How The Storm Queen Laughed | Female Robert Baratheon | GOT/ASOIAF

The Wild Wolf

Brandon Stark came howling into King's Landing with a dozen or so equally passionate friends at his back, after his lost sister.

Robarra had to admire his nerve, and if she was honest was rather glad that someone was here who had the guts do something about the grave insult done to both House Stark and House Baratheon. She didn't dwell much on the specifics, but in her head Brandon's arrival would force Aerys to send out men searching for Rhaegar, bringing him back to the city with his tail between his legs for her to berate in front of the whole court. And Lyanna would be safe too, of course.

Her (perhaps rather foolish) hopes were dashed quickly, however. The moment she heard of Stark's arrival in the Red Keep, she raced down to the courtyard, just in time to hear Brandon damn himself.

"Rhaegar Targaryen, come out and die," He shouted up at the keep, not caring for the  servants, guardsmen and several nobles who had all heard, and stopped dead at his words. The whole courtyard went deathly silent, ringing with the force and inevitable consequences of his words.

Even she could see that his plan wasn't quite watertight. A reasonable and just king could not let such a public threat stand; as it was, they had Aerys, whose reaction would be so much worse. Whilst Robarra was angry enough at her husband to share Brandon's sentiment, and would ordinarily have laughed at such a thing, she could not let Ned's brother get himself killed.

"Stark," She lifted her skirts and ran over to him. "He's not here! Shut your thrice-damned mouth - Ned would never forgive me if your head ended up on a pike," 

There was no trace of the laughing young man who she had met at Harrenhal as Brandon rounded on her. He grabbed her arm roughly, no trace of warmth in his eyes, only a fury that seemed just as powerful as any Baratheon's, but sharper, colder and with more teeth. This was the wild wolf of Winterfell that people spoke of. 

She had only seen Ned's eyes look that way once before, when he had come across one of Lord Jon's household knights getting far too familiar with her in a deserted corridor during a feast where she had drunk rather too much. Her friend was not a violent man, and had not resorted to violence then, only a cold, sharp tone and stare to match which had the man backing off immediately. Robarra's memory of the encounter was hazy, but she remembered that stare. It was hard to forget.

"Are you lying?" Brandon snarled at her, grip so tight it would no doubt leave bruises. "Has that silver-haired wretch sent his wife out to beg for him? The wife he scorned for her brother's betrothed, no less,"

"My good-for-nothing husband left months ago," She didn't lose her temper at him in response to his unseemly treatment of her, not especially bothered, though scowled at the reminder of Rhaegar's action. Robarra was no delicate flower, and knew she would be just as angry if someone had kidnapped Stannis or Renly. "Trust me, if he dared show his face here, the whole city would have heard me welcome him home,"

Another time Brandon might have laughed at that, but this time Ned's brother just let her go, eyes dark.

"Where the fuck is he then, Robarra?"

"No one knows," She said, rather more forcefully. "But Stark, you've got to leave while you still can. You threatened the prince - Aerys is mad as it is, he takes being looked at the wrong way as treason, let alone - "

"I'm not leaving until Rhaegar returns Lyanna, and if that treacherous cunt has harmed a single hair on her head - " 

But it was too late. More guards were already flocking into the courtyard, half of the Kingsguard amongst them, swords drawn to apprehend Brandon and his companions. It was a dozen men against a hundred, they had no chance, but Stark drew his sword anyway and the others followed suit. Elbert Arryn was one of his companions, Robarra realised suddenly. She recognised Jon's nephew from her time at the Eyrie, though as he was not there often, and was some years older than her and Ned, they had only ever been acquaintances.