( PART I; a dreary existence. )
⟵ ◊ ⟶
chapter 2: the king is coming.

SUMMER snows fell as they often did in the early mornings, their flakes gracing Raina's chamber window's warped, aged glass. It was a quiet morning, with few awake except the house guard changing shifts and servants tending to their early morning duties. The midnight-haired bastard loved the quiet, with nothing except the sound of a crackling fire burning under a wax-covered mantle. She stood before the wooden structure while breaking away pieces of the wax as she sometimes did when bored or anxious. She rubbed the smooth substance with her fingers before tossing it in the flames below her to watch it melt into nothing.

The small whine of Stryder caused her to turn toward her bed, where the pitch-black pup looked up at her with its blue eyes. Raina smiled slightly as she wandered over, causing the pup's ears to fold back and her tail to thump uncontrollably.

Scooping up the pup, she looked into his eyes. "Such a demanding little thing you are," she remarked as a slight giggle emitted. "So energetic as well. How does a walk sound? Perhaps outside?"

At the sound of her enthusiastic tone, the pup squirmed and whined excitedly as Raina went to place him on the floor.

A sennight had passed since the arrival of dire-wolf pups, but the joy that had come with it came to a halt once dark news on a raven's wings reached Winterfell after a long flight from King's Landing. Jon Arryn, a man her father had fostered under and practically been raised by, had sadly passed away. He was Robert's Hand but unfortunately was taken by a ravaging fever.

With the news of the Hand's death was the impending arrival of Robert himself on his way toward Winterfell. Even if one had never seen the King for themselves, everyone knew the man was a notoriously lazy monarch. It was apparent that he had no interest in ruling the Seven Kingdoms and, therefore, left the governing of the country to his advisers and those alike. Instead of ruling the country he'd taken in rebellion, Raina had heard rumors that he did nothing but drink, eat, and whore about despite having a Queen that was rumored to be a goddess among men.

As the girl and the pup exited the room and entered the hall, Raina mentally scowled at the thought of such an ignorant man, with the world in his grasp but with no care about his prestige or duty as a king. She thought about everything she would do to live her days without shame or Snow.

The daunting arrival of Winterfell's royal guest would bring a small army in itself to her home:  a small army of Lannister men, likely with knights, sellswords, and those alike following after the trail of gold, crimson, and black. The court would also be coming, with all their servants and guards. Behind them, there would be whores and lickspittles pining for work within the king's presage. If she remembered correctly, the king had four children, all little lions like their mother, Raina had heard. She might have liked to speak to them a time or two if she hadn't offended them with her presence alone.

The excited yip of Stryder made Raina forget about her wandering thoughts as she looked down at her. He looks up with his tongue, lolling to the side happily. She'd never thought such a fearsome beast could be so playful and gentle, nor did she believe she would ever claim ownership of one. The thought of her and Jon even being included on the rare occasion was beyond anything she might have hoped for. They'd been trained all their lives to accept who they were.

"I dare say you and Jon are lucky ones. Getting pups alongside your true-born siblings."

The voice of Theon Greyjoy had Raina almost emitting a sigh of annoyance, but she withheld it. The ward had been around for as long as Raina could remember, when she, Jon, and Robb had only been small children and Sansa but a toddler. It'd been a strange thing to accept a hostage of war, a child even, into their home as a "guest," but Theon eventually settled in as if he'd never been anywhere else except Winterfell.

Raina only regretted the sheer and blatant disrespect he always had toward her as a girl and any other servant he got the chance to try and swoon.

"What do you want?" she stated more than asked as she picked up the speed of her walk, him following close behind.

"Do I require a reason to talk to you now?" the Greyjoy scoffed as if he were wounded. "We've known each other for years now, and you still act as if you'd rather see the ass end of an ox."

Raina let out a contemptuous laugh as they rounded a corner. His words were true enough. No matter what, Stryder stuck to her side. Her blue eyes stayed trained on Theon, and the pup was already developing protective instincts.

