A heavy cloud of melancholy had settled over Winterfell along with the thick fog that had rolled in from further north which carried a spat of rain with it. Bran Stark had yet to wake from his fall and the castle seemed to echo his silence. Lady Catelyn spent her days with her injured son, never leaving the room. All the pageantry that had come with the royal visit had all but disappeared. Jacqueline felt awkward at being present in someone's home when such a personal tragedy had occurred.
The boy who consistently clung to her made her feel all the more embarrassed and self-conscious. Just days after his brother's fall, and his mother's ensuing disappearance, little Rickon had taken to craving Jacqueline's attention and going as far as digging his tiny fingernails into her skin to remain with her. When Maester Luwin, with the help of Robb, had tried to separate the two, Rickon had left long scratches on her forearm and screamed so loud that Jacqueline settled on the easy route and let the little boy stay with her. "I think it's your hair," Robb said with a sympathetic smile as his youngest brother climbed into her lap and once again began to play with Jacqueline's long black hair. "Sansa doesn't let him touch her hair."
Jacqueline really did not mind the boy that much, when he was not aggressively pulling at her hair or crying. But that only happened at night when she tried to put him to bed. Together, the two had settled into something of a routine. Every day they took a long walk around the outside of the castle. At first Rickon had insisted on being carried but Jacqueline had managed to get him to settle for holding her hand. His young direwolf, Shaggydog, was never far away from them. One afternoon, when Rickon was in a better-than-usual mood, he let go of her hand long to begin racing his wolf back and forth from the stables to where Jacqueline sat on the stone steps leading into the Great Hall.
Jacqueline reclined against the stone wall, enjoying her short moments of freedom while keeping a close eye on Rickon, for she did not fully trust the direwolf not to act out against its young owner. She wanted to go home. But despite that, Jacqueline was also dreading the long journey back to the capitol. Lord Stark and his two daughters would be joining, along with a small number from his household. The pace would only be slower with the additional people. But Tyrion Lannister would not be joining them for the trip back. The younger Lannister was set on traveling the road north, to see the Wall. Jacqueline had half a mind to go with him, if it meant avoiding the royal procession.
She was thinking about asking Robert for permission to join Lord Tyrion in visiting the Wall when Ser Jaime appeared at her side, an event that was becoming too much of a habit for Jacqueline's liking. "I'm sure you'll have a good amount of time before anyone notices." Jaime said, looking down at her with his bright green eyes.
"Notices what?" Jacqueline asked without taking her eyes off Rickon. The little boy was now chasing the wolf around in tight circles.
"Well, considering you can't have any of your own, it's only a matter of time before you steal someone else's child. This is probably the best chance you're ever going to get." She could almost hear the smirk appear on Jaime's face as he mocked her. Jacqueline ignored him, pretending she did not hear. After a moment of silence Jaime said, "Lord Stark and the King want to speak with you."
Jacqueline looked at him when he said that. With a displeased sigh, she climbed to her feet, refusing Jaime's help, and brushed the dirt off her yellow dress. She thought about asking him to watch Rickon but she knew the answer. So, with Rickon's hand in hers and Shaggy off chasing his siblings, Jacqueline reentered the Great Hall to find her brother.
He was sitting at the table atop the dais alone with his new Hand. Robert looked as if he had just woken up, and Jacqueline was sure he had. Ned Stark looked tired too but that was understandable considering all that had happened. She felt little Rickon twist his hand free from her own before he darted away towards the kitchen, leaving her alone as she made her way to the table. Jacqueline said her formalities as she took a seat at the table with an odd feeling in her stomach that she was not going to like this conversation.
They were leaving. Bran still had not woken but the king could not wait any longer. Today, the royal company would be returning to King's Landing. Snowflakes were falling from the grey sky as Jacqueline watched others make the final preparations for the journey. Rickon had thrown a fit earlier that day when he learned that his father and sisters were leaving but he now sat quietly in Jacqueline's arms with a hand tangled in her loose hair. She too had wanted to throw a fit when she learned she would be staying behind in Winterfell as well.
Lady Catelyn was still refusing to leave Bran's room and Ned thought it would best for Rickon if Jacqueline could stay behind. At least until Lord Tyrion returned from the Wall. Lord Stark had said. Jacqueline found herself unable to deny his request after the king had already expressed his support of it. But after Ned had left to check on Bran and his wife, Jacqueline tried to convince her brother to change his mind, to left return home with him. She did not want to be left behind alone with a family she barely knew to take care of a child that was not hers. But Robert refused to hear it. Stop being so childish. He had told her before leaving her alone in the Great Hall.
I am not a child. She wanted to yell back. And she wasn't. Jacqueline was nineteen, a woman grown. If she had flowered, she would be married. She would have her own child by now, possibly Rickon's age. But that would never happen. I am not a child. She thought again, as she watched King Robert and the rest of the royal parade move under Winterfell's gate and being their journey south. She suppressed the urge to drop the child on her hip and chase after her brother. It's only for a short time. I'll see my family again. Soon.
Wow, you guys. 100 follows! Thank you so much! And so sorry about the wait again. My family went camping and then I was a bit distraught over last week's episode. I've never been so shocked by something I knew was going to happen.