Perfectly Prejudiced Chapter Four: A Bizarre Adventure
Two Weeks Later
Typing aggressively on her keyboard, it took Jeyne lots of focus until she was in the right mind to resume creating the introduction of the new project. In no time, she had dived into a whole different dimension, completely blocking out the noises covering the medium of the dressing room around her.
"It looks good on her, indeed, but it'll make me look fat."
"Fat?! You're practically the human adaptation of an anorexia case!"
'The inevitable is finally happening.' Jeyne typed, 'That is, the new form of casualness joining forces with allure and femininity.'
"Sans, it's pretty alright, but for all the gods' sakes, I feel like I'm not leaving shit for the imagination."
"You're just being insecure!"
'It will be yours for the taking, thanks to the soon-to-be launched brand of Fleur Tressure'
"Oh boy, no way in any hell you'll force me to put this on."
"What is it this time?!"
"I'll be caught dead wearing this offending... pink color."
"It's called peach!"
'Inspired by the dazzling collection of the newest Victoria's Secret lingerie line, Fleur Tressure had decided to create one of its own.'
"Someone looks very interested."
"Is she snoring?"
"Arya!"
'There has to be something missing, and we'll fill in that void when it comes to this area of clothing.'
"I actually like this one."
"What do you think?"
"I might as well dress as a septa."
"Why?!"
"A' lil bit too innocent for my taste."
"Ugh!"
'What was missing, we had concluded, was the blend with the rest of the women's clothes.' That did not even make any fucking sense, Jeyne groaned, resetting that last sentence and starting over. 'What was missing-'
She blinked, staring at her lap and realizing that the screen had vanished and the keyboard was no longer under her fingers.
"How about you contribute to this just a little bit?!" Sansa came into her line of sight, baring her teeth. "Does this look like a work office to you?!"
Jeyne watched in horror as Sansa closed the laptop and threw it on the other coach with no consideration. I didn't even save it, she almost cried with actual sadness.
"Those Baratheons are a pair of assholes," Sansa grumbled, "Popping a new project out of thin air when they know that you're here."
"Sansa," Princess Myrcella gasped, "Don't talk about my uncle like that!"
"Nor my brother." Margery warned.
"It's bloody obvious that they're doing this just to ruin my wedding!"
"Of course," Jeyne rolled her eyes to the back of her head, "Because everything revolves around you and the wedding."
"Precisely." Sansa answered without question, motioning toward the three dresses that were laid on the table. "We agreed on these so far, now be the fabulous fashion designer that you claim you are and give us a good opinion."
She eyed the first beige dress, and instantly rejecting it since any color that was close to white was forbidden when it came to bridesmaid outfits, not mentioning how tight and unflattering it would look on most of them.
The next one seemed something a belly dancer would wear, which will, again, prove more distracting than complementing next to the wedding dress.
Then came the said peachy colored short dress, which was Jeyne's favorite because of the laces, a detail she always loved in any outfit, but that color was also close to white and was immediately out of the picture.
And last but not least, with a turtle neck and long sleeves, the violet silk gown was next, and she didn't even bother to give it another look.
"I see a pattern." Jeyne shook her head with a sigh, plucking out the root of the problem. "Sansa, these all look like things you would wear, that look good on you, not the rest of us."
A snake snorted in the background. "Says the Queen of Love and Beauty. You're being too modest, aren't you?"
"Do me a favor, Marg," Jeyne said, not bothering look at Margery behind her. "Just keep your poisonous, low-key spiteful compliments to yourself."
"Cut it off, you two." Sansa barked, then turned her attention to the woman who was in a deep slumber and instantly throwing a magazine at her like a sniper. "And you, wake up!"
Jeyne took her time to finally look at all the familiar faces sitting around the room, all females, who were present for Sansa's bridesmaids dress fitting after arriving individually within the last two weeks. The only ones who actually looked remotely interested were Myrcella and Miranda, who would pass for the role of bridesmaids with flying colors.
The rest however, didn't look as excited to be there, staring from Jeyne Westerling, who really seemed like she came along because it was an obligation, to Ygritte, who kept looking around and snarling at everything as if she was in a strange planet, to Margery, the snake that couldn't stop glaring at Jeyne's direction, which, mind you, was returned more hatefully, and finally, the most uninterested of all, the youngest Lady Stark.
