Chapter Text
Ned was sitting in his solar once again, going through the books Baelish gave him. The master of coin had been with him, but he left to do his other duties. The crown was almost bankrupt; the only reason it was not was thanks to Tywin Lannister and the Iron bank. He remembered the day he arrived at the city to find it already sacked by Tywin Lannister. The old lion might not have any honor, but at least he did not touch the treasury. At the time, there were two million golden dragons in the vault and other treasures that belonged to the Targaryen's; now, it was completely empty. He needed to find a way to fix this and fast, or the realm would suffer the consequences of Robert's actions. His friend might have been a good warrior and a commander, but more and more, it looked like he was a terrible king.
All this thinking about the various problems was giving him a nasty headache. He closed the book and rubbed his head. "It would be good to take a small break." he thought. The door opened, and in came Jory Cassel.
"My lord." said the captain with a bow.
"What is it, Jory?"
"My lord, it the day of the archery competition; the king is demanding you attend. If you don't leave now, you will be late."
He sighed; he never liked tourneys; to him, they were pointless endeavors, but he must oblige if the king asks. "Tell the king that I will be there shortly."
"As you say, my lord." Jory bowed and started exiting the room.
"Jory, where are Sansa and Arya?"
Jory turned around and looked at him. "I believe they are in the gardens with Jon and the Tyrells."
"The gardens, thank you, Jory."
"Is there anything else you need of me, my lord?"
"No, you can leave." The man bowed and exited the room. So Sansa is with Jon, he smiled at the thought. He was glad that they made amends so quickly. Catelyn is a good wife and a caring mother, but when it came to something like bastardy, she hated everyone who was like that, especially Jon, and tried to make Sansa like that. Thank the old god's that she failed. It was good that he sent him to Highgarden, where he was far away from his wife, and he had the room to grow. Raising him as a bastard was not the best solution, but it was the safest; Howland is still refusing to talk to him after all these years; the only thing he did was send men to fight during the Greyjoy rebellion, but since then nothing, not even one celebration or simple visit. He knew why. The thoughts of his sister and Jon made his heart warm and hurt at the same time. After a long moment, he brought himself back to reality and shook his head. "The past is in the past." he thought. "We must focus on what is now and what is to be."
He got up from the desk and moved towards the door; once he opened them, he was greeted by three of his household guards standing at the door. Two followed him, and one stayed to guard the solar. They were making their way to the gardens.
Once there were his two daughters sitting next to a weirwood tree with Margaery Tyrell and her two-brothers sitting with them. Jon was sitting in between Margaery and Sansa. He started walking towards them, only to see him approaching and quickly get off the ground.
"Father," Sansa said as she did a curtsy.
"Lord Stark." the three Tyrells said.
"Lady Margaery, Ser Garlan, Ser Loras," he said as he slightly bowed his head. He then turned to his children. "The king has asked me to attend the first day of the tourney, so I came to see if anyone would like to come with me."
"I will, father," Sansa said.
"I think I will join too," said Jon.
Arya looked at Jon. "If he is going, then I'm going too."
He turned to the Tyrells. "Will you and your brothers be accompanying us, lady Margaery?"
She nodded. "We will, my lord. Our father and mother are probably already there."
"Then after you," he said, and the Tyrells started walking out of the garden will him and his children right behind.
As they exited the Red Keep, more of his household guard joined them and some of the Tyrell men at arms. The now sizeable group made their way through the city to where the tourney grounds were. His eldest daughter was in front of him with the two Tyrell brothers while Arya was with him and Jon was in behind with lady Margaery. He looked at Sansa, who was currently paying close attention to some story ser Loras told about one of his tourney wins. Sansa loves tales of brave knights in shining armor. There were little such knights in the North, but there was plenty here in the south, and he would have to pay close attention.
"Stupid," Arya said.
He turned his head to her, "What?"
"She is stupid, obsessing about pretty boys in armor." Ned chuckled slightly.
