It's been a while – sorry.

OoOoO

Robb I

The sound of one hundred horses filled Robb's ears as they hurried into place to meet the King and his family. He smirked briefly as Arya shoved Bran out of the way and Sansa hissed at her to behave. Those girls really do fight like wild animals. Beside him, his mother whispered to his father, "Where is Jon?"

Ned sighed uncomfortably. "The King did not think it appropriate to have his bastard in the presence of the Queen." Robb glowered at the floor at his statement but heard Catelyn's indignant voice.

"Your sister married him Ned, whether the union is accepted or not!"

"Hush my love." Ned murmured. "They are here."

Sure enough, a large carriage had thundered through the gates, completely gold with an elaborate pattern and the Targaryen sigil emblazoned on the door. It was surrounded by guards, many of whom stopped to allow King Rhaegar and Prince Aegon to pass through.

Though the same age as Lord Eddard, the elder man on the horse looked much younger, and even Robb could acknowledge that the King was attractive, with a strong jaw and chin length blonde hair, so pale it almost looked white in the grey light of the North. His violet eyes scanned the courtyard and he wore a simple gold crown – not that he needs it, Robb thought; even to him, the man gave off an aura of power and control as he sat on his white steed. Beside him, Prince Aegon was far less striking than Rhaegar, his jaw rounder and both his hair and his eyes an average shade of brown. The heir to Winterfell could not help but notice that the prince, though a year or so older than him, lacked the air of confidence that his father did – one that he himself, Robb noticed with some smugness, had been told many times that he carried, as did his lord father.

The King and his son dismounted as a guard opened the carriage door, and Queen Elia stepped out, beautiful despite her age and draped in many thick furs that her handmaiden held as she stepped onto the ground. Princess Rhaenys followed soon after, and with her dark hair and olive skin, Robb supposed that she was pretty enough, though not as beautiful as Targaryens were rumoured to be – and certainly nowhere near as stunning as the woman in the forest, Robb thought with longing as he remembered her tiny frame wrapped in his furs, far too large for her.

A small girl skipped out of the carriage after her sister – Princess Visenya, Robb recalled Jon mentioning her once or twice before. She was nowhere near as elegant and grabbed a guard's arm as she slipped on the step, her silvery hair flying in the wind as she grinned toothily at the man she had clung to.

The whole courtyard bowed for the Royal Family, standing only when Rhaegar had gestured for Ned to do so. They shook hands warmly enough, though both eyes still held a small amount of suspicion in them. As the King greeted his mother, Robb noticed the eldest princess looking curiously at him, and smiled awkwardly back, before his view of her was interrupted by her father.

"You must be Robb." He smiled warmly and held his hand out, his grin growing when he felt Robb's grip. "This one's a warrior, I can tell already." He chuckled and clapped Robb's shoulder roughly, before turning to Sansa, who curtseyed perfectly like a good little lady. Arya, on the other hand, reached out to shake the King's hand; though Catelyn looked like she would die from embarrassment, Rhaegar roared with laughter and shook her hand. "You should meet my sister, she doesn't like to curtsey either."

"Speaking of Daenerys, where is she, my King?" Queen Elia called from beside Catelyn, who she had greeted with a warm hug after allowing Ned to kiss her hand. "Should we send a guard to look for her?" Her heavy accent was laced with concern.

Before her husband could respond, a man came out of the carriage – although, at six-and-twenty and Lord of Dragonstone, Viserys Targaryen should have been riding a horse, in Robb's opinion. Unlike his brother, he was thin and very lanky, with cold violet eyes and pale hair hanging down his face like curtains. "I said she shouldn't have brought them with her, if she's gotten herself killed it's her own fault." His face was twisted into a cruel frown and many of his family members threw him a dark look.

"Do not speak of our sister that way, Viserys," Rhaegar warned calmly. "If she wishes to bring them then she may – and we will not tell her otherwise." Robb caught Theon's eye, his own confusion mirrored in his friend's face.

Just then, a high scream sounded from above as a large shadow covered the courtyard. Gazing up, Sansa let out a small scream, Arya, Bran and Rickon shouted in excitement, and the rest of the people around Robb were shocked into silence.

The black dragon was easily the largest of the three, a beautiful yet terrifying beast so huge that Robb could tell each wing spanned the height of the walls around Winterfell. Two more dragons flew slightly behind, one yellow and one green, smaller but still enormous beasts that the entire world had thought extinct until these three were born. The black dragon released a breath of fire into the air, causing a few more screams, although it had been careful not to damage anything, and circled once around Winterfell, before letting out another scream and flying away, the other two following closely behind, breathing fire of their own.

