Author's Note: WARNING: So there is some torture stuff in here and some sick slight incestuous things, I just want everyone to be warned. Joffrey's head is a dark place. If you want to skip over him you can, it'll be explained through Lyrina in the next chapter anyway. Thanks for all the reviews of last chapter, the follows and such. It means a lot~ Enjoy guys.
Disclaimer: I do not own game of thrones or anything that you recognize from it. I own Lyrina, and my own sick mind . Lyrics and title both come from "The Devil Within" by Digital Daggers.
"I'm learning all your tricks, I can hurt you from inside."
"My love is your disease, I won't let it set you free till I break you."
Chapter 14: The Devil Within.
Joffrey's P.O.V
"Son, it would be wise for you to send the man to the wall. Make him take the black for his crimes, his son still holds your uncle Jaime." For a month he had to listen his mother, sister and Sansa beg him to spare the man's life. He was beginning to think they all favored the traitor over himself. He knew his sister didn't, he knew where her loyalties lied.
"Mother, I will do as I wish. If he admits to his false claims, admits I am the one true king then I shall spare the man. If he does not, well I can not be held accountable." He had already delayed the execution so it could wait until the day before his sister left. Wasn't that enough for people?
He watched his mother exit his chambers in a huff, he knew she did not want to risk her brother's life, but Joffrey honestly did not care. So his uncle would die, it did not effect him. His mind was focus on what he wanted, it was all about what he wanted. He had yet to truly decide if he was going to spare the traitor, he knew it would please his sister. He knew it would keep his lady Sansa happy, but he did not know if it would please him to allow a traitor to live.
As Joffrey got dressed into his royal garments he looked to his bed, still a mess from the night before. He would have to inform the maids to rid his bed of the bloody sheets, they truly were a sight to him though. He was no murderer or sadistic bastard but he could not deny the pleasure he had gained in his night time activities. He had to pry his eyes away, and focus on what he was going to do, he had to focus. If he lost focus she would win, and he was not fully intending to let that little girl win. His sister truly thought she was smarter than he was, and it made Joffrey laugh. He knew her intentions were pure but he knew she was not ready for what he had asked for in return. But she would never forget who she belonged to.
Once he was ready, Joffrey made his way from his chambers in search of his Justice, Ser Payne. He would demand the man be present at the small public trial, in case Joffrey wanted Eddard Stark dead. He could imagine the look on the faces of the women if he had the man beheaded, the horror that would fill them. They would fear him then, fear him if he would behead a man with no sympathy. It would send a message to all of Westeros that he was the king, and if you did not kneel before him you would die. It would send a message to the bastard wolf marching on his door, the man he was sending his sister to. He still did not enjoy the idea of it, but he would gain the north and that was something he wanted. Joffrey always got what he wanted, it was how his world worked and he was not ready to change that.
"Your Grace, are you ready?" After securing his Justice, Joffrey ran into one of his Kingsguard.
"Go fetch the prisoner from the dungeons, we will meet you outside."
When he arrived at the Great Sept Joffrey was pleased to see his mother, and Lady Sansa had already arrived. Sansa smiled at him, no doubt thinking her begging would grant her what she wished for. But that was not how things worked in Kings Landing, begging got you no where and she would have to learn that quick. He was displeased however to see his sister had not yet made her appearance, he had told her to be there. In fact everyone was present except for his sister, and anger boiled inside of him until he finally saw her come up the steps.
She was wearing the gown he had picked out for her, it was the color of the blood that stained his sheets. He thought the color red suited his sister well, unlike the blue he had come to see her in most days. The dress was thin, and low cut showing off what little assets she had, but it was enough for him. Her hair was pulled back away from her face, showing the small bruises he had left upon her neck. She thought she was so strong, so in control but she wasn't, not anymore. She thought she ahd all the control the night she asked him to let her marry the wolf, but he would not have granted her that wish if he didn't see the honesty in her. But what bothered him most was she lacked the fear, the fear he would see in her eyes when they first met. Gone was the small fragile girl who was frightened of him instead it was replaced with a woman with drive to match his mother. He had seen her change and he did not like it, he did not like they way she had grown comfortable around him. But as she stood there in her blood red dress he saw it once more as their eyes locked, she was afraid of him again and it thrilled him. He saw how she trembled as he watched her, saw the way she would avert her gaze. He was pleased once more.
