Chapter VI: Bound Together
Disclaimer:this story is not my original thought but I have co-written a few chapters with the original author,this belongs to her and applies for all the chapters in this story.
The following morning, Marina was awakened to a sudden dip in her bed and jump. Blearily, she opened her eyes and asked, "Who's there?"
"Today's the day you become my sister!" Arya exclaimed happily. Nymeria, sensing her mistress's joy, yipped excitedly.
Arya's excitement was infectious. Marina quickly got out of bed as Arya yelled to the door, "She's awake!"
At that, it seemed as if all of the women in Winterfell descended upon Marina's room. Her mother, Lady Stark, Sansa, Septa Elyse, and several handmaidens were all there. Sansa's direwolf, Lady was also in the room.
It was the beginning of what Marina knew would be a very long day.
A few hours later…
Ned was on his way to Robb's quarters to wake him up. It was time for him to start getting ready for his wedding. Given the amount of ale that his eldest had imbibed last night, Robb would definitely be hung over.
Sure enough, Robb was still sound asleep and snoring lightly. Theon and Jon had come up with an idea as to how to wake Robb up: Dump a bucket of ice cold water on him, which would be a surefire way to get Robb to wake up!
"Robb get up." Ned said in a commanding tone that usually worked when it came to waking his son up. All Robb did was grumble in his sleep and turn over to the other side of the bed.
Nodding to Jon and Theon, they proceeded to pick up their water buckets and throw the water on Robb.
Once he woke up, Robb promptly began yelling at Theon saying, "Greyjoy, I'm going to shove a sword so far into you, that no one will ever find it! And that'll be just the beginning of the torture I'm going to inflict on you for this! Jon, I don't even know what I'm going to do to you yet!"
After several more threats against both Jon and Theon's physical integrity, Ned cut in saying, "Now that you're up Robb, we need to get some food into you. It'll help chase away the aftereffects of the hangover. After you eat, then you'll start to get ready for your wedding."
At the mention of the wedding, Robb quickly got out of bed. It was a little too quickly though, as he had to sit back down on the bed to make it through the dizzy spell.
"What was I thinking, drinking all of that ale?" Robb groaned. Ned smiled slightly at the statement.
Meanwhile, back in Marina's room, there was still much bustling about. Unfortunately, when one of Cersei's maids had stepped on Nymeria's tail, Lady Stark had told her daughters to take the direwolves from the room. Neither girl had been happy, but surprisingly both had obeyed their mother without an argument.
Marina had just put on her wedding dress. With help from Lady Catelyn, she had overseen the making of it. The dress was fairly simple yet elegant, because even though she was a southern princess, Marina was a Northern bride. With its cotton underskirts and silk overdress embroidered with silver and pine green flowers along the sleeves and bust. It had a cerulean under bust with a neckline that plunged to the tops of her breasts. Her gold and black maiden's cloak, once she put it on, would be held in place by a silver clasp shaped like a stag.
There was a knock on the door, and she called out, "Who is it?"
"There's not anything that I shouldn't see going on in there, is it?" said the all too familiar voice. Smiling, Marina called out, "You can come in, Uncle Tyrion."
The smile that had been on Marina's face since Arya had waked her up had gotten even bigger when her favorite uncle came into the room. He had been the one that had taught her how to read and would answer most of the questions she'd pestered him with.
Looking her up and down he said, "The Marina Baratheon I knew was a young girl the last time I saw her. Who is this lovely creature that stands before me now on her wedding day?"
Blushing slightly at his praise, Marina said, "Thank you uncle Tyrion."
Cersei then cut in saying rather sweetly, "Dear brother, even you should know that this is considered bad luck for a man to be in here."
"Actually my dear sister, it's only bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding. It says nothing about uncles coming into see her. In fact I do have a good reason for being here. I decided to give Marina her wedding gift a little early. Sarah, you may come in now," Tyrion said lightly.
Marina looked up as a girl only slightly younger than herself walk into the room. She had hazel eyes and hair that was somewhere in between blonde and light brown. Bobbing a curtsy, the girl said, "Pleasure to meet you, your Highness."
Nodding at the formal greeting, Marina then asked, "Tell me, what is your full name? You don't have to worry about it."
"My name is Rose Hill, your Highness. Your Lord Uncle chose me to be a new handmaiden for you."
So she was a highborn bastard. Hill was the name used for children in that situation in the area around Casterly Rock. Chances were that she and Marina were related in some way.
