Northern breath in the form of dew basked gently over flushed, still faces. Bold sun rays pushed defiantly through the thick canopy of the Godswood, announcing its morning rise and stirring Jon Snow from his comforting sleep.
Jon's face twitched in the prickling rays, as he wondered for a moment how the sun could kiss him so tenderly from his usually dark and frosted chamber window.
His eyes opened suddenly as realization settled upon his steaming body.
He was still in the Godswood. The scent of lily and sweet herb washed over his face as the bastard's senses finally awoke and recalled where the elegant, sweet scent were wafting from and whom it followed so gracefully.
Ellie.
There, the beautiful, petite Dornish girl slumbered still and quiet in Jon's arm. Jon's eyes trailed over the beauty aweingly as his brooding glare lapped thirstingly the sight of glistening olive flesh, with a barely concealed breast poking out mischievously from under the woman's arm.
Jon watched her still face in tortured longing. How he desired to flip her once more upon her slender back and take her while the watchful sun looked on. Silently, Jon lifted his rough, calloused fingers and tenderly guided its length along Eliesse's damp flesh. She stirred at the touch.
"Jon…" she muttered quietly against his own bare chest. She squirmed slightly at the sensory of Jon's own body still pressed flush and hot against her, a tired moan escaping through lips swollen from the wolf's bite the night before.
Jon's eyes became hooded and dark at the sound. He scolded himself internally for the sudden filth that began to sputter into his mind, but it would not cease. He couldn't help it. Whenever the Dornish princess was near, it was as though his blood would flow hot and fast, hardening him instantly wherever he stood. His hand lifted to graze the girl's face gently, as he soaked in the supple soft skin that met his finger tips. His breath quickened at the feel of Eliesse's flesh that was warm and moist with dew from their urgent love-making the night before. Jon drew his touch from her still face and dipped it longingly beneath his heavy, wolf pelt that wrapped the two in modest warmth. His hand brushed the the woman's full breast, his fingers teasing gently at her soft, perked nipple. He earned a breathy moan, from the gesture. The moan was more than an approval for the bastard. He shifted his weight against Eliesse, preparing to slip quietly and unannounced between the Dornish woman's legs and awaken her with a swift thrust of his hip and entry by his suddenly throbbing manhood.
Eliesse opened her eyes, inhaling deeply the scent of Jon's bare body at her nose. Firewood and pine. "Greedy wolf" she whispered against the flesh of his shoulder that had appeared before her lips. She kissed it sweetly, peering up between their suddenly hot bodies.
"It is not greed if it is mine" Jon remarked low and full of possessiveness. He lowered his suddenly parched mouth to her crown. He inhaled the girl once more, curious if she tasted as sweet as she smelt. He met her smoldering gold eyes with a famished, dark stare that sought more than just food. Her eyes returned his glare with a foreign nervousness that was not common for the usually prideful lioness. His dark, hooded stare excited her and made her wary; she didn't know it was possible to feel both things so intensely at once. Jon relished in the shyness of her eyes, his inner wolf growling hungrily at its prey. Her vulnerable demeanor excited Jon in ways he did not wish to admit, his mind suddenly wild with thoughts of her squirming and writhing in both pain and pleasure under him, and her struggled moans coming out hastily between his powerful thrust and grip upon her tender flesh.
Jon was shocked by his suddenly dark and sexual thoughts. He couldn't recall a moment in his pubescent life where the idea of dominating a woman excited him and made him hot with need. But it was true; this was not just any woman. This was Eliesse Lannister, and the Gods, new and old were much aware of how she made the bastard hunger and howl. She elicited a thirst in the boy he could scarcely quench on his own and only truly satisfy with her assistance. When she was near, the white wolf in him growled low in the den of Jon's mind, eyes quick and fixated on a basking lion.
Their eyes held for a moment, each contesting and marveling the other in a different light. They both now knew a more intimate touch of their flesh and relished in its memory.
Both hungered for more.
Jon slipped his hand between the girl's fevered thighs, his fingers navigating easily the already moist folds of her femininity. Eliesse gasped at the sudden brazen gesture but realized quickly that Jon had a reason no more to tip-toe his lust around the girl. The bastard wolf would have his way with her, whenever he pleased.
And she would not deny him.
Jon slipped a single finger into her steaming, moist swells, earning a shocked gasp. "You like when I do that, don't you" Jon demanded. It was not a question, for he knew the woman's answer just by the sudden twitch in her hip and grip upon the boy's shoulder. "Tell me. Tell me you like it and I'll continue" Jon said low in the girl's ear, his lip brushing gently the supple, hot flesh of Eliesse's neck. He felt her skin turn to goose-flesh at the gesture.
"I do. I—I love it" Eliesse half moaned and gasped as Jon slipped another finger inside her screaming body. He was satisfied with her response. He stared deeply into Eliesse's eyes, searching for something beyond what he knew or could comprehend. His face mirrored the mild shock that was twisted upon her own. He was unsure of his power over the girl but content nonetheless with its presence. It was like the bastard was a man possessed by lust and tormented by his own selfish need to have the Dornish woman squirm and arch her back at his devilish doing. He continued his torture of the girl, watching intently as Eliesse's face twisted in pleasure and desperation from beneath him. He thought he would nearly spill himself simply at the sight alone of her coming undone by his doing. His heavy breath synchronized with her own, as he lowered his face to her, his nose tenderly brushing the warm and soft apple of her cheek.
