huff and puff

“Hawks and horses, even hounds, I can deal with.” An exhausted sigh left his lips as he slid a hand through his dark hair. “But having a direwolf, albeit sweet and harmless, took a bit of getting used to. I wonder what would scare the servants most; a dragon or a direwolf?”

“I think a dragon would surely frighten the servants more, especially as they’d learn soon enough that direwolves are quite harmless. I don’t think Grace has ever even hurt a fly, nor Winter.”

“As long as you don’t intend to ride off the top of them, my lady, it normally works out to be safe, yes.”

“Oh, I certainly don’t intend to ride off! But won’t the horses get frightened? What if it rains?”

“What is it that you’re reading, Rose?”

“Oh, it’s a story about a girl who turns a wolf into a man with magic and... the power of her love, but in the end it wasn’t strong enough, and he turns into a wolf again. It’s heartbreaking.”

“Oh Rose, you know you don’t have to call me princess. We’re cousins, remember? We don’t have to address each other so properly. I’ve been well. These past few months have been hard, but I’m well now.”

“Oh, even so, you are still the princess, Rhaenys. I’m glad you’ve been well, even if I’m sorry to hear the past few months have been hard. But what made them so?”

“Is it as grim as some of the tales Old Nan used to tell?” his eyebrow perked upwards in a curious expression. He preferred historical texts, himself. He never really saw the appeal of reading stories. “What is it about?”

Rose made a face at Will’s question. Old Nan’s stories had been made to frighten children. She didn’t read stories like that. “No, it’s not. It’s nothing like that.” She sighed. “It’s about a prince who loved his lady so much that he protected her forever, even though she loved his brother.”

“Are all of your books so sad, dear cousin? There is enough sadness in the world without adding more in stories.”

“Not all of them, just this one. Oh, but the world truly could not be as sad as this story is. We would all be in tears all the time. But sad stories aren’t so bad, because they’re not real.”

Sister, why are you even reading such sad books?

Well, I didn’t know it was going to be so sad when I started it. It was about a prince who turned into a wolf when he was very young, until he met a princess. I didn’t realize it would end so sadly.

“You must do the same with little Mini in Winterfell. I just wish they could stay like this forever.”

“Tell me, how have you been, Rose.”

“I do, often, though the nurse doesn’t like for her to be out often. Oh, but then they would never be able to play, or run, or go outside. They should be very sad.”

“I’m delighted to see you with your head in a book, sister.” William said as he took the seat on the opposite site of her. “Are you sure you should read sad stories like that one? Is the world not sad enough already?”

“Are you?” Rose asked, looking up from her book with a smile, pressing a finger between its pages to hold it open. “I don’t think the world is very sad... though the book is. But it’s such a beautiful story.”

“I don’t have ladies to look after my children.  My sisters assist me, and we have a nurse on the island but Jeor has not taken to her quite yet.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize. But that must make him so much more fond of your sisters. It would make your family so much more closely bound. That sounds sweet.”

“They are. Each of them have a little bit of Daenerys and Robert in them. It’s hard to leave them.”

“I know, watching over children can be so nice. They don’t do anything, but they’re adorable, even if they’re just waving their little hands in the air and babbling.”

“You’d be surprised, Rosamund.  They sleep a lot, but they always seem to be awake when I want to sleep.”

“I suppose they might. Babies likely don’t know what’s night and what’s day. What about your ladies though? Alys’ ladies and the nurse take care of Minisa usually.”

“I had forgotten how exhausting newborns can be.”

“Are they very exhausting? Newborns don’t do much, do they?”

“A beautiful day out, isn’t it? I quite fancy going for a ride across the cliffs. You’re welcome to join me.”

“I love riding, though I’ve never ridden across cliffs before. Is it safe?”

“Gods, they’re growing like weeds, aren’t they? At this rate they’ll be crawling very soon.”

“They’re certainly beautiful children. They really do take after their parents, don’t they? I’ve never seen such a likeness in my life.”