Chapter 6

Serafina couldn't believe how stupid she had been. Her father had always taught her to ignore her feelings and use her head. How had she forgotten that? She should have known better than to mention Jaime or especially Eddard Stark. Yes, she was worried about her brother, but she should have found some other way to find out how he was. Mentioning Jaime to Robb Stark had obviously been a huge mistake. It had made him think about his sisters and what Serafina's family might have done to them.

Apparently, he didn't know that Arya was missing. Sansa, however, had no doubt suffered in Joffrey's hands. Serafina had never liked her nephew; Cersei had spoiled him rotten. Not to mention there had always been something vicious about him. Tywin didn't really like Joffrey either; he had said that the boy would have needed a lot more discipline while growing up. Unfortunately, Robert had been too busy drinking and chasing women, and Cersei had only made things worse by making Joffrey believe that the world revolved around him.

Serafina had met Sansa in King's Landing and felt sympathy for her. Not that it made any difference, not to Robb Stark. It was clearly useless to try reasoning with him; he hated her family too much. The meaning behind his words earlier had been very clear. She would have to either submit to him or take her chances with his men. Of course, she had chosen him, although it was possible that he would still give her to his men after he was done with her. Right now, she needed to do everything she could to make sure that wouldn't happen.

She tried desperately to remember everything she had heard about pleasing a man. She knew what happened between a man and a woman, and she knew the first time would hurt. It would hurt even more if she struggled. That was probably what he wanted; to hurt her the same way he thought his sisters had been hurt. Pretending that she enjoyed it would be a risk, but it was her best chance. She needed to do everything she could to make him want to keep her for himself.

If she were to be with child, he needed to be the father. That was her only chance of surviving. She had already misread him earlier, but she still believed he wasn't the kind of man who would harm his own child. Not that it mattered right now; she needed to focus on the task at hand. She forced herself to stay calm as she prepared his bed. He had given her a nightgown to wear and told her to get ready for bed. Right now, she tried to tell herself that she needed to control herself and look at this as an unpleasant duty.

If he wanted to see her cry, then she would, but she wasn't going to let him break her. She would do what she had to do in order to survive, but he would never have anything more than her body. It would have happened sooner or later anyway, and maybe her husband would have been even worse than him. Deep down she was scared, of course she was, but she wasn't going to let him see that. He was outside, giving orders to some of his men. She looked at the bed and braced herself for what would happen. She was Serafina Lannister, daughter of Tywin Lannister, she could do this. That was what she kept silently repeating to herself until Robb Stark returned. She straightened her back, kept her eyes down, and curtsied.

"The bed is ready, Your Grace," she stated, managing to sound perfectly calm.

He didn't say anything; he simply walked over to her. She stood her ground, still repeating her mantra. She could do this. Not that she had a choice. Hopefully her father would understand that.

"You seem tired," he finally stated.

"I am a little tired, Your Grace," she replied cautiously.

"Hmm. You better lie down then."

Thankfully, she managed to control herself and maintain her dignity as she obeyed him.

"Lift your hands above your head," he ordered.

She looked at him and saw the chains in his hand. Terror filled her for a brief moment before she regained control and forced a smile on her face.

"Your Grace, I am not planning to fight," she said as softly as she could. "You won't need those."

For a very brief moment it seemed like he hesitated, but then his face was blank again.

"I believe I do. Please lift your hands above your head."

This was going to be worse than she had thought. Why was he doing this? Surely, he understood he could overpower her even if she fought him. This was a way for him to humiliate her. It wasn't going to work; she would make sure of that. She smiled and lifted her hands up. He chained her up and removed his boots and tunic before lying down beside her. Carelessly, he pulled a fur over her before turning his back on her. What was he doing? Was this some kind of game? Her heart was pounding as she waited, but nothing happened.

"I apologize for the chains," he finally stated without turning to look at her. "But I prefer not to be stabbed when I sleep."

What was he saying?

"I have no intention to stab you, Your Grace," she murmured.

"If you say so. Get some sleep, my lady; I am sure this has been a long day for you."

She wasn't sure what to say, she still expected this to be some kind of game. Would he attack her after she fell asleep? She needed to stay awake. Unfortunately, the bed was very comfortable, and she was exhausted. Desperately, she tried to fight the sleep that was trying to claim her. She had to stay awake… Eventually, she lost her fight and drifted into sleep. She didn't see Robb turning around and staring at her for a long while before turning his back on her again.