Hey guys, I'm back! It's been a while, I think almost a month. There's been a lot going on with New Year's and my Christmas (I'm Orthodox, we celebrate Christmas on 7th of January), so there's been a lot of drinking and family time and of course, work. But I did not stop writing, so here you go. I'll update soon again (few days). As always, let me know what you think, your reviews always make me smile and I thank you for them. Enjoy! :)

I was promised, both by my husband and by his mother, that the North will not be as cold as I imagined it to be. In their defense, I have imagined ice, snow, everything frozen and dead. It was difficult not to, with all the stories I have heard over the years and with the influence of my father, who was never quite the Northern fan. It is ironic how he ended up marrying his daughter there. In the defense of Robb and Lady Catelyn, so far, North is definitely not as cold as I imagined it to be.

Sadly, it is not that far from it either.

To make matters worse, we are not even close to Winterfell. And the more we travel, the colder it gets.

I use on myself the same words I use on Shireen. It will all be over soon. We will be there before we know it. And once we do get there, we will never have to leave the warmth and comfort of another castle again, not anytime soon. At this point, I am not even certain if I believe in it or not.

I pull the fur closer to my body, as if that would protect me from the wind. It does not. Still, I wrap myself in it even more leaving only the top of my head out of the warmth. How much time had passed since the First Men settled this area? And in all that time, not one person thought of some sort of head cover, other than a hood? "Wearing a hat does not suit a Queen", they said. I shall change that.

Making our journey even longer did not help my already ill mood. But that was a decision that needed to be made and I am the one who made it. I stand behind it, even if I do not like it. We took the road Robb did not have time to take when he was making his way to rescue his Father. Eddard Stark was alive and imprisoned at the time, and Robb did all he could to get to him as fast as he could. He made pacts he did not end up respecting. Not to mention that he did not get to Lord Eddard Stark in time.

Crossing the Twins would be a move I was not prepared to take. Knowing what I know about Lord Walder Frey, he would not let us pass, not before greeting us. Putting myself in front of him would be like spitting into his face, and we already spat at him once. Seeing me in a position that one of his daughters should have had would be too big of a risk. Unfortunately, that meant that we would have to take the long way round, very literally. We avoided The Twins and Lord Frey. Even now, being on the Northern territory, I do not feel at ease. I keep waiting on someone to creep up behind me and stab me in the chest, to punish Robb and my Father for breaking oaths and starting this war in the first place.

It is not the feeling a wish to carry around with me and yet, I must. I have no real choice.

"Your Grace." I hear a voice behind me and I turn, already expecting that dagger to be showed directly through my heart. It was uncalled for; one of our own people was approaching me." The horses are rested, Your Grace. If you wish, we could start preparing for the continuation of our journey." He says.

"How long before we leave?"

"Not long, Your Grace, just say the word." He tells me.

"Thank you." I tell him with a nod. We are still days, perhaps even weeks, away from Winterfell. I refuse to drop my guard just yet. I doubt I will be capable of dropping it even within the walls of Winterfell.

"Your Grace." I hear another one call. Strangely enough, I am not used to my title, not even now. I still expect Father or Robb to turn around and respond, but now it is me they are calling for." A raven arrived, Your Grace. It only has your birth name on it, we imagine it is to you." A soldier tells me.

"Thank you." I say, practically pulling out the letter out of his hands. I walk away and as I do, I am ripping the letter open. I do not recognize the writing in which my name is written, but as soon as I realize that, I remember that the writing I was hoping for would not seem familiar to me in any way.

My eyes jump to the final word of the long letter and my heart drops with relief. It really is from him.

I walk to the side of the road, wanting at least some privacy to read this. I lean on a tree as my eyes fly through the lines written in surprisingly clear handwriting.

Sophia,

I was beginning to worry.

I expected your letter to reach me sooner, but I understand why it did not.

I was well aware that if you had faced some misfortune along your way, we would have known about it. Even so, that was not enough to put me at ease. Reading your words finally did that.

