Ok guys, I will try something I never tried before in this chapter. I will write in more than one POV. For now I will only write in Catelyn's and Elena's POV. I do not want to complicate things, but I think it is necessary for a better understanding of the story. This is not just about how Elena feels and the decisions that she makes, but also about the way her decisions affect others. +, I only plan on a few multiple POV's chapters. And there is another thing I need to tell you. I seem to be having trouble with separating paragraphs. I have no idea how to change it, but I will continue trying. Enjoy and please, tell me what you think of the story so far :)
CATELYN
-Robb, I beg of you!-I almost yelled. This has been going on for hours. And I still don't see an end to it.
-Mother, can we even trust her?-he asked. He is scared, I can see that. But so am I. I am scared that I will never get to see my husband again, but most of all, I am scared that Robb might do something on an impulse, and that we will pay a much too high price. We need to take our time in this situation.
-Yes, we can.-I answered, sure that that will girl will not fail me.-Robb, you know her. You met her. You saw, first hand, that she cares for our family. For your sisters, for Bran… She was in pain Robb. She even cares for you! And even for Jon! She swore on her life that she will keep them safe. Now, if she didn't send this letter, I would have had my doubts. But she did. And if she says that she has a plan and that there is a way, I believe her, and I think you should too.-I said. He is very hot headed. A hot headed boy. He might know how to fight, but there is not much else he knows. I want Ned out of King's Landing as much as he does. But if we charge, he will be dead before we even get close to King's Landing! And Elena says that there is a way. Not that she might have a solution, but that she has a solution. And I believe her. I saw it in her. She might just be as young and as hot headed as Robb is, but she was honest.
-Mother, she is a Lannister.-he said, and I sighed.
-Robb, she is lost!-I yelled, not knowing how else to make him realize!-Her mother died before she could even hold her, and her father sent her away as soon as he could. Her sister hates her. I've seen it, it is pure hate, believe me. Her brothers love her, but one is too drunk to realize what is going on, and the other one… well, we all know now what he does.-I said, too disgusted to actually say it.-She has no one. She had Robert, but he is dead now. Think about it Robb. You talked to her even more than I did. She is not like they are. She is different. She sees the truth. And if she doesn't, she will accept it, she won't deny it. Just please, wait. If she doesn't save them, you can cut them all in half, and I will help you. But give her a chance. Have faith in her. Not in Elena Lannister, but in Elena, that girl you met, and laughed with.-I begged. I saw them. I saw her with all of my children. She may be a lioness, but she is not just a Lannister. She is kind, and honest, and honorable. No other person in her family is like that.
-Fine.-he finally said. I have never felt such relief in my entire life.-But if she doesn't succeed, I will go to Kings Landing, and I will take Joffrey's head myself. And if Elena gets caught in the middle of it, I will not be able to guarantee her safety. You may see her as more than a Lannister, but most people see her as just that. Just another Lannister.-he said. I know he doesn't mean it. He is just angry. His brother almost lost his life because of them, twice. And now his father and sisters are in danger. If Gods allow Elena to succeed in her intentions, I am sure he will see the truth as it really is. Right now he is just in pain.
ELENA
As soon as the carriage stopped, I ran out. I do not have time to waste, not one second. I was still running when I entered the Great Hall. And my entrance scared everyone in it. The guards were already ready to capture me, until they saw who I actually am. Joffrey had a big, satisfied smirk on his face.
-Ah, Aunt Elena. My dear aunt, what brings you here?-he asked, with that smile still plastered on his face. I had a sudden urge to smack him. I never did have the honors; I was much too young to be a grown adult in comparison to him. But I did enjoy every single slap Tyrion gave him through the years.
-This is my home too Your Grace.-I said. And I bowed. Yes, I bowed to that idiot. I would have given everything I had not to do so, but I had to.-And, if you asked why I barged in in such an unladylike manner, I do have my reasons. I am here to oversee the release of Lord Eddard Stark.-I said. I could see his look of disbelief, and I could hear the gasps of everyone else in the room. I did not look away from Joffrey. I did not want to see anyone else, especially my brother. On my way here, I had plenty of time to think. And I realized that Robb's accusations were probably true. And I just did not want to look at him.
-Who can give away such orders if my son is the King?-I heard Cersei ask. Ah, the bitch has spoken.
-Our father can Cersei.-I said. I finally looked at her. And she was not pleased. It was also very evident that she knew that she cannot fight against our father's wishes. Joffrey may be the King, but if he does not have his grandfather beside him, he will be King for days. And maybe even only hours.-You can see it four yourself.-I said, and I walked over to Joffrey to hand him a letter from the magnificent, Lord Tywin Lannister. As they were reading it, I was looking around for the only family member I do care about, and Tyrion was nowhere to be seen. The children weren't here either. I can find them latter. First, I need to see Lord Stark. I need to speak to him, and as soon as I do so, I need to make sure that Sansa and Arya are both alright. As soon as I do that, I need to send a letter to Catelyn, since I still fear that the news will arrive about a rebellion in the North. I need to stop that if I can, and that is why I need to contact here as soon as possible. When I send the letter, I need to go and find Gendry. Talk to him, tell him what has happened, explain to him where I am going and thank him for being the most loyal of them all. Only after I do all of that, I may have a chance to see my brother, my niece and my nephew.