"Oh, trust me, I would," she replied. "Don't you have something to be doing? Perhaps swooning over the servant of the week? I don't want to be bothered right now. I've got things to do."

Theon scoffed once more. "Ha. Like what? Join the girls for embroidery with Septa Mordane. As far as I know, Catelyn would still rather see your head on a spike than see you around her daughters. Not after what you did to her tapestry."

"It's been a sennight, by gods!" Raina's fists clenched in anger. "She can't stand me, but Jon? She merely ignores his existence when she must. I don't understand."

By now, they'd entered the courtyard, which was as busy as always. Chickens pecked at the hardening mud, the smith, Mikken, beating away at the molten metal near his hearth, the bleats of herding sheep. They stopped momentarily near the door as Raina's eyes scanned the area. She hoped she'd find Jon or anyone truthfully near the smithy or maybe by the leather worker's booth. But alas, he was nowhere in sight.

"She hates you because you're more beautiful than her own daughters," Theon shrugged as if it were a fact. "How could they be? Sansa is so full of herself that any man would be driven away, and Arya— I don't see your father finding a willing lord to betroth her to any time soon."

"Oh, please," Raina swatted at him, annoyed with his insinuation. She'd been aware that the ward had been attracted to her to some degree throughout the years they'd grown up around each other, and the thought had always made her uneasy whenever she was around him. The uneasiness was beginning to take over once more. She didn't like being around him alone.

"Don't act as if you don't know," Theon muttered. "You're the most beautiful girl here. I don't understand why you've always avoided my advances—"

"We were raised alongside each other," she said lowly, dark eyes narrowed. "If anything, you're but a brother to me. And you know Jon would have your head if you tried anything. Tread lightly, Theon, or you might see your reckoning."

Raina stormed off, Theon watching her leave, surely watching the sway of her hips. Stryder pranced after her, the pup's tail wagging in the air. She wandered toward the stables, thinking she might find Jon or Robb. As she entered, she found no one except Arya, who surprisingly was standing in an empty horse stall. When the boyish little girl catches sight of her elder sister, she dips below the surface. Raina smirks as she makes her way over.

"What might you be doing?" She asked as she rested her arms on the door, looking down into the stall that hadn't been used in a few moons. Arya was squatted near the far corner, looking down at something.

"Snowflake had kittens," Arya replied optimistically after a few heartbeats of silence. She moved to the side to allow Raina to see the white cat the girl had been following around Winterfell, which had a clutch of newborn kittens at her belly. "Eight in total. There's three grey, a two striped, two orange, a black, and a white, just like its mother."

Raina had always appreciated Arya's sweet innocence. She smiled to herself.

"Are you going to keep one?" Raina asked.

"I think I will," Arya told her. "Once they're strong. I'll take the white one. She's all alone, just like the little black one, and I feel sorry for her."

"I'm sure you'll be a wonderful owner," Raina praised. Somehow, she sympathized with the black and white kittens, alone in their own ways. Truly, she must be going mad. "Now tell me, are you supposed to be with your Septa for your lessons?"

Arya looked up with her large brown eyes, which only slightly betrayed the truth behind them. "Yes," she mumbled.

"You best catch up," Raina advises. "I would hate to see your knuckles bloodied for not being there when you're supposed to."

Arya sighed before reluctantly rising to her feet to exit the stall. Once she stood in the main aisle, she looked up to Raina, who had closed the stall door behind her.

"King Robert is coming," Arya asked. "Will you be with me when he arrives?"

Raina paused for a moment. She knew the answer, of course not, yet a part of her wished she could tell her littlest sister she would. Her hand clasped on Arya's scrawny shoulder gently.

"I'm sorry, dear, but I won't. I'm not a Stark, you know that. My place will be with Jon and Theon." Arya's hopeful gaze faltered. "But I promise we'll be nearby."

Arya sighed in defeat. "You'll try to sit with me at the feast then?" The girl asked.

"Of course I will. I couldn't imagine anyone else."

