Only A Northern Song ~ Game of Thrones / Willas Tyrell ~

Chapter Eight: Winter Rose

The morning after, Eddmina rose early despite the exhaustion from the night before. She took her time getting ready, having no real plans for that day except for the promise she'd made to Margaery to try and get to know Willas, braiding her hair slowly as she considered her options. It was still early, early enough for her to assume the Tyrells would still be sleeping, giving her the morning to herself. She could go to the library, bother Maester Lewin until he found her some age old history book for her to study, or she could go and find the boys and show them up at archery. Part of her knew that those options weren't on the cards that day, at least not whilst the Tyrells were there and whilst she was supposed to be getting to know her future betrothed. So instead, as soon as she was ready, she went straight to the stables, planning on a ride.

Riding seemed like the perfect plan for the morning. When Winterfell was full of strangers, it seemed so perfect to go out and find familiarity in the North, out where the Tyrells hadn't made their mark. It also seemed like the perfect way to clear her head before she attempted to fufill her proposal to Margaery, considering how nervous she actually was to spend time with Willas. If she rode out to the Wolf's Wood, where only northerners went, she would feel like nothing had changed at all, like the world was still the same, like her life wasn't about to be utterly reformed. Or she could just go wherever she wanted, pick a direction and ride until she felt as if she was lost, the way she often did when she was upset and needed to clear her mind, therefore making it the perfect plan for that morning when her mind was swimming.

As she strode through the courtyard rather confidently, Eddmina couldn't help but notice the difference the southern visitors had made already. It hadn't been a large riding party, but the Tyrell's, a handful of servants, plus two wagons worth of supplies had definitely made their impact, considering how much busier it looked in the courtyard. Eddmina tried to pay it all no mind, focusing on her journey to the stables. In fact, as soon as she'd gotten to her horse, Flint, and had begun to saddle her up, she had almost entirely put the visitors out of her mind.

"Do you mind if I join you?" A voice called, and as Eddmina looked away from her horse, she saw Willas Tyrell, sat atop his own horse, a great mount the colour of a sunset, an apologetic smile on his face. He always wore that smile whenever he saw her, though there was no point of it, considering the mere sight of him made her stomach turn nervously. "Sorry to intrude, I just thought if I was going to see the North, I may as well be shown it by someone who knows it,"

"No, of course," she told him, looking away as she fixed her saddle, trying to hide the fact she was suddenly battling the feelings of butterflies. Where had that feeling come from? "I was planning on going out alone anyway,"

"Are none of your siblings up?" He asked curiously, admiring the way she pulled herself up into her saddle in such a carefree way it was actually beautiful, especially as she pushed her braid back over her shoulder, adjusting herself slightly as she stroked the neck of the horse gently.

"No," she said simply, not wanting to go into the details of her family and how Robb normally woke up early, and so did Jon, but that morning they had chosen to lay in, and the one other person she'd go to for company was Theon, and she was avoiding him at all costs.

"No mine aren't up either," he spoke, his tone light, and Eddmina wasn't entirely sure if she caught him rolling his eyes, if only for a split second. "Where were you planning on riding to?"

"I was just going to pick a direction and ride that way for a while until I got bored," Eddmina confesses with a small shrug, before glancing over to him almost worriedly, not sure whether or not that plan would suit him, or if she should begin fulfilling the role of his betrothed and let him choose where they went. "But if it's sight seeing you want, I could take you to the Wolfs Wood, or to Torrhen's square, or-"