"Eliesse! Lady Eliesse!"
Jon ripped his hand away from Eliesse in shock and fright at the sudden voice that called out to the Dornish girl from the mouth of the Godswood. Eliesse sat up at once, draping Jon's pelt over her flushed and panting body. They met one another's eyes in shared concern and surprise.
"Seven hells! We need to leave...Now!" Eliesse whispered quickly, jumping from beneath Jon's body. Jon rose as well, grabbing a handful of his garments. "Jon, what in the Gods are you—
"If we try to dress, whoever that is will find us just as your fastening your damn dress. We don't have time. Get up, grab your dress and follow me!" Jon demanded, grabbing Eliesse's dress himself when the woman did not make any effort to retrieve it herself.
"And follow you where?" Eliesse snapped, taking Jon's hand as he ripped her from the spot she complained from. He cursed her stubbornness in his mind. She always has something to protest, he thought to himself, shaking his head.
"To my chambers" he whispered quickly, ducking under a low sitting branch and helping Eliesse to do the same.
"You are mad! You want us to dance across the bloody courtyard of Winterfell naked and to your chambers? We will be hung by noon!" Eliesse complained after the boy, following his swift, quick movements as he stepped over and pushed through thick brush. Jon stopped suddenly and turned to the girl, causing her to bump into his hard chest. She blushed at the action, glancing away from the watchful stare he leered. She knew she had nothing more to shy away from with the bastard.
He knew her inside and out. And she was his, as he declared.
"My chambers are on the edge of the Godswood...an old, abandoned tower, far from Winterfell's busy courtyard and towers...no one ever goes there...no one ever passes by. It's secluded from the rest of Winterfell...as Lady Stark demanded" Jon said evenly, all emotion drained from his even tone and brooding eyes.
The Godswood fell silent around the pair, with only the chilling sound of forest critters and rustling leaves to fill the tension among them. Eliesse averted her eyes down in sadness, feeling suddenly stupid and ignorant of the matter. Jon's fingers went instantly to the suddenly bruised girl as he lifted her chin from where it dipped in sadness. He met her sorrowful, golden stare with his own stormy, grey one. "Stop that now, girl. The instance does not disturb me...any longer. Besides, I enjoy the quiet it brings. And Ghost appreciates it too. So enough with your sulking at my predicament. I have long forgot my ales on the matter".
Eliesse nodded quietly, taking the bastard's hand once more. "Come. Before they find us" Eliesse whispered. Jon nodded, leading her deeper into the Godswoods.
Jon's grip on the lioness' hand was constricting, to say the least. He didn't speak to the girl, as his mind was focused and precise on the brush before him and making sure they were in fact trekking in the right direction. Every now and then, Jon would glance over his shoulder to Eliesse who would be just as still, despite her mechanic following of the bastard. He would turn around once more, internally frowning at the site of it all. Him...dragging the innocent, Dornish girl behind him, in fear they'd be caught and she punished severely. Jon did not care what would become of him if they were caught lying with another...but he could never forgive himself if sweet Ellie were punished, too. He imagined a smug, satisfied look upon Catelyn Stark's face as his father (and she would see to it that it would be him to deliver the honorable punishment, too) cut the rope that held his neck stiff.
"Here," Jon spoke quietly, pushing through a overhung canopy of evergreen and oak. His arm opened a modest gape in the Godswood, revealing an old, dark tower that looked brittle and old. Eliesse furrowed her brows at the sight, uncomfortable with its upkeep. "I know...it looks dingy, riddled of rot...but it's home. And I assure you it is more pleasing from the inside" Jon's eyes basked over the olive beauty kindly as he tried to reassure her with a rare and quiet smile.
He knew she did not like this...this seeming treatment and condemning of the boy.
How awful, Eliesse thought painfully to herself as Jon took her hand once more. How could his father allow Catelyn Stark to hide the bastard away in the ugliest, dingiest tower in the castle?
"I know what you're thinking...I told my father I wished to stay here. He protested the tower immediately when Lady Stark made move to send me here. Robb, Theon and I had always shared a quarters in the central tower of Winterfell. But when Bran was born, and then little Rickon after, Lady Stark thought it would be more appropriate for Ned's trueborn son's to room together, instead of his eldest and heir shacked up with his ward and bastard. Theon use to room with me...but once Ghost came, he said he couldn't stand the howling he'd do some nights with the other direwolves...that, and his crimson, unblinking stare unsettled him and kept him awake at night. So he was found a small chamber inside Winterfell's main castle. Right above the kitchen and smells of onion and butchered animal flesh. He said that was better than Ghost. I was content with his departure, to say the least" Jon chuckled darkly at the memory, though the sound didn't quite suffice his attempt at a crude joke. He pushed open the tower door that was conveniently faced away from the rest of the castle, and held it open. "Come, you'll catch your death if we stay outside any longer. I promise it is at least warm".