"Now, Arya, that is no way to talk about your sister."
"What she is. Once I am done with my training, I will be able to knock any of them on the ground, ass first."
"You are a lady Arya; ladies do not fight knights."
"I'm not a lady father, you know that." Ned sighed; he knew that he was not going to win this conversation. If he did not know better, he would say that Arya was Lyanna's child and not Jon.
As he was thinking about his daughter, a laugh coming from behind caught his attention, it was lady Margaery. He quickly realized that he was laughing because of something Jon had said, who currently had a large smile on his face. For a moment, he could have sworn that lady Margaery tried to grab Jon's hand but quickly chose otherwise.
They continued walking until they reached the tourney grounds, where people were already gathered. They looked around to see where they could sit and noticed Lord Mace waiving to them. The three Tyrells went to join their family, and so they followed.
"Mother, father, grandmother." said lady Margaery.
"Sit, darling, the contest is about to start." said lady Alerie; when lord Mace saw them approaching, he instantly got up from his seat.
"Lord Tyrell," Eddard said with a bow.
"Lord Stark, it is good to see you again." Lord Mace said with a large smile.
"As are you, my lord. I trust your stay in the capital has been well so far."
"It has, my lord, don't worry yourself about that. Come sit with us." He sat next to lord Mace, Sansa sat next to Loras, and Arya next to Jon and ser Garlan. He could see Robert just arriving with the queen and his sons and daughter. Then the herald walked in the center of the contest ground.
"Noble lords, ladies, people of all the realm I welcome you to the tourney of Kings Landing of 298 AC to commemorate the naming of Lord Eddard Stark as the hand of the king of our great King Robert I Baratheon. The tournament contests of a joust, melee, and archery contest. The prizes are forty thousand gold dragons for the winner of the joust, twenty thousand dragons for the runner-up of the joust, twenty thousand dragons to the winner of the melee, and ten thousand dragons to the winner of the archery contest. The first event is the archery contest, which will begin shortly." the herald then finally ended his announcement.
He had told Robert that the rewards offered to the winners were too high, and he had told the king as much, but Robert was his stubborn self, did not care.
After the herald left, the contestants walked onto the shooting range. There were many of them, from Reach to the Westerlands and even from Dorne.
"Who do you think will win, my lord?" lord Mace asked him.
"I'm not sure, my lord; I hear that ser Balon Swann is skilled with a bow, but so is prince Jalabhar; any of them could win."
"Well, I believe that Ser Simon Ashford will be the victor; he is one of if not the best archer in the Reach." lord Mace said proudly.
"We will see, my lord," he said and returned his gaze back to the field.
Margaery
She sat and watched the archery competition go on, men shooting arrow after arrow at the still target in front of them. Some of them genuinely had talent, but most others did not. It was only thanks to people with her now that she could keep the boredom away. Her father was talking with lord Stark since they arrived, and she could see that lord Eddard was not the man who preferred to speak a lot, unlike her father. "The Silent wolf indeed." she thought. The contest continued, and soon not even Jon or Loras could keep her mood up, so she came up with an idea. She turned to her father with a smile.
"Father, Jon, Loras, and I will be going to the city. I wish to see the markets."
Her father looked at her, slightly surprised. "Right now, but the contest is not yet over."
"Archery is your field of interest father, I would like to see the markets. We won't be long, I promise."
Father looked at her and then Loras and Jon. "Fine, you may go but do take guards with you for protection."
"Thank you, father." she bent down and hugged her father, a large smile appearing on his face.
"Can I come with you?" Arya asked as she looked at her and Jon.
"Don't ask me, little wolf, ask father," Jon answered.
Arya turned to her father. "Can I, please." Lord Eddard gave her a questioning look but then nodded
"Yes!" the little girl shouted. Margaery chuckled at the young Stark girl's reaction.
"Shall we?" asked Loras.
