The Innocent Wolf (Sandor Clegane x OC)

Chapter 1: Preparing for The Royal Family

Throughout her entire life, Liliana had been focused on her studies so she could be the perfect role model for her younger sisters and to help her family with anything they may need. Her father had promised her that she would not be forced into an arranged marriage and that she could marry for love. In fact, that was the promise he made to all of his children seeing as they were not worried about marrying for money or power. The only qualification that Ned required his daughters to find in a suitor was that they be from a worthy household and they had shown they were loyal, honorable, and truly cared for them.

Once Liliana had turned 14 her father had invited suitors to meet his eldest daughter in hopes of finding her a husband worthy of her. However, Lily did not find true love with any of the suitors presented to her. They had all tried to win her heart through material things or through impressing her family. Many of them had convinced her mother and sisters that they were the one for her. In fact, she remembered multiple times where they would beg her to accept a proposal saying that "he truly is the best option" and "if you don't many him, you won't find another" and "you're so picky so let us pick for you". Even Arya had tried to convince her a few times due to the things the suitors offered her which included things like "a whole new training yard" and "an entire set of the finest swords and daggers in all the seven kingdoms".

On the other hand, her brothers were against every man and her father was a bit overbearing making it hard to actually get to know each suitor. Her brothers would interrogate each suitor and sometimes made them leave crying or so embarrassed they had never returned to the north. After about 2 years of inviting suitors to the north, her father had stopped. He had decided it would be best to wait and let Lily decide when she was ready to wed.

This time of year was always the time where people would try to catch the attention of suitors and set up their arranged marriages and some even got married. That being said, the king had informed her father that he would be visiting the north with the royal family to discuss "urgent" matters. Naturally, Sansa started to freak out along with their mother. They took this urgent matter to mean that the king wanted to find a young lady to marry his eldest child, the prince, Joffrey.

In the North, people had spread rumors about the young prince. Some said he was as small as his uncle Tyrion but had a head twice as large. Others said that he was carried around everywhere he went since he was the king and queens favorite child. However, Sansa would only talk about the rumors that looked at Joffrey with admiration and were spread by the younger ladies of the north such as he was the most handsome prince in all the seven kingdoms and that his eyes were as blue as the ocean. Whenever someone brought the young prince up, Sansa would act as if she knew him and was already to be his wife. She defended him against any rumors and swore he was the best suitor for her.

Today was the day that the royal family was set to arrive in the north. Liliana was ordered by her mother to help get the younger children (Bran, Rickon, and Arya) ready and make sure that the castle was properly maintained and presentable for their royal guests. While she was to handle those tasks, her mother would be reviewing proper etiquette with Sansa and making sure she was dressed in their finest clothing. Her mother would also be in charge of making sure that the kitchen was properly stocked with enough to feed and care for everyone while they had company. Her father handled the security, the grounds, the housing arrangements, and the duties of the king of the north. The only people who were not completely busy were Robb and Jon and the younger children. They were simply told to be on their best behavior and to make sure they were presented in their best for the royal family.

After running around completing the tasks given to her and making sure she had gotten her youngest siblings dressed and ready, Lily had noticed she had no idea where Arya was. She had tried to speak with her mother but was quickly dismissed and ignored seeing as Cat was focused on Sansa. After realizing she wouldn't receive any help from her mother or Sansa, Lily decided to run to her twin and her half brother Jon for help.

She found the two training together as they always had done in the early mornings.

"Please tell me our sister is here." Lily said almost out of breath from running around the entire castle searching.

Robb and Jon continued their training while speaking to her. Their swords clashing and their efforts in their battle made it harder for them to be completely clear in their communication to her.

"She......" Robb began. He clashed his sword with Jon's once more, but turned his head toward his twin. Jon continued to attack finally catching Robb off guard when he tried to look at Lily. Robb quickly reacted to Jon's swing blocking it. With a smirk Robb found an opening and kicked Jon's foot out from underneath him.

Once Jon was on the ground, Robb stood above him with his sword to Jon's chest. Robb wore the proudest smile and winked at his sister. Lily couldn't help but laugh at her twin. He always was so cocky when it came to his fighting abilities. If you didn't know him, you would think he was a Lannister with his pride at times.

"Sorry Lil. What were you asking?" Robb said as he helped Jon off the ground and then made his way over to the weaponry station to put his sword away.

"I was wondering if you two have seen Arya. Mother asked me to get her ready, but she is nowhere." Lily said defeatedly.

Robb laughed as he saw how Lily looked exactly like their mother whenever she chased young Arya.

"You look just like mother when you're stressed. You even get her worry lines on your forehead." Robb says flicking Lily's forehead and then putting an arm around her. Lily started to rub her forehead where he had flicked giving him a frustrated look which only made him laugh harder. This time Jon had joined in the laughter.

"Why don't you go get ready? Robb and I will find her." Jon said. He started realizing that Lily seemed more aggravated with her twins teasing than entertained by it. He also remembered just how stressed she was about the royal family coming to visit. This past week, everyone was so focused on themselves or Sansa that the only person Lily felt she could vent to was Jon. This meant that she had come visit him almost every night to ask advice or just talk about her feelings.

"Thank you Jon. I appreciate it." Lily looked up at him with a light smile. She had always appreciated how Jon supported her. He was her shoulder to cry on and often the person she felt she could talk to about anything without worrying about him judging her.

Once she left the two at the training field, she ran toward her room. She had to start getting ready and fast. The royal family was going to be there within the hour according to her mother's calculations. Lily wanted to look her very best but at the same time didn't want to outshine her younger sister, Sansa since this was her big day. After all, the royal family was only coming to ask her to marry the prince. Or so that's what she believed.

She went through her closet to find something northern but still beautiful and elegant. She decided to wear a simple navy blue dress with her white jacket. It was still a cold day in the north even though the sun was shining, so she felt it was appropriate to wear her fur vest on top for extra warmth. She kept her hair simple by pulling it back into a long braid. (Picture at top)

Before she knew it, the castle staff started to run around telling everyone that the royal family was arriving. Their carriages were at the gates now. Quickly Lily made her way down to the main gate to welcome them along with her family.

Everyone stood tall in line from oldest to youngest. Lily was nervous and held onto Robb's hand to calm herself. Normally Robb would pull away embarrassed to be showing so much affection in public toward his twin since he was the "man" of the house and the "future king of the north". However, he decided to allow himself to hold his twin's hand not only to support her but to also stop himself from freaking out. Prior to this moment he had not been nervous at all, but seeing the amount of guards the royal family brought along with the pressure of officially meeting the king and future king, he was practically shaking inside. Lily took a deep breath and squeezed Robb's hand as the king approached them.

Word Count: 1594