Eliesse smiled small, shaking her head disapprovingly of the bastard's dark humor. She walked into the tower that was dimly lit and contained old, wooden stairs that spiraled upward. Eliesse waited patiently for Jon as he followed behind her, sparing quickly over his shoulder a fleeting glance. No one had followed them. Quickly, he closed the tower door, and turned back to his olive beauty. "Up the stairs".
The stairs creaked loudly, even under the lioness' graceful and skilled step. Up the stairs wound, lit barely by orange wisp from torches that did little to assist the naked eye. At the top of the stairs rested a modest, wooden door with a lock. Jon reached into his tunic pocket and pulled forth a rusted, single key. He placed the rusty key into the small, rotted keyhole and unlocked the chamber door. The door thrust open with another familiar lurch, as Jon led Eliesse inside. She was relieved to feel some warmth move past her cold frame that was scarcely concealed within Jon's pelts.
"Pleasant...simple" Eliesse spoke, a sly smile at her plump lips. Jon returned her smirk, setting his dressings on a chair at his bedside table. He walked to a chest and pulled out a pair of pants, to which he quickly stepped into.
"It serves its purpose. I get my quiet, Ghost gets easy access to the Godswood..." Jon muttered, his eyes flickering ever slowly to the Dornish girl. He turned completely to her, taking a slow step in her path. "...and you could come here as often as you'd please. Every night, maybe even every day as well, my Lady…"
"Don't get greedy, wolf…" Eliesse placed a halting hand on the lad's chest. He smirked down at her, eyeing her lustfully for the hundredth time this morning. "Besides, I have grown tender from you. I don't think I could handle another visit this morn" Eliesse, turned brisk, sauntering towards her dress that lay askew on Jon's bed. She began to step into it, when she felt Jon's arms snake around her slender waist and the heat that billowed off his chiseled chest.
"You didn't say anything about tonight. After dinner, perhaps?" The bastard wolf lowered his lips into the soft crevice of Eliesse's neck. Her eyes fluttered shut almost instantly at the boy's touch. She cursed herself inwardly at the weakness she held for the bastard.
"I will make no promises"
"We shall see, my lady" Jon mused, eyeing her hungrily once more. His stormy eyes brooded wantingly over the lioness as she fastened the last string on her sheer dress. He stepped closer, lifting a large hand to gently trace out the slender shape the girl's hips and bare back. Eliesse watched him curiously as he never dropped her golden gaze. It was as though Jon took quiet satisfaction in drawing forth the lady's lust and vulnerability.
But Eliesse would not be toyed with. She was a Dornish woman, after all.
Eliesse leaned upwards to the bastard's lips, lifting upon the tips of her toes as she raised both her hands to tangle in his dark, curly mane. Jon did not protest her touch, as he lowered his face to meet the girl's inviting mouth that was already deliciously parted and awaiting. Their lips touched tenderly for a moment, allowing for a few, passionate seconds to pass before they broke apart in slight. They came together once more with growing urgency. Their lips moved slowly, precise and calculated as they tasted one another once more, finding comfort in the flavors they both desperately craved. Jon lowered his hands from the dip in the lioness' back where they resided, gliding smoothly over the taute and round curve of her buttocks. He gently squeezed, pressing her into his obvious erection and holding her flush against it.
Eliesse smiled devilishly into the kiss and bit roughly at the bastard's lip.
Jon jerked away abruptly, eyes full of bewilderment for the Viperess. "I did warn you not to be greedy" she mused seductively, her Dornish drawl wetting her words in a sensuality Jon would have to become accustomed to. "I will join you in your chambers after dinner, Lord Snow. Good day" Eliesse smiled politely, and averted around the confused bastard boy.
Jon watched in mild shock and amusement as the Dornish girl disappeared through his chamber doors without so much of spared glance thrown over her shoulder. "Good day indeed, my Lady…" The wolf muttered beneath his breath as he touched his bruised lip and observed a small speckle of blood. Dornish women...he thought as he shook his head tiredly.
—
The bottoms of Eliesse feet stung painfully as she began to flinch after every step taken across Winterfell's courtyard. Stupid girl...clever you are to throw your damn shoes away…she scolded internally, lifting her dress with every other stride.
The castle was slowly becoming a bustle of men and women as they began their daily business...men began drawing horses and cattle about the castle and women began carrying baskets...fresh linens and wheat began to fill the lioness' nose and Winterfell's cold yard.
Eliesse kept her head down while she walked, for fear someone would notice the girl sauntering past in a daring dress and no shoes...a girl who had conveniently disappeared during the night's festivities with a bastard boy close in toe…
...and never returned.
"The walk of a whore" she remembered her grandfather calling it, as he and Eliesse watched as a slender and young, yellow-haired girl departed her father's room one morning in the capital. She was quick, scurrying past the two proud lion's with her head down and dress barely draped upon ivory flesh. And of course, no shoes. What happened to her fucking shoes? Eliesse remembered wondering. Even at ten and four, she was able to tell a high lady...even a decent lady from a whore. And she was much aware of how both were perceived and regarded by the fact.
She wondered which one she looked the most of at that very moment.
She reached the castle that housed her and dissipated as fast as she could through its grand doors. Her feet padded quietly as she sped down the cold, stone floors of the great keep and up the familiar winding stairs to her chamber. She could scarcely hear the emerging of voices throughout the castle halls as kitchen wenches began flocking inside to prepare the Lord and Lady's meals to break fast.
