Song: Hotel Sayre by Craig Armstrong and Lana Del Rey
Fianna
The instant they rode across the river inside the large walls of Riverrun, Arya took her horse into a gallop and sped past Robb and Fianna - the most eager of them all to be there.
Many of the men accompanying them had believed the trip to Riverrun to be pointless, but Fianna realised that was absolutely untrue when she saw the look on Arya's face. It was the most childlike she had seen the girl, and for a second, she looked her age. Instead of a girl who was forced to grow up too soon.
When she saw her mother, standing there in the courtyard trying to refrain herself from running forward to meet her daughter, Arya Stark had cried. It had been so long since she had cried, years now. The last time she cried was at her father's execution, and here she was in tears again because she was finally reunited with the mother she never thought she'd see again.
Arya sped forward, and Catelyn let out a sob, opening her arms wide and crouching down for Arya to come to her. The news of Bran and Rickon took Catelyn hard, and accompanied with her father's ill health, she looked years older than when Fianna had last saw her.
Catelyn and Arya hugged so tightly, Fianna was sure that one was going to crush the other. They stayed like that for a while, tears streaming down their faces and Fianna felt emotional all of a sudden. An emotional reconnection like that, between mother and daughter, was never one she'd experience. Save for the children she herself would have.
After a while, Robb had been patiently waiting for their reunion to finish. When it did, and the two rose to a stand, Catelyn wrapped her arm around Arya and held her there until she faced her eldest son.
Their reunion was cold, Robb was angry with her. Extremely angry. But she was still his mother and he owed her that respect. So he nodded to her and she nodded in return. Arya glanced back and forth between the two, desperate to know what was going on.
"Mother," Robb greeted in a cool tone.
"Robb," she replied, her throat tight.
With that, Edmure Tully approached Robb, eager to discuss battle strategies and the matter of Lord Hoster's condition.
Catelyn looked to Fianna then, and if she thought her son was cold, Fianna was winter herself. Fianna stared straight into Catelyn's eyes with such a fierceness, she felt as though she would spontaneously combust into flames at any moment.
Breaking their moment, Fianna clicked her tongue for her dog to follow and stared at Catelyn the entire time she walked until she entered the castle, directed by a servant who was to lead her to her chambers.
Catelyn gulped uneasily, she had a lot of explaining and apologising to do. But for now, her primary concern was tending to Arya.
-
Robb
"Robb, before you begin," Catelyn started when Robb finally visited her chambers.
She had been requesting to see him for hours, but he had absolutely refused every time. Seeing as she was confined to her chambers at Edmure's request and had guards at her door to ensure so, she had no choice but to stay put.
"Why?" Was all he asked. His expression was set into a mixture of disgust and hatred and she never thought he'd look at her in such a way.
"Why what?" She asked, and he realised she had made so many mistakes as of late she didn't even know which one he was referring to.
"We'll talk about Fianna later, but I want to know why you released the Kingslayer first," he ranted in frustration. It infuriated him how calmly she was speaking to him.
"For the girls."
"You betrayed me," he told her, and his words hurt. He intended them to hurt.
"Robb-"
"No!" He cut her off. "You knew I would not allow it, and you did it anyway. You knew that Fianna was my betrothed and you allowed me to make a promise to the Gods that I wouldn't be able to keep!"
"Bran and Rickon were captives in Winterfell, Sansa and Arya were captives in Kings Landing-"
"Arya was not," he cut her off again.
"How was I to know that? I have five children, I thought only one was free. Now two are, one is held captive and the other two are presumed dead," she spoke, her emotions were heightening and she thought she would cry at any moment.
"My lords tell me that you're a traitor. That you've committed treason. Lord Karstark lost his sons to the Kingslayer, and you let him free. They want justice," Robb told her seriously. "You stole their vengeance."
"Killing Jaime Lannister would not buy life for his children," she argued back, her eyes starting to water. "Returning him to Kings Landing may buy life for my child."
"Jaime Lannister has played you for a fool," Robb's tone dropped, and it came across all the more threatening, "you've weakened our position. You've brought discord into our camp. You've made us lose the Frey support. You sent the Bua support to their death. You've made me appear as an oathbreaker. And you did it all behind my back."
The two held eye contact for a moment and the tension could have been cut with a knife.
"You're going to be guarded day and night."
"Robb-"
"And I'm going to marry Fianna Bua. I will make her part of this family and Lady of Winterfell and you had better brush up on your manners because you owe her one hell of an apology."
