King Robert Baratheon wanted to get rid of every Targaryen. Apart from Daenerys and Viserys, he hadn’t dealt with the two remaining hidden in the shadows of the Crown.
Amalthea has been living from day to day for three years, traveling with her companion throughout the lands of Westeros.
Shortly after Joffrey Baratheon takes power, war breaks out, declared because of locking Ned Stark in the dungeons of the Red Keep and accusing him of treason. Amalthea finds herself in the middle of this conflict only because her heart beat faster for a handsome young man two years ago.
Prologue
Two years. A lot and a little, although now that she thought about it, it had been a very long time for her. She was sitting in the inn with Ryledia - her companion and closest person. Every day she thanked fate for inheriting her unremarkable light brown eyes. They would be harder to hide than her silver hair, which was almost always carefully hidden under a dark red wig. Her mother cut her over-hip-long hair off for this, so that her daughter would be safe while living under the rule of a man who would be willing to cut off her head just because of the color of her hair.
Throughout that year, she tried not to think about her parents and the decisions she made that day. She scratched the back of her neck and looked at Ryledia. They sat next to each other. Her dark-haired companion was always very protective of her, she was the one who took the seats on the edge, she was the one who kept watch longer if they had to sleep outdoors. She was also the one who did the hunting.
Together they come up with a plan if they needed to rob someone of a few coppers or silver if they couldn't hunt anything.
This was the first time they had traveled this far. They didn't plan to go to the North at first. After all, it was colder there, so they needed thicker clothes to keep them from freezing at night. Ryledia was the one who always wanted to see these lands and the people who inhabit them, to find out if the rumors were true.
"There's nothing like a mug of mulled mead, is there?" Ryledia asked, offering Amalthea a mug.
The young - only fifteen years old at the time - girl grimaced, but took a large sip of mead sl it would warm her up a little from the inside. She didn't like the taste. Apart from good quality wine, she did not like alcohol. But well, they couldn't afford that very often. Unless Amalthea batted her long, dark eyelashes a little and talked someone into buying them some.
Ryledia never liked it when she did this, but when she really wanted something good, she turned a blind eye and silently kept her hand on the hilt of her sword, in case she needed to react quickly.
"It depends on who." Amy replied, wiping her mouth with her hand and pushing the mug across the table back to her companion. "You seem to like being here."
"You know, it's nice to hear someone agree with you." what she meant was that the vast majority of Northerners shared her opinion about the perfumed southern knights, who were tough until the first blow landed on their face.
"I think there are still quite a few marriageable girls who would disagree with you." Amalthea was part of this group herself, although it couldn't be said that she admired... for example Loras Tyrell, like most women her age who even heard about his beauty. Yes, she smiled slightly to herself at the thought of thick curls, but she didn't consider it a wonderful topic for hours of conversation.
"It doesn't count." she muttered and looked over her shoulder to see if anyone was already carrying their food.
Meanwhile, a man in his early thirties approached their table and threw a few coppers on the table. This immediately caught the attention of both girls, they even had the same reaction: frowning in surprise. Then the man added three more coins.
"But only because she's pretty." he said, pointing at Amalthea. Immediately afterwards, he leaned over the table and extended his hand towards her. Ryledia suddenly stood up.
"Touch her with even a finger and you'll lose your whole arm." she growled, glaring at the man. He was over a head taller than her - and it's worth mentioning, because Ryledia wasn't short herself, she was about ten centimeters taller than Amalthea - but she wasn't the kind of person who would chicken out over it. Especially since he dared to consider her closest friend a whore he could buy.
She was about to draw her sword, but the man was faster and aimed a punch at her, forcing her to crouch in order to dodge it, and she didn't have time to draw her sword before he was close to her.
There weren't many people in the inn at the time, and those who were sitting at their tables didn't look like they wanted to get involved. Even when Ryledia was grabbed by the front of her shirt and thrown to the ground.
