The Little Wolf

Chapter 18 | A squire's boldness

When Lilia looked at blue, deep eyes that the lad was fortunate enough to have, she smiled politely. After all, she didn't want to make him bored or feel forced to be there.

"It is very nice to meet you, My Lady" he kissed her hand in a shy way, still with his head down. "If you'd allow me, you look wonderful this evening"

Lilia was taken by surprise at the boy's comment. She noticed a pinkish tone in his cheeks but she couldn't figure if it was for the heat inside the room or the fact that he had been bold enough to compliment her. Soon, she felt her cheeks burning and she controlled herself not to bite her lip.

"Thank you..." she had never talked to a squire, so thinking about a way to address him came by as a little awkward to her. She was too very shy about his approach.

"Daemon, just call me Daemon" Lilia nodded, giving him an apologetic smile. She was most embarrassed about not knowing exactly what to say. The truth was that she should already be used to that. Dialogue never came easy to her, especially since she had spent most of her childhood with her quiet half-brother. Those were the moments where she envied Robb. He would talk to anyone at any time. He could make lads fight for him, girls worship him... the only thing Lilia could do was ride a horse, and she still had to do it while hiding it from her mother!

"I'm sorry, Daemon. I've never talked to a squire before" she admitted and he gave her a smile. It was the kind of smile she hadn't seen in quite a long time. From the moment they imprisoned her father, she never received a true smile. She had her sister with her, but since both of them didn't have reasons to smile, the only smiles she would get were the fake ones the Queen insisted on showing off.

"I've never met a northern Lady either" that made Lilia smile as she playfully lifted her eyebrows. "I guess there is a first time for everything"

"Yes, I suppose there is" Lilia agreed as another music was played. A nostalgic smile hit her once she reminded herself of her family. It was a song that was played at the feast which had been held in Winterfell when the Royal Family rode North. It was the music to which she danced with all the girls, northerners and southerners.

"Are you alright, My Lady?" she nodded as she swallowed dryly. She missed the times where she was just like any girl, where she lived happily with her family, without the shadow of death and war above them. She missed having a family. "I'm sorry for being tedious company"

"No!" she exclaimed grabbing his arm, preventing him from leaving. "It's not your company, it's just that this song brings some memories to me"

"Then, if they upset you so much, let's create another ones" she was a little confused with his words until he offered his hand. "May I have this dance, My Lady?"

She hesitated as her eyes stared at him. They went from looking at his hand to looking at his hopeful face. Then, after some thought, she put her hand above his and smiled.

"Gladly"

They went towards the dancefloor, catching everybody's attention. For a moment, Lilia forgot all about the pain she had been put through and she allowed herself to enjoy the dance. As he spun her around, she would look at his eyes and smile.

When the dance was over, they looked at each other and Lilia pushed him outside of the feast and to the gardens. At first, he didn't understand what was going on, but soon he figured that Lilia wanted to take a walk around the gardens.

"So, tell me more about you! How did you become Oberyn's squire?" she asked curiously as they walked side by side. The night was chilly but nothing compared to a day at Winterfell.

"Well, I guess he saw potential in me. Also, given the fact that I'm still a bastard of Godsgrace, becoming a knight was a good way for me" he explained, making Lilia listen to every word. "Even though being a bastard in Dorne is easier than being a bastard elsewhere, you still have many limitations"

"I know," she said with her head down. Her thoughts were now on Jon. What was he doing at that moment? Probably defending the Wall while freezing to death. "I had a bastard brother. He lived with us. He was my closest friend"

"Really?" Daemon asked still a little surprised. "Where is he now?"

"The day I left to King's Landing with my sisters and my father, he left as well. He went North to become a sworn brother of the Night's Watch" she said with a sad look. "He was a great swordsman and he would always stay in the sidelines while everyone else played. I would go to the sidelines as well and keep him company, even though he wasn't good company most of the times. He was too quiet and too depressed most of the time"

"Do you miss him?" he questioned her. Lilia didn't have to think twice about it. She knew the answer straight away.

"More than you could possibly imagine" she admitted with a knot in her throat. She was eager to cry and before she could hold on to the tears, she broke down. Tears filled her eyes as they streamed down her face. Daemon didn't know what to do at that moment, so he did what he thought was right. He took the Stark girls into his arms as she buried her face in his chest. "I miss my siblings. I miss Robb and our horse races, I miss Jon and his wild curls and sad face, I miss Arya and her wildness, I miss Sansa and her songs of knights and maidens, I miss Bran and his climbing fetish, I miss Rickon... oh, my baby brother, Rickon! I miss my mother and I miss my father and... I miss my home, my true home!"

"My Lady, your brother has never lost a battle and he's cornering the Lannisters" he informed her, making her look him in the eye. Daemon finally took a moment to look at her, she was vulnerable, full of grief that, if anything, just made her look even more beautiful. "You will see that you shall meet with your family again. As for your father... all you can do is hold him in your heart and memory"

"I'm sorry for being such a mess, Daemon" she apologized as she backed away from the comfort of his arms. She wiped her tears and faced the ground before looking at him. "You don't need to listen to a stupid girl mourning for her father's death"

"Nonsense" he stated. "You are not stupid and I don't mind"

"Well, you should" she pointed out as they kept on walking. "I'm a stupid girl"

"No, I don't take you as a stupid girl because you are not a stupid girl" he got closer to her and put his hand on her face. "You are smarter than you think you are"

"It's getting late, we should head inside," she said, making him smirk in victory. He escorted her to her chambers, all the way through the empty hallways. When they reached it, they stood there, without saying anything to each other until Lilia decided to break the silence. "I had a wonderful night, Daemon"

"So did I" he agreed and they stared at each other with an innocent smile on their faces. "Have a good night sleep, My Lady"

"Thank you," she said while opening the door and getting inside. "You too"

Once he nodded, she closed the door and went towards her dressing table. She looked at her reflexion in the mirror attentively. When she did she swallowed hard. She didn't recognize the girl she was turning into. She wasn't the same girl who came to King's Landing with her father. There was something different about her. However, when thinking about the dance she shared with Daemon made her smile. It was the happiest memory she had since her father had been executed.

That night, when she went to bed she had a name in her mind. Daemon Sand.

Hey! So, I didn't say anything at the end of the last chapter. But well, that is the end of the feast in which you got to meet many characters.

Daemon Sand is Oberyn's squire and stay tuned because he has a great role to play in this book... so keep that in mind ;)

Also, Toby Regbo is the person I chose to be him faceclaim since the actor who plays him on the series appears only once and it was easier for me to just get him to be Daemon for a matter of gifs (there are LOTS of them).

I hope you've enjoyed and see you soon!