Eliesse shut the chamber door quietly behind her as she held her breath in anticipation. It creaked quietly at her deceit, though she exhaled sharply in relief that she had made it without causing any scenes or alerting any folk.
Eliesse turned quickly, halting her step as she met Thara's gaze that was wet with agitation. "Th—
"Tell me, do you spare no regard for anything I warn of you?" Thara spoke quietly, her eyes never quivering from the bed she sat upon. Her back was straight, with calloused hands folded calmly over her lap, though Eliesse knew there was no serene emotion within her rigid body.
"I—
"You will not speak!" Thara suddenly hissed, pushing off the bed. In one fluid motion, she stood before the lioness, her eyes scrutinizing the girl's golden ones. "I told you...to heed my words. You promised me! Your word is your only honor in this world. And what you do with it and how you use will determine how people regard you for the rest of your life! You broke your promise to me. You risk your life...a life that so many have died and risked their peace to preserve! Your mother, myself, your uncle...both of them! Your father—
"Tyrion Lannister does not care about me!" Eliesse suddenly shouted, her eyes quivering with tears she cursed to not spill. Her heart may have matured but the pain and abandonment it carried had not passed. It was true, though Eliesse's body had begun to sprout and curve and her face change with increasing age, she still much embodied the angry, hurt Dornish girl that would lay awake at night, tormented by a sting in her heart that no father figure or man could subside.
"Tyrion Lannister risked his life to save you! He surrendered and gave everything to preserve your life and ensure you would still draw breath in this world. He went against his war mongering and murderous father...knowing the evil Lord already loathed him for mere little than the travesty he truly committed by not surrendering you and then sending you away! You owe this man your respect, at the very least. You owe me respect...even if I am just your sworn sword and handmaiden" Thara leered shamefully into Eliesse's eyes that averted down in anger and sadness. She knew the Dornish woman was speaking the truth...yes, her father was a drunk and avoided the girl most days because he couldn't stand to peer on a face that was his fierce-love reincarnated...perhaps he drank relentlessly every day to forget it, and drowned his grief with wine and whores just to forget a smile and laugh that still burned bright in the dwarf's tortured mind.
"I'm sorry," Eliesse whispered, meeting her handmaiden's stern glare. "I...I didn't know that...I never thought this would all happen, that Jon would follow me…" Eliesse walked past Thara, her hands pressed tiredly against her flushed cheeks. She approached her fogged window, opening the tapestry quietly and peering into the crisp, courtyard. "I try...I tried to heed your word. I really did, but he—
"Jon? It was the bastard you were with?" Thara whispered, her eyes running wild once more at the girl. She walked quickly to Eliesse, thrusting the girl forward in a single gesture and gripping her face between harsh fingers. She stared at Eliesse, scrutinizing her face, turning it about from left to right...her eyes bore into the girl, dropping to her neck and chest. "He has deflowered you!" Thara hissed low, no question lingering on her frantic tone. She grabbed Eliesse's arm, and yanked her forward once more. "Tell me he hasn't, Eliesse! Tell me!"
Eliesse tore her arm from Thara angrily. Finally, the tears that had been pooling and churning above the brim of her eye spilled forward. Eliesse pushed past Thara angrily, storming for the chamber doors. She did not wish to listen any longer to the woman's accusations or bare her judgmental stare.
Thara followed the girl, grabbing her arm once more as she tried to flee from the quarters. "Let me go!" Eliesse hissed, fighting to free herself from the woman. Thara swiftly pinned the girl to the wall before her chamber with a warrior's skill. Eliesse thrashed angrily, spewing tears and anger about the handmaid's face.
"Never...I made a promise to your uncle...that I would do everything to protect you…and I've failed. I've grown too soft, too careless and naive of the words you feed me. Eliesse...you will get yourself killed. I know you love him...but I have warned you that we are many moons from our home, where your love would not be frowned upon. Here...the men in these cold and proud lands would kill you for laying with a bastard. There are men right now in this castle who walk proudly as though you are property to them! And they would kill Jon…this is a dangerous game you are playing, and I won't stand by and allow it".
Thara dropped Eliesse's arm and turned swift once more to the bath chambers. Eliesse subconsciously rubbed her sore wrist where the woman held her from, flinching at the angry red print where she held her too rough. She listened curiously to the rummaging of bottles and glass as she walked slowly to the chamber doors, observingly.
She watched as Thara began mixing something in a small pot and threw many herbs inside that she could not identify. Strange, strong odors filled the lioness' nose as she furrowed her brows curiously at what Thara was brewing. The older, Dornish woman tirelessly worked, her hands quick with an urgency Eliesse had never witnessed before or could scarcely understand.
"What are you doing…" Eliesse demanded, watching the woman who looked mad and possessed by unfamiliar rage. Thara threw the remnants of whatever she were mixing into a pot and placed it above a fire. She ran her fingers anxiously through her black hair, tugging absentmindedly at its root. Eliesse was sure she would pull her black locks out at the stem by how white and ghostly her knuckles had become. Thara peered at the girl with regretful eyes that held intent she wished not to speak of.