"Seven hells!" Arya rubbed her sore forehead after the attack, "What's wrong with you?!"
"Me?! You are the one who's been sleeping since the fitting started!"
"And you still don't seem to get the hint already." Arya shot back, finally sitting up. "I told you I don't want to be one of your fucking bridesmaids."
"You're my only sister!" Sansa replied, incredulous. "It comes with the job description!"
"Then I quit this alleged godforsaken job." Arya slumped against the coach, grabbing her now very long hair by a fist and pushing it to the back so she can sit more comfortably. "I just want to get the hell out of here-"
"And go back to Mag," Margery fluttered her lashes in a mocking manner. "How could I even be away from him for just a few hours?"
"Do I sense undeniable jealousy?" Arya deadpanned. "Or just pure bitchiness?"
Jeyne smirked. "Probably both."
Margery shot both of them a dirty look. "Your ignorance is remarkable."
"Your stupidity, however, is not." Jeyne copied her irritating voice, immediately high-fiving Arya next to her.
"Can you all focus here?!" Sansa snapped, "We need to agree on a dress before the day is over!"
"No way in hell I'm spending an entire day on this crap," Arya told her, completely serious. "I've got better things to do."
"Gods," Sansa stomped her foot against the floor, exactly like a child. "I can't believe you're choosing Mag over me!"
"Please, I'll choose anyone over you." Arya leaned back, showing off her beautifully sculptured biceps, nothing short for a highly paid kickboxing trainer. "And I was going to spend time with Jon, to hell with that bullheaded piece of shit. "
Sansa returned the evil look with one of her own. "Did he finally cheat?"
"Fuck off!" she used her notorious comeback. "And no, we had a fight."
The entire room snickered.
"What?!"
"Arya," Miranda said, very amused, "Was there a specific point in time, since eternity, that you weren't fighting?"
"You two must be surviving solely on angry sex." Ygritte noted.
"Lots of it." Sansa added, wrinkling her nose. "Seriously? Could you just tone it down at night? Your chambers are right next to mine!"
"So I have a great sex life," Arya put two hands in the air, scuffing, "Fucking sue me for it."
"Not as great as you think." Ygritte winked.
Arya snapped her head toward her with a piercing gaze. "Is that a challenge?"
"Aye, and one you can't win."
"Try beating twice a day on normal days."
"Try beating four."
"You're so full of shit, Gritte."
Westerling cocked her head to the side. "I suddenly feel very lacking."
"I suddenly feel like a pedophile." Margery frowned.
"You guys are disgusting!" Sansa exclaimed.
Jeyne sighed, bringing out her sketchbook with one purpose, which was to speed things up and go back to her work as soon as possible.
"Sansa, I'm sorry honey, but these won't work." She said honestly, grabbing a pencil from her purse. "Tell you what, leave the bridesmaid dress business to me, alright?"
"What do you suggest?" luckily, Sansa didn't seem offended by what she said, but actually hopeful.
"Let's see," her pencil connected with the surface of the paper, and Jeyne's hand started drawing on its own by instinct, finishing the shape of the silhouette in less than five seconds. "I liked the design of the third dress, but let's alter it a bit."
By then Sansa was stationed behind her, watching her draw an overall very simple short dress with a puffy skirt, sleeveless, and with a heart shaped neckline that left everything above it bare.
"I loved the laces, but let's add some more." She resumed sketching the lacy top that covered everything from the collarbone, the side of the shoulders, and halfway down the arms until they reached the elbows with a needlerun pattern. "It's very simple, chique, and it will really fit with the design of the wedding dress."
"I love it," Sansa said, although, she wasn't smiling. "But what will you do with this? We only have a week left, Jeyne."
"You underestimate me, sweetheart." She smiled wickedly, "Don't worry about it. Though, I'm still not sure which color of fabric we shall use."
"Black." Arya instantly said.
"Arya, why don't you shut the fu-"
"Actually, horseface might be right." Jeyne narrowed her eyes at the drawing, completely seeing it alive with an ashy color, "And with a white strap, it'll reach perfection."
She drew the strap around the waist of her model, but as a very thin one and decided to turn it into a braid design, tied at one hip with the ends of it loose along the length of the dress. Her eyebrows rose, realizing that it actually looked pretty fantastic.
When Jeyne turned the sketchbook for everyone to see, she was proud to watch the nods and smiles directed at her design.
