Chapter Text
LYANNA
From the large window the girl observed an extremely sickening scene. Her beloved older brother Brandon had thrown the boy down on his shoulder blades and was beating him with his fists while he was crying. Nearby, the red-haired girl was begging him for mercy.
When Brandon walked away from the boy, who was choking with tears and trying to fix his irreparably torn jacket with trembling hands, their companion threw herself on Bran's neck and kissed him on the cheek.
"Thank Lady Cat for her mercy and don't catch my eye again," Bran said, raising his head proudly, and immediately after his words the boy, who had difficulty with rising to his feet, ran away.
Lyanna merely suppressed the anger that this mise-en-scène had caused her and fixed her gaze on her other brother, who was sitting on the other side of the windowsill, his legs intertwined with the girl's and scribbling incessantly in a notebook.
"Disgusting," Lyanna muttered, pressing her face to the glass.
"Well, you know Bran, he didn't mean any harm," Ned assured her, raising his misty grey eyes to her and smiling tightly. Ned had always said little and forgiven way too much.
“I’m not talking about Bran, it’s not his fault,” the girl again fixed her eyes on the couple under the window and looked at Cat with hatred. Such haughtily perfect Cat in a flowered dress and green coat, such perfect Cat with her copper-red hair that shone in the spring sun. How Lyanna didn’t like this Miss Tully! Why, of all the good girls in the world, did her brother choose her? What’s wrong with her vagina? Why is she so special? Does it smell like honey and flowers?
“It was she who set him on Petyr,” the girl hissed, “she said that he was stalking and pestering her, and then she made herself out to be a true angel when she begged him to spare Petyr. A psychopathic narcissist.”
"You exaggerate, sound a little misogynistic", Ned said tiredly.
"I saw everything and heard everything, it is you who prefer not to notice her hypocrisy."
The guy grinned and put his notebook aside. How different he and Bran were. And if Bran was the embodiment of wildness and uncontrollability, then Ned was the very picture of peace and quiet. Is it wrong to choose favourites among family? Perhaps, but no matter how much Lyanna convinced herself, she could not help but admit that Ned was her favourite brother. Like a Quiet puppy, who was always nearby, she would always choose him over anyone else.
"You are very critical of her. Cat is beautiful and polite", her brother said so quietly and so sensibly that the girl almost believed him. Only almost.
"And hypocritical and stupid, and self-centred", added Lyanna, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Why is she stupid?", asked Ned, laughing.
"Look at her. She's so narrow-minded, as if the meaning of her life is to get married, have children and never work a day in her life. Just look at her: she's already started dressing like a perfect housewife, all she needs is an apron. What about her career, aspirations, independence?", the girl pursed her lips and looked into her brother's eyes again. Well, maybe now its sounds little bit misogynistic. "I'll tell you what, no matter what happens, never marry a girl like her". Very misogynistic. To justify our heroine, I would like to point out that she grew up as the only daughter in a family with three sons.
"Why, when you say she's the perfect housewife? Maybe I want to end my life choking on a freshly baked apple pie", Ned tilted his head to the side with a smile.
"Even cinnamon apple pie isn't worth it", Lyanna assured him. In this point of life, yet she was too young and too stupid. Its worth it. "These "perfect housewives" think they're blameless. Ladybugs who will remember your every mistake for the rest of your days. Biblical Martyrs!", the girl rolled her eyes. "Believe me, you don't want that".
"But if I marry such a girl, then I will probably love her, and she will love me. And love means forgiveness and acceptance".
It was most likely a random wise thought from Ned, because he was never particularly intelligent. Actually, like everyone in this family.
"Love is a sweet thing, Ned, but it does not change the essence of a person".
The boy picked up the notebook again and, as if nothing had happened, continued writing, which greatly alarmed Lyanna, and she snatched the notebook from her brother's hands, meanwhile getting up from the windowsill and falling onto the bed.
When Ned came to his senses and took the notebook from his sister's hands, she was already bursting into sincere, wild laughter. This is what she was like: with flushed cheeks, grey eyes sparkling with mischief, and dark, dishevelled hair. "Beautiful" everyone who met her said. It was impossible to meet Lyanna Stark and not fall under her spell. Wild and bewitchingly graceful.
"Eyes like violets? Hair like silk? A smile like a star"?, she burst into laughter, surrounding herself with soft pillows. "Who knew you were such a romantic. And who are you writing a love letter to?"
