"What do you think of Willas Tyrell?"

It had been two weeks since the Tyrell's arrived and the days had flown. Eddmina had tried to be a good hostess despite finding it all rather exhausting, and though she had enjoyed the change of company, she was quite glad that the visit was coming to an end. She couldn't wait for things to go back to normal, even if it would only be for a short time.

Despite the gladness she felt, she was also rather sad to see Willas go. After their morning ride two weeks previous, the two had spent most of their time together. She showed him the rest of Winterfell, or at least the parts that were accessible to him, and she often took him to the library. He seemed to love investigating all the books there and comparing them to the ones he had in High Garden, and the two spent many hours together in the library, sat side by side reading silently. When they weren't in the library she was showing him the rest of the northern sights. They'd made a tradition out of going riding every morning, then they would part and break their fast with their families, before meeting back at the library.

Margaery had been right. Willas was clever, with a big heart too. He was nothing but courteous to everyone he spoke to around Winterfell, especially her. He often met her with a smile and after a few days he began to take hold of her arm as they walked together. The gesture took her back at first, but after a while she got used to it, finding it almost nice.

There was certainly some sort of attraction there, that was for sure. With Theon, the relationship had been purely physical, partially satisfying the desires she knew she wouldn't be able to fully fufill until her marriage. She'd liked him, but never enough to betray her maidenhead to him, and certainly not enough to want to marry him. She didn't particularly fancy marrying Willas either, since despite his kindness he still felt like a stranger, but their marriage wouldn't be for a long time and maybe by then they would have gotten to know each other more. A marriage to Willas would at least mean a strong ally for her family, which was all that mattered in her mind at the end of it all.

The Tyrell's last day of the visit was a quiet one. Willas had been too busy arranging his things for the journey home to go riding with her that morning, so she'd headed straight to the library, finding a book on the history of the Reach and settling herself in one of the window seats in the far corner, where she could pull the curtains around herself and not be found. Or at least, she thought she wouldn't be found, but it turned out that her mother knew her far better than she realised, and was stood over her, her arms folded across her chest, her face a perfect mixture of curiosity and concern as she asked the question Eddmina had been dreading.

"He's nice enough," Eddmina spoke without looking up from her book. "He's become a friend,"

"A friend?" her mother asked, and though she was hiding it well Eddmina could still sense the bitterness and disgust she felt.

"Well what would you rather me say?" Eddmina closed her book and it made a rather loud slam, making Lady Stark flinch ever so slightly before she came to sit down next to her daughter on the seat, ignoring the way Eddmina shuffled over to be further away from her. "I might ask you the same question, since you seem to have avoided the guests wherever possible,"

"Eddmina, I..." her mother began but trailed off, knowing her words to be true, as whilst her children seemed to have embraced the southern guests, she only ever interacted with them whenever absolutely necessary, the betrothal negotiation meeting that morning being a prime example. "I was with them just this morning,"

"And given that it's the last day of their trip, how did the negotiations go?" Eddmina narrowed her eyes, giving her mother a steely look that told her there would be no getting round her, no pretending over the matter at hand.

"Your father and Lord Tyrell have decided... that a match between you and Willas would be quite beneficial to both families," Lady Stark said slowly, not meeting her daughter's eye as she struggled to keep herself together over it all. "The two of you are officially betrothed, and upon your flowering you will go down to High Garden to marry,"

Eddmina nodded, her face stoic as if she was a soldier who'd just been told she was to march off to battle soon. She felt no overwhelming emotion, no great rush of love or of excitement, but that was just because her heart had hardened off to the romantics of marriage. To her, it had always just been something she would enter into for politics, and that was obvious now. Willas was a nice person, a kind man who would make an excellent lord and most likely a good husband, but she wouldn't anticipate the day she would be his wife.

