Theon

After he had taken his pleasure with the girl, Theon rolled off of her, leaving her to her side of the bed. He began to rise so that he might dress himself, and take his leave, when she called out to him with her soft voice. "My lord… Stay…"

Theon sat back down on the bed next to her, taking some of her brown hair in his hand. She was a pretty girl. Her eyes were sea-green, which seemed fitting for a Mallister of Seagard he supposed, with high cheekbones, straight teeth and a round face.

They had been careful so far, and especially after Daemon had been caught with the Royce girl, so that none in the castle would know. The King had still been in Winterfell when he had first taken her to bed, and claimed her maidenhead, though none had noticed them so far.

"What would you have of me, my lady?" He asked her.

"Take me again," she said, grabbing his arm.

He cupped her breast in his hand. Her teats were large, and in her nakedness there was nothing to hide them either. Perhaps he should have thought better of it, but he decided to grant her wish.

She laid back down and opened her legs, while Theon crawled back on top of her. The girl was already ready for him, and shuttered a little as he entered her. She began to faintly moan for a little bit before he silenced her by placing his lips to her mouth.

Each one of his thrusts seemed to evoke a response from her, until she took hold of his head in her hands, and pulled it away from her lips, and began to push it down, down towards her breasts.

He realized what she wanted, and obliged by putting his lips around her nipple and sucking. She let out a scream at that, so loud Theon wondered if someone might hear them, and she took hold of his hand and moved it to her other breast that he began to massage with her guiding him.

His hand remained there for a little bit before he let go, and moved his head off her breast. He was a little surprised to see that the one he had been massaging was now red as though he had hurt her, though she didn't seem to mind, but rather enjoyed it.

She was calling out but he silenced her by placing his lips to hers again. It was only a few more moments though before he felt a rush through him, and he spent himself in her.

This time when he had finished, he got up and dressed himself, while she cleaned herself up on the bed. "I could be your salt wife my lord," she called out to him. "I'm sure you wouldn't be the first Greyjoy to take a Mallister for your own pleasures."

Theon felt a smile on his face for some strange reason. "You are betrothed though…" He reminded her. He recalled that a few days past she had gotten word from her father at Seagard, that she was now to wed one of Lord Blackwood's sons.

"Yes… But I'd rather be yours than his," she said back. "Lord Blackwood… He already married one of his sons to Lord Stark's bastard daughter, I don't think he would mind me coming to another's deflowered."

"Perhaps there might have been a time that I would have, but those days are gone I fear. The Old Way is not as favored as it once was," Theon told her.

"And?" She said rising, still naked, and she began to walk over to him. "You could always bring the Old Ways back again, make them new once more."

"If your father could see you-" He said before she cut him off with a kiss to his lips. She had to stand on her tippie toes to do it, before she finished, and went back down.

"He can't see me now. You said your father was a king once, that you were a prince for a time… When you come into the throne, place a crown on your head, and make yourself a king, with me as your queen," she said to him.

Rhaenys would be my queen, he thought to himself, though he knew better than to say such words aloud to her. "My father sought a crown true enough, though it did not end well for him."

Perianne was not pleased with his answer. "You could have it all though my lord… A Crown.. Me… I could give you sons…" She started to say.

"I already have one," Theon responded.

"Healthy and robust sons," she countered. Goren was not the healthiest babe, that much was true enough, though he was still a son.

"Perhaps I have already given you one," he suggested, putting his hand up against her bare belly. It was flat still, though he had always spilled his seed within her.

The notion suddenly put her on edge, and she began to shy away a little, protectively holding her belly. She must not have considered the possibility that he had impregnated her with his seed, he realized.

"No… No, I'm not…" She said, sounding uncertain.

"Good… I would hate for you to have to return to your father with a bastard," Theon said. Lord Jason Mallister was her father, and it had been him who had personally slain his brother, Rodrik at Seagard. Theon did not hold a grudge against Perianne, or her father for that, but the thought had crossed his mind a time or two.

When Theon had finished, he started to walk back over to her, thinking to place a kiss on her lips, though he saw she was crying.

"My lady?" He called out to her.

She wiped away her tears from her eyes. "I… I think… My… Moon's Blood…"

He wasn't sure what to say to that, though he sat down on the bed, and invited her to sit down next to her.

"What if I am truly…" She asked him nervously.

"Then you will need to beg your father for his forgiveness I suppose… You may not be with child though."

He supposed that she would be praying that she hadn't gotten with child, and he might as well add his prayers to hers. Rhaenys he knew would be glad to welcome a third child to their little family, but only if it were her child, not some by-blow of his.

She seemed a little relieved, by his words, but not by much. "Perhaps I should leave you then, my lady," he said, and she nodded.

He walked out of the room that they had been using, leaving the girl alone inside, and he took his mind off of thinking about her as he began to make for his own chambers.

He opened the door to find that Rhaenys was not there, though the dragon eggs made for a strange sight.

After Princess Myrcella had discovered them in the crypts, she had given them to Rhaenys, who had kept all but the ones given to Daenerys and her brothers. One night he had even woken to find that she was sitting before the fire, staring emptily as one of the dragon eggs was nestled amongst the coals. He had wondered if perhaps he had been dreaming, but the next morning when he looked at the dragon eggs, each had been blackened with soot, as though they had been in a fire.

He had thought perhaps to move the eggs elsewhere, but Rhaenys had refused to let him move them. And so they remained in their room.

She had placed an egg into Goren's cradle as well, as had been Targaryen tradition, even if Goren was a Greyjoy, and not a Targaryen. His protests had fallen on deaf ears though, and even when he had threatened to move to a separate bedchamber from her, the eggs had remained, as had he.

