Chapter 14

Hello and welcome this chapter!

Anyway, Termin8r once again was the only one to submit a question.

The question is: What would you say in YOUR opinion makes Steffon and Arya work as a couple? Not to make you look back at how others stated in the past, but what do you think the two share that they love about each other? What is their reason for saying "I love him/her"?

A great question, mate. My personal opinion is that it has a lot to do with two main things. The first is Steffon's nature. He's a kind, caring young man, but at the same time, he's no pushover. When he does get angry, he gets really angry (as you'll see soon enough). I did mention earlier in the story that he was drawn to Arya because of her tomboyishness, rather than repelled.

The second is Arya's own nature. She's the sort of person who doesn't give up easily, and is more of a I-don't-like-it-but-I'll-make-do type of person. The big one though is Steffon's progressive ideals for the time he's in. We saw earlier in the story that he's willing to facilitate Arya's desire to be a swordfighter. In a place like Westeros, which, let's not kid ourselves, is a very much a sexist, homophobic, autocratic society, his views would be considered to be very modern, and very out of place.

All in all, the two were finally able to reconcile their difference and are beginning to fall for each other. I say that because when you're at their age, you tend to think that your first boyfriend/girlfriend is going to be the one. Now obviously they're betrothed to be married, but it's more that they think they're in love, when they don't really understand what it is. Sansa did have a point in chapter 12 when she said that Arya and Steffon didn't understand love. Bear that in mind.

Whew, long answer. Anyway, onto the story.

Dragonstone, the next morning

Light gently filtered in the room Steffon had taken at Dragonstone. It was connected to the one that Arya was sharing, and he found himself wishing that he could pay her a visit. It wouldn't be right though; for a man and woman to be sharing a bed before their marriage was something that was unthinkable to him. Sometimes, the smallfolk really did have more freedom than those from the nobility. Yes, their lives were a hard scrabble, but they also had more freedom when it came to who they associated with , romantic or otherwise.

He slowly rose from the bed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he heard his door open. In stepped Arya, lightly dressed in tights and a thin tunic. This was his betorthed in smallclothes that she was more comfortable in, that much he knew. He was a bit taken aback by her sudden appearance in the room however; surely she was aware that the two of them being spotted together before the wedding would create a huge scandal between them, right?

"Arya, why are you here?" He asked, rubbing his eyes again.

"Are you unhappy to see me, Steffon?" She replied.

"Well, no, but-" He was cut off as Arya straddled him. Arya for her part was running almost purely on instinct now; she had gotten a sense of satisfaction out of seeing Steffon react to her the way he had yesterday, and was wanting to create a similar sense of enjoyment for both of them. She supposed this was how she and Steffon would end up starting most days after they married, assuming their passion for each other held out that long.

"Before you say anything, I just wanted to try something." She said before leaning forward and kissing him. However, it was unlike the kisses they'd had before; this one was hungry, as if Arya were a wolf tearing at her prey. Steffon responded in kind, meeting her lips with his own and kissing her feverishly. Each kiss only seemed to make them desire more, but they both knew they would have to stop. Problem was, Arya was enjoying herself too much to stop. It took Steffon gently moving her head back with his hand to end the kissing. Arya was disappointed, but understanding. There was no telling where they might end up going if Steffon hadn't exercised the self-control.

"That . . ." Steffon said, struggling to string together a sentence. It felt like his senses had just been assaulted in the best way possible.

" . . . was amazing." Finished Arya. The two lovers turned to each other, Steffon's blue ones meeting Arya's grey. They smiled, before kissing once again, in a tender, loving fashion; a sharp contrast to the hungry kisses that happened mere moments ago. The two broke apart, looking at each other lovingly. This was it; they wanted to spend the rest of their lives with each other now.

"I hope there is more of that." Steffon said as Arya climbed off him. Much as he wanted to continue, they had to preserve her honour until the wedding; Lord Stark would never forgive him in the event that he took her maidenhead before the wedding night, not to mention that he doubted that the oath Jon had sworn to him would be enoughh to protect him if he dishonoured Arya. "We should probably get down to breakfast." He added.

The young lovers turned each other before breaking out in laughter. They had just come close to doing the act itself, or closer than they had before, and that was all Steffon could bring up. It was a little absrud, from their points of view. Steffon had mainly said it to try and prevent him from kissing Arya like that again, admittedly; he wasn;t sure if he'd be able to stop himself if he started again.

They took turns getting dressed behind the obscuring screens that had the Baratheon sigil as decoration (when it was Arya's turn, Steffon couldn't take his eyes off the silhouette of her body). Once they finished, they headed down to the Chamber of the Painted Table. The exact same group as last night was there. Right down to Matthos Seaworth. Jon, Barristan and Syrio kept an obedient guard outside the entrance; the three warriors had actually been fairly close since their arrival; Barristan had taen Jon under his wing, endeavouring to try and teach him the finer points of combat.

