"the best way to hide a wolf is to make people believe they are nothing more than a well-trained dog."
Arrelle Stark was a wolf wrapped in fine silk and those who threatened her family would risk her claws on their necks.
jacaerys velaryon x oc
HOTD...
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chapter five, a royal wedding
SUNLIGHT CREPT THROUGH the windows of Lady Dyanna Stark's quarters in the Red Keep. It was now dawn, which meant that it was officially the day of the youngest Stark's wedding. The young woman had tried to sleep, so desperately she wished to be able to, but she could not find peace. She tossed and turned all night, the anxiety in her stomach had taken a hold of her.
In truth, she was more concerned about the strangers that crept in the night than her upcoming marriage. Visions of daggers and blood filled her mind as she tried to sleep, so afraid that she would be attacked during her slumber. In her mother's quarters, she was safer, but the fear of her mother being harmed was even greater than the fear she felt for herself.
So, Arrelle held a dagger in her hand all night as her mother slept peacefully next to her. One eye open and aware, ready for anything.
When the sunlight crept in, Arrelle relaxed, visibly relieved. She had made it through the night, perhaps for the price of her own sanity, but she was alive nonetheless. She sat upright in bed, resting against the headboard as she stared out the window, the purple bags under her eyes were prevalent, but she did not care.
Arrelle was not vain. She did like jewelry and fancy dresses, but she did not care that her appearance was unkempt for her wedding day. She would live if her maids scolded her as they painted her face and braided her hair, she may have not lived if she had rested for the night.
Next to her, Dyanna began to rouse herself from her slumber. Arrelle did not move from her spot, still turned toward the light. Her dagger was hidden, no longer clutched in her hand, but her face was still steeled. Dyanna woke up and watched her daughter through blurry eyes, she knew what Arrelle had done, "You should have slept, my sweet."
Arrelle still stared outside, her face turned toward the light, "I am afraid I could not, fear kept me awake, mother.
Dyanna moved from her place in bed, sitting up next to her daughter. She wrapped an arm around her shoulder and held her dear girl close to her chest. "It'll soon be over, Ella. You'll be free from this torment."
Arrelle felt sad, almost desperate, but no tears sprung from her eyes. She didn't think she could do such things anymore. "I don't know if I can do this without you, without Cregan."
Dyanna kissed her daughter's cheek and held her face in her hands. She was so sweet and gentle to her only daughter, the only child she had ever held in her own womb. They were connected, the two of them, a bond only a mother and daughter could ever feel.
Lady Stark smiled softly at her girl and spoke softly, "When I left my family for the first time, I was a young girl, only two and ten. I was sent by my parents to strengthen the relations between Dorne and the Seven Kingdoms, to serve as a handmaiden to Queen Aemma. I was a little girl, terrified to leave home, but I grew strong, I learned how to survive."
