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one year ago...
"YOU WILL NOT take her away from me!"
Reyna heard her mother scream at her father on the other side of the door.
It had only been two nights since someone had discovered Reyna's secret. The information had spread like wildfire. Two days later, Reyna snuck in on her father's council meeting, where they informed him about the people's distrust and fear of Reyna's gift.
And if people distrusted Reyna, they would automatically not trust the only person defending her-her father. And if people distrusted their lord, that would inevitably lead to a rebellion.
The only solution left was to get rid of the root of the fear and distrust.
More commonly known as Reyna Catelyn Stark
Her father's only option was exile.
At this moment, Reyna was standing on the other side of her parents' door, as her father was relaying Reyna's fate to her mother.
After her father had explained everything to her, Catelyn's screams and protests came next.
"I will not let you take her!" She heard her mother yell at her father.
She attempted to hear her father's response by pressing her ear against the door, but it was futile because he was not yelling as loudly as her mother was.
But the next response from her mother made her nose burn and her eyes fill with tears.
"She is our daughter! Our first baby, Ned! You can't take her away," she heard her mother wail, her voice thick with tears.
Reyna pursed her lips as she forbade her tears to fall.
Her head snapped to the left as she heard the floorboards creek beneath someone's feet, her eyes turning red in defence.
She relaxed as her red, now green, eyes met grey. Reyna licked her chapped lips as her head retreated from its spot against the door.
"Why are you not in bed, little wolf?"
"I had a nightmare, and when I went into your room, you were gone."
Said the soft voice of Rickon Stark.
Putting her parents' argument at the back of her mind, she walked up to Rickon, and he automatically reached up his arms.
Reyna gave him a small smile as she placed her hands under his arms and lifted him up into her arms. He wrapped his little arms around her neck and rested his head on her shoulder, while Reyna encircled her arms around his small body.
She started gently rocking his body in her arms as she whispered into his ear, "What did you dream about?"
He stayed silent for a while, soothed by the way his sister was gently rocking him, but when she brought up his nightmare, he tightened his arms around her neck and sniffled.
His answer made her blood freeze, and she brought him impossibly closer to her chest as finally the tears she was trying so hard not to break loose flowed down her pale cheeks.
"You left Winterfell."
She kept quiet instead of soothing his concerns and just kept rocking him. She refused to make empty promises.
As if this night couldn't get any worse, she heard rain start to pour from the skies and, with an added effect, her mother's wails from behind the door.
In Reyna's arms, Rickon sat up and turned his face towards the door.
"Why's Mama crying?"
"She's just a bit sad, little wolf."
Rickon appeared to be satisfied and a little sad with that answer as he nodded, then went back to lying his head on her shoulder.
"What are you doing out of bed?" Reyna's arms tightened around Rickon as she spun around, then she sighed in relief when she saw the puppy dog face of Jon.
"I could ask you the same thing," Reyna said with narrowed eyes.
Jon shrugged sheepishly, "I couldn't sleep."
Just after Jon had spoken, a broken sob came from behind her parents' door.
Jon's dark doe eyes locked with Reyna's as he gave her a worried look, "Is she alright?"
Reyna gave him a sad shake of her head.
She wondered how Jon could still stay so sweet and compassionate after all these years. It was no secret that Jon was a bastard of Eddard Stark, and her mother made no attempt to hide her hatred and distaste for him.
Reyna never condoned her mother's hatred towards him; he had done nothing wrong except for being born. And Reyna has tried for years to get her mother to change her views on Jon, but Catelyn Stark was a stubborn woman.
Jon deserved none of this, of course. The kind and humble boy that he has always been and still is, if her mother's rage should have been focused on someone, it should have been rightly aimed at her father.
And to some extent, Reyna could understand why Catelyn could never find it in herself to love Jon; after all, how could anyone care for and love something that was a forever reminder of the love of their life's infidelity?
