Wife of the Wolf, Husband of the Sun
Chapter Twenty-Seven.
Elia had turned out to be right.
It was not long after the wedding feast of Prince Rhaegar and the now Princess Cersei that the king decided to send Elia away to Casterly Rock, in fact it was only two days after the feast that they were being sent away.
Ned and Elia had planned to return to the North after the tourney but obviously neither of them had expected any of this to happen, he had wanted to do nothing more than to send a message to his father and explained what had happened but he knew that any message sent by a raven would be read before it was sent, if it would be sent at all, and a rider would not be allowed to leave the city.
Ned was in fact able to send word to his father, but only to tell him that he would not be able to return as soon as they'd expected as the King had invited them to stay as guests of honour and it would be rude to refuse such a generous request. It had taken a great deal of willpower that Ned did not know that he actually possessed not to write that he didn't have much choice either way because if he had then he would've been perfectly fine with appearing rude.
Still, even if they didn't know exactly that they were essentially here against their will it still made Ned feel a little better that he had been able to get some word to his father, that he had let him know that they were still in King's Landing and that if they didn't return soon then something was wrong.
Of course, following this plan of theirs the only ones that would be returning north was Ned himself and the twenty or so guardsmen he brought with him, Oberyn would be returning to Dorne with his daughters so that he could tell Doran what had happened and gave him Rhaegar's message while Ned himself would be giving his message to his father.
Ned had already memorised his message and had burnt the paper to ashes, he could only hope that Oberyn had done the same thing to his message because in order to make sure that no one found out what they were doing they had all decided not to speak of it, they had even decided not to tell Rhaegar.
Ned personally thought that was a mistake but he had been outvoted as neither Elia or Oberyn of them wanted to take any risk that the king would find out, there were spies everywhere in King's Landing and most of them had belonged to the spider and it seemed that of everyone in King's Landing it was the eunuch who had the king's ear.
He wondered if this was as much the Spider's fault as it was the king's. he was constantly at his side and whispering in his ear so who knew how many plots he was whispering into his ear, both real and imagined. And in all the time they had spent in King's Landing only the gods could know what the Master of Whispers had told him about them.
The only thing Ned knew for certain was that when he was back in the North with Elia and their child safely alongside him, they were never going to leave the North ever again. The farthest south they would ever go would be Greywater Watch and no further.
He wondered how long that would be, how long would Elia be forced to stay at Casterly Rock? Would she be forced to have their child there? Would they be walking and talking before they could finally come to their true home in the North? Would they be calling Jaime Lannister father?
That one simple thought caused his blood to boil, he had been trying his hardest to be the voice of reason alongside Elia because he knew that if Oberyn thought he would support him then there was no telling what he would. Normally being the voice of reason had always come easily to him, with an older brother like Brandon and a younger sister like Lyanna it had sort of been forced on to him and he was more than used to it, after he had left for the Eyrie it had become poor Benjen's role.
But this wasn't smoothing over a disagreement, stopping Brandon from sneaking a whore into his room or stopping Lyanna from doing something that would break her neck or making sure that Benjen wouldn't eat something that he couldn't swallow, this was his wife and he being forced apart and he didn't want to be reasonable about that.
He wanted to find Jaime Lannister and smash his pretty face in until he was anything but pretty, he wanted to slice the Mad King's head from his shoulders and throw it in to a fire, he wanted to tear this stinking city apart and crack it open so all that lived here could see just how deep it had rotted.
But he knew that he couldn't do that, he couldn't do any of it without suffering the most severe of consequences and he didn't care much of what happened to him, he had learned how to die a very long time ago. But if anything happened to Elia, to his family because of something he did...
He could control himself, he would wait until the time was right. He had to.
The door to the room opened and Elia stepped in, her dress was quite plain and was an unusual mix of colours. Grey and burnt orange with long and billowing sleeves which covered her entire arms and a long hood which covered her head, the only skin that could be seen was her face and her hands. The only decoration were two broaches, one made of silver in the shape of a direwolf and one made of gold in the shape of a speared sun.
