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Chapter 5: Gossip and Trinkets

"All I am saying is that he really is handsome, and does seem to be genuinely kind! Maybe it won't be as bad as you'd thought."

"I'm not going to be too quick to admit that. After all, I've only spoken to him once, and for all of two minutes. I'm hardly going to suddenly turn around my opinion just based on that."

"Ahh yes, this opinion that you formed before you met him, the one based on rumours?"

Cassana propped herself up on her elbows to glare at her friend, "Yes, that one."

"Mmmhmm," Corrina smiled softly to herself as she went about ordering Cassana's vanity table.

"I don't know why you insisted on doing that," Cassana fell back onto her mound of pillows, "My maids could have taken care of it."

Her friend waved her comment away, "Please, they have already stored away all of your gowns and other things, but do you remember the last time a lady's maid took care of your vanity? You were so sure that she had stolen your favourite scent that you ordered her flogged. If Myrcella hadn't found it under the table, where you had dropped it, the girl would have-"

"Yes, yes, alright," Cassana grumbled, rubbing her arms in a vain attempt to warm them some more, "Send for someone to build up my fire some more, will you?"

Corrina, as always, heard the command behind the request. Dropping a little curtsy to her royal friend, she ducked out of the room to do as instructed, leaving Cassana alone with her thoughts. They felt like so many thoughts, but as soon as she started sorting through them, she saw that she was simply making them out to be bigger than they were. She hated admitted that she was making a big deal out of nothing, and so she simply tried to avoid thinking about them, Sadly, this never worked, which was why Cassana's bad mood had held throughout the afternoon.

She had arrived in her room, ordered her maids to unpacking, and promptly flounced onto her bed. That had been alright, that had been standard for her when she travelled. Her bad mood had begun after, when one of her maids had come up to her and hesitantly asked:

"Your majesty, would you like us to unpack all of your garments? Or just a few and leave the rest for when you move rooms?"

Looking back on it now, Cassana felt a little bad for having snapped at her maid so, but only a little. She had angrily ordered that of course they were to unpack all of her clothes, and had demanded to know how she dared to presume otherwise. The maid had stammered out more apologies than Cassana had bothered to count, and her wardrobe had been filled in half the time it normally took.

By the time Corrina had arrived, Cassana still hadn't moved from her bed, but the mood in the room was palpable. Silence had stretched between the two friends, right up until Corrina's comments began on Robb Stark.

She was right, Cassana was going to do her uttermost not to be overly obstinate and reject statements of seemingly true fact. But she wasn't about to go all weak at the knees for a man she had just met simply because he had a handsome face. According to her mother, King Robert had been a handsome man once, now look at him. Swollen with wine, food, and whores. Cassana wasn't denying that Robb seemed… nice, she was simply basing her facts on past experiences, which was the sensible and logical thing to do.

An excited series of raps sounded at her door. That sound had used to surprise Cassana, but now she was accustomed to what it heralded. She pulled herself up into a sitting position against her pillows, and rearranged the fur blanket she had spread over her legs until she was comfortable.

"Come," she called.

Her two other lady's maids, Illya Swyft and Mabelle Swann, tumbled into her room. They were two years younger than she and Corrina, but Cassana enjoyed their company nonetheless. They had been faithful lady's maids in the years that they had been by Cassana's side. They were not confidants, for that was Corrina's job. They were her informants.

Cassana had sent them to ask questions and listen as soon as they had arrived. They'd been at it for a couple of hours now, and she was eager to hear what they had to say. She didn't bother waiting for Corrina, a Princess didn't wait on others. Besides, her friend already had her mind made on Robb, or at least influenced.

"Well, what have you found?"

Cassana didn't gesture for the girls to sit, she'd see how good their information was first, and in any case, they were bouncing up and down with such excitement that she doubted they would have taken her offer if it had been given.

"Well, I went and spoke with some of the servants, like you asked," Mabelle bragged; tossing her brown hair over one shoulder in a failed attempt to look imperious, "And according to them, Lord Robb is a very good man. They say that when he was little he ran mischief around the castle, but that his father has raised him to be a good lord. They say that he's polite, he doesn't have a temper, he-"

"Does he drink? Does he whore? Does he have any natural children?" Cassana interjected; inquiring after the things she feared he indulged in.

"Well-"

"I managed to speak with someone who knows a lot more than the servants," Illya boasted.

