"Do I know you from somewhere?"
Brandon blinked in slight surprise at the sound of someone speaking to him, bringing his wandering mind back to the present. He set his empty beer bottle down before turning around to where the unexpected, though pleasantly surprising, sweet sounding voice came from only to lay eyes on what had to be one of the hottest of women he had ever seen.
And he had seen – well more than just seen, plenty of times, to both their enjoyments – some pretty hot women.
Emerald green eyes stared at him with a slightly puzzled look and her red lips were turned down into a slight frown. Her golden hair was truly something to look at, more so the way her fringe and the two strands of hair that came down on both sides of her face to brush her cheeks framed her already charming heart shaped face.
She looked about his age though maybe a year or three younger from him. The young woman wasn't tall but neither was she short – merely of average height – and that applied to her body too since while not the most endowed of women, both up top and down below, he had been with by the Old Gods did she have some gorgeous curves.
Though that wasn't to say she was small or lacking. A nice step above handful.
He was also really glad they were at the pool – He sent a quick prayer of thanks the Old Gods way – since that let him appreciate the sight more what with her wearing a crimson bikini and while she was wearing a similarly colored sarong trimmed with gold, it was tied in a way that only covered one of her legs while leaving the other lusciously bare. It also helped that it only reached to her knees.
And it looked all natural.
So he naturally did what was appropriate; he gave her his trusty charming grin and subtly showed off more of his muscular physique by flexing minutely while leaning slightly more into the bar counter top. It was a good thing that he had chosen to go without a shirt even if he didn't plan to take a swim right this moment.
"Oh? That's rare, I don't usually get told I have a common face."
Now let's see where she goes with this…
"You do remind me of someone."
Brandon restrained his urge to fist pump visibly. He was so in.
"And who do I resemble, exactly?"
The blonde walked up to the counter to stand next to him and gave him a small nod of acknowledgment before she signaled the bartender with a single finger. He was somewhat mesmerized for a second as the curls she had at the end of her pinned up ponytail bobbed charmingly with the motion, so much so that he almost missed the fact that she hadn't actually spoken her order, she had only gestured to the bartender.
A regular? Then she's been here a while, maybe vacationing. Alone? Possible but more likely here with friends.
"Boyfriend." She stated casually and the corner of her lips twitched upwards for just a second as she played it cool and kept her gaze away from him, instead locked onto the bartender preparing her drink.
Girl's smooth. I'll give her that.
His grin grew just the tiniest bit at that though he kept most of his reaction internalized.
And Ned says I don't have self-control.
"Well, a bit early for that but nothing a few drinks along with some good food at the adjoining restaurant won't fix."
She turned towards him then, getting up from her casual lean on the counter, and despite not having a cocked hip or a raised brow the fact that she looked at him with that impressively flat stare she was giving him, the message was clear.
His grin dimmed a bit at that.
"Don't flatter yourself," she said as easily as one would ask for a glass of water. If one discounted her biting tone and complete one eighty from her previous kinda friendly attitude that is, "You just look a bit like him, almost as if…"
With how she trailed off he almost expected her to blink and raise a hand to her chin to help with her, once again, sudden shift in mood and while she did cock her head to the side the tiniest bit that flat stare of hers didn't waver for a second.
"Would your name happen to be Brandon Stark?"
He was the one to blink at that and then blink again when her mouth curled up into a smirk, showing just a hint of snow white teeth along with what could be some rather prominent canines.
"Wow, did he play you up." The hot but confusing blonde cocked her head to the other side in an almost playful manner, almost since her smile was bordering between that and mocking. More on the mocking side of things, if you were to personally ask him. "Then again he's way too nice and sees only the best in those he's close too."
Now while Brandon new he presented an image – apart from a hot one that is – he was smarter than what he seemed, as well as what most people gave him credit for, so it didn't take him long to connect the dots in this disjointed conversation.
Said I resembled someone she knew… Nice to those close to him, also confirms it's a male… Boyfriend… More than likely a bit younger than me… Benjen's still in Winterfell… So….
"You're Ned's girlfriend!?"
"So you can be surprising; you're smarter than you look." Her emerald eyes seemed to dance for a moment in genuine surprise as she took a sip from her newly arrived drink.
He opened his mouth ready to let her know what he thought of that comment as well as getting her attention back since she seemed more focused on placing another order with the bartender before his mind swerved back and had him realize something even more important.
Something that he should have picked up on as soon as his trail of thoughts reached its destination the first time.
"Wait… Ned has a girlfriend?!"
"I take that back."