"So, my Prince. Any plans for today?" Asked Davos as they entered.

"I was thinking I might just relax today. The crossing's beginning to hit me now." Steffon replied. He had never been any good on ships; it was something that he'd had truble with since he was a child and likely wasn't going away anytime soon. Shireen just giggled.

"Steffon, you get sick every time! Remember when we went on a trip around Dragonstone? I think you threw up about nine times!" She said, causing Steffon to cringe inwardly. He'd hoped that she'd forgotten that particular incident; the seas had been execpetionally rough that day. Even with the experienced crew of Velaryon sailors handling the ship, the ride was still poor, and Steffon hadn't taken to it well at all.

"He wasn't much better this time!" Said Arya, "He vomited about eight times. It was a miracle he didn't during our swordfighting!" She finished. the entire table, save for Stannis, Melisandre and Selyse laughed. It was a happy moment, one of few that seemed to exist on the dour life on Dragonstone. Breakfast as a simple affair; the island produced next to nothing and had to import most of everything, save for fish, and Stannis hated fish. Minutes later, they had finished, only for a letter to arrive. The aide carrying it handed it to Stannis. After a few seconds of reading, the stone-faced Lord of Dragonstone spoke.

"It's from your father, Steffon. It would appear that Jaime Lannister has attacked Ned Stark." He said.

"That's not right! He can't do that!" Arya shouted, causing the entire table to look at her. "He can't just attack the Hand of the King in public! That's a crime!" She continued. As she was getting ready to shout again, Steffon gently placed his hand on her arm. She sat back down, albeit with a sour look on her face. Stannis continued.

"It appears that it was over Lord Tyrion being seized by your mother, Lady Arya." He said. Steffon, unlike Arya, was able to restrain himself, but was now seething with anger. She can't just seize my uncle! That's a bloody crime, too! He thought. Furiously, Steffon left the room. Arya, having calmed down somewhat, chased after him.

"Steffon, wait!" She called. But Steffon wasn't listening. He marched into their room, and locked the door behind him. Gods, he can be such a child, Arya thought. She sighed, and turned around to find Shireen behind her.

"Steffon usually acts like this when he's upset." The greyscale-afflicted girl said. "He doesn't like to take his anger out on others, so he locks himself in a room to be alone. You see, he doesn't trust himself not to hurt people. It may sound queer, but it's for the best. He tends to be very volatile when he's upset." She finished. This was punctuated by the sound of smashing glass in the next room.

Maybe I'll give him some time

2 hours later

Steffon finally emerged from the room to be engulfed in a massive hug from Arya. He wasn't sure what for, but he wasn't going to argue. He hugged the girl back, gently stroking her hair.

"Steffon," She began, "I . . . I do apologise for my mother. She can be a bit headstrong at times."

"What? Like you, Wolf Girl?" He asked, causing them to chuckle slightly. "Well, I'm sorry about my uncle Jaime, too. He knows he shouldn't have done that." Steffon replied.

"You sound like a scolding parent, Steffon." She said, smiling.

"Just practicing for the future, Arya." He said. Arya's eyes widened, as did Steffon's. "Let's pretend I never said that."

"Agreed"

King's Landing, evening

Eddard Stark sat at the desk in his room, and opened the massive book that Pycelle had given him. It had been the last book Jon Arryn had read, and Ned had wondered why. Something was wrong here, and Ned intended to discover what it was.

He opened to the entry on House Baratheon, and began reading.

"Orys Baratheon, black of hair . . . Axell Baratheon, black of hair . . . Lyonel Baratheon, black of hair . . . Steffon Baratheon, father of Robert, Stannis and Renly, black of hair . . . Robert Baratheon, black of hair . . . Joffrey Baratheon, gold of hair." Ned stopped there, the realisation of the horrible truth hitting him with about as much subtlety as a battleaxe to the head.

The seed is strong. Those had been Jon Arryn's final words. The seed is strong. Ned had wondered what it had meant, until now. All Baratheons had been black of hair, right down to Robert's secondborn son. Joffrey, Tommen and Myrcella though, were golden-haired instead. Ned paused there for a second. The black hair was clearly the dominant trait of House Baratheon. The eye colour had varied, but it was always black hair. Except for Joffrey Tommen and Myrcella. There was only one house worthy of marrying into a King's line who had golden hair as their main trait.

Oh Gods . . . it's true. It's all true.

And I'll end the chapter there. More will be coming over the next few days, so don't go anywhere. Also a reminder that the Q&A's still open until the end of next chapter, so please put up your questions in your review and I will answer them. 

Auf wiedersehen, folks!