The Children of Spring

Lyanna V - It's Our Time

As the meeting ended, everyone started to leave, We have to stay together. We have to win the war first, Lyanna thought as she watched everyone leaving, until there were only she and Jorah and Rhaella left. Although Lyanna knew all of them would come together to win the fight, the fact that they might not be in sync bothered her, for she knew it would not be the same.
"Lya, what's on your mind?" She heard her brother asking.
"They can't be fighting." Lyanna answered.
"They won't. It'll pass." Jorah said.
"It always does. You know that." Rhaella said.
"I hope you're right." Lyanna said.
"We all've been through a lot, we won't be fighting each other. They just need to calm down." Jorah said.
"I hope so. By the way, what happened to Rhaenys?" Lyanna asked Rhaella.
"The warlocks took her one night, they must have done a spell to make her grow. I hope it didn't hurt." Rhaella said.
"Me too. But she's alright now. And Kingly and Sky are really happy to have their sister back." Jorah said.
"So are we. I'm really glad you're alright, sis." Lyanna said and Rhaella went to her and hugged her.
"So how was the Iron Throne?" Jorah asked.
"I'll only say one thing: good luck with the Throne when you get there." Lyanna said smiling to her brother.
"You know, until this is all over, you can still have it." Jorah said.
"No, thanks. I've been a Queen for all these months and the only time I felt like one was in the battle." Lyanna confessed.
"You've done more than that, so I've heard. You held the Kingdoms together when we were out." Jorah said.
"You were and you are a Queen. A warrior Queen perhaps, but still a Queen. So, if they don't stop fighting, you'll be the one who has to persuade them to stop. You're the only one who can." Rhaella said.
"You really believe in me that much?" Lyanna asked.
"We do. You're our sister, we've always believed in you. I'll always believe in you two. I'm proud of both of you." Jorah said and they smiled.
"Thanks, big brother." Lyanna and Rhaella said. Let's hope, I don't have to give a lecture, until the end of the day, Lyanna thought. She decided that she would see how things went. She would just have to watch everyone that afternoon.
Meanwhile, that afternoon in that Keep, everyone was doing their best to try to solve everything they needed to solve, until the end of the day, for at dawn they would depart. They had a war to fight in and they had a family to protect that needed them, then more than ever.
Thomas was walking fast to the training yard, his mind was blank, he did not know what to think, he knew that his mother was well by then, still he could not help his anger. He wanted to get on a horse, go to camp and kill the man that had done that to his mother. He could not imagine what it had been like in the camp, he could not imagine what it had been like to his parents. We were 7 persons! We didn't have to go all of us! I should have stayed!, Thomas thought. He knew that he had to calm down or else something bad was going to happen. It's over now, what does it matter?! Just calm the fuck down!, Thomas kept thinking over and over again. It did not make any difference, all he could think about was, My mother almost died, my father had to go through that alone and we- I- wasn't there...
He was walking as fast as he could, he had to get to the training yard, he had to hit something and let his anger out. At least, that was what worked for him. Suddenly, he heard,
"Thomas! Wait, we need to talk." It was Jeyne. However, Thomas did not stop, he kept going. Still, he said,
"I'm sorry, Jeyne. But I really don't want to talk, right now."
"Too bad, because you need to." Jeyne said, she was next to him by then. She knew that he needed to let his anger out by hitting something, but he also needed to talk about it, or else it would still not work.
"No, I don't. I just need to hit something, then I'll be fine." Thomas rebutted.
"Why are you always so stuborn?" Jeyne asked anoyed.
"You're not better and you knew I was." Thomas said. This was why they were not together, they always had that silly fights. Besides that, she was a princess and, as silly and improbable to happen that it sounded, she never thought she'd be able to choose who she was going to get together with, therefore she did not want to get hurt or hurt anyone else. On the other hand, he wanted to solve his anger issues before thinking about anything like that, still it was hard sometimes. For both of them. No one knew why they were not together. No one, except for them.
"Fine. I'm going with you then." Jeyne said.
"You what?" Thomas asked, stopping walking. They were in the yard already.
"I'll go with you. I mean we're already here, so..." Jeyne said.
"You can't do that." Thomas said right away.
"Why not? I know how to fight and I'll keep you in check." Jeyne said simply.
