Requiem

By

Everysonghasanending

Chapter Three

Rating:T

Warnings:Some strong language

Ana was the first of them to wake the following morning, although she had barely slept, her eyes slowly opened as a strand of sunlight poked through the window, squinting as her eyes adjusted she took in her unfamiliar surroundings, it took a moment to dawn on her but soon the memories of last night came flooding back, along with a pain down between her legs. She slowly sat up, gently placing Robb's arm, which had just moments ago been draped across her stomach, back down by his side, he looked far to peaceful to wake up. Careful not to disturb her sleeping husband, she pushed herself up from the bed, wincing slightly at the cold stones underneath her bare feet; walking over to the washing basin, Ana drenched a cloth into the cool liquid, ringing it tightly before using it to wipe the dried blood from her thighs.

"Are you alright?" Robb groggily asked from the bed.

Briefly peering over her shoulder, Ana nodded her response "I am just cleaning up." Looking around the room quickly, she spotted her nightgown folded neatly upon a chest afoot of their bed, reaching for it she hastily pulled it over her body, finally covering her nakedness. Glancing back at Robb the blood stained sheets caught Ana's attention, a quick blush swept across her pale cheeks as a wave of embarrassment overwhelmed her. "I'm sorry about the sheets. If you would like to get up, I shall get a maid to change them" she spoke quickly, turning her back towards her husband, she just couldn't face him.

Looking down in the empty space where she had previously been lying, he saw the blood, a confirmation that they had indeed consummated their marriage; looking back towards his wife, Robb frowned, it was quite obvious that she was embarrassed but he also knew it was pointless trying to argue with her about being comfortable around him, that would come later, he hoped. "Don't worry about it" he spoke rising from the also, quickly pulling on his trousers, boots and shirt "I shall fetch the maid, can I get her to bring you anything else?"

"I would like a bath" she replied, directing her gaze towards the window.

Robb nodded as he reached for the door "I shall make sure it's seen too and I will have them bring you some food also." With those final words he left the bed chamber, quickly closing the door behind him. Upon hearing the click of the latch, Ana wrapped her arms around her body as it began to tremble, the tears spilled freely down her cheeks, now that he was gone, she could let it all out and she did.

The morning passed by quickly after Ana's bath, the ache in her thighs dulled with the help of the warming water and a little milk of the poppy Maester Luwin had kindly brought her, Robb had not returned to their chambers, something which she was thankful about, but like promised he had sent a maid up with her breakfast. She had devoured the cooked bacon and toasted bread, yesterday she had been awash with nerves that she has scarcely ate, today she felt the effects of that negligence, the rumble in her stomach had been loud and almost painful but thankfully eased after her breakfast. Ana dressed in a brilliant emerald green gown and set a maid to braiding her raven locks into simple but pretty braids and once ready she finally left her room, heading straight towards her mother's chambers.

As she walked the halls of Winterfell, she did her best to ignore the stares and whispers, it would seem every member of the household knew what had happened last night, yet that was expected, it had been her wedding night after all, still it slightly embarrassed her. It was not that she was unaccustomed about people whispering about her, she was raised in Kings Landing for heaven's sake, gossip and intrigue was another language in the capital. The most common rumour she had been subjected to, was the one that she was one of Roberts's bastard children, but she knew her mother well enough to know that Cersei would not tolerate one of Robert's bastards within the keep, let alone raise one of her own. Ana could easily handle whispers about her legitimacy, for in her heart see knew that her mother was indeed Cersei Lannister, but whispers about her wedding irked her immensely.

Finally her mother's door came into view and she breathed a sigh of relief, she knocked lightly until she heard her mother's voice beckoning her inside. Entering the room, she spotted her mother sat with her Uncle Jaime, speaking over a glass of wine, they both beamed as she entered "good morning sweetling" her mother rose placing a kiss on her brow and ushered her into the empty seat next to her "how are you feeling?" she asked pouring her daughter a drink.

Ana nodded, quickly bringing the goblet to her lips and took a long sip, her eyes landed on her Uncle briefly, she felt slightly uncomfortable speaking about last night with Jaime present, but then again he was always present. Placing the glass back down, she reached for a slice of lemon cake "It was fine, no different from how you described" Ana replied with a shrug, tearing the corner of her cake.

"He didn't hurt you, other than the obvious way, did he?" Jaime asked "You know he could easily have a nasty accident if he did."

Cersei glanced at her brother, while she had always been pleased that he had a good relationship with her eldest daughter, however she did sometimes wonder why the same relationship was not shared with her other children…their children.

