The Sapphire Dragon

8. Bastards meet.

Sansa breathed the salty wind, making her eyes sting a bit. The ship was slowly moving on green waters, swaying and dancing with the tide. She missed Winterfell, and it feels like forever and a day since she left. She missed her friends a lot, missing running around the palace halls, braiding each others hair..

"Oh please, its been only 17 days !" Arya scowls at her, pulling her slingshot absent mindedly. "You can be read like a book, and that is a weak point, Sansa. "Sansa walks away angrily. The boys were running on the docks, Jon throwing pebbles at Theon, as he ducked behind Robb. 

Catelyn was watching the boys intendly. Even Ned's bastard. He was a nice boy, but she could not refrain herself from hating him. She did not wish to be on this journey to Tarth, let alone be accompanied by him. With bran being an impossible baby and she expecting another, her temper was something to be looked out for. Sansa and Ned came and sat beside her.

Sansa smiled at her mothers bump. Please, all god of before and after, let it be a girl. A baby sister with whom she could talk about princes, about stitching, someone to laugh with about men in gaudy armours. Arya never had a nice sense of humour. Sansa looked at her sister, and asked her mother;" is Arya really my sister ?"" why, yes of course !" Catelyn responded with a smile as Ned roared with laughter. 

"If the baby is a girl, let her name be Thalia. I have been thinking a good one for a long time." Sansa said with all due seriousness. "And if it is a boy ?" Ned asked." rickon", Catelyn said solemnly. Ned looked at her. In the glow of the evening sunlight, she looked almost otherworldly, close to divinity.

Lord Selwyn welcomed them with all hospitality. Ned went on to talk to him, as Catelyn retired to her quarters to rest, Sansa tagging along. Arya was nowhere to be seen. The boys, unsurprisingly, ended up in the training grounds. 

Robb was walking in the front, with an air of supremacy, his fur coat making him look older than a 11 yr old. Theon and Jon followed him. as they reached closer to the stone walls, a knife swooshed past them, pinning Robb to the wall. Suddenly , fear crept into his grey eyes.

 A girl came near them. She was shorter than Jon, who was the tallest among the three. Her long hair was secured as a bun, but stray hair was pasted on her forehead with perspiration. She did not have a hand, Jon noticed with horror

"Who are you cripple ? " Robb asked with contempt and fear. Tears sprung in his eyes."I am Andrea". The girl said, her violet eyes gleaming." Is mother's girl going to cry? "She asked mockingly."Lord selwyn has only on daughter, but she is fair skinned and lot of years older than us," theon stated." so you must be his bastard."" Yes i am. "Andrea said, unflinched.

Jon admired her confidence. Whenever someone called him Snow, he always felt someone was tearing away his clothes in public.But she just stood their, twirling her sharp knife with her calloused bony fingers.

"Did little andrea get the better of you boys? "Lord selwyn asked, followed  by a laughter.Ned just smiled, as he saw his oldest being freed by the girl." Challenge her for a duel, boys." Ned suggested." let us see who is better."

" No, father. we will surely lose. she is a lot better than us."Jon said, his eyes looking at the girl's. The girl darted her eyes away, shyness slowly creeping in her cheeks.