The great hall of the Twins was cold. Not just physically, as Eddmina was more than used to that. She was a northerner, feeling cold was like being with a friend, but the air within the keep bit at her as though it was hungry for warmth, and the atmosphere was more uncomfortable than being buried in a mound of snow. She tried to pull her cloak closer to herself without drawing any attention, but that was impossible. They were surrounded by so many of Lord Frey's children that there was no chance that any of them hadn't noted her discomfort.

They had reached the Twins that morning, and their party desperately needed to cross, except they all knew about Lord Frey's reputation. Lady Stark had often passed down the stories from her father of the Lord's take on loyalty to her children, and they knew his support could easily flit to the Lannisters, regardless of him being a sworn bannerman to the Tully's. The Norrhhern party had stopped on a hill overlooking the two keeps when a Frey riding party arrived at camp, offering Robb safe passage to the Twins so that he could negotiate an alliance with Lord Frey. Of course, none of his bannermen thought it a sensible decision.

Lady Catelyn had suggested that she be the one to go and negotiate for Robb's army to pass through the Twins, and Eddmina volunteered herself to accompany her. She was the daughter of Lord Frey's liege lord, she had known Lord Walder since being a child, there was no one more equipted to negotiate their cause than Lady Stark, and so there was no one better to learn skills of diplomacy from than her. The two rode to the keep with a guard of Lord Frey's sons, and though it was a little unnerving leaving everyone else behind and heading into the unknown, Eddmina kept her face stoic, and her head held high. It would have been easy to turn around and ride back to camp, back to Willas and the sanctuary of their tent where she could stick to her books and maps, but she didn't want to do things that were easy. She wanted to fight, and since she couldn't do that on the battlefield with a sword, she would have to do everything else in her power to help the cause.

'I am the daughter of Ned Stark, I am the descendant of the Kings in the North,' she thought to herself repeatedly, as they rode to the keep, as she got off her horse and handed Flint's reins to a stableboy, as she walked alongside her mother into the great hall. 'I'm the granddaughter of their liege lord, I have nothing to fear here, these men will do nothing to harm me.'

Still, even if she knew they wouldn't hurt her, they stared anyway. Eddmina was certain she'd never had so many people staring at her at one time, at least since her wedding. The worst to stare was Lord Frey himself, a shrivelled little man who sat hunched in his seat at the head of the great hall, a plain young woman stood meekly at his side. Eddmina felt her stomach twist in repulsion when she realised it was not one of his daughters as she initially thought, but his wife; she was younger than Eddmina. The children of Lord Frey lined the hall, the two Starks surrounded by men who carried the weaselly resemblance of their father. Lord Frey was easily one of the oldest men that Eddmina had ever met, since it was a rare thing for anyone to reach the age of ninety, but she expected his mind to have not withered along with his appearance, and so braced herself.

"It is a great pleasure to see you again, my lord, after so many years," Lady Stark addressed politely, nodding her head. Eddmina copied her. "This is my daughter, Eddmina."

"A pleasure to meet you, my lord," she curtsied, despite having no need to.

"Is it?" he stated bluntly, squinting at them as though trying to work out there intentions. "I doubt it. Save me your words, both of you, I'm too old. What are you doing here? Is your boy too proud to come before me himself, so he's sent a pair of girls to do his grovelling?"

Eddmina ensured she remained emotionless, straightening her posture to show she wasn't insulted. It was harder when his eldest son Stevron reminded him that the pair of them were there at his invitation, and when his younger son Ryger suggested he remember his own courtesies. Stevron was insulted for presuming to give his father instructions, and Ryger degraded for mentioning manners when he's a bastard. Eddmina felt her insides squirm but maintained her composure. Lord Frey clearly thought highly of himself, though so did most men of nobility, even if their personality was not worthy of their title. Eddmina was sure there were so many men out in the world like Walder Frey, and in her position she knew she woud have to meet many, so she kept her expression still and counted each time she took a breath, making sure she stayed composed.

When he beckoned them both forward to him, she did as was expected. She watched as he pushed a kiss to her mother's hand, noting her mother's expression of politeness, knowing she would have to replicate it. When it was her turn, he seemed to take more time with her. For such an old man his grip was tight, and his kiss sloppy. She kept herself neutral, even when he didn't seem to be in a rush to let her go.

"I had written to your father, about whether he would consent to a betrothal between you and one of my sons, or at the time I was needing a new lady Frey, and did you know, not a week later I had a letter back announcing your match to your rich southerner," he said, his voice leering, and Eddmina couldn't help but look around and wonder which of his sons he had intended her for. She was proud when she managed not to cringe or wince.

