Chapter 5

Monster

When Robb slowly opened his eyes, he regretted it immediately. The light cut him like a knife, his head hurt worse than ever before. Had he been injured in a battle?

"Robb."

The male voice sounded somehow familiar, but it took a moment before he recognized it.

"What?" he murmured.

"Not feeling well?" Jon's voice snorted.

Robb blinked few times and rubbed his temples.

"What… What happened?" he murmured.

"You got married last night. Remember that?"

Married? Suddenly he did remember. He had been forced to marry the Lannister girl. Very slowly he rolled on his side and realized that he was lying on his bed. Jon was standing next to the bed with his arms crossed. Robb frowned, why was his brother here? And where was the girl, wasn't she supposed to be here? Not that he really wanted her here, he wasn't even sure had they consummated their marriage.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I think we need to talk," Jon replied firmly.

"About what?"

"About the way you treated your wife last night."

"What are you talking about?" Robb snorted.

"You really don't remember?"

Robb tried to think, but he didn't know what Jon was talking about. He remembered the wedding ceremony, at least some parts of it, and the feast. He remembered hating himself for betraying Talisa and hoping that his new wife would simply disappear. He had hated her for sitting there when his Talisa was dead. Yet he couldn't remember that he would have even said a bad word to her.

"Remember what?" he was finally forced to ask.

Jon looked at him harshly.

"The bedding for starters. You let all those drunken lords practically abuse her."

Robb couldn't remember anything like that.

"You must be exaggerating…"

"I saw her last night, coming from your chamber," Jon cut in. "She wouldn't have been able to even stand without her handmaiden."

Robb wasn't sure what to say, had he… From the corner of his eye, he noticed the blood on the sheet. He had. Why couldn't he remember…? He did remember something. He remembered looking at her lying on the bed and thinking that he hated her. For a brief moment he had wanted to kill her. After that… Nothing. That wasn't good. How badly had he hurt her? It didn't matter that he had been forced to marry her, she was a woman and he had never hurt a woman before. Not to mention she was his wife. What had he done?

"Let me just ask you one question," Jon stated. "If someone would treat Arya like you treated your wife last night, what would you do to that man?"

I would kill him. Robb couldn't say that out loud, he was too ashamed.

"I am aware that she is a Lannister and obviously we need to keep an eye on her, but there is no need to make this whole thing even more unpleasant to both of you," Jon continued. "Do you want a wife who hates and fears you?"

No, he didn't. He wanted Talisa.

"Perhaps she should fear me," Robb stated, feeling angry again.

Jon looked at him disbelievingly.

"You can't mean that. What would father say if he would…?"

"Father is dead," Robb snapped. "Because of the Lannisters."

"Yes, but this girl didn't kill him," Jon replied firmly. "You want to punish her for something her family did?"

Robb didn't reply, he knew that Jon was right. He just didn't want to admit it. Admitting it would mean that he would have to acknowledge the savagery of his own behavior. He needed to see the girl and make sure that she was alright. Just not right now.

"Where is Lady Minea?" he asked as carelessly as he could.

"In her chamber I believe," Jon replied. "She and her brother had breakfast there; her handmaiden informed that she is unwell."

Unwell… Robb kept his face free from emotion, but he felt a nasty sting. He would go and see the girl later. He didn't think that he could face her yet. Besides, he had a lot of work to do. He had time to work everything out with her later.

Few hours later

Robb bit his bottom lip as he stood in front of the door to Lady Minea's chamber. He had lingered the whole day, but now he needed to do this. After taking a deep breath, he finally knocked. The handmaiden opened the door.

"My lord," she greeted him tensely. She barely managed to hide her loathing.

"I am here to see Lady Minea," he stated as calmly as he could.

Reluctantly the handmaiden stepped aside, letting him in. Lady Minea was lying on the bed, but she stood up immediately when he entered her chamber.

"My lord," she stated and curtsied. She was wearing a nightgown and it seemed that she was about to go to sleep.

Robb glanced at the handmaiden.

"Leave us, please."

Clearly she wouldn't have wanted to do that, but of course she obeyed. Lady Minea was still standing next to the bed, keeping her eyes on the floor. For the first time Robb really looked at her. She was almost a head shorter than him, pale and thin young woman who had light auburn hair and dark green eyes. Nothing like Talisa… No, he needed to focus. He needed to talk to her.

"You have everything you need here?" he finally managed to say.

"Yes, thank you, my lord."

"Good…. That's good." He paused and walked over to the fireplace, turning his back on her. This wasn't working at all. "Do you know why I came?"

"I believe so, my lord."

"Good." He paused again and took a deep breath before turning around. "I would like to…"

He didn't finish his sentence when he saw that she was naked. His eyes widened, he couldn't do anything except stare at her bruised body. She had straightened her back and she looked nothing but dignified as she lied down and covered her face with a blanket. After that she didn't move or make a sound. What was she…?

"Quiet…Do not speak… Talisa…"

Suddenly he remembered, although he would have preferred not to. He wanted to say something, but nothing came out. What could he possibly say that would make things any better? She most likely saw him as a monster. He couldn't bear to look at her; he marched out as quickly as he could.