Wife of the Wolf, Husband of the Sun

Chapter Thirty.

Elia sighed as she glanced down at her needlework, she was normally quite good at this but now she found that she couldn't find any inspiration. It wouldn't be too bad except it wasn't as if she had anything else to do to occupy her time on the long slow crawl to Casterly Rock.

The Lannister host was a colossal beast and even getting the entire thing to move even one league was something that took an entire day, the wheelhouse was not helping matters. It was certainly comfortable enough, the pillows were plump and there was enough room for ten ladies to sit comfortably and feast and even sleep inside but it was far too large, with each turn of it's wheels it threatened to snap and at least twelve times they had to stop so the wheels could be repaired.

The company left something to be desired as well, all the ladies were related to the Lannisters, were Lannisters or were Lannister bannermen. She couldn't expect any sympathy from any of them and even if she could she couldn't trust any of them to keep their mouths shut about what she said to them.

She was completely on her own.

Genna Lannister had certainly been trying to be welcoming and Elia had to admit that if things were different then she would've liked spending time with her, everyone clearly respected her and her elder brothers clearly respected her opinion and it was clear to Elia that while Joanna Lannister had died the position of Lady of Lannister had not died with her.

Still, she hadn't tried to force her to talk when it became clear that Elia wasn't going to talk to her she didn't choose to waste her time any more. The other ladies who wanted the approval of their liege lord followed Genna's example and did not speak to her. Elia imagined that she would've felt lonely except that she already did feel that even when they were trying to talk to her, at least none of them had tried to touch her bump or she might have punched them in the eye.

The only time that the loneliness abated was, ironically, when she was on her own. Sadly there was not much time for that, the host obviously did stop so that the horses could be watered and fed and during that time the ladies inside the wheelhouse could stretch their legs but Elia was always accompanied by two guards in crimson plate and another lady from the wheelhouse.

In truth Elia did not understand why Lord Tywin was so intent on keeping her guarded, he was clearly as unhappy with this arrangement as the rest of them were but it wasn't as if she could ask as he had been at the head of the host with his brother and Ser Jamie, when he did come to the wheelhouse it was only to fetch his sister so that he could ask her counsel on some matter that had occurred to him.

The few moments of peace she had been able to get is where she had begged the guards to simply stand a few feet away from her, pleading and promising that she would stay in their sight and pointing out that in her dress she could hardly escape from them on foot and she had no horse that could ride away on and she could not steal one without being recognised.

So for a few moments she would sit down next to a small stream in the middle of a forest or sit in a meadow and listen to birds and for just a moment she would forget where she was and where she was going and could convince herself that the host was taking her home, back to Winterfell, back to Ned, when she stroked over her grown belly she could convince herself that it was her solemn husband who was touching it and the tears that fell were ones of joy.

But then she would feel the armoured hand of one of the Lannister guards cutting into her delicate solider and the spell would be broken all too soon and she would be sent back to the wheelhouse with whatever lady had been chosen to chaperone her for that day.

After a fortnight's worth of travel Elia found that the surroundings had become vaguely familiar to her, the forests began to clear out and became flat fields and everywhere that she looked there were hills in the distance, they had soon passed the castle of Deep Den and while it had been over ten years since Elia had been in the westerlands, she knew that there journey was almost over.

They had almost reached the Rock.

"A lovely piece of work, my dear." Genna Lannister's voice was not particularly loud but there was something in it that made a person pay attention when she spoke, she had put aside her own needlework and was now focused on slowly devouring a plate of lemon tarts as she gazed at Elia's work. "I am quite useless when it comes to such fine detail, my hands are too large."

"You always make such lovely work Sister." A pretty woman, perhaps nearing her fiftieth year, spoke kindly and with a shy smile as she put her own work to the side.

"Untrue flattery will not ender you to me Dorna, and do not call me sister. I have no sisters, you are my Brother's wife and nothing more." The woman's voice was stern but not unkind though she did not seem to notice that the other woman's face had fallen as she turned to look back at Elia's needlework. "Truly exquisite, though I must confess ignorance to the subject."

"It is meant to be Nymeria, the warrior queen and her ten thousand ships." It was an image that most Dornish girls learned to embroider in their sleep though Elia did not delude herself into thinking that even at her best she would be able to perfectly capture the subject. "It is not my best work, to capture the motion of the ships is difficult and I do not do it justice-"

"The only thing I hate more than untrue flattery is false modesty, take pride in your accomplishments. We women are allowed too few of them as it is. You've made an excellent piece of work and I've complimented it accordingly. Nothing more." And with that note of finality the conversation was clearly over as the lioness turned back to her plate of treats.

Elia had to admit that if things were different she would most likely enjoy the older woman's company, in some ways she reminded her of her own mother. The Princess of Dorne hated untrue flattery aswell and she had been subjected to it constantly. Her mother had told her that men only said those things because she was a woman and they thought that she was vain enough to fall for it and become putty in their hands, it was a part of the game and the game never ended and she found a way to use it against them.

Someone told her she was the most beautiful woman in the world? She would send him to find one more beautiful than her as proof. Someone told her that they would gladly fight and die for her honour? She offered to conscript them into House Martell's forces as solider so he could do just that. Arrows were words, that was the first lesson that Loreza Martell had taught any of her children, when they were loosed you could not take them back and if you did not stand by your words then they meant nothing.

And that was how Elia began to learn to play the game, every lesson their mother taught could be applied to the game and Elia would need them now more than ever before. She was trapped with no friends, how she was going to survive her own she didn't know?

