Esmeralda stands with the youngest of Stark male children with Jon beside her. She's trying to teach young Bran archery. They live in Winterfell and Esmeralda has been a teacher to Bran for quite awhile now. Esmeralda's parents had died during one of the harshest winters in Winterfell, causing her to be taken in by the Starks, who are now like family to her. "Okay, go on." Esmeralda says, causing Bran to fire the arrow only to hit the barrel and get upset.

"Go on, father's watching." Jon tells Bran as he places his hands on his shoulders. "And your mother." They both look up at where the two Starks stand.

"Bran, look at me." Bran turns and looks at Esmeralda, who is crouched before me. "Do you know why I let you shoot?"

"To practice?" He asks.

"No to learn. I knew that shot wouldn't work, but I wanted you to see that yourself and learn from it." She motions to his bow. "Raise it again." He does so and Esmeralda shakes her head. "You're too stiff. Archery is like water, it flows and is relaxed. You must allow yourself to move with the water in order to have the arrow flow the way you want." She moves to stand behind him and fixes his shoulders. "You need to relax and take a deep breath. Now, you need to take a deep breath and slowly release it, once you release that breath I want you to fire."

Bran does as he is told and takes a deep breath in, slowly releasing it before he fires his arrow perfectly. "Perfect... oh, well almost." The arrow hits just below the target. "You're getting better." Esmeralda smiles as Jon and Robb laugh from beside their brother. "Hey!" Esmeralda stands up and faces them. "Don't laugh at Bran. If I remember correctly he's doing a much better job than you lot did." She hears a deep laugh from up above and she turns to see Eddard Stark, or more commonly known as Ned Stark, laughing.

"As always, Esmeralda is correct. Which one of you was a marksman at ten?" Esmeralda smiles and glances over at the men. "Keep practicing, Bran." Bran looks up at him and looks a bit disheartened. "Go on."

"Bran, you're doing much better, now remember what I taught you and this time close one eye and aim right for the center." He nods and does as he is told. "And if another of you laugh then you'll be the target of Bran's arrows and maybe I'll even start practicing." Esmeralda has never missed her target, which causes her words to have even power and for the Stark men to look a bit frightened.

Bran raises his arm and this time the brother begins to give him help. "Don't think too hard Bran." Jon tells him.

"Relax your bow arm." Robb says.

"Remember to breathe." Esmeralda whispers. An arrow is fired, causing them all to turn to see Lady Arya standing there with a bow. The men laugh as Bran goes after her, which causes Esmeralda to smile.

Arya is a lot like Esmeralda when she was at that age. Both are trying to find themselves and be who they want to be, while everyone around them are trying to make a lady out of someone who is more fit to be like the guys. Both rather be shooting arrows than doing sewing any day. Esmeralda smiles at the thought. They are both beautiful and have the potential of being a real lady, but neither have the spirit and personality that could make them become a lady.

Esmeralda has beautiful wavy hair that are the color of honey, while her eyes are the color of melted amber. She is dressed in a pair of brown leather trousers that shape to her long legs, a pair of boots that goes to her knees, a green long sleeved shirt, a brown leather vest, her brown leather arm guards, and her quiver on her back.

Most of the men in the village stop to stare at Esmeralda both because she's beautiful and strange. "I remember that being us." Jon whispers in Esmeralda's ear, causing her to smile as she glances up at him.

"It seems just yesterday I was beating you in archery." She gives a sad smile. "And that my parents had been up there with yours, looking down at us laughing."

"I think they're still looking down laughing at us." Esmeralda smiles at Jon as she turns to see Robb watching them. Robb is the oldest of the Stark children. It goes Robb, then Jon, then Sansa, and next is Arya, and finally Bran. Esmeralda has gotten to know all the Starks very well, but her best friend will always be Jon. Although, there has always been something with Robb. He had always been so courteous and gentle with her despite her always stating that she can take the roughest of men and beat them within minutes. She can hold her own and yet Robb always insists on helping her when he can, that it's a gentleman's way, but Esmeralda doesn't think too much on it. When she does think about it, Jon always finds a way to pull her out of those thoughts before she can think too much on it. "Let's clean this up." Jon whispers in her ear, causing her to roll her eyes and go over, collecting the arrows.

"Here, let me." Robb takes the arrows gently from Esmeralda's hands, causing her to look up at him with her big doe eyes.

"Robb, I've told you many times-

"As I know, but allow me to help you anyway." Esmeralda raises a honey eyebrow.

"Robb, you and I both know how stubborn I can be or should I call you sir Robb seeing how I am of nothing but a common lady." She takes the arrows from him, turns on her heels, and without another word heads over to the quivers to put them in.

"Robb, you know how much she despises being treated like a lady."

"Last time I checked, Jon, she is one."

