Sona sat at her window and sighed. She could feel the air grow warm as the sun rose before her eyes, hues of the morning cascading over the fraction of the castle she could see. She had, once again, suffered through a night of little to no sleep. Her anxious mind had kept her awake, though she was clueless as to what caused her anxiety in the first place. There was nothing worrying her and she could find no plausible reason for her restlessness, yet the pit of unrest inside her grew larger and larger with each passing day. It was ridiculous, not to mention annoying.

Dismissing her thoughts, she stood from the window and made her way to her closet, pulling out a plain grey dress that she had worn more times than she could count. She took off her nightgown and slipped into the dress the steward's daughter Jeyne Pool had made to fit her specifically. The girls of the castle found utmost joy in designing dresses for one another but Sona couldn't care less about it. She had been making do with the same dresses for years after her womanly figure had come into form. She pulled her boots on and slightly brushed through her curls, pinning the hair that framed her face to the back so it didn't disturb her as she went about her day.

Sona exited her room and heard the faint sound of footsteps come from around the corridor. Knowing well who it was, she smiled as the door to her room shut behind her. "You're up rather early, little Lord,"

Robb Stark turned into the corridor just as she finished her sentence, rolling his eyes at the way she addressed him. "Stop calling me that. You make me sound like a privileged little boy when we are quite literally the same age."

Sona chuckled as he stopped to stand in front of her and crossed his arms over his chest. "But you are a privileged little boy," she remarked, making him raise his eyebrows at her as if he anticipated a correction of words. "Okay, maybe not so little."

He huffed as they began walking towards the exit of The Great Keep. "Thank you, you are most kind."

Sona nudged him lightly and laughed, earning a slight chuckle from him as well. "You must stop waking up so early," she spoke as they walked into the courtyard. "It worries me that you don't get enough sleep at night."

The castle slowly rose up to life as the morning progressed. They could hear the faint sound of the blacksmith getting to work from not too far away, as well as the ruckus of the horses inside the stables as they were fed.

"I get enough sleep at night, don't you worry your little head over it. Besides, you get to be graced with the company of yours truly every morning, why should you complain?" Robb looked down at her from the corner of his eye and teasingly arched an eyebrow, making her chuckle some more. He always made her laugh, all the time. Robb was Sona's best friend, and she his. They had grown up together and there was yet to be a day they spent without one another. Even when they were ever overwhelmingly busy with their own duties, they tried their utmost best to spend as much time as they could with one another, be it only for a couple of minutes. Robb was the best part of Sona's day, as was she of his - Sona knew. She knew that the only reason Robb forced himself to wake early was for her sake, so he could give her company while the rest of the castle slept their last hour or two of sleep.

She scoffed as they continued strolling around the castle. "I'll have you know that I have many important matters to tend to at this time of day."

"Like what? Counting the number of crows that fly over?" Robb sat across her as they approached a table near the armory. He noticed the slowly increasing number of guards shuffling to the Guard's Hall with intentions of breaking their fast, reminding him of his hunger just in time for his stomach to growl.

Sona narrowed her eyes at him. "You humor me. And have you not eaten?"

"Have you?"

Moments later they were inside the Great Hall, Robb seated in his usual place at the family dining table while Sona leaned against the chair across from him. No other member of the Stark family was present, all of them probably still getting dressed or in bed. Robb, on the other hand, was almost finished with the food that had been placed in front of him merely minutes ago. Sona watched him as he devoured his food, amused.

Finally prying his attention away from his plate, he lifted his head to look up at her. "Whaf?" he questioned, his mouth full.

"Please speak when your food is halfway down your throat if you want me to comprehend what you say."

Robb rolled his eyes and spent a few seconds chewing his food, finally swallowing. "Why don't you just sit and eat? I know you're starving."

Sona shook her head. As right as he was, the family dining table had no seat vacant for the likes of her. It was reserved only for the Stark family and their guests of honour. Irrespective of her involvement in the daily lives of the Starks, she knew there were certain boundaries that couldn't be crossed. She was no high born. "You know I can't. Don't fret though, I will grab something from the kitchen soon after you're done."

And she did just that. Swallowing her last piece of sweetened bread, she walked alongside Robb, both of them headed back towards the armory. The castle was abuzz with people now; the blacksmith was still at work, the guards roamed around, going about their own business, the kennels and stables were filled with the noise of various different animals and men sparred with one another in practice near the armory.

They had just returned to their places on the wooden table they had sat on earlier when a voice approached them: "Such a knobhead I am, searching for you two everywhere but here!"