The crowd below them began to yell, and he knew the traitor was being escorted out of the keep. Joffrey would have to decide if he was going to spare the man's life, or if he was going to set an example for the realm. He looked over to where the women were standing, his mother standing tall, while his sister and Sansa huddled close to one another. He knew they feared for the life of the traitor, and he knew it was all up to him. His eyes left the women and they landed on the hound, a man who was once his guard but now belonged to his sister, the man looked upon the king with disgust. Joffrey did not care what the murderer felt toward him, he knew he would always be better than him.
Joffrey looked on in pleasure as the traitor began to take back all the vile words he had spoken. He told everyone what they already knew, Joffrey was the one true king of the seven kingdoms. No one would deny him his birthright, no one. Joffrey looked over at Sansa, giving her a calm smile, lulling her into a false sense of safety. While Sansa would look at him Lyrina would not, she kept her eyes on anything that was not him. Once the man had finished his small speech, the crowd began to yell obscenities,and curses at the traitor. The people called for his head, and who was Joffrey to deny his people.
"My mother wants me to send the man to the night's watch, My lady Sansa begs for her father's life and even my own sister calls for mercy. I am your king, and I do not allow the words of women to sway me, I do what is best for my land and for my people." He looked to his sister, who looked upon him with fear. She would grow to learn he did as he wished. " Ser Payne, bring me the traitor's head, there will be no treason in my land."
Everything happened in slow motion, he could hear his mother and future wife hollering at him. The people where chanting his name, he was in a moment of glory but it was the flash of red that drew his attention. He stood there watching Ser Payne bring down the sword when he saw the flash move out of the corner of his eye and then he heard the clang of metal on metal.
"What is this madness?" His mother was hollering once more, and he could understand it this time.
Somehow his sister had moved past everyone and had thrown herself over the traitor. She was willing to die, willing to put her life in danger to save a man who shamed her family. To Joffrey's happiness though, she was still alive, her hound brought his sword against that of Payne. He protected his princess.
"It seems my dear sister is very desperate to save this man's life. I believe it that the Gods have guided her this day to so bravely step in front of a sword for another." The crowd began to chant for his sister, calling her a savior. Joffrey would have to deal with her later, but he needed to clean up her mess first. " I decree that Lord Eddard Stark will be sent to the night's watch to live out the rest of his days. He will be sent to the castle of Eastwatch, and he will strip himself of all titles, never to hold land again. Thank my sister Lord Stark for her kindness."
"Thank you, M'lady." The traitor was dragged away back into the dungeons while his sister still sat on the stone. She was shaking, he could see the fear in her eyes, she had almost died for a traitor. He walked over to Lyrina, and offered the girl his hand. At first she sat there looking upon him with trepidation, but soon she took his hand.
"Be in my chamber at nightfall." Joffrey whispered in her ear as he pulled her up against him.
"Yes, my king." She was shaking, and it was nice to feel but she was quickly snatched away from him by the hound. He turned his attention to Lady Sansa, who was on the floor shaking.
"You should thank my sister as well." The young girl nodded before scurrying away. He had gotten some of what he wanted, both girls still feared him.
"Go through the capitol, find a man that looks like Eddard Stark, and behead him. If you must cut up his face to hide his true identity I do not care, I want the head on a spike.." Joffrey walked through the castle with a few men of the city guard, he had a new plan. "I want the city to think I changed my mind. Smuggle the real Eddard out of this city, inform him if he speaks to anyone of being alive, I will slaughter his entire family."
"Your Grace, I do not think.."
"I do not care what you think, you will listen what I say. You will tell everyone that I have changed my mind and the traitor is dead. You will tell his daughter, you will send a raven to his family, and you will make sure everyone in the realm knows he is dead." He was not going to have everyone in Kings Landing think he was a weak king, it also added a fun new game he could play with his sister.
