Disclaimer: I do not own Game of Thrones or the Song of Ice and Fire series in which the characters were born.

Warning: Slight mention of rape in the beginning here. Nothing graphic, literally just a mention of it.

"What am I to do with her? No proper Lord would marry his son to her now. She is useless." Stannis Baratheon stared down at his brothers in their chairs. The three of them were seated in the council room, well after midnight. He had never wanted to come to King's Landing, but it was Renly's name day and the King wanted both of his brothers with him. What the King wants, he commands. What the king commands he then gets. And now, his eldest daughter, Melara, had been found beaten, raped and near death in one of the far hallways of the castle. She was sleeping in her mother's rooms while Stannis and his brothers met to discuss the situation. It was Renly who spoke his thoughts in response.

"She is not a broken sword, unable to be welded again, Stannis. She is a Baratheon and the King's niece. She will heal and she will grow and she will be married to some fat old man who could care less if he is the first man to be inside her." While Renly lacked the tactical approach of his war-seasoned brothers, he had a way with words that would make any man feel at ease. Unfortunately, Stannis was not just any man.

"There is a raper in the dungeons being beaten within an inch of his life and I'm here listening to you two fucks when I could be down there watching his blood spill." After Rhaegar had taken Lyanna and the rumors of her raping reached his ears, Robert held no mercy for rapers. He may have hit Cersei in his drunken rages, but he'd never taken a woman against their will. With the dark thought of Lyanna's rape on his mind, the King pushed himself angrily out of his chair. "Stannis, this is done with. We have the bastard, your daughter will live and you can leave for Dragonstone in the morning. It will do good to get the girl away from here." Robert began to walk away, assuming his brothers knew when a conversation was finished, but stopped when Stannis spoke to him.

"Keep her here then. The wailing of women does not belong in Dragonstone." Stannis was never an affectionate man to his daughter, always blaming her for being born a girl instead of a boy. A boy would have been able to defend himself. A boy would be able to carry on his father's name.

"Did you not hear what Robert said? Stannis, Melara cannot stay here. She will heal faster without the reminders of what happened lurking around every corner." Renly knew his brother was cold, but didn't realize just how much he loathed his child. It's not because she's his child. It's because she is a girl, Renly thought to himself.

"I leave for Dragonstone in the morning with my wife and the babe. The girl is yours to deal with as you please." With these last words, Stannis Baratheon turned his back on his brothers, and his eldest daughter. The remaining Baratheons watched their brother leave in silence, the only sound being the heavy footfalls of Stannis. Nothing short of the threat of death would make him change his mind, and Robert had half a mind to do just that. Robert clenched his fists, his blood was boiling, his fury focused on Stannis. Feeling the tension from his brother, Renly excused himself. As he exited the council room, he was met by Jon Arryn. No more than a solemn shake of the head was exchanged between the two men.

"Brother or no, I still am the King and I will put him to death if he leaves the girl here. It is his duty as her father to care for her!" Robert turned to acknowledge the man he viewed as a father with fists not yet unclenched. "I cannot play nursemaid to some child. I've got seven kingdoms to run!"

Jon felt nothing but pity for the child. Melara hadn't awoken since they found her hours before, but she was fighting to live. If the Gods were truly good, they would let the poor girl slip into death's waiting arms and spare her the torture of living. Jon walked to Robert and put a calming hand on the King's shoulder. Looking into Robert's eyes, the Hand spoke."You may be King, Your Grace, but to put a death sentence on your own brother's head would be madness." A short pause and a pointed look followed the simple phrase. The mention of madness had always sobered Robert up. Jon Arryn knew what needed to be said to calm the King's fury. The Hand guided his King back into the previously vacated seat and continued. "If he truly has given up on the girl, it is no reason to fight another war. We've only recently begun to rebuild our strength in the North from the Greyjoy Rebellion. Let him be, Robert." The King heaved a sigh and sat back in his chair, waiting in silence for his Hand to continue to speak. When he did not, Robert asked the very question his brother had asked moments earlier.

"Jon, what am I to do with her?"

Jon considered the options, which were few, within his head. He played out the scenarios in his mind's eye before coming to settle on a decision. She was not of an age to be married, and even if she was of age, a spoilt bride was no easy sell. She couldn't stay in King's Landing, the traumatic experience would cause her to need constant care that would not be provided. She needed a woman's guidance and tenderness. Not any woman's tenderness, the child needs a mother's tenderness, Jon mused to himself. He briefly considered keeping her with his own wife, but dismissed the idea before he could even finish it. Lysa struggled with her own mental state, and could not help the young girl through her trauma. While thinking of Lysa, the face of another Tully woman came to the front of his thoughts. Of course. That is the answer. Jon looked Robert in the eye and voiced his opinion.

"Have a raven sent to Winterfell. Alert Ned Stark that he is to have a visitor."

There you have it. The prologue. The first chapter of this story has some vague Theon/O.C. but alas it is truly a Jaime/O.C., I swear it! I had actually written a shorter story than this, going through Melara's beginning years in Winterfell, which pairs her with Theon. I felt that just adding those chapters to this story would have made things too slow. I may still put that story on this site as a prequel of sorts, but only once it has been re-edited. I have this story near completed, but my editing tends to take longer than the actual writing process. I have also left things subject to change in case any of the readers have some input. Thank you for reading, and enjoy!