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Naerys Drops A Hint (Or Several)
🕑 Added 2022-02-27 18:57:28 +0000 UTCKingZephyr wanted to see more of Naerys suffering, and poor Ser Arthur caught in the crossfire.
X
“...’with lavender eyes I see your quality, your smile, your heart, Only give me a sign and our romance might start. I will raise my sword beside you, that we may never be apart.’, Steve read from the parchment he held, scented faintly with perfume, breakfast forgotten before him. “Well, this is awkward.”
Naerys’ morning, already off to a poor start, threatened to worsen rapidly. Bad enough that Steve had found her amateur attempt at poetry and read it aloud for the table before all their companions, but to reject her out of hand -
“How should I let someone down easy, Naerys?” Steve asked as he rolled the parchment up. “I don’t like men in that way.”
She felt her face seize as she attempted to make at least three different expressions at once. “I’m sorry?”
“The love letter from Arthur,” Steve said, gesturing to it.
“Arthur?!”
Naerys wasn’t the only one to speak with incredulity, Keladry having looked up from her bacon to voice the same. Robin and Lyanna were eating with them in the tent, as the clamour of the waking camp stirred outside.
“Lavender eyes, fighting together, a reference to stars crossing paths? Who else would it be?” Steve asked. His eyes took on a thousand yard stare. “I suppose a poem is better than rule thirty four.”
“What - no,” Keladry said. “You’re sure the poem is from Arthur Dayne?”
“A Dayne servant was here last night, they were the only one with the opportunity to leave it for me to find this morning,” Steve said.
Keeping her face schooled in neutrality was difficult, but Naerys persevered. The poem was left out because she had thought this morning would be like most others, she and Steve talking quietly as they waited for the others to wake up. Instead a messenger had woken them all early, leading to this disaster.
Robin and Lyanna shared a glance, pointedly avoiding looking at Naerys.
“I’ll speak to him after the battle,” Steve decided. “Anyone with the courage to put their heart out there like this deserves a reply, at least.”
“Yes,” Naerys said, “they do.”
Later, after Steve had left to see to the men and Robin and Lyanna had gone to see to their own duties, Naerys set her head against the table, breathing out harshly through her nose.
“I would call Arthur’s eyes more violet than lavender,” Keladry said loyally.
Naerys held back a scream.
X
In the aftermath of the battle that day, Steve walked the mud and blood churned field, looking for survivors and helping all those he came across. He was not the only one; many knights had taken to emulating him if they were hale enough to do so. Some he knew in passing, others he was…more familiar with.
“Ser Steve,” Arthur Dayne said, raising a hand in greeting. His white armour was tarnished by the muck of the day’s bloody work, and his cloak a lost cause.
“Ser Arthur,” Steve said, slowing for only a moment. The battle had been somewhat unexpected, and preparations for it had taken up much of his focus.
“I must say, it was invigorating to fight beside you,” Arthur said, clearly referencing the poem he had written.
Long experience in thinking on his feet prevented Steve from stumbling over his response. “Fighting beside good friends is always better than fighting alone.” Nailed it.
“Just so,” Arthur said, apparently having missed his hint. He looked over the battlefield, and sighed. “It’s a wicked waste.”
“War always is,” Steve said. “All we can do is end it quickly.”
“Rhaegar intends to host a small gathering this evening,” Arthur said. “Not a celebration, but a chance to deepen ties between young knights and future rulers. Would you care to join?”
One of the other knights moving through the field drew near enough to overhear them, and Steve was forced to choose his words carefully. “My position would make it impossible, I’m sorry. I’m sure you’ll find another willing knight, if that’s your preference.” Arthur was a decent enough man, and if he wanted to keep his preferences a secret he wouldn’t be the one to reveal them to the world.
“Another time then,” Arthur said, disappointment on his face. “There are many young knights who look up to you, but your responsibilities to your host come first.”
Steve gave a fixed smile in answer, and they went their separate ways, looking for more wounded. Dammit, why couldn’t it just be another viral social media invitation to prom or something. He knew how to handle them.
