Details for In A Dark Nook |
Summary: | Ormund knows something is wrong, so he pulls Eiris into a dark nook to talk. |
Date: | 30th day of the 8th Turn of 121 A.C. |
Location: |
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Characters |
The day was growing late even as the Hightower contingent was leaving King's Landing so now that they have passed through the first half of Hasty lands and the choice is made to call upon the young Head of House and impose the guest right upon him.
Eiris is helping to get the children settled and making sure things are put to rights with the horses and the like. Her eyes stray to Arron from time to time but soon enough she is so involved with seeing the Hightower Retinue set to rights she has little to know focus on anything else. Only if Ormund requests her presence in speaking with the young Head of House will she go otherwise she will be found finally walking back to the small quarters afforded to herself and her father next to her.
A hand reaches out to try to take her by the wrist when she passes by a nook. The smiling face of Ormund with a finger over his lips to sush her as he tries to pull her in to him so he can get a sliver of alone time with her. He has been concerned that she's seemed a bit off on the trip.
Eiris tenses immediately by the grip that takes her so that when she finds Ormund the sound she is about to make to call for the guards is quieted. Pressed close to him in such a small place she offers him a soft smile. "Ormund," she breathes, "You scared me…" Her voice remains only a hushed whisper as her green eyes lift to his and the torch down the hall does not afford them full view of each other. Her heart starts to beat faster in her chest.
Ormund kisses her in the dark little nook that was only meant for one armor stand, not two living nobles. So the squeeze is tight and there is a Hasty tapestry hung over it. "I'm sorry. I needed to see you before bed." He kisses her again, he's quite excited to get home cause as he promised Lynesse, when he's home, in his realm, he'll have the security needed to make formal requests and get his dream made a reality. But he's not too excited to have missed that the love of his life was not herself. "Talk to me." He puts his forehead against hers and slides his hands along her arms to help guide them up to rest on his shoulders so her hands can go into his hair.
She can not resist, her fingers twining into his hair and lingering there after the kiss. Eiris draws a troubling breath. "Nothing that means anything now…but I believe Prince Aegon has his eye upon me. It would be best we not return until things are more settled." Her eyes lift to him, studying his face as she can not quiet seem to smile. "Ormund…I love you. I know your code…but will you bend it just a little?" She asks of him softly. Something must have happened. "For me?" She asks softly and lifts her chin to brush her lips to his.
They had already figured on that when they went for the hunt, he doesn't know about the secondary visit she received and he pets her cheek. "It's going to be alright my love. We are going to be far away from him. I can't fault him for taste though. Tell me, if you didn't have me, would you be interested in him?" But the hypotheticals can wait as she asks him an extremely serious question. "What's going on Eiris?"
Can she keep it from him? No, she can not. Eiris swallows and shakes her head, "Nothing happened, Arron stopped it…" her voice trails wetting her lips as she finally continues. "Prince Aegon found out we were leaving…he found me in the stables. Nothing happened my love…he left after Dawn nearly kicked him in the head when Arron whistled like you do with her. But …he wanted me to be his paramour. He meant to have me." She trembles in his arms. "Ormund…we must stay away. Far away." She bids of him.
Arron's in trouble, "Arron knew?" He was side by side with Arron plenty on the journey here. He is frowning and looking quite like he did when he ran the bandit through that had her by the throat. But her trembling has him putting her before his anger and he embraces her tightly and pets her hair and kisses her temple. "It's alright now, we're gone. You're here, with me. Shhh." When he holds her against his chest she can hear and feel his blood boiling and rushing through his veins. He is angry. "I don't understand. Protecting you is anything but against the Code."
"Do not be angry with Arron, please.." she whispers as she presses her cheek to his chest. "He would have to fight me..for anything he took. I…he is a Prince, Ormund. If I had harmed him…" she lets her voice trail and she trembles again, shaking her head as her face presses into his chest, drawing a breath. "It is not protecting me I seek, my love. Noblemen expect to get what they want, Prince or not and many of them will take it…." she wets her lips and tilts her chin up, brushing her lips to his cheek. "You. I choose you..since I am able to do the choosing. Please."
Thankfully she had her hands in his hair and it does a great deal to sooth him as does the kisses. He can't be mad at Arron, he owes the man so much, so that quickly fades, but Aegon, how dare he!? "I can't believe that he would press against your will… Did he?" If she says he did, Ormund will believe it without question but it is hard for him to see the man he backs to be the next king as a rapist. A Lothario, yes, everyone knows that. But rape!?
Her speaking about choosing him makes him smile in the dark and kiss at her skin wherever his lips might find purchase in the dark. "I choose you too." He's not really grasping exactly what she's saying or putting together how it will bend his code as she mentioned.
"I resisted…I think he might have," Eiris whispers but she doesn't linger on the topic. She goes back to kissing him, wanting and needing his attention in this moment. "Now…" she finally says when he doesn't understand. "I choose you…now..soon..whenever we can find time for ourselves. I will be your wife..I will be Lady of Oldtown but make me yours." She presses her nose to his. The urgency that Aegon brought on is clear. How much she fears something of that nature. "I love you, Ormund Hightower, Lord of my heart."
Ormund takes a deep breath when it all sinks in and clicks. He kisses her and does not spurn her by any means, "I love you. Come here." She can't get any closer but he's trying to get her to focus and listen to him. "You are scared and rightfully so. I am so sorry that happened to you. I will do everything I can to make sure that it never happens again. But I can not allow the dishonor of one man to alter my intents, my beliefs. We will be married. I only want you and I am the luckiest man that you only want me. Don't let him overtake us my love. We will be together, he wouldn't have. Dawn, Arron, You, The Gods stopped it from happening. That tells me that we have nothing to fear. That we will be able to consummate our love in the presence of friends and family and be husband and wife and enjoy the rest of our lives together."
As much as he tries to comfort her, as much as she smiles and nods for him there is a secret unsteadiness and uncertainty in the pit of her stomach. Beautiful. If that is what she is should she not worry? Such a simple foolish act provoked by how she looks. Little can be done for it but she nods again to him."He will not." She promises him and grips onto Ormund all the more tightly. "To answer your question…no I would not want him. It would be like reaching for a fire…he is dangerous, vain, prideful and he would leave me ruined and not care." She says softly. "I want no other than the man who would walk through that fire with me. To love me truly. We will wait." She whispers, kissing his lips once more but begins to pull away, press at that tapestry as she means to part ways with him. "My love….rest well."
Ormund lifts up her other hand to kiss her knuckles. "I swear to you, you are safe. We will be together as soon as possible. Once Arana's married, we can prepare and it will be amazing. Sleep well… Here…" He presses something into her palm since he knows she doesn't have his lock of hair any more. He doesn't have time to make her a new one, so it is one of his rings that he presses into her palm. He knows that he doesn't need to chide her about being alone. Sure that she probably won't ever let herself be alone again. It upsets him that she has to feel that way. But it at least gives them both some sense of security.