The Queen in the North: Game of thrones fanfiction

Chapter 57

Chapter fifty seven

"My love who did your hair like this?" El said unravelling her daughters tight braids.

"Meera, mummy she's so good with hair" Lyara squeaked, "will she really be here tomorrow mummy?"

"Yes my love" El said brushing out Lyaras hair. Garlan sat back with his sleeping son under his arm, El smiled seeing them and took Lyara over to the bed.

Lyara curled up to El, "mummy, I missed you, so so very much" she said, fighting to keep her little grey eyes open.

"And I you, sweetling, now sleep" she stroked her daughters hair until she slowly fell to sleep.

Garlan reached out his hand to El, and stroked her arm, "this is perfect huh?" He said looking down at his children.

"Indeed" she said sleepily, gently she moved herself and Lyara closer to her son and Garlan.

He took her hand in his,"how was today?" He whispered, through the dark.

El had so much she could say, well Axel kissed me and I didn't stop him, I told him I'm pregnant and I think it's more likely his than yours, were all options that came to mind first. "Long" she smiled, with her eyes still shut.

"Did you tell him? About the baby I mean"

El's heart sunk, damn is curious optimism, "yes" she said reluctantly.

"How did he take it?"

"Better than I expected." That much was true at least. "Then he kissed me" El admitted, better to tell him now than let him find out later on, she thought.

"He what?" Garlan said trying to calm his voice.

She finally opened her eyes to see Garlans golden eyes narrowed to slits across from her, "we'll talk about it tomorrow I promise"

The feeble winter sun, was just beginning to rise and push itself through the dark mass of black cloud when El woke up. Garlans arm draped across both her children and just touching her forearm. Slowly she got up and she called for Rausa to ready a bathroom for her in the small antechamber off her bedchamber. While she waited, El sat by the window, sipping her tea slowly, guilt regarding kissing Axel yesterday twisted her inners into tight knots. It wasn't the fact that she'd kissed him that was tearing her apart, it was the fact that she hadn't stopped him, that was eating away at her.

She rose and leaned in the doorway of the bedchamber watching Garlan holding their children so protectively, watching his chest rise and fall, so peaceful, he didn't deserve this, she thought, Neither did Axel, El's conscience echoed quietly.

Once her bath was ready she send Rausa away, and she stripped off her clothes and slid into the steaming water. El sunk down so that her whole body was emerged under the water, she opened her eyes and let her hair float around her in silky, smooth waves. The sounds around her were slightly muffled, and under the clear warm liquid she felt slightly freed. Like everything was lighter under there, just as her body was.

She emerged gasping for air, and almost sliding back under the water seeing Garlan standing by the window, "morning" she said pushing her hair back from her face. Without word, nor warning Garlan slid into the bath with El.

"Your tearing me apart El" he said, laying his head against the side of the tub, she didn't quite know how to respond, "I love you, with all my heart, and it kills me El. All I want in this world is you, but I get so close then your ripped away from me"

El slide up closer to him and looked him straight in the eye, "Garlan I didn't kiss him, he kissed me, and I've been awake all night sick with guilt, and worried half to the death that the child inside me isn't yours" she tried to bite back tears.

He took her face roughly in his warm, wet hands "we keep going round and round El, but God your so addictive I can't stop myself" he pressed his lips to hers, and slowly pulled her closer,so she was sitting on his lap, her fingers slowly stretching out, feeling the familiar contours of his cheeks.

She entwined her legs around him, and then held him tight, pressing her cheek to his chest, his fingers, draw gentle patterns on her back. "I love you" she said, tearily against him.

Garlan tighten his grip around her, "I love you more than you can ever know my love"

A week had past, before there was any word for Stannis Baratheon. "Read it to me again" El said laying back on the bed, looking sleepily up to the canopy above the bed.

"He is a day's ride north of Winterfell and he will attack tomorrow evening if we give him word" Garlan said, summarising the letter. He crawled up next to her, he rested his head beside her stomach and his fingers stroked her stomach "you're starting to show my love" he said planting a gentle kiss on her stomach.

"Hmm" was all she responded with while lazily pulling at his hair. "We can finally to this" she said abruptly.

"I know" was all he said, running his fingers from her neck to her hips.

"We need a plan." Elonar said abruptly sitting up, "bloody hell, Stannis is coming tomorrow evening." She took Garlans face in her hands and kissed him quickly.

***
The next day came around fast, and El went to go and help her sister get ready for her wedding. But before she left, El strapped her dagger to her inner thigh and another up her dress sleeve. She was strangely excited about her plans, providing Stannis showed up, and providing all her men did there sort, and no one betrayed them.

El had helped her sister, bathe, dress and now she was braiding her hair, this was the sister that Sansa had alway wanted, El thought, shame Im still not her, I, the bitch planning to murder your husband and his family tonight..me he thought and yanked a piece of her sisters pretty auburn hair harder, causing Sansa to wince."Truly, you do look very beautiful" El said, arranging strands of her sisters hair in tight braids.

Sansa smiled meekly, "thank you" touching the roots of her hair tentatively as El yanked them together into the braids.

"There" El said tying the braids together with silver ribbon, "all done, now let me look at you" Sansa stood, and let El sceptically look her up and down slowly, "are you nervous?" She asked.

"Well..yes" Sansa said almost sarcastically, looking out the window at the falling snow, "weren't you?"

"Well a bit, but not as nervous as I'd imagine you'd be." She said bluntly, "at least you won't be married long.." El said under her breath.

"What's that meant to mean?" She whirled around, narrowing her blue eyes into El's grey ones.

Elonar only shrugged, "are you a Virgin?" Changing the subject deliberately, because although Sansa was her sister, and they were both older now, El didn't quite trust her to know her plans for this evening.

"What?!" Sansa was taken a back by El's curiosity.

"You heard me." El said sitting by the mirror and began to braid her own hair back.

"Yes, I am" Sansa said after a moment of silence.

"Really?" El asked, possibly a little too surprised, "so you and Tyrion, never.."

"No, he never touched me" Sansa said quietly, "do you want me to help?" She asked, taking El's dark curls in her fingertips, "I always loved your hair" she said pulling it into a single braid that went all the way down El's back. "Does it hurt?" She asked sheepishly, looking away from El's gaze in the mirror.

"Yes, but only the first few times, and not in the way used expect" El said, "after that it usually feel alright"Sansa smiled a little, and but her bottom lip, "but don't you worry, I won't let him do much to you" El smiled. Sansa's pretty features contorted in confusion, "now come along sister" El said standing, "you don't want to late for your own wedding, now do you?"