#alshc

[5lbsofsmarties]

A Lion Still Has Claws - 5

Word Count: 3329 Game of Thrones AU - Part 5 of ?

From a young age it was quite obvious that large and formal gatherings were not at all something that you enjoyed. More often than not your mother, her handmaidens, and your Septa had to all but drag out out of the Holdfast and down to the Great Hall where you had to be hurriedly put back together in a presentable manner. You distinctly remembered being roughly nine or ten years old when you attempted to run out of the Holdfast to avoid another mind numbing meeting with some Lord and his family that your father had invited to King’s Landing in order to discuss something or other that you couldn’t be bothered to listen to.

You had managed to make it out to the stables when you’d run into someone. You would have fallen back into a haystack had they not caught you and pulled you upright. There in front of you were a pair of pale green eyes topped by a head of bright red hair, the owner of which was a boy not much older than yourself. You had learned that he was the son of the Lord of the Eyrie, the man your father had called an audience with, and he was attempting to find a way out of the meeting as well.

The pair of you were found two hours later by your brothers sitting side by side in the loft of the stable reading and talking.

Welcoming Chad to King’s Landing was always a task that you enjoyed, even as the two of you had gotten older and it became more difficult to sneak away together. At some point over the years your mother had playfully mentioned writing to Chad’s mother and father about arranging a match between the two of you but, thankfully, nothing had ever come of that jest. Through growing up, Chad had become almost like another brother to you; a brother whom you could tell anything to without fear of your words becoming the butt end of some jape or mocked. So, when he had arrived first to the meal you were more than excited to see him.

“Presenting Lord of the Eyrie and Warden of the East, Lord Chad James,” came the booming voice of the court Hearld.

From the massive double doors Lord Chad James came walking into the hall with all of the pride and dignity one would expect of him. He had on a pair of dark grey breeches with a sharp taper at the ankle as well as a deep blue jacket with puffy, wide cut sleeves that narrowed to the wrist. Round, brass buttons lined the forearm of each sleeve, and the inner lining and lapels of the jacket were white, while the strings that tie up the front matched the outer layer. He looked extremely handsome as he approached the king and queen to bow for him and kiss her hand. Chad made it down the line of both Gavin and Ryan, greeting them with firm handshakes and slight bows of the head but when he made it to you all of the pageantry dropped.

“My lady, Y/N,” he laughed as he swiftly placed a kiss to your hand. He dropped your hand almost as soon as he took hold of it and stepped forward to wrap his arms around you in an embrace. “You look beautiful,” he complimented. You laughed and rolled your eyes as you returned the embrace. As you pulled away, you could see the look of agitation written all over your mother’s face. Surely, she was not happy with such a brazen act of perceived intimacy between you and a man that you were not betrothed to - but that fact simply made you smile just that much more at Chad as he pressed a quick kiss against your cheek.

When Chad took a step back was when you noticed there was another man standing just to his left who was looking as if he definitely did not want to be there; a feeling with which you could sympathize. He had nearly wild looking yellow hair and had on a grey canvas jerkin that looked to be almost metallic in coloring, with fastening that went up the chest to tie just below the high neck. His black pants tapered down to his ankle, ending at a pair of sturdy looking front lacing boots. Something about him seemed vaguely familiar but you couldn’t quite put your finger on why.

“My lady, this is Sam Mitchell. He’s been my squire for some years but a good friend for longer. I do not know if you’ve ever officially met,” Chad introduced, stepping slightly to the side to present Sam.

You watched as he took your hand and lifted it to his lips for a less than enthusiastic kiss. “My lady, it is a pleasure to meet you,” he said in a tone that did not convey the meaning behind his words. You bit at the inside of your lip and attempted to hold back a grin at that. It was refreshing to see someone else so bored of all the fanfare that came along with court. When he lowered your hand and looked up at you from underneath the flare of his eyelashes it suddenly dawned on you that, yes, you had met him before.

Years ago, when you father had taken a trip up to the Eyrie to visit with the Chad’s father when he was the Lord. You remembered finally arriving at the Gates of the Moon, and stepping out of the wheelhouse that you’d been stuck inside with your mother for the entire trip, as well as Gavin after he tried to race Ryan through the mountains and your mother became worried about the Hill Tribes, so you were grateful to be out in an open area. However, almost as soon as your feet touched the ground you felt your short leather boot being pulled from your foot into the mud.

You’d stumbled and reached out for the first person you could in an attempt to steady yourself. Once you had wretched your foot free, you looked up to find yourself nearly face to face with a boy of your age and a pair of bright blue eyes blinking back at you. You remembered feeling your cheeks flush and your heart skip a beat before one of your guards had gotten off of his horse to assist you to the castle itself - your handmaiden scurrying behind with a new pair of shoes.

Though, now as you looked at the man in front of you, you were unsure if he would ever even recall such a small meeting from years past. “Welcome to our hall, Ser. Thank you for joining us,” you replied, smiling and nodding your head in his direction, “Please, both of you, be seated. We will hopefully begin our meal soon.” Both Chad and Sam gave you another smile before the pair of the turned and headed off to the long table and took seats near the end across from one another.

