Eddmina's trunk ended up only being half full. Her whole life, to move to the other side of the country, only amounted to half a trunk. It was quite a sad thought, but in reality it was not the material things she cared about. Her whole life was Winterfell and her family, and those were things one simply couldn't pack into a trunk.

Packing had therefore been quick. She had very few dresses suitable for High Garden, where the weather was apparently warmer than she could even imagine. She would have no use for her thick woolen dresses and cloaks that she had spent so long in sewing, and the prospect of having to sew a whole new wardrobe whilst on the way to the Reach seemed to exhaust her just thinking about it, not that it was something she could avoid. There was no jewellery to pack either, since the only piece she ever wore was a little silver thumb ring, so the only things really in the trunk were enough clothes to last her until they got out of the north and books. She wanted to take a bow with her too, and possibly some arrows, but she daren't ask her mother for such a thing, not when her nerves were at an end.

She'd packed alone, denying anyone's help. She even sent Jon and Robb away, deciding that if they were around her for too long the night before she had to leave she would not want to leave at all. If she cut herself off from everyone, surely it would make it easier to leave them all behind. She didn't even want to say goodbye to anyone, but for her and the Tyrell party to leave without being seen off properly was unlikely, and so she knew she would have to brace herself.

She slept very little that night, tossing and turning. The maester had left her a small vial of poppy's milk on her bedside cupboard in case the cramps she'd been suffering all day with got any worse, so she drank it down in the hope that it would help her sleep, but if anything it just dulled her senses, leaving her in a state caught in between sleep and consciousness. The poppy's milk left her head swimming, her mind drifting from one thing to another, mellowing her to the point that she couldn't make any coherent thoughts. Usually she'd hate that, to not be in complete control of herself and her mind, but for once it was rather peaceful, and she found herself unable to even think about the worries that had plagued her all day. She finally drifted off to sleep just as the sun was coming up, giving her only around an hour of sleep before she had to get up.

Part of her didn't want to get up. By the time the sun had risen the poppy had worn off and Eddmina was filled with nerves once more. She wanted to hide underneath her sheets and never surface, but still she pulled herself from her bed, reminding herself that she was being selfish to her family and its opportunity of a solid southern alliance by being so scared. She didn't have to like what was happening, but it was still her duty and she would face it honourably. As if in a trance, she went through the motions of dressing in a deep grey riding gown, the one she had embroidered snowflakes onto the collar, pairing it with her old riding boots and a cloak. Just as she was tying her hair off into a tight braid, looping it round into a bun, there was a knock at the door.

Without waiting for her permission, Theon walked in, looking rather awkward as he avoided eye contact with her. It was the first time he'd been in her room in nearly a month, and as soon as she saw him in the doorway a flood of memories came rushing to her, except for the first time in a long time they were not accompanied by feelings of endearment. She finished her hair and turned to him, forcing a small smile onto her face.

"Your mother asked me to get your trunk for you," he told her, glancing up at her for a moment.

"It's not heavy I could carry it myself," she suggested, because as fine as she felt, she could tell he was hurting just being around her so she wanted to just get rid of him as soon as possible.

"Are you sure your Tyrell would want to see his future lady carrying her own things?" he muttered, crossing the room to where she'd left her trunk.

"Don't be an arse," she snapped quickly, before regaining herself. "How are you?"

"How am I? I'm not the one moving half way across the world!" he exclaimed with a patronising laugh, one that made her glare at him.

"It's not Essos, Theon, it's the Reach," she sighed, sick of him. "I was trying to be polite, given the fact that we've not spoken and I miss having you as a friend,"

"We were never friends, Edda," Theon told her, almost harshly, though still she felt nothing. "What we had wasn't friendship and you know it,"

"Well it wasn't love either, so get the idea out of your head," she hit back, mimicking his tone. "In fact, haven't you already, given how many times I've seen you sneak out of the castle? I'm pretty sure you've already replaced me with a lady of the local establishment,"

"Now who's being an arse?" he smirked ever so slightly, struggling to stay serious. Eddmina always had that effect on him, that he couldn't stay mad at her when they were arguing. "I'm carrying your trunk regardless,"

"Fine," she rolled her eyes, and in a moment of madness she moved closer to him, taking hold of his arm, though he quickly pulled away from her. "Theon, I'm sorry. I never intended to hurt you. I thought what we were doing was just fun, but apparently you thought it was more than that, and I'm sorry to have led you along like that,"

"Whatever," he muttered, though she could tell her words had meant something to him, even if he was good at hiding it. "The Tyrells want to leave within the hour so it's probably best that you head down to the courtyard now,"

Eddmina nodded, ignoring the instant feeling of sickness that washed over her. To distract herself, she bent down to fix her boots, not even noticing that Theon had gone. She quickly finished lacing up her boots, only to realise as she stood up that Robb had appeared in her doorway. She didn't have much time to process his presence before he'd pulled her into a suffocating hug, squeezing her tightly against his chest and she buried her face into the fur of his cloak.

"I'm going to miss you," he said quietly. "Promise me you'll be safe? And that you won't turn into a Southerner?"

"Don't be daft, Robb, of course I won't," she let out a sad laugh, pulling out of the hug despite never wanting to let him go. "You don't need to promise me that you'll visit or anything, just... I'll write to you once a week, and I expect regular replies,"

"Of course," he grinned, admiring her harsh bravery, knowing she was using it as a front to hide her fears.