Ana rolled her eyes "no he did not, Robb was very gentle" she replied, the familiarity of speaking about Robb in such a manner felt foreign on her tongue.

"Good" Jaime beamed "I won't have to kill him then" he stated, even receiving a small chuckle from Ana, despite herself she did feel a little comforted and protected by her Uncles words, despite what would happen up in the North with her new family, she could still rely on her Uncle for protection.

Cersei turned her head back towards her daughter, offering a small smile "darling, I need to speak to Uncle Jaime alone, I shall come and find you in a little while."

Knowing better than to argue with her mother on the matter, Ana simply nodded rising from her seat "See you in a little while" she spoke softly, offering Jaime a sympathetic smile, no doubt she was about to chew his ear off for some reason or another.

Cersei waited until her eldest child left, her eyes staying on the door which Ana had just walked through, her smile had dissipated and in its stead lay a small frown. Ana had changed, perhaps it was a minute one, one that wouldn't be noticed by many but one unmissable by a mother. "So what is so important that you dismiss your daughter after her first bedding?" Jaime asked idly "or did you simply want to fuck?"

His chuckle caused Cersei to scowl, her ice blue eyes narrowed on her brother "Will you lower your tone, Ana may still hear you!" she hissed.

Jaime rolled his eyes in a rather hyperbolic manner "She won't." He stated firmly. "But if she did, you have her so wrapped around your little finger it wouldn't be an issue."

Cersei pondered the issue for a moment before relaxing slightly; she slumped back in her chair, a rather unladylike move for the Queen. "I cannot believe she is married now" Cersei sighed, tilting her head slightly to regard her brother "soon she will have children of her own."

"Don't become all sentimental now, dear sister. As I recall you nearly smothered her when she was babe." Cersei flinched at his harsh but true words, when Aliana had been born she had still been so engulfed with grief over the death of her first born son the prior year, that when she came into the world with her dark hair, pale skin and stormy blue eyes, the pain caused through her like a knife. Not only did the child favour that of her late brother, but also it was a dead cert that Ana was Robert's daughter, not Jaime's. Something which irked her beyond belief, she didn't want to give that man anything and certainly not a child. Cersei had confided in Jaime about her wish, stated that she was merely helping her child pass on quicker, instead of leaving her to die a painful death like her brother.

Stags are not as strong as Lions.

Words which rattled around in her mind, haunting her, she would save her daughter from her brother's fate; she could not watch another of her children suffer through the sickness which had taken her first boy. She did not think of Robert's pain, he did not even deserve to be considered, if anything he deserved to have his daughter taken from him.

Of course, Cersei couldn't do it. That evening when she had heard the babe crying out, she had crept into little Ana's room, ready to end it all, her mistake had been to hold the child, for when she picked up her daughter for the first time, Cersei crumbled, sinking to the floor in tears, she was a lioness and lionesses protected their cubs to the bitter end, they did not harm them.

That had been the first and last time Cersei had ever considered such a heinous act towards her own kin, when Joff, Myrcella and Tommen had been born and differed so differently from their elder sister, she had been worried but luckily no one ever questioned their parentage, well not before Jon Arryn and thankfully he would bother them no more.

"Do not get me wrong, Cersei I am glad you didn't, she is a precious little gem" Jaime pressed, glancing at her from above his wine.

"Yes, you have always favoured Ana, even above your own children" Cersei rebutted lightly, careful that her words were not too loud.

Jaime laughed at that. "I suppose I do, yes" he agreed much to his sisters dismay. "Don't get me wrong sister, Myrcella and Tommen are wonderful children, Joffrey, well in all honesty he scares me at times." Cersei rolled her eyes at that, if he wasn't her brother, gods know what she would have done for that remark. "Aliana, however, there is something special within her. I see more of you within her than any of the others" he answered, swiftly moving from his chair to stand behind Cersei. He lowered his head towards her neck; placing hot sweet kisses along the slight curve of creamy flesh "she may look like the King, but be assured she is all Lannister."

Cersei bit on her lip to suppress the moan which was threatening to spill, her breath hitched as Jaime's hands travelled around her body, gently yet forcefully cupping her breasts "we can't. Not today" she groaned, ceasing the activity before it went too far. "Tomorrow, my love, we wait until they have gone hunting and then we can be together."

Ana walked out into the brisk, cold courtyard, instantly pulling her thick, fur lined cloak tighter around her body. She had contemplated going back to her room, sitting by the fire and reading the day away, however she needed the fresh air, the smell of smoke and the gloominess of Winterfell seemed to give her a headache. She looked around for anyone she might know, Myrcella, Tommen, hells, she would even welcome Joffrey's company if it spared her Robb's. Unfortunately they were nowhere to be seen, Myrcella was probably with Sansa practising their embroidery and etiquette and Ana had absolutely no intention of joining in with that. Tommen was probably around with one of the Stark boys he had taken to and Joff, well he was probably out terrorising puppies.

