Author's Note: As always, thank you for the wonderful comments! I really do appreciate reading the nice things you guys have to say about my story. I was able to get some Littlefinger interaction into this one. Also, Jaime will reappear soon and once he does I plan to have some chapters from his POV:) We just have to wait a little bit longer. Enjoy!
"Cersei tried to have you killed?" Renly cried in astonishment after bursting into Amarah's tent unannounced. Obviously Brienne had found the time to inform him about the attack.
"Please, Uncle, do not shout. I beg of you" Amarah pleaded placing both hands to her throbbing temples. She had just awakened from a fitful night of sleep after her close brush with death the evening before. Instead of running immediately to Renly with the tale, she had asked Brienne to escort her to her tent where she had immediately laid down to rest. However, it seemed every time she closed her eyes she could feel Cersei Lannister watching her, waiting for another opportunity to strike. That image had not exactly been conducive to a long night of rest.
"Why did you not come to me immediately?" Renly continued, ignoring her request about the shouting.
Amarah stood to give him a disgruntled frown. "Because you were occupied" she made sure to stress the last word so as to leave him in no doubt of her meaning. "And the situation was resolved. Bothering you would have served no purpose."
"How would protecting you have been a bother?" he asked in shock. "You should have come to me immediately after it happened so that we could take steps to ensure that it never happens again."
"Well since the assassin was dead, the chances of him tying to kill me a second time seemed unlikely" she replied.
He looked as if he wanted to throttle her but held the urge in check. "Your life is not an inconvenience to me, Amarah. From now on I want a guard with you at all times."
She did not argue the point with him as she would feel a great deal more secure with someone to guard her at all times. Her pride would not cause her to act foolishly. Giving him a contrite expression, she moved forward to press a familial peck to his cheek.
"Thank you for worrying about me" she told him with all sincerity.
"You are my family" he reminded her. "I will always protect you."
She regarded him with a warm expression but said nothing else on the subject. "Did you come here simply to yell at me or was there some other purpose?"
"Stannis is here" he replied with a dark look. Amarah felt a surge of uneasiness in the pit of her stomach at that news. She did not fear her Uncle Stannis exactly, but he was a damned terrifying man if crossed. And she and Renly had both crossed him by not acknowledging his claim to the throne.
When she did not make any reply to his news, Renly continued. "He has requested that we ride out and meet him. If we decline the request he will lay siege to Storm's End." Storm's End was the seat of House Baratheon and Renly's home. The home that Stannis had always considered his rightful birthright.
"We?" she asked with a wary expression.
"He specifically included you in that request" Renly informed her. "You didn't think he would take too kindly to your support of my claim to the throne did you?"
"I suppose not" she admitted with a resigned sigh. "Well, shall we?"
Following her suggestion, Renly led her from the tent to their waiting horses. Apparently her Aunt Catelyn had decided to join them in the excursion along with Brienne and Loras. Amarah had no great to desire to meet her uncle's wrath head on, but she supposed they were in no real danger. Stannis had a prickly demeanor but Amarah had never really considered him to be a dangerous threat. And as Renly's men far outnumbered Stannis's, she doubted their armies would be coming to blows that same hour.
As their small group neared the meeting place, Amarah saw Stannis already waiting with a small party of his own, including the mysterious red woman that Amarah had heard much about. There were many whispers among the men about the mysterious fire priestess who held such a strong hold over the eldest Baratheon. Seeing her in the flesh, Amarah had no doubt why she possessed such a hold on Stannis. She was beautiful to be sure, but more than that she seemed to exude an air of strange magic. Something most men with a desire for power would find irresistible, even cold Stannis Baratheon.
"Lady Stark, I'd not thought to find you in the stormlands" Stannis expressed in surprise at the sight of Catelyn.
"I had not thought to be here, Lord Stannis" was the only explanation she gave him.
"Can that truly be you?" Renly asked him in a state of some disbelief.
Stannis looked mildly annoyed at the ridiculous question. "Who else might it be?"
"When I saw your standard I couldn't be sure. Who's banner is that?" Renly asked in a mocking tone. Amarah did not think mockery was the best approach to dealing with Stannis Baratheon but she chose to remain silent.
"My own" Stannis answered with a stony expression.
"Suppose if we use the same one the battle would be terribly confusing" Renly continued to goad him. "Why is your stag on fire?"
At this question, the mysterious red figure took the opportunity to answer for her king. "The King has taken for his sigil the fiery heart of the lord of light."
"Ah" Renly replied. "You must be this fire priestess we hear so much about." As if he didn't know that before Amarah thought to herself. "Brother, now I understand why you found religion in your old age."
