The Wolf and The Doe || Robb Stark || Game of Thrones

~ ℭ𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔒𝔫𝔢 ~

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"Do I have to go?", Sofya whined while entering her brother's chamber. He was in the middle of writing a letter.
"Sofya", Robert sighed and turned around to face her.
His younger sister was standing barefoot in her sleeping gown and she looked like she was about to cry. It was hard to treat her like a sister - she was more of a daughter for him.
"First of all, learn to knock. Second of all, you have to go with us and you perfectly know why"
"I could stay here and take care of everything..."
That made him laugh.
"You? My lovely Doe...", he approached her and gave her a hug, "You would lose the whole Seven Kingdoms in a week", he kept laughing as he caressed her cheek.
"You don't want me to be here anymore", she looked down.
Sofya wanted to make him feel guilty. She knew how to use feelings against their owners. She was raised by Cersei Lannister as well after all.
"Don't say that", Robert gave his sister a stern look, "You're not a girl anymore, you're a woman. And you're marrying one of the most powerful lords in the Kingdom... Well, one day he's going to be"
"I don't know him! What if he's terrible?!"
"His father, Eddard Stark, is a dear friend of mine. Loyal, good, kind and righteous. I doubt that his son would be any different from him"
"I don't feel ready for marriage", she admitted, "I want to dance and have fun"
"You can do these while being married. Look at Cersei", Robert laughed.
Sofya turned around to leave his chamber. There was no way she would change his mind in any way.
"Your marriage is not the best example", she whispered but he couldn't hear her.
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Sofya was sitting in the carriage next to Myrcella and Cersei. Joffrey, Tommen and one of the septas were there as well. All tired and wishing to be back home. The thing was that one of them was supposed to stay in Winterfell. Forever.
When Sofya was looking outside the window, she was mentally saying goodbye to all the places she was passing by. She was imagining her future as being locked in a cold and snowy Winterfell.
"My dear Princess, you should eat something. You haven't been eating much for past few days", the septa noticed in a worried tone.
"I'm fine", Sofya answered rudely.
"Mom, why is Sofya sad?", Tommen asked Cersei as he hugged his aunt and she caressed his head with a faint smile.
"She's getting married, silly", Myrcella rolled her eyes.
"Don't call him that", Cersei scolded her daughter.
"Shouldn't you be happy about it?", Tommen asked Sofya.
"I don't even know who I'm going to be married to"
"Robb Stark", Myrcella sounded surprised.
"That's just his name. I don't know anything more"
"One year older than you, future Lord of Winterfell", Myrcella smiled and winked.
"It's easy for you to tease and laugh because you're not the one going there to marry", Sofya smiled at her and turned her head around.
She didn't want Cersei to see her cry. The Queen would keep scolding her about being childish for the next few hours.
"Sounds good for me", Tommen tried to cheer the Princess up.
"Then marry him", she laughed suddenly. Even Joffrey smiled at that.
"I don't think he would want to marry me", Tommen sticked his tongue out.
"Oh, I think no one would deny such a pretty, young..."
"Sofya, stop", Cersei gave her a deadly look.
"I was just playing around, it was a joke...", the Princess tried to explain.
"Exactly. Immature"
Everyone went silent.
"You know, dear aunt", Joffrey started, "If that Stark hurts you or even attempts to hurt you, I will cut his head off. I don't care what lord he is. And my father won't stop me", he promised.
"Thank you", Sofya hugged her nephew, "That was actually nice... It's nice to know that a brave, young Prince is out there to protect me", she added with a cracked smile.
Sofya was aware that her brother was not the best father to his children. Joffrey felt very underappreciated and he wanted to impress the King all of the time but nothing seemed to be enough.
Joffrey was a spoiled brat. But in fact, so was she. Some of his behaviours were rather alarming but he was her nephew and she loved him. She loved all of her nephews and nieces - Joffrey, Myrcella, Tommen and Shireen. She hated the fact she was going to live so far away from them. Winterfell was far away in the North and deep in her heart she felt like she was never going to see the King's Landing ever again. And maybe never see her whole family again. That was breaking her heart.
