The Starks were surprised when she didn't arrive in a carriage, but Arya was more impressed than anything. She never wanted to be in a carriage when she left Winterfell. But it wasn't ladylike to be on horseback. Kailasa looked like a vision in her violet gown that seemed to fly around her in the wind. Her blonde hair was braided back from her face in four braids that turned to one on the back of her head. She looked over everyone before jumping off her horse and landing gracefully on the ground. She was a short girl. She would only make it to Jon or Robb's shoulder if she stood next to them.

Kailasa bowed, with one hand and foot extended. She didn't curtsy like all other ladies. She bowed.

Lord Stark stepped forward and kissed her hand. "You are very welcome here, Lady Kailasa."He told her.

"Thank you, Lord Stark." She said, rising before looking to his wife. "Lady Stark." She bowed slightly.

Catelyn curtsied. "Lady Kailasa."

"This is my son, Robb." Lord Stark stated, gesturing to an auburn haired man with bright blue eyes. He bowed. "My lady."

Kailasa bowed her head. "My lord." She smiled.

"This is my eldest daughter, Sansa." Sansa curtsied.

"My middle son, Bran." Bran bowed.

"My youngest daughter, Arya." She curtsied (badly). "Did you really captain a ship when you were fifteen?"

"Arya!" Lady Stark reprimanded, but Kailasa just laughed.

"Yes, I did. Perhaps I will tell you the story behind it later." Kailasa told her kindly.

Just when Arya didn't think that she could like this girl more, she did. "Thank you, Lady Kailasa."

"Just call me Kai." She told them all. "Everyone calls be Kai at home."

"You will meet the others at dinner." Lord Stark told her.

Ser Martin stood beside Kailasa. "We should get going, my lady. Your father wanted us back as soon as we could."

"Have a safe journey, dear ser." Kailasa told him, as he dropped a kiss on her cheek.

Her party besides her handmaiden and nurse left the courtyard.

"Would you like to rest?" Lord Stark asked her. "You must have had a long journey."

Kailasa nodded. "That would be kind."

"Robb," Lady Stark called. "Why don't you show her to her room?"

Robb stepped forward, smiling, holding out his arm for her to take. "Lady Kai."

"Kai." She corrected as she took his arm and they began walking for the castle. "Please call me Kai."

"Then you must call me Robb." He stated.

"Robb." She said, looking over her shoulder and seeing two finely dressed men. One had sandy brown hair and the other black in tight curls, and looked like a younger version of Lord Stark. If she had to guess she knew that it was Theon Greyjoy and Jon Snow. The Greyjoy book was grinning, but Jon Snow was very stoic. He looked like he hardly smiled.

"Have you ever been North?" Robb asked her as they entered the castle, regaining her attention.

She shook her head slightly. "No. I have never been north of the Riverlands." She told him. "I am a child of warmth. I don't ever remember it not being warm enough to swim. Have you ever been South?"

Robb shook his head. "Not that I can remember." He answered. "It seems we have much to learn from each other."

"Yes, you must teach me all about the North, and I must teach you all about the South." Kailasa agreed. She paused before speaking again as they took another turn. "I will surely get lost here."

"Then I shall have to escort you everywhere." He decided, teasing lightly. "We cannot have our honored guest be lost."

Kailasa laughed. "Why thank you, my lord, you are much too kind to me."She was rather impressed that he hadn't asked her when she would choose him to be her husband. Most other lordlings were so full of themselves, they thought that obviously the lady of the coast would choose them. This was much nicer.

"If I didn't I'm sure Arya would." He told her. "She is excited to see a girl like her. How did you learn how to fight?"

"How do you know I can?" Kailasa replied.

"There was a bow and a sheath of arrows on your saddle as well as a dagger." He told her. "I am not blind. You wouldn't carry them unless you knew how to use them."

"True." She agreed. "Well, I am happy to find a girl like me as well. It seems we are a rare breed."

"You still have not answered my question, though." Robb told her. "Why?"

Kailasa sighed. "Growing up I only knew my elder brother. He is much older than me. My mother was ill most of my childhood, so he was what I had. My father was mostly with my mother or doing his duty to his people. My brother was like my father. After my lessons with my septa, I went with him. He taught me to fight. It didn't even change when he got married. He made sure that there was always someone to teach me."

"So will you be in the yard with us tomorrow?" He asked.

Kailasa laughed. "I hope so, though I will probably watch before I take part."She paused. "You do not think there is something wrong with a woman fighting?"

"Of course not." Robb told her. "Trust me, everyone has learned not to get on Arya's bad side. She may be small, but she is quick."