Jon was a mere year younger than her and Robb, so essentially, the three of them had been raised as triplets. The Warriors Three, as Robb had named them,
Naturally, ladies of noble birth, or women in general, were not supposed to fight. It was severely frowned upon. But what was a girl to do for fun when she grew up with two boys? Her mother hated it, but just as Catelyn was stubborn, so was Reyna, and they eventually compromised that Reyna could fight and train with her brothers and Theon, her father's ward, in secret, but she would also have to attend regular lessons with her septa and train to be a proper lady.
Reyna was talented with the art of sword fighting and a bow, but to the dislike of her brothers, she preferred daggers, and close combat fighting. Sometimes her father would sit in on her training, and more often than not he would jest about how Reyna's combat skills surpass Robb and Jon's. Truthfully, Reyna knew it could not be a jest if he made it every time they trained.
Wanting to get Rickon away from her mother's sobs, she looked at Jon and tilted her head, saying, "Walk me to my room?"
Jon gave her a small smile as they started walking away from the room that contained her grieving mother.
Jon looked over to Rickon, who was still awake and lying on Reyna's shoulder. "Why's he out of bed?"
"He had a nightmare and came to find me," Reyna answered.
She looked down at Rickon and gently moved some of the hair away from his eyes.
"Would it make you feel better if you slept with me tonight?"
He gave an eager nod in return.
They continued to walk to her room in silence when Reyna looked at Jon and raised an eyebrow, saying, "Why couldn't you sleep?"
He shrugged his shoulders, "Had a nightmare."
Reyna snorted; it wasn't amused, more so sarcastic, "Is everyone having nightmares tonight?"
Jon pursed his lips, "I think it's the rain and thunder."
Reyna stopped in her tracks with her eyebrows furrowed, "What thunder?"
Just as she had asked her question, a terrifying boom of thunder answered her.
Reyna scoffed at the perfectly timed thunder, while Jon snorted and Rickon held her tighter. None of the Stark children fancied the loud and frightening noises of thunder.
"Why couldn't you sleep, Rey?"
"I didn't try to," Reyna said with a shake of her head and a scrunched nose.
As they got closer to her bedroom, the two siblings stopped in their tracks when they heard noises coming from within her room.
Jon looked at her and raised an eyebrow; she shook her head and shrugged her shoulders in response.
He carefully placed his arm out in front of Reyna and Rickon, moving them behind him for protection. At this point, Rickon had raised his head, looking at the door, also wanting to know what was inside.
Jon walked slowly towards the door, then softly pulled the handle, opening the door. Reyna watched as his body relaxed and his shoulders sagged.
She frowned as she walked up behind him, then looked over his shoulder. What she saw made her scoff and roll her eyes.
The entire Stark litter was in her room. The noises they heard were Bran and Arya fighting over a pillow in the middle of the bed. Sansa was pushing Arya forward, trying to prevent Arya from pushing her off the edge, while Robb was on the other end, watching what was happening with a wide grin on his lips.
Reyna stepped forward into her room, passing Jon, then put the hand not supporting Rickon on her hip.
"Excuse me, but I was not aware when my room became communal."
The four stopped what they were doing to look at Reyna. Rob sat up on the bed and spread his arms, saying, "Finally. We were wondering where the three of you were."
Reyna put her hand to her heart and said, "Well, I am touched by your worry, brother. We are here now, so you can get out."
She turned her eyes onto the other three, "All of you."
As she was speaking, she didn't notice Jon sneaking past her. Her head snapped to Jon, who was making himself comfortable at the foot of her bed.
She spluttered, "Hello! You're supposed to be helping me get them out."
Jon shrugged his shoulders as he wrapped himself in her fur blankets, "Haven't you heard, Rey? If you can't beat them, join them."
Her jaw dropped at Jon's treachery. Her eyes flew to Rickon's, who started giggling at her expense.
She looked back at Jon, "Jon Snow, I'm fairly certain this is the actual definition of betrayal."
In response, Jon just got even more comfortable, and Reyna groaned.
"I still don't understand why you're all here," Reyna whined, looking around.
"We were scared of the thunder, Rey," Bran's gentle voice said. That seemed to soften up Reyna a bit, looking at Bran's innocent face.
