Only A Northern Song ~ Game of Thrones / Willas Tyrell ~

Chapter Fifty Seven: Betrayal

"Gods, I have missed this," Eddmina sighed with a smile as she laid her head down onto Willas' chest, pulling the blanket around the two of them to fight the chill of the night air. "If we ran away this could be our lives all the time."

"I'd rather it wasn't, it is far too cold here for my liking," Willas chuckled softly, fiddling with the end of her braid while his other hand rested on her waist, drawing her closer for warmth.

He was right, as usual, though Eddmina didn't want to admit it. When they used to go stargazing in Highgarden, it was only when the sky went completely black that they felt the slightest of chills, and even then a blanket had never been a necessity like it was in Riverrun. Still though, Eddmina was northern, and Willas wasn't going to let a slight chill stop him from one of his hobbies, especially when the chill meant he got to hold her so close.

They'd taken any opportunity for such activities ever since he'd arrived in Riverrun a week before, and though they had to fit their time together around the busy schedule of the war, they somehow always made it work. It had meant missing family suppers, but not having dinner with people who had annoyed her in favour of spending evenings walking the grounds arm in arm, or curled up by the fire in a library, or stargazing under a blanket with a picnic was an easy decision for Eddmina to make. Willas, after hearing about everything that had happened while he'd been gone, was also more than happy to support her in that decision.

"We need to win this war," he'd told her after she'd finished recalling every last detail of the past few months to him. "But not at the cost of ourselves. If Robb allows himself the pleasure and company of a woman he is unable to marry, you should be able to allow yourself a break."

With that, the two of them agreed to establish boundaries. They were polite and helpful wherever possible, Eddmina continued to run training drills and council meetings, Willas restarted his efforts into researching and plotting, but the moment the sun set, they put down their quills and Eddmina removed her crown, and they became themselves again. It was refreshing and liberating, if not a little jarring at first, not just for themselves. The first few nights Edmure tried inviting her to supper so they could discuss the last few battles only to be left stunned when Eddmina politely declined, while Robb was still in the habit of thinking he could call upon her at all hours. Eddmina had wished she could've seen his face the night he knocked upon her door to ask her to look over the maps with him only to be met with Willas, shirtless and sporting tousled hair, who told him his sister was 'in bed'. After so long of giving her whole self to the cause and to everyone else around her, Eddmina felt a little uncertain, but there was a freedom that came with being selfish for the first time in her life.

It was only in the dead of night when the nightmares came that she felt guilty for stepping back. It was only when she saw her father's death over and over again, and saw her sister being hurt and her brothers alone and scared that she remembered exactly why she had dedicated so much of herself to the war. She often woke up shaking, but she woke in Willas' arms, who held her close and listened as she talked through the dreams, and when she was done speaking he would kiss her and tell her stories of his youth to try and distract her until she could go back to sleep. With him at her side, life felt more manageable, and it was only after being forced to consider being without him that she really appreciated everything hid did for her. She knew no matter the situation, she couldn't waste any time with him anymore, every second counting.

"Will you sing for me?" He asked her after a comfortable silence. Eddmina didn't respond for a moment, making him squeeze her waist encouragingly. "Please? You never sing anymore."

"I do, I sing all the time," she pointed out.

"For Uther, yes, but not for me, not for yourself," he explained. "I miss hearing you sing."