✓ | 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝑾𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝑻𝒐 𝑹𝒖𝒍𝒆 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 (R.STARK 2/3)

Chapter Six::Without You

The elderly women downstairs began to fret, whaling misguidedly as the Maester paid his full attention to Finn's wounds. No one cared about the other children that afternoon, or the presence of their guest, whom had waltzed in as though he owned the place, and had no one bat an eyelid at his sudden presence. It was the same reaction Raina had received upon her return to Deepwood Motte. Delvin and Asher had both ventured upstairs, talking of all the woman Asher'd had in Essos, and the fighting, and the wine; all things, though Raina would usually find interesting, had no interest in currently. She instead followed them up the stairwell, but fell short of going back to her room, when the alluring door still caught her eye, hidden in the shadows like it didn't matter to anyone anymore.

The door matched all the others, nothing out of the ordinary to strangers to Deepwood Motte, but Raina knew what belonged beyond the mahogany door, and knew that venturing into the empty space would surely be painful. Yet she did it anyway.

The wooden panel creaked, groaning under the force of her shoulder, as Raina nudged it further ajar. The handle, brass and shimmering in the dull candle light, had only worked to some extent. After crossing the threshold of the room, Raina found the deafening silence lurking in the dark more than enough to swayed her back into the corridor. But she stayed. Still, and hardly breathing as she gazed at the dark, wood furniture, and the unturned bed that ached for company. Raina wasn't entirely sure why she had come here, there wasn't anything in this room anymore, nothing of any importance, that was, but maybe a part of her wished Esme might still be here; her long blond hair dangling passed her shoulders, and spiralling in neat curls against her silk robes, her glare strong enough to tell Raina to leave, without even saying a word in a her neat voice. Raina would give anything to have that poisonous look thrown at her again, from where Esme would be perched atop an ebony chair, head down, and hands fiddling with some sewing that not even their mother had bared an interest in. Esme, however, was no where in sight. That thought alone was enough to make Raina crack, her fragile frame only capable of taking so much more beating before she truly crumbled. Without Robb, without Esme, without the Forresters, what else was there. And before today, her brother would have been on that list, only this morning having reared his head.

Raina had seeked comfort, seeked something that could maybe dull the pain for just a moment. Robb, her Robb, was gone. What could hurt more than that? She'd lost Esme already, that cut, though still stinging, had scabbed and all but faded on her heart, only occasionally being scratched or irritating. The wound Robb had left was much deeper, fresher, and a hell of a lot more painful than anything Raina had ever felt before. She yearned for his comforting embrace, the one that held her so close, and kept her so warm against the cold. She craved the blue of his eyes, the orbs of the sea that she saw so frequently when closing her eyes, the eyes that so well complimented his hair in the daylight. Or at least did.

Raina collapsed on the bed, head hung low as she clutched the sheets. Her and Esme may not have been the best friends their mother had hoped they would end up being, however when Raina had been younger, even up until the day she had run off, and not returned, if she had been scared, or upset, or alone, she always found some sort of comfort with her sister. Esme would let her curl up in the bed beside her, tentatively combing her absentminded fingers through Raina's uncept mane. It was what Raina's mother should have done, had she actually cared for her children's happiness. But the duty had fallen to Esme, and that was all Raina had ever known. The two girls would lie together, whispering in the dark, huddling together for warmth beneath the sheets, and listening to the howling Wolf's Wood beyond the settlement's walls. Esme would tell Raina about the world outside their home, about mystical places beyond the Wall, and beautiful cities of the South. The lords, the ladies, the kings and queens, all fantasies Esme had shared in the overcast shadow of the room. She'd talked about marriage, and running away, she'd talked about it all. Yet never left Deepwood Motte. Yet Raina, the misbehaving child whom, though tough, could not think of anything beyond her familiar walls, had been the one to run rampant across the North, and several other kingdoms, with no plans, or intentions, only the fuel to run, and eventually the company of an old friend.

Her sobbing could not be stopped, and the desperate sound reverberated off of the stone confines of the room, bouncing back into her ears so that she may wallow in self pity for a while longer. How had things been so bad, and managed to get progressively worse? What they'd planned for the pair of them, was nothing like what they'd been handed in the end. Serves them right for getting their hopes up, she couldn't help but think, though she also found herself wishing Esme was here to at least be disappointed in her lack of adventure.

A strong arm enclosed around Raina's trembling body, holding her close to their chest protectively, and delicately holding their hand against her head, in a reassuring way. Asher. She'd missed his hugs, the strong and comforting ones he had given out as children, and never quite grown out of. He was always the best to go to with emotions. He could sit and listen to rants for hours, only giving his opinion when asked for, and still managing to say the right thing. He was also good for fighting. Whenever Raina was mad at anyone, even him, she could beat the crap out of him and feel better about it at the end of the day, and he would merely shrug as though she'd barely aimed for him, let alone struck him with any sort of weapon. And then there were times like these, where he would say, or do, nothing but hold her close, and refuse to let go even if she felt better than she was, he would just enclose his arms around her, and keep her there. He was the big brother she'd always wanted. Delvin and Finn were good, but they weren't him.

"I know," He sighed, his hot breath seeping through the tangled, overhanging map she acknowledged as her, strands of it dangling in front of her ear where his head had perched itself. "I know," "I miss her..." Raina breathed, her throat choking on the inhaled air as she tried to dull the uncontrollable sobs echoing out of her, "...so, so much." Raina clutched onto Asher's shirt, one she absentmindedly noticed he'd changed into having ventured to one of the rooms down the corridor, presumably Finn's or Delvin's. Asher said nothing more, his strong grip still tightly holding Raina against him until her frantic trembling had calmed, and the flood of water had yet again run dry.