The ship's wood creaked with the slow rocking of the waves, and the salty smell of the sea mingled with the subtle incense that Septa Lemore always burned on quiet nights. The crew was asleep, scattered among hammocks and corners, but your cabin remained lit by a flickering candle. You sat at the narrow table, your eyes red and teary, staring at the small cup where the dark, bitter liquid of moon tea awaited.

You were the daughter of a minor house, so small it wasn't even worth mentioning in songs or maps, a lineage that barely survived in the winds of Westeros, and could never aspire to the greatness of the influential houses. Septa Lemore had brought with her the teachings of the Seven, the piety and righteousness that seemed to ease the burden of some. But you... you had brought another side of humanity. Desire, lust, flesh burned by forbidden touch.

Griff was not just the secret heir to a lost throne, to you, he was the boy who smiled awkwardly when no one was looking, who sought comfort in you in the silences of the night. You had lain together once... perhaps more than once. Every moment engraved on your skin, every whisper in the dark now became a torturous memory. For within you grew the proof of this sin, a child who could never be legitimized, a name that would never be recognized.

You couldn't give him what the world demanded. He needed alliances, a strong marriage, a bride of blood and coat of arms who could help him reconquer a kingdom. You were just a distraction, a sweet and bitter mistake. So the decision seemed clear, inevitable. The moon tea rested before you, promising to erase the mark before it blossomed, before the world discovered it.

But the door creaked.

Griff rushed in, his pale face illuminated by the candle. His blue eyes fixed on the cup in your hand, and for a moment he seemed to forget to breathe. Then he advanced, almost tripping on the narrow floor of the cabin.

"Don't do it." His voice sounded grave, almost broken, unlike the firmness he tried to show his father's men. "Please don't drink it."

You closed your eyes, turning your face away, tears streaming down your cheeks. "There's no choice, Griff. You know that. You can't marry me. I'm the daughter of a house that barely has a name, and you... you need a queen, not a memory of hidden nights."

He knelt before you, his trembling hands holding your wrists. "I know. I know I can't marry you. Not now. Maybe never." The confession tore him apart inside, and you felt it in the way his voice faltered. "But even so, don't take this away from me."

"And what would that be?" you whispered bitterly, staring at him with tear-filled eyes. "A bastard? A shame hidden in the shadows of Essos?"

His eyes flashed with something close to despair. "A child. My child." He pressed his hands against his chest, as if to engrave that promise on his heart. "I don't know if I'll ever have another. I don't know if I'll make it there, if I'll win, if I'll have the right to build a legitimate family. But this one... this one I already have. Don't take that away from me."