Distantly he noted in the back of his mind that the bartender had returned with a differently flavored drink than what she was drinking and that he seemed to be lingering around. Heck, the newly returned bartender seemed almost disappointed that he caught on so quick once he seemed to be close enough to enjoy the 'show'.
Brandon glared at the man who only shrugged in a 'Can you blame me?' manner before moving along yet he couldn't even bask in that small victory since her words finally registered to him and caused him to falter in mid expression.
Turning back to her he noticed her emerald eyes shining with amusement at his sudden loss of composure.
"Guess they did keep it a secret from you." The woman's, he should really get her name, tone was still nice enough even though her smile still made one wonder if she was being pleasant or mocking, "Lya did insist you would make a big deal of it." She took a sip of her drink and her wet lips shifted into a smirk then, "Though she was right that a sudden reveal would make it so much more funnier."
"You're on nickname terms with Lya!?"
She continued as if she hadn't heard him. "You're sister can be rather charming at times just like dear Ned." The blonde's tone turned wistful then, along with her eyes becoming softer as she gained an innocently wondering tone, though by now he knew enough that she was at least still half mocking him even if her words didn't clue him in, "Seems those two got all the charms in the family. Though I might be playing… Ben, I think it was…down?"
She shrugged as if dismissing the thought as she turned her gaze back to him with another easy – yet confusing – smile on her lips, the red color of them becoming even more pronounced as her similarly colored drink stained her lips as she took another dainty sip, "Shame she couldn't have been the one I stumbled upon."
Brandon felt his eye twitch then, for the first time to his credit, as he processed it all together. Though the foremost thought on his mind was that it was hard to believe this girl was Ned's girlfriend since he honestly had a hard time imagining his little brother with a woman as… catty… as this girl.
And just as Brandon was getting his internal balance back it was smashed to pieces once again by another absolutely gorgeous woman.
"I was wondering what was taking you so long."
The voice had a slight rasp to it with the hint of a Dornish accent that further added to its charm and though he preferred the snippy blonde's tone (when it was on the more friendly spectrum) accent more if he was being honest it was still a nice sounding voice.
As he laid eyes on the owner of said voice he had to admit, as stunning as the blonde was this new girl was so much more.
"Found yourself another admirer, little kitty cat?"
She was tall, or at least taller than the blonde, with light sun kissed skin and a smattering of freckles across her cheeks and nose. Her dark hair was long and loose for the most part, gently swishing as she walked towards them with a relaxed gait that intentionally or not brought attention to the significant curves of her body.
The one piece swimsuit she wore also helped, or rather enhanced, that image.
As she passed next to him the corner of her mouth rose up into a small teasing smile, just as he realized she had what could only be described as purple colored eyes, for a moment before turning away from him and focusing again on her blonde 'little kitty cat' friend.
Brandon had to admit; he needed a second or two to take in this new girl's appearance, though he still managed to process the following conversation between them as he was mentally pulling himself together.
"This drink I oh so helpfully ordered for you can be easily returned, you know?"
"Oh~ Don't be like that kitty cat," the new girl reached the other's side and stood beside her, really closely actually, with an easy smile on her lips, "What's got your hairs raised up?"
She glanced at him again and this time he made sure to flash her a smile. It seemed to amuse her then, causing her to give him another of those teasing little quirk of the lips before the visible pinching of her arm caused her to turn back to the unimpressed looking blonde who this time did have an eyebrow raised, though her gaze was now focused solely on the newly arrived dark haired girl.
"He doesn't look as if he was that bad." Brandon smiled again even though neither of the women turned towards him this time. He stilled payed attention to the ensuing conversation since it did kinda involve him even if he made sure to keep himself in check and not approach the two, for the moment.
"In fact…" The Dornish woman's head cocked a bit to the side and he couldn't help but mentally note how similarly it looked to her blonde friend's earlier actions.
Lifelong friends? Or really good close friends? Both?
"He kinda reminds me of someone…"
The 'kitty cat' snorted at that as she picked up her drink and passed the one she ordered to the taller girl.
"You should be." Her tone was part dismissive part light scolding as she entwined her fingers with her friend's free hand before she began leading them away from the bar.
"He's Ned's brother."
"Oh?" The Dornish girl blinked at that as she followed her friend's tugging hand as the blonde passed by him with not even a parting glance.
Her friend did turn her head back though as she quickly shouted out a, "See you tonight then Brandon!", before another tug brought her attention to the blonde again, causing her to free her hand so then she could slip her arm around her shoulder and getting a retaliatory light jab to her side in return before the snippy one settled down into her companion's hold.