Amalthea's first instinct was to step back, sitting now against the wall. She never had to fight, only to run away. It is true that she always had a dagger with her, attached to a garter or to her belt - if she was wearing trousers. Ryledia often scolded her for her preference for the two dresses she had left, but understanding the girl's reason for wearing them, she tried to accept it. Even though they were definitely less practical than pants, especially in a situation like this.
After throwing the older girl on the ground, the man turned towards Amalthea again, but not for long, because Ryledia stabbed him in the foot, effectively drawing attention to herself - unfortunately, it resulted in her getting a kick in the stomach so hard that it made her cough.
Fear finally began to turn into determination to do something and Amalthea reached for her dagger, but before she could draw it to somehow stop the man from hurting her dear friend again, the three of them heard someone else draw a sword.
"M-my Lord…" the man immediately stepped away, raising his hands and bowing his head. Amalthea saw his hands suddenly begin to tremble. She leaned out and saw several men.
Two of them stood out, they were dressed slightly differently, more richly. They had better furs, silver decorated their clothes. She only realized who had come to their aid when she noticed the silver direwolf on the chests of both of them. Ryledia noticed the same thing when she managed to get up off the ground before someone offered to help her with it - yes, she hated when she had to accept someone's help. She wanted to at least do this much herself if she couldn't protect Amalthea.
"Why did you hit that woman? What did she do to you, didn't let you sit beside her?" said the elder Stark, Lord Eddard. Fortunately, they decided to come here after the hunt.
"I'm afraid he expected more than a chat over mead, father." Robb looked at the coppers lying on the table and then his eyes fell on the girl sitting almost against the wall. "Are you alright, my Lady?" he approached and extended his hand towards her to help her get up from the bench.
Amalthea was not like Ryledia. She accepted the young man's hand and even smiled gently.
"I'm okay, he didn't manage to touch me." she felt a gentle warmth on her cheeks, while looking into the boy's blue eyes.
If girls swoon over Ser Loras, does he look like Robb Stark or even better?
She wasn't sure if her legs were shaking because she had just experienced one of the worst moments of her life, or because she had never felt like smiling like an idiot because of a man until now. Probably because of both of these reasons, and it was the same with her rapidly beating heart.
"This is definitely not enough for compensation." Ned said, looking at the few coppers still on the table.
"No, my Lord, please…" the man fell to his knees, but in his heart he was grateful that nothing had happened, because he was aware of the punishment he would face for rape under Lord Stark's jurisdiction.
Amalthea remembers that the man didn't get a very severe punishment back then, but because he raised a hand against Ryledia, he had to pay dearly and lost two fingers with the threat of losing his entire hand if he was ever caught doing something equally indecent.
Sometimes she has the impression that Ryledia suffered more later, on their journey, because of how much she talked to her about Lord Stark's eldest son.
Only in the evening did she realize how much she was annoying Ryledia, and she endured it in silence, so as not to say something she might regret later. She decided never to bring up this topic again, and instead to sink into her thoughts and there talk to herself about this handsome boy. As the days, weeks, and finally two years passed, she stopped thinking about him. Only occasionally did his image pierce her thoughts when she saw someone with similarly blue eyes or whose hair was arranged in almost the same curls.
Well, her racing heart came back to her now that she had the chance to see him again after those two, long years.
And it wasn't just her pulse that accelerated.
~
-> Chapter I ''Beginning''
-> general masterlist
-> Game of Thrones/House of the Dragon masterlist
(masterlists in the end)
-> Chapter I ''Beginning''
Chapter II ''Two worlds''
From the moment Ryledia saw Amalthea talking to Robb, she stopped liking the whole situation. She had her own intentions, and they didn't involve falling in love or forming any deeper bonds at all. Meanwhile, her friend was spending way too much time with this boy, not caring about her little suggestions that she shouldn't get too involved.
Only a few days had passed, and she already knew that if she didn't do anything, her friend, who was just over a year younger, would lose her head for someone she had only known for a few days.
Ryledia just didn't understand it. She was never interested in the opposite sex, she was never infatuated, in love, nothing like that. Only when she wanted to get something, to achieve something, she could pretend - but even then she wasn't as good at fluttering her eyelashes as Amalthea. It was for her that men spent more money to buy them dinner or a glass of good wine.
