"Everything is so beautiful here," Sansa exclaimed, making Arya huff boredly whilst Eddmina and Robb stifled a laugh; it was at least the tenth time that Sansa had made that proclamation.

Even if Sansa seemed determined to remind them of it, Eddmina did have to admit her sister had a point about the beauty of High Garden's Great Hall. She hadn't been there yet, the hall saved for special ocassions, and they had definitely decorated it to the extreme. There were roses everywhere, just in case anyone forgot what the sidgil for house Tyrell was, with decadent tapestries depicting glorious hunts and battles decorating the stone walls where ivy and vines weren't growing. Hanging on the back wall was the flag of house Tyrell, the golden rose on an emerald field, and right next to it the grey Stark wolf, the snarling, fierce animal seeming a harsh contrast to the beauty of the flower. No one in the hall was openly acknowledging that contrast though, as the band of bards at the back of the hall played merrily, and the food was served out, each dish being so grand it left Eddmina wondering just how much had been spent on it all, to the point she was surprised that Lady Olenna had never complained to her about the bill at one of their lunches.

The hall had been organised so that all of the other guests were sat on tables scattered around the hall, most of them being from other southern houses allied with the Tyrells, the ocassional table being taken up by the Stark's guards who'd come down south with the family, and it was amusing to see the northerners try and interact with the southerners, who were clearly more used to the pomp and grandeur of High Garden than they were.

Seated at the top table was Lady Olenna, Lord and Lady Tyrell, and Eddmina's parents, the rest of the Tyrell's at their own table a little further down and directly across from the Starks. The Stark table had all been seated by the time Eddmina had arrived with Robb and Jon, so the three of them sat at the back of the table next to where Arya was already sat and across from Sansa, Theon, Bran and Rickon. Even with them sat in front of her, Eddmina found herself thankful that her seat provided her with the perfect view of Willas. He looked as handsome as ever, dressed in gold with his curly hair seeming much neater than it had done the night before, sat next to Garlan and Leonette whilst Margaery and Loras were across from them. They all seemed much more comfortable in the atmosphere of the hall than Eddmina's own siblings, the lot of them laughing and joking amongst each other, whilst the Starks seemed a little more serious. They were still managing to find the fun in the evening, but it was obvious to them that they were so far from home. For Eddmina, the presence of her siblings was comforting, feeling as though she didn't have to be an outsider alone anymore.

Every so often though, Willas would look across to her and wink. She'd not seen him at all that day, not since she'd left his room the night before, and she wished she had the opportunity to talk to him properly rather than being separated. His acknowledgement of her felt like a rebellion against the traditions they had been following so closely, and she loved it, having to look away in amusement each time she caught his eye.

"You're smirking again," Arya pointed out as she poked at the food in front of her, making Eddmina bite her lip to hold back a laugh. "Do they roast everything with honey here?"

"Don't be dramatic," Sansa snapped at her, finding it so disrespectful that Arya was so open to criticize the very life she dreamed of.

"You are smirking though," Robb whispered to her, taking a sip of his wine and grimacing at the taste. "Gods, this is weak,"

"I know, it's terribly hard to get drunk here," she joked with a laugh, sipping her own as she looked across to the Tyrell table again, though all her siblings noticed exactly where she was looking that time and exactly what mad her smirk.

"Never took you for the flirting type, Edd, save something for tomorrow at least," Jon said lightly as he looked round Theon to see the Tyrell table, making the boys and Arya laugh whilst Sansa scowled.

"Do you think there will be dancing later?" she asked Eddmina eagerly, who merely shrugged. "Has there been feasts every night like this?"

It was sweet that Sansa had such an idealised view of everything around her, especially life in the South. Part of Eddmina wanted to be jealous of Sansa, since she still lived in Winterfell and had the peace of being a Stark for a few more years. Even though she liked Willas and the other Tyrells, even though she had come to terms with getting married, if she had Sansa's view of things she might be more excited for the wedding rather than nervous. She tried to drink a bit more wine in an attempt to calm her nerves, but after the food had been eaten, servers taking their plates away, she began to worry that Sansa's theory about dancing would be right, her nerves becoming impossible to kill.

