Fanfic / Wife of the Wolf, Husband of the Sun

Wife of the Wolf, Husband of the Sun is a A Song of Ice and Fire fanfic where the betrothal between Rhaegar Targaryen and Elia Martell is called off and Elia is betrothed to Eddard Stark instead.

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Tropes that appear in this fanfic:

• Abusive Parents: King Aerys looks unperturbed by Rhaegar possibly getting severely injured and threatens to cut out his tongue at one point.
• Action Girl:
  • Obara Sand is certainly one
  • Lyanna Stark trains with a sword and saves one of her Father's bannerman from a group of bigger and older squires.
• Adaptational Jerkass: Lyanna and Brandon Stark display some Spoiled Brat behavior.
• Adaptational Personality Change: Viserys is far less supportive towards Aerys than he is in the books, and is instead terrified of him.
• Adaptational Sexuality: While Rhaegar's sexuality was never explored in the books, he admits to himself how attractive Jon Connington is.
• Adaptational Villainy: Instead of the ambiguity surrounding Lyanna and Rhaegar’s disappearance, it’s made pretty clear here that Rhaegar kidnapped Lyanna.
• Alliterative Name: Lilianna Lannister, a Lannister of Lannisport and one of Cersei’s maids.
• Always Murder: Cersei had Harlan Grandison poisoned.
• Arranged Marriage: Plenty to go around. Alongside the betrothals in canon between Brandon Stark and Catelyn Tully and Robert Baratheon and Lyanna Stark, there's also one between Rhaegar Targaryen and Cersei Lannister as well as Eddard Stark and Elia Martell.
• Ascended Extra:
  • Elia Martell.
  • Doran Martell
  • Oberyn Martell.
  • Tywin's other two brothers Tygett and Gerion make an appearance.
  • Lyanna Stark is also a POV.
  • Lysa Tully becomes a POV character later on in the story.
  • Rhaegar Targaryen has some POV chapters as well.
  • Arthur Dayne takes the POV where Rhaegar kidnaps Lyanna.
  • Elbert Arryn is a Posthumous Character who is only mentioned in the books, he makes an appearance here and winds up betrothed to Catelyn Stark. He also becomes a POV character later on in the story.
  • Obara Sand becomes a POV.
  • While he is not a POV character Lord Guncer Sunglass is given more dialogue than he ever got in the books.
• Asleep for Days: After Oberyn was wounded in a battle near Duskendale, he was brought back to Riverrun to recover and he has still not awoken.
• Beneath Notice: Elia is able to to ride into Moat Cailin and down through the Neck because of the twenty thousand soliders that Ned left there, they would not notice one woman riding down on her own.
• Beyond the Impossible: Lord Sunglass tells Rhaegar that King Aerys committed deicide by burning the High Septon alive.
• Big Brother Instinct: Brandon and Ned both have this for Lyanna, Doran has it for Elia, Jaime for Tyrion, and Lewyn Martell has a Tranquil Fury moment when Aerys describes Loreza as a whore. Half of Rhaegar's reasoning for his planned coup is so Viserys won't have to have Aerys as a father.
• Big Eater: Wyman Manderly, as in Canon.
  • Genna Lannister also likes her food and is often described as having food close at hand whenever she appears.
• Bratty Teenage Daughter: Lyanna Stark, particularly in the earlier chapters.
• Break the Haughty: Lyanna shuts up about her resistance to her betrothal to Robert Baratheon after Rickard suffers a heart attack.
• Brother–Sister Incest: Cersei and Jaime continue theirs, even though Cersei is married to the man of her dreams.
• The Bus Came Back: After spending some time in Essos, Brandon Stark returns to Westeros via the Vale in Chapter 78.
• Butt-Monkey: Catelyn Tully, later Stark. First off, she’s an Unwanted Spouse for Brandon, and gets bullied by Lyanna because she worries about Brandon not wanting her. Then, after she married and got pregnant by Brandon, he runs off with Ashara and Catelyn is sent back to Riverrun because of the possibility that her unborn child could be female. Worst still, Brandon running off with Ashara was part of Rickard’s plan to cement Ned as his heir.
