Only A Northern Song ~ Game of Thrones / Willas Tyrell ~

Chapter One Hundred and Five: Duties

Eddmina managed to avoid Willas and any other Tyrells for the rest of that day, and most of the next.

It felt like a great achievement, but in truth it was not hard, not when she had not left her study. No one ever bothered her when she was in there working, which left her to get on with a great deal of paperwork. The only exception was Uther, who snuck in, climbed up onto her knee as she sat at her desk and asked a dozen questions. Most of them revolved around why his father was not with her, and though he grew bored and asked her to take him riding, he sat with her for hours. He was a clever little thing, but then she remembered who his father was and it made sense. He was good company, even if he did laugh like his father and look like hers; a perfect little ghost of her past.

He did eventually leave, but only when a Tyrell guard came and told him Lord Tyrell was looking for him. It ached watching him leave, but the thought of following him and having to speak to Willas made her feel worse, and so she stayed where she was. She remained even through supper time, knowing that she was in no mood to speak to anyone. A tray was placed on the edge of her desk by a servant who curtsied wordlessly, most likely knowing it would remain untouched, though Eddmina was almost smug to prove the servant wrong when she picked at the cold cuts of meat to feed them to Grey Wind curled at her feet.

She fell asleep at her desk, jerking awake hours later when she heard the voices of guards out in the hallway. For a split second, the voices, the sounds of armour, the closed door... her heart skipped a beat, her throat tightened, until she felt the weight of the direwolf at her feet, and realised they were her own guards she could hear, not Freys. Even if no one was there to witness her panic, she still felt embarrassed, and paced over to the window with her book of accounts, seating herself on the ledge so she could look out at the view of her keep as the sun rose through the mist.

She was free, she was home... so why was she locking herself away?

She didn't bother trying to find an answer. It would have been too much of a headache, and there was already far too much to deal with.

Eventually, the sounds of the castle came alive, and the training of the guards and new recruits were far more interesting than the notes she was supposed to be reading. It was a good distraction, watching them spar, watching the servants bustle around them. She caught sight of Sansa, her hair in one long braid just how Eddmina had liked to wear her own, shadowed by Lady who padded behind her loyally, tail wagging, followed by not just Lord Edric but their Aunt's husband too. The three of them were observing the training, and when Lord Edric offered pointers to the men, taking up a sword to demonstrate something, it was scarily obvious who his father had been. Was that a faint pink tinge staining Sansa's cheeks as she watched him? On the other side of the courtyard, Eddmina spotted Arya, sat by the smith with her Blacksmith friend Gendry, and though he was speaking, her eyes were fixed in a scowl on their sister.

Then she spotted a horse riding through the gates, one with a specially modified saddle, and the man sat atop it looked as if he belonged nowhere else, even if his leg had to be fixed into place. Winterfell was not dull, but the dark emerald of his clothes and black of his cloak certainly made it look monotone, and the smile he wore made everyone else around him appear practically miserable. She realised why he was smiling the moment she saw he was not alone in the saddle, but a small grinning boy sat in front of him, clutching his hands tightly as his father gripped the reins. Willas must have trained his horse not to spook around wolves, since Honour followed closely, her eyes never leaving Uther. Both father and son were smiling as Willas guided the horse through the courtyard towards the stables, and she noticed how every servant that passed them nodded, and how every time Willas encouraged Uther to greet them back.

Eddmina let out a long, involuntary sigh as they disappeared from view, unsure if she was disappointed or relieved. Did she want to see more of them, or was she glad she didn't need to see just how well they got on without her?