With that, he left swiftly, leaving his mother who was once the strongest woman in the north, now a broken mother without her babes.
-
Fianna
"Ouch!" Fianna gasped as a pin poked her leg, the woman panicked and apologised again.
The seamstress was an older lady, and was very nervous around Fianna. Perhaps she was afraid of pissing off the future queen, or perhaps she was merely afraid of Fianna herself.
"It's alright, don't worry," Fianna assured with a kind smile.
She was forced by Robb to attend the seamstress, who took her measurements and fit a white cloth around her, to later modify into a wedding dress.
It all felt so real all of a sudden, being in the dress Fianna didn't feel comfortable. She loved Robb and didn't regret accepting the betrothal, but it was all moving so fast for her, her head was spinning.
"My lady," a guard entered her room again. The same one who had entered several times more that day.
"Don't say what I think you're going to say," Fianna sighed in exasperation, running her hand over her face.
"She's asked to see you again."
Fianna groaned internally and gestured for the seamstress to let go of her. She was absolutely fed up of Catelyn Stark and if the woman was so intent on meeting with her, she wasn't going to hold back any more.
She had held back at the gates for Arya's sake, but now Arya wouldn't be present.
With her white clothes still on, Fianna padded angrily and barefoot down the narrow hallways of Riverrun. The guard who had been leading her to Catelyn's chambers, had to jog just to stay ahead of her.
When she reached Catelyn, and the door was shut behind her, she finally allowed herself to look upon the woman she had grown to despise so much.
"Lady Fianna, finally," Catelyn began, standing up from her desk and smoothing down her dress. She clasped her hands and started to walk towards Fianna, a nervous smile on her lips. Catelyn eyed Fianna's attire and Fianna noticed it.
"I see it's true then, you are to be wed to my son-"
Uncontrollably and overcome with anger, Fianna lifted her hand and smacked her palm against Catelyn's cheek. Her head whipped to the side with the force of the slap and the skin was already starting to redden and become blotchy.
"Don't you dare. Don't think that because you are the mother of my betrothed that I have forgotten what you have done to me."
Catelyn looked down to her feet, one hand covering her slapped cheek to soothe it.
"I did it for the sake of my children, when you have your own you will then understand."
"My own children? I wouldn't have had any if you had your way. My men are dead, because of you," Fianna pointed at her, her face reddening in fury.
"Take my advice," Catelyn stepped forward and tried to reach for Fianna's hand, but the younger girl quickly snapped it away. "Your marriage will be an insult to Walder Frey. For Robb's sake, don't do this. He's a dangerous man to cross."
"We wouldn't have crossed him at all if you hadn't let Robb make that oath," Fianna retorted.
"Maybe so, but what's done is done. You can only try to save yourself and Robb, now."
With that, Fianna rolled her eyes and left Catelyn's room. She was fully intent on never listening to her again. She had once before, and almost lost everything because of it.
-
"It's not right," Fianna fussed, shifting the dress around her body. It was large, puffy and high-necked and very.. well, not Fianna Bua.
"My lady, the ceremony is in an hour," the seamstress huffed, running a hand through her hair that had dampened with sweat.
Riverrun was practically in shambles as the preparation for the wedding was ongoing. Workers were bustling about with food, decorations and here Fianna was, fussing over how she looked for what was probably the first time in her life.
"Oh for the gods sake, you look fine," Arya rolled her eyes, her arms crossing over her chest. Fianna could see her reflection in the mirror she was standing at. Arya had actually been forced into a dress too, a rather simple one of Northern style. Her first dress in years now. She looked as uncomfortable as Fianna felt.
What's worse was that she wasn't permitted to see Robb. He wasn't here to qualm her worries.
"I can't do much with the dress in such a short time, my lady," the seamstress told her upon noticing the look of discontent on her face.
Fianna smiled softly at her, trying to be polite while she was internally having a crisis.
"Who's giving you to Robb?" Arya asked curiously.
"Ser Mick," Fianna genuinely smiled at this. "I wish it were my father, or Tiernan, but he's been a father figure to me all my life none the less."
"So, the dress?" The seamstress stressed, lines of worry etched into her forehead.
As Fianna continued to stare in the mirror, she noticed something in the background that caught her eye. A wide grin appeared on her face as she whirled around and gestured to the woman to take the dress off.
"I've got a better idea."
-
Robb
He was nervous, a different kind of nervous. Like he was about to head into battle but there was an undertone of excitement to it.
