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Dawn was quickly breaking. She had already been awake when the beams of the new born son flooded into their bedchambers. Ever since she was little she for reason unkown found it quite easy to be awake. She believed it was because she always loved seeing the morning sun. Seeing it rising always made her felt at peace.

She tidied herself up, she wasn't the fussy one when it came to clothes. Mostly Leonella would fret over which thing to wear. Most of her gowns were all of the same make and look. She desired no reason to outshine the others, especially the Lady Lannister.

Well once long ago.

It was queer she thought as the servant women assisted her in adorning her dress. Lady Cersei had changed drastically since this past month. She was unsure of the exact cause for this, her womanly intuition felt it was all due to the influence of a certain brooding lord. Although she was wise enough not to voice such things with the others, they were all insipid gossips with Nerissa being an especially shameless rumormonger.

Speaking of Nerissa she was glad that awful Dayne boy had stopped bothering her. Instead it seems he had changed his focus towards her. She remembered one morning spar after Ser Illyn Payne gave him a good thrashing, she had snickered at his sorry state and in vengeance he threw horse dung on her dress. She reciprocated in kind and threw some on his handsome but snooty face. Ever since then they had a game of pranks; simple childish games that Dayne took too seriously.

Gerold Dayne was two and one while she was her senior by another two years. He didn't act like he was going to be a man soon, indeed she thought him a mere boy. When she first grasped Nerissa by the face she thought him a ravager, yet quickly she realized he was just an idiot. She remembered fondly when he attempted to seduce Leonella for one of his petty schemes and became flustered when Leonella proved receptive.

Poor boy, to think he was Dornish. He must have been the butt of many jokes back home.

He must have been training at this hour, if she had to guess it would be Lord Stannis' turn to be tutor. Apparently the prince did not bother appointing a master-at-arms during the short time he had been lord and so Gerold's training was regulated to Lord Stannis, Ser Ilyn Payne, and Ser Ronald Connington.

Lord Stannis was a fearsome man to see in combat, whenever she remembered men speaking their doubts of his relation with the King, she would have them dispelled as she saw him in action. Stannis Baratheon was like a bull; he often easily sent Dayne flying with just one hand. He neglected using his sword which Gerold found insulting and when he pressed lord Stannis on why he did not use it the lord had said 'If my fists can bloody you then my sword will end you'.

Ser Payn's training with Dayne made lord Stannis look soft. It was less training and more torture. The silent man was expertly deft with his blade and left Dayne with cuts that could have been lethal if he bothered to make them so. Ser Payn also made the boy undergo physical training. The sort that she found especially cruel.

Ser Ronald Connington was Dayne's lance instructor. She had rarely encountered him, the only time she's ever saw him outside of teaching Dayne was at the first feast to celebrate Lady Cersei's arrival.

According to Maester Cressen he was the cousin of Lord Jon Connington, who had sided with the Targaryens, and he once served the castellen of Griffin's Roost. After King Robert's crowning House Connington were utterly stripped of all their lands. Leaving the Conningtons destitute. Lord Stannis however felt it harsh for King Robert to punish an old Stormlands house in such a way and hence gave Ser Ronald a minor holding on the base of Griffinmont, formerly Dragonmont, which meant greatly when it came to how few lands Dragonstone had. For this act of kindness, the Connington's have become fanatically loyal to lord Stannis.

Ser Ronald had a young son by the name of Ronnet, he was a sweet boy, around the same age as Gerold which would explain why he had befriended the poisonous Dornishman. She and Nerissa, who was immensely fond of him, made an oath to prevent him from becoming anything like Darkstar.

She had finished preparing herself, quickly pacing towards the lady's room. The others she met just outside the door.

"My lady we're here." They said in unison.

"You may all enter." That they did, Cersei Lannister was wearing her sleeping clothes, a very scandalous thing from Dorne. She was staring outside her widow, golden hair glittering under the sun. She was beautiful.

They quickly tended to her needs, helping her dress and wash. It took some time and Cersei ordered the others to go ahead to break their fast while Shierle stayed behind. The Lady Cersei wanted her hair braided, an expertise of Shierle.

There was silence between them, until Lady Cersei broke it.

"Have you ever fallen in love Shierle?" She froze at that question, her face heating at such a brusqueness of it.

"I-I do not believe so." She replied hastily. Lady Cersei became quiet again for some time.

"Is falling in love a foolish thing?" She asked unmindful as if it was a question directed towards herself and not to Shierle.

"The tales say otherwise." Cersei chuckled bitterly at that.

"The tales say the beautiful maiden always gets her prince." She spoke wistfully.

"Lord Stannis is technically a prince." She realized too late just what she said.

She felt Cersei Lannister tensing up, while a gnawing fear in her heart grew.

"I-I'm sorry my Lady that wa-"Cersei roughly raised her shoulders, Shierle had to revoke her hands from her hair.

A tense quiet descended.

"Is it so obvious?" Lady Lannister said forlornly.

"Wait! You really do- "Lady Cersei turned her head like a whip. Her eyes glowing with deadly malevolence.

