Chapter Two

The air was cool in the twilight of the day. It was after dinner the next day and Zora had left the keep and was going down to the godswood, one of her favorite places at Winterfell. While they had a weirwood tree at Myrewood, there was something about this place that calmed her spirit more than the one at her home.

As she walked she reached behind her head and loosed the knot at the base of her head so that the plait fell loose against her back. She usually wore her honey colored hair in a long braid while at home, but while they were at Winterfell she must look more like the image of the Lady of Myrewood and wore her hair like her mother used to, braided and twisted into a knot at the nape of her neck. She sighed in relief, careful to place all of the hairpins into the pocket of her gown. Her maid, Bancey, would kill her and be happy to face the consequences if she lost more hairpins.

When she was farther away from the keep, she looked around to see if she was alone. When she was sure she was, Zora knelt down and took of her shoes. Her small boots were comfortable enough, but when she was at home she liked to be barefoot as much as possible, and in the godswood especially so. She carried her shoes in her hand, smiling at the feeling of her feet against the grass.

She had always loved Winterfell. As much as she loved Myrewood, it was dull and dreary in comparison. She knew that the North was thought of as cold, wet, and bland, but to her it was the most beautiful place imaginable. She had been south once, to King's Landing, when she was small. Her mother took her to see a tournament given for Prince Joffrey's nameday. But Zora had been so small, only four, that she had little memory of the place. All she retained was that it was uncomfortably warm and the very air felt dangerous. But she still cherished the memory. It was one of the few she had of her mother. In comparison to the South, however, the North, and Winterfell especially seemed like a paradise.

Lost in thought, she was surprised to see she had arrived at the weirwood tree so quickly, and even more surprised to see someone already there.

Robb Stark was sitting at the base of the weirwood tree, his feet almost in the water. He was staring at the water intensely, which was how he did most things. He did not see Zora until she was almost next to him. When he noticed her he leapt to his feet and gave a curt bow.

"Lady Zora."

She gave a small curtsey, more out of confusion than anything. "Lord Stark."

Robb sat back down, looking back at the water. Zora stood there, not quite sure what to do now. She could sense that he was still angry about her digs at him from yesterday. She had not seen him all day, and at dinner that evening he had avoided her gaze, even though they were seated close to each other. She was determined to follow her brother's advice and apologize to him, but it was difficult when Robb did not seem to want to talk to her.

"You could call me Robb, you know." She jumped a little at his voice. He was looking at her now. "Your brother does. We've known each other since we were babies. The formality seems a bit strange after all of these years."

She moved and sat next to him. "Yes, but doesn't propriety demand some sense of formality, even if the people in question are familiar? My father is your father's bannerman. Your family is the ruling family in the North. I believe tradition dictates that, in light of all that, I call you Lord Stark. Even if we were children together."

He smiled a little but didn't say anything. She considered a moment before continuing. "I believe it would be allowed for me to call you Lord Robb, though, if that is any better. And when we are not around other people I could sometimes call you just Robb, if the situation calls for it."

Robb genuinely smiled at that, the expression lighting up his usually serious face. "I think that sounds like a good compromise, Lady Zora."

"That means that, if you wish, you could call me Zora in the same circumstances."

"I would be honored," He said, pausing before finishing with, "Zora."

She smiled at him, then hesitated a moment before speaking again. "I believe that propriety also demands an apology from me." Robb looked at her, his eyebrows furrowed and his gaze curious.

"What are you apologizing for?"

"For the way I've treated you the past few years." She said, and Robb's incredulity grew. She continued before he could speak. "I'm afraid I've been unkind and, frankly, disrespectful towards you by continually bringing up our spar. I should have let it go a long time ago. I'm sorry if it's caused you any pain."

For a moment he didn't say anything, just looked at her. Zora found herself holding her breath. She hadn't realized how important it was to her that he forgive her until this moment, with all of the different possibilities in front of her.