One person she did spot was the youngest Stark, Rickon, the little pup. It was almost uncanny how much he reminded her of Tommen and from the little conversations they did have the pup was undoubtedly as sweet as her younger brother. He was stood in the centre of the courtyard, a dire wolf pup at his feet, since coming to the North, Ana had become accustomed to the dire wolves, and every one of the Stark children had one, even the bastard. At first she had been apprehensive around them, they were dangerous, unpredictable and wild creatures, no longer native to this side of the wall and yet that did not stop Lord Stark in letting his children keep them as pets, it was the same as if she were to actually have a lion, wild things belonged in the wild.

Half tempted to turn her back on Rickon, a nagging voice in her mind urged her forward, to speak with him and before she knew it her legs had carried towards the boy. "What are you doing?" she asked gently, mustering her friendliest smile, trying to show not only Rickon but also the wolf that she meant no harm.

"Trying to teach him commands" Rickon replied, looking up at his new sister.

Ana nodded as she glanced down at the wolf, it's too human like eyes stared back at her quizzically. "And how is that working out?"

Rickon pouted slightly "Not good. Shaggydog just doesn't want to learn" he huffed lightly "and father said we had to train them ourselves."

"I see…well do you have any treats?" she asked glancing back at the boy, who looked up at her curiously. Ana couldn't help but smile at this "I had a dog once, stubborn little thing it was and the only way I could get him to do anything was by offering him a reward, like a scrap of chicken or something."

Ana saw his eyes widen at the suggestion "I could get some from the kitchen" he exclaimed happily, causing Ana to laugh at his eagerness.

"You stay here child, I shall go and see what the Kitchen's have to offer." Ana ventured to the kitchen, gathering what scraps of meat the cooks could spare into a bow before returning to Rickon and Shaggydog "we have some chicken and beef, If this doesn't help then I don't know what will."

That afternoon flew by, she laughed an enormous amount along with Rickon, the bowl of scraps had worked a treat with the dire wolf, they both had taken delight as Shaggydog had sat and stayed on demand, so much so that Ana had been taken back when Rickon launched himself into her arms, with a laugh she had hugged him back. "Tomorrow can we train him some more?" he asked, his wide hazel eyes looking up at her with so much hope and optimism that she could not deny him.

"Of course we can" Ana smiled brightly as she gently pried her new brother from her arms, her hand coming up to ruffle his brown hair "now run along and change for dinner, you can't go in with these muddy hands" she spoke, taking his small hands in her own, turning them gently to display his muddied palms.

Rickon beamed a toothy grin as she agreed; followed closely by a frown and a heavy sigh "fine" he moaned walking past Robb's wife and back towards the keep. Ana watched him go with a bemused grin; he reminded her so much of Tommen, except there seemed to be a great more defiance in the Stark boy compared to her brother, Tommen was a wonderful little boy, however he was a little soft and timid, very similar to Myrcella and the complete polar opposite to Joffrey, at least she could take comfort in that.

"You are good with him" A strong northern voice sounded from behind her.

Turning quickly on her heel her eyes fell upon Winterfell's bastard, Jon Snow. Her eyes ran along his features, he definitely favoured the Stark side, opposed to his other siblings whom clearly got their looks from their mother's Tully heritage- yes, Jon was definitely a Stark, there was no denying that and perhaps that was the main reason for Catelyn Stark's dislike of the boy. "I have a brother the same age" she shrugged as a way of an explanation. Jon nodded slowly, "I do believe this is the first time we have actually spoke to one another, asides from the brief pleasantries" Ana commented with a small smile.

Jon chuckled lightly "Aye, I suppose it is. I didn't think you were keen on doing so" he admitted.

Ana frowned at that, feeling slightly guilty that she had given off such an impression. She had given off a slightly chilly vibe to the Stark but that had been down to her own grievances upon her unexpected marriage, it had nothing personally to do with the Starks. "I'm sorry about that, I didn't mean to across so…"

"Arrogant?" Jon supplied.

"Yes- arrogant" she muttered, suddenly becoming interested in the stone at her feet. It took her a few moments but Ana soon brought her eyes up to meet Jon's and laughed "you're not particularly tactful are you?" she jested, her nose crinkling as she spoke.

It was Jon's turn to laugh as he shook his head "don't suppose I am, but there aint a lot of room for tact in these parts." Ana couldn't help but agree with that.

