A/N: shor-ish chapter today because I want to get back to longer ones next tuestday. Been eager to write the next one. Enjoy :)
Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9 / Part 10. / Part 11
Ayla carefully placed Kylian in the cradle, the little one was full and fast asleep, he didn't even noticed the warm body of his mother leaving him. Once she made sure he wouldn't wake up, she exited the room and quickly looked for a handmaiden to look after him.
Decidedly she entered her bedroom just as Harwin was looking down at his scrolls and fiddling with the straps of his armor at the same time.
Harwin looked over his shoulder briefly to Ayla, finding a little smile on her. He motioned at his shoulder and she walked to him to help him undo the chest piece of his armor.
"Where's Kylian?" It was the first question he always asked if he saw her alone. If she was with her son, he would often direct his questions towards her day or her well being.
"He's just fallen asleep, he's being watched" Harwin held the chest piece as it fell off his chest, then grabbed it by the collar and pulled up "I reckon we have two hours"
His eyes fell on her face, the mischievous smirk already painted on it. He turned and hung the chest piece in the holder, his hands then moved to the belt that held his armored kilt over his trousers.
"Two hours, what for?"
As soon as his kilt was off his body and also hung in the armor holder. Ayla walked the step that separated and climbed on her tiptoes, tilting her head up for her nose to touch his.
"For you to do whatever you want with me"
Harwin's hands were on the low of her back by the time she finished her sentence. His hands teased the ribbons of her dress. Since she hadn't changed her mind about breastfeeding her son, she wore accessible dresses and only two ribbon pulls was what was needed for the dress to pool at her feet in an instant. An underskirt was all that dressed her.
When Harwin clasped her jaw and pulled her in for a kiss, she knew she was in for a good one. He grabbed her by the waist and turned her around, leading her to the bed.
Ayla's hands tried to work blind behind her on Harwin's strings of his trousers. When they were at the side of the bed Ayla managed to pull the strings and sneak her hand to find Harwin's ready member, begging for her touch.
One of his hands grabbed her by the neck again and pulled her to flush her back to his chest, his other hand snaked from her stomach and clasped at the ribbon in the front of her under skirt, pulling it and letting the skirt fall at her feet. Ayla's fingers wrapped as they could over his length and stroke him up and down, making Harwin let out a strangled moan right next to her ear.
His own fingers got lost between Ayla's folds, finding quickly her most sensitive spot and making her legs give in for a second at the sudden jolt of pleasure she had missed for over four long months.
Harwin's fingers began moving quickly over her bud, Ayla's head fell backwards to meet his chest, her moans reverberated in her throat and Harwin loved the way it felt under the grip he had on her neck. Even though Ayla wanted to keep stroking him, her hands left his member when Harwin's finger's quickened on her, making her hands grip his own between her legs and gripping her neck, holding herself for dear life as Harwin worked his fingers on her. The sounds in between her legs turned wetter, her moans louder and highed in pitch until her legs trembled and she fell forwards, her nails clawing at his forearm until Harwin rode off her orgasm with her fingers.
His hands grabbed her by the waist and guided her on the bed, Ayla crawled on the bed as she could, her breath still labored by her orgasm. Her on her fours and Harwin behind her had been a position they'd favored when she was with child, not knowing how good it could feel now that she was missing the extra weight.
He discarded his pants and knelt behind her, his hands cleared the hair that had fallen on her back to the side, leaving her back exposed and open for his heavy hands to roam freely, something that always drew moans of satisfaction in Ayla's side.
Ayla turned to the side, supporting his weight with one of her hands. Just has Harwin took his tunic off, Ayla's hand met with his lower stomach. The feeling of her nails raking over it and upwards to his chest made his cock twitch with need.
He leaned down and Ayla wrapped her fingers on the back of his head to bring him closer, their lips met in a needy kiss, with teeth scrapping each other's lips. Harwin guided the tip of his cock to Ayla's wet entrance. She gasped at the feeling interrupting the kiss and arched her back, waiting for the moment when she finally felt him filling her up again.
