Before Shona had left Hightower her father had gifted her three things. The first had been a hound from her father's own pack. He was a lithe little thing with lanky legs and pricked ears. His coat was vibrant mahogany and white. The color so rich that in the sun he almost looked made of flame hence the name Blaze. He was still in his puppy phase, her father had warned, so he was playful and goofy and always wanting his belly rubbed. When he was not sleeping amongst her possessions he was running with tongue drooping from his mouth beside her second gift on which she rode.
The horse was the most beautiful Shona had seen, and twice as graceful. The mare was pristine white in color with only the smallest splotch of pink marring her muzzle. She had been wild once before and captured outside the deserts of Asshai. Shona felt as if her white mare could outrun the wind with her long slender legs carrying her. Sometimes she dreamt of riding effortlessly along the Red Wastes, which lied across the Narrow Sea, with the wind whipping her golden hair laughing all the while. Her father had teased her as she mounted Shai for the first time, "A dainty mare for a dainty lady." The mare was ever so dainty, but Shona could feel nothing but power between her thighs as they rode as one.
Shona touched the necklace around her throat at the thought of her father and his third and final gift to her. The gift that held the most meaning to the youngest Hightower. A narrow vial of sand on a thin chain so she'd never be far from home. The gift had warmed her heart and sent a new wave of tears to her sore eyes. Her middle brother Cadlan had collected the vial of sand that morning, and her eldest brother Bristan had worked on the beautiful chain holding it since her last name day. It was tiny and delicate. A perfect fit so it hung loosely around her petite, pale neck and dangled safely between her breasts. The metal felt cool against her skin even in the afternoon sun. Her hand was often reaching upwards to clutch it for comfort on the long journey to The Capitol
The closer they got to King's Landing the more her stomach ached. It bubbled and flipped inside of her making her nauseous. At night she soaked in lukewarm water peppered with flowers and gleaming with exotic oils to help calm her. The oils were enough to lure her to sleep but once she broke fast her stomach was back in knots until one day she awoke to the sound of buzzing bees and singing birds with no fear plaguing her mind nor tightening her gut. Shona turned to her companions then and was able to enjoy the final days of their voyage playing childish games and gossiping about court.
"I hear the queen makes her brother dress as a jester and entertain her guests in song and dance." One hand maiden blabbered as they lie back in Shona's box carriage sipping wine and eating fat plums the size of their fists. Shona had taken to the box once the weather had taken a turn causing a downpour around them. Her ladies, as well as Blaze, were huddled inside under a throw of the finest silk. A gift from her mother to reminder her of home for The Reach was always bountiful in rich fabrics, gems, and delicious foods hence the wagon full of barley and produce drug behind her by a team of shaggy haired draft horses with coats like coal and eyes of even deeper onyx, gleaming like obsidian in their sockets.
"Well, I heard that her daughter was kidnapped by Dornish pirates and she refused to pay the ransom then tried to poison the prince."
"Poison?" Shona stated in a startled tone. She threw a hand over her heart, "You don't think she's that cruel do you? Prince Doran is sickly, and why would pirates go against the crown to kidnap Myrcella? That is just madness!"
Twyla, her oldest maid, made a sound of discontent as they gossiped, "I disapprove of this gossiping of such nonsense. Poisons and pirates, my word!"
That was all it took for the carriage to grow silent. When they stopped for the night it was still raining. Shona lie awake for hours listening to fat drops falling far from their clouds above. The gentle thud is what lured her to sleep at last, her hand clutching the vial of Hightower sand around her throat.
It wasn't the buzzing of bees nor the singing of birds that woke Shona the next morning. She heard the sound of high pitched voices, the clang of steel against steel, and the moans of wounded men. It wasn't long before the carriage door was open and she was being drug out onto the muddy worn road by her hair along with the other 2 maidens inside. Their screams gave her an instant shot of panic, but she remained quiet in the clutches of a hard looking man with eyes of stone and biceps the size of boulders.
"Well well well, what do we have here? A couple of Hightower maids and a pretty little lady. Escape your tower, M'lady?" His grin was crooked with a chipped front tooth glaring from between open lips.
"Stefos, what do you reckon a rich bitch like this would sell for? We can sell her back to daddy for a pretty penny," his eyes bore into her whilst the grip on her hair tightened, "Or maybe a man would pay a lot of money for a maid to warm his bed."
"I reckon she'd be easy to sell to a brothel. Far away from home with nobody to save her. Poor little mouse." His armored accomplice tutted. He had a large hooked nose and a mouth full of rotten teeth. His hair was as blonde as her own but coated with grease and grime. A man desperately in need of a bath for his sour odor was enough to make her stomach heave and eyes water.
