Sansa and Arya had been with her for a month, and still there was no word from Jon. Andromeda was warming up to the Stark women, though. She and Arya sparred together, and it was a different type of challenge for the both of them. Arya had never fought a Dornish fighter and and Andromeda had never really fought someone from the North with such talent. Sansa started sewing with the other Queen, and even though Andromeda hardly liked sewing, she thought that she could do something with Sansa. She feared that her and Arya would become closer and tear a rift between the three, seeing how much her and Arya actually got along. She had grown to like Arya a lot, and Arya had grown to like Andromeda.
Sansa and Andromeda sat sewing quietly, hardly speaking during their peaceful work. Sansa's eyes were darting to Andromeda and back to her work every so often, until she finally spoke up without stopping her progress. "You love my brother, don't you?"
Andromeda nearly dropped her fabric. "Queen Sansa," She said, sighing. "I prefer not to talk about it."
"Do you love him, Your Grace?" The red haired queen pressed, finally setting her things aside to look at the half Dornish beauty in front of her. Sansa could now see the full front of her crown as her head was bent. There were so many stars that she couldn't even count them, not that she was ever exceptionally good at math.
Andromeda took a second before answering. She would not cry, she could not. "More than you could ever know."
"How long have you loved him?"
"I've loved him since he first stepped on my land, Sansa." She said somewhat wistfully. "Jon and I share a connection."
"Are you saying this because you love him or because of his status?"
Andromeda scowled, feeling as if time had slowed once the words passed from Sansa Stark's lips. "I have everything I want right now. Why would I want to be with a king of a foreign country?" She answered coolly. "I love Jon because he is Jon. For no other reason do I love Jon."
"Why didn't you tell us?"
"Because he doesn't answer me anymore." Andromeda spilled, not caring that it made her vulnerable. She was sad, sad that the one who she was meant to be with wouldn't take the time of day to tell her something, anything. "I don't know how he feels about me anymore."
"You don't seem like the type to be upset over a fling." Sansa pointed out. "What really happened between you and Jon?" Andromeda winced. "Just between us queens."
"I..." Andromeda trailed off. "It's going to sound crazy. Crazier than my abilities, but it comes with the territory." She explained.
"I'll listen, I've seen some crazy things." Sansa said, her voice becoming quieter. "Things that most can't imagine, and from that the North has only grown stronger." Andromeda just nodded, giving her a sideways glance.
"Every Queen of Ilta is given someone to make her happy. Usually it's to take some of the burden off of being Queen, someone compatible to her in every way. It's a way of insuring not only that the Queen will have children, but also that the kingdom won't fall. Sadly, not every Queen meets her match, which is called a soulbond." Andromeda explained to Sansa, who had a blank look on her face. "Queen Pandora was a woman who lived a long time ago, she reigned at the time of Aegon's Conquest. She and Aegon happened to be bound at the soul, and that's how she got Aegon to leave Ilta be the first time."
"Is this soul bonding a figure of speech?"
"No, the gods take our souls and tie them by a string to whoever our match is. I'm getting to that." She smiled a wobbly smile at Sansa. "Our gods, Idalia and Neoma, are the goddesses of the Day and Night. Since the beginning of the families, they always wanted a Targaryen and a Vela to procreate. So they tried with Pandora and Aegon. Obviously, it didn't work. So, they stopped trying with Targaryens, until recently."
Sansa breathed in sharply. "Are you going to tell me what I think you are?"
"I am the last Vela, and Jon is the last Targaryen. The gods have bound us by the soul in their last effort to-"
"You're lying." Sansa said, her hand clenched around her chair. "You can't be serious."
"I was slightly angry when I found out, as well." Andromeda admitted. "I don't like Westerosi men. But I spent one full day with him, and I fell in love. We both fell in love."
"I don't believe you. There's no such thing." She shook her head. "My brother falls fast, but not that fast. Jon isn't that stupid." Sansa doubted what she said. He had fallen for a wilding woman under circumstances that weren't so great for growing a love that passionate, and safe with Daenerys. Jon wasn't destined to have a good lover or a healthy love, and that's what Sansa has concluded. He was meant to be alone, just as he started.
"What would it take for you to realize that I'm telling the truth?" Andromeda asked, her patience leaving her quickly. "I wouldn't lie about it. You can write him yourself."
"He wasn't here for long enough to fall in love. Certainly not in a day."
"It's very easy to fall in love with someone who is compatible to you in every way. We were made for each other. Every move we made led up to him traveling to my homeland." Andromeda said, leaning forward. "Please, believe me."
"So he only gave you independence because you were together for that short time?" Sansa scoffed out, and instantly the other Queen was mad.
"He gave it to my people because that is what we deserve. And nothing less do we deserve, Queen Sansa." She said, her voice hard and cool. "Not because I opened my legs to him. I never did."
"I didn't say that, Queen Andromeda."
"You implied it, Your Grace." They sat in silence for a moment, and Sansa started rocking in her chair.
"I suppose it will be even harder for him to find a wife now. You know, because he loves you, apparently." Sansa shook her head. "I knew there was a change in his writing. The fool is in love. And now he will be determined not to take a wife."