She wished that Ashara was with her.

The wheelhouse suddenly jolted and there was a loud snap and it began to tilt to the side, Elia's hands quickly going to hold her bump, there was no noise in the wheelhouse except for a few gasps of surprise and Elia was glad of that, if they had screamed every time it happened then she might have bashed her head in against the wall. The door swung open and a man in Lannister crimson poked his head in. "Pardon, my ladies. We need to fix the hind wheel again."

There were mummers of disappointment but no complaints, a lady did not complain after all. She hid her disapproval behind her wall of curtsey, Genna was helped out first and Elia held back until all the other ladies were out before she allowed the Lannister guard to help her out of the wheelhouse and on to the soft ground below.

It was early in the morning and had been raining but none in the wheelhouse had heard it or felt the chill, the inside had been so warm and it was built so that none of them would hear any noise from the outside. The air was fresh and Elia took a deep breath, she found that she preferred being out in the chill than in the wheelhouse.

As always with the wheelhouse the fact that it had stopped had caused the entire column to stop as well and Elia was certain that she could hear curses oft in the distance, as loud as they were vulgar.

It would take close to an hour to fix the broken wheel, which clearly annoyed a lot of the ladies including Genna as Lannisport and Casterly Rock were only a little over an hour away from where they were. Elia personally didn't mind, it wasn't as if she was overjoyed to be trapped there.

Kevan Lannister soon rode up to them, clearly having come to check on his wife and his sister and his daughters and to see that she hadn't tried to run off, when he saw that they were all well and where they were supposed to be he turned and rode to the head off column, to report to is brother. A blanket was brought out of the wheelhouse and laid on the grass so the ladies could continue their needlework and have something off a picnic.

Close to an hour later the servants repairing the wheel told them that the wheelhouse was ready to move on and a rider was sent to the head to tell the old lion, as soon as all the ladies were back inside the wheelhouse began it's slow journey once again.

"I wish I could be a warrior queen, I'd like to fight a lot more then I like to do needlework." A young girl around ten with the signature curly blond hair and green eyes of a Lannister who Elia had not heard speak a single word spoke as she placed her needlework to the side, Dorna tried to hush her but the girl clearly did not want to be quiet. "It's true! Needlework is boring and I'm not any good at it, I'm good at fighting too. When Daven told me I was too little to play with and couldn't play boys games I tackled his knees and made him eat dirt."

"Cerenna! Be silent now, you are a lady and you shall act like one. Consider the example you will be setting for your sister, your own daughters." Dorna's voice was filled with a mixture of anger and embarrassment and Elia knew that it wasn't very courteous but she couldn't a stop smirk from spreading on her face, she kept her head down to hide it and kept her eyes on her needlework.

"Why? Myrielle is just a dumb baby and by the time I'm a woman grown she'll only be six. And I'm not going to have any babies, I don't want any. Who would? They are dumb smelly things that only cry and poop and never do anything fun." The young girl spoke completely ignorant to her mother's mounting horror and embarrassment.

"Cerenna! Be silent now or I will have you sewing clothes for all the poor of Lannisport until the eternal summer!" Her mother's shout caused the girl to pout but she did not make any attempt to return to her needlework. "Forgive me Genna, Mother forgive me but I have no idea what I am to do with her."

"It's quite alright Dorna, in truth I found it most entertaining." Genna said as her lips twitched and the wheelhouse was filled with quiet giggling, the other woman blushed in embarrassment and Elia had to admit that she did feel a bit sorry for the poor woman. She didn't think that Genna was doing it maliciously but it must've been hard for Dorna to try and get her respect and just be mocked and laughed at when your child did something amusing.

"What are you making Dorna?" Elia asked more out of pity than actual curiosity, the look of surprise on the slightly portly woman's face was probably matched by that of all the other woman in the wheelhouse, she hadn't spoken to them unless they spoke to her and most times it was only with one word answers.

"It's an image of all of the Seven." She turned her napkin around to show if off, it was indeed all of the seven. Well, most of them. Only the Warrior, the Mother, The Smith, The Maid, The Father and The Crone had been stitched and there was no room left for the Stranger which didn't surprise her. No one revered the Stranger but they still referred to them as the Seven gods even in simple casual conversation.

"It's lovely." Elia admitted and this time it wasn't out of pity, she could admire the skill that went into the work, behind all of the six figures was a small little background or a nice detail, like the Smith being in the forge or the Mother having a babe in her arms that was sucking at her breast.

Dorna blushed and it made her fairly plain face look rather pretty, she said nothing though for the rest of the trip there was a smile on her face and she hummed as she placed the finishing touches on her needlework.

The wheelhouse stopped and the door was opened and the same guard as before popped his head. "We are not quite there my ladies but there is a rather pleasant view if you'd like to come out and look." He offered before holding out his and helping anyone who wanted to get out.

The sight outside was utterly breath taking, Elia had to admit that much, they were at least another mile away from Lannisport but it was in sight and the morning sun hung over it, Casterly Rock a looming titan in the distance that was shrouded in shadow. The light of the sun hit the waters of the Sunset Sea and turned it's waters into pure shimmering gold.

It was perhaps appropriate that the Lannisters, who Oberyn liked to joke even shat gold, would make their stronghold next to a see that looked like gold. Lannisport itself was impressive as well, they hadn't stopped there when they had come from Dorne all those years ago, they had simply headed straight to the rock.

