Lady of Winterfell

Chapter Seventeen: Running Winterfell

Rickon hurried down the steps as he followed Sanira into the courtyard, he was careful not to step on the back of her green with golden embroidery dress while they walked; he barely let his good-sister out of his sight now that his mother was gone. 

Catelyn had said much to him or Sanira about why she was making such a trip, only that she shouldn't be gone long and that she would return to Winterfell as soon as she could. 

It was only because Robb had told her that Sanira had some idea about why Catelyn was leaving, it made her stomach turn at the thought that the Lannisters were behind what happened to Bran. 

Aiana steadily followed after her lady and the young lord, she had kept a close eye on her mistress and she was pleased to see how well she was handling being Lady of Winterfell in Catelyn's absence. 

Robb was busy enough handling all the affairs that his mother had ignored in his father's absence and Sanira hated seeing how stressed he had become since taking over; there was so much expected of him without much time to prepare for such a large change in his life. 

"Where are we going?" Rickon asked curiously, he didn't like that everyone seemed to be leaving and he had no idea why; he wanted everyone to come home again so that things could return to normal. 

He didn't like how everything seemed so out of place and Rickon felt alone now that his parents and older sisters were gone; he was glad that he had Sanira, he didn't know what he would ever do without her. 

"I must check the stores to make sure that we haven't depleted our supplies for winter too much," Sanira replied gently, the feasts that had been held while the King had been here had been extravagant and a lot of the food stored up for the coming winter had been used.

No one was sure how long this winter was going to last and Sanira wanted to make sure that they were prepared; the last thing she wanted to see was people starving because they didn't have enough food.

Rickon nodded his head, he hadn't been allowed to stay up for most of the feasts but he knew that the King and his company had enjoyed quite a bit of food while they had been here. 

The people of Winterfell relied on their Lord and Lady to ensure that there was enough food for the long winter, the last thing anyone wanted to see was people starve because they weren't prepared. 

Aiana peeked about a little aware that the guards were watching Sanira every move, it still surprised her when they bowed down to Sanira as she passed. 

Her role as Lady of Winterfell even if she was only to claim the role until Catelyn returned gained her new respect from the guards just as Robb was being treated like Lord of Winterfell. 

Sanira tried to ease her mind at the sudden changes in her life, she could feel that something was coming and it scared her that her life was changing so much. 

The last thing that Sanira wanted was for another war to break out, something was brewing and she dreaded to think what that might be.

Reaching the storage area, Sanira tried to ignore the feeling that built in her stomach and she hoped that Catelyn would return soon; she had a feeling that her good-mother might do something if she was given the chance. 

Eddard was still on the road traveling to King's Landing and it would be another couple of weeks before he reached the capital along with everyone else. 

"My lady," the guard greeted, he bowed down knowing that while Lord Eddard and Lady Catelyn were away that he would take his orders from Lord Robb and Lady Sanira.

***

"Any news from your mother?" Sanira asked softly, it was relaxing being in their bed chamber away from prying eyes; dinner that evening had been a quiet affair with just them and Rickon eating together. 

Robb sipped on his wine, he was exhausted from dealing with everything that day and he was glad that he got to relax for a while with his wife; he could only hope that his mother returned soon. 

"Nothing," Robb replied glad that he had spoken to Sanira about what was going on, he knew just how much she disliked her Lannister cousins and wouldn't give away what was going on. 

He didn't know why his mother had chosen to keep Sanira in the dark, Robb trusted his wife and he didn't believe that she would betray them by telling anyone back in Aeredale what was going on here. 

Sanira might have written back to her brothers and father but she was aware that if her mother caught news of what was going on in Winterfell that she would be quick to warn her family in the capital. 

Nodding her head, Sanira sat down on their bed feeling lost and wishing that she knew what to say; things were changing and her dreams were starting to become more frequent. 

Running his fingers through his hair, Robb groaned knowing that things had been a little stressed between him and Sanira since his mother had left. 

He had found himself being quite short with her and leaning more on Theon while he tried to balance his new role; it was a lot harder to handle being Lord of Winterfell than he had thought it would be. 

It certainly didn't help that his mother had left things in a mess before she had left to go South after his father and sisters; there was so much that needed to be done after the royal visit.

Getting to his feet, Robb walked over to Sanira and wishing that things hadn't been dumped on them like this; they were both trying to find a balance that worked well for them now they were running things. 

Sanira had her work cut out for her, she had duties to perform and she had Rickon following her around; the little boy didn't cry as much as he had but he still followed her about like a lost puppy. 

"I'm sorry," Robb replied taking her hands, he brushed his fingers along the back of her hands; he wanted nothing more than to relax for a couple of hours. 

Leaning forward, Robb kissed Sanira and slowly moved back into the bed wanting to relax with her; he smiled when she kissed him back, they had enough on their plates with everything else that was going on.

Sanira quickly moved to undo the strings to Robb's top, she couldn't help but laugh as he tried to help her out of the dress that she was wearing. 

Ducking forward, Robb kissed his wife again and smiled glad that the tension seemed to slip away; he didn't want to think about watching his marriage slip away so soon. 

Before the couple could get any further there was a rapid knocking on their bedroom chambers doors; Robb cursed under his breath wondering who it could be at this time of night. 

"Maester Luwin, My Lord," called a voice, it was late and he was sure that the Lord and Lady would be retiring to their bed soon; he wouldn't blame them after the past couple of days. 

Catelyn had left things in quite a mess to go off on her little trip, she hadn't even considered what she would be leaving behind for Robb and Sanira to deal with. 

Sanira smoothed out her dress when Robb stepped back away from her, she nodded to him when it was safe for him to allow Maester Luwin into their chambers. 

"My Lord. My Lady. Bran is awake," Maester Luwin announced not wasting a moment, it was a miracle and he knew that Bran would want to see his family now he was awake.

###

Author's Note: 

So what did you all think of the Season 6 Premiere?