"Someone's going to ask me to dance," she hissed at Robb in a slight panic. "I can't fucking dance,"

"Aye, you can't, you have two left feet," he nodded quietly in agreement, not doing anything to reassure her.

"What makes you so certain that someone'll ask you to dance with them?" Jon asked, overhearing her worry.

"Maybe because I'm the fucking bride," she rolled her eyes. "You're so clueless sometimes,"

Thankfully before anyone had the chance to get up and dance let alone invite Eddmina up, the band had quietened. She soon realised, by the melodic chiming of a spoon tapping against a crystal goblet, that the quiet that fell onto the hall was because Lord Tyrell was intending on a speech. He'd risen from his seat, and Eddmina noticed Lady Olenna roll her eyes, forever embarrassed by her own family that she was supposedly so proud and protective over. Glancing across the hall, Eddmina met Willas' gaze again, though this time he raised his eyebrows at her with a small frown of concern, clearly unknowing as to what his father was going to say.

"Friends, family, Reach-men and Northerners," he addressed formally, and Eddmina took another swig of her wine. "I wanted to thank you all for gathering to celebrate the union of House Tyrell and House Stark. Tomorrow, my son Willas, will at long last be married, and to the very wonderful Eddmina Stark,"

"At long last? Makes it sound as though he's practically dying of old age," Theon hissed amusedly to the other boys though Eddmina quickly shushed him before anyone else could hear.

"I'm sure you will all join me in wishing them every fortune in their union," Lord Tyrell continued, unaware of Theon's jokes. "To Willas and Eddmina, may you have a long marriage and many children!"

"To Willas and Eddmina," the hall courused, clinking their goblets together in a toast, though Eddmina stayed quiet, trying to avoid any attention.

"You alright?" Robb whispered carefully to her, seeing the way she bit her lip.

"Fine," she brushed him off carefully forcing a small smile. "You don't need to keep worrying about me,"

The music began playing once again, though much to Eddmina's relief no one got up to dance. That might have been because there were still latecomers arriving, guests who had travelled far to get there and hadn't arrived in time for the start of the feast. Each new party went to greet the top table before finding a seat, all except for the party of three that were clearly Dornish, and clearly invited by Willas and not his parents given the grave looks that appeared on the faces of Lord and Lady Tyrell, even Lady Olenna looking annoyed at their presence. There were two ladies, both of them dressed in decadent red gowns with dark hair, one of them a mass of curls whilst the other's hair fell straight in a long dark mane, both of them exotically beautiful, and they were accompanied by a handsome lord with a daring smirk as if he knew just how badly their presence was irritating the Westerosi's.

Rather than greeting the top table they made a beeline to the Tyrell table, greeting Willas directly. Eddmina watched as her betrothed got up, shaking the man's hand before the Dornishman pulled him into a brotherly embrace, both of them laughing like old friends, before he turned to the women, kissing their cheeks politely. She caught herself wishing jealously that he was kissing her cheek rather than those Dornish women's, and the realisation of her thought made her blush bright red, looking down from the scene until she'd composed herself.

"Who's that with Willas?" Jon asked her quietly, her siblings also watching.

"I always heard rumours of Dornish girls being the most attractive in all the Seven Kingdoms," Theon muttered as he admired the women, making Eddmina roll her eyes.

"I thought the Martells and the Tyrells were sworn enemies?" Arya asked curiously. "That's what all the history books say,"

"And I thought it was Prince Oberyn Martell who, well... You know..." Robb began but trailed off, not wanting to outright mention the jousting accident, though Eddmina understood and nodded.

"I don't know," Eddmina said honestly.

