"Stay," Brynden said, turning over in his bed to face the girl who had just shared his company for the better part of an hour. She was redressing on the other side of the room in silence and ignored him. "Don't be like that," he sighed, "I'll even pay you extra." His begging was useless, however and she just gave him a sly smile and left the room without a word. Brynden cursed under his breath and sat up. They would be leaving Sunspear by sunrise, which was merely a few hours away. Their journey had been delayed a few days from the situation between his sister and Gerold Blackmont. Queen Arianne had insisted upon punishment after her brother by marriage had recovered from whatever magic the opal had inflicted. Mira was still shaken by the events that unfolded, but Brynden knew she was stronger than she looked and that it would take a lot more than Gerold Blackmont to bring her down.
Brynden located his breeches in a pile on the floor and put them on, not bothering to lace them up completely as he would be returning to his bed soon. He walked over to the table in the corner, where just enough wine remained in the jug for him to pour a glass. As he finished off the wine, he heard a knock. "Come in," he called, staring down at the empty glass in his hand.
The door creaked open, as it always did, and Brynden turned to see who entered. "Elarys? What are you doing up still?"
"I could say the same to you," Elarys Blackmont replied, "but your lady sister asked me to come to you." The young Blackmont had just celebrated his eighteenth name day a fortnight ago. Strong and handsome, words most often used to describe him, were befitting. With full lips and a long, thin nose, Elarys always seemed to catch the eye of all the girls in Sunspear. Tonight, his thick, black hair was slicked back and he was wearing a light-colored tunic and riding breeches.
Brynden traced the rim of the wine glass with his finger, wishing it could refill itself. At the mention of his sister, he quickly looked up again. "Why? Is she – is Gerold still in custody?" The night of the attack, the spell from the opal in Mira's necklace had dissipated after an hour, returning Gerold back to normal in an unfrozen state. All that remained was the red mark from Mira's kick, but Queen Arianne reported it was fading with each passing day.
Elarys nodded, "Yes, my uncle will be kept in custody at least until we leave. I heard my father discussing what to do about him yesterday and it sounds like they are going to restrict him from leaving the city. It seems Lady Elena wasn't his first victim." Disgust flashed across the prince's face, and for a moment Brynden felt as though Elarys would say more, but instead he changed the subject. "My uncle's not why Elena sent me here though, she wanted me to tell you not to worry about the trip. She would have come herself, but my mother thought it best that she stays in her chambers after dark."
"That foul little snake deserves to rot in a cell," Brynden snarled, remembering how scared his sister had been. She was still covered in bruises from his attack, although the swelling in her eye had gone down immensely. "I'm not worried about the trip, she knows that," he added, crossing his arms against his bare chest.
"She's just worried about you, Rolan. You've been shut in here the past two days with half a dozen girls in and out."
"Since when is having girls in and out of my chambers news? I'm not a child, if she wants to chastise me she can without sending you to do it," Brynden snapped, beginning to get annoyed. He knew Elarys' intentions were good, but he was in no mood to be told off by his sister through means of his future brother-in-law. "You can tell her I'm fine, thanks for asking."
Elarys seemed unperturbed by Brynden's outburst. "I'll be sure to let her know," he said, "but I'm also worried about you. I know we haven't really spent any quality time together for a while now, but I can still tell when you're upset."
Brynden remained silent for a moment. There was once a time when Elarys was his closest friend and ally - that was until Brynden's mother died. After that day, something inside of Brynden changed. No longer was he dependent on anyone, and he began isolating himself. During the months that followed his mother's death, Brynden also began frequenting brothels and drinking much more. As time continued to pass, he slowly returned to normal, but it seemed whenever stress presented itself in his life Brynden would fall back on old habits. The empty wine jug and messy bed were proof of that now.
"Thank you for your concern, but truly I am fine and have been fine. We're going to be travelling half way across the world and who knows when I'll be in Dorne again. I'm trying to celebrate before I go." Brynden wasn't sure who he was trying to convince more – himself or Elarys.
It was obvious that Elarys didn't believe a word Brynden had just said as he narrowed his eyes suspiciously and crossed his arms but instead of pointing out the lie, he merely nodded and replied, "If that's all then I better be off, we have a busy day ahead of us on the morrow. Get some rest, Rolan, you'll need it." And with that, he left the room and Brynden was alone with his thoughts again.
Once Elarys was out of sight, Brynden slammed the goblet on the table, shattering it to pieces. "Excellent," he said sarcastically, collecting the broken shards, and dumping them next to his plate from dinner. Brynden decided he better get to bed before anything else could go wrong. He eventually drifted into an uneasy sleep which was plagued with wild and vivid dreams. In one of the dreams, Brynden dreamt he was in Winterfell and it was his wedding day. A faceless bride stood beside him, wearing a long white cloak with the sigil of house Stark on the back, and a few feet away there was a woman with eyes dark as coal and filled with sorrow watching the wedding. Those eyes reminded him of his sister, and that was the last thing he remembered before waking.
The next day they left Sunspear. Their party consisted of Brynden, Mira and her handmaiden Elise, Elarys Blackmont, Ser Louis Umber, and two well-seasoned knights, Rygar and Tyto. Brynden thought he would be more excited to finally be on his way to Winterfell, but the more distance they put between them and Sunspear, the more he longed to be back at the castle, with a whore in his bed and a bottle of summerwine to drink. His wild dreams from the night before had also left an uneasy feeling in in the pit of his stomach, particularly the woman with the sad eyes. The desert heat drained all his energy, and the provisions they had were just that – provisions. Brynden was used to eating three times a day and having enough to drink for the past ten years. Mira seemed to be adjusting to travel well, unlike Brynden, and it appeared her and Elarys were continuing to grow closer. A pang of jealously shot through Brynden as he watched them ride together a few feet ahead of him. Elarys seemed to be pointing out different things to Mira and educating her on desert plants and animals. The look of admiration on Mira's face was enough to make Brynden frown. Seeing his friend with his sister, knowing that one day they would be married and raising children made Brynden uneasy. It didn't help that Mira seemed to be completely infatuated by him either.
