The atmosphere of Winterfell changed drastically after the fall of Bran. There was no cheer or laughter, as if all light had fled the place and, in its place, only a quiet sombreness remained. Rhaena took over the care of the younger children, spending every waking moment with them and practically became another nanny to Rickon as whenever he cried for his mother, Rhaena would sweep him up into her embrace to kiss and tickle him until he stopped crying. He was the only one who smiled and laughed lately, and no one begrudged him his innocence. Rhaena visited Bran every day in order to sit with him for a while, telling him a new story to try and tempt him back but as of yet, she was unsuccessful. It was heart breaking to see him in such a state, yet she hoped that he may still improve. She would leave after placing a kiss upon his forehead and a plea for him to wake up whilst Lady Catelyn remained there unmoving. Rhaena was not even certain that the lady was even aware of her presence as she continually stared at her boy, but Lord Stark made his gratitude known when he caught her leaving Bran's chambers. "Lady Rhaena, I must thank you."
"Thank me, my lord? Whatever for?" Rhaena questioned in genuine confusion as she looked to Lord Stark and noted how wane he appeared, physically drained from all that happened.
"For caring and supporting my children. I am grateful that you have been there for them whilst their mother and I…" His eyes turned upwards towards Bran's room and became so wretched that Rhena found herself reaching forward to place her hand upon his arm without even realising what she was doing, only seeking to comfort him.
"You have no need to thank me, my lord. It is the least I can do, and it is my pleasure to be in their company. I only wish I could do more." Regarding her with his wise eyes, Lord Stark nodded his head and placed his own hand over hers. His was far larger, roughened from the use of the sword but warm and heavy, comforting in every way. A father's hand.
"You should know, Lady Rhaena, that the king has asked me to become his Hand." Rhaena did know this. She had known this was the entire purpose of the king's journey from the very beginning. "From now on, you do not have to live in fear. You will be under my protection now and when we reach King's Landing. I intend to bring you into my own household and act as a companion to my daughters, but this is just a formality. You will be well cared for; I shall see to it. Whatever life you have had before now comes to an end. Although I cannot release you, I can at least see to your happiness and comfort."
"My lord…" Struggling to hold back her emotion, Rhaena felt a thick lump rise to her throat at the thought that for the first time in her life, she might be welcome somewhere and seen as an equal. Even a friend.
"Robert will not live forever, little one. Remain strong and endure it a little longer, then perhaps you shall have your freedom. If it is your wish, I may even be able to arrange a marriage for you." Now she looked at him in alarm where a reserved smile touched the lord's face. "It is all my daughter Sansa speaks of so I thought perhaps it may be of interest to you also since you are of a similar age. If you find him agreeable, my son Robb may be a good match for you." Now Rhaena could see that Lord Stark was only teasing her, so she allowed herself a soft laugh and relaxed. Looking down at her for a moment more, Lord Stark lifted his other hand in order to place it upon Rhaena's head and smooth back her hair. How much she had grown, though not enough. He had once held her as a babe many years ago. She had slept quietly, completely unaware that around her people were debating whether she should live or die. He remembered how she had stirred and awoken with a sound, drawing his attention to her. This was the first child he had ever held, even before his own firstborn son. He recalled how those bleary, unfocused eyes had blinked before then settling upon him, seemingly taking focus only for the sake to look up at him before the child had smiled.
His heart had fluttered then with a tenderness that Eddard Stark still recalled to this day. It had been that moment that had solidified his decision and had been fully prepared to take the child back with him to Winterfell despite the fact he already had another he was bringing home. Jon. It had been a long, arduous argument that had nearly broken his brotherly bond with Robert but in the end, he had secured his vow that the new king would not harm the child, but the stubborn fool had refused to allow her to leave and become a ward of Winterfell. Seeing how small and clearly underfed she was, Ned Stark wished he had fought even harder to bring her back. Perhaps she would be just as much a daughter to him as Sansa or Arya. Perhaps she may have grown to love his own children as her siblings, even forming an attachment to Robb that would lead to their marriage completely of their own decision. Looking upon her, Ned Stark saw a thousand missed opportunities and an entire lifetime of lost moments. At least now there was a chance to begin anew. By taking her into his household in King's Landing, Rhaena Targaryen may very well yet become known as Rhaena Stark to others. He smiled at her. "Go on now. Take the time to enjoy Winterfell before you must leave it with the rest of us. It may be some time before we are able to return." Her heart rang with hope when Lord Stark said 'we' as it seemed to allude to the fact that when the time came that Lord Stark would return home to the North, he would be bringing Rhaena with him.
