ForeverCharmed00: Ever since he betrayed Ned, I've carried a burning hatred for Littlefinger
sarach0406: Thank you!
AndrianaWarrior7: I wanna keep those crowns steady. The show already destroyed us enough - kind of just wanna reel it one back.
tushee24: That's so sweet of you to say - thank you so much.
Crystal-Wolf-Guardian967: Thank you. Hope you like this chapter too.
AscendedAbyss: I decided to make Robb and Catelyn a bit sharper since they did get through the war in my story. If not, Petyr would have definitely fooled Catelyn and then Robb would have listened to his mother and left him alive.
Tate Horan: Hope this is soon enough!
Chapter Twenty Seven: A Moment Alone
"I can explain, your grace." The words wheezed out, my skin beginning to heat and tingle like I was seconds away from registering a fever. My heart hammered, the confines of my body suddenly feeling too tight.
Robb's hand tightened in on the crook of my arm, his eyes darting around the bustling hallway, guards rushing back and forth in a harried motion. Word traveled quickly when it came to the execution of your leaders. I could see the fear simmering in every quick, furtive glance, the uncertainty of their situation making them frantic. All of them dipped into deep bows, their bodies bending in half as we passed.
His eyes finally settled on a smaller set of double doors than the great hall, his stride sure as he made his way to it with me in tow and slipped inside. I stuttered to a halt, bumping into his side as he stilled in the entrance, his eyes sweeping the room.
"Get out." His voice broached no room for being denied, the few maids still doing their chores, gasping. Their clothes hit the floor with startling clarity, all of the color leeching from their faces.
"Our apologies, my king," one of them whimpered. They left their buckets and rags in their haste to leave, their skirts swishing, damp with cleaning water and dirt.
The silence that they left was nearly unbearable. Somehow all of the tension that had left me at the confrontation of Lysa and Baelish had come rushing back. I wanted to crawl under the nearest piece of furniture. And as Robb's hand slipped from my arm and he took a step back, I felt the physical distance like a slap. He would surely be disgusted with me now. Would he fear me - the same way the guards had? Even with how coolly he had handled the sudden display of my powers. Worse - would he find me to be a threat and choose to add a third to the executions at sunset?
I gulped down another breath, feeling shaky. "I - I can explain."
He didn't respond. Didn't remind me that I had said that exact thing only moments before. My eyes slid to the worn tiles beneath our feet. It was oddly comforting to look at us from this angle - to stare at the sweeping material of my skirts, only a tingle brick away from the sturdy leather of his boots, the thick material quickly giving way to steel.
"I can…" What could I do? I didn't even fully know. All I knew was that my family was in service to the Goddess of Chaos - that I had fallen into a well-crafted trap in my moment of most need. I hadn't truly explored my abilities. This was the first show of skills - and they had been terrifying to be sure. I gulped down another stale breath. "You saw what I could do."
"I did," he confirmed, his voice soft, a little lilting like he was trying to comfort me or perhaps even a bit amused. He didn't say anything else.
"I know-" I stopped myself, my hands clawing into each other. Suddenly the boots at his feet blurred, shameful tears burning hot at my eyes. Who wanted a monster for a wife? Others had been thrown away for less. My sisters had been thrown away for less.
Robb was different - he had proven to be that he was different - But there was still that voice, that nagging, terrified voice in the back of my head. The memories of what my brothers had done to women - what my own father had done to women - Sometimes I thought it was because they knew that they were physically stronger - they knew that they could push us around and beat us, and that felt good. It felt good to know that you would win no matter what. It was a heady, vile mortal drug.
But other times, I thought that it was maybe because they feared us. There was power in the silent potential of being a woman, the knowledge that from our bodies, life could grow and flourish. There was power in the silent strength of a woman's rage, of a mother's love. From pain, there will always grow power and I had seen the most pain in the eyes of the women around me, the tight-lipped rage that came at every unwanted touch, every foul whisper, every moment of brutality that had come upon them, every child and husband that had taken away a little more of their own identity.
So what would happen when that fear was confirmed - when there was a reason to toss aside a wife?
"I can be an asset," I started out shakily, trying not to curl in on myself anymore. I hated that it sounded like begging. I hated that I still had this terror that he would throw me away. He hadn't shown me that. He had shown me kindness and grace and love - Still, my insides withered, my body warring with my own instincts. "I know - I know you must despise me-"
"I don't."
I blinked, the words washing over me like a splash of cold water. My muscles locked, unsure. I had kept this horrible secret from him. Slowly, my eyes slipped upwards, clashing with the startling silver of his. There was open confusion in that gaze, his brows dipping as he stared thoughtfully at me.
"I-" I felt the same confusion twist my face. "You don't?"
He blinked, his head tipping to the side, sending one errant curl bouncing down to caress the heavy set of his brow. "I don't."
"I lied to you."
He looked baffled. "About what?"