"Tonight?" Brandon asked wonderingly into the air.
"There's an open party at 20:00 for those staying at the hotel." The bartender answered as he wiped down the counter and picked up Brandon's long finished and forgotten beer bottle from the counter, "It'll be at the west side main pool complex near the entrance, you won't be able to miss it."
The Stark heir nodded at the helpfully provided information before slipping some bills to the bartender.
"Here's for the drinks I had," he then slipped some more notes to him, "Here's your tip plus a few more for the info."
"Much obliged." The guy nodded his head once gratefully while giving him a practiced, if more genuine looking than normal, smile.
"Just so you know; you would have gotten more if you hadn't been so nosy."
The bartender shrugged.
"Still worth it, overall."
Brandon stared.
Ned stood stoically, tall and proud in his summer shirt, with his hands behind his back, looking more like a man than the teenager he had been when father decided to ship him off to some Southron boarding school for some reason or another.
Lya and him still hadn't gotten over their father's decision if he was being honest with himself.
The black haired woman smiled easy and free in her breezy violet sundress bordered with white as she gave a little wave of her hand.
The blonde once again in her hold with her own crimson sundress bordered with gold still seemed to have the same expression from this afternoon with a new mixture that he thought was mild annoyance towards him.
Probably at the fact that he had actually showed up, even though he was technically invited by her friend and could be here anyways by simply being a guest.
Brandon continued to stare.
His little brother was still standing stoically but a small smile started to appear on his face which was leveled his way. If you looked closely and knew him really well, such as he did (though Lya would debate that in her favor until the White Walkers themselves came back) then you could also remark that he had little tells that showed him being quite nervous.
"Hiya Brandon!" The Dornish girl cheerfully said, with one arm wrapped firmly around his and her head leaning onto his arm while her other arm held her blonde friend in a loose hug around her shoulders.
He gave her a slow nod in acknowledgment before he took his gaze away from the, in his opinion, too affectionate to be friendly Dornish girl to glance at the snippy one only to get the seemingly now permanent unimpressed look staring back at him, brow slightly raised and small frown included.
Then again it could also be that he didn't stop glancing at how she had her arm wrapped almost too low on her friend's lower back just where the curve of her hips started and had her hand easily stuck in his little brother's back pocket at the same time. All while the Dornish girl continued clinging to Ned.
He turned to stare at Ned again as a nonverbal prompt for an explanation. Instead he got a further subtle reddening of his cheeks along with continued silence.
Brandon cleared his throat; it was up to him to break the ice. Luckily he was good at that.
"Ned," he started, his usual grin further helped with the genuine emotion at seeing his little brother again.
His smile froze though when he realized that he had never gotten the names of the others, despite that usually being his first priority when meeting an attractive woman.
"Bran," before it became awkward his ever attentive little brother – may the Old Gods forever bless him – came to his rescue. "These are Cersei and Ashara." He gestured towards the blonde and black haired girl respectively.
Ashara gave another little wave, still holding onto Ned and her friend.
Cersei tilted her head slightly upwards, though it was confusing to discern if she was greeting him in any way rather than it being a byproduct gesture as she leaned her head onto Ashara's shoulder.
"Cersei… Wait. You couldn't be… Cersei Lannister…?!" His expression was openly shocked as he turned to Ned with new eyes, much to said little brother's growing embarrassment, "You're dating a Lannister."
"What gave it away?" Said Lannister's tone was more openly biting for once, though he guessed it could be argued it still held a polite under layer, "Was it my hair and eyes? My House colors that I always wear?"
"I mean… There are plenty of green eyed blondes that like to wear red, how was I supposed to know just from that?"
Her face shifted for the first time from her previous subtle expressions to a fully annoyed one mixed with indignation and a quarter mocking, if such a thing was possible. Wordlessly reprimanding him for even suggesting that she was just some green eyed blonde who liked to wear crimson; it wasn't simply red after all!
Her lip gloss clad mouth opened and her ensuing words and tone were filled with an undercurrent that seemed to say; 'You're anabsolutephilistine' that he had to blink and resist the urge to take a step back.
"Listen here you-"
"Come on Cersei, let's dance while these two catch up." Ashara quickly cut in, tugging the Lannister and cutting off her rant, earning her a small glare along with a small 'clack' of her teeth as she shut her mouth instead of going off on her friend.
Brandon, if asked later in a more private setting, would have also sworn she let out a small growl.
"Fine," she huffed and her scowl lessened a notch as the Dornish girl threw her arms around her and lead her away from the eldest Stark sibling.