"Because I don't want you to see it. I always do this alone." Thomas said looking at her.
"You practice with James." Jeyne rebutted.
"Yeah, but James is James, he's my brother. And you are... you..." Thomas was saying when his voice trailled off, still he went to the swords storage and picked up a sword. You're the girl I like, Thomas thought.
"I am me, so what? I can fight, Thomas. I learnt how. Let me help." Jeyne said going after him and doing the same he did.
"It's just that, when I get angry, I fight with all that I've got. And sometimes, I can't control it. I don't want you to see that, so if you're going to stay, then I won't practice." Thomas said seriously.
"I know that. But you need to calm down." Jeyne said.
"I do. So, please, can you just go away, so I can hit the dummy?" Thomas asked.
"However..." Jeyne said and Thomas rolled his eyes, "Today is supposed to be a happy day."
"How-" Thomas was saying, but Jeyne kept on talking,
"And you hitting a dummy with all that rage, it's going to ruin it. So, today, we're going to do things my way."
"But that's the only way I know to calm down." Thomas rebutted.
"I'll teach you another. Put away the sword." Jeyne said undisputably, as she put away her sword.
"Look, Jeyne, I really apreciate what you're doing, but-" Thomas was saying.
"No, buts. Put away the sword and let's go." Jeyne said seriously, looking at him.
"Jeyne-" Thomas tried again. He did not want to do it her way, he wanted to hit something to calm down, because it was the only thing that had ever worked before.
"Thomas Payne Lannister, put away the sword and let's go." Jeyne said seriously. Thomas looked at her and realized she was not going to give up, therefore he put away the sword saying,
"And I am the stuborn one?"
"You said it yourself, I'm not better." Jeyne said with a chuckle and Thomas smiled a little.
"This plan better be good." Thomas said as he went after her.
"It's good, I've been thinking of it lately." Jeyne said.
"Turns out Lannisters do have their pride." Thomas said smiling.
"I made you smile, at least that worked." Jeyne said.
"You know I'm still angry, right?" Thomas asked looking at her.
"I know. We aren't there yet." Jeyne said looking at him.
Soon after, they arrived to the Godswood of the Red Keep. The Godswood was an acre of elm but there were also alder and black cottonwood trees that overlooked the Blackwater Rush. Thomas recalled seeing the same river in the Westerlands. The Heart Tree was a great oak with limbs overgrown with smokeberry vines.
"The Godswood..." Thomas said as he and Jeyne took a sit in one of the stone benches that were there. Hope she's not going to have me pray..., he wished.
"Yes, it's a good place." Jeyne said.
"What do I do now?" Thomas asked fearfully.
"Nothing, just listen to the wind and think about whatever you want. Try to think calmly about it." Jeyne answered.
"Just that?" Thomas asked.
"Yes." Jeyne answered.
"How will that work?" Thomas asked.
"It used to work with your mother." Jeyne said looking at him.
"W-what?" Thomas asked surprised.
"My father told me once that when they were in Winterfell, your mother used to go to the Godswood all the time. He said that she showed it to your father, before she went to the Last War." Jeyne explained.
"She did?" Thomas asked and Jeyne nodded, "Alright. I'll try." If it worked for them, then it might work for me too, Thomas thought as he started to look around them. It was really beautiful there and the Heart Tree seemed to make the place look magical. He had never noticed it before, of course not, that Godswood was nothing like the one in Winterfell, still it was something. It was calm and after some moments he started to feel the rage disappearing, he still wanted to kill Ser Aistan more than anything, however he could wait until the battle. His parents were alright by then and were waiting for them, that was what mattered. He just wished that Jenny had told him before. Then he looked at Jeyne, she was as beautiful as always, maybe more. Her auburn hair looked brighter with the sun light touching it and her eyes were as blue as the sky. Or so Thomas thought. When did he had became such a romantic? He did not know, however there and at that moment, he realized one thing. It had not been only the Godswood that had calmed the anger, it had been her as well. She calmed him down, even when they had their silly fights. She was the peace of his war. I can't let it slip away, Thomas thought and, although his hand was shaking, he took it to hers that were resting in her lap. At that Jeyne looked at him surprised, but smiling.
"It worked." Thomas said smiling.
