Unravel

Kingslanding

Jaime put off returning to the Keep for as long as he could have, he was sure he had scoured the city from top to bottom but there was no sign of her.

"What do you mean she vanished!?" Rhaegar had roared at him, trying his best to keep his composure as Jaime presented him with the unfortunate information. He felt all hope in his world dwindle, the gods had taken to punishing him. This was his punishment for being a Kinslayer. He would never free himself from the curse he had brought on himself.

Jaime hung his head; his own father shook his head in disappointment. "Have the City Watch check all the gates that were open today. Close them for now and question the guards."

There had been one guard who confessed to letting out a woman who was with child and man on horseback. He was brought back to the Keep, where Tywin was questioning him in the Throne Room.

"The man, what did he look like?"

"Pale. Black hair, milord."

"Was he slim, fat, tall, short?" Tywin asked, unsure of who he could be. But then again, he did not know the Northern lords that well.

"Slim and tall. He said she was his wife, and she got tired, so she was sleeping."

"What did she look like?"

The guard stood from one foot to another, "with child?"

"Yes, you imbecile she was with child. Her hair colour, build, shape?" He rolled his eyes, how the smallfolk got by day to day with brains the sizes of peas, he did not know.

"She had black hair, long ... I-I didn't get to see her very well milord," the guard replied. He stood in silence, trying to come up with something else to identify her, "she wore a dark red dress! It looked very expensive."

"That was her," Jaime said, he had remembered very well the colour of her dress. Unless there was another dark-haired, fine red dress-wearing, with child-woman in the city.

"Alright, take him from the Keep," Tywin instructed. The guard bowed his head and followed as he was led from the royal castle. "It is most likely the rebels took her, your grace." He turned to Rhaegar, who was sitting on the Throne.

Rhaegar felt his stomach sink for the tenth time that hour. "I told her to go to Dorne. I should've forced her onto that ship myself." He stood from the Throne. "I'm bringing her back."

"She is a hostage now; you must negotiate with Brandon if you wish to do so. We have no reason to believe he will be merciful," Tywin interjected. "Now is not the time to act in haste. Wait for him to tell you that he has her. For all we know, this might be an overzealous bandit trying to get some gold from you.

"No," he could not bear the thought of negotiating while Arianne sat in a camp with their enemies. She was definitely with Brandon. "That is my son she holds inside of her. The time for speaking is over. We have more men than they do. I am ordering all troops to the gates as soon as they can be ready."

Tywin bit the inside of his cheek, "it will take us two days to get to where they are. They might have set traps, call them elsewhere." There had been a watcher who had told them the Northern party had set camp a day's ride from Kingslanding.

"They will not move!" Rhaegar snapped back, looking at the older man who stood at the bottom of the steps with his hands behind his back. "It can take as long as it will take. The more time we waste talking, the more time Brandon has to kill her. Send a search party and sound the call, Lord Twyin."

He nodded back in response, stepping from the Throne. "You idiot," he muttered to Jaime, marching from the Throne Room in a fit of anger.

Arthur, who had been stood around the Throne with the other ten Kingsguard sent a disapproving look Jaime's way, following behind Rhaegar as he left the Throne room as well. How could of Jaime let slip through the cracks the one thing he was tasked with.

"Let me go on the search party, please Rhaegar," Arthur had said once they had left the Throne Room.

Rhaegar shook his head, "call for my squires, tell them to bring my armour," he told a servant who was bent over the newly scrubbed floors.

"Yes, your grace," she squeaked, throwing her rag to the floor and rushing off.

"I am not sending the best fighter in the realm on a search party. I want you to be with me, Arthur. By my side as I finally end this war."

Arthur could not refuse nor argue, so he simply nodded – no matter how badly he wanted to go and look for his sister, a King's orders were a King's orders.

...

There was a ringing in her ears, and as her eyes opened, she was reminded this was not a nightmare. Arianne tried to stand from the floor, but her hands and feet were bound. Her neck throbbed in pain and her body cried out for water.

She looked around, it was dark outside and there was muffled shouting from all sides of the forest she had been left in. Arianne tried to call out, but her mouth was quickly covered by a dirty cloth.

"Shh," Roose instructed her, raising his finger to his lips, waiting silently as the calls and barks of dogs faded back into the woods. He left the cloth tied around her mouth and sighed, laying back down on the floor as he had been doing before being awoken by the sounds of a search party. There was little chance they'd find them, with Roose having practically grown up hiding scents and hiding people in very similar situations.

Arianne let out a cry, uncomfortable and in pain from the ropes on her hand. She tried to say something, but the cloth stopped her words and turned them into a tune.