Dinner that evening was quite a jovial affair, instead of sitting with her mother and Lady Catelyn, Ana had opted to sit with her siblings, husband and new family, of course her father was sat somewhere amongst the whores and wine barrels, his loud burly laugh occasionally sounding around the hall, above the music. Despite her anger towards him, she somehow managed to suppress it this evening, her afternoon with Rickon had set her in such good spirits that Ana wanted them to continue, hence why she refused to glance towards her mother and her cold and distant expression, no doubt her mood would bring her down also.

Robb observed his new bride from across the table as she chatted and laughed along with Theon, he had half expected Ana to take offence to his obscene language, however she seemed to find it all rather amusing but perhaps that was just down to the amount of wine she had consumed that evening, not that he was counting for he too had his fair share that evening. Their seemed to be something different about his wife that evening, she seemed a lot happier and brighter, her coolness towards his family had seemed to have dissipated; Jon had told him of her afternoon training Shaggydog with Rickon, could it be that his six year old brother managed to melt the ice princess, hells if he had then Robb owed him many thanks. "So, Robb, Jon, were you also involved with this debacle with the whore?" Ana asked propping her elbows up on the table and rested her face in her hands as her eyes looked between the brothers, she tried her best to look serious although her amused smile on her lips gave away her true emotions.

"No, but we did save him from getting his balls cut off by her" Robb laughed at the memory as he took a sip of his wife.

Ana gasped as she turned back to Theon "truly!?" she laughed incredulously, her eyes brightening at the entertaining story.

Theon nodded along "Chased me around the brothel, naked."

"That's what you get for refusing to pay her" Jon commented from next to Robb, to which Theon simply shrug "it wasn't good enough for me to pay her" he explained.

Ana laughed once more, shaking her head as she drank from her goblet "you, Theon Greyjoy are insatiable." Stifling a yawn, Ana felt a sudden tiredness come over her, she supposed very little sleep and a large quantity of wine would do that to your body "I'm going to retire now, goodnight gentlemen" she smiled rising from her seat, as did Robb.

"I shall escort you" he stated without question, so she could not deny him and so Ana simply nodded.

Husband and Wife walked out of the hall after bidding her mother and Lady Stark a peaceful night. "Are you also going on the hunt tomorrow?" she asked Robb as the sound of music finally faded from earshot.

Robb nodded "I was planning on but if you'd rather me stay here with you I can" he offered.

The offer surprised Ana and she had been tempted to accept his offer, perhaps it would be good to spend some time alone with her new husband, but then again she did not want to deny him time with his family, "No, no, you go ahead, besides I promised Rickon I'd help him with Shaggydog and look at the dresses Myrcella and Sansa have made." Robb smiled at that, happy she was spending time with his family. "Perhaps the day after next we could go for a ride and you could show me some more of the North?"

"Aye, that would be nice" he agreed as they reached the door to their room. Opening the door for her, Robb hesitated before entering "I can leave you to change if you wish?"

Ana looked back at him and smiled softly "there is no need" she spoke as her fingers unfastened the buttons on the bodice of her down. Perhaps it was the wine but her embarrassment of last night and this morning had dissipated from her being, she felt slightly more in control of her senses and less daunted at the prospect of wearing such little clothing in front of this man.

Robb closed the door as he walked into their room and began shredding his own garb, until he was left in just some linen undergarments and then he climbed into the warming and welcoming bed. His eyes honed in on his wife as her slender fingers quickly worked on pulling the pins out of her hair, letting the raven locks fall from her hairstyle before running a comb through her tresses. Robb found himself becoming transfixed by the simple action, the strokes of the comb hypnotising the young lord. "Are you alright?" Ana's voice brought him from his lull as she peered at him over her shoulder.

"Very well my lady" replied Robb with a small smile.

Ana rose from her seat at her vanity table, her feet carrying her swiftly towards the bed, taking a seat gingerly on the side as Robb moved behind her causing the wine absorbed nerves to resurface as she stiffened. Robb quickly took note of his wife's sudden change in demeanour; with a small smile he leant forward placing a gentle kiss upon her cheek "Let's get some sleep." Ana nodded, feeling grateful for her husband's patience, any other brute would have taken her that evening despite her feelings but not Robb, he honestly seemed to surprise her with each passing day; as she crawled into empty space Ana found herself wondering if this wouldn't be such a bad match after all.

Finally it's up! So sorry it took me so long to get up but I've been quite busy, I hope this chapter is okay, a lot of you said you'd like to see Ana warming to the Stark's so I thought she could begin with Rickon. Until next time darlings!