The cell they had put her in was cold and dark. It was sparsely furnished with only some moldy bales of straw for her to sit on. She slept fitfully, her mind still full of terrifying images. Ser Elwood stabbed in the back at the Red Keep, being rushed through the warrens of King's Landing, the Lannister guardsmen overwhelmed by Gold Cloaks. And Ser Meryn on the ground, blood pooling around him, sightless eyes staring up at her.
Myrcella awoke with a start. Where was she? The jumbled memories started to come back, but none of it made any sense. Then something became frighteningly clear. Where was Tommen? What had they done with him? Myrcella couldn't remember anything after the Gold Cloaks came for them. Where were they keeping her little brother?
She hurried to the door of her cell. Locked, of course. She pushed and pulled with all her strength, but to no avail. "Tommen! Tommen! Tommen, where are you? What have you done with him?" No response. She pounded on the wood with her fists. Screaming and crying. Finally she gave in, sobbing against the door.
She didn't know how long she sat like that, curled up on the cold stone, tears streaming down her face. Eventually, the door swung inward. Myrcella looked up at the silhouette of her Uncle Stannis.
"Get up," he said coldly, "we're taking you back to the castle." Then he turned and was gone. Myrcella scrambled up only to be met by Baratheon men-at-arms. They escorted her through the winding corridors until they stepped out into bright sunlight.
Myrcella squinted in the sudden light; they appeared to have come out of a guard post at the city wall. A couple wheelhouses sat in front of them surrounded by men in Baratheon colors. And next to one of the wheelhouses with Uncle Renly was Tommen.
"Cella!" he cried, nearly knocking her over with his enthusiastic hug. Myrcella was laughing and crying at the same time.
"Oh, Tommen, Tommen I was so worried. Are you alright?" She clutched him tight, kissing his golden curls.
A cough came from behind them. Uncle Stannis stood there looking a bit uncomfortable. "You can catch up when we get back to the Keep. Myrcella, with us please." He motioned to the wheelhouse that Uncle Renly was sitting in.
"Why can't Tommen come with us?" she asked a touch crossly.
"He'll be perfectly fine in the other carriage. But we have things to discuss." Myrcella was torn, her desire to protect Tommen battling with her desperate need to understand what was going on. She finally turned, hugged Tommen one more time, and scampered into the wheelhouse where Uncle Stannis and Uncle Renly were waiting.
The wheelhouse jerked to a start. Uncle Stannis pulled down the shades and turned to her.
"Now, Myrcella. We have a pressing situation here. We have sufficient evidence to believe that you and your brothers are not the King's trueborn children. You are truly the product of a… relationship between the Queen and her brother, the Kingslayer."
What? How could this be true? If Myrcella didn't know him better, she would have thought her Uncle Stannis was joking. Myrcella sat in blank shock; she didn't know what to say. How could everything she knew be a lie?
"As you can imagine, this puts us in a bit of a bind. We needed to arrest the Queen and her brother, but to do so we needed to make sure that no Lannister men would cause trouble," Uncle Stannis continued.
"Of course, no one's blaming you or your brothers for this. We're truly sorry for what happened to you and Tommen. If it had gone according to plan, you would be safely in the Maidenvault where no one could get to you." Uncle Renly smiled at her kindly, but he wasn't her uncle, if what they said was true.
Myrcella felt as though all the air had gone out of her lungs. The world was spinning around her. Her whole life was being turned upside down.
Uncle Stannis was speaking again. "Fortunately, we have secured the Red Keep… with the help of the City Watch," Stannis looked at Renly, and Myrcella thought she saw a flash of anger in his eyes, "but we have another problem: Lord Tywin."
"Your grandfather will be furious when he learns what we've done. And I for one don't feel like ending up like the Reynes of Castamere," Uncle Renly said with slight chuckle.
"That's why we need you. It would be a great help if you would write to him and inform him of what has happened and why. Tell him you are perfectly safe and that he should stay where he is."
"Myrcella, are you alright?" Uncle Renly was looking at her worriedly.
"Yes, yes… I'm fine," it was all happening so quickly.
"Can you do this for us, Myrcella? We can help you write the letter if it's too much." Uncle Renly laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Why should I? What happens if I don't do it?"
Uncle Stannis turned to her, his dark blue eyes seeming to pierce her. "If you are uncooperative, we might send you and your brother to the dungeons where your mother and father are awaiting trial." Myrcella froze in fear.
"Stannis! Really!" Uncle Renly looked horrified, but slightly amused. "Look, Myrcella, we can't force you to do anything, but something like this… well, it could lead to war. None of us want that. I'm sure you could do this to help us prevent that."
They sat in silence for a bit as Myrcella considered her options. The wheelhouse was bumped and jostled as they made their way over the rough cobblestoned streets. For one thing, it seemed a good idea to stay on the good side of her captors. She thought about the terror of the fighting the previous night. If war was like that, she would do pretty much anything to avoid it. She saw Tommen in her mind's eye, crying and clutching at her as the sounds of fighting grew closer. I need to keep him safe.
"Fine, on one condition. Me and Tommen stay together."
"I'm sure we can arrange that," Uncle Renly said with a smile.
Uncle Stannis ground his teeth. "It's Tommen and I, not me and Tommen."