Chapter 13: People in Glass Houses
It seemed whatever it was Bran was dragging me to see lived on the complete opposite end of the Glass House. It was a small miracle I didn't break any of the potted plants littering the sides of the thin pathway that ran down the centre of the house on our way there. The deeper we went, the thicker the foliage around us, the stronger the sweet scent of the flowers grew, and the damper the air got. Soon enough, my hair was clinging to my skin with the moisture, curling like tiny sand-snakes around my shoulders and face.
Bran didn't seem phased in the slightest by the heat, though I could clearly see his hair darken a few shades the wetter it got. For someone so tall, broad and burdened with a cane, Bran was moving with impressive speed and assurance down the pathway. I was running at a light jog the entire time just to keep up with him.
Sadly, this meant that when he came to an abrupt halt at the other end of the Glass House, I ended up running into him and falling backwards to the floor.
Or I would have, had he not kept his firm grip on my hand and pulled me to him before I could finish my speedy, graceless decent to the ground. It would be pointless to say that I blushed at that, for it was impossible for my cheeks to get any redder than they were in the heat of the Glass House. Bran's cheeks held a similar, albeit more subdued, pink tint as well, so I knew I wasn't the only one feeling the effects of whatever heating system kept this place the temperature of a steam room at a Dornish bath house.
"Here we are!" Bran grinned at me. At first glance, nothing appeared out of the ordinary at this end of the Glass House, though I could only see about a foot in any direction before another curtain of green plant-life interrupted my view. Vines crept up the walls here as well, white flowers dotting them just as they had where we had entered.
I recognised some plants from Dorne, most likely freshly-potted gifts that my family had brought with them for the Starks; their oranges, dark pinks and yellows reminding me of my bed-chamber floors back home, when the sun shone through its stained-glass windows. Yet, beyond that nothing in particular caught my attention.
I felt bad for a moment, hoping I hadn't disappointed Bran with my lack of a reaction. But when my eyes returned to his face, he was still grinning like a little boy with a new toy-sword.
"You needn't look so worried, Alianor. I haven't shown you what I brought you here to see yet. I still haven't collected on that favour yet."
My shoulders relaxed a little, and I allowed a small smile appear on my face.
"Right, for my favour, I'd like you to close your eyes, Alianor. Can you do that for me? Keep them shut until I tell you to open them, alright?" I nodded, and did as Bran asked. As my eyes closed, I felt the air around me move a little as Bran turned away from me. I heard him walk only a few steps, far enough for him to have passed through the green curtain of vines to the next few feet of the pathway, before he paused and then returned to me.
I kept my eyes closed, breathing deeply as my other senses tried to pick up on anything they could. I felt Bran move close to me, his tunic brushing my arms that I had loosely crossed in front of me, gently clasping my elbows.
A new scent filled my senses, less spicy than that of the Dornish flowers that had previously occupied the air in this area. The new scent was fresher, delicate and reminded me, somehow of the snow in the North. I felt Bran's own breath brush lightly over my face, strangely cooling in the thick air.
"Open your eyes, Alianor" Bran whispered, excitement just about entering his voice. I did as he asked again, and my eyes focused on a blur of blue that was wavering just in front of my nose, close enough that I could smell it. I pulled back to see what it was, and realised it was a rose. A blue rose. The colour of thick ice, its thin petals only just opening, and the thorns running along its stem still fairly small. It was beautiful.
"A blue winter rose." Bran said, twirling it between the two fingers that were holding it, dwarfing the dainty little flower held between them. He held it out towards me a little father, gesturing to take it. I did, holding it lightly, scared to damage it, as delicate as it felt. I didn't say anything, but from the look in Bran's eyes, whatever expression that was on my face must have been enough.
"They only grow so well here at Winterfell. They've grown in the Glass House of Winterfell for centuries, though not all that long in this one, since it's only around a decade old." Bran told me, his eyes on my face as I admired the rose.
"They've appeared throughout the history of Winterfell and the Starks, from the tale of Bael the Bard, to when Rhaegar Targaryen placed a laurel of them in the lap of my aunt, Lyanna, after the Tourney at Harenhall. The statue of her in the crypts has a wreath of them too."
I simply nodded, shifting my gaze to Bran from the flower.
"Thank you." I smiled, biting my lip a little as I suppressed a grin. There was something painfully sweet about the idea of Bran Stark, the towering, direwolf-owning King of the North, getting excited about giving me a single rose.
