"I am the one with insane plans, Loras. If you start too, who is going to be the voice of reason?" Astrid asks when they find themselves alone. Loras laughs. "You just have to ride the dragon, just like you did yesterday. What is the problem?" "Yesterday it was the heat of the moment. The soldiers were confused, too confused to realize I am not you. It won't happen again. The generals will be humiliated to be led in battle by a girl!" Astrid continues to protest. How could he be so relaxed? Does he really think this madness will go smoothly? "The generals will have to get used to that sooner or later. You are a dragon rider. Only a fool would be too misogynistic to use that." Loras discusses her worries, starting to undress. "What are you doing?" Astrid asks, surprised by the sudden view of his bare back. "I will take a bath. Care to join me?" He asks with his characteristic smirk. "Can't we finish the conversation?" "What would be the point of finishing it dirty?" Astrid roll
"I was called, Your Majesty." The healer says after regaining his composure."She is unwell." Loras tells him, pointing at Astrid. It was like he couldn't even remember that he was screaming a moment ago. The doctor nods and approaches Astrid, but he also keeps an eye on the king as well."We were in a forest last night. Maybe I caught a cold?" Astrid continues to play her part, not allowing herself to get distracted by Loras' sudden outburst from earlier.The healer nods, taking a shiny rock out of his bag. Astrid looks at him confused, and he explains."I am a healer, my lady, not just a doctor. I take care of the body and soul. A two-for-one kind of deal, if you like." He lifts up the stone, for her to see it. It looks awfully similar to the ones the shaman was holding when they went there. "This one will tell me if there is something wrong in your body. Like a cold.""How does it work?" Astrid asks genuinely curious. She heard stories about healers but never saw one."I don't know
"Soul stones?" Loras reads out loud and Astrid's heart drops. One thing! One thing did the healer tell her not to do. She quickly closes the book and turns to Loras all smiles. "You are back early!" She tosses the book under the bed and just asks about the meeting hoping that will be enough of a distraction."Is the meeting over? The guards said it might take until late. Everything alright?" He rises an eyebrow but fortunately doesn't start screaming at her. "I came to eat with you. I gave a small break to the generals. Tired minds are as dangerous as stupid ones." He sits on the bed and pulls her towards him, so she can sit on his lap. "I see you are feeling better. Did the healer discover what was wrong with you? Or your soul..." She almost forgot that she technically was the one unwell. "All the stress. It takes a toll on the body as well." Loras nods at her half-baked explanation as he seems more relieved that she is fine than inclined to ask more questions. "Try not to be
"Lady Astrid?" James shakes her shoulder.Astrid's eyes shoot open. Did she fall asleep? She feels like she just had a bad dream but she can't remember any of it."What happened?" She asks James, rubbing her eyes, trying to wake up and process what he's saying. "The meeting... Loras...""Yes. The king is still in the meeting. He required your presence, my lady."Oh no... so he's going ahead with the plan. Not surprising since she did nothing to try and change his mind."How is the meeting going?" Astrid asks, trying to regain a drop of composure before she walks into a room with the most important people in the kingdom. Not even that, before she walks into a room with the people she's supposed to lead in a battle just a few hours away. She wants to feel anxious and scared, but the memory of the feeling that took over her when she flew Aine over the battle, burning and destroying everything that wanted to hurt what she holds dear...She was never the one that lusted for power, she was
Once returned to the king's tent, Astrid feels proud of herself. She finally stood up to Tamara.Loras is already asleep so she gently lays next to him, careful not to wake him up. Her king... Her mate. She almost laughs at herself remembering how much she hated him when she came to the palace. Even though she didn't know him, she choose the king to blame all her sorrows on.She lifts her head ever so slightly, so she could see his face in the soft light of the fire. With his eyes closed and soft breaths, sound asleep next to her, he looks so relaxed, so peaceful. She raises her hand to follow the line of his jaw. She brushes her fingers against his lips."Astrid..." He whispers."Did I wake you up?" She asks, a bit sad that she interrupted his sleep, but nevertheless glad to hear his voice."Loras?"No answer. He is asleep, but he still turns around to wrap his arms around her, holding her tight against his chest. She tries to pull away a little bit so she could see his face again, bu
She finished a battle before, but she never saw one starting.The chaos at the end is so contradicting with what lays in front of her eyes now. Thousands upon thousands of perfectly aligned soldiers, with their weapons shining in the sun, thirsty for the blood of their enemies.She looks down at general Carson. The king split his army in two and left the old warrior in charge of the front one. He gives a short speech, trying to lift the morale of the soldiers, but even the determination and the adrenaline can't wash away the fear that they hide behind their amour.She looks over, at the other side of the battlefield to see a mirror image. Generals riding their horses up and down the perfectly aligned lines to try and give a sip of courage to the terrified soldiers. Most of them have seen battles before. Most of them do not fear the battle itself. No, they stare at the dragon. At Aine.She can understand why. Loras used Dracos for intimidation only. He didn't want to burn the soldiers
She's been here before. Astrid looks around at the nothingness that surrounds her, feeling an unexpected wave of calmness taking over her. Loras is not here this time. "Loras..." She says his name out loud, slowly remembering how she ended up here. He killed her. How funny life is. A long time ago she wished for a swift death at his hand rather than being forced to serve him. Now, she would give anything to return to his arms, but he gave her a quick death instead. "Now what?" Astrid asks herself. If this is the afterlife, alone in your own mind, then she will go insane. She hoped if she died she would at least see her parents and her brothers. And if she can't speak with other dead, maybe look down on Earth and see if her plan to bring Loras back worked. She hopes it worked. Dying is bad enough, but dying for nothing? She thinks back at the moment before everything went black. He was fighting her. Initially, he wasn't swinging his sword directly towards her. It was meant more as
The battle wasn't the success they hoped for, but the disappointment they feared. The second army reported that they had gotten confused when the king ordered them to attack the other half of their own forces instead the enemy. Some listened, and some did not. It took some time before the generals could get everyone back in order and by that time, Tommen had won too much ground they were forced to retreat. "No sign of them?" Tamara asks James as he enters the main tent. By the look on his face, she knows the answer. "Damn it!" After Loras ordered his troops to attack one another, his dragon flew straight towards Astrid and attacked her. They stumbled in the air for a while before disappearing into the clouds. "How is everyone?" The princess asks, trying to change the subject so her head would stop spinning. Unfortunately, there are no good subjects today and James' frown grows even deeper. "The commanders ask for explanations, the generals are mad as hell, and the soldiers are tr