A/N: I'm not even going to pretend that this isn't super late. I'm reeeeeeally sorry, though! This chapter seems a bit filler-y, but I promise we're getting to the good stuff. (Psst, friendly reminder that we'll probably be reaching the start of the series in chapter 13.) Enjoy!

X

The next morning, the entire family had gathered in the courtyard to see off Ned and Bran and the rest of their envoy. Robb and Ella had spent more of their time together; she'd whisked him off, curious, to the hallway behind the tapestry, and they'd spent an entire day exploring, only to find a pathway to the hot springs below the castle. There, they'd sat and talked, and took of their boots and waded in the cooler of the hot springs until their toes were wrinkled.

Another day, Ella had dragged him to the stables, made him run with the horses, until finally he grabbed her hand and pulled her along with him, and they ran around the corral like children until they were breathless and flushed from the cold. They'd shared a kiss, the first since that evening before they fell asleep, and scurried inside to warm themselves by the fire.

Inside, they'd draped a quilt over themselves and leaned against the fronts of their chairs, visiting with each other until they fell asleep where they sat. The next morning, they awoke to sore limbs and smiled at each other, laughing at their foolishness.

Before long, Ned and Bran and all the others had returned, and snow had begun to fall in place of rain. Winterfell became abuzz with preparations. It was Bran's name day, and of course, a name day in Winterfell called for a celebration. Food was being gathered for the feast, the dining hall was being decorated. It was nothing too fancy, but it was a party, and Ella found that the people of the North indulged in celebrations. She supposed that she couldn't blame them. The North was full of juicy meat and strong ale.

Ella had never properly been in snow before, only during the last Winter so long ago when she was a small girl. She could hardly remember snow, only looking out from her window and seeing only white, before her mother pulled her away and sat her by the fire again. And though she'd looked forward to bundling up and spending time outside, as they broke their fast one morning, Catelyn had asked her if she'd like to observe her as she made preparations, and it wasn't an offer Ella was quite ready to refuse.

It didn't take long for her bored. She didn't know how Catelyn could stand it, just standing and watching as people went to and fro, carrying things and setting things out. Ella couldn't stand it. She wasn't made for such mundane tasks, and thought to herself that she'd rather be helping the servants with…well, with whatever they were doing - she wasn't quite sure. She leaned against the table, rubbing her eyes. If she was to be the next Lady of Winterfell, the North was surely doomed.

And then she found her window of opportunity. Catelyn had stepped away a moment and was thoroughly inspecting a few candles. Ella began to back away slowly, keeping her feet light and lifting her dress just enough so the hem wouldn't drag on the floor. She kept her eyes trained on Catelyn, feeling a thrill rise in her chest that she hadn't felt since she was a child escaping her Septa. It brought a smile to her face, and once she reached the door, she twisted and scurried away, finding that she didn't particularly care if Catelyn heard.

She hurried to her room, pulled her gloves and her warmest cloak from inside the wardrobe, and threw them on. After a moment of thought, she crossed over to the window, and the sight of little white flurries fluttering past the window made her smile. That was the sight she'd woken up to that morning. She'd opened her eyes and sat up groggily, and Robb, sat beside her, chuckled and said, "Good morning, Lady Stark. It's snowing outside."

When she was outside, she was glad for the warmth of the fur lining her cloak and gloves, and thought to herself that she must remember to thank Analysa for setting out her warmest dress. The air was bitter and there was a freezing breeze, but somehow it made it all the better. Somehow it made her feel…alive. The cold was shocking and sudden compared to the warmth of the keep. She didn't think she'd ever been so cold in her life, but it wasn't an unpleasant chill.

She stooped to scoop some snow into her hand, moving her thumb around in it. She wanted to feel it, but knew better than to plunge her bare hand into snow. Robb had told her of men who'd had whole limbs sawed off because of the cold, and she made sure to keep her gloves firmly around her fingers.

"Arya!" someone shrieked, and of course, Ella thought, I should have known it would be Sansa. Arya was doubled over with laughter, and Sansa was red in the face from anger, bits of snow on her eyelashes. "That wasn't funny!" she cried, wiping her face dry with her sleeves.

"So get her back!" Bran urged, holding a fistful of snow to her. Sansa gave him a look.

"Revenge!" Rickon yelled, hopping a bit in the snow, but it did nothing to persuade Sansa. She rolled her eyes at her brothers, took her friend Jeyne by the arm, and sat across the courtyard. Arya was still laughing, holding her stomach, until Bran threw the snow in his hand at her, and it hit her square in the chest. She looked shocked at first, then narrowed her eyes and her lips split into a wicked grin.

Bran sprinted away, Arya followed, and Rickon cheered them on from his seat near the archery range. Chuckling, Ella trudged her way through the snow over to the young lad, who was humming quietly to himself. As she came closer, she slowed, trying to be as quiet as she could as she crept up on him. Her hands shot out and tapped him on each side. "Boo!"