Andromeda's face fell. "They want him to take a wife?"
"Yes." Sansa said, nearly rolling her eyes. He was well past age, and being a king and being handsome made him the most desirable man to wed in Westeros. "It's only so much longer that they can hold off on him taking a wife."
"It's too late." Andromeda said, shaking her head sadly. "The two of us are already bound."
"I'm sure that the soul binding thing you're speaking of isn't a valid marriage, Your Grace." It was then that Andromeda said something that could make or break the relationship of every noblewoman in the castle.
"No, Sansa." She smiled at Sansa, at her goodsister. "The night before Jon left, we took vows."
Sansa's face dropped. "No." She put her hand to her mouth. "What have you done?"
"We married in my room, with the string of our bond. We took our vows." Sansa was shaking her head in denial, and Andromeda reached in the pocket of her dress. It was something Andromeda thought was somewhat pitiful, but always kept Jon's note with her.
"You're lying!"
"Read it, Sansa." Andromeda said gently. "Just read." Andromeda knew the note by heart now.
My Queen, it read. I will love you until my last day, and then on forever after that. There is no place in the world I would rather be than with you, and I want nothing more than to take you to Westeros for you to be My Queen there. One day, I will find a way to return to you, and I will find a way to swear my sword to you, as I have sworn my heart. I am yours and you are mine, from this day until the end of our days. Don't forget about the times we had, for we will make more. I love you, My Queen.
Jon Targaryen Stark.
Sansa read the letter with tears in her eyes. "Why didn't he tell us?" She held onto the letter after she read it, making Andromeda very anxious. She held that letter extremely near and dear to her heart, and she didn't know what she would do if it was torn or ruined in any other way. "Why did he not tell us that he married?"
"I don't know." Andromeda said. "He always spoke about his sisters, so I thought you two would know."
"Well, we didn't." Sansa said roughly. "And now I have to tell Arya that you two eloped. Do you know how dangerous this is to the realm?"
"Sansa, please don't lecture me on danger."
"You two were incredibly stupid for this." Sansa said. "I suppose doing something impulsive like this isn't too off the wall for Jon, but I expected something better from the Queen of Ilta. The honorable Queen of Ilta, who holds no secrets."
Andromeda fumed inwardly. "Sansa, please watch your mouth."
Sansa ignored her words. "Do you know what this means? This means that alliances through marriage can't be made anymore. He's already married, and to you. What good would you be for Westeros?" Her word vomit was getting the best of her. "You can't even leave Ilta, and you married Jon. What were you thinking?"
"I love him." Andromeda stated. "I love him, and I married him for love. Everything else, he and I will figure out later."
"Besides coming to see you, and being involved with the Targaryen girl, this is the worst decision he has ever made in his life. Westeros-"
Andromeda stood. "Is no longer yours to be concerned with. You rule the North."
Sansa followed suit. "I do. But my brother rules the south, and I will not watch his kingdom fall because of some idiotic bond he has."
Lightning crackled spontaneously and thunder came after, making Sansa jump. "You will do well not to insult me in my own home while you seek refuge, Queen Sansa. I have tolerated you and your looks for the duration of your stay, but I will not anymore. I am a Queen, and I will not be looked at like I am anything below you. I was quite excited to meet you, to see what a strong woman you were. It turns out that you're just a girl with a crown and a sewing needle."
§
The next morning, Andromeda received a raven. She expected the raven to be from Dorne, or maybe even the Stormlands, but it was from Kings Landing. She ripped the letter open, and once seeing Tyrion's neat scrawl, her heart nearly warmed.
Queen Andromeda of the House Vela,
I inform you that Dorne is making their way by ship to seize your land. The King and I have heard word of the Dornish sailing to conquer Ilta for their own, and the possibility of you becoming Camorra's wife again. Camorra Martell is throughly convinced that the two of you are betrothed, and that he is to be the king and main voice of Ilta. Call your banners and ready your army. The Dornish are coming to kill, not to talk. If the King's cousins are in Ilta already, they are to stay there. Help will be on the way.
Tyrion of the House Lannister, Hand of the King.
Andromeda read the note aloud with Odda and Pandora watching and listening. The three girls stood in shock and silence, Odda's mouth open and Pandora's lips pursed. Andromeda crumpled the paper in one fist, breathing in and out softly, her eyes closing as she tried to calm her temper.
"Okay." Odda said. "We're about to be under attack. That's fine, we'll figure it out. Just sit down for a moment, Andromeda. Don't have a heart attack on us."
"No," Pandora said, her expression rough. "We need to figure it out now, we have no idea how much time we have. We need to call our banners, our allies, and we need to make sure that everyone is ready to fight. We need to make sure there's somewhere for our weak to hide."
"Yes, the children and women with child." Andromeda mumbled. "That's where the Stark women will go."
Odda frowned. "Arya Stark is not going to stay with the defenseless. Anyone who knows her knows she wants to fight."
"I have a duty," Andromeda said. "Their brother sent them to me to protect them. I don't need the North to want to kill me if their Queen dies, or their Princess." She tacked on. "There are too many things that could go wrong here."
