Trigger warning:
this chapter contains domestic violence, abuse and sexual content.
Read at your own risk!

｡･::･ﾟ★,｡･::･ﾟ☆ - ☆｡･::･ﾟ★,｡･::･ﾟ☆
  𝘛𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘔𝘤𝘙𝘢𝘦 - 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵
｡･::･ﾟ★,｡･::･ﾟ☆ - ☆｡･::･ﾟ★,｡･::･ﾟ☆

That same evening the Royal Family left Driftmark and Aruna and Nia also packed their things for their own departure.

Aruna did not want to leave this peaceful place and thus Daemon, but the sooner she left the sooner she would be reunited with him. The woman had a plan and was convinced it could work. Either it worked or she would lose her head.

Later that evening, there was another feast in honour of Lady Laena. Old anecdotes were told, there was crying and also dancing.

And a certain Targaryen man had not left Aruna's side all evening.

Though she noticed the looks of the others especially from Rhaenys and Corlys, she tried to ignore them as best she could.

To everyone's surprise, Laenor had also been present. No one knew where he had been, but it was his right to mourn his sister.

With the departure from the royal parade, her own brother had also departed. He had not spoken to her again, nor had he said goodbye to her, and that broke Aruna's heart.

She was sure he saw her as a traitor as much as she saw him as a traitor. Her own flesh and blood.

"I don't want you to go, my lady." Daemon whispered in her ear as he stroked her cheek.

After their evening together, Aruna had put the children to bed and gone to say goodbye to Daemon once more, not knowing how she would face him in front of everyone tomorrow.

One thing had led to another and they had ended up sleeping with each other. Now they lay in his big bed and couldn't stop looking into each other's eyes. It was already so romantic that Aruna thought she was dreaming.

"It will be the last time I will go. I promise you that." She promised the man who belonged to her heart and took his hand firmly. "I will return to you as soon as I can and then I will stay with you."

"Tell me about your plan." He demanded for the hundredth time that day. Daemon was an overly curious person and hated secrets. Aruna, on the other hand, wanted to keep her plan to herself for as long as possible.

She was not afraid and knew she could trust Daemon, but inside she was very afraid that everything would go wrong and someone would bring him her and Edith's head.

"You have to trust me, my love." Like the first time she had spoken high Valyrian in front of him, he looked at her in surprise. "You still know my language?" he inquired.

"Someone had to teach it to your daughter." She smiled and kissed him again and again. "I'm going to miss you so much."

"You promised we'd meet again soon. I trust your words." Daemon kissed her forehead as a sign of his truthful words and held Aruna tightly in his arms until the two fell asleep.

~~~

The next morning, the two of them now really had to say goodbye. It was even harder for Aruna this time than when she had left the capital, except she hadn't said goodbye then.

"Give me a few weeks, maybe a few months, until I come back." She asked him with tears in her eyes. Her forehead rested against his as he nodded and kissed her cheek on which were hot tears. Daemon didn't cry, but he didn't find this parting easy either. "I will wait for you no matter how long it takes." He promised her and slowly the two broke away from each other.

"Just please not twelve years again." He called after her as Aruna was already leaving his room. "Never!"

Saying goodbye to the Velaryons was much easier for her.

When Aruna went with her children to her companions and protectors, everyone was already waiting for the four of them. Her maid Nia had smiled at her encouragingly and Aruna could not help but smile back.

She had thanked her hosts warmly for the accommodation and for the wonderful short days. At the end she had even hugged Rhaenyra long and tight. "See you soon, old friend." She had then whispered softly to her in Valyrian.

"Please take care of yourselves. These are dangerous times." Asked Rhaenyra, reminding Aruna of the complicated times. Promisingly, the dark-haired one nodded and the two women hugged again.

The formal goodbye to Daemon was almost harder than the private one in his chambers. She was not allowed to hug or kiss him in front of the others and it almost drove her crazy. But when she saw Edith hugging her father, her heart warmed.

The little family then got on the boat and sailed away and not only one lady left her heart behind that day.

~~~

The way back felt shorter than the way here and all too soon they had to get into the carriage and all to quickly they were back in Winterfell.

Her thoughts had been running wild. She had told Daemon she had a plan to escape from her marriage, but the longer she thought about it the less she liked her plan. At some point her thoughts no longer made sense and somehow every situation ended with her own death.

The Starks had already been expecting the arrival and had been waiting impatiently.

Aruna hadn't even got out completely when Brandon helped her out of the carriage and took her tightly in his arms. "I missed you so much!" he declared loudly strong and kissed his wife hard on the mouth.

He was a changed man again and Aruna hated him for it. One moment he was so loving and happy and the next he was cursing her or the two of them were fighting. Brandon had two faces and Aruna honestly couldn't deal with it. After all, she never knew whether to look forward to the day or to be afraid of her husband.

