know somebody to marry him."

"No, but if you want him to try to convince his father to accept the betrothal you have to," Jorelle replied. "Which I'm sure won't happen but you could at least put some effort in. You were raised to be smarter than that, Cersei. I expect better from you."

Jorelle walked away leaving her sister standing angrily among the trees. If Rhaegar wasn't there, Cersei certainly would have gone after her and yelled at her.

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The next morning, Jorelle sat in her chamber getting ready for the day. Her plans had dramatically changed after the events of the previous day and she would no longer be breaking fast with her family and the royals.

"They're leaving?" Jorelle asked. "They can't leave. That's...that's improper. It's rude." She turned to Laina who was standing behind her with a hair brush.

"He is the king," Laina replied.

"Yes but the tourney is for him."

"It's for his new prince, who isn't even here." Laina pushed on Jorelle's shoulders to turn her back around so she could continue brushing her hair. "Besides, the tourney finished. The only thing missed was the feast. You don't even like feasts."

"I guess you're right," Jorelle replied. "It's a shame. I quite liked Prince Rhaegar and Ser Arthur. They were kind to me."

"Aren't men usually kind to you?" Laina asked.

"Yes, but this was different. They weren't trying to marry me. They were truly kind," Jorelle explained. "And respectful."

"You could always go to Kings Landing."

"Are you mad? Go to Kings Landing? What would I do there?" Jorelle turned around and looked at Laina, who stood annoyed still holding the brush and attempting to brush Jorelle's hair. Jorelle calmed herself down and turned back around allowing Laina to continue.

"What do you do here?" Laina asked. Jorelle paused. What did she do in Casterly Rock? When her father was around, she spent her days following behind him. When he wasn't there she never knew what to do.

"You're always right and I don't like it," Jorelle said. "It's disrespectful."

Laina laughed. "I'm not always right. I'm just very often right."

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Jorelle sat slumped over watching her father angrily write letters. She didn't say anything, she just observed. He was so angry. Jorelle has rarely ever seen her father this way.

"Oh, sit up," he yelled at her. "Where do you think you are?"

"I'm sorry, father." She sat up and pat down her dress to smooth it out. She seemed to have forgotten herself. She had also forgotten herself while speaking to Rhaegar and Arthur yesterday. It was bizarre. This had been such a strange week and she couldn't wait for it to end. "Did the king day why he didn't want Cersei to marry the prince?"

"Because he thinks we're beneath him," Tywin answered sternly. "He said that I'm his servant."

"If anything, he serves you. Everyone knows that the hand of the king does all the work," Jorelle replied. Telling exactly what she thought, but also attempting to calm her father down.

"Not everyone," Tywin replied. He sighed.

"You shouldn't lose hope, father. Neither should my sister," Jorelle said as she stood up and approached his desk. "There's always something that can be done. We're still young. There's still time."

Her father smirked. "There's always something that can be done," he repeated.