"You got fat,"

Of all the ways Eddmina expected the King to greet her father, the two friends reuniting for the first time since the Greyjoy rebellion, she didn't expect that. Though, of course, there were many things she didn't expect about the King from first impressions. She knew that body image did not dictate a person's strengths or worthiness, but from the stories, she'd imagined a King who weilded a war hammer and was still in his prime. The stories her father had told her had been set well before her time, so she knew that the young men who were the heroes of the tales were not that young anymore, but her father always seemed as though he'd aged gracefully from his younger years. The King, clearly, had not.

She wasn't the only one to think that either, she could tell by the way Arya shot a look over to her as if pointing out something amusing, or the way that Robb seemed to narrow his eyebrows slightly, barely noticeable to anyone that wasn't his twin. Eddmina tried not to focus on the comparisons of the King in their childhood stories and the reality they faced, instead dwelling on the insult. She struggled to keep a baffled scowl off her face as she instead stared at the ground clenching her jaw. She imagined not seeing Robb for twelve years only for the first thing she said to him be an insult. Clearly Robb thought the same, her brother exchanging a subtle glance as if he was trying to wrap his own mind around it. She heard chuckling behind her and fought the urge to look round and meet Willas' eye.

If anything, her mother arranging the welcome party so that the Tyrells were stood behind the Starks had annoyed her more than the King's comment. She was more than happy stood next to Robb and their mother, that was her usual place after all since they were often organised in age order, but as well as her usual annoyance that Jon was pushed behind the rest of them, so was her marital family. It was only for a few moments but she couldn't help but think it was a slight against them, remembering her mother's initial distaste of the Tyrells on their first visit to Winterfell. It was only for a few moments, but it sad still hard knowing Willas was behind her, not to mention the second they all had to kneel upon the King's arrival and Eddmina heard a barely audible hiss of pain from behind her, she had to fight every instinct inside of her to not spin around immediately and make sure he was alright.

She'd barely had chance to speak to Willas before they had to assemble as well, so she was full of worry for his wellbeing. She couldn't wait for the welcoming to end so she could speak to him, and as if he sensed her desperation to turn around, Robb elbowed her subtly. With a small sigh she remembered her place and instead turned her outrage away from her mother for separating her and Willas and onto the king for insulting her father.

Clearly her father was much more thick-skinned than her, as he returned the favour by a noticeable glance down to the King's gut with a raise of his eyebrows. It was times like that when Eddmina really loved her father and the dry, silent humour of the north. There weren't many occasions when her father was funny, but she found herself stiffing a laugh. The two embraced like brothers, and as they all rose Eddmina took the opportunity to glance behind her to look at Willas for the briefest of moments. Garlan had helped him rise, and though he looked a little uncomfortable, he made sure to offer her a small smile of reassurance. She looked forward again, only to see how the courtyard had been practically transformed by the amount of guards and attendants that had ridden through, not to mention the grand wheelhouses, and Eddmina was sure there had never been so much colour in the courtyard before. Even when the Tyrells visited there hadn't been so much decadence, which was saying something considering how much her marital family loved their wealth.

Eddmina's eyes were instantly drawn to the line of horses just behind the king, seeing a man so large he reminded her of Old Nan's stories of giants, with a helmet shaped like a dog. The Hound, she'd heard stories of him. Next to him, she saw a golden haired teen, and though she logically knew it was the prince, she couldn't help but note how he looked nothing like his father, looking purely Lannister. That was the boy her sister was pining for? Eddmina decided to reserve judgement, but she wasn't impressed. Her attention went to the guards surrounding the wheelhouse, and watched as one of them whipped their helmet off, flicking their mane of blonde hair about. Ser Jaime Lannister, she assumed, and as the door to the carriage opened and the Queen emerged with her two younger children and her ladies, Eddmina decided she'd never been surrounded by quite so many blondes. The younger children were very much Lannister children too, looking the image of their mother, who seemed far too concerned with looking around Winterfell in mild disgust. Eddmina barely had chance to decide she didn't like her before the King was stood before her.

Too busy studying the others, she'd not noticed how the King had joked with her father, embraced her mother. He'd ruffled Rickon's hair and shaken Robb's hand, but now he was stood before her. She decided against curtseying, she'd already knelt, so instead nodded her head respectfully.