Ryledia, on the other hand, was suitable for the sword and she paid more attention to learning how to fight. Unfortunately, she was mostly self-taught, because her stepfather wasn't too eager to show her more than the basics - and even to achieve even that much, she had to follow him around for several weeks and also persuade Amalthea to help her with this task.
At least she was able to defend them - most of the time. And with each fight she learned, so now she wasn't so bad anymore. She was by no means a match for the knights, but she knew enough to stand up to those who came at them on the way. Or when they bothered others, but that's a story for another time.
Now she had to talk some sense into someone...
"Gods, will you finally stop?" she was on the verge of saying they were leaving, even right now, even though she hadn't achieved her goal yet, but... well. The goal turned out to be more important than caring for her friend. At least for now, while there is still a chance for everything to work out.
"What are you talking about?" Amalthea frowned. They were sitting in the tent, it was already evening, and she returned shortly before sunset. She thought that what she meant was that she told her every day what she and Robb talked about. But today she hasn't said anything yet!
And she didn't like the tone with which Ryledia started this conversation.
"About your goo-goo eyes and innocent smiles. You will break the boy's heart, or he will break yours - the latter is more probable." she didn't let up on her sharp tone, which only confused her interlocutor even more. Why was she suddenly so mean to her? She usually stayed silent and made an irritated face when she didn't like something...
"Why do you say that?" she meant the tone of her statement, but Ryledia understood it differently, as if Amalthea was pretending to be stupid or worse, thought she was blind.
"Spare me your pretending to be clueless, okay? What are you thinking? That you will get married and live happily ever after and have ten children? You're a no one and he's the future Warden of the North or who knows who, as this war could turn out in dozens of ways!"
"Of course I don't think like this!" she shouted back. She hated it when someone raised their voice at her and she automatically did the same. She never learned to stop it.
Apart from the fact that ten children were definitely too much for her, she hadn't even thought about sharing a future with Robb. She preferred to live in the moment, as she had for the past three years. She enjoyed the attention he was giving her and smiled back. She liked talking to him as they walked. That's all.
"And I'm not no one." she added, feeling her voice break.
Nobody is no one. She knew what Ryledia meant by those words, but it still hurt her... She realized that in her current situation there was little she could do and her father - once a prince, living in luxury - lost everything after Robert's Rebellion.
"You are, your family does not exist." how... how dispassionately she said it, was another sting. She took her as a person who would always support her, after all, they had been going through life together until now, and she... She wasn't honest with her, it wasn't out of concern for her, it was more like she wanted to add another sting until they break her, raze her to the ground and make sure she doesn't get up.
And the worst thing is that she didn't understand why she was like that.
"Not as long as at least one person is alive."
"It doesn't change the fact that your glory days are long gone." Ryledia moved closer to her, without breaking eye contact. She didn't want to be like that. So... rough, not towards her, she didn't deserve it. But she hoped that these words would be like a bucket of cold water and she would be discouraged from becoming too familiar with Robb until it was too late. Although it looks like she's already too into it. "You are a no one and nobody of his social status will marry you."
"I didn't even think about it, I just wanted to-"
"Are you waiting for him to fuck you?" Ryledia interrupted her.
Amalthea was lost for words, literally. She had always known that her friend didn't mince her words, but she had never spoken to her like that. The only thing more she could do, was to start calling her names. She didn't recognize her, she didn't understand her. And it hurt her.
She thought she could feel freely around her, talk about everything, and now she was holding back the tears that were starting to form in the corners of her eyes.
"I'm not waiting for anything, for the mercy of the gods, Ryledia, where did you get all these ideas?!" she tried to sound as if she wasn't moved by her words, but she failed. Not only because the first tear had already rolled down her cheek, but above all, her voice began to break.
"You have no future, and yet you fight for it!"
She didn't stop. She saw the state Amalthea was in, and yet she continued with her cruelty. She thought that this way she would be able to achieve something, to convince her that whatever hopes she had were illusory.
