𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭; j. snow

-𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐯

KING'S LANDING 298 AC

The fresh, morning light woke the sisters up. Myrcella's hair was in shambles on her head and her mouth was agape in a yawn. "Morning, sweetling," Jocasta whispered.

Their mother would be frantically searching for her youngest daughter soon, so Jo hurried the girl up and to her chambers. "Why do I have to leave so soon?" Myrcella whined as the two walked sleepily through the empty halls.

"You know how upset Mother will be when she finds your bed empty. She'll send the whole guard out looking for you," Jocasta answered.

"She wouldn't care if she couldn't find you," Myrcella argued.

"I don't think Mother loves me as much," Jocasta laughed. Of course she knew her mother loved her, but she was getting older and more distant from both her parents. She was aging and blossoming and was ready to go out in the world to find her place alongside some high lord in a court she would eventually come to hate.

"She loves you the most," Myrcella sighed. "She always tells me how she wishes I was more like you. She always says 'Jocasta would sit up straighter' or 'Jocasta was stitching perfectly at your age.' It makes me sad."

Gods, her mother was a bitch. Myrcella was everything Jo wasn't when she was younger: kind, sweet, and genuine. Myrcella was the most ladylike person she knew, save her own mother.

"Next time, my love, tell her exactly this 'Well, Jo wouldn't give a fuck.'" Jocasta told her, very serious.

Myrcella blushed deep crimson at that. "I could never say that to Mother," she said.

"But you do need to hold yourself against her. No two people are alike and I was never as good as you. She should be telling me to be more like you," Jo smiled, wrapping her arm around her sister.

Myrcella nodded as she slid behind her bedroom door. Jocasta made the silent walk back to her own rooms to get ready for the day. Alysha had sprawled a blue dress on her bed. It was embroidered with gilded, blue thread of the same color and it shone nicely in the sun.

She ate a piece of bread and some cheese while Ora did her hair in simple braids. She wore her sapphires and stayed in her chambers for a few hours or until she felt like leaving.

The dress was tighter since the last time she had worn it and it pressed against her ribcage. "I can't breathe," she complained to Alysha as she hunched over.

"Well, it hugs your form nicely. Just breathe smaller breaths," Alysha shrugged.

There was never anything to do. There was to be a tourney in honor of Ned Stark's appointment as Hand, so she was looking forward to that. At least she had a friend at court now, so she would go visit Sansa and maybe take a walk with her around the Red Keep.

She left her room and walked to Sansa's chamber. The sun was warm and her dress was thin enough that it allowed a breeze to drift in through the fabric to touch her skin. The sleeves were long and swept the ground and trimmed with Myrish white lace. It would be a favorite of hers if it wasn't so tight.

The girl was dressing when she walked into her chamber. "Oh, pardon me, Sansa," she said, shielding her eyes from the girl.

"You're here! I want your opinion on which dress I should wear," she said, pushing Jo into a chair.

She held up a green one with embroidered flowers. It was pretty, but it was summer and that was more wintry, even though it had flowers. It reminded her of mourning.

The next was the blueish one she had worn that day in Winterfell, the one she had made. "I have always liked that one," she said, pointing to the handmade one.