章節 15: Warging
Jon Sand
Feeling of warmth still on his chest, it felt like a fire burning inside, but not harming but feeling of warmth, the sun kissing his skin, his rich purple eyes adjusted to the sudden light, walking outside, Jon and Aly followed Nym who was wearing a devil smirk on her face.
Their footsteps were as quiet as a snake except for Lady Alyanna who's footsteps were heavy and loud.
Jon saw the smirk his sister was wearing proudly on her face, almost like a mask.
What are you thinking, sister? Jon thought to ask but kept quiet, and Nym always loved to tease since he could remember himself.
The shy little looks she was giving him and Lady Aly walking beside them made Jon smile slightly; the corner of his lips moved up slightly. Lady Aly looked as oblivious as a sheep; her purple eyes looked filled with concern, she might have tried to hide it, but Jon could see right through the way her eyes looked at the ground, he might have met her only yesterday, but his father had made sure each of his children could read any men or women like an open book.
The way her eyes now looked focused on the road ahead made Jon think that she knew but was ignoring the smirk of his sister.
"I have seen you two spend quite a good time with each Other, and not mentioning 'Alone' time," Nym commented quietly and innocently, her voice low and sweet; the smirk grew on her face.
Jon rolled his eyes; he still wasn't of age to be alone with a woman in that way; his father, after the fifth birthday, took him alone in his room.
His father explained the whole mating, the action of love between two lovers; Jon had been confused and even asked his sister about it.
Nym had nodded; Jon had been quiet around women for almost a week but got over it soon.
Jon snorted at the comment; Aly had arrived just yesterday, he just wanted her to have a good time, even father advised him to make sure she didn't get bored, what would people think if he didn't try to entertain his guests.
Aly's head turned to look at her right, her cheeks red, her little body shuttered from her words; Jon just brushed her teasing off, like a fly; he knew his sister well enough to know she loved teasing, especially her siblings.
"We were reading about the castles of Westeros; Aly wanted to know more about Winterfell," Jon said as if trying to make Aly feel better, his voice normal showing that she didn't need to take her teasing seriously.
Jon didn't mention his interest in DragonStone and neither his funny feeling on his chest, the red eyes of the dragon looking at him like a Fire, a Holy Fire from the Seven.
Jon ignored the thought of dragons; she glanced at Lady Aly, whose walking pace was slower and still avoiding them, or me.
If she indeed takes her teasing seriously, she might as well just return to her bedchamber, Jon thought; his eyes glanced at Aly who's head was looking forward now, but one could see a light blush on her cheeks; one could easily mistake it for the light of the sun.
Nym just put the finger on her chin as if she was thinking of what to say before she turned her head slightly back at them.
"Just reading you say, I didn't know reading included sitting close to each other," she pushed on with her teasing, her grinning growing, her tone low and funny, her eyes directed at her little brother. He made a face at her while Aly looked down to her feet in both embarrassment and... something else.
The little Stark couldn't help but feel frightened that she might have given the wrong message to her new friend. I hope he still wants to be my friend...
Walking downstairs, the stairs covered with a red carpet, the spear of House Martell stitched on the middle with golden threads, the edges of the rug rich with white lines, stitched in a way to make it feel and look like Snakeskin.
The carpet felt soft beneath his foot.
The stairs led to the country yard where the horses were kept, stall large enough that kept over a hundred horses, the roof large enough to cast a large shadow around, the horses were fed every few hours, the servants would clean, brush them and bath them, every other horse of Westeros would die from the heat and exhaustion, but the sand steeds of Dorne were swift and tireless there.
They were hundreds of horses in Sunspear, but the horses of The Royal Family of Sunspear were kept in a particular stall, Jon saw across the yard servants and squires preparing the horses, squires checking their saddles, and the servants bathing the horses with brushes and using old clothes to dry them.
Ari, Obara, Tyene, Sarella, and Daemon were waiting for them.