She didn't anticipate that her words would push Amalthea away from her and towards the person she had tried so hard to denigrate in her eyes.
"Because I'm talking to him?!" she shouted back, tears were already flowing freely down her face, but she didn't pay attention to them. "You somehow had no problem when I was getting dinner for us with those goo-goo eyes of mine! What's more, you brought us here and-"
"And I'll say we're leaving!" Ryledia wanted to walk up to her and grab her wrist, but Amalthea suddenly jumped away from her, two steps away.
"You won't tell me what to do! Or maybe your loved one already got what he wanted from you and you are jealous that I am happy?!"
What was she talking about? She really thought... Seven, fucking, hells! The way she behaved had nothing to do with how she felt, she had never been and is not in love!
"There's no one like that in my life, I only care about you, Amy!" she spoke to her, using a diminutive.
She hadn't heard it in a long time, the last time was from her mother. Ryledia hadn't called her that for a long time, but she knew what it meant to Amalthea. It reminded of home, of times gone by. Of something that will never come back.
Now it was like the hit below the belt. Playing on emotions, which she didn't like very much.
"Don't call me that, ever!" she emphasized the last word very clearly. "If you really cared about me, you wouldn't talk to me like that! Wouldn't make senseless reproaches! I'm fed up with you, you don't care about my feelings!"
"Because they don't exist!"
Once again, Ryledia ignored her emotions, even though she could see that they are really there.
In her opinion, she was doing it for her friend's good, but in reality she was destroying her and their relationship.
"They're truer than your stupid dreams of going to Essos!" she shouted back, fully aware that these words would hurt Ryledia. They were supposed to, she won't let herself be treated like garbage, let her feel the same as her.
"These are your dreams too." Ryledia's tone of voice suddenly softened. She was shocked, the words leaving her throat with a stutter. She was convinced that they shared this vision of leaving, that Amalthea wanted it as much as she did. After all, she wanted to sell her hair just to have enough money to pay for crossing the Narrow Sea...
And now she tells her she doesn't care at all?
"No. And certainly not with someone who is only focused on herself!" the younger one shouted back.
Ryledia watched Amalthea walk - or rather almost run - out of the tent, trying to decide what to do.
On the one hand, she wanted to shout after her, run, anything to stop her and tell her the truth. She was counting on the fact that in the camp, in such a crowd of people, she would be able to find quite a lot of inattentive people from whose purses she would be able to steal a few coins at a time, until she would finally collect a large enough sum to allow them to leave and still have enough to live on. After all, no one would notice that two or three coins were missing, and little by little she would manage to get enough.
But Amalthea had just shouted at her that she had no intention of going anywhere with her. Perhaps it was only in anger, or perhaps her girlish heart was truly infatuated and she wanted to stay.
On the other hand, her pride was also damaged during this quarrel. They never argued like this, they usually came to an agreement, even if neither of them was the type to give up easily.
So even though a part of her wanted to do it, she didn't follow her.
"Yes, be my guest, go cry on his shoulder, but don't come to me when it turns out that I was right!" she shouted instead, sitting down on the chair in frustration.
She rested her elbows on her thighs and buried her face in her hands, calming her breathing. She immediately began to regret not following her, not grabbing her hand and stopping her from leaving. She felt bad about the way she spoke to her, it was her own fault that she heard some bitter words from Amalthea.
She mentally cursed the fact that her own pride had won over her fear for the person closest to her in her entire life.
She shouldn't have called her 'Amy'. She knew the girl missed her parents. She also missed her mother, although she was never very close to her, but again - it was her fault, or more precisely, her temper. She liked to argue about everything too much.
But damn, she really cared! How is he supposed to show it? Guess she never could... She is a man of action, not words. She will always stand up and fight for those she cares about, but she can't choose her words well - something Amalthea has always been better at.
