Disclaimer: ASOIAF, GoT, whatevs, is not mine. I am borrowing the characters and their world.

Summary:

AU. First Part of a Trilogy, telling the story of Cadenzsa Forel, Syrio Forel's only child.

Cadenzsa's mother has decided it is time for her child to marry. Since no man in Braavos would dare touch her for fear of her father's sword - and Cadenzsa's, of course - the clever Syrio has relocated to Westeros in hopes of finding a man deeming worthy of his precious only daughter.

He has gone to King's Landing to find a Lord, or a Prince, or a Knight that will give Cadenzsa the life of adventure that she deserves. Cadenzsa, the clever girl, has decided to sail first to the North, and travel down through Westeros, in order to see the land for herself, and to learn of its people. She finds herself, though, soon stuck in the Hold of Winterfell, prey to the charms of the three young men that live there.

Robb

It had been one week to the day that Lady Cadenzsa Forel had been in the care of the Starks. Robb was almost sad to see her leg healing so quickly, for once you got past her fiery demeanor, she was quite fun to talk with. In fact, he took such a liking to her and had such a desire to gain her good favor, that he had asked her if she would like to accompany him for a ride, to which she accepted.

She was a surprisingly good rider for someone who had lived mostly in a place where there were more canals than streets. Her cream-colored gown draped over the horse's body elegantly, and she sat up the right way, too. Her hair was pinned back with pearls, making her hair look like a foamy wave of seawater at night.

"Lady Forel," he said at one point through the ride. "I take it your leg isn't bothering you as much?"

"I have always been a fast healer," she said.

Robb didn't quite know what to say next. There was a silence between them, perhaps a tension. Then she laughed, and when he looked, she was smiling at him.

"Why are you so serious?" she asked. Robb frowned in question. "I mean it," she said. "You're so serious. You have lands to call your own, you are wealthy, you have a handsome face, a lovely family, both your parents are so in love...and yet the world seems to hold no joy for you."

Robb was confused; he wondered if she was half-mad. Perhaps it was only because of the deaths of her men that made her so furious and emotional with him last week. He understood, of course, for if he were in her position, he might have been just as angry. Now that she was calm, he thought, she was quite nice.

"What, nothing to say?"

"Pardon, my Lady," said Robb automatically.

She rolled her eyes. "Why not we start fresh? It seems that me calling you a prat when we first met has put a great dampness on our... our...what is word?"

It was easy for Robb to forget that her Commontongue was still somewhat poor. But a language was a hard thing to learn, and the fact that she knew such a great amount in such a short time - he learned that she only began to fluently speak the Commontongue a year or two ago - was still impressive. He had absolutely no knowledge of any language other than the Commontongue, so it was hard for him to pass judgement on hers.

"'Relationship?'" Robb suggested.

"'Relationship.' No, it is more the word is...is..." She thought. "Friendly?"

"Friendship!" said Robb with a smile.

"Friendship! That's the one!" Lady Forel laughed. "Yes, it has put dampness on our friendship. So, let us begin anew." She bowed her head. "A warm greeting to you, Lord Robb Stark, I am Cadenzsa Forel, of the Free City of Braavos. How lovely to meet you."

Robb laughed, causing her to laugh, too. "My Lady, I am Robb of House Stark, of Winterfell."

"Just Cadenzsa is fine," she said.

"Cadenzsa?" Robb said. "Well, just Robb is fine, too, then."

"Robb," she said. He liked the way she said his name. The way she rolled her 'r's made it sound more interesting than it actually was. "I like the Westerosi names."

"I would say that I like the Braavosi names, but yours is the first I've known." She gave him a playful look. "But I like yours. It's musical. It suits you." She smiled sweetly. "I like the sound of your voice when you sing."

Cadenzsa laughed. "Thank you," she said. "You know you're not so bad when you're happy."