Harwin pushed in slowly, Ayla's eyebrows meet at the middle and Harwin couldn't drown the moan that came from her with his mouth, his own one was slightly agape as he entered her. His hands fisted Ayla's flesh, one at her thigh and the other one at her glute. The way he gripped must've been rough by the way her moan suddenly turned into a whimper. When he released her glute Ayla's lips found his as she shook her head, then moaned over his lips when his hand glided gently over the aching glute. He felt the skin perk up in goosebumps under his hand and pulled back from the kiss.
Kneeling tall behind her and now fully buried in Ayla's waiting walls, he began thrusting in and out, testing the water on how she could be feeling after the birth and how much she could take.
With his hands on her hips he thrusted in and out, his hands tightened on her waist and he began snapping faster. Ayla's arms faltered below her and she climbed down on her elbows. The reach of Harwin deepened and she feel down on the bed, her eyes rolled to the back of her head as Harwin pushed harder, his fingers gripped and threatened to bruise her waist. It made Ayla drown her moans over the sheets, then her toes curled and she cried out when she reached her climax, her voice quivered and Harwin's thrust stopped to let her recover.
She felt her legs hurt and Harwin sensed, by her mewl of complaint, the the position had run it's course. He pulled back and moved to lay her on the bed. His body engulfed hers and her legs wrapped around his middle, he found his home again between her walls and began thrusting again, with her eyes closed and limbs barely hanging onto him, Ayla only moaned in pure ecstasy, her eyes closed tightly.
When Harwin moved to grab her leg and pulled it up and over his shoulder, pressing her thigh to her stomach, Ayla came again with a loud cry, then held her breath as Harwin kept pounding into her. The sounds and feelings of her clenching walls hadn't been enough to bring him to his end, but he was certainly getting there.
He straightened again, sitting on his heels and lifting Ayla's hips, thrusting into her fast and hard, forgetting completely that he was supposed to be gentle in his return after the birth. By the way Ayla now grunted a string of yes and her hands held onto his forearms as he pounded she was taking him well.
She didn't seem to have much voice by the time Harwin reached his own climax. His fingers had dug painfully into Ayla's waist and spilled uncontrollably into her, not something he planned on doing when he first realized that she was ready to take him after the birth.
He collapsed carefully on top of Ayla's own trembling body and arched back, his forearms supported him and his fingers ran over her hairline, clearing it out of her wild hair. His lips descended into her breathless ones and kissed her so slowly she couldn't believe he was capable of such tenderness after he'd savagely ravaged her minutes ago.
The friction of his mouth on her lips and then down her neck, combined with his hands on her sides and one sneaking to rub at her bruised ass cheek made Ayla, already too overwhelmed to think straight, burst out in tears.
Harwin definitely wasn't expecting such an outburst and he feared he had hurt her in any way. Ayla tightened her grip on his body to keep him close and she could feel his hot breath on her cheeks and eyes as he kissed her forehead.
"Ayla, what's the matter love?"
"I'd missed it, having you like this" she muttered. Harwin ran his hands over her temples to clean her tears, then moved to slip out of her. "No, stay like this" she pleaded, a sob threatening at her throat.
"I'm going to turn us around, you can sleep on top of me. Is that okay love?" Ayla nodded and Harwin slipped a hand under her, then turned around. Ayla laid between his open legs and her head came to his chest, hands sneaking below him and pressing at his shoulder blades. Harwin's hands rubbed her back easing her.
He had to admit that he'd also missed having her like this. He'd missed his hands gliding up and down her back with no other purpose other than feeling her soft skin against his calloused hands, and he'd certainly missed ravaging her with absolutely no worries that she might out the sudden touch her stomach and say that she was too uncomfortable to continue.
As soon as he could put two thoughts together, Harwin worried that his seed would take. Soon after the birth Ayla had told him that she would definitely be happy bearing more children for him, but he though that her body could use some rest. Not even three moons had passed from Kylian's birth.