Sona laughed as she saw Theon Greyjoy approach them, his expression a mixture of arrogance, ignorance and smugness all at once - it was quite his usual expression, really. Greyjoy was a difficult man to get along with. At eight and ten, he was two years older than both Sona and Robb. Despite his cocky demeanor, Sona considered him to be one of her greatest friends. An incident regarding a very angry horse that Theon had provoked during his earlier days at the castle was all it took for Sona to help out the scared adolescent and befriend him. And when she befriended him, so did Robb. No one really understood how the two tolerated the Iron born, but Sona and Robb were too well acquainted with his real self to care.

Then took a seat beside Sona, "I looked everywhere for you two, like I do every morning! Why do I always forget that you're always at the fucking armory?"

She laughed at his idiocy, "It's quite alright Greyjoy, happens to the best of us. I'll be sure to send out ravens your way from now onwards to inform you of our whereabouts every morning."

Theon rolled his eyes as the other two laughed. As hard as Theon tried to ridicule others, when it came down to being alone with the two of them, he was always the joke of the lot. He didn't mind, not really. Not when he was alone with the only two people he had ever come close to loving in his entire life.

As Robb and Theon continued their bantering, Sona noticed a figure approach them from behind Robb. She noticed him run a hand through his curly black hair. She noticed his sleepless eyes, his unhappy face, how he had begun carrying a sword with himself at all times. She noticed him acknowledge her staring as his eyes locked with hers. He gave her a small smile, and she returned it. She noticed how insincere it was, how it had been so long since she had seen his smile reach his eyes.

Jon Snow strode towards them and took a seat next to Robb, a Stark from head to toe as long as mannerism and physical appearances were concerned, but he was not a Stark. He was a bastard, and it was eating him alive. "Good morning."

Robb and Theon responded to his greeting while Sona just continued observing him. They had been inseparable as children, her and Jon. Maybe she was even closer to him than she was to Robb. Sona couldn't remember, but - either way - it did not matter anymore. Jon had drifted away from her while growing up. His insecurity of being born a bastard had driven him away from his brother, a walking, talking decoy of all Jon ever wanted to be. And because Sona was always with Robb, Jon had involuntarily driven himself away from her too.

Theon snapping his fingers in front of her broke her out of her daze. "Were you having a vision mutant?"

Sona rolled her eye and chose not to respond. Theon referred to the color of her eyes as a mutilation. He tried making numerous jokes about them, often calling her names like abomination and sometimes even white walker, but none were every funny. For his sake, though, she faked a laugh sometimes but it bothered her nonetheless. Sona hated her unconventional eyes. Her irises looked like crystals with broken pieces of sapphire floating within them; they really did make her feel like a mutant.

"Knock it off Greyjoy," Robb stated, knowing well of Sona's insecurity. "No one paws at your inhibitions."

Then smirked, "Because I have none."

"That's not what Rose from the brothel told me," Sona muttered, loud enough for the three boys to here. Theon glared at her, Robb laughed and Jon just smiled.

Hearing someone call out for Robb, they turned their heads and found Ned Stark heading their way, a sight which made them stand up from where they were seated, all in respect. Sona took in the image of the man she owed her life to, and - as always - doing so overwhelmed her with emotions she couldn't exactly pinpoint: gratitude, relief, pride, honor and luck, just to name a few.

"Robb," he looked at his son first as he stopped before all four of them. His eyes then scanned over the other three he considered his children just as much as he did Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran and Rickon. "Jon, Sona, Theon," He nodded towards the three of them and they muttered their greetings in unison. "I have news for you all."

Sona furrowed her eyes in confusion; Lord Stark never took the time out to personally address them, unless it was regarding something important. Noticing the curiosity upon the four's faces, he continued, "It is utmost grief that I inform you four of Jon Arryn's departure from this world."

Sona's face dropped at the news, fully aware of the position Lord Arryn held in Lord Stark's life. Thought she had never personally met him, the news filled her with sorrow. It was always upsetting to acknowledge the passing of an honorable man, one that - according to the stories she had heard - Jon Arryn definitely was. "I'm so sorry for your loss, Lord Stark," she spoke before anyone else did, earning a sad smile from Ned Stark as he gave her a small nod.

"There is more news," he continued. "The King rides for Winterfell, and is expected to arrive shortly," Now Sona was even more confused; what was going on? "During the next couple of weeks, I expect you all to be on your best behavior. I may demand more from you lot than you expect me to, but that is only because my pride resides in the four of you," He looked at Theon as he spoke the next sentence, well aware of his tendency to cause trouble. "Don't let me down."

A/N: I'm really liking where this is headed. Thank you so much thunder18, I.C.2014 and XxOriginalHybridxX for reviewing, and also everyone who followed and favorites. Encourages me so much!

Please review and do let me know what you think of it; the good, the bad, the ugly. P.S: I've messed around with some of the character's ages to go along with the storyline better.