"We shall," she replied, and they were on their way back to the city with a number of their guards and Margaery's ladies right behind them. Loras and Jon walked first with her and little Arya right behind them. They walked until they reached a large market near the center of the city. There were all kinds of vendors selling everything from delicate silks to food. Margaery went from one stand to the other excitedly, looking at all the wares on offer; for a moment, she felt like a little girl again. Loras and Jon, too, were looking around. She stopped looking at the stands to see if Arya had found anything interesting for herself, but she found the little girl only looking around with an unamused look on her face. She left the stand where she was currently standing and walked to Arya.
"Found anything you like?" she asked.
"No, not really." the girl said with an unamused tone.
"There are so many things here; there must be something here for you."
"What I like can be found in the street of steel, not here."
She gave the girl a soft smile. "There might be no weapons here, but I know something you might like."
"What?" the girl asked.
"Candy apples."
"I never had candy apples."
"Really?" she asked, genuinely surprised.
"Yes, there aren't candy apples at Winterfell."
"Well, there is a stand over there that sells them. Would you like to try one?" Arya smiled and nodded. Margaery offered her hand, and the little girl took it, so they went to the apple stand.
"Two candy apples please," Margaery said to the vendor; the man gave them, and she paid for them. She took the apples in her hands and gave one to Arya. The little girl took it, gave it a look, and then took a bite from it. After a few seconds of chewing, Arya swallowed.
"This is delicious." the girl said with a smile. "I wish we had these back home."
"Well, you have them here," Margaery said as she took a bite from her apple. The two of them ate the apples quickly and then bought two more.
"What about us?" Loras asked as he and Jon walked towards them.
"No, non for you," Arya said, and Margaery smirked.
"You really care so little about your brothers," Jon said.
"We do," Margaery said.
"We are hurt," replied Loras.
"Oh, quit acting; if you want some, buy them,"
"We will," said Jon. "Two apples, please," he told the vendor and paid for them. Now all four of them were standing there eating candied apples. Once they ate, they looked around for a bit more before they continued to the street of steel to pick up what Jon and Loras had ordered made by the smith Mott. Arya grew immediately excited once Jon told her where they were going next. The little girl looks at the smith shops with awe. She really was the opposite of her older sister.
They walked around the street until Jon and Loras stopped in front of a shop. Seconds later, a man came out to greet them.
"My lords." the man said with a bow.
"Master Mott," said Jon. "Is our order finished?"
"Aye, it is ser, the gauntlets are done."
"Good, we will have them then." The man nodded and turned to look inside the shop.
"Gendry, get those gauntlets for the two lords." Moments later, the apprentice came out with the order. Then he turned to Jon, "The sword you asked for will be made in a matter of days, my lord."
"I'm no lord." said Jon "Only a knight."
"Well then, ser, what I said remains; you can come after the tourney is over to pick it up."
"Thank you, master Mott, you have been of great service," said Loras.
"No, thank you, good Sers, for coming to my shop. I wish you luck in the tourney."
"Thank you again," said Jon, and they were on their way back to the keep. The archery contest must be over by now.
"You ordered a new sword?" Arya asked her brother.
"Aye, I did."
"Will I be able to see it once it's done?"
"You will, little wolf," he said with a soft smile. While they were walking along the city streets, they came upon a rundown part of the city that housed the city's poorest inhabitants'. The smell coming from it was horrible; by looking around, she could see that this was clearly not the best place for one to live.
"What is this place?" she asked.
"It's called Flea Bottom; it's the poorest district of the city," said Arya. "Many people live here, but few seem to care." As she walked around, she could feel her gut tighten slightly, all these people living in such conditions; it truly pained her to see this.
"No one helps them, not even the king?" she asked.
"How much I know no," said Arya.
"My lady, I suggest we leave this place; it not suited for you to be here." said one of the guards that accompanied them.
"I agree with him, Margaery," replied Loras.
