I'm genuinely amazed by the feedback this story has had so far. I always thought Dany and Robb weren't a very popular pairing (and I was also nervous about the plot). Now I feel the pressure of making this good enough so you keep reading.
Thank you.
Chapter 4 : Moonless Night
As the Lord of Winterfell, Robb felt completely lost. He had always known one day he would take that place, of course, but his father was still strong and he had never considered the option of him leaving them to take a place as the Hand.
And now, as he ambled through the Great Keep's corridors, taking care of his responsibilities with his people and family, he hoped he was making his father proud because he wasn't sure how to deal with his new found duties. He had barely known how to treat Tyrion Lannister when he arrived, and even less when he had offered help for his brother.
He was supposed to hate him, wasn't he? According to what he knew – which wasn't much – the Lannisters had been involved with his brother's accident. Could it be that the Imp felt guilty about it? Mayhap that was the reason why he had brought a present – or perhaps he was telling the truth and he did have a fascination for all things broken.
Grey Wind walked beside him as his best ally. He had been threatening the intruder with his brothers right in the middle of the hall, right where he could see the half-man trembling but disguising his fear with clever lines that only served to upset him more. He had no right to insult his manners - and warm welcomes were reserved for friends not for the likes of him and his kin.
If he had been a child, he would've taken place beside his father because he had wisdom and strength, something he felt he would never gain.
At least he had been able to keep hidden the biggest secret he had at the moment. Even if she was furious about it.
The night was colder than usual and he knew it was because summer was ending. Soon they would have to endure famine and ration the food but he couldn't see himself going through it. He, like his siblings, was a summer child – he had no memory of the last winter.
Reaching his chambers, he motioned to the guard outside to let him in. And like he suspected, inside his wife was pacing around as a caged animal, nervous and furious.
It was Grey Wind who made a noise that called her attention, maybe because just like him, he could smell in the air as if something had been burned.
Daenerys looked at him, full of rage but soon her eyes turned soft on him and he knew he didn't look like his usual self. "What happened?"
"Nothing," he answered curtly.
"You're in a foul mood," she said quietly. And it was evident. What did she expect?
"I thought you liked me better in a foul mood," he snapped back. But as soon as he did, he felt a pang of guilt. She wasn't at fault for what was happening to his family – she had been barely a baby. She had lost all her family and here he was sulking when he still had brothers and sisters, parents and friends.
She stood in front of him, all pale skin – Lady Snowdrop, the children had said around the castle and it fitted her, Robb thought. He wasn't sure she would've liked the name, though. She didn't seem to be fond of the nothmen after all.
His head sagged but his blue eyes searched for her.
Was what he felt when Tyrion Lannister put a foot in his home the same she felt for him? That hatred he couldn't explain, knowing that those like him had hurt his family. Maybe the man himself hadn't done a thing but through his veins ran the same blood.
"Not that much," she babbled.
A stubborn smile formed on his lips.
After a few seconds of silence, in which she found place in an old chair where his mother used to sit all through the night when he was sick, he finally dared to ask, "Do you hate me?"
She seemed surprised by the question. And she was already uncomfortable with the strange love Grey Wind had for her, always being close, like then lying down at her feet – that wolf had a death wish.
"I said, and I meant it because I don't hate you. I wasn't even alive during most part of King Robert's Rebellion," he spoke and she visibly stiffened at the undeserving title according to her. "Sorry," he muttered, very uncomfortable as he gripped the edge of their lair.
"Before I came here, I thought I should. I had heard the stories of the way they brutally murdered my family." Daenerys sighed and her violet eyes met his. "Betrayed, offended. The Usurper not only took the throne from us but everything."
"It was the Kingslayer. Jamie Lannister murdered your father."
"And the same Lannisters are the ones you blame for making your brother a cripple?" she asked in an even voice, as if she was made of ice and this didn't affect her. He wondered if the years of lacking a loving mother could freeze a person's heart because even if he and his siblings had grown in the North, they couldn't hide the warmth inside them.
"Yes," he replied simply.
"I want his head on a spike," she confessed and reached for Grey Wind, petting his thick fur. "I want revenge and I want them to suffer as much as I did. Should I hide that?"
"It's only fair."
"Your father brought me back while your King wanted me dead. You think I don't know?"
Robb stood up, tall but humble. Her gaze followed him.
"I don't hate you, Robb. But I don't know if maybe one day I will." She stood as well and approached him.
He wondered since the day they had seen each other for the first time – since their wedding – if her skin was as soft as it looked like because the one time they had kissed, that time they had touched, it wasn't nearly enough to learn her body. He had refrained himself of doing anything because he was scared of failing to his father and forgetting his mission, all because he couldn't keep his head clear.
That first night, her hair smelt like sea salt and her skin as if it had been kissed by sunlight. She was haunting.
"I don't know if one day I'll have to hate you because you'll betray me. And you will hand me over to my enemies because it'll buy you your kingdom. And I won't be able to blame you because it's a risk I took when I accepted your father's offer."
"You're my wife," he babbled. "We're bond for life."
She smiled at him. "I don't understand how you can call me a wife when you haven't bedded me. I certainly don't know why you are so loyal to me when you have gotten nothing in return." Her hand cupped the side of his face, his beard thick after days of missing a proper shave.
The way her fingers brushed against his skin comforted him in a way he had needed – in a way no one could have done at that moment because he had to pretend to be strong and a true Lord. He couldn't confide his fears in Theon because he would mock him and Maester Luwin would just tell him that this was his place and he had nothing to fear. He missed Jon, as well.