"Right," she said, getting up from her seat, heaving the book up with her, deciding to take it back to her room where she could read in peace. "Let me at least have the pleasure of telling my siblings. If you tell anyone of my betrothal, if you tell Robb or the others, I will never forgive you. I will see you at the feast,"

***

Eddmina was already in the hall for the feast when Willas and Garlan arrived, and as he caught sight of her he stopped in the doorway, grabbing hold of Garlan's arm. His brother, noticing his hesitance to enter the hall, glanced into the room and saw Eddmina stood talking to their mother, clothed in a long white dress embellished with embroidered weirwood leaves around the sleeves and the skirts. The dress was a masterpiece, flattering her form perfectly, and though it was modest with a high neck and long laced sleeves, it also drew attention to her curves. Not to mention her hair, practically longer everytime Willas looked at it as it seemed to go on for miles, free of its braid and instead flowing free around her shoulders, framing her pale face as she smiled.

Maybe it was the smile that made Willas freeze, considering he hardly ever saw it, only a small wry one if he'd made a joke or if she was being sarcastic. It seemed to light up the rest of her face, making her seem lighter more youthful, as her blunt personality and cutting wit often left him forgetting she was actually ten-and-eight.  She was always beautiful, but the way she looked in that moment made Willas want to thank every god of every possible religion for bringing them together.

It also made him want to curse himself to those very same gods, because how could they pair him with her? When she was so magnificent, and he... Well, the nerves kicked in, something that Garlan noticed as he cracked a smirk, hitting his brother on the shoulder.

"Looks as though your future bride is making quite the statement," Garlan pointed out, noting Eddmina's white dress, a colour traditionally reserved for weddings. "Perhaps she is as happy about all of this as you are,"

"Who says I'm happy about this?" Willas hissed back at his brother trying to keep attention away from them as they hung by the doorway. "It is unfair that she wasn't even present when our father's finally settled on the engagement,"

"Trust me, brother, you're happy with this agreement," Garlan smirked. "You resisted marriage for so long and then fell straight away for the Stark girl, maybe its the charm of the north,"

"I didn't fall for her, I... Oh, Gods," Willas began to protest, but by that point Eddmina had spotted them both, raising her hand as a greeting, and in response Willas felt himself turn bright red. "What do I say to her?"

"' Hello, Lady Eddmina,' might be an excellent start, brother, come, I'll show you," Garlan teased, and upon deciding that he did not have the confidence to go up to her himself, Garlan took hold of Willas's arm and led him into the room, over to where Willas' betrothed was stood talking to their mother, who was scowling at her sons ever so slightly, as if concerned as to why the two of them were fooling around even though they were twenty six and twenty four. "Hello, Lady Eddmina,"

"Hello, Ser Garlan," Eddmina said, her eyes narrowed ever so slightly almost as though she was trying to figure out if he was fooling around with her, though her attention soon turned to Willas, a pinkish tinge riding in her cheeks. "Hello, Lord Willas,"

"See? Not so bad," Garlan hissed under his breath to Willas, inaudible to the others around him. "We'll leave you, come, mother,"

Once his brother and mother had gone, Willas felt himself relax slightly, though now he was closer to Eddmina he couldn't help but muse how beautiful she was up close. She had such prominent cheek bones her face possessed a regal quality, and that paired with her startling blue eyes made her a terrifying beauty to behold, though only terrifying because he didn't know how to act, how to seem worthy of her.

"I don't suppose you've been told the news... about..." Willas began, hesitating around the matter of their betrothal.

"I was told this morning," she nodded, and he saw a sadness in her eyes that upset him; was she really so upset to be betrothed to him? "I hope I will please you as a wife, my Lord, and that I will not keep you waiting long,"

That confused him. Eddmina was usually so confident, so headstrong, and now the prospect of marriage had been brought up she'd practically rolled over to him, as if she was following instructions. He frowned slightly, wondering why such a strong young woman would suddenly change as if she was a completely different person which a completely different ideology.

"Eddmina, I..." he began, but found himself at a loss for words.

