Warning manipulative behavior and emotional abuse in this chapter, if you don't like don't read.
Thanks to Nanso for beta reading! Hope you enjoy!
"You know what else is great about Elia?" Benjen asked his brother from the other side of the sheriff's desk. Eddard groaned, and he could hear Jory laughing from the lobby.
Eddard looked up at the dark-haired little boy who was supposed to be doing his homework. Benjen would rather talk about Elia then converting percentages into fractions. Eddard couldn't tell if his brother was trying to set him up with a married woman or if he was in love with Elia himself.
"She isn't just warm, kind, and compassionate, she is also really really smart. That's why you called her," Benjen said.
"Do your homework please," Eddard said from behind his desk. Lyanna was supposed to watch him. She said she was quitting volleyball but apparently she had practice. Old Nan was sick so Eddard thought he could just do his homework while he got some work done in his office. But that was proving to be impossible.
Eddard was just happy Benjen was dressed halfway decent so Elia would not judge him when she arrived. His sneakers matched, and he wore a passable clean Batman shirt. His jeans were the right length now, but Benjen was a skinny kid and they were baggy on him which led Eddard to use a burlap cord to tie his pants up.
Her opinion mattered to him more than it should. He told himself he just respected her and wanted her respect in return. But for some reason any time he saw her, he had to remind himself she was married, and that told him in his gut he was wrong. He was trying to avoid too many run-ins with her. But the Targaryens had been here for three weeks now with no intention to leave, and Lyanna was watching her kids every so often. It made him shake his head. the last time Lyanna babysat for Elia, his blue jeans and tee-shirt-loving little sister was wearing a blue dress and his mother's earrings. It was funny to him - it seemed he wasn't the only one trying to impress Elia.
He instinctively sat up when he heard the bell and the door opened. He looked to the monitor to see Jory greeting her. She had her orange coat on and a purple scarf, matching snow boots and brown pants. Her children were equally bundled. Rhaenys held her mommy's hand. The little girl had her mother's beautiful skin color and curly dark hair. She was like Elia's clone, and she was dressed head to toe in pink - a light pink coat, hat, boots, and bright pink scarf, gloves and pants. Aegon for his part cried, making his pale cheeks bright red. His coat had sailboats on it, and he had thick pants and little boots on, as well as a black hat and scarf with red dragons on it.
They were in his doorway in moments, and he tried to look as though he had not been watching them. Eddard stood up as she walked in. He wasn't sure why, but it was how he was raised. He was proud when Benjen stood up too, running to hug Elia.
"Thanks for coming in, I'm sorry for any inconvenience," Eddard told her, feeling guilty she had both her little ones with her.
"It's no problem at all. I owe you after how much we have been stealing Lyanna," Elia said. She was babysitting for them a lot.
"You can have her," Ned joked. "She loves your kids and she really likes you. And she may be Rhaegar's biggest fan." Only the last annoyed Eddard. She came home once with a painting Rhaegar gave her of what looked to be a sunset, but there was a dinner plate where the sun should be. Lyanna seemed to think it was really deep, but he could not make sense of it.
"I promise I gave her money too, and we are not just weirdo's paying people with paintings now," Elia said with her wonderful warm laugh.
"Can you just tell me what it means? I have a teenager at home who thinks I'm an uncultured swine, and I may be but I'd like to pretend I'm not," Eddard said making her laugh again.
"It's a statement on hunger and the setting of…. alright, I have no idea for the life of me, I might be uncultured too," Elia said. They both burst into laughter even though the last thing he would call her was uncultured.
After a moment of silence after their laughing fit, Elia felt heavy under his gaze. She could not really put her finger on how it was he looked at her, but it always made her melt. Which she always shook off because that was probably inappropriate. Still - she had never seen the sheriff in his uniform and brown leather jacket, and she decided instantly it more than suited him. "Is this all the documents he sent you?" Elia asked looking through the file on his desk labeled
in bold.
"Police police!" Rhaenys cried before trying to mimic a police siren gleefully. Ned instantly smiled. She was jumping up and down and seemed to be in a very playful unruly mood. Her mother was trying to read, comfort a screaming baby and hold on to her wild little toddler.
