lover's mercy - jaime lannister

NINETEEN

       Jaime was cocky.

He would usually ride away from his place at camp with a small few to deal with raiders. So when more raiders presented themselves, he rode after them. He fell right into the trap the young wolf had laid for him.

Jaime and his small force of soldiers were surrounded on all sides. He had no choice but to fight. In the fight, he saw Damion Cerwyn fighting a Lannister soldier. He was going to call out to his own man and command him to leave the boy be. For Elya. To make her happy.

But as Jaime cut down the eighth man that stood in his way, soldiers threw themselves on top of him and knocked him down. He didn't get a chance to command anything and the boy died.

As the battle ended and his hands were bound behind his back, Jaime called out to the young wolf, "You should know...your sister is at my camp."

"Why would I trust the word of a Kingslayer?"

He smiled bitterly, "I have no reason to lie."

Robb had felt a certain knowing almost like a prickling to let him know that Elya was close. And he rode off without a second thought with the wolves following.

               _____

              Elya had heard the sounds of metal clashing and had become scared and alert not knowing what was happening. She didn't know if soldiers were fighting each other or what but Jaime wasn't around.

              She quickly worked on getting the bindings off. It wasn't too hard; they were extremely loose and she was able to push them off with some maneuvering.

                     After, she stood up to try to find a weapon of some kind to defend herself with. She heard a growl outside before a scream was heard and what sounded like blood gushing.

                   Then a wolf came running inside the tent. No, a direwolf. Her one-eyed wolf.

                 "Rheina!" she said happily as the wolf came bounding towards her. She hardly had to even crouch down as she had grown so large and she hugged her loyal direwolf.

                    Other wolves came piling in that she recognized as Lady and Nymeria. She smiled as she saw them and petted them before she heard more sword clashing and then a person entered with Grey Wind following.

                   Robb.

                  She nearly cried once she saw him as he smiled, "Elya."

                 They approached each other slowly as he said, "You weren't supposed to do anything to worry me."

                 "You went off to war," she pointed out worriedly.

               "You think I wasn't going to go to war for our family?" he said softly. "I'd always rescue you, Elya."

                      Suddenly, they engulfed each other in a bone-crushing hug. Happy tears slipped down her face before Rheina whined and interrupted their hug.

                    Robb chuckled as she pulled away and petted Rheina, "Where did you find them?"

                   "I didn't," Robb answered with a small smile. "Rheina brought them back to Winterfell on her own."

                 She smiled before Robb took off his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders, "Here."

               "You know I'm not cold," she said. She never got cold.

                 "I know," he said as he looked down.

                 She knew what he was thinking with what she was wearing and she sighed as she pulled the coat closer, "Nothing happened, Robb. He was honorable."

                 "Good or I would have killed him," Robb looked up and she noticed he had tears in his eyes at the thought of failing her. He hugged her once more and he didn't want to let go; he wanted to protect her from the world.

_____

Elya rode on horseback with Robb. The wolves followed on their heels. They got to a hillside through the brush and she nearly leaped off the horse once she saw who was waiting.

Mother.

Catelyn Stark had some tears fall as she touched the cheek of her daughter before engulfing her in a hug. "Oh, to see you again. The Gods are good."

Elya had tears fall as well as she hugged her mother, "I missed you so much. I want to go home."

"We will," her mother promised. "As soon as we get your father and the girls back."

She promised.

Elya pulled away as she looked around. She looked for the one person her heart would soar for but did not find him.

Then she looked at Robb, "Where is Damion?"

_____

Elya found his cold, dead body amongst the rest. Tears filled her eyes as she hiccuped. She had sobbed when Robb told her; she was nearly inconsolable but now most of her cries had died down.

She knelt next to Damion, the boy who died for her, and pushed his curly hair away from his forehead. She leaned down and placed a kiss on his forehead as she let out another sob.

"I'll meet you in the fields," she whispered softly. It was a promise to meet him in death as she could not meet him again in this life.

_____

More tragedy followed.

Jaime heard from the guards talking that when the news came, she held a stone face before taking a horse and riding away. It was true. She took a horse and rode off with her pack of wolves behind her (besides Grey Wind as he had his master).

                 She stopped hard after so long of riding and the horse breathed heavily. She clutched its mane before she let her head fall onto its neck and she cried.

                 Ned Stark was dead.

                Her father was dead.

                  She could hear his soft voice as she took Baela (another thing dead) riding for the first time, "Be careful, Elya. You might fall."

               "But you're riding beside me. I have nothing to fear. You'll just catch me," she said with a small smirk.

                  He laughed before he said seriously, "I won't always be around to catch you, my little Snow."

                 "Why not?" she pouted. She was a child and she didn't understand.

                  "If the Gods are good, old age," he said and her eyes widened. Death...from old age. No.

                     "No," she denied. "You're not allowed to die, Father. You can't. I won't let you."

                  "I can't?" he smiled in amusement. "I guess that settles it for me. I won't die even in old age. Just for you, little Snow."

                  She cried hard at the memory as her wolves howled to the song of her pain.

AN: end of part I.
The next part will be more about family so Jaime will kind of take a back seat although there will be A LOT of angst between them.

And Elya my poor baby, she's going to really come into her own in this next part