"I shouldn't be so jealous," Leonette grumbled as she sat on the edge of Eddmina's bed, watching as the northern woman folded her dresses up into the small trunk at the foot of the bed.

"Yet you are," Eddmina commented, rolling her eyes jokingly. "Did Ser Garlan never take you away for a honeymoon?"

"If you mean a few weeks with the Hightowers in Old Town then technically yes, but we never took a trip to the sea," Leonette sighed dramatically. "You don't know how lucky you are, getting to go away for at least a month. Meanwhile I'll be here, lonely, with no one for company but dearest Grandmother,"

Eddmina let out a quiet laugh at Leonette's dramatics, continuing with her packing. With nearly three weeks since the wedding, Willas had suggested one night that the two of them take a trip away. It was an idea brought on by Eddmina telling him that she'd ever really seen the sea before, only rivers and ponds, and Willas had decided they needed to immediately rectify that. The plan was that the two of them, escorted by a small Tyrell guard, would ride west along the Ocean Road to the coast and stay in a small inn by the sea. Willas told her he had written ahead and made all the arrangements, booking them the largest room for at least a month. He'd told her that they may as well take the opportunity to take the trip just the two of them while they still had the excuse of being newlyweds, before they were expected to take on any sort of proper responsibility around High Garden.

The thought of it just being the two of them for such a long stretch of time after so long of being surrounded by so many others was thrilling. They'd never truly been allowed proper time to themselves, constantly having to please the traditions of others, but with this trip that would all change. They'd made plans to go swimming, ride their horses along the coast, and sit out on the beach and watch the stars. They'd already made a habit of that, often sneaking out of the keep along the dirt path to lay out on the grass by the Mander and watch the sun set. It had become her favourite part of the day, especially when Willas would wrap his arm around her waist and hold her close, pushing kisses to her hairline and temple as she rested her head on his shoulder. Each sunset they watched together she felt the two of them growing closer, and hoped that the trip would do the same.

She truly did care for Willas, she had realised a few nights ago. As the two of them walked back to the keep in the darkness, Willas had been whistling a tune, and she realised it was one she'd heard him humming quite a few times, only then noticing it was the tune of the song she'd sang all those months ago in the inn when Garlan had found her the lute. It amazed her that Willas could remember it, and she'd felt completely stunned by how much she respected and admired him. She knew what she felt for him wasn't quite love, not yet, and she was nowhere near ready to even consider saying those words to him, but she was willing to explore her feelings for him. She hoped that during the trip Willas would feel the same and the two of the would gain physical as well as emotional closeness, considering they hadn't made love for a while.

Eddmina had at first worried that their talk of not wanting children had made him want to abstain from sleeping with her properly, because it wasn't like they lacked in passion. Some nights he kissed her until she was breathless, and he told her she was beautiful enough for her to know he found her physically attractive. Some nights when he pulled apart from their kisses she found herself irritated by how much she wanted him to continue, wishing that he would make the next move, so she just hoped that by being alone, just the two of them with no other distractions, perhaps they could gain some sort of intimacy.

"I might suggest to Garlan that we visit Cider Hall while you're gone, I haven't been home for at least a year," Leonette said as if she was thinking out loud. "At least that way I'm not stuck here without decent company,"

"I think you'll find me excellent company," Margaery's voice called, feigning hurt as she leant in the doorway, smirking at the two of them. "When do you leave, Edd?"

"Not until early tomorrow morning," she replied, checking over her wardrobe one last time to make sure she had enough clothes packed to last her the month they would be gone, not to mention enough travelling clothes. As she turned back to the trunk, she noticed Margaery slipping a parcel into it with a sneaky look. "What're you doing?"

"Nothing," her goodsister responded quickly, faking an innocent smile before winking. "Just thought I'd pack you a present to help you for your honeymoon,"

"You're a menace," Leonette sighed, rolling her eyes as if she knew exactly what Margaery had done, though Eddmina was still none the wiser, and was in fact a little confused at what Margaery could possibly have given her to help. "Come on, Edda, why don't we go for a walk around the gardens, you can finish packing tonight,"

***

Willas and Eddmina were on the road at first light, the two of them huddled together in the carriage. They'd decided not to ride that morning since they were both still tired, so with their luggage fixed to the back and their carriage surrounded by the four Tyrell guards accompanying them, they set off on their journey. Willas had a book open, the two of them sat there in comfortable silence as Eddmina rested her head on his shoulder, yawning and trying not to fall asleep.