"Rhaenys come here," Ned said. She ran to him immediately, and he sat her in his chair. He got out a walkie-talkie from his desk, put it on the right setting and gave it to her. "Benjen, go use Jory's walkie," he told him. Benjen ran out, happy to avoid work and soon was talking to the toddler to her instant delight.
Ned went to the other side of the desk, taking Aegon from her who screamed louder until he started taking off the baby's layers. "Did it get colder out?" Eddard asked, receiving a playful glance from Elia.
"It's cold for southerners," she promised, making him smile. Her black eyes went back to the documents.
"The dark color and Dragons?" Ned asked as he removed the hat and scarf from the baby almost instantly appeasing him.
"Rhaegar's mother made it for him," she said without looking up from the papers.
"I appreciate this, Bolton says he is suing me but after reading those papers twice, I still don't have a clue what for," Eddard said. He could have used his connections as sheriff, but that wasn't his way.
"It's buried in legal mumbo jumbo to make up for the fact that he does not have a case. He's suing you for hunting rights on some land you own. He doesn't have a case, he is just hoping the lawsuit scares you and you settle," Elia said and Eddard was impressed. He knew she was a lot more than just a beautiful woman, but he never saw her in action before.
"So, do I need a lawyer?" Ned asked. "My friend Robert Baratheon is a lawyer, but he really doesn't - "
"You're friends with Robert Baratheon? I've worked with him and against him before, they don't call him the hammer of Storm's End for nothing," Elia said, not saying that he plays five times as hard as he works. "No, I'm just going to call him, and he's going to drop the lawsuit," Elia said. She leaned over Eddard's desk to pick up his land line and dial the number.
"Hello, is this Roose Bolton?" Elia asked. After a few moments, she stood straight up. "This is Elia Martell Targaryen, I am Mr. Stark's lawyer. e will not be settling. And you do not want to take this to court because then I will be looking into your property lines with a fine-tooth comb. Please do not contact my client again and when you google me, Martell has two L's," Elia said before hanging up. She looked at Eddard and smiled. "He's going to call you and drop it."
"You are amazing," Eddard said. He looked to Aegon who was playing with the silver Sheriff Star on his uniform, now happily content in his arms as he lightly spun his office chair making Rhaenys giggle.
"You are pretty amazing yourself sheriff," Elia said before taking back her baby. She immediately checked his diaper. "Where is your restroom?"
"There isn't a changing table in there. You can change him on the desk if that would work?" Eddard told her.
"Thank you," Elia said, taking a blanket from her big bag and laying it out.
"Can I show Rhaenys the holding cell?" Benjen asked as he ran back in.
"How about you show her the candy jar on Jory's desk and get her a sheriff sticker instead," Eddard said.
Rhaenys gleefully jumped out of the chair to go with Benjen.
"Good call," Elia laughed. As she began to change her baby and he began fussing, her cellphone rang in the discarded bag.
"Do you mind? I don't want Rhaegar to worry," Elia said. She assumed he returned home after visiting with his uncle again and found the house empty.
"Not at all," Eddard said. He looked in the big leather bag, moving past the diapers and baby wipes and snacks to find her phone.
"Nymela Toland?" Eddard said
"Don't answer that!" Elia said, stopping Ned in his tracks as he was about to.
"Are you sure?" Eddard asked.
"Just let it ring," Elia said, never looking up from Aegon.
Eddard put her phone on the desk as it buzzed away. He couldn't help but think this was wrong. Elia had seemingly no remorse for ignoring this woman. The phone briefly stopped before starting to buzz again.
"Is she a friend of yours?" Eddard asked finally.
"She was," Elia said softly as she began to redress her son in all his layers. She gave Aegon her full attention, not looking away from him for a second.
"What if it's an emergency," Eddard asked as he saw the texts appear across the screen, begging Elia to pick up, scattered in with apologies.
"Then she shouldn't call me she should call the authorities," Elia said with a shrug.
