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Silence

Dinner had begun as something of a tense affair. Though Robb had extended his welcome to her, the air between them was still set on edge. Technically the guest of honor, Joanna sat at Robb's right hand. They were joined at the table by his brothers and the Maester. As they began to eat, the only sounds in the great hall were the scrapes of knives and forks on plates, and the quiet murmurs of what few people were left in their household, most having gone south to King's Landing. Joanna had noticed that someone rather important wasn't present.

"Your mother won't be joining us tonight?" she asked.

"Lady Stark is unwell," Maester Luwin answered. Joanna's mouth drew into a tight frown.

"I hope you'll give her my regards. I was hoping to thank her myself for allowing me a room. Winterfell is a welcome improvement from Castle Black."

"How did you find the Wall, princess?" Luwin asked.

"It was colder than I expected," she answered simply. Then with a ghost of a smile, she continued, "Still, I found myself sorry to leave."

"The Wall has complained of a lack of recruits," said Luwin. "I hope you and your uncle shall relay this to the King's small council."

"Of course," Joanna replied assuredly, though she didn't remember hearing anything of the sort at the Wall. Perhaps she was too busy sulking about Jon to pay attention. "You can be assured that the Crown takes matters at the Wall very seriously."

"That is most reassuring to hear," Maester Luwin said. "The royal visit to the North has strengthened many of the Northmen's confidence in the King."

"I shall tell my father," she said with a smile. "Though, perhaps not. He does like to talk to giving up the crown and coming to live in the North. I should like not to bolster his fantasies."

Luwin smiled encouragingly, but the table dwindled into silence. Rickon toyed with his food rather than eating it. Bran and Robb both kept their heads down. Not one to be ruled by awkward silences, Joanna continued.

"I think I've developed a taste for Northern fare," she said, punctuating her statement with a gentle slurp of soup. "Food in the south is much different. I enjoy the hearty meals you serve."

"I'm glad the meal is of your liking," said Robb, though he didn't seem to be all too interested in the conversation.

"We shall prepare some for you and your uncle to take on your journey south," said Luwin.

Joanna sighed in defeat. She could make idle talk about food and weather all she wanted, but it wouldn't be enough for Robb Stark to engage in conversation with her. Resigned, she finished her meal silently, fighting hard to keep the frustration from showing on her face.

Joanna only knew where Bran's room was from calling upon him and his family before she had left with her uncle for the Wall. She was glad to be able to return with happier tidings. After the tense dinner had ended, Joanna once more returned to her rooms. She lay face down in her bed for an hour, turning over the dinner in her head and wondering if it could possibly have gone worse. She had wanted to be friends with the Starks – what had gone wrong?

With hopes of Winterfell with at least one positive interaction behind her, Joanna decided to head to Bran's room. After all, there was something that Jon had asked of Tyrion that he never got to do. She approached Bran's room, encouraged at seeing that the door was cracked. As she approached, however, she became aware of two quiet voices from within the room. Slowing her steps, she paused just before reaching the door.

The deeper voice of the two she recognized as Robb's. She hesitated for a moment, deciding whether or not she wanted to interrupt a visit between the two brothers. In doing so, she became privy to their conversation.

"When is she supposed to be back?"

"Soon, Bran."

"Will Father be coming back with her?"

"You know that he can't."

There was a brief pause. Joanna furrowed her brow, leaning in closer to the door to hear better.

Robb continued, "I know everything is different. It will start feeling normal soon."

There didn't seem to be a response; if there was one, Joanna didn't hear it. It was silent again for a brief moment, before footsteps began to sound. Not wanting to be caught eavesdropping, she quickly reached out her hand to knock on the door. The footsteps paused briefly, then resumed. Robb pulled open the door. He seemed surprised to see her there.

"Can I help you, Princess?"

"I came to see your brother," she said, hoping that her smile was smooth and pleasant. "Is he awake?"

"Of course." He stepped to the side, allowing her to enter. Bran was reclined in his bed, similar to how she had seen him before. He didn't seem particularly excited to see her, though nor did he seem unhappy that she was there. Lately, he didn't seem to feel much of anything. His joy at being presented the design for the saddle was the only emotion that Joanna had seen out of him since he'd woken up.

"How do you feel, Bran?" she asked, taking the seat at his bedside.

"I'm fine."

"I was with your brother at the Wall."

Bran seemed to perk up at that. "Jon?"

"He says he misses you," she said. She smiled and leaned in to place a hand over one of his. "He said that he would visit you, if you could."

"Do you think he'll visit soon?" said Bran, sounding eager. Her smile turned into a grimace.

"He's still training, you understand." He seemed to sink, smile fading. Joanna couldn't stand the sight. "It's only for a little while. Once he's a member of the Night's Watch, I'm sure he'll visit you as soon as he can."

Bran gave her a small smile, the one little boys do when they want to placate older ones but their heart isn't in it.

"Thank you," he said softly. Joanna squeezed his hand and stood. She crossed the room to the door, feeling quite defeated.

Robb, who had stood by the door for the duration of their conversation, motioned towards the hall.

"Let me walk you to your room," he said. She smiled, nodding her head in appreciation. They left the room together, closing the heavy wooden door behind them, and set off down the hallway side by side.

"That was kind, what you did for my brother," said Robb. "He's been in low spirits lately."