It's wall stretched up high to protect the city from any attacks from the land and the large Lannister navy protected it from the sea, it was made up of at least twenty war galleys, one of which was large than all the others which Elia had to assume was the flagship of the fleet though from this distance she could make out no details.

It was clear that Lord Tywin soon had grown weary by the lack of movement and the column resumed it's slow march to the Rock, all too soon in Elia's opinion it had stopped again and Elia stepped out of the wheelhouse after all the other ladies had left it so she could get a good look at her prison.

It was...larger than she remembered, she had honestly expected it to be somewhat smaller since she had been much smaller the last time she was here. But no, the Rock still stretched upwards into the sky as it had always done, if you put the Red Keep on top of the Great Sept of Balor you would still not be able to reach to top of Casterly Rock.

The column had passed through a large cavern which Dorna informed her was called the Lion's mouth, they had came to a stop in a large courtyard and stable boys had rushed to help their lord, his brother and his son down from their horses before taking them away.

"Everyone will return to their rooms and attend to whatever duties they have, a feast will be held in the great hall at sundown! My family and I will not be attending due to matters that must be discussed, we shall be eating alone." The old lion shared the same quality as his younger sister that there was something in it that made you pay attention, unlike his sister however he had no problem with being loud as his voice echoed through out the courtyard and even made it's way back to the mouth.

"Genna! Kevan! You will both come with me as will you, Jaime. Guards, please escort Princess Elia to her chambers as gently as possible, Vylarr I shall leave it you to ensure that." A man with cropped blond hair with a scar that split his lips and dressed in crimson but with a red cloak that was trimmed with gold instead of just a plain red one nodded as his liege lord began to walk towards the massive doors that had been carved into the mountain thousands of years ago.

Vylarr came over too her as the ladies she travelled with began to break away from her, Genna following her brothers and her nephew and Dorna took her daughter's hand and began to walk into the rock. Two guards came up behind Elia and she realised with a half smirk that she was basically surrounded.

"Please follow me princess." Vylarr spoke, his voice emotionless. Elia didn't mean anything to him, he was just following his liege lord's orders and if those orders were to take her to room or to beat her to death then he would do it without a single moment's hesitation, she hated him more than she did any of them.

She didn't object, it wasn't as if she had much of a choice anyway, and the guards began to lead her into the Rock. She wasn't sure how the Lannisters managed to live here every single day because it was like climbing a mountain, it was climbing a mountain the only difference being that there were steps and they were inside it instead of out.

The guards and their captain at least allowed her the decency of allowing her to stop every now and then to allow her to catch her breath, they had to be at least a half mile away from where they had started off. Perhaps this was why there were no fat Lannisters aside from Genna? And she spent most of her time at the Twins with her husband from what she had heard.

They finally arrived at her chambers after another ten minutes of climbing stairs and walking down corridors, they had seen her inside and then the door had been firmly shut behind her. It wasn't barred but she had only heard one set of footsteps walking away which she had to assume was Vylarr which meant that the other two guards were still outside the door.

The was far more pleasant than she had been expecting, she could at least say that much. It was large enough to fit at least thirty people at a time and the bed could hold at least eight, a custom that had always somewhat surprised her to be certain. Dorne was cold at night to certain but never so cold that you needed close to ten people in a bed to warm yourself though she had shared her bed with Ashara once or twice.

In the north she could understand it better though she only shared her bed with Ashara there and then with Ned when she had moved into his room, she certainly didn't plan on having any Lannister bed maids attend to her.

The view was quite lovely as well, she hat to admit that. Her room was built into the far side of the rock and above and from her windows she could look straight down to where the waves were crashing against the stone wall that was the rock, jagged stones poked up from out of the sea and dozens more were hidden beneath the water. More stones of all sizes were dotted on the few lumps of pathetic grey sand that bordered the stone that might be considered a beach which was swallowed whenever the tide came in.

It was beautiful and filled with hidden danger underneath the obvious danger, that summed up the Lannisters well enough.

With a heavy sigh Elia turned from the window and crept over to the foot of the bed, she began to unlace her dress and let it fall from her body and stepped out of it once it puddled around her feet. She crawled into the middle of the bed and pulled the covers over her head, perhaps if she just stayed in the middle of the bed and slept they would forget about her.

Unfortunately for her she couldn't sleep, the bed was too big and she had grown used to someone sleeping beside her. Plus the babe was anxious and would not stop kicking even as she rubbed her stomach and hummed under her breath, perhaps it was picking up on her fear but at the moment no matter how hard she tried she couldn't stop it.

With a groan of frustration she threw the covers off of her and crawled out of the bed, she picked up her dress and put it back on though it took her awhile to tie to strings on her own. She had to assume that Lord Tywin would assume her a maid to help with that and if for nothing else other than practical reasons she was looking forward to that at least.

There was a knock at her door and a maid came in when Elia opened the door to her, behind her were two servant boys carrying a trunk which Elia recognised as the trunk she had packed all her clothes in. Then, to her surprise another pair of boys carried in another trunk and then another pair of boys carried in another, all three trunks were placed at the foot of her bed and then with a sharp word from the maid all the servant boys ran out of the room.

The maid introduced herself as Clara, she was a pretty woman in the height of her beauty though she didn't seem to be highborn. Black curls framed a pale face from which green eyes stared out of, a button nose was set firmly in the centre of her face and underneath that was a pair of pale red lips, Elia could imagine that men wanted to wed and bed her, or just the last one if Elia knew anything of most men. For most the first step tended to just be a way to get to the second.

