They spent two nights together. Two glorious nights that Lyanna would trade for anything in the world. Rhaegar was something unworldly, like a god or merely a hallucination of something so beautiful and perfect. Lyanna felt different with Rhaegar, for once in her life she felt like a lady. She didn't mind being held, she didn't mind the way he looked at her, or even the way he smiled when his eyes fell upon her bodice.
She felt she could be soft with him and for once didn't feel like she didn't need to hide her feelings or her body. Lyanna was young when her mother died birthing Benjen and her father only criticized and disciplined her. She never played with the other girls in Winterfell and she grew up with her brothers as not just her friends but her competition. Lyanna never knew what it meant to be a lady, but with Rhaegar she felt feminine and calm.
"Head up, just a little. " Rhaegar said softly, his head tilted as he looked at her from over his parchment. He was drawing her. She laid there in the tent, naked, lit by a lantern and she watched the charcoal in his hand dance over the parchment. He posed her in a very beautiful, artistic way; with her on her sitting on the furs cross-legged with her hand folded in her lap and all her hair on one side of her shoulder to partially cover one breast.
"I can't wait to see it." Lyanna said with a smile. She sat until finally Rhaegar said he was finished. His hand and wrist were black from rubbing against the charcoal. He turned the parchment around and Lyanna's face lit up.
"Oh, Rhaegar, its beautiful." Lyanna said in awe, the drawing had depicted her in a way that made her feel more beautiful than she ever had before.
"I tried to capture your beauty, but I feel no artist has the skill that could compare to whatever power created you." Rhaegar said with a small smile. Lyanna took the drawing from him and laid it on the bed next to them. As soon as the parchment left her hand she jumped on him and pressed her lips to his.
"Again? You truly are a gift from the gods." Rhaegar laughed as she kissed his neck. Lyanna kissed his collarbone as she noticed the early morning sun creeping into their tent.
"The sun is rising." She said resting her head on his chest. She knew he had to go back to his bride and his father. She knew that with the sun's morning greeting came their goodbye.
"Want to just lay here for a bit?" Rhaegar whispered as his arms squeezed her wiast. She nodded and nuzzled into his chest, tears started to well up and she tried her best to blink them away but one escaped her and fell onto his chest. He must've felt the tear fall because he squeezed her tighter and pressed his lips to the top of her head.
They laid there for a while, naked, huddled together under their furs. Her head rested on his chest, she listened to his heart beat and she twirled one of his silver locks between her fingers. His hand gripped her hip and he rubbed her bare skin with his thumb. His arms felt like home to her, more so than the walls of Winterfell ever have.
"The sun has risen, you should get on the road." Lyanna said softly as she looked up at his somber face.
"Yes, we both should." He said quietly. They both started to dress, Lyanna picked up her small clothes and saw that the neckline of her shift had been torn. She pulled the blue ribbon out of the neckline and stepped towards Rhaegar.
"Take this." She said as she tied the ribbon around his wrist. He looked down at it and smiled.
"I will treasure it always." He smiled and put his lips to her forehead. Lyanna finished dressing and walked outside. She looked up at the shining sun, she felt like it was mocking her. The sun shone down on her as she felt like she was living one of the darkest days of her life. Her heart would surely break once they said goodbye. She didn't know how she'd be able to return to her mundane life. She couldn't possibly go back to arguing with her father and riding horses to the Weirwood after all this.
"A lovely day for travelling." Rhaegar said as he took down the tent. He looked at her with a sad smile.
"I'm going south in a fortnight. My father is taking me to the Tourney of Harrenhall to meet my betrothed. Will I see you there?" She asked him.
"I was planning on showing up for the first day of jousting then leaving, those tourneys are for drunk men trying to impress maidens, they bother me so. But I believe you, Lyanna Stark, will make all of that seem like paradise. I can't wait to be knocked off a horse in front of you." He chuckled.
"No, no one can defeat my dragon. I will watch you triumph and perhaps I can share a drink with the glorious victor." Lyanna smiled, Rhaegar shook his head while laughing. Both their smiles faded and they looked at each other. Lyanna tried not to feel sad, she wanted to look strong but she didn't feel strong at all.
"I don't know what to do, or how to act once I'm back home. I can't pretend to be who I was before I met you, that girl is gone." Lyanna looked towards the ground. Rhaegar took her chin in his hands and tilited her face towards his.
"You don't have to be who you were, just who you are. You are a smart, strong, beautiful woman and you don't have to pretend to be someone else. Life will not be pleasant without you in my arms or next to me in bed. But I would suffer a thousand deaths, a thousand beatings, an endless amount of unpleasantness if it means that one day you and I will be together again." He swallowed, then continued.
"And we will come together again. It may not be in a fortnight, or a moon, or a year, but one day I will hold you in my arms and I will never let you go." Rhaegar had tears well up in his eyes, Lyanna had tears streaming down her cheeks.
"You swear it?" Lyanna asked putting her hand to his cheek.
"I swear, by the old gods and the new, this is not our goodbye." He said with a look of passion in his eyes. Lyanna nodded and kissed him fiercely. This was not their goodbye, they'd see each other again. Their story was not over. Their kiss ended and Rhaegar put his forehead to hers.
"I love you, Lyanna Stark." He said softly.
"I love you, Rhaegar Targaryen." She replied in a whisper.
They parted and he walked to his horse. He mounted the white steed and turned south. He nodded at her and kicked his stallion into a canter. He rode out of the clearing and disappeared behind the trees. Once he was gone, Lyanna's knees gave out and she dropped to the ground. She felt such intense pain, like a piece of her was gone. She urged herself to get up and go home, as hard of a task as that seemed. She mounted her mare and kicked her into a hard run, she wanted to return to her bed. Sleep sounded like the perfect remedy for her heartache.
When she reached Winterfell, she saw Brandon standing with Ned near the stable. She pulled her hood further over her face but knew there was no point, her brothers would see her no matter how hard she tried hiding.
"Too sick for breakfast but well enough for a ride?" Brandon said with a smirk as Lyanna dismounted the mare. She rolled her eyes and handed the reins to Hodor.
"I'm feeling much better, the fresh air did me good." Lyanna said with a forced smile. She walked towards the castle but stopped, she turned around and walked back towards Ned and Brandon.
"You're right, I wasn't sick today, or yesterday, or the day before. I was perfectly healthy and feeling just fine. But I cannot stomach a meal when sitting near a man who plans on selling me to that pig, Robert Baratheon. I don't expect either of you to understand, you aren't being sent off to Storm's End to spend your life pushing out the big-headed babes of that whoring drunk. I do expect you to be my brothers and not mock me for forfeiting meals in the dining hall with Father." Lyanna said in all seriousness, she looked at her brothers, who both stood with a look of shock. Lyanna smiled, bowed, then turned towards the castle.
Once she got to her chambers, she realized how tired she was. She tossed Fryda's cloak onto a chair and kicked off her boots. She unlaced her dress and dropped it to the floor, she was so tired. She fell into bed and closed her eyes thinking of her dragon.
A/N: I really loved writing this chapter. I don't think a new chapter every day will work out, my work schedule has just been so hectic. But I really love the way this story is progressing and I can't wait to see where it goes. Well, thanks for reading.
xx Lonewolf