"I am making you moon tea" she answered finally after a grueling pause. Her eyes flickered back to the pot that had begun to steam and excrete the strange scents in stronger waves. Eliesse stared at Thara curiously, unsure of what moon tea was or why in this moment, Thara felt it were necessary to have. Her stomach churned uncomfortably at the ominity of it.
"What is moon tea?" Eliesse whispered, unsure if she wanted to know the truth. Thara would not meet the girl's eyes as she stood rigid and still at the pot before the fire, mixing slowly ever so often. Eliesse felt her stomach churn further at her handmaid's silence, as it rarely came forth. Whatever the moon tea was, it was obvious that it was not a pleasantry of sorts.
Thara stirred the pot slowly, taking a chalice from the bath side table. She removed the strange, bubbling pot carefully and poured the steaming contents. Eliesse could scarcely make out a reflection of lavender in the cup as she watched Thara stir it once more within the chalice. She turned to Eliesse, her eyes hollow and grim with a sadness Eliesse wished to not hear of.
"It is a tea that is used to prevent and rid seeds that could or may have already taken root…" Thara whispered, finally coming to stand before the suddenly pale girl. She extended the glass forward, her eyes pleading for Eliesse to drink it.
Eliesse's face twisted in a horror she couldn't quite comprehend. "You've gone mad" she whispered low, her once proud voice cracking with shock and fright. Thara couldn't truly mean for the girl to kill a baby that might've begun to sprout.
"Please, my flower...you must drink it. There would be grave consequences should you leave the bastard's seed to settle...don't do this to yourself. I fear for your life, my sweet girl. If you were taken with child...they would find out! Everything! You would be punished in ways I wish to never know...and Jon...they'd hunt that boy down at the Wall he watched from and hang him whilst he slept! You both are too innocent, too pure hearted...please...what use are you to avenging your mother and great Dorne if you are dead?"
Eliesse watched as tears streamed shamelessly down Thara's rusted cheeks, and lips tremble in agony the girl knew nothing of. "I can't lose you, too...your mother...was my greatest friend. I swore to all the Gods...to my once lover Oberyn...I would protect you like you were my own...I can't protect you if you are discovered to be with child. And I would never forgive myself if they killed you and your babe while he or she nestled within your womb...please...if you love Jon, truly love him, my flower...you won't sentence him to die. And this...keeping this babe that might be settled at your womb as we speak...would be swinging the executioner's sword or cutting the rope that holds his breath at bay. Please…" Thara's eye searched the Dornish woman's relentlessly as her fingers held the steaming cup tight. Her words were genuine and true...she feared wholeheartedly for sweet Ellie, and even the bastard boy, Jon Snow.
Thara foreshadowed in her mind the lioness' demise if she took with child. Thara had heard whispers about Winterfell's stone walls of the King's begs for his dear brother Ned Stark to agree to wed his son to Eliesse, as an alliance and compliance of Dorne and the remaining six kingdoms...Ned Stark's uncertainty was whispered, too...something of Robb being sworn to another and honor holding the Warden bound to his word.
But Robert was his brother, and more than that, the King.
And the King would have his way, with all complying or feeling his wrath.
If Eliesse had a child by a bastard...that child would hold no claim to the south, and give Robert no control of the sun stroked lands. For Robb Stark was his namesake, his nephew by loyalty and a pawn in his dangerous game. Marrying Eliesse, a loyal Lannister by oath, endorsed by Tywin Lannister, and his dear brother's son was the apple of King Robert's plan...and Catelyn Stark would uproar in marrying her firstborn son to a whore.
So, honor would bound the King to oblige her woes...
...and he would lose his crown territory, and Jon and Eliesse would lose their heads for it.
Eliesse stared painfully into Thara's eyes, part of her knowing the woman was right and spoke the truth.
Who would Eliesse become if she was taken with child?
She could not tear the Lannister house down if she were with child...she would be weak and halted from her vengeful mission she swore before her great uncle.
More than that, her heart would be weak. To bring an innocent life into looming chaos...and have to wonder every day how she would keep that child safe...especially from vengeful hands and ill-intentioned hearts...her life would be consumed of paranoia and fear for her sweet, innocent babe. What kind of life would she be bringing them into?
A life of endless suffering and worry...with no real place to call home…
...and no father to love.
Jon.
Ned Stark's innocent, brave and honorable, bastard son…
...killed instantly by her selfish choice.
What purpose would her life serve then if she lost the only man she's ever truly loved? The one person besides her mother and deceased aunt and cousins...her homeland...she swore her sword and vengeance for…
...If Jon died, what point would this mission to free herself of this damned life, where she were bound by chain and honor to a Lannister name, be?
There would be none.
She promised the boy they'd run away together. To a land she knew to be home...and if they couldn't reach that land, they would sail somewhere else...somewhere far from Robert's swords and Tywin's claws…and she knew she wouldn't make it there while with child.
Either she would die…
...or her babe.
Or perhaps both. And then poor Jon Snow soon after, since she knew he could not live in a world where he witnessed his two only reasons for existing and thwarting all honor had perished.
Death consumed the Dornish girl's mind as she peered warily upon the steaming, purple tea. It called to her, a strange whisper above the tension in the room that sang a song of death and curses. Eliesse felt a strange chill run ramped up her shivering spine.