He was stood next to his grandfather, Hoster. Hoster had forced himself out of bed and it was clear to see that he was struggling to remain upright, sickness overcoming him. It was tradition for weddings under the Old Gods to be carried out by the head of the grooms household - which would have been Eddard had circumstances not prevailed.
The ceremony was to take place at night in the Godswood, Robb had his furs around him and he worried briefly if his wife-to-be would freeze in a dress in this weather.
Robb's breath hitched when he noticed everyone started to turn to the side, meaning Fianna was coming down to meet him at the heart tree. He looked down at his feet, inhaling deeply before he would look upon his bride.
When he did, he didn't know whether to laugh or to fall in love with her all over again.
Only Fianna Bua would ditch her wedding dress and don her armour for her own wedding.
It was a jarring sight, where her cheeks were normally smeared with dirt and her hair unkempt as when she usually wore her armour, her body was scrubbed clean and her hair was neatly pulled back. She had two braids running from the top of her head and meeting in the back, with small white flowers decorating it inserted into the braid.
She was absolutely beautiful, the most beautiful in all of the seven kingdoms he was sure. And she was made all the more beautiful by the fact she chose to wear her armour instead, just as he wore his. They were equals in every way except title and gender.
She was being led by Ser Mick and when they had made eye contact, Robb was never more sure of any decision in his life. He chose Fianna Bua, not his father.
Fianna didn't dare lift her eyes to gauge the reactions of the attendees, some looked on in pride - eager to welcome a queen, others looked on with worry for the consequences this union would bring.
Catelyn was stood amongst the crowd, next to Arya. The differences in the two expressions were stark. While Arya actually showed a glimmer of excitement for her brother's marriage, Catelyn's face was grim and full of foreboding.
When they had been betrothed, it was as simple as a Lord marrying a Lady. Now, Robb was a King. Many looked upon Fianna as an inadequate match and suggested Robb marry someone who could provide him with armies and land.
When Mick and Fianna reached Robb, they finally looked away from the other to look upon Lord Hoster.
"Who comes before the Old Gods this night?" He asked, clearly uncomfortable with presenting a wedding to the Old Gods, whilst he worshipped the Seven.
"Fianna, of the house Bua, heir to Baelfort, she is here to be wed," Ser Mick spoke with a firm tone. "A woman grown, trueborn and noble, she comes to beg for the blessings of the Gods. Who claims her?"
Robb stepped forward at this, "Robb of house Stark, heir to Winterfell and King in the North. Who gives her?"
"Mick, of house Dovnall, standing in place of her Lord father."
"Lady Fianna, will you take this man?" Hoster asks, and a multitude of emotions hit her. Fianna looks down as she tries to process the sudden onslaught of thoughts. She would be losing her land, her claim and her legitimacy as heir to Baelfort. But when she looked up and caught eyes with Robb, she knew she'd trade all that in a heartbeat for a chance at true happiness.
So with that thought, she took one step forward and smiled brightly, uncontrollably.
"I take this man."
Robb returns her smile at this and offers his hand to her, she slips her own into his and together, they step towards the heart tree. Hands joined and kneeling down for the Gods to witness their union.
As they were on their knees, Robb took this time to share a brief word with his new wife.
"Did you lose your dress?" He whispered in an amused tone.
"Figured I'd give everyone something to talk about," she muttered back, looking over to him with the side of her eye.
They rose then and turned to face each other. Their eyes glistening with happiness. Robb reaches up and gently takes Fianna's cloak, bearing the Bua sigil of a paw print, and removes it from her shoulders. He passes it to Ser Mick.
This was it, she realised. The physical representing moment she stops becoming a Bua and starts becoming a Stark.
Robb then takes his own cloak off of his shoulders and drapes it over hers, resisting the urge to tug her in and kiss her right there.
As quick as that, it was done and the two joined hands again and turned to face the crowd. The wedding ceremony was over, so the silence broke immediately.
Each carrying their own torch to light up the Godswood, they started to chant then. Even though Fianna hadn't been officiated as Queen yet, she sure felt like one at that moment.
"THE KING IN THE NORTH! THE QUEEN IN THE NORTH! THE KING IN THE NORTH! THE QUEEN IN THE NORTH!"
-
"I can't believe I've gone and made Fianna Bua a Stark," Robb teased after they finished eating.
He was unable to take his eyes off of her the entire night. She changed out of her armour for the feast and was wearing a new dress he hadn't seen before, a ravishingly gorgeous dress that was shoulderless. Black was its main colour with gold accents. The bodice on her dress was tight and the more he looked at her, the less nervous for the bedding and the more excited he became.