Mabelle rolled her eyes, and Cassana suppressed a sigh at their stupid competitiveness. She didn't understand why they tried, they'd never be head lady-in-waiting, they were both of equal rank, why couldn't they just stop being annoying?

"Yes, who?" she asked; making no attempts to keep her loss of patience from her tone.

"His half-brother, Lord Stark's natural son," Illya replied smugly.

"And what did he tell you?" Cassana pressed.

"Well… a lot of the same stuff Mabelle found out..." Illya admitted. She was trying to look downcast, but her bright eyes held a glint of further knowledge, she just wanted to draw out her moment of power.

"If it was all just the same knowledge, I might as well let Mabelle continue," Cassana snapped out.

"But," Illya said quickly, "He also told me that Robb does enjoy going out drinking with Theon Greyjoy, and that 'the girls like him'. But, he said that Robb is 'a good man'."

Mabelle rolled her eyes, "He probably just said that because he knew you were spying for the Princess."

"And why would he know that?" Cassana inquired icily, "I am sure I told you both to be discreet."

"He didn't," Illya shot Mabelle a glare.

"I bet he did!"

"He-"

"Stop!" Cassana shouted.

The two younger girls ceased their bickering, and turned to face her once again, both of them with dropped gazes. Cassana rubbed at her temples, trying to dispel the headache starting to form. Her head was starting to hurt from the harshly pinned hairstyle she had adopted that morning, and their arguing was speeding it along.

"Both of you, leave me now," she commanded, "Mabelle, find Corrina and tell her to come and attend me, she can bring her maids and ready herself for the feast here. Illya, tell my handmaidens to come back to me, and tell them also that I wish to have a hot bath."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The two girls curtsied, looked a little sullen at not being allowed to stay, but did as they were bid. Cassana sank back onto her pillows with a heavy sigh, letting herself lie there for a few moments.

She disliked to admit how comfortable her accommodations were, for truth be told, she had been expecting something far more bare than the suite she had been given. Her bed, wardrobe, chests, and vanity were all not the standard she was used to, but higher than she had expected all the same.

She wondered what her new rooms after these would look like…

The thought spurred her headache on, and she sat up with a loud noise of exasperation that no one was there to witness. Grumbling to herself about the lateness of her handmaidens, she set to undoing her hair on her own, freeing the long golden strands to fall about her shoulders.

Ahh, yes, that eased the tension somewhat. Cassana eased back into a lying position, and rested her tired eyes as she waited for her bath.

/*0*/

"Why, you look just like Her Royal Highness, the Queen!"

Cassana couldn't help but smile at the compliment. She loved it when people told her she looked like her mother, for her mother was without a doubt one of the most beautiful women in the Seven Kingdoms, it heightened Cassana's own confidence to have their looks matched.

She sat in front of the mirror at her table watching the progress as two of her maids, Reni and Olena, dressed her hair. It was being rolled into an arch over her head, to frame her face, with two twists of it falling on either side of her. It was the latest fashion in the South, and the series of gold and emerald pins her handmaidens added gave the illusion of a crown in her hair, as well as bringing out the green of her eyes.

"Have you decided on a dress?" Corrina inquired.

She was seated on the bed behind Cassana, having her own hair tended to by Cassana's final handmaid, Jeyne. The long brown curls were being dressed into the same style as Cassana's own, but House Brax by no means equalled the royal family in funds, and so her hair was not adorned in jewels as Cassana's was.

She could always have given Corrina some of her own, for she had plenty. However, she was privately pleased at the situation, for she sometimes felt that with her long dark hair, her big brown eyes, her perfectly pale complexion, Corrina was prettier than she. And it wouldn't do to be outshone by her lady-in-waiting.

Corrina herself was already gowned in a dress of deep blue and silver, the long sleeves of the gown falling halfway to the floor, a chain of silver around her slim neck. Cassana knew that most of the ladies would be dressed in long-sleeved gowns to accommodate the chill North, which was precisely why she had opted not to. It wouldn't do to be indecent, not at all, but as Princess she had to stand out from the rest. It was simply her duty.

"Yes," she replied, gesturing towards her open wardrobe, "The gold and green mother had made for me when I turned sixteen."

Her handmaidens didn't dare object to her choice, but she saw a slight tightening of the mouth as Reni put the final touches on her hair. She and Olena stepped back from the now finished Princess, but made no move to collect the dress she had just described.