Until, of course, Arya had to ruin it.
"I wasn't scared."
Bran glared at Arya, "Then why are you here?"
Arya stuck up her chin arrogantly, looking down at Bran as she declared, "Because I'm a free woman, who can do anything I want."
Sansa groaned and looked at Reyna with pleading eyes, "They've been at it like this the entire time."
Robb's voice distracted her from what she was about to say next, "Just shut up, Rey, and get into bed."
Reyna huffed in irritation as she spat out, "Wildlings, all of you."
She relented in defeat and went to the side where Sansa had been lying. Reyna took hold of Rickon, and put him on the bed. He crawled in between Bran and Arya, which was probably the best choice. The lot of them wouldn't be able to sleep if Bran and Arya were lying next to each other.
She gave Sansa a pointed look as she grumbled a soft, "Move."
Sansa moved forward as Reyna got in behind her. Reyna had a queen-sized bed, but it might as well have been a single bed with all seven of them squeezed on top of it.
When she finally got under the blankets, she huffed, sitting up and looking around at everyone who was looking at her expectantly.
"So, do you wildlings plan to tell me what you actually want from me?"
Apparently Bran was annoying Arya a little too much, so she eventually got up and crawled to lay at the end of the bed with Jon.
Bran looked over Sansa's shoulder at Reyna, "We want a song."
Reyna chuckled and shook her head in a teasing manner, saying, "If you had said that from the start, I wouldn't have put up such a fight."
She found it amusing how Robb was glaring at her, knowing that she knew her siblings only came to her for her to sing and comfort them. After all, this was not the first stormy night, and the Stark litter had taken refuge in her bedroom.
She sighed softly, then licked her lips and smiled at Bran, "You asked; it's only fair that you get to choose a song."
That was the wrong thing to say, apparently, because immediately the whole room started arguing since everyone wanted to choose a song, and nonetheless Bran's face split into a wide grin from being chosen.
Then he frowned, "I don't know what to choose."
"Well, I want you to sing Dancing Queen, Rey," Sansa insisted.
"Nobody cares what you want, Sansa," Arya hissed, then she looked at Reyna with a serious expression that made Reyna want to laugh, "Reyna, sing Tomorrow."
Robb cleared his throat, silencing everyone, "You know, since I am the oldest, I feel that I get to-"
"Shut up, Robb!"
Reyna cackled as she looked at Robb's displeased expression at having everyone in the room scream at him simultaneously.
They continued bickering after that.
"It would be nice if you could sing Wicked Games, Rey," Jon blurted out.
Everyone ignored him.
"What about Slipping Through My Fingers," Rickon mumbled, no one seemed to hear him but Bran.
Bran's head turned to look at Rickon, then he yelled, "That's what I want!"
Everyone quieted down, and Reyna looked at Bran, "What song?"
"Slipping Through My Fingers," Bran nodded.
That seemed to please everyone since no one started to protest and complain.
"Well, let's get comfy then," Reyna sighed as everyone started lying down, while she leaned on her elbow, watching over everyone.
Reyna took in a deep breath and opened her mouth to sing.
"Flowers in their hands, they leave home in the early morning.
Waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile
I watch them go with a surge of that well-known sadness.
And I have to sit down for a while."
As she was singing, and felt all her siblings eyes on her, Reyna started playing with Sansa's beautiful auburn hair, twirling it around and brushing her fingers through it.
The next part of the song made her eyes start to burn, and she was suddenly grateful the candles were burning out, creating a layer of darkness around the room.
"The feeling that I'm losing them forever
And without really entering the world
I'm glad whenever I
can share their laughter
That funny little child"
If the inevitable happened, she would end up losing them.
"Slipping through my fingers all the time
I try to capture every minute.
The feeling in it,
slipping through my fingers all the time."
"Do I really see what's in their minds?
Each time I think I'm close to knowing
They keep on growing, slipping through my fingers all the time."
