Game of Thrones - One Shots/Imagines (Completed)

Stannis Baratheon X Reader - Damsel (Requested)

You had been married for 3 years. Of course, it was an arranged marriage, you're father was close with his and had sorted it to make sure that your families were joined, but you had never gotten on well with your husband. He was a cruel man and treated everyone as if they were lesser than he was, including you. You had avoided his cruelty well during the first few years of your marriage, making sure to do as you were told and accept whatever punishment he would give you when you had 'misbehaved'. Recently, however, you had begun to grow more of a backbone, not doing what you were told whenever he had told you to, sometimes receiving a slap when you disobeyed him.

Over the last month, you had had a visitor staying in your home with you and your husband, so the cruelty had not been so open. Stannis was one of the only men that your husband respected, and hitting you in front of him was not something he was stupid enough to do, though you suspected that if it were any other Lord he would not have hesitated. Of course, you found Stannis' quietly powerful demeanour to be very refreshing when you had been stuck with the obnoxious ramblings of your husband for so long, and you grew to enjoy spending time with him, even going out of your way to make sure you could have some time every day just sitting near his silent form.

Eventually, your husband started to question why you spent so much time with the other man, hissing hurtful words at you whilst he gripped your wrist in his tight hold. "Are you in love with the man, is that it?" he growled as he glared down at your smaller form, as you went to answer he gave you a sharp slap to the face. "You're no better than a whore," he spat as he shoved you backwards, sending you to the stone floors and towering over you. It was then that you both heard the knock at your chamber door. "Get up," your husband growled at you as he moved towards the door, waiting until you were back on your feet before pulling it open. "Lord Stannis, how can I help you?" he questioned kindly, his voice completely changed from how he would address you.

"I was hoping that I could speak with your wife," Stannis told him, looking past your husband to your shaking body. "In private," he added. "We have some matters to discuss." He turned to look at your husband, as if daring him to argue.

"Of course, but have her back soon. I can't bare to sleep without her," your husband told him as he grabbed your wrist and shoved you out of the door towards the other Lord, his grin sickeningly sweet. "Have fun, My Love," he spoke to you and you flinched at the nickname as he pushed the door shut.

The two of you walked in silence for a few minutes, your eyes fixed on the ground as you listened to his soft breathing. You could tell he wanted to speak to you but the words seemed to escape him every time he tried. "Lord Stannis, what was it you wanted to speak with me about?" you asked as you slowed your walk, eventually stopping at one of the stone benches that lined the halls of your home.

"I heard him yelling as I passed your chambers, I thought you might like some help," he told you as he moved to sit beside you, watching as you rubbed your wrist where your husband's hand had been before. "May I?" he asked as he reached for your arm looking at the bruises that dusted them. "Was this the first time?" he asked as he examined your arm, pushing up your sleeves to see the splattering of scars and marks where he had hit you before. You shook your head, remaining silent as he continued to let his fingers brush your damaged skin.

"It wasn't his fault," you started quietly. "I provoked him, I should have done as I was told," you told him and he let his arm drape around your shoulders, pulling you into a strange half hug.

"No man should harm his wife. Our job is to protect you, not to bring you pain. You did nothing wrong," he spoke softly and you nodded slightly as tears sprung to your eyes. "Don't cry, he isn't worth crying over if he would do this to you," he continued as his fingers rubbed circles into your tense shoulder.

"He's going to be so angry when I go back, he already thinks there is something going on between us, without you coming to ask to see me in private," you whimper as you think about what he will do to you. He may not love you but he was possessive, claiming all too often that you belonged to him.

"I won't leave you with him," he soothed. "He won't be able to hurt you anymore," he added as tears ran down your face. "Come, we'll go and pack your things," he told you as he stood, helping you to your feet and leading you back to your chambers.

When you reached the door, you noticed the Stannis had his hand resting on the hilt of his sword  as he knocked, waiting for your husband to come to the door. When it was opened they shared a look before he grinned at Stannis. "Thank you for bringing her back safely, goodnight Lord Stannis," he spoke sweetly as he reached for you, only for his arm to be pushed away by Stannis' own hand.

"We're coming inside, feel free to go elsewhere whilst your wife packs her trunk," Stannis spoke, his tone deep and authoritative as he glared at your husband who opened his mouth in disbelief.

"And may I ask where my dearest wife going?" He asked with a bitter smile and you looked down as his eyes met yours, hatred burning behind them.

"Move aside," Stannis grunted at him and he did as he was told, moving backwards with his hands raised.

"Take the damned whore, she's baron anyway, otherwise she'd have been with child by now," he chuckled until Stannis shot him a glare, standing between the two of you so that you could carry on packing.

"Don't call her that," Stannis growled as he tightened his grip on the sword at his hip, watching as your husband's gaze drifted to it and he tensed up. You continued to hurriedly pack your things, not caring that they would all be creased and messy when you got to wherever Stannis was going to take you. The quicker you could be out of this place, the better, nothing else truly mattered anymore.

"I'm finished," you spoke softly a few seconds later, as you placed your hand on Stannis' arm, making him turn his head to look over at you with a small smile. He easily lifted to trunk, moving it into the hall as you stood awkwardly, hyper aware of the fact that your husband's eyes hadn't left you.

"Come, if we get on the road now we should be back by midday," Stannis told you as he gestured for you to exit the room, leaving your husband standing alone, gritting his teeth as the two of you moved away from him.

Once you were on the road, you relaxed, allowing yourself to release the muscles that had been so tightly wound in your body. "Thank you," you muttered to Stannis, who was sitting beside you in the cart, not wanting to leave you to ride alone.

"You have nothing to thank me for," he smiled as he held out an arm for you to lean against him. "Now rest, I'm sure you didn't sleep well with him at your side," he spoke and you gave a soft smile as you rested your head against his shoulder, allowing yourself to fall into the first good sleep you had experienced since you had been married.

Please consider supporting me for just £3 using Ko-Fi. The link is available on my profile page. If you have any questions about Ko-Fi please feel free to private message me. Thank you. L x