"He hates me," you muttered as you collapsed face first onto your mattress, hearing your sister chuckle behind you as you let out a muffled screech. You rolled onto your back, covering your face with your hands and groaning in annoyance at your own stupidity.
"Don't be silly. He doesn't hate you," she laughed as she laid down beside you on the bed, watching as you slowly uncovered your eyes, looking at her in disbelief. "So what, you spilt a little bit of wine on him, who cares?" she announced and you groaned again, recovering your face.
"It wasn't just a little bit of wine though, was it? It was the whole damned cup," you cried out and the bed moving as she shrugged at you. "I would hate me if I were him," you added and she huffed.
"You're overreacting. He won't hate you, firstly, because he is Robert Baratheon and you are a pretty girl. I've never heard of him hating a pretty girl before," she paused when you laughed. "And secondly, because you are his betrothed, if he hates you he will soon get over it once he gets you into his bed,"she added and you gasped before falling back into a fit of laughter as you slapped your sister's hand in mock disgust.
"Mother would have a fit if she heard you saying that," you teased and she shrugged as your laughter slowly died down.
"Seriously, Y/N. He doesn't hate you," she told you more seriously, grabbing your hand and holding it tightly. "No one could ever possibly dislike you," she continued and you smiled softly at her.
"Thank you," you smiled as you gave her a hug. "I don't know what I'm going to do when I go to Storm's End," you added, still clutching her to you.
"You'll be fine, you will have your husband and his family," she hesitated. "And it won't be too far from home if you ever need me," she added and you pulled away with a small smile and a nod.
*Time Skip*
The next morning, you woke early and got up to go for a walk before breakfast. You had slept terribly, worrying about having to leave your home to move with Robert and there were dark circles under your eyes to prove it. You were hurrying down the halls of your childhood home, chasing after your sister's cat, watching as he pounced merrily along. Or you were, until your foot caught in the hem of your dress and you went tumbling to the floor, only just catching yourself from hitting your head as you stuck your arms out.
"Shit," you hissed, sitting up and cradling your wrist, which was in searing pain. "Fuck," you added as you looked it over. You had scrapes all over the palms of your hands, and there was some blood caking them as you allowed one of your fingers to drift over it.
"That isn't very ladylike," you heard from behind you, his voice echoing down the halls and you let your eyes drop closed. Of course he would be here to have seen that. You were soon back on your feet, turning to face him with a small apologetic smile whilst you internally panicked.
"I'm sorry, My Lord, I thought I was alone," you murmured, staring at your feet and trying to avoid his eyes which were fixed on you.
"Don't worry yourself over it," he started as he came closer, taking your hands in his to look them over. "You need to wash these, or they could get infected," he muttered as he turned them over. "Come, I have a wash basin in my chambers," he added as he wrapped his arm around your shoulders, ushering you back down the hallway.
"I'm sure it's fine," you protested, allowing yourself to be moved along by his strong arm and slowly sinking into his warmth, your protests becoming less resolved as you did so.
"No, I can't have my future wife losing a hand because she fell over her own skirts," he chuckled and you sighed, giving up entirely and looking over at him to find him smiling down at you.
Once you were settled in his chambers, with him kneeling in front of you tending to your hands you spoke again. "I'm sorry about the wine at the feast, I'm not normally so clumsy," you told him and he bit back a laugh.
"Are you sure?" he asked, looking up from your bloodied hands with a wide smile and you bit your lip as you laughed at his comment.
"You just always seem to come across me when I'm not at my best," you argued back, watching as he continued to help clean your wounds.
"Or maybe I just make you nervous," he joked and you snorted in laughter.
"I didn't even know you were watching me when I fell, and I'd just had a little too much wine at the feast. I'm not used to drinking so much," you told him and he laughed again.
"A little?" he questioned before speaking again. "I'd say you had a lot too much," he joked and you glared playfully down at him.
"You know, one day that smart mouth of yours will get you into a lot of trouble," you teased and he smiled up at you.
"I'm sure it will," he told you and your glare turned into a smile. "I hope it won't be with you," he added and you chuckled at his words. He began to wrap a thick bandage around your hands and you winced a little, letting out a small hiss and causing him to look up at you, worry etched onto his face. "Sorry, it's almost finished," he promised, his thumb rubbing soothingly against the skin of your hand and you nodded lightly allowing him to continue with what he was doing.
You sat in silence whilst he finished, watching him from above and trying to avoid thinking of the sting that was coming from your palms. "Thank you, you didn't have to do this," you told him once he was finished, still kneeling in front of you, one of his hands resting on your knee.
"You are to be my wife, it's my job to protect you, even if it's from your own clumsiness," he joked and you shook your head at him before he spoke again. "And I don't like seeing you in pain," he muttered causing you to smile slightly.
You watched his face for a second, his cheeks red with a light blush as you did so. And before you could think twice you leant down and pressed your lips to his. Once he'd gotten over the surprise he kissed back, allowing his arms to settle around your waist whilst yours rested over his shoulders. You rested your head against his as you pulled away, watching his little grin dance across his face.
"I think I could get used to that," he murmured, his large hands squeezing your waist as you chuckled, biting your lip slightly as you watched him. "I can't wait until I get to marry you," he added before climbing to his feet. "But for now it's time for us to go and eat," he finished as he held his hand out for your bandaged one, helping you to your feet.
You linked your arm in his as you slowly strolled towards the dining hall of your home, meeting your sister's eyes as he pulled the seat beside her out for you, watching as she began to grin from ear to ear. "Don't say a word," you muttered quietly as you were served.
"I wasn't going to say anything," she whispered, suppressing a giggle, "But I did tell you he didn't hate you," she said a little louder, causing you to shoot her glare and earning a chuckle from Robert who was sitting the other side of you.
"Catelyn's right, I don't hate you," he laughed quietly as he let his arm snake around you and he pressed a kiss to the side of your head, causing your cheeks to heat up with embarrassment.
"If you aren't careful, she might hate you, though," your sister joked across you, causing him to burst out in a loud laugh and drawing the attention of both of your parents, making you blush even darker.
"Be quiet," you hissed at them both, causing them to laugh again as you folded your arms across your chest in annoyance.
Robert's hand found yours under the table and he rubbed his thumb against the soft skin. "I'm just joking, you know I don't mean it," he whispered in your ear and you gave him a small smile as you looked over at his sweet face.
"Don't get into the habit. I don't take well to being teased," you smirked as you spoke and felt his body shake as he chuckled, still holding your hand where no one could see it.
Please consider supporting me for just £3 using Ko-Fi. The link is available on my profile page. If you have any questions about Ko-Fi please feel free to private message me. Thank you. L x