Very quickly after that more people began filing into the hall. Lord Jack and his wife Lady Caiti from Bear Island came in, followed by the Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch. As Lord Geoff walked across the hall he had a look of almost disdain etched onto his face but once he came to face to face with your father his demeanor changed completely. “Burns,” he greeted with a playful smirk tugging at his lips, “Looks like you’ve spent too much time sitting on that throne and not enough walking around your Kingdom.”

At his words, your brothers and yourself exchanged glances. No visitor ever spoke to your father like that and part of you expected him to be angry. However, your father merely laughed and pulled the Lord Commander in for an embrace, clapping him on the back as they pulled apart. “Good to see the wall hasn’t frozen over your sense of humor as well as your heart, Geoff,” your father quipped, making the Commander laugh as well.

Lord Geoff moved down to kiss your mother on her cheek, telling her it had been too long since they’ve all seen one another. Before you knew it he was in front of your brothers and yourself. Now that he was closer you could get a better look at him. His blacks looked nearly new and along with his dark hair and beard, his icy blue eyes stood out. “The Burns Brood,” he chuckled to himself, shaking his head, “My, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen any of you. You’re all grown now; last I saw our dear Princess was just beginning to talk. Look at you now!”

You looked over at your brothers who looked just as confused as you felt. Ryan, however, was the first one to recover and find his manners. “It is a pleasure to have you here with us tonight, Lord Commander. Please, take a seat at our table,” he said, motioning over towards the table where the other guests were already seated.

As more people filed into the room, you were sure that you were ready to have a seat yourself. You were growing tired of standing and greeting people with a polite smile that you had to keep plastered to your face. Although, when you heard the announcement of Lord Michael and his Lady wife, Lindsay, you were more than happy to stay in your spot. When they made it down to you after greeting your parents and brothers, you very nearly plucked the babe from Lindsay’s arms to hold her close.

“It’s a pleasure to see you again as well,” Michael laughed, shaking his head.

You glanced over at the pair of them and smiled, “She’s precious, but, my apologies. How are the both of you? Are you enjoying Riverrun, Lord Michael? It must be very different than the Dreadfort.”

“It’s a fair bit warmer in the Riverlands than the North,” Michael said with a slight shrug of his shoulder, “But I am enjoying my time there.”

“I’m very glad to hear that,” you said, smiling before looking back at the baby in your arms who was running a hand over the fur along your neckline, “Do I have to give her back?”

Lindsay laughed and stepped forward, “Unfortunately. You’ve got more princess-ing to do.”

Very reluctantly, you handed baby back over to her mother after pressing a fleeting kiss to the side of her head. Lindsay let out a small laugh as she stepped forward to embrace you and press a quick kiss against your cheek. “We will make sure to call for you before we leave for Riverrun in the morning,” she promised before walking off towards the table with Michael in tow. You shifted a little uncomfortably and looked to your right at your brothers.

“How much longer do we need to stand here? My feet are beginning to ache,” you mumbled softly as you leaned closer to Gavin’s side.

Gavin chuckled and shook his head, “Our jousting champion who took a lance to the face is hurting from standing at court.”

“How the mighty have fallen,” Ryan teased as well, folding his hands in front of him, “Not much longer, Y/N. I believe we’re only waiting for one more guest.”

You narrowed your eyes at both of your brothers and turned your head to look elsewhere around the cavernous Throne Room. Both of your parents seemed to be more than content to be there, chatting quietly amongst themselves. At the table, your guests had been offered drink and seemed to be having a wonderful time talking and laughing with one another whilst partaking in the ale, wine, and other beverages. At the entrance of the hall, you noticed the Court Hearld step inside of the room once more and you could only assume that it meant that your final guest had arrived.

“Presenting the Prince of Dorne, his highness, Alfredo Diaz,” the guard’s voice boomed throughout the room.

Everyone, including those seated, stared expectantly at the double doors at the end of the hall. You were more than a little shocked that your father had thought to invite the Prince of Dorne, seeing as Dorne and the rest of the realm were not always on the best of terms. A man stepped into view and you were slightly taken aback at the sight of him. You had never been to Dorne, or even met anyone from there, and you were immediately intrigued by his garb.

He walked down the length of the room in a cloth-of-gold jacket that full length sleeve and fell below his hips featuring beautiful orange and red embroidered designs throughout the garment. The jacket seemed to be much lighter weight than the piece found in Westeros as it flowed slightly behind him as he moved. His breeches were also seemingly made of a lighter material as the sand colored fabric rippled around his legs with each step. His jacket was not buttoned all the way up as most men with the Kingdom would wear it, but it finished almost halfway up his chest, revealing a triangle of tanned skin.

Once he had made it to your parents there seemed to be a tense sort of exchange between them, but Prince Alfredo smiled brightly and patted your father on the arm before kissing your mother’s hand. He was charismatic to say the least. He greeted both of your brothers warmly, shaking their hands and clasping them at the elbow as he did so; his smile never faltered. When he made it to you, you almost couldn’t form a coherent thought inside of your head. Closer up, you could see just how handsome this Prince was with his dark hair and dark eyes. You realized as he took your hand in his to kiss the back of it that you hadn’t said anything, making your cheeks flare hot.