"Why don't you just shut your eyes, love?" he suggested gently, without even looking up from his book as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, bringing her closer. "I'll wake you if he pass anything interesting,"

She was that blown away by him referring to her as 'love' that she obliged without comment, and that was how most of their journey went, the two of them sat in the carriage, taking turns to read and sleep. They were on the road for about a week, spending the nights at inns or just sleeping in the carriage if there was nowhere nearby. Some days they rode, enjoying the fresh air as their horses galloped across the landscape, but for the first time in her life Eddmina enjoyed travelling by carriage. At least in the carriage she could sit close to her husband and the pair of them could talk, enjoying each others company properly rather than shouting to each other over the wind like they had to do on horseback.

They arrived at the inn early one morning exactly a week after leaving High Garden, and despite both of them being exhausted from the travelling, Willas didn't want to waste anytime. The two of them quickly dropped their luggage off in their room - the honeymoon suite, the landlady made sure to tell them with a wink as she gave them the key - and made their way over to the beach. It was only a short walk from the inn and as they headed there hand-in-hand and completely alone, it reminded Eddmina a little of the first time they properly spoke.

"Do you remember the first day you spent in Winterfell, when I took you riding?" she asked, mostly because she wanted to break the silence between them.

"Of course," he nodded. "I was so nervous that I would say something wrong or annoy you, you seemed so mysterious back then,"

"Should I be disappointed that I'm not still such an enigma?" she joked. "I was nervous too. You were the first man I'd met who wasn't from the North or the Riverlands, you all seemed so different,"

"How things have changed," he sighed slightly, lifting her hand to his lips to kiss her knuckles.

"Willas-" she began, wanting to ask him about their lack of intimacy, until she became distracted by the sight in front of her; the sea.

It was just as beautiful as Willas had made it out to be, a much brighter blue than the Mander, with the sun reflecting off the surface like a thousand shimmering crystals. Even the pebbled beach that stood between them was a completely new sight for her, and as they exchanged an eager look, the two of them took off as fast as Willas' bad leg would allow them to. At the shores edge, Eddmina was reminded of the time herself and Robb on a visit to Riverrun snuck out of the keep to go swimming in the nearest river, except the water there had been cold and had made them both scream it was that uncomfortable. At the sea though, the sun was baking down on them, and as Eddmina kicked off her shoes she found the lapping sea water a welcome refreshment.

"Do you want to swim?" Willas asked her, and when she nodded he glanced around the completely empty beach, assuring himself of their isolation. "Here,"

After looking around herself, she stepped closer to him, allowing him to undo the ties of her dress, and as he did that she worked on taking off his shirt. As soon as the two of them were in just their underclothes, Eddmina knelt and quickly unbuckled the fastenings of Willas' leg brace. He set his cane aside on the pile of their clothes and instead wrapped his arm around her waist as the two of them made it into the sea.  Thankfully the waves weren't rough at all, and in no time the two of them were stood in the sea and Willas managed to balance himself rather than relying on Eddmina.

"It's funny, my leg almost feels normal," he muttered quietly, glancing up at Eddmina with a look of almost embarrassment. "Sorry, I don't mean to bother you with complaints,"

"You're not bothering me," she insisted as the two of them moved a little deeper, still holding hands. "I'm you're wife, you're meant to talk to me about things,"

"Sometimes I don't like the reminder of it all," he said, pulling her closer as a wave hit them both gently. "And I would rather not focus on my leg by talking about it when I don't have to, even though I know I still owe you explanations about it all,"

"You don't owe me anything, Will, you can tell me anything you want whenever you want," she assured him, leaning over to kiss his lips. "If you don't want to focus on it then that's more than fine,"

"You're wonderful," he breathed out, kissing her, his hands wrapping around her waist, and despite the heat she felt herself shiver at his touch.

