Once upon a time, you could find the damp and dreary Seagard castle filled with laughter and brightness, a multitude of vividly coloured cloths hung awkwardly onto the walls of the hardened-hearted castle by two of the young residents of the castle. The fabric was often arranged into different words by the young girls, the only activity they had ever been able could do together without insults being thrown at the other's expense and flaming arguments erupting over trivial things.

Exactly four years to this day, the word which hung clumsily on the wall read 'Arianne' – the beloved older sister of the two children. It was the now fully-grown woman's nineteenth name day, and the first she had celebrated at Seagard since leaving to apprentice their grandfather in the far south of the Westeros, a dry and hot city called Sunspear. It was being celebrated with a large feast, oddly attended by many of the more powerful families throughout the land. The sisters knew that there were important guests because they had been commanded by their lord father to play their games where they would not be irritating the guests. And so there they were, hiding away in a cellar and standing on squeaky ladders, nailing their cloths down – the final touches to their name day gift.

Emmeline, always the more lady-like of the two had taken the passive role of telling her younger sister what to do but preferred her self-made title "the laying of fabric instructor". She was almost two years older than her sibling, and thought herself all the more wise – throwing out orders while running her hands up and down the silky cloth that had gone unused by their seamstress. A travesty to waste the beautiful fabric, she supposed they could have made some wonderful handkerchiefs instead of knocking pins into it.

Natalia, on the flip side of the coin, had taken after – or modelled herself on, many would say – their older sister Arianne, both in their darker complexion and an affinity for resorting to violence a little too quickly. While Emme had been sewing and other suitable hobbies, Lia had been imagining herself games where she could use her wooden sword and mock-fight with the local boys. She felt like she was always playing squire to her sister, although still happily climbed onto the unsafe ladders to hang fabric.

But they had a relatively happy relationship, well, as good a relationship you possibly could expect for the girls being the complete opposite of each other. The pair could get along like the best of friends at times, especially when it came to impressing Arianne with their new pastime or watching their baby brother Felix when mother was busy socializing.

Eventually their work on the word had finished, the wall was adorned with the deep red fabric which you could vaguely decipher as spelling Arianne if you looked for long enough. Natalia quickly ran out of the door with Emmeline following her as they rushed through the halls, filling them with laughter as they ran. Emme pulled onto her sister's wrist when they neared the adults. The pair shared a secret and mischievous smile before walking into the room every inch the almost-ladies, unaware for what they were walking into.

This time of year, Natalia knew as the worst few days to be suffering through. It was the fourth time she had experienced it, and her grief still felt as heart-wrenching as it did then. Her mother had certainly been talking utter poppycock when she said that time healed all wounds.

It had been an entire four years since her dear sister had been 'lost', and she still hated the phrase. People would still tell her mother and father that they were "apologetic for their great loss", and every time she heard it Natalia would exercise much of her restraint, not to attack the person, cut off a limb just to tell them that she was sorry for their loss. She, nor her family, would ever find Arianne under their beds as if she was a childhood toy who had been lost amongst the mess of a child's room. No, Arianne was dead. She would not ever be found by anyone.

Her only sister now, Emmeline had told her that whenever someone dies, another star appears in the sky. She would also tell her that Arianne would be make the biggest and brightest star in all of the sky. Lia had felt sorry for her at the time, she had thought that her sister had finally gone completely round the twist because there was no way that a star could be as bright as Ari was, as much as her smile shone and radiated the entire room. It was impossible for any God to make a star as glowing. Perhaps she would have been the sun, if anything..

She wandered around the castle listless and alone with her depressing thought, hoping to find someone to converse with but the home of the Mallisters had almost always been empty of guests since Arianne's death. Many-a powerful house had visited and stayed at the Seagard castle before, but now it always felt tense and not at all like a home should feel. Lia had overheard the townsfolk calling the castle tainted and cursed by death, spreading rumours that a ghost that roamed the grounds at night – pushing people from towers when their backs were turned. Complete lies, she knew, but Emme would fume and glare staggers at the gossiping women regardless, all the while dragging her back to the castle by her hair.