The Stark heir then greeted his two children, and despite wearing a glove, immediately noticed Edith's injured hand. "What happened." He demanded to know. "Who did this?"

No one said anything. Neither the children, nor Aruna, nor Nia.

Brandon then took Edith's arm and pulled her rather roughly into the castle. Meyra and Rickon looked with pity at the young woman, but Aruna ignored her in-laws and ran after her husband. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Ronja take Cassian in her arms and all the Stark members followed the three.

"You tell me who did this now and I promise you I will behead the person for it!" Brandon was furious and changed again when they arrived in the family room. He was holding Edith's injured wrist tightly, which was causing the girl pain. But her protests and crying were masterly ignored by her supposed father.

"First you let her go, Brandon!" his wife demanded, trying to get between him and their daughter. "You're hurting her!"

"Brandon." Rickon came into the room with the rest of the family and looked at his son warningly. Only now did he let go of Edith and Aruna immediately stood protectively in front of her daughter.

The Stark took a step towards his wife and instead looked at her menacingly. He did not care that his father warned him or that his whole family was present. "Speak wife!"

Brandon's manner had long ceased to frighten her and made her all the more angry. Under no circumstances did Aruna want to tell him the truth, because that would end in a war.

He stood impatiently in front of her and when it was not fast enough for him, he slapped her on the cheek.

Startled, Aruna held her cheek and no one moved in the room. Everyone stood mesmerised and it seemed they were all avoiding Brandon's gaze so as not to draw his anger towards them. Aruna felt let down by the Starks, as she so often did.

"It was me, Father." Edith boldly addressed Brandon and stood up straight to look taller. At that moment, it reminded her so much of Daemon. "I crept out in the night to look at the stars. But it was so dark that I couldn't see anything and then I fell on the sharp stones."

Edith's answer sounded so well thought out and honest that even Aruna almost believed her, even though she knew the truth.

On the journey back she had given a lot of thought to an explanation but had not found one and now her daughter stood there so confidently playing like an artist. It was fascinating how the little girl tried to save the situation. Aruna appreciated it and was proud of her clever daughter, but at the same time she felt ashamed that her daughter had to defend her and herself.

"How stupid can you be?" asked Brandon in final anger, slapping first Edith and then Aruna firmly on the cheek. "And you let all this happen!"

"Calm down, son. This is not you." Rickon Stark put a hand on his son's shoulder and stood beside him to calm his son and to protect the two girls.

Aruna would have liked to go for his throat for what he had just done to Edith, but she tried to keep her temper by taking her daughter in her arms. "Go to the maester, please." Aruna asked her when she saw the bloody bandage. Besides, she no longer wanted her daughter to be in the same room as Brandon was now.

Edith nodded and walked out of the room as quickly as she could. Finley, Ronja and Cassian immediately followed the crying girl.

"Why did you do that?" asked Aruna quietly, still looking at the door through which Edith had just disappeared.

"Because you made me." Brandon's voice sounded calmer, but his anger and rage could still be heard and seen.

"She's a child and children hurt themselves!" Aruna kept Edith's well-considered lie straight, because no one seemed to distrust her. "Your wife is right. You too hurt a lot as a child." Meyra interjected. She stood at the other end of the room, looking like she didn't belong here at all.

Brandon then stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Those present could only look after him shaking their heads.

For a long time Aruna had held on to the fairy tale of the North and her first beautiful years here, but the reality was different and her husband was no Prince Charming.

Aruna felt as if she could no longer breathe in this room and then also left it as quickly as her husband only much more quietly.

She was tired and exhausted from the long journey and Brandon's welcome was still plastered across her cheek, large and red. Rarely had she cursed him as much as she did today, but at least now the residents saw how their heir treated his wife.

But they lived in a male-dominated world and in this it was normal to beat and oppress one's wife.

She spent the rest of the day alone in her room. She left her children in the care of Ronja and her maid Nia, because she didn't want her children to see how broken their mother really was. She felt sorry for herself all evening and was already about to go to sleep when her door opened and someone came in. "Aruna?"

Immediately, the woman got scary goose bumps when she recognised her husband's voice.

"Are you asleep already?" he asked again and sat down on the bed with her. Aruna froze as he started stroking her hair, pretending to be asleep. Then he shook her and tried to wake her up. "Wake up."

Carefully and slowly, Aruna opened her eyes and looked into Brandon's icy blue eyes. She missed so much the warm violet eyes of Daemon.

"Did something happen?" she asked playfully sleepy, turning her head away from him so he couldn't touch her further. But now he could see her red cheek. "I didn't mean to hurt you." He said, setting the candle down on the bedside table. "But you did and you hurt Edith." She didn't dare call her his daughter. The very thought made her feel sick.

