Previously on POTG: Alessandra learns a confusing fact about Gabriel. Robb and Jon reunite.
Disclaimer: I am not as awesome as George R.R. Martin. If you think I wrote A Song of Ice and Fire, God bless your soul.
Chapter 19 Steffon
*Nathalia*
Jon shouldn't have kissed her so intimately before he left her to her own thoughts. All Nathalia can think of is ripping the blue tunic from his body and letting him enter her. Propriety be damned! It helped that the soldiers thought of her as Jon's wife and not some lady willing to open her legs at any moment.
The rustle of the tent's entrance stops her from her lustful thoughts. One by one, Winterfell's banner men start to walk out from the King of the North's tent. Some faces she can recognize quickly enough even though they've been wrinkled with age. They do not seem particularly gleeful that the meeting is over. Perhaps Robb Stark called it off early to welcome his brother back.
"Calling it an early night, gentlemen?" Her voice is still as she tries to start a conversation with the former group that she has helped.
Rickard Karstark is the first one to notice her. He bows slightly, a look of surprise in his eyes. "The Lady Nathalia!" The rest follows suit in bowing before her. Each soldier seems baffled by the turn of events. They are probably wondering who she is to cause such a hearty welcome.
She raises her palms to straighten them, not really fond of formalities. "I thought we've established that I am not to be treated as such?" An eyebrow raised to test them. The only reward she gets is a small bashful look from a few.
"Will you be giving us aide, Nathalia?" Apparently Karstark is the speaker of the group.
She rolls her eyes slightly, beginning to feel a twinge of annoyance towards the old man. He manages to bring the most irritating of auras anywhere he goes. "I wouldn't be here if I am doing the opposite." If the statement managed to offend the lord, Nathalia doesn't give a small fuck since her attention turns to the young man carrying a small jug walking out of the tent. She mutters a small apology and excuse before following Robb Stark's cupbearer. She notices how the soldiers surrounding her seem to follow her. Hmm. Looks like Jon learned to raise fear inside a man's conscience.
She finally goes to a stop when she sees him refilling the jug with wine. She watches how his skilled hands manage to pour wine without wasting a single drop. His tent is much smaller than Robb Stark's but its main purpose is the distance between. There is no doubt that this particular guardian has assigned himself to be the king's protector. The lid located at the far side of the room suddenly zooms on the open hand of the guardian. He sends a mischievous grin towards Nathalia as soon as he closes the container. The soldiers behind her express their shock in soft, hissing murmurs.
She chuckles slightly, relieved to be in the youthful company of a fellow guardian.
"Glad I finally get to see the infamous Nathalia!" His bright blue eyes twinkle in exuberance as he shakes his mop of golden curls in disbelief. He's definitely easy on the eyes.
She takes a step forward and offers her hand. He takes it without a second thought. "I do not believe you have told me your name?"
He uses the hand he used to shake hers to ruffle his blond curls. "Steffon, a brother to Rose—a member of your coven."
"Oh. Rose," Her eye contact with him withers at the mention of her former companion. She was never fond of the girl and found her too cruel. If her brother is anything like her…them may the gods bestow a dream of kindness towards the young boy.
A chuckle brings her dark eyes back on his now-familiar ones. Steffon is grinning at her and shaking his head. "I was never fond of her either," The container he is holding sounds like the shores of Lorath that she often dreams of. "I tolerated her for twelve moons before I finally had enough of her whining and I joined the next coven to guard Westeros."
Nathalia decides that she likes the young man. His mischief is definitely what she needs to be able to stay sane without Alessandra. Oh how she misses her dear friend.
"I must bring this to the King of the North," He winks before disappearing to run back to Robb Stark's tent.
Again, she can only hope that she can explain Steffon's flirtatious attitude towards Jon before the Stark bastard decides to claim her as his in front of everyone. Again.
The soldiers are still behind her, waiting for a change of action. She decides that this is the time to take advantage of their sudden admiration.
"Where is Lady Catelyn?" She asks the nearest guard.
His eyes seem to widen at the fact that she is addressing him. Hmm. He must have been told stories of her coven as a little boy. Sometimes Nathalia feels a lot older that how she looks. "Sh—she w—went to Lord—KING!...King Renly's camp to negotiate some mergers."
Her eyebrows rise in disbelief. "Mergers? With Robert Baratheon's most reckless brother?" Surely Stannis is more favorable than that cock of a 'prince'. It's not that she doesn't hold some partiality for the self-proclaimed king. He is always the best at giving colorful advises. His recent activities only prove how much he still needs to think of the consequences of his recent action.
