Carliene Stark

Chapter 52

Carliene

"My Lady are you alright?" Vylarr questioned as he led me to safety.

The man had been dragged off by a couple of guards, as the captain of the city watch had leaped me to my feet. He lead me back into the castle, supporting me with a surprising gentleness.

"Get the maester quick!" he bellowed at the next servant we accounted.

"I'm fine" I said, too silent for the servant to hear.

I sat down on the next set of stairs as my legs still didn't want to support me properly. Both hands pressed to where the fabric of my dress had been damaged by the blade. 

I'm going to kiss that girl, for making me wear the corset.

"Are you alright? Did he hurt you?" Vylarr crouched down in front of me, his eyes scanning my body.

I could answer. My heart was pounding, the side of my face was aching and my right hand stung, but I couldn't think about that. All I could think about was the fear. That horrible terror of that stranger driving his blade into my belly. I wasn't afraid of dying. I hadn't been afraid of that in a long time. But I was realising that I had almost lost my child, and somehow that was a thought I couldn't bare.

I had told myself so many times that I didn't care. That I just wanted it gone and out of my system. But now that it had almost happened, I realised that I did indeed care. I was attached to that little life growing inside of me, and that was nearly as terrifying a thought as that I had nearly lost it.

Ser Kevan entered then with hurried steps, immediately demanding that Vylarr tell him what happened. He was closely followed by his wife, who clasped her hands over her mouth in a loud gasp as she hurried over to me, her flock of hen behind her. 

"Gods be good, the baby" she gasped as she saw the blood on my dress. 

"It's fine" I tried to tell her that the blood was merely from the cut in my hand. 

"Brayla!" she gestured for the midwife as her handmaids looked down at us. "And someone get the maester" 

"Who the hell let her out by herself" Lord Kevan barked into the room.

"I'm fine" I offered weakly once again. Though my hands were still shaking.

Brayla appeared from somewhere in the crowd and knelt down next to me. She pried my hands from my stomach to inspect it closer. 

"No harm done" she announced. "Her corset stopped the blow"

A sigh of relief seemed to pass through the room. So much concern for the heir of the rock.

"Oh dear child, and what he's done to your face" Lady Dorna said with pity as she took my face into her hands. Her small fingers caused my right temple to burn at their tough. 

"It's fine" I could feel my voice tremble. My nerves were leaving me. Don't cry.

"Who was the attacker, how did he get in?" Lord Kevan's voice still overturned the rest, while Vylarr tried talking to him calmly. 

I though about it for a moment. Who was he? Just some low life who had lost his family and wanted revenge? Did the simple folk really believe that my child would bring despair upon the lands, that it was a bad omen? Or had the man been hired by someone who wanted me gone.
My eyes travelled over the faces in the room, wondering who in the castle would want me dead.  Who wouldn't want me dead?

Kevan

Creylen arrived heaving, the jog it took him to get to us clearly not agreeing with him. "You called" he huffed, wiping the sweat from his brow.