Lord Tywin had assigned her to tend to all of her needs while she was a guest of House Lannister, when the woman had used the word guest Elia couldn't stop a smirk from forming on her face, and if she needed anything then all she had to do was ask.

What Elia needed was to get as far away from here as soon as possible, preferably on a boat back to the North, or failing that, Dorne. But that was clearly a thing that Clara could not, and would not, get her.

So, she had simply asked the woman to brush her hair, fill her a bath and help her change into a new dress. The hair brushing was not the most pleasant of experiences, Lannister hair might naturally curl but it wasn't as think as the hair of those from Dorne and more than twice the brush had got caught in her hair and a firm pull had been needed to dislodge it, which unfortunately also pulled at her scalp.

The bath was thankfully for more pleasant, after Clara had left to fetch the water she had been concerned that it would be too cold for a pleasant bath but when she came back with the tall flagon filled with water Elia could see that there were still wisps of steam coming out of the top of it, while Clara used it to fill the tub Elia disrobed and slipped into the warm water, sighing in contentment and her bones relaxed under the encompassing heat.

She sent Clara away as she didn't knew her well enough to bathe in front of her and when the door close she allowed herself to relax a little more, for just a few moments all the stress that she had suffered from simply melted away, even the babe stopped kicking for a moment or two and while she normally treasured every single movement from her babe at least for now she was treasuring the lull.

She stayed in the bath until the water began to cool off at which point she stood up and stepped out of the bath and covered herself with a thick towel made out of wool. She called Clara back in and asked her to lay out a dress for her and help her to dress in it.

The dress she picked out came out from one of the trunks that she didn't pick and it was clearly a Lannister dress, crimson in colour with gold thread around the sleeves and the opening at the neck. There were emeralds and rubies studded around the middle of the dress in a way that made it resemble a corset, of course the Lannisters would show off their wealth in such a way.

In all truth she didn't like it but she got the feeling she wouldn't get to choose her dress today, at least it managed to fit though perhaps it was a little tight around the middle, she had mentioned it to Clara and she promised that tomorrow she would take is to Casterly Rock's seamstress and have it taken out.

Once she was dressed Clara sat her back down in front of the mirror and began to fix her hair, her curls were bunched up into a plate and wrapped around her head and held in a golden hairnet with tiny green jewels doting it, two long strands of hair were left loose and were draped over her shoulders.

"You look beautiful my Lady." Clara said as she smiled brightly as she examined her handiwork, Elia supposed that she did look quite good but being in Lannister colours instead of Dornish colours or her husband's unsettled her. Still, none of this was Clara's fault so she thanked her for her hard work and told her how much she loved it.

There was a sharp knock at the door and Clara went to check the door, opening it and peaking her head out. She turned to face Elia while keeping the door slightly shut. "My Lady, it is Lord Tyrion and he's wondering if you and he might have a word?"

Elia considered saying no and sending the little man on his way but she held her tongue, this was his home and she was basically a prisoner, it wasn't as if what she wanted would play much of an factor in anything. She nodded once and Clara opened the door for the Imp.

Tyrion waddled in with a small smirk on his face, he was dressed in a crimson doublet and black pants, a golden lion rip with small chunks of red rubies acting at it's eyes pinned to the front of his doublet. It was a shame that so many judged him simply for the fact he was a dwarf, there were traces of a handsome man in his face and if he had been born whole than Elia imagined that he might even be more beautiful than either of his older siblings.

"Princess Elia, I had heard you had been condemned to this corner of the Rock. You should count yourself lucky, this is where my father condemns all of us who are embarrassments to the glorious name of House Lannister, my tower is just at the end of the hall." The little man said with a chuckle, he turned to Clara and snapped his fingers. "Girl, go and fetch some wine for us. Dornish Red I assume?"

Elia nodded and Clara bowed her head before spinning on her feet and leaving the room, Tyrion smirked and sat himself at the large table that dominated the centre of the room. "One good thing about being highborn, I may be the scourge of House Lannister but a member of House Lannister I will always be and so, I never need to fetch my own wine. Dwarf or no. Considering if I was lowborn I might have been left in the woods to die or thrown into the sea, I suppose it's a fair enough trade"

Elia was sure that Tyrion was trying to make a jest but she could not find it in herself to laugh, why was he here? What did he want? Had his father sent him to spy on her? Surely that was what Clara was for? Elia sat down at the table, directly across from the lord and looked into his mismatched eyes, trying as hard as she could to find any truth in them.

"You know, many people have told me that they find my eyes unsettling to look upon. It seems that courtesy is forgotten when dealing with a man of my height. It surprises me to see that I have that effect on even a princess, did your Mother nor you septa never tell you that it is considered rude to stare?" Tyrion asked as he gently tapped his fingers against the polished wood of the table, there was no heat in his voice but Elia still had the shame to blush.

"Forgive me, Lord Tyrion. I did not mean to offend you. I am still very tired from our journey and I would simply like to sleep though I am not ungrateful for your company." That was true enough, of all the Lannisters at the moment Tyrion was the one that she didn't want to see the least.

"But you are not grateful for it either." Tyrion chuckled and shook his head. "I'm afraid your rather going to have to learn to lie better, or start lying as a matter of fact. I'm one of the worst liars in this family but I am far better than you."