"I could tell," she said. "He always seemed quite amiable, last time I was here. Though I can't say that I blame him. It would be hard for anyone, what he's going through, and he's only small yet."

"He's been very tough," Robb said. There was a hint of pride in his voice, one that Joanna was familiar with; the pride that elder siblings felt when their younger brothers or sisters were particularly strong or clever on an occasion.

"Indeed," she replied. "It seems to be a family trait."

Robb smiled, and then silence fell between them. That seemed to be a recurring theme between the two of them, and Joanna couldn't stand it. Silence was perhaps the one thing in the world that she truly abhorred (not counting her brother, of course.) In her first visit to Winterfell, she hadn't had much of a chance to get to know Robb Stark, but their brief encounters seemed friendly and never fell short. Now, it seemed as through Robb was afraid to say more than just a few words to her.

In the back of her mind, she could practically hear Desmera telling her not to go opening her fat mouth. But she was never one to listen, anyways.

"Lord Robb," she said. "I can't help but feel that we've gotten off on the wrong foot."

Robb grimaced. "I hope I haven't done anything to offend –"

"Of course not," she interrupted, brushing him off. "I just wonder what it is that we've done to offend. Surely there is a reason that you received us so coldly."

"I hope you understand," Robb said quickly, an attempt to get a word in edgewise before she could interrupt him again. "This is a…trying time for my family. It's difficult not to be guarded with visitors, royal or not."

She pursed her lips, considering that answer. She supposed, the Starks didn't exactly have a reputation for being incredibly trustful, especially of outsiders, which Joanna supposed she and Tyrion were. With a firm nod, she made her decision known.

"Of course. I'm sure it's not easy for everyone in Winterfell to adjust to all of the changes that have been happening." She smiled easily, hoping that he would drop his guard around her. "My uncle and I come as friends. If there is any way we can help your family, it is our pleasure to do so."

"That's kind of you, Princess," Robb said, seeming to relax. "But our house shall endure."

She chuckled with a hint of a smile. "Funny. Every time I think a Northern stereotype is an exaggeration, it turns out to be true."

Robb made a face, half amused and half confused.

"Should I be offended?"

"No, no," she laughed. "Northmen are known to be very headstrong and solemn. It's become something of a joke in the South – though of course, it isn't a bad thing."

"I should hope not."

"It's admirable," she insisted with a smile. "It's certainly a better reputation than southerners have."

"Still," said Robb. "I'm sorry if I was rude to you at dinner."

Joanna gave him a smile. "There is nothing to be sorry for. I should have known that, with your brother hurt and your family leaving, it's put stress on you. I was just confused; I thought that we'd become friends when I was last here."

"You still have my friendship," he assured.

"And you have mine," she replied with a smile.

By this time, they had reached her door. They paused in front of it, and turned to face each other. Robb looked somewhat sheepish, and she couldn't help but enjoy that look on his face.

"I should hope that our next encounter is warmer, though I regret that I'm not sure when that will be."

"Soon, I should hope," Robb replied. "Though, in any case, not soon enough."

She found herself surprised at the response. Was he…flirting with her? She wasn't sure if he truly was, or if she was flattering herself. Perhaps all the thoughts of fleeting romance that had consumed her quiet moments were messing with her. He continued before she could think on it too long.

"I hope you'll write, once you're in King's Landing."

Joanna beamed. "Only if you promise to reply."

"Of course," he laughed. Then he straightened up, fixing her with a kind smile. "Goodnight, Princess."

With warmth in her chest, she smiled in return. "Goodnight, Lord Robb."

A/N: I'm back! Sorry about the wait, this chapter took a lot longer than I was anticipating it to. I was intending to get it out by the premiere, though I'm only a day late, so hopefully that's not too bad. It is also a bit of a shorter chapter, since writing it was so difficult, so I do apologize. Hopefully we can see some longer chapters soon.

This chapter ended up being a mess of characterization for me, but hopefully it turned out alright. Let me know what you think! If you have any (constructive) criticism, I would love to hear it. Usually I can pin down characters pretty well, but for some reason this chapter was rough. BUT, we do have more Joanna/Robb interaction and more general Joanna/Stark interaction, which I was excited to write and hopefully you're excited to see.

Huge thanks to RHatch89, JanaOliver, RoyalsWeeknd, HPuni101, Lt-Spork89, Guest, Amelia, darkwolf76, CharNinja LOL, and DarylDixon'sLover for the reviews! It really means so much for me to see that you guys enjoy my work, and it's a huge motivating factor for writing the next chapter. Additional love and shout outs to everyone who has faved and followed this story! I appreciate you guys checking out my work, it's so much more fun writing when I know that someone out there is reading it. :)

I'll be honest, I anticipate that the next chapter or two will be a bit difficult for me to get through. There's gonna be a little bit of filler, but Joanna's on her way to King's Landing and pretty soon here the ball is really gonna get rolling! I hope I can get them to you soon, though as always with me, no promises. With the show going on right now, motivation is definitely pretty high up there. Speaking of the show, let me know what you guys thought of the premiere! I'm super psyched for this season, and the premiere started it off with a bang.

I hope you guys enjoyed this update, I'll try to whip up the next chapter soon as I can.

Until next time!

Rex