The Crossed Rose - GoT - R.S.

We stand together

Dahlia could feel eyes on her as she rode her horse silently. Lord Stark had been kind enough to assign four of his best and most trusted soldiers - according to him - to protect her and they rode just nearby. Yet, Dahlia Frey had never felt so exposed. Not in Highgarden, when she undressed for the first time in front of Lady Margaery so they could change together or when she had had Lady Olenna talking to her as soon as she bled for the first time. Not when she had finally returned to the Twins at the age of fourteen, with all of her brothers and sisters crowding around her and asking questions about Highgarden and the Tyrells. If she was being completely honest, Dahlia hadn't even felt that exposed when her Father bargained a marriage proposal to her just that morning and displayed her to the Lord Stark as if she was nothing but a piece of meat.

No, Dahlia realized. As she gripped the reins of her horse and tried not to look back over her shoulders as the Twins started to look smaller and smaller the more they rode, Dahlia knew she was being watched by all of the Starks' bannermen, who, apart from their very own Lady Stark, had, most likely, not seen a woman in months.

Especially not one as young and pretty as the Lady Frey.

"Do you feel alright, my Lady?"

Lord Stark had probably taken notice of the young girls' stiff posture and her ragged breathing and decided to take pity on her, getting his horse to ride just beside hers as he kept a watchful eye on her.

"Yes, my Lord." Dahlia nodded her head quickly, always making a point of not looking at Lord Stark. "You don't need to worry about me."

From the corner of her eye, Dahlia could see Lord Stark hesitated, probably pondering if he should leave her be or not. For a moment, Dahlia wasn't entirely sure which would be a better option, but Lord Stark had made that decision for her.

"It must be difficult." Lord Stark said, his eyes on the road ahead, but his voice gentle as he let his horse fall in pace with Dahlia's. "Leaving your home, I mean."

"The Twins are hardly my home." Dahlia shrugged quietly. "I have spent more time at Highgarden than I ever did in my Father's castle. I knew my chamber back at the Reach better than I ever got to know mine at the Crossing."

"I... I'm very sorry, my Lady." Lord Stark mumbled, unsure.

Taking pity on the boy beside her - because, yes, he was still nothing but a boy -, Dahlia opened a small smile.

"The hardest part was not leaving my home." She said. "It was, actually, leaving my siblings. That I'm sure you'll understand?"

At her words, Lord Stark actually risked a small smile.

"I do understand." He nodded. "When I had to leave my brothers behind at Winterfell and march South... I had never known greater pain. Not even when my sisters rode to the capital with my Father."

"Were you close, my Lord?" Dahlia asked, out of pure curiosity, smiling a bit at the way Lord Stark finally turned his head to look at her properly as they talked. "You and your siblings?"

"We were." Lord Stark admitted and, for whatever reason, the fondness in his voice as he spoke of his family made Dahlia relax for the first time in his presence. "They were all a mess, but I loved them all the same."

Dahlia nodded her head at that, looking down again, unsure on how to proceed with the conversation. Thankfully for her, however, Lord Stark decided to break the silence that fell upon them first.

"What about you?" He asked. "I've seen you saying goodbye to one of your sisters. She was crying."

"Roslin." Dahlia said, and just the sound of her name made the girl want to cry. "She... She's my only sister from the same Mother. We have three older brothers too. Olyvar is one of them. Then... I mean, then we have lots of half-brothers and half-sisters."