Elia had never been the best at lying, no, that wasn't true. She didn't enjoy lying and she hadn't had much practice at it. "Why are you here Lord Tyrion? What do you want from me?"

"I want to offer you something. I know what it is like to be trapped here, to be trapped with people you know that you can not trust no matter what. My family can be cruel people, I know this better than most. My father is perhaps the cruellest man to ever draw breath, my sweet sister is a monster in the shape of the maid and neither of them have ever been kind to me, they blame me for killing my mother, as hard as that might be to believe-"

"It isn't hard to believe." Elia interrupted and then sighed when Tyrion narrowed his eyes at her. "We've met before, years ago when you were just a babe. My mother, brother and I left Dorne to find a match for me. Your mother and mine were friends when they served the queen. They planned to marry their children to one another, the plan was to marry me to Jaime. I imagine that if your mother had lived then I would be your good sister by now."

"But your mother had died by then, when word had reached us I remember that my Mother locked herself away for a week and cried and cried, when she finally came out she was just so...cold. She wouldn't speak of it and we knew better than to try. The whole realm knew what had happened, Joanna Lannister, Lady of Lannister and Casterly Rock had died birthing a monster, with scaled skin like a lizard and leathery wings and a tail with eyes as black as pitch."

"When Oberyn and I came here all those years ago, all we wanted to do was see the monster of the rock. We were children, we didn't think. We were smart enough to realise that we couldn't ask your father of course but we weren't spending time with him, we spent every day here with your brother and your sister."

"I think it was the third day that Oberyn asked if we could finally see you, your sister just smiled at us. I remember that, and all she said was 'later." That was all, just 'later'. For every day onward we had to wait, when we sewed together I would leaner over to her and ask if today was the day that we could finally see the monster, but no the time wasn't right."

"Finally, on the day before we were due to leave it seemed as though the time was right. Your sister and your brother took me and Oberyn deep into the bowels of Casterly Rock, I thought that if we kept walking down then we would walk to the other side of the world. That was how far down we went."

"Then, out of the darkness I heard you crying. We followed it until finally we found the room you had been stuffed in, it was so cold and dark and damp and small that I wondered how anyone could be so cruel as to stuff a babe in there, monster or no. You had been assigned a wet nurse so at least you wouldn't starve, she had looked like most wet nurses do, she had looked like she had a babe of her own so perhaps you have a milk sibling out there, she tried to send us away and that would've been the end of it."

"But your sister refused to go, she said that you belonged to her and that if the woman didn't get out of the way and leave then she would have her whipped. The wetnurse didn't stay and your sister walked over to the crib, we all followed her. She slowly reached down, took hold of the blanket that covered you and then pulled it off of you and that was the first time that I ever saw you."

"To be truthful? I thought you were the most adorable little thing that I had ever seen in my entire life, oh, to be sure your head was a little too big for your body and your limbs were a little bit too short but that didn't change that I thought that you were just darling. Oberyn teased me about it for days after we left, he said that if it were up to me I probably would've taken you back to Sunspear with us. I can't say that he was wrong."

"Speaking of Oberyn, you have no idea how disappointed he was when he saw you. He wanted to see a monster, not a baby. Your sister she...she didn't like how we reacted, she called you a monster and said how much she hated you and told us how you had killed her mother and then she...she started to hurt you, I begged her to stop and was about to pull her away from you but before I could your brother intervened and pulled her away, he told her not to touch you again."

"I am very aware, of just how cruel your sister and your father can be." Elia said finally, she wasn't sure what had convinced her to tell the whole story but she had found that once she had started that she couldn't stop, she knew exactly what sort of people she was trapped with and at the moment all she was glad of was the fact that Cersei Lannister was at least a few hundred miles away from her.

Tyrion's mismatched eyes were wet, although perhaps it was only the light of the candles, and the only sound in the room was the sound of his own heavy breathing. Elia suddenly felt terrible, she hadn't meant to upset the man but once she had started speaking she just couldn't stop. Perhaps even now she hadn't learned that there was a time to speak and time to keep quiet and just listen.

She was about to apologise but before she could the door swung open and Clara stepped back into the room, a flagon of wine in one hand and two golden goblets dangling in her other. Clara placed both of the cups and the flagon on the table and was about to pour some of the wine when Tyrion held up his hand to stop her and with a wave of his hand dismissed her.

Once Clara was gone Tyrion picked up the flagon and poured some wine into both of the cups before setting the flagon back down, he picked up his cup and swallowed it down in two gulps before Elia could even touch her cup, the man put his cup back down on the table and let out a heavy sigh. "Forgive me, I should have waited for you to drink, we should toast, one moment."

Tyrion filled his cup up once again and held it out in the air, waiting for Elia to bring their cups together. "To my sweet sister."

"To your sister." Elia repeated as she brought her cup up, the rim of hers meeting Tyrion's and filling the room with the noise of a soft clang. Elia took a sip of her wine as Tyrion drunk deep from his cup. "I'm sorry, truly. I didn't mean to upset you."

"My life upsets me, not you." Tyrion muttered as he finished off his cup, he stared deep into the empty cup for a few moments before he tossed it off the side. The cup landed hard against the ground and rolled away, going under the bed as it did so. "All I wanted to tell you, was that you had an ally here. A friend, if you want one. I've had few friends here, my entire life but I've learned to treasure the few that I have managed to acquire over the years. I would like us to be friends."

"I would like that as well." Elia admitted, she still wasn't entirely sure if she could trust even Tyrion but it would be nice to think that she could, at least for a little bit. To think that there was someone in her corner, someone to help her survive until she thought of a way that she could get back home to Ned. It would be nice.

