Queen of Wolves // Jaime Lannister [GAME OF THRONES] (ON HOLD)

1. PROMISE ME

The stars twinkled over the twins and Winterfell slept as the two eleven-year-olds sparred with their swords.

'You woke me up for this?' said Alynna in exasperation, an hour had crept by in the moonlit darkness. She blocked a swipe to her hip just in time and Robb bit back a laugh noting his sister's awkward stance.

'Jon won't wake up, or he was pretending well enough.' Robb shrugged, swinging his sword with brazen assurance. Swordplay day after day with a master-at-arms skilled as Ser Rodrik Cassel caused such easy reflexes and daring, or unfair advantages in Alynna's opinion. But she never considered sword-fighting herself, so there was no concern that her mother forbade it. Alynna looked forward to the day when she tried to enforce the same rule on her youngest daughter, Arya. For their headstrong sister, much preferred ringmail than woollen dresses.

'Didn't tickle him awake did you?' Alynna's face filled with scepticism. Her arms were sore and hands were frozen numb from the chill, yet she met Robb's blade every time. Her quick breaths steamed the surrounding air, pearly white in the one small torch Robb brought for a poor excuse of light.

'You know it's hard to make Jon laugh.' said Robb, a grin plastered across his sweaty face. Alynna thanked the gods for the darkness as her determined expression twitched for an instant as though she were to smile. Instead, she said, 'It'll be dawn soon, Septa Mordane will do my head in if I'm snoring through embroidery.'

Robb ignored her words, backing his twin into a corner, his gaze fixed and his moves steadfast. Within seconds his sword aimed at her chest, Alynna cast her eyes to the ground in defeat, hearing Robb yawn and loosening in his grip. She spotted the sword slacken and then finding the opportunity, stomped on his foot. When he let out a small groan of pain, she kicked away the sword in his hand and raised her own against Robb's neck. She wished Jon were here, even that earned her a grin.

Her brother's eyes darkened from their shared aqua blue to a glare that matched the colour of a stormy night at sea, or so she imagined. She'd never seen the sea, not even White Harbor. The closest she'd gotten were drawings and paintings in books from their library.

Unfazed by his frown, Alynna threw aside the sword to reach out a hand and a resentful Robb took it.

'I didn't have any idea you trained enough to do that. I haven't seen you train... ever.' He said in a tone dripping with accusation. If she wasn't his twin, she may have taken his words to heart and said something with equal venom. But underneath his bitterness lay only hurt for hiding something from him. In particular, what he wanted of her since the day they handed him a wooden sword and shield, and her a needle and thread. They never bothered with keeping secrets from each other, knowing the other sensed it. Although with her twin it wasn't too hard to realise what he thought. His face was an open book. Alynna dealt Robb with the tougher job in that regard. She looked to have constructed a wall with her books and dropped specific texts to create secret holes in the wall when she decided.