X
Naerys smoothed her dress as she made her way towards the picturesque forest clearing. It was a pale lavender, just like her eyes, and it would look otherworldly under the full moon that shone overhead. A brook burbled nearby, completing the scene. She would seat herself demurely in the clearing, and then Steve would ‘happen’ upon her after finding the anonymous note she left him, and he would join her and they would talk and he would laugh and - she heard activity in the clearing, the hum of steel through the air. Had Steve beat her there?
Carefully, Naerys crept through the brush of the forest, avoiding dry branches and leaves, until she was able to peer around a tree to see who it was. Denial spread across her face as she beheld Arthur Dayne practising his swordwork in comfortable trousers and a loose shirt, dark hair almost absorbing the moonlight. It was a sight that would set the heart of any maiden aflutter, and Naerys wished for nothing more than a crossbow so that she could shoot him and drag him off somewhere before Steve arrived and her plan was rui-
A branch was broken underfoot, and Steve stepped into the clearing. He was dressed casually, if finely. “Ser Arthur,” he said. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Steve,” Arthur said, completing a flawless pattern. He turned to face him, white sword almost glowing. “What a happy coincidence.”
“I didn’t know you were practising here,” Steve said, and for a moment Naerys hoped that she could hurry around to catch him elsewhere. “I’ll leave you be.”
“No, stay,” Arthur said. “I was just thinking I could use a sparring opponent.”
Naerys cursed the overly pretty man, shifting behind her tree.
“A sparring opponent,” Steve said.
“I’ve found that you only truly know a man when you touch swords with him,” Arthur said.
“I’m really not one for wielding a ‘sword’,” Steve said slowly.
“Oh, with your shield, you prefer to defend against them?” Arthur asked.
“I…prefer a hammer?”
“That’s a bit more strenuous than I was hoping for,” Arthur said, a hint of apology in his tone, “and there is only the two blades here.” He gestured to a second sword resting against a tree, just out of Steve’s sight.
“You might have better luck with another ‘sparring’ partner,” Steve said. “It’s not really my thing.”
“I thought you sparred with Jaime when you stayed at the Red Keep?” Arthur asked.
Steve seemed to choke for a moment. “He’s a kid.”
“You see that as more of a teaching moment then?” Arthur asked. “I do not seek a serious bout, if that is your worry, just to keep my hand in.”
“...I should go. I ate a lot of cheese tonight,” Steve said. He turned and marched away from the clearing, leaving Arthur behind to look at him in confusion.
Naerys took the chance to make her own escape, cursing both men in her mind. If this kept happening, she was going to have to take drastic measures.
X
Naerys prided herself on her patience and composure, but over the next week, it was sorely tested.
“Naerys, I need - where did you get those flowers? Do you mind if I have them? There’s a little girl who needs cheering up.”
“Naerys, someone made me breakfast but I don’t have time to eat, would you like it?”
“Naerys, I know Arthur would get the hint if I said I was courting someone, but I can’t string anyone along like that.”
“Naerys, thanks for telling me about the local courting rituals. I don’t want to give Arthur the wrong impression.”
“Naerys, can you tell me more about courting rituals? I think I gave Arthur the wrong impression.”
By the end of it, she was looking forward to their sparring sessions just as much for the chance to hit Steve with her sword than for the chance to see him sweaty. She was beginning to think that subtlety wasn’t the way to go here.
X
“Naerys, I need your help,” Steve said, almost bursting into her quarters. “They’re sitting me next to the Daynes and Arthur still hasn’t picked up any of the hints I’ve been dropping. Will you come with me to the feast?”
Naerys turned from her vanity dresser with a smile that was just a touch too close to manic, and reached for the fool man. She wasn’t sure if she was going to choke him or kiss him, and as she seized him by the collar, she decided to go for both. Long heartbeats later, they broke for air.
“Do you understand now?” Naerys demanded.
“Oh. Ohh,” Steve said. His gaze flicked from her lips to her eyes. “I thought your eyes were more blue with a hint of purple.”
Naerys pulled him in again, shutting him up. At least he had finally gotten the hint.
Comments
thevolunteer
Frustrated Naerys is Good culture
isaiah
Steve the greatest niave man in the world