Arya grins before nodding and slipping out of the stables and into the courtyard. Raina watches after her. Even if she wasn't a Stark, she often felt like one because of the boyish little girl.

❆

THE king was near Winterfell, as Catelyn had busily ordered servants around for at least three days before his presage was spotted down the King's Road. Cleaning rooms, straightening things, slaughtering animals, cooking bread, brewing mead, and much more made the Keep a place of chaos.

As if to hide the seemingly gloomy atmosphere within Winterfell during cloudy days, northern flowers and pine garlands were created and hung in different areas. Raina believed it was meant to make the Southerners feel more at home while away from their flowery-filled keeps.

It had been at least two moons since the Stark children and Raina and Jon had received their dire wolves. In the weeks that passed, she had tried her best to handle Stryder properly, but the animal already held a spirit she knew would be hard to contain.

Unlike Ghost, who was as quiet as his namesake, Stryder loved to yip, leap, and play with her litter mates. Along with the beasts growing spirits, they were growing physically as well. At such a rapid rate, Winterfell would have a large wolf pack to defend it.

In one of the main halls of the Keep, Raina stepped out of the way of a few servants struggling to carry a rather large table toward the great hall. A few maids followed behind with items ready to be used, like brooms, candles, wreaths, and more. She smiled to herself, loving the energy that flowed within the keep. It was uplifting to see excitement fill even servants.

Following the herd of servants and maids, Raina entered the Great Hall. After a deep cleaning, the place no longer smelled of dampness as it had before. Some windows lining the wall were opened just enough to let a steady airflow enter the room. Long tables replaced the single one that sat in the middle of the room where she and her siblings would often break their fasts and have supper. Luckily, Catelyn was nowhere in sight, and instead, Raina spotted her father and crossed the room.

Making her way over to his side to plant herself while he finished a conversation with a steward, her arms looped behind her and her hands clasped together.

"Oh, Raina," Ned greeted as the steward left, his attention focused on her. "How are you doing today? I didn't get to see you this morning, not with all of these preparations to finish with."

"Don't worry," she assured him with a grin. Despite who she was to him, Raina had always been able to speak to her father easily. He'd at least always treated her and Jon fairly. "After my lesson with Septa Mordane, I decided to venture down here to see what had all been done. I dare say it is looking far different."

"Thank you," Ned said with pride. "This place was due for a cleaning, anyway. I don't see it staying that way for long. Not with the number of men that Robert brings with him. If it's true to what the outriders say, our cellars will be frank dry."

Raina always enjoyed hearing her father chuckle, and he did wholeheartedly.

"What do you presume he's coming north for?" She asked.

"I had a lot of assumptions, but it's hard to tell with Robert," her father sighed. "With Lord Arryn's death, I could only assume it's important enough to come up here. He wouldn't come here for something small." They step back to allow servants to roll a very large barrel of most likely mead of wine and cross the room.

"But Raina," Ned continued. "I want to apologize for the way Catelyn has been treating you. I try my best to speak to her about these things, but she is steadfast, you know that. She needs to understand that you're welcome in this house and that she'll accept it. I want you standing with us when the king arrives. You deserve it."

Raina stammered for a moment while beginning to understand what he was saying. The conversation with Jon the last time they'd been forced to sup at the servant's table in the kitchen appeared at the forefront of her memory. They'd spoken of her possibilities of finding a future. Was her father perhaps trying to help her get exposed to the world?

"Truly?" She asked in disbelief. "You truly want me there? I'm not a Stark."

Ned shook his head, as he often did when hearing that she and Jon were bastards. He seemed to dislike the idea. "Truly. You deserve to be with us. Jon is almost a man grown and won't need help getting into this world. I see nothing wrong with helping you."

With a kind small, he gently patted her back before being torn away from their conversation by another steward and servants needing instruction.

As Raina made her way out of the bustling great hall, she couldn't stop the grin and the warm feeling spread in her chest. For the first time, she might feel like she belonged.