• Call-Forward:
  • Jaime and Tyrion have an encounter with outlaws that is similar to Robb and Bran's encounter with wildlings.
  • Oberyn is imprisoned for advocating war against the Lannisters, much like his daughters. For that matter, Obara gets imprisoned as well.
  • One of Cersei's POV chapters ends with her dreaming of sitting the Iron Throne, just as her first POV chapter began.
  • Quellon admits that that the only reason that he enacted reforms on the Iron Islands is because he wanted to stop a ruler from having a reason to invade the islands and "making another island out of their skulls." Which is what Cersei thinks of doing in A Feast for Crows.
• The Cameo:
  • Ludd Whitehill make an appearance at Ned’s wedding.
  • Gregor Forrester and Jorah Mormont also make short appearances.
• The Chessmaster: Doran Martell. Much of what happens between Ashara and Brandon was a plot by him in order to have Brandon removed as Rickard's heir so Ned would be the heir to Winterfell instead as he wanted Elia to be the future Lady of Winterfell.
• Child Hater: Cersei certainly doesn't like Viserys very much at least, often referring to him as a little brat in her thoughts and thinking about sending him to the Wall or Dorne once she has given Rhaegar a son.
• The Conspiracy: There are actually two, both aimed at removing King Aerys from the throne. One is primarily between Rhaegar and Tywin, mainly so Rhaegar has an army on hand if a coup needs to go through. The other is between Houses Stark, Martell, Tully, Baratheon and Arryn; even House Tyrell gets in on the action. There were plans to weld the two together by having Jaime marry Lysa, but Cersei threw a spanner by getting Jaime to become Kingsguard.
• Cool Uncle: Ned to the Sand Snakes, to whom he tells stories passed down from Old Nan.
  • Lewyn seemed to be regarded as this by Doran, Elia and Oberyn, he also seems to be filling this role to the Sand Snakes as well as Oberyn mentions in a letter to Elia that Lewyn has been training Obara and Nymeria how to fight.
  • Tygett Lannister is Cersei’s favorite uncle.
• Composite Character: An odd case but it seems that Kevan Lannister and Dorna Swyft have been compressed with Stafford Lannister and Myranda Lefford as their three children, Daven, Cerenna and Myrielle, have been made into their children.
• Crush Blush: Ned has this for Elia. She finds it adorable.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: Robert is tortured in the black cells, having his tongue removed and implied to have been castrated and then finally has his head cut off by Ser Lewyn Martell at the order of Aerys. Oh, and because of his thick neck, it takes several hacks to kill him and even then his head is not completely severed.
• Deadpan Snarker: Elia isn't above throwing a barb.
  • Whilst sparring with Lyanna:
  Lyanna: Are you sure you really want to do this? I'm a much better swordsman than Benjen.
  Elia: Congratulations, you are a better fighter than a ten-year-old. I am incredibly impressed.
• The Dead Have Names: Defied by King Aerys, who says after burning a knight “His name does not matter, the names of traitors are better left forgotten”.
• Death by Adaptation: Robert and Stannis Baratheon are executed by King Aerys.
  • Kevan Lannister is killed by Obara Sand while he is a hostage at the Golden Tooth.
• Decomposite Character: As of Chapter 69, Brandon's role has been divided between himself, Elbert Arryn, who takes his place in duelling Petyr Baelish for Catelyn, and Robert Baratheon, who seems to take his place as the nobleman who storms off to King's Landing demanding a duel with Rhaegar and Lyanna's return.
• Demoted to Extra: While not a POV character in the original books, Stannis Baratheon is a critical character in the plot here he only appears in three chapters and is killed in his last one alongside his older brother.
• Drowning My Sorrows:
  • Oberyn spent three days in the Shadow City drunk out of his mind when his father died.
  • Brandon and Ned get into an impromptu Drinking Contest as their father lies ill after his heart attack.
