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calpalirwin · 5 years ago

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Betrothed

Summary: Lady Keira finds herself betrothed to Lord Ashton.

A/N: Last part of my Game of Thrones AU. Be sure to read parts 1 and 2!

Content: Medieval stuffs.

Word Count: 2.3k

And away, and away we go!

Part 3

“My lady!” Ashton’s squire burst into the dining hall, breathless. Ashton had been knighted the evening after their arrival at Riverton in preparation for the wedding and subsequent acquisition of title as Lord and Lady of House Irwin, and as such had been given a squire.

“Yes, Bryen?” Keira asked, smiling softly at him. She had spent her first week studying the people closest to her and Ashton, and that meant Bryen Hawthorne. He was a young lad of barely fifteen, but the boy was more than eager to prove his value to his lord by doing every task at a literal run. She’d grown accustomed to his smiling face and the way shocks of his black hair would flop about when he nodded too fast at a request before dashing off with a quick “Right away, my lord.”

“Lord. Ashton,” he panted as he caught his breath, “is requesting your presence. He’s down in the training yard.”

Keira pushed back her chair, rising to her feet. “The training yard?” she wondered aloud.

“Said something about a surprise, my lady. And that I should send for you at once.”

The lady chuckled. “That man and his surprises.”

~~~

She followed Bryen out to the training yard where Ashton was conversing with three other men she had come to learn were set to become his small council. “M-my lord,” Bryen stammered, both announcing his arrival with Keira and interrupting the conversation at hand.

Ashton’s head snapped to attention, the markings of a scowl ready to lecture his squire for not waiting for a break in the conversation. The scowl however, turned quickly into a grin as he took notice of Keira. “Ah, thank you, Bryen. Keira, you remember Lords Calum, Luke, and Michael, yes?”

“My lords,” she curtsied in greeting.

“My lady,” they chorused, bowing back.

“Bryen spoke of a surprise?” she asked Ashton.

“Yes. Michael, if you would.”

Michael, set to become Ashton’s lead general, turned towards the table that was usually home to an assortment of dull practice weapons, but today housed a single shortsword and two matching daggers. The green-eyed blonde picked up the shortsword and offered it to her.

Keira gasped as the weight dropped in her hand, expecting it to clatter on the dusty ground. Instead, she found the blade to be light and balanced, like it was crafted just for her hand. The pieces finally clicked together as she recalled Ashton’s mention of teaching her how to fight, and his hushed conversations with the blacksmith and master-at-arms. “It’s not too heavy is it? I had the daggers made in case it was. Or we could try another weapon if you find none of this suits you. I just remember you admiring my own sword and dagger that I thought you might like some of your own.” The words tumbled from Ashton’s mouth as his cheeks flushed and his friends held back their laughter at his apparent embarrassment.

She tried her best to move her arms the way she had seen Ashton do so when he trained, causing all four men to jump back and out of her way as the blade sliced through the air.

“Oi!” Calum exclaimed, looking over at Ashton to see if he would step in before his friends got hacked to bits by accident.

“It’s dull, right mate?” Luke asked, his blue eyes sharp as they focused on the sword’s wild movements.

“Stance and technique needs work,” Michael critiqued.

“Careful not to nick anybody. I had it sharpened this morning,” Ashton warned her.

Calum, Luke, and Michael jumped further away. “You gave an inexperienced swordsman a sharp blade?!” they thundered.

Ashton howled with laughter as Keira continued to test the weight, liking the feel of it more and more with each pass. “How’s it feel?” he asked, while his friends continued to glare at him and question his sanity.

“I expected it to be heavier,” she answered.

“A good sword matches the strength of the one weilding it. Too heavy and you won’t be able to use it. Too light and it’ll fly from your hand, leaving you unarmed,” Michael told her.

“Precisely,” Ashton nodded at Michael’s words. “Focus, Keira. You want it to feel like an extension of your arm.”

She closed her eyes and made a few more small passes, really paying attention to the weight of it as it moved with her. “It feels…” she started, pausing to find the right way to phrase herself. “Like I’m passing my hand through water. No resistance.”

Ashton was smiling at her when she opened her eyes again. “Perfect. That’s exactly what I was hoping for. Ready for your first lesson?”