"You must be Eddmina, you're like a prettier version of your father," he remarked, shooting an amused glance to the man in question. Eddmina heard a stifled laugh from behind, not able to distinguish if it was Jon, Theon or Garlan and decided she would hit the three of them later.

She smiled politely, fighting off the urge to make some sort of witty comment, but the King moved on down the line of Starks. She watched as Sansa tried to stop herself beaming as the King called her pretty too, clearly taking the compliment a lot more seriously than Eddmina did. While the King joked with Bran, Eddmina found herself watching as the Queen approached, holding her hand out to her father. He kissed her ring graciously while her mother nodded respectfully, though Eddmina couldn't bring herself to do the same, still thinking about the look of disdain the queen had worn towards Winterfell.

"Take me to your crypts, Ned, I want to pay my respects," the King stated, and Eddmina felt a clench in her stomach.

The crypts was a place for Starks and Northerners, and she knew exactly why the King wanted to go down there. Despite never knowing her Aunt, part of Eddmina felt rather sad and protective over the poor woman. She was dead, long dead, why couldn't the King just move on and not bring up the past? From what she had heard, her aunt Lyanna didn't particularly return his feelings, could he not just let her rest in peace?

As soon as he'd spoken the words Eddmina glanced to the Queen and noticed her face fall, somehow managing to look even even more bitter. Perhaps if she didn't look so condescending she'd be beautiful, but Eddmina couldn't help but think she must have had a rather sad life to constantly seem as though everything was to her distaste.

"We've been riding for a month, my love, surely the dead can wait," Queen Cersei spoke, each word laced with desperate dislike, no matter how kind she tried to make them sound.

The King ignored her, instead gestured for Lord Stark to lead him away, and with a slight look to his wife and family, he obliged. It was obvious how different the two men had become in their years apart. Eddmina always thought her father was honourable and respectful to his family, especially her mother, but the king clearly wasn't the same. Barely ten minutes and she could see that the marriage of Robert Baratheon and Cersei Lannister was cold and callus; the exact sort of marriage Eddmina dreaded.

Upon the King and Lord Stark's departure, the atmosphere became a little more awkward. The difference between the northerners and the Royals seemed glaringly obvious in that moment. Sansa and Arya were quietly bickering about something, though before she could bother finding out what was occurring between them Eddmina felt a hand from behind sneak forward and intertwine with her own, squeezing it three times. She squeezed back, wanting to turn around and look at her husband properly, but she could feel people looking at her, including her mother and the queen.

"Robb, Edda, perhaps you could show her grace to her rooms?" Lady Stark suggested, and while Robb shot a subtly annoyed look to their mother, Eddmina was an expert at pretending, and flashed a polite smile to the Queen.

"Of course, we'd be honoured, if that's alright with you, your grace?" she spoke with a smile as Robb nodded, feeling as if she was faced with Lady Olenna for the first time again, but even so, her grandmother-by-law was much more friendly, and that was saying something.

The Queen didn't speak. She merely nodded, looking over to her own twin brother before gesturing for her younger children to follow her as Robb began to lead them off into the keep while the rest of the royal party began to disperse. In a moment of confidence before going with her brother, Eddmina looked over to Willas with an apologetic smile, one that he responded to with a wink that made her face feel hot. As she noticed just how smart he looked in his furs with his curls tamed ever so slightly, she had to fight her desire to abandon the queen and the rest of the royals to lead him off to their own rooms, something that he clearly sensed.

"I'll see you later," he whispered, barely audible to anyone else as he winked at her again, infuriating her with just how attracted she was to him.

Eddmina fought off a smirk as she quickly caught up with Robb, who looked completely out of his depth with the queen, though he was hiding it well, yet again his true emotions being something only his twin could really notice. It didn't help that the Queen remained silent despite the pleasantries the Starks exchanged with her. If Eddmina hadn't spent the last seven months being pushed to the limit of her comfort zone with new people she decided she'd probably feel overwhelmed, but she'd had more than enough experience. She'd faced Dornish folk, the Tyrell cousins and even Willas' previous betrothed, who was Cersei Lannister to scare her, even if she was the Queen?

They were almost to the rooms that had been reserved for the royal party - rooms for the queen and her children across the hall from the King's room - when she finally acknowledged them properly.

"Thank you, Robb and... Emira, was it?" she spoke with practiced curtesy.