“It’s a pleasure to have you here with us, Prince Alfredo. I hope that you are enjoying your visit to King’s Landing,” you finally managed to say, smiling back at him.

Alfredo lowered your hand and met your eyes with his own wide grin, “It’s lovely to be here, my lady. It is an honor to have been invited here to sup with your family and esteemed guests.”

“We are most excited to have you here,” you said, your hands absently fiddling with the fur trim of your sleeves, “Please, have a seat and enjoy yourself.”

With one last smile and nod, Prince Alfredo turned on his heel and made his way over to the table with the other guests. Once everyone was seated and comfortable, your father announced that the meal could begin. On any other circumstance, your family would most certainly be seated at a seperate table on a raised platform away from your guest, as was tradition. However, due to the nature of the meal and why mostly everyone had been brought here, you were told to find a seat amongst your guests.

Quickly, you found your way over to where Chad was sitting and he happily slid to the side enough to make room for you, and your gown. You sat yourself down next to Chad and smiled at him, noticing that Sam was across from him you smiled at him as well. Next to Sam was Prince Alfredo who was looking to his other side and talking with Lord Michael, while on your other side was Lady Lindsay and the little babe.

“You looked about ready to walk off of The Wall the longer you stood up there,” Chad said, pouring wine into the cup in front of you.

You laughed and graciously took the drink from him, “I have no idea what you mean, Chad, I am a dutiful Princess who enjoys all of her responsibilities.”

Chad let out a loud laugh and had to duck his head slightly when other people from down the table looked your way. You grinned slightly to yourself and raised your wine to your lips to take a long sip. “Do those responsibilities include being shown off to any eligible man in the Seven Kingdoms?” Sam asked from across the table. Chad’s head quickly shot up and he fixed his squire with a hard glare.

“Sam! That isn’t something you say to the Princess of the Realm,” he scolded.

However, you laughed and lowered your cup to the table. “It’s alright, Chad. He’s not wrong,” you said, looking at Sam, “They do now, yes. Unfortunately, I am of the age where it would be beneficial to my parents, and the Kingdoms, if I were to wed.”

“You could just marry our Lord here and get it over with. You’re already so fond of one another,” he suggested, grinning into his ale.

Both you and Chad turned to look at one another, your noses scrunched slightly. “That would be like marrying Gavin or Ryan,” you said, grabbing your wine once more, “No offense meant, Chad.”

Chad shook his head, “I take none. You’ve become something of a little sister to me over the years, marrying you would be… off putting to say the least.”

“You both act as if marrying one’s sibling isn’t something the Royal family has done in the past. Not your Royal family, of course, my Lady,” Sam said, chuckling lowly to himself.

At that point, Prince Alfredo seemed to have finished his conversation with Lord Michael and looked over at the three of you with an amused expression on his face. “I feel as though I’ve overheard some part of a conversation that I was not meant to hear,” he said with a slight laugh. You only rolled your eyes playfully and shook your head from side to side before taking a small sip of wine and returning your cup to the table. “No, we were merely discussing how Lord Chad is almost like a third brother to me, so marrying him while not a true sin in the eyes of the Seven would feel as much to the both of us,” you explained.

“Well, have you met any suitable men that you could see yourself wedding?” Alfredo asked, sipping from his own cup.

You sighed softly and looked down at the table for a moment before you drug your eyes back up the Prince. “I’ve never much thought of actually getting married until recently, you see. I’ve always been much more interested in learning new things and exploring - having adventures. However, as it’s been explained to me, those are not things a Princess should be doing. So, I’ve met some men who… are nice and I’m sure would make fine husbands, I’m not entirely certain that they would make fine husbands for me,” you offered with a weak sort of shrug.

Chad reached out with a hand to give your back a gentle pat while both Sam and Prince Alfredo nod their head in what seemed to be understanding. Before much else could be said, servers began to file into the room with the first course of the evening. You sighed thankfully for the interruption, not wanting to continue with the topic at hand. Chad was the one to put food on your plate and you could only laugh softly as you playfully swatted his hands away.

“I am a Princess, not a invalid, Chad James. I am more than able to serve and feed myself.”

You could have sworn that you heard a snort of a laugh come from across the table and when you glanced up, you spotted Sam grinning down at his own plate of food. He had to have sensed that you were looking, as he looked up not long after. His eyes met your own and the two of you shared a slight smirk before returning to your food.

[5lbsofsmarties]

A Lion Still Has Claws

Word Count: 2610 A Game of Throne AU - part 1 of ?

There was a deep seeded throbbing in your shoulder and your ears were ringing loudly as the sounds of the raucous crowd mingled with the lance blow you had just taken that seemed to echo within the steel helm wrapped around your head. Your eyes narrowed across the grounds at your opponent and you knew that you couldn’t be laid out; you refused to lose and not just because of your deep competitive nature, but because if you lost then your secret would no doubt be reveled to everyone who had gathered to witness the last day of the Tourney.

From where you sat atop your horse, you could see your father sitting in the stands looking rather bored. You couldn’t help but wonder what he would say if he knew that it was his own daughter jousting not twenty feet in front of him. In reality, you were sure he would only be angry that you had lied to get there – and that you had been hurt. Your mother on the other hand, you were positive that she would lose her mind if she found out.