"What if she wants to be friends again?" Eddard asked. It just slipped out. Lyanna seemed to go through things like this daily. He was about to apologize when Elia picked up her baby and looked at him for the first time since he said that name. Her eyes were watering. There was pain in them, but anger too.
"Then she shouldn't have slept with my husband," Elia hissed quietly as tears poured down her face.
"Elia I am so sorry - "Eddard started.
"It's fine," Elia said wiping her face and grabbing her things. "Let me know when Bolton calls you and get Benjen a real belt," Elia said.
"I can't find a small enough belt. I will have to order something but shipping up here takes forever."
"Come on country boy, poke a new whole in one of your belts," Elia said. He wasn't sure how he had not thought of that, but he couldn't let her go.
"It's 6:30pm, let me take you and the kids out for pizza."
"I need to get home, thank you," she said, grabbing her things. Her hand was shaking.
"Elia, you're upset, let me drive you home," Eddard said finally.
"I am fine!" Elia said, but she was struggling to stop crying and calm down.
Maybe he felt responsible after he practically forced her to share private informationor maybe it was because he was scared shitless she would drive right now.
"My brother died driving when he was angry, and it killed my dad" Eddard said somberly.
Elia didn't say anything. She just handed him her keys.
"Jory will you follow - "Eddard started.
"Rhaegar should be home he can drive you back," Elia promised. As much as Eddard did not want to spend any more quality time with Rhaegar, he wanted to start driving before she changed her mind, so he agreed.
They hadn't been in the car for four miles before all three of the kids were passed out.
"I am sorry for snapping at you earlier," Elia said softly. Her accent seemed to be thicker when she was upset.
"I am sorry for intruding; it was none of my business," Eddard said simply.
"It's fine, you were probably wondering what two idiots with more money than sense and no desire or ability to ski were doing vacationing in the north," Elia said. There was an overwhelming sadness to her.
Eddard shook his head. "Not if they're painting weirdos," He said making her smile a little.
"You know, when I first met Rhaegar, I was his biggest fan. I thought his work was wonderful. He painted for me all the time, and he sang to me at night. e was so smooth and charming. He's still exactly like he was when we first met, I'm the one that changed. He tells me that all the time, and he is right. He showed Lyanna lumpy blue roses he painted last week, and she cried because they were so beautiful to her. I stare at that painting all the time, and I don't see anything beautiful in it. It just makes me wonder how many women he's made paintings like this for, how many songs he sang for them because he never changes. Nymella isn't the only one, she's just the only one apologizing for it," Elia said softly as she looked out the window. She seemed miles away.
"Why did you stay?" Eddard asked before he could take it back. She turned to him, those black eyes looking at him sadly.
"I always tell my brothers and friends I wanted to fix things for the children's sake, and I do…You know that day in the grocery store, I told Benjen about my mom dying when I was his age."
"I heard that," Eddard admitted. "It was nice of you."
"It was a lie. When I was little, my father left and my mother was heartbroken. She would be gone for days looking for him, she could never give him up. Even when she was with us, she wasn't with us - she was in bed crying over him. I tried my best to take care of Oberyn. We always had brinner and he thought it was the best thing in the world. But it was because all I could cook was eggs, toast and cereal. When my older brother found out, he wanted full custody of us and when I was about Benjen's age, he got it. y mom gave up her rights to us, and I decided that she was dead to me. I was a mess for a long time, I always threw myself at work, and I didn't usually have time to date. He was the first man who made me feel truly loved, and the worst part is he knows it too," Elia admitted. She wished now he didn't because he used it like a weapon.
"I hope everything works out," Eddard said simply.
"Do you want to talk about your brother?" Elia asked.
Eddard looked in the back seat to make sure Benjen was still asleep.
"My older brother was meant for all this, carrying on the family business, the Stark name, my father's legacy - it was always supposed to be him and not me. He had his whole life ahead of him. Brandon got worked up, he always was hotblooded. My father called it wolf blood, said Lyanna has it too. It got Brandon killed. My father always thought it was a good thing, he always said we were the wolves of the north. I've never been like that," Ned said. There was almost regret in his voice.
"No, you're not a wild wolf, but that doesn't mean you aren't a wolf if that's what you want to be. You seem to be doing a good job leading the pack," Elia teased.
