The Guardian of the North (Robb Stark) Completed

The trial

"I never left."

Elena looked up at his face, studying his features like it was the first time she saw him. Now that she had seen Ethan's true eye colour, she saw the likeliness that it had to Damon's. Both looked like the sea, both a deep colour that you could look at for hours. Damon's eyes were more intense though while Ethan's were soft, gentle.

Elena looked down and bit on her lip. It had only made matters worse, seeing Ethan as who he really was, it made things so much more difficult. It was the same with Jaime. They both seemed so easy to hate at first but now that Elena knew them both she knew that they were just people, like she was.

"You saw him, didn't you?" Damon noticed the grim look on her face before she looked away from him, sitting upright. "I was with you when you went outside, watching you like I did the whole time, what did he do after you stabbed him?"

"You stabbed him with Evelyn's knife?!" Liane exclaimed and immediately knelt down before Elena. "Did it work? Is he dead? Did it even hurt him?"

"He didn't do anything, he just looked down at it." Elena whispered and looked down at her hands. "Nothing happened, he just sat there like he didn't really understand what was happening." Damon had been there, all this time, watching her. "Why didn't you tell me?" Elena's voice broke as she looked at Damon. "About Evelyn, about how Ethan saved her, about everything?"

"Because I didn't want to burden you." Damon tried to wipe the tears from her cheek as they fell but Elena dodged away from him.

"Burden me with the truth?" Elena stood up, ignoring the pain in her back. "All this time I thought that it was all Ethan's fault, that he just killed Evelyn because he wanted to, that he killed your daughter, Felicity, because he wanted to but all along he did it to save them?!"

Damon didn't say anything, he just stared down at the floor. He still felt guilty about their deaths. He knew it was his fault but he blamed it on Ethan still because he wielded the blade. Now though, he realised that it was all his fault.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Elena sobbed, she wasn't angry at him, she wished she could be. She just wanted to understand why.

"Because I didn't want you to think differently about me." Damon said. "I know I'm selfish, I always have been. But you always saw the good in me, only the good." He finally looked up at his sister. "I didn't want to see the disappointment in your eyes when you discover who I really am."

"You're not that bad." Sam interrupted, Elena and Damon both glaring at him. "He's not a saint, true, but he's also not like Joffrey or something"

"Shut up." Liane nudged him with his elbow rather forcefully.

Elena sighed and redirected her attention back to Damon who was still looking at her pleadingly. "I never could be disappointed in you, Damon. You're my brother."

A small smile appeared on his lips as he stood up, he was still weak but he managed.

"Speaking about brothers." Liane found the moment to start the painful bit necessary conversation. "Now that we know the dagger doesn't work since the dark one is still flying around, what do we do?"

"It does work." Elena stated, grasping the dagger from its hilt on her belt. "We just need to find out how. When I stabbed him Ethan did come back but he later disappeared. We need to find a way to make it permanent."

"Good, let's start right away." Damon said.

"No." Elena put her hand on his chest to stop him. "You can't stay here. The Lannisters might find out if Ethan hasn't told them already, it's not safe. If they find out we've been together the little trust they had in me will disappear."