• Divided We Fall: Cersei really screws things up for her family by supporting her daughter Rhaenys's claim to the throne over her son Aemon's during the great council as it causes vote splitting among the Lannister supporters, which allows Ned to become King with a plurality of the votes.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Cersei cannot understand Ned growing fond of Elia. Or Jaime’s regard for their brother Tyrion.
• Evil Is Petty: Cersei tries to get Elia Martell shamed or killed for being in the same place as she is and sabotages a plan to overthrow Aerys just so she can have Jaime to herself.
• Face Death with Dignity: Stannis Baratheon barely reacts to being burned alive, walking up onto the pyre, telling the pyromancers to get it over with, and fixing King Aerys with a Death Glare as he burns.
• Fan Boy: Obara gains a liking for the tale of Brandon the Burner, who burned the North’s fleet after the death of his father.
• Fantastic Racism:
  • King Aerys' disdain for the Dornish kicks off the whole plot.
  • Cersei assumes that Elia is trying to steal Rhaegar away from her because that’s apparently what the Dornish do. She also refers to Northerners (like Ned) as savages.
• Female Misogynist: Lyanna Stark is of the “believes all feminine women are weak” variety. Elia proves her wrong.
• Food Porn: Par for the course considering the source material but there are a lot of detailed descriptions of delicious sounding food.
• For Want Of A Nail: In this story, the Rhaegar-Elia betrothal is cancelled by Aerys, leading to Elia's betrothal to Ned.
  • In addition, Tywin resigned from his post as Hand of the King sometime before 280 AC. Jon Connington was then promoted, skipping Owen Merryweather.
  • Because Brandon ran off with Ashara, Elbert Arryn takes his place in the duel against Littlefinger, so Baelish is not as badly injuried. Lysa goes to try and comfort him, but as he is more cohrent this time, he scorns her and Lysa, who is already in a bad mood as her planned betrothal to Jaime Lannister is ruined do to him joining the Kingsguard, renounces any love she has for him and leaves him alone as he wishes, meaning she does not fall pregnant with his child and as such does not later miscarry.
• Fragile Speedster: Oberyn suggests this is how Dornishmen fight in war, riding quick to shoot arrows and to harry hosts and to carry out raids on Kingdoms while their men are away. But he also says that while Dornishmen will fight bravely, they can not stand long in a pitched battle.
• Freudian Trio: The three Martell siblings:
  • Doran, the eldest and most cerebral (superego).
  • Oberyn, the most martially gifted, Hot-Blooded (id).
  • Elia, less cerebral than Doran but more even-tempered than Oberyn (ego).
• The Friend Nobody Likes: Roose Bolton and Ludd Whitehill for the Northern bannerman. If Lord Rickard has his way they would not be at Ned and Elia's wedding, since they're not pleasant company.
• Happily Married: Ned and Elia.
• He Knows Too Much: Gerold Hightower executes the Septon who oversaw Rhaegar and Lyanna’s “wedding”.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: Rhaella Targaryen, Loreza Martell (the previous Princess of Dorne) and Joanna Lannister. Rhaella often ran to Loreza for comfort after arguments with Aerys, and Loreza was devastated when Joanna died.
• Hidden Depths: Elia was taught how to fight by her mother and is able to outfight Lyanna.
• Hit-and-Run Tactics: How the Dornish fight.
• Hollywood Heart Attack: Rickard has one in an argument with Brandon and Lyanna when he suddenly stops speaking, his face turns red and he just crumples to the floor.
• Hot-Blooded: Oberyn, as always.
  • His first appearance is just after trying to raise Dorne up in rebellion for Elia's betrothal to Rhaegar being broken.
  • When he hears of Elia's betrothal to Ned, he almost challenges the maester to a duel.
  • When King Aerys insults Princess Loreza (Oberyn's mother), Oberyn tries to stab him before being stopped by Ned.
• Hypocrisy Nod: Lord Rickard says that he disdains the game of thrones, only for Lady Olenna to remark that he’s playing them all the same.
• I Am Not Pretty: Elia certainly seems to see herself that way, Ned, Jaime and Rhaegar all seem to disagree.
• I Fight for the Strongest Side!: Lady Olenna says that her son Mace will support whatever side Tywin Lannister supports.