"Unfortunate timing, my lord," Lady Stark spoke before Eddmina had the chance. Still, she nodded her head respectfully again, even though she was starting to feel uncomfortable by how long he had been holding her hand. "I do apologise."

He looked her over once more, before glancing back to Lady Stark. He chuckled snidely, dropping her hand. She immediately stepped back into line with her mother, certain that she'd never been gladder for her presence.

"Hmph, well looking at her perhaps it was for the best," he stated. "I hope your other daughters are better looking, for your own sake, my lady. Now then, now that I have observed the courtesies, perhaps my sons will do me the honour of shutting their mouths and allowing me to talk. Why are you here?"

"We have come to ask you to open your gates, my lord," Lady Stark replied, polite as ever, ignoring the insults. "My son and his bannermen wish to cross the river and be on their way. Could we talk?"

"We're talking now," he pointed out stubbornly, before he raised his hands, gesturing to the doors. "Go on, all of you! Out, out you go! Even you, woman."

His children filed out of the room, and his wife scurried off too, though Eddmina couldn't help but watch her go. She looked so small, so sad. To think, another few weeks and she might have ended up in her place. It made her want to run all the way back to their camp, grab hold of Willas and never let him go.

"Now then, get on with it," he told them bluntly.

"We want to cross," Lady Stark repeated. Eddmina knew her mother was patient, she lived with Sansa and Arya after all, but she had a newfound respect watching her mother deal with Lord Walder. "You swore an oath to my father, as his bannerman, to support him in any times of trouble."

"Seems I also swore oaths to the crown, and Joffrey's king now, making your boy and his bannermen a bunch of rebels," he sneered. "Your houses have never respected me. The Tully's have always looked down on me and my house, and the north too. You won't associate with us unless you need something. What'll happen if I do let you cross? I swear allegiance, send my men off with you. Then what'll happen when Tywin Lannister meets you on the battlefield? Your husband is in a traitor's cell under the Red Keep, your father's a sick old man, and Jaime Lannister seems to be running rings around your fool brother. What do you have that I should fear? That son of yours? He's nothing but a boy, and I've got plenty more sons than you, both of you."

"Then sell us to the Lannisters," Eddmina said, even though she felt her mother's gaze burning into her, wearing a horrified expression. "Why not ask your many sons to gather up our party, send word to Lord Tywin, and we can all be in the cells with my father by the end of the month? You could put an end to this whole farce."

"Your an outspoken little wench, aren't you?" he laughed, and though Lady Stark grimaced, Eddmina remained blank, knowing her words had stirred something in him. She'd called his bluff, and he was, thankfully, amused, even if he'd insulted her again in the process. "Tywin Lannister, the proud, golden lion. I bet you he shits the same as the rest of us. What has he got to be proud of? Only two sons, only one of them worthwhile. If Tywin Lannister wants my help, he can damn well ask for it."

"We are asking, my lord," Lady Stark said, clearly relieved, though staying humble. "I am asking for your help, for my whole family."

"Save your sweet words," he said, shrugging her kindness off. "Words mean nothing to me. How are words going to make me forget a lifetime of being looked down upon. No, I want something. Starks and Tully's have never been friends of mine."

"Then let us become friends," Eddmina suggested, and thus, the haggling began.

***
It was sunset when they began to make their way back to camp. As they rode back, both women wanted to feel relieved, knowing that they had achieved what they intended, but the price of their request was weighing on both of them.

Unlike their journey to the Twins, the two Stark women were unaccompanied by Frey's, and so for the first time all day, it felt as though they could breathe. Eddmina had felt so confined in the chilly hall, yet it was only when she was back on Flint and in the freedom of the fresh air that she realised how good it felt to be away from the Frey's. Not just leering, snide Lord Walder, but his children too. Either his sons looked embarrassed by him or they looked mighty, as if they thought they were above the station of the son of the Lord of the Crossing, and his daughters... well, they just made Eddmina feel sad. They seemed to be so out of place, yet they looked as if they would fit nowhere else in the world, and that extended to his wife too. Part of her wished she could gather them all up and set them free, but that simply wasn't possible.

"You did well back there, but you must be careful with men like Walder Frey," her mother warned as they rode back. "It was bold of you to call him out, but he could have easily turned us away, and then we'd have made an enemy out of him."

"I wouldn't exactly call him a friend now," Eddmina stated, trying not to shudder at the thought of the man. "You always told us, expect nothing of Walder Frey, and never be surprised. All he wanted was to be asked for help, for one of us great houses to stoop to him."