I am glad to hear that you have had a pleasant journey so far. Well, as pleasant as it can get in that carriage you so carefully described. Worry not; it was all too easy for me to feel the irony your words have tried to muster. I am beginning to think I might know you better than I have imagined.

I know my words will not give you much comfort, but you shall be in Winterfell soon enough and you will be able to enjoy all of its comforts. Biased as I may be, you will see that Winterfell indeed has plenty of comforts to offer. Although I believe a warm bed might be enough for you at this point.

What I have asked of you regarding our ruling in Winterfell might not be such a pleasant task, but I feel the need to remind you that Winterfell is not only your duty, or mine, for that matter. It is my home. And soon enough, it will be yours as well. I hope you will see it that way, if not from the moment you pass the gates, then soon.

Now, I believe I owe you an insight into the utter mess you have left here. I am not as good at irony as you are, I am afraid.

For the most part, it was uneventful, and if I dare say, surprisingly boring. Dining with your Lord Father every single night while making war plans had left me with a strong desire to claw my eyes out with a fork. I do not wish to insult you with disrespecting your Father, but you have lived with the man; even you must see how incredibly dull and strict he is. I wish I had known that you and perhaps your sister were the only joyous things in Dragonstone; I would have kept you by my side longer.

Fortunately, since I have received your letter, everything is far more eventful. I have news to share.

We, or I, have received a letter from the Vale. It would appear that in all the chaos your Father caused when attacking King's Landing, my sister had fled the capital.

At first, I thought, it was impossible. Time has passed since your Father attacked King's Landing; surely, we would have received the word of Sansa's dissapreance. Now I see how stupid I was, even for that one brief moment. Of course we never would have heard of it; that would make the Lannisters lose the only thing they have against us. Against me, to be more specific. And since our marriage alliance, your Father as well. Sansa was the only leverage they could not afford to lose.

Yet they have. It is her handwriting. The words I read were her words, she mentioned things no one other than myself and my siblings could know. She is safe, at the Vale, with Littlefinger Baelish and my aunt Lysa. They want to return her home, to her family.

I have seen my Aunt Lysa once, when I was still a child, and I have never laid eyes on Petyr Baelish in my life, but I am no fool. They would not simply hand her to me, and I have been warned not to trust Baelish, both by your Father and by my Mother, before you left.

I need to know what you think. I know you have spent some time in King's Landing, you must know something about the man, about his agenda. Even if you do not, I would still like to hear your opinion.

We will be leaving for the Vale soon; your Father, myself, and a big part of our army. Hopefully, we will send Sansa to join you and Mother.

They will not give her away for nothing, I know that. Some demands I will be happy to fulfill, and others… well, hopefully we will not have a battle before a real war.

I beg of you, do not say a word of this to my Mother. There is a reason I did not inform her of this. If we were to fail, which is a possibility, I could not live with knowing that I have built her hopes up only to crush them myself. If we succeed, she will know. I beg of you, tell her nothing.

We shall be leaving soon, hopefully not before you send me your response. A response I am in desperate need of. Still, take your time.

This all started with me trying to save my family. Now that I actually have a palpable chance to rescue my sister, my dear Sansa, there is nothing that will stop me. Even so, you and I have made a promise which I intend to keep. We are in this all together. Tell me what you think. Give me your opinion, advice, guide me, as best as you can, even from such a distance. I need it.

I wish it was only your humor I feel the lack of, Sophia. All those hours we spent discussing the situation we are in, I have gotten used to not being alone in all of this. And I do not mean only as a wife. I need a friend, a companion. You played that part almost perfectly. That makes it all the more difficult.

To end this letter, I have made you a promise, which you keep reminding me of, every opportunity you have. Even without your fairly subtle reminders, I intend to keep that promise. I am happy to remind you of it. It matters not that you are not with child, not to me. It may matter to everyone else, but it does not matter to me, and I can assure you, it changes nothing. We will have our family. We will have a son. We will raise him together, to be a good man first, and then a good ruler. As soon as we accept that, we might just be on the right track, you and I. A son, not an heir. A family, not rulers. We shall have that. I promise. And I will keep on promising, for as long as you want me to.

