The first time he ever crossed enemy lines it was for her. After Lyanna had retreated to her rooms, Arthur had spent the rest of the night planning. He made her a promise and even though she thought he wouldn't keep it, he was going to try his damndest.
He had enough gold to cross over to Essos, but those funds wouldn't last long. Not to mention the supplies needed for the journey to the nearest port wouldn't last either. The sun had yet to crest when he heard the familiar footsteps on the stairs outside his room. He let out a long sigh as the door crept open with a low groan.
"I know of a captain near Wyl who will take us east, but I haven't an idea where to port." His hands were pushed down against the table and his head hung low as he glanced across the maps spread out in front of him. "Braavos would be the best. But that long of a journey might leave a trail behind." As his rambling continued, he noticed she hadn't moved from the doorway. When his eyes finally darted up towards her, he noticed her furrowed brows.
"What is all this Arthur?" She was looking at him as if she couldn't quite believe what she was seeing. She took another step into the room pulling the door shut tightly behind her. Her eyes began to survey the mess laid out on the table before her. She stumbled back against the door and let out a frenzied breath. "Have you gone absolutely mad?" Arthur was taken back by the fierceness in her voice. She made her way to the front windows that overlooked the only road to the tower. With her back towards him, Arthur could see the stiff position she held herself in. He saw the motion of her head as if she was searching for something. Arthur felt a chill go through his body. Surely he hadn't misread the situation. She wanted to leave, right?
As she turned toward him, the swirling steel of her eyes held him still. "The prince could return at any moment. What do you expect to happen when he returns and finds you planning my escape?" His gaze never left hers even as she marched her way towards him. Her glare was hard as she stopped only a foot or two in front of him. His stomach turned to knots as she stared him down. There was a wariness in her voice he wasn't able to decipher. Was she worried more about the prince finding out than she was about ever leaving this place?
The silence hung heavy in the air. Her question still unanswered, Lyanna shook her head and took a step closer. When her eyes had returned to his, Arthur saw a sadness he hadn't noticed before. Her hands rested on his waist as she stared up at him.
"This is reckless, Arthur. If he ever found out, he would kill you. Your past together won't matter. He has plans for me. I told you. He seemed almost fanatical yesterday. He wouldn't hesitate to get rid of you if he thought you were in his way." She got angrier the longer she spoke. She made to pull away, but Arthur grasped her forearms and pulled her back to him before she could leave him. "I won't let you get pulled into this. I did this. I made this stupid mistake." Her voice, which had started out fierce, seemed to break all at once.
"I know you think you have to save me, but I don't want you to. My father and brother died because of what I did because of the choices I made. I will carry their deaths with me for however long I have left. I can't carry yours too Arthur." Her eyes were downturned and pooled with tears when she finished speaking. Arthur grasped her chin before she could pull away. When her eyes met his, he was scared of the finality he saw there.
"I think you underestimate me. I made you a promise Lyanna and I intend to keep it." His words did little to reassure her. She tilted her head and gave him a sad smile as she began to pull away. He pulled her back firmer than he had ever been with her. She stumbled into his chest. Her hands grasped his tunic. He started to speak before he let her body pressed against his effect him.
"No! Listen to me Lyanna. I'm not letting you stay here and I'm not sending you out to sea by yourself. I don't care if you don't want my help." He was breathing harder than normal. He tried to control the volume of his voice but everything seemed harder to control with her pressed so close to him. "My death would be my own, not yours. It would be my choice. A choice I would be glad to make. A choice I would make over and over again." Arthur's voice started to waver. He took a deep breath before he placed his hands on her neck. "It would be the easiest choice I've ever had to make." He felt a shiver go through her body as he rubbed his thumbs along her jaw.
Her eyes had fluttered close as his lips ghosted over hers. He held her close, never pushing for more. The words left him before he realized his mouth was moving. "You're not leaving without me Lyanna. You hold my heart in your hands. I'd die of a broken heart before I'd die on Rhaegar's sword."
Arthur swore she could hear his heartbeat in the silence that followed his confession. Her previously closed eyes seemed to be searching every inch of him. Before he could take it back or make up some weak excuse, she was pushing up into him. Her hands, still clutching his shirt, pulled him down to her. Her lips moved against his with reverence.
When she pulled away, his lips followed just as hers did only hours before. Unlike last night, Lyanna welcomed Arthur's chasing lips. His groan filled the room. His body was working faster than his mind. In no time at all he had Lyanna pushed up against the table with one leg wrapped around him. His hand moved up her knee and around her thigh, pulling the light dress she wore with it. The need to breathe soon proved too much. Both pulled away, panting. Arthur's mouth quickly returned leaving open mouth kisses along her jaw before settling on her neck. His desperation poured through him and onto her. Every moan and whine and gasp that he pulled from her only added more fuel to the burning that was soon to overtake him.
"Arthur…" The desperate moan of his name quickly pulled him back to reality. He pulled himself away from her neck. Her cheeks were stained red, her eyes were closed, and her lips were parted.
"Wherever you need me that's where I'll be." Arthur felt what little control he held over his own feelings slip away. Looking at her left him bare. Any defense he had fell away when she returned his gaze. He knew by now that her eyes showed everything. For the first time in all the months he had known her, he saw an openness that hadn't been there before. He saw something he had been hoping to see for weeks. She finally believed him.
"I never wanted to hurt anyone or see anyone get hurt. I just... I didn't want to marry Robert." Lyanna pulled away and made her way around the table picking up the spare maps and documents along the way. "And it was selfish. And stupid. And I wish I could take it back." She stood across the room from him. All evidence of his would be treason held firmly against her chest. "I lost my father and my brother. I won't lose another. If your words are true, let us leave now. But not across the sea." Arthur heard the fierceness in her voice but her eyes were pleading.
"I've already told you I don't want you to save me, but would you run away with me?" Her words were earnest and held a bit of sadness. As if he would deny her. Her mouth was already moving before he had the chance to answer. "Because I am quite sure if I hold your heart in my hands than min-"
Arthur made his way around the table grabbing his greatsword along the way. Lyanna fell silent at his sudden movement. He fell to his knee before her, laying Dawn across the other. He looked up to her hoping she saw his sincerity.
"My sword is yours, my shield is yours, I am yours. I swear it by the old gods and the new." Arthur had made many vows in his life. Those as a knight had been easy to follow, be brave and just, defend and protect the young and innocent. But those as a Kingsguard had been harder seeing as they often clashed with those of being a knight in Aery's court. They had all been easy vows to make but harder to keep as the years went on.
"By the old gods and the new.." The whispered words pierced through the silence in the room.