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TIME went by like a fleeting moment on the wind. It went far quicker than Ismene ever intended and before she knew it the early rays of dawn peaked their way through her chamber window and pulled her away from her restless sleep. Her eyes were heavy as she lied alone in the warmth of her bed, most likely one of the last times she ever would. Her dreams had been active, filling her mind and causing her to toss and turn throughout the long night. The day had come, having approached faster than she ever anticipated.
As she forced herself to rise out of the warmth of the furs and get to her feet, a light shiver ran down her back as the cool air caressed the warm skin that was exposed. At the end of the bed, Fenrir lay sprawled a crossed the furs, the light rise and fall of his chest indicating that she hadn't even bothered his slumber. She gazed down at the dire wolf, which was now easily the size of a large dog. She would fight tooth and nail to ensure that he left with her once everything was said and done. She would take him with her to Lakewell.
Gliding toward the fire place, she rested a hand on the wax covered mantle as she embraced the heat that radiated out of the fire place. Fortunately, servants had tended to her fire throughout the night so that she wouldn't wake to a frigid room. She sighed, looking into the flames and wishing that she were not a woman, but a man so that she wouldn't be displaced from her home and forced to move away. Winterfell was her home and always would be.
The slightest rasp on her door has her looking to see Aubrey slipping into the room. She looked as if she been up a while, as she was already dressed in her days attire. An excited grin flashed at Ismene as her friend wandered inside after closing the door behind her.
"The day is finally here!" Aubrey says excitedly, which Ismene found somewhat odd. She knew that the Mandal's, at least, the current ones, didn't value arranged marriages. She knee this, because her fathered has tried everything in his power to arrange a marriage between Darik and Aubrey. She wondered if her friend was just trying to stay optimistic for her. "Are you ready for it?"
Ismene sighed heavily as she crossed her arms. She wanted nothing more than to stand by the fire and warm her body more before returning to her furs to snuggle with Fenrir, but that wasn't the case anymore. She didn't have a choice and she knew the day would come eventually where she'd have to move on.
"As I'll ever be," she admits with a slight frown. Aubrey seems to understand. She places a kind hand on Ismene's shoulder as if to say 'everything's going to be fine'.
"Lukas is a good man," Aubrey seems to vouch for her cousin with a promise as she gazes as Ismene with reassuring blue eyes, which seem to bore into Ismene. Aubrey has the kindest of faces, one that could reassure anyone. "He would never do you wrong. Trust me, this marriage, though arranged, will be a blessing to you one way or another."