"Not bad." Arya shrugged, "But seriously, Sansa, why don't you think outside of the box? I suggest we don't wear dresses in the first place and just go with-"
"Shut the fuck up, Arya!"
She whined like an overly abused puppy after a beating that went against animal rights, feeling her entire body enter a state of paralyses, her muscles aching from almost forty eight consecutive hours of work.
If she thought that being the star of a photoshoot along with a walking sex god who kept teasing her every waking minute of the day, for an entire week, was bad, then she should've really considered the piles and piles of work that Renly and Loras were hiding from her, and upon inspection, she found out that being away for just a few days had almost put the company into absolute chaos.
Her partners were trying too hard not to let her know and to enjoy her "family vacation" but one call to her secretary revealed all the underlying madness that was happening when she was away.
Their financers who were supporting the upcoming lingerie collection that Jeyne had wanted to start a long time ago had demanded a presentation, which was always a part of her job and not anyone else's, and naturally, it put the whole company in a very sticky situation until she found out and went on a rampage.
Jeyne didn't care how far away and detached she was at the time, no way in hell anyone would distract her from all the effort that she had put into the whole thing.
But finding time between being Sansa's bridesmaid, taking care of Sansa's work along with Theon, keeping an eye on the campaign for the Queen of Love and Beauty, making dresses for seven women including herself, and starting the lingerie line, turned into an utter physical and mental exhaustion in less than a week.
She covered her eyes with the crook of her elbow, relishing the victorious sensation after sending a completed presentation for Fleur Tressure, thus slowing down the work load on her, and sank against the coach, knowing that Sansa would've never bothered to buy such a comfortable piece of furniture if she didn't sleep on it herself.
Sansa's office in the company became her second home since her visit to Winterfell, after Robb's arrival, the guests just kept coming and coming until all scales were broken to pieces, Jeyne couldn't think of one royal and ancient house that hasn't graced the castle at this point, and the wedding was due to a whole week still. She was afraid shitless of what was coming next so she had to flee whenever she could.
All the Starks and Tulleys and their spouses and their soulmates and their children and their relatives... holy gods, every human being she knew or heard of were there by now, not mentioning the army of paparazzi that took no rest, who actually camped outside the castle and attacked every living specimen who came and went, mostly for the Stark children, but a huge chunk present for Gendry Waters alone since he practically became a sensation after the first BB5 album was released two years ago.
Jeyne swam into the cloud of nothingness until random shapes covered her vision, notifying her that she was in the earliest stages of sleep and she prayed that it could come soon. Having fought with insomnia for endless days now, she knew that she needed to put that mind of hers in rest or else her brain cells were at risk of dying out sooner or later.
Jeyne still remembered in clear vision every single detail of every single shoot she had to endure with Theon, or in better words, relish and pretend it was real; just two lovers staring and touching each other, spreading vibes of romance into the air around them.
She relived the final stage a week ago when Jeyne finally put on the wedding dress, the most beautiful piece that Sansa had ever made, or was it just the idea of it that was so beautiful? Or the way he kept staring at her with an untamed smile the whole time, even when he was repeatedly asked to tone it down?
Just like the silly imaginative woman she was, Jeyne couldn't help but pretend that it was all real, just for a few moments. She knew that look that was always cast her way, capturing her in an invisible net that only the two of them can see, not only when she was in costume, but every time Jeyne was at his range of vision.
That hunger, that lust, and that longing that no doubt was a replica of her own, itching to touch and feel that wildfire again whenever they were in contact, and not just for show, not just for a few rare moments.
Only if she could count the many times, when the staring became too much to handle physically, how he seemed like he was a hair away from just grabbing her and taking her away, from kissing her until she couldn't function anymore.
Jeyne felt the ghost of fingertips caressing her cheek in such a tender manner she couldn't have felt if not for the wildfire striking into her, too incomprehensible, too warm, like a flame of desire that burned everything that touched its way with ecstasy.
With shadowy movements, a thumb began to stroke her chin, moving to fondle her bottom lip in sensual touches. Jeyne's mouth opened, her tongue licking on the head until she found herself sucking on it, eager to have a taste of him.
