Disclaimer: I do not own Game of Thrones or anything related. It belongs to George R.R. Martin, the creator of this wonderful universe and David Benioff and D. B. Weiss who created the show.
Face Claim for Lady Sanira Tremaine: Caitlin Stasey.
01x01: Winter is Coming.
Chapter Eight: Direwolves.
"I wish I could go with them," Arya whined sitting down next to Sanira, she hated being left behind when her brothers got to do all the good stuff while she was stuck here; she frowned watching Sanira carry on with her sewing. Since the older girl had arrived, Arya had found herself spending quite a bit of time with her since Sanira wasn't dismissive of her or her questions when she asked them.
"You want to go and watch an execution," Sanira asked looking at Arya, she honestly didn't see the appeal but she was sure it had more to do with how her brothers were treated differently. It was the way things were and it wasn't going to change, Sanira continued on with her sewing thinking about how grateful she was that she had been married to Robb and not anyone else. Arlenna had hoped to marry Sanira off to one of her Lannister cousin's children, she had been sorely disappointed when Rolan had arranged for her to marry a Stark.
"Doesn't it bother you?" Arya asked getting comfortable in her seat beside Sanira, she preferred to talk with Sanira instead of Sansa who was probably doing some embroidery or something girly. She barely spoke with her older sister who was always telling her that she should be more lady like; Arya just wanted to forge her own destiny than the one that people wanted for her.
"Not at all," Sanira replied with a smile, she had never wanted to be just a lady but that was her role in life and she was going to do her best. Continuing on with her sewing, Sanira tried to think of something that would lift Arya's spirit; the young girl seemed down and she was sure that she could cheer her up.
"I used to help Maester when I was your age," Sanira revealed with a conspirative smile, it had been her father's suggestion but she had enjoyed learning small things about healing although it wasn't much. Arya looked up at Sanira surprised, she never would have guessed that her good-sister knew anything about healing; she had assumed that it was only something that men were allowed to learn.
"He taught me all sorts of things," Sanira continued while she focused on what she was doing, if it kept the younger Stark girl out of trouble then it would be worth it. It was a little unheard of unless the lady joined the silent sisters; healing was just as much a man's job as fighting wars was although she had heard some unsavoury things from her brother about some of the women that followed armies around.
Arya nibbled on her lip, she doubted her mother would ever agree to such a thing and it did surprise her that Arlenna had allowed Sanira to do something like that. The Lannister Lady seemed to be everything that Sansa wished to be in life, she didn't seem to approve of much and she wanted nothing more than to boss people around.
"Your mother didn't mind?" Arya asked curiously, she had seen how strict Arlenna had been especially when it came to bossing people about and getting her own way. Arya couldn't imagine what it had been like for Sanira to grow up with that woman, she was glad that she wasn't anything like her mother who seemed only happy when she was upsetting people.
"She did but my father wanted me to have some useful skills," Sanira replied recalling the fights her parents had, it still made her smile and it was the first time she ever seen her father stand up to her mother. It made Sanira cherish her lessons even more especially since Arlenna did everything in her power to make it nearly impossible for her to attend.
"Could you teach me?" Arya asked tilting her head, she was sure that her mother wouldn't mind and it might come in useful if Rolan Tremaine had insisted that Sanira learn it. Surely the skills that Sanira had could sort of be considered lady-like, enough to appease her mother at least who always seemed to complain that Arya was not a proper lady like Sansa was.
Although there was a lot less pressure of Arya as the second daughter than the pressure that had been laid on Sansa's shoulders; she was expected to marry well as the eldest daughter. Pausing and looking to her good-sister, Sanira chewed on her lip considering the question for a moment; she didn't want to get in trouble with Catelyn or Eddard especially when she was new here.
Staring at the scene before him as he dismounted his house, Robb could only feel his stomach turn at the dead stag; a nagging feeling pulled at his mind as he watched his father slowly approach the fallen animal. They had been on their way back when they had come across the scene that was laid out before them blocking the road back to Winterfell.
"What is it?" Robb asked lingering back with the horses for a moment, he looked to Theon and Jon who were closer to the scene than him knowing that this couldn't be good. Eddard slowly approached the dead stag, a frown set on his face not liking the look of this; whatever had murdered such a great animal could still be around and come back for its' kill.
"Mountain lion?" Theon offered standing by his side, he stared down at the stag with a wrinkled nose; the smell was disgusting and he couldn't imagine how long it had laid in the road like that for. Eddard shook his head, he looked around at the destruction around the animal; it had put up a great fight between the stag and its' attacker which had caused much damage to the trees around them.
"There are no mountain lions in these woods," Eddard replied trying to see what could have done this, he eyed the trial of destruction before he started to follow it. The group followed their Lord off the road and down the embankment was the destruction lead them to a large dead beast; Eddard could only stare as he tried to work out what this meant.
