Only A Northern Song ~ Game of Thrones / Willas Tyrell ~

Chapter Fifty One: Oxcross

Renly led Lady Stark off to show her around camp properly, but he did not suggest Willas follow them, not when he saw how eager his wife was to speak to her brother. At the departure of their king, the crowd began to disperse too, so when Margaery ran to him they were practically alone, save Loras.

"Brother!" she cheered, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly. It took him a moment before he realised what to do, realising that he didn't have to be serious or diplomatic, and he hugged her back. "Oh, how glad I am to see you!"

"I've missed you, Margie," he couldn't help but grin, and as they separated he whispered to her, "Or is it' Your Grace' now?"

"I will accept nothing less than 'My Queen'," she whispered back to him with a wink.

That was when Loras stepped forward, looking his eldest brother up and down warily. It was as if he was checking to see if he had changed in any way, as if the war had warped him into an entirely different person. He didn't throw himself at Willas the way Margaery did, nor did he look as thrilled to see him. It was as if he was hanging onto the thought of him being part of an opposing side of the war, rather than simply being happy to see his brother. They had exchanged sharp words only moments before, so he could hardly blame him for looking suspiciously, but he noticed traces of relief in his eyes, relieved that his brother was safe and apparently unhurt.

"What are you doing here?" Loras asked, though as he spoke his lips seemed to threaten a small smile.

"I'd say good to see you too, brother, but how good can it be when I've just seen you rolling in the mud?" Willas raised his eyebrow teasingly. He couldn't help it, it was his job as an older brother to poke fun even if he wasn't as skilled a jokester as Garlan, but Loras glared at him all the same. "I'm joking, Gods! I'm here to accompany Lady Stark and act as an envoy on behalf of the King in the North and his Hand. He'd like us all to form an alliance."

"What makes him think we need an alliance?" Loras said stubbornly, immediately toughening up at the mention of war. Margaery shot him a look, nudging him with her hand against his shoulder. Loras looked the the floor, flexing his jaw before he sighed and looked back at his brother. "I'm Sorry."

"For what?" Willas raised his eyebrow at him.

He couldn't help it, remembering the day he'd arrived in Winterfell with Renly and his family rode off, abandoning his wife's cause. He remembered how he'd asked him to look out for Sansa and Arya, and yet the two girls were left behind in King's Landing in the lion's claws. He thought of how Robb and his men had ridden back from Whispering Wood, bloody yet victorious, and how Lord Karstark had screamed for someone to let him kill Ser Jaime Lannister in vengeance for his two lost sons, and how Garlan told him later on that had it not been for the Karstark lads he'd not have returned. The northerners fought, while those in the Stormlands, his brother included, did nothing but play at fighting. Willas couldn't help but want Loras to acknowledge how different their lives had been for the past few months, but he knew he wouldn't, probably not even realising the hardship that his brothers had been through, but even if he did he'd struggle to say it.

The wilful nature of her brothers made Margaery sigh rather dramatically, giving them both a look that scarily resembled their mother when she was trying to force them to get along. Both Tyrell brothers looked at her before they looked at each other, and Willas realised they had left a lot more unsaid than he knew when they last saw each other. They had barely even said goodbye to each other, too focused on their own separate causes, and upon being together again it was difficult to move past it.

Willas thought of his wife and how she loved all of her siblings so dearly that she put them before herself every day. It helped that some of them were significantly younger, so she took on a guardian role with them, while the gap between Willas and Loras was an awkward one, too small to mean Willas became an authority figure, but too big to prevent them from seeing eye-to-eye and not dissolving into disagreements and rivalry. Eddmina loved her brothers and sisters without condition, absolutely and unreservedly, and she was separated from them all barring her twin. Yet there Willas was, stood with two of his three siblings, and he couldn't help but focus on bitterness.