The Dornish girl exhaled quietly, her eyes shutting in sadness and grief. She stayed still for a moment, pondering tirelessly her choices. Thara watched the girl intently, her face withered and riddled of worry that was sure to age the woman five years beyond where she stood.
Eliesse took the steaming cup from Thara's hand slowly.
She met her trusted handmaid's eyes who released the grief and worry that had been trapped behind her dark eyes. Thara took the girl by the small of her back and led her to her bed. The strong, bitter stench stung Eliesse's nose as she fought all her body's instincts to cast the cup of poison away.
Eliesse sat, her fingers trembling upon the chalice that had begun to react to its sweltering contents and become hot to the touch. "Will it hurt?" The lioness asked quietly, her face firm and rid of all the pain and sadness that lay true to her insides. She would be strong...unbent. Thara joined the girl at her side, placing a comforting hand on her leg and at her back. She lifted a thin finger and tucked away a rebellious golden lock that had fallen free from Eliesse's hair.
"I promise you, my flower...it is painless. Some women have said it made them sick...perhaps you should eat lightly at tonight's feast as to not disturb your belly any further" Thara stroked Eliesse's hair adoringly, encouraging her to drink her chalice. The handmaid worried if any more time should pass, the girl would change her mind and cast the tea away, dooming herself once and for all.
She wouldn't blame the girl.
She had been young and in love once upon a time to man who's smile sang to all the women of Dorne. He whispered sweet nothings at her ear, made promises she knew he couldn't keep...so she let him go; wise and strong the woman was. Oberyn was ever fickle about monogamy...so she loved him in other ways, like watching lovingly over his beloved niece.
And he loved her unconditionally for it.
Eliesse raised the chalice slowly, unsure if she should inhale the peculiar smells that whispered to her. Her mind lay adrift to stormy, grey eyes and tuffles of dark curls...she wondered for a moment if she were doing the right thing or wrong. To be making such a choice without consulting Jon…
...what would he say?
Or worse, what would he think?
The moon tea was simply precautionary; it would eliminate any and all risk that Jon's seed could've posed. But Eliesse knew in her heart that it was not right. To deceive the boy…after reconciling such painful memories...it did not sit right with the lioness.
She remembered her promise to Jon...they were to run away together.
Eliesse's mind drifted away to the night before under the great weirwood tree...
Strange, red leafs fell silently around the panting lovers as their bodies finally slowed in the still night. Jon and the lady had spent themselves nearly dry, as he pulled the woman close and gazed passionately upon her eyes. The bastard's eyes held words he had not spoke and feelings he feared in their fierce entirety. The way Eliesse gazed back at him made the boy nervous for what she saw.
He was always ashamed of what he was, never quite finding worth within his meager, bastardly existence. He especially loathed the dark thought that Eliesse would wake one day and realize that she deserved someone who's name held more honor, more worth...more nobility in a world that ran scarce of it. She was a Lannister, for God's sake. That had to have meant something to her...didn't she want more for herself? Didn't she want more than just a Snow?
As though the Dornish woman had heard his thoughts, she tenderly reached up at his stubbled face and stroked his cheek lovingly. "Stop it" she whispered quietly, her eyes slanting in disapproval. Jon blinked suddenly, his surprise and confusion bewitching his handsome, brooding face.
"Stop what?"
"Stop wondering why I love you. It will age you quicker than you wish, boy" She smirked up at him, brushing a tender and soft finger across his warm lips. Jon wished to take the girl once more as he eyed her hungrily for the seducing gesture. She was always so affectionate, so daring...so Dornish. "I wish to know something, Lord Snow" she suddenly said, sitting up in slight. She pulled Jon's furs to her exposed breast, as though she were suddenly trying to hide herself from his ever watchful glare.
"Anything" He whispered, sitting up as well. He searched her eyes for some indication to what ailed her mind so suddenly, but came up short. Eliesse was always so guarded. She never could fully open up to the bastard, no matter how many times he reassured her his love and compassion.
Her heart was forever tender. Still, Jon did not mind. He would have the rest of his existence to change that.
"Do you mean to still take the Black? I want to know if your vows have truly changed" Eliesse spoke suddenly, her eyes sharp and daring. Jon blinked honestly, glancing up at the weirwood tree that seemed to strangely be awaiting his response as well. He glanced back at the girl who never moved from her rigid place between his legs. Though she resembled in this sweet moment so much of the young Dornish girl he'd fallen in love with many years ago, he knew she lacked the patience that girl once bore. He knew he should speak quick and truthfully.
"I will thwart my promise to my uncle and tell him I've changed my mind. He will not protest...the man had been trying to convince me that I was making the wrong choice, anyhow...but only if you will allow me to have you. And you will be mine...only mine, Eliesse Lannister" Jon grasped the girl's wrist and thrust her forward into his suddenly hot chest and thundering heart. She gasped, meeting his gaze that was mere inches away. He was so close, she could feel the heat that swelled from his lips as he spoke once more. "I will not ride north in a few days time when the Kingsguard departs Winterfell and my uncle returns north to the Wall. I will remain with you...but we cannot stay. Lady Catelyn will have no parts of my residing in Winterfell while my father rides south for Kings Landing with my sisters and Bran. So we will have to leave" Jon spoke firmly, his eyes searching the Dornish girl's for a quiver of regret or disagreement.