I bulked, unsure if he was playing some sort of game. My eyes searched over his face. "About… about the… the vine? The powers?"
He blinked, realization smoothing the furrow growing between his brows for a moment. "Oh. Right." He paused and I could see the slow calculation working across his mind like he had already worked out a problem before and he was trying to work backward to explain it to a student. "I'm sure you had a good reason to hide it from me, Willa. And I'm not in the habit of expecting trust without earning it first." His grin was an easy flash of white teeth, his eyes glinting a silvery blue. "However, I will be expecting a full discussion on that when you're ready."
He was… My heart felt like it was a piece of freshly made dough, kneaded and being stuffed into the ovens. He was an anomaly - a figment of my imagination drawn up to torment me when I finally woke from this dream.
I stared at him a moment longer, my fingers suddenly itching to touch him, my stomach squeezing around all of the butterflies that were tickling my insides. My words were steady when I spoke next, unable to tear away from him, the way he moved a little closer, his head tipping down so that he was all around me, so that all I could see was the ruggedly handsome planes of his face. "I could have killed your aunt."
He shrugged, the gesture oddly lax as he stared down at me. "I am going to kill both of them at sunset. It would be a bit hypocritical if I chastised you, wouldn't it?"
The chain-like grip that had anchored me, had made me keep my hands to myself and my feelings buried snapped. I leaped for him, catching a flash of his eyes as they widened in surprise before my fingers tangled in the deep russet hue of his curls. I dragged him down and kissed him in a way that wasn't skillful or ladylike or any of the things that my Sept had taught me. It was pure abandon.
A low groan rumbled through his chest to mine,the thick leather that kept all his weapons in place and his steel secure, digging into the soft spots of my corset. I pressed to get closer, the volume of my skirts feeling unbearable. My breasts crushed to his chest, my skin tingling as the cold metal of his armor penetrated the layers of my clothing.
He tasted like the lemon the duck had been glazed in but more than that, I sunk further into the way he felt. His bottom lip was full and soft as I brought my lips to it, kissing it gently and then harder before I finally gave into the urge to bite down on it which made him snarl, his hands flying to my waist as he dragged me closer. It felt like he wanted there to be nothing between is, like every breath of space was an inconvenience which I wholeheartedly agreed with. The harsh scrape of his beard made my lips tingle, my fingers prickling as I gave into the urge to drag my hand along the strong set of his jaw.
I pulled back, our breathes mingling, lips barely grazing. Something in my chest expanded, bursting and beating. "I like you," I burst, knowing that I was lying. This didn't feel like liking something. This felt like eating a shooting star. This felt like holding something too big and bright inside of you. But it felt like too much to say - it felt too big to put into words at the moment so I narrowed it down, forcing it into something that I could speak about more easily. "I think I like you."
His lips caught mine, his tongue dragging along mine in a slow tantalizing teas. Ths kiss was over too soon, leaving me following after him, my arms curving around his neck to try and drag him back to me. His body felt hard and heavy against mine, our bodies curving into each other until I didn't fully know where he began and I ended.
"You like me?" he drawled out, his voice a thick rumble against my tongue before he was taking me in another slow, drugging kiss.
Again, he broke away too soon. Arousal coiled hot and heady in my stomach, making my whole body ache.
"A great deal," I whispered unsteadily, trying to lean up once more to capture his lips. My brows furrowed in frustration as he tipped his head to the side, barely avoiding my touch. I stared at those tantalizing lips, trying to calculate a way to get him closer and only coming up with urges and needs instead. I wanted to bite his lips again. I wanted him to do what he had done that night in our bedchambers when he had made me scream and feel so good with his tongue. I wanted him to stop teasing me. I shot him a glare, finally tearing my eyes away from his lips, his own gaze sparkling with mirth. "More - more than like."
"Don't flatter me, Willa," he breathed, his words low and dangerous as he watched \me. "It makes me suspicious."
I frowned, thinking. "May I kiss you again then?"
He grinned, his canines flashing as if that question was endlessly amusing and infinitely pleasing to him. He tipped down, taking my lips once more, his teeth scraping along my tongue this time in a way that made my head spin.
Robb pulled back once more, leaving me spinning and panting. Why did he keep doing that. His eyes were crystal clear, a fathomless blue. "You used to not like me kissing that pretty little mouth of yours."
His bottom lip was starting to get swollen, a sight that shouldn't have made my toes curl but did. I leaned forward a bit, swaying closer which his deftly counteracted with a sway of his own. Damn him. "I wouldn't say that I didn't like it."
I tried to tip up onto my toes, tried to catch his lips again. He tsked, grinning down at me mischievously. "Forgive me if the angry protests gave me the wrong impression."
"You are quite good at kissing," I admitted, frowned as he straightened to his full height as I tipped fully onto my toes. I went back with a huff, glaring. "It's not good to be in a relationship with feelings."