"See? I told you, this place is magical." Jeyne said.
"It was not just the place. It was you. You calmed me down, Jeyne." Thomas said. She smiled, but looked down shyly.
"I'm glad to hear that." Jeyne said.
"Look, I know we had this conversation before, but what if we give it a chance?" Thomas asked looking down.
"What if it doesn't work?" Jeyne asked looking at him.
"We're going to war. My parents and our uncles and aunts married for love, I don't believe our parents would make us marry someone we don't love, unless there is no other choice. I just figure out that you... are my peace, Jeyne. Whenever, I calmed down, I always ended up thinking about you. I love you. So, what do we have to loose?" Thomas said looking at her. She smiled and then she leaned in and kissed him. He kissed her back. Their first and last kiss had happened half a year ago, that story had ended. They would not be afraid of things going wrong anymore, they would take the leap and see what happened.
"That was the most beautiful thing anyone ever said to me. And, Thomas, you're my knight, my prince... But most importantly, you're the man that I love." Jeyne said smiling and he leaned in and kissed her again.
At the same time, but in a place near the Blackwater, were James and Catelyn. He had been there for her, when her brother had died, by then it was her time to be there for him. They were siting there looking at the bay, when Catelyn asked,
"Are you alright?"
"I don't know. I've never thought that could happen." James said. He knew that everyone died eventually, but he never thought his parents could die.
"I know." Catelyn said putting a hand on his shoulder.
"I mean, they survived the Long Night. And now my mother almost dies by poison! It just doesn't make sense. Me or Thomas should have stayed behind." James said.
"You had no way to know, James." Catelyn said.
"Jen knew something had happened. If she had told us, then maybe things would've been different. I can't imagine how that was like." James said a bit angry.
"The journey changed us. We're not kids anymore, we all realized that. But at the begining, we were still kids. We would not be helping with anything." Catelyn said.
"I hope they're alright and that we'll get there on time." James said.
"They are and we will. Don't worry." Catelyn said looking at him, he looked at her and smiled.
"Thank you. For being here." James said.
"That's what... friends/ lovers/ cousins... are for, I guess." Catelyn said with a chuckled and James laughed.
"Let's settle on the lovers part. I mean friends don't kiss and cousins, well, in our family, things get complicated." James said and she smiled and kissed him.
"Things do get complicated, but I'll wait 'till I know the truth to think about it." Catelyn said.
"Sounds good." James said and they stayed there for a little while longer.
At Sam's lab, or in other words, the Maestre's labs, where they kept the ravens to be sent, Galladon was writing a letter to his grandfather he had to tell him, he was alive.
"What are you doing?" Joan asked as she entered.
"Writing to grandfather. I have to tell him that I'm alive." Galladon said.
"He was really sad." Joan said.
"I can imagine." Galladon said.
"I'm so happy that you're back." Joan said.
"Me too, Jo. I'm sorry you had to go through that." Galladon said.
"Doesn't matter, you're here now. That's what is important." Joan said smiling and he smiled.
"Cat and James are together now?" Joan asked curiously.
"Yes, finally. It was complicated, but they worked things out." Galladon explained.
"I'm happy for them." Joan said. I have to talk to Cat, Joan thought smiling. She would talk to Catelyn later and they would tell each other everything and, of course, Joan would wrap it up with a 'I told you so'.
"That just reminds me that I won a bet." Galladon said thinking.
"Against whom?" Joan asked.
"Jenny. By the way, I have something to tell you." Galladon said.
"What is it?" Joan asked curiously.
"Well, after everything that happened, me and Jen realized that we don't want to be away from each other again. So, we are engaged..." Galladon explained. Joan smiled and went to him and gave him a hug.
"That's so wonderful! I'm really happy for you two, Gal." Joan said after the hug.
"Thanks. Do you think mother and father and uncle and aunt will agree to it?" Galladon asked.
"Of course they will. I mean, they'll be shocked, but they will agree to it." Joan said simply.
"What do you mean shocked?" Galladon asked a bit worried.
"Come on, Gal. Don't you know why?" Joan asked confused.
"No." Galladon said.
"You and Jen have always said that you would never get married unless it was a matter of life and death." Joan said.
"We're kids. Mother and father also said that, when they were kids, they didn't want to marry. Why would they be shocked?" Galladon said.
