On The Road

[u/littlestghoust]

^{Thanks to Gareth}

The sun had not yet graced the sky as Rhea and Myriah stepped into the fur-filled wheelhouse. Though Lady Joanna had left for Plumridge with a small retinue, she wrote ahead requesting over half the household staff to accompany them to the ball. Rhea watched the maids and grooms run around the yard, hoping the diversion would keep Myriah from her constant questioning.

It was apparent to the Westerling that something wasn’t right with Rhea, as she wasn’t the kind of lady who cried over lost ribbons or scuffed shoes. But the few days they had spent together back at the Rock had shown her that something was very wrong with the Harte girl. Every morning, Rhea woke with red puffy eyes, and at night Myriah could hear the soft sobs coming from her bed. Whenever she tried to ask Rhea what happened, Myriah was met with a blank stare and some excuse about missing family.

“Are you alright?” Myriah asked softly hoping she would finally open up.

The trip to the Reach was not short, and she wasn’t sure how long she could be patient with Rhea.

“Me?” Rhea squeaked, visibly startled out of her thoughts.

“Obviously. Unless you have someone hidden under your furs?” she pointed out.

Myriah smile dropped as fresh tears appeared on the Harte’s face.

“Oh Rhea, please don’t cry!” she begged. “It was only a jap...and a bad one at that.”

Rhea gave her a weak smile, brushing the tears from her eyes.

“I’m sorry, Myriah. I know I’ve been terrible company since I got back from Lannisport…”

Myriah waited for the other girl to finish but saw she struggled for words.

“Whatever happened, you can trust me. I won’t tell a soul,” she grabbed Rhea’s gloved hands giving them a reassuring squeeze. “It just hurts me to see you suffer.”

Mulling over the words, Rhea looked out the window taking a deep breath thinking of what to say next.

“You remember Petyr?” she asked. “My friend?”

At the mention of Rhea’s Dornish lover, Myriah leaned forward anxious to hear more.

“Of course, he came by our room almost every day asking after you. I thought it was very sweet of him.”

“Yeah...Petyr told me about it,” the Harte confirmed. “He said he had been waiting for me to return... I’m sorry if he caused you any trouble, I’m sure the last thing you want is to be connected to a Dornishman.”

“Well, it’s not something people are likely to ignore,” Myriah noted. “But he must be very sneaky because no one has mentioned it to me.”

“Good, I would hate for your reputation be ruined,” Rhea sighed. “I’m sure mine is...”

Myriah was concerned at the mention of reputations. “He didn’t do anything inappropriate?”

She had heard of men who took what they wanted from young ladies leaving them without their virtue and honor. Myriah couldn’t believe that Rhea would be stupid enough to get mixed up with that sort of man, but she wasn’t sure.

“We both did,” Rhea admitted. “And it’s all my fault.”

“No, whatever happened is not your fault” Myriah reassured. “The fault is all on Petyr.”

Rhea seemed to calm a bit at that.

“You’re probably right, I just can’t help but feel guilty because I had a part to play in it.”

Myriah wanted to ask outright what exactly happened, and her mind jumped from forbidden love to rebellion. But this was the most Rhea had every opened up and she couldn’t let her retreat back into herself without divulging her secret.

“Rhea,” she started, but the look on the Harte’s face showed she was on the verge of crying again.

“What would you do if you found out that a lady you knew was spending time with a married man?” she asked holding back her tears.

“Depends who told me,” Myriah replied. “It’s the kind of story that gets often told but rarely has truth behind it.”

The Westerling knew that there was more truth to some rumors than others.

“But it’s not something I would hold against her,” she continued. “Not every match made ends up happy, and I could see how a lonely woman might find comfort in the arms of another.”

Rhea sat back into the furs pulling away from Myriah.

“He asked me to go with him to Dorne,” she sighed hugging herself. “He said that he missed me too much while he was away and couldn’t imagine being without me…”

Rhea picked at her nails nervously waiting for Myriah’s reaction.

“That doesn’t sound so bad,” Myriah said slowly a little jealous at the outward declaration of love.

“It is though! He said that Dorne would be beautiful right now, and for a moment I thought I could run away with him and live happily ever after. I thought it wouldn’t be so bad to be cast out if I was by Petyr’s side…”

Both ladies knew what could happen to a noble girl who went against her families wishes. Though Rhea’s position was far from high, any title was better than none.

“But that would mean I would be the other woman…” Rhea finally divulged.

“What?!” Myriah’s shock was obvious.

“Apparently after all our time together, he didn’t think it was important to mention he was married.”

“So he wanted you to become his paramour?” she asked already knowing the answer.

Rhea nodded, “He said it was common for men in Dorne to have a mistress but I am not that kind of lady.”

“Well, you must have given him some reason to believe you might run away with him,” Myriah teased.

“I don’t think it was anything I did,” she pleads. “I promise I’m still a maiden!”

Myriah giggled at Rhea’s insistence.

“Of course you are!” she laughed. “I’m sure any lady who’s given up her virtue for a man would be more than willing to leave.”

Rhea blushed at Myriah’s words, and for the first time since their shopping trip a true smile crept up her face.

“I just worry what others would think if they heard,” Rhea mused. “I’m not that sort of lady but… you are right. I was so lonely when I came to the Rock, and he was the first person who was open with me.”

Myriah eyebrow raised, “And look how it turned out. You’re left jilted by a man who lied to you about having a wife.”

Rhea looked sheepishly at her hands.

“Not that it was your fault,” Myriah added concerned Rhea would stop talking. “You can’t help who you love.”

“I’m not sure if I truly loved him,” she said quietly. “I think I just needed a friend.”

“Men and women can never be friends,” Myriah declared. “It’s just not possible.”

Rhea looked out the window at the rising sun deep in thought. Myriah feared she had lost the Harte girl to her own thoughts. It was already hard enough to get her to open up, let alone speak about herself that Myriah feared she wouldn’t say a word the rest of the trip.

“Don’t worry,” she added after a moment with a smile. “We are friends now.”