Golden Winter || Robb Stark [on hold]

Chapter I

I. Afraid

"You are summoned to King's Landing to swear fealty to the new king." Maester Luwin spoke gravely as he delivered the message from the new king.

Robb, with parchment in hand looked at it in disbelief as if it couldn't possibly be real. "Joffrey puts my father in chains, now he wants his ass kissed?"

"This is royal command, my lord. If you should refuse to obey-" Maester Luwin said, only to be interrupted by Robb, his anger growing.

Despite his calm facade, a storm was brewing inside the mind of Robb Stark. A fight between the easy choice and the right choice. Wasn't it always? Of course, Robb was his father's son.

"I won't refuse. His Grace summons me to King's Landing, I'll go to King's Landing but not alone." Robb replies, folding up the piece of parchment and handing it back to Maester Luwin.

It took everything in him to say the words he would say next. After all, he never thought that he would have to do this. At least, not so soon.

"Call the banners." Robb commanded.

"All of them, my lord?" Maester Luwin questioned, not at all believing himself that this boy he'd watched grow up would now lead in his father's stead this early on.

"They have always wanted to defend my father, have they not? Now we will see what their words are worth." Robb said with a finality as he nodded at Maester Luwin who went off to carry on his command.

He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Sitting down, he turned to face his best friend, Theon Greyjoy who looked at him with pride. His eyes fell upon Robb as he sat down.

"You afraid?" He asked, looking at Robb's trembling fingers.

Robb followed his gaze down to his hands to see that they were indeed shaking. A sign that despite the brewing rage in his heart, his mind still had the ability to be afraid.

After all, who wouldn't? He had just possibly started a war against the throne. He was in open rebellion against the crown and he knew it. He knew that there were choices for him but he would stand by what he decided was right.

"Must be." He answered, clenching his hand into a fist in an attempt to stop the shaking.

"Good. It means you're not stupid."

{~~~~~~}

"How's it like in the North?" Reau asked her friend, Fauna. After all, despite her father being one of the Northern Lords, she had never been in its stronghold or even in her father's ward.

Perhaps it was her father respecting her mother's final wishes or perhaps it was because he was ashamed of having only one remaining trueborn, and that child not being a son but instead a daughter.

"I heard it was always cold and everyone's always either drunk or gloomy." Fauna replied, earning laughter from the two of them.

To be fair, both have never been to the North. Both were raised in Braavos, away from the chaos of the North and the treachery of the South. Of course, they were both raised there for different reasons.

Fauna was one of the many daughters of one of the bannermen of the Lannisters, she was raised in Braavos since her father died and the only relative she had left was her aunt.

Reau was the only remaining trueborn child of Roose Bolton, half sister to the bastard, Ramsay Snow. Many lords wondered why she was raised in Braavos, after all, even Domeric, her deceased brother was raised in Dreadfort.

But that would forever remain a secret between Lord Bolton and his late wife. Not even Reau knew the reason.

"Why'd I even ask you? You've never even been there yourself." Reau mocked, laughing as her friend faked an insulted face.

"Perhaps. But shouldn't you know all about the North? After all, your father is the Lord of Dreadfort." Her friend replied, wondering.

"I only know what you can read from books. You know, I haven't even seen my father all my life, just when I was a baby. I've never really known him, or the place I should know as home. This is my home. Braavos in all its glory." Reau answered, heading to the window to look out at Braavos.

If she closed her eyes, all she would smell was the sea. With Braavos as the city of seafarers and swordsmen, what else could she expect. Upon looking out, she could see the magnificent statue of the Titan of Braavos.

"I suppose the North isn't the same as all this." Fauna said, interrupting Reau's thoughts of the city.

"I think so too. After all, didn't you say that it was always cold and everyone there was always drunk." Reau questioned, laughing to herself at her friend's antics.

"Well, there are still a lot of drunks here, only in the North they get drunk on ale. Here, the Braavosi get drunk on sea water." Her friend said, making them both break down in laughter.

Before Reau could reply, there was a knock that resounded. Both girls turned to see a messenger, holding a small piece of parchment.

"For you, my lady. From Dreadfort." The messenger said, swiftly bowing before leaving the room.

"Dreadfort? So this must be from my father." Reau said, more to herself than anyone.

It was odd, you see. Her father don't write to her, at least not very often, with the exception of her name days. Never had he written about anything else, making Reau quite nervous on what the parchment contains.

She slowly unrolled the message.

Reau didn't know how to react to the message. Should she be happy that she was finally seeing her father at last, that she was finally stepping onto the North that she was always so curious about? Or should she be scared that this was so sudden, what had prompted this to happen? Just thinking about it gave her a headache.

"What does it say, Reau?" Fauna asked.

"It said that I shall be going to Dreadfort. As soon as possible." Reau replied, placing the parchment down and trying to rein her thoughts in.

"Reau, are you alright? You're getting a bit pale. Here, take a seat." Her friend worried, guiding her to sit on the bed.

"I don't know what to expect and it scares me, Fauna." Reau expresses the things running through her head.

"Why is that?" Her friend asked, after all, she was finally going to see her father, what was there to be afraid of.

"It scares me not knowing what is waiting for me in the North."