Rickon gasped, whirling around with wide eyes and would have fallen off his seat had Ella not grabbed him. When he was righted again, he pouted at her. "Scaring isn't nice, Ella!" he reprimanded, and she chuckled.

"Could you find it in your heart to forgive me?" He smiled and giggled, nodding fervently. "Have you seen your brother?"

"Only Bran. Arya's chasing him."

"So I saw," she chuckled, sitting herself next to Rickon. "Are snow fights a common occurrence?"

Rickon nodded. "Yes. Except Arya never hits me with snowballs because she says she likes me more than she likes Bran. I don't think that's true though, because she beats up people she likes. She even beat up Robb once!"

"Oh?" Ella asked, and raised her eyebrows. Rickon nodded.

"It was a little bit before you came here. She and Robb were laughing about something and then she beat him up."

She shook her head, chuckling, and made a note to herself that if she wanted an adequate description of something, not to ask Rickon.

She was startled when someone tugged on her braid, and whirled around to see Robb standing behind her. He looked rather pleased with himself, and so she shoved him in the chest. It was only enough to make him take a step back, and it made him laugh.

"Braid-tugging isn't nice," she admonished, wagging her finger in his face. He caught her hand in his, stepping closer to her.

"And what are you going to do about it?" he asked, voice teasing and a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Well, she thought, two can play at this game.

She tugged her hand out of his grasp, and before he could react, she caught a fistful of snow and threw it in his face. Robb sputtered, wiping the snow out of his eyes. Ella was only able to be smug a moment, for once Robb had cleared the snow away from his face, the look he gave her made her back away, shaking her head slowly.

"No!" she cried, grinning as she turned and began to run. It was a valiant effort, but one in vain, for it wasn't long before Robb caught her around the waist, and she squealed when he lifted her and twirled her a moment.

"Now!" he yelled, holding her still, and suddenly there were three Stark children throwing snowballs at her. She struggled in his arms a moment, but managed to turn them around, so the snowballs were hitting Robb's back.

"You're the worst husband in Westeros, Robb Stark!" she called, and he only laughed.

Both Ella and Robb were soaking by the time they went inside. Analysa had worried over them, fixing a hot bath and setting out warm clothes, telling them sternly to bundle up and stay warm. "I won't have you getting sick again, M'lady!" she said, then looked to Robb. "Nor you, M'lord. I can take care of one of you at a time. Both of you is too much."

That made Ella and Robb smile. Analysa left them, and Ella stepped behind the privacy screen, bringing trembling hands to peel her dress away from her skin. Her jaw was clenched to keep her teeth from chattering. It was warmer without her clothes on, and she groaned in contentment when she sank into the bathtub.

"Don't dirty the water," Robb said. "I should bathe, too."

"I'm only going to soak," she promised, chuckling. "And it's about time you bathed. Your stench was becoming overwhelming."

Robb retaliated by throwing his trousers over the privacy screen, and Ella gave a peal of laughter when they landed just on the rim of the tub. She balled them up, tossing them back onto the other side.

"Keep your trousers on!"

Bran's name day celebration was set to be held the next night. At dinner, Catelyn hadn't reprimanded Ella for sneaking away. She didn't seem to have noticed at all, and if she did, she certainly didn't mind, for she hadn't said a word about anything of the sort.

The following day, Analysa accompanied Ella to the corral. Seeing Westwind – who'd come to be nicknamed Big Red – made her smile. He was trotting around the stables, kicking and running, and she'd never seen a horse look so happy before. It didn't take long for him to notice the girls watching him, and he cantered to them quickly. Ella reached up to pat his nose, and he sniffed her hand in search of a sugar cube.

"None today, I'm afraid," she said, scratching behind his ear. "You know," she turned to Analysa, "I haven't yet ridden him."

"Another day, m'lady. I won't have you getting your hair all knotted just so I can brush it out again." Analysa ran her hands through Ella's hair, picking out curls here and there. "Such pretty hair, m'lady. I hate to see it full of knots."

Ella smiled. "Alright then, we'll go back inside."

They'd found Robb right at the door, and Analysa had kissed her cheek and bid her goodbye, calling that she had chores that needed to be done. Ella linked her arm through Robb's, tugging him down the hall. "What've you got planned for today?" she asked.

"Only the celebration," he replied, then leaned in to kiss her cheek. She giggled and swatted him away, but he took her hand and kissed the back of it.

"What's gotten into you?" she chuckled.

"What?" he grinned, "Can't a man kiss his wife?"

"No," she deadpanned, but then smiled and kissed his cheek.

"You," Robb breathed, shaking his head and pulling them further down the hall. "What am I going to do with you?"

That only made Ella laugh, and she tugged open the door to their chambers, unclasping her cloak and pulling off her gloves, tossing them over her privacy screen. She sat at the vanity, pulling a brush through her hair and watching Robb place his boots at the hearth through the looking glass.

