It was nice not having the threat of abuse hanging over her head, and though she knew it to be no doubt brief, she relished in the fact she wasn't to be used for a cruel mans pleasures. She could read and draw and mend the nightgowns and dresses he'd ruined in his haste to rape her peacefully, and without him around, it was as peaceful as it could be.
She sowed the fabric of her nightgown shut as tight as she could possibly hope to mend it. She'd had to adjust some of her other nightgowns to be accommodating to her growing stomach anyways. It wasn't as if she wasn't doing it for a reason. A soft sigh left her lips as she adjusted it, the quiet one to no doubt remember.
The child within moved and she smiled slightly. "Not even born yet and you've caused so much trouble." She murmured, more to herself than the babe within. Could it hear her? Probably not. There was still just under a season left to go now, and less than a season until she would be graced with his vile presence once again.
She sighed deeply, looking at the flames in the roaring fire. Someone had lit it while she slept and whoever it was that did so -more than likely Theon being the culprit- she was grateful for them doing so. She needed to make at least a garment that would keep the said child warm during the cold season which was all the time. But the bitter than usual cold season was approaching, the time when the snow became waist deep and harsh winds swept across The North. No child would survive that merely wrapped in a pelt.
But what to make? She needed to fashion a pelt to accommodate a babe to be honest and this would be a perfect chance to explore fashioning a simple garment for a newborn babe, a boy or girl regardless although she secretly but not so secretly hoped it was the latter rather than the former.
What would he do to her though if it did in fact turn out to be a girl rather than the longed for son he wanted? He would beat her, her mind sneered at her. He would beat and rape her until she was in no fit state to feed a newborn babe. Would he feed her to his rabid hounds? That terrified her and she found her hands halting in their mending as she thought about such a horrible fate for one who hadn't even had a chance to live.
But then again, he had said he wouldn't do that, but then again too, he was a liar and a bully and most of all, he was a bastard. She couldn't trust him at arms length and she didn't want to either for that matter. He was the monster mothers warned their children about, the beast in the night that if given the chance, would strike you down before you could blink, He was the devil and this child would be the innocent one in all of this, even in spite of the gender of the said child.
Picking up the needle once more, a soft sigh left her full lips. What on earth had she done to deserve such a fate as this?
The cold air that swept through the room made her shudder and shiver in her sleep, and when she awakened in the early morn, her limbs were as stiff as nails and her cough hurt. It wasn't pleasant, but she'd survive. The dying embers in the fireplace provided little warmth so she pulled her swollen and sore self from the bed, walking over slowly to the dying heat.
Picking up the poker and prodding the dying embers with it, she simply stared into the flames.
What to call such a child if it were a girl? She didn't want him to chose such an awful name because he was irritated he didn't get the son that he wanted from her so badly. It wouldn't be long before it turned into the engaged position ready for birth. It was growing fast, the nights and days of torture and pain blending into one long nightmare, one she wanted to end.
The flames crackled and they sparked anew and she placed the poker down with a soft sigh. It was nice not having a monster towering over you -he forever seemed to do that despite being only a hair taller than her. Would he be pleased with a son if it was indeed a boy? No, he would just think she was perfect for giving him those bastard sons and he would never leave her be then.
And worst of all, she'd never, ever, ever be free from this unending nightmare. And that terrified her the most.