But he did not find it.
Eliesse gazed adoringly into Jon's eyes as she raised her hand to stroke the side of his chiseled jaw. "We will leave at dawn. The morning before the Guard departs. Robert's knights and followers will be drunk on wine and whores late unto the night before they leave. We risk being spotted by one of those fools stumbling about the yard. The King and his asses will be drunk and sluggish the next morning. They will be slow, late at departing Winterfell with Ned and the children. If we leave at sunrise, we can slip away unnoticed and be miles ahead of them on the Kings Road…"
"And go where? A raven will reach the Twins by noon before we would even be close to crossing the Barrowlands. Walder Frey would capture us early the next morn and turn us over to Robert...and my father" Jon spoke warily, his mind stinging at the realization that he would be going against the great Lord. He hoped in his mind, to some degree or another, that his father could understand why he would leave. What life would Lord Stark be leaving for Jon once he left? Little to none. And Jon was certain once Ned Stark was far enough away, Catelyn Stark would send for a mercenary to slit the boy's throat while he rested.
But still, Jon worried. He worried that his father would not understand how love had been the driving force behind his fleeing with the lioness… or that Eliesse did not know the north as he did, she was unaware of how much danger surrounded them from the moment they stepped outside Winterfell's gates. Allies would turn to enemies and sworn friends would hunt them down in the dead of the night.
"You must think I am daft, boy. The Kings Road is too dangerous to travel. We shall go east to Widow's Watch. A merchant who delivers to House Flint owes me a duty…he will oblige on Lord Oberyn Martell's honor and take us to Pentos" Eliesse smirked knowingly, resting once more into Jon's arm, satisfied beyond Jon's understanding.
Jon glanced down to the girl, his brow furrowing in curiosity and confusion. "Pentos? What is in Pentos that beckons our presence?" He wondered if the girl had gone mad...or was drunk on their lovemaking.
Eliesse looked silently upon the bastard, her smile never withering and eyes never losing their wise knowingness that unsettled the bastard, despite.
"I wish to know if dragons still honor their alliance with vipers..."
"Eliesse, please...drink" Thara's voice called to the girl, drawing her forth from her reminiscent mind.
Eliesse's glare flickered downwards once more to the steaming cup that held truths and consequences to come. She was fearful. In that moment, Eliesse Lannister was undoubtedly afraid. Afraid for the moon tea, afraid for a baby she could be harming...afraid for the words of a bastard who might be cross at her choice and lack of compassion in his own concern.
But she knew it was for the better. For her...for Jon…
...for an innocent babe who'd be brought into a world of impending war and chaos.
Eliesse lifted the chalice to her trembling lips and drew back the bitter and horrid liquid.
—
Jon Snow sat eagerly at the squires table in Winterfell's feasting hall. Young boys and men had been chattering below his ear all night, as they awaited the Royal Procession to grace the grand chamber. "What has you jittering like a whore in the Sept, Snow?" Theon Greyjoy mused from Jon's side. Jon glanced dismissively to the lad, sipping his summerwine slowly. He hated that his father had called for the boy to sit at the squire's table this evening...but he had done something dishonorable to one of the soldier's daughters and word had gotten back to Lord Stark. The bastard relished inwardly at the demotion of the Iron Born boy.
"Nothing, I am hungry and ready to eat" Jon lied, turning further from Theon's curious stare. It was not true. Jon was eager to see Eliesse...his, sweet Ellie of Dorne. He wanted to gaze lovingly on her olive face as she walked down the aisle and to her seat under the head table. He wanted to steal glances with her and fester with long and desire for her touch and their agreed meeting at his chambers after the festivities. If he was lucky, Jon thought he might've been able to steal a dance with the girl while the Lord's and Lady's around him drowned in wine and jests. And hopefully, once the hall became drunk with laughter and perverted men, they could slip away into the cold night and across a quiet courtyard.
A horn sounded as the feasting chamber door opened grandly and the Royal Procession began to pour in. Jon scarcely watched anyone's faces like he usually always had. Every other time in the lad's life, he'd watched sadly as his beloved siblings and father whisked happily into the chamber, high Lords and Lady's clapping in awe at their proud feet. Jon always wished he too could join the Procession and be regarded with such respect.
Just once.
But the opportunity never came.
And yet, it suddenly didn't matter.
In walked the woman who held the bastard wolf's world on whim. Tonight, she was adorned in gold silk that somehow made her skin glow more tawny and eyes radiate liquid honey.
She was holding once more to the boy's brother Robb, who held the woman too tight at her slender arm. It was obvious to anyone watching that the Prince of Winterfell was quite smitten with the girl. He smiled like a fool in love...the notion made Jon cringe in jealousy and sadness. He didn't like watching how Robb held his Eliesse. The grip was close and sincere, and meant more to Robb than it did Eliesse. Jon felt a tinge of sadness for his brother, momentarily. He knew he was quite taken with the girl...but there would be others. Robb did not nearly possess the knowledge of or held genuine love and adoration for the girl. At least, Jon thought he didn't. And the bastard was sure, that once he and Eliesse were gone, he would get over his little crush.
Besides…
...Robb was betrothed to a Frey girl. Eliesse was never meant for the boy.
