So, I sat down to write some papers for university... and this came out.
Now, I can't send this to my professor, so I thought I'd show it to you ;)
Hope you'll like it!
xxx
scuffie
"What do you mean?", Avyn asked.
"Well. I've just had to talk to some lords again about the Last Hearth. Time is running out, we need to secure it for you. Now, as you know, both Tormund and Davos need to be established as lords if I want them to be of any help for me – and I need their support. So, naturally, the easiest option would it be to give the Last Hearth to one of them. Both of them are unmarried", Jon explained calmly. Avyn looked at him in shock.
"So you mean I should decide between Davos and Tormund?", she asked, turning to face Sansa. The Stark's expression was about as surprised as Avyn imagined her own to be.
"Aye", Jon nodded "Except, well, my offer still stands."
And with that he got up and left the library.
Avyn stormed off after him, asking Sansa over her shoulder to mind Brynden.
"Your offer still stands?", she said as she finally reached Jon "Are you joking?"
"No", he simply said.
"You propose that either I become your wife or I wed Davos?"
"Or Tormund", Jon said.
"A wildling! You are trying to pressure me into wedding you, sir!", she yelled.
"No, I am not", Jon said and stopped, looking over her shoulder. Then he pulled her into a room.
"Listen, Avyn, I like you. And Brynden. I would not mind having him with me – hell, I would even consider legitimising him. I only want what's best for you. But your options are scarce."
"You are pressuring me", she repeated and crossed her arms.
"Of course I am! Those lords are tearing me apart. But I would never force you to marry me."
"That is exactly what you are doing right now!"
"Listen. We both know I don't love you like a wife. I see you as a friend and as a friend I am offering you my help, even though you seemed to try and play with my feelings when I first proposed. I know, I cannot give you your home, but I figure a life at Winterfell would be better than a life somewhere in the woods."
"I need to return to the Last Hearth!", Avyn said, now becoming quite the hysteric "It is my home!"
"I know. That is why I suggested Davos and Tormund."
"Tormund is not an option!", she yelled agressively "He is a wildling!"
"By the Old Gods and the New!", Jon was now shouting himself "I wish you would stop with that nonsense and listen. Both Davos and Tormund know you and Brynden, both like your... son well enough. They are the only options we have, if you want to keep the Last Hearth."
"So I will marry Davos?", she said, exasperated. Avyn did not want to believe it, but seemingly, Jon was right.
"Or Tormund", Jon sighed.
"No", she shook her head "Davos."
"Aye... Then you should go talk to him", Jon said "Make sure he wants to."
"Of course, he will. Davos is a good friend", she said confidently.
"Aye, that he is, but even Davos has issues."
"Not with me, he doesn't."
She took a deep breath and was already turning to leave when Jon held her back:
"Avyn. I need to know everything will be fine between us."
"I am not sure", she said and looked at him. Those sad, brown eyes that had once been so very moving for her now completely left her without any feelings. Yes, she was angry at him, for not helping her, for making her feel so wrong and so pressured and for wanting to marry her.
"Maybe in time. Now excuse me, I need to plan a wedding."
"No", Davos said "I am sorry, my lady."
"But why not?"
They were in the small hall, he was cracking nuts.
"Look at me. I am too old for a young girl like yourself. I'm missing a handful of fingers. I am merely a lesser knight."
"You will be a lord, soon enough", Avyn said "and I am asking you. So you should not fret about those things."
"I decline, my lady. You would not be happy with me."
"Davos", she said, leaning forwards "You are my only option."
"No", he shook his head "There's Tormund. He is younger, strong and friendly."
"He is a wildling", she said.
"Yes. And I am the onion knight and I say, I would not want you to be unhappy because of me."
"He has killed my brother", Avyn said. Not that it had bothered her in the past, but now any argument seemed good enough not to marry the fiery haired giant of a man.
"You never seemed to mind before. Tormund is the right choice, Lady Avyn. He knows Brynden, he plays with him so very often, and they seem to have a lot of fun - and he likes you well enough, I dare say."
Avyn snorted: "Are you suggesting the wildling is in love with me?"
"Not in love, I would think. I merely say he likes you. And I think you could like him, too, if only you would stop saying the word wildling in every other sentence."
"So that's it. You just leave me to wed a – to wed Tormund."
Avyn stood up: "I thought we were friends."
"We are, my lady. And I hope we will stay friends. But in this case I simply cannot give you what you want."
„I need your help", Avyn sighed as she was back in the library, sitting down next to Sansa.
The Stark lady laid down her piece of embroidery and looked at her friend calmly.
"Davos doesn't want to marry me", Avyn admitted after a while.
"But... why?", Sansa said.
"I don't know", Avyn shrugged "He said some stuff about making me unhappy – while he only truly makes me unhappy in not marrying me."
"Well, you could still think about Jon's proposal", Sansa said and Avyn noticed how hopeful her younger friend sounded.
"I am sorry, Sansa, but no. I am not even sure if I want to talk to him, at the moment, that is why I need your help."
"But... then the only option left for you is..."
"...Tormund", Avyn sighed "Exactly. Unless I can find a suitable match in the next few hours."
"Well, actually... Don't get me wrong, Avyn, but I cannot quite understand your dislike for Tormund", Sansa said. Avyn opened her mouth to reply but the Stark was quicker: "Yes, he is a wildling, everyone knows. But he is nice. He takes care of you, he protects you – without even knowing about chivalry. It's in his instincts. And of all three of them Tormund definitely spends the most time with Brynden."
"Well...", Avyn sighed "that's all very well, but... ugh. He is a wildling, and even though everyone tells me to simply ignore him, I just can't. There's nothing simple about it."
"There's still three or four names on our list, Avyn. But would you really want to risk losing Brynden?"