The preparations to leave were still being carried out so it would be a few more days before it was time to leave, which gave Rhaena little time to truly enjoy herself before being forced to return to the unholy hellhole that was King's Landing. For the most part Rhaena had managed to avoid the queen, the king, most of the Kingsguard and Joffrey for the entirety of her visit. Tommen and Myrcella were delightful children, so Rhaena never begrudged them a moment of her time however since they were often in company of the queen she had not seen much of them for some time. Lord Tyrion on the other hand, she managed to find him upon occasion somewhere quiet, usually with wine and a book of some kind. If he was absent from Winterfell, then it was usually because he had gone elsewhere to solicit the company of a woman in a certain trade. Tyrion made Rhaena laugh. He was clever and witty, and grossly underappreciated for his talents. It had been he who had taught Rhaena to read and write, not just in the common tongue either, and she loved him like he was her own uncle or even a brother. Unfortunately, he too was keen to avoid his sister and thus was not often to be found, so Rhaena ensured to thoroughly enjoy his company whenever she could find it. Often this was in the library late in the evening, where she would find him once more and return to their usual routine together of reading and discussion.
She searched for him now but discovered no sign of him, however in her wandering she heard the approach of two of the Kingsguard and recognised at least one of the voices to be that of Ser Meryn, one of the most unsavoury characters Rhaena had ever had the misfortune to cross paths with. It was often he who would beat her at the behest of Prince Joffrey or even the king if he was too lazy to do so himself. The man did not deserve the title of a knight. In fact, Rhaena often fantasised about shoving his own sword up his arse and making him sit upon it he was so disgusting to her. Knowing it was better to run than to be caught alone by two of the Kingsguard who were not Ser Barristan, Rhaena fled. Even Ser Jaime would have been better to run into, much as it pained her to admit it. Although Ser Jaime was just as dishonourable as the others, he at least never participated in the practice of beating her. Truthfully, Rhaena was fairly certain that she had a memory of when she was extremely young being pelted by stones by men with the members of the Kingsguard also participating. Soon she had been bleeding, but then someone had come to her rescue and simply lifted her off the ground, covered her in a heavy cloak and carried her away. Rhaena remembered seeing glints of gold and a brief hint of green eyes in her lost focus, thus leading to her conclusion that it had been Jaime Lannister who had saved her, but had never asked him to confirm her suspicions. In any case, he had not shown her any such gallantry since. Pushing such thoughts aside, Rhaena hurried to get as far away from the knights as possible. She found a tower and immediately began to climb up it, flying over the steps all the way to the top until she found herself at a door whereby she flung herself through it and swiftly pushed it closed after her though she was careful not to slam it and make too much noise which may draw attention. "Lady Rhaena?" Not expecting someone else to be there, Rhaena gave an undignified shriek as she leaped, whirling around only to discover it was Robb.
"Lord Robb! You gave me such a fright."
"It appears I am not the only thing that has frightened you." Robb stated with due concern as he got up from the window he had been looking out of in order to approach. "Is everything alright?"
"Yes, yes I was just…I just did not wish to be found." Excusing her actions with an embarrassed blush, Robb gave her a wry smile before inviting her further inside.
"This is one of my favourite hiding places. No one ever really comes up here so it's peaceful. You get a good view of Winterfell as well from here." Drawing her over to the window, Robb gestured to the land beyond where Rhaena instantly sighed wistfully and smiled lovingly. She could even see the godswood from all the way up here. It was a wonder she had not discovered it sooner.
"Beautiful." She decided firmly, leaning against the window and resting her chin upon her hands. "I wish I could simply stay here and never leave."
"Perhaps you could." Robb suggested but to this Rhaena merely grunted, her face falling once again.
"The king would never allow it, let alone the queen. Besides with your father and sisters going to King's Landing with the royal convoy, I should like to be with them to help them adjust to life there. Arya will struggle a great deal I think, she is not meant for finery and manner classes. She'll soon go mad. Sansa will adjust but she has completely romanticised the place and does not understand how dangerous it can be." To this Robb frowned in confusion, unable to see how a court could pose any danger and when Rhaena saw his expression, she laughed. "You would be surprised, Lord Robb. A single rumour is enough to ruin the reputation of a courtier, and from that there is no recovery in any good society. I have seen a woman driven to utter madness simply because it was rumoured she was having a secret love affair with one of her husband's guards, and it was not even true. She lost everything. Her husband, her children, her home, everything." Now Robb looked horrified. "Oh yes, words hold just as much bite as a sword. Especially where we are going."