• Inadequate Inheritor:
  • Doran feels he isn't worthy to succeed his mother as Prince (Princess in her case) of Dorne.
  • Rhaegar sees Cersei as lacking in intelligence compared to her parents.
• In Spite of a Nail:
  • Cersei persuades Jaime to become a Kingsguard.
  • The Tourney of Harrenhal occurs, including Rhaegar crowning Lyanna Queen of Love and Beauty.
  • Rhaegar kidnaps Lyanna, though it's a more straightforward kidnapping this time around.
• Jerkass:
  • It speaks volumes that King Aerys is merely unpleasant on a good day.
  • Cersei Lannister is shown to be vicious and spiteful at any given moment.
  • Gregor Clegane doesn’t really do anything vile here, but he’s still unpleasant, as shown when he makes racist comments about Elia being Dornish.
• Jock Dad, Nerd Son: The Princess of Dorne and Elia were a female example. She taught all three of her children how to fight, though Oberyn was the only one who took it seriously.
• Kick the Dog: King Aerys, all the time.
• Kill It with Fire: Any crime under King Aerys is punished by burning alive. For example:
  • King Aerys had a young boy no older than six burned alive for stealing bread.
  • Later on, it’s mentioned that Aerys had the High Septon burned alive because he refused to follow his wishes.
  • Stannis Baratheon's fate.
• Last Episode, New Character: Stannis Baratheon makes his appearance in the most recent chapter.
• Large and in Charge: Rickard Stark is stated to be almost on par with the Mountain in size.
• Large Ham: Greatjon Umber, though only know as Jon Umber in the story, gloriously so.
• Luke, I Am Your Father: Brandon Stark is the father of Ashara Dayne's daughter.
• Morning Sickness: Cersei has a pretty bad attack of this involving fish.
• Mr. Fanservice: Ned might not seem like the usual example but Elia certainly seems to think of him as one, she very much enjoys seeing him shirtless when they are at the Water Gardens. She also quite enjoys the idea of him in Dornish style robes.
  • Rhaegar certainly seems to be this for quite a few people but certainly for Cersei.
• Mythology Gag:
  • Rhaegar arrives at the Red Keep for a visit shortly after King Aerys was in a burning mood. Aerys explains that the man was a knight who demanded a Trial by Combat, and the Targaryen’s champion was... fire. Rickard Stark died the same way as this man before the books, setting off Robert's Rebellion.
  • When Catelyn worries that Brandon doesn't like her, Elia remarks that if he doesn't, "He is the stupidest man to ever live."
  • During an argument with his father, Brandon says "No man can compel another man to marry".
  • When Obara is dressed as a man, Oberyn introduces her as his son "Barbaro".
• Named After Somebody Famous: Ned and Elia’s twin sons are named for Torrhen Stark, the King who Knelt, and Mors Martell, husband of Nymeria. Could also count for Dead Guy Junior in Mors’ case since Elia had a brother named Mors who died as an infant.
• Named by the Adaptation:
  • The Princess of Dorne (mother of Doran, Elia and Oberyn) was named Loreza.
  • Greatjon Umber's father is named Rickon.
  • Roose Bolton's father was named Bernard.
• Never Learned to Read: Lyanna can't do math.
• Nice to the Waiter: Most men would ignore bastards, but Ned goes out of his way to get to know the Sand Snakes.
• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Elbert Arryn gives one to Brandon Stark for what he did to Catelyn.
• No Kill like Overkill: When one of Cersei’s handmaidens was found stealing a necklace, Cersei had the girl’s hands chopped off, her tongue cut out, and she was finally drowned in the Blackwater Bay.
• Oh, Crap!: Jaime’s conversation with Oberyn Martell is a long version when he realizes that his family has made enemies of the Martells.
• Old Retainer: One of the outlaws who attacks Jaime and Tyrion used to serve the Reynes.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: In Chapter 69, King Aerys is in a surprisingly good mood, not even setting up a pyre to burn people alive. Might be because Rhaegar finally screwed up by kidnapping Lyanna.
• Original Character:
  • Ashara Dayne has a bastard daughter named Lauryn.
