( PART I; a dreary existence. )
⟵ ◊ ⟶
chapter 4: the bargain to be struck.

FATE was looking up for Raina, for not even a day after speaking with the princess in the stables she was fetched by the queen's personal hand maiden for a private chat. She hadn't expected such swift results from her experiment with the princess, but it seemed that the Old wanted to bless her for the years of misfortune she'd endured.

Her heart pounded as she made her way down the dim hall, toward the chambers where the royals were staying at the time. With every quick step she took, it somehow seemed to align with the beat of her heart.

Her mind raced with the anxiety of being personally summoned by the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, but she tried her best to shove away her uneasiness. Did the princess say something to her mother that made Raina look like a good candidate, or did she say something of the opposite nature to have her called upon and punished?

Raina had always been the worst at overthinking things, but she knew it was just one of her many amazing qualities she couldn't change.

It was almost hard to keep up with the queen's handmaiden, who was swift on her feet but Raina managed to until they finally reached the wing of the Keep where the royals were staying. The door to the queen's chambers was almost daunting to the bastard, but she summoned all the courage she could as she followed the hand maiden into the room.

Raina's dark eyes found Cersei immediately, for she was a beautiful mess of golden waves, crimson silk and furs seated near the fire place. The princess was present herself, she too dressed as extravagantly as her mother. Eerily, they both were nearly identical.

"Your Grace," Raina immediately curtsied for the queen and princess. She wasn't best at it, for she almost lost her footing.

"I assume you don't curtsy much," the queen mused with a smirk. "No worries, we'll be sure to have you properly learned in all formalities of court."

"I've spoken to my mother," Princess Malkyn grinned. She excitedly patted on the seat to her side. "Take a seat with us."

Feeling as if she were in the presence of lions, figuratively and literally, she obeyed the invitation of the princess and took a seat with them.

"My dear daughter has told me a lot about you, Raina," Cersei begins. She gazes at the bastard with her catlike, green eyes. "And from what I hear, you are a pleasant girl. But I'd love to hear more about you. Tell me, what is your life like here in the dreary north?"

Raina pursed her lips. "I suppose it isn't awful, Your Grace," she claimed. "It is always cold, except sometimes we get good days when the sun shines. Those are the best days for riding."

"So I take it you like to ride?" The queen questioned. She reached for a glass of wine that was on the table next to her.

"Yes I do, Your Grace," she smiled. "With my brothers, in the Wolfswood."

"I'd always heard the girls in the north were wilder," she smirked after taking a sip of wine. "Much wilder than the ladies of the south. Do you know much of the south, dear? How it is."

"I do not, Your Grace," Raina admits. She nervously flattens the skirt of her dress. "I would be willing to learn, of course. I've not much to gain up here. I'm but a bastard, of course."

"Nonsense," Malkyn grinned. "I'd have you turned into a proper lady with suitors begging for your hand within a moon."

Raina grinned at the thought, thinking of being dressed in beautiful summer dresses with the princess as her companion. The thought was a dream to her that seemed as if it could actually manifest.

"I'm sure your father's wife isn't the most pleasant toward you," Cersei continued. "From what I've gathered, she isn't fond of you or your brother."

Shaking her head, Raina felt a twinge of restlessness inside. She didn't like acknowledging the obvious. "No she isn't, Your Grace. Not at all. That is why I wish to leave here. My life isn't awful, yet it isn't good."

Cersei displays a frown, but it almost appears forced. "I'm sorry to hear, my dear. I couldn't imagine such a life. It's sad to see such a beauty hidden away up in the north no less treated unkindly."

Raina smirks slightly at the compliment.

"Now, I believe we have a sewing session with the Lady Catelyn and your sisters to attend," the Queen stated. "I'd like for you to attend."

Anxiety appears as a flutter of her heart, but Raina is eased with the words of the queen.

"And do not fear, my girl, I will not allow unfair treatment toward your by the her," Cersei promised. "You have my word."

❆

FOR the second time that day, Raina was summoned. It was evening when she was fetched from her place at one of the very long tables in the Great Hall and brought to the presence of the king and queen, who sat at the head of the feast. It was not nearly as rambunctious and celebratory as the first night they'd arrived, but with the royals present there was a feast every night nonetheless. Her father and Catelyn were present, as always, the fiery blue gaze of the former Tully seeming to burn through the bastard where she stood. Malkyn sits at her mother's side, an excited smirk visible on her features.

"Queen Cersei has made a proposition to me, Raina," her father smirks from where he sits at the king's side. "She says she is quite fond of you and finds you a good fit to be a companion to the Princess Malkyn."

Raina looks between her father and Malkyn, who seems filled with anticipation.