Write me as soon as you can,

Robb

The first time, I read it as fast as I can. I rush over his words, trying to take the important information in.

I breathe a sigh of relief and stop. I stop for a moment, letting my hand down and trying to calm myself. He is alright. My father is alright. And the entire situation has improved.

Realizing what I had just read, I start reading again, frantically. I stop after the first line. I have to focus on his words. So I try again, one more time, with clarity and attention.

Sansa Stark is alright. Perhaps not alright, but as well as she could be. Being with her aunt must be better than being kept as a Lannister hostage.

Littlefinger. I could not agree more with Father; he is not someone who should be trusted. Robb knows it, I know he does, he said it himself. Still, it is impossible not to be frightened of the possibility of his emotions affecting his decisions. He would want to save Sansa at all costs, and I am certain Littlefinger is well aware of that. Without a doubt, he plans to use it to his advantage.

I need to write back at once. And the letter needs to reach him as soon as possible.

I run towards our carriage. Catelyn and Shireen are nowhere to be seen, but I am glad for that; it would be difficult to pretend like I have no new crucial information. If Robb does not wish for me to inform his mother of Sansa's supposed escape, it would be next to impossible for me to act as if Robb's letter only had boring, everyday information. With her away from me, I did not have to pretend.

I frantically searched around the carriage, and once I finally found all that I was looking for, I started writing my response, using my leg to hold up the parchment.

Robb,

Do not trust Littlefinger. Do not trust him.

I may not have had many chances to speak with him while I was in King's Landing, but I say this without a doubt, he should not be trusted. I have never been more serious in my entire life than I am now, writing this to you. He will destroy you if you give him the power to do so. This is not a council, Robb. I cannot even call it an advice. This is a plea. I beg of you, do not trust that man.

Make the deal. Do that. It should be done and I know you would never forgive yourself if you lose the chance to rescue your sister. Make a deal. Do not trust him. Do not make a quick decision. Consider every option and every possible outcome, especially the one in Littlefinger's favor.

Whatever you do, do not enter the castle. I might not have been a guest at the Vale, but I do know what Jon Arryn told me, when I was nothing more than a child. Entering the castle would bring both you and Father too close to danger, at least for my liking. Request to meet them on their land.

I shall not say a word of this to your Mother. This is the second time in our fairly short marriage that you have requested my silence on a sensitive matter. While I do not enjoy one second of this, I can assure you, I shall keep your secret. And I would kindly ask you to avoid having any more secrets or asking me to keep them from your mother. I shall be as good as dead when she finds out the truth.

Even more than before, I feel wrong. I cannot seem to find the appropriate words to actually describe it to you, but what I feel feels wrong. In my mind, I am fully aware that going to Winterfell was a good call. Not only for my safety, but for Winterfell as well. However, in the pit of my stomach, I feel as if it might have been a mistake. Letters cannot help our marriage. They cannot improve a situation that was already difficult enough to begin with. I wish I was with you at Dragonstone. Helping you with this and… well, getting to know you. And to keep you safe from Father. He truly is an utterly boring man. If it helps you in any way, I am with you in spirit. If all else fails, imagine what my ironic comment would be to any of Father's dull moments. However, do us both a favor and try not to laugh out loud.

I hope this letter reaches you in time. And I beg of you, write to me as soon as you can. I imagine plenty of restless nights ahead of me, and not because of the carriage. I worry. I doubt that that worry will leave me soon. Both of us our facing very difficult times ahead of us. It might pain me to not know if we will succeed, but I have hope. I have hope and I have worry. So please, try to sooth my worry, if only from a great distance, if only for a little while. Be careful. You know you promised.

Sophia

I walk out of the carriage and grab the first person I see. The man snaps back and bows his head.

"Your Grace" he tells me and I fight back the urge to roll my eyes.