Crouching down near the head of the animal, Eddard ignored the small pups that scampered around their fallen mother; the antler of the stag that had been slaughtered sticking out of her neck. Robb stared at the scene before him, Sanira's words ringing in his ears; the stag laying dead in the road and the direwolf with an antler plunged into its' chest from stag.
It all made him want to turn around and run for the hills, Robb couldn't help but wonder if there was some sort of warning that came from this; a warning that worried him about the future. No one breathed a word as they took in the scene before them, none of them knew what to say as Eddard stayed in position admiring the dead animal; he had never seen anything like this before in his life.
"It's a freak," Theon announced eyeing the dead animal before them, he hung back a little while Bran moved to stand next to Jon to get a closer look at what was happening. Eddard didn't breathe a word for a moment, he couldn't quite think straight at the sight of the beast; he wondered what the creature was doing this far north.
"It's a direwolf," Eddard corrected after a few moments, he looked to Rodrik Cassel who looked back at him; he shook his head trying to work out what this could mean. It had been a long time since Direwolves had last been seen wondering about this way; Eddard couldn't help but wonder if the Gods were trying to tell him something.
"There are no Direwolves south of the wall," Robb murmured stiffly, he hadn't told anyone about Sanira's dreams about this and he knew that if she had seen this coming then there had to be a reason for it. It had taken him awhile to get Sanira to open up about her dreams, he would not betray her trust in anyway unless she gave him permission to speak share her secret with others. There was no way that Robb could return to his wife and tell her that her dream had come true, he didn't want to frighten her more than necessary especially given how shaken she was after the dream.
"Now there are five," Jon Snow mumbled peeking at his half-brother, he could see that there was something on Robb's mind that was bothering him about all of this. Picking up one of the pups, Jon moved to hand it to Bran ignoring the warning looks that he got from others; he couldn't imagine what the young lad could be thinking about seeing the beheading.
"Where will they go?" Bran asked holding the pup in his arms, he held it close and stared up at Jon knowing that he wouldn't lie to him; he was just glad that he had brothers to look up to. It had been hard watching his father take the head of the Night Watch deserter, Bran had no idea how his brothers seemed so calm about it; he doubted it ever got easier to watch as time went on.
"They don't belong down here," Rodrik stated eyeing the pups, his gut told him that there could only come trouble from having them around; he looked to Lord Stark sure that he would do the right thing. Eddard slowly got to his feet, he looked to Bran knowing that they had to do what was right and put the animals out of their misery; they had to get back to Winterfell before it was dark and they lost what little light they had in the forest.
"It's better they have a quick death, they won't last without their mother," Eddard murmured ignoring the disappointed face that Bran offered him, he couldn't imagine what Catelyn would say if they were to take the direwolf pups back to Winterfell. Theon moved from his position at Eddard's words, he drew a dagger and almost seemed to gleeful at his Lord's words; he all put snatched the pup that Bran was holding from his arms.
"Put away your blade," Robb demanded stepping forward not liking how Theon had snatched the pup from his brother; he shared a glare with Theon annoyed with how his friend was acting. It had been happening more often recently and Robb couldn't imagine where it was coming from; Theon had always been overconfident but this was something new, he didn't know what had gotten into Theon since Robb had wed.
"I take orders from your father. Not you," Theon all but spat at Robb moving to kill the pup that was now in his hands, he barely offered Robb a look as he held the whimpering pup by the scruff. Eddard moved past the boys to prepare to leave, he had given his order no matter how upsetting it was; the pups weren't meant for south of the wall, he was doing what was right for them.
"Please father," Bran pleaded making Eddard slowly turn to look at him, he frowned seeing the look in his son's eyes; he knew that this couldn't have been an easy for him. Death was never something that came easy, the execution of the deserter was a lot to take in especially at Bran's age; he had high hopes that his son would never have to face the horrors that he had done as a boy. Shaking his head, Eddard turned to carry on his way trying to block out the look that Bran offered him; he couldn't imagine what was going on inside of his son's head.
"Lord Stark. There are five pups, one for each of the Stark children. The direwolf is the sigil of your house. They were meant to have them," Jon spoke up, he didn't like the look on Bran's face and just wanted to help. Eddard turned to look at his bastard, he raised an eyebrow at Jon wondering what had brought this on; he spared a look at Bran, who was staring at him with big eyes making him sigh.
Everyone watched Lord Stark for a moment, none of them were quite sure what he was going to say after Jon's speech about the direwolves. It was a strange thing indeed that the direwolves were here, it would be a great shame to see them killed for something that they could not control.
