"Ah, she is clever after all," said Cersei, smirking.
"Wit is such a rare accomplice to beauty yet we
stand, alone, in a room crowded with only that."
Cersei lifted a thick strand of Eleonora's hair, ran it
through her fingers, and dropped it back o...
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Try not to be a man of success, but rather a man of honor. —
"Don't just stand there," Eleonora shouted, barely able to steady the wounded lion onto the saddle any longer. "Help me get him inside!"
Theon, Jon, and Robb spotted Moon and her two riders sprinting towards the gate while they practiced their archery in the courtyard. Blood stained the horse's thick white coat of fur, leaving a scarlet trail along the cobblestones. Jaime Lannister was slouched completely over, his eyes closed, his skin as pale as snow. His limp figure bounced helplessly from side to side as Eleonora continued to struggle to hold him upright. The boys dropped their bows and sprinted to meet the riders just inside the gates.
"What did you do to him, Nora?" asked Theon, almost too humorously as he caught an unconscious Jaime Lannister into his arms beside Rob. Theon was a bit larger than the other two boys due to his age, and he never missed an opportunity to show his strength no matter the circumstance.
"What I'll do to you if you don't run as fast as you can to fetch Maester Luwin," she said, sliding off of Moon's back so quickly that Jon had to catch her before she fell. Her legs felt weak and tired as if she herself had carried Jaime Lannister on her back for miles. "He was wounded near his ribs. He's already lost so much blood, and I don't know—"
"Are you alright?" asked Jon, who cared little for the wellbeing of the injured Lannister. "Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine, just help me get him inside," she muttered, straightening her posture.
She held her hands firmly against Jaime's abdomen, applying pressure to his wound as she shuffled inside beside Robb and Jon. They climbed the steps slowly, Jaime Lannister's eyes opened and closed every couple seconds though he appeared to be mentally in another world. Night padded silently beside them. Outside, snow began to swirl through the castle gates, and the yard was warm and quiet, but inside the thick stone walls it was chaos. They reached the landing of Eleonora's bedroom, the closest room with a bed in which for Jaime to lie upon.
Robb and Jon laid Jaime Lannister down upon their sister's large four-poster canvass bed, neither caring the slightest how hard they dropped him upon her fur comforter. Jaime released a very weak groan before his eyes closed for the last time. Robb pushed Jaime's legs onto the mattress, straightening his frame as Eleonora wasted no time.
"Jon, go make certain Theon wasn't distracted by his own cock," said Eleonora fiercely. "We need the Maester now. Go!"
Jon stood motionless for a second, watching Eleonora lift her skirts and climb up the bed beside Jaime before he finally darted out into the hall to find Theon and Maester Luwin. Robb stood back and watched Eleonora, not sure what to do. His sister wiped her forehead with the back of her hand, staining her face scarlet with the Lion's blood. He noticed she threw off her heavy coats onto the floor with little thought, and Robb only happened to glance at her favored dagger latched to her hip — it too was soaked in human blood. Eleonora ripped open his shirt, exposing his abdomen and stripping his bandages from his skin. She froze for a moment, only a moment, as she looked upon Jaime's injury for the first time. His chest shuddered, the gash quite a bit deeper than she had initially thought. Though Eleonora knew she would scold herself later, she felt a twinge of guilt. The fool was only trying to help, attempting to 'rescue' her. She knew he had been as excited to spend his afternoon escorting her as she had been to be escorted by him. Her fingertips were hovering just above his open wound before she snapped out of her own conscience.
