Fianna Bua, Lady of House Bua, never thought that she'd be riding off to war for the liege lord she hadn't even met.
But oaths are oaths, the Buas have fought alongside the Starks for centuries and she wasn't about to be hailed an oath breaker.
So w...
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Fianna
"What are you doing here?" Fianna jumped to ask before Bonifer's feet had even made an imprint in the dirt of Baelfort's grounds.
"Well," he breathed, a large smile taking over his face, "you're a quick one, aren't you? Isn't it customary for the Lord or Lady to formally greet a guest and offer food and wine?"
"For a Lord yes, but I'm a queen," Fianna bit back, her body tensed up with paranoia. He may have been a blood relation, but she knew Westeros well enough to realise that didn't always mean something. She also wasn't quick to forget the fact he was absent long enough from her life for her not to even remember his face.
"Ah yes, you and about three others," Bonifer brushed off with a sarcastic tone, walking around Fianna and heading towards the entrance. He stopped in his step when he realised that Fianna wasn't following him.
"Come on then, young one," he called to her, "we have a lot of catching up to do."
Fianna forced her feet to move forward, catching Tiernan's eye and sharing a look with him as she followed after her maternal grandfather.
She allowed him to lead the way until he entered the great hall, presumedly heading towards staircase leading to the bed chambers upstairs.
"Enough," she called out to him, the door falling closed behind her and shutting her and her grandfather inside the room - alone and together. "I want to know what you're doing here."
Bonifer let out a sigh, raising his eyebrows tiredly and moving to sit in the bench seat at one of the tables intended for guests. He gestured with his hand for her to sit across from him, which she did so reluctantly.
It was silent for a moment, the two relatives taking each other in. Fianna felt emotional all of a sudden, she only had two remaining family members by blood and here one was - seated across from her like a stranger.
"I know I haven't been a part of your life," he began with, looking down at his clasped hands for a moment. "You have to understand, Fianna, you don't know how hard life has been for me since I lost your mother. I used to visit this castle all the time, to intimidate your father if nothing else. I loved your mother very much, she was all I had in the world."
"Then why did you shut off the only connection you had to her?" Her eyes began to water as did his, a lump forming in her throat.
"Because, I think in a way I blamed you. I blamed you for her death, and I know that's wrong, but I couldn't help it. When you become a parent, I pray you'll never understand the pain of losing your child before their time."
