Eddard Stark was there right in the middle of course, and his wife Lady Catelyn Stark was on the right side of her husband. She was beautiful for her age, the deep red in her hair and the fair look on her face made her look so wise beyond her years. Then next to Catelyn were the two Stark girls. The redheaded one looked very elegant in her own dress, her red hair down to her shoulders and she was simply radiant for a young girl. She looked royalty, and her smile and sitting position showed it. The younger Stark girl, whoever, seemed as though she was bored there at the head table. her brown hair was in braids back from her grey eyes and face, and she looked uncomfortable in her dress. On Lord Eddard's side there was a empty chair, having me assume it was for Rob, and two younger Stark boys. One of them was brunette and the other had a mix of blond and red, the youngest from what I saw no older than 8 years old. They all were sitting there at the table as I was approached with Rob Stark next to me. For some reason, however, I felt like I was on trial. The others in the Great Hall stopped talking loudly and watched me in front of the family and the conversation that was about to happen.
"Ah, Nora. I'm happy you're joining us." Lord Eddard said to me aloud with his warm but authoritative tone. I curtseyed in front of him in response.
"Thank you for inviting me, milord. And I thank you for showing me hospitality." I said to him aloud, seeing him smile and nod his head.
"You have a seat at our table as a honored guest." He said to me aloud to me, having me feel more guilty for being seen as a guest and not as a servant that I really was.
"Thank you milord, it is far too much for you to do something like this for me." I said in a sheepish tone, having me feel the blush on my cheeks as I said this.
"Nonsense! I reassured Lord Aaron that you are a guest here in my realm, and a guest you shall be." Lord Eddard said to me in a reassuring tone of voice. I felt a bit better, knowing that I was being looked after by my own Lord. So I decided that it was going to be okay.
"My husband told me that you are ten of six." Lady Stark said aloud.
"Yes Milday." I replied back to her.
"You're the same age as Rob then." She said aloud with lightness in her tone, having me see Rob move away from me and over to her spot at the table, smiling as he was mentioned as I watched him.
"He has been nothing but kind to me, Milday." I said that aloud back to her, seeing her grin at her son.
"Of course he was, I wouldn't except nothing less." She replied aloud, having me look behind me at Astrid who was still standing behind me with the dresses in hand.
"If it pleases you, Lord and Lady Stark, I wish to show you the dresses I have made from Thedra Ascent." I explained to them, having Astrid stand next to me and I took the one dress from the top of the pile, unfolding it and holding it out in front of me. I had one hand under the bottom of the dress to show it in a slant and to give it light. It was a midnight blue dress with silver embroidery along the sides and a weaving picture in the middle of the dress, looking like a tree with no leaves on it. I worked long and hard on the dress itself, seeing the silver shine in the light of the Great Hall. All of the eyes were on the dress, and from what I saw, they were impressed. I saw fascination in the eye of both the Lord and lady, and the Elder daughter with the red hair was looking with wide eyes and a large smile on her face. Even the younger Stark girl, the one who was bored from what I saw, even looked a bit interested from her spot.
"Simply marvelous!" Lady Catelyn Stark said aloud from her spot, having me see the look of pure joy on her face as she looked at the dress. I felt a wave of relief coming over me as she looked at me dress.
"I have never seen a dress made in this kind of fashion here in the North." She continued as I looked at the dress myself, thinking that she was only saying this to make me feel better.
"It's beautiful!" The Stark daughter said aloud next to her mother, having me feel as though I could go crimson from my spot, "May I see it?" I walked up to the table of the family, still holding the dress out for the young daughter to see. As soon as I was close enough, I saw her looking at the details with wide eyed fascination and even reached out to touch the tree embroidery with her pale fingers.
"And you did this yourself?" she asked me aloud, having me hear a chuckle from Lord Eddard.
"My daughter, Sansa Stark. She has an eye for the details in dresses." He said aloud in a smirk and I saw her look at her father for a moment and then back at me,
"I did Milday." I said to her aloud with a hint of pride in her tone of voice.
"Sansa." Lord Eddard said aloud once more, having me see her look at her father and I pulled away the dress slightly, "Nora is going to be making dresses for both you and your sister."
"Really father?" She asked in glee in her tone, having me look from her to the other daughter. She didn't seem so happy about it and I tried to not look at the anger run her eyes.
"You both need proper dresses for when the Baratheons come and visit in a couple of moons." He explained to her as I saw her smile so widely and looked rather pleased. She was in fact a Princess and it suited her well, but the younger daughter didn't want anything to dow with it.
"Why must I have a dress father?" she said aloud in a groan, having me hear the pain in her voice of needing to put on a dress. Now I wasn't offended by it, it was never something that I did when it came to someone refusing to wear a dress I made. How could I blame her? I would never wear one of these dresses out in public either. It was one thing to be paid to make them, but it's another to wear them. I am a young woman and I do love dresses from time to time, but I had more adventure and the need to explore in my heart than to want to look beautiful for people to look at. Perhaps this young Stark girl was the same way as me.