Since you were a small child, all you wanted to do was learn to wield a sword like your father and brothers, to ride a horse with the same ferocity, to shoot a bow with deadly accuracy, and more importantly, have your ideas taken with as much consideration. But, you mother was determined to have her only daughter be the perfect lady that the realm expected her to be. You were taught needlepoint in place of swordplay, and songs in the stead of politics. It angered you that you were treated like a child despite being nearly a woman grown.

You had to shake those thoughts from your mind as you refocused on the task at hand; all you had to do was unhorse the rider opposite you to be named the winner of the joust at the Prince’s Name Day Tourney.

The flags dropped and you spurred your mare on, cradling your lance in your hand and squaring your shoulders as you approached the knight rapidly. The sound of your lance breaking met your ears before you ever saw what happened, but with a glance over your shoulder you saw the knight in gleaming emerald plate fall and land harshly on the flat of his back – his golden cloak catching the air and all but swaddling his body as he made impact. A wave of shouts and cheers erupted from all around you and you could not contain the gleeful laugh that fell from your throat, the sound ricocheted around inside your helm but for once the powerful sounds didn’t hurt your ears.

When it came time to collect the champion’s purse, you were full of nerves being that close to the king and standing in front of all of the high born Lords and Ladies. You were sure that someone was going to peer into your helm and catch a glimpse of your face to put an end to your whole charade. However, you were able to grab hold of your prize and bow your way out of the situation before all but running back to your tent that you had set up in.

Just as your hand gripped at the flap of fabric at the entrance, you heard a voice shout out from behind you.

“Mystery knight!”

You froze and quickly pivoted to see the knight that you had knocked off of his horse was all but rushing towards you across the grounds and you found yourself longing for your tower and your room with a real door, not a wisp of fabric that does nothing to keep out unwanted people. In the back of your mind, you wondered if he would leave you be if you drew your sword and told him that his presence was not wanted in these parts.

But you knew that tempers at the Tourney’s often ran high the last thing you wanted was to be involved in some sort of skirmish after just winning the champion’s purse. Your eyes quickly scanned the surrounding area, trying desperately to find an escape route. Thankfully, a rather bawdy group of squires, pages, and lesser known knights still in their plate were in the process of cutting through the area on their way to the final round of the melee; you slipped in beside them and all but disappeared into the throngs of people, effectively leaving the knight from Highgarden behind.

That night you were expected to attend the feast for the closing of the Tourney as well as the final celebration for the Prince’s Name Day, but that was easier said than done. You’d managed to get out of your borrowed armor and into a respectable gown that your mother had spent weeks with the best seamstresses in the city to make sure that you were aptly dressed for event. However, you had not taken into account that your ever loyal gaggle of handmaidens would be helping you dress and you did not immediately notice that one had slipped off out of the room when you were sliding the dress on.

All things considered, it was a beautiful gown. It was made entirely of a lovely white crushed velvet and had truly impeccable golden lace detailing all over the bodice and skirt. The sleeves were fitted perfectly from shoulder to elbow and then gracefully draped off of your arms in wide-cut cuffs decorated with more lace trim. A matching scarf of golden crushed velvet was secured over your shoulders with a ornamental lion pin.

As one of the younger of your handmaidens laced up the back of your gown, the door to your bedchamber clanged open loudly, very nearly coming off of its hinges at the force. Both your mother and your father were rushing into the room with two very different expressions etched into their features. While your father looked down right furious and nearly ready to declare war, your mother had a look of terror running deep within the lines of her face.

“What happened to you, Y/N?”

Your mother grabbed hold of both of your hands in her own and looked into your face with wide, pleading eyes. You could not help but stare back at her with confusion seeping into your own countenance. “Your handmaiden ran to us and said you were covered from neck to navel in bruises and welts. Who hurt you? Who did this?” your father demanded from a few feet back. Your father had the ability to be a very intimidating man when it came to matters of politics and wartime, but it was a side of him that you had rarely seen as a child.

Gently, you attempted to extricate your hands from your mother’s hold and shook your head from side to side. “It’s nothing, really, I am alright,” you attempted to assuage both of their worry, “You both know how clumsy and unsure my feet can be.” Your words appeared to do nothing but anger your father further. He knew quite well how capable you were; he tried on several occasions in your girlhood to take you along with your brothers’ lessons and teach you the ways of the sword or bow before your mother intervened.

“Do not lie to me, Y/N. I am not a man to take being lied to kindly even by my own daughter. Now, what happened to you?”

Nervously, you looked around the room full of people and tried to wrack your mind for some sort of explanation that was not entirely the truth so that you could avoid telling the two of them of your exploits at the Tourney. Your handmaidens, however, were not on the same page as you it appeared as one of them stepped forward with a slightly lowered head and eyes on the ground at your parents’ feet. You widened your eyes in order to cast a pleading glance in her direction; she had been the only one to know what you had done, besides one of your brothers, and had she agreed to keep it to herself if you managed to come through unscathed.