Brynden was tired of riding in silence. "Mira," he called softly, pushing his horse to catch up to Elarys and his sister. She turned and glared at him.
"Surely brother, you must be mistaken. My name's Elena, not Mira," she replied in an even quieter voice.
Shit, Brynden thought to himself. "Right, Mira was the whore I slept with last night," he quickly said the first thing to come to mind, looking around at their companions. Everyone knew their real identities besides Rygar and Tito. Much to Brynden's relief, it appeared the two knights hadn't heard his slip up, or if they had they didn't seem interested in it.
Anger flashed across Mira's face at Brynden's comment and even Elarys seemed cross about it. "I suggest whatever you have to say, you better say fast before I knock you off that horse, brother," Mira hissed.
"I was going to say you looked lovely today, but never mind," he sniffed, looking away.
"Oh be serious," Mira said, rolling her eyes.
"I was," Brynden replied, "although you're prettier than all the whores in Dorne, sister. Wouldn't you agree, Eli?"
Elarys' quickly looked up at the nickname, "I don't know what you're doing Brynden, but I would never compare your sister to a whore," his voice was sharp and full of anger now.
A smirk played across Brynden's face, "What do you think, Elise?" he turned and asked his sister's handmaiden, who was riding a few feet behind, but still in earshot.
"Lady Elena is very pretty, my lord," she timidly said, her cheeks reddening. Brynden's smirk grew wider. He thought Elise was rather pretty too, if he was honest. She had a heart-shaped face framed by dirty blonde hair that grew down past her shoulders. Her lips were shaped perfectly, and her eyes were wide and clear as a summer's day.
"Stop it right now," Mira commanded.
Brynden winked at Elise, and spurred his horse onward. "Fine, I'll leave you alone," he sighed and went on ahead to match his pace with Sir Louis.
Their journey continued and within a week they were past the desert and into more populated areas. Brynden nearly cried tears of joy when they came to an inn. He ate two servings of hot lamb stew and even had a chance to wash up in a stone basin. Even though all the feather beds were sold out, the straw bed was better than sleeping on his saddlebags, so Brynden kept his complaining to a minimum. He was grateful to be under a roof and in a locked room.
The next morning the group was to leave for King's Landing, which was another two days' journey. Brynden was helping Sir Louis and Elarys get the horses saddled up outside the inn, however, when trouble met them. A group of five men approached them, their clothes dirty and ragged, their hair matted, and their beards untrimmed. "Could you spare any coin, m'lords?" one of them asked, stepping forward.
Sir Louis gripped the hilt of his sword. "No, now be on your way," he warned. The man eyed the knight's sword and seemed to nod his head in some sort of signal. Suddenly three of the others lunged forward at Sir Louis, knives and daggers visible. Brynden and Elarys shouted and quickly drew their weapons. All Brynden had on him was his dagger, but it was sharp. He moved forward and slashed at one of the men, slicing through his ragged clothing. Elarys was beside him, his own sword slashing at the bandits. Sir Louis had dodged one blade, but another had managed to cut his face, and he was bleeding. Although they were outnumbered, they were still better at wielding their weapons. Brynden cut down the bandit in front of him and went to aid Elarys, who was fighting two of them. Just before Brynden reached him, one of the bandits managed to slash Elarys' sword arm. Brynden gasped and felt his heart jump. "Elarys!" he called, running forward with his dagger brandished. Elarys dropped down on one knee and Sir Louis came to his aid as well. Together, Louis and Brynden finished off the rest of the bandits while Elarys knelt, gripping his arm. "Elarys, are you all right?" Brynden questioned, kneeling next to his friend.
"I'm fine, just a scratch really," he replied, pulling up his sleeve to look at the mess. There was blood, but the wound didn't look too deep. "Let's get this bandaged up," Bryden said, helping Elarys to his feet. Sir Louis' cut was still bleeding as well. At that moment, the girls came down with Rygar and Tito, who had been guarding them.
"We heard fighting!" Mira exclaimed, running forward. "Are you-" she noticed Elarys bloody arm and gasped.
"Take him inside and get his wound washed," Brynden told his sister. "Elise, you take Sir Louis inside and take care of him as well." Both girls nodded and led the two others back to the inn.
Rygar and Tito searched the bodies with Brynden but they found nothing of interest. "Do you think this was a random attack?" Rygar asked, kicking one of the bandits.
Brynden wasn't sure what to think. "Most likely, but they must have been desperate for gold if they willingly attacked a knight," he replied with a shudder. "Let's go gather the others and head out. It's time to leave this place."
The group quickly retrieved the rest of their belongings, and with Elarys and Sir Louis' wounds taken care of, they departed. Brynden was on high alert, riding close to his sister and making sure she never left his sight. That night he didn't sleep, instead he patrolled their camp, making sure no one ambushed them. He was grateful to see the walls of King's Landing draw closer and closer and once they reached the city his tension seemed to subside.
"Ready?" he asked his sister, reaching out to take her hand while they waited at the gates.
"Ready," she replied with a smile, squeezing his hand tightly.
The gates swung open and they entered the city together, the rest of the group following behind. A large sign sat a few paces inside and read Welcome to King's Landing. Brynden felt a rush of excitement finally hit him. He was ready to go home.