Kailasa laughed again. "She seems like a nice girl. Reminds me of myself at her age. And your other younger sister? Sansa, was it?"

"She is a proper lady." Robb told her. "I have to say, I think she would not approve of women fighting."

"And where's the fun in all of that?" Kailasa asked. "I do not need a man to fight for me."

"You need a man to fight against you apparently." Robb stated.

"See, now you're getting it." Kailasa teased.

XXX

Kailasa relaxed in the bath that was drawn for her before she went to sup. Her nurse came in with a vial of vile liquid for Kailasa to swallow. The older woman had always cared for Kailasa since she was a small girl, even more so when her ailment became obvious.

"Milady, your medicine." She said handing the girl the vial.

Kailasa frowned before downing it in one gulp and grimacing. "Tell me again why I don't succumb to my ailment." She said before laying back into her bath.

"Because the pain will get you in the end." The older woman stated, putting the empty vial in the pocket of her apron. She started to massage Kailasa's shoulders.

"Gods," Kailasa moaned, letting her head fall back. She could feel her muscles relaxing under her nurse's touch.

Her nurse laughed quietly. "Dearest, I will do what I can to ease your pain, but this treatment will make it easier for you to conceive a child when you are married. We both know it is unlikely otherwise."

Kailasa let out a breath. "I know. I know."

XXX

Kailasa dressed in a dress Meara had given her from Dorne. It was red-gold color, and was two pieces. The top was low cut, and tied around the smallest point of her waist. The skirt was many layers of sheer material. She looked like silver and gold when she wore this. Her silver hair was pulled back with a metal band with crystals in her hair before it was tied into a braided bun on the back of her head.

Kailasa quickly figured out that she would have to get a heavier cloak or warmer dresses if she was to stay in the North for long, but knowing how things usually went, she wouldn't be here for more than a month. When Captain Jones came to get her, she would convince him to take her to Dorne. Callum and Meara would always want her even if her father didn't.

As Kailasa slipped on her gold slippers her nurse fussed over her.

"Remember to keep your left shoulder high. Breathe in your areas. Try not to rub at your back."

"I have it." Kailasa said, tiredly. "I've been dealing with this for four years." She stood and dropped her mother's perfume on her wrists and neck before rubbing her wrists together. It was her mother's perfume before she died. Her cousin, Jaime sent a case of it to her after he heard of Katherine's passing. He sent a note with it telling her that Cersei loved having their mother's perfume after Joanna died. He was right. Kailasa wore it whenever she felt like she needed her mother's strength; she needed it everyday she wasn't at Goldenbirth.

There was a knock on the door; Robb had come to collect her for sup. Kailasa opened the door and curtsied like a good little lady. "Robb."

"Kai," he bowed.

"Have you come to collect me?" She asked as he held out his arm for her to take, which she did. "You are all much too kind to me. I shall be spoiled by the time I return home."

"That is our plan." Robb replied in jest. "Make it so you never want to leave."

"We shall see, Robb Stark, we shall see." She bumped her hip against his lightly.

XXX

At the table she met little Rickon Stark, who blushed when Kailasa called him a, "handsome little lord" and tried to hide behind his mother's skirts. She officially met Theon Greyjoy, who kissed her hand and winked at her. She met Jon Snow who didn't say much, and just bowed to her. He did look directly into her eyes, and only into her eyes, that impressed her. The look in his eyes made her think of an abused puppy, ready to be kicked again.

Kailasa always liked the sad puppies; they were always the sweetest when they realized you wouldn't hurt them.

As they ate their sup, Kailasa was interviewed by Arya.

"Why did you captain a ship?" The girl asked.

"Because no one else could in such short notice." Kailasa replied. "My brother is a better navigator than I, and I am much better at he is. It was a very quickly planned journey and we needed all the time we had."

"Why?" Arya asked.

"My mother was on her death bed. We heard a rumor of a medicine that would help her in the Free Cities and we left immediately." Kailasa's voice changed, becoming more like she was reciting a scene from a play. "We didn't make it back in time, but I learned a lot during that journey."

"Like?" Arya asked.

"Trusting your crew is key, one man thought it was wrong a woman was leading, and we left him in Mereen. Without leadership everything falls apart. But the best thing I learned is that if a man does not respect a woman, he does not deserve to be in the presence of one." Kailasa told her. "There is a reason why my words are respect like the sea. If you respect something, you deserve it."

XXX

"I would like to get some air." Kailasa stated after dinner.

"Can I come?" Arya asked.

