The wedding of Lord America to Lady Delnaimn was a popular affair, as much for the event itself as the salacious gossip it seemed to birth with every bit of news surrounding it.

‘Did you hear, the Lord America made a bastard Crownlands girl his mistress, and then he put her in charge of his coin! He’ll be penniless before the year is out, mark my words.’

‘Did you hear, his sworn sword is a woman! The tales about her skill must have been false, after all.’

‘Did you hear, Lord America’s sworn sword is a noblewoman, and he stole her from her betrothed! I wonder if he’s not a foreign noble after all, and just some Vale mountain savage.’

‘Did you hear, Lord America was caught embracing his lady knight! Makes you wonder just what she got up to on campaign, surrounded by all those soldiers.’

‘Did you hear, Lord America and Lady Delnaimn are to marry! Shame about his mistress; I suppose she’ll be packed off back to wherever it is she came from.’

‘Did you hear, did you hear, did you hear…’

On and on the tales went, each petty noble and nosy merchant entertained by a new piece of gossip before the last could fade. For Naerys Waters, bastard Crownlands girl in question, it was exhausting. She became well practised in feigned deafness and polite smiles as the day of the wedding drew closer and closer. It was hard, trying to aid in organising the wedding as Steve had asked, when it seemed that everyone she spoke with demanded some new morsel that they could carry to their friends. She felt like an animal on display in some Essosi zoo.

As the day drew closer, Naerys didn’t know whether to dread it or welcome it. The happy couple were buried by well wishers and those wanting to be seen wishing them well, every hour of their day even more busy than her own. So busy were they that Keladry had barely had a moment to ask Naerys to watch out for Toby, the bride-to-be worried about her son in all but name. Fresh out of a negotiation where some woman had tried to subtly get Naerys to admit to how large Steve’s sword was, she had fixed a smile on her face and agreed.

Toby had just glowered at her after being handed off, before disappearing to the stables as was his wont.

“You and me both, Toby,” Naerys had said to his back. It seemed he was just as enthusiastic about the entire spectacle as she was.

Finally, the day arrived. Unfortunately, so did the guests.

“It must be difficult for you,” a noble on the wrong side of thirty whose name she couldn’t be bothered to remember said with false sympathy. They stood in one of the courtyards that had been set aside for the event, other guests mingling around them, servants carrying trays of wine and food around.

“It was a challenge,” Naerys said. The man’s eyes lit up at her apparent loose words. “I had never planned a wedding before, but I feel it went well.”

Indeed it had, the festivities well attended by some of the most powerful nobles in the kingdoms. She had asked after the traditions of Steve’s home and then blended them those of the Faith. The novelty had made the weddings something unique, keeping even the eldest of guests interested and entertained, and that was before the food, drink, and entertainment that Naerys had arranged for had taken centre stage.

“It has,” the man said. “But of course, other more personal matters can’t have been easy, in light of certain facts…”

“Oh, not at all,” Naerys said. “Lord America may have arrived in Westeros without possessions, but he did very well for himself over the course of the rebellion. Unlike those who made poor choices in whom they gave their loyalties.”

The noble, who had hitched his wagon to the royalist cause, reddened in embarrassed anger.

“On balance, the wedding hasn’t cost him a copper,” she added. “So please, enjoy the bounty of the losing side.” With that, she swanned away, leaving him to bluster.

“My lords and ladies,” a minstrel, one of several Naerys had hired, announced to the crowd, “we are pleased to announce, for the first time in Westeros, a song from Lord America’s homeland.”

An ethereal young woman stepped up and began to sing.

“Fly me to the moon,

Let me play among the stars…”

Naerys remembered the night at Harrenhal that Steve had taught her that song, and the feelings such a romantic song had stirred in her. She intercepted a passing servant on her way to a more secluded alcove, stealing a pair of wine flutes from his tray. The Arbor Gold was smooth as it slipped down her throat, and so was the second one.

“There are easier ways to ensure you don’t remember the evening,” a familiar woman’s voice said.

Naerys inclined her head to the Princess, as Elia joined her in her alcove. “Perhaps, but this is my first chance to relax without responsibilities in weeks.” They may not have met at Harrenhal, but in the weeks after the sack of King’s Landing, Naerys was one of the few who could be trusted to watch Elia’s back outside the more formal settings, and they had become friends.

Elia smiled at her, sympathetic. “If it’s ‘relaxation’ you want, I could introduce you to my brother,” she said.

Having met the terrible flirt that was Elia’s brother, Naerys couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “I feel like everyone I’ve spoken to for the last month has thought me to be a jilted lover.”

“I’d like to think I know you both well enough to say that a day like this would not have come about with ill feeling between the three of you,” Elia said. “It was lovely.”

“Thank you,” Naerys said. “But you know what the gossips are like. I was never more than Steve’s seneschal, and the tales about us were only the product of overactive imaginations,” she lied.

“Much like those about Ashara, her husband, and myself I’m sure,” Elia said.

“My favourite one is where he claimed you as his prize for the support of the North in the Rebellion,” Naerys said.

Elia laughed with good humour, sipping at a wine of her own. For several moments, they watched the people around them, taking in their good cheer.

“Steve and Keladry are very dear to me, but Steve has only ever been a good friend,” Naerys said. “I have only the best wishes for them in their marriage.”

Elia watched her for a long moment, and apparently found what she sought. “As you say. My offer of introduction stands.”

“With how much we saw of him at that feast, I feel like I hardly need one,” Naerys said, her tone wry.

“Ugh,” Elia said, pulling a face. “There are some things a sister is not meant to see.”

The Princess went on her way, drifting off to join Ashara and Ned, and Naerys was left to brood in her alcove like a particularly well dressed grumpkin. Passing servants kept her well stocked in Reach wine and Dornish delicacies, and she only had to pretend that she had no feelings whatsoever for the groom to five more nosy nobles. She began to wonder if she could get away with stabbing one with the steel olive picks she had accumulated, and something of her thoughts must have shown on her face, because they soon stopped bothering her.

She wished the end of the night would come sooner, but time plodded on as slowly as it always did. Eventually, some drunken lord began to shout for the bedding, a call that was quickly taken up by others. Lord America was too fast for them however, lifting Lady America up onto one broad shoulder and fleeing the courtyard, much to the disappointment of any number of ladies.

Naerys left the festivities behind, unwilling to linger. Her bedroom beckoned, and she quickly made her way through the halls to her goal, ignoring the closed door of the next room along, behind which Steve and Keladry were no doubt making use of their marriage bed. Perhaps they should have asked for alternate lodgings, but they had all been used to such an arrangement and had not thought to.

There was not a soul to be seen as she snuck into her room, and she collapsed into her own bed, not bothering to remove her dress. The room she had been given was connected to its neighbour, and she couldn’t help but close her eyes, not sure if she wanted to hear anything or not.

The latch of the connecting door was loud as it unlocked.

Naerys’ heart skipped a beat, and she quickly rose to her feet, smoothing down her dress. She had thought it would take longer - but no, they wouldn’t. She approached the door and pushed at it, biting her lip as the room beyond was revealed to her.

She caught a glimpse of Keladry’s muscular backside as she slipped back into bed with Steve, and she paused for a moment.

Steve beckoned to her with his free hand, the other busy under the covers. “You didn’t think we’d start without you, did you?”

In her haste to join her lovers, Naerys almost forgot to lock the door behind her. The rumours were bad enough already, but she put them from her mind as she hurriedly stepped from her dress, flinging her smalls away as she fell into the bed with a laugh. She had more important things to tend to.