"I look forward to the chance to find out more from you, Rose," Marina smiled kindly. No doubt the poor girl was nervous.
"And I am sure Marina is very thankful to her little uncle." Spoke Cersei "Now why don't you scamper off and find someone else to bother, little brother."
Tyrion gave Cersei a mocking bow, smiled at his niece, then left the room.
"Rose, if you are to be my daughter's servant, fetch that box over there for me." Cersei gestured to a box sitting on a chest of clothes with the wine glass in her right hand. Rose looked nervously over to Marina who smiled at her giving her the 'go ahead'. "Quickly now!" Cersei demanded.
Bowing to the Queen, Rose rushed across the room, grabbed the box then nearly thrust it into Cersei's face. "Have you sense girl?" The Queen asked before snatching the box from the maidservant's shaking hands.
Cersei waved her wineglass at Sarah. "Come here Marina, I have a gift for you."
Lady Stark nudged the Princess forward towards her mother. Marina went and sat down on the couch next to Cersei. She opened the box held out to her and gasped. Inside sat a tiara. A row of diamonds ringed the bottom before curling upwards into an intricate pattern of vines and roses. "It's beautiful" whispered Marina.
"Here, let me put it on for you." Cersei lifted the tiara from its resting place and set it upon Marina's arranged hair. "There, my daughter, now you truly look the Princess you are."
Meanwhile back in Robb's room he had just finished up getting of the items were new except for his black boots. His tunic was white and his cloak grey, the colors of House Stark. The breeches that he was now wearing were of black leather.
Robb was nervous. He could only imagine just how nervous Marina herself was. They'd planned a way around the public bedding ceremony, and it was simple: Get out of the Great Hall once everyone was so drunk they wouldn't notice them leaving.
There was a brief lapse in the conversation when it was just Robb and his father in the room. Taking advantage of the short amount of time they had, Ned cut in saying, "You and Marina are planning on leaving the feast in order to dodge the public bedding." It wasn't a question; it was a statement of fact.
Gathering up his courage, Robb said, "Yes father, we are going to sneak away."
Before they could discuss the matter further, a servant came in, inclined his head then said, "Lord Stark. The king is causing a bit of a ruckus…"
At that Ned left. But not before giving Robb a look that said, "Good luck."
In what seemed to be no time at all, it was time for the wedding to start. Instead of in a sept, it would be held in the Godswood. Cersei, the blonde nuisance that Jon Arryn had seen fit to bind Robert to was less than thrilled with the fact that wedding ceremony would be taking place outside.
Robert looked his now 16 year old daughter, the second eldest and the only one of his trueborn children to have his black hair and blue-gray eyes. Though he would never forget Lyanna, when he looked at Marina there was something about her that reminded him of what it was like to be happy.
Marina had truly blossomed in the North. He could see that plain as day. Though he suspected that there had been some awkward moments early on between Marina and Robb, there was no sign of that awkwardness now.
"How do I look father?" His eldest daughter asked him somewhat nervously.
He looked at her, in her wedding dress, her gold and black Baratheon maiden's cloak and the tiara on her head. It was a family heirloom that was passed from eldest daughter to eldest daughter to wear on their wedding days.
"You look beautiful Marina. Now let us get this ceremony done," Robert said as a signal came from Lady Stark.
Tradition stated that the father of the bride would walk his daughter up the sept and would give her to her future husband and let the septon do his work. Northern weddings were no different in that regard, but they would not swear their love before some supposedly "godly" septon as in the south, they would swear before the weirwood tree in Winterfell.
Marina's heart was beating so quickly that she felt that it would fall out of her chest. She was quite nervous. There were so many people here watching her. What if she did something wrong? The last thing she wanted to do was make a fool of herself in front of the lords of the North and even worse, her older brother, who would never let her hear the end of it!
Deciding to ignore the audience for the moment, Marina focused on her intended. She looked him over. Right now, Robb looked every inch his twenty years. As they got up there, her father handed her over to Robb with a nod before going over to stand by her mother. Robb took her hand in his and smiled in earnest.
"Thank you, your highnesses, my lords and ladies, for coming." Lord Stark said. After finishing with the pleasantries, he said loudly, "If anyone has problems regarding this match, speak now or forever hold your peace!"
There was a brief period of silence. Marina's heart was in her throat while she waited to see if anyone did object to their no one voiced such an objection, Lord Stark motioned to them to turn around and kneel.