"DO NOT SPEAK UNTIL I GIVE THE WORD!" She spoke with dripping venom.

Shierle dumbly nodded her head, resuming her braiding duties.

"Am I a fool?" Cersei said after a moment of calming down.

"I do not think so my lady." She was being more careful now in her choosing of words.

"In a week and already my heart aches in his presence, a man who I know barely little of, do not tell me this is not foolishness." Cersei responded.

"Do you know why this is the case?" She noticed the cheeks of her lady reddening.

"Imagine if you will. All your life you wanted to hear a particular set of words. Words that you felt validated your entire being, that drive you to do what you do. Imagine then if those who are closest to you by blood and soul never tell those words to you. No matter what you do. Now imagine a complete stranger, someone you've elsewise hated suddenly telling you the words you've wanted to hear for so long. Imagine if he treats you, even in contempt, like someone worth respecting. Imagine if he were ever earnest, capable of no lies. Imagine then if he be a reflection of you, yet where you are weak he is strong but where you are strong he is weak. I cannot imagine it, my heart aches when I attempt to do so." This must have happened during their occasional nightly talks. The ones that everyone's been gossiping about.

"I feel that's enough grounds to fall in love with someone my lady." She spoke with a beaming smile.

"But what if you still love another?" She combed a strand of her lady's hair in preparation for a third braid. She had suspicion who this person was.

"What if you desperately want to love this older love, yet you heart ignores your commands and still beats furiously whenever the man with words appeared? What if it drives you to do foolish things? In some attempt of seeking his approval. What if you fear meeting your old love, unsure if your heart will continue to beat the sameways the man with words made it beat? Is this not foolishness?" Shierle clamped her hands down on the lady's shoulder causing her to shake in surprise.

"It is a woman's duty to love. That was the purpose given to us by the Seven-in-one God. He made men for fighting and women for loving. Do not call foolish what is only natural for us my lady." She spoke with comfort and sympathy.

She noticed glistening streams pouring down her lady's cheeks.

She gasped when she felt arms locking around her chest and a sobbing Lady Lannister on her shoulder.

"I despise duty! It hurts so much! Why are the gods so cruel!" She whined and screamed into Sheirle's dress. She hugged back.

"To live is to suffer my lady. That is why child birth is so painful. Yet to hear a new babe's mewlings is cause enough to make one think the pain a petty price to pay. Listen to your heart my lady, but do not it control you. That is the one thing I can give to you now." She said sagely, almost on the brink of tears herself.

Stannis Baratheon was a hidden blessing; she had feared the Lady Lannister would have become even worse than she was.

Before Dragonstone she had thought the lady a selfish and vain child. One who thought too much of herself. Holding her now, hearing the troubles ailing her heart. She knew that Cersei Lannister was now set on a different path.

She then remembered a story told to her by Maester Cressen, about a young lord Stannis Baratheon who had discovered an injured goshawk. His brother King Robert called it a weak thing, yet Stannis preserved even when all others spoke of the folly in it, but even so abandoned it in the end. The Maester said it still haunts him.

Maester Cressen noted wistfully that ever since lord Stannis had attracted broken things.

Broken people, broken castles and broken bonds.

Stannis never stopped trying to fix them even without him being aware of it. Stannis never relented in anything.

And in this one case he had succeeded.


She had found herself within the stables at lady Cersei's dismissal. She found herself staring at Gerold Dayne. The young boy was focused now, he was about to ride his horse along with Ser Ronald Connington. She didn't know why she was here.

The Darkstar got a glance of her, and gave her his ugliest smile. She responded in kind with one of her's as well. At that Darkstar bristled and tried to even make an uglier smile. Only to fail and be ignorant of where he was as he hit his head on the stable roof.

She burst into a maddened giggle, all the while Darkstar roared at her.

"AWAY! AWAY! YOU BLUE HEN!" That was what the 'Darkstar' called her. The blue hen. She didn't find it insulting, she liked it in a way, for he always said it whenever he got flustered. It was also a play on her house words 'Awake! Awake!', ever since he discovered she was a Swyft he started to often use chicken japes, but they were so bad that she laughed at them and at him.

Have you ever fallen in love Shierle?

At that she froze, and stared at Gerold. He gave her a sullen and angry look, his purple eyes staring with a broody intensity. He trotted towards her.

"When I finish training on the jousting field you shall ride with me." She titled her head sideways.

"Ride where 'Darkstar'?" He grimaced.

"It is a secret, I found it along with Red Ronnet. Worry not, it is a beautiful place." He gave her a smile, this wasn't one of his ugly ones. She had thought it amusing how he thought it would wo-

I feel that's enough grounds to fall in love with someone my lady

She felt a hotness on her cheeks and the beating of her heart climbing up.

Dayne looked at her, nary a clue as to what she was feeling.

"Are you sick my lady?" He was like Stannis in that regard. A bit slow to decipher a woman's heart.

Wait, it couldn't be.

"I-I'm sorry I-" Darkstar kicked the stirrups of his courser, the steed neighing wildly.

"I shall abduct you forthwith and take you there against your will then! You will come to find it beautiful and there I shall enact my final vengeance else you've incurred my wroth for the umpteenth time!" Gerold then sped away on his horse, not bothering to wait for Ser Ronald to finish.

