Ev̱gení̱s

The world was set in all different shades of green. Once I am a wife and not a daughter, I will never wear this blasted colour again.

A faint outline of her face and the black of her eyes and hair were all that could be seen through the transparent green fabric. Her veil hung with the weight of ten thousand beads and gold coins, sewn into the ends of the entire seam. It pooled behind her and spread like the feathers of a peacock. Every step she took was a symphony of chimes.

She tried to keep still as each bead pinched her flesh with even the slightest of movements. Her shoulders might have been the only bit of skin not being devoured by pain, if the wind's cold bite had not settled into the metal work that rose up like silver vines around her neck. She could feel goose pimples plumping all over her body. It was without a doubt the most painfully uncomfortable dress she had ever worn. And the most expensive. Mother always said beauty was pain. I must look absolutely stunning...

She was well hidden behind a towering weirwood tree and listened to the sounds of a Northern wedding about her. Wind was the music and the muffled noise of less than a hundred waiting voices chattered out of her view. How dreary...

This was no wedding. Certainly not like any she had been to in Myr. There was supposed to be shouting, and dancing, while the smells of fruits and spices filled the lungs of guests. And music, there should have been lots of music...gods, these Northern folk are dull.

Winterfell was a grey wasteland compared to the colourful wreath of Myr. She looked down at her hands, her skin was bone white from the cold, and bare as an old maid's. There was no paint to adorn her palms, and no artist who knew how to sow the marriage henna of a bride. It was all wrong.

There was a face in the tree, and in some others, scattered about the clearing. The faces were carved deep, grim and knowing. They might know every sin I've ever committed. Or perhaps they are just cold.

The godswood was their sacred place, and the Northern folk at Winterfell worshiped these old gods. She tilted her head back to see how high it reached. The branches spread out and painted the sky red with their leaves. Such queer gods they have...

"Ev̱gení̱s." Father called from behind her, though she did not turn to meet him.

"Father." She said stiffly. As he arrived at her side, and took her arm in his, she began to panic within herself. The handmaids all around began to bustle more quickly now. She was sure that they would usher her out from behind the tree at any moment. She imagined the last bit of sand in an hour glass, how quickly it all fell the closer it got to finishing.

She swallowed and struggled to think about how she looked, how she would walk, if she would stumble on an uplifted root, and how she would say her vows. Maester Luwin only told her what to say that morning, and it had all been so different than what she knew from home. Pregnant as her mind was, she was disappointed to still see Jon's face through the cracks of every thought.

Stop this. Stop it. She was not sure if she had spoken aloud. She could hear the sound of her breathing becoming louder. Father held her arm tighter on his.

"You will do fine, sweetling." He said in Valyrian. "You don't need to be afraid anymore. I have taken care of everything."

Her eyes were the only part of her body that moved. Two tiny slits, glaring in his direction. Taken care of everything? You've sold me to Robb Stark. You have no idea what you've done to me.

She could not think like that now, she knew. This was the time for marriage. Later, after months of nothing...That would be the time to talk of why there were no children. I'll be on my own. And where will you be then father?

"Do you know what I thought of on the way down here?" She did not answer him. "I remembered the first time you had a bad dream. You were so small you could barely climb into bed with your mother and I. But when I lifted you up and you slept between us, all of your troubles were over it seemed." Ev̱gení̱s could not remember the first time, but she remembered many of the others.

"That was a long time ago." She said quickly. "Things are different now."

"Yes. Our problems only get more and more difficult as time goes on. It was easy to fix your cuts when you scraped your knees or hold you until you fell asleep back then." His arm gripped her tighter still and his hand rested on hers. "I remember the first time I realized that my mother and father could no longer solve all of my problems."

Her breath became still as it disappeared in a white cloud just beyond her lips. It was all unfolding before her, she would step out from behind the tree, and the girl would be left behind. She snapped her head to look at him. What did you do?

"It scared the seven Westrosi hells out of me." He admitted with an amused sort of smile. Her heart sank. So I really am on my own. He has gotten me this far, and now, I fend for myself.

"But like everyone else, I grew up, and I learned to make my own troubles go away. You will learn this too in time, and you will be the better for it." She stared ahead, and felt father take the first step, leading her out from behind the tree like one might guide a lamb.

She knew she must have been breathing the entire time, but the tiny white clouds were no more. She felt faint, having eaten near nothing in the last day. She feared that her stomach would roar for the whole wood to hear once the ceremony began.

There were so many faces, most of them unfamiliar. This was no wedding to be envious of, as she looked about the space. She remembered walking with Jon not far from this spot, and when they had to take shelter in a damp grotto. Had she only known then who he would be to her. She had never asked him when the exact moment was when he fell in love with her. She had never even asked when he had thought she was beautiful. It could have been the first moment he saw her, or after some time. She would never know now. She found her head heavier with more than just the weight of the coins sewn into her veil.