***

The two of them spent the whole day on the beach, completely alone. They swam together, and when they eventually grew tired of the sea they climbed out and laid down on the warm pebbles, letting the sun dry them off. Eddmina couldn't remember in her whole life ever being so warm, but for once she liked the heat. Usually she would happily trade away the sun for a summer snowfall, but as the warmth beat down on them Eddmina felt so peaceful and relaxed. That might have had something to do with the company though, as she and Willas laid next to each other, Willas on his back while she was on her side, tracing light patterns onto his arm.

"Will you sing for me?" He asked after a long comfortable silence. "You have such a lovely voice,"

"You sound like my sister," Eddmina rolled her eyes, mostly to hide from how sweet she found the compliment. "I won't sing any of the silly southern ones, they're too pretty,"

Instead she sang the Blackbird song again, knowing already that he liked that one, her voice slow and gentle as she sang while he whistled along. And once she was done she sang the song of Danny Flint, her favourite despite it being utterly heartbreaking. She remembered learning the story and hearing the song for the first time and being moved to tears. Eddmina crying was a rare thing, she knew that herself, and so she knew that her tears made that song her favourite. Songs were meant to make you feel things, and that song made her feel the strongest. Willas was silent as he listened to that one, and she wondered if it was because he wanted to listen to her better, but as she finished and he took hold of her hand, she realised it was because he'd never heard it before.

"You don't like the nice songs yet you sing the ones that are bound to break hearts," he mused quietly. "You've mentioned Danny Flint before but I've never heard her story,"

"She's a hero of mine," she told him. "She faced such hardship yet all she wanted to do was help people. She cut her hair and ran off to the Wall, not to be a hero but to contribute to an order greater than anything else, only for some bastards to kill her. I like the song because it reminds me despite how shit the world is women have the strength to control their own lives, and I always think by singing it, I'm keeping just a part of her and her message alive,"

"A noble, tragic hero," Willas nodded in agreement, squeezing his wife's hand. "I'm afraid I'm still educating myself on much of the North's history,"

"Perhaps that's because High Garden's library is so severely lacking in Northern books," Eddmina pointed out, though when Willas chuckled she frowned. "What?"

"The main library in High Garden is only lacking in Northern books because I took them all out to keep in our room," he explained with a small smile. "I wanted to read them all to educate myself on your heritage, and I thought it would make you happy to have easy access to them in our room, except I realise now that you've mistaken my desire to surprise you as southern ignorance,"

"Oh," she breathed out, sitting up properly and looking at him with a frown of amazement. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insult you,"

"You haven't, love," he told her, sitting up, his hand cupping her cheek and bringing her close and she tried desperately to ignore the fluttering inside of her as he called her 'love'.

She leant in and met her lips with his, knowing neither of them would have anything to say that couldn't be expressed through a kiss. The thrill of being out in the open and kissing got to them and soon their passion deepened to the point that before either of them knew it they were both lying back down with Eddmina sat on Willas' waist. She was bend down over him with her hands knotted into his hair, and considering they were both in their underclothes and Willas' hands were on her hips, stroking them softly, Eddmina felt her chest tighten in anticipation. Was this it, at last, was he finally going to make love to her again?

Except as soon as she thought that, Willas had moved his hands from her hips and had instead placed them on her shoulders, pulling his lips from hers. He pushed a gentle kiss to her cheek and stroked her hair, but she knew that he was signalling for them to stop. She moved off him gently, careful not to knock his leg, offering him a small smile as he sat up again, taking hold of her hand and kissing her knuckles.

"We should head back," he suggested, gesturing to the sky.

Eddmina hadn't noticed that the once blue sky had turned burning red, like the embers of a fire. The two of them, completely dried off from the sea, quickly dressed once again, with Eddmina helping Willas with his leg brace in return for him helping with her corset, and as soon as they were ready the two of them set off walking hand-in-hand. As they made conversation and talked of nothing overly significant, Eddmina couldn't quiet the worries inside of her. Willas had constantly told her he cared for her, he called her 'love' and kissed her as if he loved her, yet he seemed to shy away from touching her properly.