As the couple turned around and knelt before the tree, Lord Stark began the ceremony saying, "I, Eddard of House Stark, Warden of the North, see these two hearts bound together as one in the eyes of the Old Gods and the noble men of the North." Lord Eddard looked to Robb and gave a subtle nod.
Robb unfastened the Maiden's Cloak, not fumbling at all when he removed it from Marina's shoulders. He then put the cloak with the Stark colors. She was now under his protection. And he would defend her with his last breath.
With their fingers still intertwined, they turned back to Lord Stark who tied their wrists together saying, "What the gods bind together today, no man can tear apart. Say the words," he ordered as he stepped away.
With that part of the wedding done, Robb and Marina turned to face each other. This was going to be the face she would see when she woke up in the mornings and the last thing she would see when she went to bed at night. He would be her children's father, something Marina looked forward to seeing, since she had a feeling that Robb would be a fantastic father. They would give each other comfort. She took in his face and though he was no longer smiling, his river-blue eyes were still obviously happy. It seemed that they could communicate now with their eyes.
Together they said the words that they'd been practicing to say to each other at this moment, "My beloved is mine and I am theirs. Until the day breaks and the shadows flee forever. With this kiss, I pledge my love, devotion, and loyalty."
As their lips touched, a rousing cheer rose from the crowd. But Robb and Marina didn't hear it. Right now, they were the only two people in the world that mattered at that moment.
Hand in hand Rob and Marina walked back down the aisle created by people. Broad smiles were on the newlywed's faces while their families clapped and cheered loudly around them. As they reentered Winterfell Marina tripped over a loose stone. Robb caught her before she fell more than a couple inches. They looked at each other and giggled.
Before they even entered the great hall the smell of roast beef, pheasant, honeyed mead, and many other delicious scents drifted out of the kitchens. Marina knew she would not be able to eat much if any of it though. She was still too nervous and excited. Next to her however she heard Robb's stomach growl with hunger.
"You're seriously hungry? I'm too nervous to eat!" Marina said to Robb as they sat down.
"Trust me. I'm hungry enough to eat a herd of cows," Robb replied as everyone else began to file into the Great Hall. A short time later, the feast began.
Roughly an hour and a half later…
The feast was in full swing and most everyone was well into their cups. Soon, he and Marina would make their break for his… no their room. Thankfully, King Robert was behaving himself, relatively anyway.
Marina had been dancing so much she'd barely had time to eat. She'd danced with him, both oftheir fathers, Ser Hallyn, her uncle Tyrion, and pretty much anyone else who'd asked.
Of course that horse's ass of a crown prince had to come up to him that moment and say, "Try not to enjoy the bedding too much, Stark." Before Robb could say anything that could've gotten him into serious trouble, Marina came up to him and laid a hand on his arm, calming him down. Turning to Joffrey, she said, "So good of you to express your congratulations to me and my husband, dear brother. I need to steal him away for another dance."
Moving back out onto the dance floor, Robb said to Marina, "Thank you. I wasn't sure what I was going to do to your brother. Probably would've thrown him out of the hall."
"That would not have gone over well with my mother. Joffrey's always been her golden boy; he gets away with pretty much you gave him that good beating after he called my honor into question." Marina smiled at the memory of watching her now husband give her jackass of a brother a beating.
Bending his head slightly so that his mouth was at her ear, Robb whispered, "We'll probably be leaving soon. You'll leave first. I'll follow you about fifteen minutes after you leave. I'll meet you in my room."
Marina nodded. They were going to try and make a break for it. Now they would be sitting down to get some more food into them before turning in for the night.
A short while later, Marina excused herself politely and started to make her way out of the Great Hall and towards Robb's room. On her way out, she noticed that both her father and Uncle Tyrion were watching her. When they gave her a simple nod, Marina quickly made her way out of the hall, relatively unnoticed. She went into Robb's room and waited.
Fifteen minutes later, Robb left the hall. On his way out he noticed that his parents were watching him leave. It probably hadn't escaped their notice that Marina had left earlier. When they gave him a nod, Robb left the hall as quick as possible, had his parents not known what was truly happening they would have thought the hall was in flames.
Robb could walk through the halls with his eyes closed, and right now he felt as though he was in a dream. Outside the door to his-their room, he paused, only for a moment, but it was a long moment.
He knew as soon as he stepped into their room, nothing would be the same again. He took a deep breath before stepping into the room. Marina sat in the chair beside his table and she had jumped when he entered the room. He silently closed the door and turned back to Marina.