"My pleasure. Though I was wondering if I might ask for one more favour." Bran asked, gazing into my eyes imploringly.
"Of course. I believe giving me this rose certainly warrants another favour." I replied, unable to supress my grin anymore. My favourite glimmer was in his eyes again, and it made my stomach flutter.
"Good." Bran said, placing a large hand on the small of my back and pulling me closer to him. I heard the faint clatter of his cane falling to the floor, cushioned, no doubt, by the flowers and plants surrounding our pathway. "May I kiss you again?" He asked quietly, an uncertainty in his voice as though he thought for a moment I would ever have said no.
I had nodded my head yes for only a fraction of a second before his lips were on mine for the second time that day (well, third, if you want to be technical about it, but at this point, I couldn't care less). The other hand that had been holding the cane was woven into my damp hair in right after, tilting my face up to his.
I rose up onto my toes to stop Bran from having to stoop too low to continue kissing me, my hands clasping around his neck to help e keep my balance. I felt Bran smirk against my mouth as he felt the adjustment, before he deepened the kiss, his tongue brushing my lower lip, making me gasp and letting his tongue in to move lightly against my own for a moment. I did my best to follow what he was doing as I fought against the urge to make any real noise. No sound I could make would do anything but embarrass me. Thankfully (though equally, sadly) Bran returned to kissing me with just his lips soon after, before pulling away entirely a moment later.
Just like the first time he kissed me, I was breathless when I pulled away, but this time, I wasn't quite as shaky. A small mercy, given the fact that I wasn't seated in his lap for this one, and buckling like a baby deer shaking on its first attempt to stand didn't seem a very appealing idea.
"I must say, Alianor, the faces you make after we kiss are enough to make me do so all day." Bran chuckled, tracing my lower lip with his thumb. I hadn't noticed his hand move from my hair to my cheek. "Wide eyes… mouth open the tiniest bit… and then you do that." He said, smiling as I began to bite my lip after he mentioned my open mouth.
"Well your face is enough to make me want to kiss you all the time, regardless of expression. You're much too pretty for your own good." I replied, opting to go for retort than a blush and stammered reply of some sort of thank you. That gained a bark of laughter from Bran, at least, his eyebrows raising at my words.
"Pretty? Why, thank you, I think." He laughed. "Surely I'd be handsome, not pretty?"
"Not with those lips, my King."
"And what of my lips, my lady?"
"Well, I do believe they're prettier than mine. Much plumper, and softer too, I'd imagine." I replied, smirking at him. Another bark of laughter came from Bran.
"I'd dispute that claim, my lady. You have lovely lips." Bran said, cocking an eyebrow and moving his face closer to mine, our noses almost touching. He glanced down at my lips and back up to my eyes, staring deeply into them.
I felt myself falter, and swallowed deeply to help avoid my voice wavering at all when I spoke, trying to ignore his unfair tactics.
"Are you quite certain, my King? I am an expert in my own lips, and I'd say yours are very pretty. Almost lady-l, nothing." I cut myself off before I finished the word, my own eyes widening at what I was about to say.
"Were you about to say…lady-like, Alianor?" Bran asked, both of his eyebrows up in mock offence. "Did you just say that my lips, the lips of Brandon Stark, King of the North, are lady-like?" I swear his eyes couldn't get any wider.
"N-no…" I said wholly unconvincingly.
"I believe you did. Did you not just say my lips are lady-like, my lady?" Bran asked, his voice low and almost intimidating, if not for the amusement clearly showing on his face.
"Yes- I mean n-no! I mean…maybe? I didn't say it exactly…" I stammered.
"Do you think my lips are lady-like, Alianor?" Bran grinned wolfishly, his hands moving down from my face and from my back, to rest at my waist. I felt them tighten the smallest bit. His face was still close to mine, and I was certain he was still trying to throw me by standing so near.
I paused, thinking over my answer. I couldn't give in now and let him think he'd won, just because the feeling of his cool breath fanning over my face may or may not make me feel like I'd just spun myself in circles a couple of times.
So I straightened up where I stood and squared my shoulders, trying to seem as resolute as I could in my damp, loose training clothes, with my curling hair dripping tiny drops of water to the floor.
"Yes. Yes, I did." I stated almost proudly.
Bran's grin widened, and I saw him bite his tongue as his head tilted to the side, watching at me with an expression on his face that was almost impressed.
"Well, good, then." He said, straightening up himself, his hands still tight on my waist. "In that case, I'm completely justified in doing this."