Corrina had no such reservations on speaking her mind to her friend, within reason, but she felt that this merited a frown and comment.

"Are you certain? You'll freeze in that!"

Cassana shrugged her slim shoulders as she stood up, "The Great Hall will be warm, and I have absolutely no intention of going outside in this freezing country. Besides," she added coolly, "It is my decision. I do not like have my choices questioned like this."

She fixed Corrina with a stare, and the other girl opened her mouth as if to protest once more, but simply shook her head. She of all people knew that it was generally best to just let Cassana have her way. When she had been little, tantrums had succeeded in getting her this, but she had learnt better ways to use her position of power since then.

Sensing that there would be no changing the Princess' mind, Jeyne moved to fetch the gown from the wardrobe, while Reni and Olena stepped with Cassana behind her screen to help her dress. Even with the fire having been build up stronger, Cassana still felt a slight chill sweep over her when she let her maids remove her robe and leave her in only her shift for a few moments. The dress they helped her into warmed her some as they did up the laces and fitted the golden belt, but her arms were still largely bared to the elements.

A knock sounded at her door just as Olena was fixing an emerald pendant on a golden chain around her throat. Cassana frowned, she wasn't expecting anyone.

A messenger boy stood there when Jeyne opened the door, a Northern boy, judging from his attire. Cassana wrinkled her nose as his rather hideous outfit, and turned her head away from him and took a seat on the window ledge at the other side of the room, indicating that her maids should question what his purpose was.

"What is your business with the Princess?" Jeyne inquired; not stepping aside from the doorway to let him further into the room.

He bowed very low in Cassana's direction, and held out a wrapped item, "I come bringing a gift for the Princess Cassana."

Cassana's interest piqued, she always found gifts flattering. She turned and made a small gesture to Corrina. Her friend got up and received the present on her behalf, bringing it over to Cassana. She could feel that it was a small box, wrapped in a layer of fine cloth, bound with a ribbon of… yes, silk.

"Wait," she called; seeing that the boy was about to depart, "You will stand until I tell you to go."

He bowed again, but began fidgeting on the spot at once. She rolled her eyes with a sigh, really, was this how servants were trained in the North?

With a quick tug she had the ribbon off and the cloth pulled away. The box was finely carved out of a dark wood, and upon opening it she found the inside to be lined in deep blue velvet, almost black in colour. Nestled at the centre was a finely wrought gift indeed. A bracelet smithed from silver, polished so that it shone brightly in the firelight of the room. Her eyes got lost trying to follow the pattern of entwining lines which made up the design, this was fine craftsmanship, she hadn't known the North capable of such delicacy.

With a sigh she set it back into the box, closed the lid, and passed it back to Corrina.

"Tell me who sent this," she commanded the messenger boy.

"Uh…" he shifted on his feet, "I can't, your grace."

She arched one golden eyebrow coolly, her eyes turning to green ice "Can't? I am your Princess, and I just gave you an order."

He looked utterly torn, but his lips were pressed in a firm line. He dared not speak out loud disobedience of her order, so he simply did not speak at all. She gave an irate sigh, and gestured for Corrina to hand it back to him.

"Your grace?" he sounded panicked, and puzzled.

"I cannot accept gifts from strangers in the very castle of my betrothed," she said sharply, "Leave now, and return it."

"B-but, your grace, I-"

"Now," she ordered.

Her maids all but pushed him out of the way of the door, before firmly closing it in his face. They waited a few seconds to see if he would knock again, no sound came.

"Shame," Corrina said, "That was quite pretty."

"Yes, it was rather," Cassana agreed, "But you know that silver doesn't match any of my clothes."

/*0*/

On the other side of the castle, the same messenger boy knocked on the door of Robb Stark, and sheepishly handed him back the unwrapped box.

"Said she couldn't take it, Lord Robb," the boy said, "Said that it was cause she was betrothed and couldn't take no gifts."

Robb looked down at the box in his hands, and began chuckling to himself.

The boy looked crestfallen at his failure, "Lord Robb? I'm sorry."

Robb, still chuckling, waved the boy on and retreated back into his room. He opened the box and lifted out the bracelet, running his hands over it, erasing the fingerprint marks left by Cassana with his own. His chuckles grew louder, and soon he was laughing loud enough for others nearby to hear, and wonder what the hell was going on.