Obara stood close to Daemon, her sharp nails caressing his bare chest, while Ari giggled about something his big sister said. A few squires were preparing the horses, using brushes to clean the sand and dirt off horses, checking their saddle, making sure that wouldn't fall off during riding, bags made of skin filled with water tightened around the saddle, along with a few daggers, in Daemon's case a sword.
Buckets filled with water for the horses, straw put in a small box made of wood where horses eat.
Walking over to them, Jon noticed the way Obara was looking... staring at Daemon, the way her finger caressed his bare chest made Jon feel strange, uneasy, the young prince couldn't quite put the finger on, and it didn't help that his sister was looking at Daemon in the same way she stared at her favorite food, made Jon thought that this night might not be as quiet as usual.
Walking closer, Ari heard Lady Aly walking and saw them approaching like snakes; Jon noticed Aly getting nervous at the presence of the Princess, her body stiffened, almost like a statue.
Ari greeted Nym and Jon with a sweet smile, and her eyes found the tiny figure of Lady Aly, who looked to be shrinking in the ground, looking down in shame.
"Lady Alyanna, in the name of House Martell, I apologize for how my brother called you last night," Ari apologized with a sincere tone.
Aly looked up at the Princess of Dorne; she didn't try to hide her surprised face, her frown disappeared, a smile instead, she turned her purple eyes to meet Jon's eyes, who was smiling, as if to say that she didn't need to worry, she was welcome here, courage filled her again before her eyes turned to look at The Princess.
"Ahh... It was nothing, your grace, you don't have to Apologise," Aly spoke, stuttering slightly, her eyes not meeting the Princess's eyes.
Ari glanced at Jon; he had been right; the young prince had come to her last night, suggesting to ride to The Arm of Dorne and take Lady Alyanna with them; with them, it would perhaps ease the tension she seemed to be in all the time.
"Do you wish to come with us? The Arm of Dorne is a beautiful place," Ari suggested with kindness.
Aly's ears perked up at the mention of the place, and she had read that Rhaenys with her Dragon Meraxes had fallen around that place.
Her mind couldn't help but drift off; she thought how fascinating it would be to find anything left from the dragon, despite knowing the chances of actually finding something were slim.
She nodded eagerly, her face changed from pale to bright, like lightning a candle in a dark room, a smile spread across her little face, her straight white teeth, her legs moved on its own, almost leading her to an existing adventure, following the others from behind, she kept the same pace as Jon. He looked to whisper something to The Princess.
A squire led the horse to brought to Jon; the horse had grown a bit quiet since Jon first rode him, his silver fur shining with the light of the sun; he looked almost made of Silver and gold.
"Hey, Silver, ready to ride with me," Jon asked the horse who, much to Aly's surprise, almost looked to have given the prince a nod; Jon smiled brightly at the horse, patting him on the back; the horse was clean, his silver hair around his head almost reaching halfway to the ground.
His tail was long and Silver, beautiful and decorated with golden threads; Jon remembered the servants and his father suggesting braid the horse's tail. Still, Jon liked it more to move freely with the wind, that's how the horse was born, and he didn't want his horse to feel uncomfortable.
Jon grabbed a carrot from the saddle; the squire had filled the saddle with food for the horses.
Leaning close to his mouth, Silver started eating in delight; his brown eyes looked happy. Aly looked in wonder at Jon taking care of his horse.
Turning around, he saw her almost studying him like an interesting piece of a puzzle. Grabbing another different fruit for the horse, Jon gestured for her to come closer if she wanted.
"Do you want to feed him?" Jon asked, but she immediately stepped away and shook her head.
Jon wondered what had gotten her so worried; perhaps she wasn't used to them yet.
Daemon started getting annoyed that Jon was taking too long, and it didn't help that he looked at the Wolf Girl with suspicious eyes.
"Come on, Jon, we shouldn't waste the day, "Daemon called out, annoyed with him, his voice loud and commanding.
"Watch your tongue, Daemon," Nym warned, her voice somehow thick with desmaint.
Jon didn't bother to glance at Daemon, it wasn't that he didn't like him, but the guy had a bad habit of not being impatient and sometimes liked to buff, but was a far better company than The Frog Prince.