Even though she was born after Robert's Rebellion and had no connection with the court beyond what she might have heard from her father, her royal roots were evident. At first, Ryledia was very annoyed by this - you could even say that she envied her - but after a while she got so used to it that she couldn't imagine her friend behaving in any other way.
She would be a good Lady. Maybe she's right, it was me who started dreaming about going away and living a life full of adventures. She only went with me because she didn't want me to be alone.
She sighed heavily and ran her hands over her face, finally opening her eyes. She leaned back on the chair and looked around the tent. What was left for her but to wait until Amalthea calmed down and decided to come back? She just hoped she didn't catch a cold or wander too far, after all, it was already dark and it was starting to get colder...
Meanwhile, Theon was heading to his friend's tent, where a council was about to take place. The last one of the day, summarizing what else had been reported to them in the meantime. A few steps ahead of him were two Lords, heading in the same direction.
He adjusted the gloves on his hands, pulling them tighter as he felt the cold wind hit his wrists. When he looked up, he noticed a girl that Robb had recently taken a liking to passing near him.
She wore a red dress that matched the color of her hair. He knew she had at least one more, but he had only seen her wear it once - it was a dirty blue and certainly not as eye-catching as the red one. It also seemed to be a bit too big for her, so he wasn't surprised that the girl preferred the red one. Besides, he liked to see how clothes nicely framed a shapely, feminine figure.
Although Amalthea didn't look happy. Not that he really cared about it, he just exchanged a few words with her when he had nothing to do and saw Robb talking with her on a walk.
From what he had learned from his friend, she was from the Reach, from a small family that had lost their fortune. She said that she left home after her parents died, and then began her journey with her friend - Ryledia - who was in a similar situation to her.
Two women traveling alone? It's not very common, but he can't complain about the presence of pretty women in the camp - or at least one of them, because the taller one didn't seem very friendly... But that doesn't mean he wouldn't try with her.
Once he reached the tent and entered, he immediately approached his friend who was drinking some wine while waiting for his bannermen to arrive.
"You know who I just saw?" he asked, moving further to the side with him. "Your Lady, but she seemed miserable. Haven't you paid enough attention to her today?" of course he had to say it that way, without bothering about why Amalthea was behaving the way she was.
"Miserable? Why, what did you tell her?" at first, Robb wanted to point out to him that this girl was not his Lady, but it would be in vain - Theon always lives in his beliefs and likes to tease him. He won't let this go until Amalthea leaves one day. As for his question, he only added the second part because he realized that he reacted a bit too quickly and too emotionally. Wanting to get the conversation back into a joking tone, he added what he had added.
"Nothing at all, she was too far away and I was too busy getting to this important meeting." Theon replied, smiling. "You should go comfort your loved one."
"I have more important things to worry about." he muttered, although his thoughts were already running through many reasons why Amalthea could be sad and he knew that he would not be able to fully focus on the council.
He had been spending most of his free time with her lately, and even his mother had recently scolded him for not focusing on what was important.
He can't live only by war, planning and worrying about his family, right? He felt he deserved a moment of casual, normal conversation with a girl who was intriguing - or at least that's what his gut told him. He had no reason not to believe what she said about her past, but he thought there was still a lot he didn't know.
And - horror of horrors - he would like to know all this. Unfortunately, she didn't seem to trust him enough to share it all. He couldn't blame her, after all, they hadn't known each other long - even though he felt completely different. As if... As if they were old friends. They found a common ground surprisingly quickly and he could no longer imagine his day without her.
"If you're not fast enough, you'll miss the opportunity." he said, his tone a little too suggestive for Robb's taste. Seeing his friend frown in confusion, Theon added: "A few Lords aren't married, are they?"
"And I thought you had something smart to say." Robb rolled his eyes and set his empty goblet on the table. He tried to turn around, but Theon grabbed his arm.
"Oh, but that's very smart. If you are hoping for something more with such a beautiful woman, you need to do it quickly, not in small steps." he said it quietly, as if it was his biggest secret.
"Not everyone has the same thoughts as you, you know?"