"Maybe I'm wrong, I was just saying." Joan said with an enigmatic smile.
"Alright. Thanks, anyway." Galladon said as if she had won.
"You're welcome. I have to go see if I can find Cat or Thomas. See you later." Joan said and left.
"See you." Galladon said. Then he tied the letter to the raven that had the destination to Tarth and sent it. At that, there was a knock on the door,
"Come in." Galladon said and Durran came in.
"Hey, Jorah told me you were here." Durran said.
"I was just writing a letter to my grandfather. Is everything alright?" Galladon asked.
"Yes, everything's right. I just wanted to talk to you, because I saw something in the flames." Durran explained.
"Alright... What did you see?" Galladon asked a bit confused.
"Well, the Lord of the Light showed me a flaming sword and a man giving it to you, I think it's important to the war." Durran said.
"There was a man, Beric Dondarrion, he had a flaming sword, he also was brought back to life by a priest like you, Thoros of Myr. It's a great story, here in Westeros. They both died in the Long Night. Who was the man?" Galladon asked curiously.
"The man was, uh, he was tall and... half of his face was burnt. He was on the port when we arrived, I think." Durran explained a bit clumsly.
"Oh, it's uncle Sandor. We can go talk to him." Galladon said simply.
"We can? Just like that?" Durran asked a bit confused.
"Yeah, he might have a harsh exterior, but he's like an uncle to me and everyone else. He's a good man, don't worry. On the other hand, Varys is a bit sceptic about Gods, wichever Gods you choose, but you brought me back to life, so you don't have to worry, alright?" Galladon said putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Alright. Thanks." Durran said and nodded.
After that, they went to find Clegane, luckily, they found him in the armoury.
"Hey, uncle Sandor." Galladon said as they approached.
"Hey, lad. I'm glad you're back. You didn't deserve what happened." Clegane said.
"Thank you. I'm glad to be back. All thanks to Durran." Galladon said smiling.
"Thanks, lad." Clegane said to Durran.
"It was the least I could do and, fortunately, the Lord of the Light willed it." Durran said.
"Well, uh, Durran saw something in the flames and we hope you can help us with it." Galladon explained.
"Of course, what did you see?" Clegane asked.
"I saw a flaming sword..." Durran said.
"That's insteresting. I was thinking of giving Gal Beric's sword." Clegane said.
"Really? Why me?" Galladon asked surprised. Clegane walked to a sword that was in a suport and said,
"Well, Thoros brought Beric back 6 times. And he had this sword, he cut his hand, passed the hand through the blade and he could set it aflame, because the Lord had brought him back. You're brought back, so... I think you should have it." Then he gave Galladon the sword and he accepted it.
"Thank you. I don't know what to say." Galladon said.
"You're welcome. Your mother is a great fighter. Your father is good too. I trust you're going to put it to good use." Clegane said.
"I will, I promise, uncle." Galladon said smiling and Clegane smiled too.
"I didn't know you believed in the Lord, ser." Durran said to the Hound.
"I'm not a fucking ser. And the only thing I know is what I saw." Clegane said.
"What did you see?" Galladon asked curiously.
"Many years ago, I found Thoros and Beric, we became the last of the Brotherhood. Thoros was a priest, a drunk too, but a priest nonthless. And Beric was a warrior. I saw Thoros bringing Beric back to life, after I had killed him in a trial by combat. One night, he told me to look at the flames. I was afraid of the fire, but I looked. I saw a mountain made of snow that looked like an arrow head and the dead were marching passing it. We headed north for it. We're caught by the Watch. But then Jon had to catch a wight to show Cersei that the dead were real. A party headed beyond the Wall for it. And I saw the mountain in the real life, but Thoros died there. So, yes, I believe." Clegane explained and Durran nodded.
"Who was in the party?" Galladon asked curiously.
"Me, Beric, Thoros, Giantsbane, Jorah Mormont, your uncles Jon and Gendry and your aunt Joanna. We made a good team, at least we managed to bring the wight. Catch some scares along the road, but we brought the wight." Clegane explained and Galladon smiled. That's why I can't wait to hear about the Long Night, Galladon thought.
