"I felt it first when I was younger; a strange connection to the light. I tried to satisfy the hunger. I never got it right. I never got it right."- Your Love, Brandon Heath

VI. LUCIA

"-stupid Jaime Lannister," Luce heard Theon snarl outside the door. She sighed and walked to the door, throwing it open and almost smacking him in the head with it.

"What is it?" she said with a tone of forced patience. Theon opened his mouth to reply and Luce added, "It had best be important since you ruined my sketch with your snapping." That was when she noticed that Robb and Jon were standing with him.

"Mother is on a rampage," Robb explained. "Someone saw us last night and informed her that Jaime Lannister was escorting us in. She starting yelling at Father so we're hiding from her."

"We also are not to be permitted out of Winterfell," Jon said wryly.

"Not even to ride to the godswood?" Luce asked.

"No," Theon said sharply.

"I see," Lucia said, an idea rising up in her. "What if we asked your father?" she asked Robb.

"What are you thinking?" Robb asked eagerly.

"That we tell him we want to go to the godswood to pray for our souls before your mother kills us all," Luce said with a smirk. There was a moment of silence and then they were all laughing.

"Brilliant," Theon said between gasps for breath.

"Let's do it," Robb said and Jon nodded in agreement. They made their way to the main hall of Winterfell, knowing they would most likely find Eddard Stark there. They did along with Tyrion and Jaime Lannister.

"Yes?" Ned Stark asked when they entered. Most thought he never smiled or laughed but the four before him knew better. Even now Luce could see the amusement sparkling in his eyes.

"We want permission to leave Winterfell," Robb said briskly.

"You know what your mother has said about that," Ned told his eldest.

"We want to go to godswood to pray for our souls before Mother kills us all," Robb said, somehow managing to keep a straight face. Luce had to admit keeping a good blank face would help him in the future when he became Lord of Winterfell but it had also helped them get away with numerous things such as leaving Winterfell when Lady Catelyn had expressly forbidden it.

"Very well," Ned Stark said, a hint of a smile curving about his mouth. They resisted the urge to laugh until they were in the stables saddling horses so that their laughter was muffled by saddle blankets.

They did actually end up in the godswood. Luce dismounted, shivering as she glanced around her. This was where she would be wed to Jaime Lannister tomorrow. The thought made her feel sick. She tossed the reins of her horse to Jon and began the laborious trek to her secret spot. Shadow followed behind her. "Where are you going?" Robb called after her.

"To pray," Luce called, not glancing back.

"That lightning strikes Jaime Lannister dead?" Theon asked and when Luce turned to look he was smirking.

"Something like that," she said before turning and walking out of sight. It took ten minutes of steady walking to reach her secret spot. She had found it by accident when she was seven and from then on it had been a quiet place to sort out her thoughts in peace. Jon was the only other person who knew its exact location and even then he swore at times that he could not find it. She did pray, hoping for some kind of peace in her soul, but received none. It was with a heavy heart that the newly minted Lucia Stark rejoined her companions and returned to Winterfell to face Lady Catelyn's judgement.