A Gift to Change the Games

Chapter Two

Just as I suspected I woke lying wrapped in Robb's arms, who was snoring quietly as he continued sleeping. I untangled myself from his arms and he immedialty flattened out on my bed completely passed out. Rolling my eyes at my twin I went to my window and opened it letting the sunlight and cool air wash into the room replacing the stale air with its cool refreshing mountain air. The light hit Robb in the face and he slowly started waking covering his eyes as his eyes tried to adjust. Finally, he was able to sit up his fingers massaging his eyes and he didn't look like he had gotten much sleep. I frowned immedialty feeling guilty of always keeping him from his sleep with my dreams. I knelt back onto the bed behind him and placing my hands on his shoulders started massaging his broad shoulders and back, smiling at how he leaned into my fingers. He was always complaining of how tense he was and how it made his muscles tight and sore all the time and he loved it when I was able to massage his muscles into relaxation for at least a few days.

"What am I going to do when you leave, I'll never be able to relax," Robb joked, and I laughed lightly as I finally finished his massage and he stood up.

"I truly don't know." I laughed standing next to him smirking up at him. He ruffled my hair before turning and heading back to his room to get dressed. I turned towards my closest and picked out a pair of long leather pants that fit tightly and a long sleeved blue woolen shirt. Then I put on my arm warmers or so I called them, they were just the sleeve part of a shirt attached to leather shoulder plates. The two sleeves were connected by an adjustable strap in the front and back.

Throwing my cloak on knowing we would be riding out today I started for the stable. As I silently walked through the halls of Winterfell my eyes seemed to find every stone memorizing it as if knowing I had very few days left in my home. I was exiting the main part of the castle when I heard my mother's voice whispering to who I assumed to be my father.

"You can always refuse, Cat will never concede even her honor and pride won't keep her from here, you must refuse..."

"You know I can't do that, I'm sorry Cat." My father's voice seemed broken somehow as if something in him was broken, and I knew exactly what he was feeling and at mothers' words I felt I only knew the half of it. Winterfell was our home it's were we're meant to be, and Winter is Coming, we should be home not in King's Landing doing everything the King orders. Not wanting to get caught eavesdropping I exited the hall and smiled gratefully as the chilling wind blew through my hair while the sun finally warmed my body. I headed through the yard which was already bustling with life as everyone was scurrying to get Winterfell ready for the King and Queen's arrival. I reached the gates and stepping towards the pasture I had left my yearling in the day before, I stopped to look around me. The green mountainous landscape was breathtaking to me but to others it was just a cold deserted land worth nothing. My yearling saw me coming and raced for the gate his stride long and free, he truly looked magnificent floating across the pasture as if his hooves weren't touching the ground at all.

"Good boy Whisper, you ready to start your training today?" He seemed to understand bobbing his head up and down eagerly as I attempted to put his halter on. I was finally able to strap it on and open the gate to let him out. As we walked back to the stable, he pranced excitedly beside me though never getting close enough to step on me. After I got him back into his stall, I feed all my horses making sure they all had fresh hay and water. Then as they ate, I groomed them making their coats shine like finely polished steel. The twins leaned into the brushes as if I was giving them a massage and not cleaning them. When Dawn finished eating I led her out to a small paddock behind my barn, it was part of the castle but had been blocked off when my barn had been built and I used it to let my horses out sometimes. She trotted around letting her foals follow on steady legs surprising even me with their agility. I watched her trot around for a few moments then started for the dining hall thanking the young man who had come to clean my stable as I left.