They don't reply to her bold statement. Probably because of the fear of getting their tongues cut off by anyone who hears a word of their agreement. Such fear should not be felt by such men with potential to do great on the battlefield. It is not just the kings who hold the victory. It is also his followers. With a twist of her body, she turns around and walks back towards the entrance of Robb Stark's tent. No doubt Jon would want to introduce her to his brother soon as he explains about his rendezvous in King's Landing.
Steffon comes out just as she is about to come in unannounced. "They're still speaking," he tells her.
She stops, pausing at the entrance before finally deciding to give the brothers some time to speak. The conversation about Catelyn Stark's unintelligent decisions with her king son will have to wait.
"How long have you been in Westeros?" The guards take a step back, giving her some privacy with her fellow guardian.
Steffon crosses his arms across his chest, appearing to be deep in thought. "Must have been at least two years,"
She purses her lips in her musings and studies the youthful aura that the male guardian is currently extracting. Full of promises, this one. "You're new,"
He nods his head and grins, not at all ashamed that he has fewer experiences that she does. "And yet I am currently sending the strongest guardian the most important whispers," Jon will definitely like him…or not.
"Nathalia," The man that she is currently thinking of steps out from the tent. She notices the redness of his eyes and concludes that the subject of Ned Stark has already been brought up. "I must introduce you to—" his eyes narrow "—who is this?"
She becomes currently aware of Steffon's closeness because of the narrow entrance and takes small cautious step back. "This is Steffon, a fellow guardian of mine."
"Yours?" That is the word that he chooses to pay attention to? Men.
The handsome guardian, however, does not notice the hostile look that Jon gives him and offers his hand, "Pleasure to make your acquaintance."
Jon completely ignores his hand and takes Nathalia's instead. "We best be going in. Wouldn't want King Robb to think I'm besting him."
She nods, not liking the way Jon disregards Steffon because of his jealousy.
Thank the gods that he does not seem to mind being ignored at all. A small smirk appears on his previous cheerful face as he winks at Nathalia. "I will talk to you soon, then?" With a spin of his heel, he walks away while whistling a tune that sounds curiously like the Bear and Maiden Fair. She shakes her head in amusement. Now that is one very relaxed guardian.
"I like him," She tells Jon, still watching the young guardian walking away.
Jon huffs in response, "I think he likes you too much."
Nathalia rolls her eyes. Jon's jealousy is not leading him anywhere in her good graces.
"Let's meet your brother, shall we?"
*Robb Stark*
Robb gulps the contents of his cup before setting it forcefully down on the table. How could Sansa choose to stay at King's Landing? The circumstances would have become a lot easier if she went with their brother. He knows that he can trade Jaime Lannister for Sansa, but that does not ensure that she comes back to their family without scars…and he also cannot simply give up such a valuable hostage. Who knows how many more of his men Jaime Lannister can kill if he is let out?
"Robb?" The inquiring voice of his brother came inside the tent, along with the most attractive woman the king of the north has ever laid eyes on.
Robb Stark has been to a brothel before. When he and Jon were merely boys of fifteen, they have sneaked out with one of their father's advisors. The two of them have always been curious about the stable boys' graphic description of the women. Robb remembers thinking that he saw the most beautiful women that night—but that was too long ago. His opinion has changed when he met Talisa; the brave healer immediately caught his attention in the aftermath of a bloody battlefield. However, even she cannot match the surprising beauty of the woman entering his tent.
He straightens himself, suddenly aware that he looked too predatory leaning forward the table.
"This is Nathalia," Jon introduces her.
Robb raises an eyebrow at the familiar way Jon had introduced the lady.
"Pleased to meet you, your grace," Lady Nathalia starts to bow when Robb grabs her hand and places a gentle kiss upon it.
He looks up to watch her reaction but her face seems to remain uninterested. Aren't women supposed to be happy when a king is giving them much attention? So far, he's only met two women who doesn't care about his status. To his dismay, they are the only two that intrigues him,
"She is the one I was telling you about—the one who can help us," Robb is surprised by the sharpness of Jon's eyes. He wonders what he has done to deserve such a cold look.
"Her?" His attention turns back to the lady in front of him when he finally registered Jon's words. How could one woman help them? He does not judge based on gender but it is a common thought that women are not for the battlefield. Sure there might be some stories about brave female but those are only less than one percent of the actual female population.
Lady Nathalia surprises him all too sudden with an annoyed expression, "Is there a reason why you sound so surprised, your grace?"
"N—no! I did not mean it like that, my lady. I just—uhm," Oh great. Now he's become a stuttering fool.