As the sun began to set, the sky turning a beautiful warm orange, Lia sat on the stone windowsill, gazing out towards the sea and watched the little fishing boats working away. One day far from now, her younger brother would be Lord Mallister, owning the castle and all its' lands. It was difficult to think of little Felix, still a boy of only 12, as the Lord of such a military-like castle. A solitary boy, he had always kept to himself as far back as Lia could remember. When he was even younger than now, their father would often arrange for him to play with the son of his ward, a rather big for his age boy but Felix & Lewys had played together happily until Lewys had hit his dog. After that, Felix would cry for hours until he was pardoned from meeting with the chubby boy. She had heard her mother and father argue about whether Seagard should instead be given to Uncle Patrek, which father had been furious about. Natalia had never met Patrek, her father's younger brother and supposedly her grandfather Jason's favourite of his sons.

After a long while, dark-blonde hair whipped past her and Lia immediately recognized that Emmeline had stormed straight past her which at first amused the younger girl before Emme had turned around and stomped back to her. Expecting an insult from the always overly dramatic girl, Lia prepared herself with a comeback – maybe something about her hair. But she was surprised when Emme's anger was not directed towards her.

"Have you heard what he's done now?" Her voice screeched and upon noticing that Lia did not understand what she meant, pulled her by the hand back down the halls from where she had just ran off from.

Natalia did not fight her sister's tight grip, quite intrigued to see what drama Emme had gotten herself into now, but did struggle to keep up with her sister's quick pace and longer legs. She tripped over herself with almost every step but still kept going until stopping straight in her place, almost yanking Emmeline's arm out of her socket. "I'm not moving until you tell me what's going on."

"He'll tell you, just come," Emmeline used all her strength and pulled hard on Lia's arm. "Come on, Lia! Now!"

"Fine."

They started walking, well it was more of a sprint now, until they reached their parent's bedchambers. Not even a knock, most unlike Emme's usual strict protocol for things like this, they walked straight into the chambers to find handmaiden folding garments of clothing and quickly putting them into trunks.

Emme glared at them and spoke in blunt tones, "Where is my lord father?"

"In search of the lady Natalia, my lad-"

She had stormed back out, Lia mouthing an apology at the young woman before trailing after her on-the-rampage sister. They walked briskly and in a stony silence before reaching Natalia's bedroom. Once again Emme didn't care to remember common courtesies and passed straight into the slightly out-of-order bedroom of Lia's.

"There you are, my sweet child!" Their father, Fabian was stood near the door with a large grin on his face – the stark opposite of his daughter's – an expression she hadn't seen in years.

"We're not going, neither of us are going. Tell him, Lia." Emme jabbed her elbow into her side.

Natalia was utterly bewildered by what was happening. Why was Emme, always the most eager to travel to exotic places, so against going somewhere? "What in the Seven Hells is going on? Leaving here, to where?"

"Up there." Emme's bitter tone made Lia choke on a laugh, of course this was why she was so distraught.

"Emmeline, show some respect. I thought I had raised you to be a lady, not a wolf." Fabian scolded his now-eldest daughter, but still smiled. It was quite the sight, Lia thought, to she her once jolly father who had become larger and more sullen as the years went on, to be so happy.

"They are wolves! Complete savages, if you ask anyone sophisticated they would tell you the same."

"We're not so far from the North, Emmeline, and you do not have a decision in this. I want you both to travel to Winterfell with me. The King is expecting us to meet him on Kingsroad in two days, you will be there, child."

Emme's anger had manifested, she now sat on her sibling's bed with a stony face, glaring daggers at her lord father. She was not a child, she had just celebrated her eighteenth name day, she was a woman now and she despised going North, ever since the family visit almost five years ago had gone distasterously wrong for her. Nowhere should be that cold all the time, and the people – ugh, the people.

