Lady of Winterfell

Chapter Twenty-Five: Lady Stark

"Good morning Bran, Rickon," Sanira greeted moving to sit down next to her good-brother so that they could enjoy breakfast together, things had been a little strange since Robb had left to go fight his battle with the Lannisters. 

It still felt strange for Sanira to wake up in their room alone without both Robb and Grey Wind there, she doubted that it was going to get any easier for her any time soon. 

Bran smiled at Sanira, she had been great after they had been left behind by everyone else and Bran hoped that they would be home soon so they could all move forward with their lives. 

Rickon munched on his breakfast, he barely looked up at Sanira when she sat down at the table; he kept sneaking bits of his breakfast under the table to Shaggydog who was loyal sat by his master's feet. 

"Sanira... this is Osha," Bran said introducing his good-sister to the wildling woman that was near them, he had found himself spending a lot more time with since she had come to Winterfell. 

They seemed to have formed an unlikely friendship since Osha had tried to steal his horse and she had been brought back to the castle where she now worked for them. 

Osha eyed the Lady of Winterfell, she hadn't seen much of her since she had arrived but what she had seen impressed her somewhat; especially considering what she had heard of southern women. 

"It a nice to meet you," Sanira greeted politely, she wasn't entirely sure what to make of the wildling woman who had attempted to kill Bran only weeks earlier. 

It had been Robb's order that she remain in Winterfell and Sanira wasn't quite sure what her husband had planned for her in the near future.

***

"You don't need to look so nervous," Aiana teased walking alongside Sanira, they had decided on a stroll around the castle to take a break from all the duties that Sanira had to undertake now. 

The morning after breakfast had been spent with many appointments that had to be dealt with and Sanira couldn't believe that there was so much to do; she had never thought that she would have to do most of this alone. 

"I feel like everyone is watching me," Sanira mumbled under her breath, she felt so self-conscious and it was like almost everyone knew that she was pregnant right now. 

She wished to keep her pregnancy a secret until she was showing, Sanira prayed that Robb would return before the news got out that she was expecting their first child. 

Nothing could compare to the fear that seemed to grow inside of Sanira whenever she thought about her husband facing off against Joffrey. 

"They probably are," Aiana laughed with a shake of her head, Sanira had never liked being the centre of attention but that couldn't be avoided now that she was the highest ranking member of her family left in Winterfell. 

It would certainly only get worse when people discovered that she was carrying Robb's baby, a baby Stark that would one day be Lord or Lady over Winterfell like their parents before them. 

Sanira glared at her friend, she didn't like that at all and she wished that there was some way that she could avoid the looks that they were getting; she wanted nothing more for something to happen to take the attention away from her. 

Aiana pulled Sanira to a stop, she was sure that her uneasiness of her new role came from the fact that her mother was writing to her more often now. 

The influx of letters from Aeredale hadn't gone un-noticed and Arlenna was apparently far from happy about the situation the Starks had found themselves in; she was the main reason that Rolan hadn't sided with Robb when he had started his trip south.

"You are Lady Stark now... you're important while Robb and his parents are away," Aiana insisted hoping to give Sanira some sort of confidence boost, she hated seeing her friend so down and wished Arlenna would just leave her alone. 

It had never made any sense to Aiana why Arlenna had always taken it upon herself to always be so horrible to her own daughter; it was like she didn't want Sanira to ever know happiness. 

Aiana had wondered if Arlenna's hatred of Sanira had stemmed from the fact that Lady Sylvina Tremaine adored her while she disapproved of the Lannister that her son had married after Robert's rebellion. 

Sanira nodded her head and flashed Aiana a smile, she wasn't sure that she would ever get used to being in this position; there was always going to be something that would unnerve her about all of this. 

Maester Luwin walked across the court-yard towards them, he hated to interrupt Sanira's short break but there were things that needed doing that they couldn't avoid any longer. 

"I am sorry to disturb you, my lady... but something has come up," Maester Luwin interrupted, things seemed so uneasy now with Robb and the bannermen gone; it had left a lot of weight to be shouldered by Sanira while everyone was away. 

From what they had heard, Catelyn had wandered into Robb's war camp the day before and would be staying with her eldest son for a little while before returning to Winterfell after a long leave of absence.

***

A scream tore through Sanira's throat as she jolted up in bed, her heart racing in her chest as the imagines lingered in her mind; it had been a while since she'd had such dreams and she had started to hope they were done. 

The door to her chamber burst open and Aiana rushed across the room, she had just been falling asleep herself when she had heard Sanira scream bloody murder. 

They had all hoped that the dreams would stop and yet here they were again, Aiana wrapped her arms around Sanira trying to calm her while Osha lingered in the doorway watching the scene before her. 

"He's dead..." Sanira couldn't help but cry, tears pouring down her face and she clutched at Aiana; her hands were shaking and she couldn't shake what she had just seen. 

Maester Luwin quietly moved into the room, he shooed away the people in the corridor and shut the door behind him; they didn't need people seeing Sanira like this. 

Everything rested on her at that moment and Maester Luwin doubted that rumours that Robb's wife was crazy would help their cause in anyway. 

He had seen the letters from Arlenna and she was a large threat to what was happening, Maester Luwin hoped that Lord Rolan would be able to keep his wife under control before she did something that could ruin everything for them all. 

The fact that he had somehow managed to keep Arlenna from traveling south to King's Landing helped them in some way, they didn't need her telling her Lannister family what was coming their way. 

Maester Luwin produced a calming draft that he had brought with him and moved to help Sanira take it, it wouldn't be good for the baby for her to get so worked up over a dream. 

"Who is Sanira?" Aiana asked trying to comfort her friend, she brushed some hair from Sanira's face and wondered what had upset her son. 

The name that fell from Sanira's lips made both Maester Luwin and Aiana stare at her, they had no idea why she would dream such a thing.

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Author's Note:

I found it hard to write about Rickon in this chapter after what happened in 06x09 - Battle of the Bastards.