The dress in fact was more akin to robes and Elia had made it herself, she had been working on it ever since they had made their plan, it was made from wool instead of silk like most of her dresses. Ned wasn't entirely sure why she made the dress out of such a thick material as it could not be comfortable in the warmth of King's Landing but Elia claimed it made her feel better and Ned know that at the moment they both needed something to cheer them.
And he had to admit that it made him happy and proud to see that she was proudly wearing the colours of both her houses and their symbols, she might be a hostage at Casterly Rock but Ned knew that she wasn't going to let anyone forget that she was a Martell, a Stark.
"It's time." Elia said sadly as she glanced down at her hands before looking back up to look at her husband. "Why does it feel like I am never going to see you again?"
Ned stood up from the bed and quickly stepped over to her, he raised his hands and pushed her hood back before cupping her face and joining their lips together, she tasted of honey and something hot that threatened to burn but never did. He gently pulled away but kept her face in his hands. "I shall see you again, as soon as possible. I will do everything I can to make sure of that."
Elia nodded and took a deep breath to calm herself. "Come on, we shouldn't keep the rest waiting." She said as she took Ned's hand and turned to leave the room, leading Ned out as she did.
As they walked through the Red Keep Ned noticed that several lords and ladies were speaking in hushed tones and looking at them, it had not taken long for word of what the King had done to begin to spread all though out the Red Keep and it had become the most popular subject to speak off, the only good news was that from what Ned had been able to gather it seemed that very few people actually approved of what the King had done but no one had said or done anything about it out of fear of what the king would do to them and Ned wanted to strangle them all for being so cowardly.
They kept their heads down as their King killed innocents or burned people alive who did nothing to deserve such a punishment and they simply kept their heads down as they did it, the people were as rotten as the city. That was the truth of it.
The finally exited Maegor's Holdfast and stepped into the great courtyard of the keep and the first sight that greeted them was the sight of the Lannister host, ready to leave as soon as their new guest would arrive. Ned saw Jaime Lannister sitting on a great horse and dressed in his suit of gilded steel, when he saw them approaching he turned his gaze down to his feet and if Ned wasn't so sure that the Lannister boy wasn't incapable of feeling it then he was certain that he had glanced the emotion in his eyes before he could no longer see them.
Princess Cersei was there as well and she was marked by being the only one who didn't look miserable, disapproving or furious about what was happening all around her. She seemed to still be caught up in the ecstasy that her marriage to Prince Rhaegar had brought to her, thought Ned had to wonder if it was more the fact that she was going to be the queen that was bringing her the joy and not her husband.
She did seem more suited in Targaryen colours, he had to admit. The lion had so easily she shed her former coat for a gown that was black as night and a crimson sash around her waist. She had a silver neck lace adorned with rubies around her neck and a silver tiara with several rubies set into it.
She still had her wedding cloak on which was unusual as most brides always took it off after their wedding night but she had not, no one said anything to this as no one wished to offend her and she seemed to smirk every time that someone laid their eyes on the cloak, as if she enjoyed reminding everyone that it was she who had married the dragon prince and not any of them.
Speaking of the prince he was standing at the side of his new wife and he looked almost more melancholic than usual, his dark indigo eyes were filled with sorrow and Ned had to wonder if it wasn't to due with the fact that he was married to such a hateful woman, not that he deserved any less.
Ned then felt the urge to go and apologise to Cersei and Rhaegar, that was unworthy of him. He had spoken a handful of words to the both of them in all the time he had spent in King's Landing and he had no right to judge them. He had seen Cersei do cruel things to be sure and she had been rude to Elia but none of this was her fault, she had not asked the Mad King to do any of this. And Prince Rhaegar had tried to stop his father from his cruellest actions.
In truth he was simply angry both at the situation and everyone with the last name Lannister and Targaryen, he would've been able at that moment to go up to Tywin Lannister and punch him in the face but he knew that he could not. Not if he wanted to ensure that Elia was treated well at Casterly Rock, and less importantly if he wanted to retain the proper use of all of his limbs.
It suddenly occurred to him that neither the King, the Queen or the younger prince were nowhere to be seen and he had to wonder why, from all he had heard and seen the king certainly had no issue with witnessing the cruelty he inflicted but at the same time he supposed that the king not being here was something of a blessing.
