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

Chapter Twenty Three::More News

Sybelle Locke was more vicious and spiteful than Raina had first assumed upon appearance. She treated her children poorly, that was when she bothered to pay them any sort of attention, and continued the evening talking of pitiful gossip. Raina had been tempted, on more than one occasion, to jam her fork into her own throat to cease this infernal chatter with such a woman as Sybelle Locke. She felt for her cousins whom had to tolerate this their entire lives; poor things.

Erena sat to Raina's left, at the end of the long, oak table. As the day proceeded into night, Raina found herself acknowledging how much Erena reminded her of her sister - even down to the golden locks upon her head, Erena was much alike the eldest Glover girl. Sat on Raina's right was her eldest sibling Delvin, and on his right was Finn and Gawen. Delvin mostly spoke with his uncle, who sat opposite Raina with his wife at his left, and brother opposite Delvin himself. Sat beside Galbart was Frea, and beside her, at the head of the table, was Roose. His bastard sat next to Gawen on Raina's side of the table. All the kids on one side, all the adults on the other. It was rather intimidating to have them all banded together, but Raina tried hard not to pay them any attention. Erena did a good job at keeping her mind occupied, inquiring after different aspects of Raina's life, and speaking of certain times in her own that devoured the most part of their conversation; nothing particularly private could've even been considered as Sybelle Locke sat dead ahead, and kept her prying green eyes locked on them like a cat with a mouse, waiting to pounce any second now.

"Do you miss your friends, Raina?" Erena asked quietly, obviously being careful with her mothers prying eyes, but inquiring none the same. Raina was actually startled by the question, not entirely sure how to go about answering the sudden question. Did she? Raina desperately missed Asher, and his humorous company; she missed Rodrik and his siblings, and the good times once spent in their company; she missed the Starks, obviously; yet didn't wish for them to be with her - she didn't want them to face her tragedy as well, she'd rather do it alone - anyway, most of the Starks were dead or off in the world somewhere, Rickon and Bran were killed a year back, Sansa was presumably still in King's Landing, Arya had disappeared during the wedding, though she could easily have been killed like her brother Robb, and Jon was God knows where beyond the wall, they weren't likely to come running home anytime soon, and Raina hoped for their sakes that they didn't. She didn't really have any other friends, none that weren't with her currently, but if Erena had meant Robb, then missing him didn't even begin to cover how desperate she was to have him back, in her arms, by her side; alive. She nodded slowly, not entirely sure she wished to answer correctly in front of Sybelle, "I suppose." She mumbled, bowing her head and trying to find the remnants of her appetite to keep her mind otherwise engaged with something that wasn't Robb.

 "I heard you were once well acquainted with the Forrest--" Raina's fork dropped, producing a loud, metallic clang as it hit the rim of her place and thudded onto the wooden table top. Erena stopped short of completing the word, sensing there was something amiss, but it was too late - all prying eyes at the table now focused on her. She shuddered as Ramsay drank down his wine, a bitter sweet eagerness lurking in his ice stare, watching her until she produced a suitable answer to sneer at. She knew too well he was amused by this, and was hoping she'd agree to the accusation so that he may torture her further with their affairs, yet Raina found it easy to detach him from that hope entirely. "Not well - we fell out many years back now, I have nor wish to have anything to do with that family today." Raina felt sick saying those words, as the Forresters were the only family she had ever loved more than the Starks, more than her own - which wasn't difficult - and she was still distraught at what her betrothed had done to the boy she loved like her own brother, it stung - even today. But she could not, no, would not allow Ramsay to gain any satisfaction from her relationship with them, and would not put them in harm's way to answer pathetic questions at the dinner table. Her answer, which seemed almost amusing to Roose Bolton, and made the rest of Raina's family look unnerved and uneasy, made Ramsay's itching smirk drop flat, with a deathly glare now lurking in the horrific crystals of his eyes. That was the only decent part of the meal, watching Ramsay writhe because of Raina. Her answer also managed to shut Erena up rather quickly, to Raina's delight, and gave her chance to converse quietly with her brother without people paying her a great deal of attention. 

"M'lord." A squire appeared from beyond a closed door, hand trembling as he neared Roose in rags and shaggy hair. "A raven arrived this hour," He handed over faded parchment sealed with a emblem Raina almost squealed at seeing, and which made Roose squirm. He teared it open, anxious to read the words printed in fine handwriting upon the other side. "Gods be damned!" Roose exclaimed, slamming a fist flat onto the wooded surface before him, reverberating the table in waves that caused the plates and metallic utensils to shiver with the force. "What is it?" Sybelle inquired from the other end of the long table, a dark-haired head popping out from behind her husband. "Renly Baratheon had claimed Casterly Rock." Roose said with severe bluntness, and it took some time because of this for Raina or her brothers to really gather what it was he spoke of. "Renly?" She whispered beneath her breath, turning her head sharply towards Delvin who looked just as shocked, and wore the same subtle excitement that Raina knew she did not conceal well. "There's hope you." Finn muttered from Delvin's side, quick to raise a glass and block any notice of his words having ever been said. "Aye - there is still hope..." Raina smiled, a smile that was, for the first time in a while, holding pride for a King. Renly was going to win this war - Raina knew it.