𝙸𝙽𝙰𝙼𝙾𝚁𝙰𝚃𝙰 ° myrcella baratheon

SIX

The great hall was filled with the laughter and commotion of the northmen, all feasting in celebration of the royal arrival. I sat beside my brother and Theon, a few others around us. Jon, however, was nowhere to be found.

One of the other men cracked another joke, causing us all to laugh loudly. I caught my breath before taking a drink of my ale, still smiling.

"What's got you so happy, brother?" Robb asked curiously.

I shrugged. "Just having a good night, I suppose." To be fair, it wasn't a lie; just not the whole truth. Ever since what happened in the courtyard with the princess, I have seemed to be in a better mood, which my brothers and Theon found suspicious, but I just brushed them off.

"Do you have a date with Freydis after this?" The ward asked, a hinting tone in his voice.

I rolled my eyes, my smile fading slightly. "No, Theon. I don't. And if you could drop the whole 'Freydis' situation, I'd really appreciate it." I told him as I lifted my cup to my lips.

Theon, who sat across the table, was about to speak up when something behind me caught his eye. I furrowed my brows in confusion, but before I could look for myself, a delicate tap came at my shoulder. Spinning around, what I saw almost made me spit the ale out of my mouth.

The princess stood there, her hands folded neatly in front of her vibrant pink dress. The girl's golden hair cascaded over her shoulders, trailing down to just below her chest. She gave me a soft smile as she looked down at me. "Good evening, my lord." When she spoke, her voice was laced with an ever so soft southern accent.

Composing myself, I swallowed my mouthful of ale and stood, bowing slightly. "My princess." I said.

"I was just going to get some air and wondered if you would like to join me." She said, her voice training off at the end.

"Of course, my lady. Let us take a walk."

The princess nodded and I offered her my arm. The girl put her small hand in the crook of my elbow as I led her through the crowds of people. As we passed through, the northmen would pat me on the shoulder and say their hellos, a lot of them cracking a small joke, causing me to laugh softly. All the meanwhile, I made sure, despite the rowdy men, that the princes wasn't hit or nudged once.

We finally got out of the large room and we both let out a breath. The two of us looked at each other, laughing gently as I led the girl down the hallway.

"Thank you for escorting me out of there, my lord." She spoke, breaking the silence between us. "I love the festivities, but you northmen are..." The girl trailed off, not knowing how to continue without offending me or my people.

"Wild?" I asked, a small smirk on my face as she nodded, smiling at how I understood, while a soft pink tint appeared on her cheeks. A small laugh escaped my lips as I faced forwards again. "Yeah, we can be with food and ale in us. I'm just glad you weren't hurt in the process, my princess."

"And I thank you again for that, my lord."

"Please..." I said softly, causing her to turn to me. "My name is Lachlan. Just Lachlan."

She giggled softly at my words. "Well, in that case, my name is Myrcella. Just Myrcella." The princess said, her tone mocking as she copied my words.

The two of us fell silent, the only sound being our footsteps on the stone floors. After a few moments, I broke the sound. "How are you liking the north, Myrcella?"

Her smile seemed to brighten slightly. "It's beautiful up here. I've never seen anything like it in my life. The scenery is such a nice change from that of the South."

"Your porcelain skin isn't cold up here?" I joked with a small smile as she turned to me, her smile staying in place.

"A little, but I don't mind." Myrcella said just as she shivered slightly.

The two of us had made it out into the courtyard, the ground and light snow crunching beneath our shoes.

"Are you positive, my lady?"

She nodded, but I could see her using her free arm to hug her body; I just now realized that she had nothing on but her pink summer dress.

I pulled my arm away gently and took off my light cloak before wrapping it around the princess' shoulders. The cloth seemed to provide some extent of warmth as she sighed in content.

"Thank you, Lachlan." She said with a smile.

"My pleasure."

The two of us continued our walk. I'm not sure how long we were outside, but I got to know a lot about the girl, who I learned was just two years my junior. She told me about her childhood and family life and, in return, I told her about mine.

Just as we got back inside the great hall, I saw that the feast hadn't died down at all, so it couldn't have been too long that we were gone. But then again, feasts in the North could sometimes last until the dawn.

Myrcella turned to me with a light smile. "I should be getting back to my mother. I wouldn't want her worrying about me."

A small smile lit my face in return. "Well, until next time, my lady." I said as I took her hand in mine, bowing down and placing a gentle kiss to the back of her hand.

Giving her one last smile, I went back to where I last saw my older brother and Theon. As I approached, I saw them still there and laughing at each other.

I resumed my place by my brother's side and both boys turned to me. "Where did you go?" Theon asked with a suggestive smirk. "You were gone for quite some time."

"As a matter of fact," I said as I lifted my cup and filled it with more ale. "I was showing the princess around. And before you ask, nothing happened. We just talked, so lose the smirk."

Theon rolled his eyes and continued his conversation with my brother. I, on the other hand, looked around the hall for a certain blonde haired girl.

I found her, sitting by her mother at the high table. Her eyes met mine and I lifted my glass in a fake toast. She smiled and raised her own before the two of us took a drink.

Seeing her bright smile, I gave her a playfully wink. Even from here, I could see her cheeks go pink as she looked down. I chuckled lightly to myself and turned to face the others at my table, finally joining into the conversation.