"True, some people are worse. They will see a pretty girl and decide that they must have her in their bed at all costs. And if they are gallant enough, they will succeed. But of course I only support you, my friend." he patted him on the shoulder, as if to confirm his words.
I guess he expected Robb to immediately deny that he didn't care about Amalthea at all, that it was just a casual acquaintance, but that didn't happen. He didn't hide his surprise, opening his eyes a little wider, but then smiling. Whatever you say about him, he was glad that his friend had found at least some happiness in these miserable and stressful circumstances.
"What?" Robb's eyebrows frowned even more than before. It was hard for him to read what was going through Theon's expression and he didn't know whether he should be happy or the opposite.
"Once you succeed, I want to hear what she looks like without her coat and dress." he said in his ear and went to take his place at the table.
~
-> Chapter III ''Walder Frey''
-> general masterlist
-> Game of Thrones/House of the Dragon masterlist
(masterlists in the end)
-> Prologue + description
Chapter I ''Beginning''
Since they ran away from home, they planned to save enough money to sail by ship to Essos and settle there, in one of the Free Cities. Their plans changed when it turned out that earning money was not that easy. Especially when you feel guilty when you rob someone.
When Amalthea thought about the situation that took place two years ago and their stay in the North, she would not have thought that her and Ryledia's lives would take this direction. She didn't think they would return to the North, it seemed to her that they would be best off in the lands of the Reach or the Riverlands. After all, they grew up in the Reach, this was the area they knew best.
But after two years they found themselves back in the Kingdom of the North, and quite far in it. Okay, earlier, they had gone further, to some village between Winterfell and Dreadfort, but then they told themselves that they would not want to come here ever again. It was cold, they had to buy warmer coats and shoes, stay in inns at night... It was simply unprofitable.
But something brought them back here. More specifically, just south of Moat Cailin. They began their journey there when they learned of King Robert's death and that the North had called the bannermen and declared war on the Lannisters.
"We should buy some good wine from Dorne and have some fun." that's what Ryledia told her when they heard about the change on the throne.
After all, King Robert had always been the greatest threat to Amalthea's life - although his death didn't mean she would suddenly be completely safe. She had no doubt that there were still plenty of people who hated Targaryens and it made sense to hide her true identity.
It would certainly be easier if they were able to go to another continent. No one would have paid attention there if Amalthea hadn't put on her dark red wig and just let her silver waves down.
In fact, their story would have gone in this direction if Ryledia had agreed to Amalthea's proposal. Namely, it was about selling hair. Long, silver, light curls would be very expensive. The girl wanted to cut it as high as possible - she was wearing a wig anyway - and sell it for at least enough to get them both across the sea. But then she heard:
"No. You will not sell yourself."
Amalthea didn't see it that way. For her, it was just her hair, a beautiful but at the same time annoying part of her appearance. Especially since the longer they were, the harder it was to stuff them under the wig.
Apart from this argument, Ryledia added that it would not be easy for them to find a buyer, and if they found one, he would definitely ask them where they got the hair from. And then what? Would they say they were lying on the ground? And if they admitted that they belonged to Amalthea, they would risk that the merchant would discover their secret.
Returning to their current situation, Amalthea began to become suspicious as to why they had returned. While they were sitting in one of the inns, a few soldiers, rather high-born, came there. Of course, they were looking for the comfort of a normal bed, which they left at home when they went to war. Or women, one of the two.
Anyway, this time no one was bothering them - and even if someone was, after politely refusing, he left them alone (unless he was drunk, in which case he needed a little help in the form of a push towards his friends) - it was rather... other way around. Ryledia did so, to be precise.
Amalthea didn't know the true nature of her friend's behavior as she sat and talked with the military men, laughing and drinking with them. Sometimes she kept Amalthea next to her, and sometimes she left her at another table - but then she looked at her discreetly almost every moment to make sure that she was in no danger, that no one was bothering her.
The silver-haired girl finally thought that her close friend must have fallen in love. Or more precisely, what pushed her to this conclusion was that when one of the men suggested that they travel with them, from camp to camp - of course not to fight, gods forbid, they were women. It was just about... keeping company. Besides, they knew a bit about tending wounds and cooking, so they could always be useful. Especially since they had their own horses, so traveling wouldn't be a problem for them.