When they had disappeared, the courtyard returned their gazes to the unaffected Targaryens, most of whom had not looked up at the entrance of the dragons. Rhaegar caught Robb's eye and must have seen the awe in them, as he let out a laugh at the palpable shock among the Northerners. "You get accustomed to it eventually. It is always quite a sight, I must say." He turned to his wife and took her hand in his. "See, my dear, Daenerys can take care of herself." The Queen nodded with a smile and began directing the guards to their luggage.

"Wait!" Catelyn gasped. "You mean to tell me she's riding that thing?"

"Of course." Rhaegar said in slight surprise. "She has done so for many years now, what else would a Targaryen do with a dragon?" He laughed lightly and took the Lady of Winterfell's arm in his own. "Do not concern yourself with waiting for her. Dany will join us soon enough."

OoOoO

This was by far the most uncomfortable meal Robb had ever attended. Since the feast was to be held later in the evening, it was only the Stark and Targaryen families eating in the hall, and the discomfort was magnified tenfold in the empty space. If only Jon could be here, Robb thought forlornly.

"Are you really Robb Stark?" Rhaenys broke the quiet abruptly, staring straight at him.

He coughed lightly, grabbing Arya's wrist quickly before she could begin thumping him on the back. "Yes I am." Have been for quite some time actually. A look of pure disappointment crossed the princess' face and Robb stared back at her in confusion. "Is everything alright?"

"I'm fine, I was just… surprised, that is all." She shot a glare at her father, who was – rather unsuccessfully, Robb noticed – attempting to hide his smile in his cup of wine. "You don't exactly come across as I had expected from what I have heard in the capital." She turned red in embarrassment as she realised what she had said, but Robb merely laughed.

"Do not apologise my Lady, I know the Starks are not popular in much of the South, even now." He raised his cup to his lips with a smile, smug at the way her cheeks reddened further as she gazes back at him. "I am only happy to be able to prove them wrong." He winked at her and the stunned girl nearly poked herself in the cheek with her fork. He turned his head away to avoid laughing, but her next words made his blood freeze.

"My father wished for us to be married."

He turned to her sharply, and she must have seen something in his face, for she seemed rather offended as she continued. "He wanted to settle the old grudge between our houses, but I wished to marry Ser Loras instead." She scowled as he choked on his wine. "Is there a problem?"

"None at all." Robb grinned at her, suppressing his laughter. "I wish you two all the happiness the gods can bless you with." He returned to his food, still smirking to himself. Thank the gods for Loras Tyrell.

"Do you fight too Princess?" Arya piped up with a grin; even from across the table, Robb could see his mother's cheek redden, and Rhaenys pulled a rather unpleasant face.

"Definitely not, Daenerys can do… whatever she does in Essos, but I'd like to stay far away from it all." She sniffed delicately, clearly disgusted by the idea of battle, to the distain of her mother.

"Princess Daenerys," Queen Elia stressed the word carefully, "has freed tens of thousands of slaves in the Bay of Dragons. We should all be proud." Rhaegar nodded in agreement, but Robb caught Catelyn raise her eyebrows in slight disapproval. "Tell me, little dove," the queen said, turning to Sansa, "Did you make your dress yourself?"

Sansa smiled proudly and blushed. "Yes, Your Grace." Her quiet voice was shy, the opposite of her younger sister's previous outburst.

"You have a beautiful skill – you must make something for me one day." Elia smiled at the girl, before sending a slightly pointed glance at little Visenya, who was too busy trading stories of dragons and White Walkers with Rickon to pay attention to her mother.

Just as Robb was about to tuck into his first – hopefully of many – slice of apple pie, the heavy doors to the hall swung open, and the whole table turned to see who had joined them. The heir of Winterfell dropped his spoon, barely registering the loud clattering sound as his eyes met a familiar violet gaze. It can't be.

"I'm sorry I am late – the Northerners really do know nothing about caring for dragons."

OoOoO

Of all the things Robb had expected of Daenerys Targaryen – and there had been much speculation from Arya and Sansa – the beautiful women he had saved in the forest earlier that day had not been one of them. He found it difficult to tear his gaze from her in his awe as he stood with the rest of his family to greet her. When he finally could look away, one glance at Sansa and Arya proved they were as shocked as he was.

To the King and Queen's embarrassment, Visenya threw herself at the older girl as soon as she saw her; Daenerys, however, merely smiled at the little girl and told her gently but firmly to finish her dinner. "I'll tell you more stories later Vis, be polite to our guests." She had murmured before turning to the standing Starks.

