They had been riding for over an hour, the rocky mountains of the Stormlands eventually giving way to the lush greenery of the Kingswood. They had started out at a gallop but slowed to a walk as they entered the shady trail in the forest, their horses' hooves crunching on leaves and brambles.
Loras had always loved to ride and had agreed enthusiastically when Renly suggested the outing, and yet he was relieved to leave the bleak, rocky cliffs behind. He wasn't too fond of heights, something Renly had already guessed of course, and he wasn't keen on the opportunity to have Renly poke fun at him for it. It had been a pleasant ride regardless, and the weather was actually nice for once; a strong breeze sent big, puffy clouds rolling across the sky and was a relief against the warm, damp air. His curiosity was peaked as Renly directed his horse away from the path and into the woods.
"Why are we going this way?" He asked, ducking his head to avoid getting hit in the face by a branch.
"You'll see." Was all the answer he got. Loras rolled his eyes. He should know better by now than to expect a direct answer from Renly.
They rode in the thick underbrush for a while longer, ducking and pushing away at stray branches. Eventually the trees started thinning out, enough so that they could sit straight in the saddle without worrying about getting whipped in the face by a branch. After a few minutes they emerged from the trees into a clearing of sorts, with tall grass and wildflowers brushing their horses' knees. A lone, massive elm tree stood on the edge of a hill, where the ground sloped gracefully down towards the shore. Renly hoped down from his horse, Loras following him and tying his snowy mare next to Renly's dark steed.
"Where are we?" Loras asked as they started walking across the clearing.
"Just a place I found once. I like to come here to think sometimes."
"You think sometimes?" Loras jested, to which he was rewarded with a quite forceful shove in the shoulder. "I take it back!" He exclaimed in mock sincerity.
They walked the rest of the way in silence, Renly leading the way through the tall grass. He apparently seemed to come here often, as there appeared to be a sort of trail where the grass was either cut away or trampled down. As they reached the lone tree Renly swiftly plopped himself down, leaning against the gnarled roots that protruded from the earth. The large branches of the ancient tree seemed to sag under their own weight, like the limbs of an old man, creating a large area of shade with their leaves. Loras sank down next to Renly; there had been a cool breeze blowing in the mountains and the forest but here the air was still and the sun was beating down relentlessly.
They sat in companionable silence for a while, looking out at the waves beating softly against the shore. The sea was calm today, its usually towering, crashing waves replaced by a gentle tide. The sound of the waves breaking on the rocks was very peaceful, and combined with the heat, Loras found himself staring out over the water as if in a trance. He couldn't quite figure out what color the water was; it was dark blue when he looked a certain way and green in another, with the sun glittering along the surface. In fact, the whole effect reminded him greatly of Renly, with his blue-green eyes always shining with mischief. Loras felt suddenly slightly embarrassed at the thought that he had just been picturing Renly's eyes, and was quite glad to have the heat as a cover for his flushed cheeks.
Just then the sound of a cork popping made him jump, and he heard Renly laugh softly beside him.
"Sorry. It's easy to doze off here. The Gods know I've spent many an afternoon doing just that!" Renly said, taking a sip from the jug he had apparently hidden in his cloak, before handing it over to Loras.
Loras took it gratefully. He hadn't thought to bring any water, and with the long ride and the heat he was completely parched. He took a long drink from the jug, almost spitting it out as he felt the liquid burn his throat. He felt his cheeks grow hot once more as he coughed uncontrollably, Renly chuckling beside him.
"Careful there!" Renly teased. Loras glared at him before bringing the jug carefully back to his mouth, taking a small sip as Renly had done. The wine was smooth but slightly spicy, and Loras could almost feel it warm his blood as it burned down his throat and into his stomach. Back in Highgarden Loras had been allowed a cup of wine at feasts and special occasions, but in Storm's End he usually chose to stick to water, finding the Dornish wines Renly preferred a bit too strong for his taste.