"Arya." Her mother said in a low tone, almost trying to both keep her in her place and to calm her down. I saw Astrid move over to me and I handed the dress to her, thanking her as she walked out of the hall.
"Let's get her a chair." Eddard said aloud, having me see a servant grab a chair and put it between Lady Stark and Sansa Stark. After they moved a bit for me, I got to sit between the Matriarch and the eldest daughter of the house, feeling as my heart was racing so fast and out of my chest. I wanted nothing more than to hide in my room, yet they were nothing but kind to me as I was served food. It was beyond delicious, having me use every one of willpower to not wolf it all down. Being a dressmaker, food was never really part of the deal since we only made so much money. Our food was limited, but here I felt like I would make myself sick from all the food that was given to me. I had to be proper, I had to remember that I was representing Thedra House…in a way.
"So, tell me dear one." Catelyn Stark said to me, having me look at her from my spot next to me, "Where did you learn your trade. You are quite remarkable."
"Thank you Milady." I said aloud with a small smile on my face, "My master Sophia taught me for as long as I remember. She actually raised me."
"Oh?" She asked me aloud, "Have you no family?"
"None but her milady." I replied back to her, seeing a small hint of sadness in her eyes as I talked, "But she taught me plenty. I learned how to read, her mother taught her and thankfully I learned at a young age."
"That's a good practical skill for a young woman to have, make no mistake." She replied to me in a reassuring grin as I saw the conversation going on a lighter level.
"I learned how to ride a horse when I was 5 years old." I said aloud, seeing her nod her head and then seeing a smaller heard poke his head over at me from the other side of the line. I saw it was brunette son, his eyes were on me.
"You ride?" he asked me, his small voice was filled with curiosity, I smiled at him from my spot and nodded my head.
"One of the vendors that work at the realm taught me how to ride." I replied back to him, seeing Catelyn and Eddard talking about something else together. I saw a wide grin on the boys face as I said it back to him.
"Bran loves to ride, along with climbing the towers here in Winterfell." Sansa explained to me aloud, having me look over at her.
"He reminds me of the boys that are at Thedra Ascent, very adventurous and curious. They love to ride around and some of them wish to be knights." I said to her in casual conversation.
"I wish I was a knight." I heard next to Sansa, having me look over and seeing the young Arya Stark. She was poking her food with one of her utensils, looking rather bored at the moment.
"Arya hates anything to do with being a Lady." Sansa said to me in a low tone, and she sounded a bit agitated about it in her tone of voice. This must of been sisterhood, seeing the negative sides of each other and finding it horrid. I sometimes wished I had a sister, seeing this connection between the two of them when they seemed so opposite. Sansa seemed so gentle and so fragile, but Arya was more rough around the edges and headstrong, I could see it in how she sat in her chair and how she was with her sister next to her.
"Being a Lady is no fun at all." Arya said aloud in a grumble, having me see Sansa roll her eyes and eat some of her food with her utensils politely, showing how much she was a Lady. I smiled, taking a bite from my food and feeling a sense of happiness towards Arya.
"Do you ride Arya?" I asked her aloud in casual conversation, seeing her look up at me as did Sansa. Sansa looked rather shocked from my question, but I was focusing on Arya who was looking at me with more curiosity in her eyes.
"My mother won't let me." She replied in a shrug, looking less mean but more content. I nodded my head and looked down at my own food. I met most of the children now, and seeing all of them face to face made me feel more content on where I was. They made me feel accepted and content on who I was, lowborn and all. Somehow, I found this experience going to be just fine where it is. I tried to drink it in, moment by moment, because something like this wasn't going to end.
It was going to be gone like the mist in the morning, so quickly an d suddenly.
"Lady Sansa and Lady Arya, Nora is here." The servant opened the door for me. It was the next morning and after having the best night sleep I've had in years I started to get my work ready to go since they needed the dresses within days. I walked in and saw the two Stark daughters in one of the bigger rooms in the castle. It must of been Sansa's room, since it looked far too beautiful and too elegant. But as soon as I walked into the room, I saw something very fascinating and terrifying at the same time. There were two animals in the room…..two wolves.
Direwolves
I gasped, moving to the edge of the wall as the door was closed and couched the tools that were rolled in a bag I was holding in a vice grip. That terrified me, since I was told high tales about direwolves. They were supposed to be legends, not coming this South from he wall. Ghost stories were told about them, and now two of them were in front of me and the girls, as if putting a wall between me and the Stark daughters. One of them was lighter in her coat, a very light grey with blue eyes and only looking at me with intrigue. But the other, a white undercoat with brown on top and darker yellow eyes, looked at me and showed its teeth. I couldn't move from my spot, but Lady Sansa sighed and walked over to the lighter direwolf.