"Eddmina, your grace," Eddmina corrected her, though not without her own false smile. "But you're welcome all the same. I hope you find the rooms comfortable enough. I realise that Winterfell isn't nearly as grand as the capital but it's still a beautiful place. I hope we'll see you at the feast, your grace,"

With that, she curtsied once more and linked her arm through Robb's, offering one final smile to the Queen before leading her brother away. She felt rather pleased with how she had conducted herself, smirking slightly in amusement. Still polite enough to not be rude, but snide enough to play the woman at her own game. Robb was confused, so as soon as they were out of earshot, down one of the stone spiral staircases that was deserted, Robb stopped and turned to face her.

"What was that about?" he asked, his eyes narrowed.

"What was what?" she raised her eyebrow as she spoke blankly. He gestured off in the direction they had just walked from, making her let out a small laugh of annoyance. "Enough southerners have gotten my name wrong and insulted my home for me to know how to deal with them. Besides, I was still polite, I don't see what the problem is,"

"True, but..." he let out a small laugh of his own before biting his lip in thought. "Mother would be furious,"

"Oh, let her be furious," she rolled her eyes, taking hold of his arm again as they continued to climb down the staircase. "You should have seen her this morning. She came to my room and then was all flustered because she realised Willas was also there,"

"You know she never talks about him," Robb said, suddenly finding the topic of the Queen rather boring in place of discussing Eddmina's marriage. "When you're in High Garden, she acts as though you're just there visiting friends, it's like she just chooses to ignore that your wedding even happened,"

"Well that's lovely," Eddmina sighed. "I'm sure she's got more than enough to be thinking about, what with the royal visit, but Will isn't like these southerners, he's a good man and I... Oh, Gods, Robb, I told him I loved him this morning,"

Robb stopped in his tracks, pulling Eddmina to a stop too. He looked shocked, alarmed, but also like he was going to laugh. She couldn't meet his eye, fighting off an embarrassed smile as she looked out of one of the narrow windows, wondering just what her brother thought of her. Once the cautious girl, what had happened to her?

"I got the impression that you did from your letter, let alone being in the same room as the two of you, but what did he say?" Robb asked, clearly more excitedly curious than angry like she thought he would be.

"I  didn't really give him the chance to reply, I rushed out of the door almost as soon as I said it," she confessed, letting out a laugh, especially as her brother laughed along. "This is ridiculous. Winterfell is full of royal southerners who want to insult our home and yet here we are, preoccupied by the failings of my love life,"

"Honestly it's a nice distraction from all of these southerners," Robb commented, gesturing out of one of the narrow windows near where they were stood as a scowl grew on his face.

As Eddmina looked out of the window she noticed exactly what had made Robb scowl. The window provided a slight view of the courtyard, and so she could see the Prince stood by his horse. Across from him on the other side of the yard, Sansa was stood with her friends, the other girls who grew up in the keep, the ones Eddmina never particularly got on with, but they were all chatting and giggling, acting as if they hadn't noticed the prince. Sansa was fighting a blush the same colour as her flaming hair as she kept glancing over to the blonde Baratheon, not nearly as subtle as she thought she was. Eddmina hoped she wasn't as painfully awkward when trying to hide her infatuation to her husband, but as well as reminding her of herself, Sansa made Eddmina worry.

"At least I'd had a conversation with Will before I started blushing like that," she spoke quietly, mostly to distract herself from the dull fear she felt stirring in the pit of her stomach.

Why was all of her instincts screaming against her sister's crush? It was a crush, harmless in theory. Sansa had lots of little crushes, mostly on handsome knights or fairy tale princes from songs, but stood just a few feet away was a real prince, and Eddmina knew exactly what was to play out in the next few weeks. She knew because she had already been there, she'd already faced a betrothal, and things felt far too similar.

"Is this how you felt? When the Tyrells came and you all knew I'd end up betrothed?" she asked Robb, glancing at her twin before looking back at the prince. He seemed determined to ignore the flock of girls as he spoke with the Hound instead.