However, as they passed the jug back and forth the burn eventually disappeared, leaving Loras' fingers and toes tingling pleasantly. He found himself suddenly quite content, smiling out over the ocean and leaning his head back against the roots of the ancient tree. His body felt quite heavy and he couldn't imagine ever having the desire and much less the strength to move.
Renly was prattling on as usual but as they neared the bottom of the jug Loras found he couldn't quite pay attention. His felt a little light-headed, like one of those big, puffy clouds streaming across the sky had suddenly blown into his ear to take over his brain. He stared out over the glittering water idly, Renly's voice a soft buzzing in his ear, like a far-away swarm of bees.
Bees. That was something he didn't miss about Highgarden. They would grow hives as big as melons and their stings hurt something awful. He and his brothers had amused themselves by hunting them as children but had learned their lesson soon enough, upon discovering that bees apparently liked to fight back.
Loras chuckled at the thought but quickly stopped; for some reason the slight movement of his shoulders had set the world in motion and he felt himself rocking back and forth as if he was on top of those waves crashing against the shore below.
Renly's hand on his arm brought him back to earth. "All you alright?" Renly asked, his voice full of concern.
Loras opened his mouth to speak but his face was a little numb and his tongue felt like lead in his mouth.
"Mmm fine." He slurred, feeling a fresh wave of dizziness even as he said it. He pushed himself down clumsily until he was lying flat on his back, closing his eyes and breathing a sigh of relief as the world finally stopped spinning.
"You're drunk!" Renly exclaimed from the darkness above him, chuckling and lying down next to him.
Loras opened his eyes and looked over at Renly lying next to him, his straight, dark hair forming a halo around his head.
"Renly." He began, taking care to enunciate careful. "I'm glad we're friends."
Loras saw the look of surprise in Renly's ocean-colored eyes and he felt his cheeks grow hot for the countless time today. He himself didn't know where that had come from and he realized that that was a very daft thing to say to another boy. He was trying to figure out what to say next when Renly smiled warmly and reached over to poke him playfully in the ribs.
"I'm glad we're friends too. In fact… you're sort of the only friend I've ever had." He said, looking a little bashful. Loras could only snort in disbelief at that. Even through his jumbled brain he realized what a ridiculous idea it was. Everyone from the stable boys at Storm's End to the King himself seemed to adore Renly. He must have said so out loud without realizing it for he heard Renly laughing darkly.
"They respect me and love to serve me, sure. But they don't jest with me, they don't dare beat me at swordplay and they certainly never kill pigeons for me!" He said, nudging Loras slightly.
Suddenly they were both laughing uncontrollably, lying flat on their backs with tears streaming down their faces. As their hilarity began to subside they lay there in silence, staring up at the clouds. After a while a breeze began to blow through the grass, and Loras felt his brain slowly clearing as he took deep breaths of the cool air.
He and Margaery used to spend hours doing exactly this in a peach orchard that had been a favorite of theirs, trying to guess the shapes of clouds as they ate enough of the ripe fruit to give themselves a stomach ache. They would take turns pushing each other down the rolling hills, coming back before supper with their hair matted with mud and grass and their clothes stained with peach juice, much to their parents' consternation.
Loras turned his head to the hill that sloped down towards the shore, and suddenly got an idea. He grabbed at the tree roots around him to help him sit up, quickly realizing that standing would be a bad idea as the world around him started spinning once more. Instead he crawled forward a little on all fours, ignoring Renly's snorts of laughter behind him. As he reached the point where the ground started tilting down he lay back down on his back and started rolling sideways. The hill wasn't very steep and yet he still picked up speed until the grass and sky became a blur of blue and green and his nostrils were filled with the smell of earth.
He came to a stop at the bottom of the hill just where the grass met the rocky shore. He closed his eyes to try and stop the earthquake around him, but when he opened them all he saw was a blur of blue and green, except this time it wasn't the grass and the sky and Loras forgot how to breathe.