She imagined that every pinch she felt from the beads in her dress were the eyes of all around her. She had placed gold rings back into the lobes of her ears, and even they stung her mercilessly. Is there a part of my body that is not uncomfortable?

Her eyes travelled quickly amongst gaping guests who had obviously never beheld a Myrish bride, or even a poor excuse for one. It was silent as death, all but her coins chimed in the wind and shuffled footsteps were left behind in the dirt. She stopping looking at the guests. He's not here. She allowed herself the smallest sigh the world had ever witnessed.

They stopped just before maester Luwin, and her betrothed. Before she could take in what the maester was saying, father had handed her over to Robb Stark. She realized that she had not even taken the time to look at him. Not once, since she had entered. Beholding the face of her future husband had always been something she had imagined doing her whole life. And now the time had come and gone so fast, it seemed a waste to have ever thought on it for so many years.

Robb stood tall and proud, the dark grey Stark sigil embroidered onto his cloak blew in the wind. It clung to his shoulders with two silver direwolves pinned to face each other at his collar. His expression seemed happy enough, though his smile showed no teeth. She caught him as he surveyed her from toes to crown. Perhaps he does not know how obviously he stares. She wondered about his thoughts as he licked the dryness from his lips. She realized that she did not know enough about him to even wager a guess. His thoughts could have been wicked or pure.

He was every bit as handsome as he had been the first time she saw him, only something had changed. It might have been his auburn stubble coming in. It was lighter than the hair on his head, but it still made him look older. It might also have been the fine clothes he wore, blessedly free of any furs. But Ev̱gení̱s thought more than anything else, that she was the one who had changed. When she first arrived to Winterfell, she saw Robb in the crowd because she had eyes that might have seen any face even half so pleasing. She had eyes for another now, and Robb would never shine so bright again as the first time she saw him. Nor would his eyes ever catch the light and swallow it whole like the black gems belonging to another face she once possessed.

Robb smiled at her and lifted her veil to reveal her face. The coins danced to their own voices. The world was in every colour now, though from where she stood, Winterfell was still grey.

His mouth hung open for a short moment as he beheld her. It was subtle, she knew no one else had seen it. He took her hands in his, and she smiled for him so well that she was proud of herself. Now I must believe it myself. Love him. Dig deep and find it.

She watched him as he looked from maester Luwin and back to her. His eyes were kind as ever and his lip curled alluringly. He is happy. Join him. She pushed herself forward so that they might be closer, their toes almost touching. It seemed to please him, as he smiled more to one side of his face. There are many worse faces you might have been forced to settle with. This one, at least, is very pleasing. She knew his good looks would not be enough to make her love him, but she had to begin somewhere. His heart is also good, and he is gentle and strong.

The time came for him to drape his House's cloak upon her shoulders. He became serious, as his smile faded into a straight line. He looks more a Stark when he frowns, than a Tully.

He took her hands again, both of them, and she knew that he had made a mistake. It was supposed to be one hand! One! His left and her right. Her hairs stood on end.

Maester Luwin only hesitated for a moment and smiled, before he wrapped a long tattered ribbon around both of their entangled hands. She let go of her nerves, as the blunder had been remedied. Both his and her palms were moist now, and her flesh craved the open air.

"I am hers and she is mine, from this day, until the end of days."

"I am his and he is mine, from this day, until the end of days."

They spoke in unison and after that exchange, it was all over, as though it had never been. She barely heard the vows or if she had said them right. She merely took Robb's smile and the silence of the guests as a sign of all gone well.

She held her breath for what came after. He leaned in as he had done before. A kiss upon her cheek would not suffice now, she knew. His eyes met hers for a second, and she could not tell if he were sorry or concentrating. It happened so fast, and before she could decide, his lips touched hers. She could feel that his lips were fuller than her own. They were warm, and soft and dry, and he did not move, but to take in a deep breath through his nose. With her eyes closed, she realized that he could have been anyone. He lingered longer than she would have expected before he pulled away. His eyes ever fixed on hers.

The hall was much like a proper wedding now. There were calls and whistles accompanied by the booming voices of all. Myrish drums began to play, and for a moment, it sounded like happiness.

He leaned in close to her again, and she half expected him to kiss her once more. Instead, he spoke loudly into her ear, as he had done the first night they had met to dance in that same hall. "Are you well?" He asked, concerned.

"Yes." She had to yell back into his ear.

"Are you happy?" He asked again. This was a different kind of question.

She thought on it for a moment. She was far from pleasure, but not so far that she might cry. She used the distractions of the crowd to her advantage and ended her pause. "I will be." She decided to say. "I will be, I promise."

Hi everyone!

Managed to pump out another chapter early again. I hope you all enjoyed! There was a lot of back and forth with the imagry in this one. I almost wrote it in Jon's POV. I started, and it just didn't feel right at all, and I thought the wedding would be be told from Ev̱gení̱s point of view. What I can say though, is that we will be hearing from Jon's POV very soon.

Please review! I love to hear what you are all thinking!

Cheers!

-Prosati