"You know what I really want? Not to marry at all", Avyn sighed.
"Look, all I am saying is, you should give Tormund a chance. You always told me how important Brynden was to you. If marriage and love really don't mean anything to you, then you can just as well focus on the well-being of your son."
Avyn fell silent and played with a quill, wondering about Sansa's words. She was right, even though it was hard for the Lady Umber to swallow the truth.
"Well, then", Avyn said after a while "I guess... Could you get Master Giantsbane and the King, please, Suca? We will look after Master Brynden."
And so they all sat down at one table. Jon and Tormund on one side, Avyn and Sansa on the other.
"So I guess you have decided, Avyn?", Jon asked.
"I have", she turned towards the wildling: "Master Giantsbane, I would formally ask you to consider..."
"Ah, lass, come on. I know how important this stuff is for ye; I would be a bad friend not to help ye out", Tormund grinned.
"Well, thank you", Avyn said in astonishment.
"Then let's talk about the formalities", Jon said "As we said before, Tormund will be Lord of the Last Hearth. But, Avyn, I am sorry, but the name of House Umber has to be buried."
"What?!", Avyn said.
"He's right, Avyn", Sansa said "you cannot marry a man and keep your maiden name. Especially since your maiden name would forever be one of a traitor."
"All right", Avyn sighed "but then we'll also get a new sigil, right? I never liked ours, truly. Even though silver and blood-read suit me quite well."
"You can design the sigil, if Tormund wants you to", Jon shrugged "but your name will be Avyn of House Giantsbane – which sounds quite nice, doesn't it?"
"Quite", Avyn shrugged.
"I like it", Tormund said "But I still see a problem with your whole plan, boy."
"Which is exactly?", Jon asked.
"I have no idea of what one of yer lords does and does not do."
"Well", Avyn said and smiled at her future husband "That's something I can help you with, easily."
She turned to speak to Sansa: "This might not be such a bad match, after all."
This night, Avyn could not find any rest. Brynden was sleeping soundly next to her while the Lady Umber tossed and turned, thinking about what she had done. She would marry Tormund, there was no way out now. Only she still was not sure what to think of it – of course, she hated herself for giving in so easily, going against everything she had been told as a child. Marrying a wildling could mean great danger – she hardly knew him, after all! But any other possible husband she would have known even less. She thought of her son, how much he loved this giant of a man, how much he enjoyed playing with him. Why had Tormund agreed so quickly? Was he really that nice? Or did he have some kind of plan for which he needed a Southern wife? Or had he seen the advantage of a marriage to her, before she had noticed it? Especially regarding the fact that she in fact knew what he would have to do, how he would have to behave as Lord of the Last Hearth?
She let out a deep breath.
It was too late to turn back now, at the end of the week she would have to marry him, and then she'd see.
And, at least to some point, she knew what she was getting in to. Or did she?
Avyn couldn't take it any more, she got up carefully, not to wake little Brynden who was mumbling in his sleep, put on a robe and left the room, knowing full well that Suca would be there in case her son needed anything.
Standing in front of Tormund's door, her spirits had left her. It was late at night, surely he wasn't even up any more, but she just needed answers. She took a moment to gather her strength until she finally raised her hand and knocked against the door.
A slight rumble.
Then the door opened.
"Avyn", Tormund greeted her surprised "What are ye doing here at this hour, lass?"
"Can I come in?", she asked nervously, not knowing how to answer his question.
"Aye", he said and stepped aside to let her enter the warm chamber.
She stood in the middle of the small room indecisively until Tormund offered her a chair before he sat down on the ground, looking up to face her, waiting for Avyn to speak. He did not wear his usual load of fur, instead there was a linen shirt loosely hanging down from his broad shoulders and a pair of dark slacks making Miriam wonder if he didn't usually wear those beneath his furry winter clothes.
"I'm sorry for coming here so late", she said, remembering her manners "I just... I couldn't sleep. It was quite a day."
"Aye", he nodded "just hadn't thought ye would come here, lass."
"Well, you know... I was thinking about our... arrangement", she said, still not really being able to say engagement to his face.
"Ah", he seemed to understand "Ye are afraid."
"I'm not afraid", she said decidedly "I'm just a little confused. I don't know what to think of you or what to expect from our marriage. Do your people even have marriages?"
"Not really", Tormund leaned back and took a big gulp from a waterskin next to him.
"Have you ever been monogamous?", she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"What's that?"
"Have you... you know... ever been with only one women over a period of time? Have you loved her?", Avyn rephrased it, blushing.
"Aye – the mother of my oldest daughter", Tormund nodded and smiled in fond memory.
"You are a father?"
"Aye, just like you are a mother. But my girls are older than wee Brynden", he said.
"You know, I don't expect you to be faithful to me – most men aren't to their wives. But as a Lord a bit of discretion would be fair to expect."
"Well, if we are going to do this, lass, we are going to do this right", Tormund said.
"That does not seem to be a very wildling thing to say", Avyn said, taken aback.
"I told ye time and again that ye deserve better than most of these Southern bastards can give to ye. Now 'tis my duty to show you just what I meant."
He got up and now towered over her, making Avyn shiver a little, but when he squatted in front of her and stretched out his hand to stroke her cheek, she felt strangely comfortable. Her grey eyes found his and slowly he leaned forwards.
She had not thought him to be such a gentle kisser – and usually Tormund was not, as it showed when he deepened the kiss – but Avyn found herself enjoying it a lot. They stood up together, and she let herself fall into his strong arms, feeling so strangely safe that she didn't even wonder any more what had gotten into her. When he took her to his bed, she almost couldn't contain herself: "I'm sorry, Tormund", she panted "I hadn't..."
But before she could finish her apology he was on top of her, kissing her again.
Now, that was something different.
Yay or Nay, what do you think?