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The baby in Adrena's arms cried loudly and she rocked him slightly, not exactly knowing how to help him. Gilly was in the library practicing her reading and Adrena had offered to stay with Little Sam so she wouldn't be distracted; but now, she regretted it. She wasn't very good with babies as she had never had to care for one growing up. Lorelle's son had been older than her and died from a disease that she never cared to learn the name of. He deserved to die considering how badly he treated her for being a bastard. She hadn't felt bad at all when he finally croaked.
"Shhh, it's okay, little buddy." She cooed, rocking him as she stood around. The girl twirled slightly and danced to imaginary music, humming a tune to the baby. He stopped crying, looking up at her with wide eyes and she smiled to herself. She hummed some more until the baby felt asleep in her arms, his eyelashes resting on his cheeks and his face peaceful. She placed him on the bed, wrapping him up in his blanket to keep him even more warm. Adrena let out a deep sigh, craving a nap but when she laid down, she couldn't fall asleep. The girl was growing restless here, there wasn't anything to do but sit around. If she had anywhere else to go, she'd have been gone by now. But she didn't really want to go home and deal with the people of Blathe depending on her. She was sure they had found someone to take over for her in her absence.
She closed her eyes, begging sleep to come to her. It finally did and she drifted off into a light sleep.
"Father!" Younger Adrena yelled loudly, tears soaking her eyes as she watched Ned Stark stab her father in the back. She tried to run towards him but a man held her back, preventing her from running towards him. She sobbed and kicked her feet, trying to break free of the man's grip. Ned ordered his men to light him on fire and Adrena cried out, begging him to stop. The little girl was traumatized as they lit her father on fire, his body burning up and her watching as he disappeared into a burnt corpse. Ned turned to look at the girl, pity in his eyes for her. She glared at him, trying to throw herself at him with a shout but she couldn't reach him. She cried softly, her eyes on the burnt body of her father.
Adrena jumped up from her nap, looking towards where Little Sam was except he wasn't there. She stood up, breathing heavily and looked around anxiously. The girl ran outside, her eyes falling on the headless man and she almost screamed. Jon stood with his sword aimed down and his eyes cold. He dropped his weapon and turned abruptly. Adrena ignored the feeling that said to go after him and ran towards the library, rushing in and letting out a sigh of relief when she saw Gilly sitting there with the baby.
"I'm sorry I fell asleep. I didn't intend to sleep so long." Adrena apologized and realized that for once she did mean the apologies that left her mouth. Gilly looked at her for a second before smiling.
"It's okay. You haven't been taking tests I've noticed and I wanted you to sleep as long as you could. You have to heal, you know? Mentally and physically." Adrena stared at the girl, surprised by her wise words. She had expected her to be not as intelligent as others considering she was a wildling but she was learning more and more everyday. Sam was lucky to have such a great girl in his life.
"I'm not one to rest. I always have to keep moving, to keep training." She responded with a grimace and Gilly rocked Little Sam a bit, shaking her head.
"Training for what?" Adrena paused and realized she didn't know the answer. She was training for no reason at this point. It was just a habit to practice her fighting.
"I don't know, Gil." She stated, sighing. "My natural instinct for ten years or so was to fight and train to kill my enemies. I don't know anything else but that."
Gilly stayed silent for a good minute or two before grabbing a book from the table and sliding it her way.
"Why don't you read? Sam told me that reading is a way to occupy yourself and learn." Adrena smiled, looking down at the book about the Targaryens. She hadn't read much about them and it seemed quite interesting. Maybe, she'd give it a try.
"Can I be honest with you?" Gilly nodded. "I don't even know why I'm still here. I'm the Lady of Blathe. I should be at home but that doesn't feel like my home. I don't belong anywhere." She ran a hand through her hair, her eyes sad in that moment, realizing the hard truth.
"You might not belong anywhere, but you have friends like me, Jon and Sam. We can be your home." Adrena almost teared up at the thought, feeling overwhelmed. She honestly knew Sam and Gilly liked her but Jon was a whole other story. Some days he admired her, others he seemed distant with her, and maybe it was just him having an off day, but she didn't think he would consider her a friend. He barely even tolerated her.
"Thank you for being my friend." Adrena placed her hand on Gilly's, the two sharing a smile. It ended as soon as it started and they went back to their own thing. The two girls sat in silence, reading their books and enjoying the other's company. It was the first time she felt relaxed in a while.
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author's note: these next few chapters might be so boring like the last two but i promise they'll get better when more happens. s6 is when the real shit happens