"None of your business", Ned answered, frowning and hiding the notebook in his pocket, but Lyanna still did not calm down:
"Let me guess! Cersei Lannister?"
"What? Of course not", the guy shook his head and lay down next to his sister, " Ashara Dayne", Ned sighed heavily and fixed his eyes on Lyanna. Correct: in-loved-dumbasses-eyes.
"It's very cheesy. Too much", she whispered, grimacing.
"I thought girls liked that kind of thing."
To be fair, Lyanna isn't the only victim of the lack of sisters in the Stark family.
"No", Lianna answered him in the same whisper. "And we don't like brutality on the level of "our favourite brother" either. If you want to win the heart of a cool girl, look for a compromise! Something in between,"
"Compromise? A serenade-singing knight?", he suggested.
"More like a brutal auto mechanic with a dark past and a possible criminal record, whose heart is filled with passion and a desire to meet a good girl who will fix him", she suggested seriously and laid her head on his chest. "Girls love bad boys".
Yes, somebody met other girls only on TV.
"All that's left is to learn how to fix cars", Ned laughed.
"And also do some time and get a couple of dangerous tattoos".
Only on cheesy tv-show.
"Like fire and a dragon?"
"More like a lone wolf, more mysterious that way".
Only on cheesy tv-shows for teenagers.
ELIA
"And when you enter the room, I forget how to breathe", the girl fell on the bed, holding the letter in her hands and sighing dreamily.
How beautiful she was then, perfection itself. Perfect dark hair that fell in waves on her shoulders, perfect big violet eyes, perfect high cheekbones and a perfect sensual line of lips; looking at her, Elia did not forget to remind herself that, most likely, in a few years, Ashara would become a successful model, a highly paid actress or a famous singer, although she could not sing at all, and perhaps even someone like Jackie Kennedy or Grace Kelly. Ashara was a star, although not yet shining on the covers of magazines or on TV screens, but everyone knew that she would become one. And more and more often, Elia felt ugly next to her friend. It's not surprising, because she was constantly sent love letters, treated with little treats like candy or flowers, and on Valentine's Day she was given more valentines than anyone else. She wonder if Elia looked like that, would she be loved too?
Yes, our other heroine also had a thing for a cheesy teenage tv-shows.
"Are you even listening to me? Who am I reading to?", Ashara whined, raising herself up on her elbows and fixing her violet eyes on Elia, who was quietly putting new books on the shelf.
"I'm listening to you, someone forgets to breathe when you enter the room. Are you sure he's not asthmatic? Write him back so he doesn't forget his EpiPen when he goes on a date with you", the girl said, wiping the dusty volume of Gone with the Wind.
"It was Ned Stark who wrote to me! Do you understand? Ned Stark", Ashara said it as if Elia should be impressed by it. Yes, she had heard of the Stark name, she knew that they owned the town sawmill, but who Ned Stark exactly was she did not knew.
"I am sure that he is a good guy, since he writes you such confessions".
"Yes, he is a good guy, so I am going to refuse him", Ashara said with a smile, which left her friend extremely confused.
"You don't like him?"
"I do, but if I refuse, he'll try harder next time".
"You're a terrible person", Elia concluded, sighing heavily. Whoever this Ned Stark was, she already sympathized with him with all her soul, because it would be hard to find a more fickle girl to play the role of a lady of the heart than Ashara.
"I know", the girl answered, smiling, and lazily stretched out on the bed. "And how is Rhaegar? Don't you ever do this to him?"
The memory of Rhaegar took Elia's good mood with it. Her lover hadn't answered her calls for days, and lately he'd been ignoring her altogether. Had something happened to him? Maybe something with Mr. Aerys? Or with the pregnant Mrs. Rhaella, whatever it was, Rhaegar probably needed her help or maybe even some time alone. She didn't want to be a bother, she loved him, she tried to please him, even if it meant leaving him alone sometimes.
Her love was too selfless for one so young, but no one had told her that.
"Sometimes I think he does this to me. And the worst thing is, it works."
"Will you tell me?" Ashara's smile instantly left her.
"Maybe tomorrow. I need to get ready for the Whents' party already", Elia muttered, afraid to meet her friend's eyes.
"Do you want me to leave?"
"I'm not kicking you out", the girl began to justify herself.
"Yes, I guess I've been sitting around too long", - Ashara said completely calmly. They had known each other since childhood, and Ashara was used to Elia's love for occasional solitude. She wasn't offended, she understood that this was what they valued each other for. Maybe Elia didn't won the true love in this life, but unconditional friendship was hers.