  • Lilianna Lannister, heir to House Lannister of Lannisport.
  • Jon Stark, Catelyn Tully and Brandon Stark's infant son.
• Outliving One's Offspring:
  • Rickard reveals that he and Lyarra had a stillborn daughter between Brandon and Ned they named Arya.
  • Lady Mary Mertyns lost two of her sons when they rode with Robert to King's Landing.
• Parental Substitute: If he survives, Elbert Arryn will become one to Catelyn and Brandon's son Jon, since Brandon has no plans to raise him and regards Jon as a bastard.
• Perpetual Frowner: Tygett Lannister. Unlike Tywin, whose facial features at least gave an indication that he had smiled at some point, Tygett's face is said to be made for scowling.
• Platonic Life-Partners: Rhaegar and Elia. They've known each other all their lives, and even though they're no longer betrothed, he still regards her as a close friend. This winds up getting deconstructed when Cersei thinks that Elia is still trying to get married to Rhaegar and tries to get Elia ruined or killed.
• Posthumous Character: Loreza Martell, the Princess of Dorne. She's been dead for two years at this point and all three of her children miss her, particularly Doran.
• Quit Your Whining: Ned does this to both Brandon and Lyanna since neither has to marry right after meeting their betrothed, while he will be married when Elia arrives. It's notable since it's one of the few times Ned loses his temper.
• Reaction Shot: Chapters 9 through 11 are comprised of a few Great Houses’ reactions to Ned and Elia’s marriage. For example, King Aerys’ reaction is to rape Rhaella.
• Really Gets Around: Brandon. Ned has this to say about him:
  "Brandon was the wild wolf of Winterfell and he was led by his passions and had little restraint, thus he slept with every serving wench who would let him lay with them. Brandon had been very lucky that so no woman had turned up at the gates of the castle with a new-born babe in her arms. He had to wonder what Father would do if one did. Thus he didn't want to marry Catelyn because he didn't want to be tied to a woman so he could continue to lay with as many women as he chose to, and it disappointed Ned a great deal. He had always defended his older brother to his father, saying that soon Brandon would grow out of it, so far he had yet to grow out of it."
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Genna Lannister has a few choice words for Cersei after Jaime crowns Elia Queen of Love and Beauty on Cersei’s orders.
  Genna: Jaime would do anything for you as I know that Tywin and Kevan and Tygett and Gerion would do anything for me, they are my brothers and Jaime is yours. You are a jealous girl Cersei, you always have been. Whenever there was a new babe in the nursery you would grow angry that there was no attention being given to you. You are most likely paranoid that the Dornish girl will try and steal Rhaegar from you and in your stupidity, you formed a plot that could do serious damage to us.
  Cersei: You will not speak to me like that! I am going to be the Queen! You may be my aunt but you will apologize to me this instant!
  Genna: Are you done? To be honest I don’t care if you are because now you are going to listen to me. You are not the queen yet, you are not even in line for being the queen until you and Prince Rhaegar say your vows and he places his cloak on your shoulders and that might not happen, Elia Martell thought she was going to be the princess of the Seven Kingdoms and now she is not as the King changed his mind, so I would not be so certain if I were you, words are wind.
• Replacement Scrappy: In-universe examples. Two high-profile positions wind up losing people: King Aerys has the High Septon burned alive and Harlan Grandison is poisoned. There is a fear that both people will be replaced by a member of the Alchemists' Guild.
• Sacrificial Lion: Robert and Stannis Baratheon’s executions kick off the rebellion.
• Sanity Slippage: Rhaegar starts to suffer from one in the later chapters in part due to obsessing over the prophecy of Azor Ahai and this winds up with him kidnapping Lyanna Stark from the Isle Of Faces.
• Scatterbrained Senior: Ser Harlan Grandison, who mistakes Rhaegar for a younger Aerys.
• Sexual Euphemism: The morning after Ned's wedding to Elia, Ashara asks if Ned was "wielding a dagger or a great sword?"
  Elia: Ashara, you are utterly terrible, even by my standards.