"But that wasn't all what he wanted, was it?" Lady Stark pointed out, and she grew silent, until she caught sight of Robb's war tent. "What will I tell him? He won't be happy."

"You tell him it is his duty, that it is what the family needs and what is expected of him," Eddmina said, raising her eyebrows as she glanced to her mother. "That was what you told me."

Lady Stark looked at her daughter, as if trying to read her mind, though it was impossible, as always. She knew she had once held resentment towards the idea of betrothals and arranged marriages, her dislike of the whole thing battling against her sense of duty and wanting to do the right thing for the family. Catelyn had always assumed that Eddmina's negative thoughts towards marriage had faded away when she decided she liked her husband, but clearly, they had not.

They stopped their horses outside of Robb's tent, a stablehand taking the reins as they dismounted, and already they could hear the voices inside, raised in tension.

"If something bad has happened, we would've known by now," a gruff northern voice reasoned, sounding bored, as if they had said it a dozen times already. It sounded like Ser Rodrik. "There's no need to go barging into the Twins just yet. It hasn't been that long they've been gone."

"It has been hours," a southern voice debated back: Garlan. "You've already said we can't trust this man, yet you think we should just sit here?"

"We go charging in there, demanding to know just why Lady Stark and Lady Eddmina have been there so long, then we make out that we don't trust them, and any allyship they might have built would be destroyed," a much calmer southern voice explained. Willas. Eddmina couldn't help but smile hearing him. "They won't be long."

"Are you not concerned?" Garlan questioned, clearly the opposite of calm.

"I'm not a fool, of course I am," Willas sighed.

Eddmina couldn't bear it anymore, and she made her way through the tent curtain, her mother following her. At their arrival everyone rose to their feet, even the two direwolves that had been curled up beneath the table, Honour especially wagging her tail as she approached Eddmina. In the tent was Robb and his closest advisors, alongside Theon, Garlan, and Willas, and she could see the relief in all of them that the two ladies had returned safely. Willas made to approach her, but stopped himself, not wanting to undermine her in front of all the other men, so he simply smiled at her, and that was more than enough.

Robb, however, didn't have time to smile. He remained serious, looking between his mother and his sister. He'd never looked more like a real war general, like the sort that historians would write about, yet at the same time, when Eddmina looked at him, she still saw her brother, the boy who was only minutes younger than her.

"Well? What did he say?" he asked, no nonsense.

"Lord Walder has granted your crossing," their mother told the men, and that was when Robb allowed himself to feel relieved, looking to his men with a faint smile. "His men are yours as well, less the four hundred he will keep here to guard the crossing."

"And what did he want?" Robb asked, understanding that Lord Walder's alliance wasn't simply on the grounds of goodwill.

"It would be easier to discuss what he didn't want," Eddmina commented dryly, earning a few short laughs from the older men who had experienced Lord Walder's negotiation tactics.

"You are to have Lord Walder's son, Olyvar, as your squire," Lady Stark began, starting with the least of their troubles. "His father would like to see him knighted, in good time."

"Fine, that's fine," Robb replied, still apprehensive.

"Ser Garlan, you are to take on one of his sons as a squire as well," Eddmina stated, trying to mimic her mother's tone.

"Do I need a new squire?" Garlan asked, amused by her bluntness.

"Yes, you do," Willas answered quickly, no nonsense. "Carry on, what else?"

"Upon the end of the war we are to foster five Frey's in Highgarden," she continued, noting Willas' surprised expression. "Three boys, they'll be trained into knights, and two girls, who we will try to wed off to, as Lord Walder said, 'some rich southern pricks'. It was my suggestion, it was the only way I could get him to drop the notion of arranging a betrothal between our son and one of his future daughters, of which he has promised there may be many, though hopefully none more than sons."

"That's fine," Willas said, nodding again, but Eddmina didn't think he truly meant it. If he really opposed, he didn't say anything, knowing it would be unhelpful to the cause.

"What else?" Robb asked, impatient as he knew there was still more to come.

"When your sister Arya is returned to us, she will marry Lord Walder's son Waldren when they both come of age," Lady Stark continued, becoming more hesitant. Eddmina clenched her jaw, fighting not to cringe at that betrothal.

"She won't be happy with that," Robb noted, seeming unsurprised but amused all the same, and even Theon was having to hide a smile. Of course, Eddmina didn't share their humour, but it wasn't the time to lecture them. "And?"

It was the first time that Lady Stark really seemed to hesitate. Eddmina had seen her mother's face when Lord Walder demanded the final contract, and even though she had tried to hide it, enough so that Lord Walder didn't see, Eddmina had seen. It looked as though her mother's heart broke, disappointment and frustration weighing on her. It was worse than when Arya's betrothal was proposed, though that was the one that bothered Eddmina, her free-willed little sister deservng far better than some cruel old man forcing her into marriage with one of his ugly sons. Lady Stark seemed to barely react to Arya, but Robb...

