CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Jeyne Kettleblack
Alana's POV
*CONTENT WARNING*
The village here in Winterfell was so beautiful. The stone streets and smells of fresh bread being baked in the flaming hot ovens filled me with such hunger and also joy. Flea Bottom and the streets below the Red Keep had never been as beautiful as the village here. People were so kind and willing to help one another.
A mother fumbling with a basket of goods and her baby in her arms was trying to open a door when another woman raced toward her just to help her. Just to open that door so she wouldn't drop the eggs and milk in a glass bottle or even her baby.
Matthos and I walked until we reached a smaller cottage but in my opinion it was the most beautiful of them all. There were bushes in the front that had blossomed with this gorgeous red flower that Matthos called poinsettia flowers. Apparently they are native to Dorne but because Jeyne's father is a fisherman he was able to get his hands on them for her when off on a trip.
I was slightly jealous of that. My father would never do such a thing for me, I mean, that's been made very clear and evident. He'd rather I fall apart completely than get me a special flower that I like.
She had a wreath hanging on her door that was made from pine branches and had two dolls. One to look like a mother and the other to be the little boy. I smiled when I saw it but knew deep down she wished there would have been a third doll to be her husband aside hers.
Matthos knocked on the door and we waited a moment. The door opened and the smell of a wonderful stew came out with the breeze as Jeyne Kettleblack stood there with the baby on her hip. She was smaller than I imagined and had chestnut brown hair with little hints of red in it. Bright green eyes and skin a little darker than most of the people in the north as well as a face full of freckles. Her full lips curled into a smile when she saw Matthos.
"You're back!" She cheered and looked to the boy on her hip. "Daeron, it's Ser Matthos! Our friend from the harbor! And he's brought- a lady friend?" She raised a brow and smirked. "Oh Matthos she's beautiful."
"It's not what you think, Jeyne. No one has captured my heart in a long time. You know that." He winked at her and it was plain to see there had been a little something going on there but again... I minded my own and waited for her to invite us in.
She stepped away from the door and allowed us entrance to her home. It was small and cozy and clearly had been very well loved and lived in. There had been toys for the baby on the floor of the living area and the fire was burning hot as she cooked.
"Lady Jeyne, I present to you Princess Alana Baratheon-"
"Stark..." I corrected Matthos. "I'm Alana Stark, Robb's wife as of recently."
Jeyne placed the boy onto the floor to play and then wrapped her arms around me and pulled me close to her. She smelled of fresh bread and a hint of vanilla. A warming scent that calmed me instantly.
"You are so beautiful... Robb is a wonderful man. A remarkable man, you are ever so lucky to have found him. I'm so sorry I couldn't attend your wedding I was visiting my father at White Harbor. He's a fisherman there and I try as often as I can to spend time with him when he's not on the ships." She was a little flustered at first when she spoke. Her words quick as she breathed them out and her head nodding with a blush on her cheeks.
I took her hands into mine and smiled. "It was a very quick wedding... We only had 7 days to prepare. But that's not the reason I've come to see you." My hands were coating in sweat quickly. I dropped her hands slightly and she took a seat at her kitchen table. Matthos and I sitting with her.
Jeyne nodded slightly. "I take it Robb told you about my late husband."
I shook my head. "He has no idea that I know." I muttered softly. "So please, Lady Jeyne... I must ask that if you see Robb you never tell him that we've met or that we've spoken to one another."
She was weary and at first did not want to agree until she saw the look in my eyes. That I was serious about this... Serious about Robb. I didn't want to lose him. I didn't want to ruin what we are trying to build.
I took a sip from the tea that Jeyne had placed onto the table for Matthos and I, I must say that it's one of the best cups of tea I've ever had in my life. As I sipped onto the tea I looked over at the little boy who was playing with his toys. His dark wavy hair that almost fell into his face and his complexion that matched Jeyne's. But his eyes were dark. I assumed he looked like Aerion and maybe that I'd been looking at Aerion's eyes.
"Your son is beautiful... Such dark eyes." I smiled and sipped the tea again.
Jeyne looked uncomfortable for a moment but then smiled. "He takes much after me. But he has Aerion's dark hair thankfully. Not sure about the eyes though, Aerion had chestnut eyes."
I hummed and nodded and then shrugged it off. "I know this may be extremely painful for you to talk about but... What happened with Aerion... Did Robb... Was Robb at fault for it?"
She gasped and shook her head quickly. "Gods no! Robb is an angel! Aerion was and always will be his best friend, since they had been children, there's no way Robb would ever be at fault. Robb tried to stop him that day Alana, he really did. He jumped into that water... That cold water and tried to save Aerion but it was far too late."