"Forgive me." He asked, seeking her physical closeness by stroking her arms. Aruna's stomach felt like it was turning. "You can hit me as much as you want, but you did hit Edith and I will never forgive you for that."

Brandon was visibly displeased with her words, but he chose not to say anything and instead placed his lips firmly on hers.

Immediately Aruna tried to fight him off and tried to push him away but he held her tightly in his grip. "Please go." She asked, looking at him with wide eyes as he knelt over her. "Please Brandon."

Roughly he grabbed his wife by her shoulders and turned her around and then pushed up her nightgown. She tried to fight back by flailing and trying to kick at him, but he was much stronger than her and used his strength.

"Stop it! Please stop!" she pleaded, crying. It felt like one of her worst nightmares was becoming real and she couldn't wake up to save herself.

"I missed you so much." He repeated his words from a few hours ago instead. "Apparently I need to remind you what it means to be a good wife!"

The goosebumps on Aruna's arms were burning by now and she thought they were about to break when Brandon grabbed her by the waist and thrust into her hard. His hands seemed to be everywhere. He grabbed her hands roughly, pulled her hair and pressed her face into the pillows so he couldn't hear her crying.

It was hard for the young woman to breathe not only because of the pillow but also because of Brandon's hard thrusts. Sex with him had never been anything special like with Daemon, but it had never been so painful and brutal.

At some point, Aruna ran out of strength to fight back and let it happen to her, closing her eyes tightly and praying for it to be over quickly.

It felt like hours as he abused her, though it was only a few minutes. When he was done, he pulled out again, just left her in her bed and left the room.

Then Aruna broke down crying. She writhed in pain and clawed at her pillows, screaming. She felt used and dirty. There was no part of her body that did not hurt.

Her screams did not go unnoticed for long in the castle and her maid immediately rushed to help. "My lady! What happened?" asked Nia, her face was pale and her eyes wide.

Aruna could not answer. She was shuffling and whimpering and taking painful breaths, not even during the births of her children had she breathed so hard.

Nia immediately pulled open a window to let in fresh air, hoping it would calm Aruna down a little. Then she ran towards the bed and hugged her lady and friend tightly. Nia held Aruna protectively in her arms like a child and remained silent. Nia knew only too well what Aruna was going through and she knew that no words in the world could calm her now.

Aruna cried until no more tears came and only then did Nia slowly let her go only to prepare a bath for her. Gratefully she looked at her maid as she climbed into the tub and lay exhausted in the hot water.

"I'm sorry for what happened to you. I should have heard you earlier and helped you." With her head hanging, Nia washed Aruna with the soap, muttering wrongful apologies over and over again.

The lady looked sadly at the wall and shook her head. "If you had come to help me, you would not be alive anymore." Spoke Aruna the bitter truth and then looked at her friend. "I am glad you are alive."

Aruna's skin was burning and red. Brandon had grabbed her tightly all over and beaten her. She was sure she would find marks and bruises on her body for weeks to come. "Can you get me some tea?" Nia immediately understood what kind of tea Aruna was asking her for and went on her way.

She did not want and could not give Brandon another child. The couple had tried for years to have more children, but any chance that it might have worked this time was too high for Aruna.

In the time Nia was away she felt lonely and scared like a little girl. She was all the happier when the maid, and not her husband, re-entered the room shortly afterwards. Gratefully, Aruna took the tea and drank it immediately.

"Promise me you won't tell anyone about this." Aruna asked the other southern woman. Nia nodded immediately. Everything that had happened tonight would remain another secret in Aruna's life. A secret she shared with Nia. Another one.

"Of course, my lady." There were tears in Nia's eyes. It would have been foolish for Nia not to be afraid. She was afraid not only for her Lady and her Lady's children, but also for her own life and that of the three Southern Protectors who had accompanied the women on the journey so long ago. Again she kept her head down as she spoke. "What will you do now?" Nia was no fool and she had seen Aruna and Daemon looking at each other in Driftmark. She had also seen her lady sneak out of her room the last night in the far place.

Nia, like Aruna, was a southerner who had no business here in the north. She was glad to have Aruna by her side, and also Erik and the other three southern men, but she missed home.

"He will pay for this." Aruna's voice sounded more serious and confident than ever at the moment she spoke. She had made up her mind and changed her plans. Now she didn't just have a goal. Now she was also going to hurt Brandon the way he had hurt her. "We're going home, Nia."

Surprised, she looked up at the woman with the black hair. Aruna's blue Tyrell eyes seemed so cold and at the same time Nia could see how hurt the woman was.

"How?" asked Nia cautiously and a little unsure. She trusted Aruna with her life, but she had never seen her like this before. "When?"

"Soon." The dark-haired girl promised her and reached for her hand. "But I will need your help first, Nia."

"I'll do everything to help you."

***
I am so sorry... :(
Some of you have already guessed that Brandon is not a good one...
What do you think?