He blinked genuinely surprised and I took the opportunity to leap up, catching his bottom lip in a bite. I was quite good at that I found. I grinned, releasing him as he gave a foul curse. There was a heady liberation in finally being able to do this - to allow myself of the simple pleasure of kissing my husband.
His brows rose as he took in my pleased expression, nipping at my nose in a reprimand that shocked me enough that I let out a yelp of laughter. "Relationships are built on feelings, Willa."
I shook my head before he even finished. "Marriages are agreements made to the benefit of a house. They are sacred for the women but an annoyance for the men. I was worried-" I blinked, suddenly growing wary before I changed routes, cutting off that train of thought. "Let's not talk about that."
"No." Robb's eyes darkened, his pupils dilating as he forced me to keep his eyes. "What did you mean bu that?"
"I…" I floundered, fighting stubbornly against saying the rest of my sentence. My fingers curled a stray strand of hair around my finger, enjoying the silky texture. I had already started the thought. My voice lowered, my eyes following suite until all I could see was the metal of his chest armor. "My family… my father enjoyed selling off my sisters. Even when I was young, there wasn't a year that I didn't see one of them being wed. It stopped feeling magical. It was… it felt cruel. Some would visit and they would have been beaten." I felt my body quiver at the memory, the tight smiles and non-commital answers that they would give. Robb's arms tightened around me. "And - and even worse was the promises - the happiness fading followed by the letters of mistresses after a son was born or when a babe couldn't be conceived. Lysa wasn't wrong to call my family scum - at least my fathers. Even some of my brothers."
He already knew about Trysta, already knew that she had been sold. Only one other of my sisters had met that same fate but it was enough terrify me.
"It was just a way to protect myself from the inevitable," I whispered, feeling small and weak.
His thumb scraped along my chin, the span of his hand curling around my jaw and brushing against the curve of my ear sending a shiver across my skin. He gently tipped my face up, making me meet the quiet sadness in his eyes.
His words were soft and concise when he spoke as if he wanted to make sure that I heard every single one of them. "I would have given a great many things to change those moments in your life - to give you a little bit of your trust back sooner. To give your sisters a better life. But all I can do now is show you through my actions and words that I won't be like that. My father didn't have a mistress or lovers and I don't intend to either." A crooked smile graced his lips as he leand down a bit more, dragging his nose along mine in an intimate display of affection. "Besides, I quite like you as you are." His eyes sparkled. "A great deal. I like you a great deal."
My heart stuttered, warming into a happy, silly lump inside of my chest.
His face grew serious once more, that smile slipping a bit as he thought of something. "When this is all over, when we get to Winterfell, I will see what help I can offer your sisters."
My stomach lurched, all sensible thought flying from my head at the wild leap of relief I felt inside. I leaned a bit closer, our noses touching in the barest of kisses before I was settling back on my heel. "You would do that?"
"Why should I stand by while something like that happens?" he murmured, his brows tipped down quizzically. "What good would being a king be if not to change some things?"
I didn't know what to say. Messy. Kings rarely wanted to get into situations that made things messy. War was grand in it's final glorious conquests and it's victory calls but the whole thing was much less so. It was sleeping in bug infested tents and going hungry. It was missing your wife and coming home to a child that didn't recognize you.
"I like you a great deal, Robb Stark," I whispered, dazed and only partly aware of the amount of awed devotion that hand sunk into my voice.
His smile grew warming until it felt like I had found a patch of sun on a cloudy day. His eyes crinkled slightly, his thumb stroking over my chin in a long loving caress.
A light knock sounded, the soft scuff of someone shuffling just beyond the closed doors drawing out attention. Robb didn't release me, seemingly content to just hold me as I was. "Your Grace. Lord Royce is situated in the West Room."
A long sigh drifted from him, ruffling the hairs at my crown and I felt the corded muscles in his arms tighten as he drew me near for a moment more before slowly releasing me. "It seems our time is up. The arrangements for the Vale can't wait any longer." His eyes dragged over me, his gaze growing heavy and heated as I was forced to hesitatnly take my arms away from where they held him. One of his thumbs dragged along my bottom lip roughly, his eyes tracking the motion. "Although, I wish it could." He sighed, pulling away. I instantly missed his touch. "But your brother won't wait and it's a least a days ride to the Boltons."
"We're leaving tonight?" I asked, surprised.
He nodded, dragging a hand roughly through his curls. He suddenly looked very tired. "I'm not fool enough to assume that word won't reach them from one of Baelish's little snakes. Either way, I do not feel comfortable gambling on any more of your brother's life. We'll leave as soon as we can."
After the execution. I gulped, suddenly feeling sick. Littlefinger and Lysa were vile - but I had never witnessed anything as gruesome as a public beheading before.
Robb leaned down to place a chaste kiss to my temple as if sensing my unease. His eyes sparkled like the softest gem when he pulled back. "Come, my Queen. We still have a long way to go before this day is done."