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Thirteen





trigger warning: violence/blood/gore/ death

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The next morning, Aneira took time waking in order to ready herself for the days festivities. In just under five hours, Robb would be wedding and bedding the daughter of Walder Frey. Based off of the events of the night before, Aneira knew she should probably have mixed feelings about it all. The reality of it was that she was sad solely because of the fact that Robb was unhappy, she wasn't sad because he was marrying someone that was not her.

Sure, she loved him in her own way. But to be the wife of the King in the North - that was not in her future.

She was lucky enough that she was able to bathe, albeit in ice cold water, but atleast she would feel comfortable and clean while participating in the wedding festivities. Aneira dressed quickly after her bath, knowing that she had slept longer than usual so she did not have time to laze about, nor have time to train.

She broke her fast with her uncle and Lady Stark, enjoying the pleasant conversation amongst themselves before Robb decided to join them. He looked handsome, dressed in his finest leathers, and Aneira offered him first a warm smile before speaking, "Today you are to be a husband, your grace. How are you feeling?"

Robb playfully rolled his eyes, taking his spot at the head of the table before indulging in a glass of wine. "Ask me again in a few hours." He teased, shrinking slightly - like the boy he once was - as his lady mother pointed her stare at him.

"If you must know, Robb, she is a beautiful creature." Galbart spoke up, licking his thumb to clean off the grease from the meal he had just finished.

"You saw her?" Aneira was intrigued now.

"Aye. As I said, she is beautiful. Robb-" Halbart cleared his throat, "Your Grace, you will be most pleased in the woman to be your wife, and our Queen."

Catelyn seemed pleased at the fact that Robb's nerves settled with this news. She wanted to chastise him for worrying about the looks, when she believed looks were not everything in a marriage, but decided against it. She knew her son wanted to marry for love but the circumstances of their lives had changed things.

Her eyes turned to Aneira who had gotten up from the table to sit at the desk. She has already began scribbling against a clean piece of parchment and Catelyn let out a soft sigh. There was once a time she would have bartered the deal with Galbart and Robett to marry Aneira and Robb to one another. The two Northern houses were already so close, and with Aneira practically being raised under the same roof it had just made sense to her. Until one day, when she stood beside her lord husband and watched the loving stares between Aneira and Ned's bastard, Jon.

"He has not responded to any of her letters." Galbart whispered low enough so that his niece would not hear him. He met Robb's gaze and offered up a shrug, "But we cannot tell her different. She will continue to write."

Robb clenched his fist for a moment before quickly releasing and getting up to peer over her shoulder. He did this so often that Aneira no longer bothered yelling at him for invading her privacy. After all, he was her King now.

"You are telling him of my wedding?" Robb hummed, reading over the words she scribbled in her neat penmanship. "Do you think he cares?"

"He's your brother." Aneira snapped but quickly closed her eyes and looked up at Robb, silently offering her apology for speaking to him with such disrespect. "He loves you, so yes, of course he cares. I'm sure he is quite busy at the wall, hence why he has not responded to any of my letters. But that is okay, I just-" Aneira paused and let out a heavy sigh, "I want him to know."

"Thank you." Robb offered her a nod.

The nuptials  came and went fairly quickly. Aneira almost ripped the flesh from her fingertips, strictly from her own worry, as she watched Robb nervously exchange his vows of lifelong love and commitment to a woman he did not want to marry. Her Uncle was right, though - she was beautiful. And as Aneira offered the couple well wishes on their way out of the hall, she was too occupied with the girls beauty to notice the pair of watchful eyes in the corner of the room.

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"Will you dance with me, uncle?" Aneira smiled fondly down at Galbart as she offered him her hand. It had been quiet some time since she could actually enjoy herself like this and she wanted to take advantage of the opportunity. Before long, it would be gone and Aneira did not not know when they would get a chance for festivities such as this until the war was won and the Starks were back in Winterfell.

"Of course, sweet child." Galbart wiped his hands on the cloth on the table that separated them before standing and taking her hand in his. They danced around all of the other couples, laughing and enjoying the music and free flow of alcohol. She was busy throwing her head back in laughter to notice another man had taken her uncles place.