Perhaps it was the nerves of it all. To find out that you'd soon have to leave your home to marry a man you hardly know must be terrifying, and so maybe she was just resorting back to her septa's teachings, unsure how to cope with it all otherwise. At least, that's what Willas was hoping was occurring. He liked Eddmina's individuality, and to hear her say those words as if she was just a normal southern lady was strange.

"My Lord," she said, bowing her head before turning away and walking to the table where food had been served, leaving him alone and more confused than ever.

She'd not referred to him through his title for so long, not since their early meetings. He thought he'd earned enough of her trust to solely be called by his true name, but apparently that wasn't so. He wasn't sure entirely how to feel over it all, hurt possibly, or dejected, or lost. The latter was definitely true as even though he'd only known Eddmina for two weeks, he thought he knew her well enough to predict how she would act upon their betrothal. Apparently he was wrong.

Not wanting to force his company onto her, he went to sit with his own family, dismissing his siblings' questions surrounding the match, preferring to just eat and leave. Eddmina apparently had the same idea too, as she stayed for very few of the courses brought to them. He thought, given that it was confirmed she would soon have to leave Winterfell for High Garden, that she would want to stay as long as possible, but then he remembered how she hadn't even flowered yet, and so until she did Winterfell was hers. She could continue on as normal, or at least as normal as possible, until that faithful day came when she would be sent down to the Reach. He couldn't even imagine how she'd feel about all of that, about having to leave her home to move to some strange land to marry. No wonder she didn't want to talk to him, since he must be a constant reminder of that fact to her.

From across the hall he watched her rise from the bench, a small smile on her face as she spoke with her youngest sister, the wild looking brunette jumping up after Eddmina, the two of them leaving the hall behind. He didn't even realise he was still staring at the place where she had just left until he made eye contact with her twin brother, Robb Stark glaring over at him as if he was a threat. To an extent he was, considering he was the thing that would take his sister away. As if he was ashamed, Willas looked back down to his own plate of food before pushing it away, no longer having any sort of appetite.

"Why don't you stop staring and pining and just go and find her?" Loras suggested, his youngest brother sat across from him noticing the glint in Willas' eye that suggested he was far from happy.

"I could have said the same to you this whole trip concerning the bastard brother," Willas shot back in a low tone, making sure to look around before saying it, not wanting anyone to overhear it, even their parents.

Garlan and Margaery overheard it though, and whilst Garlan let out a loud laugh, nudging Loras in the side as he flushed bright red, Margaery scowled over at him. She let out a dramatic sigh, getting up from her seat and with a swish of her long green dress adorned with furs, made her way across the room, over to the Stark's table. When he saw her coming, Robb's face turned from contempt to surprise, a small smile appearing on his face, and Willas couldn't help but notice how alike he was to his sister. He was unsure which was the eldest, but it didn't really matter, not as Margaery took Eddmina's empty seat and began chatting away to him happily, batting her eyelids flirtatiously before shooting a covert glare over to her older brother as it to say 'see? Look how easy it is'.

"I think she forgets that the Stark-Tyrell alliance rests with you and Eddmina," Garlan muttered to him and Willas breathed out a quiet laugh.

Without saying anything else, Willas got up from the table. He didn't bother excusing himself from his family, and as he crossed the room he shot Margaery a look, as if he was trying to prove himself to her, and for a moment courage surged through him, wanting to find Eddmina, but as soon as he stepped out into the courtyard he realised he had no idea as to where she could be.

He must have looked a little clueless as he stood in the middle of the courtyard, looking around in every direction for some clue as to where she could have gone, because from behind him he heard a laugh. Stepping out from the shadows he saw Theon Greyjoy, Lord Stark's ward. Willas hadn't had the chance to speak to him during his stay, but he often saw him lurking around Winterfell, often looking at Eddmina during mealtimes. Willas got the impression that Eddmina wasn't friends with her father's ward, often avoiding eye contact with him, something he realised she never did, and whilst Theon seemed to have a good relationship with all of the other Starks, it was as if he and Eddmina couldn't bare to be in the same room with each other.