She turned around and gave him a sad look then she heard a voice. "Could you spare a coin, milady?" Margaery turned back to see a little girl, no more than seven name days old, looking at her with pleading brown eyes. She was a scrawny little thing, clearly malnourished, and was wearing some rags that could barely pass as clothes.
"Of course," Margaery said and took per purse and pulled out few silver stags, knelt, and handed them to the little girl. "What's your name?"
"Lana milady," the girl replied.
"Lana, a beautiful name; my name is Margaery, and these are for you."
"Thank you, Margaery." said the girl with a large smile. It warmed her heart to see the little girls smile. Then out of nowhere, someone grabbed the little girl's arm and pulled her towards them.
"Lana, what did I say, don't bother other people. Forgive her milady." the woman said with a bow of her head.
"Sorry, mommy, sorry milady." the girl said in a small, sad voice.
It took her a second to shake off the surprise and say, "It's nothing to worry about." she gave them a reassuring smile. The woman was about to say something, but Margaery cut her off by continuing, "I gave Lana a few silver stags, and I want to give you some as well." She took out ten more and gave them to the woman, who looked at her with shock.
"Why would you do this?" the woman asked.
"Because someone should care, make sure you and your daughter get a proper meal."
The woman nodded franticly and thank her for the help she offered. Margaery saw more children on the street and started walking to each of them and handing over coins. Soon Jon and Arya joined in as well and some of her ladies. Once she ran out of coin, she looked at her bother, who was standing with the guards, a severe look on his face. She gave him a scornful stare, and after a few seconds, he joined them as well. She honestly did not know how much money or how many people had they handed out coin, but the happy looks and the words of gratitude proved that it was worth it. It was late when they finally returned to the Red Keep. They went back to the guest wing, where they were met by her parents with worried expressions, Jon's sister still with them.
Olenna
The damn archery contest was a pointless and boring affair for which even lord Eddard seemed to have little interest. Even her granddaughter thought the same and left as soon as she could, although she took the bastard with her. When the contest was finally over, she thanked the gods that she did not need to put up with her son's stupid blabbering anymore. They quickly made their way back to the Red Keep while lord Eddard stayed with the king.
She did expect her granddaughter to have returned by now, but she shook it off, her golden rose knew how to take care of herself, and she had an excellent detachment of guards with her, even that bastard. After an hour or so, Mace started asking where they could be nonstop, to which she had to shut him up more than once. After another hour or so, even she was beginning to get worried, the sun was setting, and they were still not here. As Mace was contemplating sending guards to look for them, they heard footsteps coming from the door.
"Where were you?" her son asked the group of youngsters.
"Don't worry, father, we were just exploring the city, nothing else," Margaery said.
"Exploring the city? You got us worried; we thought you would return quickly. You missed the competition." Margaery looked at her while she gave Mace an annoyed look and then at Alerie, who was relaxed compared to Mace.
"We are sorry, father, we just lost track of time, that's all."
"Well, it's good to see you are safe if something..."
"Oh, for god's sake, Mace, they are fine, enough with your stupid antics," she said to her idiot son.
"But mother, "he said, and she gave him a scornful look. "Yes, mother," Mace said as he lowered his head.
"Now, tell us what you were going for the entire day," she asked her granddaughter.
"We went around the city markets," said Loras.
"And I know that there is more," said Olenna.
"We also went to Flea Bottom," Margaery replied.
"Why would you go their child?" she asked with a feeling of disgust in her mouth as she asked.
"It was by accident," said Loras.
"You weren't hurt?" she asked in a genuinely concerned tone.
"No, grandmother, we just helped some of the small folk there after seeing the condition they lived in."
"Helped?" asked Alerie.
"We gave them some money, lady Alerie," answered Jon. For a moment, Alerie was concerned, but after Jon answered, she was relaxed again.
"Fine, but don't go there again my child," said Mace.
"Why not? We should help those people if we can." The little Stark girl said, and everyone in the room looked at her.