"I appreciate the sentiment." He said finally, and Zora breathed again, but only slightly. "But it's very unnecessary."

Zora froze and met his gaze. He was smiling again.

"What do you mean?" She said, her voice shaking slightly. Out of all the outcomes she expected, this was not one of them.

Robb shook his head. "You never caused me more pain than I caused myself whenever I thought about our fight. I regret that day more than you know." Bitterness was creeping on the edges of his words and Zora found that she felt insulted. He regretted fighting her? He regretted losing to a girl more than she knew? Anger began filling her, and she rose quickly. Her breath came in short bursts and she clenched her fists tightly. She needed to leave now before she did something she regretted. Anger had always been her weakness and she needed to separate herself from this before it became a bigger problem.

Robb also got to his feet, looking at her with eyebrows raised.

She took a breath, calming herself before speaking. "I'm sorry, my lord. I had no idea you felt that way." She curtseyed quickly. "If you will excuse me." She turned and began walking away, but a hand grabbed her arm and stopped her. She turned and found Robb's face flooded with concern, his hand still on her arm.

"I think you misunderstand me." He said quickly. "I regret my actions that day. I may have been young but even then I was capable of more honor than I acted with." He must have seen the confusion in her eyes and continued. "I have always regretted allowing Theon to speak to you that way without stopping him."

She could only raise her eyebrows at him. They stood there looking at each other for a moment, before she dropped her gaze to his hand still on her arm. He followed her eyes and quickly dropped her arm. He turned back to the water and sat down under the tree. Zora stood there contemplating for a moment before sitting next to him.

"All of these years I thought you were just a sore loser." She said, the surprise she felt coloring her voice.

Robb chuckled a little. "Oh, I was. And am. The first couple of years after that was what drove me. No one, especially Theon, would let me live down the fact that I lost to a girl who had never picked up a sword before. So I trained harder." He paused a moment. "But even as I got better, I was still uneasy every time someone brought up the incident. It took me a while to realize that I was bothered because I could still see your face when Theon spoke to you that way. And how you looked when I laughed." He looked at her then. "So I believe it is I who should be apologizing to you, not the other way around."

In his eyes Zora could see the regret and shame he felt towards himself and she found that, in the moment, she had completely forgiven him. So, she smiled at him and said, "There is nothing to forgive."

He smiled back at her. "I'm glad." They sat there a moment, but then he spoke again. "I have to say I'm relieved. I always was afraid that your hatred for me would never end."

She turned to him, incredulous. "Hatred? I never hated you." He turned to her in surprise and she continued. "For a moment, when you just laughed I did. But then I was just...disappointed." She looked at him. "I looked up to you so much, and it felt like you failed me. So I felt like I needed to punish you." She laughed a little. "And I guess I never stopped."

Robb was quiet a moment, but then he started to laugh. It was a real laugh, deep and loud, a laugh that Zora had only heard a few times in her life. She smiled at the sound, and then started to laugh as well. They looked at each other and grinned, past injuries forgotten.

Robb stood and held out his hand to Zora, smiling. "Well, my lady, it's starting to get late and we shouldn't be outside the keep after dark. May I escort you inside?"

Zora took his hand and rose, smiling back. "Yes, Robb, you may."

And together the two of them walked back to Winterfell.


Zora was standing next to her father near the courtyard of Winterfell. A few days had passed since Zora and Robb had cleared the air, to the noticeable improvement of everyone. The two smiled at each other and were pleasant to each other. That did not stop them from occasionally digging at each other, but now it was in a spirit of fun rather than as retribution. Zora was surprised at how easy she found it to forgive Robb. There had been so much pent up emotion towards him, but now it had faded and she found she was enjoying to get to know him as the man he was now, instead of punishing him for the mistakes of his childhood.