And that's how they ended up in the middle of a war camp. She was sitting next to Ryledia on a tree trunk by a fire over which rabbits were roasting. She didn't feel very comfortable here, much less as comfortable as Ryledia. She wondered if she felt the eyes of others on her as she did and wondered what all these men were thinking. After all, they left their wives - if they had them - at home...
She wanted to broach the subject with Ryledia, but firstly: she didn't want to interrupt the conversation, and secondly: she didn't seem like she had the same thoughts. Maybe she hid it well, or maybe she didn't have any at all. After all, some blood divides them.
She sat and stared at her fingers, playing with them until she got tired of it. The conversation didn't interest her either, it didn't seem to be about any topics she could comment on, so she stayed silent almost the entire time.
She sighed and looked around. She didn't expect to see any familiar face, although deep down she hoped that she would see the boy who, together with his father, saved her and Ryledia two years ago. After all, he was the one who called the bannermen and led the army, so he had to be around here somewhere. But the camp with about twenty thousand people is huge. The chance of seeing him somewhere was-
She noticed a woman entering a tent. She did it immediately, after all, she didn't expect many more women to be in the camp. Especially since this one looked much older than her.
She leaned a little in her seat, but she still couldn't see anything that was happening in the tent she entered. But now her attention was finally focused on something other than twiddling her fingers and listening to the boring conversation. She stared at the tent for a long time until her suspicions were finally confirmed: the woman she noticed was Lady Stark. She was the first to leave after a dozen or so minutes - yes, all this time Amalthea was staring at one and the same tent - and some time later her eldest son came out accompanied by someone else, his age or at most five years older. She recognized him immediately, even from this distance - and they were about a dozen meters away.
He didn't change much, except he had a beard now. His hair still curled into small curls, had blue eyes, a warm, thick coat, and the silver direwolf pin adorned the clasp of the coat.
Their eyes met for a moment, completely unexpectedly. She mentally cursed that he happened to look in her direction and notice her, but there was only a faint blush on her face as she quickly turned back to the fire. She rested her elbows on her thighs and placed her hands on her cheeks to hide the pinkness before anyone noticed.
After all, she was what, seventeen? And she had just seen once again the boy for whom her heart had fluttered once before, and whom she had spoken about to Ryledia for so long that she had almost tortured her to death.
Now she felt her heart racing again, but quickly calmed down.
At least for a while.
"My Lady?" she almost jumped when she heard his voice behind her. She should have expected it, after all the conversation had died down until Robb nodded and smiled that it was okay, they may talk freely, he came here for only one person. "What an unexpected meeting."
He was only a year older than her, not even a whole year, and he kept reliving that moment when his eyes fell on a beautiful girl and lingered on her a little too long. Then, at the inn, he did everything he could to hide it, but his father still teased him a bit about it later. Of course he noticed. Nothing was as embarrassing for Robb, although now he would give everything to have his father back, even if he had to argue with him that he had absolutely never been seriously attracted to any woman.
He could at best discuss this with Theon, although he would prefer to keep it to himself. He would never start such a conversation himself, his feelings were his alone.
But now he decided to approach her. He could have ignored it, thought that he was just imagining it, that it definitely wasn't her. After all, he didn't even know her name. Neither her nor her companion. But he couldn't let go, he never could.
"Unfortunately, not in better circumstances than last time."
"I heard that two women joined in, but I regret that I didn't ask for their name right away. Although I haven't even had a chance to learn it yet." yes, none of them introduced themselves when they had the pleasure of meeting at the inn. "Could I?"
"Amalthea." she replied, smiling gently.
"I'm Robb Stark."
She wanted to say that she knew his name - after all, she was educated, or at least enough to know everything important about the world around her and the most important houses of Westeros, but her voice got stuck in her throat. Why? Because Robb took her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing the back of it. Maybe it was just an innocent, polite gesture, but her heart sped up, threatening to make her face blush.
