A/N I don't own Way of Kings- actually, yes I do, seeing as how there's a copy of it on my bedside table. Let's rephrase that. Dalinar is not mine. Navini is not mine. The concept of and rights to the Stormlight Archive series belong to Brandon Sanderson, and I am not he. This is a one shot of Dalinar and Navini after Shallan delivers new of Jasnah's death. I made myself cry whilst writing it, so please review to make the tears worthwhile!
Navini gazed out of the window, a carved marble statue with blank, unseeing eyes. The door creaked open and then shut softly- it was Dalinar, she could feel that without looking. Just as she had felt for days now that something terrible had happened to Jasnah, her darling little girl- Dalinar hurried to her side as she burst in to noisy sobs, composure vanishing as she lost all sense of control. "It's okay." He whispered, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her towards him.
Still sobbing, she turned and buried her head in curve between his neck and shoulder, the space that always felt as if it had been designed specifically for her head to rest on. "She's dead. She's dead, she's dead, and it's not fair-"
"It's okay." Dalinar rubbed her back, small, soothing circles, and gently stroked her hair. "It's alright to cry, my love." Navini clung on to him, gripping the soft fabric of his coat in her fingers, still sobbing. They stood like that for an eternity, the two of them holding on to each other. Eventually, Navini's tears stopped and she exhaled shakily. "Do you remember when she was born?" she whispered softly. "Her eyes- she would look so curiously at everything." "You wouldn't let anyone else near her." Dalinar recalled. "It was your turn to hold her for at least three days straight."
"You were most put out." Navini said. There was a hint of a smirk in her voice, as she remembered the young Dalinar, arms folded and eyes a mix of annoyance and reproach as she refused to let him cradle his tiny niece.
"When she was five." Dalinar hugged Navini tighter. "And she came racing into that meeting we were having, demanding Gavilar and I went to frighten off the monster that had hidden beneath her bed."
"Gavilar told her not to be silly. You said-"
"They'd be fair to afraid of your mother to risk eating you." Dalinar chuckled"
"She spent the next couple of weeks asking me to teach her the fine art of monster-scaring." Navini said. "It was the last time she asked me to teach her anything." She added sadly. Dalinar kissed the top of her forehead.
"She came to ask me for some advice once." He admitted. "When she was seventeen and about to go to Jah Keved, the first time she'd ever gone to a different kingdom on her own. She wasn't sure how she was supposed to act-"
"And she came and asked you for advice on that?" Navini snorted.
"Not exactly." Dalinar paused, then pulled away from Navini slightly, looking her in the eye. "She wanted to know how you would act. She loved you, Navini, very, very much."
"Did she?" Navini whispered.
"Yes." Dalinar said firmly. "I promise you that, Navini. Jasnah. Loved you." "
I'm going to miss her, so much " Navini said. Then unexpectedly she scowled-"If there's been some mistake-if she's alive somehow-I mean, she has been thought dead before, and I know it's unlikely this time, but if-she is still alive"
"What?" Dalinar asked, slightly worried by the look on her face.
Navini looked him straight in the eye. "If she's alive, Dalinar, then when she gets here…."
"What?" Dalinar said again.
"She's grounded. For the next ten years. At least. " She paused, considering. "Can I borrow Captain Kaladin to keep her under house arrest with?"
Dalinar smiled.