The touch upon her waist felt different and when Aneira focused on the man before her, she realized she was now dancing with Lord Bolton. A chill ran through her, causing her to shudder and inadvertently shift closer to him. The last thing he wanted was to be near that man - he was positively terrifying.

"Lord Bolton! What a pleasant surprise." Of course she meant absolutely nothing that she said to the man. His stares made her skin crawl. The Bolton coat of arms made her stomach churn.

"Lady Glover, always a pleasure. You look absolutely radiant, I could not help but cut in. I do hope you don't mind."

She shook her head and continued the charade of dancing with the man who had a plain face and a pair of pale, soulless eyes. "Nonsense, my lord. What a time to indulge in some fun before sending you and your men off to war."

And while the song had ended, Roose maintained his firm grip on Aneira's hand. "I do hope you enjoy the rest of the festivities, my dear. Walder Frey sure knows how to throw a celebration." Roose finally let go of her. Giving a bow and turning to walk through the crowds, Aneira was left alone with a sudden sense of dread filling her gut.

Eventually she found her way to the table beside her uncle, joining in his conversation with some of the other Northmen. She was fully engaged in the conversation though still managed to notice the large doors creaking shut. She was curious by nature so she glanced around the room and met the gaze of Lady Stark, who also seemed to notice the sudden change of demeanor in the room around them.

"Your grace."

Aneira sat taller, letting her eyes find Robb and his new wife before landing on the man who just spoke up, Walder Frey. She would never be able to wrap her head around how such a vile creature could create a beautiful daughter like Robb's new wife.

"I feel as though I have not shown you the hospitality that you deserve." Walder chuckled hoarsely, his eyes roaming the room slowly before landing on Aneira. The look he sent her made her stomach churn, his hands folding together on her lap as she could not even bear to blink. She was afraid to miss anything. Something was just... not right.

"My daughter made a beautiful bride. And I do believe I owe her a wedding gift."

Aneira broke the gaze for a mere moment, watching Lady Stark lift up the sleeve of Roose Bolton's cloak. They were too far away for her to see what was underneath. But when Lady Stark stood up and shouted for her son, Galbart reached for his sword without hesitation to protect his niece.

"Bring my daughter the head of the whore who fucked her husband!" Walder shouted frantically.

All of the color immediately drained from her face as she looked at Robb, tears forming in her eyes as she huddled into the protective hold of her Uncle. Galbart kicked the table infront of them with all of his strength, shoving men out of the way and further from them as his arm tightened around Aneira's waist, "You will not lay a finger on my niece." Galbart spat loudly.

The fighting surrounding them was loud and as metal clashed against metal, Aneira found the reverberations echoing in her head as she was thrown to the ground. Galbart could not protect her and hold her at the same time. She had managed to get beneath the table, grabbing the sharpest object she could find. She came face to face with Robb, who had now fallen victim to an arrow shot from above.

"Robb. I am sorry." She whispered, tears streaming down her face as she reached for him from beneath the table. The moment her hand cradled the side of his face, Aneira was grabbed and dragged from where she was crouched. Her hand reluctantly let go of Robb and the knife she had found, as she was pulled up against one of the Bolton bannermen.

His dirty hands were locked in the tresses of her hair tightly while his lips turned up into a large smirk that now put his many broken, or missing, teeth on display. "Don't you worry, my lord has plans for you before Frey will get that pretty little head of yours on a pike." The man hissed, laughing loudly as Robb was pulled up adjacent to where they stood.

Out of the corner of her eye, Aneira could see her uncle fighting with all of his might. His face was red, covered in blood but she knew not if it was his own. The fighting ceased just as fast as it had begun, and Galbart was now weaponless and on his knees when Lady Stark grabbed hold of the Frey girl, begging for her life and the life of her first born - the King in the North.

"I swear it by the old gods and new. I swear it!" Catelyn cried. The hand that held the knife to the innocent girls throat trembled, but Aneira knew if she had to - she would slit her throat if it came to it.