Ayla couldn't tell how long it had been since she'd first fallen asleep, but when she woke up again it was because of the cries of her son. Harwin wasn't below him like she remembered, but now swayed the boy around.
Sha called for him and laid in the bed with Kylian next to her to feed, Harwin assured the he would take care of him while she slept, and she fell asleep shortly after that.
The following weeks after Lord Edder's departure, the Princess Rhaenyra announced her second pregnancy.
After that, a feast was held for Prince Jacaerys first name day. Ayla and Harwin, as well as the rest of House Strong joined the festivities. It was the first time Harwin had done so as a nobleman, only after being pointed out by his father that he now had a partner to accompany him.
The first month after Kylian's birth, Ayla didn't leave him at the cares of the maids, the night of the party wasn't an exception and Ayla attended with her boy secured to her chest.
Strangely to Ayla, the Princess did approach to meet Kylian, but only when Harwin held him as he stood far away from her.
If Ayla held any feelings of protection towards Harwin, they only doubled when it was about her son. Harwin, a proud father, let his guard down quite often when he was around the Princess, and he allowed for her to touch Kylian's little head and hold his hand as she looked at him tenderly. He paid absolutely no mind at how people around him saw them, but Ayla did.
The closeness of the Princess to his guard was only giving people more things to talk about, the fact that Kylian and Prince Jacaerys held a likeness to each other only increased the whispers. And now, the Princess cooing over Harwin and his son, that would sit well with her.
Ayla hadn't noticed how tight she was clenching her fists until she forced herself out of her seat and grabbed her gown, the palms of her hand tingled and burnt with the release of pressure by her fingernails.
She made her way surrounding the crowd towards them and as she neared she heard the little wails and cries of Kylian, which Harwin also noticed and made him glance around the room, presumably looking for her.
When they locked eyes, Ayla tried to seem unfazed by how the Princess engaged in conversation with her husband, but her instincts got the better of her and she extended her hands, receiving Kylian and securing the blanket over him.
"Congratulations, Lady Ayla, it's a wonderful boy" the Princess praised. Ayla only gave her a tight lip smile and a glance to her husband.
"Thank you, your Grace" she replied curtly. She turned on her heels after giving Harwin a quick smile, one that she didn't think gave him much peace about her feelings.
Back at the Tower of the Hand, after feeding Kylian and not wanting to go back to the feast, she sat next to his crib and looked down at him, at his little chubby cheeks, his brown hair. She stroked his temple with a sad smile, dreading the moment when the boy would be associated with the young Prince Jacaerys and the accusations of bastardy. She was sure that time wouldn't take long to arrive.
"It was noticeable" Ayla lifted her eyes to Lord Lyonel, the both of them reviewed the scrolls on the desk, as they did almost every evening.
"My anger?" She asked, her hand cupped her son by the base of the straps that held him to her chest "it's beyond my control. If I can't keep my husband away from her, I will certainly keep my son"
"I believe you might want to keep Harwin away from the Princess as well"
Ayla hated to know exactly why Lord Lyonel would use her to break Harwin's hard earned trust with the Princess.
"I don't have any other reasons to do so other than my jealousy" she lamented.
"Maybe it's time to use that" he advised.
Ayla also knew that it was imperative to do so before the birth of the Princess' next child, hoping to shield the family from what everyone feared, another dark haired Targaryen.
Ayla tried with all her might to guard her feelings when she saw them out and about in the keep and in the gardens. The whispers and the way the other Ladies at court looked at her when she entered the room started to do a number on her feelings.
The only thing that sparked her anger was the Princess' return of her visits at the side of the barracks. She had, as much as Ayla knew, stopped visiting the barracks and taken a whole other route towards the dragon pit. Now seeing the Princess with her son and Harwin speaking to each other, she couldn't walk to the tent of the barracks as she intended to to deliver a message from the Hand.
Instead, she'd exhaled furiously and waited at the entrance of the castle, watching people come and go as she swayed side to side, trying to calm herself down with more effort than which she appeased Kylian in her arms, awake but for the moment calm.