She realised she knew practically nothing of Willas' accident except for how it ended his betrothal with house Oakheart. She knew nothing about his relationship with the Martell's, specifically the man who'd caused his leg to be crushed beyond recovery, though given the warmth of their greeting, he'd clearly forgiven him. It was a little amusing to her that he'd invited Martell's to their wedding when his family was said to have a vendetta against them, but then she remembered how she'd asked for her family's invitation to specify Jon was invited too. They'd both invited guests to rebel against their parents.

Before she could really wrap her head around it all, the younger of the two women was bounding over to their table, grinning as she saw Eddmina. She came round the back of the table, brushing her hair over her shoulders, and as soon as Eddmina rose from her seat, the Dornish girl pulled her into a welcoming embrace, leaving her siblings surprised and baffled.

"You must be Eddmina Stark," she said warmly with a thick Dornish accent, offering her a dazzling grin. "I'm Arianne Martell, you're just as beautiful as Willas said you were,"

"It's nice to meet you," Eddmina said as they parted, though the last part of Arianne's statement stuck out to her. "I didn't realise Willas spoke of me to Dorne,"

"Of course, he writes to my Uncle Oberyn often, and he's mentioned you more than a few times," she explained with a confident smile, looking over to where Willas was still stood with the two other Martell's, her betrothed wearing a small smile, one Eddmina recognised from whenever she mentioned his letters; a smile of self-consciousness. "Look, he'll be concerned I'm embarrassing him!"

"He does tend to embarrass easily," she joked, making Arianne laugh as if she was joking with an old friend.

"I should go back to my Uncle, I just wanted to see if you were as wonderful as Willas makes you out to be," she squeezed her arm reassuringly, rolling her eyes as she heard her Uncle call her name. "See you!"

With that, the whirlwind of Arianne Martell quickly departed back to Willas and her family, and Eddmina sat back down, watching as the Martells found a seat on one of the tables taken up by the Stark guards, finding them better company than the southerners. Eddmina found herself smirking, enjoying the thought of the Dornish being in attendance, especially if the others were just as wild as Arianne, though her smile died when she realised her family were all staring at her.

"What?" she questioned, pouring herself another goblet of wine.

"That was the Princess of Dorne!" Sansa exclaimed excitedly, though for once Arya didn't roll her eyes, clearly finding Arianne something worthy to be excited about.

"Dorne doesn't use the title of Lord or Lady, she's just as highborn as us," Eddmina reminded her.

"But you blushed when she said Willas had called you beautiful," Arya pointed out, a small look of disgust on her face. "You fancy him,"

"Don't be dramatic," she said pointedly, wishing the conversation would change as she sipped her wine.

"Is that the King?" Bran asked them almost eagerly, and Eddmina was thankful he provided a nice distraction from herself as he pointed at the dark haired man shaking their father's hand at the top table.

"Don't be stupid," Arya snapped at him. "The King's father's age, that man looks younger,"

"And handsome," Sansa pointed out, and Eddmina had to agree even if Arya did scoff.

If he was a young, handsome man who resembled the King, that left only one option; it was the King's brother Renly. She remembered Margaery telling her that the royal family were not attending the wedding, ironic considering that it was the King who had pushed for the Stark-Tyrell betrothal, but on the honour of house Baratheon, Renly Baratheon would be in attendance. The man they saw across the hall certainly looked like how their father had described King Robert in his stories, except he was clearly not the King, no sign of overwhelming responsibility or duty weighing down on him as he laughed with their father before he turned his attention on the Tyrell table.

Just how the Martell's had made a beeline for Willas, the Stark's watched as Renly went straight to the Tyrell's, shaking Garlan and Willas' hands, kissing Leonette's, before he turned to Margaery and Loras, clearly closer to the two of them. He kissed Margaery's cheek and wrapped an arm round Loras' shoulder in a friendly embrace, but unlike the other guests he did not go off to find his own table, as instead Margaery moved over on the bench, gesturing for him to sit between herself and Loras.

"I didn't realise the Tyrells and the Baratheon's were such close friends," Robb muttered to her, and Eddmina nodded, recalling that they must be considering Renly ruled over Storm's End and that was where the tourney had been that damaged Willas' leg.