"And what about you, are you a Dragon?" Eddard teased.
"I don't know…..that's my problem," Elia admitted. Eddard was going to ask but they arrived.
He helped her unload the kids.
"Where is Lyanna?" Elia asked softly.
"She had volleyball and her friends always have a sleep over after volleyball on Fridays," Eddard explained as she opened the door.
"I miss sleep overs, my friends would play horrible pranks. Don't worry, I won't give Lyanna any ideas," she promised.
"Hey, you guys are late," Rhaegar said from his place painting.
"Rhaegar could you please put a tarp down if you're going to paint in a rented cabin?" Elia scolded.
"It's fine," Eddard promised.
"He said it's fine," Rhaegar said. not bothering to come help with the kids as Elia struggled with her bag and the baby. She took Rhaenys back from Eddard, ending up letting the bag fall before putting Rhaenys on the couch and then Aegon in the playpen.
"Will you give Eddard a ride back to town?" Elia asked.
"Why did he drive you here?" Rhaegar asked.
"Long story," she told him, picking up her bag.
"Can't you?" he asked, focusing on the painting of what looked to Eddard like a raccoon that was ran over but for some reason was happy about it. Eddard had seen a lot of roadkill before but none of it was ever smiling.
"Do you want to wake the children, feed them, bath them, and get them ready for bed?" Elia asked.
"Fine," Rhaegar said, visibly annoyed. "But I'm taking my car,"
"Benjen is already in the rental," Elia said.
"It's fine," Eddard said, just wanting to get Benjen home to feed him.
Eddard unbuckled his brother and carried him to the sports car. Benjen still looked so cute and little when he was asleep. He put him in the back of the car buckling him up.
It wasn't ten minutes into the ride that Eddard found himself watching the speedometer. "Easy, it's 50 here," Eddard said, unable to help looking back at Benjen who happily snored.
"Whatever you say sheriff," Rhaegar said. Ned heard at the station Rhaegar was raking up tickets all over town. "So, are you going to tell me what happened? Why Elia couldn't take care of her children?"
"I think Elia does a wonderful job taking care of your children," Eddard said simply.
Rhaegar looked over at Eddard smiling. "I like you sheriff, there's something so old world about you, you know. You're the knight in shining armor, the cowboy in the white hat with an overactive sense of duty."
Eddard looked out the window at the falling snow.
"You don't talk much, Sheriff," Rhaegar said after a couple miles.
"No, I only talk when I've got something to say," Eddard admitted.
"Then why do I feel like you have something to say?" Rhaegar asked.
"I haven't figured out what I want to say to you yet," Eddard admitted.
"Well you will have to let me know when you figure it out," Rhaegar said amused.
"You'll be the first to know," Eddard promised.
….
When Rhaegar returned home, the children were asleep. He went upstairs to what he assumed passed for a master bedroom in the North. Elia was already in a long night gown rubbing lotion on her arms. She had that sullen look on her face that he was getting used to.
"Are you going to tell me why the sheriff had to drive you and my children home?" Rhaegar asked he acted annoyed, disappointed and worried but truly he found the idea amusing. What could Elia possibly have gotten into? She was a boring housewife who always did the right thing which seemed so boring to him.
"Are you going to tell me why you've been getting tickets like they are trading cards?" Elia asked Of course she had known, she had a knack for finding out his secrets - at least usually.
"Fine," Rhaegar said laughing. "To secrets," he mused as he took off his shirt and she crawled into bed.
"I am going to shower," he announced.
"Alright," she said. She held a pillow close to her chest. He knew she was wishing it was one or both of their children, but he had been very clear about not wanting the children in their bed. Elia wanted to hold them through the night he did not understand her obsession with them. He loved his children too, but Elia could never detach from them she was always their mother no matter what else.
Rhaegar looked his wife over. She was rather beguiling. When her wild hair was straightened,it fell about her waist and reminded him of when they first started dating. She wore her hair like that with the little black negligée the night he was pretty sure they conceived Rhaenys. Back then he could do no wrong in her eyes.