Meanwhile, Joan found Thomas in one of the gardens of the Keep. Jeyne had been taking care of the last details to leave and Thomas had gone to take a walk around the castle to be certain that the rage was gone. Of course, Joan had found Jeyne first before finding him. She went to him and said,
"Hey."
"Hey." Thomas said. They were best friends since childhood, they knew probably everything about each other.
"So... A little bird told me that our oblivious twins finally snapped out of it and are together and another told me that you and Jeyne decided to give it a chance." Joan said with a giggle.
"Have you been borrowing Varys's little birds, Jo?" Thomas teased.
"Gods, no." Joan said with a chuckle.
"I've missed you, coz." Thomas said and gave her a hug.
"I've missed you too." Joan said after the hug.
"Your little birds have it right." Thomas finally said.
"Finally! I was starting to loose hope." Joan said.
"Don't be so dramatic. But, honestly, so was I." Thomas said and she laughed.
"How are you?" Joan asked.
"I'm better. I have to talk to Jen, but I'm not angry anymore. And you?" Thomas asked.
"I'm better too. Gal is alive and everything makes sense again." Joan said.
"Good. Because, now, it's your turn." Thomas said.
"My turn for what?" Joan asked confused.
"For you to go get your prince." Thomas said, looking at her with a defying smile.
"I don't know if he likes me. Besides, he's the prince." Joan rebutted.
"He likes you, Jo. And he's the prince, so what? You're a highborn lady. I don't see what's wrong." Thomas said.
"You don't know if he likes me or if I like him." Joan said blushing.
"First, I know you like him, you're blushing. And second, I know he likes you. He told me he does, not with this exact words, but apart from Gal and Ger, none of us is good with words." Thomas explained.
"Do you really think that I should go talk to him?" Joan asked.
"I do. We're going to war, you two should talk while you still have time." Thomas said.
"Yeah, you're right. I'll talk to him." Joan said, blushing again.
"Good. Go talk to him, I'll go find James, so we'll talk to Jen and Mary. We'll meet at dawn. And I hope you solve things, because I'd really rather that Lya did not have to give a lecture." Thomas said.
"So do I, I think she does as well. By the way, they were looking for a dornish spell book, for a spell. Do you know anything about it?" Joan asked.
"I think uncle Sam took it to the camp, I mean he said he would if he ever got called upon." Thomas said.
"Good. You have to tell that to Ned, Jon and Sam." Joan said and he nodded. Then they went their ways.
At the same time, Jenny and Marianne were talking in the balcony of Marianne's chambers. It was almost night and the sun was setting.
"So how was it?" Marianne asked.
"It was like I was a complete different person. I didn't remember anything. I didn't remember you. I got so mad at myself, I should have remembered it sooner. I told Gal that I didn't feel anything for him and I was lying all the time. I didn't even know I could lie straight. Only when I saw him dead, it came back. All of it. But it was too late. I know it's not my fault, but that doesn't erase what happened. I don't know how I'm going to tell mother and father that I didn't remember them. Neither do I know how I'm going to tell everyone everything that happened next." Jenny confessed looking down.
"It's not your fault. I know that doesn't make you feel better, but it's the truth." Marianne said softly.
"I'm the eldest, I was supposed to protect them. Instead, I went inside a warlock's house alone and screwed it all up." Jenny said.
"You saved Rhaella and uncle Gery.-" Marianne was saying.
"Rhaella saved uncle Gery." Jenny corrected.
"Even so. It was an incredibly brave thing to do and someone'd have to do it. Besides, you kept everyone in check until they got there. You were not the only eldest there, Gal was there too. And you two are a team, when one is down, the other stands up. I know you got down because of his death and it's so much more understandable than you think. But everyone on that ship could take care of themselves. You didn't fail, they learnt it all from you. Sometimes, being the eldest it's not just about proctecting the youngers, it's about teaching them so that, when the time comes, they'd know what to do or who they can turn to for help... And, Jen, everyone of us would turn to you and Gal." Marianne said softly.
"I guess you're right. You're always right. And here, how was it?" Jenny asked.
"It was hard too. I was always afraid that mother... And I was always concerned about father. But he wrote me whenever he could, so I knew he had help and he was being strong for the both of them. But they're fine now, I think. The hardest part was when I cut the traitors heads off. I felt like I wasn't me, I knew I had to kill them and I knew it had to be me, but it was a bit strange. I was always thinking if mother and father would still be proud." Marianne answered looking down.