Roose laughed, "you have always been a talker."

"My babe!" She tried to call out.

"What?" Roose pouted, indicating to her stomach. "I won't hurt you if that's what you're worried about. Or your babe. Now go back to sleep, we have an exciting day ahead of us come morning."

But she could not sleep, all night she watched Roose toss and turn, he lay peacefully on the bed of leaves beneath him. She tried futilely to wriggle from the ropes on her bands, to shake the ones from her feet free, or even to move the cloth on her lips away, but when she felt them grow tighter, she stopped. Arianne could do none of those, so instead, she watched as the embers of the small fire Roose had started grew dark, as animals scurried around, as the horse tied to the tree sat comfortably on the floor and rested its head and finally as the sun rose.

Roose awakened and as he went to put her back on top of the horse, he let out a small chuckle at her red hands and feet. "Aren't they glorious? The knots get tighter the more you struggle." Arianne, who could not respond, tapped the horse with her feet as a means to annoy it, but when Roose had lifted himself and sat behind her she stopped. There truly was no way of getting away.

They rode for what seemed like hours. The forest was silent then, Arianne hoped that didn't mean the search party had ended. Arianne hoped Rhaegar was out there, cutting down every tree in hopes of finding her. She hoped and hoped but even that didn't work. She felt a kick on her stomach, Baelor, he was probably annoyed at the uncomfortable position she was sat it.

That or he was hungry, just as she was.

He kept kicking, wanting his annoyance to be made very clear. Arianne huffed in pain, what was wrong with him?

As the sunset, Arianne wondered if they were to take another break. Was Roose planning on taking her back to the North? If so, she'd starve at this rate.

Arianne's ears perked as voices came, she tried to scream out but stopped when Roose laughed again. It seemed like he took pleasure in watching her struggle.

"What would the King in the North say if he saw his bannermen's son fucking the hostage he personally asked him to bring?" Roose whispered behind her, taking a cold hand off the reigns. "You know," he lifted her dress slightly and placed his hand between her legs, "my father was willing to ask for your hand for me. Do you think Rickard Stark would have ever let that happen?"

Her muffled words came out a little clearer, "fuck you!"

Roose threw his head back, "and you will get your chance. Brandon has promised me the gift of a new wife once this war is over. Once he kills Rhaegar. How do you think you will fare back in the North?" Arianne ignored him and his hands, wanting the horse to speed up. Roose moved his hand and fixed her dress as they approached the campsite.

Arianne had never seen a war camp, it was full of men; drinking, eating, practising, sharpening their weapons. A silence fell on the camp as they passed by tents and makeshifts beds on the floor.

Roose stopped when they reached the biggest tent, jumping from his horse and bringing Arianne down after him. She tried to kick him, and there was light laughter from those around them.

"Your grace!" Roose called out, taking her by her arm roughly and pushing her towards the tent.

Arianne blinked up, the chilly air hitting her cheeks properly now. There, stood Brandon Stark. The new King of the North. He wore a crown made from wood and a coat so big it reminded her of Rickard's. He looked down at her, almost surprised that Roose had done what he needed to do.

It seemed many of the lords, most of which Arianne recognised, had stepped from wherever they had been hiding to get a better look at what was causing an eery silence. Brandon did not speak a word to her, merely turning her around her arms and shaking her shoulders. She felt dizzy. Almost as if she were about to faint.

"As I told you, my lords!" He cried out, laughter and cheers coming from around the camp. "Now we wait for the dragon to come to us, so we can slay him. Babe and all!"

Arianne tried to keep from crying, but could not help it, in the crowd, she recognised the faces of Ned and Lyanna – who looked just as surprised as everyone else.

She felt Baelor kick her stomach repeatedly as if he knew those around him were a threat. As if he to say I can fight back. She felt her eyes roll to the back of her head and fell in a slump into Brandon's hands.

"Bring the cage!" Brandon called out.

A wooden cage was unstrapped from a carriage and placed in front of Brandon's tent. "Put her in the cage, we'll write to Rhaegar that you have arrived," Brandon told Roose, passing the fainted Arianne to Roose – who did as he was told. Before leaving the small cage, he pulled a dagger from his pocket and cut loose the rope on her hands, feet and cloth around her mouth. He then walked out from it, locking it tightly.

"You there," he called out to a woman who held a basket to her hips. She stopped, waiting for his horse to be taken away before approaching him. "Some food and water ... for her as well."

She looked down at the new arrival. The Queen did not look at Brandon had told tales of; she did not look like a woman who could give birth to dragons. She just looked with child and tired.

"Now!" Roose scoffed annoyed at her stalling. She nodded and rushed into the makeshift kitchen.

...