"Child, it just." started Mace.
"Just what, that they live in worse conditions than us, they need help," Arya said in a serious and a bit louder tone.
"Little lady, I suggest you keep to your manners when talking to grownups," she told the girl.
"I'm no lady, and my father says that you should always do the right thing when offered the choice." She looked at the girl, she was far from pretty, and she had a long tongue, but there was something there; it could just be bravery or the famed wolf's blood of the Starks. She looked like her father and seems to have picked up his sense of honor and justice.
"It seems that this one more of a Stark than the older one," she said with an amused look on her face. "But you should know when you should say something and when not."
The girl glared at her. "I will say what even I like, and I know I'm right." She looked at her with a small smirk on her lips. She likes girls with a bit of fire in them more than normal ladies who do whatever they are told.
"I think that's enough, Arya," Jon said.
"Fine," the little girl crossed her arms in protest, "but you know I'm right."
"You are." Margaery said to Arya, "We will try to help."
"Thank you, Margaery," Arya said.
"Come on now, let's get you back to father," Jon said as he put his hand on Arya's back. She grunted in protest but did as she was told.
After the two left, she chuckled, and her family looked at her. "The girls if brave, I will give her that."
"Jon said that she takes after their aunt Lyanna," Loras said. Lyanna Stark, the woman that was the cause of Robert's rebellion, she-wolf they called her. The one Rhaegar took and who her family is looked down upon by the rest of the realm because they remained loyal. There is no point dwelling on the past; all she can do now is make sure her family regains influence and secure a crown for Margaery. A rose will sit beside the next king, not a scared fish in wolf's clothing.
She was sitting in her room, eating small pieces of cheese, again thinking of a way to get the bastard out of her way. There was no shortage of stupid girls who were infatuated by the boy, but she needed someone to whom he would be attracted, someone similar to Margaery in some aspects, someone that could get him away from her granddaughter for good. The problem was that, according to what she saw, he did not feel anything towards any of the noble ladies that approached him during the last few days. He was courteous, but he did not show any sign of affection towards them. As she continued to think, she heard voices coming from the other side of her door. She instantly recognized one as Elinor and the other as the northern girl Mira.
"Alright, out with it; who is he?" asked Elinor.
"I don't know what you mean," said Mira.
"Don't think you can trick me, I know that look, you also have been staring into space; you're sweet on some lad. Who is he?"
"Why should I tell you?"
"Oh, come on, we been friends for years, Mira, you can tell me." For a long moment, there was silence, and then Mira spoke.
"I-Its, Jon."
"Ha, I knew it."
"You knew, how?"
"Oh, come on, you weren't really subtle about it. I think everyone but Jon had noticed the way you look at him."
"You think there is a chance he knows?"
"I don't know, but I doubt it. Man can be stupid; you need to be more direct with them."
"I don't know; what are the chances of him feeling the same."
"You won't find out if you don't ask. Trust me, Jon might be a bastard, but he is one of the best-looking men I have seen, and he is the only man that can beat Loras in a duel. He is also the son of your father's liege and the king's hand. Where is that brave Forrester? I know, I never thought you would lose your courage because of a man. Tell him how you feel and see what happens. "
"I will think about it, but thank you, Elinor, you are a real friend."
Olenna smiled; she had her girl, the one to get the bastard away. She has pretty, looked somewhat like Margaery, and best of all, she was northern, and she knew that she and Jon were good with each other. She got up from her chair and started walking towards the door. She was the best option, the betrayal might hurt Margaery more, but it is needed for her granddaughter to become queen.
Arya
"You should not talk like that to your elders, especially if it's lady Olenna," Jon said to her.
"Why not? People need help; helping them is the honorable thing to do."
"It is, but you should show more respect to people, even more, if they are a ruling family like the Tyrells."
"People are stupid, especially lord Mace. Even his mother thinks so, and she is an old shrew."