"You'll train them, yourselves. You'll feed them, yourselves. And if they die you bury them, yourselves," Eddard said finally conceding, he watched as the pup Theon was holding was placed back Bran's arms. The look of delight on Bran's face made it worth it to Eddard even if he was going to have to explain to his wife about the pups, they wouldn't stay this size forever and eventually they would be bigger than a horse. Robb and Theon moved to collect the other pups while Eddard and the guards started to move back to the horses; Bran slowly turned around to look at Jon, who offered him a small smile.
"What about you?" Bran asked softly, they slowly started to walk back to the horses; he looked at Jon knowing that his half-brother was always left out. Jon swallowed thickly as he started to lead Bran back to the horses on the road, he could only watch as Robb and Theon moved ahead of them carrying the four other pups between them so that they could climb up the hill with ease.
"I'm not a Stark," Jon murmured knowing that no matter how much he wished he was, it was never going to be true; he was always going to be on the outside looking in when it came to his siblings. He had asked his father many times about his mother but the answers had always been the same, he would not discuss such a thing with Jon nor did he seem to think the time was right. Starting to climb back up the steep embankment, Jon followed behind everyone else trailing as he thought about his place in the world, it was only then that his eye caught on something small and white.
"What is it?" Robb asked seeing his half-brother pause behind him, they had been delayed enough already and they were losing the light fast. It was going to be late as it was when they returned to Winterfell and they would likely miss dinner upon their return.
Stepping into the bed chamber, Robb took a deep breath and held the small pup in his arms as he looked for any sign of Sanira; he had no idea what she was going to say about the small addition in their lives. The ride back to Winterfell had been long, Bran nearly falling asleep on the ride back into the castle and Robb was relieved when they had finally returned home.
Of course, his lady mother had been far from pleased with the pups that had been quickly shared out between the five Stark children. Robb had selected the male smoke grey direwolf pup with yellow eyes, Sansa had chosen the grey female direwolf pup and had called her Lady while Arya had selected the other female grey pup with dark golden eyes which she had called Nymeria.
Bran had been next naming his silvery grey furred male direwolf Summer with Rickon taking the final pup, a black male direwolf with bright green eyes that he had called Shaggydog. The runt of the litter that had been picked up by Jon was white in colour with red eyes, Jon had named him Ghost because of the direwolf's colour and for the fact it did not make a sound unlike his littermates. It was getting late when Robb finally entered his chambers and he was rather surprised to see his wife waiting up for him by the fire in their chambers.
"You're back late," Sanira mused in greeting, she closed the book that she had been reading while she waited for Robb to return with the others. It was only when she turned to face him that her eyes caught on the small pup that he was holding in his arms, she blinked unsure what to make of the pup for a moment before she looked up at Robb's face for an explanation.
"It's a direwolf," Robb explained with a smile, he moved towards the chair that Sanira had claimed as her own and carefully settled the pup on Sanira's lap; a smile forming on his face as she peeked down at the pup curiously. His little tail wagged as she carefully brushed her fingers through the soft hair of his head and Sanira was unsure what to make of him. Direwolves were not something that they ever really saw in the North, let alone past the wall but yet here was a pup that was clearly more than a wolf.
"Father says we are to train them, ourselves. Feed them, ourselves. And if they die, we are to bury them, ourselves," Robb explained to her, moving to sit down so that he might remove his boots and prepare for bed. It had been a long day and he was certain that there would be much to be done tomorrow especially with the direwolves to keep everyone on their toes.
It had been an unexpected surprise and Robb was entirely grateful that Sanira hadn't refused the pup, he had feared that she might demand that the pup sleep in the stables. He was sure many other ladies would have or demanded that he get rid of the poor pup that had been left motherless.
"I named him Grey Wind," Robb continued as he toed off his boots, a smile growing on his face as he watched her stroke the direwolf pup and he guessed that it was a good sign; he could only imagine how big the pup was going to get. Grey Wind's mother had been huge and Robb was sure that his pup would be bigger than that, in normal wolf terms the males tended to be a bit bigger than the females but with direwolves he was unsure.
Sanira peered down at the small pup, her fingers brushing through his fur and she couldn't help but think that he could do with a good bath and some food. It was getting late and Robb had missed supper but she was sure that the kitchen would not mind making something for him and she could perhaps get a little milk for Grey Wind.
"I suppose that he'll be sleeping in here with us," Sanira mused, her fingers continuing to brush through the soft puppy fur before she looked up at her husband who seemed almost mesmerised by what she was doing. Her face felt a little warm as she noticed his gaze and Sanira quickly looked down at Grey Wind who seemed to be staring at her rather intently, his yellow eyes filled with something that Sanira couldn't quite understand.
Robb smiled at her, there was no way that he would tell her about where they had found the pups or what had happened to the mother. He wished to spare her that especially with the recurring night terrors that she had about Stags and Direwolves, he didn't know what caused her dreams nor how he could help but he was determined not to add to her problems.
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