"I need this sent. It is incredibly urgent." I tell him in a strict tone. I also stare at him, directly in the eyes, in case he does not understand just how important this actually is." It is for the King and I need it delivered as soon as possible. I also need it to not be delivered directly to him, and not intercepted by anyone, let alone the enemy. Do you understand?" I ask him.

"Of course, Your Grace. I shall send it straight away." He tells me, as I hand him the letter I wrote.

"I will not hold you responsible if the letter does not arrive on time. There is hardly anything you can do about that. However, if the letter is intercepted by the enemy, I will remember that." I tell him.

"I assure you, Your Grace, the letter will not be intercepted." The man tells me. It is only then that I have realized that I was not exactly kind towards him. There is nothing wrong with being strict, but I have no particular reason to blame him before anything had ever happened.

"Thank you." I tell him, once again, looking him directly in the eyes. I am not sure if it is just my imagination or if I am right about this, but I believe he can tell. I believe that he can see that this is very urgent and important. And that I won't cut off his head if he doesn't run off to send it.

He does not run off, but he does walk away quite quickly.

I have done all that was in my power. What Robb asked of me, I did. At least from his letter. I may have many task and challenges awaiting me, but for now, there is nothing else for me to do.

I told him what I knew; I told him what I thought. I gave him advice, just like he asked me to. As if I was standing there, right by his side. And I will not say a word of this to Catelyn.

He sure is taking my silence for granted. From what I know about him, from what I realized in this short time that we have been married, he would not do so if he had a choice. And I understand his reasoning; that goes without saying. If I had to make such a decision, for Father's wellbeing, I would have asked him to not say a single word, with the same ease he asked me.

However, I am not sure if he had taken into consideration the fact that I already know of things that Catelyn does not. Not to mention that besides Shireen, she is the only person I can trust. Even more than that, she is the only person besides Shireen that I actually know, and I do not even know her that well. And I can hardly share this burden with my little sister.

He had no choice; I must remind myself of that. If he did, he would not let it all fall on my shoulders. Out of the two of us, he is the one with a more difficult task in front of him. That is one more thing I must remind myself of, before feeling anger towards him.

Soon enough, there will be nothing more to hide. He will either succeed in getting back Sansa, or he will fail. And I will either look forward to seeing her with Catelyn, or I will morn her with my mother by marriage. As for the other secret, well, I am not yet sure just how I plan on handling that.

For all I know, she might even hate me for it. But I shall worry about that bridge when I reach it.

"Sophia!" I hear Shireen call me and I smile before turning around. She is walking towards me, hand in hand with a smiling Catelyn. Catelyn really does enjoy her company. Thinking of our journey, she seems to enjoy my company as well. I cannot help but wonder if we remind her of her daughters. We may be the same as they are, or complete opposites; I cannot know. But Catelyn is a true mother, with care and kindness in her bones. A mother who had lost her daughters. Temporarily or for good, it matters not.

"Did you enjoy your walk?" I ask.

"Yes." Shireen tells me before hugging me, making Catelyn smile at the two of us and our embrace.

"We walked through the woods for a little while." Catelyn tells me." Are we leaving?" She asks me.
"We should, as far as I know." I say and Catelyn laughs.

"As far as you know? Sophia, dear Sophia, it seems to me that you tend to forget that you are a Queen." She tells me. Her looks is a mixture of compassion, kindness, worry and affection." We leave whenever you say we leave." She adds.

"Well, it may take a little time for everyone to get ready for departure." Shireen says, looking confused, as if she is trying to make that calculation." I suppose that a Queen should say she wants to leave a little while before she actually wants to leave."

"Oh, Gods." I say, shaking my head and smiling at my sister." Go on then, your Queen is telling you to get into the carriage, since we are about to depart." I say, ruffling her hair before she runs directly to the carriage in order to escape my attack. I smile back at Catelyn.

"You will make a great mother one day, Sophia." She tells me.

Must everything come down to the fact that I am not going to be a mother just yet?

"We shall see. Perhaps I will."