She was still so caught up in the thought of Lord Renly's friendship with the Tyrell's that she did not notice the doors to the hall opening again, another late-coming party arriving to the feast. In fact, she did not pay the newcomers any mind, as she turned to joke with Jon about something unrelated until she heard Sansa marvelling at their beauty. Eddmina looked up, expecting them to just be more Reach-men and no one of any great importance, but she quickly realised that Sansa was right. It was a short blonde woman, her arm wrapped tightly around the arm of her husband, a tall, average-looking man with greying hair clearly a lot older than her since she looked around Willas' age.

Neither of them spared a glance at the Stark table, or any of the other tables where the northerners were sat, instead heading straight to the top table, but Eddmina had a clear view of the woman's face, and as soon as her eyes fell onto her she instantly knew who she was. With a decaent up-do of blonde hair, green eyes, a pointed chin with a small crooked nose, Eddmina felt her stomach drop and twist in realisation that it was Amariah Oakheart. She felt numb, a small pain stabbing inside of her as she felt embarrassment and jealousy overtake her.

For a while she'd known of Willas' previous betrothed, but she'd just been a name on a page, or a smudge of disgrace in Willas' history. Eddmina could happily pretend she'd never existed, ignoring her the way Willas had wanted her to, agreeing with Leonette that she was not worth meeting. With the two's reassurance she'd started to believe that maybe Amariah had been a mistake, and she was the one who was right for Willas, considering they were to be married the next day, but Amariah's presence set her on fire with shame, feeling as though she wasn't worthy. Clearly his previous betrothed was memorable enough to be invited, and it felt like a move against her, as if someone was trying to prove that she wasn't good enough for Willas.

"Who is she, Edda?" Sansa asked, pulling Eddmina out of herself, though she was shaking a little, her hand clenched around the stem of her goblet. "She's beautiful!"

"Sansa, promise me one thing, call it a wedding present to me," Eddmina said firmly. "You will not talk to that woman. None of you will,"

"Who is she?" Arya asked, not getting the fact that Eddmina didn't want to talk about it.

"It doesn't matter, just none of you even acknowledge her," Eddmina said, looking around at her siblings, trying to calm down a little before she glanced across the hall at the Tyrell table.

None of them looked thrilled at the sight of Amariah and her husband wandering up to the top table to greet the hosts. Margaery and Loras were both whispering to each other and to Renly seriously, whilst Leonette was clenching her jaw in fury. As if to calm her Garlan had his hand on her shoulder, though he wasn't looking at her. Garlan was instead watching his brother, watching and waiting to see how Willas would react. Eddmina was waiting for that too, but Willas didn't seem either angry or upset, no overwhelming emotion taking over him at all. He instead looked across and met her eye, offering her a small nod as if to check she was alright. Eddmina nodded back quickly, hopping it hid her embarrassment and her anxiety of not being good enough.

"Edd," Robb called seriously, making her look away from Willas to her siblings, who were all looking at her in confused curiosity. "Who are they?"

"Probably just some southern pricks," Theon called carelessly, though he was surprised when Eddmina snorted out a laugh. "Was I right?"

"Yes, Greyjoy, for once you were right," she sighed, swigging her wine. "Her parents are friends with Lady Tyrell, but Willas' siblings don't like her very much,"

"Why not? She's beautiful," Sansa said in wonder, and Eddmina with a small scowl couldn't help but agree with her sister.

"Nah, she's silly looking," Arya dismissed, making Sansa sigh in disdain. "What? There's far prettier people than her, that doesn't automatically make them good people just cause the songs go that way,"

"I've taught you something at least," Eddmina let out a small bitter laugh, finishing her wine.

As bad as it looked for her to get up and leave, she could not stick around. Not as she looked at the top table and saw Lady Olenna shaking their hands, noticing even Willas' parent's looked uncomfortable with Amariah's presence. Lady Olenna had been the one to tell her of Willas' last betrothal, so it was fitting if she was the one who'd invited them, finding another way to test Eddmina. It was all one big game to see if she was worthy of house Tyrell, but Eddmina didn't like games, and she was in no mood to play one as petty as that.