~~~

“Sideface!” Michael directed from beside Keira. “You make yourself a much smaller target that way and your opponent has to work that much harder. As the less skilled fighter, your advantage is in the long game. Tire them out.”

She shifted her feet and lunged at Ashton. He effortlessly blocked her attack, knocking the weapon from her hands. He had been practicing with her for the better part of three weeks now, with Michael coaching her from the side. Being her practice partner had three benefits for Keira. One: no one dared question what the lord was doing parrying with his lady. Two: while he trusted Michael to coach and direct Keira, he only trusted himself to partner up with her, which meant she she got to spend a lot of uninterrupted time with Ashton. Which lead to three: she had all the time in the world to admire the way he held the practice shield and blunt practice sword, while imaging how handsome he looked in his full set of armor. “Also focus on keeping your face blank. You twist your mouth at the edges and your eyebrows furrow. I know your attack before you even move,” Ashton chided with a playful smile.

Keira felt her chest heave with her breaths as she forced her face to relax. Her eyes darted to where her sword lay in the dust and back at Ashton who followed her movements. She knew he would allow her to reach for the sword and then go in for an attack with another quip about not letting her guard down. Another steady breath and she remembered the daggers at her side. She fought back the grin, and with her eyes locked on Ashton, she reached for the sword. He moved with her and the shield dropped ever so slightly in preparation for her sword. In a blink, she changed her course, reaching for her daggers, placing one up against his ribcage and the other pressing into the base of his throat. Ashton dropped his shield and sword, raising his hands in surrender as he backed away. “Yield,” he told her, smiling proudly while Michael laughed his approval, “Good one, my lady.”

“Now if only I could find my own handsome lord to teach me to fight like that,” a dreamy sigh spoke and Keira whirled around to find Lilliyan Malver resting her arms along the fenced yard, admiring Calum as he practiced with Luke a few paces away.

“Lilliyan!” Keira rushed over to wrap her friend in a hug. “Oh, how I’ve missed you!”

The other lady laughed as she returned the embrace. “Well, I couldn’t very well miss your wedding now, could I? Although, you could have warned me that you had such a handsome council.”

“My lords, might I introduce you all to Lady Lilliyan of House Malver,” Keira began and Calum and Luke stopped their battle to come join the ladies along with Ashton and Michael. “These are Lords Calum, Luke, and Michael. And you’ve already met Lord Ashton.”

“My lady,” the men bowed and Lilliyan curtsied in kind.

“I trust you had a pleasant journey?” Ashton asked.

“Yes, the view was wonderful riding up. Although not nearly as good as the view inside your walls, Lord Ashton,” Lilliyan replied, her eyes still fixed on Calum. “Keira tells me you’re on the small council?”

“Lady Keira would be correct,” Calum nodded.

“Yes, I remember now,” Lilliyan smiled flirtatiously. “The married off lead general, Michael Clifford. The master of coin, and betrothed, Luke Hemmings. And Lord Ashton’s right hand man, Calum Hood, who still has yet to find a lady of his own. Pity… Say, Keira, would you happen to know of any eligible ladies who might be suited for such a handsome bachelor such as Lord Calum?”

Keira smiled brightly, playing along with her friend’s game. “Why yes. Matter of fact, word has it that Lord Malver is looking for a match for his eldest daughter.”

“Well it might be in Calum’s best interest if he were to send Father a raven, expressing his interest. Do you think he would teach me to fight like your lord does?”

“Oi!” Calum scoffed at Ashton. “Training all the ladyfolk now, are we?”

“Afraid you’ll get bested?” Luke teased.

“I’m sure Michael has much more pressing duties to attend to,” Calum deflected.

“She’s quite good with a bow,” Keira boasted.

“I’d pay my weight in gold to see Calum get bested by a bow,” Michael marveled at the thought.

“You’d be wise to consider it, Calum,” Ashton told the man. “It’s a relief on the mind to know that your lady is always in capable hands- her own. Plus, who better to learn from than by a skilled archer like yourself?”

“My lord, you flatter me,” Calum said with biting sarcasm and a roll of his eyes. “Alright, someone fetch Lady Lilliyan a bow.”