"It's over now, Mary. Mother and father are alright. We'll help them. And you were just amazing at proctecting the Rock. You showed them that they had to respect you. And you proctect our house. Sometimes, we have to do things we never thought we would do, but we do them because it's our best chance, not only for us, but for the people we care about. That shows a great deal of courage. I'm really proud of you, sis. And mother and father will be too." Jenny said and Marianne looked at her smiling.
"Thank you, I'm proud of you too." Marianne said and Jenny smiled.
"So do you have other news? Happier ones?" Jenny asked curiously.
"I do. Me and Ger changed letters all these months and we realized that we like each other." Marianne said.
"Finally! It was you and Ger and James and Cat." Jenny said.
"You knew?" Marianne asked surprised.
"You're my sister and he's my cousin, I know you two." Jenny said.
"I'll pretend that makes sense. But I don't know what I'm going to say to him." Marianne said concerned.
"You'll know when the time comes, I assure you." Jenny said smiling.
"I hope you're right. And you? Any news? Preference, not ones I have to keep a secret about." Marianne said.
"After everything that happened, me and Gal realized that we don't want to be away from each other again, so we are engaged..." Jenny explained.
"You two are engaged?" Marianne asked surprised.
"Yes." Jenny answered a bit concerned.
"The world is ending." Marianne said with a giggle.
"This is serious." Jenny said.
"I'm sorry, I just wasn't waiting for that one. I'm so happy for you two." Marianne said and gave her sister a hug.
"Thank you. Do you think father and mother and aunt and uncle will agree to it?" Jenny asked a bit worried.
"Of course they will. With a bit of shock and teasing in the middle but they will." Marianne said.
"I hope you're right." Jenny said smiling.
"It's going to be hard not have you home everyday." Marianne confessed.
"I'll come home from time to time, I promise. You'll have mother and father and the twins. Besides, you might be moving to Winterfell soon." Jenny said with a chuckle.
"Dear Gods." Marianne said with a chuckle too.
"I have to go talk to James and Thomas. I owe them an apology." Jenny said getting up from the chair.
"I'll call when we're ready to leave." Marianne said and Jenny nodded.
After talking to Thomas, Joan had gone to find Jorah. What Joan did not know was that Jorah was looking for her too. They found each other in the Throne room.
"Jorah." Joan said, she knew she wanted to talk to him, but what would she say? Life was not like the songs.
"Jo..." Jorah said surprised.
"Uh, I was looking for you." Joan said.
"R-really?" Jorah asked even more surprised.
"Yes." Joan answered.
"Alright. Let's go. I know a place." Jorah said a bit clumsly. He was looking for her and he knew where he wanted to take her for them to talk.
"Alright..." Joan said and, as he offered her his arm, she accepted it. Jorah knew that Joan was a lady in every sense of the word, she fought with the sword as much as she fought through the politics and courtesies. He knew that she would make a perfect Queen, he knew that since he was 10. For Joan, Jorah had the charm of the heroes from the songs and she knew that one day he would be an amazing King.
They walked in silence for no one knew what to say. At last, they were in the Queen's Ballroom within Maegor's Holdfast. It was much smaller than the Great Hall of the Red Keep or the Small Hall of the The Tower of the Hand, but equally as beautiful. The graceful ballroom seated one hundred and had beaten silver mirrors behind the wall sconces which made the torchlight seem twice as bright. It's walls were paneled with richly carved wood and it had a gallery above the main floor. High arched windows sat along the south wall. Joan had seen that place before, however that day, it seemed different, they were the only ones there. Jorah had brought her there for he knew it was a calm place and a place worthy of a Queen. They were walking through the gallery, when Joan said,
"It's a very beautiful place."
"It is. I thought you'd like it." Jorah said looking at her.
"Really?" Joan said looking at him.
"Yes... I-I mean I know you like to dance, right?" Jorah asked a bit unsure.
"I do." Joan comfirmed smiling.
"Good. Uh, how are you?" Jorah asked.
"I'm fine, everything is back on track. And you?" Joan asked.
"I'm fine too. A bit worried perhaps." Jorah answered.