"I'm done. I'm going back to my room," she told her siblings, though that only concerned them more.

"What? You can't go!" Sansa exclaimed. "You're the bride!"

"Not till tomorrow," she muttered, getting up from the table.

Before she had the chance to leave, just as she had risen from her seat, she saw both Leonette and Garlan had come over to their table. She came round to the other side to meet them, and as soon as she was close enough Leonette quickly looped her arm through Eddmina's, trying desperately to hide her anger, squeezing her arm a little too tightly as if she was suddenly so fiercely protective over the northern girl.

"I'm going to tell my parents that you've both gone for an early night," Garlan told Eddmina quietly as if to not attract attention. "I know you're most likely just as upset for that woman being here, but I need you to get Leo out of here before she tries to break her nose again,"

"What about Willas?" she asked quietly, glancing over in the direction of the top table, fighting back a scowl as she saw Amariah and her husband completely unaware of the drama they had caused as they talked with the Tyrells.

"He's fine, I promise you I won't let that woman go near him," Garlan assured her before turning his focus to his wife. "I'll be up to the room soon, love, try not to think about her, alright?"

Leonette didn't respond, and as Eddmina said a quick farewell to her family, she let Leonette lead her out of the hall. In the corridors, she realised they were in a part of the keep she didn't know too well, but Leonette did, as she led the two of them down a passage that opened out into the gardens, part that Eddmina had never seen before. Night had fallen, so the only light outside were the lanterns lit along the stone walls and the bright shining stars in the dark sky.

Now they were out of the hall, Leonette let out a long sigh of relief before letting out a noise of irritation that sounded a little like a scream, though Eddmina merely stood there, shivering. It wasn't because she was cold, if anything she was too warm, but she felt sick, completely overcome with emotions too complex to name as she fell back onto a garden wall, her head in her hands as she found herself fighting back the overwhelming desire to break into sobs.

She'd never felt like that before, her chest tight and her head spinning. She wanted to curl into a ball, hide away and never be found. She felt as though she was underwater, unable to breathe and unable to pull her mind away from the thoughts of what had just happened. The image of Amariah, looking completely unbothered to walk into the pre-wedding party for the man she betrayed, greeting the Tyrells as if nothing had happened, the way Sansa had called her beautiful and marvelled over her, as if she was something to behold. Maybe she was, maybe this was all just one big, cruel joke to prove to Eddmina that she was nothing compared to who had come before her.

"Gods, how could they be so stupid to invite her!" Leonette cried angrily, pacing in front of Eddmina. "I mean, Willas invites the Martell's, Loras insists on inviting Renly, you make sure your whole family are invited, that's all fine. All of those are wanted and accepted here, but her! Her of all people!"

"Was it Lady Olenna who invited them?" Eddmina asked quietly, her voice shaking, though she didn't wait for an answer. "I knew she didn't like me,"

"She's a cruel old woman who just wants to test you to see your true colours and see if you're good enough for the house," Leonette exclaimed with an irritated huff, sitting down on the bench next to Eddmina, wrapping her arm around her shoulder supportively. "She spends so much of her time calling Mace and Alerie fools, thinking of Garlan and Loras as idiotic boys, but she's the true fool if she can't see you're more than good enough,"

"My sister thought she was beautiful," she whispered weakly, finding that the worst betrayal. "Sansa said-"

"Yes, but I heard what your father's ward said, Theon, isn't it?" Leonette said, and when Eddmina nodded, she continued, "He was right too, they are just southern pricks,"

"If my brothers and Theon knew who she was they'd be furious," she muttered quietly, finding comfort in the thought that Robb would be just as angry if he knew what was happening, feeling her head stop spinning a little, taking a few deep breaths.