"I could say the same about you." She laughed so loud that Robb wondered if it echoed so far through the forest they could hear them back in Winterfell. Her eyes were playful, and her lips were full and beautiful. He couldn't help but stare a little at her. To make it less awkward, Robb said "Where did you learn to fight like that?"

She shrugged nonchalantly. "My father, of course. Who taught you?"

"Ser Rodrik," answered Robb. "He's our Master-at-Arms."

She squinted her eyes a bit. "Master-at-Arms?" she repeated. "Is that like a Dancing Master for you? I take it he only teaches the Knight's Dance?"

Robb didn't quite understand, but he said "He teaches the sword, shield, bow-and-arrow..."

"If he teaches so many, how can he be so good?" Cadenzsa asked.

"What's that mean?"

"It means that...ah, how to say...? If water spills onto a table, it spreads out low. But fill a vase with the same, and it rises high and can sustain a life." Robb didn't quite understand, and she could see it, so she explained further. "When you do the same thing every day, and concentrate your focus on one thing, you become a Master at it. A man only has so much talent in him, so why not become the greatest talent at one thing, instead of...average talents on many things?"

Robb nodded with a tiny grin. "I think I see what you mean."

"I know not how to hold a shield, and I just recently learned to shoot an arrow, but I am one of the youngest Dancing Masters in all of Braavos. They call me... Well, I'm not sure how it translates in Commontongue, but I think it is "Water Beauty" or something."

Robb smiled. He imagined what she might look like with a crown on her head. "I'd like to see where you come from," he said, realizing that he actually meant it, even though the thought of leaving the North had never before crossed his mind.

"It's a beautiful place," she said. "I miss it sorely." Her gaze became longing, wistful. She looked around at the trees and flowers. She sighed. "May I ask you a question?"

"Please do," said Robb.

"What did you think the moon was before somebody told you what it was?"

He had never thought of it before. He knew that it was a thing that the wolves howled at night to, sang to. Robb had heard once that the moon once had a twin, which was a giant egg that hatched into a thousand dragons when it got too close to the sun. But before he had heard that?

"I guess I don't know. I can't quite remember."

"Oh come on," said Cadenzsa with a smile. "Make a guess. Think of the moon with a fresh set of eyes and tell me."

"Fresh set of eyes..." said Robb to himself. "Maybe..." He thought of the wolves at night. "Maybe it's a God to the Wolves. I hear them singing to it when it hangs high in the skies at night. Maybe it's a beautiful star that's up close which brings the forest alive at night?"

She smiled. "I like that..." she said.

"What did you think it was?"

"Me?" she asked. "Oh, I don't know. Since before I could remember, I've just somehow known it was..." she sighed. "I hear many things about the moon. I sometimes wonder why we find it so interesting. It could be just a big glowing-white rock floating magically in the night sky. But my mother told me that the moon is not a rock, or an egg, or a ghost...but a goddess."

"A goddess?" Robb repeated in question, a tiny giggle in his voice at the thought of it.

"Yes, a goddess. The moon is a goddess, the wife of the sun. It is known. Think about it. The sun warms the earth, grows the crops, provides and gives. The moon is soft and guides our way in dark times, so that we are not afraid to sleep, for we know it watches over us."

Robb felt his heart skip a beat. "You're a very learned woman, Lady Forel-ah, Cadenzsa."

She thought for a moment, as if unsure of how to take the compliment. "Thank you?" she said. "Oh, look! A lake. Let's let our horses drink?"

They guided the horses to the water. Robb got down first and helped Cadenzsa down off her horse. She wasn't light, but wasn't heavy at all. Her body felt firm beneath her gown. They sat together by the water and talked for awhile. They didn't talk about anything in particular, just life and how things were. They talked a lot about their fathers and families. At one point, Cadenzsa took off her shoes and her stockings. She began to remove her gown.

"Lady Forel-!" said Robb, his face flushing red as he looked away quickly. "What are you doing?"