The aforementioned redhead knight stared at her and shook his head with an amused expression.

Normally she would have rolled her eyes at yet another of Gerold's ineffectual threats. Now however she just felt a deep burning sensation in her chest.

Maybe lady Cersei was right.

Maybe falling in love was foolishness.


He tied his horse around a very conveniently shaped tree stump. They were near the coast, south of where Griffinmont would be. She didn't know why she agreed to this, Gerold himself was surprised she was receptive the second time, taking out the fun of forcing her to come. They found themselves before a deep dark maw. Gerold had in his possession a torch and a sword.

She stared at the blade, it wasn't a mere training blade. It was an actual sword.

"Worry not blue hen. This is just a precaution. I would not let you perish when my vengeance has yet to be satiated." He offered her his hand. She took it and it felt warm.

"Try not to get lost." He flashed her a smile. It made her heart flutter.

Oh gods no this couldn't be happening.

She wasn't supposed to be with him. She should have been under the supervision of a septa. This was indecent, what would the Dornishman do to her?

'Lady Cersei was right.' She thought with great regret as they entered the dark hole.

Soon after they found themselves in a giant network of caves, the echoes of dripping water droplets echoing loudly along with the sea wind.

"One of these passages lead to an abandoned cove. Ronnet and I believe mayhaps it was meant to be some sort discrete escape for Targaryens." His hand was soft, moreover he wasn't holding it to hard. He was leading her. A boy two years younger leading her to his mysterious destination.

In her mind dark and indecent thoughts swirled.

After some navigating, pausing as Darkstar looked for signs that were shaped like stars, they found their destination.

A small pool. The breath in her left as she looked at its waters, they looked beautiful. So clear. She touched the surface. It's ripples were mesmerizing to see.

Then Dayne started to undress.

"BY THE GODS!" She screamed as she planted her hands on her face.

"Come now take a dive!" Dayne jumped into the waters, his mirthful laughter echoing across the cave.

"WHAT DID YOU INTEND ON DOING!" Dayne smirked.

"I was planning to assault you with the visage of my virile cock in the hopes it would dirty you. Is it working?" She averted her gaze as he stood up.

"AWAY! YOU VILE PERVERT!" She shrilly screamed. She peeked through and saw Dayne's face. He looked, surprised?

"HEN!" She saw Dayne throwing something. She didn't know what was going on until she heard a cry of pain next to her.

She dragged herself away as a man garbed in black furs that smelt of salt fell face first into the ground, unmoving. A large wet rock next to his bleeding head.


"Feck off." The bald man with milky eyes said as Dayne punched him a third time. After dressing again, Shierle and he had spent some minutes interrogating him.

"I repeat. Who are you?" Dayne asked again. The man had a tall face, his cheeks and eyes were sunken and his nose was broken beyond imagining. He had some missing teeth and had a scar on the right of his lips that made him look like he was smirking. He was deathly pale and smelt of smoke and salt.

It was then that they heard the footsteps. Shierle looked at him worried, while Darkstar had a grim expression on his face.

"Well then looks like the boys 'ave finally gotten off their arses. Hope you a Drowned God man boy." Ironborn. There were Ironborn on Dragonstone.

"How'd they get here?" She asked panicked.

"Through the cove most likely. Blue hen, you need to take my horse and inform lord Stannis. I will stay here and block their chase." She looked at him dumbfounded.

"HA! A greenlander? Taking on ironborn? And a boy too! I promise you girlie if you surrender now the boys won't be that hard on ye." She gave him a sharp slap to the face, silencing him for a bit.

"If no one stays then they escape. Lord Stannis will have my head. If you do not return safety, Lady Cersei will have my head. Please do not make this harder for me as it is." He was calm, she didn't understand how. He could die.

"B-Bu-"He grasped her cheeks with his hands. His purple eyes staring into her. She felt that burning sensation once more.

"The Dornish take their revenge very seriously. I will not die until I found my grievance satisfied. This I promise. The second oath I will ever make." He was such a fool! A big fat idiot!

He handed her the torch.

"Follow the stars, they will lead you out!" She couldn't move, she was planted into the ground.

"HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN YOUR WORDS BLUE HEN?!" He gave her a light slap on the cheeks.

"AWAKE! AWAKE! NOW GO!" At those words she felt her feet moving on their lonesome. She found herself on a junction with a crudely carved star on the walls to the right. On the left she heard footsteps. She moved to the right and turned back.

She saw Gerold Dayne sword in hand, he gave her a daring smile.

'I will not die until my vengeance is complete.'It told her.

She felt tears running down her cheeks. Eventually she reached the cave entrance. Already she heard the sounds of fighting.

He was going to die. A mere boy couldn't survive a battle with the ironborn. He was going to die and all she could do was abandon him.

Am I a fool?

Worry not Lady Cersei. I am a fool as well.

"Don't die Darkstar. You promised me." She whispered out through freezing tears as she rode back to Dragonstone. The courser galloping wildly as if it felt the danger its master was in as well.