♛ I Will Not Die ♛

Chapter 24- Children of War

I sit with my hands in my lap as Margaery and her maids talk about her soon to be husband. I do my best not to say anything that would show my Ill will for my brother. "How about you Aella? Have any particular men in your future?" She says teasingly with a elbow to my side softly. I put back in my disappearing and smile.

"The gods will give me a good match I hope. For now I can only... wish from afar." I say, rousing some giggles from the other ladies in the royal palanquin. Joffrey and Margaery are being transported through King's Landing in their royal palanquin, borne by the Kings guard. I decided to tag along. It wasn't much of a decision since Margaery had me in the thing before I could say another word.

"Well since you decide to keep your desires a secret, Princess. If you could go anywhere in the realm, where would it be?" I think for a moment. I could say Dorne. Go to rescue my sister. Or I could say the Wall. Go find Jon. Or I could say go over the sea. Find these supposed dragons people speak of.

"I don't know. Probably..." before I could answer I hear Margaery gasp. She commands the guards to stop and jumps out of the little room.

"Aella, come on. I want to show you something." She says with a child like excitement. The Tyrell girl grips my hand and pulls me out with her. Margaery walks with purpose, and her maid tries to keep up with us as we go.

"My lady. We should have guards, my lady." One of her maids says with worry.

"Why?" She questions. Our way is blocked by a disfigured commoner, who looks at her with disdain. She smiles at him. "Pardon me." A woman empties a bucket of feces just in front of Margaery's path. She continues, optimistic and undeterred.

"Margaery!" I try to stop her. "Your dress!" She looks down with a shrug.

"I have others." She steps across the puddle of filth, dragging me along as her handmaid follows. She finds what she was looking for. I look around at the small courtyard full of children. They all look at us with weary eyes. The orphanage.

Margaery pulls me into the crowd and goes off to speak with the Septon. A boy comes up to me and pulls on my skirt lightly. I look down with a small smile at his dirt covered face. "Are you an angel?" He asks me innocently. I giggle a little and sit down with him, pulling him onto my leg.

"Thats very kind of you, but no. I am not an angel." He grabs a handful of my white skirt again and gives me a confused look.

"All angels wear white. And my mother told me Angel's are very beautiful." I notice the other children come closer to surround me as I speak.

"Well I'm sorry to disappoint. I am not an Angle. But I am a princess. Just like the rest of you ladies. And you're a little prince." I say as I ruffle his hair. "What's your name?"

"Jon." My heart sinks a little but my smile doesn't falter.

"That's a very strong name." I can feel Margaery's eyes on me and I look up to catch them. She gives me a soft smile as she watches. She comes over to me and another child comes up to her before she can reach me. He begins to talk about his father and I listen intently.

"He was a soldier. He went to fight on the walls when the ships came into Blackwater Bay. He never came back." He says, I can't help but feel the pain of these children. Waiting for their parents to return from a war that we caused. Not them. They surround Margaery and I as they speak.

"And your mother?"

"She died when she had me."

"Bad men wanted to come into this city and do terrible things, but your father stopped them." She hands him a toy knight carved from wood. "Whenever you look at this knight, I want you to remember your father."