Mistress Bella's Shop

Maekar's expression was impassive, though Vira got the distinct impression that he was wondering why he had agreed to go shopping for dresses. He bowed respectfully to Mistress Bella, lapsing into strict formality as he often did when he was uncomfortable or unsure of how to properly act.

Luckily, Mistress Bella was tactful in the matter of gentlemen, and they were shown into a private fitting room, where there was a screen at one end where Vira could dress behind, and a rack of suitable dresses that the attendants brought in. Maekar was given a cup of wine, and they were left alone.

Vira chatted gaily while she dressed behind the screen, and came out in one dress after another to get ask his opinion. Maekar noticed that with each try, the dresses were getting clingier and flimsier and showed more and more bare flesh. On her fourth trial, Vira emerged in a gown of gossamer-thin pale green lace, baring the shoulders and the tops of her breasts. There was no corset or tightly laced bodice, so the lace clung naturally to her small waist, and the nearly transparent skirt was long and close-fitting instead of flared. All in all, it looked like an extremely daring version of a traditional Valyrian noblewoman's gown, and left little to the imagination and showed off Vira's figure to its advantage.

"Do you like this?" Vira asked, turning in front of the mirror. "Although..." she reached back. "I think the strap is loose, my lord. Do you think you could help tie it?"    

"Oh, forgive me, my lord," she replied in an equally soft voice, glancing over her shoulder at him. "Don't worry, I'll have an attendant lace it up and then we can continue on to the Red Keep." She smiled at him and motioned for him to sit down and make himself comfortable again, while she went to the door and called in an attendant. In no time she was laced up at the back, and she admired her reflection in the mirror for a few minutes. Never had Vira worn anything so beautiful, expensive and immodest. Her life would always be like this from now on, she vowed.

"I hope you were not too bored, my lord," she said with a smile, sitting down next to him and wearing matching shoes. As she bent down to lace them, Maekar was afforded an extraordinarily good view of her bosom. "It was so kind of you to wait. Shall we continue on to the Red Keep?"

Maekar smiled, clearly enjoying the view. "You are quite lovely, Lady Vira," he replied, in what may have been the understatement of the century, "though I imagine you'll draw the scorn of every woman at court for fear that you shall steal their husbands. It was my pleasure to wait," he admiring her for a moment again, before offering his elbow to leave the shop, turning in surprise at Baelon's shout.

"Lady Vira, this is Baelon Waters, the King's brother. Baelon; Vira, who has recently tamed the Grey Ghost," he said with a laugh, stepping forward to shake his uncle's hand, shrugging off his comment. "It is not often a woman convinces me to shop for dresses with her. Who is it who has managed to do the same of you?"

When Vira stepped forward to introduce herself, Maekar took a half a step back to get a better view of her backside, winking at Baelon over her shoulder.

Vira laughed. "Well I will repeat it to Adara, because she will be thrilled to hear your vote of confidence for the brunettes. But I believe we have not been introduced to this lady?" She turned to Baelon's young female companion with a smile.

"I have no doubt you will," Vira purred.

Vira's ears pricked up at this conversation. These two men were attractive and intriguing, but she was certainly interested to hear about their lands, keeps, incomes and lordships.

"It makes Lord Maekar look like a reaver," Vira said, smiling at Maekar's eye patch.



Every now and then, Vira wanted to hide her peasant roots, but now she decided there was no point. She had nothing to be ashamed of, and her dragon made her their equal far more than an castle-bred childhood would have.

"I'm from a village in the crownlands," she said. "You wouldn't have heard of it, my lord, and it was burned and destroyed by Poor Fellows and sparrows just before the march on Oldtown.

She laughed. "Baelon it is. Well, we were on the south bank of the Blackwater Rush, about one hour's ride west of King's Landing. A village called Lower Crinkley."

Speaking of it was extremely painful, but Vira's twinkling eyes and gay smile did not give any sign of it.

At Maekar's words, all coquettish ness disappeared from Vira's demeanor. She turned to Maekar with a glint in her eye.

"I'm coming," she said firmly. "The gods deprived me of a chance to rain fire on the men who raped and killed my mother, but if bandits still exist, they will pay in fire and blood, a thousandfold. I can leave with you as soon as you are ready. The three of us should go."