"You already swore me an oath. Right here in my castle. And you..." Walder turned to look at Aneira who was quickly shoved to the floor, a sobbing cry escaping her lips as she felt a sharp pain in her side, near her hip. She looked down and the dingy hilt of the man's dagger protruded from her, blood seeping through her gown and running warm against her skin beneath. Her uncle cried for her and Robb groaned with his own pain.

"Your son went and stuck his cock in this Glover whore. Do you think there is a wolf pup growing in her belly? Should I have my men pull that dagger out and aim a little bit closer to where a babe grows?" Walder laughed, the disease of his insanity on full display. "Do you think I would allow my daughter be made a fool like that?" Walder snapped as his laughter stopped. He moved to stand up quickly and stared down Catelyn as she continued to hold the knife against his daughters throat.

Aneira sobbed, trying her best to ignore the pain before she saw Roose take Robb's shoulder in his tight grip. Robb's plea for his mother to stand down fell on deaf ears as Roose plunged his own dagger into Robb.

"The Lannisters send their regards."

"Robb!" Aneira cried out, holding her own gaping wound as her king stumbled forward, quickly bleeding out. "No!" She tried to crawl towards him but Roose stood in her way.

Catelyn's cries poured out as her arm swiped to the side, the daughter of Walder Frey and newly appointed Queen in the North fell forward with her throat cut from ear to ear. It  had all happened within the blink of an eye. Catelyn's cries were silenced, permanently, as her own throat was cut.

Aneira's sobs continued, her vision barely being able to focus on the man crouched down before her. The dagger was ripped from her side as she gasped from the pain, more blood pouring from the gaping wound. It was only then that her Uncle Galbart made it to her somehow. He held her back against his chest, whispering in her ear the name she had been longing to know for so long. One hand pressed to her wound to try and help stop the bleeding while the other cupped the side of her face.

"Our quarrel is not with you, Lord Glover. As long as you swear your allegiance to House Bolton, that is." Roose smirked and looked down at the duo. Galbart was silent but bowed his head. At this point it was his life, and the lives of his loved ones, at stake. He fought tooth and nail for House Stark but now he was surrounded. And his niece was wounded, begging for her life.

Roose grabbed onto Aneira's hair, raising her to be eye level with him. "Did you know that I enjoy a good hunt, Lady Aneira?" He held firm, dragging Aneira through the carnage. She sobbed louder as she was forced to step over the dead body of her oldest friend. Robb laid still, cheeks stained with his tears and his eyes wide open, void of any of the emotion that they once held.

The memory of the night before, the love shared between two friends lingered in her mind as Roose continued dragging her out of the hall. "And since I am but a humble man, I am willing to give you a head start." They finally stopped when they made it to the stables. Roose lifted her, tossing her haphazardly onto the back of a horse before snapping the palm of his hand on the mares backside, laughing as it rushed forward, quickly followed by a handful of his men.

Everything was a blur. Robb was dead. Catelyn was dead. And she very well may be on her way to her own death. And it was all her fault. She was selfish and now those closest to her were lying lifeless in pools of their own blood because she wanted to know what it was like to lay with a man. Aneira could feel her head become lighter, her vision becoming blurry and whether or not it was due to her tears or the fact that she was continuously losing blood and consciousness, she did not know. She could barely hold onto the reins of the horse, the galloping threw her body around on the saddle as she continued to cry. She had to get north, as far north as possible.

She had to find someone who could help her. Someone who would hold fast on their loyalty to the Stark family - someone who could help her find the man she had been dreaming of for years.

Her father.

"You must get yourself to safety. You must get out. F-find him. Find..." Galbart pressed his hand firmly against her side, praying to all of the gods that the bleeding would stop and she would survive this. "Your father." Aneira gasped from the pressure that her Uncle applied to her wound, her eyes squeezing shut as she placed one of her hands over his. This was it. In the midst of all of this chaos she was finally getting the name she had longed to know for so long.

Jorah Mormont.

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