The eggs were certainly beautiful to look upon, but the years had turned them to stone, and they were not going to hatch, regardless of whatever Rhaenys dreamt of them.

Often Rhaenys had been open to Theon about her dreams before, and he knew that for years she had dreamt of dragons, but ever since the dragon eggs had been placed in their room she refused to speak of them. He knew though that something had changed about the dreams, something was different now, just room the way she refused to speak about it, he just didn't know how.

After Theon had dressed himself for the day, he left the chambers behind him, and made for the Great Hall to break his fast. He ate some bacon and eggs before Rhaenys had finally found him, and she took a seat across from him at the table.

"Where are the children?" Theon asked.

"Goren is with my mother, and Casella is taking lessons with Maester Luwin," she told him.

He should have figured that it would be that way. Casella often took her lessons with Maester Luwin or Maester Edwyle in the morning now that she was old enough, and they were beginning to teach her how to read on her own, along with Rickon.

And Princess Elia was quite fond of their son Goren too. Theon supposed he could not fault the woman for enjoying the company of her children and grandchildren, though she seemed to like Goren the best of them, perhaps because he was her first grandson, or there was something in him that she saw even that reminded her of someone else.

"I had heard it that the Princess means to go south soon," Rhaenys said.

Theon nodded, unsure what her point was. It seemed well known among the castle that the Princess wanted to go south as soon as Robb returned. Perhaps it was for her family that she wanted to, or because she found the North to be too cold for her liking. In any case, Theon had not paid much care for it.

"If she and Robb go south-" Rhaenys started to say suggestively, before Theon finished her sentence.

"-You want me to return to the Isles…" He said. This was not her first time mentioning this to him.

"Yes," Rhaenys said, nodding. "You have to. I was not so certain you would be allowed too, but now with my mother here, and Daemon's wedding and the way the Princess sent Lord Connington south, I do not think you will receive much objection, not when compared to that."

He supposed that she was right, that Lord Eddard and the King would not take too poorly to the news that he had returned now, especially if they went with the blessing of the Princess.

"The children though…" Theon said. Casella and Rickon were inseparable and Goren was too young for such a voyage to the Isles.

"I can remain here with Goren, and you take Casella," she offered.

"No… Stark will want to keep one of them near him…" Theon told her.

"They mean to take Rickon south too. Casella would certainly be glad to go with him and see the capitol," she suggested. For a moment Theon was unsure, remembering how the Starks always loved to say there had to be a Stark in Winterfell, and how that would work if Robb and Rickon were gone, but he decided not to think about that.

"Casella is too young to be-" he started to say.

"-I was younger than she was when my father was killed and was taken from my mother. I do not wish to part with our children either, but we have to, for their sake and our own," Rhaenys countered. Theon forced himself to admit that she had a point, but he was still certain she was not glad to have been separated from her parents so young.

"Fine," he conceded.

For the rest of breakfast they ate in silence before they left, going separate ways as they exited the main hall. He first made for the yard for his daily practice there, though he did keep an open eye to see if he could find Princess Myrcella as Rhaenys had asked.

When his morning session was done he began to look more in full, wandering through the castle for a little bit, until he finally found the Princess who was knitting with three of her ladies. One of them was Perianne he noticed, who immediately fled when she caught sight of him, and the others he recalled dimly to be the Lydden and Velaryon girl.

"Perianne!" Myrcella called after her lost lady, but she was gone, leaving her with just the two other girls

When the Princess realized the cause was hopeless she turned to Theon. "Do you have something you wish to speak of my lord?"

He nodded. For a moment he supposed he should ask her to send her ladies away, but he realized there wasn't much need to. "You are planning on going south when Robb returns," Theon said.

"If Robb agrees to, yes, with Rickon too," her voice sounding as though she was willing to charm Robb if she had to.

It was just as Rhaenys had said. "Then I may have a need for you then my lady," he told her.

She had a curious look on her face. They had rarely spoken, so no doubt she was intrigued by the notion that he had a sudden need for her now.

"With you going to King's Landing, I would soon return to Pyke as well with your leave," he said.

"You have it," she answered, though it wasn't truly her leave or even Robb's that really concerned him, but that of King Robert and Lord Eddard.

"More than that… I will need you to give word to your father and good-father, to soften the tidings, so that they will allow it. And while Rhaenys and Goren will remain here at Winterfell, I will need you to take Casella south with Rickon," he explained.

"I can," she said.

"Thank you Princess," Theon said, though before he thought to leave he saw another figure had entered, one of the men at arms from the castle.

This man was a stranger to Theon, but he thought little of it. Most of them were strangers after Lord Eddard had gone south taking much of the garrison, and even more when Robb took a good deal with him to Skagos, while many new ones had been trained since.

"The… The men from Skagos are almost here, my lord, my ladies."

Author Notes:

I want to make it pretty clear here that Theon's general nature still hasn't really particularly changed because of his marriage to Rhaenys. He loves her certainly, but he also has no qualms with sleeping around.

Also, Perianne has not had much in terms of quality sex-ed so… Just keep that in mind….

This wasn't really a chapter I knew what to do with, until I thought of the Theon/Perianne bit, which filled it out nicely. I needed to fill some time and this actually did that while adding to the plot and making sense unlike some efforts to try and get another Alyssa chapter in, and I figured I needed another Theon chapter in here too.

Next chapter shall be at Raventree Hall so… Yay for that I guess…

Thanks for reading as always, and a reminder that all reviews, follows and favorites are more than appreciated.

ASOIAF belongs to GRRM, not me.