“Forgive me, my Lady,” she murmured softly before lifting her gaze to meet your father’s eyes, “Y/N… she entered the Tourney as a mystery knight. She took quite a few blows in the joust and those are where all of those nasty bruises came from,” she explained before quickly dropping her eyes back down to the floor.

The sound of your mother’s shocked gasp met your ears before you ever saw her reach out and take your hands in her own once more. She looked you over with fearful and concerned eyes but you knew that you had managed to cover all of the evidence; or so you thought, until you looked down and saw the scrapes and contusions forming under the skin of your hands. Your mother followed your gaze and she let out a truly awful sounding shriek as she pulled you closer by the hands.

“Gods be good… what did you do to yourself, Y/N? Look at the state of your delicate hands! You are due at the feast soon and you were meant to meet with some of the Lords and their sons who have asked your father for your hands and-“

Your mother continued to rant and rave but you tuned out at the mention of meeting men. You had tried on several occasions to explain to her that you were not interested in marrying a Lordling and squeezing out baby after baby for him to continue his line, or even continue your own – at least not at this point in your life. You wanted adventure, and excitement, not whatever it was that your mother had planned for you.

“Y/N,” your father said sharply, gaining your attention, “Your brother Gavin is waiting in the solar. He was to take you to the feast but tell him to take you to the maester and get your hands looked at. When that is done the two of you are to join us at our table and tonight when the meal is complete we will discuss what happened today.”

The tone in which he spoke gave you no room for argument, you simply lowered your eyes and nodded, “Yes, father.”

Without another word, you hurried out of your room and down the stairs leading into the solar. Sure enough, your brother was sprawled out over a chaise lounge as he sipped at the golden goblet in his hand. He had on a golden doublet, embroidered with beautiful red stitching, underneath an understated red leather jerkin, the buttons of which were red fire opals – the candle light in the solar seemed to dance off of them.

“Y/N!” he exclaimed at seeing you enter the room. He got to his feet and finished off his wine, setting it haphazardly onto a nearby table, and held his arms out to you with a ridiculous smile on his face. “You did brilliantly, little sister. Really tremendous stuff out there… you won me quite a bit of coin today as well as yourself,” he laughed and walked over to you so that he could wrap an arm around your shoulder and pull you flush against his side.

“Gav… mother and father found out,” you murmured, keeping your eyes locked on the stonework at your feet.

Gavin groaned and pulled away, “How did that happen? We were so careful!”

“Not careful enough,” you said, lifting your hands to show the damage you had taken, “Father said you’re to take me to see Maester Gus before we go to the feast.”

It seemed as though Gavin bit his tongue to keep his words to himself but he quickly headed towards the door, motioning for you to fall in step with him. You had to admit that after spending the majority of the day in plate armor, walking in a flowing gown felt amazingly freeing, but you decided to keep that though to yourself as you tried to keep pace with your brother.

“Where is Ryan?” you asked as the two of you crossed the yard.

Gavin shrugged and sighed, “He is off with some knights or lords or something from the North that he met at the Tourney.”

“You weren’t invited?” you teased with a smirk.

“I’d keep my mouth shut if I were you, Y/N. Not everyone would be so kind as to help their little sister join in a Tourney when the whole realm would implode if they knew,” he shot back, narrowing his eyes in your direction.

You lifted your hands in front of you in mock surrender, but chuckled softly under your breath. Gavin had always been one to follow along behind your eldest brother Ryan in some sort of attempt to gain is respect and admiration, but it was obvious to most that while Ryan did love his younger brother, he definitely still viewed him as a silly little boy. You would have felt bad for Gavin if he had not turned around and attempted to mirror Ryan’s treatment of himself upon you when you were all growing up at your home in the west.

After watching Gavin’s face for a moment, you decided to drop it, not wanting to spoil his night. You allowed yourself a chance to scan the keep around you as you walked alongside your brother, to watch the people for once; it seemed as though everyone was constantly watching you. As you got closer to your destination, you spotted an unfamiliar man in all black walking with a few of the City Watch towards the steps to the cells under the keep.

“Gavin… look… it’s a brother of the Night’s Watch,” you whispered, twisting your head around to watch the man.

He looked a little haggard with wild brown hair and a scraggily beard adorning his face, but you assumed it must have been a rough ride from the Wall all the way down to King’s Landing. Gavin huffed softly and rolled his eyes at your comment before he reached out to grab hold of your elbow. “They come all the time to look for recruits in the dungeons, ignore him, Y/N. We need to hurry,” he muttered, pulling you along.

Finally the pair of you reached the maester’s tower and Gavin was kind enough to push open and hold the door for you to enter. “Hurry along, Y/N… we need to get to the feast and I need to find that main from across the Narrow Sea before mother and father make us sit with them,” Gavin instructed, motioning you into the tower.

You cast one look over your shoulder and sighed softly before turning on a heel to head further into the tower. As you ascending the stairs, you couldn’t help but think of what your mother had said. Who were these men she was so desperate for you to meet? What good would come of these meetings? Honestly you weren’t sure if at this point your parents would listen to you in the matter of a marriage match, or if they would choose for you. After today and seeing the look on their faces when they heard the truth of your days long escapades in the Tourney, you weren’t entirely sure they’d trust you to make any of your own decisions ever again.