"If you're looking for Edda she'll be in the Godswood," Theon told him, taking a long swig out of his wine goblet, moving closer to Willas. "But I wouldn't go following her, the northerners don't like outsiders,"

What he'd said seemed to be a snide remark, cutting into the fact that Willas was a southerner. He sounded bitter, annoyed, and Willas wondered what he'd done to Theon to make him dislike him so much already. Either way, he wasn't going to be talked down to, not by a boy who was at least seven years younger than him.

"Speaking from experience?" he asked, raising his eyebrow ever so slightly. 

"Trust me, I have more experience with Eddmina than you could ever imagine," Theon told him smugly, an irritated look in his eye. "She'll never love you, you know. She'll never be happy down South either,"

"I don't know what I've done to offend you," Willas said, trying to sound calm despite the fact that what he was saying about Eddmina frustrating him. "But I'm not here to argue with you, I just want to find Eddmina,"

"Well when you find her, tell her that I send my regards," he told him with a final smirk, before he turned and stormed off in the other direction, leaving Willas wondering what could have possibly happened between Theon and Eddmina.

***

Eddmina was praying as she always did after meals, except this time she was unsure what she was actually praying for.

She'd not visited the Godswood for a while, not while the Tyrells were visiting. She'd taken that time to try not to think too much, but now she was alone in the peace and quiet of the wood, knelt by the hart tree by the pond, she could finally be alone with her thoughts. It was cold, and she couldn't help but wonder if it would snow soon, but she didn't mind, if anything she decided that the cold, refining her senses, would help to clear her mind.

Maybe she wasn't actually praying, but reflecting. She always started with a dedication to the old gods, but after a few moments her mind turned, the first thing that she thought of being Willas. They were betrothed officially. It was inevitable, right from the moment that they arrived, but the news had still knocked the wind out of her. Possibly part of her had hoped that it would all fall through, but another part of her liked him. Whether or not she liked him enough to marry was still unknown to her, not that it mattered. She had no choice in that, so she was at least grateful that it was to a man she enjoyed the company of.

Except she still didn't know Willas very well. In his own environment he might not be as kind, or he might just be playing a game with her. What if when the time came for her to go to High Garden he became cruel with her the way many men were with their wives? Eddmina never wanted to be the sort of woman who followed orders but she wanted to do her duty, so what would happen if by doing her duty she contradicted every moral she had?

Surely she had done that already, considering what she'd said to Willas upon him bringing the betrothal up. At the time it seemed like the right thing to say. Up until then they had simply been friends, and they could chat normally in that circumstance, but as betrothed, she thought that he would change, start wanting her to act more like a wife should, and so she'd treated their  conversation as if it was a battle and she was a soldier going into war. She didn't want to talk to him as a friend, because they weren't friends anymore, they were to be married, and even though it was in the distant future Eddmina couldn't help but want to treat things formally, the way she was taught by her mother and Septa.

"It truly is beautiful out here," she heard a voice sigh out quietly, and her eyes immediately flashed open and she shot to her feet, dusting down her skirts as she turned to face the newcomer, her face growing serious as she realised she was now stood before her betrothed.

"Forgive me, my lord, I did not mean to offend you by leaving the feast so early," she began, looking at her feet whilst he gazed around the Godswood, looking in admiration at the great wierwood tree, and she couldn't help but wonder why she felt so embarrassed to be around him now. "I wanted to come out and pray, but-"

"Eddmina, it should be me apologising to you," he told her with a soft smile, moving closer to her, and as he took her hand to lead her to sit with him on a tree stump, she had to ignore the weird butterflies that came with him touching her. "If you came out here to pray, then I'm sorry for disturbing you, but if you came out here to avoid me then I'm sorry for making you feel uncomfortable in your own home,"

"You didn't make me feel uncomfortable, my lord," she sighed, biting her lip slightly, still avoiding his eye.