"Aren't you going to join me?" he asked, expecting her to jump up excitedly, but she didn't even look at him.
"No, Rhaegar," she said tiredly.
"No?" he asked more confused than anything.
"Nymella has been calling me," Elia said, giving him a glare before turning away. He cursed under his breath.
"Elia, it's not fair for you to punish me for past mistakes," Rhaegar told her.
"Why did you have to sleep with my friend?" Elia asked hurt. "Cersei Lannister's smug looks I can stomach, but you slept with one of my friends and mentioned it while you were trying to seduce Ashara!" Elia said.
Rhaegar felt this was all Ashara's fault for telling Elia in the first place. If the girl would have just kept her mouth shut, Elia would be none the wiser. He supposed it was all for the best - after all he was enjoying himself in the North. Still, he needs to pacify Elia which was simple enough.
He crawled into bed. "Bringing up those things only hurts you Elia," he told her, but she refused to turn over to look at him.
"You know why I did those things, Elia. We wanted a big family; I was an only child for most of my life. We wanted a house full of children, you told me you were going to give me a gaggle of silver haired babies," he told her. She was completely silent, and he felt it was a good sign. He pulled her down to lay on her back. He ripped the pillow from her, tossing it to the floor and crawled on top of her, so she had to look at him. "You know why I strayed, Elia, I was looking for comfort and you know why. Say it, Elia," Rhaegar told her.
"I cannot give you any more children," Elia whispered with tears in her eyes. He had to stop the smile from appearing on his face. Elia was a strong woman and he knew that would always be her downfall. Strong women never thought of themselves capable of being manipulated. The best thing about Elia was that she never saw herself as a victim.
"It's not only me that has been failed - Aegon and Rhaenys will never have more brothers and sisters to play with, to learn from," he mentioned. Elia loved nothing more than her children. Tears ran down her face now.
He decided she suffered enough for the moment and he could go to his favorite part - being the hero that made it all better. He shushed her before leaning down and kissing her. "It's alright, Elia, I love you anyways, just don't bring it up again, it's too painful for you," he whispered sweetly. He kissed her again. "I love you, Elia, despite your flaws, and mood swings, and the scars on your stomach, I love you," he promised. "And that's special because no one else will." He told her brushing his hand through her hair. Elia leaned up to kiss him. She was always eager to please after he reminded her of her place. He wondered if she even knew she was doing it.
Eddard was surprised he was going back to the cabin, but he wanted to thank Elia because like she said, Roose called him and dropped the lawsuit. Benjen for his part refused to be left behind. Lyanna instead decided to stay at the house. She told him last night when he asked her when the next volleyball meet would be that she quit that too. She had been in trouble when he found out a few nights ago she was not at volleyball practice or at a sleepover at all, according to Bethany's mother. Lyanna told him Catelyn picked her up from school and let her stay with her. He knew Lyanna missed Catelyn, but he was still angry about the sneaking around. He called Catelyn several times to ask her what the hell she was thinking but like always, she did not answer him.
He was sort of hoping Elia could give her some girl time. He knocked on the door.
Elia opened the door in a baggy shirt and yoga pants with messy curly hair.
"Elia!" Benjen cried, hugging her.
"Hello boys, come on in!" Elia said giving him a quick hug. She led them to the kitchen where she was cooking soup.
"I brought some Walkie Talkies!" Benjen told Rhaenys who was coloring at the table. "I can hide with one, and we stay in contact while you try to find me!" Benjen told her, making her happily leap up going to him. "See, I could babysit!" Benjen told Eddard who had not been letting Lyanna babysit lately which made her angry. But he couldn't shake this feeling he had.
"Thank you for playing with her," Elia said, making Benjen swell with pride before running off.
"I wanted to come thank you, Roose called me this morning," Eddard said. Elia smiled.
"No problem, I missed it really," Elia mused. "If you need legal help, I'm your girl. I took the bar in the North the last time Oberyn got in trouble on Bear island," Elia said, making Eddard smile.
"I wish my brother could have met yours," Eddard admitted.
