Among Lions and Wolves • |Book 1|

.chapter sixteen.

She heeded his advice and cried no more tears. It had been hard, sitting in the silent wheelhouse listening to the clip clop of hooves and the squeaking of wheels. She wasn't sure how or why, but she missed Robb.  Being in his arms had been a comfort she didn't realize she longed for. It had been different than being in Jon's.

Jon had always been timid, scared, even when he knew that Robb allowed their secret relationship to blossom, he had always felt tense. But he had loved her, and sometimes he had let it show through his embraces.

Robb's had been different. He had been scared, but confident. It was almost like it was his duty to hold her, and perhaps it would be. But that was not what made his arms so comforting. He was warm and strong. She melted into his arms better than she did in Jon's, yet she loved Jon more.

"It's good to see you no longer crying," Myrcella's sweet voice cut through her conflicting thoughts of Jon and Robb.

"You've been crying?" Cersei's voice carried over to their side of the wheelhouse, her emerald eyes on Rhaella. "Don't tell me you've grown fond of that place now."

"I have," Rhaella admitted. "But I miss King's Landing more. I long to be home, to feel the warmth of the sun on my skin and to be free of these ghastly dresses. And there is one other thing," with each word she spoke, she felt herself growing a little stronger. Cersei's brows rose, "I want a fox."

The queen nearly spat up her wine, "You want what now?" She asked, dabbing around her mouth with a cloth.

"A fox," she replied. "The Starks have their wolves, I'd like a fox. I miss Ghost, and I know I can not have a direwolf of my own, so a fox will do."

Laughter erupted from the queen, Tommen thinking it was because she was happy, beamed from her to Rhaella.

"Surely you don't mean it," the queen said when she sobered up, something dark and dangerous gleaming in her green eyes. "A fox, honestly?"

"I think it would be quite nice," Myrcella said, her pink lips pressed into a smile. "We could teach it things too!"

"A fox is a wild animal," her tone was sharp, "not some pet for you to play with. No, I forbid it. It's bad enough the Stark girls have brought along those savage beasts, I won't have you parading around the keep with one of your own."

"But it'd only be a little fox, nothing at all like the wolves!"

"I said no." And she had meant it, her glare and tone of voice putting a final end to their conversation.

She wanted to cry, to bury her face into the goose feather pillow and sob until she could run to her chamber and sob there. But she couldn't. She had promised Robb she would shed no more tears, she would be strong.

By the next day, they were back on the road. The ride had been silent and painful. Tommen and Myrcella engaged in a game of cyvasse while Rhaella peered out the little window built into the wheelhouse.

The silence had been broken by Cersei, her voice soft as she addressed Rhaella, "I have given it some thought," she said, making the young woman sit up. "Perhaps I shall make an exception, except don't you think a lion would be more fitting than a measly little fox?"

She glanced down at the ground, thinking it over. The queen was willing to compromise only if on her terms. Rhaella looked up at Cersei, her blue eyes clear of any emotion.

"Okay." She said, her tone impassive.

Cersei smirked, satisfied she had won yet again. But had she?

Rhaella turned away, her blue eyes glancing out at the endless sea of green and blue.

"Can I ride with the Starks the next time we stop?"

"Why would you want to do that?" Cersei asked, her tone teetering between disgust and curiosity.

"Sansa is to be Joffrey's wife one day and Arya will be at the keep with us as well. We shall see a great deal of each other, I'd like to get to know them beforehand."

The Queen's lips twitched the dark look from the day before returning to her emerald green eyes. "Why not invite them here? I'm sure the wheelhouse is quite big enough for us all."

"As you wish, your grace," she replied, returning to gaze back out into the world. 

_______________________

A girl has changed.

And yes, this is super short, I know 🙈