"Why?" Joan asked curiously.
"Lya wished me good luck with the Throne when I got here. Besides, after all of this, I realized how hard rulling can be if I'm not careful and smart. Sometimes, it scares me a little." Jorah said.
"I never thought it'd scare you. I always thought that you'd be good at it. You've trained for that your entire life and I'm sure you'll have help. Besides, you have a long time until you get there. I had to rule over Tarth all these months, I know it's not the same thing, but sometimes it can be hard too. I only know that, if you are sure of what you're doing and if it is the right thing do, then it can never go wrong." Joan said and Jorah smiled.
"I wish I'll have a Queen like you by my side when the time comes." Jorah said, without realizing what he was saying. Joan stopped, looked at him surprised and said right away,
"A Queen like me?" At that, Jorah fully understood what he had said and looked at her.
"Uh... Uh, I mean you're... smart and... beautiful... Any man would be lucky to have you and..." Jorah said as clumsy as ever. Why does this always happen?!, Jorah thought.
"You're the prince... You're like a prince from the songs, why me?" Joan asked surprised.
"I'm not. I'm just me. And because, Jo, you're wonderful. I know you'd be a perfect Queen. To be honest, I have a crush on you since I was 10. I've never thought you'd see me that way, but, apparently, you do, right?" Jorah said hopefully.
"I guess I do. I've never thought you had a crush on me." Joan said looking at him, he looked at her and came a little bit closer, saying,
"Jo, I know you must have a great deal of men wanting to win your heart, but maybe you could think of me as a suitor? This sounded awful, I'm terrible at this, but..."
"I think it was beautiful. I mean it was the worst love declaration I heard, but it was sweet." Joan said smiling and he smiled too. Their faces were really close by then, she was looking at him and he at her. She knew he wanted to kiss her, she wanted him to kiss her. However, Jorah was a bit of freaking out. He had thought of that a thousand times, even dreamt it. Right then, it was reality and he had frozen. He just did not know what to do. Some more heart beats passed by and, at last, Joan decided to say,
"Are you going to kiss me or must I kiss you?" That gave him courage, therefore he said,
"I am." Then he leaned in and kissed her and she kissed him back. His lips touched hers softly and sweetly. Joan had imagined her first kiss many times, that was better than any dream she had had. After the kiss, they looked at each other smiling.
"I've never seen you smiling like that." Jorah said.
"I guess I didn't have a good reason for it before." Joan said and then kissed him again. After the kiss, Jorah took her hand and guided her to the centre of the ballroom and then he offered his hand and said,
"Well, we're in a ballroom. We still have some time. May I have this dance, my lady?" Joan smiled and took his hand, saying,
"You may." They danced until they had no more time left.
Meanwhile, Jenny had gone to talk to her brothers. She knew by then that she should have told them what was happening. Jenny was at the door of James's chambers, she knew that they were there or in Thomas's, so she knocked. Gladly, she heard James saying,
"Come in." Jenny came in and closed the door.
"Hey." Jenny said.
"Hey." The twins said. They were siting in chairs around a small tea table, Jenny pulled another chair and sat next to her brothers.
"Look, I know I should have told you what was happening. I know that I should have told you that I thought something had happened to mother. I'm sorry I didn't. And I'm sorry I haven't been much of a sister lately." Jenny said apologizing.
"Why didn't you tell us?" James asked.
"When we left camp, we couldn't imagine what was going to happen. In my mind, you two were still my little brothers and I couldn't bare you thinking that something was going to happen to mother. I should have known that you could take it, but I didn't and I didn't want you to be worried. But now I see that my brothers have grown up and I could not be more proud of the men they became." Jenny said looking at them smiling.
"Thank you, Jen. It really means a lot to us." Thomas said smiling.
"It really does." James said smiling.
"I'm glad to hear that." Jenny said smiling.
"Maybe we should have been there, but now it's over. However, you said that father told you he would take care of things?" James asked.
"He did. When we were leaving, I said goodbye to him and I asked him: please, take care of mother. He promised me he would. You're right, it's over. They're alright now and we'll help them, alright?" Jenny said.
"Alright." The twins said.
"And, Jen, you and Mary are great sisters. Never forget that." Thomas said smiling.
"I'm really happy to hear you say that." They heard Marianne saying from the door, they turned and looked at her surprised.