"The world would burn, and everyone would be pregnant," Elia teased as she stirred her soup. "You boys are more than welcome to stay or lunch, but I will warn you - Rhaegar hates my cooking. It's too hot for him," she admitted.
"May I?" Eddard asked, going towards the stove just as she turned to him with a spoon full of soup. He was sure he had never been this close to her before. He could smell her perfume - it was like lemons and flowers and unsteadied him in a way only she seemed to be able. She fed him the soup while watching him intently.
"Is it too hot?" she asked worried.
"No, it's good," he promised. It was hot, but not just a burning heat; it was rich in flavor.
She smiled proudly. "I've been meaning to ask you, where is the thermostat? It's chilly in here," Elia said, making him smile.
"Elia, it's a cabin, if it's cold - start a fire, there's a fireplace in most of the rooms," he teased.
"Where do I buy the wood?" Elia asked
"The best place is a tree princess," Eddard teased. "But if you come to my house and take care of the bratty teenager who's missing a motherly figure, I will cut down some trees and get some lumber for you?"
"ou could start the fire too?" Elia asked, making him chuckle.
"Anything for you, Princess," Eddard teased. She hit him playfully.
"Hey, it's not my fault I grew up somewhere hot," Elia argued.
"You grew up rich you mean, right?" Eddard responded.
"Oh, please, you're loaded too. You're just old money," Elia said, giggling.
"My father said we had a duty to protect this land. It should not feel like a blessing; it's a duty," Eddard said.
"I think one of the few things Rhaegar's family and mine agree on is that there is no problem you can't throw money at," Elia said smiling.
Eddard realized how close they still were and took a step back. he returned to her cooking.
"Thanks for helping with Lyanna and all your help with Benjen," Eddard said.
"I enjoy it, I always wanted a big family," Elia said sadly.
"There's still time," Eddard told her. She gave him a sad look before looking at Aegon in his playpen where it was in the kitchen now. He was standing with one hand on the bars and the other held his little ducky, but he babbled at his mother mostly calling for mama. She could not resist him and picked him up, adjusting to put him on her hip and kissed his head.
"I never realized how lucky I was to have Rhaenys. Rhaegar's siblings are closer to Rhaenys and Aegon in age then they are to him and so when we got married, he wanted to have another baby soon after Rhaenys and…..we were both really crushed when I struggled with it. I tried all the drugs and shots and finally we had to do two rounds of In Vitro , and it was all worth it for this guy," Elia sai,d kissing him more and making him giggle. "But I was so sick after I had him, they told me they couldn't or wouldn't do it again. I felt lucky to just have my two miracles, but Rhaegar has always felt cheated," Elia said as she poured four bowls of soup out with her free hand.
"You're going to stop coming to see me if I always talk about horribly depressing things," Elia said, trying to smile.
"No, it's nice, I enjoy talking to you. You're the only one I have been able to talk to about Brandon," Eddard admitted.
"I enjoy talking to you too," Elia said before hurrying to take her rolls out of the oven. He made the kids go wash their hands and put Aegon in his high chair. She couldn't help liking how helpful he was. Unlike Rhaegar who liked to eat alone in the study, Eddard sat up to the table with her and the children.
"I think we need code names for walkie talkies!" Benjen announced.
"Aegon will be Egg!" Rhaenys decided. Her brother didn't seem to notice as he slobbered on the roll he was given. Eddard was surprised Rhaenys happily ate the soup and even more surprisingly Benjen who would not eat his grilled cheeses because they were different happily took this spicy soup from Elia.
"What will your code name be?" Eddard asked Rhaenys.
"KITTY!" She cried happily. "Like Balerion!" she said happily.
"Balerion is her kitty we left with grandmother, Viserys, and little Daenerys," Elia explained.
"I will be Ranger obviously, but what will you be called?" Benjen asked.
"Oh, your brother is definitely Wolfie," Elia teased with a mischievous grin.
"Then you are Princess," He told her, returning her smile.
"Alright, these will be the only thing we say over the walkies, so the enemies won't know!" Benjen declared.
"Who are our enemies?" Elia asked.
"Lyannna and - " Benjen started.
"Lyanna is not the enemy," Eddard told his little brother with a warning look.