The Lost Wolf Part 2

Never had she hated herself more than at that moment; when she broke down at what her brother had said in anger. Words were wind it was said, but the strongest person can be bent like a reed under the right conditions. Her self-loathing was not helped by her traitorous body; still somewhat unpredictable after birth, as it decided that a few words spoken in anger were justification for breaking into tears. She tried to control herself and march out but a part of her was painfully aware that the room's other occupants were not the slightest bit fooled about the cause of her departure.

However, hate alone was not enough to torment her because she knew that as much as the knowledge was unwelcome; Ned was completely justified in his words, intended or otherwise. Yet what was left unsaid was bound to create even more problems later on. Did he expect that she would abandon her child to gallivant around with a stranger? She knew that Osiris (a false name, he told her) had intentionally avoided his own introductions and scraping by with just a name, not an uncommon one at that. There was also the question of what Ned thought was the relationship between her and Sand. He may not have been aware of it but in his own seemingly amoral, lawless way; Osiris could have given Ned's honour a run for its money. On the bright side, he was much better at explanations and her absence might actually help the argument if Osiris stepped in, if he stepped in.

Fretting over it was not going to help her so she decided to take charge of what she could actually control. Half an hour later after she had cleaned herself up, ate something and steeled herself (that took the longest) for the unbearable conversation to follow she went back…to find the room empty.

Wylla entered the room and before she could up, she nudged her chin upwards to the roof. "Where's…" she started to ask but then remembered that she had wanted Ned to name the child. A selfish peace offering to be honest but she believed that the child should be named by somebody he would be able to look up to in the future. Fortunately, Wylla knew what She was about to ask and replied, "sleeping, M'lady."

If there was one thing that Dorne has similar to the North is the night sky. Sure, a maester would not forget to point out the slight shift in the constellations and so on but to the unchained what did it matter? A constellation by any inclination was just as heavenly; awe-inspiring to the poet or singer in anybody who actually bothered to look up. Having been locked in a room for a year, she had gained a new appreciation for such a view and so did Ned apparently who looked quieter than usual, if that was possible.

She tried to force a smile before reminding herself that she knew better than to try to charm him. He turned around but his face might as well have been made of ice for her to try and read it. Neither a frown nor a smile furnished it and when he spoke, it sounded like a dead man's voice from the afterlife. What exactly did Osiris tell him?

"Go, Lya." "Excuse me?" "Did you not hear me? I said go. Enough lives have been lost in your name. So as much as it would taint my honour; it is not worth the lives of thousands more to protect yours. Go now before I change my mind."

She could barely believe him and it must have shown because Ned then shut the trap on the carefully worded bait. "I must admit, not many people would have the courage that you do Lya, to leave behind a new-born in search of escape. It's either that or cowardice."

"I don't mean to leave him behind, Ned. He is going to…" "Go with you? Go where exactly? You continue to astound me sister; it takes a special kind of ruthlessness to kill your own child to further your wishes."

"I am not going to kill him, Ned!" "No, you are just going to go ride off into the desert with him with a child in tow. Never mind the fact that he is a new-born. Even if you can avoid being killed in your sleep, there are half a hundred ways that the child can die there. I have given up on stopping you or at least, to try to stop you from getting yourself killed Lya. I have given up on fixing your mistakes. If you are so eager to avoid a marriage that you would go out hunting in the winter, then you have my consent, but you will never have my blessing. However, I would let the others take me before I would let you harm the boy."

She remembered the day's conversation prior to her fleeing the room; and was flooded with the embarrassment of being proven wrong, "Before you deny it, you should remember that you and your friend laid the same argument against me when I tried to take Jon as my own. The argument still holds here."

For a moment she saw her father there, the warmth was still there somewhere, but it was hidden behind winter given form. She knew that there would be no moving him. So for the first time in her life, she learnt to keep her mouth shut.

"You did say that I should have put what I knew to be right ahead of what I am told to follow. Now is a good place to start as any."