Simple Servant - Game of Thrones

Chapter Six

[Nolan]

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Narrow Sea.

Nolan.

He wasn't made for sailing. Nolan had realised it the instant he stepped onto the Titan's Daughter, a sea trader with two banks of oars, a gilded prow, and three tall masts with purple sails. Not long after departing from Oldtown, Nolan found himself hunched over the stern as he emptied his stomach. Every day for half a moon, the Exile suffered fits of vomiting and mockery from the crew until finally, Nolan sparred with the galleass's bravos and ended it.

Yet, his stomach would still not agree with the sea.

When he finally felt he couldn't vomit anymore, Nolan pressed his forehead against the back of his hands, which gripped the rail tightly. His love's hand was under his white tunic, drawing circles on his back. "We are never getting on another ship. Never..." He mumbled. Margaery laughed and kissed his head. "Let's float around in the middle of nowhere. How fun!" He shot Yorko Terys a glare, who was grinning at his misery.

"It isn't so bad," Margaery said as Nolan pushed off the rail and turned around. He leaned against it, crossing his arms over his chest and closing his eyes. The rocking of the ship, along with the bile on his tongue, made him feel like he was about to be sick again. "Ternesio tells me we'll reach Braavos in another week."

He opened his eyes and smiled wanly at her. "If I survive that long," he said. "Forget about me. How are you feeling, love?"

Margaery laid her head on his shoulder as Nolan wrapped his arm around her. He pressed his lips to the crown of her head and breathed deeply. Her scent flowery scent helped him forget the salt in the air momentarily. "Good," she said. "Brilliant, actually. The love of my life is taking me on an adventure. How couldn't I be having fun?"

They'd talked about leaving Highgarden once before. It had been as they lay beneath their apple tree on the hill after their first night together. Nolan remembered how she had seemed to glow under the moonlight as she brushed her fingertips along his lips, smiling at him with that lopsided grin. They'd talked about starting a life elsewhere but decided against it. Nolan wondered where they would be now had they left but cleared his mind of the images.

Instead, he asked, "Thought about what you'll do for work yet?" Nolan knew Marge wouldn't be caught dead sitting around, doing nothing while he searched for a noble to offer his sword to. She just wasn't that sort of woman.

Margaery hummed, thinking. "I could always find work as a noblewoman's maid. Braavos has no shortage of them. Then she lifted her head, rested her chin on his shoulder, and gave him a lopsided grin. "There's also the option of becoming a courtesan. They're revered in the hundred isles. What do you think they'd call me? I, for one, believe it would be Little Rose."