"Okay, take a breath." Odda breathed out with her. "We need to calm down."
"Odda, I literally can't take a breath." Andromeda said. "I'm going to have my Dornish men fight against their kin, my kin. If there was anyone in the entirety of the world that I could always count on not fighting, it was Dorne. They were my only family left, and I can't even count on them anymore."
"Dorne is not how it used to be," Pandora sighed. "It's not honorable anymore. Most notably, it is not run by the main Martells."
"Are you saying that I should rule Dorne?" Andromeda asked, her eyes narrowed. "That would never work."
"What I'm saying is-"
"Your Grace." The door opened to reveal Sansa Stark, the woman who didn't like her very much. Sansa was Andromeda's biggest critic, and she respected and hated Sansa for it. Something told Andromeda that Sansa would never like her like Arya did, all because she thinks that she entranced and controlled her brother. "A note, from King Jon of Westeros."
Not even Sansa herself could deny the way Andromeda's heart melted on the spot. She nearly floated over to her with the most placid yet loving expression, already hanging onto the precious letter without even seeing the contents. "Thank you, Sansa." She turned her back to Sansa as she slipped it into her pocket. "I think I'll read this after business is dealt with."
"Queen Sansa should know." Pandora spoke, getting a narrowing of the eyes from her Queen.
"I already know that Dorne is coming." Sansa seemed nothing less than agitated at what she had said, as if she thought everyone was stupid for not realizing it. "You are all delusional if you thought that Dorne wouldn't come here. You're what Dorne's final stop is, Andromeda. He was coming for you the whole time. The North was just a game to him. Trust me, he enjoyed dragging us into a battle that isn't ours."
"Is there a need to be so cold with me?" Andromeda asked the woman, who just stared at her.
"Yes." She answered simply. "We are in a war that we never needed to be in because of you. We have lost our home because of you. We hav-"
"What does that have to do with me? I'm very sorry that you lost your home, not a soul deserves that. But it has nothing to do with me."
"You should have remarried Camorra like he asked, instead of marrying my brother." Odda and Pandora shared a look.
"And would you have done that? I don't know if you know what love is, Sansa, but I love Jon. I apologize for seeing Camorra's threats as empty, but now I know better." She turned away from Sansa, who clearly wasn't done with her rant.
"Sometimes you marry for duty and for the sake of others, Your Grace." Sansa spat, her beautiful face morphing into something mean, something hateful.
Andromeda switched around again. "And I suppose that's why you married Lord Tyrion and Lord Bolton?" It was a blow below the belt, but Andromeda wasn't stopping there. "Look at where duty has gotten you."
Sansa glared a dangerous glare at the younger girl, the two Queens of totally different places having a stare off. Sansa's icy glare met Andromeda's passionate one that burned like stars for moments on end, until finally Sansa spoke. "You entranced him, bent him into something he wasn't, something he didn't want to do. You are nothing but a woman who uses her face to allure men, and I will never forgive you for what you did to my brother. You will get what you deserve, Your Grace." Sansa took no time walking out and shutting the door, making her smooth exit after saying something extremely damaging.
"Is that a threat?" Andromeda mumbled, feeling quite shaken by her words, the words cutting her deeper than anything she had said to her since her stay.
§
She read Jon's letter later that night in private. Andromeda was rarely by herself, but when she was, she really needed the alone time. She breathed out softly and opened the letter with her eyes closed, sitting next to the torch that lit her dark room. Her eyes drifted down to the open letter, and her heart seemed to grow twice as large after seeing his writing.
Andromeda of the House Vela and Targaryen, the Night Queen of Ilta, and My Queen,
My love, I'm sorry that I haven't been able to write to you. I got every single on of your ravens, and I cherish each and every one of them individually. I still have your ring, and I wear it on my smallest finger.
You have no idea how much I've missed you. I've missed your smile, your laugh, your personality, your touch, I miss your love, and I even miss the terrifying dancing we did in the clouds. I would die a thousand deaths to be by your side again, and I would leave a hundred thousand crowns behind me to kneel at your feet. I want more than anything to publicly announce you as my love, my wife. But we must be smart.
I advise you not to tell either of my sisters of our status. Arya you could trust, but I don't know what Sansa would do with that information.
On the subject of Dorne, help will be on the way. We are scheduled to arrive soon, sooner than the Dornish. The Dornish have a head start on us, but we are much closer. I will be on the boat you gave me with the soldiers and will be accompanied by two more, and will fly your banner and mine, the dragons. Even under these circumstances, I cannot wait to hold you again. After it's all over, we can work something out. Maybe you could come back with me to Westeros? Maybe we could both abandon post and sail to Essos.
That Tyrion you have grown so fond of is now urging me to just send this already. I love you dearly. You are the Queen I serve and love, and my wife. Never forget that.
King Jon Targaryen of Westeros, and
Your loving, regretfully absent husband
******
yep, that's it on this one! i'm pretty excited for what's to come, and if you liked this, vote it up and share the story with your friends! i have new ideas for other projects so before this year is over, i should have at least one new story out if things work the way i want them to :)) please vote and comment critiques for sure!!
lys