First of all MANY APOLOGIES for being so slow to update my latest fic. Things have been crazy stressful and I’ve been studying to take my state insurance license exams so it’s been a bit nuts. BUT I PROMISE I am still working on “To Be Human” and here is a little snippet of what’s to come...
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“Well, Golden Boy, I don’t think your lady loves are any closer to welcoming me with open arms.”
Galladon looked up. “Who?”
Nymeria gestured with her chin over to where the ladies usually gathered. Galladon looked over to where the ladies were whispering and eyeing up all the fighters in the yard. He snorted and went back to removing his greaves.
“They’re not my lady loves, believe me,” he muttered. “I couldn’t have that kind of life.”
“And what kind of life is that?” Nymeria asked him.
Galladon sat up and sighed. “Sold off as a breeding stud for my family name,” he said bitterly. “Shackled for life to a woman who bores the shit out of me, who only cares about having me on her arm so she can brag to others, who only has interests in fine dresses and whatever the latest fashionable hairstyle is.”
“You’ve really thought this through, haven’t you?” Nymeria teased him.
“When you have multiple ladies of the court attempting to get you to take their maidenheads so they can trap you by getting a bastard on them so you’ll have to marry them…yes I’ve thought it through quite a bit.”
Nymeria gave him a fake pout and batted her eyelashes dramatically. “Poor Golden Boy…everyone wants to bed you.”
Galladon glared at her and snorted again. “I know it sounds so glamorous,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Is it so bad to want someone who wants to know about you? What you like? What you don’t? To treat you like an equal instead of a piece of meat?” He shifted on the bench to face her directly. “You must know what it’s like. I’m sure you have Stormlands boys falling all over themselves for a chance to win you.”
Nymeria looked at her hands in her lap and nodded. “They try, yes.”
Galladon was suddenly afraid. “Do…do you…have…someone back home? Are you promised to anyone?” The words flew out of his mouth before he could stop them.
Nymeria smirked at the fearful look in his wide blue eyes. Chuckling softly she shook her head. “No. I suppose like you, I’m waiting for the right one.”
Galladon released a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding. “Oh, good,” he whispered. “Uh, I mean, it’s good that you’re taking your time. Make sure you find someone you like.” He blushed again.
She fixed him with her grey eyes and smiled at him. Galladon felt his heart flutter. Nymeria would never admit it, but she loved to fluster him. The truth was she was very attracted to him, and she found his innocence extremely alluring. He was obviously aware of the effect he had on the ladies, but he seemed almost insulted by it. Most men who had such sway over women would usually strut around like a peacock and take his pick of whatever he wanted. Galladon instead seemed to shun such practices. He was definitely an interesting enigma.
Nymeria crossed her legs on the bench and nudged herself closer to him. Now fully facing him, she watched his reaction, as his pupils dilated and his pulse quickened at his throat. Testing the waters, she reached out and placed her hand over his where it rested on his thigh, trying to calm him down. She heard him take in a breath and his hand twitched.
“What is it you are looking for?” She softly asked him.
