"Are you going to follow me around like lost puppies all day?" Narcissa snapped with exasperation when she left the tent and two young soldiers immediately treaded on her heels behind her.
"Yes, your grace." One of them replied though she didn't know which one.
"Don't you have anything better to do?"
"No, your grace."
She would have laughed hadn't the situation truly unnerved her. Narcissa felt the same way she did when she was a child and was assigned an old guard by her father after she tried running away from home because mother insisted she had to wake up early to practice dancing. Finally, a few months later, her father relieved her of constant surveillance, not because she had agreed to do as ordered, but because she had managed to convince him that hiring a dancing instructor was a ridiculous expense when they both knew she'd never learn anything at all.
After walking for what felt like ages, she found the woman she had been looking for. Lady Mormont was training with something Narcissa could only describe as a spiked mace though she wasn't sure of the terminology.
"Could I have a moment of your time, my lady?" Narcissa asked politely though she felt oddly out of place in the training grounds. Everyone else wore an armor and there she stood, in a long green dress that had gottem muddy as soon as she exited the tent.
Maege Mormont didn't appear all too happy by the intrusion but nodded her head nonetheless and followed Narcissa to a calmer area. "I suppose you are aware of what happened yesterday?" She asked the older woman with a cocked brow.
Lady Mormont huffed, taking a seat in front of her before drinking a cup of ale. "Everyone knows you tried betraying the King."
Her first instinct was to correct the woman but then she realized there was no point in it. Maybe Mormont would perhaps apologize for her words but she wouldn't stop thinking them. "You're a highborn lady and I believe you received a worldly education. I was hoping you'd share it with me."
It was obvious Maege Mormont was more than displeased at missing practice time with her mace and spend it talking with Narcissa instead, but nevertheless, the woman complied and soon, Narcissa was learning about the seven kingdoms, their lords and their animosities. She wasn't a complete stranger to those matters, one of her preceptors back home had been well travelled in Westeros and taught her the big lines, but she had never paid much attention to it.
"I hope you won't mind me asking," Lady Maege Mormont said gruffly, brushing her long grey hair away from her face. "But why are you so interested in the politics of Westeros?" At first, Narcissa believed the question was meant as a joke but the older woman's face remained stern.
"I'm now Queen in the North," Narcissa deadpanned but the woman's strict mine didn't budge. "It's only natural I'd want to understand the political implications of this war we are all in."
At this, Lady Mormont scoffed as if Narcissa had just said the most ridiculous thing ever. In no way did she appreciate being called 'your Grace' all the time or curtsied to whenever she walked up to someone, but this behavior was disrespectful.
"I have been head of House Mormont for many years now and have wielded my mace in more battles than I can count, and none of these men ever invited me into their small council."
Narcissa was surprised at the bitterness in the woman's voice but she did agree that the traditional exclusion of women from politics was beyond ridiculous. Men couldn't trust women to conjure rational opinions, and yet expected them to bear rational heirs.
"That is something I find most absurd as well, especially in your situation," Narcissa admitted, "but I don't need to get inside that tent as long as my ideas do." Lady Mormont mockingly raised her eyebrows at Narcissa's words and the latter started wondering if the woman thought her to be a simpleton. "I never once set foot inside the Signoria back in Florence, and yet, during my father's exile, I still controlled the votes from the outside." She said before quickly standing up from the tree stump and walking away. Putting up with Maege's hostility had already managed to darken her mood and it was barely midday.
Unnerved as she already was, the sound of footsteps of the two guards following her closely was sufficient to drive her crazy. To Narcissa, it was no wonder King Aerys II had turned mad if he had constantly been followed by guards for years. Sighing with exasperation, she entered the first tent she walked past, hoping the soldiers would stay outside.
"Your grace," an older bald man immediately announced, bowing his head respectfully. "How may we be of help?"
Startled at the large number of people who stood there staring at her, Narcissa scanned the tent only to realize she had intruded into part of the kitchens and everyone seemed a little frightened by her sudden entrance. "Do you have anything that needs cutting?" She asked hopefully. At least she might direct her anger into doing something useful.
The cook remained silent but she saw his gaze fall to the giant brown sack on the ground before he turned back to her, a little hesitant. "The potatoes, but I'd never presume upon your Grace to-"
"Potatoes it is, then." Narcissa chuckled as she grabbed a knife from the counter.
Quickly, she found that except for head cook, the other men had no experience in the kitchens. Most of them had been injured in previous battles and weren't fit to go back to battle yet, while two young ones had simply been declared too green. Narcissa herself wasn't a great cook, in fact she couldn't recall a time in her life where she had actually cooked her own meal but she was far from being the worst help in that room. None of them even knew which part of leeks were edible and unlike her potato cutting companion, who went by the name of Pip, which she found rather odd, she didn't end the session with a rag wrapped around her bloody palm.