Before going to his chambers, Joffrey sent a raven of his own directly to the wolf. He told him of his sister's impending arrival, of his acceptance of the marriage, and how is father had been killed. The bones, and sword belonging to his father would arrive with his sister. He could only imagine the pain the poor lad would be going through, but he really did not care. He did not want the Stark boy to love his sister, he wanted him to hate her, but he also needed him to think that marrying her would be for his own gain. He needed the idiot to get his sister with child so they could rule the north.
As the day drew on Joffrey wondered if his sister would pay him the visit he demanded of her. He had told her the night before it would be the last visit he required, that she could have a rest before she traveled to meet her wolf but she forced him to change his mind. He could not send her off thinking she could do whatever she pleased, he could not send her away thinking she had the control. She didn't have control, not of him and not of herself, not anymore. He would make her see, make her understand. The sheets on his bed were clean, no more blood staining them and the thought of them once again being red made him smile. He wondered what the maids thought he did in his bed each night, but he did not care what they thought no one knew what he did. Lyrina would never tell, and there were never witnesses to it. His guards knew something was amiss between he and his sister, they had heard her cry out a few times. He was sure they thought he beat her each night, which in a way was true, he beat and broke her until she knew her place.
"Brother, you wanted to see me?" It was later than normal when Lyrina finally poked her head in his room, he was sure she hoped he was asleep.
"Come in sister." She walked in, this time fully dressed in the same red gown. After the first night she came to him naked, never again did she dare. He found her to be naive, a quality he that appealed to him. He pointed to the chair in front of him and she sat down, her eyes never leaving the ground as she approached him.
"I am sorry." She blurted it out before he could even say anything, and it made Joffrey smile.
"Sister,dear sweet sister, you are not in trouble." His voice was sweet, he knew it lulled her into a false sense of security. "Look at me."
"Why did you call me here then, brother?" Her voice matched his own, and he began to wonder if she was pretending again. He noticed it with her sometimes, she would pretend to be strong, to be in control of herself. But when she was in his chambers, she had no control.
"I was worried about you, you jumped in front of a sword today." He took her hand in his own, smiling as she flinched away from him. "You can't do things like that sister, it could have gotten you killed."
"I know, I just, I didn't want you to kill him." He could hear the desperation in her voice. He loved that her emotions controlled her, he was so sick of the times where she could keep herself in check. She was turning into his mother and that was not allowed to happen.
"I know, but I can't just let you think that is okay." He saw the fear flicker in her eyes as looked up at him.
"You said we wouldn't do that tonight, you said I could have a break before I left tomorrow. Please." She went to stand up but Joffrey just gave her a look and she sat still once more.
"Lyrina, if you let me do this, Sansa can leave with you." Joffrey knew that his sister wanted to take Sansa with her, and if she behaved he was inclined to let her .
"Do you promise? I don't want to be lied to again." She was getting bold again, he could see it. She thought she could be bold because she was leaving him, but she couldn't. He would be with her always.
"I promise." She smiled. He had won. "Strip and lay on the bed."
To Joffrey is sister was never more beautiful than she was when she lay naked in his bed. Not because he found her body attractive, nothing so sinful, but because of all the red marks upon her skin. He watched her lay down as he went to find the dagger he had grown so found of, it was a gift from his uncle Jaime, and it worked well. He stood at the edge of the bed looking down her, her eyes fighting back tears, but it would only be moments before she was crying out. He took the moment to admire what he had spent a month doing, a month of slowly cutting into his sister's flesh. Some of the cuts had faded over time, slowly giving way back to her flesh. The ones he had put deeper in her skin were still healing, and he had no doubts that they would scar, leaving her with a constant reminder.
"I told your betrothed is father is dead, I am having everyone informed as we speak." He started small as he spoke, and he quickly slid the sharp blade against the flesh of her calf. She hissed in pain, but she did not cry yet.
"Why? You didn't kill him." He did not answer her right away, he just looked at the thin line of blood coming from her wound.
"Because soon we will be the only ones who know he is alive. He was told not tell anyone or I would have his entire family murdered. You know I'd do it, don't you sister?" Another thin cut across her calf, and another hiss from her.