Jon said nothing but put his foot on the stirrup; his left hand grabbed the horn cap of the saddle, using his strength, he mounted the horse, moving his right side to the other side of the saddle, his other leg on the other stirrup, his hands on the reins of the horse.
His right hand started caressing his head; Silver always seemed to like to pet him on the head.
"Come on," Jon gestured for Aly, his left forearm stretched out for her to grab. Aly stood motionless for a moment before she swallowed a huge breath as if trying to gain courage.
If White Snow were here, I would be fearless; I'm always brave with her, she told herself before grabbing his hand, praying the horse wouldn't get violent with her in his back.
She knew horses could handle two little kids. Still, the thought of the horse suddenly taking off slightly terrified her to the bone.
Helping her, she put her arms around Jon's chest to avoid falling on the ground.
"Are you feeling better?" Jon asked, his voice filled with concern, his head looking back at her; his purple eyes made her feel slightly better.
His sisters and Ari watched him smiling, especially the Princess, who always liked how polite, humble and brave Jon was.
Aly nodded her head against his back, not trusting herself to say anything, her eyes closed.
Jon smiled; Art stood before him since he would be protecting them despite Daemon giving him a strange look; he couldn't quite understand.
"Don't be scared," Jon whispered back at Aly before looking forward with a look of happiness.
Just the feeling he got from riding a horse was unlike any other he felt before; whenever he rode Silver, he felt safe, he felt he could anywhere, there were no boundaries when he was riding; he was free, like a free spirit.
Grabbing the reins, "Let's ride Silver," Jon shouted with delight, and the horse took running, almost happy to ride with Jon.
Aly left out a scream of terror, holding tightly, her eyes closed tightly, as the wind brushed off against her long dark hair, her skin tingling from the feeling of wind, almost talking to her, telling her that she didn't need to be afraid of anything.
After riding for what felt an eternity, Jon halted his horse, the horse slowly making a half turn.
"Open your eyes, my lady, you shouldn't miss this view," Jon suddenly shouted, turning his head slightly behind to look at Aly, who looked annoyed.
Slowly opening her eyes, she saw Jon holding the head of the saddle, the horse riding forward with haste, the wind brushing off against her skin, the sun still hadn't risen, still on the horizon.
Jon stopped the horse, and so did the others; the horse turned around, looking at Sunspear in front of them, the sun slowly rising behind the castle.
Opening her eyes fully, she saw the most beautiful view ever; the sun had risen, the tallest tower of the castle had pierced the sun like a spear, the shadow of the whole castle stretching out through the whole desert like a blanket.
The sun's light made the corners of the castle almost look to be an illuminating red light; at that moment, the castle almost looked to have caught on fire.
A smile slowly erupted on her face, her hands not holding against his chest anymore.
"This is Beautiful," Aly whispered to herself; Jon smiled and nodded in agreement.
"This is indeed Beautiful, this... Peace is what I crave for," Jon murmured under his breath as if talking to himself, but Aly heard him.
They stayed watching until the sun rose beyond the spear, the sun now in front of them; turning around, they rode in haste towards the Arm of Dorne.
Riding through the desert looked easier; the horses didn't look bothered by the sand around their feet, the warm sun didn't even make them ride slower.
Jon now was holding the head of the saddle, the horse riding forward; Aly looked behind her to see the party a bit far from them, just the way the horse moved with Jon showed her he knew how to ride a horse.
"Don't you think we are getting a bit far, Jon?" Aly suddenly asked, seeing the party slowly getting further away from them, the horse not slowing down the pace.
"Don't worry, my lady, your prince is here to protect you if needed," Jon said with a puff of his chest, his voice loud and jokingly.
Aly laughed at his words, and soon they stopped riding since their horse was a bit too far away from the others.
As Aly was looking at the horizon to see how far they reached the Arm of Dorne, her eyes caught a small moving on the sand.
Aly suddenly remembered that the desert could have dangerous snakes, all of them with dangerous poison.
Her eyes grew wide, the color on her face draining, her legs felt weak beneath her, she didn't even feel her hands shaking.