Narcissa helped him clean the wound and tie the fabric around his palm before turning around only head to find the head cook, Thomas, look at her with apprehension. "Speak your mind," Narcissa nodded at the older man who looked increasingly uncomfortable.
"Your grace, if you had been the one cut-, cut-, cutting yourself," the man stuttered a little shakily and Narcissa had to resist the temptation not to roll her eyes at his anxiousness. "The King, he would-"
The man didn't have to finish for Narcissa to understand what he wanted to say, and this time, she did roll her eyes. "The King would merely insist a healer take a look at the wound." Narcissa explained, before going to back to the potatoes. "In no case would you be held accountable, if that's what you're worried about."
Truth be told, she had zero idea what Robb would do. For starters, she didn't know where they stood. They hadn't talked since last night and even then, there hadn't been much talking involved, so he might even hate her for all she knew. But most of all, Robb wasn't like those fancy Lannisters in the Red Keep who would punish a servant for their mistakes. She might not have known him well, but she knew him enough to know that he wasn't like that.
"Your Grace," Olyvar greeted as soon as she exited the kitchen after her help wasn't needed anymore. "The King wants to see you." Narcissa noticed the fear in the squire's eyes and wondered if she hadn't perhaps been a little too scary when they first now.
"Does it have to be now?" She asked with barely hidden irritation. She had stained her dress while in there and she was quite sure she smelled of dinner, but Olyvar said the King had insisted it be now.
She followed Olyvar through the narrow passageways, and noticed everyone was hushing back into their tents. She didn't have time to wonder why before heavy rain drops immediately started plummeting from the sky and both Olyvar and Narcissa picked up their pace, hoping to find shelter before they were drenched.
Olyvar stopped abruptly in front of the council tent and Narcissa almost ran into his back as the squire pulled back the flap. She couldn't help biting her lips anxiously then. It was just like when she was younger: There was nothing she wanted more than to get inside her father's study, but whenever she was summoned there, she knew she was going to get grounded.
Narcissa found Robb sitting alone at the head of the table, a large map of Westeros spread out in front of him. He looked up from the map only to eye her up and down with a frown. "Where have you been, Narcissa?"
"In the kitchens, and then in the rain," Narcissa sighed with agitation, running her hand through her hair, hoping to untangle it before making her way around the table and taking a seat at his right.
"You wanted to see me?" She asked teasingly, tilting her head when he was still staring at her disheveled appearance. She was aware she didn't look very regal in that moment, but it wasn't that bad, she hoped.
"I wanted to apologize for last night," Robb grimaced before looking her in the eyes, but Narcissa didn't know what he was talking about. "I saw the bruises this morning," he admitted, dropping his gaze for a second.
Instantly, Narcissa felt her anxiety fade away as the corners of her lips tilt upwards. "I enjoyed it." She admitted rather boldly with a smirk and Robb looked up, the ghost of a smile on his own lips. She waited for him to say something more, but Robb remained silent even though he had been the one sending for her in the first place.
"I apologize for not telling you all that sooner." Narcissa wasn't particularly used to apologizing, mostly because she usually found herself in the right side of an argument or at least, she believed she did, but this time there was no point in denying her misconduct.
"And you are right," she admitted hesitantly. "I made a promise in front of the Old Gods that day and we Medici believe in pacta sunt servanda. I should not have tried running away."
She had expected him to look happy then, or at least satisfied. After all, she just admitted she was wrong and he was right, but instead, his eyes darkened and his face grew somber "So, you are staying because you feel you're obliged to do so as my wife?"
Narcissa's brows furrowed with confusion at his words. She didn't know what he was getting at. "I am obliged to do so," Narcissa ascertained, still puzzled. "I promised to so in front of those weirds gods of the forest."
In other circumstances, Robb would have found amusement in the way she had spoken about his deities, but not now. He had lied wide wake all night thinking about it, trying to look at their relationship from her point of view only to realize that he had been the opportunity to object to their marriage and find another way to cross the Green Fork, even if it meant taking a large detour. Narcissa was never given that choice, Walder Frey had forced her to accept it by threatening her friends. And Robb had decided he wouldn't be tyrant like her grandfather was, not to the very same woman he had promised to protect in front of the Old Gods.
"I won't force you to stay, Narcissa." Robb admitted, not looking directly into her eyes. He had not expected the words to burn his tongue so painfully, but he was resolved to speak them regardless. "I don't want you to stay with me as a prisoner. I don't want to keep you here against your will and see the resentment in your eyes every time I look at you."
