A Holiday by Decree
~~Day 12~~
The following morning, Tyrion drew an exhilarating breath of salty air from over the expanse of jade colored sea surrounding their distinctive craft.
Ah, he would miss this when the day came to return to Westeros – a time sadly coming too soon…
Tyrion had been a bit surprised upon receiving the message the night before, just as he was about to snuff his bedside lamp for bed:
Tyrion,
The royal fishing barge will go to the neighboring islands tomorrow. The views are apparently scenic. It's short notice, but do you wish to go?
Yours,
Sansa
Examining it, Tyrion had briefly felt a bit of disappointment at the thought of leaving the manor; he had begun hoping during the evening that Sansa might be willing to continue their "explorations" of each other the following day.
Still, he gave it thought. Far be it from him to stop Sansa from enjoying all the place had to offer. Besides, even Tyrion had been to comparatively few island regions that were quite so idyllic. Missing out on island hopping would therefore be more of a shame and that they had this chance to do together would make it special.
And so Tyrion told himself yet again: it did not matter what Sansa and he did or did not do intimately before the end of this holiday. It was already perfect in so many ways.
That was how Tyrion found himself aboard the medium-sized fishing boat with its gorgeous rainbow-dyed sail pulled full against the clearest blue sky he thought he had ever seen, as they cut their way through such beautiful, calm waters.
Lowering his gaze, he adjusted the under-the-chin tie of the interesting conical shaped hat woven of rushes that their hosts had kindly given him. While the balmy breeze kept them comfortable, the sun shone intensely. The team of six crewmembers, Adil and Hirat all wore hats of the same style.
Glancing around, Tyrion admired the energy of the team of darkly-tanned men minding the nets hung from wooden rungs built into the sides of the barge. All the crew appeared to be made of nothing but taught muscle and sinew, also capable of using massive oars to launch the boat where the winds were not as favorable. Behind him, Adil and Hirat shared a few pieces of their leftover breakfast of hard boiled eggs where they sat not quite under the awning of the thatched roof of the sheltered lounge area at the back of the boat.
It was in the shade of this plush rest area that his eyes found Sansa. Finding that her bright, blue eyes, rivaling the sky and ocean in their natural beauty, were already following him too drew him back to her.
Once again under the shade, Tyrion removed his rush hat, placing it beside Sansa's own. Seated back together among the plush cushions, their hands naturally found their way into each other's hold in a way that Tyrion would not exchange for the world.