( PART I; a dreary existence. )
⟵ ◊ ⟶
chapter 4: the bargain to be struck.

FATE was looking up for Raina, for not even a day after speaking with the princess in the stables, she was fetched by the queen's personal handmaiden for a private chat. Having not expected such swift results from her experiment with the princess, it seemed that the Old wanted to bless her for the years of misfortune she'd endured. There may be a bright future for her to come.

Her heart pounded as she went down the dim hall toward the wing of Winterfell, where the king, his household, and other high nobles were staying. Every quick step she took seemed to align with the beat of her heart.

Raina's mind raced with the anxiety of being personally summoned by the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, but she tried her best to shove away her uneasiness. Did the princess say something to her mother that made Raina look like a good candidate as a handmaiden, or did she say something of the opposite nature to have her called upon and punished? Perhaps Queen Cersei was offended by the notion that her daughter wanted to take a bastard as a handmaiden.

Raina had always been the worst at overthinking things, but she knew it was just one of her many amazing qualities she couldn't change.

It was almost hard to keep up with the queen's handmaiden, who was swift on her feet, but Raina managed to until they finally reached the wing where the queen's chambers were. The door was daunting when the bastard saw it, but she summoned all her courage as she followed the handmaiden into the room.

Raina's dark eyes found Cersei immediately, for she was a beautiful mess of golden waves, crimson silk, and furs seated near the room's blazing hearth. It appeared the queen did not care for the North's chill, that of which she couldn't blame her. The princess was present herself; she, too, dressed as extravagantly as her mother. Eerily, they were both nearly identical, simply one older than the other.

"Your Grace," Raina immediately curtsied for the queen and princess. She wasn't the best at it, for she almost lost her footing.

"I assume you don't curtsy much," the queen mused with a smirk that almost seemed forced. "No worries, we'll ensure you are properly taught in all court formalities."

"I've spoken to my mother," Princess Malkyn grinned. She excitedly patted on the seat to her side. "Take a seat with us."

Feeling as if she were in the presence of lions, figuratively and literally, Raina obeyed the princess's invitation and sat with them.

"My dear daughter has told me a lot about you, Raina," Cersei began. She gazed at the bastard with her catlike, green eyes. "And from what I hear, you are a pleasant girl, and she wished so desperately to bring you back with us. If I am to permit such a thing, given your status, I will need to hear more about you. What is your life like here in the dreary north?"

Raina pursed her lips. "I suppose it isn't awful, Your Grace. It is always cold, except sometimes we get good days when the sun shines. Those are the best days for riding."

"So I take it you like to ride?" the queen asked. She reached for a glass of wine on the table next to her.

"Yes, I do, Your Grace," Raina smiled. "With my brothers, in the Wolfswood."

"I'd always heard the girls in the north were wilder," Cersei stated with a slight sneer after taking a sip of wine. "Much wilder than the ladies of the south. Do you know much of the South, dear? How it is."

It was apparent that the queen disliked her. Surely, it was due to her birth, but if she were so offended, why would she be questioning her?

"I do not, Your Grace," Raina admitted. She nervously flattened the tresses of her dress against her thighs. "I would be willing to learn, of course. I've not much to gain up here. I'm but a bastard, of course."

"Nonsense," Malkyn grinned. "I'd have you turned into a proper lady with suitors begging for your hand within a moon."

Raina grinned at the thought, picturing herself in beautiful summer dresses with the princess as her companion. The thought was a dream to her that seemed as if it could manifest.

"I'm sure your father's wife isn't the most pleasant toward you," Cersei continued. "I've gathered that she isn't fond of you or your brother."

Shaking her head, Raina felt a twinge of restlessness inside. She didn't like acknowledging the obvious. "No, she isn't, Your Grace. Not at all. That is why I wish to leave here. My life isn't awful, yet it isn't good."

Cersei displayed an almost bored frown, which did not seem as forced as her smile earlier. "I'm sorry to hear, my dear. I couldn't imagine such a life. It's sad to see such a beauty hidden away in the north no less treated unkindly."

Raina smirks slightly at the compliment.