"She is a female, but she is no lady. She's a warrior, treat her as one," Jon whispers to his brother. "And maybe she will be your lady." Jon goes to put the arrows in his hands into the quiver once he has said what he needed to. Robb frowns and looks over at Esmeralda as she turns to face Jon with a kind smile on her perfect kissed lips. Robblicks his lips as he stares at her, causing her to look over, her eyes catching his. He gives her a gentle smile, which she returns before turning back to Jon.

"You three are coming with me." Ned Stark says as he walks over to them.

"Me?" Esmeralda questions. Ned smiles at her and places a hand on her shoulder.

"You, Esme are like a daughter to me and therefore you must join us." Esmeralda nods and the three grabs horses, grab Bran, and heads for the hill where they'd be dealing with the deserter of the Night's Watch that has arrived just moments before.

Esmeralda stands beside Jon, her black fur cloak wrapped around her with the golden clasps pulled tightly together. Robb stands a bit behind them with Bran behind him. The guards walk the deserter out towards Ned with a large stone resting between them. The man is going on and on about some thing called a white walker before he reaches Ned and falls silent. He looks around at everyone before his eyes meet Ned's. "I know I broke my oath." He begins. "And I know I am a deserter. I should have gone back to the wall and warned them, but... I saw what I saw. I saw the white walkers."

"What are white walkers?" Esmeralda whispers to Jon who gives her a look and quietly shushes her, causing her to roll her eyes. "People need to know. If you can get word to my family tell them I'm not coward. Tell them I'm sorry." Esmeralda pulls her cloak closer to her and looks up at Jon with a sad look. She knows what comes next. The guards push the man at Ned's nod and places him in the crook of a log as Ned grabs his sword. Esmeralda feels a strong calloused hand grab her right hand and squeezes it in a comforting grip.

"On the name of Rober of the House Baratheon, the first of his name..."

"Don't look away." Jon, who is to Esmeralda's left, whispers to Bran, causing her to glance up at the one who has her hand only to see Robb is the one holding it.

"King of the Andals and the First men..."

"Father will know if you do." Jon whispers.

"Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and protector of the realm, I Eddard of the House Stark, Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North, sentence you to die." Esmeralda grips Robb's hand harder as Ned takes his sword and readies to cut the man's head off.

"You don't have to look, Esmeralda, I know my father will not judge you for it." Robb whispers to her, but she shakes her head.

"I'm afraid I must." And with that Ned cuts the man's head off. Esmeralda has seen many horrific things and it's not the man getting his head cut off that causes Esmeralda to flinch, it's how the poor man had to die. Robb looks down at Esmeralda and slips his hand out of hers, slowly he wraps an arm around as if afraid she'll bite if he goes too quickly, like a cornered animal. Esmeralda tenses as she feels Robb's arm around her, but she forces herself to relax, remembering it's only Robb and she relaxes against his side, while rubs her arm.

"Are you cold? Take my cloak." Even with the site of the beheaded man before them, Robb can still find a way to be a gentleman, it causes Esmeralda to smile.

"I'm fine, Robb, as I've said many times before you don't need to be so chivalrous with me. I am no lady." She pulls out of Robb's hold and looks at Bran. "You did well, Bran." She smiles before heading towards her house with Jon, Robb and Bran following after them.

"You want help up Lady Esmeralda." Esmeralda glares at Jon as he bows before her.

"Keep that up and you'll have an arrow sticking through your head. Now is not a time of jokes, Jon." Jon frowns and looks at Esmeralda.

"I know. I'm just trying to lighten the mood." Esmeralda sighs and looks at Jon.

"I know." She smiles and pats his chest. "Now go before I kill you." Jon chuckles and heads towards his horse, hopping on as Robb and Bran reach them. "Come here Bran." Bran moves towards her and she lifts him up and places him on his horse. He smiles in thanks as she moves towards her beautiful red horse.

"Want some help-

"Robb," Esmeralda sighs. "I am certaintly capable of getting on my horse by myself."

"To which I know very well by know, but still my question still stands, do you wish for my help?" She rolls her eyes and crosses her arms.

"Why do you always insist on trying to help me. Shouldn't you be wasting your time with some lady and not me? I am certainly no lady and therefore you do not need to be so kind."

"I prefer helping you." His response, causes her to freeze in surprise. Her eyes meet his and they freeze her to the bone. No man has ever really shown much attention to her as Robb has and she has always blamed it on him being who he is, always a gentleman.

"If you two are doing reciting poetry, I'd much prefer to get back home before you two do anything that Bran shouldn't see at his age." Jon says, causing a dust of pink to spread across Esmeralda's face. She turns to get on her horse, but suddenly she feels hands on her hips and they lift her up and set her down in the saddle, she looks down to see Robb standing there.

"I already told you I didn't need your help."

"Neither did Bran." She falls silent. "I wanted to help." He says, his hand moving off her hip, where it had still rested, and he makes his way to his horse, Esmeralda watching him as he gets on.

"You're blushing."

"Shut up, Jon." She mutters.

"Has Robb got to you finally?" She rolls her eyes, grabs the reins, and turns the horse to head back to the village.