court of lies | robert's rebellion

the court

"he saw her before he saw anything else in the room"

279 AC, Storm's End

"Myles maybe you just need to stop.", Arthur said, swallowing a painful groan.

He was laying on a table inside his tent, and his armour and shirt were taken off. His shoulder was now fully purple and red and swollen, hurting enough for him to greet his teeth in an equally painful way. Oswell was eating an apple, hovering over him with an amused smile, Arthur refused to have a Maester look at him so now a very panicked Myles was running inside of the tent, trying to find something to compress over his aching shoulder. Jamie was with his uncle and Rhaegar was with the princess. They didn't know where Jon was.

"No Myles, I think you need to bring some ice.", Oswell smirked at Arthur. "So we can apply a cold compress."

"You don't -you don't do that with ice, Oswell.", he hissed. "The cloth itself has to be cold, not ice."

"Are you sure about that?", he tilted his head in a playful way. "I disagree."

"You disagree?", Arthur tried to get up but then threw himself back due to the pain. "Myles just stop!", he yelled to the boy who was trying to angle his shoulder in a different way which hurt even more. "Both of you just stop for one godsdamned second!"

"Did I come in the wrong time?", Ashara entered the tent and asked with caution.

Oswell's playful smirk died when he saw her and he sent a look to Arthur who just closed his eyes and was rubbing his face with his healthy hand. He cleared his throat and spoke towards a wide-eyed Myles.

"Let's go and find the Maester, Myles.", Arthur opened his mouth to reject but Oswell stopped him. "Do not complain, you need actual help or it is going to hurt a lot more for a long time."

Both bowed their heads towards Ashara as a sign of respect and left the two siblings alone in the tent.

"It doesn't seem well.", she said, grimacing at his wound. "Did your prince do that?"

"No, Connington did the other day.", Arthur spoke from his throat, trying not to move. "And I fell over it today."

"Why did you joust today if you were in pain?"

"It wasn't that bad."

Ashara hummed, her eyes roaming around the tent, searching for something she didn't know about. It was a simple tent. There was a small bed on it for him to rest during the breaks. Two tables, one for medical help, the one that Arthur was laying on now and on the other there was wine, water and fruits and a bit of appetizer. On the floor, there were his boots and shield and armour and multiple lances leaning over the tent's corner. There was a small chair next to the table and on top of it, there were new pairs of clothes for him to wear after the tourney and his dirty shirt were hanging from it.

"I waited for you to speak to me, to us.", she said deciding it was the right time. Maybe the pain would force Arthur to be honest. "Maybe not with Andric but definitely with Allyria.", she looked directly into his eyes. "But you didn't."

"No I didn't.", he agreed. "And I do not want to talk right now either. My brain is too clouded."

"I don't give a fuck about the current situation of your brain, big brother.", she narrowed her eyes. "We'll talk when I say we'll talk and right now I say that we are going to fucking talk because you owe me an explanation."

"What explanation do you want?", he asked, forcing him to lie even though it hurt. "You knew my stay in Starfall wasn't going to be long and I was going to return back to the capital soon. It was a family visit, not a permanent stay."