"I don't know, maybe this feels worse?" Robb shrugged, though as he looked out the window and saw the Prince shoot a glance in Sansa's direction with an unreadable smirk, he glared, clenching his jaw and his fists. "No, this is definitely worse. She's ten and three, Edd! You don't think-"

"We need to keep an eye on them both," Eddmina decided firmly, Robb nodding in agreement. "Perhaps he's a nice boy and we're just being overprotective, but rather be safe than sorry. I promised to go riding with Arya tomorrow, but I'll spend the rest of the day with Sansa and try and talk to her seriously. You need to try and get to know the Prince,"

"Why do I get stuck with the Prince?" Robb asked in baffled outrage. "Maybe we should recruit Willas in this scheme,"

"Bold of you to assume I'm not already planning on my recruitment speech," she smirked, rolling her eyes before hitting his arm gently. "Come on, I'm going to go and see if they need help in the stables with the royal horses, you should go to the kitchens and see if they need help with the feast,"

"Gods I almost forgot how demandingly helpful you can be," he teased, making her let out a sigh of annoyance. "High Garden won't know what's hit it when you become Lady,"

***

"When you were lonely you needed a man, someone to lean on well I understand," Eddmina sang softly, smirking at the words of the song as she laid in the bath, Willas laid opposite to her, reclined back and wearing his own smirk as he listened to her song. "It's only natural, but why did it have to be me? Nights can be empty nights can be cold, so you were looking for someone to hold. Well it's only natural, but why did it have to be me?"

They did this sometimes in High Garden, just lie in the bath together while Eddmina sang. This song was surprisingly one of her favourites, one that she'd learnt while in Dorne, though it apparently came from the east. Regardless of its origin, she loved it, and so did Willas, as he quietly hummed along, playing with a strand of her hair as she sat up, leaning closer to him. His other hand was resting on her cheek, his thumb occasionally running over the soft flushed skin, while her own hands gently massaged his bad leg as it was stretched out to the side of her.

He never usually complained about it, but she could tell it had been aching, as he had told her it occasionally did whenever it was overly strained. She had expected him to pull away the moment she began to touch it, but instead he had relaxed into her touch, and so she was carefully working out the knots of tension. The whole time though, all she could think about was how much trust it had cost for him to let her do this, and how glad she was to be with him. They'd not spoken about what she had said that morning, but she didn't care. The gesture of their closeness was more than enough for her for that moment.

"I was so lonesome I was blue, I couldn't help it, it had to be you and I, always thought you knew the reason why," she continued with her song, pitching her voice a little higher, making Willas chuckle. "I only wanted a little love affair, but now I can see you're beginning to care, well it's only natural, but why did it have to be me?"

"I do believe this song was intended as a duet," he teased, and she let out a quiet laugh.

"Well it's a good job I can sing both parts," she remarked, though was clearly done as she lent forward so their noses were touching. "Unless you care to sing the lines intended for the man?"

"Now if I did that your ears would never recover," he joked, daring to push a gentle kiss to her cheek. "I'd much prefer to listen to you. Sing another, love, please,"

"Take it easy with me please, touch me gently like a summer evening breeze, take your time, make it slow, andante andante, just let the feeling grow," she began to sing a new song, her voice much softer this time, her face still touching his to the point she could feel the heat of his breath. "Make your fingers soft and light, let your body be the velvet of the night, touch my soul, you know how, andante andante, go slowly with me now,"

"Mina," he breathed out a small sigh, but she quietened him with a soft kiss as her hands carefully left his leg to instead knot into his hair.

"I'm your music, I'm your song, play me time and time again and make me strong," she continued, fighting a small smirk from not only her own happiness but from the knowledge that Willas was looking at her in slight awe. "Make me sing, make me sound, andante andante, tread lightly on my ground, andante andante, oh please don't let me down,"

"Where'd you learn this one?" he muttered quietly, his hands moving from her face to trail softly across her body.

"Princess Arrianne lent me a book of Eastern songs, I learnt a few to impress my sister but I decided a few were just for us," she confessed quietly, smiling at him. He remembered the stoic, serious girl he met just under a year ago and he looked at her in amazement, overwhelmed by how dearly her felt for her. "What do you think?"

"I think that you're remarkable and that... well, perhaps if I didn't feel so strongly it would be easier to find the words," he sighed, one hand resting on her waist while the other went back to her jaw. "I wish the words 'I love you' were strong enough to convey how I feel for you, but they don't even come close,"

Eddmina could barely remember what happened from then, the two of them tangled in the bathtub, kissing passionately only to part for breath and to whisper hushed devotions. She wished it wasn't all such a blur, but just as Willas has said, perhaps if she wasn't so enamoured her feelings would be easier to comprehend, and the events that followed wouldn't have just been a passionate haze. The last thing she remembered was singing and Willas practically confessing his love, she wasn't sure how they ended up on their bed, their bodies intertwined, her head resting on his bare chest as he held her close, pressing dozens upon dozens of soft kisses to the top of her head.