"Therefore," her father goes on. "I find it suitable to ask if you'd like to journey south to become a handmaid of the princess. I wanted to ask you personally, of course."

Raina flashes an excited smile, looking between her father, the queen, and the princess. Her heart filled with pure joy even with the deathly glare of Catelyn directed toward her.

"It would be my honor," she tells them all.

Malkyn beams. "Then it's settled," she declared as if she'd won a bet or a prized mare at an auction, which was quite strange to Raina yet she didn't mind it. "How soon will we embark home? Tomorrow?"

"No, no," King Robert told his daughter. "We've still got plenty of time here."

"I must clarify that the wolf will stay here," Cersei orders. "I will not have such a beast wandering the halls of the Red Keep."

Raina's smile fades as she darts he'd gaze toward her father, who can other nothing except a half frown. Nonetheless, she dips of head in acknowledgement. "Of course, Your Grace," she curtsies before wandering away from their presence.

Soon enough she finds herself back at her place at the table, the rumble of the feast filling her head as she contemplates her new life to come. She thinks of the south and all it can offer for a little while, until Robb makes an appearance.

He takes a seat on the bench, his back to the table as he looks over to her.

"I saw you were talking to the king and queen," he remarks, curious. "About what?"

"Well, if you should know," she grins. "I'm to journey south with father to take up the duty of being the Princess' handmaid and companion."

Robb raises a brow. "How lucky you are," he turns his head to look at the princess, who is still seated next to her mother. "She's a pretty thing, no doubt. So, does that mean you'll never come, then?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "There's no telling what will become of my life. Hopefully, I meet a handsome knight and make something of myself."

"You think marrying someone will make you into something better?" Robb scoffed jokingly. "You've got it wrong. I wish I were in your position. You have no responsibility. You're aren't heir to a throne or house. You can do anything you wish."

Raina was suddenly impressed with the wisdom that came from her brother. "You think I'll do something great, huh?"

"That's up to you," Robb shrugged. "But I would like to someday receive a raven from my sister that's become someone great. It'll give me some excitement after I've taken lordship to run Winterfell and have too many children."

Raina laughs at the thought of Robb as a lord with children, all with the same personality as he until it sours and turns into melancholy. "I'm going to miss you."

"I'll miss you as well," Robb smirks weakly. "So will Bran. You know he looks up to you the most."

Raina sighs while pondering on the thought of her siblings, of the life she was about to leave behind. She loved Winterfell and her siblings, but she was willing to leave it behind for something she hoped was better.

❆

THE days passed and soon turned into weeks. All too soon, Raina's time in her home was beginning to come to an end. She was about to set off on a moon's long ride south to King's Landing. She was about to leave everything and everyone she ever knew behind. She begged the Old she was not making a mistake, but she knew it too late either way. Soon enough, she was be on a trail toward her future, whatever it might be.

She'd already said her goodbyes to the young Rickon, who was more than sad to see her go. She could unfortunately only give a quick but silent goodbye to the still sleeping Bran, who's condition was still not determined. She was ever grateful to not say a word to Catelyn before she left the Keep to find her horse.

Ensuring all of the possessions she wished to keep on her were secured in her saddle bags, she turned away from her mare to Stryder, who sat patiently at her side. She was going to miss her companion and all the comfort and protection he'd offered her, but she knew he'd be better in the north. She reached down to pet his head, which he returned by playfully licking her hand.

"Oh, how I am going to miss you," she murmured to him.

"I would hate for you to leave angry at me," Jon's voice causes her to turn her attention away from the direwolf. He is making his way over, a sad smile on his face. In his hands are the reins of his horse, which follows close behind him. Ghost trails over as well, coming to meet his litter-mate.

"Is it time to mend our quarrels?" She half smiled as he stopped before her.

"I suppose it is," Jon nodded. "I understand now that this is what's best for you, as the Watch is for me."

"We both have purposes. We've just got to find them," she agreed. "I hope to hear from the newest Lord Commander in a few years," she lightly joked.

"And I hope to hear from you and whatever extraordinary title you acquire," Jon smiles.

They both feel a sense of sadness wash over them as the realization of their split settles. They come together in a tight hug, where Raina tried her best to remember her brother in every way she can.

"I'm going to miss you," she mumbles as she holds onto him.

"I'll write you whenever I can," he promises. "I expect the same, of course."

They pull apart and she directs her attention to Stryder, who stills waited obediently next to her horse.

"Can you take him?" She asks Jon. "To the Wall? He belongs there, at least for now. He would fair well with you and his brother."

"Of course," Jon agreed. "I will see to it he's cared for."

Soon enough Raina was mounted on her horse as the royal procession has already begun to file out of the gates of Winterfell. She looked back at her home one last time, a feeling of longing emanating in her heart for just a few moments before looking ahead and continuing on.