OUTSIDE THE GREAT HALL OF THE CROSSING, men fought one another for sport in the encampment set up in the grounds. Before the wedding, Joanna had been outside, watching the men with an amused expression on her face. Even from inside the great hall, she could still hear the faint cheers from those outside.
She stood at Robb's side, playing the part of a dutiful wife, and in her dress she felt most uncomfortable. It was a gorgeous dress; one that Alayna had said made her look more like a queen and less like you're about to slit someone's throat. She wasn't used to wearing such fine clothes after slogging it in the mud for so many years.
To her left stood Alayna, also wearing a dress for the sake of the occasion. Behind her stood Alden, who had complained about being made to miss the activities outside. He'd earned himself a smack on the back of the head for that comment.
The bride was walked down the aisle by Walder Frey, a veil covering her face. Joanna caught Roose Bolton's eye and he gave her a peculiar look, which unsettled her as she turned away. It was deathly quiet in the hall, the only sounds being the bride's heels hitting the floor with each step she took towards her new husband.
Edmure looked worried, but when Walder stopped before him and removed the veil, a look of pleasant surprise appeared on his face as Roslin Frey knelt before him.
"Lord Edmure," she said. "I hope I am not a disappointment to you."
Edmure let out a breath and helped her stand. "You are a delight to me, My Lady."
"You may now cloak the bride and bring her under your protection," the priest said.
Edmure removed his cloak and draped it over Roslin's shoulders. Robb caught Walder Frey's eye and the man gave him a look as though to say, look what you could have had. Robb ignored the gestured and his fingers brushed against Joanna's gently.
The ceremony was not unlike Robb and Joanna's, the same vows being spoken that the two of them had said to one another all that time ago. Echoes of her own wedding flashed through her mind and Joanna linked her little finger with Robb's. She had married a man that she didn't love, but over time had come to realise that she was always meant to. She hoped for Roslin to experience the same.
When the ceremony was over and Edmure was officially wed to Roslin, the real festivities began. Crowds poured into the great hall, filling the seats at the tables as food was brought in by the servants, wine goblets being filled repetitively and food being produced by the plateful.
Joanna ate as much food as she dared, knowing how her stomach tended to disagree with her whenever she did. She sat beside Robb, hands brushing beneath the table, stealing secret moments between them when nobody was looking. He watched her as she ate, marvelling at the woman he got to call his wife. As she placed down her fork, she caught Robb's eye and found him staring at her.
"What?" she asked.
"I was just thinking," he said.
"About what?"
"About how this could have been my wedding day," Robb replied. "I could be sitting up there instead of down here with you."
"Do you regret marrying me?" Joanna asked.
"Never," Robb replied, glancing over his shoulder. "I would never regret marrying you, Jo."
"I don't regret you at all," she replied.
Robb smiled. "And I shall never regret you." He glanced across the room. "My mother is alone with Roose Bolton. I should rescue her."
"Your mother is less in need of rescue than any woman I've ever met," Joanna said.
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LIONS AND WOLVES | Robb Stark
Fanfiction"And so the lion fell into the den of wolves. What a tragedy it wrought." - In which the Little Lion meets the Young Wolf and they form an unlikely alliance. [Game of Thrones S1-S3] [Robb Stark x OC] [Book One in the Lions and Wolves Duology]