"Arya!" Jon raised his voice at her. "No one is perfect, but they are good people, and lord Mace is a good man." She did not respond, she knew that she was right and that he was right, but she refused to acknowledge it. They moved through the hall of the Red Keep towards the hand's tower in relative silence. Then as they turned the corner, they came across the one man both she and Jon were hoping not to see any time soon, the Kingslayer. As he approached them, a large grin appeared on his face.
"Lady Stark, Lord Snow." the man said as he came closer.
"Kingslayer," Jon said, and the man stopped.
"You did not participate in the contest today; I was kind of hoping to see you at work, Snow."
"I'm a good archer, but the sword it was my skills truly lay, which I will prove in the melee tomorrow."
"I saw you leave the contest leaving your father with the fat flower." the man said, the grin still on his face.
"We wanted to go around the city for a bit."
"And for that, you need your little sister to protect you, the little she-wolf." The Kingslayer said, and she knew that he meant the last part as a mockery. She was angry; she wanted to say something back but first looked at Jon, who had a smirk on his lips.
"That's the best you got, Kingslayer; I guess it's true what they say about you; you didn't inherit your father's wit, you really are the stupidest Lannister." This seemed to cut deep, and the grin that was there moments ago vanished; a look of anger had now replaced it.
"Listen, bastard, you better watch what you say. If you wish for a fight, then I would happily oblige and throw your bastard ass in the dirt."
Jon was still smiling, "I would never cross my sword with an oath breaker and a coward like you, but even if I did, I know that I would beat you."
"You really believe so?"
"I know so Kingslayer."
The man took a few steps forward and grabbed Jon by the arm. "You think you are clever bastard, you think just because your father is the hand that no one can touch you well you are wrong. Accidents do happen during tourneys, especially during the melee." Arya glared at the man in white; he was more akin to an arrogant beast than a noble knight. If she had a blade right now, she would use it; no one threatens her family.
Jon pulled his arm and got it out of the Kingslayer grasp. "I will be careful, but I do advise you to watch out; the chances of accidents during the joust are also common."
"I will enjoy beating you." said the man irritated.
"You will try, and you will fail. Now, if you excuse us, Ser Jaime, we have to get back to our father."
Jon pushed his way through the Lannister, and she followed right behind.
"This isn't over, bastard."
"It's not, but it will be," Jon said, not even bothering to turn around, but she did, and she showed her tongue to the man and continued to follow her brother.
The two of them got to the tower of the hand without any further interference and entered their father's solar. There they saw Sansa sitting in a chair with Jayne next to her, talking and giggling while father was sitting at his desk talking to Jory and Vayon Poole. Sansa stopped laughing and looked at them.
"Where were you? You missed the finals of the contest," Sansa said.
"You know where we were," Arya replied.
"Yes, but what took you so long?"
"We visited the markets around the city, and later we went to Flea Bottom and helped some of the people there," said Jon.
"Flea Bottom, you should not have gone there; it's not the safest place in the city," said Jayne.
"For you maybe," said Arya. She liked Jayne somewhat, they knew each other their whole lives, but she was the same as Sansa, always acting ladylike and dreaming about some brave knight that would come and make her his lady. She was stupid, just like Sansa.
Jon looked at her, raised an eyebrow, and then returned his attention to the two sitting in front of them. "So, tell us who won the archery contest, was it Ser Simon or prince Jalabhar?"
"Neither it was a man called Anguy; he defeated both prince Jalabhar and Ser Balon in the final round."
"Anguy, if I remember correctly, he is one of lord Beric's men. Beric did say that a friend of his would be participating in the contest." Jon said.
"Shame Ser Balon did not win, but he was close," Sansa said with a sigh.
"Well, the melee is tomorrow, and there would be plenty of knights there. For whom are you rooting for?"
"I'm rutting for ser Robar Royce; I heard that he is probably good enough to even defeat ser Jaime." Arya could feel a sour taste forming in her mouth as Jayne said the Kingslayer name.
