She skipped through the streets of the city, her hair flying wildly behind her. Her pretty dresses had been left in the Keep in exchange for a shirt and pants she had stolen from a servant. She did not want her own things to get dirty.
Her friends were already waiting for her. They must never find out who she was, or they would not treat her like they were the same. And she wanted to be.
They had shown her so much of the city. The sept, the big pit, the food stalls, and even some hidden tunnels. Those were her favourite place.
She was about to throw a small rock into the ring - a game her friends had taught her - when two strong hands grabbed her from behind.
"There you are."
She was lifted into the air, dropping her rock.
"Jaime!"
Her uncle held her close to his body as he walked off, not giving her the chance to say goodbye to her friends.
"Let me go, I do not wanna go back."
"You cannot scare your mother like that. What if something had happened to you?"
She thrashed in his arms, punching and kicking him, but only bruised herself on his armour.
A woman stepped into their way.
"Why are you taking the girl, Ser?"
"I am taking the Princess Cerelle back to the Red Keep, where she belongs."
No! He had told them her name! Now she would never be able to go back to them. Now they would be afraid of her.
She looked back to her friends, but they had already fled.
Tears welled up in her eyes.
Elle regained consciousness long enough to see a woman leaving the room.
"Cerelle! Get down here at once!"
Her mother's screams echoed off the walls of the courtyard. She groaned, but slowly started climbing towards the ground.
Why did she never want her to have fun? She was not allowed to leave the Keep, was not allowed to climb it, was not allowed to run around in it, was not allowed to do anything but sit still it seemed.
Her descents down the walls were getting quicker, even when wearing a dress.
"What were you thinking, Cerelle? Imagine if you had fallen!"
Her mother knelt on the ground before her, grabbing her shoulders tightly.
"But I did not."
"You could have been injured or even died! And then what? Do you really want to do this to me?"
"No…"
"You are a princess, and I want you to act like one. Do you understand me?"
Her mother rightened her necklace, pressed her close, and laid a kiss on her head.
"I don't want to lose you."
She was sent to her rooms afterwards, yet ran across Joffrey in the halls.
"I heard mother scream at you from the other side of the castle."
"Liar."
"Whatever. I saw cats walking past the throne room."
And so even though their guards tried to hold them back, she joined her brother in running down the stairs.
Elle awoke, coughed some blood into a napkin, and fell asleep again right after.
She sat curled up against her tree, staring out to the sea. Her plush lion was clutched closely to her chest.
Why did her father hate her so much? He never listened, never watched, likely never even thought of her. Except when it suited him.
She did not want to be betrothed, least of all to someone she had never met. And she would never meet him, she decided.
Jaime sat down in the snow next to her.
"I heard what happened."
"I hate him."
"Did you tell him that?"
She nodded, plucking at the fur of her lion.
"You cannot hide by your tree every time you are upset."
"Maybe if I stay here long enough I will become one with it. Would be hard to ship me off to Winterfell then."
"It's still many years until the wedding. Who knows what will happen in the meantime - perhaps Robb Stark will slip on some ice and break his neck. Or some mysterious force pushes him off his miserable castle's walls."
She could not wait until then. She had to do something now.
Elle wondered how long this nightmare would last.
Sunspear was far too hot for her liking. Yet for the first time in her life, her dresses did not itch when she wore them.
"Come. I want to introduce you to someone."
Oberyn laid a hand on her shoulder and guided her through the halls. She wanted to stop and stare at the paintings but was far too afraid to ask.
Ellaria and a girl stood waiting in a room, looking towards them as they entered. Both shared the same curly hair and light brown complexion.
"Elle, may I introduce you to Elia? Elia, this is your new sister, Elle."
They stared at each other. The girl, Elia, looked up at Ellaria questioningly, before meeting her gaze again.
"Do you know how to play Bowls?"
"Of course."
"Then let's go."
Elia grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the room.
Elle watched a butterfly stray around her room.
Soaked and shivering she climbed out of the pool.
"I will get you next time."
"You can try."
She was about to run after Elia when Oberyn called her name.
"Is that how you'll sit in your lessons?"
"I do not want to have lessons. They are so boring."
"But you need them to properly understand the world around you."
"Why does Elia not have to learn about taxes?"
"Ellaria takes care of her lessons. I would never deprive a mother of that decision."
She mumbled about the unfairness of it all, her shoes splashing with every step she took.
Oberyn eventually convinced her to attend - and pay attention - by promising to show her the cliffside caves he had been telling her about.
"But only if you play the harp for Lady Larra tonight."
That she needed little convincing for. Because wherever Larra was, her daughter was not far.
Elle's scar had started burning and woke her, yet not for long.
The snow had been getting softer for some time now, complicating her journey. Or perhaps there was just more of it.
Trees had disappeared, as well as any other sign of life. But she was close. The call was getting louder and clearer. She could almost make out the words.
Her cloak soaked up the snow as if it were water.
Nestled between hills and rocks was an enormous frozen lake. And on its other side stood a figure.
Elle screamed as she bolted upright in her bed. She expected to fall unconscious again, but nothing happened. She stayed awake.
Her necklace moved up and down with her chest, the pendant sticking to her skin while the chain chafed around her neck.
The door was thrown open and a woman came running in.
"Are you alright? I heard a scream."
"Aye." She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. "Only a nightmare."
"You can talk." The woman, Sylwia, smiled as she sat down on the edge of her bed. She laid her hand on Elle's forehead. "And it seems your fever has gone down as well. How are you feeling?"
"Better, I think."
"That's good. You'll be up and running again in no time." She stood up. "I'll fetch you something to eat."
Elle wiped the sweat off her brow. The sun was creeping over the hills, yet the crescent moon was still visible. She untangled her shirt from her golden chain, cleaning the pendant and laying it out over the fabric.
(If a Stark found that necklace, she'd be dead. If a Lannister found it, she'd be back in King's Landing faster than she could scream for her mother.)
She would be alright. And forget about everything she had left behind.