He was worried for the queen however, a blind man could see how cruel the man was to his wife and despite his own anger at the royal family he could not help but hope that the kind woman was well as well as her son.
The sorrow in Rhaegar's eyes seemed to intensify when he looked at Elia and he seemed to want to come and speak with her but Cersei tightened her hold on Rhaegar's arm and narrowed her eyes at Elia before she turned her head to whisper something into the Prince's ear.
The prince sighed and nodded before he turned and began to escort her back inside and Ned noticed that Jaime Lannister's face had grown pale and he seemed to be holding on to the reins of his horse particularly tightly. The Imp rode up to him on his own horse, a smaller one that his brother's but it had a special saddle that supported the smaller man and he whispered something into his brother's ear, it didn't do much but it did seem to make the taller man smile.
He supposed even the Lannisters loved one another.
Elia suddenly gasped softly and Ned followed her gaze and he had to admit even he was shocked at what he saw, Gregor Clegane sat atop a large black Destrier, he supposed that it only made sense that such a man who was the largest that Ned had even seen would have the largest and most threatening horse that Ned had ever seen. A regular horse would seem to be like a donkey to him.
Even so, in full armour the poor creature threatened to buckle under it's riders weight and if it had been a regular horse than Ned know that it would have no chance of being able to stand whatsoever. "He's a monster." Elia muttered to Ned as the mountain of a man shouted curses at a smaller man who could only be his manservant. "No normal man could ever grow to such proportions."
Ned wished he had the words to comfort her but he had none, the man truly was a monster. Neither of them had wished to know but after time had passed he could not help himself, he needed to know what Oberyn had meant by the fact there were stories about the man.
He still found himself wishing that he hadn't asked.
A father that twenty years before he should have, an older sister that was hearty and healthy dead not a moon after, dozens of servants that mysteriously disappeared, a younger brother scared and dozens of woman raped and vast cruelty inflicted on to the lowborn.
He was a monster in far more than just frame.
And he served Lord Tywin Lannister and would be in close proximity to his wife for at least a great deal of her journey to Casterly Rock, swallowing acid and have a pound of his own flesh removed with a rusty knife would surely be more bearable than that thought.
"You will be alright, Lord Tywin won't let him hurt. He doesn't have a reason to hurt you." Ned wished he felt as confident as he sounded.
"If he tries then you are to send word to me and I will deal with him." Both Ned and Elia nearly jumped when Oberyn seemed to pop out nowhere, his voice angry and his dark eyes following the man as he rode to his place in the column. "The man might be a freak of nature but he is as slow as a glacier, I could handle him."
"I don't doubt that you could but you are to do nothing of the kind Oberyn, we can not start a war. Not yet anyway." Elia muttered under her breath. "You are going to go to Doran and give him the message and do nothing that he does not command do you understand?"
Oberyn did not look happy about it at all but his did nod his understanding before his features softened and pressed a kiss to his sister's cheek before he wrapped her arms around her and held her tight to him for a moment before he realised her with a reluctant sigh and walked back over to where his daughters stood with their septa.
Obara looked even more furious than her father which was quite an accomplishment to say the least and when the septa tried to scold her for it the girl let out a low snarl that sounded like it should come from a dog and the plain, plump woman reeled back in fear.
Nymeria looked more confused than anything else and her eyes seemed to become hopeful when she saw her father approaching her, as if she did not doubt that he would have all the answers for all of her questions. When she opened her mouth to speak however Oberyn simply put his hand atop her head and shook his own. The girl frowned darkly but did not say anything.
It was Tyene that was having the worst reaction, the tiny girl was sobbing her heart out both out of sadness and confusion in not understanding what was happening. Her tears only seemed to upset Elia more and Ned had to admit that even though he had only known the young girl for such a short time he had to admit that the sound of her cries pierced his heart like a knife.
Oberyn scooped up his daughter and pressed a kiss to her golden curls and whispered something into her ear that Ned could not make out, it seemed to settle her a little but she was still greatly upset as she whimpered slightly before burying her face into her father's neck.
