The Crossed Rose - GoT - R.S.

Stone by stone

"Well, then I shall not complain."

And she wouldn't. If Robb wanted to give her a hundred new dresses once they were back at Winterfell, she would let him. And she would wear them all. A new one everyday if it pleased him. After all, she did plan on spending quite some time beside her husband once it was all over. And it would be, Dahlia knew it. They would win this war, save Robb's sisters, defeat the Lannisters and then they would take back Winterfell, reunite with Robb's brothers and then, finally, Dahlia and Robb would be allowed to be the King and Queen in the North for their people and to litter that castle with all of their children. Maybe Dahlia could even convince Robb to let her take Roslin North with them - a new lady-in-waiting for her, even though that wasn't a very common costume among the northerns.

Not for now, however. For now, they still had a war to win and, for now, Dahlia was content with her three faded dresses. And she supposed Lady Jeyne would have to get used to it too. She had brought many dresses along with her, Dahlia knew, but, with the pace their war was going at, she supposed maybe half of them would be ruined in a fortnight. Dahlia wanted to tell Lady Jeyne so, she wanted to warn her, but the two of them were meant to be friends, so Dahlia thought frightening the girl would not be her best bet for a conversation starter.

She couldn't frighten her with the reality of what her - and her Lady Mother - had put her into if she wanted the lady to be comfortable around her. So, instead, she chose the easiest way to anybody's heart: flattery. When swords take you nowhere, flattery will make way. Another lesson she had learned from Lady Olenna and Margeary at Highgarden.

"You ride well, Lady Jeyne." Dahlia said, her own horse trotting gently beside Lady Westerling's.

"Thank you, your Grace." The older girl turned to her with a pretty smile on her lips.

"Did your Father teach you?"

"No, your Grace." Lady Jeyne shook her head. "My brother did."

"Does your sister ride as well, Lady Jeyne?"

"Rayland has tried to teach her as well, your Grace, but my Eleyne is hopeless on a horseback, the sweet thing." Lady Jeyne said, a smile gracing her lips and her voice sounding almost dreamy. Dahlia smiled as well. She knew that feeling. It was the same one she had when she spoke of her siblings. The same one Robb had when she spoke of his own. "She's quick with a needle, however. I swear I have never seen anyone sewing something as beautiful as what she does, as quickly as she does."

"The embroidery in your corset..." Dahlia said, nodding at the six seashells over the yellow fabric of Lady Jeyne's dress. The sigil of House Westerling, she knew. "Was it your sister's work?"

"Yes, your Grace." Lady Jeyne nodded, her eyes falling onto her corset for a moment before looking up again at Dahlia.

"Truly remarkable work. Especially for such a young lady." Dahlia nodded then, a smile on her lips as she kept on looking at the road ahead of her. "I could never sew something like that and I'm older than she is."

"Can you sew at all, your Grace?" Lady Jeyne asked, as Dahlia nodded.

"Simpler stuff." She said. "Though my needlework is not the best, I'm afraid. I'm much more comfortable with a quill and some parchment."

"Do you draw, your Grace?"

"Some." Dahlia nodded. "My passion is writing. I do so every night before bed. When I... When I can, that is."

Lady Jeyne had blushed a little then, looking away from Dahlia for a moment as the two young women fell silent. Dahlia worried she had said too much, but before she could even apologize to Lady Jeyne, she smiled a little as she looked back up at the Queen.