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The North was cold and scary. Sofya felt overwhelming emptiness and rawness in her heart while looking outside the carriage's window. Her heart was beating fast and she had troubles with falling asleep.
"Wear a cloak", Cersei told her when she noticed her shivering, "You're going to be sick. It's not going to feel good to be sick at your own wedding"
"Doesn't matter, I'm not going to feel good anyway", Sofya shrugged her arms.
"Wear a cloak. Look, it has a fox's fur, you've always wanted one like that", Cersei tried to convince her sister-in-law.
"No. I don't want to wear any clothing associated with The North"
"You're so stubborn!", Cersei rolled her eyes, "It's not about The North. It's about you being sick and your brother being mad at me for not taking a good care of you like you're still a child"
"That doesn't sound like my problem. It does sound like yours"
Joffrey, Myrcella and Tommen were observing them making wide eyes. They loved to watch their mother and aunt fight because sometimes it could be funny.
"I want a cloak with a dead wolf on it", Sofya crossed her arms, "That's the only cloak you'll see me wearing"
"That would be rude", Cersei noticed.
"Exactly, I want it", Sofya smiled a little, "Who are you to tell me that something's rude?"
Cersei chuckled. She had to admit that young Sofya could impress her sometimes. In very rare moments, she wasn't treating her as competition, but as a daughter.
"You won't get the cloak with wolf's head, don't even ask for it", Cersei informed her.
"Then I won't wear any"
"You're going to be sick"
"I'm going to be sick and die before I get married or shortly after. Sounds good"
"No, please, don't die!", Myrcella screamed hysterically.
The carriage stopped as Jaime opened the door to it.
"We're going to be in Winterfell soon. The King wishes to see his family now"
All of them approached the table where Robert was sitting and eating some meat. He was eating way more than all of them.
"Sit down, all of you, and listen to me", he pointed his finger at them and they followed his orders, "Sofya, you're going to be sick"
"She wants to be", Cersei snorted.
"Why can't you take care of her properly?!", Robert hissed at his wife.
"Robert, I'm an adult", Sofya informed him, "She can't force me to wear anything. It's my buisness if I'm sick"
"You...", his face became red, "You better stop acting this way! I don't want to be ashamed in front of Ned Stark! I'm serious, Sofya, don't talk back to them and be a nice, humble Princess they expect to see"
"It's not my fault they believe in the fairytales about me"
"Listen to me, young lady", Robert was getting angrier and angrier with each minute of this conversation, "You're going to marry Robb Stark and be a good wife to him. I don't want to hear any of your whining. Be a woman about it. If you don't want him I can give you to one of the fat, old lords. Would you like that? You're a lucky girl, why can't you see that?"
"Lucky?!"
"Yes, fucking lucky!", he yelled and everyone went stiff, "Sofya...", his voice softened, "If he turns out to be awful, really awful, I promise I won't let him hurt you. But believe me, he's not. Behave well there and show them that Baratheons know how to act properly", he gave a stern look to his children as well, "I mean that and I'm saying it to all of you"
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Sofya's heart was beating so fast she thought she was going to pass out. She could hear Robert's voice outside the carriage as he was greeting his friend and his family. The Winterfell, seen from the window, seemed to be an unfriendly, raw and a cold place. Her beautiful orange dress and fancy hairdo were making her look ridiculous but she couldn't care less. Sofya was the Princess from The South and everyone needed to know about it.
Cersei left the carriage first and Sofya followed her. Joffrey, Myrcella and Tommen were behind her, all in warm capes with fur around it. Except Sofya. She got goosebumps immediately when she left the carriage but she decided to ignore it. Her eyes started to scan the small crowd in front of her.
