Robb Stark

"Oh come on, Elyssia. It'll be fun." Robb listened as Theon tried to coax the girl in front of them into their plans.

"I don't want to" Elyssia crossed her arms over chest, her blond curls bouncing as she shook her head. "You always leave me behind. And I never get any of the cake"

"Please Elyssia?" Jon tried his turn, tugging at the younger girl's sleeve. "Cook never gives in if it's just us. She really likes you. She'll give you extra cake. And we'll share with you"

The look on Theon's face suggested otherwise as Elyssia considered Jon's offer. She frowned at the three of them, blue eyes partially resentful.

"How do I know I won't get in trouble with Lady Catelyn" She asked.

None of them could answer. They all knew from experience that Robb's mother was much sterner with Elyssia and Jon than she was with anyone else. Elyssia had been victim to more than one of her harsh punishments. One of which was being sent to bed with nothing but a heel of bread for dinner.

"Please Elyssia? We need you" Robb tried, smiling when she turned to look at him.

It wasn't as if he was lying. Without Elyssia they'd never sneak past Cook. The old woman was fond of Elyssia, and never said no to a small apple cake when the seven year old asked nicely. Theon, being the oldest and undoubtedly the most conspiring of them, had noticed this almost immediately and began using their younger friend to get as many apple cakes as he possibly could, eventually pulling Jon and Robb in as well.

"You guys will just leave me when I give it to you and tell me to go play with Sansa again." Elyssia looked down at her feet, frowning.

Robb frowned as well. He knew from experience that Elyssia hated playing with Sansa. His sister was only two years younger than she was, but Elyssia had spent most of her time in Winterfell trailing after the older boys so Sansa's childish games bored her. Theon was the worst culprit for sending their friend off to play with the five year old as soon as he'd gotten what he wanted from her.

"I promise you can play with us afterwords" Jon said kindly. "And if Theon tries to send you to play with Sansa, I'll come too"

Elyssia's eyes lit up as he spoke, her smile fully returning since the moment the three of them had cornered her. Jon had always been the nicest out of the three of them. His half-brother had always been more than willing to spend time with Elyssia when Theon and Robb wouldn't. In fact, it wouldn't have surprised Robb if Jon resigned himself to playing with the little doll Robb's father had given her as a welcoming present. Theon had been given a small, painted ship; which had been broken within a week while they were playing sea-war with Jon. The doll, however, was Elyssia's most treasured possession. She hardly let anyone see it, let alone play with it.

"Alright. I'll help you get one" Elyssia smiled shyly at Jon as she agreed to their scheme.

"Then let's go" Jon and Robb were forced to follow along as Theon seized Elyssia by the wrist and pulled her along after him. The poor girl was made to stumble along blindly, following Theon as best she could.

They stopped just outside the kitchens, crouching behind a hedge of tea leaves. Theon prodded Elyssia until she moved, walking around the edge of the hedge and toward the heavy wooden door the cooks kept propped open to relieve the heat of their work. She grabbed the door frame, peeking into the busy kitchen.

"Elyssia!" One of the older cooks, a chunky woman who bossed around the other kitchen staff waddled herself over to Elyssia. The woman was smiling brightly as she looked at the little girl leaning against the door frame. "What are you doing here today, sweetpea? Those boys run off without you again?"

"Yes miss Sweetraft" Elyssia nodded, looking down at the ground near her shoes.

"Awe that's too bad." The cook crossed her hands over her chest. "You don't need them to have fun, sweetpea. You just take one of these and go play with that pretty doll of yours. I'm sure you can borrow a toy from one of the others to make your own game"

Theon licked his lips as the cook handed Elyssia a still-hot cake. They could smell the sweet spice of pear as treat was grasped by their friend.

"Thank you" Elyssia looked at the treat sadly. "But I can't eat it all at once. And Theon will just take it from me"

Robb and Jon had to cover their mouths to keep from laughing at the scowl that crossed Theon's face. The cook shared Elyssia's frown before reaching in and taking another cake from a hidden tray.

"Why don't you take this one and give it to one of them? Jon is nice isn't he? Maybe if you offer him one he'll help you keep yours from mean ol' Theon?"

"Oh, thank you!" Elyssia smiled gratefully. "I'll do that! Thank you so much."

Robb couldn't help but be impressed as the cook gave Elyssia a friendly smile before turning back to her work. Elyssia held the two cakes carefully as she left the doorway, making her way to their hiding place beyond the hedge. Theon immediately jumped to his feet and hugged her, nearly crushing the cakes into her dress.

"You are a genius" Theon released her, stepping back to admire her work.

"You're welcome" Elyssia was blushing as she held out one of the cakes to Robb. "We can split them in half. Then we can all-"

"Oh no" Theon seized the cake. The three of us will split this one evenly and you can have a piece of that one"

Elyssia frowned, pinching her lips into a line. This was a common problem between them. Because she was younger, Elyssia was often the victim of Theon's twisted sense of fairness. The girl was too shy to argue with him. So instead she stood back looking sad as Theon broke the cake in half and prepared to break it again.

"That's mean, Theon" Jon took half of the cake from Theon and held it for himself. "Elyssia got them. We should be the one sharing while she gets one for herself. She was nice enough to let us each have half" He held his half of the cake toward Robb, knowing that once his brother had it Theon wouldn't dare try to take it back.

"Yeah. Jon's right" Robb accepted the piece of cake, biting into it happily.

Elyssia smiled and split her own cake in half, offering a piece to Jon. He took it with a small smile of thanks. The four of them sat quietly behind the hedge and enjoyed Elyssia's prize.

This isn't all that bad. Robb thought to himself.