Robb remembered part of a poem Sansa loved reading so much. If you love something set it free. He had never given it much thought then, considering it some girlish folly like pretty much everything else Sansa was fond of, but maybe there was some truth in it. "I can spare a few men to escort you safely to the Narrow Sea. You could ride out a daybreak." He said, almost expecting her to stand up at once and go pack belongings, but she didn't move.
He felt incredibly vulnerable then, especially as Narcissa remained uncharacteristically silent. She hadn't intended to prolong his agony. Simply, for the first time in her life she was truly at a loss for words and no sentence she conjured in her brain felt right.
She knew he had come to care for her, just like she had for him, but this was beyond that. It was a show of respect. Robb wanted her to stay, he had told her as much last night, but he wouldn't force her to and that made her feel very strange all of a sudden. His presence made her feel very warm, but it wasn't like those hot days in Florence when she barely dared stepping outside. It was the feeling of warmth that came only when you put on your favorite cloak in a cold winter day or when you warmed your hands by the fire after riding in the rain.
Narcissa looked away for a few seconds, mustering up the courage to speak as she realized that for the first time in her life, she would follow her heart and not her mind. They hadn't even known each other that long. Maybe it was stupid or even reckless to remain with him in Westeros, but she realized that it was exactly what she wanted.
Her hand came to rest on his before she noticed she had even moved at all. Narcissa waited until he was looking at her before taking a deep breath. "I am staying Robb," she said with a smile. "Not because I have to, but because I want to." Admitting it out loud made her feel exposed but it didn't feel as frightened as she had expected, it was actually soothing.
They remained like that, hand in hand, smiling at each other almost like two simpletons before Robb stood up without a warning and pulled her up with him. His hands went to cup to her face, desperately wanting to kiss her. "I do have one condition, though," Narcissa chirped, stopping him when their lips were less than an inch away from each other. "When the war is over, and I hope it is soon, I want to go back to Florence and visit my family."
Robb found himself smiling as their foreheads touched. "We'll go to Florence together," he promised before kissing his wife. All the anger from the previous night had vanished. Their kiss was pure and sincere then, how it should have been in the Godswood if the world was a perfect place and people weren't forced to marry for political reasons. Maybe Catelyn was right: Love was something you built stone by stone and they had just laid the foundation.
They were interrupted by an obnoxious cough and the couple broke apart to see Lord Umber enter the tent with the other council members. "I'd say get a tent, but technically…"
Robb started laughing at the Greatjon's comment but next to him, Narcissa pursed her lips. She had come a long way, but public displays of affection were not something she was entirely uncomfortable with.
"I'll leave you men to it," Narcissa said, nodding at the different council members as she hurried to exit the tent and leave her embarrassment behind. That was without taking into account Robb's playful side.
"I'll see you in our tent," her husband chaffed and she blushed crimson, hearing the others laugh at her expense. Even taciturn Roose Bolton chuckled.
-/-/-/-
After leaving the council tent, she went to have supper with Travis and Clive and the others, and play a few rounds. Clive was still distant, avoiding making eye contact just like the day before but Narcissa shrugged it off as him simply holding a grudge. Travis, however, was understanding, immediately welcoming her back just like nothing had happened, and for that she grateful. Yet, she had found her mind not to be in the game, not entire and in the end, she retired to her tent early.
Narcissa decided to take a bath. She felt her muscles relax in the warm water as soon as she was submerged in it and couldn't resist touching the trail of small bruises that littered her haunches. She closed her eyes and thought about the previous night, how the colorful dots on her skin had come to be and the way he had kissed her just hours before. She knew she must have looked silly, eyes closed and grinning, but she was happy. Maybe celibate life in The Tower wasn't the best choice for her after all, Narcissa concluded with a smirk.
But the law of physics didn't care about her happiness and the water ran cold. Narcissa stood up suddenly as if the temperature had dropped without a warning. And then it started, a burning sensation in her esophagus which made her cough up painfully before she could even cover her mouth with her hand. Narcissa looked down at the bath water to find it was tinted in red just like her lips. The sight made her stomach turn and it took her a few minutes until she felt well enough to step out of the tub and drink some water to get rid of the metallic taste.
Her throat still hurt but Narcissa decided that ignoring it was the best way to make it pass. Ignoring her problems until they went away, that was something she had always been good at and you don't change things that work. Searching for a distraction, her a gaze fell upon the inkwell sitting on the desk.
The quill scratched over the parchment, making a shrill noise but Narcissa barely noticed. All she could think about now was how ridiculous she sounded in the letter she was writing. Either Cosimo would laugh at her behavior or throw the letter into the fire in a fit of rage.
Dearest father,
I miss you. I miss mother, Valentino and even hot-headed Lorenzo.