Cadenzsa frowned. "What does it look like I'm doing?" she asked, now stripped down to her smallclothes. Without another word she dove head-first into the water.

"Lady Forel!" said Robb, standing up quickly. He ran to the water's edge. "Lady Forel!"

A shriek came as she broke the water's surface, then a great amount of high-pitched laughing. "Oh the water is freezing! Haha! What a way to wake up!"

Robb stared, mouth agape. She floated in the water, her hair clinging to her throat and face, dripping wet. She swam towards him to where it was shallow enough to stand. She walked towards him and he saw her, walking to him like a golden goddess, water running down her shoulders and her throat, and down her teardrop breasts, her flat belly, and down her firm thighs and shapely bruising on her leg had nearly healed.

"Like to swim?" she said, nodding pointedly to the water. Robb shook his head feverishly, hoping that she wouldn't notice the swelling in his trousers that she had evoked. "Are you sure? It's great exercise." Robb shook his head again with a gulp. She shrugged, Gods be good, and turned away to let him see the beauty of her hair which clung down to her back and over her taut arse. "Alright," she said, "you can just watch me swim." And she dove back into the water.

Robb didn't know how long she swam for, but it was at least an hour before he convinced her to come out of the water. He put his cloak around her shoulders to shield her from the cold and dry her firm body. He wasn't usually the shy type, but he knew he should be respectful to her virtues, and if he saw her in her wet and naked glory, he might not be able to resist.

They rode back to Winterfell and the only solace Robb had was that she would be gone soon to never torment him like that again. But his father and the Gods - both new and old, it seemed - had other plans.

"Cadenzsa!" called Lord Stark as they walked back towards the castle. "We've just received word from your father."

Lady Forel smiled and ran towards him, her leg clearly much better. "What does he say?"

Lord Stark handed her the letter. Robb watched her read it, feeling a tightness in his throat as she did. "He says he is glad to hear you're alright," said his father, "and that he's going to sail up here from King's Landing." Cadenzsa looked up in surprise. "He's asked us to keep you here until he comes to get you."

"Oh." She wasn't sounding happy, it seemed, but she wasn't upset either. Just 'oh', it seemed. "And you're sure I'm not imposing?"

Lord Stark shook his head. "No, no, not at all," he said. "We're happy to have you here. Everybody likes you."

She laughed uncomfortably. "I thank you for your generosity." She gave a curtsy. "Excuse me." And she ran off. Robb swallowed, a feeling of both anxiety and joy washing over him. Lord Stark summoned his eldest son to his side.

"You know you can't fall in love with her," he said. "I know, I know. It's hard. But she'll never be happy up here, and you know it. And it's not right to force a woman to be unhappy so to make yourself happy." He patted Robb on the shoulder. "Someday you'll marry a beautiful girl from the Northern families, who can be Lady Stark. It's what's expected of you, to marry the North."

Robb was a little shocked to hear him say such a thing. Did his father see what Robb refused to see? Lady Forel was so beautiful, and Robb liked her a lot. But perhaps his father was right? Maybe what he was feeling was love? Robb had never been in love before, so he didn't know what it was supposed to feel like. He saw it in his parents. Did his parents see it in him? Did Lady Forel love him back?

"He's right, you know," said Greyjoy over a horn of ale much, much later that night. They were drinking in Robb's room, a thing they sometimes did together. The night was surprisingly warm, so their doublets were off and tunics were open."She'll suffocate here, and she'll end up hating you."

"What do you mean, suffocate?" asked Robb.

Theon rolled his eyes towards Robb over his ale. "She's wild, exciting," said Theon. "She's unexpected. She's everything the North is not. That woman needs sun and salt and sea air to be happy, and if you trap her here with a wedding cloak, I doubt she'll even feign happiness for you. She'll be miserable up here being 'Lady Stark,' because that's not who she is. She isn't your mother."

"I know she isn't my mother!" shouted Robb, who was already a little drunk.