"I married you out of pity, don't be fooled," Fianna retorted, looking at him slyly with the slightest smirk.
"After all I've done for you and this is how you repay me, by insults. Nobody else would have taken you," Robb huffed playfully, dipping his finger into the leftover food on his plate and smearing it on the tip of her nose.
She gasped loudly at his actions and flew her hand out, whacking him in the arm.
"It's treason to hit your king!" He gaped at her, nursing his arm.
"And it's death to insult your queen," she replied, leaning in with a smile and cupping his cheek she pressed a kiss to his lips. They were entirely in their own world at the top table, not caring about the eyes that often flickered over to gaze upon the new married couple.
"And who made you a queen?" He asked, using his thumb to rub the food off of her, which she cutely wrinkled her nose at.
"If I recall correctly, I made you a king. So I made myself queen," he hummed in response and rolled his eyes, resting his hand on her thigh.
The music started up then, and they were urged upon by the Lords to dance amongst the others.
Fianna had persistently denied, claiming to be a horrific dancer. But she was forced into it when Robb had all but gathered her in his arms and half carried her to the open space set aside for dancing.
The song was not entirely too slow for them, thankfully, and Fianna placed her hand on Robb's shoulder as his went to her waist and their free hands connected.
Their eyes remained staring into the others for the entirety of the dance, and before the end of the song, the rest of the party had joined in to dance along with them.
Fianna surprisingly found herself grinning as they finished, stepping back and curtseying to Robb as he bowed in return.
"Right! I think it's time gents!" Lord Manderly called out suddenly, causing an eruption of cheers to begin. The lords and ladies present circled Robb and Fianna, and she realised with a jolt what he had been implying.
Hands reached out to grab her and she wished to the gods she had her sword on her person to fend them off.
They grabbed her by the waist and lifted her into the air, her loud protests washing over Robb who was in the midst of being surrounded by ladies for his part in the bedding ceremony.
He looked over to see his new wife in distress, his amused smile dimming as anger began flooding through him when he seen their hands on her. He didn't care then for traditions, and called out to them all.
"Enough!" His booming voice put a stop to the Lords fun and games, everyone looking over to him in surprise. "Put my wife down, we will not be having a bedding ceremony."
An immediate chorus of discontent rung out, and Fianna chose that moment to elbow the man in the stomach who was holding her back by her arms, then lift her foot out to boot another close Lord in his privates.
They stepped back from Fianna as a sign of respect and slight fear, fear of Robb and of Fianna.
He approached her, letting down the girl's that were surrounding him and slipped his hand into hers, smiling encouragingly at her.
"I'd have killed them all," she muttered to him, squeezing his hand as they began to venture out of the great hall towards Robb's chambers.
"I know you would have, and if you didn't, I would," he agreed with a hum, a soft smile on his lips that remained until they went inside his, their, chambers.
Fianna walked forward into the centre of the room as Robb secured the lock on the door. Fianna turned then, slowly and looking shy all of a sudden.
"Hey," Robb called, approaching her and immediately placing his hands on her soft cheeks. "If you don't want to yet, we don't have to."
"You think I'm going to back out now after months of withholding myself?" She scoffed, causing him to chuckle. "It's not that, it's... I've never had a female figure in my life to teach me. What if I don't know how to... please you?"
She looked down to her feet, something he found adorable, and tucked her hair behind one ear. He leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, then her nose and then finally, her lips.
"Kissing you is enough for me, I can't even imagine what it would be like to fuck you." She gasped and smacked his arm at his choice of words, rolling her eyes but smiling again anyway. His words had calmed her.
Instead of talking again, she began to tug the flowers from her hair which were beginning to wilt, tossing them carelessly to the ground.
She turned around and pulled her long hair around her shoulder to her front, gesturing for him to unlace her dress. He did so with nimble fingers, leaning in so his breath hit the back of her neck and set shivers down her spine.
When the dress was loose, he tugged it down slowly and leaned in to press a kiss to her neck from behind. Her eyelids fluttered at this, and when her small clothes were exposed and the dress removed, she lolled her head back to rest on his shoulder.
Fianna whipped around suddenly and pressed her lips to his. Their kiss this time was different, not inhibited by the two trying to refrain themselves. This time, they were free to roam each other's bodies as they please for the consequences were not fatal.
And so they did, although it had hurt her at the beginning, the connection she felt to Robb at that moment outside of the obvious physical was soul shaking.
Fianna had lost a lot of things that day, her name, her title, her land and her virginity. But she had gained twice as much if not more.