It's today! Robert Baratheon arrives in Winterfell! I will take this opportunity to remind you who he is. Because beyond being the king, which is already not bad, Robert is the one who led the rebellion against the Mad King. He killed Prince Rhaegar Targaryen because he raped and then killed Lyanna Stark, my aunt, the love of Robert's life. My father, Ned Stark, accompanied him in every battle, giving him blind trust.
That is why he undertook a month-long trip to the North. Who other than his best friend can he ask to become his Hand? I hope, in any case, that my father's decision will not do too much damage.
For this great event that is my first meeting with our sovereign, my mother to insist that I wear a dress in the colors of our two houses, Stark and Baratheon. I don't mind but admit that to fight, it's not very practical. Don't understand that I planned to fight! I have a philosophy of life to always be ready, no matter the situation.
My brown hair waves and falls on my shoulders. I can't get my eyes out of the mirror. It is not a northern dress, warm and heavy, it is a capital dress, airy and light. I might as well kneel in front of the king and beg him to take me with him to King's Landing.
To be honest, I always wanted to go to the capital. The climate is quite different, no need to wear fur when it is so hot. Although, even in Winterfell, it's been a long time since I had to wear animal skin to keep warm. The last winter was 10 years ago and was not harsh. Nevertheless, snow continues to fall in the north.
Once ready, I join my brothers and sisters, already lined up, and place myself next to my father. Robb, my brother a year younger than me, gives me a strong look that I decide to ignore. I guess he wanted to be next to our father because he is the eldest son. That's what everybody from the south would expect as well. But I don't care, I'm the future Governor of the North.
When the royal procession enters, all of Winterfell holds its breath. Not surprisingly, the king is a fat man who would do well to wash his hair. Surely a disappointment for my father. After him, enters his son, Prince Joffrey. He's only two years younger than me and I think he is attractive, but his haughty little Lannister air takes away his charm.
Just after the queen's carriage, a knight in white armor arrives in the castle courtyard. It's Jaime Lannister. I had been praised for it, but I could never have imagined him to be so beautiful. I would almost be impressed.
When I turn my eyes to see the reactions of my brothers and sisters, I notice that Sansa is staring at the prince. He is, personally, not what I will call a «man» but each his tastes, as they say.
The king gets off his horse, he's even bigger when he is standing. I wonder where the hero he was ten years ago went. Maybe he ate him.
In front of him, we bow down in a royal bow. I feel like an idiot with my knee down. I am not the type to lower my eyes before anyone and even less before a king whose value has been replaced by heaviness.
After a little sign from Robert, we raise our heads. He and my father hug each other, happy to be together after so many years. I wonder what Ned must think.... He left a Robert strong, brave, and worthy. And he finds.... What's left of him.
I should stop making fun of him, he's my king, after all. And beyond that, amazingly, he's polite. After greeting my mother and my younger brother, Rickon, he turns to me.
"You're Diana, is that right?"
"Yes, Majesty" I answer by lowering my head again.
"You look like her."
I barely have time to look up as Robert has already passed to the next. I was never told I looked like my aunt before. My father is careful not to tell us much about him, he's still too hurt by the disappearance of his sister. But, coming from the king, it is a compliment... Perhaps the most beautiful of all.
The queen, a beautiful and tall woman with the hair of lilies, stands before me, much less welcoming than her husband. The disdain on her face unfortunately erases her beauty. I lower myself slightly, enough for her to pass her way. I imagine she must have heard her husband's comment about me because, even though she doesn't seem very kind, she doesn't even smile at me.
My eyes are on Joffrey, the dolphin. His eyes are on me to the point that it becomes intimidating. I don't know if it's because he finds me to his liking or because he imagines the best way to murder me. I'd rather turn my head and forget what I just saw.
But, for my greatest misfortune, the prince takes a step towards me.
"Will you be at the banquet tonight, madam?" asks the young man.
"She will be with the gnome!" says Arya, my little sister.
"I'll be there, sir."
The gnome Arya speaks of is the younger brother of the queen, Tyrion Lannister. He is nicknamed in this way in view of his dwarf status. Many things are said about him, he would be a notorious alcoholic who likes to walk in brothels, or an intellectual cloistered in a library.
♐︎
"I have a son and you have a daughter". The king has just uttered these words that I already know will remain etched in my memory forever. In order to weld our two houses, and surely to persuade my father to come to King's Landing, Robert has just proposed to unite me with his eldest son, Joffrey.
Stuck against one of the walls of the crypt of Winterfell, my heart misses a few beats. I spent the last few months making it clear to Theon that I could not marry him and now that he finally accepted it, I am left to a high-flying idiot. I shouldn't even be here, it's a private conversation between my father and our king. I would like to get out of hiding but my honor and my education prevent me.
I saw the way Sansa looked at Joffrey, her eyes full of stars and her cheeks red. I could persuade my father to give her to him instead. But if I follow my instincts, it will bring her a life of misery and suffering on a silver platter. I can't do that.
So, after wiping the only tear that escaped my surveillance, I come out of the crypt, determined to shut up and obey. At least... hypothetically.
♐︎
On the way to my room, I am joined by Theon. Theon has been with me for 10 years; he was sent to Winterfell by his father as a token of his good faith – this one having fomented a rebellion against us –. Barely older than me, he became Robb's best friend and my... lover? friend? situationship? He and I never said anything about our relationship, but it was always clear that he liked me, and I liked him. Theon is known to be a true Iron-born – or rather a gougea – with women, which does not work in his favor.
"Drop her!" shout Robb from the other side of the corridor.
I cast a little amused glance at Theon without stopping walking. After what I just heard, I don't want to waste another second in this dress in the colors of my executioner.
"Don't you say anything?" I ask him when I enter my room.
"I am waiting for the lady to give me the floor."
"It's all yours!"
I hide behind the screen while listening to Theon talk about the charm and the shining armor of Jaime Lannister.
"Don't you say anything?" he asks again me in a small laugh. "You wanted to meet him, didn't you?"
"I will have the opportunity! I going to live with him."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm going to King's Landing!"
Theon's furious face appears to my right. Even though he has seen me naked several times, I refuse to let him catch me off guard so push him away.
"Don't look at me like that! If the king is here, it is because he wants my father to become his Hand. You knew that!"
"You don't need to go to King's Landing with him! Your father is a warrior, he can defend himself. You don't have to save everyone, Diana!"
I prefer not to answer that last sentence. He will try to make me stay at all costs, even if it means becoming hurtful.
I prefer not to answer that last sentence. He will try to make me stay at all costs, even if it means becoming hurtful.
"The King asks him to become his Hand" I explain. "And to unite our two houses."
"To unite your houses?"
"To unite me with the prince Joffrey."
I confess that I would like Theon to get angry, to kidnap me in the middle of the night and that we flee anywhere but far from the Seven Crowns. But no sound comes out of his mouth, not even a small complaint.
♐︎
"You're going to accept?" he asks once I am dressed.
"If I refuse, Sansa will take my place. And I can't put her in that position."
"Diana, you don't have to..."
"I have no choice."
I, in fact, have a choice. I could refuse and let Sansa marry Joffrey, stay in Winterfell with my mother, ignore the problems of the capital.
"Let's go", he screams, grabbing me by the hips. "Let's go!"
"Theon..."
"To the Iron Islands! Or... Wherever you want!"
"Oh my Theon..."
My hand gently caresses his cheek. Theon has always been a romantic... But that doesn't mean he's right. I know what my duty is and even if I would rather go with him, I will follow my father to King's Landing and marry Joffrey.