With a heavy sigh, you raised a hand and knocked loudly at the door at the top of the stairs.

“Maester? It’s Y/N… my father sent me to see you.”

[5lbsofsmarties]

A Lion Still Has Claws - Three

Word Count: 3486 A Game of Thrones AU - Part 3 of ? Once again @ryanhayword is the best ever.

No matter your title or stature, while being in King’s Landing you were never truly alone. There were eyes and ears in every bend of the corridors within the Red Keep, and just as many on the streets of the city itself. Someone was bound to be watching or listening and the truly off putting fact of the matter was that you could never actually be sure who was watching you and for what reasons. For that fact alone, it was extremely difficult to feel at home or even have a sense of privacy even within your own bedchambers or suite within the Keep. It seemed as if no matter where you went, even if you thought you were alone, someone was there or knew exactly how to find you.

The gardens had always been your favorite place to be in all of King’s Landing. Since you were a small child you liked to run and play in between the flowers, bushes, and trees. It was some of the only real adventure that you were allowed to have. You could remember when you were only six, hiding with Gavin in a particularly thick patch of flowers surrounding a fountain while Ryan looked for the both of you. Ryan had been in the middle of a riding lesson with the Stable Master when Gavin had gotten the bright idea to throw pebbles at him. One small stone that you had thrown had nicked the horse that he was on right by her ear which had spooked the mare and she threw Ryan right off of her back to the ground below.

Ryan spotted the both of you giggling from behind the stables and charged after you. When he finally found you in the gardens, he’d given the two of you - mostly Gavin - a good wallop upside the head.

You really could not help but smile a little to yourself at the memory as you perched yourself on the edge of the fountain, allowing your fingers to gently dip into the cool water behind you. Your eyes slowly slipped shut and you angled your head back just enough to feel the warm caress of the sun against your skin. The mixture of the refreshing water and the balmy sun was the perfect combination for a sense of relaxation and peace that you hadn’t felt in a while. Realistically you knew that by simply being born into the Royal family of Westeros that you had no real reason to complain about. There were people living in King’s Landing who had much harder lives than you could even fathom.

The hardest decision you had to make from today going forward was who you were going to marry.

The sound of footsteps against the stone walkways found your ears but it was the sound of someone calling your name that roused your attention. You quite deliberately lowered your head and peeled open your eyes to see Ryan coming up the path with a man that you were sure you had never met before at his side. He was definitely shorter than your brother, the top of his shaved head just barely reaching the bottom of Ryan’s neck. He was wearing a deep black doublet with a jerkin made of black leather and studs of polished iron all over the quilted pattern sewn into it; you couldn’t help but wonder if he was feeling the heat in all of that dark clothing. You dragged your hand out of the water and carefully got to your feet as the pair of them approached you.

“Y/N, this is Jeremy Dooley of the Iron Islands. Jeremy, may I introduce, my sister Y/N, princess of the Seven Kingdoms,” Ryan introduced.

You wanted to laugh at the obvious discomfort in not only Ryan’s tone of voice, but also his body language. You knew that he truly hated the formality that came along with the family you had been born into. He would much prefer to be able to come and go and do as he pleased. However, you shook your head to rid yourself of the urge and looked back at Jeremy with a polite smile. Jeremy stretched out his hand and very gingerly took hold of yours to lift it up and press a gentle kiss to the back of your hand.

“Your Grace,” Jeremy said as he lowered your hand, “It is a pleasure to meet you.”

With a small curtsy, you nodded and smiled at Jeremy, “The pleasure is mine, Ser.”

Out of the corner of your eye, you could see Ryan attempting to hide his smile, but instead of ignoring it like you really knew that you should, you turned to face him. “Dear brother, it seems to me that you are finding all of this to be quite humorous. If only you could go off and find someone else to bother in our small corner of the world,” you said smoothly, blinking slowly up at him. Ryan only chuckled and raised the both of his shoulders in a shrug of indifference. “You know it would be improper of me to leave my sweet younger sister, the princess, alone with an eligible suitor. Think of the whispers,” he teased with a deep laugh.

You let out a small huff of a breath, gave Ryan a hard look, and turned back to meet Jeremy’s gaze. “Lord Jeremy, if you would be so kind, would you accompany me around the garden? It seems as though my brother is intent on being an intrusive little prince,” you suggested, tossing a playful smirk in Ryan’s direction.

Jeremy only laughed and nodded his head before he extended his arm for you to take, which you gladly did. Your hand wrapped securely around the bend of Jeremy’s elbow and he placed his own hand delicately over your bandaged one. The two of you turned and slowly began walking in the opposite direction of Ryan, off towards a different fountain further in the gardens. There was a bit of silence that had settled slightly uncomfortably between the pair of you. After a moment or two, Jeremy paused and you noticed his hand come off of yours to go to the belt at his waist.

“Your Grace,” Jeremy started to say but you held up a hand. His eyebrows knitted together in confusion at your motion. “Please… Y/N is just fine,” you told him with a soft smile. Jeremy returned your smile and nodded his head slightly. “Right, Y/N… would you mind terribly if we had some wine?” he asked as he pulled a wine skin off of his belt. You couldn’t help but smile widely at the sight; you knew full well that you definitely should not be drinking at midday in the middle of the gardens. But you thoroughly enjoyed Jeremy’s brashness and lack of concern for the thoughts of those wandering and curious eyes around you.

