A Wolf and A Lion || Jaime Lannister Love Story

Chapter 28 - Iron Throne and Wolves

    "Are you alright?" Ned asked her, his voice laced with concern. His hand touched her back as a sign of comfort, and he took a step closer.

    "I'm fine, it's just..." Aurelia trailed away, trying to mutter up the courage to say it. "The King requested my presence not too long ago." She said,

    "He did? He did not tell me." Ned said,

    "I meant to tell you, but you weren't at the Hand's Tower. Besides, he's the King. He can do whatever he likes." Aurelia told her father, "I thought he wanted to talk to me about the business at the crossroads, but he was only interested in me...or at least what I remind him of." She explained, and Ned understood that she was referring to Lyanna. Robert talks about her frequently know that Ned is present, and he's been thinking about her more often than before because of Aurelia Stark's existence.

    "He talked about Aunt Lyanna as if I knew her when he knows I don't. I didn't want to be but at that moment...I wanted to scream for him to stop; to stop comparing me to her. That's all he's been doing ever since he saw that day he arrived at Winterfell. He looks at me like he's hoping for Aunt Lyanna to emerge, or maybe he hopes that I am her." Aurelia continued to say, and Ned was hearing all of this for the first time.

    Robert talked to him about Aurelia's resemblance to Lyanna numerous times, and he confided in Ned about how he doesn't remember Lyanna's face anymore. When Robert saw Aurelia at first, he thought his mind was playing tricks on him, and he convinced himself it was. But it wasn't that he recalled Lyanna's face; it was that he recalled the memory of her. Even after today and seeing Aurelia, Robert still cannot picture what Lyanna looks like.

    Ned understood Aurelia's fear. A fear he did not she possessed until the night before her wedding.

    "I shall speak to him about it. I do not want for you to be put in that position anymore. He cannot do that to you." Ned told his daughter, and he meant it.

    "Do I remind you of her? I know you don't want to talk about her because it makes you feel sad, and that's the last thing I want to do to you, but is that what you feel? Do I make you sad?" Aurelia said to him, and Ned ached upon hearing her innocence.

    "No. No you don't. You could never." Ned told her, wanting Aurelia to understand that. The expression on her face conveyed the guilt in her, thinking that all this time she unintentionally made her father sorrowful. He rested both his hands on her shoulders, his eyes looking straight into hers. Aurelia always acts strong in front of her siblings, but Ned knows that she can be as fragile as glass. "I have never felt sad when I look at you because it can never happen. Do you hear me? You are not Lyanna. You are Aurelia Stark of Winterfell. "

    "I know that!" Aurelia raised her voice, "And it feels as if I'm the only person who does. Everyone else seems to think differently."

    "Then let them think whatever they want, because what is important is that you know the truth." Ned advised, resting his hands on her shoulders as he looked directly into Aurelia's eyes. He didn't know what Aurelia truly feared until she told him the night before her wedding. Aurelia was afraid that her fate will end up the same as Lyanna. "As time goes by, you can prove to them who you are. You are Aurelia Stark, and you will always be her."

    Aurelia nodded her head in response, and Ned pulled her daughter against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. For the first time since she arrived in Kings Landing, Aurelia felt safe and protected.

***

    To cheer her daughter up, Ned allowed Aurelia to take her direwolf out for a walk near the grounds of the Red Keep. Aurelia was more than ecstatic, as Aiyana has been cooped up inside her chambers for far too long. She occasionally lets Aiyana sleep in Arya's room, knowing that her little sister must miss Nymeria. Arya needed Aiyana more than Aurelia needed her own direwolf. But now that Arya occupies her time with her dancing lessons, Aurelia could spend more time with Aiyana. She wished Sansa could go with her, but she was stuck in her lessons with Septa Mordane. Nevertheless, she asked Aurelia to take Lady out for a walk as well, and Aurelia gladly accepted.