"Have fun with your brother Ned," Ashara smiled, happy and free, "We'll take our time so you two can catch up."
And then she moved up closer to him and rose slightly on her toes so she could place a kiss just on the corner of his mouth that just about bordered on lingering. All while Ned gained a long suffering expression along with a rising blush and Brandon blinked in astonishment as the Dornish girl stepped back.
"Don't take too long, Ned." Cersei countered as she stepped up to give him her own peck, in exactly the same place and for the exact same amount of time.
Ashara rolled her eyes good naturedly before tugging her friend away, friendly bickering flowing between them.
Brandon stared at Ned.
Then gaped as all the little encounters and gestures started playing out in his mind.
"Wha… Ned, you and the Lannister and…" Another thought struck him then, putting more clues together even though he was sure his jaw had now hit the floor, "Was that Ashara as in Ashara Dayne…?!"
Ned looked pained in an embarrassed sort of way and his blush now resembled something a normal person would have sported as he looked off to the side during his brother's semi-coherent mumbling.
He quickly turned towards his elder brother so he could set things right but the shine in Brandon eyes despite his slack jawed expression made the words die in his throat immediately and reconsider the optimal strategy.
"I'm… going to… ask for a dance." He muttered hesitantly before his words picked up speed at the end and he quickly began his tactical retreat.
The Stark heir stood shell shocked for another second or five before he came to his senses with a quick shake of his head. A smile quickly grew on is face as he tracked Ned's retreating back before it shifted to an open and free wolf like grin that soon grew to dominate his face along with his shining laughing eyes.
With such a revelation about such a momentous occasion, along with a feeling of joy mixing with pride for his little brother he did the only natural thing in such a scenario.
"Ned!" He hollered to the reunited trio some distance away at the top of his lungs, loud enough to be heard across the hall and above the music by them and inconsequentially by other people too, "I'm so proud of you little brother!"
Ned almost tripped on nothing, Ashara laughed into the air, and Cersei turned her head the slightest bit to scowl down her nose at him, somehow, even though he was taller than her by a good margin and she was a distance away before turning her head away with a visible huff before stepping up to lead Ned and Ashara further away.
Yet Brandon was still so happy for his little brother that all he did was raise his arms fully into the air and send two thumbs up, containing immense brotherly pride, his way before going to find them a table and place an order for some quality liquor for when he got back.
Nothing better than sharing some drinks as brothers while he congratulated Ned further while the two of Ned's girls gave them some private time as they promised.
Ned sure deserved it, after all, and he was an awesome elder brother.
As he set his game plan for when he grilled his little brother for information while enjoying one of the drinks he ordered his mind flashed towards Cersei's words this afternoon briefly mentioning Lyanna. Which then flashed to Lya and her constant smug teasing about her knowing him so much more than him whenever Ned was brought up and his impending visit North and how it made so much more sense now.
"That! Bitch!"
He was so gonna get back at Lya once he returned home, for a month or six.
After guilt tripping Ned for playing favorites with Lya (instead of him, as it should be) and then pumping his little brother for information and gossip about this unexpected development
It was only fair, after all.
So while I am still stockpiling chapters for my other stories when I can I thought I'd try something new to see if that also helps me as a way to 'shift gears' so to speak and help with blocks by trying something different. Along with other motives.
I'd thought about doing this some time ago, when I first came across the asoiaf rarepair tumblr and started browsing for a bit. Might tackle some other prompts there too, who knows.
I do have an itching to write a story about Ashara, Ned and Cersei meeting in an academy and going from there until they end up together, heh. Well, if I'm being honest, they also aren't the first I want to write in an academy/boarding school/academy city setting either.
The characters here have their differences from the Canon characters in a variety of ways due to things like different upbringing, different time period and such influencing them and their personalities. For example; Cersei in this one shot I imagine as someone who isn't exactly nice, she's kinda a bitch at first and second glance to everyone she meets, however with enough time and getting to know one another (to put things briefly) she does get softer, if in a roundabout way most times. This is in comparison to book Cersei who is just pretty much a toxic and awful person.
Cersei here, while playing with Brandon (for her own laughter, as a 'test' and because she wanted to help Ned's confidence in a roundabout way) and not really being the most friendly, won't ever be as awful as her Canon counterpart(s).
Last note; I'm leaving it up to you if you want to decide Cersei and Ashara have something between them, whether romantic, sexual or both. I will however confirm that they are at the very least friendly and somewhat affectionate towards each other, if to varying degrees and shown in different ways that differ between them.