She Wolf • |Book 2|

• Chapter Eight •

That night before she was due to ride North with her husband and his men, she sat by the window, head resting against the stone. It was different here. Hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of soft white stars glittered the onyx night sky.

She peered out, admiration noticeable in her crystal blue eyes. Her thoughts strayed to Winterfell, the place where it all started. The seat of her husband's house. She reminisced on her stay there and how little she appreciated the sights it had to offer. And then came King's Landing.

In King's Landing, one could never see the stars nor appreciate the stillness of the night. Sound carried far up to the keep and the blazing fire of torches drowned out the magnificence of the night. She could never truly detach from reality in King's Landing. But here, here in the tranquility of Riverrun she had done just that. Forgetting who she was, who she had become, and who currently held her captive.

She wondered if she would feel this when they returned to Winterfell. If, they returned. Winterfell had been sacked and taken hostage by a Greyjoy.

Prisoners rebeling. That is what she and Theon truly were. He was released and he sought an opportunity, just as she had. But they were still different.

Rhaella did not reclaim King's Landing or take hold of Casterly Rock. She married a king and partook in a rebellion to usurp another.

Theon just betrayed his best friend, his brother. The only family he had.

Spineless creatures the Greyjoys were.

"In the window again?" His voice was velvet on a cool summers night. She turned, the sight of him filling her with joy. How far they had come.

Robb Stark reached for his wife, to her cheek he pressed a wiry kiss. In response, she pulled him into her arms and embraced him, perhaps even their last. By the morrow, they would be on horseback traveling North, she for White Harbor and he for the Twins.

She had come to terms with her husbands decision. He would not have made it if it were not in their best interest, she had only wished they did not have to part.

Rhaella turned back around to continue staring out, this time she had wrapped herself in her husband's arms and leaned against him. "I was admiring the view," she told him. "I have realized that I never did appreciate it in Winterfell."

Robb kissed her temple, "I can not say I have either," he admitted softly.

"Then perhaps we shall appreciate it together when we return," Rhaella turned her head.

He remained silent, face now buried into her hair. She felt his grip on her tighten. He took his time in responding, a simple nod of the head.

Rhaella found a spot up in the bailey where she was able to overlook Winterfell and beyond. She remembered their last embrace and their words exchanged. They weren't together, but she had a feeling he was there with her.

"I did not expect to find you here."

She turned her head, "I did not expect to be found here," she replied. "But I remembered my last night with Robb and how we both wanted to appreciate Winterfell a little more of we returned."

As he took his place beside her, Jon remained quiet. She supposed the subject of Robb would always be a tender one.

"What troubles you?"

Jon looked at her, his brows coming together. "The North is divided."

"I can see how, but we are all together and you are their King."

He turned, "Some still see you as their Queen."

She laughed, "They always have," Rhaella said truthfully. "But whether they follow me or you matters not, Jon. You and I are one. They may not submit to you, but I do."

"They will never follow me if you bend the knee to me. They are loyal to you. You married their true King. I'm just a bastard."

"And I'm just a woman. As is Lady Lyanna and your sister, Sansa. Cersei, too, is a woman, and so is the foreign queen. Women who many have chosen to follow just as many have chosen you. The difference, however, is that our of these women listed, three follow you and lend you their people. Why? Because we believe in you."

Though he said nothing, she could tell by his expression that he was listening to her carefully. He would always doubt himself, perhaps that is why he had been chosen.

Rhaella reached out for his hand, taking it in her own, "Together we will guide the North. It is not divided, just has two separate rulers. Be grateful it is I they call their queen and not Cersei. But that is not what really troubles you."

"Tyrion has written to me."

She remembered the little lion who brought her the fox she desired. He filled her with knowledge and informed her of the cruelty of the world. He encouraged her true nature even when others told her to shield it.

"What does he want?"

"He wants me to come to Dragonstone... they have dragon glass, Rhaella. If I go-"

She turned to him, a smile on her face, "You needn't convince me on why you should go. If you must, then you must. Only you can make that decision."

"The others disagree. They say the King in the North must stay in the North." Jon said.

Rhaella sighed softly, "If Robb had stayed in the North, would you be king? Would houses have betrayed him and fallen? Would this war even exist?" She looked down at her clasped hands, "I wonder that. But Robb was a Stark in name, you are only in blood. You have left Winterfell before."

"I am going south, I went North."

"South, North. They are just directions. If you can convince this foreign queen to lend us her people and their dragon glass, then I say you should go for it."

"I am trusting the North to you."

"I can't see why you wouldn't," she was smiling again, a reflection of the one Jon wore, "it was mine first."