"Well, there we are then. I think our new friendship is worthy of another toast, wait. I probably shouldn't have thrown my cup away." Tyrion said with a laugh and Elia was pleased to see that wetness in his eyes had dried up and at least for the moment, there was merriment instead of pain from old wounds that had been reopened.

"Here, you may have mine." Elia offered as she slid her cup over to the little man, in truth she hadn't wanted any wine in the first place but she knew it was considered rude for someone to drink alone and Lord Tyrion had already sent Clara to go and get the wine regardless. Tyrion picked up the cup and spoke out his thanks before he finished off the wine.

As soon as the wine was gone he thanked her and hopped out of his chair. "I thank you for the company and for the drink but it strikes me that I should be getting back to my gilded cage, my father will no doubt summon me for dinner soon enough so he can point out how much of a disgrace I am to our house, as if he assumes that I've forgotten."

Tyrion reached out and picked up the half empty flagon and took a swing of it directly from the top. "I hope you will pardon me but his judgement is easier to face if I am at least half out of my head." With a tiny bow Tyrion turned on his feet and made his way out of the room, whistling as he went.

Just as Tyrion had left the room and Elia thought that for a moment she might be able to have at least a few moments on her own the door swung open again and Clara stepped back inside. "Is there anything more that I can do for you my lady?" She asked as she picked up the lone cup from where it stood on the table, not asking where the other one and the flagon had gone.

"No, I would just like to be left alone for the moment. I would like to sleep." Elia admitted all though she had know that long before she said it that it was going to be a vain hope.

"I am sorry my Lady, Lord Tywin said that I wasn't to leave you alone for too long. If you would like to go to sleep then I would be more than happy to sleep with you." Even with knowing it was a vain hope Elia couldn't help but admit that she was more than a little disappointed in knowing that she would never be left on her own for as long as she stayed here, how she was ever meant to get away? Would she just have to leave it up to chance that she would ever be able to go home.

She needed to sleep, that was the truth of it. She had been upset on those first few days on the road and her sadness had unsettled the babe and it would not stop moving inside of her, not that it had ever been still in the first place. Once her sadness had faded slightly, though it had never fully disappeared considering that it still plagued her even now, suspicion took over her and she had not been able to settle so she could get any sleep.

At the moment the bed sang to her like a siren on a rock, luring sailors to their doom. If the bed was somehow going to lead her to her doom then it was one that she went too more than willingly. Elia nodded at Clara's words and Clara asked her to turn around, the younger woman pulled out a pair of night dresses and laid them on the bed but before Clara could undo the strings on the back of Elia's dress there was a knock at the door.

Elia had to remember that she was a princess and that princesses didn't scream when they were irritated but it was hard to remember that when she was this irritated, thankfully she had managed to keep a slim hold on her temper as Clara went to the door and opened it, this time Clara did not announce who it was on the other side she simply held the door open and Jaime Lannister strode in.

He was beautiful, that was clear to her, it was clear to anyone that looked at him. His golden hair could probably do with a cut by now but it the way it feel to his shoulders honestly did remind her of a lion's mane, so perhaps it was an appropriate length for him. His green eyes shone like chunks of jade when the lights of the candles hit them, the flecks of gold in his eyes shone even brighter than the candles. Underneath his crimson doublet she could see the firm chest and strong arms that came with countless hours of working with a sword.

Elia's own arms still retained a little of that firmness as well, though it had faded a little by now as the last time she had held a sword outside of her childhood was when she and Lyanna had their little duel back at Winterfell with what had seemed like half the castle was watching them. That seemed like an entire different life, almost as if it had happened to someone else.

"My lady, my father would like if you would join us for dinner. He's aware that you must be tired but none of us have had anything to eat since breakfast on the road." In all honesty food sounded very good at the moment, having food with Tywin Lannister and his family did not sound pleasant at all.

"Your father is so very kind and thoughtful Ser Jaime, I am afraid that I am very tired however. Perhaps it would be alright if I slept and then eat when I wake up? Or perhaps he could simply send me up a tray?" She knew that she wouldn't be that lucky but she at the very least had to try, unfortunately her suspicion turned out to be accurate.

"I'm sorry my lady, but my father insisted that you dine with us tonight. Let me give you some advice, it isn't advisable to not give my father what he wants." How he spoke to her irritated her, she wasn't a fool as to not who Tywin Lannister was or what he was capable off. Still, there was no point in picking a fight so with a soft sigh she stood up and took Jaime's arm.

The young lion lead her out of the room, Clara stayed behind as they left and the guards outside her room thankfully didn't make any attempt to follow them, and the two of them began to walk down the long, dark corridors of Casterly Rock. Elia couldn't help but feel angry at him, it was all his fault after all. If he hadn't crowned her the queen of love and beauty then the King would've paid her no mind and she would already be back at Winterfell and she wouldn't have to worry about whether or not her husband would even be able to see their child as it was born.

That thought caused her temper to flare and she stopped walking, she pulled her arm free from Jaime and stared into his beautiful, infurtating eyes as he turned to face her with a frown and she realised that at the moment nothing would please her more than to claw them out. "Why?"

"Why what?" Jaime asked, he did sound honestly confused and that only added to Elia's. Did he honestly not remember? Did he not understand the wound he had inflicted not on to her, but to Ned? To Oberyn and Doran and her babe? To House Martell and House Stark and even to House Lannister? Was he truly this much of a fool?