Her body shifted uncomfortably around the saddle, her eyes suddenly looking for any sign of a snake around the sand; she knew it would be futile, the snakes of the desert knew how to hide.
Jon seemed to have noticed her discomfort; he turned his head around when the horse suddenly rose his first two feet and screamed.
The sudden movement made Aly and Jon fall from the horse; Jon immediately stood up to see if everything was alright.
Only to meet with the eyes of a snake right in front of him, maybe not even two feet away, the end of his tail was making a strange sound almost like a bell, his long tongue outside, the sound of hissing reached his ear, Jon felt immobile.
The young prince tried to remember what his father told him to do in this situation, but nothing was coming to his mind; everything blanked.
As the snake opened his mouth, showing his poisonous teeth, he moved to rush at Jon when he suddenly stopped.
Jon blinked once and twice as the snake kept moving his head and tail around, almost as if he was in agony when he suddenly stopped moving and just stared behind Jon.
Jon didn't wait and grabbed the dagger from his hip, cutting off his head with a single swing; the blood-splattered around as the snake stopped moving.
Jon didn't have time to breathe in relief as he heard a loud gasp from behind him; turning around, he saw Aly looking pale, almost as white as milk, her eyes looking at him with... anger.
Jon was almost taken aback by her look, Almost.
Getting immediately to her, he checked around her skin for any bite.
"You alright? Did he bite you?" Jon asked, concerned as he kept checking for any bite mark, but Aly said nothing as she kept looking at the dead snake, with sadness, tears rolling down her cheek.
"Why did you do it?" She suddenly almost shouted at him, pointing the finger at the dead snake, her voice filled with contempt.
Jon looked confused about her sudden outburst; he checked her thoroughly, and no bite and no symptoms showing that she had been bitten.
"He wasn't going to hurt you, I... I was trying to make him go away," Aly shouted, crying, almost sobbing, throwing arms against his chest.
This confused Jon, trying to make him go away?
"What do you mean? What do you mean you tried to make him go away?" Jon asked with confusion and a hushed voice.
Aly opened her mouth to speak, but no words were coming out; she turned her eyes away, avoiding his eyes again, her lips turned to a fine line, almost as if she was thinking of what to say.
"I- nothing, I'm sorry I shouldn't have shouted," Aly apologized, looking at her feet below almost in shame.
Jon could tell she wanted to say something else; when he heard horses approaching, turning around, he saw his party finally arriving.
"Sure took your sweet time," Jon commented with a dry tone, and a humorless chuckle escaped his mouth.
The party noticed the strange mood of Alyanna, but before Nymeria could ask what was wrong, Obara's eyes widened at the dead snake near their feet.
"What Happened?" She shouted and rushed towards Jon checking him if he was alright; the others seemed to have noticed it as well; Ser Art jumped from his horse and almost looked conflicted to pull out his sword; his sisters and Ari looked concerned.
"Nothing Happened, the snake tried to attack, but I killed him," Jon said dryly, not knowing if he should mention the strange reaction of Aly; he wondered why she would be crying and how did she know the snake would leave.
Deciding to ask later, everyone seemed to understand the danger was gone; his sisters and Ari figured Aly was scared because of the snake since her skin color was still pretty much pale. She wasn't answering any of the questions, still looking downwards, bottling inside her true feelings.
"Do you want to return back?" Ari asked sweetly towards the lady who finally looked to break from her scared mood and rose her head.
"... no, we Can continue," Aly answered insecurely; despite what she had just experienced, she still wanted to see the place where Meraxes had fallen.
Mounting his horse, Nym decided to take Aly this time, mocking Jon playfully about him not riding properly.
"Don't rush again this time," Arianne warned beside him; gone was the sweet tone she used with Jon, now her tone was louder and commanding.
It seems you know when to show your poison, Ari, Jon thought with a smile; his father always told him they were snakes, and as such, they knew when to show their poison to their victims. A snake without poison is like a dragon without wings and fire.
Arianne Martell
The night had fallen, the sun disappeared, and stars had filled the night sky.
