Shireen/Devan, first kiss

"I'm bored," Edric declared. "It's too easy to find Patchface. Let's play another game."

"I must go, Princess Shireen. His Grace must be looking for me," Devan said.

"He won't. Not yet. This is still our lesson time, remember?" Shireen replied. Maester Pylos had ended their lesson early, to attend to some urgent letters, he had said. Shireen turned her attention to Edric. "What game do you have in mind, Edric?"

Edric smiled. "The kissing game."

Shireen and Devan both looked puzzled. "The kissing game?" They asked in unison.

Edric looked at them indulgently, as if it did not surprise him in the least that they were clueless about the game. "My father the king mentioned it in one of his letters, the letter he sent with my last nameday present."

Princess Shireen's father is the king now. It was on the tip of Devan's tongue to say this, but he resisted.

"So you have never played the game yourself?" Shireen asked.

Edric looked offended. "Of course I have!"

"You have?" Shireen asked, her eyes as huge as saucers. "Who did you play it with?"

"Just some girls at Storm's End," Edric replied vaguely. "Should I tell you how to play the game?" He went on to explain, at length, before Shireen or Devan could reply.

There was a long silence after Edric completed his explanation. Devan was looking at his feet. This was not a game he should be playing, certainly not with the king's daughter and the king's nephew. King Stannis might have allowed Devan to take his lessons with them, but …

Remember your place, Devan. His mother's words were always in his mind.

Devan made up his mind. "I must see if His Grace has need of me," he said, making a move to leave.

"No, stay. It's no fun with only two people playing," Edric said.

"Patchface can play too," Devan replied, and then immediately realized what a foolish notion that was. Edric looked horrified. "Patchface can't play! He's … he's … he's old. This is a game for children."

Devan had never really thought of Patchface as being old, exactly. But he certainly was not a child, even if his mind was like a child's mind.

"Patches wouldn't want to play this game," Shireen said. "He doesn't like being touched." And there was no arguing with that. Shireen was the expert when it came to her fool. Edric and Devan took her words as irrefutable truth.

"If you stay, I will let you play first," Edric told Devan, smiling brightly.

"There should be another girl," Shireen said. "If I had a sister …" she whispered under her breath, but Devan heard her.

"It doesn't matter," Edric said. "When I played it at Storm's End, I was the only boy, with four girls."

Shireen and Devan both considered this, silently.

"Well? Are we going to play or not?" Edric asked impatiently.

Shireen whispered in Devan's ear. "Let's just play the game and make him happy. I heard Edric crying in his room last night. He must be missing his home. He doesn't like to look sad in front of other people, but I know he's sad."

A kiss on the cheek. Or the forehead, Devan thought. He's seen grown-ups doing that, not just mothers and fathers kissing their children, but husbands kissing their wives. He directed his lips towards Shireen's forehead, since he did not know which cheek she would rather be kissed, but Shireen was suddenly standing on tiptoe and now her mouth was level with his. Devan could hear Edric giggling. "Come on, what are you waiting for?"

No, we can't. What if someone sees us? What if … what if King Stannis sees us?

"Father doesn't like Aegon's Garden. He would never come here," Shireen whispered, as if she knew what Devan was thinking. Before Devan could think of a reply, Shireen had moved forward and their lips met. Devan was aware of nothing else; he saw nothing, heard nothing, felt nothing, except her.

Except Shireen.

"Your breath smelled like lemon," Shireen said, when their lips finally parted. "Did Father make you drink lemon water too?"

Devan blushed. He wondered how Shireen could look so composed, so … normal. Had she kissed a boy before?

"My turn," Edric announced.

But when they kissed, Shireen and Edric, it was only a fond peck on the cheek, Edric kissing Shireen's cheek, the one unmarred by the remnants of her greyscale. Devan was both surprised and relieved, although he would never admit to feeling the latter.

Edric must have seen Devan's look of surprise, for as they were walking away, he clapped Devan's back, hard, and said, with a laugh, "I didn't think you would really do it. But you did! You kissed Shireen."

"I kissed Devan," Shireen said. "And I liked it. Anyway, that's the rule of the game. Father said we must always follow the rules. Why didn't you follow the rules?"

"Because we're cousins. I love you like a sister, and brothers and sisters should not kiss," Edric replied. Shireen nodded, satisfied with the answer.