Chapter 10: Damsel, or Damn. Hell.

The first crush I had was on a boy in my first college class. I hadn't really been around a whole lot of boys except in my self-defence classes, but this was different. College boys sat there, on their phones, not quite paying attention to the lectures. College boys didn't have sweat dripping off of them. They just seemed so, alluring.

I never asked his name, this first crush, but I had made one up from him. I made up an entire backstory for him as well. He was Michael. He liked to read, and hated television. He knew all of my favorite songs by heart. He was really good at cooking. "Michael" was an amalgam of every romance cliche I had ever encountered.

I think he flunked that course, but damn it if he didn't look good flunking.

Michael wasn't real, but he taught me a real lesson.

If I ever end up with someone, I want it to be someone I really love, not just a fantasy I'd made up in my head.

I wish I could have just been a fly on the wall at the feast. No one notices a little fly; that would have been perfect. Instead I was a person. I was a person sitting very near the most important people in the room. They had all congregated at the head table and somehow I had snuck in there with them, sitting right beside Robb and across from Lady Catelyn.

I hadn't taken a sip from my cup in a while. I just looked at it and rolled the stem between my fingers as the others spoke. It was hard for my mind to focus on any of the side conversations for more than a few seconds. It took everything in me to not fall asleep, but I wanted to be here. I wanted to hear the sounds and see the sights of this night. From what I could tell from my vision of the Washington woods this morning, these nights were all I had now.

It was getting late. My eyes got heavier than they had been during my time in Westeros.

The table shook as the King sat down beside Ned. "There's so many pleasures to be had here, Ned. I should have visited sooner."

"Hardly any time for visiting old friends when you have a kingdom to run, your Grace." I smiled at Ned's words. Even now, this late into a stressful night, he was so put together. I could never be like that. Even as I thought about Ned's composure I could feel myself getting cranky. More words were said from everyone, and I looked over at Robb, who had gone silent as well. He must have been tired too. I could see his eyes starting to fade.

"It's time I take an official mistress, I think."

I had only barely heard the words. I wouldn't have really noticed them if the focus of the table hadn't shifted towards me, along with the King's gaze. There I was, a deer in headlights, or in this case the royal stag was somehow involved.

"How would you like that, girl? To get to live in King's Landing? You'd want for nothing." King Robert's words dive bombed through my ears and exploded on the floor of my stomach. Mistress? Was he serious? He looked serious. I felt my breaths constrict. The air wasn't coming in like it should. My hand stopped playing with my cup and found a better grip on the edge of the table. Just when I was starting to relax, just when I was starting to get back on track from this morning, here we are, another curveball.

A hand grabbed mine. Robb's hand. They felt like older hands than those from when we were dancing, older than my own. "We're betrothed."

His words caught me off guard. I coughed once, which prompted me into abnormally fast breathing. I looked at him. His face seemed so sure; it was obvious that he was Ned Stark's son then. He gripped my hand tighter in reassurance.

Ned was the next to speak. "I wasn't going to announce this tonight, but perhaps now is as good a time as any. Young Robb here is going to marry Lady Emerson." Catelyn seemed displeased by the words being said. She wouldn't make eye contact with me, she just stared at Robb as if he'd plunged a knife into her heart.

"Gods, I meant no offense Ned." Robert let out a bellowing laugh. "She'll make a beautiful bride."

"Thank you, your Grace." Robb bowed his head. "I think so as well."

Following any conversation was impossible now. It was all I could do to breathe. Deep breaths. Calm down. It's just until they leave. You're not really getting married anytime soon. Some words popped out from the hum as especially frightening: wedding and children. I'm only 19. I can't even rent a car. I can't even legally drink. Why in hell should I be allowed to marry anyone?

Don't worry, Dahl. They're just protecting you from the King. They know you don't want to be his mistress. It's totally fine.

It didn't matter how much I tried to placate myself, I couldn't stand being at that table anymore. I threw back the entire cup of wine down my throat before I stood. "I am going to take a walk."

"I'll join you." Robb offered. I didn't want him to join me. I wanted to get to breathe and think, and just have a goddamn minute to myself. But I couldn't tell him 'no' either. He had just saved me from a frightening fate.

He took my hand, resting it in the crook of his elbow as he led me outside. The second we escaped and I felt the harsh northern air on my face, I took my hand back.

"You didn't need to do that." I walked across the yard and leaned against a wooden railing. I couldn't look at his face. It was too uncomfortable now. "Thank you, though."

Robb didn't say anything for a while, and I was thankful for the silence. As fun as it had been being in the hive as it buzzed, this was better. The air was clear, and I could make out a few stars in the sky. "Winterfell can't offer you as much as King's Landing." Robb's words were softer than they had been inside the hall. It almost felt like genuine tenderness. "Winters here are harsh. But I promise you'll be safe here. I promise you a good life here."

I let a bit of air out of my nose. It felt funny hearing a Stark pledging safety. It actually sounded like he was serious about marrying me, but at least I knew better.

"What a day," I said to no one in particular as I looked back up to the moon.

"I overheard the Maester saying you didn't feel well."

"Just a headache, nothing major." I shut my eyes tight at the reminder. I am dead. But am I really? Is this some weird coma dream? Did Sophie have second thoughts, and rush me to a hospital? The air felt good as it bit my face. Dead people don't feel like this. "This is a lot to take in."

"I have been speaking to my father about it for some time."

I felt my eyebrows furrow at my confusion. "About what?"

"Making you my wife."

"I thought-" I pushed off of the post I was leaning on, surprise jolting me with adrenaline. I looked him square in the face. "We're a little young for that, aren't we?"

Now he looked confused too. "I'm a man grown, and one day I will be the Lord of Winterfell. Do you not wish to marry me?"

"It's not that," I said, hoping the hurt look on his face would disappear. "I just don't really know you."

"And if we get to know each other, then you will want to marry me?"

It felt strange even considering his words. I mean, I knew him from what I'd read, but not nearly enough for something like this. On the other hand, he had been very kind to me since I got here. He wants to marry me, even though the first thing I did when we met was puke and pass out. And if he were already married to me, then there is no way he could break a marriage pact with Walder Frey. "Sure."

This seemed to be a good enough answer, because a smile was back on his face. "Then we shall get to know each other." He took my hand again. "What would you like to know?"

Was this actually happening? I couldn't think. There were dozens of questions I wanted to ask him, but my mind had become completely empty. "How did you like the feast?"

AN: Yes, this was short. Yes, it took forever. I'm sorry. But! Now I know exactly where this bad boy is going. For those of you who aren't Robb fans, don't fret. This is but one thread in a tapestry. Please review with your thoughts, opinions, outrages, and what have you.