He took hold of Nymeria's hand with his free hand and began to lead them over to were the Dornish host was waiting, the Septa and Obara following behind them. The septa, Tyene and Nymeria were placed in the small Dornish wheelhouse while Obara saddled a sandy brown stallion that looked even bigger when she rode atop it.
Oberyn saddled his own stallion and spared one more glance at his sister before he turned to speak with his eldest daughter, the Dornish host would not leave until after the Lannister host did so.
And Ned realised sadly that it was time to go. He lead Elia over to the Lannister wheelhouse and he was certain that he could feel every single pair of eyes in the entire courtyard on them as they reached the wheelhouse, but none of their gazes felt more heavy than the old lion's himself.
He was clad in full armour with his sword at his side, almost as if he expected that he would have to fight his way out of the keep. The armour it's self was as resplendent as only something paid for with Lannister gold could ever be, red and gold were it's colours and the chest plate was moulded into the shape of a roaring male lion, the Old Lion's red cloack was held in place by two small golden lionesses.
In truth on any other man it would've looked ridiculous but Tywin Lannister made it seem dignified, even restrained. Or maybe it was simply that Tywin was such a feared man that no one would even think of mocking him, the man did seem to have a way of laying your soul bare and finding you every secret and making you think that not even your thoughts were safe.
The Lannister wheelhouse was perhaps even more resplendent than the one used by the queen and it looked riddculously large compared to the smaller Dornish one, to start the abomination in front of him was at least twice the size of the royal wheelhouse and even standing still as it was it's wheels seemed to creak and threatened to break underneath it.
It's curtains were made of thick red velvet and were bordered with gold, shutters that were made of dark oak and had golden embedded into it, and had banners of both red and gold which would stream behind it when ever it moved but now simply laid across the top of it.
The door at the side of the monster swung open and Genna Lannister peered out, there was a small smile on her face and held out her hand for Elia to take. "Come along my dear, the journey may be a slow one but we shall at least shall be in comfort for it." She spoke for more softly than Ned could ever imagine any Lannister speaking.
Elia only glanced at the hand for a moment before she turned to face Ned and grabbed his face with her hands and brought their lips together fiercely, Ned held her tight as he deepened the kiss and he rested a hand on her round stomach and he once again found himself thanking the gods that the king was not here as he would not doubt be displeased by the show of affection between them.
Elia broke the kiss first but they did not pull away from one another, they kept their foreheads rested against one another for a moment before someone loudly cleared one another's throat, Ned broke away and looked around to see who did it but he could see no one who was giving any signs of having done it.
Regardless, the fact that almost everyone in the host looked impatient to go meant that it didn't really matter who had cleared their throat. It was time to let go.
Ned released his hold on Elia and stepped back, Elia sighed heavily and it seemed to shake her entire body but she did not bow her head and turned and stepped into the wheelhouse, not taking Genna's hand as she sat down her seat. The older woman's smile fell from her face but Ned saw there was no anger in her eyes, she turned to look at Ned with eyes full of sympathy and did not look away until the door was closed by a servant.
The host slowly began to ride through the gates, Tywin Lannister leading it through with his older brother at his side and his sons following right behind him. Ned simply kept his eyes on the wheelhouse and the further and further away it got he was certain that he felt his heart shattering into more and more pieces.
By all the gods, surely nothing could ever hurt like this? His father's heart attack was barely comparable to this, his mother's death and standing at her bedside and watching her slowly slip away, not even that had hurt as terribly as this did. Did that make him selfish? A cruel man who only cared about his own pain?
He did not like to think on it.
The wheelhouse, it's wheels creaking with every single roll that it made and for just a moment Ned had a heart stopping vision of the wheels shattering underneath the weight it was carrying and toppling over, spilling Elia with her delicate neck twisted the entire way around on to the ground, made it's way through the gates and there were no words that could describe the pain he felt when it slipped from his view and he realised she was gone.
Ned wasn't even aware of the rest of the Lannister host leaving through the gates, he was staring at them blankly but he did not see them. It was only when he felt a hand being placed on his shoulder that he seemed to become aware of the world again, he turned his head to see Oberyn who had dismounted his horse and was staring firmly into his eyes.