"I do." Her voice was so docile, Joffrey felt himself twitch. She was so attractive when she laid there weak. He would normally never get his hands dirty in such a way, he would get someone else to do it for him. But something about his sister made him possessive, made him angry at the thought of someone else touching her in anyway.
"If you tell anyone what you know, I will rip you from Winterfell and kill any child you have with the wolf. I will lock you in the deepest parts of the castle, and you will never see the light of day again." He grabbed her thigh roughly, admiring the cuts that still lingered, and the scars that were slowly starting to form. He pressed the blade against her skin, and made a long deep cut. That time she cried out, and he knew it hurt. She was always so sensitive there.
"I understand." She was crying, trying to writhe out of his grip but he just held her thigh in his hand. She was so fragile, he imagined how easily he could break her bones. It took him only a moment to make another deep cut, and he reviled in the sound of her cries. He enjoyed the power he had over her. She came to him with the plan, she came to him with seduction, and now she was getting what she deserved, a shame she didn't realize how tricky her brother could be. She should have known better than to try and seduce her own brother, the whore.
"Do you still have the stuff I gave you to keep them from getting infected?" He did not want the poor girl to die not before she gave him the north.
"I do."
"Good." He continued to cut her body in different places, moving on from her thighs. He cut her stomach, her sides, her legs not deep cuts, he did not want her covered in scars. He still wanted the wolf to be able to look at her. Joffrey just wanted the wolf to know every time he looked at her that she belonged to him. She cried out more with each cut, she cried out as he opened old wounds just to watch them bleed. She hated blood, he knew it by the way she looked away each night, the way she shuddered when he made her lay in the bloody sheets. He wasn't found of the blood either, but it was more effective than hitting her, it seemed she was used to being hit.
"Did you know how easy it would be to take your maidenhood?" He did not wish to bed his sister out of some desire of love and passion. He just wanted to break her. He knew the threat of deflowering her was something that would get a constant rise out of her, he used it often.
"Please,no." Joffrey put the dagger down and climbed on top of her.
"I didn't say I was going to do it, sister. I am not some kind of monster, I would not rape my little sister." He leaned down and kissed her upon the lips. It was not the first kiss he had stolen from her, and it would not be the last he was sure. She never kissed him back,and he never expected her to. As he pulled his mouth away from hers, and his body from on top of her he let his hands slide down her naked form. She hated it, and he knew it.
"Turn over and we will be done." He had never marked her back before, and he no intention to. He did not want to mark her back because she could not clean those wounds. Once she was on her back he began to gently run his fingers along her bare skin. "See this is nice right?"
"Yes, brother." He always did something nice for her each night, just to keep her guessing. He liked to make her think she gave him a weak spot, but he had none, not with her.
He hated her, he hated everything about her. When she was born it was clear she was their father's favorite, she looked like him. When she was sent away Joffrey thought he would finally gain his father's love but he didn't. She came back in like nothing had happened, and still their father loved her more. She was not ugly, and it seemed the Stark men enjoyed her company, and it angered him. She was his sister, no one was supposed to enjoy her company. She was annoying, fragile, broken, stupid and senseless but he liked her that way. He hated how she thought she could avoid him, that she could gain some strength. He didn't want her to have any of that. She was better without a backbone, she was better when she trembled at his touch. He was obsessed with seeing her fail, with seeing her break and he was glad to be the one to do it. He did not believe that he was not his father's son, but he did not want his sister thinking she could take the throne from him. He needed her to be weak, like when he first saw her again.
"Okay sister, you can lay here until the bleeding stops. I am going to tell Sansa to pack." But he didn't move off the bed at first he waited. He waited until she was on her back again before he rolled himself on top of her.
"Joffrey what.." She didn't get to finish. He smashed his lips into hers, and he kissed her hard. He hated her but something sick burned in his stomach when he saw her. When she lay naked in his bed his groin would stir, and he would think of all the things he could do to her. He cut her so not to fuck her. Gods would never forgive him for fucking his own sister, but Gods could forgive punishments. He was punishing her for thinking she was better than him, for thinking she could be stronger than him. He stopped kissing her just to bite her bottom lip hard drawing blood.