"I love you," he whispered eventually. "I wanted to say it this morning, but you were gone before I could even think of the right thing to say. That doesn't matter now though, because I love you, Mina,"

"I didn't think it would be like this, marriage," she spoke quietly, her fingers tracing across his shoulder, making him shiver slightly. "I didn't think I'd feel like this,"

"Is that a bad thing?" he asked with a small frown, and as she tilted her neck up to look at him properly, she offered him a small smile of reassurance.

"No," she shook her head. "I feel a little foolish for always being so stubbornly opposed to marriage only to fall so deeply in love after only a few months,"

"Well that makes two of us," he laughed, kissing her head again, his hands stroking her waist. "I used to see Garlan and Leo and just think that I would never experience what they have. Whenever Garlan used to talk of his wife so affirmingly, so lovingly, I used to think that it would never happen to me. The gods were cruel enough to damage my leg, why not take away any chance of marital happiness too. Perhaps I was too quick to be doubtful, though I'll never admit that to my family, I don't think I could cope with their smugness,"

"I can't imagine your grandmother saying 'I told you so' is an enjoyable experience," she teased. making him let out a frustrated groan.

"I love her, of course I do, but gods that woman can be insufferable!" he laughed, kissing her one final time before gesturing for them to sit up. "Shouldn't we be getting ready for this feast?"

Eddmina scowled, sitting up only so Willas could get up before she flopped back down in irritation. So far she had managed to go about her day without really interacting with any of the visitors, but she knew it would be inevitable as soon as she entered the great hall. After such a wonderful few moments all she wanted to do was remain in her joyful little bubble, a bubble that would surely burst upon seeing the prince, or the king, or the queen, or maybe anyone from the royal party.

"Come on, do you really want to leave your brothers to face the royals on their own?" Willas held his hand out to her, helping her sit up.

"Brother," she corrected. "Bran and Rickon are too young to be really bothered, so it'll just be Robb we're protecting, since I can guarantee my mother will banish Jon outside as she does anytime there's an important meal,"

"I hate that," Willas muttered, though Eddmina merely raised her eyebrows in agreement as she got up from the bed and began to rummage through their trunk to find the dress she wanted to wear. "Is there anyway we could make things easier for him?"

"It's not as if we can legitimise him, and even if he was a Stark my mother would still hate him," she explained, slipping on an underdress before tightening her corset, gesturing for Willas to come and help her. "I understand why. While she was stuck in Riverrun with newborn twins her husband had an affair and produced a bastard of his own. Most lords do it, most break their vows, but they don't keep the evidence of their misadventures so close to their legitimate family. It can't be nice to live with that reminder, but Jon doesn't deserve to be held responsible for his father's actions. The child is not to blame for the parents deed,"

The two of them continued to dress, Eddmina braiding her hair back into a bun at the back of her head while Willas got dressed. As soon as her hair was acceptable she slipped into a deep blue velvet gown, one that she had made herself. She'd done the embroidery herself too, the long flowing skirts of the dress decorated with fine silver stitches sewn to perfectly imitate sketches of the stars and constellations Willas had drawn for her one night while they stargazed. She'd found a pile of his sketches on the desk in their room at High Garden and had remembered what Margaery had told her upon their first meeting, how he always used to draw her pictures of the stars, and so she had decided to make a project out of recreating his drawings onto a dress.

It had turned out rather nice, and so as she noticed through the refection of the mirror that Willas was watching her she felt quite pleased. He smiled, running his fingers through his curls in an attempt to neaten his hair, but the whole time he seemed unable to take his eyes off her. She was the same, admiring his appearance as he was dressed in green embellished with golden roses, with silver wolves embroidered on the cuff of his sleeves. She crossed the room and took hold of his hand.

"Come on, we best not be late," she suggested with a small smile, and so the two of them left their room, walking off to the unknowns that the feast would bring.

***

Word count: 4749

***
Authors note:
Hey guys thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this part!

Yet again I'm borrowing songs from real life. This chapter features 'Why Did It Have To Be Me?' and 'Andante Andante' by ABBA, two of my favourite songs by one of my favourite bands!

Please let me know your thoughts in the comments and hopefully I'll have the next chapter up soon!

~Olivia