No wonder the words didn't seem to come, but Eddmina didn't understand why it seemed to be such a struggle. Perhaps it was because he was her eldest son and couldn't face him growing so old. Perhaps it was Lord Walder taking away her opportunity to find matches for Robb herself. Either way, Eddmina saw it as nothing but duty, a requirement that she had already fulfilled. It was inevitable that her brother would have to someday too, and though it wasn't an ideal family to be joined with, it was crucial for the cause.

"Mother," Robb called, when she took too long to speak.

"When the fighting is done, you will marry one of his daughters, whichever you prefer," she finally said, speaking slowly and calmly, and though every head turned to look at Robb, he didn't seem to react. "He has a number he thinks will be... suitable."

"I see," Robb said, unflinching. He took a moment to process, before he asked, "Did you get a look at his daughters?"

Theon tried to hide it, but it was impossible not to hear his quiet snickering laugh. Eddmina glared at him.

"One, was..." Lady Stark answered hesitantly, though her words faded as she couldn't think of how to finish.

Theon continued to laugh quietly, though Eddmina noticed that he was not alone. In fact, all of the men were either trying to hide their laughter, or they were disguising silent smiles, even Willas and Garlan. For such usually loud men, the northerners seemed to relish the opportunity to poke quiet fun at the situation. Eddmina was infuriated. None of them laughed at Arya having to marry into the same unfortunate-looking family, but Robb, as a fellow man, they could poke fun at? Arya as a girl was expected to marry to the extent none of them reacted, that contract seen as nothing but duty, but Robb's was an unseemly joke. It wound her up, and so she cleared her throat loud enough for them all to hear, their laughter dying down.

"Can I refuse?" Robb asked, but his voice seemed resigned, as if he already knew the answer.

"No," Eddmina replied without hesitation. Her mother shot her a glance, as if telling her not to get involved.

"Not if you want to cross," Lady Stark spoke over her daughter.

"Then I consent," he agreed firmly, clearly annoyed.

With that, Robb made his way out of the tent, not making eye contact with anyone. Eddmina watched him go, but upon hearing another quiet laugh she quickly whipped around, unsurprised to see it was Theon.

"Wipe the smirk off your face, Greyjoy," she snapped.

"What's the problem?" He asked, still smirking, though seemingly a bit more sobered.

"Does honour and duty amuse you?" She continued, knowing everyone was looking at her. The men, with nervous curiosity, her mother with embarrassed shame. Willas stepped closer to her, reaching for her hand but she quickly pulled it away out of reflex. "It must, because surely you can't be laughing at some poor young woman who's probably been mocked her whole life by outsiders, not to mention insulted by her own father, being forced into a marriage to a man she's never met, for a cause she could have easily avoided. No, it's fine, that is what is expected of her, but poor Robb, having to get caught up in her duty."

She felt everyone watching her, and everyone was silent. Though none of them were laughing, Eddmina couldn't tell if they had dialled back the volume and she was now the butt of their amusement instead of her poor future goodsister. She didn't care, she had spoken her mind at least. She couldn't stand there in good conscience and let all the men have their say, acting as if the deal was some amusing thing to laugh at as if they could have negotiated better, when in reality it had been herself and her mother. It was her who went into the Twins unsure what to expect, and it was her who left feeling humiliated after facing rounds of Lord Walder's insults. She might have been a woman, but she was the daughter of their liege lord, and it was her right to have her say.

If her brother was allowed to leave, so was she, and so Eddmina took her leave. She exited the tent purposefully, and even though her instincts were telling her to go to her tent and hide away, she instead followed the footsteps her brother had left on the mudded ground. It had been a tiring, frustrating day, and it had taken her a while to actually realise that even if they had gotten the alliance they needed, she had left the Twins feeling belittled. Walder Frey had been quite cruel in his mocking of her, and all day she had wanted nothing more than to reunite with Willas and Uther, but she'd heard Willas laugh along with the men, and suddenly her temper was against him too.

She found Robb just outside of camp, on the edge of the woodlands sat on a fallen tree looking at his sword. Without a word she moved to sit next to him, letting out a long sigh as she looked up to the stars.

"I didn't want anyone to follow me," he said after a while, putting his sword away as he looked at his sister.

"Too bad," she shrugged. She let the silence play out for a moment, thinking her words through before she spoke calmly, "Walder Frey is a cruel, horrible man. You would be doing a good thing by marrying one of his daughters. You would be saving her from that place, and him."

