Jorelle sat on the banks of the creek, her skirt in billows around her, watching as the water bubbled and danced over the rocks and branches, tickling the top of her toes. The long winter had been over for some time, but it felt as though summer was finally there. She was engulfed in shade from the tall pine trees that stood around her. Generations of Mormonts had sat where she was, looking upon the same giant trees.
Off in the distance she heard the laughter of her sister, Lyra, as she ran through the thick woods chasing rabbits down. With little caution she slid out of her thick dress, just the thin cream muslin hanging from her skin, and laid down angling her body just right to catch the sunlight through the foliage.
Some folk feared the wild bears that roamed the woods, most people made their home on Bear Island at the shore. They were a fishing people. Jorelle had never feared the bears, they were like family to her. She spent her life feeling deep connection to them, the oldest girl in her family. At her birth they proclaimed "She-Bear" over her. A rambunctious cub she had spent her childhood running through the woods, catching fish in her bare hands from the streams, and napping in bear dens. She never wanted to leave. It was home to her.
The sounds of cracking twigs and the crunching of leaves woke her up from her nap in the sun. She looked behind her to see a tall adolescent man standing behind her, "Eddy!" She exclaimed, jumping up and onto him.
Eddard Stark was the third eldest boy of the Stark family. He and Jorelle, along with their families, had grown up together. He went from a lanky and awkward pre pubescent boy to a devilishly handsome man. His tan features were accented by a mess of chestnut brown hair that grew into a scruffy beard. The mess of hair framed his plump lips and stunning green eyes. Jorelle hadn't loved anyone the way she loved her beloved Eddy.
"Aye, we rode down two days ago. Bit of a surprise, father gave us no notice. The whole family is here", He wrapped his fingers into her long straight hair as he spoke. She was still wrapped around him.
"I'm just happy you're here. I've missed you, winter was long." She brushed her lips on his ear. It had been a full year since they were together. He had become such a man since the last time.
"Where can we go?"
"I know somewhere…" Jorelle threw her gown back on, not bothering to lace up the front. She hardly looked like the Lady of Bear Island with her dress disheveled and her hair flowing behind her. Edd lifted her up onto his horse which was tied up a couple of yards away. He slid behind her and wrapped one arm around her waist and grasped the reins with the other. They galloped through the woods, the sound of Lyra giggling fading away behind them.
They rode around the perimeter of the island until they reached the keep on the far west side. It hadn't been manned in years, since peace had reached their people, and moss crusted the outside of the stone walls. Edd walked the horse into an abandoned stable and tied him up while Jorelle worked on pulling the vines off the heavy wooden door for them to get inside. As she was pawing at the door, she felt Edd behind her grabbing her waist. "When did you become a woman Jor?"
"I told you, the winter was long", she whispered. Edd grabbed her and spun her around, her back slamming against the door and pushing it in. They collapsed together on the floor. "I'm sorry…."
"Why? Isn't this what you wanted?" Always, she thought in her head. Her father had negotiated the terms of their marriage when she was only eight years old. It had been ten years of praying to the gods that Edd would the husband of her dreams.
Edd pulled her up and they ran up the stairs into the top of the keep. It had been the Maester's room, and all that was left was a tattered mattress on the floor, shelves with scrolls, and the faint scent of clover that was coming from some leftover jars strewn in the corner. "I envy you, growing up here. A whole island to run around, escape the eyes of your father."
"It's going to be ours one day. Our children will rule the woods, run with the bears, cubs of our own." She lay down on the mattress, flashing her deep blue eyes at him. "The Lord and Lady of Bear Island."
"Lyra or Robb could be Lady of the Island. You could be Lady of Winterfell, Wardeness of the North."
"You have two older brothers, Winterfell isn't yours Edd. Lyra is made for a big city, the Capital even, and Rickon dreams of talking the Black. Bear Island is for me, the people know me."
He laid down next to her, tracing his finger down her cream white skin, "As long as we are together. I don't need to be Lord of anything." They kissed tenderly at first, rushing into more passion with every touch of their lips together. Her hands roamed under his tunic, feeling the ridges of his abs, his warm skin coming alive to her cold touch. Edd grabbed her hand and Jorelle froze, "We shouldn't. Surely our wedding is closer than we know. We should wait, this isn't honorable."
"Typical Stark, very concerned with honor." Jorelle laughed, pulling her hand from his clothes. "I don't want to strip you of your honor Lord Eddard."
Loud steps thudding up the stairs interrupted them, both Edd and Jorelle sitting straight up. The door swung open and a girl of about eighteen with wild chestnut colored curls sprang through the door. "How did I know you would be here! Very predictable you young lovers!"
"Kyra!" Jorelle sprung up immediately and tackled the girl into a bear hug.
"Father sent me to find you two. Everyone is arriving, the King is to be here soon."
"The King?" Eddard and Jorelle exclaimed, in unison.
"Yes! King Aegon has ridden from King's Landing. The Baratheons are arriving now. There is to be a grand feast tonight." Jorelle rolled her eyes. She hated foreign visitors on the island. Southerners stirred trouble in the North, which is why her family advocated for a free Northern kingdom.
"I need to talk to my father. Kyra, can I take your horse?" Without waiting for an answer, the bound down the stairs and made her way towards Mormont Keep