Violent Delights - Robb Stark

Chapter 17 - You win, or you die.

As soon as Daelon burst into Visenya's room, Nera pulled everything off the bed so he could lay Visenya down, taking no care of her dirty clothes and boots. He soon noticed his daughter gritting her teeth and looked to Robb, "Give me your belt."

Robb didn't hesitate to do as Daelon asked, pale at the sight of Visenya in so much pain. Just as it was handed to him, Visenya let in a shuddering breath before screaming out in agony, and Daelon placed the belt between her lips. He wasted no time climbing behind Visenya and holding her to his chest before encouraging her to breathe and focus on her Sight passing. Visenya's hands fell from her stomach and gripped onto her father's arms desperately, taking comfort from his presence.

Robb turned to Valarr, who stared at his sister. His usual amused face now mourned her pain. "Is this her Sight?"

Valarr nodded, his eyes not leaving his sister, "It has been many moons since she has had a Sight as strong as this?"

Maester Luwin ran in as Robb questioned despairingly, "How can we help?"

The Maester quickly ordered Nera to fetch cold water when he saw the redness of Visenya's face and sweat developing upon her brow. He sat next to Visenya and examined her as Daelon held onto her writhing body. The two men closed their eyes and prayed as her screams escaped through her gritted teeth.

Daelon missed his son's answer to Robb's question. Still, Robb and Maester Luwin heard him clearly, as for the first time since stepping into the room, Valarr looked away from Visenya and turned to Robb. "Pray for whoever's death she is feeling, that it is swift. For them and Visenya."

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Nera woefully squeezed the cold cloth free of water and passed it to Robb, who sat next to a sleeping Visenya. He took the material from her and laid it on the Princess's red, sweating face as she continued to let out small moans of discomfort, every now and then grasping her stomach.

Robb's brow creased heavily as the cool cloth quickly came warm, only offering Visenya seconds of relief. As he switched cloths with Nera, he questioned Valarr over his shoulder, "You mentioned it has been a long time since Visenya has gone through this. When was the last?"

Valarr did not answer at first, and when Nera glanced at him, she saw that he stared intensely into the fire.

"It was my mother that told it to me," Valarr spoke solemnly. "For I was not born yet. It occurred when Visenya was only a babe."

Nera noticed Robb did not move as she stared at Valarr in horror, "A baby?"

Valarr turned to them and grimly smiled, "Visenya does not remember, thankfully. But my mother said she had never felt such fear until she watched her newborn suffering."

"What happened?" Robb asked, eyes focused entirely on Visenya.

"It was the death of your Aunt," Valarr admitted. For the first time since taking over from Daelon, Robb looked away from Visenya to Valarr in shock. The Targhallian only nodded solemnly, "She saw and felt it all. Thankfully, a babe so young does not remember such horrors. I was only seven when I first saw the mental strain my sister's gifts caused her."

Robb said nothing; he only turned back to Visenya and mechanically reached for the new cloth Nera had rung out. He looked down at the woman he loved; the sweat dripped down her reddened face as it winced at the agony she felt. Her hands holding tightly on the bed covers that surrounded her, knuckles white from the strain. For the first time since Bran had fallen, Robb called out to his Gods and silently begged them to help his love through the pain.