"Please, I have gold. I have a wagon full of fine silk. I have gems. Please just let me go on my way. You can have anything you wish. Take our steel. Take our horses." Shona took a moment to plead but the look in his eyes told her it was fruitless at best. He was a cold man and would sooner kill her than let her escape. He opened his mouth to make a nasty remark and before Shona could blink an arrow was through his throat, the head poking out from his open jaws. He fell to his knees in a wave of blood. She screamed and pushed herself back landing face down in a mixture of warm crimson blood and sediment. She looked up just in time to see a rider swing his sword through the friend of her captor. He was almost split in two only a thin strip of filthy skin connecting his torso and legs together. Shona vomited into the dirt as Twyla fretted over her.
"M'lady, M'lady, are you hurt? Whose blood do you bear? M'lady?" She shook the young girl before her whom could for a long paused moment do nothing but blink at the stout greying women before her, "I am quite alright, Twyla. Just a tad damp and dirty."
"You're lucky you still have a head." A voice spoke from her left. She glanced over to see the rider who had slain the other man dismounting. His chest was protected with gilded armor of stunning silver etched with hundreds of golden roses. He pulled his helm from a top his head unleashing a mane of brown curls and a smile, "Hello, cousin."
"Loras." Shona breathed in relief stepping over the deceased bodies at her feet to be embraced by her savior cousin. At arms length he was even more handsome that she remembered. The Knight of Flowers they called him at court from what she had read. Loras was all a knight should be and more. Charming, attractive, and absolutely dashing on horseback. He was a true knight and she could not doubt that one day she would hear a song about Ser Loras and his beauty, courage, and honor.
"The maester of Tumbleton sent a raven ahead notifying the King of your approach. There have been a number of Raiders running amuck," Loras kicked at the fallen man at his feet, "As you have just witnessed. We came to escort you the rest of your journey. It seems we arrived just in time."
"I appreciate all you have done for me, cousin. I am in your debt." Shona smiled. She frowned at the sight of her skirts. They were liberally streaked with clay rich mud leaving her once blue dress stained ruddy.
"I do fear you have ruined your dress. Do not fret, my lady, for I am certain Margaery would be gracious enough to make a gift of a court worthy gown. The seamstress we use had this divine green and gold brocade. Her fabrics are all divine, really. From Braavos! Only the very best for our new queen. Margaery is doing exquisitely at court. Why, she is weeks away from marrying Joffrey Baratheon." Loras was talking at an accelerated speed as they left the scene. She rode her white mare beside Loras who was handsome atop a grey colored mare with the same leggy look as her own. They pranced together side by side in a way that amused Shona.
"Was your mare a gift from grandfather as well?" She interrupted Loras who looked down between his legs as though to remember on which horse he rode.
"Yes. A fine mare, indeed. She almost won me a tourney not too long ago. She had The Mountain's stallion all hot and bothered. I walked away with my head, and that is all I could wish for. I almost lost it that day. My, that seems so long ago. Before King Robert passed."
"May he rest in peace." Shona muttered looking to the sky. Her gods had always been good to her. She wondered briefly if the King had been a religious man. She had heard he was gutted by a boar whilst hunting. She had heard many stories from the capital recently. Myrcella and the Dornish pirates. The queen regent's imp of a brother entertaining the court as a jester. All practical gossip, but she was eager to learn the truth of these tales for until she knew better they were just gossip and nothing more.
"You are too sweet, cousin. King's Landing is very... Crude. I hope you are ready for it. Then again you will have Margaery and I for assistance. I hate to say it but I swear we are the only two normal people left in that shit hole. Pardon my language, my lady cousin. It reeks of death and poverty. Inside the keep where it is safe however is not too bad, truly. The new king is not very popular as of yet, but I think he has a slight better chance of being well received by the people by marrying my sister. Not that they matter really." Loras was quite haughty with the way he spoke of the common citizens of King's Landing. Shona frowned at that. She didn't remember her cousin being quite so pompous.
"I hear Margaery does charity work with the orphanage there. It sounds absolutely delightful. I do adore children." Shona spoke softly reining in her mare as they broke from their slow pace into a more ambling stride. Her white mare's legs ate up the ground underneath them stirring up rocks and dirt with every beat of her shod hooves.
"They're more filthy little beasts than children. Margaery is quite the people pleaser, though. She goes to visit them often enough. Wastes good silver feeding and clothing them. Bringing them toys to play with." Loras sneered.
"I'd like to visit the orphanage as well. It sounds very rewarding." Shona replied trying not to sound snappy. She was becoming increasingly irritated by her cousin's attitude. He had the nerve to reply with, "I'm sure you and my sister will get along wonderfully. You both seem to have a passion for dirty children."
Loras made a show of stopping his horse and waving a gloved hand before him. Shona couldn't help the gasp that escaped her throat for down below her off the ridge in which she stood was the biggest city she had ever seen.
"My lady cousin, welcome to King's Landing."