The morning of their departure to Winterfell dawned bright and burning, the song of birds chirping as they soared overhead while the men on the ground scurried about in last minute preparation filling Adrynna's heart with excitement, and no small amount of apprehension, as well. In all her life, she had never been farther north than Lannisport, and that only briefly, as the younger of her two brothers chose to remain the majority of his time in King's Landing, as personal guard to the prince. And although she had come to enjoy her time in the Capital, even in the face of the fact that she missed her childhood home most terribly, Adrynna found herself feeling a sudden and undeniable sense of elation at the prospect of a change in scenery.
Not even Queen Cersei's barbed remarks, it seemed, could turn her mood sour.
As if in response to such a thought, however, Adrynna found herself brought abruptly out of her internal musings by the sound of that woman's words, the cool lilt to her tone not hiding the utter lack of amusement that she felt at finding one of her ladies so distracted.
"Adrynna, there you are. I thought we had lost you for good."
"Not at all, Your Grace. I simply wished to watch the goings-on for a time in solitude."
"And I trust you have enjoyed your fill of such a thing?"
"I have, Your Grace," Adrynna replied, dipping her chin in what she hoped would serve as an ample display of respect, before lifting her eyes, and allowing them to meet the cool green of Cersei's before she spoke further, "I implore you to forgive me if I have left you wanting in my absence."
"You have not. Though I confess I am surprised at your eagerness to journey away from our Capital for even a little while after having so enjoyed it upon your first arrival."
"Adventure has always suited me, Your Grace."
"I suppose it would, considering where you come from," Cersei acknowledged, pleasure reaching her at the stunned expression that flitted over Adrynna's features, even if only for a moment, before her face was once again a neutral mask of propriety and pleasure at being in such close proximity to her queen, "Ser Gregor likely let you out of his sight only on rare occasion—"
"Indeed he did."
"Such is the protectiveness of a brother for his sister, then."
"I look to my other brother for such protection, Your Grace," Adrynna stated, averting her eyes to where her hands were clasped before her, and doing what she could to ignore the burning that rose to her cheeks in response to Cersei's ensuing inquiry.
"You favor Sandor over Gregor? Whatever for?"
"For reasons best left unsaid, Your Grace."
For a moment, Adrynna feared she had offended her queen with such a curt reply, the silence that rose up between them causing her heart to pound while her ears anticipated the harsh reply that would surely follow such a perceived insult in due time. What she received instead, however, was Cersei's faint laughter—laughter that came so unexpectedly that it caused her to flinch; while simultaneously risking a glance at the queen and discerning that although her smile was miniscule, it did appear to be genuine.
"I cannot fault you for favoring only one of your brothers as I have done the same, for all to see. But we should make for the wheel house if we do not wish my royal husband to leave us behind with the rest of the stragglers to walk," Cersei advised, the warmth that her offer may have implied never once reaching her eyes as a wind came about and blew her golden hair in wisps about her face in much the same way as it did Adrynna's darker locks. For a moment—only a moment, gold and brown curls mingled on the breeze, glimmering in the sunlight until Adrynna herself turned to head towards the wheelhouse as her queen had instructed. She could feel Cersei's green gaze upon her, as though it burned a hole in her back. But, determined to act as though she could not, Adrynna chose instead to hurry to close the distance between her own position, and the wheelhouse, her hand seizing that of the boy that stood beside its entrance, ready and waiting to assist any who chose to ride within its walls.
She could only hope that Princess Myrcella and Prince Tommen might prove better companions than their lady mother…
…
"I see your sister rides with mine," Ser Jaime Lannister remarked, a wry grin upon his youthful features as he fell in beside his intended target with as much ease as butter melting onto hot bread, "Curious, don't you think? I never thought Cersei had it in her to make a friend."
"You and I know well that she hardly finds Adrynna to be a friend, Lannister."
"And yet they appear so very fond of one another."
"Is that what you call it? Fondness?"
"What would you call it?" Ser Jaime inquired, his golden head cocked to one side as he regarded the hulking man beside him with an expression that was not that far from an easy sort of boredom while a reply was given to the question he had asked.
"I would call it servitude, agreed upon by their fathers in hopes of achieving a match for my sister."
"Such eloquence from you, Sandor—I never knew you felt a thing for anyone beyond yourself."
"Have it your way, then. I see no sense in arguing with you."
"There's a good dog. It seems my nephew has trained you well."
In lieu of a reply, Sandor Clegane opted instead for digging his heels into the flanks of his mount, the better to speed ahead and be free of Jaime Lannister and everyone else in the traveling party for as much time as he could manage. Truthfully, he had no taste for consorting with nobles, and they, in turn, often had no desire to engage in discourse with him in any respect. For years, his burned face had won him not the respect that he might once have desired, but the fear of the majority instead. And although he still hated his brother for gifting him with such a thing—although he dreamed of killing the man nearly every night for what he had done not only to him, but to their sister as well—Sandor would have been a fool to pretend that the fear of the populace was not, at least on occasion, a benefit and not a hardship.
In that way, he supposed, Gregor's wrath had been a gift.
Regardless, it would have been a lie to pretend that getting some distance between himself and the King—the Kingsguard—the whole bloody lot of them was not a relief, particularly as a gentle breeze blew from the north, even in spite of the heat that threatened to bake him alive in his armor. Of course he knew he would have to go back. The prince would require his services sooner rather than late, and he was well aware it would not do to leave his little sister alone in the presence of the queen for any longer than she must be left there. She was a woman grown, of course, and was well suited to look after herself, in any regard. But even in the face of that realization, Sandor still felt it necessary to see to her safety as best he could.
Though he would go to his grave endeavoring to prove that he cared for no one, he would not allow Adrynna to fall prey to the duplicity of the Lannister woman, or to the King and their household besides.
She had already suffered too much at the hands of their brother to deserve all of that…
…
Well hello there, my dears! And welcome to a brand new foray into yet another fandom. I have to confess, the end of the television series prompted me to go all the way back to season 1, and start watching again, and not long after, this little idea popped into my head—so even though I already have plenty of stories to keep me occupied, I figured why not give this one a go as well?
With that said, as always, I encourage each and every one of you to take a moment to leave feedback for this initial chapter, if you are so moved. I know it's shorter, and if all goes well future chapters will certainly not be so brief. But I am anxious to hear if anyone is interested in seeing this go on, so please, don't hesitate to let me know!
As a last request, I'm interested to see what, if any pairings you have in mind for Adrynna thus far. I know it's early, but I'm curious to know—particularly as I happen to be torn between Robb, or Jon versus Jaime. (Yes, I know, Jaime goes back to Cersei in the end, and I have no intention of downplaying his bond to her if that is the pairing that is chosen. I just can't help but find the idea of another woman being involved with him, no matter how briefly, might just be interesting. But maybe I'm wrong…)
In any case, whatever your choices, I do hope that you enjoy what you found here! I thank you for taking the time to read this little exposition chapter, and I cannot wait to hear what you think!
Until next time? (I hope)
MOMM
PS—Adrynna's face claim is Gemma Arterton. Hopefully you all approve!