Heavy breathing rang in Jeyne's ears, hot tickles of condensation forming on the side of her neck from a mouth hovering over her skin, the tiniest moan escaped from her throat when the thumb slipped away, but was instantly replaced with a pair of rough lips that covered her own, stopping the airway, unleashing a forceful tongue to claim the inside of her mouth as his own, and kissing the living daylight of her.
She gasped, sitting up in a haste and putting an instant hand on her lips, and not finding a culprit in sight as to what the hell just happened.
Get your shit together, Jeyne scolded herself, I'm pretty sure that having wet dreams in your office is nowhere near appropriate, or healthy even.
Especially when the star of your fantasy is taboo.
For now, or forever, who the hell even knew?
She heard shuffling and Jeyne yelped, positioning herself on the end of the coach and facing the desk, which seemed to be the source of where that sound was coming from.
"Oh, sorry." The star of her fantasy said, directing the flashlight at her direction and making her wince. "Did I wake you up?"
"Theon," Jeyne reached for her phone and unlocked it, speaking to her soulmate in pure irritation, "What the bloody hell are you doing? Sneaking in Sansa's office at-" she stared at the clock that read 02:33 a.m, "This ungodly hour?!"
"Don't mind me, I just left something here." He answered nonchalantly, "Continue your nap."
"You just magically forgot something inside of Sansa's locked drawers?" she called on his bullshit, slowly standing up, "What are you up to?"
"Nothing." He said quietly then saw the special look she gave him and sighed, directing the flashlight straight at her again, almost blinding her. "Okay, I'm looking for a bobby pin, alright?"
Jeyne crossed her arms around her chest, "You could've just asked me."
"You don't have one on."
"So what?" she double checked the layers of her hair, confirming his theory. "Are you finally getting influenced by Doreah to do a makeover?"
"Please." He snorted, "I'm already too hot for my own damn good; the world can't handle a makeover."
Neither can I, she wanted to say, but instead nodded her chin at the edge of the table. "There are some in the pen holder."
After lots of fondling and unnecessary noises, Theon yelled 'Aha!' too loudly, holding two pins like it was a sought for treasure. "Dear Jey, you're my savior."
For some reason, neither the tone of his voice nor the vibe she received told her that he was in any way joking when he said that, but she brushed it off, focusing at the situation at hand. "Alright, now, what in god's name are you trying to do?"
He put an index finger on his lips, the lips that were on hers just a few minutes ago, but in an entirely alternative world. "It's a secret."
To hell with your goddamn secret. With clinched teeth, she walked after him when Theon decided to sneak out, his flashlight still in hand since pretty much every single employee was in their homes and under warm covers already, leaving the hallways and rooms dim.
"Where the hell are you going?" she whispered, trying to keep up with his pace.
"You'll see."
Jeyne was surprised that he didn't even seem to mind her following him during this bizarre late night adventure that he seemed to have, and judging by his movements, accurate and not playful, she knew it was one hell of a planned, thought over adventure.
Five minutes later, Jeyne was cursing all the gods that ever existed, and taking the most impactful mental note to not ever be caught in the same elevator as her soulmate, which proved a stressful workout even when they were standing at each of the ends and not moving an inch.
The sexual tension, his now powerful scent that was almost suffocating, those godforsaken eyes that bore into her, and that thoughtful, mysterious, and shaking gaze that was directed at her the whole time could've equaled a thousand words, words that she would kill to decipher.
"What?!" she snapped at him, finally making him break the suspenseful eye contact.
He shrugged, the shape of a wicked smirk evident on his turned face.
Reaching the highest floor, the door finally slid open, allowing some non compressed air to enter her lungs and enabling her to breathe naturally. She raised both of her eyebrows, wondering what the hell they were doing at Lord Stark's quarters of the building.
By the time she regained her focus, Theon had already snuck his way to the front of his father's office, which was naturally closed after the working hours, being the most important area of the company, and she watched in absolute incredulousness as he brought the pin and actually started to try and unlock the door.
"Are you out of your mind?!" Jeyne whispered a yell, appearing right behind him, "What the fuck are you doing?"
"Trying to break into the office." He answered like it was the most casual thing ever.
"Why?!" she couldn't possibly remain calm anymore, "Theon, there are cameras here!"
"Of course I know," he narrowed his eyes, concentrating on what he was doing. "I told Desmond that I heard noises and that was enough to send him running to the basement and distract him for another half an hour."
"What if he checked the footage when he came back?!"