The tension was rising as Joffrey and Cersei read the letter. He might not agree. And if he doesn't, I'll lose my head, as well as Lord Stark. Well, if that is the world that I live in, I might as well live in it no longer. I did my best. I did what I wanted to do. At least I didn't end up married to Renly.
-Fine!-Joffrey spat out, not hiding his anger. And I did my best not to smile.-You may go and see him. And if he does what is said here that he will do, he may be a free man.-he said. I nodded, and I was already walking towards the dungeons. I did. I have no idea how, but I did it. Now I only have to convince him to lie. I do not know why, but I think I will be able to do that.
As I was walking past him, Jaime grabbed my hand. I pulled it out of his squeeze, and I continued without even looking at him. I will deal with him latter. Now I need to talk to Lord Stark. As soon as I was away from prying eyes, I started running. And I ran into the dungeons, screaming at the guard.
-Eddard Stark, I have to see Eddard Stark!-I yelled, and he opened the door. I ran inside, almost stumbling on my own feet.-Lord Stark.-I yelled, not sure where he was. Then I saw him. He was in bad, bad shape. I kneeled next to him, only metal railings between us. He managed to smile at me.
-Elena?-he asked in surprise.-What are you doing here?-he asked, and I smiled at him.
-I'm here to let you out. But you need to listen to me. My father knows that if something happens to you, that the North will start a rebellion and that Robb will start a war. He is afraid of that and he will do anything to stop it. He released you under the condition that you admit you were lying and bow to Joffrey.-I said, and I could see in his face that that is not what he wanted to here.-Lord Stark, I beg of you, let me finish.-I said as soon as he opened his mouth. He nodded.-I know you were saying the truth. Whatever you said, I know you were being honest. But you have to lie now my lord. I am terribly sorry, but you have to. If you don't, Sansa will spend her life with an abusive and mad husband, Robb will die in war trying to defend your honor, and I do not want to imagine what will happen to the rest of them.-I said. I had to say it, in order to convince him. And the sad thing is that all of what I said was the truth.
-Elena, you need to know what I found out.-he said, and I nodded.-Joffrey is not Robert's child. Neither are Myrcella or Tommen. They are not Baratheon. They are children of Cersei and Jaime Lannister. They were born out of an incestuous relationship. Cersei admitted it to me herself.-he said.
I have heard horrible stories in my life. War anecdotes from my brother, from the King, stories about their first kills, about guts, and blood, and everything horrible. And yet, none of them made me sick to my stomach as much as this story did.
And the sad part is that I am not that shocked. As horrified as I am, I am not surprised. It actually explains a lot. I always thought they were closer because they were twins, and they were oldest out of the four of us. Now I know that was never the reason. A memory came back to me. A memory I have obviously successfully suppressed until now. I was just a child, running around the castle when I saw them kissing. I don't know how I forgot about that, but I only remembered it now. And now I know that they have hurt Bran. He saw the same thing I did. He just wasn't lucky enough to have been a Lannister.
-Gods forgive him.-I whispered and I could no longer contain my tears. I don't give a damn about Cersei. Nothing can ever surprise me when it comes to her. Jaime was the one who surprised me, hurt me. He was the perfect big brother. And now I find out he is as mad as it gets.
-I am sorry, but you had to know the truth Elena.-he whispered, and I nodded. I am glad he told me. But my gratitude could not stop my tears and sobs. I could barely breathe now.
-It's alright my Lord.-I said, between sobs.-We have no prof. Until we do, there is nothing we can do. Just say it is not true. Save yourself, and save your children. I beg of you, say it is not true.-I begged him.
-You are right. I need to put my family before my honor.-he said, and I smiled.
-My lord, do not worry about that. As soon as we get you out of here, as soon as you are safe, we will gather our strength and we will fight for the truth.-I said. And I was crying for a complete different reason now. I'm surprised that I even care anymore. But even now, now that I know that my family needs to pay, I feel sorry that it has to happen. Cersei said it once. If you play a game of thrones, you will either win or die. And we have to win.
-What do you mean we Elena?-he asked me confused.-Are you betraying your family? I thought you were only here because you gave Robert your word.-he said, and I laughed. It was a painful laughter.