"This is not over Brother, I promise you. We will get her back no matter what." Oberyn spoke the words so harshly it was as if he had spat them out, it wasn't that Ned did not understand his anger as he was certain that what he was feeling was more potent than Oberyn but now that the Viper's sister was gone he seemed to have forgotten all of her words of restraint.
Before Ned could say anything about this Oberyn turned and hurried back over to his horse, quickly saddling it once again. He glanced down at Ned and nodded firmly and with a quick lash of his reins he was off, a dark blur rushing through the gates of the keep. A brown blur followed closely behind and Ned only knew that it was Obara because the colour of the blur had been the same as her horse, so fast she had been going.
In a matter of moment the much smaller Dornish host was gone and the courtyard seemed to be utterly abandoned, there was a sudden gust of wind that was colder than anything Ned had ever felt in King's Landing and he could not stop himself from nervously swallowing around a tight lump that had formed in his throat.
"My lord?" A nervous sounding voice spoke to the side of him and Ned turned his head to the guardsman who looked to be a few years older than him and yet still looked terrified that he would say something that would offend him. "Should we not be going?"
Ned was silent for a moment as his mind turned back to think on everything that had happened these past weeks and for a moment he still could not believe that any of it was actually real. It seemed like something out of a nightmare and by the gods how a small part of him that was still a boy wanted to cling to that thought, wanted to believe that any moment now he would wake up in his bed, Elia would be sleeping soundly at her side and the fire would be burning lazily in it's heath and they would be safe at Winterfell.
But he wasn't a boy anymore, he was a Stark of Winterfell and this was not a nightmare, it was his life. He could not change that but he would not take this lying down, he would wait. But every moment would waiting for just the right moment when he and Elia would be at his side once again.
He would rally the entire North to his side when the time was right if he had too.
"Yes, we should." Ned said and the guard ran off and soon returned with his horse that had been saddled, as soon as he was atop it he and his much smaller host began to ride out of the Red Keep and were soon out of the entire city proper, they were riding North in just under an hour.
As he rode he prayed, to the old gods even though there were few weirwood trees in the south and most of them were on the Isle of Faces in the riverlands and he did not plan on making such a detour so he would just have to hope that this one time the gods would be able to hear him even though they had no eyes with which to see him.
He prayed for Elia, for her to be well and safe and strong, he prayed for their child to be born healthy and born in the north, he prayed that Oberyn would be patient and restrained and that Prince Doran and Prince Rhaegar would both be ready to act, he prayed that his father would be willing to act when he told him Rhaegar's message and perhaps that Robert and Jon Arryn would come to their aid as well.
More than anything else, he simply prayed that in the end all would be well.
Even though he could tell from the feeling deep in his gut that nothing would be well.
End of Chapter Twenty-Seven
Well guys, that it's for now. Elia and Ned and Oberyn are all out of King's Landing even though all three of them are heading in different directions, Ned to the North, Elia to Casterly Rock and Oberyn to Dorne. Now, in terms of the next couple of chapters the next shall be told from Doran's perspective, the one after from Ned's, the one after that from Elia's and the one after that from Rhaegar's.
However, I am afraid I am going to have to ask all of you to be patient as you might have noticed I've spent a great deal of time recently focusing on this story to the detriment of my others and I would like to spend some time working on others and getting them updated.
To fans of Queen of the North and a Black-Haired Beauty I am afraid I am going to have to disappoint you as I don't plan on updating them before the next chapter of this story but those plans may change so, who knows? I do plan on updating the Dragon Wolves and the Boy in the Broken Tower before the next chapter for this piece.
I also plan on updating other stories of mine outside GOT/ASOIAF as I do not wish to burn myself out with this.
I believe that's all I had planned to say and I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it, I hope you will considering following, adding this story to your favourites and leaving as a review as it means so much to me to know that there are people out there who enjoy my work.
I would also like to thank everyone who has all ready added Wife of the Wolf, Husband of the Son to their follows and favourites and everyone who has left reviews.
Well, that's it. See you all next chapter!
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