The Wolf Princess

Chapter 10 | Your Highness

Lilia walked towards the dungeons as her brother had asked with a sour taste in her mouth. Not only would she have to speak with lions, but she also had to deal with her 'Queen'. What a Queen she is, she thought to herself, she doesn't have a drop of queenly behaviour, she is not like my mother or even Cersei Lannister. The only thing she's done so far was lying with my brother and claim that she loves him. And that love threatens to shatter the Kingdom and yet he still gives her the title.

Lilia hated her.

Oh, did she hate Jeyne Stark! Just the fact that she had the right to use that name and to use the banner her father and his father before him had used made her sick to her stomach.

When she arrived in front of their cells, Jeyne was preparing to leave with some maidens. Lilia didn't acknowledge her presence, instead, she decided to just keep walking. The more she could avoid any interaction, the better.

"Wait, Lilia" the girl's eyes met the sparkling brown eyes of the Queen in the North, who sweetly smiled to her. She had a gentle and soft appearance, unlike her sister by law, whose features were sharper. Northern people tended to be sharper in their complexions, much like the Dornish. Lilia thought that description was accurate though the prejudice that came with it was stupid. In her eyes, having sharper features was not a synonym of evil or meanness. "I wish we could speak"

Lilia looked at the maidens who covered their mouths in shock and silently tried to gossip. Though Lilia believed northern people to be more loyal and genuine than those of the south, she knew what kind of ladies those were. She could smell their kind from a thousand miles away. The kind of ladies who would betray their mistress, the ones who would spread rumours about her with or without precedent.

She couldn't stand them.

She had met many of their kind throughout her time in King's Landing. Her handmaiden, Senna, was one of those and she despised her beyond imagination.

One thing was beyond dispute – Senna's loyalty. She was not a mere gossip lover, she was a spy to the Queen, her mistress who she was loyal to. It was too unfortunate that the same loyalty that made her a spy ended up being her downfall.

The good thing was that Lilia could very well distinguish those different types of ladies. Those standing in front of her were clearly spies, though new. They were the type that expressed their opinions and tried to gain the trust of their mistress, which people who don't have an agenda do not tend to do.

Yes, everybody likes to earn the Queen's favour. But not everybody depends on her kindness.

Spies, however, had to earn the favour and the affection of the person they wanted to spy on, so they could go unnoticed. There was only one person who had people spying for him and that person was in King's Landing.

"Leave," the Stark girl coldly commanded at the young Queen's companions, shocking them with her boldness. They looked at their Queen, who stood just as confused as them, standing absolutely clueless of what was happening. "Are you deaf or should you be assigned with other positions? Do you think this is the way to act before your Queen? You should be on your knees begging for her forgiveness due to the disrespect you've inflicted"

"I apologize, Your Grace" they kneeled with their heads down just like children who had wronged their mothers. Then, they turned to Lilia, avoiding her piercing gaze. "Your Highness, we're very sorry we've upset you"

"It is quite alright" Jeyne forgave them a little overwhelmed by her sister by law's harshness. Robb had spoken about someone sweet and loving, she didn't understand why she would act like that towards people who had been serving her so well. And the fact that she didn't pronounce herself to the maids after their apology came by as something disrespectful in Jeyne's eyes.