"Lord Stark, such an honour." Daenerys said politely to his lord father, curtseying gently before allowing him to kiss her hand. She turned to the Lady of Winterfell warmly and placed a hand on the elder woman's arm. "Lady Stark, I already regret never having visited your kingdom before during my travels – both your home and the North are beautiful." To Robb's surprise, Catelyn gave a small but genuine smile back, the praise of Winterfell clearly going over well with her. Well played princess, Robb thought with a smirk, before he found her in front of him.

"Princess." He kissed her hand gently, never breaking eye contact; to his disappointment, she did not appear affected by his charms as her niece had, merely offering a slight smile to tell him she would play along with his game.

"Lord Robb, your cousin has told me much about you." She replied with a slight curtsey, before turning to Sansa and Arya, both of whom curtseyed far deeper than she had – Robb hid a laugh at Arya's blatant wobble, but Daenerys did not seem to care for formality. "Lady Sansa, you truly are the Northern beauty you are claimed to be – seeing your mother, I cannot say I am surprised. And you," she turned to Arya with a grin. "Jon has told me so much about you, I would love to hear some of your stories first hand." The younger girl nodded with a large grin, before Daenerys turned to greet Bran and Rickon.

Once they had sat down again – with Rhaenys, to her displeasure, moving up a space to make room for her aunt – Robb found himself next to Daenerys, who was even more beautiful than he seemed to remember. eHer HHiecfijqeHer eyes are much lovelier when she is happy, he noticed immediately.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Robb Stark." She murmured into the rim of her wine goblet, careful not to be overheard.

"Why did you not tell me?" Robb hissed back, torn between anger and amusement at her antics.

"Because if I had, you would have escorted me to Winterfell yourself." She retorted quietly, continuing before he had the chance to argue. "While that would have been kind, I did not want you to meet me and think me nothing more than a useless girl." Her smile contrasted the slight worry in her voice, and Robb gave her a warm smile of his own.

"Believe me, my princess, you do not need to have visited the Bay of Dragons to know that you are the precise opposite of useless." He celebrated a small win when her eyes cleared of any negative feelings. "Are you alright now? How do you feel?"

Daenerys smiled, but it was not warm this time – more predatory than before. "If you think I fear death, Lord Stark, you do not know me very well. I learned how to die long ago." Her gaze was unwavering, and Robb felt the tingles shoot up his spine. Fortunately, he was spared having to answer by Arya's voice, though his stomach dropped at her words.

"Why did someone try to kill you Princess?"

A deafening silence from the royal family greeted the youngest Stark girl's words; it was immediately and embarrassingly obvious that Daenerys had neglected to inform her relatives of the brush with death earlier that day. All eyes in the room turned to Daenerys, who – to her credit, in Robb's opinion – merely sipped her wine with a slightly bashful expression. "Most likely because they disagree with my actions in Essos. It's nothing to be concerned about – it happens more often than you might think." She placed her cup back onto the table and calmly spoke over worried murmurs that had begun to emerge from both families. Robb noticed her tone become slightly icier as she continued and, despite her smile remaining in place, it no longer reached her eyes. "Perhaps if I were permitted carry a sword in Westeros, I would not find myself in so many of these situations."

The room seemed to drop several degrees after her words. Robb risked a glance at the king, who had frozen with his wine cup held halfway to his lips. Feeling eyes on him, Rhaegar placed his wine back onto the table and let out a strained chuckle. The rest of the table relaxed somewhat and continued to finish their dessert, leaving Robb the only person to notice that the king's gaze still had not left Daenerys' face.

For once, Robb wished he had payed more attention to his father's teachings on Westerosi politics. It was easy to ignore the going-ons in the south from the far-removed Winterfell, but much harder when sitting with those most in power of the Seven Kingdome – and Essos. His musings were broken as he felt a sharp gaze from across the table, and turned his head to meet the harsh brown stare of Prince Aegon. There was an undeniable hatred in his eyes, a great surprise to Robb – he could not remember having ever met the older man.

Daenerys must have noticed the silent standoff between the two, since she cleared her throat lightly. Aegon's gaze immediately snapped away from him, focusing instead on Lord Viserys' loud criticisms of the North. Though the petite silver-haired girl beside him did not meet Robb's gaze as he looked down at her with a raised eyebrow, he felt a soft hand – much warmer than one should be – ghost across his palm for a moment, and the faintest of smiles lit her face.

Yes, Robb thought with a bemused smirk, this could be a very interesting visit.

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Hope you enjoyed – let me know what you think!