Did he actually like her, or would he rather her remain his close friend, his wife for formality only? Perhaps she wasn't his type and he'd decided to pretend just to make it easier, or perhaps he'd taken her wish to not have children too seriously. She remembered his closeness to Prince Oberyn and wondered if he was more her husband's type, but then she recalled the way he'd acted on their wedding night and knew he did care for her in that sort of way. Whatever feelings he'd previously expressed didn't seem to explain his reluctance to be with her intimately.

The two of them got back to the inn just before nightfall. Willas asked for supper to be brought up to them while Eddmina, who's long hair was still a little damp and had been soaked in salt water for most of the afternoon, asked the landlady for a bath to be brought to their room as well. They'd hardly been back in their room before both of their requests were fulfilled so the two of them ate the salt-fried sea bass served with exotic-looking vegetables before Eddmina went behind the privacy screen on the other half of the room, stripping down naked to climb into the steaming hot bath.

"Would you like a handmaiden when we return home?" Willas called to her from where he was laid on their bed reading.

"I guess I'll probably have to," she replied, rinsing soap through her hair, her eyes shut in relaxation. "I don't suppose it's very proper for the future Lady of the Reach to not have one,"

"Did you not have help at home?" he asked, and Eddmina silently wished he'd set his book aside and climb into the bath with her.

"No, I liked doing my own hair," she shrugged, smirking as she remembered the amount of disagreements she had with her mother about that topic. "Sansa had a handmaiden, but I know some nights mother would send the poor girl away so she could do Sansa's hair herself. My sister is a much easier daughter than I am,"

"Margaery was the same as your sister, she was always more than happy to take on the role of a lady," Willas recalled. "She's always the perfect lady, even if she's my grandmother's prodigy,"

At the mention of Margaery, Eddmina remembered the parcel her goodsister had slipped into her trunk the day before she departed High Garden, and curiosity overwhelmed her. She couldn't believe she'd forgotten all about it, but as soon as she was out of the bath, drying herself and her hair off with a thick towel, she had to fight the urge to immediately rummage through her trunk to find it. She forced herself to take her time though, distracting herself by brushing through her damp hair, braiding it back for the time being.

The trunk was next to the bathtub so Eddmina didn't have to emerge from behind the privacy screen just yet. She knelt next to it, opening it up and searching through her dresses and cloaks to find the very thing she'd been looking for, a light weight parcel wrapped in brown paper. Quietly, Eddmina unwrapped it, and had to hold back a curse when she realised what it was, dropping the paper to hold up the nightgown and look at it properly. She had to stop herself from gasping in case Willas thought she was hurt but in reality she was actually shocked, considering she'd never seen anything like it.

The fabric was soft silk, so soft it felt like water, with laced details around the plunged neckline, and by holding it up by it's thin straps barely thicker than strips of ribbon she could see it would struggle reach her mid-thigh. She was surprised at the colour, the silver grey the colour of moonlight, and as she held it up to the light of the candles by the vanity table she flushed red as she realised it was practically transparent. Eddmina had never seen anything like it, she'd never seen a nightgown so low-cut, practically backless, and she knew it would cover practically nothing. That was the point though, because even she, with such little experience in matters like this, knew it was a beautiful thing.

Before she had the chance to put it on, she noticed a note had fluttered to the floor upon her unwrapping the nightgown. Eddmina picked it up and immediately blushed from embarrassment as she read Margaery's neat hand-writing.

'Dearest Eddmina, I hope this gift helps your honeymoon. If you thought my brother was helpless when he saw you in your wedding gown just wait until he sees you in this. With love, your new favourite sister, Margaery.'

At first Eddmina was overwhelmingly embarrassed, knowing that Margaery had been thinking of them in that way, but she quickly got over it as she instead felt grateful. Perhaps this could solve her problem with Willas and so without second thought and in a sudden burst of confidence, Eddmina took a deep breath and dropped her towel. It was just like Margaery to gift her something so sultry and revealing, yet the moment Eddmina slipped into the silk gown, she couldn't help but see the appeal. As she glanced at her reflection in the mirror she had to admit that it suited her, and she did look rather nice. She quickly finished drying off her hair, letting it out of the braid so it fell in somewhat dry curls. She looked at her reflection again for a moment, and before she could back down, she stepped out in front of the privacy screen.