"I will be in your chambers tomorrow to bid you farewell. Good night, sister."
He could hear her cry as he left, and he could not help but smile. He had never cut someone before, or cut anything before except the cat he cut open once. He did not think it would be something he would enjoy in the future with woman, he was not into those kinds of things. Blood did not turn him on, but the way his sister lay crying, broken did. He would have beat her but bruises fade and he needed the Stark boy to know that he may have married Lyrina, but she belonged to Joffrey. She could leave Kings landing but she would always come back one way or another. The Stark boy was only going to be there for a fleeting moment, Joffrey was her blood and he would be there for her for all time.
Robb's P.o.V
Robb sat in his tent anger boiling in his stomach as he clutched the letter from Joffrey in his fists, he would kill him. He would march down there, storm the city and slice the boy in half. Robb could not believe that the so called king actually killed his father, while he held his own hostage. He could kill Jaime Lannister, he could just cut his head off and send it to the queen on a platter. The man was the king's true father anyway, maybe then the prick would feel something. He would make sure every Lannister felt the pain he was experiencing, he would make sure they all knew what it was like to lose someone they loved. He make them feel the pain of having one of their loved one's crippled, one of their loved one's held against their will. Robb felt nothing but anger, no compassion, no doubts, just cold steel anger.
"Robb." The voice of Theon brought Robb back from his own thoughts of slaughter. His friend stood there dressed in full battle armor. "The men were.."
"He killed my father, the prick actually killed my father." Robb felt the anger taking over, the rage eating him up inside.
"Robb, I am sorry." He knew Theon cared for his father as well, he knew every person in his camp cared for his father. He knew if he asked they would slaughter every Lannister in the realm as revenge, but he could not ask for that, but it didn't mean he wasn't thinking about it.
"I want to kill them all Theon, I want to kill every single Lannister." He was still at his desk clutching the letter in his hand, the anger no where near to subsiding.
"What about Lyrina, would she count for that?" At the mention of Lyrina's name Robb felt another emotion flood through him, but it didn't last long. He was so angry that not even the thought of her could fix it.
"No, of course she doesn't, I just, you know what I meant." He was in no mood for Theon to call her out right now. She was different, she wasn't a Lannister, she was a Baratheon. She was the one true heir to the iron throne, she was to be his wife.
"She is coming here." He had almost let his anger override the other fact stated in the letter. Her family would be allowing the marriage pact, she could be his wife.
"What? Lyrina is coming back to the camp, what does her mother have more terms for you?"
"No, Theon, her family is allowing the marriage pact to go through. I don't even know how they found out about it. I don't even know why they would let her marry me, I am just a traitor to the crown." Robb had his doubts about the whole thing, but he could not deny that beneath his anger and doubts there was a happiness. He had missed her laying in his arms, he missed keeping her safe.
"Do you think that it is some plot to get you to bend the knee and go home? Or do you think they are doing it for her own happiness?" They both knew the Lannister's would not do something for her own happiness, they would do it for their own gain.
"It's a game to them, they would not just do it for her. They aren't being smart though, if they think she is going to remain loyal to them, they are wrong." He knew Lyrina would never betray him, not to her family.
"Robb, I know the last time I doubted her you got very angry with me but I am saying there could be a chance she is on their side with this." He could never imagine that, not her.
"I understand your concern but she would never. She loved my father as her own, she would be just as mad at them as I am. She loves me, she would not betray me."
"Robb I am just saying, it's possible. She has spent almost a year with these people, she has changed you can see that. She wasn't the same girl she was, you told me that yourself." He knew Theon was right, they did have time against them. She had spent almost a year away from him, and when he saw her for the first time she had been so different. Her emotions were no longer visible, she kept them locked away.
"I just have to trust to her, I just.." His head was becoming a blur, and the anger was beginning to turn everything red. His thoughts became twisted.
"Go see your mother, the men wanted to know if you still want to move against the force headed north." Robb had received word that a group of 200 Lannister men were headed north, trying to bypass him no doubt on their way to Winterfell.
"I will go tell my mother of our plans, you get the men ready." Theon nodded and was gone, leaving Robb alone with his twisted mind.