• Silk Hiding Steel: Elia could certainly count for this but so could Rhaella Targaryen as well.
  • According to Ned, his mother Lyarra was this. She was the only person who could get Lyanna to do anything.
• Small Role, Big Impact: Tanda Stokeworth. She held a tourney that Brandon Stark attended, where he met and bedded Ashara Dayne, conceiving a child.
• Spanner in the Works:
  • Cersei Lannister drastically complicates matters for several Great Houses. When Elia visits Rhaegar, Cersei tries to get Jaime to disgrace or murder Elia. Jaime doesn't want to do either, so he crowns Elia Queen of Love and Beauty to make Ned jealous. Which leads to King Aerys betrothing Jaime to Elia because he wants to deprive Tywin of an heir, and burning the High Septon alive. Then Cersei persuades Jaime to become Kingsguard, scrapping plans to weld the two conspiracies aimed at overthrowing Aerys by marrying Jaime to Lysa Tully.
  • Rhaegar Targaryen winds up sabotaging his own plan when he crowns Lyanna over Cersei at the Tourney at Harrenhal and then kidnaps Lyanna, potentially upending his alliance with Tywin.
  • Brandon Stark when he elopes with Ashara Dayne, upsetting the alliance between Houses Tully and Stark.
• Spontaneous Human Combustion: Referenced by Oberyn, who tells Ned that if he can’t handle the heat in King’s Landing, he should pray that Elia never asks him to go down to Dorne, lest he burst into flames.
• The Squire: Meryn Trant was Harlan Grandison's squire. Cersei has him poison Grandison.
• Stone Wall: Elia's fighting style. She blocks all of Lyanna's blows before disarming her.
• Straight Gay: Jon Connington. Jaime notes that while he normally wouldn’t have Cersei going off on her own with a strange man; since Connington is homosexual, he won’t make any advances towards her.
• Strong Family Resemblance: Averted with Tygett Lannister, whose hair is a dirty blond rather than golden and eyes are duller, resembling jade rather than emerald.
• Technician vs. Performer: Lyanna (Technician) and Elia (Performer) when it comes to sword fighting. Lyanna works tirelessly at swordplay, while Elia hadn't picked up a sword in years, but has a natural talent that allows her to hold her own against both her brothers, who always sparred to win.
• Tempting Fate: In Chapter 2, Ned thinks that Brandon’s lucky that none of Brandon’s flings has resulted in a bastard being brought to Winterfell. Sure enough, when Elia arrives at Winterfell, Ashara comes along with her bastard daughter, whose father is Brandon.
• This Is Gonna Suck: Arthur when he accompanies Rhaegar on his abduction of Lyanna.
• Those Two Guys: Roose Bolton and Ludd Whitehill during Ned and Elia's wedding.
• The Three Faces of Eve: Gender-inverted version with House Stark's younger generation. Ned is the steady, dependable Wife (husband), Brandon (Seductress) is a skirt-chaser who abandons his wife, and Benjen is the Child, as the youngest of all three brothers and not yet betrothed.
• Time Skip: One of a few months passes during Chapter 57, another one of about half a year during the rebellion against Aerys takes place between chapter 87 and chapter 88.

• Unwanted Spouse: Catelyn for Brandon. Ned thinks it's because Brandon doesn't want to be tied down to one woman.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Rhaegar believes his family on a whole is this, as they've been obsessed with the prophecy of Azor Ahai for generations and that the Targaryen madness is their obsession with the prophecy.
• Would Hit a Girl: King Aerys forces Jaime to burn a woman alive.
  • Aerys also abuses and rapes his wife and orders that Lilianna Lannister has her tongue ripped out.
• Would Hurt a Child: An oft-discussed incident regarding King Aerys was when a boy was caught stealing bread and the King had him burned alive.
  • While he does not physically hurt her, Doran Martell does threaten to send his niece Obara Sand to Ghaston Grey, a crumbling castle on a rock in the Sea of Dorne, which is regarded as a terrible place to end up and only used as a punishment for the worst of crimes.
• You Remind Me of X: Obara Sand reminds Elia of Lyanna.

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