Lilia had been thrown in her chambers with her sister, Sansa. She hadn't seen Joffrey or Cersei, she had been simply locked up. She knew that Ser Barristan was telling the truth and she regretted not knowing about the situation sooner. She should have known better, she should have been smarter like Arya.
The night had gone by and she couldn't bring herself to sleep. She lied awake all night, starring at the canopy, thinking about what would be of her family and how foolish she had been to trust that her father knew what he was doing.
She loved her father above everyone else in that horrid place, but she also knew that he made stupid mistakes! His honour blinded him and made him trust people he shouldn't have trusted in the first place.
"What has gotten into your head?!" Sansa lectured her eldest sister as they patiently wait for someone to get them. "I had everything under control! King Joffrey will be merciful and we'll be alright!"
"Do you really believe that?" Lilia asked out of rage. "Are you really so foolish to believe that? Wake up, Sansa! Father will be executed tomorrow morning and we'll be forced to watch!"
"No, I've spoken to King Joffrey and he told me he would be merciful! He's good!" the ginger-haired girl yelled at her sister. Lilia had given up on making her sister realize that Joffrey was a monster, she had decided to let her figure that out on her own. "Lilia, he is going to be my husband and once that happens he will be your brother by marriage. Family is the bond! Does that not mean anything for you?"
"Really? You're asking ME that question? You are the one who lives in Wonderland and doesn't realize that we are being held as hostages! Why do you think they locked us up, uh?!" the eldest Stark girl confronted her sister, earning an even more irritated look from her.
"Because YOU ran away instead of facing the problems our father created when he went up against the one, true, legitimate King!" she argued back. "We're standing here right now, at this precise moment, because you decided to flee and I had to stay and plead for our father's life! And when he's sent to the Wall alive, you'll be thanking me on your knees!"
"We'll see about that, I hope you are right, Sansa. I pray that I'm on my knees for that same reason because if by the end of the day that is not the reason why I'll be on my knees, I'll never forgive you..." she said with tears in her eyes. "If we had left when father said, none of this would be happening..."
The door was suddenly unlocked, revealing the Hound and Ser Merryn Trant, who impatiently pushed them out of the room and dragged them down to the Sept of Baelor, where the so-called King Joffrey was already standing along with his viper mother. Lilia knew that she hated them both more than she ever thought possible and her major wish was to kill them and free her father, even though she knew it was impossible. The bells had been stricken and, therefore, the smallfolk was rushing towards the building. Soon, her father would be there as well to be condemned to death or, from what Sansa assured, to have a merciful condemnation that would give him the opportunity to keep breathing.
That was when her eyes could see her father, being pushed by two guards. She closed her eyes painfully. That was one of the moments where she needed Robb or Jon, two people that she didn't speak about during the past month, but whom she missed terribly.
She noticed that he looked towards the statue in specific and she followed his gaze, having her eyes meeting with Arya. For one moment, she thought about giving her to the Lannisters, just so that she could stay under her wing, and not lost in the world, like a lone wolf. Yet, she didn't. She didn't want to be like Sansa, who ruined everything when she decided to go to the Lannisters. It felt like a betrayal to Lilia, her sister had taken her new family's interests at heart and not her true one, the one that would always be there for her.
Her father had to cross the ocean of people that had been created. They were awful, vile, without any understanding of education and good manners, they didn't know how to keep themselves with the minimum level. All they did was try to violent her father in any way they could get, and that was when Lilia knew that they were all going to pay for it.
Sansa stood there, next to Cersei and Lilia, with a victorious smile, like she could predict that everything was going to be fine. A little below them stood Littlefinger, with the same facial expression he always had. He didn't change. He didn't smile. He didn't do another one for anything in the world!
Lilia gave her father an apologetical look, to which he simply gave her a kind smile in order to ease her conscience. But that... that was something that could never ease her conscience because she knew that once the day was over and she went to bed, she would see her father die once again, and the same thing would happen day after day after day.
"I am Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell and Hand of the King" he looked at Sansa, who nodded in encouragement. 'She really is stupid enough to believe that everything is going to be fine', Lilia thought to herself and stuck her nails in the palms of her hands. Tears threatened to stream down her face freely, but she had decided to trust her sister's influence on the King more, in order to keep some hope inside her soul. "I come before you to confess my treason, in the sight of Gods and men, my betrayal of the faith of my King and the trust of my friend Robert. I swore to protect and defend his children, but before his blood was cold, I plotted to murder his son and seize the throne to myself"
Lilia's tears fell from her face and she bit her lip to the point that she felt an iron taste, the taste of blood... her own blood. She knew her father was innocent of those accusations, she knew that he would never do such a disloyal thing, such a treacherous act, so when the people threw a stone at his head, she contained a scream.
