court of lies | robert's rebellion

the labour

"the hottest fire burns blue and her eyes were no exception"

281 AC, Oldtown

"You look beautiful."

He was as handsome as he usually was -even more so today. She was not a maiden who didn't know a thing about sex until she got married, she was not some ignorant Northern lady, no, Olenna had taught her everything she needed to know about sex and all that about it. So that she would be prepared, and know what to do and what not to do when men all around her went after her with lust.

She knew how to manipulate men by playing right into their fantasies -which was something Alerie had mastered in. She knew how to be discreet and safe while doing to act, she knew how to keep it a secret from the world, and she knew how to take her own pleasure -which most of women did not due to lack of proper education. And she knew that in order to make the act as pleasant as possible, she knew she had to choose the man for the job right.

And she always had an excellent taste in men -physically, not characteristically. She was terrible at that one.

She had notoriously skilful lovers in the past that was the dream of every maiden and widow -matrons of all regions. Leyton held a big court, filled with many young knights -soldiers, entering in and out. Even though she had a period of blissful youth where her brain did not work as it did now, she knew the dangers of entertaining a lord or a lordling outside of wedlock. There never could be a trust between them of secretion and not even Leyton could protect her from such a scandal because she was too young back then.

She remembered her first time doing the act. It wasn't a night to be remembered actually. It wasn't horrible by any means, he wasn't cruel to her, he took his time and tried to make her feel comfortable but her choice was as young as she was and didn't possess any great knowledge of the act. It was blind leading blind occasion and while she was certain that he still remembered the night with great pleasure, the same couldn't be said about her. After hearing -and reading, many things about it, she thought it was going to be a mindblowing experience -it was not. And she remembered feeling unsatisfied, even wondering where was the appeal of it.

She had done it because it was a forbidden thing to do. Something she shouldn't have done, and she found it very thrilling, the adrenaline in her body was too high that night. The excitement of the possibility of being caught -and the satisfaction of Leyton possibly going mad with anger, drove her to try it out -and she did regret it afterwards. The fear crept in.

She was a spoiled child, she would always be the first to one to admit that. Her father was a horrible man and her mother was a problematic woman but if there was one thing they were on the common ground; it was her. Gerard, surprisingly enough, always wanted daughters instead of sons but his first wife gave birth to three heirs instead of a long-desired girl. So she was her father's favourite child. He did anything she wanted even though she was a baby and couldn't actually want something. She heard many times how he took her to council meetings in his arms when she was only a few days old and how he insisted her cradle stay in his chambers at night, how he fed her and all.

He taught her everything a father should have taught to a son. Archery and horse riding. He made her sit at a small chair next to him during the meetings, took her on hunting trips, and make her sit in his lap when he held council and sat on his seat. He taught her how to write and encouraged her love for reading. He was the best father a girl could hope for. And he loved her, she knew that.

It would be a lot easier if he didn't. It would be a lot easier if he was not the perfect father but an abusive one. It wouldn't hurt this much if he was a horrible father just like he was a horrible husband and a human being in general.