"I'm rooting for ser Loras," Sansa said proudly.
"Loras?" Jon asked, amused, "You would choose him over your own brother?"
"You are my brother, so you don't count," Sansa said with a smirk.
"I'm hurt, little sister, but know that I will prove you wrong once I defeat Loras tomorrow."
"I would like to see you try."
"But you saw me beat him in a dual a day ago."
"You are good. I don't deny that, but I still feel like Ser Loras went easy on you."
"Hey, our brother beat the flower fair and square while both were fighting to truly win," Arya said as she narrowed her eyes as she looked at Sansa. This was one reason she thought Sansa was stupid, immediately when she sees a knight with a pretty face and shiny armor, she feels that he is the best fighter in the realm. The truth is that you don't have to have a pretty face or fancy armor to be good with a sword; for that, it takes practice, time, and talent.
Jon crossed his arms. "Went easy, did he? The truth is I went easy on him, and after that little spar I had with Arya's teacher, I would have to think twice before going easy on someone or ever underestimating someone again. If you said that Garlan had a chance of beating me, then I would agree, but you chose Loras, so no."
"We will see, brother, we will see."
Mira
Tonight, there was another feast just like before, but this one seemed to be bigger because all of the attendees were here, and the king was in an especially good mood even compared to previous nights. During the night, he called a toast in the name of the victor of the archery contest and in the name of the new hand Lord Eddard. The Forrester's have been loyal bannermen of House Stark for centuries, so she knew the tales of their family well. Lord Eddard had the typical looks of a Stark with dark brown hair and grey eyes. Comparing him with Jon, who was sitting right between his father and the king, she could see the uncanny resemblance between the two.
The king took an instant liking to Jon and had begun to treat him as if he were lord Stark himself. When they first arrived at the feast, the king immediately called Jon to the high table and seated him next to him. Both she and lady Margaery looked at the high table and could see that the queen and the crown prince had displeased expressions on their faces as they looked at Jon.
Lady Sansa and Arya looked more than pleased to see their brother sitting with them while lord Stark had an odd look on his face as he continued to stare at the king and his son. The king burst out laughing, hit Jon on the back with his hand, and then took another sip from his cup.
When the dancing finally started, the noble lords and ladies took to the floor, knights dance with fair maidens, lords with their lady wives, and the crown prince first with lady Sansa and soon after with lady Margaery.
During the dancing, Jon had made this way down from the high table and sat with Loras at our table. She did not know how long she stared at him, but he noticed at gave her a warm smile; she could feel her cheeks turning red. She was usually the stoic and brave one of their group of ladies, but all that seemed to be needed to take that away from her was one smile from Jon.
She contemplated what to do for a moment, so she looked at lady Olenna who gave her a silent nod.
She looked at Jon once more and got up from her seat, and walked towards him. She stopped only a few steps from him, her courage leaving her all of a sudden. She stood there until Garlan noticed her.
"Mira, what is it?" Garlan asked, and Jon turned around to look at her.
For a moment, she did not say anything, but then she could feel her courage return to her. "I came here to ask Jon something."
"What is it, Mira?" Jon asked with a puzzled look on his face.
"I wish to ask you if you would dance with me?"
He stared at her with that puzzled look for a second before a warm smile returned. "Of course, my lady." He got up and offered her his hand, and she took it.
Jon was as good of a dancer as he was a warrior. Back at Highgarden, Jon would frequently dance with noble ladies from all around the Reach and even from some other kingdoms, but she never asked him, and the few times he asked her, she politely declined for being too embarrassed or scared.
Now, as she danced with him, she could not help but feel stupid for declining his previous offers, but she also felt happy as their hands touched as they moved around the dance floor. She gave him a content smile, and he returned it with a smile of his own.
As they continued to dance, she looked at lady Olenna who had a barely noticeable smile on her lips. She always thought lady Olenna cruel and shrewd, but now she saw a good woman underneath.