Willas was where he had been before she got in the bath, still sat on their bed reading some history book. A quick glance to the leather-bound cover told her it was a history of the Night's Watch, and she felt her heart swell with pride, fuelling her confidence as she walked closer towards the bed. It made her feel a little irritated that she had gone to great efforts to look appealing yet he seemed naturally appealing to her, his curls wildly messy and his bare chest weathered from the sun, and as she looked at him, she couldn't help but be glad that he was her husband.

"Willas," she called as she stood at the side of the bed, and he immediately looked up from his book. She saw the look of surprise appear on his face instantly, his eyes widening slightly as he put his book aside, swallowing nervously as he took in her appearance. "Everything alright, husband?"

"Eddmina, I-" he began, clearly stunned as she stood before him. "What's this?"

"Just something I thought looked quite nice," she attempted to sound flirty but realised she just sounded the same as always; stubborn. "Do you like it?"

"Yes... Yes, very much so," he nodded, though he still seemed hesitant as he gestured for her to come closer. "Mina-"

"Yes, husband?" she asked, cocking her head to the side as she stood at his side, putting her hands on his bare shoulders, holding back a smirk as she felt him put one of his hands on her waist, guiding her a little closer to him.

"Is everything alright?" he asked, pulling his gaze from her body to her eyes as he looked almost concerned, reaching out with his spare hand and brushing her hair away from her face. "What's brought this on?"

"You haven't suggested us to lie together since our wedding night, and even then you were hesitant," she explained with a small sigh. "I understand you didn't want to make me uncomfortable, and I appreciate that with my whole heart, I do. I'm grateful for the respect you've shown me and your understanding over me not wanting to rush in to starting a family, but I thought you'd have wanted to lie with me at least a few times since then! Is there something wrong with me?"

"No, no, Gods, nothing is wrong with you," he reassured her, appearing more than apologetic as he guided her to sit down at his side on the bed. "You're right, I haven't made any suggestions but that wasn't because I don't like you or want you. Gods, Mina, I want you more than anything, especially in that, but with everything occurring surrounding our wedding, and all the changes we've both had to face I didn't want to rush anything. I wanted us to take our time and find our feet properly before we became properly intimate. I wanted you to know just how much I care about you as a person rather than thinking I only lusted after you,"

That made sense, and Eddmina felt foolish for thinking that he didn't care about her. She sighed again, taking hold of his hand and looking at the way their fingers intertwined. She was relieved, but at the same time overwhelmed by his words. He did like her, he did care about her, and with another wave of confidence she looked up and met his gaze, realising he was staring at her face.

"Each night then, when you kiss me in bed..." she began but was cut off as Willas wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close enough that she could feel his breath against her face.

"I wanted nothing more than to show you just how much I truly want you," he whispered in her ear, making her face turn hot. "But I wanted to wait until the right time, until I thought us both ready,"

"Are you ready now, then?" she asked quietly, part of her worrying he would suggest them waiting longer.

Her worrying was or nothing, as Willas didn't answer. He instead rose from the bed and made to take his clothes off. She felt relief wash over her, as well as a little excitement, and she quickly got up too, taking hold of his hands and moving them out of the way as she began to undress him herself. He didn't protest, rather he grinned as she ran her hands over his bare chest before she moved onto his trousers, and once they were off and he was completely undressed she guided him to their bed. Rather than allowing her to take complete charge, Willas quickly placed his hands on her hips and before she knew it he had laid her down on the bed, with him positioned on top of her in a way that didn't hurt his bad leg. As she looked up into his green eyes, she found herself overcome with the need to be close to him, so she put her hand behind his head and as soon as he was near, began to kiss him passionately. He was more than happy to engage in that kiss, his tongue in her mouth as she completely surrendered all of her desire over to him, feeling her insides explode like fireworks.

"Is this okay?" she breathed out as soon as his lips moved from hers to instead trail kisses across her jaw and down her neck. "You're not in pain?"

"Mina, this is the best I have felt in months," he sighed, his voice thick with lust. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes," she nodded eagerly. "I want this, I want you, Will,"

***

Word count: 4700

***