-It is more than that Lord Stark. I just forgot to tell you.-I said, and I took a deep breath.-Another condition you need to agree to before you are free to go home is to take me as your daughter. I have to marry Robb.-I whispered. Why would they even want me in their family after everything my family has done, not only to them, but ever?-By all means, I would be your family. And I understand that you do not want a Lannister for your son. But I… I am not like they are!-I said, and sobbed, yet again. No, now, I was crying uncontrollably. He took my hand, and I was surprised.
-Elena, I know that. You just caught me by surprise. If that is a condition, than that is the way it will be.-he said. He really is a kind man. He did not even mention the fact that his son would be repulsed by the idea of marrying me. I, on the other hand, will never be able to get that of my mind.
-They will set you free tonight. I must leave now. I need to see your daughters, make sure that they are safe. I need to talk to a friend of mine. And I also need to think of everything I just learned. I promise you Lord Stark, I will bring you and your daughters home.-I said, and he smiled at me.
-Ned. Call me Ned.-he said. I managed a smile.
I made my way through the castle. I don't know how, because I could barely walk. I look like I'm drunk.
The notion of what Cersei and Jaime have done will haunt me to my last day. And I will never be able to understand. There is no reason that justifies their actions. What hurts the most is that I'm actually trying to find a reason. I still believe in the good in this world, and I cannot understand why. Everything that I had seen in my nineteen years says differently. The ones who suffer the most are the ones who shouldn't suffer at all. And the ones who have everything never have a chance to pay for their mistakes.
-Elena!-I heard Jaime yell. I recognized his voice, and it was like someone stabbed me in the stomach with a sword. I started running. Before I knew it, he gripped my arm, for the second time today.
-Don't touch me!-I screamed and pulled my hand from his grip. He looked at me in complete shock.-Do not dare and touch me Jaime Lannister!-I yelled.-How could you? You pushed that poor little boy to keep safe that sickening relationship you had with Cersei?! You people disgust me!-I yelled.
I did not expect him to react the way he did. I expected anything other than fear. But now, as I looked at him in disgust, he looked back at me, nothing but fear in those blue eyes that only I didn't inherit.
-Ned Stark might deny it tomorrow, but I know. And as soon as he said it, it all made sense. Tyrion is the only decent human being out of all of you.-I said flatly. He is the only one who deserves any respect.
-Out of us Elena! Us! You're a Lannister too damn it!-he yelled. And he couldn't be more wrong.
-I am not Jaime. Not anymore. I doubt I ever really was one of you. But now, as soon as I get to Winterfell, I will marry Robb Stark, and I will be a Stark, and not a Lannister. Think about it. And it is all because you had to fuck that whore.-I said. It surprises me that I am still calm.
-She's your sister!-he yelled. He is defending her. And I thought I had seen and heard it all.
-She is your sister as well!-I yelled even louder. The whole castle could hear us, but I did not give a damn. I'm not the one who should be worried about who could hear what we are yelling.-I thought I knew you. I thought I had a brother who I knew better than anyone, and who knew me. I will never be able to understand why you did what you did. It is beyond sick. You make me sick. I curse this name I've been given because the last thing I want is to be related to you.-I whispered, not being able to even talk anymore. I was wiping tears that were streaming down both my cheeks. When he moved I expected him to hit me, but he did not. To my surprise, he hugged me. And as surprised as I was, I could not move. It only made me sadder. It made me sadder when I realized that there is no hope in this world that I would ever look at him, and not see a monster, but a brother. He will never be my big brother. Never again.
-Elena, don't.-he said as I pulled away. I was surprised to see tears in his eyes. It's such a shame that it is too late for that. I never was the one who's week on tears. Tears don't show that he regrets doing what he did. Tears only show that he regrets being caught.-Elena, don't do this. You're my baby sister, you're my everything. I don't want to lose you. If I have to fight, I will fight. I won't let them take you to the North. I'm supposed to protect you. You're my sister, you belong here.-he said, and I shook my head.
-Jaime, it does not help you when you say I'm your sister. If it does anything, it only scares me even more.-I whispered. That is probably the worst thing. How can I be sure that he didn't… Cersei is his sister just like I am. If that didn't stop him, how can I be sure that he didn't think of me in that way… Ugh, it makes me sick to even think about that. I have my doubts, but I don't think it was like that with me. I really was a baby sister to him. Too bad it doesn't mean a thing to me, not anymore.
-Elena, you can't mean that.-he whispered.
-Yes, I do. Jaime, we're done. I have nothing more to say to you. Not now, not ever again. I don't want to look at you anymore. You're dead to me.-I said coldly. And I walked away. Just like that, I turned my back on him. I grew up only having him and Tyrion. And now I only have Tyrion.
I could hear him calling my name as I was walking away. I could still hear him when I reached my chambers. And I was still crying.
Wow. I usually don't think highly of my work. Well, that's an understatement. I think I mostly suck at this. But this chapter… I honestly think this was one of the best things I ever wrote.