Golden Lioness [Game of Thrones] COMPLETED!

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

"You would  be surprised of the power that one question can hold."

- Tyrion

Joanna finished her goblet of wine by throwing the contents down her throat in a quick gulp. She walked over to the nearest window, and spotted maester Luwin and Theon in the courtyard, walking quickly. Theon had his usual swagger, but with a bit more haste than usual, while the Maester glanced over his shoulder too often to not be suspicious.

Silently, Joanna backed away from the window and sped down the stairs. When Joanna reached the bottom of the Library Tower, she kept to the wall, hoping not to be seen by Theon or Maester Luwin. She was not seen by them, but she had caught someone else's eye.

"Joanna!" Anya, her handmaiden, shouted at her, waving excitedly. The small girl walked over to where Joanna stood against the wall of the tower. "What are you doing?" An idea came to Joanna.

"I have a job for you," Joanna told her handmaiden, who was ready to listen. "I want you to follow the man in the grey robes to wherever he is going." Nobody knew Anya, so Joanna figured Anya would be best for this task.

The girl nodded excitedly and snuck away, surprisingly already an expert in the art of stalking  prey. It was obvious to Joanna that Anya had hunted before as she followed the men, who seemed to be headed into the Godswood. What are they doing in the Godswood?

Joanna was in the kitchens when Anya found her. She had been talking with some of the staff, arranging deals for information and such, when Anya entered frantically and practically shouted at Joanna.

"You will not believe what I heard," Joanna shushed her lightly and pulled the girl away from the staff to a table. The bench Joanna chose was hard and through her many layers of a dress, she could feel it poking into her. As Anya began explaining some useless information about how everyone was already deep in conversation when she had found them, the kitchen maids brought Joanna and Anya some mulled wine. "They were talking about Brandon Stark and how people tried to kill him. Catelyn Stark said that she would stake her life that the Lannisters are involved."

"Oh," Joanna said. She didn't mean to respond, but she needed an outlet for her fear of whatever would come next.

"They talked about the dagger that the killer used," Anya started again, this time, less excited. "They said someone probably gave it to him." Joffrey. Joanna did not like how things were looking for her and her family. "Then your betrothed, he is your betrothed? Right? The handsome one?" Gods, how did Robb react?

"Yes, the handsome one is my betrothed," Joanna answered stoically.

"He said something like 'if it's war they want, it's war they'll get.'" Joanna's head was in her hands and she let out a loud groan. She began to feel anger bubbling inside of her, but instead of acting on it, Joanna kept it in and urged Anya to continue. "They decided that Lord Stark needs to know." Joanna nodded. She was glad that they seemed to be relying on Lord Stark, as he was in Kingslanding, a city overrun with Joanna's family, however, it also brought worry. What would Cersei do?  "Lady Stark decided that she would go in secret."

"What about Bran?" Joanna asked immediately. Catelyn Stark had sat at Brandon's side ever since he fell and all of a sudden she was leaving? Joanna could not believe this.

"She said that he was in the Gods' hands now."

"I bet she did," Joanna groaned again. "I need more wine."

"Where's your mother?" Joanna drunkenly asked Robb late after dinner. The two of them sat alone in the dining hall chatting aimlessly and drinking mulled wine. She batted her thick brown lashes innocently at him, which seemed to make a slight difference in his uncertain demeanour. Joanna felt  that over the weeks Robb had grown more and more uncertain about Joanna's presence. Some days, he was willing to laugh and drink with her, treating her like he wanted to marry her, and other days Joanna felt like she was simply just a guest in his household.