She smiles and he finds himself relaxing. It becomes apparent that she is the one controlling the atmosphere in their introduction. If it is possible, Lady Nathalia intrigues him more. "I was jesting, your grace."
A nervous, unsure laugh escapes his bearded mouth. "Come, please, have a seat!" He gestures towards the untidy table, a bit bashful at the obvious lack of a woman's touch. Lady Nathalia follows him, along with Jon. He waits for them to be seated before walking to the head chair. "I must admit: I am surprised to see a woman. How can you help us? Do you have any valuable information?" After all, women loved to talk.s
She looks ready to laugh at his queries. "No," He opens his mouth to express his confusion but she beat him. "But I believe that you have heard of my coven?"
Forgetting his stature, Robb Stark sits dumbfounded at the previous words uttered. His Tully eyes rake over Nathalia, calculating how such an innocent woman could hold such power. Flashes of Old Nan telling him and Jon stories of men and women called helpers fill his baffled mind. Their father often interrupted her story-telling, smiling secretively and telling the old woman not to fill the boys' mind with stories of known 'protectors'. Then Eddard Stark would pat both their heads and tell them that the only one who can keep them safe is themselves. That is probably the reason why Robb dismissed the ideas of helpers and their covens as a mere story to avoid nightmares for children.
The Lady Nathalia is not how a helper looks like for Robb. He pictured women helpers as tall, big-boned women who wear breeches to travel. He certainly did not expect them to look like an enchanting seductress.
"Y—you're a helper?" He stutters and immediately feels annoyed at himself. Kings do not stutter. "I thought you told me that the helpers are in King's Landing?—with Sansa?" He turns his accusing eyes toward Jon.
His brother seems to return such gaze. "She's mine."
"I'm with him," Lady Nathalia pointedly says, looking at Jon as if she was warning him. His brother just shrugs, a small smirk present on his lips. If possible, Robb becomes more baffled. Since when did his ever passive brother look so smug and arrogant? He watches as Lady Nathalia rolled her eyes at his brother's antics. They seem to know each other more than they let on.
"What is your purpose on my camp?" He tries to lower the octave of his voice.
She regards him with a cool look. "To help. You're in a blind war with the Lannisters. You say you want to avenge your fallen father and I ask you this: what are your plans if ever you win against the fearsome Tywin Lannister?"
"I—I," He cannot answer since he does not know the answer. Why had the thoughts of revenge flooded his mind and not the future of Westeros? If he manages to kill Joffrey Baratheon, who will sit on the Iron Throne? His mother tells him that Renly Baratheon is a good ally. However, Robb is still not acquainted that well with the late Robert Baratheon's younger brother.
Lady Nathalia smiles at him, seeming to accept his lack of knowledge. "It is rather late. We must continue this in the morning when your bannermen are present."
She stands up and so does he. "How do you know my bannermen are with me?"
"I fought with your father and Lord Karstark rarely left his side—no matter how distrustful his looks are,"
This stuns him. How old is she? She seems very young. Robb pushes his thought aside, feeling his exhaustion and ready to call it a day. "I shall have my men put up a tent for you, my lady." Then he nods at Jon. "You too as well, brother."
"I'm not a lady," She quips at the same time Jon grumbles, "She's not your lady."
The king rubs the back of his neck bashfully, unsure of what to say. "Alright."
"Jon and I can manage with one tent for the night," This statement surprises him even thought it does not affect his brother.
He lets out a nervous laugh, careful not to offend her with his next question. "But what would my men think of you, Lady Nathalia?"
Jon walks toward the beautiful lady and wraps his arm around her, a look that crosses a smirk and a grin fills his face. "Haven't you heard, brother? She's my lady wife."
"What?"
"Jon!" She lightly scolds and lifts one of her small hands to slap the bastard's chest. Robb takes note that she does not remove it and only rests it comfortingly on Jon. I must be careful not to show any attraction towards her of Jon might have my head. He's always been the better swordsman between the two of us.
So I'm back haha. So sorry to keep all of you waiting. Christmas break is finally here and I might be posting new chapters soon. Thank you for all the support that you're all giving this fic. Please continue reviewing! I love reviews.
Oh a jealous Jon is an amusing Jon. Men seem to be attracted to Nathalia.
Review Replies:
Guest: Thank you! That really means a lot!
Bfireworks5: There is was hehe..He's got a bit of a crush, doesn't he?
Up Next: Nathalia helps Robb with the battle tactics. Catelyn returns with news. Sansa encounters trouble in King's Landing.