Prologue

Nausea. She knew she would feel it by then. What, with all the rocking of her carriage over the graveled roads. Her mother and eldest sister grew accustomed to such travel but her and the youngest boy sought for an ease to their torment. But she was not to complain seeing she had it best compared to the eldest men of the family and their knights.

Her lord and father who bore the name of Oarden, rode on his horse along with the eldest and second born sons of his name. They took on the ever changing weather with their chest lifted, their shoulders held tight and their heads held high. Furs adorned their bodies to keep them warm when the nights grew cold and until they reached a haven to rest, they were steady without signs of a break in need.

The second youngest girl of seventeen swallowed the lump in her throat in hopes of calming her nerves. She looked to her little brother whose fingers were pressed solidly against his temple in an attempt to stave off his own affliction.

"When will we be there?" She whined.

"In two days time." Her mother answered without a hint of weariness.

The girl sighed heavily, leaning her head back against the plush covering of her seat.

"Try to relax. Soon we'll find a stop and there we can properly rest."

If she could relax. The bile was set to release itself and she didn't know how long she could hold it in. That is, if her brother didn't beat her to it first.

Why they were on their way to Winterfell, it was lost on her. She knew her father and Lord Stark of the North had a fitting relationship. The girl only believed so because of the Oarden family's ties to the Tullys. The Tully family were East of the Riverlands and they West of it. As years came to pass, the elders who bore the name of her father came looking for a land to raise their children and their children's children and so there they were. The Tullys were no actual kings nor queens of the land and had no right to take away from others. The king now and the king before held repute towards the Oardens and made sure the Tully family did as well.

It was soon found out on the young girl's behalf that the Lady Stark was once a Tully. It may have been that as to why the relations between those of Winterfell and those West of the Riverlands were well. It was still unbeknownst to her why the need to come along with her father on this dreadful journey was mandatory. This meeting that was to be held between the two lords; still beyond her.

Closing her eyes, she did as her mother told and relaxed. She took in deep breaths which she tried hard to steady through her nose and released them from her mouth.

"Grow up, Amariah." Her sister chided. "Travel does little to affect mother and I and you know how sensitive my body can be. Then again there's you." She stated in abhorrence.

"Oh shove it where you love it best, Paige."

"Mother!" The eldest cried aloud.

"Enough. Both of you. We will reach our destination due in time and for the mercy anointed on my soul, I need you girls to cooperate. Settle your quarrels in private for when we reach Winterfell I expect to see the two of you on your best behavior before the Lord and Lady and all those who will be in attendance."

Sighing noisily, Amariah pulled closer to the edge of her seat to look out the window. This ride was hell so long as her sister was by her side and she was beginning to wonder why hadn't her parents dispose of her when given the chance. The thought was bitter but her sister was the devil and the devil deserved no compassion.

The sky was growing dark and that meant that soon they would have to stop and rest. Afterwards when the sun would rise, there would be but one day left until they reached Winterfell. Oh how she wished she were back in her home. Back in her bed where her pillows were right and the blankets which were stitched lovingly and beautifully by her nans wrapped comfortingly around her body.

A rapt against the window brought her attention to the eldest of the children. Her brother, Kalogeros, winked at her bringing her out of her foul mood. She smiled at him just as he trotted further to the front of her carriage to ride alongside their other brother, Sam, and their father.

Lord and father, Galen Oarden. Mother Eda of the House of Caron now Lady of Oarden. The first born son, Kalogeros Oarden. The first born daughter, Paige Oarden. Second born son and daughter, Sam and Amariah Oarden. And lastly, Edmund Oarden. They were a weird one, that family. Winterfell would never know because they would uphold their pride and honor and keep their troubles to themselves. But prepared the North must be for the family who wore and carried the sigil of the shadowcat over their breast and banners were making their way.

Leaning into her seat and closing her eyes once more, Amariah sought peace in sleep. Even if only for a few minutes, she would rest. And how easily she'd succumbed to it. And she dreamt.

In her dream, she felt warm. Hues of red and gold clouded her vision in a feeling of ecstasy. She reached out to her surroundings but felt she could grasp nothing. Her body was rooted by gravity but she could touch nothing. It was a dream after all and she let that take her as the bliss she'd felt before grew stronger and took her higher. Just as she was ready to reach her peak, her body grew stiff and the air grew cold. The red and gold that lit her sight were now dull with grays and browns. And she felt it. As if pushed off of the highest of mountains, her body began to fall.

The force she felt before amplified. The ground was pulling her in, dragging her down. She tried to reach and grab for something, but like before there was nothing. She was falling.

With a gasp, Amariah awoke just before hitting the ground.

"Shh," her father hushed.

He cradled her in his arms, ready to lie her onto the bed of an inn him and the others had come to rest at.

"It was just a dream," he coddled. "Go back to sleep."

Willing her heart to steady its rhythm, she pressed her hand over her breast.

Her father tucked her in and pressed a kiss to the crown of her head where he then left her side by side with her sister who was fast asleep.
She couldn't bring herself to slumber now with the nightmare still fresh in her mind. This dream in particular was a recurrence after having been told she was set to travel to Winterfell with her family and their best men.

Amariah dreaded Winterfell and all that it held. She was apprehensive of the dreams that grew dark and of that one night where she dreamt of her fall, the shrilling cry of a young boy.


AN: So here I am making another story. If any of my followers who read Epoch see this, I apologize for not updating that particular story. It's been some time now but I will get back to it. I've had this one in mind for a while and I was taking the time to get it sorted out.

I know this is short but seeing as it's just the prologue it was expected. I plan on uploading the actual first chapter later today so you all can get a better feel for the story. I've been rereading the books and watching the episodes for Game of Thrones over again so that I can stick with their themes as much as possible all the while breaking off into the OC's world. I do my best to be accurate with certain things so I hope I do well with that later into the story.

This takes place about a month or so before the King's arrival.

Thank you for reading and I apologize for any grammatical errors. I hope you all enjoy.