"Eddmina, please call me by my name," he interrupted her, almost firmly, and she quickly realised he was still holding her hand when he squeezed it gently in an act of reassurance. "I don't know about you, but I don't want to spend our marriage skirting around our true selves just for the sake of formality,"

"You didn't make me feel uncomfortable, Willas," she repeated, a daring glint in her eye as she shot him the most subtle of smirks, and he felt a pang of affection in his chest as she did so. "I'm sorry I dismissed you so quickly earlier,"

"It didn't bother me that you left, what bothered me was what you said," he told her truthfully now that she was finally making eye contact, and he noticed her sigh. "I sounded as though you were repeating the words of a Septa,"

"I was," she nodded. "Years ago when I first learnt that I would never marry for love and that marriage was my duty to my family to secure a good alliance and provide heirs I was furious. I'm the eldest, and I do not get a keep in my own right, my life will be to support my husband from behind, but never at his side, and worst of all I have to... Eventually I came to accept the inevitability of my fate. I might not agree with everything my mother tells me, but I agree with her house words. My brothers' duty to the family is different to mine, but we each have to do it with honour. All I want is to bring honour to my family, and if  have to do that through marriage, so be it,"

Willas sighed, taking hold of her other hand, musing over how cold they both were and wondering why in seven hells she wasn't wearing gloves. She hadn't just been speaking out of nerves before, but out of what she thought was honour. Partially it was honour, but he also saw it as a way to control her fear of it all. If she acted calm and collected, acted through formalities and politeness, she didn't have to show her true self, her true thoughts. It seemed to Willas that the prospect of marriage and everything that came with it terrified her, so if she just told herself that it was her duty, as if she was going to war, she wouldn't have to face up to her fear entirely. The thought of her staying silent to bottle up her fear upset him, and he couldn't bare to think of her suffering in silence.

"Eddmina, listen to me," he began, looking deep into her eyes, seeing that even talking about marriage was making her nervous, though she hid it well. "I don't want you to be scared. We will not be getting married for a while yet. You will not have to move to High Garden until you are ready, and when you are we will take things at your pace. I promise you that while ever you are my betrothed you will never have to worry about anything of that sort, because I don't want you to think of this as your duty. Our families have made the agreement, it is inevitable, but I don't want you to see it as something you must endure,"

"I'm not scared," she said, as if she was admitting some horrible crime. "I'm just... I'm not ready for marriage yet, physically. I don't know when I will be, either, and I don't want to disappoint you,"

"Nothing you do could disappoint me, 'Mina," he reassured her, squeezing her ands once more as he trialled out the nickname, enjoying the way it sounded and the way it made her blush slightly. "If I'm being honest, marriage terrifies me, so I'm glad to wait. Nothing has to be rushed, but when the time does come, I'm going to be here with you the entire way making sure that you are comfortable and don't feel as though it is something you have to lie your way through,"

Eddmina wasn't quite sure why she lent over to hug Willas, but when she did it felt right, it felt comfortable. She rested her chin on his shoulder and his hands hesitantly stroked her back. Her gesture had clearly taken him by surprise, but she wasn't sure how else to show her gratitude to him for his kindness. In the back of her mind she still had a small worry that it was all an act, but common sense took over and told her that no one would simply act that caring and that he would gain nothing from it.

"I will be sad to see you go, Willas," she told him truthfully as they separated, and he smiled at her use of his first name.

"I'll be sad to leave, 'Mina," he nodded, still smiling at her, still holding her hands.

And so the two of them walked back to the castle together, hand in hand, discussing anything but the subject of their marriage. It was so nice Willas almost completely forgot about the strange conversation he'd had with Theon Greyjoy, so nice that Eddmina didn't notice the pains building up in her stomach.

***

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