"She would harm you, won't you Lady?" She asked the direwolf, rubbing its head and seeing the wolf snuggle against her hand and whine in content. But my eyes were on the other one, who was looking at me with a lethal look.
"Nymeria, easy now."Arya said aloud to the wolf having me see the teeth disappear and her ear come back up from being on the back of her head. Arya walked over to the wolf, seeing the wolf look at her and then snuggle against her side. I was still fascinated that they were real, alive, and they were here with the children as if they were pets.
"I've only heard stories." I said aloud in a gasp, seeing the smile on Arya's face as she looked at me.
"Our father, Bran, Robert and Jon found them in the woods. Their mother died, and there were six pups. We each got one." She explained to me as she rubbed Nymeria's coat lovingly. I saw Lady, the nicer wolf. trot to the bed and lay on top, dozing off to sleep.
"Six of you? I thought there were five children." I said aloud, carefully walking over to the table and keeping my eyes on Nymeria, but the wolf now looked more curious and less threatened with me. Her yellow eyes were following me as I laid out my measuring tools and got things ready.
"Jon's the sixth one. He's our half brother." Arya explained in a shrug, but I saw Sans shoot her death glares from her spot. I looked at her for a moment, thinking about it and then I knew. Jon is a half sibling, he must of been a Bastard. Being a Bastard in Westeros was nothing to be proud of, especially if you are a lowborn. It was lower than low, but then again he must of had some right since he was the son of Eddard Stark. He must of had some nice things for him, some insurance because of who his father was. But who was I to ask about it, I decided to go back to the task at hand.
"I came for see what kind of dresses you both wanted." I said to them both, seeing Sansa look brighter as soon as I started talking about dresses. But Arya rolled her eyes as Sansa walked over to me.
"A light purple with silver in it! I loved that tree design that was on the dress you showed me last night." She explained to me aloud as I smiled at her.
"That sounds lovely." I said to her aloud, seeing her squeal in delight as I looked over to Arya, whom was still petting Nymeria and was now looking out the window.
"What kind of dress would you like Milday?" I asked her aloud in wonder. But I saw her looking rather uninterested in the matter, something I knew since I saw her reaction from last night.
"I hate dresses." She mumbled, nuzzling her knuckles into Nymeria's fur as she spoke.
"Oh Arya, just because you would rather roll around in the mud doesn't mean you have to be rude to Nora." Sansa said in a stern tone.
"And just because you like to dress up lie a doll doesn't mean I have to as well!" Arya replied back in almost a bark. Sansa just huffed and looked back at me, having me feel awkward that I was stuck between them.
"I need to go to my lessons anyways. Have fun with Arya. Thanks again Nora!" She said to me in a cheery tone, walking to the door. I saw Lady hop off the bed and trot behind her, having me look back at Arya and see her glare out the window. She was still a young girl, maybe being 10 years old if not ten of one. She never seemed like a dress kind of girl to me, but that was my observation. I saw her look over at me for a brief moment as I folded my hands in front of me.
"If you want." I said aloud, walking over to her slowly and seeing Nymeria eye me from her spot next to her master, "I can make it so that the dress is comfortable."
Arya snorted, "I hardly think you can do that."
"I can try." I said in a shrug, seeing her look at me with a raise eyebrow. Even Nymeria cocked her head to the side as I looked at with, trying to convince her that it wasn't going to be all bad.
"Really?" She asked me, sounding a bit more convinced, but not completely.
"Look, Milday—" I started, but she cut me off instantly.
"Don't call me Milday." I bit my tongue, feeling a bit ashamed as she said it as if it was a cruel joke. But She saw my reaction and had a softer look on her face.
"I never liked being called a Lady, it never suited me always." She said in a shrug with a small smile on her face, "Just call me Arya." I shifted awkwardly, thinking of how unusual it was for her to ask me to call her just by her first name.
"Okay….Arya….I know that dresses are not usually the most comfortable things to wear, I know since I make them for a living. But the ones I make for myself, I make for comfort." I explained to her, seeing her look at me with more curiosity than boredom.
"I know how to make a dress comfortable and look presentable at the same time, trust me. There's nothing to it, and if you wish to, I can make you a couple for you and you alone. The dresses will look just a elegant as the next one you sister wears." I said to her, seeing her roll her eyes, "But they won't be as tight or ill fitting." She eyed me from her spot, still not convinced as I said it to her. I did make dresses for myself, and they were comfortable enough for me to ride a horse in but nice enough to have supper with.
"You promise it'll be comfortable?" She asked me, a sense of hope was in her voice. I grinned from ear to ear, nodding my head as she smiled back at me. I knew from that moment we had together, that this was the start of something nice between us.
The start of a beautiful friendship.