"Of course." Kailasa said. "Anyone is welcome." She hoped that no one else would join, though.

"I think I could use some air." Robb said standing."

"Us too, right Jon?" Theon said, clapping Jon on the shoulder. "We don't want to be left out of this party."

Kailasa smiled, and realized she should not have added onto letting Arya come with her. She was hoping for a moment to be able to breathe. At least she did not have her corset on, that would make her want to gasp for air if she had it on.

Kailasa's arms covered each other as the cool air hit her. She wasn't used to the cold. She never had been. She couldn't even remember the last winter, she was such a small child during that.

"This is your summers, then?" Kailasa asked. "Rather cool, don't you think?"

"That's why it's called the North." Jon told her. It was the first time he spoke to her.

Kailasa laughed. "That is true, Jon." She agreed. "But have you ever felt a real summer? A summer where you can swim in the sea without being chilled? Where you have to carry a fan so you do not faint in the heat of the day?"

"No." All of them said at once.

"Too bad." Kailasa replied. "It's wonderful. Last year everyone who could turned to the water for relief from the heat."

"Are you a good swimmer, then?" Theon asked.

Kailasa nodded. "There's a reason why my family's sigil is a mermaid, Theon. It is myth that we are descended from them."

"You faint from the heat?" Jon asked.

"If you do not drink enough water even the strongest of men faint from the heat." Kailasa replied. "Though I have been a victim of it. My family teases me for it." She shouldn't have let that slip; it was a side effect from her condition. No one could put the pieces together; no one ever did.

"I would like to catch you if you fainted." Theon stated.

Kailasa laughed. "I doubt you will see me faint, it is much too cold here, Theon, and it doesn't happen as often as you'd think." She looked away from them, and up to the stars. She raised her thumb in the air to make sure the moon was still smaller than her thumb. Her brother told her that no matter where she would go, the moon would always be the same size. It made her feel like she was closer to home than she was.

"What are you doing?" Arya asked.

"No matter where you go the moon is never bigger than your thumb." Kailasa told her.

"Do you do that everywhere you go?" Robb asked.

Kailasa nodded. "Yes. It makes me feel a little closer to home." She let her thumb fall. She knew she wasn't close to home. She doubted she would be home again for a long time. The only way to get home was to get married, and she didn't want to be married for no better reason than wanting to go home.

Kailasa looked to see Jon trying out her thumb trick, and she took two steps over to him and held her thumb next to his with one hand on his shoulder. She could tell he was hyperaware of how close she was to him, though she remained at ease. Actually, she seemed more at ease now than she had with any women around. Jon noticed that as well.

The two other boys quickly held their thumbs up, hoping to get the same attention Kailasa had given Jon. Kailasa knew this game and she would have none of it.

She stepped away from Jon and let her arms wrap around herself again.

"You learn something new every day." Jon said.

Kailasa turned to him. "You are much more talkative out her than you were inside, Jon. What has changed?"

"I do not know, Lady Kailasa."

"Call me, Kai." She said quickly. "And, oh, I think you do, but you do not wish to tell me. As you wish, I will drop the subject."

"Then I will change it." Jon stated. "You are more comfortable out here than inside, why?"

Kailasa laughed. "You are very observant, Jon. Perhaps I will save my answer for when you are willing to answer my question."

"Arya," Lady Stark cried from the doorway. "It is time for you to be off to bed."

Arya had been watching the four teenagers like they were a play. "Five more minutes?"

"Now, Arya."

Arya sighed. "Fine." She walked towards the door.

"Are you forgetting something?" Jon called after her.

Arya suddenly turned and ran to Jon, jumping to wrap her arms around his neck. He hugged her tightly, keeping her feet off the ground before he put her back down and she resumed walking back to the door.

Jon looked up to see Kailasa smiling. "What?"

She shook her head. "It just reminds me of my brother and I when I was growing up." She told him.

Jon didn't reply, he just looked at her with his eyebrows furrowed.

Kailasa sighed, looking away from his grey eyes. "I think I will be off to bed as well, it has been a very long day."

"I'll escort you." Robb said, holding out his arm for her. "You know, so you don't get lost." He winked at her conspiratorially.

Kailasa laughed softly, taking his arm. "Yes, that would be good. I would hate to have to sleep in a corridor."

A/N:

daneegirl92: You caught onto that, didn't you? Haha. I couldn't resist. At first it happened without me meaning to, and I just went "what the hell" and continued with it. Thank you for your review!

Charlmalone: Thank you! Thank you for your review!

M00NBunnie K: Thank you, and thank you for your review!

Please review!

Kat