"Robb didn't murder him?" I wanted to make that clear. I wanted her to say the words. Say the words I believe in my heart and soul that were true.
Jeyne took my hand into hers and squeezed it. "Robb did not murder Aerion. It was an accident... Theon watched the whole thing happen. He was running down the river where they washed up and he pulled them out. He was uh..." She swallowed and had a look of guilt on her face. "He was doing me a favor."
Matthos looked down and then cleared his throat.
"I don't mean to pry but-"
"I was supposed to have lunch in the woods with Aerion but per usual... He blew me off for his friends. We had been married for a year and he and I hardly spent time together. I should be devastated and I should still be in a period of mourning but how can you mourn someone you hardly loved?"
I sat silently. "I'm so sorry, Jeyne, I didn't know."
"No one knew." She pressed her lips together. Her eyes scanning my body in search of it's language. Yes, my Lady. I'm uncomfortable. Yes, I wish Robb were here to listen to this. Yes, I'm slightly judging you. "There was only one person who knew the truth behind Aerion and I'd failed relationship."
Matthos exhaled and I looked at him but he shook his head at me. It wasn't him who knew... Not until recently I suppose. Uncomfortably, I sat there and just listened. Pulling my small file from my pocket and running it onto the corners of my nails.
"That day instead of just waiting at home for Aerion, I... I was in the woods with someone else for lunch. Theon was doing a favor by keeping an eye out on Robb and Aerion to be sure I wouldn't be seen with this other man. A man I loved more than I ever loved Aerion but I was never allowed to be with him. My father forbade it... House Kettleblack wasn't rich but they weren't poor either. Aerion was the son of a farmer who had lands and grain and plenty of ships to trade with. I'm the daughter of a fisherman who needed someone who could give me more than what I came with. My marriage to Aerion was nothing but a political move."
"I understand how that feels." I muttered and squeezed onto her hand. But she didn't believe me. "Robb and I did not wed out of love. We wed because our parents lied and deceived us for many of years. We wed for the greater good of the realm. We were forced to bed in a room full of northern lords, my parents, and his parents. Even Jon had to witness the bedding."
"Oh." She whispered under her breath. "Jon... Jon had to see that?"
I narrowed my eyes at her. Why is that her main concern? Jon having to witness Robb and I be bedded? That's what she took from me opening up to her? All of that information and that is what she cares most about?
Her cheeks turned red and she curled her lip slightly. "I think it's time you go." She said as she rose from the table. "Daeron needs to have a bath before bed."
"It's hardly afternoon." I argued. "Why are you deflecting?"
"I'm not." She grit through her teeth as she picked up the boy in her arms and that was when I took another good look at him. And it hit me. All of it hit me all at once.
Theon having to keep an eye out on Robb and Aerion. Her not caring that Aerion died and why she was out with another man. But not just any man... I knew those eyes on that little boy. Eyes that I thought belonged to Aerion but they very much don't.
"Jon is that little boy's father isn't he." I blurt out and Matthos began to choke on his drink and then rose his feet. Placing a hand on my shoulders but I shrugged him off of me. "Does Robb know that his bastard brother is the father and Aerion isn't?"
Silence.
"Sansa told me Jon and Aerion hated one another. Over a girl is what she said but it goes deeper than that doesn't it? Aerion knew you were sleeping with Jon and Jon was angry you wed Aerion. Is that the truth, Jeyne? Tell me now." I demanded.
Tears streamed down her face but I refused to feel sorry for her.
Because even if I could never love Robb I would never seek comfort in another man. I'd never allow myself to give birth to a child that did not belong to Robb. At the end of the day, Robb is my husband, and an oath is an oath. I swore to be his and only his and swore that I'd give him children of his own.
"I didn't mean for it to happen-"
"Save it." I shook my head with nothing but disappointment. "You're lucky that I must keep this a secret. Robb can't know that I know about all of this. He can't know that I came here to speak to you. But you will tell Jon the truth and you will tell Robb that Aerion did not father that little boy. I know as a widow you can't afford this home on your own... I know that Robb comes here to visit you. Robb gives you money for Daeron, doesn't he?"
She nodded and wiped tears away. "He wouldn't help me if he knew that this child isn't Aerion's."
"You're using my husband." I felt my blood boiling inside of me. Rage fueling me. She was lucky a child was in her arms... Or I'd throw her across the room and bloody her face. "The next time Robb steps foot into this village you will tell him the truth about that little boy no matter how painful it may be. But if I find out you continue to lie to my husband there will be consequences. Remember, my birth name may have been Baratheon but I am a Lannister like my mother. I am a lion. I will tear you to ribbons if you take so much as a piece of molded bread from my husband."