The Rogue Stag
Chapter 8- The way to King's Landing and Stannis Baratheon
My beloved Stannis,
It has come to my attention that you suddenly departed for Dragonstone after Jon Arryn fell ill and died. Another fact that has come to my attention is that you know, brother. This certain piece of information worries me greatly, I have sudden fright for your Lady Wife and child. You have done right leaving King's Landing, Stannis. Robert is mad and we both know it, the worst thing is, he is in debt with the Iron bank of Braavos and Tywin Lannister. I hope to travel to Dragonstone, soon. I seek your help Stannis and I know that you need mine. Now, I know that my snakes are better than Varys' little birds. However, I also know that my snakes cannot gather all of the information that you have found out over the moons that you have been here. I need you in this brother. Me, as well as you know that Joffrey cannot get on that damned throne. No one but a Targaryen should sit on that bloody throne. No one but them. Melisandre of Asshai. Do not trust her, brother. Please, I beg you to listen to Davos. How is Shireen? I have not heard from her in a while. Stannis, take pity on the girl, she has been through so much also do tell her to send me a raven whenever she can. Do not keep her in that dark room. Let her out- let her inhale the sea smell of Dragonstone and let her see the beauty that we have come to adore. With prays of your health, I brings this raven to a close with a saddened heart and an even sadder soul.
With love,
Aliviah Seraphine Baratheon.
Aliviah signed the letter with a heavy heart and gave it towards Rosa who sealed it with Aliviah's seal and left. Aliviah received the raven a few days after they set off from Winterfell, it was a very wondrous matter how the raven knew who to look for but Aliviah knew that such a trivial matter shouldn't be thought of, not now. It was risky for Aliviah to send this raven, the content of the letter was more than dangerous for herself and for Stannis as this could mean that she was committing treason against the King. Her brother.
Aliviah and the King's Court were now making a small stop. Cersei demanded that they rest for half a day, until nightfall, when they shall depart. There was a small forest behind the miniature clearing which Aliviah made note to visit and be one with nature.
"Mistress, we have news of Brandon Stark." Aliviah raised an eyebrow as Nero's hissings travelled towards her and the trio's snake bodies slithered towards her with purpose.
"Brandon Stark is to awake soon." Nero answered her unspoken question and Aliviah's eyes shined with joy as she grinned and clapped her hands once for exaggeration of her joy.
"When?" Aliviah's overjoyed voice asked the question and the trio grinned at each other in a teasing way, making Aliviah tap their heads in scolding which they all sniggered at.
"We do not know, mistress, we are not greenseers ." Nero's deep hiss vibrated throughout her body and Aliviah inclined her head but the grin she had on her face softly slid off and she beckoned her snakes over, they instantly slithered up her arms and gave access to their mistresses affections.
"Where were you, Numerius, Tatius?" Aliviah asked, her eyebrow raised in amusement which quickly disappeared as the snakes shared a mischievous grin. The last time Tatius and Numerius shared a grin like that they were hiding key information that would have given Alviah the upper hand.
"Nero..." Aliviah hissed in warning as she looked at Nero's sharp eyes that were trained onto Tatius and Numerius who were looking like they wanted to be swallowed right then and there.
"Nero, you are the eldest, control them. You're their leader, behave like one." Aliviah hissed out as an after thought but as Nero's head dipped in shame, she softened her look and softly patted his rough head in an apology which her snake took and hissed at the other snakes to lead them on their merry way which she bid safe travels to.
"My lady, Ned Stark." Rosa's soft voice snapped Aliviah out of her dreaming as she rearranged her face into a mask of happiness. Aliviah's grin shined as Ned walked into her small carriage with an awkward expression on his face which she could see Rosa was amused by as she giggled under her breath.
"Rosa... You are dismissed." Aliviah said pointedly as Rosa sobered up but left the small spark in her eyes linger for Aliviah to see. Aliviah shook her head with a small smile on her face and waited for her dear friend to leave her carriage.
"Ned, I am beyond sorry for not making an appearance to the girls." Aliviah apologized once Rosa left the carriage. She looked down at her shaking hands, praying to herself softly that he would not ask what she was doing for those past days.
"Al, please. Arya is missing you, yes, but Sansa is faring quite well." Ned shook his head, waving a hand in dismissal as she smiled at him gently. Aliviah didn't want the girls to miss her, she'd visit them tonight.
"I'll visit tonight." Aliviah said with a sure nod towards him and her hands stopped shaking which she gave a small sigh of relief to.
"Thank you, Al. I fear for Arya..." Ned trailed off, looking unsure about his decision to bring Arya with them to King's Landing. Aliviah shook her head and rested a smooth hand on her companion's shoulder, squeezing softly, comforting.
"Do not fret about Arya, Ned. She's strong, she'll face anything with a stern heart. She is a female Stark, just like Lyanna. She even looks like her, I remember when Lyanna and I were running for you, Benjen and Brandon and when we finally found you. You were asleep. All cuddled together, like siblings. Of course, I knew you were different than my family but when I saw how you were all cuddled together, I was jealous. I tried so... Hard to make my brothers love each other, it never worked. To this day, they still cannot stand the look of each other without one insulting the other and me standing in the background... Just, listening to their screams and shouts." Aliviah's tone started to grow with fury as her eyes hardened with every syllable, her eyes reminding him of sharp ice daggers.