"Why did you crown me the queen of love and beauty, I wasn't the only woman in those stands. I was hardly the most beautiful of them either, I have no illusions about how plain I am. I was married on top of everything else, my husband was sitting at my side if you can recall anything of the worst day of my life. If it was about marrying me then surely you know that boat had sailed long before I had married, is that the reason Ser Jaime? Do you want to marry me, was that your great plan? Well, I'm very glad to say that your great plan has failed you. The king can not dissolve our married and he knows that I can assure you, he's just trapped us together in a void."

The bitterness and in her own voice surprised Elia, for a moment she had thought that someone else had been speaking to the man in front of her, like she had been a puppet at the end of strings and it had been her master that had been making her speak but she knew that wasn't true, it was her voice and her words and her anger that had filled the damp air of the corridor.

Jaime Lannister almost seemed like a statue carved from marble for a moment, beautiful and cold and perfect in an empty way. But, all too soon the cracks began to appear. His lips twitched upwards for a few moments and began to chuckle, shaking his head as he did so. "I must find a way to thank you properly, my lady. It has been far too long since I've been able to have a good and long laugh. You speak to unfairly of yourself, you know? You are quite fair to look on but you are not who I would want to marry."

"Then why did you crown me, answer me that!" Elia shouted, her voice echoing around them. She didn't care about how unladylike it was, she wanted to yell and scream and even hit something. She wasn't foolish enough to actually try and hit him of course, she was a hostage and if she hit the son of her jailor then all that would achieve was the hand she used to him with being removed and she was quite fond of both of her hands.

Jaime simply stared at her for a few moments, he didn't say anything and Elia started to wonder if even he knew why he crowned her. Had it simply been a moment of random idiocy? Could that be the truth of it? A random action that had been done with no forethought that had caused all of this misery? But then, Jaime Lannister let out a sigh and shook his head. "The things that we do for the people we love, do you ever wonder if it's too much? If it makes us monsters?"

Elia in all honesty did not know how to react to that, what we she do for Ned? for Oberyn and Doran? For Arianne and Quentyn and Obara and Nymeria and Tyene, for the babe that was growing inside of her? She'd always that she would do anything for them but she'd never actually stopped to consider what anything would include, what she might have to do to keep all of them safe.

"We should do things that we keep the people we care about safe, but if that means making us do cruel things, then I do not know what to say to you Ser Jaime. I've never been forced to do a cruel thing to keep someone I care about safe. I suppose that I am quite fortunate in that, why? Did crowning me kept someone you love safe?" Elia asked softly, all her anger had fled from her and now all that was in her was pity.

"I did it for someone I loved, no, I did it for you in truth. They wanted you out of the way and I tried to save you, and I have done that. I will not apologise and I will say no more." In truth he did not need to say anymore, there was only one person that Elia could imagine would want her out of the way and that person was now the future queen of the seven kingdoms. Would Cersei Lannister have truly been so stupid to try and have her killed and anger the North and Dorne, neither Oberyn not Doran nor Ned nor Lord Rickard would forgive that?

Her brother certainly seemed to think that she would, she couldn't thank him. Perhaps it was spiteful but she simply couldn't thank him, it was still his fault that she was here and not with the person she loved more than any other but he had done it for the right reason, he had probably saved her life. So, with a deep breath Elia took his arm again and looked into his eyes. "We should hurry on, we wouldn't want to keep your father waiting."

Jaime nodded and they resumed their journey through the Rock, it was still as exhausting as it had been before but soon enough they had made their way to a pair of carved wooden doors which two servants pulled open and warm light flooded out into the corridor. Inside Lord Tywin was sitting at the head of the table, he glanced up at them when he heard the doors open but when he saw it was them he simply glanced back down at the piece of parchment in his hands.

The seat at his right was empty, most likely it was meant to be filled by Jamie, but the one on his left was filled by his younger brother. Kevan glanced at them both and gave Elia a respectful nod before he turned back to his brother and spoke of something that she couldn't quite hear. Genna sat in the chair next down to her brother and was speaking as well and there was a heavy frown on her plump face and anger in her eyes.

There were two men that Elia did not recognise, they were sitting down from Genna and across from one another. The older man had the blond hair of all Lannisters but it was darker than any of his other family members, it was closer to a sandy brown than the spun gold of the other members of his family. His face was also quite stern, unlike Lord Tywin who clearly had a handsome face in his youth and still had some traces of it in his face now the man was clearly born frowning.

His green eyes were dull, the rest of his family had beautiful chunks of jade for eyes while he a pair of green marbles. He turned his head to look at them, he frowned at Jaime, then at Elia before he turned his frown back to the man who was sitting across from him.

Said man seemed to be the youngest person currently sitting at the table, his golden hair was bright and his green eyes shone bright with laughter. He was clearly a lot older than Elia despite being the youngest at the table but she had to admit that she did find him quite handsome, in fact if she had not know how the entire family was related then she would've assumed that the younger man was Jaime's father instead of Lord Tywin.

She did briefly wondered where Dorna was as she would assume that she was considered close enough family to eat with the rest of them but Elia did not question it, if Lord Tywin hadn't wanted her here then that was his business.

"Uncle Tygett, Uncle Gerion. Good to see you both again, this is Princess Elia Martell." Elia had heard that Lord Tywin had other brothers other than Kevan but they weren't what they had been expecting, Tygett was dressed in rough brown boiled leather rather than the crimson of his siblings and Gerion looked as though he was far too happy to be a Lannister.