"Then…my sisters…"
"Do not worry. They will be above reproach for they are still children and unlikely to be entered into formal society for a very long time and I shall be there to look after them." This was a comfort to Robb, who had seen how capable Rhaena was in looked after others and seeing as Arya seemed to admire and respect Rhaena, would be far more likely to listen to her than anyone else. Even their father.
"But if you truly do not wish to go back then I am certain my father can plead your case." Robb continued as he thought to how empty Rhena had seemed when she had first arrived. Looking at her now she was almost an entirely different person. "You were unhappy there and although you have not said so outright, it sounds as though you were not treated well." This Rhaena did not deny but still she had a small smile upon her lips, gazing out across the view in satisfaction.
"This time will be different. This time I shall have the protection of Lord Eddard Stark, the King's Hand. I dare anyone to try and do anything to me from now on." This was something Robb could not argue with so he simply settled with a sigh and instead began to speak of how he will be taking over his father's responsibilities in his absence. They talked at length about Winterfell and Robb was pleased that Rhaena seemed to love it as much as he did. He liked her a great deal, so much so that Robb had even convinced himself to be in love and that Rhaena held some feelings for him. In some ways she did. Robb had been truly kind and generous to her; a gentle friend and she enjoyed their conversations with one another. It had taken a little time for her to coax Robb out of his shell but whenever it was just the two of them alone, he displayed an energy that his usually subdued character did not often portray outside of training. She liked him. Her belly tickled whenever she looked at him, and thus it was the pair experienced their first taste of young love. Robb did not want Rhaena to leave and every time he thought of her going his chest would contract and ache rather painfully. He did not want her to disappear. Perhaps if he could ask father to let him marry Rhaena then she could stay here as his betrothed and learn from his mother how to become the Lady of Winterfell. He could protect her here, keep her safe and warm, ensure she was always well fed and loved. He fancied that as a man it was his duty to rescue such a pitiful woman from despair, however Rhaena had made it clear that she intended to return to King's Landing in order to look after Arya and Sansa. He accepted Rhaena's decision and even admired her for it, hinting at his thoughts and feelings to which Rhaena smiled and told him that she too liked him a great deal, but reasoned that they were both a little too young to truly know what love meant or how it was meant to last.
It was difficult to accept but Robb did his best to not let any disappointment show, but he must have failed miserably because Rhaena laughed at him lightly before taking hold of his hand as well his face in order to lean inwards and press her lips to his. Both were exceedingly inexperienced and this much was painfully obvious, for neither knew what to do next. Rhaena pressed her lips against Robb's a little more firmly so that it was not so chaste whilst Robb merely sat there like solid stone. He did not even remember to close his eyes. Drawing back Rhaena laughed again, touching her mouth where it was a little damp to dab it dry with her sleeve. Blinking rather stupidly, Robb suddenly grinned as he came to realise that he had just had his first kiss with a girl and rather selfishly wished he could do it again, only better this time. He reached forwards and was glad that Rhaena did not pull away, allowing him to kiss her this time just as chastely and nervously as she had but more exploratively.
Suddenly Robb wished he had been older and more experienced, because in truth it felt rather awkward and confused as to what to do. Was this how it was meant to be? Theon had talked about being with women before as he often went to visit his whores, but he doubted Rhaena would like anything that Theon had described, so he pulled away and satisfied himself that should he ever see Rhaena again, they would be older and a little surer of themselves and should there still be some feelings present, she might allow him to try again. Rather than attempt any further embarrassment, Robb and Rhaena sat together and talked a little further about nothing of importance, sometimes lapsing into silence where they would simply enjoy one another's company until eventually the time demanded that they return for they were both hungry and aching from having sat down on the floor for so long. With Robb beside her Rhaena was not concerned to face any of the Kingsguard, a warm glow in her cheeks from having experienced her fist kiss and a certain pride for having been the one to take the initiative. When the time came to enter onto the road, it would be the memories of Winterfell and the family who had welcomed her there that she would draw comfort from, all the way back to King's Landing where the game would once more resume.