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

Chapter Twelve::Reality

The blunt object collided with sheer force Raina did not believe she possessed, causing the wood to splinter into pieces beneath her dull blade. It reminded her of her training during the war, when she had so blatantly beaten a wooden dummy, in front of the King, taking out her anger for whatever reason it had been at the time. Now, though, it was more than just anger that fueled her violence. Indescribable rage was consuming her, hatred, disgust, pain, all coursing through her to the point in which she had mauled the dummy to a pile of firewood. At least this way she wasn't battering one of the staff, or Greyson if he dared walk past her at the wrong time; the only victim was one who'd probably been spared abuse in Raina's absence. She almost had a glimpse of sympathy for the inanimate object, before wanting to bludgeon something else. She hated being this helplessly infuriated. It ate away at her sanity, which then only made her more agitated, to the point where all she could see had a certain, red tint to it. The urge to destroy all that crossed her path still fuelling her whilst she glared at the mess she'd previously made.
"Were you going to tell me at any point? Because as far as I'm aware, I'm the only one to have not been told about this!" Delvin was angry, that was an understatement, he'd been with their father all week and was yet to be brought in on the not-very-secret betrothal reinstated between Raina and the Bolton bastard. "I was, Delvin. But you weren't exactly available." Raina snarled, her practice sword still shivering in the light breeze, as her muscled tensed around its cold hilt. "Like I was given a choice!" He snapped back, quickly, and faster than Raina had expected. They glared at each other, not for long, but the undeniable furry was there. Raina was the first to back down, sighing and shaking her head as she turned to face Deepwood Motte with an icy gaze. "I was going to tell you, I just- I needed to get over it first. Mother didn't exactly make me feel great about the whole ordeal when she told me, officially, and when me and Finn overheard them we didn't dare talk of it in front of our guests-" for a split second the idea of their visitors made Raina shuddered, persuading a sigh out of her dry mouth "-I was going to tell you, Delvin, just maybe not immediately," Raina tried a smile, but she was sure it didn't come out looking as hopeful as she'd aimed for. 

"Don't hold it against her, brother. You're not the one being shipped off with the traitors, after all." Finn's cool-expression riddled face appeared from behind the stables, an apple in hand - looking as though nothing was amiss in that moment. "I'm not holding it against her-" Delvin started, clearly losing his temper with his brother. "-I'm the eldest, alright? I'm not used to being the one not being told about this sort of thing; I'm supposed to be the one protecting you all." Delvin looked hurt, and not one of them there could think of any other reason why. Esme. "You have protected us." Raina tried a smile again, edging closer to her brother and gripping her cold hand around his. "I mean, both of you lied to your King for me, just to keep me from getting married. Anyone else would have thought me pathetic, but you two - you two kept me safe for a year. If you ask me, that's a pretty good job at protection." Raina heard the distant chuckle of Finn in the distance, but he said nothing further, nor did he bother to move closer. "We looked after you..." Delvin muttered, but hugged her anyway. 

It was obvious Delvin blamed himself for not being with Esme for several years, but there was nothing that could be done now, and him and Finn beating themselves up over her death was going to get the family no where when Raina was about to be lost too. They all knew that as soon as she produced an heir for that sick bastard, she would be disposed of just as quickly as she'd been acquired. And that thought terrified everyone. 

"Boys! Your father requires your assistance in the Great Hall." Greyson was stood atop the battlements, looking down into the small courtyard that they knew as the training ring. He was stiff in his metallic armour, that shimmered in the dull light of the Northern sun. His shaggy blond hair hung down like a mop, barely avoiding his eyes. He nodded to Raina after his address to the boys, and then departed rapidly, as though he had somewhere to be. Both boys sighed in annoyance, but shifted away, placing swift kisses on Raina's forehead and cheek, and then they were gone. Raina couldn't help but shiver in the cool breeze that sudden swept through the empty training ring, where she stood alone. She should be used to not having company by now, but having grown so used to having her brother's back by her side meant that any brief moment, that she spent without them nearby, made her feel empty. And then realisation set in. She'd have to say goodbye. She would be moving to Winterfell soon, and she'd be forced to leave her brothers behind so that she may move in with her betrothed. That didn't exactly help with the already boiling nausea strickening the pit of her stomach. She hated Ramsay, more so than she could ever deem possible, and the idea of marrying him made her consider jumping from the battlements instead. She couldn't keep going without Robb, or at least it surely didn't feel like she'd been living since The Twins, and if it weren't for her brothers, she would have done it long before now. Because Robb, and Esme, they'd been her everything, and the indescribable pain Raina had to endure day in, day out, was by far too much for her small body to withstand for much longer. And with Ramsay now joining the mix, what was there to live for anymore?