You shook your head and motioned for him to continue, “By all means.”

Jeremy took a small step to the side and used his head to nod towards a bench at his side, shadowed by a large tree. You took his lead and walked over to sit yourself down on the carved stone seat, laying your hands in your lap as Jeremy took the spot to your right. Jeremy unstoppered the skin and handed to over to you. “Ladies first,” he said with a slight smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. You could only roll your eyes slightly as you took the offered skin and raised it to your lips.

After you took your drink and handed the skin back, you eyed Jeremy for a moment. “How are you liking King’s Landing? It must be very different from the Iron Islands,” you asked as you leaned back slightly. The rigid stone back of the bench pressed against your back and you could almost feel the hot prick of the rock through your dress, but the cool breeze that gently shook the leaves overhead was more than enough to distract you from that slight unpleasantness. Jeremy hummed to himself in thought and leaned forward to rest his arms on the tops of his thighs as he stared out of the gardens in front of you.

“It’s certainly warmer here than it is at home,” Jeremy said with a small chuckle, “And there is quite a bit more fanfare in these parts than the Iron Islands.”

You snorted back a laugh, raising a hand to cover your mouth and nose in an attempt to stifle the noise. Jeremy’s head snapped to the left into your direction and let out a boisterous laugh of his own. Taking a deep breath, you shook your head as you lowered your hand. “Shut it, and hand me that wine,” you snickered, holding a hand out to beckon the wineskin from Jeremy. He chuckled lowly to himself and handed the drink over. You grasped the skin in your hand and raised it to take a long sip. “I will say, however, there is much better wine down here in the South,” Jeremy said.

His hands grasped at the tops of his knees and sat up a little straighter as he leaned back on the bench, allowing himself to relax ever so slightly. You smiled and nodded your head as you looked him over. “The Arbors make a fine drink,” you grinned, taking another sip and letting out a happy sort of hum.

Finally, after a few moments, you let out a low breath, “Lord Jeremy… I take it you know why my father wanted us to meet.”

“He’s looking for a proper match for you. Which, unfortunately, I am not,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

You raised a single eyebrow in Jeremy’s direction, unsure of what he meant. It wasn’t as if you were clamoring to get married as soon as possible, but you weren’t sure what it was he meant that he wasn’t a match for you. Jeremy must have noticed the look on your face and he let out a low chuckle as he reached out to take the wine from you again.

“On the islands we have what we call our Rock Wife, an Iron born woman to marry and raise your children, and our Salt Wives, women we steal when we go and pillage. You cannot be my Rock Wife, you’re not from the Iron Islands. And I’m sure that if I tried to steal you away from the Keep I would be run through with a sword,” he explain with a grin before taking a large gulp of wine, “So, I’ve mostly come to the city for the free food and drink.”

There was a brief pause as you thought over Jeremy’s words before you let out a loud laugh of your own, doubling over at the waist. You wrapped your hands around your middle and ducked your head down enough hide your grinning face from Jeremy. It was refreshing to hear someone be so honest about their intentions in King’s Landing. You took in a deep breath as you straightened yourself up and placed a hand over your chest as you looked back over at Jeremy. “I don’t think I’ve laughed like that in ages,” you sighed, smoothing out your dress.

“I’m glad I could be of service,” Jeremy grinned, shaking his head from side to side.

From behind Jeremy, the way that you had come from, you could see Ryan along with Ser Adam approaching the pair of you. You sighed and looked over to watch them with curious eyes. “Your Grace,” Ser Adam greeted as he stopped in front of you, “Lord Jeremy, my apologies, I’ve been sent to take the princess to her royal apartment.”

Jeremy got to his feet and put the wineskin back onto his belt before holding out a hand to help you to your feet, which you gladly accepted. “Y/N… I’ve had a lovely time speaking with you,” Jeremy said as he took your hand once more to press a kiss against it, “I hope you find your match, Princess.” You smiled warmly and nodded before stepping forward to press a small kiss against his cheek.

“Thank you, my lord,” you said as you took a step back.

Ryan came forward and held his arm out for you to take, which you did, and the pair of you started to walk behind Ser Adam. You’d barely taken a handful of steps before Ryan looked over at you with a smug sort of look on his face. “So, you won’t be marrying Lord Jeremy, then?” he asked with a grin. You rolled your eyes and shot back a slight sneerful look in his direction. “I’m glad you find this whole thing funny, Ryan. However, could you for once just be a kind brother and not an idiot?” you asked, nudging his side with your elbow.

“You’re not the only one who needs to marry someone, Y/N. We all have things we must do. You should be thankful that mother and father are allowing you to pick whom you’re to marry,” he said, glancing down at you.

As you approached the holdfast, you sighed softly and shook your head. “This is all nothing I want, Ryan. I don’t want to be shopped around to every eligible man in the Realm. If I marry, I want it to be on my own terms, in my own time,” you tried to explain. Ryan nodded his head and gently patted the hand you had on his elbow. He let out a low breath and looked around the area you were walking through. Ser Adam stopped just outside the door leading to the tower and stood to the side. Ryan stepped forward to open the door for you to pass through. Once inside the tower, the door closed loudly behind you and Ryan; a sudden silence filled the air surrounding you.