"Come on, that old security guard is nowhere near as dedicated as you make him seem." He explained, "Relax, I wouldn't have planned this for the past month if I didn't plot every move."
"Past month?!" her jaw hanged. So he never helped Sansa with Little Bird and hung around the company all this time just for innocent, work related purposes. I called it. I fucking called it. "What are you going to do? Steal money or something?"
"Jey, sweetheart, I don't want to brag but I'm one of the richest men alive." He smiled thinly, slightly offended by the accusation. "You'll just see soon enough, alright?"
Jeyne watched him work, in which, as far as it was going, he was failing in his pick locking attempt miserably, and all what she could think of was how he just called her sweetheart for the first time ever.
While trying to commit a crime, how romantic.
"Why are you even letting me see this?" she asked, completely curious as to how laid back he seemed by her presence. "A man in his right mind wouldn't want any witnesses."
"The thing is," he stopped his work for a few moments, "I trust you."
"Do you even know what you're doing?" Jeyne muttered, knowing that with one more heartwarming phrase, she was possibly going to start swooning in the spot.
"Of course I do, baby," he winked at her, "All these YouTube tutorials would not be in vain."
Jeyne looked elsewhere, "Can you please stop with the endearments?"
"Oh yes." He said it with so much bitterness that Jeyne almost tasted it in her own mouth. "How can I even think of getting comfortable with my own soulmate? What a sin I have just committed!"
And whose fault is it that it turned out this way? Bloody fucking hypocrite!
"I'm sorry." He said all of a sudden. "That was such a fucked up thing to say. Forget it."
She grumbled, searching through the back pocket of her jeans and pulling the chain of keys that was given to her. "Here."
He glared at it hatefully, which he knew was a remark on how shitty his skills were. "Are those Sansa's keys?"
"Yep." She dangled them in her hand but he refused to take, so with a sigh, she pushed his mess away and grabbed the biggest key and shoved it into the keyhole.
"Don't be ridiculous, why would Sansa even have-" then the knob was turned, making him scowl. "Of course she had father's fucking office key."
He entered the room like it was an oasis, leaving the bobby pins for her to pick up, only then did she realize that it was very, very strange that he knew she didn't have one on, even in the darkness of Sansa's room, and with that look he kept giving her all the way here, and that smirk... "Theon?!"
"Yeah?" he was busy bringing a box out from gods knew where, putting it at Lord Stark's table for further inspection.
"Did you- Did you-" she gulped, "Did you kiss me?"
Theon lifted his head, the box completely forgotten as panic demonstrated itself on him. "Oh, shit."
"Did you?"
"I thought you were asleep."
"You don't even deny it?!" she threw the pins at his direction, feeling like a complete idiot.
"On my defense," he held his index finger in the air, "You should've seen the way you looked at that moment. I swear to the Drowned God, Jey, you were lying there and practically screaming 'Theon kiss me. Do it Theon'."
"Unbelievable!" she strode his way angrily, "You can't just fucking do that!"
He was already backing away, feeling her anger in strong dozes. "Listen, I was just going to cup your cheek and leave but then, for fuck sake, you started sucking-"
"Shut up!" Jeyne was so flustered and humiliated she wanted to just die right then and there, "I wasn't even-"
A thump startled the both of them, and when she looked, Jeyne saw the box opened on the floor with a pile of papers spread everywhere around it.
Theon knelt down next to them immediately, pulling them out and examining each paper like his life depended on it.
Jeyne was more than just curious at this point, feeling how desperate he was becoming especially when he got his hands on one legal document that oozed 'Top Secret'.
"What is this, Theon?" she asked, anxious.
"A while ago I ran into a random article that caught my interest, it was about an event that I've never heard of, and strangely enough, it was centered on an incident that happened in the North Company Lines." Theon's voice was low, shaking with anger, the most alien emotion that someone like him could ever be consumed with. "Exactly sixteen years ago."
Jeyne did not catch a hint, did not know what that date represented, all she knew was after the next few words, the temperature around the room dropped a couple of degrees.
She listened as he read every word out loud, waited til everything sunk in, for her, or for him, Jeyne had no idea, she just found herself desperately wishing that she wasn't there.
She wished she wasn't there when he finished and looked at her with the most devastating mixture of emotions Jeyne had ever witnessed and felt her whole life.