"What makes you think one of his daughters won't be the exact same as he is?" Robb sighed impatiently, not understanding how his sister seemed to have more sympathy for his future wife than himself. "I thought that being Lord, being commander of an army, meant that I got to avoid marriage for a while, as well as have the power to choose my own match. I know why you agreed to it, but... Where was my say in all of this?"

"Where is your future wife's say? Where was Arya and Lord Walder's son's say? Where was my say?" She listed frustratedly, clearly not off the edge Theon's snickering had pushed her to. "People of our position from families like ours do not get a say. It is unfair, but you are not the first person in all of Westeros to be faced with a betrothal in order to form war alliances. Marrying this Frey girl is now not just your duty for our house, but for our cause too."

"Have I hit a nerve?" Robb asked, but not in a caring way, instead more snarky, as if he didn't understand where she was coming from; she didn't expect him to.

"Do you know how much it hurt, signing you, and our little sister away to marriages that I know neither of you would want?" Eddmina explained, feeling her chest tighten. "It was the only way we could get through to that man. He wants our houses joined in vows, and Starks don't break vows. We couldn't refuse, if we did... Arya and I used to laugh about her marrying, as if it was some stupid joke, and I've betrayed her."

"But what about me? What about..." Robb began heatedly, trailing off as if he suddenly came to and realised he was about to spill a secret. "I didn't want a marriage arranged for me, I wanted to choose. I wanted..."

"You wanted Talisa?" Eddmina assumed sadly, and she knew she was right when her brother's face tinged pink, his already tense expression turning into one of shock. "I'm not blind, the pair of you obviously have some kind of connection, and I am sorry for the part I played in you never getting the chance to discover what might have been."

Surprisingly that was when Robb seemed to understand. He paused, looking away from his sister to the ground, considering everything that had been said. It was as if he suddenly realised the duty at hand, and exactly what was on the line. Both Eddmina and Robb had known that morning that a deal with the Frey's was crucial, and with that in mind Eddmina had agreed to anything reasonable that would ensure their support. She had put aside her own opinion to agree to the betrothal, knowing how much the deal meant for their cause. Despite everything she had been through in her own betrothal, knowing how hard it was to carry the pressure of her house by being paired with a stranger, she had still agreed. Robb had seen her through her own betrothal and knew that regardless of her brave face and the apparent feelings she now had for her husband, she had struggled. She wouldn't have wanted to put anyone else through it unless she really, truly had to.

Then, of course, there was another similarity between the two of them. Not only were their marriages taken out of their own hands, but there was a third party involved. Both of them had become attached to someone, and no matter their feelings or wishes, their attachments could no longer matter.

"So, what, Talisa is my Theon?" Robb pointed out, a little cuttingly. Eddmina wanted to be annoyed, but he had a point. His voice was calmer though, sadder. "The day father told you about the Tyrell's you set Theon aside, even after years of sneaking around. The number of times I caught the two of you, it was a wonder mother and father never found out, and I heard some of the things the two of you said to each other when you weren't threatening to kill each other. I always thought you really cared, both of you, maybe even loved each other, but you moved on with your so-called duty as if nothing had happened."

Eddmina hadn't thought about that time for a long while. In fact, the last time she had thought of Theon romantically was on the second morning of her honeymoon. She had been curled up against Willas, her head on his chest as he played with her hair, the two of them naked yet without any of the sheepishness they had previously felt. They were completely and utterly caught up in each other, in a little silent bubble of happiness, and when he had leant down to kiss her hairline, she had thought to herself how she had never expected such love or affection.

'Theon used to kiss me like I was one of his nighttime establishment ladies,' she had thought, her smile dying slightly in brief sadness. 'He used to kiss me fast and hard, and I convinced myself it was his way of showing love. I convinced myself I was in love. Now, this man is sweet and gentle and tells me his thoughts so I don't have to work out the riddles of his mind. It was never truly love with Theon, but with this man, with Willas... perhaps it could be.'

On that occasion, any space in her mind for love, lust, or desire was completely overtaken by Willas, leaving no room at all for Theon. She almost completely forgot about the whole affair, had it not been for her return to Winterfell, and the inescapable gaze of the Greyjoy in question. He still watched her as if she was about to give him one of their old secret signals to tell him to meet her behind the stables, but she had moved on. Once she had realised how blissful life with Willas was, and once she'd given married life a chance, it was hard to ever remember an alternative.

"I might have liked him once," she shrugged, knowing that the details of her thoughts were too intimate to share with her brother, especially if they revolves around love and her honeymoon. "It feels like a lifetime ago. I wed Willas, and never looked back."