The music continued, and before she realised it, a tear trickled down her cheek. Sansa's face was touched by the tear, and then she felt Sansa gently take her hand and squeeze. Reyna was aware that all of her siblings knew deep down what was going to happen.
"Sleep in our eyes, them and
me at the breakfast table
Barely awake, I let precious time go by
Then when they're gone,
there's that odd melancholy feeling
And a sense of guilt I can't deny"
She felt guilty for provoking Sansa and starting petty fights with her. She regretted all those times she kept quiet when her mother said something spiteful about Jon. She felt guilty for helping Arya bully Bran; he did nothing to warrant it. She regretted not bringing Arya to her training sessions because, in the end, Arya just wanted to be like her big sister, and it was unfair that Reyna never gave her that chance. And most of all, she felt guilty because now she would be leaving Robb. Her idiocy and recklessness led her to be separated from her twin, her best friend, and her soulmate.
"What happened to those
wonderful adventures?
The places I had planned for us to go?
Well, some of that we did,
but most, we didn't
And why? I just don't know"
Even in the shadows, she could make out Robb's tear-filled eyes. They exchanged glances before reaching out and intertwining their fingers, wrapping their arms around Rickon, Bran, and Sansa.
"Sometimes I wish that
I could freeze the picture
And save it from the funny tricks of time
Slipping through my fingers"
"Sword in their hand, they leave home
in the early morning
Waving goodbye with an
absent-minded smile"
Once she finished her last note, she looked around once more. Sansa was in her arms. Bran and Rickon in Robb's, and Arya in Jon's. Then, before lying her head next to Sansa's and before her eyes slipped close, she whispered, "Sweet dreams, my precious loves."
Unknowingly to Reyna, all six of them had heard her.
✧✧✧
Now...
Reyna watched the stars dancing in the sky from her balcony in Pentos. She had just returned from that disaster of a dinner.
Reyna had thought she had thought all the horrible scenarios that would happen if the Prince found out her name, none could have prepared her for the Prince trying to murder her with his fork.
Her thoughts went back to the expression on Princess Daenerys' face. It was the same expression the people of Winterfell gave her after they learned her secret and when she dared to leave the safety of the castle. It was one filled with fear, distrust and uncertainty.
Tomorrow at dawn she would attempt to make amends with Daenerys and only the Gods will know if it will work.
Nights here in Pentos were always the worst for her, because during the day she had many distractions, but at night she was all alone with her thoughts. There were many things she had to get accustomed to in Pentos.
For one, she had to sleep alone everyday. In Winterfell, Rickon had found comfort sleeping with her since he was a babe, and since there were many stormy nights she more often than not, had to share her bed with all her siblings.
And in her own company, her self hating thoughts would come out. About why she was the way she was. About what she did in her past life to be punished like this. And why the Gods hated her this much to separate her from the ones she loved most.
But for now she will find comfort in looking at the glittering stars knowing that these are the same stars her family is admiring at this moment.
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AN- sorry for the late update, hope you enjoy the extra words I gave. Btw I just wanna fill in that Reyna will be the Lana Del Rey, ABBA and many other singers of the Game of Thrones universe. Obviously I'm gonna change some of the lyrics tho to like suit the situation because we all know TVs and ciggerettes and cars don't exist in GoT.
The Starks make me happy, but then again they also make me feel depressed, sad and make me rethink my life. Pretty much the same way Lana Del Rey makes me feel.
And another thing, since Reyna is the oldest, she is basically the mother bear of like her siblings, obvs Cat and Ned are the parents, but in the rest of the Starks eyes if their mother was not there, the first thought would be to go to Reyna. And since she's the oldest everytime she got a new sibling she saw them as one of her babies
In this version of "Slipping Through My Fingers" I used "their" because I wanted to show like the main person in that song is the Stark children and how Reyna feels like her time with them is slipping through her fingers. And when it said flowers in the start that mostly referred to her sisters and in the end when it said sword that referred to her brothers.
This was just like a flashback filler, next chapter I promise some Dany x Reyna content.
Word count: 3098 words
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