"And your friend?" he asked, looking behind her at the brunette who was still busy talking with the soldiers.
She hesitated for a moment before answering, thinking about how his lips had just placed a gentle kiss on her hand, about the warmth of his gentle embrace when he was holding her hand for this short time.
"Ryledia." she also looked at her, but only for a moment, because she definitely preferred to look at the boy who touched her girlish heart than at the friend she was with every day.
"I hope you haven't had any unpleasant experiences in these two years like at that inn." he really wanted it to be that way, even though the chances were slim. After all, women traveling alone are unfortunately often harassed. But they didn't look like they were in bad shape.
If it weren't for traveling alone, he would assume they had family somewhere nearby they could stay with - at least one of them. They didn't look like they could be sisters, but anything was possible. He assumed that since Amalthea hadn't introduced them that way, they didn't have a bond deeper than friendship.
Still - ladies traveling alone was like asking for trouble. For that reason, he was glad that they would stay with them, at least for a while. That wasn't the only reason, of course, but he didn't want to admit it yet. For now, he wanted to... get to know her. Just like that.
He couldn't deny it, she was pretty - he had eyes, after all. Who wouldn't like a slim girl with a visible waistline, fanciable breasts, amber eyes and long wine-colored hair?
That's why he went so far with politeness as to kiss her hand while introducing himself. A gesture of respect, but at the same time he hoped that he had impressed her and that Amalthea would reciprocate his desire to get to know each other.
It is true that he has his duties, he leads people to war, he wants to save his father, but during the day he also has long moments when he is alone with his thoughts. He would gladly fill it with her, if she agreed to it, of course.
And if not, he would have to try harder than just kissing her hand while looking her straight in the eyes.
"Fortunately, no." it was a small lie on her part, because her and Ryledia's life had never been easy, even before they ran away from home.
Amalthea had always had the same fear as her father: being recognized. Over time, she got used to it and was less careful, no longer touching the edges of the wig to make sure her hair wasn't sticking out - and asking Ryledia about it every now and then, whenever she could do it discreetly...
They were both aware of the dangers their journey entailed, but they didn't feel like they had any other choice now. They could stay somewhere longer and settle down, but it's more complicated than it seems, fitting into a community that already knows each other well and you are a stranger. Traveling gave them freedom, even if it meant risking their health or even lives from time to time.
That's why Amalthea was surprised by Ryledia's quick agreement to the idea of joining the moving army.
"If you don't mind... I'd like to have a few words with you from time to time, my Lady. It's very... relaxing to be able to talk about something other than the current situation."
"Why 'my Lady'? Maybe I'm not of noble birth? After all, I travel from city to city without staying anywhere for long."
"It's obvious." he nodded at her and looked at her from her feet to the top of her head. "The way you talk, how you carry yourself, the way you look. A woman from a humble home is not like that."
"Be careful, my Lord, maybe it will turn out that I am a lost princess?" she said jokingly, laughing with him. She ignored the way she felt Ryledia lightly tugging her skirt from behind to be careful not to say too much. But these are just jokes! He wouldn't take her seriously, anyone would laugh if they heard something like that while talking with her.
"Then I would have to call the Maester to remind me of all the rules of etiquette regarding behavior in the presence of the princess." he replied in an equally light tone.
They continued their banter completely unaware of two things:
First of all: Yes, Ryledia, who was sitting on a trunk practically behind Amalthea's back, may have continued her conversation with the soldiers, but at the same time she was listening carefully to her friend's conversation with Robb.
Secondly: Catelyn noticed them too, or more precisely, that her son was suddenly interested in some woman - where did she even come from? On the one hand, she was happy because he finally didn't look all tense, but she didn't know her, this probably wasn't a good match for him in any way, and she immediately thought of everything that could go wrong if her son will be reckless.
And that's how he'll be like if he becomes infatuated with her.
~
-> Chapter II ''Two worlds''
-> general masterlist
-> Game of Thrones/House of the Dragon masterlist
