A Mother’s Contemplation

Helena gently hummed as she stood over her alchemist table, the cauldron steaming hot as she poured a healthy amount of oil; pressed from olives, two cloves of garlic finely chopped, and nearly three pound of diced mushrooms she had harvested from the Kingswood and yet to put to use…

Pumping the bellows to keep the flames roaring, Helena stirred the solution making sure every mushroom had been covered before pouring in a quarter jug of Dornish Red Wine; a gift from Oberyn's before laying a lid atop the cauldron and allowing the flames to dim as the concoction simmered…

While it simmered, Helena turned towards a different cauldron filling it halfway with water and brought it to a boil, before dumping in the skinned and diced potatoes she had prepared beforehand and leaving them to boil as she turned to the sizzling pan of finely chopped beef, quickly pulling it from the heat to cool.

In the midst of her focus, Sullivan stormed into the room, "Mother… What did you do?"

"Oh, Sully, my beautiful child, the food will be done soon. Have some patience."

"Mother—" Helena didn't even cast a glance towards HER eldest child, "I threw him from the edge of the castle, leaving his fate to the waves below."

Sullivan stood there for a long moment, unsure of how to react as Mother continued cooking using alchemical tools… When hasn't Mother stopped what she's doing to face him…? Never…

Sullivan eventually retreated silently, lost in thought as he tried to understand the change in his Mother… Unfortunately, it wasn't something he would come to understand…

It pained Helena, but she has come to learn that she had been too soft, allowing HER children to attempt to deny their Mother, to speak back… No more, would Helena allow their youthful selves to dictate what Helena can and can't do… No more would she allow them to pull her away from her work…

They were HER children, and she loved them… Yet, the number of wasted reagents, scraps of poorly tempered metal, and failed concoctions had long surpassed anything Helena should have allowed…

She had told them a Blacksmith never leaves their work unfinished, yet how many pieces had she left unfinished to give her full attention to her children…?

No more… HER children have grown…

Helena removed the lid from the simmering mushrooms, and added a decent amount of warm beef bone broth to the cauldron allowing it to simmer once more as she turned to the potatoes and plucked one from the boiling water, squeezing it between her fingers she found the exterior soft but still hard inside so she intended to leave them for a while longer…

Sullivan had thought the opinions of those lower, more important than the tears of his sister… Helena knew it wasn't true, that he was thinking of the future… Yet, Helena cared not for the future, for it was a problem for Helena of the Future, not of the Helena she was now…

She cared naught for the consequences, as Sullivan seemed to, and she held no regrets for throwing the pest out to face his fate.

Helena pulled away the lid from the half—finished Cream of Mushroom, giving it a few gentle stirs before replacing the lid and finding where she had set the heavy cream.

It wouldn't be the nearly poisonously nutritious meal that Theobald would make, nor the extravagant meals the servants would prepare…

Helena was making something that she had recalled from her mother, a Pie of Shepherds… Though, Helena wasn't overly fond of lamb and had chosen beef instead.

As Helena focused on the meal she was cooking…

Brandon had snuck out of the Red Keep, finding himself on the shore beneath the castle, finally he had found what he had been seeking for many moon, and it wouldn't be long before he could explore Kingslanding without anyone the wiser…

Daenerys was in shock, and had been since the Crown Prince himself came to apologize for Viserys' demise, yet the only thought upon her mind was that she was now free of the 'Dragon'…

Speaking of Dragons… Robert stared at the three colored stones that had been delivered… Three Dragon Eggs laid before him, and he knew naught what to do with them, thus he left the decision to Sullivan who was soon to find out, that to Varys being ever helpful…

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Jon heaved a heavy breath as Helena stared down at him from above, his body plagued with a terrible ache as the Queen offered her hand, her voice touching upon his ears, "You've done well, it won't be long before we begin these sessions with a weapon in our hands. Though, I do recommend putting more effort into your blacksmithing, and speak to Theobald about learning some herbalism. It will do you well, to be able to live off the land, and a diet of only meat will leave you poisoned."

"Aye, thank you for your kind words, Your Majesty…"

Helena slapped the youth on the back, "They were more than kind words, boy… Now head off and take a bath, I've had the maids draw one in your quarters."

Jon dipped his head, only for Helena to stop the youth, "You need not lower yourself in front of me, boy… Now, run off before I decide to drag you along for another quarter day of spars."

Helena watched the youth leave, before she turned to face Sansa Stark who had been lingering in the shade, watching as the Queen wailed on her Half—Brother, "I doubt you seek a spar, what do you want child?"

Sansa gave a gentle curtsy, and the Dire Wolf at her side dipped its head, "I'm soon due for marriage, and my Lord Father has yet to find a marriage partner—"

"If you wish for an easy marriage, I'd recommend either Loras Tyrell, or Renly Baratheon. Both will do their duty by you, and you'll never need to worry about children not born from your body running amok. If you wish for a marriage of lust, go and travel the Dornish Lands, you'll soon find whether commonborn, or highborn they have much love and lust to share… If you wish to gain much through marriage, and strengthen the North, settle yourself for the Lannister Dwarf, seduce Willas Tyrell, or return to Renly Baratheon and Loras Tyrell; as if you marry one, you may as well have married the other. You have many options, child, and the beauty to choose."

Helena gave Sansa a light nod, before making her way off into the castle leaving Sansa with much in her mind… Though, her initial question was unanswered…

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Helena was lost in thought as she walked the Halls of the Red Keep aimlessly…

How much had she been leaving to stagnate…? 

Why did she keep herself within these walls, when they suffocated her so…?

They had trapped her here, using the children whom she loves so much… A long breath tore through Helena's thoughts as they weighed upon her mind…

She had kept her word… An Heir and a Spare… Why was she still here…? Why hadn't she left already, when these walls didn't welcome her…?

Oh, how her body craved the open plains, mountainous valleys, fresh air… Air not plagued with the stench of man…

Yet, what was she to do…? Leave her children in this castle…? How could she ever do such a thing, to abandon her children…

Her hands clutched at her chest as she felt the simmering spark of her parents, they had grown increasingly quiet over the years, and their presence had begun to wane… As if they were looking somewhere else…

It struck Helena like a crossbow bolt to the shoulder, as she came to the realization that like her children, she had grown and her Father and Mother no longer saw the need to linger over her…

Perhaps… Oh, could she do it?! Helena didn't know if she'd be able to leave her children in this castle, and she knew Sullivan wouldn't come, would Brandon, Aria…?

Helena's heart was torn, and her thoughts a mess that even the torrent held within her mind couldn't sweep away, and it all shone on her face…

From the Shadows, a youth who had panickedly hidden himself when his ears caught his Mother's faint footfalls on his return from the shore beneath the castle, had seen the conflicting worry, fear, and doubt laden upon his Mother's face…

A sensation that the youth did not know swelled in his heart… As if he had uncovered something a child should never see in their parents…

___________________________

(A/N: [14?? Words] Short Chapter. No Status.)