"Doing wha…!" I barely asked, before Bran started tickling me. This time, my legs truly did buckle beneath me, only this time, it was as I tried to escape Bran's hands and protect my waist.
But Bran's hands were unrelenting, and large, easily trapping me and holding me up, continuing to tickle me as I let out squeals and giggles of laughter.
"St-st-stop-p it-i-t, Br-ran!" I managed to get out between breathless peals of laughter.
"I'm sorry, what was that, my lady?" Bran asked innocently, not stopping for a second.
"Sto-o-p! Pl-lease!" I giggled, doing my best to pull his arms away from me. A futile endeavour, as one thing Bran was not was weak. I might as well have been stroking his arms for all the difference it made.
"Oh, you want me to stop?!" He said in fake surprise. "Well why didn't you say so? I'd be happy to oblige… On the condition that you take it back." He added, his grin changing from wolfish and wide, to one that was equal parts childish delight and cunning.
"I take it back! I take it back!" I blurted, willing to say anything to stop the torture.
"You take what back?" Bran prompted, still tickling.
"I take back what I said! You d-don't have lady lips! You don't! You have the manliest darn lips in all the Seven Kingdoms!" I cried, still trying to wriggle away from Bran's hands. And with that, the tickling ended as abruptly as it had begun. Bran's hands stilled on my waist, and he took a step back, giving me air to breathe and recover.
"There, was that so hard?" He said with the same innocence he had whilst he was tormenting me beforehand. I had no response for him, so instead I opted for a slap on the chest. I doubt he could even feel it, since I had hardly any energy to manage anything more than a feeble tap, but the meaning was still there, I hoped.
"Now that's just not nice, Alianor. Whatever did I do to deserve such cruel treatment?" He said, a hand rubbing his chest, pretending to look hurt. Again I couldn't say anything, still out of breath, but I was able to give him a half-hearted glare.
At that, Bran broke and started laughing, pulling me to him and wrapping his arms around my shoulders. I laughed a little myself, though I buried my face in his tunic to hide the act.
"Come on, the rain has stopped for the moment, it seems. Let's get you back to your chambers at least. Some dry clothes will do you some good." Bran stated, leaning down to grab his cane from the floor. He turned and continued on into the Glass House.
"What about our other clothes?" I asked, glancing back at the way we had come.
"I'll send a servant to collect them once the rain has stopped completely for the day, and you're dry and comfortable." I nodded at his reply, satisfied.
We made it to the door the other end of the Glass House in almost no time, and from there, we made our way through a maze of hallways and passages until we got to the courtyard. The building containing the guest chambers was only just on the other side of this corner of the courtyard, barely twenty feet away.
Except the ground itself was more a sea of mud and water than it was actual land. If I were to try to walk across it, it'd reach my knees. Wonderful.
Bran seemed to have the same train of thought as I did, as he stopped walking at the edge of the stone walkway we were on, the water lapping at the edge of the steps down to the courtyard.
"Rebuilding the guest chambers on the second floor truly was a well advised idea." He said ore to himself than to me. Bran turned to face me, and glanced at my feet. I followed his gaze to look at my muddy riding boots that reached mid-calf. He then looked straight down at his own, much larger boots that just reached his knees.
"Right then, that settles it." He said, smiling at me again.
"What settles what?"
"I'm carrying you." He replied simply, a small shrug on his shoulders. My eyes widened and I took a few steps back.
"The Seven Hells you are!" I scoffed.
"That's right, I am. You can come willingly, or I'm going to have to just pick you up, Alianor. This water will only reach the middle of my boots, whilst it'll swamp yours and you'll ruin them entirely. So, what is it going to be?"
I didn't reply, only backing up a few more steps.
"So be it." He grinned, advancing quickly. Before I could move any further away, Bran dropped his cane and grabbed my hand. Then he ducked down, and pulled me over his shoulder. He grabbed his cane as he straightened up, me still slung over his shoulder.
I let out a squeal of indignation, immediately banging my fists on his back as Bran started to make his way to the guest house. At least, that's where I assumed he was heading. I couldn't know for sure, since my only choice of view was the walkway we had just been standing on, the muddy ground, or the bottom of Bran's tunic.
"Let me down!" I cried, never ceasing to bang on his back, though I doubt he could feel those either, as I couldn't hit very hard and he still had layers and layers of clothes on.
Unlike me.