She shivered and that forced her to pull her hand away. Her clothes were too thin for this weather.
He frowned when he looked and saw the hem of her dress burnt. "What happened to your dress?" Robb asked and she looked down at the brown spot in her pale pink dress.
"I, I got too close to the heart and I burnt my dress," she replied nervously and avoided his eyes.
"You need warmer clothes. I'll get you some furs and more fitting clothes."
"Robb, I don't like grey," Dany said and then Grey Wind made a little whining sound. Robb and her shared a smile and then laughed a little.
"You wounded him."
"I'm sure he'll live. Besides, I could make an exception with him and like this one Grey."
Robb nodded. "I'll look for a seamstress tomorrow. I'm sure we'll find something other than grey for the fabric as well."
Daenerys wrapped her arms tighter around her body and then nodded. She was freezing but wasn't about to admit it to him. And as everything he did, Robb just followed his instinct and shrugged his coat off to wrap it around her, to protect her like he felt was his duty. But when he did, he got closer to her and this time, it was him who planted his lips firmly on hers because she was too tempting and he was just a man. Barely a man.
In his arms, he held her tight and sipped from her lips as if he were drinking the sweetest wine in the realm. His hands snuck under the coat to hold her possessively by the waist, learning the curve of her hips. He felt dizzy when she gasped for air but couldn't stop himself – his lips ran up her jaw, down her neck.
"Robb," she whispered and her fingers dug on his shoulders.
"You're my wife," he growled and she just cradled his face to kiss him again, wordlessly letting him know she was his wife and she was giving him her permission because no man had asked for it before him.
It was a very cold night in Winterfell but they were safely hidden in their bedchambers. It was a moonless night, cloudy and dark outside but Robb's was as shine as they could be, with Daenerys' pale and soft skin against his, warm with touches and kisses.
"You're my husband, Wolf," she spoke softly, running her finger through his messy nest of hair. "Mine."
He said nothing and only kissed her naked shoulder before lying next to her.
He didn't want to think about the meaning of her words, about belonging to someone, because he feared that meant he'd do anything for her – a wild wolf protecting his mate.
-o-
Robb woke up to kisses showering his chest and shoulders. He wanted to laugh like a boy who had just discovered the wonder of a woman's body. A delighted smile was carved on his face as Daenerys greeted him that morning.
"What's with you?" He asked and frowned as she sat back on her haunches, not complaining about the cold despite her nakedness. "One day you hate me and now you shower me with affection. Who understands a woman like you? Is this a thing Dothrakis do?"
She smacked his chest. "I do like you better in a foul mood."
"Your insolence will lead me to a bad mood."
"Insolence? What am I, your servant?"
"What do you want to be, my equal?" he quipped but she tilted her head to the side, considering the thought.
"I want to be your queen," she admitted. "I want you to kneel before me because you should worship me."
And that was what he was afraid he'd do if he didn't think before acting around her. He wasn't careful enough and he doubted his father and mother would be pleased if they found out what was going on between them.
"If you're my queen then I'll be a king."
"You must learn to behave like a king. Demand, don't ask for permission and take what's yours like a conqueror." She wrapped a thin robe around her and thanks to the morning light, little did it leave to the imagination – not that he had much to imagine after the previous night.
"Were you my first conquest?" he quipped and her eyebrow rose.
"I doubt I was your first conquest, Wolf. You didn't seem like a blushing virgin to me. Am I mistaken?"
A raucous laughter was born in his chest. He had indeed bedded a few girls before her, all for the sake of not being that blushing virgin she expected. Theon had been the one urging him and Jon to chase after girls and he had told them raunchy stories of his own to encourage them to have their owns.
"Are you jealous?"
"No." She smiled over her shoulder as she stood in front of the heart. "Because wolves are loyal and you're the leader of your pack. You wouldn't dare to betray me or your family, would you?"
Was he supposed to be afraid that she knew him so well after just a couple of days? Was he that easy to read?
"Your teeth are showing, Dragon," he teased and she made a tiny noise that let him know she didn't appreciate the name. "Are you about to sink your claws into me? Am I that precious to you?"
"You mean nothing," she spat and for a second she sounded more serious than he had ever heard her. His stomach churned realizing that he must've been right and he should've never trusted her to begin with. He had been weak.
"Just a wolf," he murmured.
But then she frowned as if she had been confused herself. "And then you're everything I have," she muttered softly. "The only thing."
Her eyes were wide and honest and he felt sorry for her because she probably thought so. And he wondered why Robert Baratheon feared her so much when she was a girl who had nothing, who wanted to build an empire from the ashes of her family's reign.
He sat up in bed. "You're mine, Dragon."
"And you're my wolf."
They stood there, weighing each other's words. It was sad that he couldn't know if she spoke the truth but he knew she doubted him as well.
It was in that moment that they heard the noises outside their chambers, a fuss without reason.
"Hide," Robb ordered and Dany scowled at him. "Hide," he repeated and reached for his sword.
He was only in breeches and it was obvious he didn't look intimidating at all but he was the one who carried a weapon.
She kept glaring at him until a frantic knocking on the door led him to open it, only to find Irri looking pale and scared. "Khaleesi," she uttered looking at Dany. "I'm sorry but he escaped and I couldn't stop him."
"He?" Robb wondered out loud but his wife was already putting more clothes on, hurrying herself to leave the room. He grabbed her by the arm and frowned. "Explain."
"I can't," she whispered. "I need to find him before he gets hurt or… burns something."
"Burn? What are you talking about?"
She sighed and looked at him afraid, as if he could hurt her. "My dragons. One of them, Drogon, is missing."