"Robb, I have a red dress in the wardrobe. Could you set it out for me?"

He nodded, moving to the wardrobe, but paused to examine the dress she requested.

"This one?" he asked, and she turned, only to find that he didn't look impressed.

"Yes. What of it?"

"Nothing," he replied. "Only, I think you'd look much prettier in your green dress."

She raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't I look pretty in all my dresses?" she teased. Robb chuckled.

"Of course you do. But I think you'd look beautiful in your green dress."

Ella laughed, tying off the braid she'd twisted her hair into. "Right, then, if you insist, set out my green dress, please."

Night seemed to fall quickly, and it wasn't long before Ella and Robb were making their way to the great hall. There were smiles abound, and music in the air. Ella was reminded of her wedding night, only that this celebration didn't make her stomach feel full of lead. Dinner was a feast – meat unimaginable and endless ale. Ella was never one for drinking, but somehow, glass after glass of wine was pushed into her hand, and she downed each one of them.

She enjoyed dancing, but found it more enjoyable drunk. The music was so melodic and she couldn't help but accept every man who asked her to dance. It was Theon and Robb and Jon, and others she didn't even know the names of, only knew that they were smiling and enjoying the celebration just as much as Ella was enjoying herself.

She found that, the more ale Robb consumed, the more inclined he was to let her dance with no one else but him. Had she been sober, she'd have been furious. But she was drunk, and sense was thrown to the wind, and she even liked it.

So when she accepted a dance from the blacksmith's boy, and Robb tugged her away by the wrist, she only giggled and teased him.

"I'm only a girl," she'd called. "And I'm yours anyways, aren't I?"

"Damn right," he said, and kissed her hard. That sobered her up just slightly, because she was wide-eyed and out of breath when he pulled away.

But the still took the next glass of wine offered to her.

The night waned on, and Robb's kisses were more frequent. He was drunk, but he wasn't sloppy. His kisses always met their mark, until finally one landed on her jaw, then on her neck, and then the next thing Ella knew, he was pulling her out of the great hall and towards their chambers.

She went willingly.

The halls seemed so long and winding and she felt like she'd been walking forever, and by the time they reached their chambers, Robb was so impatient that he pushed her against the door and kissed her, and they were lucky that the corridor was deserted.

The lock clicked when they shut their door, mouths still connected, and Ella felt tugging at the laces of her dress. Such a pretty dress, she thought, mind fuzzy with wine, Robb must have thought I looked so pretty tonight. And then she stopped thinking anything at all when he bit gently on her lip.

It wasn't right. They knew it wasn't, in the back of their minds they knew, but ale was on his breath and wine was on hers, and the kisses were so sweet and their bodies were so warm and that was all they could think about. It was a relief to be out of her clothes, she thought. The cool air felt so good on her burning skin. She felt his hands moving across her body, from her shoulders, to her waist, to her hips…

She wasn't quite sure when they'd hit the bed, and only realized they were lying down when she opened her eyes to see the ceiling above her. She nearly thought of stopping, but then he kissed this one spot on her neck, and she closed her eyes and arched her back.

His hips ground against hers, her head fell back, his fingers were tangled in her hair, and her senses seemed dulled and on fire all at once.

The last thing she remembered that night was the way it felt to have her fingernails dig in to Robb's shoulders.

Oh, and things were going so well.

Erm, yes, well, I hope you enjoyed that chapter! Pre-series Robb is hard for me to write, so, as always, please review and let me know how I'm doing with his characterization. And let me know what you think in general. Constructive criticism is always welcome!

And 90 reviews you guys I can't even believe it thank you all so much!

Superdani a.k.a Gillian Smith: You want to punch them in the heads, you say? Then I'm doing my job. Thanks!

Lobo de Fuego: Thanks! I try to put myself in her shoes sometimes, to make her seem more real. I mean, if I had, say, my dog as the only reminder of my home, and then my dog went rabid and died, I'd be effin bummed. Though, I think Ella deals with it better than I would.

Eva1983: I never understand stories where they're instantly in love. I mean, sure Ella thought he was totally hot when they first met (who wouldn't?) but I find that fics where they're in love right away don't get me involved with the characters or the plot. It seems very empty. That's probably one of the main reasons why I started writing this, and why I do my best to make it as realistic as possible. Thanks!

To everyone who's reviewed/followed/faved: I love all of you so muuuuch! I would have given up on this probably after the first chapter if it weren't for all of you. You make me want to write! It may take a while for new chapters to get here, but I promise that I'll always give you guys new chapters. Also, thanks so much for your patience! I know how frustrating it can be to wait so long for new updates, and I feel so horrible for making you all wait. I promise I'll make the rest of these chapters as good as I can without taking so damn long each time. Anyways, thank you all so much for your support and patience and everything!

Hopefully chapter eleven will be along soon.

Until next time!

-Rex