"If it makes you feel better, Arianne liked you, and Willas values her opinion very highly," Leonette told her reassuringly.

"I didn't realise Willas was such good friends with the Martells," she mumbled quietly, trying to hide that it did make her feel better knowing the Princess of Dorne liked her.

"Oh, yes, after the... the accident, Oberyn was more than apologetic," Leonette explained cautiously. "He sent his own maesters and healers, and even if Mace, Alerie and Olenna hated him for what he did Willas couldn't find it in him to blame him. It could have happened to anyone. The two kept in touch, and Willas occasionally went down to Dorne to visit,"

That was when the two of them were joined by Margaery, her quiet footsteps catching them both off-guard. In fact they only really noticed her presence as she sat down on Eddmina's other side, wrapping her own arms around her shoulders, the northern girl being held by both the Tyrell women. Margaery let out a small huff of annoyance before flashing her usual smirk.

"Her nose is still crooked, did you see, Leo?" Margaery asked in amusement, Leonette sighing out a quiet laugh.

"My Uncles taught me how to punch," Leonette said simply, as if that was explanation enough for her past behaviour. "What's going on in there?"

"It's winding down a little to be honest, I'm sad there was no dancing tonight," Margaery explained before squeezing Eddmina's shoulders. "Mostly because I just wanted a dance with your handsome brother,"

"You sound like Sansa," she sighed as she rolled her eyes, sitting up a little. "Besides, Robb's like me, two left feet, which is surprising given how coordinated he is with a sword,"

The three women sat on that bench huddled together for at least half an hour, sat under the stars, talking about nothing in particular. If there was one thing Eddmina knew about the Tyrell siblings, it was that they were fiercely protective over each other, so the presence of Amariah had upset more than just Eddmina, so it was as if the three of them wanted to take their minds off it all. It was nice to know she wasn't alone in her annoyance, and she soon found herself calm again, as if Amariah's presence was forgotten, or at least ignored for the time being.

Leonette and Margaery began to discuss the wedding, and Eddmina strangely found herself feeling a little excited. That was new, maybe she was just so sick of feeling separate to the other Tyrells, or maybe she was just ready to be married to Willas. Even if she was ready to be married to him, when she heard the telltale click of his cane against the stone flooring and saw him stood awkwardly in front of the women, she felt her cheeks grow red.

"I'd wondered where you'd all escaped to," he siad with a small laugh, smiling as Eddmina stood up to greet him. "Will you take a walk with me?"

She nodded, quickly bidding the two women goodnight and ignoring how they whistled in encouragement as she linked her arm through Willas', the two of them setting off through the dimly-lit gardens. Willas knew the gardens like the back of his hand though, and he knew exactly where he wanted to take Eddmina. The two of them didn't speak whilst they were walking, enjoying the comfortable silence and the presence of the other, though eventually it became unbearable for him, desperately trying to think of something to say to her, especially as he finally led her down the maze of rose hedges, into the secluded alcove.

The gardens were so expansive that you could walk around them for months without discovering all of their secrets, but this was Willas' favourite secret. The corner of the maze had been covered by vines and ivy, growing over the top, providing the perfect shelter from the sun. In the centre of the alcove was the great marble fountain, and surrounding it were the few roses that were blue enough to be classed as Winter Roses. At the sight of them, Eddmina gasped.

"The moisture from the fountain as well as the shade from the vines means that this is one of the only places shady enough in High Garden for Winter Roses to grow," Willas explained, holding back a grin as he noticed Eddmina's wonder at the sight. "I've been wanting to tell you all night just how lovely you look,"

"You're too kind," she brushed his compliment off, going to sit on the edge of the fountain, surrounding herself in the rose plants, and it was a beautiful sight that made his breath catch in his throat slightly. "Should we even be here, together? Tradition and all that,"

"Fuck tradition," he said firmly, making her laugh. He moved to sit next to her, and carefully took hold of her hand. "How're your family?"