Lyrina was the woman he loved and she claimed to love him too but she had not written to him in over a month. She promised to read the letter he had sent explaining himself, but he did not know if she did. He was beginning to think she could truly have become like her family, become a manipulative liar. Theon was always filling Robb's head with doubts, and he never believed them truly but his mind was twisting everything. His father was dead, he was angry and somehow Lyrina could come be with him. How could something so perfect be true in the world he was living in?
After dressing in his armor he went in search of his mother he hoped she was doing better than he was. He was so angry, so broken up about losing his father, the man he had looked up to his whole life. His mother had not only lost one man to a mad king, but she had lost both men she had ever loved. Her first love rode off to save his sister, and died trying to free his own father. His father rode south to help his best friend and in turn got executed because the prick on the throne couldn't act like a decent person. He knew his mother worried about losing him too, but she wouldn't lose him, he would kill the Lannisters first.
"Mother." He found her in her tent, she was not crying, she was not showing any visible emotion he could see. But the moment he saw her his walls came down around him, and his anger turned to sadness.
"Robb." He made a move toward his mother and hugged the woman tight. Robb began to cry, letting all of his emotions out. He let out the anger, the sadness, the confusion, all of it. "You have to be strong now, you can't let them win."
"I am going to fucking kill them all." He was still crying but his voice held nothing but anger.
"Yes,my son, you will kill them all. Not until you get your sister back though, not until Sansa is safe." He knew he had to get her back, to save her. Lyrina would soon be with them no doubt, and that would leave Sansa all alone. She promised him she wouldn't leave his sister alone, how could she do that to him.
"Lyrina is coming here,her brother sent word we are to marry." He could see the shock on his mother's face, but he didn't know if it was because of the marriage or because of the hateful way he said it. He was thinking maybe marrying Lyrina would not be for the best.
"Robb this is good, it is very good." He didn't share his mother's view. "They think they can use her as a pawn against you, they think you will be blinded by your love for her. Cersei no doubt believes the marriage will soften the blow of your father's death, it means they are scared of what you may do." Could they be scared of him? He wanted to believe it, he wanted to believe that Lyrina wasn't betraying him but his anger clouded his judgment.
"I do not know mother, none of it makes sense to me. They would never just let her marry me, I am the son of a traitor, and a traitor myself."
"Robb, they think love will make you foolish. Cersei knows as a woman that women have certain effects on men, she believes her daughter could convince you to give up on the war. She doesn't know Lyrina like we do, you know she is on our side." Robb again wanted to believe she was on his side, but why hadn't she written him. If she was on his side why didn't she reach out to him?
"We are going after the group of men headed north, we can cut them off." Robb changed the subject and he knew his mother would notice. He just could not think about her. He wanted his thought of her to be happy but his mind was too clouded.
"What about Lyrina? When will she be here?" He didn't care.
"No doubt soon, a few days at most. If we are not back when she gets here I am sure you can help her get situated. Get the men to give her a tent, have Grey Wind stay with her."
"Robb, it would be better if you were here for her. We do not know the circumstances leading up to her coming here, you don't know what she has gone through." He didn't care at the moment. He needed to get the hate for her family out of his system. It would be better for them in the long run if he was gone.
"I am going with my men mother, I am their leader."
"Others can lead them, she is to be your wife." His mother was getting defensive, but he brushed her off.
"I will be back in a few days." He kissed his mother's forehead before he left.
She just did not understand why he had to what he saw doing. His mother must have thought he was running away from Lyrina, but it was not his intention. He wanted their reunion to be happy, and loving but if he saw her with the anger inside him it would be ugly. He would be angry with her for something she had no control over, he wanted to be happy when he saw her. He would go, get his anger under control and then come back. He would sweep her into his arms, and everything else would be a distant memory.
He had 200 of his own men riding with him, most of them starting finally to believe in his ability as a leader. He knew some of them would never see him as such, but he at least needed their respect. He wondered how many of them would lose that respect for him when they learned he was to marry the king's sister. None of his men knew of why his father was arrested, none outside of Theon knew that Joffrey was no true king. He knew he would have to tell them soon, now that his father was dead they would want answers as to what the man had done. What would happen when they found out he was going to marry the one rightful heir to the iron throne? Lyrina did not want the throne, she couldn't fight for it, but he knew it was hers. He wondered if she had finally accepted that her mother slept with her own brother, he was sure she had to realize the truth. If not he feared it would be another fight between them.
"Have you calmed down yet?" Theon rode up beside him after hours of being silent.
"My anger is not going to subside in a matter of hours. I will not be happy until they are dead." He had imagined all the ways he could kill them, kill the people who hurt his family.
"You will kill them soon enough, just wait. We will save Sansa and then you can do what you wish." He knew he could, he could kill anyone he wanted. He didn't want to be a murderer but he needed vengeance.
"I know, and I will slice that fake king in half."
"Would his sister let you?" There Theon was again filling Robb's head with thoughts he didn't want.
"I do not care what she wants." He didn't care.
He loved her, he loved Lyrina with every part of him but loving her was going to tear him apart. He wanted to be with her more than anything but he knew that this war was not over. He knew loving her was going to test his loyalties, his loyalty to his men and to her. He didn't know yet which would win, and he prayed he would not ruin everything. He knew that his anger for the Lannisters would ruin everything if she didn't feel the same way. If Lyrina had somehow been tainted by them, he would lose her forever. They would grow to hate each other if he was fighting a war she thought was unnecessary, they would resent each other if they differed on the honor of it. He was going to kill her family, how could she look at him after that? How could he look at her for letting his father die?
"I heard the girl threw herself onto your father trying to spare his life." They had set up a small camp for the night when one of his men spoke up. A few dozen of them were sitting around a camp fire.
"The princess? The king's own sister threw herself onto Lord Stark?" Robb was listening to the men speaking, keeping his mind open.
"My friend was there, said that the girl just laid there waiting for the blade to hit her but one of the guards stepped in." Had she really risked her life for his father? "He said her brother instantly changed his mind on the beheading after that, said the Gods had guided his sister to save the man."
"That is shit." Another man spoke, and Robb had to agree. There was no way she would do something like that, he couldn't even do something like that.
"I am telling you I have the letter he sent me. He says everyone in the capitol was hailing the girl as a hero, even though they were condemning Lord Stark moments before. The prince changed his mind of course, the prick, and he had Lord Stark killed. The plan was to send the man to the black."
"We will just ask her when she gets here if she actually did it." Robb was ready to punch Theon. He had not told his men about the marriage, he was not ready for them to mutiny.
"The princess is coming back to the camp? Is she bringing more insane terms from her mother?"
"I am going to marry her." He had to be open about it, Theon had ruined everything. His head was still a mess regarding the girl, everything was shifting.
"Was this something we came up with as a ploy, or did her family orchestrate it?" He could understand the curiosity from the men.
"Our fathers actually decided it when we were children. She was supposed to grow up in Winterfell with me." He wished she had, it would have made everything easier. Everything would have been easier if he had kept her in Winterfell also.
"Well it's their loss for sending her to us. She won't be loyal to the crown for long. Your father helped raise the girl, we all know she was a ward there for a few years. It will not be long before you make her loyal to the Starks." He had hoped she was still already loyal. He hoped she had not changed.
When his men went to get sleep Robb laid awake. Would it always be so bad that when he got angry at her family he would take it out on her? She wasn't even there yet and he had thought countless times of how she had betrayed him. Would he look at her and only see the people who were trying to ruin his life? He knew she deserved a better man, someone who did not think those things about her. If he was a better man he would let her go but he wasn't a better man. He loved her and the last thing he really wanted was to let her go. They would work through everything they were going to face. They had spent almost a year apart, and he was not going to allow more time to pass without her in his bed. He loved her, and she loved him everything else would just have to sort itself out.
"I will be here when you think you're all alone, seeping through the cracks I'm the poison in your bones."
A/N: So I may have made Joffrey a little more sadistic than he is, but there is reason for that. He is crazy. I hope you all liked the creepy chapter. Again Theon the jerk, I honestly see him as the devil on Robb's shoulder.