┏━ tribulation.
( SCENE 6 ) ━┛

THE evening that followed the battle of the Whispering Woods, Ismene joined Aubrey in her tent, where she gave her friend company as she was relaxing after having battled with the men. The Mandal heir lies submerged in a steaming bath that her hand maiden Neve had so graciously drawn for her, her blue eyes closed as she drank in the heat into her aching muscles.

"This is just what I needed," Aubrey hums happily. Ismene giggles at the way she acted so pleased and Aubrey pops an eye open before closing it and smiling.

Ismene sat on Aubrey's cot with Damon and Rowan nestled in plentiful blankets. Most of those who had joined in on the battling were resting before it was time to set out again, that including Lukas who had been asleep for some time now. Behind Aubrey and kneeling at the bath, was Neve, who is unraveling the braids in her lady's hair so she could wash it of the dirt that had stained her locks brown during battle.

"What is it like?" Ismene asks, breaking the following silence.

"What?" The archer asks.

"Battle."

Aubrey raises her head from end of the tub to look across the tent and to Ismene. The girl shrugged nonchalantly. "It's gruesome, no place for a lady, that is for sure. Ismene, why do you ask?"

Ismene gives a shrug before looking down on her children. "I was being curious, is all. I've always wondered what it was like myself, but I don't think I'll ever know."

Aubrey shrugs as she sinks back down, most likely thinking the heat was the best thing in the world.

"The clutches of death is no place for a new mother," Neve advises meekly.

"You wouldn't want to pick up a weapon anyway, not with Damon and Rowan growing up to be the boys you know they'll be," Aubrey grins. "You won't hear the end of it. Evolet was fortunate to be blessed with a girl, which she's telling me in her letters is getting more beautiful everyday."

Ismene frowns as she looks to her two sons. "I hope that they don't see battle one day," Ismene admits as she caresses Rowan's cheek. "Not like their father has, and will. The thought of Lukas dying in battle scares me enough, but to think my sons could one day face it..."

"There's no need to worry," Aubrey reassures her. "Once the war is over, the Lannisters will be gone and all will be well."

Ismene shrugged. "If everything works the way it should. I must admit I'd like to see Darik ruling, as just as he is, but I couldn't see Robb as lord of Winterfell."

"All with fall according to fate," Aubrey shrugs. "We'll see how this all goes."

"So, Neve," Ismene catches the handmaidens worried gaze as she wasn't used to being talked directly to by anyone other than Aubrey. "Might there be a reason my Terran disappears at night when I'm safely with Lukas?"

Neve looks as if she's going to burst into tears by being put on the spot by a noble lady. "I-I don't know m'lady," she stutters.

Ismene only grins, swatting a playful hand at her. "I've seen the way he looks at you," she says. "You don't suppose he's been sneaking off to see you?"

Neve's fair cheeks are bright pink now as she continues to wash Aubrey's hair.

"Ismene means no harm," Aubrey reassures her handmaiden, obviously wanting to know more about the meetings herself. "Do tell us."

Neve clears her throat before speaking. "We've been meeting," the girl says softly. "Ever since we met in Winterfell."

"And do you fancy him well?" Ismene chirps, joining in on the excitement. Even if Neve was a handmaiden, there was no less excitement. The growing love between a man and a woman was always precious.

Neve half shrugs as she continues washing through Aubrey's hair. "I suppose I do," she allows a smirk to appear.

"It would seem there are still good things amidst this war," Aubrey smiles contently.

❆

EVOLET had been gazing out the window of her chambers, toward the full moon that covered the night sky. She loved Winterfell, truly, with its heated stone walls and cozy atmosphere. She coos to her babe, trying her best to make her drift to sleep. "I think it's time for my Laila to rest," Evolet smirks, loving to say her name as if it were some beautiful ballad.

The girl walked over to the bassinet that Maester Luwin had so graciously had crafted for her, she gently lied her new-born daughter down.

As she gazed down at the sleeping babe, such a beautiful site, she smiled to herself. Moons ago she dreaded her situation, where she was swelling and hobbling about Lakewell with her bitter father and hateful mother spouting their incessant comments about her condition. Now, she lived in Winterfell, away from her mother and living amongst people she was growing fond of.

