Chapter 8

In the Cold Light of Morning

Elyse sat quietly while a maid brushed her hair. She didn't know this maid who was from Winterfell. The maids from King's Landing wouldn't serve her anymore, she was a lady Stark now. She knew all the maids who were traveling with them and she had hoped that at least one of them could stay with her, but Robert hadn't agreed to that. He wanted to punish her in every way he could.

She would once again have to start all over. For some reason her new husband hadn't touched her last night, but she knew better than to be relieved. Perhaps he simply wanted to wait until Robert was gone. Not that it mattered, she felt too exhausted to care. She had tried very hard not to let her bitterness take over, but right now she didn't see much to look forward to.

Her whole life she had been nothing more than a bargaining chip. She had been betrothed to a lord old enough to be her father before her 12th nameday. That lord had died before she had bled for the first time and she had been betrothed again after the proper mourning period. Her second betrothed hadn't been as old as the first one, but he had been spoiled and selfish.

After he had died in a hunting accident, Robert had waited for a little longer before giving her to Darius. He had been worse than the first two. He hadn't showed it right away, but she had certainly learned it on their wedding night. The whole thing had been nothing but disgusting, painful and humiliating. He has had trouble performing, but that hadn't stopped him from trying.

That had continued during their whole marriage. He hadn't hesitated taking his anger out on her and he had often called her barren. When she had dutifully sat by his deathbed, she had wanted to pick up a pillow and suffocate him or maybe put some poison into his soup. That had been all she had been able to think about. After his death, she had foolishly hoped that she could live the rest of her life as a widow.

Of course, Robert hadn't agreed to that, not when he could use her for his advantage. Despite her current situation, some part of her was glad that for once Robert hadn't gotten what he wanted. Yes, he had again forced her into marriage, but this time neither of them was happy about it.

That certainly sounded petty, but it did give her some kind of wicked joy. Not that she had any real reason for that joy. She was just so tired. All her property belonged to her husband now, she had once again lost the control of her life. Yet she wasn't ready to give up yet.

"Forgive me, what is your name?" she asked after a long silence.

The maid was clearly surprised.

"Nellie, my lady."

"Have you worked here for long?"

"Aye, my lady, since my 13th nameday."

"I see. Have you liked it here?"

"Aye, very much. Lord Stark is a good master."

"I am sure he is. And I am sure his sons are just as noble as him."

The maid nodded.

"They are, my lady. Master Robb will be a good Lord of Winterfell."

"And his brothers?"

"Fine young lords, my lady."

"Hmm. Do you know my husband well?"

"Fine man, my lady. And very handsome, if you don't mind me saying so."

"Yes... I am sure many women find him handsome. I understand these things, I am sure he has many mistresses."

Nellie seemed confused.

"Not to my knowledge, my lady."

"It's fine, Nellie," Elyse assured smiling. "This is not my first marriage; I know how these things work."

"Master Jon likes to keep to himself. I have not heard about him courting anyone. And why would he want to when he has a wife like you, my lady."

"Thank you, that's very kind of you," Elyse replied.

She suspected that the maid was only trying to spare her feelings or then she was fiercely loyal to her household. Either way, she could respect that. She would no doubt learn everything there was to know about her new husband soon enough. He had been gone when she had woken up and she couldn't deny that she had been happy about that. Hopefully she would learn more about her future today.

Her husband was a very wealthy man now and she doubted that they would stay in Winterfell. At least she would be the mistress of her own household again. Hopefully. She took a deep breath and tried to brace herself for facing her husband. And Cersei. She certainly wasn't looking forward to that. The bruise on her face still made her feel humiliated, but she was determined not to show it. She left her husband's chamber and headed to the dining hall when she heard someone calling her name.

"Lady Elyse!"

"Ser Jaime," she replied icily. "How are you this fine morning?"

"I..." He paused and cleared his throat. "I... How are you?"

"Fine, thank you. Excuse me."

"Please, wait," he murmured tensely. "I just... I wanted to ask... Are you alright?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"You know why."

"What I don't know is why you pretend to care," she replied coldly. "You made it very clear how much I disgust you."

"No, no, that was never... You do not disgust me and I sincerely want you to be safe."

"How kind of you. Excuse me, I am hungry."

She turned her back to Jaime and marched to the dining room. What kind of game was he playing? First, he had helped his sister and the boy trapping her and now he acted like he would care what happened to her. The funny thing was that she had always considered him as a decent man. How foolish of her. Robert wasn't in the dining hall, but Cersei, her children and the Stark family was. All of them except Elyse's husband.

"Ah, there you are," Cersei said smiling. "We decided to let you and your husband to get some sleep since surely you had a long and hard night."

"That was very thoughtful of you, Your Grace," Elyse replied, placing a sweet smile on her face. "Where is the King?"

"Still sleeping."

"Ah. He must have also had a long and hard night. Just like Ser Jaime."

Cersei's eyes narrowed, but Elyse didn't care about that. She had been nothing but polite and respectful to this woman her whole life and where had that gotten her? No, she was done. All the sympathy she had felt for Cersei was gone. Did Cersei honestly think that she was the only woman who was unhappy in her marriage? That was no excuse to treat other women like this.

"Dear sister," Cersei said and stood up as Elyse walked past her. "I believe I didn't properly congratulate you last night."

Elyse tensed when Cersei suddenly hugged her.

"Watch your tongue, bastard's whore or I'll make your life even more miserable than it already is," Cersei whispered in her ear and pulled away smiling.

"Congratulations to you and your husband. I am sure you will be very happy together."