And truth would serve, if Robb knew how deeply Jon loved the lioness, he would not stand in the way. Robb was Jon's greatest friend. He had witnessed first hand his entire life, Jon being ridiculed, regarded as filth and treated cruelly...if he knew the Dornish girl loved his bastard brother so and wished to marry the boy, he would not stand in the way.
He wanted Jon to be happy, even if that meant sacrificing a girl he fancied.
There would always be more. Robb was ever dashing and maidens sung to him relentlessly.
But something this night was not right.
Jon watched as Eliesse passed him by. Her eyes did not flicker to the bastard like they usually had...they remained straight and focused on their duty.
But there was something else...and Jon could not put his finger on it, no matter how long he gazed upon the girl he thought he knew so well. Something in his chest ached suddenly, though the boy could draw no finger to its origin.
Eliesse sat silently at the table among the other Stark children. Robb allowed his hand to linger at the nape of her neck before he joined her. "My lady, you are quiet this evening" The young wolf remarked, watched her closely. "Are you ill? I can send for your dinner to be taken in your chambers, Eliesse…" Robb lifted a firm hand to rest upon Eliesse's strangely chilled one.
Eliesse withdrew from the boy's touch at once, flinching at the sudden gesture. "I'm sorry, Robb...I think I must've eaten something that has not settled with me from this afternoon…" The lioness' stomach stung and bubbled horrendously from the moon tea she had drank earlier in the day. For hours, she had writhed silently at her bed, the only comfort drawing forth from Thara's wetting of a cloth at her feverish head. Her handmaiden had protested her attendance of the feast, telling the girl she would see to it that her dinner could be had in the comfort of her room...but Eliesse would hear nothing of it.
Truthfully, Eliesse wished to see him. She knew Jon would be expecting her, and if she did not arrive in the feasting hall, he would undoubtedly leave to search for her.
And she couldn't risk him being caught. Not whilst so much rested upon their compliance over the next few days and ability to remain under Lady Stark and King Robert's watchful glare.
Robb brushed the girl's cheek tenderly in an effort to comfort her troubled face. "I've only seen that face once…and it appeared right before little Sansa spewed onion and chicken about my lap...so, forgive me my lady if I turn a little away from your beautiful face" Robb teased with a slick smile. He patted her thigh gently, reassuring the girl that he would stay, despite his jests he'd not. Eliesse smiled small in thanks, though deep down she knew Robb would likely never leave her side unless she cast him away herself.
A loud clanking of chalice broke the chattering hall.
A great chair lurched as King Robert stood from his honorable seat at the high table. "Here ye! Men and women of Winterfell's great feasting hall...Baratheon, Lannister and Stark alike...I bid you a cheers as we move closer to our departure of these vast and great, Northern lands…" King Robert roared, eliciting a fury of table banging and men who sung their allegiance drunkingly.
"Aye...good, brave men...all of you! You have carried my banners, raised your swords at my call...I remember your faces…all of you who have served me and helped raise me to this throne! To you!" King Robert boomed once more, downing his chalice piggishly. Eliesse cringed as she watched red liquor slip from the fat man's neck and run wild down his fine silks. This is not a King...she thought to herself, sipping her own glass of wine. And it would seem the King's wife would agree too...Eliesse watched as Cersei Lannister's ever bored and irritated face twisted in disgust as Robert's wine dripped messily about the table, likely landing on the proud Queen herself. Eliesse smirked at the fact.
"In our stay at this proud castle, we celebrated the joining of houses to come...the crown Prince Joffrey and Sansa Stark of Winterfell...May the Gods bless them in their time coming…" Robert's eyes flickered to a bashful Sansa Stark who giggled childishly with her friends and batted eyes at the Prince. Joffrey smiled back, mischievous and proud.
"But tonight, we celebrate once more...the forming of greater alliances, greater power and honorable men and women coming together for sworn duty and reign…The north aligning with the south once more..." Robert began, lifting his chalice to his faithful men and soldiers.
Eliesse glanced to her uncle Jaime Lannister who stared curiously up at the King. He looked confused at what the fat drunk spoke of...and he was part of the Kingsguard. Jaime turned quietly, begging his sisters ear at his side who suddenly looked very content. She whispered gently at the King Slayer, who suddenly went rigid and wide eyed at his seat. He jumped back to gaze in shock at his daring sister.
The look was unsettling, to say the least. At least it was from where Eliesse sat.
What in the Gods had she said?
Eliesse stared curiously at her uncle, hoping to catch his eye. She hoped the truth still remained there and was apparent for her own curious mind. But suddenly, when his eye came and pity that followed it, a cruel realization drew forth and she wished with all her heart and soul she hadn't.
No…
"Robb Stark, Prince of Winterfell...shall marry Eliesse Lannister, the Viperess of Dorne and Tiger of Casterly Rock! Together they too will join their houses! All hail the Lord and Lady of Winterfell!"
—
A/N:
Hi there! Before you cringe and think "Damn it! Another OC and Jon fic where she falls for Robb again...and ultimately stop reading...don't! I promise this is not a theme in my story. Trust me...read the next chapter and A/N at the bottom. It will explain this madness and hopefully relieve you. Don't worry, I hate those Robb x OC x Jon stories too, lol.
~RL