I must have looked a sight to anyone who could have been watching. Bare legs peaking out from between loose trousers and leather boots, clearly showing I had no underclothes on; wet hair falling over my face, a baggy tunic with the laces undone at the neck and flicking in my face. And finally, slung over the shoulder of Bran Stark, beating my fists on his back, kicking my legs in the air and he gripped e around the back of my thighs with one hand, and used his cane with the other as he carried me across a sea of mud, water and hay.
My mother would have died a thousand times over if she had seen this. That part made me happy at least.
I was still kicking and hitting when Bran reached the guest house, went inside and gently placed me down on the stone stairs, far away from the water that was covering the bottom level of the building in a thick, ankle-deep layer of muddy water. Bran stepped out of the water himself, and kicked his boots against the wall, shaking away most of the water and mud that clung to them.
"Again, there. That wasn't so bad, was it?" He said with a smirk. I took in a deep breath, ready to scold him for picking me up like a sack of potatoes and man-handling me all the way across the main courtyard of Winterfell, when I saw his face.
And I couldn't do it. He was too damn happy. All red-cheeked and smiling, that stupid, lovely glimmer shining ridiculously bright in his eyes, making anything I was about to say leave my mind.
So I let out the breath and smiled back.
"Thank you. You didn't have to do that, and it was very kind of you. I shouldn't have hit you like I was." I said.
"You were hitting me?" He asked, confusion crossing his face. I laughed and shook my head, grabbing his hand and pulling him with me as I made my way up the stairs.
Soon enough we were at my chamber doors; and from the lack of noise inside and on this level, most of the servants were most likely in the Main Hall or elsewhere in Winterfell.
I decided I wasn't quite ready to end my time with Bran for the day, so instead of doing our usual hesitation outside my bed chambers, I opened the doors myself and walked inside, gently pulling Bran with me. The surprise on his face made me giggle.
"I thought you were going to be getting changed into something dry?" He asked.
"I am," I replied, grabbing a chair from my dresser and placing it nearer Bran, facing away from the half of my chambers nearest my clothes trunk and dresser. "Which is why you're to sit in that chair until I finish doing so, alright?"
Bran opened his mouth to protest, but I didn't have the time to argue with him over it, so instead, I started to remove my tunic. I had only reached my hips before I saw Bran spin around and sit down quickly in the chair. From where I was, I could see the blush burning his cheeks, and relished in the fact that I had put it there, after he had done the same to me so many times before.
I changed quickly into a loose dress and new underclothes, all of them dry, warm and soft on my skin, so different from the wet training clothes that had felt so itchy when damp. I used a discarded cloth to quickly dry the worst of the wet from my hair, and tapped Bran on the shoulder before I began to braid it.
He turned around, and moved the chair to face me now instead. His blush had died down somewhat, but the pink in his cheeks still showed it had been there.
"Y-you're comfortable now? And dry?" He asked, watching my hands as I plaited my hair over my right shoulder.
"Yes, thank you. Much better. Now we can talk comfortably. Unless you need to dry off too?" I asked, noticing Bran's hair was still damp.
"No, I'm alright. My clothes are dry, just my hair is wet." He replied, taking the cloth from me as I walked over to him, sitting on the edge of my bed right beside his chair.
I couldn't help but laugh when he shook his head like a dog after rubbing it with the cloth for a moment, droplets of water flying every direction. It fell back into his face, the dark strands falling in his eyes.
I leaned in closer and moved them away with the tips of my fingers, smiling when Bran took a deep breath and closed his eyes as I did. He opened them when I pulled my hand away, catching it in his as I did, and lacing his fingers between mine.
"You truly are one of the strangest women I have ever met, Alianor. And I mean that in the best way imaginable." He said, playing with my fingers as he stared at our hands.
"And you are one of the strangest men, Bran. Maybe that's why we get along so well." I reply with a grin. I feel him snort a small laugh, and his grip tighten a little, his eyes meeting mine as he brushed his fingers over my knuckles.
"I think you might be right."
I am so sorry for the unintended hiatus. I have no valid excuse as to why it happened, other than a conglomeration of writer's block, school, and life. I am very sorry. I can't say it won't happen again, as it might, but next time I will warn you guys, and try and make sure it doesn't last quite as long as this one did.
Hope you enjoy the chapter, it's sort of a filler to get me back into the swing of writing, but somethings better than nothing. :)
Again, any typos noticed, just mention them in the reviews if you want to.
Thank you,
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