Chapter Fourteen
A/N: Thank you to kmhappybunny240, RebelKorra, Beloved Daughter and Guest for reviewing the last chapter.
The servants went about their duties as normal, sparing hardly a glance for the young princess stood waiting at the gates. It had been a week since the army had left, with no word from the field of battle on how they fared. Myrcella had seen little of combat- she had been born the year that peace had been restored to the kingdoms after Greyjoy's Rebellion- but she knew enough to realise that this would be no swift victory. Mayhaps, cried the darkest part of her soul, it would not be a victory at all.
Only one woman remaining in the castle paid any heed to Myrcella's ritual, and that was Lady Stark herself. When the sun reached its peak in the sky each day, she too would stand at the gates of Riverrun, watching the horizon as if that gesture alone could magic her son from the ether. No words passed between them, either of encouragement or criticism.
The two women stood together in silence each day, so much at odds between them and yet bound together by love for the king at the head of his army.
It was the ninth day of waiting before the silence was finally broken, and the soft press of Lady Catelyn's voice met the princess' ears. She trembled in shock at the sound when the woman first spoke; not so much because she had spoken, but because it was the first time she had heard her sound so kind.
"I think you care for him very much." Myrcella looked over to Lady Stark, whose eyes were still trained on the horizon, almost as if she could not bear for her eyes to confirm she was speaking these words to a Lannister.
"King Robb has been good to me." Myrcella answered, uncertain quite when she had begun to deem him a king. Perhaps it was his courage, however loathe she would be to admit it, in riding into battle with his men. Joffrey would never do such a thing; knowing her brother, he would never take to the battlefield at all. "I am an enemy captive, a lion among wolves. His men would not have blamed him for dragging me out into the woods and leaving me for the wild dogs to eat; mayhaps they would have praised him for it. But he protected me, no matter what anyone told him. They are not many men who would do the same."
"Robb is not like most men." Lady Catelyn conceded, her clenched jaw softening at the thought of her son. "He is honourable, and kind-hearted, and selfless. All the things his father taught him to be."
The woman's lip began to tremble, though she did her best to hide it, like an injured animal fearing to show weakness in case it should become easy prey. Myrcella's gaze fell to the floor. It was suddenly all too clear why Lady Stark could not bear to look at her. The princess may have been a doe by name, but she was the image of her mother, the woman who had stood by and watched Eddard Stark's execution. That was, if she had not given the order herself. Myrcella knew her mother better than near anyone; she knew the woman was more than capable of murder.
"His father would be proud of him." Myrcella stated. She knew it was a risk, but the words could not go unspoken. "He's grown into a fine warrior, an excellent leader. He cares as much for his men's lives as his own, mayhaps more. From what my own father told me about Lord Eddard, they're exactly alike. Is that not what a man looks for in his son, or a woman in her daughter? They want them to be as their parents were, and all that that their parents could not be as well."
Her sympathies had seemed to fall on deaf ears, for Lady Catelyn simply stared at her with curiosity. "Do you wish to make your mother proud, Lady Myrcella?"
It was a trap, she was sure of it. One false word and she proved herself a traitor. The Stark faction despised hardly anyone more than Cersei Lannister… but Myrcella hardly loved anyone more, and after praising King Robb's honesty, she could not bring herself to betray his example.
"All daughters want to make their mother proud," she answered eventually, watching as Lady Stark's eyebrows raised. "But I am afraid I never will. My mother wants me to be like her, to be strong and fearless, and fight for all that my brothers are given, and I am not. My mother has achieved so much in her life; she is the foremost lady of the Seven Kingdoms. But I'm not blind, I know the ways she did it… and I can never do the same."
"Because you are not brave enough?" Lady Catelyn pressed, almost taunting in her tone.
Myrcella shook her head gently, not rising to the bait. "Because I am not cold enough. My mother always told me that love is a weakness, that your enemies will use it against you, to hurt you. But I don't believe that. True, love may mar my life one day, mayhaps even end it, but if I do not love, then how can I really say I lived at all?"
For the first time, Lady Catelyn's disapproval gave way to a smile. All of a sudden, the woman reached out, taking Myrcella's bare hand in her glove-covered one. It was the only affection she had ever shown the child, or allowed herself to show. She was a lion among wolves, as she had said herself; however innocent that cub may be, the wolves would still tear it apart if they had the chance. But there was something in the girl's eyes- the beauty of Sansa, with the hidden ferocity of Arya- that Lady Catelyn could not ignore any longer.
"Robb will return soon." the woman claimed, placing the princess' hand back at her side and returning her gaze to the horizon. In moments, they were back where they had begun, the king's mother and his favoured prisoner. "I can feel it in my heart. He will return victorious."
It was a belief almost mad in its delusion, that King Robb would return from battle at all, let alone as a champion. But Lady Stark's voice was so filled with conviction that Myrcella did not dare argue against, even if her own heart was torn in two directions. Strange things were happening in the world all around them, with even whispers of dragons in the east reaching their ears. Mayhaps with such wonders emerging from the dark, the Mother would finally answer her prayers for mercy.
A/N: I feel like a lot of the reason Catelyn hated Myrcella in the beginning is because she assumes that Myrcella will be exactly like her mother; the fact is, she doesn't want to be. So their relationship may slowly become a bit warmer from now on. Anyway, hope you enjoyed and please review!