Lady of Winterfell

Chapter Ten: The King's Arrival

Standing between Robb and Sansa, Sanira took a deep breath as she tried to ease her nerves as her stomach twisted itself into knots; she had never expected the month to disappear so quickly but preparing for the King's arrival had kept her busy. 

Sanira had thrown herself into any work or duty that Catelyn had asked of her, there was so much to be done and Catelyn had been more than willing to show Sanira the ropes. 

The Starks all stood in a line with their household behind them, everyone waiting for the King to arrive; they had spent weeks preparing for this since the raven had arrived. 

Taking a quick look along the line of her children, Catelyn frowned when she spotted that Arya was not in her place between Sansa and Bran; she had hoped that she would have turned up with her sister when the call had gone out for them all to be here. 

"Where's Arya?" Catelyn asked continuing to try and spot her youngest daughter, her question made the rest of her family look at her unsure. 

None of them had seen the younger Stark daughter since the announcement had gone out that King Robert was on his final approach to Winterfell and would be here soon. 

"Sansa where is your sister?" Catelyn asked only to be replied with a shrug from Sansa, who didn't seem that bother that her younger sister had failed to show up after she herself had spent most of the day preparing for the arrival. 

Tutting Catelyn shook her head wondering where her daughter could have wander off to, she had been made aware how important today was and she couldn't miss out on this no matter how much she wanted to. 

They didn't have to wait long before Arya dashed across the courtyard to take her place with her family, she had been watching the King arrive. 

Eddard quickly caught his youngest daughter with a raised eyebrow at the helmet that she was wearing on her head; his wife sighed glad that she actually looked like a lady for once. 

"What are you doing with that on?" Eddard asked lifting the helmet from Arya's head, he could only imagine what Catelyn would have said if Arya had missed the King arriving nor shown up like she had when they were greeting the King. 

Offering her father only an innocent look, Arya quickly hurried to her place between her older sister and Bran offering her younger brother a bit of a shove so she could get in place.

Arya had made it into her position just in time as the King's Guard rode through the gate with Prince Joffrey on his horse following behind them. 

Holding her breath, Sanira stared at her cousin feeling her stomach turn a little at the sight of him; she didn't miss the smile that he offered to Sansa but she didn't dare look to see how her good-sister reacted. 

Sanira did not have any fond memories of the Crown Prince, she often found herself staring at Sansa when the younger girl had babbled on about her fairy tale vision of him or any lord really. 

A part of her almost wanted to ask what had been taught, Sansa was rather naïve and would be in for a rude awakening if she even went to the court in King's Landing. 

It was nothing like the stories told or how Sansa seemed to imagine things, it was a place that Sanira never wished to find herself in especially now she was older. 

Next through the gate was the royal carriage that contained the Queen, her two youngest children and her ladies-in-waiting; it had no windows and looked more like a sealed chest on wheels than a carriage. 

Once the carriage had stopped completely, King Robert rode in behind them making everyone that was in the courtyard drop down to bow to the King of the Andals and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm.