Chapter 4

A friendly advice

"You little whore! How dare you shame me like this?!"

Elyse blinked her eyes; she couldn't understand what was happening. She felt dizzy and disoriented.

"Get up, whore!"

The voice belonged to Robert. Why was he shouting like that? Suddenly he grabbed her hair, making her yelp in pain.

"I said get up!"

Roughly he yanked her out of the bed, she yelped again as she hit the floor painfully. In that moment Elyse realized that she was naked. Robert was still shouting at her as she tried to desperately understand what was happening. She blinked few times in order to clear her vision and saw Cersei and a maid standing few feet away. Robert's wife looked more than pleased as she observed Elyse.

"I gave you to Tywin Lannister's son!" Robert shouted. "I offered you a good life! But no, you had to spread your whore legs to Ned's bastard!"

What? Finally Elyse realized that she wasn't in the guest chamber. There was a man on the bed. A naked man. Terror filled her as she tried to understand what had happened. The feast. She had felt dizzy and decided to retire. After that… nothing. And now she was naked in a man's chamber. Lord Stark's bastard's. He was sitting on the bed, his mouth floundering open and closed.

"Robert," she finally managed to say. "Something happened to me, I didn't come here willingly…"

"Shut your mouth!" Robert snarled. "Two people saw you coming here!"

"No! I…"

Robert's hit killed the rest of her sentence, she fell on her stomach and let out a weak whimper.

"I will teach you respect!"

"Robert!" Lord Stark's voice cried out. "Your Grace. What is happening here?"

"My sister saw fit to sleep with your bastard."

"What? Jon?"

"I… I don't… I didn't…" he stuttered.

"Relax, boy," Robert snorted. "It seems that this is your lucky day."

Elyse tasted blood in her mouth as she struggled to stay conscious. She couldn't really hear what was being said, only words from here and there. Someone covered her with a blanket and lifted her up.

"Clean her up and get her ready," Robert's voice said. "The wedding will be tonight."

What wedding? Elyse tried to keep her eyes open, but finally she lost consciousness.

"My lady? My lady, please wake up."

Slowly Elyse opened her eyes. Her head hurt. One of the maids, Leila, was hovering over her with a worried expression.

"What happened?" Elyse murmured.

Leila bowed her head.

"I… His Grace told me to assist you, my lady."

Elyse froze as she started to remember everything. It all made sense now. She had been drugged; she was sure of it. Drugged and… The whole thought made her nauseous. Lord Stark's bastard… Somehow Elyse doubted that he had done the whole thing by himself. Cersei. Elyse had never thought that her brother's wife really hated her so much. Clearly, she had been wrong. Why? The answer was obvious. Cersei didn't want Jaime to wed Elyse. No, she had rather arranged someone to rape Elyse. But why had the boy agreed to that?

"Where is the King?" Elyse asked as calmly as she could. "I must speak to him."

Leila wasn't looking at her.

"He… said that he does not wish to see you before the ceremony, my lady."

"What ceremony?"

"Your wedding, my lady."

Elyse felt a lump in her throat.

"With whom?" she heard herself asking.

"With Lord Stark's son, my lady. The Lord Jon Stark."

Robert had legitimized him. Of course, he had, it would be shameful for him to marry his sister off to a bastard. It all made perfect sense. The boy had a tittle now and he would also have Elyse's property after they would be married. No. She would never marry a man who had forced himself on her when she had been unconscious. She needed to make her brother listen to her. Carefully she got into a sitting position and gasped as she saw her reflection in a mirror. She had a huge bruise on her face. Leila helped her getting dressed before she headed to the door. Unfortunately two guards blocked her way.

"Apologies, my lady, the King ordered you to stay in your chamber until he comes," one of the said.

"I must speak to him at once," Elyse protested. "The matter is urgent."

"I'm sorry, my lady, but our orders were very clear."

"Please, tell the King that I…"

"That won't be necessary," Cersei's voice suddenly said. She walked over to Elyse with a smile on her face. "I'm afraid Robert is busy with the wedding arrangements. I am sure none of us wishes any unpleasant rumors to spread."

Elyse looked at her brother's wife coldly.

"How thoughtful of you to care about my reputation so much."

"Of course," Cersei replied smiling. "We are family after all."

"Why?" Elyse asked so quietly that the guards couldn't hear her.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean," Cersei replied, she was still smiling. "But I would advice you to obey your King. You know how he can be when he is angry, I would hate to see things getting worse for you." Cersei paused and touched Elyse's arm. "Just a friendly advice."

Elyse didn't say anything, she was too numb to speak. This couldn't be happening. She had learned to accept her engagement with Jaime, but this… There was no way she would accept this. She had already been forced to marry one monster, she wasn't going to let her brother give her to another one.