The babe lied wrapped in layers of furs and cloth, looking like a porcelain doll under the flicker of the dancing flames. Evolet feels her heart grow warm with pride. Even if Laila was a Snow, she was her mothers princess. "My little Snowflake," Evolet murmurs to herself, entirely entranced. Soon enough, the babe is asleep. Not moments later did she hear a knock on the chamber door and she makes her way over to answer it.

It was Rickon, Robb's youngest brother who has increasingly clung to Evolet as if she were his mother. Evolet assumed that, with the absence of Lady Catelyn, that the boy was feeling abandoned and had taken to her for comfort. She loved seeing the boys stormy eyes and tousled copper hair, traits that seemed to bless members of the Stark family. He was such a sweet boy and she could never turn him away.

"What might you be doing, little wolf?" She grins down at him. He frowns slightly in a pitiful way.

"Bad dream," he mumbles softly in his child-like broken words. "I-uz scared."

She chuckles lightly, offering her arms open to him. "Well, I do believe that Grey Wind is just down the hall, near your brothers chambers. If Shaggydog is busy playing, I'm sure he could stay with you?"

The young boy nods, as if her idea had solved all his problems. He rushes forward to wrap his arms around her legs in a tight hug, which she pats him gently on the back. "I love you, Evlet," the little boy says before scurrying away and she feels her heart swelling with love. She glances down the hall after him, seeing the looking shadow of the boy's dire wolf following close behind. The beast always seemed to keep watch over the boy, even when he wasn't aware.

With a smile, she closes the door as he disappears and turns back toward her bed. Before she makes it more than a few steps away, another knock at the door make her turn back around. She sighs heavily, expecting Rickon to have returned immediately after a vague search for Grey Wind.

"Rickon, honey-,"

Before she can finish, she feels her heart lurch in her throat. Standing before her is Robb, the same boy she loved months ago and begrudgingly still did, as much as she didn't want to admit. His Tully blue eyes were focused on her, filled with guilt and sorrow. As long as she'd lived in Winterfell, it was as if he'd grown entirely ignorant of her existence, having acted as if she didn't exist in the times they would pass each other. She could only wonder, Why come now?

"Evolet."

"What do you want?"

"I want to see my daughter."

Evolet would feel guilty not allowing him to meet her at least once, as Laila was half of him after all. It was his right as the father. She looks to the bassinet that's next to the bed and Robb's eyes follow. Evolet didn't think a man could crack in the way Robb did. She saw the way his eyes teared up as he wandered over and lowered himself to one knee and marveled at the tiny person he'd helped create. Ever so slightly, he caressed his daughter's cheek without waking her. Evolet could only stand rigid as she watched the boy who had broken her heart act in such a way she'd not thought possible.

"She's a beauty," he murmurs. "My mother told me not to see her but I couldn't. She's my daughter. I tried staying away, but the fight was sorely fought. She's more precious than jewels."

Evolet keeps herself from saying some choice words to him, ones of anger and pain and heartache. Instead, she states the truth, one she would have told him sooner or later. "I don't want you in her life," she states bluntly, which causes Robb to rise to his feet immediately. "Not when you've proven yourself unworthy. Not when you could marry another woman and cast me aside to tell my daughter that her mother is gone."

Robb looked outraged. "She is my daughter," he says through his teeth. "I have rights to raise her. She should be a Stark, raised here in Winterfell. She could have a good life with me."

Evolet utters, her voice shaky and her eyes welling with hot tears. "I won't see another woman raise my child."

"I want what's best for her, as crazy as that might seem," he mutters a retort. "I want what's best for both of you."

"Then marry me!," She cries. The tears spill. Oh how she loved him despite all of their troubled times. "Marry me and we can forget this heart ache and raise our child together! She doesn't deserve to be a bastard. She deserves to be a lady, who will marry a lord and live a good life without the name Snow following her wherever she goes. There is no Wall for bastards like her to go to, Robb."

He looked pained at her words. "You know that I cannot make a decision without the blessing of my father or brother. But now, I am the lord of Winterfell. I can I may do as I please."

Evolet was utterly frozen as she watched Robb lean down and ever so gently plant a kiss on Laila's little forehead before fleeing the room.