Robb didn't want to see her go. She was his twin sister, he had never known life without her since she was born only ten minutes before him, and so he couldn't bare the thought of not having her close. He wondered if she felt the same, but knew that of course she did, she was just better at hiding her emotions, something she had been doing ever since the prospect of betrothal had reared its head.

***

Willas couldn't bare to watch Eddmina say goodbye to her family as he waited to leave Winterfell, sat atop his horse. He knew she was crying based on the way she had buried her face into her father's cloak, as if she was trying to hide her tears, and when she knelt down to kiss her little brother's head goodbye he saw her eyes were bright red. As she moved down the line of her many siblings he noticed her steeling up, until she pushed past the line of her family to say goodbye to her bastard brother and he saw her begin to shake again.

Yet, by the time she had left her family behind she had become emotionless, a stoic expression on her face as she lifted herself up onto the saddle of her horse. It had been suggested by someone that she ride in the carriage with the Tyrell ladies but she had refused, typical Eddmina wanting to ride out of her home with honour. It would be the last time she would be in Winterfell as a Stark, after all, as any visits to her home after would be as Eddmina Tyrell.

Eddmina rode out of the gates of her home without even looking back. She never moved her gaze from what was in front of her, unflinching as she clenched the reigns of her horse. Willas was riding just slightly behind her but he could see her shoulders rising and falling calmly, as if she was just on a normal ride and not leaving the north for the first time in her life. It surprised him a little, given how she acted the night before. She truly was quite remarkable, he couldn't help but think, considering how she was able to go about these life changing events as if it was nothing, steeling her emotions off as if she was a soldier going to war.

They rode in silence for a long while until Willas' brothers struck up a conversation with each other. Willas wasn't entirely sure what they were talking about, he was too concerned with watching Eddmina. Not in a strange way, he just wanted to make sure that she was alright given how stressed she was the night before, but after a few minutes of watching her he'd begun studying her, noticing the way her hair was so neat not a single lock was out of place, and how what little skin he could see beneath her heavy furs was so pale it looked as if she'd never seen the sun. She rode a horse so naturally as if she had been doing so all of her life, and it was beautiful to watch her take control of her horse in a way that seemed second nature to her. Part of him was enjoying watching her, knowing this woman was to be his wife, and the small gestures of her he was picking up on would all soon become common knowledge to him once they were married.

"You should try talking to her," Garlan suggested to him, so suddenly that Willas barely even realised he was talking to him. "She doesn't seem as upset as she was last night,"

"She doesn't want me constantly pestering her," Willas shrugged to his brothers, and both of them noted the sad glint in his eye, as if he wanted to talk to her but couldn't bare bothering her.

His words seemed true for a long while, as she remained in front of them. Eventually Willas gave up watching her and had joined in his brothers' conversation. It seemed they were both eager to get home, and part of Willas couldn't help but agree. He'd loved the north and he'd loved Winterfell, but he'd missed High Garden. He'd missed those they'd left behind, as well as his horses and his birds, and as much as he knew Eddmina didn't want to talk to him, he couldn't wait to introduce her to his home. The days they had spent riding around the north had been some of his favourite memories from the trip up North and he wanted to return the favour to her.

It was just as his mind began to drift to all the places around High Garden that he wanted to show her that Willas noticed Eddmina slowing her horse from a trot to a walk, turning her head to look over at him. When she met his eye she offered him a small smile, and before he could stop himself he was smiling back at her. Without another word to his brothers, he jeered his horse a little faster to ride to her side, slowing down to match her pace.

"Good morning," she said after a moment, and he could tell she was still feeling nervous over everything. "How long do you think it will take us to get south?"

"Well, it took us just under a month to get to Winterfell, but I think we might be taking a quicker trip back," Willas explained to her, hesitating slightly, especially as she looked over at him. "Just so we can get home sooner to start planning the... the-"

"The wedding," she interrupted, deciding he was taking too long and worrying too much about being sensitive over the matter of their wedding. "So three weeks then?"

"Yes, the wedding," he nodded. "And three weeks is probably right. By the time we get back I expect my grandmother will have put most of the plans in place for the day, there'll just be the finer details for us to work out,"

"Right," she nodded, remembering the fact that Willas' family was so much larger than the visiting party she would be spending three weeks on the road with. "Do you think your grandmother will like me?"

"Of course she will," Willas assured her, though there was something in his voice telling her he was uncertain. "The idea of a Stark marriage was hers, actually. I'm sure she'll love you,"

"Okay," she nodded, not entirely sold on his attempt of reassurance. "I'm sorry for how I've been acting. I haven't been acting very mature and for that I can only apologise. I just hope you'll forgive me for my behaviour yesterday,"

She was using formality as a shield once again. Any walls the two had broke down between each other had been built straight back up and Willas was unsure how long it would take for them to come back down again. He wanted to be Eddmina's friend, and he didn't blame her for her lack of trust and confidence in him when it came to their marriage, not if she'd been raised to see arranged marriage as a thing of duty. Still, however, he truly did want to prove himself to her, he wanted them to have a good marriage where he could care for her, but he didn't know how long that would take him, or whether she would ever really trust in him.

"There's nothing to forgive," he smiled at her even though she did not meet his eye, knowing that no matter the difficulties they were about to face he still admired her strength, and he would try his very best to make her feel comfortable around him, no matter how long it took.

***

Word count: 2554

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