"Now, I believe we have a sewing session with Lady Catelyn and your sisters," the Queen stated. I'd like you to attend."

Anxiety appeared as her heart fluttered, but the queen's words eased Raina. Surely the queen and princesses' presence would be enough to ward off Catelyn's behavior? By the Old, she hoped so.

"And do not fear. I will not allow unfair treatment toward you by her," Princess Malkyn promised. "You have my word."

❆

FOR the second time that day, Raina was summoned. It was evening when she was fetched from her place at one of the very long tables in the Great Hall and brought to the presence of the king and queen, who sat at the head of the feast on the dais.

It was not nearly as rambunctious and celebratory as the first night they'd arrived, but there was a feast with the royals present every night. Raina's father and Catelyn were present, as always, the fiery blue gaze of the born Tully seeming to burn through the bastard where she stood. Malkyn sat at her mother's side, an excited smirk visible on her features.

"Queen Cersei has made a proposition to me, Raina," her father smiled from where he sat at the king's side. "She says she will permit you to be a companion to Princess Malkyn as her handmaiden." Raina looked between her father and Malkyn, who seemed filled with anticipation. "Therefore, I find it suitable to ask if you'd like to journey south to take up such a position at the princess's side. I wanted to ask you personally, of course."

"It is quite an honor to be in such a position," Cersei said into her cup. "As a bastard, it will surely be the best opportunity you ever see."

She realized that the queen did not like the idea of Raina being the princess's handmaid. Cersei merely accepted it for the sake of courtesies amongst her host. Surely the princess did not beg for her to be at her side?

Despite the uneasiness that seeped amongst them, Raina flashed an excited smile, looking between her father, the queen, and the princess. Her heart filled with joy, even with Catelyn's deathly glare directed toward her.

"It would be my honor," Raina told them with a dip of her head.

Malkyn beamed. "Then it's settled," she declared as if she'd won a bet or a prized mare at an auction. It was quite strange to Raina, yet she didn't mind it. "How soon will we embark home? Tomorrow?"

"No, no," King Robert told his daughter as he sucked the meat from a chicken leg. "We've still got plenty of time here. There is too much for us to do and see, my dear."

"I must clarify that the wolf will stay here," Cersei ordered icily, looking to Raina. "I will not have such a beast wandering the halls of the Red Keep."

Raina's smile faded as she darted her gaze toward her father, who could do nothing but show a half frown. Nonetheless, she dipped her head in acknowledgment.

"Of course, Your Grace," Raina curtsied before being released and wandering away from their presence.

Soon enough, she found herself back at the table, the rumble of the feast filling her head as she contemplated her new life. Thoughts of the South and all it can offer for a little while until Robb appears. He sat on the bench, his back to the table, as he looked over at her.

"I saw you were talking to the king and queen," Robb remarked, curious. "About what?"

"Well, if you should know," she grinned. "I'm to journey south with father to take up the duty of being the Princess' handmaid and companion."

Robb raised a brow. "How lucky you are," he turned to look at the princess, who was still seated next to her mother. "She's a pretty thing, no doubt. So, does that mean you'll never come, then?"

"I don't know," Raina shrugged. "There's no telling what will become of my life. Hopefully, I meet a handsome knight and make something of myself. At least, that's what Jon says."

"You think marrying someone will make you into something better?" Robb scoffed. "You've got it wrong. I wish I were in your position. You have no responsibility. You aren't heir to a throne or house. You can do anything you wish."

Raina was suddenly impressed with her brother's wisdom. "You think I'll do something great, huh?"

"That's up to you," Robb shrugged. "But I would like to receive a raven from my sister someday, that's become someone great. It'll excite me after I've taken lordship to run Winterfell and have too many children."

Raina laughed at the thought of Robb as a lord with children, all with the same personality as he, until it soured and became melancholy. "I'm going to miss you. Everyone. Everything."

"I'll miss you as well," Robb smirked weakly. "Winterfell won't be the same without you. Rickon and Bran will miss you the most, I think."

Raina sighed while pondering the life she was about to leave behind. By leaving Winterfell, she was leaving everything she knew and held dear. The unknown scared her more than she realized.