Once Harwin crossed the doors and saw her, he immediately noticed that something was wrong.
"You should've gone to the tent, taken a seat as you waited"
"I wouldn't dare to interrupt your time with your Princess" she lifted the scroll to him and he took it in one swift motion, now clearly angry at the comment.
"My Princess?" He asked, walking a step to her and forcing her to look up at him.
"She certainly thinks you're her one and only knight, the only one in the Keep who would talk to her. One would think she would be busy enough with now two children to be fawning over a guard in her detail"
"Ayla" he called, warning her to stop talking.
Ayla sighed in frustration and motioned at the scrolls now crumpled in Harwin's fist.
"That's urgent" she called, then turned around and left him.
Not two hours later Harwin entered the bedroom and was determined to resolve Ayla's issues, whichever they were, that same afternoon.
He had to wait as Ayla gently swaddled Kylian side to side until she finally placed him in the crib, once she was sure that he wouldn't wake up, the both of them walked out of the bedroom. Not further away from the door, Harwin spoke.
"What is the matter with the Princess now, Ayla"
Her blood suddenly boiled.
"This is not a first time occurrence. I've tried to bite my tongue about the Princess' visits -"
"Rhaenyra does not visit me at the barracks"
"Oh certainly, the quickest path to the dragon pit is now through the serpent corridors of the barracks instead of cutting straight through the gardens?"
"I thought your own jealousy reasons with the Princess had been resolved"
"It's not jealousy, it's protection" Harwin showed surprise, not in his immutable facial expression, but by the way his shoulders straightened "the Princess may court around you as she pleases, I will even allow that. What I will not allow is for her to put my son in a position where one could look at the Prince and Kylian and draw a misconstrued conclusion. Specially if you're in the mix."
Ayla sometimes could not believe that Harwin would be so oblivious to foreign eyes. If the Princess didn't fancy Harwin, Ayla would believe she did most things on purpose to further besmirch his name. The way his shoulders relaxed with a sigh and how he looked down in repent made her understand that he truly had no idea his actions would make people arrive to such conclusion.
Ayla felt bad, just for a second, for saying things so harshly. Her fingers fiddled with a ring that Harwin had long gifted her, and next to it a ring he'd given her after Kylian was born.
"It's not you who I'm mad with. It's her" Harwin looked up at her, his head still tilted to the ground "she's the one who's supposed to be watching her back after such things have been the gossip of the whole town, not feed them in the way she does"
He remained silent, truly torn. He knew his wife was right, but he knew the troubles the Princess was facing. Stuck in a marriage with a man who did not fancy her as a wife and be forced to produce an heir with that man.
That night, after things had calmed down between them, sleep was not a thought Harwin was entertaining. Instead, he placed a hand on Ayla's thigh and moved her to wake up in a whisper. She turned around and looked at him. Clearly she hadn't been sleeping either "what am I to do?"
She turned fully on her side and placed a hand under her cheek.
"About the Princess?" She asked, trying to make sure they were in the same page, Harwin only looked at her to make her continue "you are to do as you please"
He instantly shook his head "I don't like that answer"
"And I don't like the thought of depriving the Princess of the only support she has. I shall only ask for you to be careful. Put some thought on how people will see you. If you wish to continue being Princess Rhaenyra's support I understand, but I will certainly keep Kylian away from her, and her children"
Harwin tightened his lips and gave her a short nod. In return Ayla placed her other hand in his cheek and rubbed his cheekbones with her thumb.
"We shall see how things turn out after the birth of her second child" he said, his eyes meeting Ayla's "if things turn worse, we might have to think of something else"
"In due time, we will"
Ayla didn't know, at the time, what he meant by having to think of something else. Sadly she wouldn't need to wait long to find an answer to her questions.
Warnings: Mentions of disordered eating, pregnancy/childbirth/ death as a result of childbirth. The reader is on good terms with her Mother. I haven't seen GoT since 2015 but I seen the gifs and I do this.
You knew of Ser Harwin when you took your position in the Keep. His reputation proceeded him. You were sure to be neither seen nor heard if you could help it. Quiet like a mouse!
