Her room was dark.
It was always dark. But that didn't make it any better.
Sienna blinked her green eyes in an attempt to adjust her sight. She had been told the sunlight would make her head hurt worse than it already did, and she had no other option but to lay alone in the dark. Her only company most days was the nurse who came and went with few words to the child.
She was so lonely at the moment that she would have even taken time with her father. He always stunk of something sharp and staggered about like someone had hit him over the head with his famous war hammer, but he was better than nothing. Her mother had said a few times that something he drank made him that way. Sienna wondered why he drank it, then. Yet, at this moment, she still wanted someone, anyone, to talk to.
Perhaps seeing another person might make the room less dark.
The weak princess pulled up her scrawny legs from underneath her thick blankets and was immediately hit with a rack of shivers. Her cold, sweaty body ached as she hopped down from the tall bed. Her muscles burned as she landed on the cold, stone floor and took a few staggering steps towards the window.
She felt her long limbs sway as she moved, the ache worsening in her head. She was tall for her age, only one and ten. Yet she grew quick, much to the worry of her mother and the maester who cared for her.
Placing a small, clammy hand on the material, Sienna pulled her enormous curtains back slightly, peeking out across the gardens. Her dark eyes had to adjust to the sliver of light before she could see anything. Slowly, the bright white light of the outside ebbed away and Sienna could see clearly. Below her was her mother, beautiful as ever, walking along a sunlit path with her uncle Jaime.
The two adults seemed to spend most of their time together, since whenever Sienna peered out into the gardens, they were there. Sienna wished she was as close with her own little brother, but their mother hadn't let them meet. She always said that she didn't want Joffrey to see how ill his big sister was, and that they would see each other when Sienna was well.
Sienna doubted that time would ever come to pass.
The sunlight painted the green of the garden with a soft yellow wash, making the world seem to be touched by gold. The reds of the flowers made the gold of her queen mother's hair stand out among the deep blue's of the bushes she was walking past. Sienna wished she could look like her mother.
"Oh dear, is someone sneaking out of bed without her mothers permission? I hear that's punishable by death these days."
Sienna whipped around, nearly knocking herself over in the process, to see her uncle Tyrion standing leaning against the doorframe smirking over at her.
"Uncle Tyrion!", Sienna squeaked, a small smile inching across her face as she half ran towards her uncle to tackle him in a hug. She tucked her chin over his head as he hugged her just as fiercely as she hugged him. He was the only person in the world who wasn't afraid to treat her like the wasn't made of glass. Perhaps his hugs did cause a bruise or two, but he didn't need to know that.
"You're back from Casterly Rock", she smiled, pulling away from her uncle to see him smirking up at her.
"And the shit never flowed better", he responded, pulling something out from under his arm, "The sewer system is running as perfectly as it can now. And I may have brought something back from my little adventure, little Poppy."
Tyrion pulled out the large lump from under his arm to reveal two books bound together by twine. Sienna's lips pressed together to form a longer smile as she gently removed the books from Tyrion's extended hands.
"My, I did miss that smile of yours", he quipped sarcastically, narrowing his eyes with a smirk, "Always so bright, so all consuming. How could anyone have such a large smile?"
"The same way you can be so humble", Sienna shot back, sending him a little glare. He chuckled, scrunching his nose in that way he only did when he was truly happy. She looked back down at the books and undid the twine. She separated them to see that one was on titled The History of Dorne and the other The Night's Watch: A History.
"There seems to be a history theme", she quipped, weighing the books in her hands.
"Well, you finished every book on the houses of Westeros and the anatomy of dragons I have, so I thought this might be a good change of pace", Tyrion jested, waddling over towards the set of chairs in the corner by the window.
"But why Dorne?" she inquired, padding towards her uncle, "And why the Night's Watch?"
"Well", Tyrion drawled, hopping into a chair and settling in, "Dorne has a rich history, many battles and passionate affairs. Rather fascinating, if you ask me. And the Night's Watch are tales of heroes going beyond the wall, risking their lives for the greater good, facing Wildlings and the like. I thought you might enjoy a few tales of heroes. We all deserve to have a few."
Sienna flipped the dark blue and orange books around in her pale hands, delicately handling her new treasures.
"Besides", Tyrion continued, smiling up at his niece, "You always did have a morbid fascination with blood."
"Well, I'll begin the book right away", she replied breezily, still lightly tracing the edges of the book with her fingertips.
Tyrion smiled gently over at his niece, his heart warming at the sight of her excitement.
