Golden Lioness [Game of Thrones] COMPLETED!

CHAPTER EIGHT

"Never be afraid to admit who you are, and who is like you. It could come in handy to have a comrade who understands your plight."

- Tyrion

The moment Joanna stepped out into the courtyard of Winterfell she could feel how the atmosphere had changed. The hustling and shouts of the courtyard had changed to quick whispers under the shadows on the big grey walls. It was sad to see a castle change so much in one event. The young Lannister imagined that no matter how many horrors the Red Keep sees, it would never feel so drastically different. The royal castle had seen so much blasphemy yet had remained the same, king after king it was just a big castle. Unlike Winterfell. In the past few days that Joanna had seen, the Northern castle was a home. It was ruled by a family that loved each other, filled with servants that looked out for one another, and surrounded by townspeople who cared about their land. Joanna had never truly seen that in a castle, not even Casterly Rock.

The young lady passed through the courtyard, to the kitchen where upon entering, she immediately noticed a basket of peaches sitting on a counter. She would've ignored the peaches, had a piece of parchment not been sticking out of the basket with the name Joanna on it. Immediately, the young lady cursed her vile nephew. 

"Prince Joffrey said you have one every day with breakfast, m'lady," one of the northern ladies working in the kitchens said. Joanna wasn't sure how the northern lady knew who she was, but then again, Joanna couldn't name another tall young blonde with green eyes wearing a red dress adorned with lions. Cersei comes close to the description, but she isn't young, Joanna smirked at the thought.

"How nice of him," the girl groaned. The woman shot Joanna a strange look, then shrugged and picked up a broom. The young Lannister wasn't quite sure what to do. 

"Do you have any other fruit?" Joanna asked. The woman nodded and fetched an apple. The woman gave her the red fruit, then went back to sweeping. Joanna decided that now was the time to try to improve her relationship with some of the commoners. "Do you have kids?" 

"Aye," she spoke. "Four."  Joanna nodded awkwardly. People in Kingslanding and in Lannisport had been easy to talk to, but the Northerners were a different breed. They were hard and stubborn. But most of all, Joanna had noticed that they appreciate action over pretty words. 

"Would they like a basket of peaches?" That question made the northern lady stop sweeping. The elder woman's muddy brown eyes analyzed Joanna for a second, before shaking her head. 

"I can't, m'lady." 

"I insist," Joanna picked up the peaches, snatched the paper with her name on it, then handed the basket to the woman, who dropped her broom and took the peaches eagerly. The northerner did a makeshift curtsy and hurried out of the room, probably to put the peaches somewhere safe. 

"That was rather nice of you," a gruff voice said. Joanna turned to see a boy about her age, with long dark locks and brooding expression. 

"Thank you," Joanna said with a curtsy and a smile and stepped away from the counter towards the boy, apple still in hand. 

"I'm Jon," he said with weary eyes as if testing how she'd react.

"Snow," she finished off his name. As his surname rolled around in Joanna's head, she began to understand why he was testing her. He's a bastard, she thought, like me. "I'm Joanna-" 

"Lannister," he cut her off, eyes full of judgement. "I know." Jon Snow was still watching her. 

"When I was born, my name was Joanna Hill." Joanna was sure he knew that. Everybody in Westeros knew that. But he still watched her. "It's always nice to meet another one of us," she spoke softly. The boy's eyebrows shot up, obviously not expecting her to say that.