The Dornish nights grow cold out upon the sands. Daemon gathered wood for them, bleached white branches from trees that had withered up and died a hundred years ago. Drey built a fire, whistling as he struck sparks off his flint.
Once the kindling caught, they sat around the flames and passed a skin of summer wine from hand to hand . . . all but Ser Art, who didn't prefer wine, Strange, and Jon and Lady Alyanna who were still young. Daemon was in a lively mood and entertained them with the latest tales from the Planky Town at the mouth of the Greenblood, where the orphans of the river came to trade with the carracks, cogs, and galleys from across the narrow sea.
The sun was gone, and the sky was full of stars. So many. Arianne leaned her back against a fluted pillar and wondered if her mother was looking at the same stars tonight, wherever she might be. Do you see the white one, Mother? That is Nymeria's star, burning bright, and that milky band behind her, those are ten thousand ships.
Arianne thought of her mother, if she still thought of her, or had she forgotten about her; she quickly shook her head in denial; her mother would never forget about her or them.
A mother loved her children more than anything in the world, Ari said the words quietly in her lips; the words almost sounded strange to her; she never thought of herself as a loyal woman or a woman who will one day be fat with a child on her belly.
Her mother used to tell how when a woman found her true one; she could never see another one; in the same way, her lips twitched upwards.
Her thoughts escaped her mind when he heard Jon start telling them of a strange, scary story.
A few moments ago, Jon explained what happened with them, and Lady Alyanna, Obara pointed out that it was strange, uncle Oberyn always milked the snakes around the area.
When they heard the horse had been scared, resulting in them falling in the sand near the snake.
Ser Art and Daemon suggested taking a new horse, but much to their surprise but not Ari's, the young prince refused, and almost what felt like a growl escaped his throat.
Ari knew the sense of loyalty and passion Jon had, especially when it came to people or, in this case, an animal he loved, close to his heart.
Ari watched the bearded Knight with a suspicious look, she knew he guarded uncle Oberyn's children, but the way he paid extra attention to Jon made her wary.
Ari had thought her charm might bring him to talk, but he had not once looked at her in the way a man looks at a woman he desires.
Ari looked at Lady Alyanna, who was as quiet as the night; since the little incident, she hadn't uttered a word, not even a whimper, unless someone asked her directly, she didn't talk.
Ari was fine with the lady; as long as you don't harm Jon or my sisters, Ari thought of Sand snakes as her sisters.
"What is that you wanted from father this morning?" Obara suddenly asked, looking from her drink to Jon, who looked confused.
"I wanted my father to teach me how to read," Jon spoke.
"Read, what book would you want to read?" Nym asked, taking a sip from her wine.
"About Dragons," Jon spoke without hesitation, his voice almost boomed from excitement, taking nearly everyone by surprise except Ari and Nym, Daemon and Ser Ari gasped, and the bearded Knight started coughing violently.
"What about them?" Nym asked, leaning closer to Jon, knowing his secret fascination with dragons.
"I saw a strange dream last night; I wanted to make sense of it," Jon answered; everyone seemed to be focused on him right now; even Lady Alyanna looked curious; they waited for him to continue.
"In that dream, I was in some kind of cave, a strange chest on it, the chest large enough to put a long sword on it. I opened the chest to see the most beautiful sword you could see; it was amazing, with a red ruby on it, but the most beautiful part, a Dragon Egg was inside the chest, and it felt as warm as the sun on a sunny day," Jon finished with slightly dreamy eyes, his purple eyes turned up at the sky almost expecting a dragon to fly over them.
Arianne paid close attention to the reaction of Lady Alyanna and The Bearded Knight.
The lady Stark's eyes almost popped out, looking at Jon strangely, but in a way that something was clicking in her mind.
While The Knight looked pale, but ... a proud smile, Ari thought, she knew the Knight was hiding something from them.
They kept telling tales for the rest of the night until sleep came to them, except a certain Lady Wolf and a Dragon Prince who dreamed of Cold Forest and Endless Sky.
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