"Unfortunately", he said disappointedly, "I cannot stay long for now. I must report back to my dear sister and her oaf of a husband."
Sienna wrinkled her nose in distaste. "Can't you stay here? At least for the rest of the afternoon? We'll start with the Dornish book, work our way through like we always do?"
Tyrion smiled over at his niece, causing her face to fall. She knew what that smile meant. Her shoulders slumped and she pulled the books closer to her chest.
"I'm sorry, Sienna", Tyrion said earnestly, hopping off of the chair and walking towards the little girl, "But you know how this family works. Nothing is overlooked, even if we wish it would be. I have to speak with your mother, then I'll be back tomorrow morning at first light. I promise."
Sienna tried to keep the disappointment off her face, but knew she was failing. She nodded her head slowly, running her fingers over the soft covers of the books absentmindedly. She pressed her lips together to keep the scowl off her face, but knew her uncle could see straight through it. His hand twitched, as if he was about to reach up to her but thought better of it. He sighed, keeping his eyes on her.
"I'll be back, Poppy", he insisted gently, giving her a reassuring smile, "Read as much as you please without me. Just be sure to recount the tales with as much vigor as you read them with. Do we have a deal?"
He held out his chubby little hand for Sienna. She glanced down at it, nodding once again before clumsily clasping it in her own small hand. "It's a deal."
Tyrion's smile spread across his face before he gently shook her hand. The two let go, Sienna feeling like she was losing her window into the world outside as her uncle waddled away from her and towards the door. He spared her a glance before turning the corner and leaving her alone again, shutting the door behind him.
Sienna stood alone in the room, letting the sun drench the room in a small attempt at a way of feeling like she was outside. The warmth began to spread through the room as she sighed and turned towards the window, books still clutched to her chest.
The raven haired girl sat at the edge of the patch of sunlight and lay her book across her lap, pushing down her disappointment in order to consume the tales of lust and adventure that lay in the pages before her.
For nearly an hour, she sat there, undisturbed as she absorbed every Dornish tale from the pages in front of her. Tyrion had been right, there were more than enough bloody tales to quench her thirst for morbid stories. She was now on a particularly gruesome recounting of a Dornish prince who stabbed his brother through the neck.
Suddenly, Sienna heard footsteps coming towards her door. The heavy, slapping footfalls of Septa Charity became louder quickly. Sienna, panicking, stumbled towards her bed as to not let the nurse know she had been out of it.
Her toes caught on a bump in the stone floor that sent her sprawling down. Sienna cried out as she felt her knees scrape across the cobbled ground and was promptly shut up by her chin hitting the ground.
The pain was starting to spread when the door swung open violently, revealing the septa in her ever-wrinkled dress glaring down at Sienna with wide eyes.
"What in Seven Hells are you doing, child!", she spat, marching towards the tiny girl, "Your mother would have your head for stumbling about like this."
"Then you can just not tell her", muttered Sienna, glaring right back at the stupid nurse.
"Enough of your cheek, girl!", she sneered. Her cold, bony hands wrapped their way around Sienna's arms as she pulled her painfully up to her feet.
"What your mother would do to me if she saw you in such a state. I swear, whenever that dwarf comes around...", the septa muttered under her breath like a curse.
Sienna felt her back ache as she was placed not too kindly back onto the bed, her soft blankets falling back over her frame. Septa Charity grabbed irritably at the blankets and shoved them up to Sienna's shoulders, effectively burying her in cloth.
"And quit your scowling", she quipped, pinching at Sienna's cheek, "No one wants to look at such a miserable girl."
"Then people must hate looking at you", Sienna snapped back, rubbing at her cheek where the woman had just pinched her. She couldn't help it if her face naturally fell into a frown. It wasn't like anyone was around much to complain.
Like a rat poking its head out of a hole, Septa Charity's head snapped up and around towards the window. Sienna's eyes widened, feeling dread set in. She wasn't supposed to open the curtains.
With a grunt of frustration, the septa stomped her way over to the curtains and shoved them closed so hard they might have ripped off of the hangers.
"Gods, girl! You know full well the sunlight will hurt your eyes and head more than you can handle."
"I can handle a little sunlight", whined Sienna, sitting up in bed, "I'm not that sick. If you would just-"
"Young lady, I've told you to be quiet!" snapped the nurse, her face an ugly red even in the darkness. The sounds of her stomping feet echoed across the room before she slammed the door behind her, leaving Sienna gaping with an unspoken retort.
She was left alone, feeling the darkness drown her once again.