Jacqueline spent most of the short ride giving apologies and Robb spent it accepting them. Theon just laughed. She didn't know what her brother was playing at. She had attended the hunt without protest and she had been quite social the previous evening. What more did he want from her? I should have done with Stannis to Dragonstone instead of with Robert to Winterfell. At least Stannis appreciates my silence. No. Robert did not have quite the same amount of entertainment in the north as he did in the capitol and he made up for it by forcing his sister into unwanted social interactions with strangers.
Though, Jacqueline was happy to get a chance to see Winterfell's godswood. King's Landing's godswood was just a small, dense patch of trees. It didn't even have a proper heart tree. All weirwoods in the south had been burnt or cut down a long time ago. But Winterfell's was much larger, covering multiple acres and untouched for thousands of years. The trees grew taller too and far apart enough that Jacqueline could easily ride her horse into forest. Leaves crushed underneath her palfrey's hooves as they made for the center of godswood. The forest smelt of moist earth and decay and she heard the soft, distant chirp of birds and rustle of bushes as small animals darted away from them.
Robb rode to her left and Theon to her right. Apart from the apologies, the three did not speak. It did not seem necessary to fill the silence with words in a place such as this. They came to a large round clearing. A large white tree grew towards the sky in the center. Small red oval leaves that had fallen from the weirwood floated on the surface of the small pond positioned in front of the tree. The three halted their horses and dismounted. As Jacqueline swung her foot over, a pair of hands appeared on her waist, startling her. She lost her grip on the pommel of her saddle and she felt her foot turn, caught in the stirrup. She fell backwards and would have landed on her bottom if it wasn't for the hands.
She looked up and saw Theon giving her an almost sympathetic smile. "Sorry." Jacqueline muttered before straightening herself and pulling out of the creases in her dress.
"Are you okay, my lady?" Robb asked, holding the reins of his horse. He had no trouble in dismounting from the destrier.
"Yes. I'm just still a bit tired from the journey is all, my lord. It's quite a long way from King's Landing to Winterfell, you know." Jacqueline gave her horse a quick pat as an apology for falling.
"Did you ride your horse the entire way?" Theon asked, still standing next to her.
Jacqueline shrugged her shoulders. "Yes, mostly. It was either that or ride with the Queen and her young children. A horse seemed like the more comfortable option." Theon laughed at that.
"Prince Joffrey has certainly lived up this reputation." Robb said softly. Jacqueline knew what he meant. She wanted to blame Cersei for his bad temperament, but she knew it wasn't entirely her fault. Tommen and Mrycella were in no way like their older brother, except in looks. They were something just not right with Joffrey.
"I understand but it would not do well for me to speak ill of my nephew." She said politely, stepping forward, returning her glaze to the weirwood. "How old is this place?" She asked, changing the subject away from her dysfunctional family.
Jacqueline was firm in the Faith of the Seven, much more so than her brothers. As a child, her brothers were erratically away, usually at war. The gods were always there though. It was comforting for her to have some kind of constant in her life. But that did not mean she could not appreciate the Old Gods. She listened intently as Robb told her about the Children of the Forest and the First Men. They sat in front of the heart tree. A long face was craved into the trunk of the lone weirwood and dried red sap ran from the corners of the eyes, giving it a sad appearance.
"We should get back. I would hate to not be there when Robert kills a pig." Jacqueline joked. They mounted their horses, and this time Theon decided Jacqueline could do it herself, and turned their horses around to rejoin the royal hunt. Despite the godswood's size, it was still within Winterfell's walls. They exited the woods and entered the large courtyard, intending to leave through the main gate and head back to the wolfswood.
Only there were a great many more people in the courtyard than the last time. Jacqueline was worried that they had spent too long in the godswood and the hunt was over. But the excitement and pride that usually went with the end of a successful hunt was not the tone of the crowd gathered. They were silent except for a few quiet whispers. Many of the faces were worried and Jacqueline noticed that a few women were crying.
Before she could ask what was going on, Ned Stark and the king came storming through the gate. Lord Stark never paused as he swiftly dismounted and all but ran into the Great Hall. Her brother followed him. Jacqueline had not noticed that Robb had dismounted until she saw his auburn hair disappear into the castle as well. It started to snow as a few other people from the hunt appeared, some taking more time than others.
She got down from the palfrey but did not move to enter the castle; unsure if the matter at hand called for her presence. If I'm needed, Robert will send someone. She thought as she stood, holding the reins in one hand. A man appeared next to her, too tall to be Theon. She looked up and recognized the blonde hair of Ser Jaime. "What happened?" The Kingslayer had stayed in Winterfell instead of attending the hunt.
"The boy fell from a tower." He answered in bored tone.
"What? Which boy?" Did he mean Tommen or Rickon?
"Ned Stark's boy. Beren or whatever is name is."
"Bran?" Jacqueline remembered the boy from the previous night running around tables with his little brother following close behind. "How did he fall?"
"Doing something he shouldn't have been. If you climb high enough or often enough, Jacqueline, you're going to fall eventually." His face held no emotion, except, perhaps, a bit of annoyance. "Speaking of bad decisions, my lady," Jaime's smirk returned when he looked down at her. "What were you doing in the woods alone with two men? I've never known you for such scandalous behavior."