"A pleasure, my dear." Gerion said with a smirk and he gently took her hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles, Elia smiled and gently pulled her hand back. Tygett said nothing, simply glanced at her and shrugged before picking up his goblet and took a sip of the wine inside.

The doors were opened behind them once again as Gerion retook his seat, Tyrion waddled in and Elia suspected it was more to do with the wine she had given him than it was his height. "Sorry I took so long, I just wanted to be anywhere that was not here." He said with a smirk as he sat down next to his youngest uncle.

Tywin Lannister glared at his youngest son and if looks could kill then Elia was certain that Tyrion would be dead where he sat, she was also certain that if that was true then Lord Tywin would have killed more men than any other man in history. To give credit to Tyrion, if he was scared of his father's gaze then he did well in not showing it as he settled to make himself comfortable.

Jaime and Elia then took their seats, they were sat together which Elia did not know how too feel about that but she knew better than to complain. Jaime was sat at his father's right which meant that he was across from Lord Kevan and Elia was sitting next to Jaime and across from Lady Genna. Elia wondered if they would be forced to converse but before she had too long to worry about that Lord Tywin rung a bell and food was brought in on silver platters.

It was fairly modest fair but Elia was starving and she would not complain, the main part of the meal was a large ham that had been glazed with honey and studded with raisins and served on a bed of dark red beets and carrots. Alongside it was a hot soup made of leeks and chestnuts with two loaves of crusty bread for dipping, at the end of the meal were lavender cakes alongside baked apples and sharp cheese.

"Princess Elia." Lord Tywin's voice cut through the noise of clattering forks and knives, Elia put down her half finished lavender cake and wiped the crumbs away from her mouth with the small handkerchief. "I shall be honest with you, I do not want you here. I say that because it is true and that I am certain that you do not wish to be here either."

"But you are here regardless, by the actions of my son and I do apologise for that but you will be treated as well as a guest of the rock deservers to be treated, so long as you remember to act as befitting a guest of the Rock." The man's voice was cold and held a hint of steel to it as his green eyes bored into her, it almost seemed like he was trying to rip into her body with her gaze and lay her soul bare.

"My my Ty, you might as well tell her that she had better behave or you'll have her dragged in front of Clegane and his men." Gerion's voice was mocking and his elder brother glared at him. Elia normally liked a bit of humour to lighten the tense mood but mocking Tywin Lannister simply seemed like a shortcut to the grave and when it came to including Gregor Clegane...

The man had been a common feature in her nightmares, they were stories and dark whispers about him all across the seven kingdoms of course and she knew that Oberyn knew more of him but even when she had asked he would not tell her. But now Oberyn was far away from her and it had not taken her long to find out more from the conversations she had overheard on the road.

Two parents dead, a sister dead before her time, dozens of servants going missing and a brother maimed. The man was a monster and Elia could've ignored it if the man was kept as far away from her as possible but back on their second day on the road Clegane and one of his men had been assigned to guard her and her chaperone.

It had been one of the most uncomfortable experiences of her life, the lewd remarks he made about her, her body and her being from Dorne. She had wanted to get as far away from him as possible and it had taken more courage than she ever thought she had to ask him to take them back to the wheelhouse. When she had climbed back in and the Mountain had slammed the door shut so hard that the wood had splinted Elia couldn't stop the tears from flowing silently down her cheeks.

At the time she had just been glad that none of the ladies had said anything about it, but by then she supposed that they were used to her crying by then.

The rest of the dinner was quiet and awkward, Elia had lost her appetite but she at least tried to finish the lavender cake and the conversation was mainly held by the oldest three lions, Tyrion and Gerion made snarky comments to one another, Tygett kept his attention on his food and Jaime held an intimate conversation with his wine glass which his father held a disapproving look on.

Soon enough the dinner was over and they were all dismissed, Tywin and his siblings looked like they would both be staying a bit longer but Tyrion had already left and Jaime was entrusted with escorting her back to her room. There was no conversation on the way back, perhaps they were both simply too tired for any more. It had been a long day and Elia was fairly sure that it wasn't even dark yet.

Clara was waiting for her in her room and she helped her out of her dress and changed her into her night dress, the two of them climbed into the bed and Elia shut her eyes as the woman's slim arms came around her chest. She had hoped that maybe she would've been able to pretend that she was Ned but her arms were far too slim for that.

Perhaps, her dreams would offer her sweeter rewards.

End of Chapter Thirty

Welp, I guess you guys can call this an early Christmas present, or whatever you celebrate present. I really enjoyed writing this chapter especially the Jamie/Elia and Tyrion/Elia interactions. Gerion and Tygett were also people I were looking forward to getting too, I know they seemed quite minor but this was just to introduce them.

Another thing that should be pointed out is that while Cerenna and Myrielle are both characters that do exist in the books and they are Lannisters they are only ever mentioned in the appendix and they are not the children of Kevan and Dorna and are in fact the children of Joanna's brother Steffon in the books. Taking a page I decided to compress the characters and make them and their older brother Daven into Kevan's children instead and their is a reason for this.

Also, don't worry Lancel and their canon children will play a big part in this story as well, they just aren't born yet at this point in the timeline. (On a side note can I just say I hate the ASOIAF timeline? It is so complicated to try and follow.)

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and as always please follow, favourite and review.

Love,

Doctorwhofan12345.