"I've barely even spent time with Talisa and yet the thought of forgetting the thoughts I have for her in favour of some Frey girl..." Robb mused, mulling his thoughts over before he turned to her. "How did you do it?"

"I always thought it would be hard to call things off but it really wasn't," Eddmina began, but thinking back to that time made her frown, her forehead resting in her hands as she tried to get her mind straight. "Theon's a twat, don't get me wrong, but he made me feel special sometimes. I felt horrible ending things, but I had to. I couldn't risk the Tyrell's finding out, it would've ruined our family's honour. It probably helped that I was overwhelmingly aware that no matter how much I liked Theon, in the end the choice of where my heart would go was not my own. He had his whores, he always left me to go see them, whereas someone else was always in charge of my fate and where my heart would go. If marriage had been drilled into you as if was for me perhaps you wouldn't be having this struggle now, but I'm sure you remember what it was like for me. Mother, Septa Mordane, even father sometimes, they all told me how I would have to marry, how it was my way of looking after the family. I never wanted to, I resented the idea, but it was expected, it was duty, and I have an overwhelming fear of letting our family down."

"I might have noticed," Robb cut in, and she elbowed him in the side, rolling her eyes. "You love Willas now though, don't you?"

"I do," she nodded, thinking of their honeymoon again; he was truly the only man for her, her perfect partner. "You can laugh, but I love him so much it hurts. I don't know what gods meddled in our fates, whether it was my gods or his, but I'm grateful that they saw fit to bring us together. I'd be lost without him."

"Do you think that could happen to me? Do you think I could ever love a Frey girl?" Robb asked, sounding more like Eddmina's little brother than the big war commander he had become.

"If you open yourself up to that possibility, then I don't see why not," it was Eddmina's turn to shrug, but her mind was still anything but casual, as Theon's laughter still rang in her ears. "I wish I could have met Will in other circumstances and made the choice to marry him. I hated the pressure that came with it being arranged, I'm sure you'll find that out for yourself, though the difference is you are a man. You're allowed to complain and moan about marriage and your wife. I had to just get on with things, otherwise it would make our family a disgrace. I had very little choice. Someone made the biggest choice of my life for me, while I had to just take a deep breath and smile. Thankfully things turned out right."

"I'll hope for the same then," Robb said, sounding a little more settled than he had done before. "I'll try not to complain too much."

"Good, because I'm certainly not going back to the Twins, let alone to tell Walder Frey that you've rejected one of his daughters," Eddmina joked bitterly. Robb laughed, and even Eddmina managed a smile, before she put her hand over her brother's. "You're doing rather well at all this."

"I've got a good advisor," he nudged her, before he set his sword aside, wrapping his arms around his sister tight.

The two of them sat like that for a while, enjoying the peace of it being just them. No bannermen, no pressure, just the two of them. It had been a while since the Stark twins had managed to be alone together, but Eddmina was relieved to find that no matter what, when she was with Robb, she felt as though everything was alright. With her brother, everything was safe, everything was manageable, and nothing was too difficult to conquer. He was the best companion to experience life with, and she was constantly grateful that they had been gifted each other at birth.

When the two of them eventually decided to head back to camp, they parted ways as Eddmina ventured to her own tent, wanting nothing more than to curl up in her bed and sleep. Of course being a mother nothing was that simple, so instead her arrival to her tent was met with relieving Talisa of her duties and tending to Uther. There was no sign of Willas, but that was fine, since their son kept her busy, and so she spent her time singing to him softly, rocking him as she walked around their tent slowly. The longer she spent doing that the more she began to forget the troubles of her day.

It had been a good few hours before Willas did finally make his appearance. His hair was tousled and windswept, and given the fact that the air had seemed quite still for the evening, she assumed he'd gone riding. There were bags under his eyes that she hadn't noticed before; did he always look so tired? When he saw her, he smiled, but she could tell it wasn't genuine, as his eyes didn't do their kind little narrow that they always did when he truly meant the expression.

"I'm going to bed," he told her simply, walking past her with nothing more than a squeeze of her shoulder.

He never went to bed without kissing her, even if it was on the cheek. Something wasn't right. Eddmina knew that, yet she stood, dumbfounded, her mind racing with the possibilities of what could've upset him. Was it simply the exhaustion of their situation, or was it something else? He'd seemed fine in the war tent, but something had changed.

