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

Chapter Sixty Nine: Stark Twins

Eddmina was barely asleep when a quiet, hesitant knock came at the bedchamber door.

It was so quiet she didn't know if she had imagined it, but one glance over to Honour to see the wolf's ears pricked up told her it was the truth. That, and Willas was a light sleeper when he was drunk, and so despite his snores had also heard the knock. He let out a grunt of surprise, and was still so tired that he didn't realise Eddmina was also awake. He sat up, sighing as he rubbed his eyes as if willing himself to wake up, though he did not get out of bed until a second knock came. At that, he swore under his breath, and Eddmina watched him through narrowed eyes as he reached for his cane and heaved himself out of bed, wrapping a robe around himself before he crossed to the door. Honour hopped off her own bed and moved to his side, the wolf reaching his hip in height, circling around him protectively.

"Who is it?" Willas called, his voice rough with sleep, and it was obvious he had not fully recovered from all the wine he had drank.

"It's Jeyne," a meek voice called, making Eddmina frown and sit up. Her change in state went unnoticed by Willas, who still faced the door. "King Robb's wife. The Queen."

"Yes, surprisingly I know who you are," Willas muttered under his breath before he opened the door and greeted her properly. "Your grace."

He might have recovered some sort of civility with Robb, but he was still nothing but bluntly cordial with Jeyne. His voice was stiff and empty of any sort of affection, and though it could have easily been mistaken for tiredness by Jeyne, to Eddmina it was obvious it was because of stubborn wariness. Clearly, the sentiment was shared by Robb's wife, who curtsied to Willas as if their roles were reversed and it was he who was royalty.

"Good evening, my Lord," Jeyne greeted him, offering him a nervous smile.

"To what do we owe the pleasure, and at such a late hour?" Willas asked bluntly, giving her a forced smile of his own, not having the energy to remind her he was not a Lord yet.

"I... I wondered if I might be able to speak to Princess Eddmina?" Jeyne asked cautiously, looking around Willas' figure in the doorway to try and spot her.

"You haven't come to visit her all week," Willas pointed out, and it was the truth. Jeyne had been there with her in the Maester's chamber, and had held her hand and sympathised with her wounds, but after that had been completely absent. "Why now? The hour is late, my wife is sleeping-"

"Your wife was woken up by your snoring, dear," Eddmina called, and she couldn't help but smirk when she heard him curse under his breath.

"I don't snore," Willas shot to her quietly, turning to her with a dismayed scowl. Eddmina raised her eyebrow at him questioningly, making him sigh. "My love, it is late."

"Yes, it is, making whatever Jeyne has to say important," Eddmina pointed out. "Let her in. She's the Queen, after all. Who are we to turn her away?"

"The King's Hand and heir, and her knightly consort," Willas muttered annoyedly, and he sounded that grumpy Eddmina wanted to laugh, but Jeyne was there, so she remained quiet.

Even so, he stepped aside from the door, gesturing Jeyne to Eddmina, but he did not look at Robb's wife. Instead he whistled to Honour, and the pair of them exited the room. He called something to her about going to check on Uther, but she knew it was nothing more than an excuse to avoid Jeyne, clearly not wanting to spoil his manners. He knew it was not Jeyne's fault, the situation they were in, but he harboured enough bitterness about spoilt alliances and all of Eddmina's work with the Freys being wasted to hold resentment to the girl, and so decided to remove any chance of voicing his frustrations.