"Why does Emmeline have to come with us? Could she not stay here and practice," Natalia racked her brain for a worthy excuse. If she had to visit the North, she could not withstand weeks of Emmeline's complaints. "Making a household?"

"Your mother is staying here, a Mallister must always stay in Seagard – but we will leave; Felix, myself, Natalia and you, Emmeline."

She thought of making a side-handed comment about her mother's status as a Mallister, but decided against it. Emme knew that she was going to be forced to attend this irritating trip and did not want to travel with an angered father. "Fine."

Emmeline sat in her chambers as her handmaidens – well, she shared them with Lia – bustled around her putting clothes into her Mallister blazoned trunk. The blazon was a large silver eagle, over a rich purple field. She had grown up hearing stories about how her family were faithful followers, but never leaders. Emme used to think that Arianne was going to be the first Mallister leader – until she abandoned her Riverland roots to live in Dorne, as a princess. Princess was not what you would think of Arianne, if you had ever met her. A tall, broad-shouldered woman of 19, she was exotic-looking and beautiful but deadly. Their cousin Tyene had affectionately named Arianne a Snake, all fast & fluid movements but always bit off more than she could swallow. The nickname hadn't gone down well, and Emme's memory of their wrestling until Grandfather had to pull them apart would always make her giggle. She had almost forgotten about what day it was until now.

Another hand touched hers as it rested on the trunk, which she reacted to by snapping her hand away and glaring at the perpetrator. A guilty-looking woman she knew as Arysa glanced at her before going back closing the trunk.

"Sorry," Emme tried to smile apologetically, wringing hands together. She knew she had a tedancy to overreact, but she couldn't help it. Her mother had often told her that all women, especially of her age had trouble controlling her emotions sometimes. Emmeline felt like she'd gotten all of her family's share of the over-emoting.

"Why aren't you coming with us, mother? I thought you were friends with the Tully lord's daughter?" Natalia rested her head on her hand, elbow propped up on the table as she spoke to her mother, Esme Mallister. A beautiful woman, her skin a few shades darker than Lia's - identical to what Arianne's had been, she had been raised in the most Southern part of Westeros, Dorne as a princess of the very noble House of Martell, the middle of three children. Lia hadn't heard much about her mother's family, aside from her grandparents, but she knew that her older sister Elia had married a Targaryen and was murdered. Natalia didn't ask about her, because her mother always seemed happy and if someone had asked her about Arianne, she would have been depressed for days, so she never mentioned it.

"Lord Tully, Natalia," Esme gently reprimanded her youngest daughter, dearly pushing a curl of dark brown hair behind Natalia's ear. "I am friends with Catelyn, but someone must stay and keep track of the household while you, Emmeline and Felix gallavant up to Winterfell."

This confused Lia, an emotion she had been feeling too much of this evening for her liking. If you were friends with someone and cared for them, would you not travel to see them when the opportunity arised? "But she's your friend. Do you not miss her?"

"Child, many things have happened since the last time I saw Catelyn Stark, things that change how you see your life. Perhaps when you have experienced more you will understand."

More confusion. Lia hated, beyond anything else, being treated as if she were a child. She was nearly a grown-woman of sixteen, not of Felix's tender age! "I've experienced plenty to know that you would ride across kingdoms to see the people you care for."

Esme gave a soft chuckle, more to herself than her daughter, sometimes Natalia reminded her of Arianne so incredibly much. The same stubborn loyalty and soft features, she supposed. Both were their mother's children, princesses of Dorne. "I would travel to save lives, not just to see. I can see in my mind's eye, all of the happy memories that I could ever need. Sometimes visiting the present can alters these memories, not always for the best."

"Sometimes you make absolutely no sense, mother. I love you very dearly, but who are we without the ones we love? Those you build us-"

"Can break us just the same, my darling child."

A/N: Of course, all rights go to George R.R. Martin for his awesome characters and universe. I own nothing, I tell you - NOTHING!