Never a coward, especially when it came to her husband, Eddmina quickly strode after him. Behind the curtain that separated their living area from the sleeping quarters, she found him sat on the edge of their bed, struggling with the laces of his boots, his cane set to the side of him. She placed Uther down gently in his cradle before she knelt down on the floor by Willas' legs, her fingers attempting to pull apart the knots of his boot laces. She was better at untying tight little knots, it was a skill she'd developed from years and years of sewing, and even though he knew that he sighed, nudging her hands away with his own.

"Eddmina, please, I am more than capable of sorting out my own boots," he told her, sharper than he intended.

"Then why are you struggling?" She pointed out, still kneeling, her hands frozen in the place that he had moved them. "Let me help-"

"No, thank you," he said, not meeting her eye as he glared down at his boots, his trembling fingers stumbling with the laces. It wasn't long before he gave up with a curse, and that was when he looked at her with reddened eyes. "Fine."

Eddmina looked at him, desperately trying to figure him out, but Willas could be an enigma if he wanted to be. He sometimes confused her, his closed-book act leaving her wondering why he was acting the way he was. It had been the case back in Highgarden if he'd been in some sort of council meeting with his father that he found difficult, or if he'd been for tea with his grandmother and her quips had hit a nerve. Even so, when he was usually closed off and frustrated, Eddmina felt confident to confront him and ask him what was wrong. This time, and for the first time in a long time, she was unsure.

Instead of asking him anything, she made quick work of his laces, not looking him in the eye as she pulled his boots off. Her hands went to the buckles of his leg brace next, but that was when he stopped her again.

"No," he shook his head, pulling away once more. "I can sort that. Thank you."

"Are you sure?" She asked cautiously. When he nodded stubbornly, she found her confidence again. "Will, what's wrong? Has something happened?"

"Nothing is wrong," he said, but he met her eye and sighed. "I heard you, back in the tent. I heard how angry you were, about the whole idea of marriage and betrothal. I didn't realise that you still thought like that."

"Just because I love you and I love the family we are building doesn't mean I feel comfortable with the idea of strangers marrying each other," she explained calmly, despite the guilt settling in that his foul mood was because of her. "My little sister will have to marry a stranger because of me, even after everything."

"'Everything' being you having to marry me?" He snapped sadly. "I'm sorry, Eddmina, I truly am sorry about the circumstances that surrounded our wedding. I know it was hard for you, and it still is, but hearing you talk of how it was duty and honour... I feel as though I am some sort of burden to you."

"Willas, no," she shook her head, hurrying to her feet as she sat at his side, gripping his hands tightly. "No, you're not a burden, never, not at all, I simply meant-"

"Then I went after you, and heard you with Robb," he interrupted, and she felt like crying, knowing her honour-driven anger had done nothing but upset the one person she never wanted to hurt. "I shouldn't have listened, I tried not to, but I heard. You asked Robb where all your say was in the matter of marriage, as though you never wanted any of it, and then he mentioned Theon. I realised that if I'd have never appeared and you'd have not been forced to be with me, then you would still be with him. Perhaps by now you would've been caught, and your parents would have made you marry him to save your honour. Or perhaps you would have run away with him, off to Braavos the way you always talked about. Either way, you would be with him, and I-"

"You're a nosy, eavesdropping shit!" It was her turn to interrupt, dropping his hands as she folded her arms across her chest. "While you were listening in, did you hear what I said after? Did you hear me call Theon a twat?"

"No, I left, I'd heard enough," he shrugged stubbornly.

"No you didn't hear enough, because if you'd have stayed you'd have heard me say that Theon was nothing, but you..." she started strong, but her voice trembled. She looked away to the ceiling of the tent while she composed herself, before looking back at Willas, looking him in the eye. "As much as I dislike arranged marriages, and as much as I hated the pressure that was put onto us, I told Robb that I love you. Not Theon, you. Only you."

He seemed to deflate slightly, though his sad eyes still looked unsure. Eddmina shifted so that she was facing him, and for good measure placed her hands on his face. Her thumb stroked over his cheek, and though he didn't manage a smile, his hand moved to rest on her waist. Though she had intended for the gesture to make him look at her and see her desperate sincerity, she used the opportunity to pull his face closer to hers. She pushed a kiss to his lips, hoping it would say everything that she was struggling to explain in words. He didn't pull away, which relieved her, as he instead squeezed her waist and sighed, resting his forehead against hers. It was the closeness they were used to, yet it felt different, as Eddmina's throat still felt tight and her heart was pounding, still caught up in the fear that she'd hurt him through her frustrated actions.