***
When she said goodbye to Ashara, she witnessed an extremely intimate scene on her way back to her room, which made Elia blush and hide in the hallway. Her younger brother Oberyn was kissing a skinny blond boy who lived on the next street, unbuttoning his shirt in the process.
Why did this scene make Elia feel so wrong? Why did this scene make her choke? Why did this scene make her cheeks flush?
Apparently, Oberyn was more attentive than Elia had previously thought. The guy pushed his companion into his room and, as if nothing had happened, headed towards his sister. Leaning against the wall, he tilted his head to the side with a smile and asked:
"You won't tell your mother what you saw, will you?"
"I won't tell anyone," Elia said, exhaling. Oberyn was already heading back to his room when the girl pulled him by the arm and turned him around.
"I thought you liked Ellaria. I mean, girls...".
"And you thought I only liked girls?" He let out a chuckle. "I like the ones I have a passion for. And I don't care if it's a boy or a girl. True love doesn't mean choosing based on gender, my sunshine."
"So that's love?"
"No, but it's sex, and sex is more interesting than love".
LYANNA
Cold lips touched her neck, causing Lyanna to flinch and drop the cup from her hands. Porcelain shards rolled across the kitchen floor, and the girl cursed quietly, quickly jumping back:
“Calm down, pretty,” she heard a familiar voice and, turning around, was not at all surprised to see a calm smile covered by stubble and piercing blue eyes.
“That was my favourite cup,” the girl muttered, looking angry at him, but the guy only laughed loudly.
"I'll buy you a new one," the guy said condescendingly, sitting Lyanna down on the counter. His cold hands touched that tender exposed area of skin between her jeans and T-shirt, making the girl's skin crawl. No, if her mother saw this picture, she would probably pass out, and her father would do even worse - he would set the dogs on poor, innocent Robert.
"I don't want a new one. I liked the old one."
"It's just a cup, Lyanna."
"No, it's not. When I poured hot water into it, a wolf would appear. Where else would you find a cup like that?"
"I have the same one", the guy smiled again. "Only on mine there is a girl in a bikini, and when the cup gets hot, she takes off her bikini. I can lend it to you".
"Ugh, disgusting, how disgusting you are", the girl rolled her eyes, easily pushing Robert away from her. Her dark hair slid lightly down her back as she leaned against the door frame and asked in a hoarse voice:
"So why are you here?"
"I Came For you. If you haven't forgotten, we're going to Mr. Whent's daughter's birthday party".
"See, you don't even know Mr. Whent's daughter's name. Why go to her birthday party then?"
"Mary? Kristen? Olivia? Who cares. Everyone will be there, so we should be too".
Without saying a word, the girl turned and began to climb the stairs to her room, forcing Robert to follow her call.
Her Robert, her good, cheerful, handsome Robert. She was so lucky with him, why didn’t she feel what she should? They had been together for over a year, why couldn’t she say out loud that she loved him? Why didn’t she call him before bed like other girls? Didn’t draw hearts with their names in a notebook? Didn’t think about how they would get married and what they would name their children?
The doors closed behind them with a loud bang, and Lyanna opened the closet door.
At first, Robert thought that she was about to change her clothes, and had already taken the most comfortable place on the bed, where it was more interesting to watch. How surprised he was when his wild Lyanna nodded towards the closet and made an inviting gesture with her hand:
"Come in," she ordered.
"Are you kidding me? I can't even fit in there," Robert began to drawl lazily, but Lyanna hurried him. And in a few moments, Robert was squeezed between the closing wardrobe doors and the dresses hanging peacefully on hangers. Lyanna quickly kept him company, and now the only source of light for them was a small strip of light that passed right between them.
"And why are we standing here?" Robert asked in a whisper.
“This is my headquarters,” the girl answered seriously, but even a thin thread of light could catch the mischief and mischief in her eyes. “I receive important guests here.”
“Seriously?” Robert asked, raising one eyebrow.
“If my brothers or father see you in my room behind locked doors, we’ll just not get off that so easily. That means you won’t get off that so easily."
“So why can’t we just open the door?” the guy asked in a whisper, but the girl only laughed quietly, touching his cheek with her warm lips and wrapping her arms around his neck.
“What’s the point of having you as a guest if we won’t be alone?"
And all after, she was more interested than in love, but maybe cause she didn't knew any love before.