Lilia wondered how Sansa could believe that everything was going to be alright after what had just happened, after the fake confession that their father had been forced to make. She knew Joffrey wasn't going to just let him live, no King would ever let anyone who tried to have him assassinated live, only a foolish King would. Even if he did, the people would riot against him for letting treason go unpunished, allowing the common people to plot against him.
"You stupid little girl" the eldest Stark whispered to herself so that she could be the only one hearing those same words that were meant for her own sister.
"Let the High Septon and Baelor the blessed bare witness to what I just said" he started. "Joffrey Baratheon is the one true heir to the Iron Throne, by the grace of all the Gods, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm"
Joffrey and Cersei seemed pleased with that confession, but the people themselves... they weren't happy about it. They wanted him to meet another fate than pardon, they wanted him to meet death. Lilia knew that and, as she looked at her sister, she realized that Sansa was starting to feel like things weren't as simple as she thought they would be.
"As we've seen, so do we suffer. This man has confessed his crimes in sight of Gods and men. The Gods are just but the Baelor can also be merciful" Maester Pycelle began to lead the judging, turning now to the play-pretend King, as Lilia had decided to call him. "What is to be done with this traitor, Your Grace?"
The people protested as Joffrey smiled. Lilia was starting to see why Sansa thought he was so fair and handsome because the truth was that he had the charm and the look on his face seemed so... just. Like he was actually going to show mercy and let Ned walk out of there alive.
"My mother wishes me to let Lord Eddard join the Night's Watch, stripped of all titles and power, he would serve the Realm in permanent exile. And my Lady Sansa has begged mercy for her father" Lilia was surprised about Joffrey's approach. She knew that the boy was controlled by his mother and, if Cersei wanted that to happen, that meant that the pack would survive and everything would be alright, given the circumstances. It meant that her father would finally meet again with Jon and he wouldn't be a lone wolf anymore. It meant that Ned would be safe and that he would have Jon and Uncle Benjen to stick with, which was way better than meeting the axe. She had underestimated Sansa, and she was happy to know that she would be on her knees thanking her. The fearing for her father's death was over and she had only to be worried about her sister not messing up... and convincing the King to let her go back to her mother. After all, there was no motive for her to stay in King's Lading... "But they have the soft hearts of women! So, as long as I'm Your King, treason shall never go unpunished! Ser Illyan, bring me his head!
"No!" Sansa screamed at the top of her lungs, as Cersei tried to show Joffrey that killing the King in the North was madness and a scream for war. Lilia's tears streamed down her face much more violently and she screamed at the top of her lungs as she tried to run towards her father, which she managed. She hugged him and he simply had the time to whisper something to her before the King's Guards took her away as they made her look at the horrifying scene that was to take place.
"We are the Starks of Winterfell and Winter is Coming. You have to be strong" Lilia had her father's words taunting her mind as she tried to free herself from their strong, unpleasant grip.
Ned's head was placed on the wooden block and the executioner came for his head with a valyrian sword, ready to strike and murder her father.
"STOP THIS! STOP HIM! NO!" Lilia screamed at the top of her lungs, facing Joffrey who looked like he was amused with the scene. "DON'T DO THIS! I'LL DO ANYTHING! PLEASE!"
Her screams were no use, just as Sansa's and Cersei's persuasion. So, when the executioner struck the axe on her father's neck, his head rolled off and he grabbed it, lifting it to the crowd. She couldn't scream anymore, so silent tears fell from her face and she stopped fighting. She fell on her knees and she closed her eyes out of pain and grief.
Silence reigned in that place and birds flew in the sky, evidencing the tragedy that had just taken place. Lilia had promised herself that she would avenge her father's death and she would do everything she could to keep that oath.
But most of all, she would do as her father had said. She was going tobe stronger than ever, as strong as one could be, and she would start dependingand trusting just in herself, not counting or trusting on anyone else becauseshe knew that if she did, the next head rolling off a body would be hers, andshe wasn't going to give them such pleasure.