"So why try make her Lady Stark? Cadenzsa isn't the kind of woman you marry. She's the kind of woman that you fuck for a few laughs because you'll never get the chance to fuck something like that again-"

Robb let a hard fist cross Greyjoy's jaw. "You mind your place here, Greyjoy! You're a Ward of the Starks!"

"I follow your father's orders, not yours!" said Theon, now standing chest-to-chest with Robb. "Tell me something, if you're so Hells-bent on fucking something, why not go down to the brothel and get your cock wet? Look, you're already hard!" said his father's Ward, patting the front of his trousers with his strong hands.

Robb's face went red. "A woman's virtue is to be treasured and respected."

Theon gave a great big 'HAH' in Robb's face. "Do you honestly think that woman is a Virgin? Go ahead and strike me for that one, Stark, but it's a serious question. Do you really think she's a virgin? Not only is she gorgeous, but she's living in a Man's world, in a Free City. Do you know what Free City means? Because I do. I've seen these people sail in from all over the world." Theon gestured around, taking a stumble or two back. "The world is much bigger than Westeros. Do you know, in the Summer Isles, those who give pleasure are revered and respected. Even Highborn Ladies of the Summer Isles are expected to spend a few years in the Pleasurehouses so to keep their husbands happy!"

"She isn't from the Summer Isles!"insisted Robb.

Greyjoy stumbled back and fell on the bed, reaching for his ale and drinking. His tunic was open and his chest was showing, as were the thin hairs on it. He was pale, like Robb; he was lean and muscular, too. Robb walked over to the bed and leaned over him.

"I'm warning you, Greyjoy, you'd better stay away from her."

Theon smirked and propped himself up on his elbows, his drunken breath wafting towards Robb's lips. He opened his mouth and grinned his trademark grin. "You know what I think?" he said. "I think you're afraid I'm going to do a better job at it than you would." Theon's hands found his way to cupping Robb's cock, catching his voice in his throat. "I think you're wanting to fuck so bad that you'll fuck anything, but your father's words are too far down your throat that it won't let you. You're so repressed that you won't give into something..." Theon's lips were fuller than Robb usually thought they were; or perhaps he'd never really looked before. "...that's natural. You Northmen think a woman's virtue is everything. But if fucking someone is so bad..." Theon's hand squeezed at the shaft of Robb's cock. "...Why did the Gods make it feel so good?" Robb couldn't help but throb in Theon's hand. "Or is it that you just want me to fuck you instead of her?"

Robb pushed himself away from Theon quickly, as if his hand were a hot iron from the fire. His father's ward laughed heartily, drinking more. Robb felt his heart in his throat and swallowed. He often felt this kind of hot rush after a battle or a hunt, that pounding of adrenaline. Young men often experienced such things. Didn't they?

"Well, Lordling?" asked Theon, standing and sauntering to him, grazing his fingers along his bare neck. "Want me to fuck you?"

Robb quickly brushed his hand away. "I want you to leave," he growled. Theon grinned and tapped Robb on the nose before taking his boots in his hands and leaving. Robb nearly fainted from the blood pumping hard into his cock, over his body. He quickly leaned against his bedpost and grabbed himself, pumping furiously, for the need was so great. He thought of Cadenzsa's rosy-dark nipples which clung to her wet smallclothes. He thought of her on his bed, stretched across, naked. He thought about her firm legs spread wide, and then pounding into her hard.

Robb leaned against the bedpost, his nails scratching against the wood, his body growing hot. He thought about her tan-and-taut arse and her hips, gripping them hard. And when he thought about the hard cock that was thrusting inside her, making her scream, he couldn't help but think of that cock belonging to Theon, for his was far more-skilled than his. And at that thought, Robb couldn't help but spill his seed all over his hand, his trousers, and onto the floor, which left him feeling both satisfied and relieved, and just the tiniest bit confused.