"Sansa loves it here, just like I thought, Robb and Jon are constantly worrying over me," she said with a small shrug before a sad smile grew on her face. "This is the farthest South my father has been since the war. I don't think he likes the reminders of it all, the last time he was this far south..."

"It's strange to think isn't it, that just under twenty years ago our families were enemies, on opposite sides of a rebellion," he mused, stroking his thumb across her knuckles, marvelling over how soft her hands were despite a lifetime of living in the cold. "I wanted to bring you here to tell you that... Well, it's not our pasts that matter. If we had met back in the days of the rebellion we would have been enemies, but we are not our family's history, we are the future, and there's nothing I'm looking forward to more than what lies ahead of us,"

"Are you telling me this because she's here?" Eddmina asked before she could stop herself, hating herself when she noticed him cringe slightly.

"I had hoped it would make up for the disrespect my family have shown you by inviting her," he explained carefully, looking her in the eye. "Everything I said to you last night still stands. I don't care for her, I only care for you, Mina,"

Eddmina let out a sigh of relief she didn't even realise she had been holding in, looking down at the blue roses at her feet. If Winter Roses could grow in High Garden, if even they had a place in the Reach, maybe she did too.

Perhaps Arya had been right too, perhaps she did fancy Willas. It was a good job considering they were to be wed the next morning, but she found herself captivated by him, not just by his constant kindness but his good looks. Now he was sat close to her and not across the hall, she noticed he'd trimmed his beard a little, neatening it at the edges so he didn't look so rugged, and in the moonlight his bright green eyes seemed to twinkle warmly. She found herself trying to spot new details of his face, like the beauty spot right in his hairline, mostly covered by the shag of his light brown curls, or the way he had a small scar on the bridge of his nose. She wondered how he'd gotten it, but decided it wasn't polite conversation.

He probably wasn't conventionally beautiful, and his two brothers were most likely considered the handsome ones, but Eddmina didn't care. To her, he was the most handsome man she'd ever seen, ever had the great pleasure of meeting, and as she realised just how smitten she was with him she felt her chest tighten slightly.

"Willas," she said quietly, unsure of what to say, though she squeezed his hand in hers and edged just a little closer to him.

It didn't matter that she'd not thought her words through. Even if she had some sort of clue for what to say, she never got the chance to speak, not as Willas' spare hand moved to gently hold her cheek. She found herself lost for words, her heart pounding as they moved closer together and he placed his lips against hers. It was so cautious and gentle, but the way his thumb stroked over her cheek, and the way he slowly began to pull away as if worried he'd overstepped their boundaries, it made her want him even more.

She'd been kissed before, but never so caringly, no kiss ever holding such care or emotion. Her lips chased his, immediately kissing him back, not realising until that moment how desperate she had been to kiss him. It felt right, it felt comfortable yet thrilling, and as he ran his tongue against her bottom lip she found her mouth opening a little, allowing him entry as their kiss deepened. What was once gentle soon became passionate, as if the two of them were finally releasing all of their pent up feelings for the other.

His hand was still holding her face, and whilst one of hers was intertwined with his, their fingers looped together, her other moved up to rest on the back of his head, her fingers instantly knotting into his curls. She wondered just how long she'd been secretly wanting to run her fingers through his hair, his hair that she found so beautiful. It was beautiful, just like the rest of him, and she found herself in wonder that he wanted to kiss her just as much as she wanted him.

Eventually he pulled his lips from hers, and as she caught her breath he rested his forehead against hers, as if he didn't want to be any further away from her. He breathed out a soft, content sigh, and she found herself letting out a quiet laugh, her hand stroking down from his hair to rest on his chest.

"Do you know how long I've wanted to do that?" he breathed out shakily with a small laugh.

"How long?" she asked teasingly, knowing it was probably meant as a rhetorical question, yet curiosity had gotten the better of her.

"Since that night in the Godswood in Winterfell," he answered, and she was surprised, that night being such a long time ago. "You're wonderful, Mina,"

"And you, Will," she said, daring to kiss him again.

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Word count: 5768

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