"It's the truth." James said.
"Good. But we have to go. It's time." Marianne said and they nodded.
Sometime later, it was almost dawn. They were all in a room in the armoury. However, before Jenny could enter, Marianne stopped her.
"Wait." She said.
"Yes?" Jenny asked confused.
"Before you go in there, please, don't get angry at me." Marianne said softly.
"Why would I get angry at you?" Jenny asked confused.
"You're going to see armours in there and-" Marianne was saying.
"You didn't!" Jenny said right away. She had drawn that armours as a distraction, it were never supposed to be made. It was a secret, she could not believe her sister had done that.
"I'm sorry, but I-" Marianne was saying.
"You had no right to do that. It was a secret, please, tell me you didn't have them all made." Jenny said.
"Only not Ger's, Lya's, Jorah's and Rhaella's, because they have theirs." Marianne said.
"Why?" Jenny asked.
"Because they're amazing, Jen. And Jeyne did not have one and I knew Jo would forget and honestly they turned out pretty well." Marianne explained. At that Galladon came to them, he had heard them fighting,
"What's going on?"
"Those armours in there were supposed to be a secret. Now, they're not." Jenny said looking at her sister.
"Why?" Galladon asked confused.
"Jenny drew them." Marianne said.
"You drew all those armours?" Galladon asked.
"I did. But no one was supposed to know." Jenny said.
"They're amazing." Galladon said.
"See?" Marianne said to Jenny.
"I yield. But never do that again, Mary." Jenny said.
"I won't." Marianne said.
"So, now that you two solved things. Let's go inside and put the armours on. Ladies first." Galladon said and they entered the room him going after them.
After some time, they were all in armours. Lyanna loved to see that everyone was ready and united. By then she knew that they were going to win. Most of the armours had the main colors of the houses of each one of them, as well as the sigils. They were different and personal, made especifically for them. Jenny knew what she was drawing.
"I love the armour." Galladon told her.
"You do?" Jenny asked.
"I do." Galladon said and she smiled.
"We all do, Jen." Catelyn said and everyone nodded.
"I'm glad you do. But you have to thank Mary." Jenny said smiling, looking at her sister and she nodded.
"Very well. We're going to war. Be careful. Our family is counting on us and we'll not disapoint them. We have to save them. We have to save Winterfell. Above all, we have to fight, not only for our family, but for our kingdoms, for our people. We'll show them that they can't do everything they did and be left unpunished. We'll show them what our names stand for. We'll be heroes, like our parents. Because we have something the enemy will never have, we have each other. And we're in this together." Lyanna said looking at Jenny in the end and nodded for her to continue. Lyanna was the Queen while they were away and would be the Queen until this was all over. And Jenny was the eldest and who they turned to. Jenny nodded at Lyanna and went to the centre of the room, she held out her hand,
"Like a very special person said few weeks ago," Jenny said looking at Galladon and he smiled. Then she continued, "We stick together as one and we fight with all we've got in our hearts. Always and forever. We're in this together." Everyone put their hands there, only Bryce, Gerion and Durran were left.
"What are you waiting for?" Galladon said looking at them.
"We're in too?" Bryce asked.
"Yeah, Marbrand. You're in. The three of you are." James said with a chuckle and they put their hand there too. Then everyone said,
"We're in this together!" And they throw their hands up. Everyone was smiling.
"I don't even know how am I going to see them again." Gerion mumbled a bit, but they heard him and smiled a soft smile. Marianne went to him and took from her pocket a paper.
"Here. This might help." Marianne said giving it to him. He took it and was speechless, he could recognized only two people, his nephews. But they were different.
"My mother drew it. It has some years. 18, I guess. But it's better than nothing." Marianne explained.
"T-thank you. I don't know what to say. I only recognize Tyrion and Jaime." Gerion said, at that everyone came closer and saw the drawing.
"You'll recognize more when you meet them." Rhaella said hopefully.
"Can you just tell me who is who? Maybe it'll be easier." Gerion said.
"Sure. Well, that's..." Thomas said and then they explained who was who.
At dawn, they parted to camp, feeling that they would win the war no matter what they would face. This is our time, we won't waste it, Lyanna thought confident, watching the dragons flying above her.