"Do you know the day our betrothal was made official, you father made me swear to be good to you, to treat you well and with respect, but he made me swear to always try and understand you," Willas explained slowly, their faces still touching, though her hand moved from his cheek to the back of his neck. At the mention of her father she shut her eyes, imagining his face, seeing the kind glint in his eye despite the stoic expression. Gods, she missed him. "He told me that you never say anything without thinking it through, yet sometimes the Wolf's Blood in you takes over. He told me to listen, and even if it didn't make sense to me, I had to just try to understand. Perhaps tonight I didn't understand, I merely thought... I know that I am not the man your family imagined you being with, I know your mother doesn't trust me, and I know that the northerners would rather I not be here. Yet I am here. I love your sisters as if they are my own, I respect your father. I want to see them returned to Winterfell safe, where they belong. I want that more than anything, but tonight when I heard you speak of marriage as some horrific affair... I mistook your frustration to the other men and the idea of betrothals as resentment to me, and I thought for a moment that perhaps everything we had gone through had merely been an act of your honour. I worried that you'd been pretending all this time, while I played the role of the fool and fell in love with you."

"I thought you were going to be monstrous," she confessed, her hand moving up to stroke through his hair that had definitely grown longer and wilder during their time on the road. "I thought you were a going to be a manipulative liar that only wanted me to please his family. I was scared that arranged marriage would trap me with someone like that, but instead I got you. I've not pretended anything, though if I have it was merely pretending not to be as relieved as I was when I realised you were the complete opposite to how I feared. You are good, and kind, and better than I could ever expect you to be. Even so, just because I got lucky I can't forget that fear I felt, that I was going to be trapped with someone awful, unable to escape because of marriage and duty. I've already got one sister betrothed to a monster, now two more of my siblings are signed away to strangers, this time because of me."

Willas moved back slightly from her, studying her face. She looked tired, her eyes darkened and her complexion paler than usual. He worried for a second that his outburst had caused any unnecessary stress, but deep down he knew that she hadn't slept well for days. She needed to rest, and the last thing they should be doing was diving deep into their feelings. Even so, it felt healthy, and he was seeing her in a new light. She'd demonstrated just how protective she was over her siblings countless times, but this occasion was different, wearing guilt and concern the way one would expect a parent to. She carried around a real duty for her siblings' well-being to the point it had driven her to exhaustion.

"Let's go to bed, Mina," he suggesting simply, taking hold of one of her hands and squeezing it three times before he raised it to his lips, kissing her knuckles.

They could talk in the morning, with clear heads, but in that moment the moon was high and the stars were shining, and every conversation could wait. They had said all they needed to, gotten out any anger and cleared the air. Perhaps in the morning they could reassess and review what they had discussed, but it had been a long day, for both of them, and Eddmina nodded gratefully at his suggestion of sleep.

He allowed her to help him with his leg brace at last, and he welcomed her help with getting rid of the rest of his garments. In return, he eased her out of her own clothes. She'd dressed nicer than usual, as the last few weeks she had lived in simple grey cotton, but for her visit to the Twins she had worn deep green satin, with golden wolves embroidered on the skirt and sleeves. It was the sort of thing a true lady of the Reach would be expected to wear, and she had looked beautiful in it, to the extent that Willas felt slightly bitter that most of her day had been spent away from him, as he would've greatly enjoyed admiring her all day. He found solace in the fact that he found her just as lovely in the thick linen nightdress that she donned, and as they found themselves laid in bed under their furs, he beckoned her close.

With her head resting on his chest, he placed his hand on her back. She could hear his heart beat, a nice sound to fall asleep to, but even as she began to drift she recalled events of the day, and one thought made her chuckle quietly.

"What is it?" Willas asked, kissing the top of her head.

"Walder Frey wanted to marry me," she told him, smirking in amusement despite the thought disgusting her. "He was going to suggest a betrothal to my father but you got to me first."

"I'll kill him," Willas replied bluntly yet dryly, completely serious despite Eddmina's chuckles. "That old letch..."

"I wouldn't worry, now he's looked at me he's decided I am much too ugly for him," she said, feeling Willas move to wrap his arms around her tighter.

"Oh, now I really will kill him," he sighed madly, though Eddmina merely laughed, leaning up to kiss his jaw. "You are anything but ugly. Perhaps he's so old he has gone blind and cannot see the absolute wonder right in front of him."

"You cannot kill him, we need him for this war," she reminded him, making him sigh dramatically. "Besides, that would make Robb's wedding to his daughter rather awkward."

"A strange affair indeed," Willas agreed. "I've heard that the Gods look down upon the killing of one's wife's brother's goodfather, especially at a wedding. I will promise to be on my best behaviour."

Eddmina laughed again softly, her laughter met with Willas', and the pair of them fell asleep smiling.

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