Gods! Amarah fumed inwardly at his stupidity. Stannis Baratheon was not a man to be toyed with, even with a large army at your back. He was dangerous, and at the moment he did not look too pleased with his younger brother's antics.
"Watch yourself, Renly" he warned him.
Renly seemed oblivious to the danger he was courting with this cavalier attitude towards Stannis. "No, no, I'm relieved" he pressed on. "I never really believed you were a fanatic. Charmless, rigid, and a bore, yes. But not a godly man."
"You should kneel before you brother" the red lady responded to Renly's insolent remarks. "He's the lord's chosen. Born amidst salt and smoke."
Renly regarded this claim with a cynical smile. "Born amidst salt and smoke. Is he a ham?" Oh this will not end well Amarah thought as she saw the fury building in Stannis's gaze.
"That's twice I've warned you" Stannis said with an expression that lacked any amusement.
"Listen to yourselves" Catelyn interrupted to scold them. "If you were sons of mine, I would knock your heads together and lock you in a bedchamber together until you remembered that you are brothers."
"It is strange to find you beside my brother, Lady Stark" Stannis replied ignoring her motherly advice. "Your husband was a supporter of my claim. Lord Eddard's integrity cost him his head, and you sit beside this pretender and chastise me." After saying these words he then turned his attention to Amarah much to her dismay.
"And more surprising than that is my niece who also supports his claim to the throne when she knows it should be mine." She chafed a bit under his reproof.
"I thought it was mine" she replied in an equally cold voice.
"But you gave up that right, and now you support him. I am Robert's eldest brother. If his only legitimate child passes on the right of her inheritance the crown goes to me. You know this."
"I cannot support you" she replied to him honestly. "I made a promise to Renly that if he helped me escape King's Landing I would support his claim to the throne. Would you have me break my solemn vow?" Asking Stannis this question was a clever ploy on her behalf to appeal to his rigid sense of honor. By claiming her support was conditional only on a promise to follow Renly's wishes, she had placed all blame for her defection squarely on Renly's head. She would have felt some remorse over her manipulation of the facts if Renly had seemed fearful of his brother's wrath. But as he did not, she felt no compunction in placing the blame on him.
Her logic seemed to have worked because Stannis then turned his anger back on Renly. "He should never have asked it of you in the first place. The Iron Throne is mine by right. All those that deny that are my foes."
"All the realm denies it from Dorne to the wall" Renly replied unconcerned with Stannis's decree that they were all his enemies. "Old men deny it with their death rattle and unborn children deny it in their mother's wombs. No one wants you for their king. You never wanted any friends, brother. But a man without friends is a man without power."
Stannis's intimidating gaze changed not at all during Renly's unkind speech. "For the sake of the mother who bore us, I will give you this one night to reconsider. Strike your banners, come to me before dawn, and I will grant you your old seat in the council. I'll even name you my heir…until a son is born to me. Otherwise I shall destroy you."
Amarah did not take the threat as lightly as Renly. Something about Stannis seemed so final, so sure. She feared for Renly's safety if he refused to listen. She looked at his face to see his reaction to his brother's ultimatum but it remained as cocky and self-sure as before.
"Look across those fields, brother" he boasted. "Can you see all those banners?"
"You think a few bolts of cloth will make you king?" Stannis questioned him.
"No, the men holding those bolts of cloth will make me king."
"We shall see Renly" Stannis replied before riding back to his camp. "Come the dawn we shall see."
Once he had left, his red woman gave Renly one last parting thought. "Look to your sins, Lord Renly. The night is dark and full of terrors." Then she rode off as well.
Giving Amarah a sad smile, Renly dropped the smug expression he had worn for the past several minutes. To her surprise, Amarah saw true sadness in his gaze. "Would you believe, niece? I loved him once."
After these cheerless words Renly rode back to the camp with Amarah at his side. They rode along in silence for several minutes while Amarah pondered over their meeting with Stannis. She couldn't shake the ominous feeling of pending doom after hearing the red woman's last words. For some reason, she felt as if Renly did not give in to his brother's demands, he would lose despite his large army. Something about that woman was dangerous, and Amarah wanted nothing to do with her.
Voicing these concerns aloud to Renly, she wondered if he would consider striking some sort of bargain with Stannis to stay his hand. Laughing off her worries, Renly refused any suggestion of compromising with Stannis. He was the king, he told her, and there was nothing Stannis could do about it.