Forgive me for not writing sooner but once you reach the end of this letter I'm sure you will understand the reasons behind it.
And then she wrote about everything that happened to her after she arrived at the Twins. How they found out a war had broken out and were forced to stay there longer than expected. How, by an almost unbelievable combination of circumstances, she had ended up married to a man she didn't know and became queen of a region she had never even been to. And even more unbelievably than that, she had managed to find happiness in her new life.
I know what you must be thinking father. I know that you must believe me crazy and silly for deciding to stay, and in all honesty, I wonder about my own sanity as well. But you once told me how you found your eternal companion at the Twins, and I believe I did as well…
Please tell me Piero and Gloria have arrived safely. I haven't heard anything about them since the day after the wedding, and my worry grows with every second I remain without news.
Above all, I apologize for the sword. I am sure by now you must have noticed its disappearance. Getting it back is what brought me to Westeros in the first place. I haven't lost hope in finding it and in bringing it back to you and mother. Please forgive me for not telling you sooner, and do tell mother that I love her.
I plan on visiting Florence as soon as the war is over, and in the meantime, I hope to keep in touch.
Yours always,
Cissa.
"What are you writing?" Robb asked softly, startling Narcissa who hadn't even heard him enter the tent in the first place.
"I just finished," Narcissa replied. "It is a letter to my father." She said with a sad smile, realizing how much she truly did miss Florence and her family. But she knew Robb would keep his promise and they'd visit the city once the war was over.
She watched him attentively from the bed as he unlaced his brown doublet before shrugging it off along with the shirt in one swift movement and throwed the garments on the floor, next to the bathtub. "Why is the water red?" Robb inquired with a frown, before joining her on the bed.
"I spilled wine while I was bathing," Narcissa lied, her sheepish tone making him chuckle.
He lied down on his back next to her on the bed, hands behind his head. "The Lannister spy was questioned today," Robb sighed as Narcissa uncertainly curled up next to him, resting her hand on his chest to play with the short hairs.
"What did he say?" She asked lightly, her attention having diverted to what lay beneath her fingers. Robb sighed again before freeing his right arm from behind his head and using it to bring Narcissa closer to him. Her skin was softer than ever, he noticed with bliss.
"Stafford Lannister's army is stationed near Oxcross." He explained, his voice serious again, while running his thumb through the skin of her back. Robb was glad that instead of pulling them apart, her attempt to flee seemed to have strengthened their relationship.
"I have no idea where that is," Narcissa admitted, almost with embarrassment. She had decided this morning that if she were to stay, she ought to learn more about Westeros' geography and politics but it would take some time. Maybe she'd start with the Westerlands.
"It's where you were headed," Robb chuckled before his tone lost its humor once more. "We attack tomorrow night." That was what he and the war council had been discussing for the past few hours, and the decision had been unanimous.
"Tomorrow night?" Narcissa blurted out, immediately sitting up straight to look at him and reassure herself that he was joking but she found that his face was set. "You can't be serious!"
"We have to attack before they realize their spies were intercepted and move their camp." She wouldn't deny the logic in his words but it didn't mean she approved. "We'll do it at night, when they're sleeping."
"When do you leave then?" Narcissa asked quietly. It would be the first time Robb was away in battle while Catelyn was also away, and she wondered how she'd cope with the worry without her mother-by-law's company. Narcissa was not religious but watching Catelyn pray to the Seven with blind faith actually helped her keep calm.
"After breaking fast, the ride takes a few hours."
Narcissa found herself immediately worrying about his safety even though he was still there with her, touching her. It was ridiculous, really, Robb wasn't called the Young Wolf for nothing and he'd be surrounded by thousands of his men, and not to be forgotten, his dire wolf who had just showed up after a long hunting trip. And yet, there was still a pinch in her heart.
"Here, take this," Narcissa said at last, taking off her golden ring and handing it to her husband. "Let it be a reminder of my scorn you'll face if you dare show up with as much as a little scratch on your skin."
Robb laughed at her words before accepting the token and putting it inside the pocket of his breeches. "I have never truly seen you angry," he confessed, wondering if he would have witness her yelling.
"You should hope that you never do."
-/-/-/-
This chapter is a mess because I had no basis from the show and had to write it all from scratch. I'm embarrassed I'm actually posting it and I'm pretty sure everyone is OOC in this…
There will be more plot starting next chapter! I have the following chapters mapped out and if everything goes as planned, my version of the Red Wedding will take place on chapter fifteen.
Most of the next chapter is already written but because I actually have college assignments due Friday and Saturday that need my attention, I can't promise a quick update but I'll do my best! Or I might keep it hostage until I get a few comments on this haha
Thank you for your support!