Just then, Robb, along with Theon, Zerryn, and Jon Snow, Ned Stark's bastard, passed Zora and her father on their way to the courtyard to practice. As they passed, Robb caught her eye and, smiling, inclined his head towards her. She returned the smile and gave him a small curtsey.

Her father watched the exchange, intrigued. Lord Zeckery Blackmyre was an imposing man, one of the most intimidating man in the North. He was tall and large; his honey colored hair, inherited by his children, was kept long around his shoulders and usually pulled into a low ponytail at the nape of his neck. He had dark eyes, ones that could be kind and warm, but most saw them with the glare of seriousness and duty. When it came to his children, however, Lord Blackmyre was gentle and caring.

He spoke, his deep voice rumbling deep in his chest, his Northern accent thick and strong. "I am glad to see that you and the Stark boy seemed to have put the past behind you, Zora."

Zora looked at her father, smiling. "I am too, Father. It was time to move on."

Lord Blackmyre gazed proudly at his daughter, who looked over to where the boys were now starting to fight. He watched her eyes as they quickly darted over the fighters, taking in Robb's strikes, Jon's parry's, the movement of Zerryn's feet. He spoke gruffly. "I will be forever grateful to him, for allowing us all to see the talent hidden inside you."

She chuckled at that. "Yes," she said, "I am grateful as well. I might never have picked up a sword if he hadn't made me so angry."

Her father shook his head. "I doubt that, my dear. You are a Blackmyre. All Blackmyres, even the women, are capable of excellence in fighting. Your great-grandmother was herself a great fighter, just like you."

She nodded. "I am glad to do my namesake proud." They both smiled at that. They continued watching the boys spar for a moment. Zerryn was almost getting the upperhand against Robb this time. He seemed to be learning from his mistakes from the previous days.

Her father spoke again. "What do you think of the Stark boy, my dear?"

She hesitated before speaking, Zerryn's comments in her ears. "I think he is a very honorable man, Father. A very skilled fighter. He will make a great Lord of Winterfell one day."

He nodded. "All true. Very wisely observed." He turned and looked at her very seriously. "My dear, you know that the last thing I want to do is lose you after losing your mother, but," he said, looking over at Robb, "as the Lady Blackmyre, you have certain duties to fulfill."

"Yes, Father." Zora replied.

"What are your opinions about this potential duty?" Lord Blackmyre asked, gesturing slightly at Robb Stark. Zora watched Robb a moment, who was starting to win against her brother again. She had thought very seriously about this after Zerryn had mentioned it to her, knowing that, if her father had an idea like this he would likely follow through.

"If this is your will for me, I will gladly do it." She said simply. "I cannot pretend and say I love him, because I don't; however I recognize that there are worse families, and men, to marry." Her gaze rested on Theon a moment, her anger towards him still alive and well. She looked at her father again. "I think he is a good man, and I think I could be happy with him."

"I admire your maturity towards this. Most girls your age would not be so quick to accept."

"I've always known this would be my duty. I intend to honor it." She watched as as Robb began slowly beating back her brother. "I never expected to marry for love. But I respect him, and that is more than some can say."

"Quite right." Said her father. "I did not love your mother when we married, but, like you, I respected her. And she became the most cherished woman of my life. The same is true of Lord and Lady Stark." As he said this, the couple in question came out of the keep. They nodded at Lord Blackmyre and Zora before continuing on their way to watch their son.

"I found," he continued, "that love grew from that respect. I hope that the same would be true for you." Lord Blackmyre put his arm around his daughter and kissed the top of her head. "I will speak to Lord Stark about this soon."

In the courtyard, Robb was finally able to beat Zerryn, but only just. Robb patted Zerryn on the arm, grinning, while Zerryn begrudgingly seemed to accept his defeat. As Robb went over to speak to his parents he caught Zora's eye and gave her a small smile, and Zora found she could not help but smile back.


So what do you guys think? This is my first baby step back into fanfiction because this story would not get out of my head. Let me know your thoughts! Thanks for reading!