Amarah maneuvered her way through the crowd as she returned to her tent for some much needed rest. It was earlier than the usual time she chose to retire, but after the taxing day she was more than ready to close her eyes and enter into a dreamless sleep. Just as she passed the thickest part of the crowd she heard her name spoken by a familiar voice.
She looked to the one who had called to her with ill-concealed disdain. "Lord Baelish." She had been told of his presence in the camp but had avoided the misfortune of sharing his company until now.
"I must say you are looking more lovely than ever" he said obviously ignoring the large bruise which shadowed her jaw. She resisted the impulse to smack the sly smile off his face. "The capital seems so dull now without your spirit and beauty."
"Does it indeed?" she questioned. "I would have thought the charm of King's Landing disappeared after my uncle's unjust execution in the city square. Brutal beheadings have a way of doing that."
He tried to look apologetic at that. "It was a great tragedy that befell Eddard Stark. I assure you that I would have prevented it if at all possible. But surely you must know how determined King Joffrey is once his mind has been made up."
"Oh I'm certain none of the fault fell to you" she assured him even as her voice dripped with sarcasm. "It's the oddest thing though. Before I left the capital I was certain my uncle had mentioned that you assured him the city watch was under his command. How strange that it was under Cersei Lannister's control all the time."
"Sometimes words are misinterpreted, my lady" he defended himself. "Or sometimes people make promises they cannot possibly hope to fulfill despite the best of intentions. You of all people would understand I'm sure."
She regarded him with a suspicious gaze. "And how is that?"
"Well you did give your word to look after your family in the capital did you not?" he inquired with false innocence. "Yet no one holds you in any ill will for abandoning that promise."
Now she gave up all pretense of politeness. "Careful Lord Baelish. You think yourself so clever with your games and secrets, but those will not always protect you. Tell me? What is to keep me from ordering one of my uncle's men to chop that skull of yours in half this very moment? After all I doubt anyone would mourn the loss enough to avenge you. And don't make the mistake of thinking this an empty threat. I have no reason or great desire to keep you alive."
His superior expression slipped just a bit under her threat to reveal a flash of fear before it was firmly back in place. In fact, it all happened so fast she wondered whether it had really occurred at all. "You forget your little cousins, my lady. Without me to look after their interests in the capital who would they turn to?"
She gave a harsh laugh at his reason for keeping him alive. "I think they would do better to trust Sandor Clegane with their lives. You'll have to do better than that Baelish."
"I make it a point to trade in secrets" he continued unconcerned with her threat. "And I think I have one that will interest you greatly."
"And I doubt there is anything you could tell me that I would find valuable enough to keep you alive" she replied.
"But this secret concerns little Arya Stark" he persisted finally catching her interest.
"And what is that?"
"Just a moment, my lady" he gently chided. "First we must strike the deal."
She took a moment to consider before replying. "Very well, Lord Baelish. We have a bargain. Besides I find I grow tired of the sight of blood. You may keep your head for now, but if you lie I will know. So I would strongly advise against it."
"A most generous decision" he thanked her before completing the trade. "When Lord Stark was arrested it seems his daughter Arya managed to slip through the queen's fingers. No one has heard anything since then of her whereabouts. As far as we know she is not even in the capital."
After hearing his surprising news, Amarah decided that it had been a fair negotiation after all. "Thank you for your information, Lord Baelish. I'm sure it will prove most helpful. Now I suggest you leave my sight before I change my mind."
"Your faithful servant, my lady" he replied with a mocking bow. As she watched him leave, Amarah considered the tale he had told her. With only Sansa in the Queen's clutches, Robb would never consent to trade Jaime Lannister for her. As much as Amarah loved her cousin, she understood that Sansa was not as valuable a prize in war as the dreaded Kingslayer. She would need to inform her aunt of this turn of events as soon as possible.
Quickly changing her course of direction, Amarah started towards Renly's tent near the center of camp. She had overheard Catelyn and Renly discussing a meeting that night over the proposed alliance between them, and there was a good chance her aunt would still be in attendance. However, while she walked along she saw two figures hurriedly moving in the opposite direction. As they came closer she recognized the tall, broad frame of Brienne of Tarth and with her was Catelyn Stark.
"Amarah" her aunt called out once she saw her. "Come with us, my dear! We must leave for Riverrun at once." At these words she began pulling a very bewildered Amarah along behind them.
"What are you talking about?" Amarah was terribly confused by her aunt's behavior. "I cannot abandon Renly now. In a few days time, he will march on King's Landing. He must have my support!"
Catelyn quickly broke their stride to regard her niece with a haunted expression that sent a shiver of dread through her bones. "Amarah, Renly is dead."
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