Carliene Stark

Chapter 2

Carline
 

 "Don't" I stopped the young girl as she tried to braid my hair up. 
 

 "But it is as all the noble ladies wear it" she explained confused. 
 

 "I am not all of the noble ladies" I retorted simply and the girl let go of my hair discouraged. 
 

"You are awaited in the royal garden" the older chambermaid noted as she looked at my reflection in dislike. 
 

 "By who?" I asked with a frown. 


She shrugged. "You'll see" she gestured for the younger maid to follow her out. 


One of the guards stepped up to me instead as I got up, pulling at the dress awkwardly. It had been a while since I wore one and I somehow got the feeling that they grew ever more restricting. As I had expected it was not at all in the fashion of the north. It was thin fabric, with no sleeves and showed far too much chest. I wondered who's it was as it almost fit me properly. This would be a terrible dress to escape in, I wouldn't even be able to climb onto a horse, let alone runs any valuable distance.
 

 "Come M'Lady" the guard urged impatiently. 


I followed him reluctantly, my eyes scanning the rest of the room for anything even similar to a knife or weapon. But as my luck would have it I spotted no such thing. The other guard followed in behind me so that I was walking between the two. They really took this security seriously. Maybe the Lannisters had learned. The thought amused me and a faded smile crossed my lips.
The 'royal garden' was at least as beautiful as the castle, though for me it was far to southern. I preferred gardens to be filled with large trees and thick shrubbery. This garden was more sunny and open, filled with flower bushes and orange trees. The guards stopped as we reached the entrance, letting me continue on my own. I looked around curious, I was in a round yard, surrounded by the light brick walls of the castle covered in many balconies. No wonder they let me enter on my own, there was no way to go that did not lead towards some entrance of the castle that and the garden was not particularly big. Of course an option was to hide in the bushes, but that wouldn't lesser the guards all around the garden and it would only take three of them to search through the entire garden in less than half a day. 
The air here was stuffy and I could hear water running somewhere close. Maybe I could climb the walls somehow. Looking around I noticed that the guards were still eyeing me, so I turned the nearest corner before bolting of... as fast as this dress would let me anyways.

Jamie

I sat on the bench not knowing how to take it all. I knew the name yes, and the importance of the girl. But even though I was sure I had seen her before, I just couldn't put a face to her, every time I tried I saw her mother or her younger sister. No one had paid much attention to her, she had just been the irrelevant one. Thanks to father that was all supposed to change. 
How could I marry her? My bastard son had killed her father, I had crippled her brother.
But if this is what it cost to let Tyrion live, I would do it. I decided and stood up abruptly. With big strides I rushed along the path and around the next corner to wait by the entrance to the gardens when someone slammed into me. I staggered but got hold of a thick branch of an orange tree and managed to stand my ground.
The woman wasn't so lucky, she stumbled tripped over the edge of her dress and fell, desperately trying to catch herself with her hands.
 

 "Shit" she cursed as he sat up. 
 

 "Forgive me my Lady!" I hurried to her side and offered my left hand to help her up. 


She looked at her elbow and sighed at a bleeding wound. Brushing it off she stood up ignoring my hand. We both froze as our eyes met. I remembered her. Not at all like her younger sister or her mother. She looked more like a Stark then both of them. Dark brown curls and storm grey eyes. She looked out of place in the sunny west, her skin was too pale and her hair in a tangled mess. The dress didn't help fit in either. To me it looked strangely familiar, but on her as if someone had tried to dress a peasant up as a princess. At first glance she looked as she had when we visited Winterfell, witch now felt like ages ago. A frown crossed her face and she stepped back. 
 

 "Lady Carliene?" I asked carefully.

"Kingslayer" she retorted her reaction something between surprise and discomfort. "What are you doing here?"
 

 "Where were you running off to so quickly?' I asked, ignoring the title and her question. 
 

"Escaping" her honesty surprised me and I almost had to smile. Almost.

 "Will you walk with me my Lady?" I asked politely.
 

 "Do I have a choice?" she muttered and fell in beside me but did not take my arm. "And I'm not your Lady" she stated with all the pride she could master. 


Oh but you will have to be, I thought sadly. She didn't even know. 
 "We should have someone tend to your wound" I commented spotting the bleeding cut again. 
 

 "It's just a scratch" she shook it off, refusing to look at me.

"No harm will come to you here m-" I remembered what she had said and stopped myself.


She laughed, a fake laugh. "Really? I'm in the den of the lions and your telling me it's all fine."
 

 "The lions won't hurt one of their own" I mumbled. 
 

"What do you mean??" she demanded. 
 

 "We are to be wed" it felt good to finally have it out. 


Her gaze turned to my in surprise and she stopped in her tracks, not seeming to comprehend what I meant. "What? Why?" she burst out taking a step away from me again. 
 

 "Our marriage will secure the North for us" I said and even as I spoke the words I knew I had said the wrong thing. 
 

 "I would never let that happen" she hissed.


I sighed. "I'm afraid its not up for debate"
 

 "Marry me and I'll slit your throat" she threatened. 


I smiled unamused, not being able to take her threat seriously. "It would be much easier if you just accepted this and make your peace with it, maybe even something good will come of it" I said not believing a single word I said. 


She stared at me in disbelief. In the next moment she had punched me in the face, with a strength I never thought someone of her statue could muster. I stumbled back a few steps and brought my hand to my face, I could taste blood from where my lip had burst. 
This would be so much harder than I had thought.