“And perhaps your writing material as well?” Keira pressed.

“Yes, yes. That too.”

~~~

“You look beautiful, Keira,” Ashton murmured low for only Keira to hear as he wrapped the cloak around her shoulders.

She didn’t have time to respond as the septon continued with the ceremony, so she merely smiled, hoping that Ashton understood the thought she wasn’t speaking. Which was that he too, looked as handsome as ever in his long sleeved, forest green overcoat that highlighted the green flecks in his eyes, and was fastened shut with golden clasps that glistened in the afternoon light.

“Look upon each other and say the words.”

“Father, Smith, Warrior, Mother, Maiden, Crone, Stranger,” they spoke in unison. “I am yours, and you are mine, from this day, until the end of my days.”

“With this kiss,” Ashton continued, “I pledge my love.” His lips were soft as they pressed against hers, and while the kiss was brief, she felt the power behind it, like he was willing her to believe that they could be more than an arrangement.

~~~

Keira was watching the crowd enjoy the feast, particularly amused by Calum and Lillyan’s growing affections. “Think they’re all distracted enough that we might sneak away?” Ashton’s voice was low in her ear.

“What about the bedding ceremony?” she asked, feeling a knot in her stomach tighten at the very concept. While she certainly planned to consummate her marriage to her new husband, the idea of it being public knowledge was unsettling.

Ashton waved a hand dismissively. “There will be no ceremony. Our chambers are adjoined should you ever wish to spend your night elsewhere, as it were.”

“Mmm, so that’s where that door leads,” she teased. She had already known about this fact, having explored every inch of her room in the early morning after her arrival, and reveling in the fact that one door had opened to reveal another bedchamber, with Ashton sleeping soundly.

“Something tells me you already knew that though,” he teased back, having caught her on more than one occasion admiring him from the doorway when she thought him to be asleep.

“Perhaps I’ll find my way there.”

“Perhaps I’ll be waiting when you do.”

“And where do you propose we sneak off to now?”

“I hear the beach is lovely this time of day.”

~~~

“I know I mentioned it already, but you really do look beautiful,” he confessed as the water rushed over their bare feet, soaking the edges of their clothes.

“And you look quite handsome yourself, Ashton. More so than usual,” she returned the compliment.

“Ah, so you do think me to be handsome.”

“Among other things.”

Hmm? How do you mean?”

“You mentioned once that you don’t wish for this to be a matter of business. That it hardly seemed fair that our marriage should be viewed as another duty to attend to.”

“Yes. I believe I also mentioned that I only wish for you to be content here, and that I enjoy your company. But what does that have to do with how you think of me?”

“It has everything to do with how I think of you. It is one thing to say you wish for me to be content. It is another to consistently go out of your way to ensure it. And from showing me this beach to probably defying everyone close to you in order to both craft me my own set of weapons and then teach me how to use them… well it shows me that you're a man of your word. A quality I greatly admire.”

“A man is only as good as his word.”

“That may be so. The point remains however, that I long had little interest in being a lady because I envied those who got to marry for love.”

“And has your interest since changed?”

“Very much so. See, I found myself betrothed to a lord with much to offer in terms of prestige and title. And while he easily could have been a stubborn lord who viewed his lady as a mere plaything meant to please him, that wasn’t the what happened. In addition to being charming and handsome, he is kind and wise. Any lady would be a fool not to love him. And, I’m no fool, Ashton.”

Rather than speak, he decided to let his actions do the talking as he ducked his head to kiss her, much like he had before at the ceremony. This time though, his arms wrapped around her lower back, holding her tightly as her eyes fluttered shut and she melted into him. Fuck duty, they both thought, love was far better.

Tag List

@frontmanash @goeatsomelife @flameraine @here-for-the-uproars @cxddlyash @1-irwin-94 @sparkling-calm @tea4sykes @youngblood199456 @5-seconds-of-obsession @gosh-im-short @aquarius-hood1996 @talkfastromance4 @itjustkindahappenedreally @philthepegacorn @boomerash (and @sexgodashton because I thought you’d like to read the rest)

#betrothed #ashton irwin #ashton irwin fic #5sos #galcal irwin

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