“I know you want to be kept in the loop with all the goings on but you haven’t been,” Ryan started as he lead you to the stairs, “So hear me now. There are murmurings of possible rebellions and father is trying his damnedest to keep a hold on the Throne and assuage the worry of the people. He needs us to do our part - all three of us. It may not be how you like, Y/N, but it is how it needs to be done.”

You stopped your walking at a landing in the staircase and turned to face Ryan with a truly shocked expression on your face. How could your father keep this from you? Sure, you knew you were but a princess, but if he needed this to happen he could have been honest with you. You let out a low sigh and began to fidget absently with the bandages on your hands. “If keeping appearances and becoming betrothed was so vital, why did you let Gavin and I scheme to get me into the tourney? You could have refused us,” you asked cautiously.

Ryan shook his head and let out a humorless chuckle, “No, I couldn’t have. After that tourney in Oldtown where I was gravely injured, mother refused to let us do anything she considered dangerous. Gavin was no longer given leave to ride off and go where he liked, I could no longer compete in tourneys, and you… you were held on an even tighter leash. Mother knows your spirit, Y/N, because it was her own.

“She may not have been one to act so recklessly as you, but she’s seen what can happen and it scares her. I knew that if I had told you no, you would have found a way around it and it wouldn’t have been as safe. I wanted you to experience something of your own, see what you’ve been missing, and maybe then you’d get it out of your system and see where mother and father are coming from.”

You leaned back against the wall and stared at your brother for a few beats to simply mull over his words. You were quite a bit younger when Ryan got hurt in the tourney but you could remember mother not leaving his side, how she would fuss if you and Gavin were too rambunctious when you came to see them. She must have been terrified that her eldest son was so hurt in what was meant to be a silly competition. Finally, you stepped forward and wrapped your arms around your brother to embrace him tightly, an embrace he quickly returned. As you pulled away, you looked up at him with a small smile on your lips.

“You know, if you were this nice all the time Gavin and I wouldn’t be such little twits to you all the time,” you teased as you playfully nudged him the shoulder.

Ryan’s eyes narrowed in your direction and you immediately recognized the look, making you take a few small steps backwards. “Ryan… don’t,” you admonished him. Your back foot lifted up onto the step behind you and you dropped your hands to grab hold of your skirts and hoist them up enough so that they would not impede your movements. In a flash, Ryan had all but launched at you and you whipped around with a peel of laughter as you hauled yourself up the steps.

You could hear Ryan calling after you but as you reached the proper landing you could see the door leading to your royal apartment. “Get back here,” Ryan shouted, his words echoing off of the walls around you. You could only huff out a breathless laugh and push yourself to run faster. You felt your hair jostling and your hairnet falling loose but you paid no mind as your curls fell and landed upon your shoulders. As you advanced on the door, it suddenly opened and Meg stepped out into the hall. You had to slow yourself down so that you would not run headlong into her, and ended up bumping into the wall by the door, bending in half and heaving in an attempt to catch your breath.

Ryan came barreling around the corner and skidded to a stop nearby when he spotted Meg there watching you with amused eyes. “Lady Meg,” he greeted, breathing heavily and falling against a pillar. Meg could only laugh and roll her eyes at the pair of you, she had grown quite accustomed to whatever nonsense you and your brothers could get up to. “Your Grace… your queenly mother has brought by a gentleman for you to meet and break bread with. But it seems you need to freshen up slightly,” she said, picking at a strand of your hair.

You laughed and waved her off with your hand, “I shall be fine. That hair net made my scalp itch.”

Meg laughed again but led you into the solar where you spotted a man in a green doublet and a bright white jerkin standing by the windows overlooking the Blackwater. “Princess Y/N, may I introduce you to Ser Trevor of Highgarden,” Meg said, her voice catching the man’s attention, “And Ser Trevor, it is my honor to present you with Y/N, princess of the Realm.”

The man in front of you was dashingly handsome; he stood taller than even your brother and his dark hair was swept up, out of his face giving you a look at his dark eyes. You couldn’t help but smile shyly as he stepped confidently over to where you stood. “Your Grace,” he breathed, lifting your hand to his lips. You were sure you could feel the heat through the bandages. He eyed your wrapped up fingers with a sad sort of look on his face.

“I hope you are healing just fine, my lady, such an injury has no place on one as radiant as you,” he said as he flashed a brilliant smile.

You were sure that your heart had stopped beating for just a moment inside your chest and you hadn’t a clue what to do at that point. From behind you, Ryan cleared his throat and stepped closer to the pair of you. “So nice of you to join us, Ser Trevor. It seems as though a light meal has been brought up so why don’t we sit and chat? I’m sure my sweet sister would love to hear about your exploits at this last tourney. You came close to winning, yes?” he probed before turning to sit at the large wooden table in the middle of the room.

Trevor moved to pull out a seat for you and shook his head, “I did, my lord. I came in second to a mystery knight who, sadly, unhorsed me in the last round of the joust.”