She heard few people gasp when they saw her and Cersei. Then whispers. People loved to gossip about them. No matter if it was King's Landing or Winterfell. But Sofya focused on The Stark family in front of her. Before she could give them a closer look, her brother's voice brought her back to reality.
"My dearest sister, Sofya Baratheon", he extended his arm and she approached him. Her legs were weak and hands sweaty, "It's my honour to present The Doe Princess herself to you"
Sofya bowed down a little and smiled to herself. That title she got - "The Doe Princess" - was always making her feel proud. Her big brown eyes and Baratheon's surname were her favorite traits of herself. The thought of losing one of it and becoming a husband's property - including the change of her surname - felt unreal and almost barbaric.
"My Princess", Ned Stark and his wife bowed down in front of her. Sofya had to admit that they were nice looking, especially Lady Catelyn. She was a beautiful woman of long, red hair and her husband was quite handsome and looked exactly like Robert described him.
"May I present my eldest son, Robb Stark", Ned put his hand on his son's arm as Robb bowed down with his eyes still locked on the Princess.
The songs and stories about her had reached Winterfell long time ago. He was always being told that the Princess Sofya was going to be his wife and the songs written for her beauty and wisdom were making him feel like a very lucky man. But seeing her in person was rather disappointing. She wasn't ugly, no, not at all. But Princess Sofya wasn't a great beauty like the songs had claimed. And she looked very odd in that orange dress and funny hairdo. Her brown eyes were cold as ice which felt weird and uneasy.
At first Sofya felt the wave of relief - Robb wasn't ugly nor fat. He had a curly dark hair and his mother's Tully eyes but he wasn't her ideal Prince Charming. Something in the way he bowed down and kissed the palm of her hand made her feel disgusted. She looked around and saw all of his siblings, ugly castle and the people... Oh, those people with weary faces and grey clothes. Was she going to look like that in ten years from now?
"Aren't you cold, my Princess?", Robb asked.
She forced herself not to snort. "My Princess" he dared to call her when he was the one for whom she was going to lose the title soon. From "the Princess" to "Lady Stark" in a matter of seconds. She knew about that destiny of hers since she was a child but still, she always thought it was going to happen "later". That "later" has come and it was terrifying.
"No, thanks for asking", Sofya turned around and wanted to approach her nephews without even looking back at him.
She was going to become his wife in few days anyway and it was her last occasion to have fun with her family, to be a carefree child for few more days.
"Where are you going?", Robert stopped her by grabbing her wrist, "Robb's going to give you a tour around Winterfell, right, Robb?"
"Y-yes, my King"
"But we can't. Not alone", Sofya almost hissed at her brother.
"You won't be alone. We'll start with The Crypts and then you'll go around the castle. Myrtle will go with you", he showed at one of Sofya's servant girls.
"The dead can wait, we're tired after the journey", Cersei stood by Sofya's side.
"Nonsense. Myrtle, come here!", Robert ordered and a girl approached you, "You'll join lord Stark and the Princess when we leave The Crypts"
Sofya sighed and followed her brother and Ned Stark, trying to be as far away as possible from Robb.
"You're going to see Lyanna", Robert leaned in and whispered into his sister's ear, "She was Ned's sister"
"I know, you've been telling me the story for years"
"She was the love of my life", he admitted quietly and left her side.
Sofya went silent. She loved her brother and the whole Lyanna story was always making her sad. She wished for all of it to never happen. But it did. And now Robert was giving Sofya to the Starks like she was a cow or a horse to sell. In Sofya's eyes it wasn't much different from what Rhaegar Targaryen had done to Lyanna Stark - taking her like she was his belonging.
But despite her rebelious nature, Sofya was aware of the fact that she was a woman - and she had to deal with that like a woman. Cersei's been always saying that women have to deal with the worst but they are lucky to be able to bare almost anything. Sofya didn't want Cersei to think that she was weak. She was going to be Robb Stark's wife and she was going to be a woman about it. But it didn't mean that she was going to be nice and kind about it.
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