"Ned, Robert always thought of you as a brother. Not a friend. A brother, my brothers didn't count. Only you did... To Robert. Blood wasn't what Robert valued. You and Lyanna were the only priorities on his mind. Not me! Not Stannis! Nor Renly! What hurt the most was that when our parents died and Renly was an infant, Robert buried himself in your embrace. Not ours! He left me and Stannis to take care of Renly. I love them all so dearly, Ned, but I'm getting tired of seeing them all behave like they do. They're blood. I'm their blood." Aliviah's voice reached a new height, she growled her words and her eyes were wide and moist. A wretched sob tore under her lips, Aliviah gasped through her open mouth and looked at Ned. Aliviah didn't know how to act in front of her dear companion. She wasn't some child that could not control herself. She was The Rogue Stag, not The Child-Like Stag. With a sudden jerk, Aliviah tore from Ned's embrace, that she did not realize she was in and staggered backward, her eyes no longer moist but filled with hate. In that moment, she wasn't herself. Ned was sure of that.
"I must excuse myself, Ned." Aliviah's emotionless toned voice filled the small silence as she left the man in her stead and wandered towards the forest with a sense of urgency.
Aliviah strode through the magnificent forest, using the trees as her support, without them she would have surely been on her knees now. She wasn't a child but in that moment, she certainly felt like one. As she walked, Aliviah stepped lightly and didn't look down as her tears marked the ground she stood on, the dress she was clutching with all her might suddenly escaped her grasp and fell to the floor with a whoosh, she didn't notice; her inner despair too deep for her to care. Soon enough; her dress caught on a branch and she with all her might pulled on her dress, ripping a chunk of it in her impulsive action.
"Look what we have here, a stag so filled with her inner despair, she didn't take note of a beautiful lion," It was him. Jaime Lannister, he was goading her.
"No, a stag so filled with her hate, even she wasn't a fool to approach a lion lurking in the shadows, waiting to ravish her. " Aliviah gazed at the beautiful man in front of her as her eyes filled with more hate than she had only moments ago. Her tears were forgotten as she gazed at his face.
"Yes, I could see why you'd think that. However, I am not as bad as you paint me to be. You know, Aliviah. Don't you?" Jaime's gaze reflected her's and a battle began. The first to drop eye contact, lost.
"Mayhaps." Neither a no, neither a yes. Aliviah's gaze still dug onto his, her ice blue shards digging into his round emerald greens. Aliviah wasn't afraid, she was never afraid.
"Now, that's not quite fair, wouldn't you say so? Aliviah Baratheon. The Rogue Stag. What made you that? Has a man taken your maidenhead? You fought in a petty war. That doesn't make you rogue." His voice, cold, ice dripped from his words and shook her to the bone.
"No. It's not. Who said I played by the rules? I am The Rogue Stag, not only because I fought in a petty war. I am Aliviah Seraphine Baratheon, I am a warrior, a political enemy and an informat. I will not allow a man to take my maidenhead. Few tried and died." Aliviah took a step towards him and relished in the fact his eyes narrowed, trying to hide his gaze which travelled down onto the milky skin on her thigh.
"Jaime... Don't hide it. You're attracted to me, it's alright. I would say, I even welcome it. I'd love to make your sister shiver with jealousy, it would make me most happy." Purring, Aliviah stepped closer to him, her large breasts pressed against his chest as she bit her lip. She sucked in a breath and wounded her arm around his neck, her lips centimeters away from his ear.
"You love it, don't you. The feel of my pure skin on your's, the softness of my breast pushed up into your chest as I whisper softly into your ear. Do I come close to your sister?" Aliviah went on and finally saw a flicker of lust run from Jaime's body, she smirked and kissed his cheek, moving away from him.
"Do not compare yourself to my sister. You're beneath her." Jaime spoke furiously as he took the hold of her hips, holding her in place as he leaned down to her ear. Their situation now similar.
"No, Jaime. I'm not. You hold Cercei in such high regard, it sickens me. You're a fool, Jaime Lannister, not to see what Cersei is doing to you. I admit, it saddens me." Jaime's shocked expression shook her down to Aliviah's core. It was a look of horrible realization but also, the loyalness in his eyes for Cersei made her eyes moisten once again.
"You'll always love her in some way. No matter how many times she uses you, manipulates you- you will always come back to her. Realize, Jaime Lannister, she is not the only one who would die for you. Although in truth, she would not die for you. Foolish Jaime Lannister so entangled in her Game of Thrones. Pity is leaking from my tongue as I speak these words to you, Jaime." Aliviah cut through Jaime's barriers with every harshly spoken words, she was not going to hide the truth, she would make him realize what kind of woman Cersei Lannister is.
"Stop it. Stop it!" The words which were once whispered were now shouted at her with such fury, Aliviah's core shook with it's might, she knew this would happen. She would make him realize.
Aliviah huffed to herself and narrowed her eyes as she ripped herself out of his grip, which had considerably tightened on her, she would not be a toy. "Do as you will. I will not stop you. Be a fool. Be a love sickened fool but realize that Cersei has never and will never return your affections."
As she turned, her body was rigid and she felt fire in her throat but with that, she took steps away from the broken Jaime Lannister who now looked on at her with wide eyes. Aliviah walked away, her hands clenching the ripped dress, there was nothing for her to do. Aliviah Baratheon could not help the one she always wished to help.
Jaime Lannister, the sweet fool he was, he will remain.