He's scary, he lets people think he's scary. You're not any different.
This is until one night, you get shaky. Being a maid keeps you busy, and there's not a lot of time to take a lunch break, or have rights as a worker.
Harwin has eyes, and orders you to sit down. You do, and he tells you that you need to have some of the bread and soup on the tray. You try and debate him saying it's not your place, but as he is a higher rank, he orders you to share a meal with him.
Odd to be sure, but it's more of a test to see
Sharing dinner becomes a habit for you, and Harwin begins to look forward to it.
Someone who doesn't want anything from him, and isn't working an angle like most do at court.
Harwin decides to level with you one night, and tells you how beautiful he thinks you are, and how he looks forward to seeing you every day.
You get brave and kiss him about it, and an affair formally starts.
It's beautiful, all soft and gold and warm. It gets to the point where you're practically sleeping in his room.
You tell him it's because his mattress is soft, but it's really because he is.
Which is why it's not really a surprise you don't bleed for a month...or the month after.
The point where things go sour.
Your dear friend, and fellow maid, Victoria, finally gives birth to her son, passing away a few minutes after.
It's devastating, and you swore you could hear your own heart break.
The child was now not just unclaimed bastard, but an orphan as well.
It was too tragic. Harwin wasn't as cold as Prince Aemond, but you had to follow your instincts. Rich men, men with titles, don't marry maids or claim children born of maids.
This is a fact Harwin made you forget.
Prince Aemond's son may have the Targaryen hair but he'll never have the safety it would bring.
You run, as far as your limited funds will take you. You need your family- Mom specifically.
She's not too happy to see you, especially like this, but she takes the L and makes your Dad get on board too.
One grandchild is better than zero grandchildren.
You spend the next few months preparing. Harwin's losing his mind, having left his position to track you down.
Harwin remembers everything you ever told him. Unfortunately he doesn't make it to your remote fishing village until the day your daughter is born.
He hears you screaming from the edge of town and comes busting into your room like the kool-aid man
Your friend died being in the same position as you, and you're terrified. Bawling, yelling and swearing, etc.
Harwin low key wants to die while your in such a state, he'd take it all for you if he could.
In the end, your daughter is healthy, perfect, and worth it.
That being said, the labor was rough and you're going to be on bed rest longer than expected.
Harwin takes control of the situation.
He charms your Mother and attempts to make a friend of your father, but he truly can't take his eyes off of you.
He'd rather die than let you know just how crushed he'd been the past few months without you. Despair. Distraught.
You'd feel responsible and awful and he can't have that!
Whenever your daughter isn't nestled next to you in her crib, she's in Harwin's arms.
She's got curly hair, like her father.
He makes his case, telling you he loves you and wants to protect you and your child more than anything. And you say no.
It's too much, he couldn't marry so below his rank and claim a child born out of wedlock.
Harwin corrects you and calls her his "heir" and you give him a death stare. But, because you miss him, you start to feel some kind of way, because women don't get Jack Shit in this world.
You're still scared. You know you love Harwin, but being in recovery for so long, he could just take your daughter and leave you here to rot.
He'd never, but it's still a topic of your nightmares.
Harwin's silent for a while, melancholy, saying that no decisions need to be make until you're healed.
As the weeks go on, Harwin wins you over. He truly
Your Mom's thrilled because the father of your child is waiting on you hand and foot, and she's right to feel that way.
On his travels, he acquired a small collection of clothing for infants, and proceeds to count ten little fingers and toes as he helps your daughter dress each morning.
Harwin's off the wall because the sock seemed so small when he bought it, but it FITS her.
He holds the baby whenever your resting, chatting quietly about everything he could think of.
This includes, but isn't limited to, nighttime, stars, dancing, flowers, and a good soup on a cold day.
You also learn that Harwin calls her his "little lamb"
Nothing really needs to be said, it's all taken in a look.
"I'm sorry, and I'll jump with you" type of look
You and your family move to Harrenhal as soon as you're able.
