The Death of Winter's Princess

Chapter IV

"Ashara, come out." A muffled voice called as someone knocked on the door. "Go away." She called as she pulled the blanket tighter around her.

"You know what? Fine. I'm going in instead." The door was slammed open and Ashara nearly jumped out of her covers. "Alyssa don't you have more important things to do?" "No." Her sister said bluntly as she pulled back the curtains in Ashara's room. "What scared our winter wolf so much that she's hiding in her room?"

Alyssa turned to her sister who was sitting up with her blanket wrapped around her and over her head. "The Targaryen king." Ashara muttered and her sister sighed. "Okay, well he's on the other side of Winterfell at the moment, so you can come out." Ashara hesitated and mulled over her sister's words.

She could go out and see her brothers and family again and run into the very same person who she was trying to avoid. But what were the chances? Winterfell was a big place and the Targaryens could get lost. "Fine, I'll come out for a while." She pulled off her covers and brushed back her hair.

"Oh, no, no, you are not going out like that." Alyssa said, catching Ashara's arm and dragging her over to a chair. "You look like a mess."

"It's only my hair!" Ashara protested. "Who cares about my hair and what it looks like?" "Because it looks like a raven crash landed onto your head and had a fight with a rat." Alyssa said, picking up a brush. "Only you would care about appearances." Ashara muttered as her sister began to comb/wrestle her hair into place.

"Do you think our new king handsome, Alyssa?" Ashara questioned, looking at herself in her mirror. "Well he's a Targaryen and a man of Old Valyria, so yes he's very handsome."

"But he never smiles." Her older sister laughed and looked down at her sister. "Why do you care, little sister? For someone you claim to hate, he seems to be on your mind quite a lot." "Because he's always in my face." She muttered as her cheeks burned.

About five minutes later, Ashara had her hair pulled up in it's signature style. "Alright, can we go now?" She questioned, turning to look impatiently at her sister was was trying to stick one last pin into her hair. "Stay still and we can." Alyssa said before she stuck the small silver pin into the braids. "Okay, come on."

She stood and Alyssa opened the door. She picked up her harp and quickly followed after her sister. "Why'd you bring that?" Alyssa questioned as they stepped into the cold air. "Entertainment for myself." "All I could hear from your room was depressing music. When will you play something joyful?"

"When the dragons figure out that we'd rather freeze to death than having some flowery king from the South rule over us." Ashara snapped and Alyssa rolled her eyes. "We will have to accept is soon. We don't want to end up like the Gardeners." She warned her sister and Ashara just huffed, but didn't argue. Death by fire didn't seem very appealing.

They walked into a the Great Hall and the women immediately gravitated towards the two Starks. Ashara sat down after she had placed her harp on the table knowing that no one without a brain would touch it. She turned her attention turned to the gossip that the women had to share with her. Some was useless gossip about the weather, the cold, clothes, pets, husbands, the cold, Winterfell, the cold, and of course the weather. But some of them had little secrets and over heard conversations to share.

"I hear that Queen-" "Visenya or Rhaenys?" Kasandra Ashwood questioned and the girl she had interrupted, Jocylen Karstark, rolled her eyes. "Obviously Visenya, Rhaenys is just so...normal. She's pretty, but there's not much to talk about. Anyways, I heard that the queen practices the dark arts." Jocylen said in a hushed tone, making everyone lean forward. "Where did you hear such rumors?" Ashara questioned curiously.

"A servant and we all know they hear everything." "It could be a lie." A blonde haired girl said and they all looked at each other. It was a small hope, but they all knew that the servants were always right. This strange news sent shivers down Ashara's back. "Does she bathe in blood?" A raven haired girl questioned and Ashara snorted.

"Use your brain, where would she get the blood? And who cares if she practices a little bit of magic, we believe in the Old Gods. We worship trees. The South worships nonexistent deities who are as soft as them."

They all sat in silence, letting Ashara's words tumble through their heads. Suddenly Alyssa pinched her arm and Ashara bit back a surprised yelp. "What was that for?" She hissed angrily and her older sister jerked her chin in the direction of where she had placed her harp. That arrogant little- her train of thought was cut off when Aegon Targaryen began to play.

What sound that came out of the instrument was melancholy and sad. Ashara's anger melted away slightly. When he finished he looked up at them and she narrowed her eyes. How dare he? Her brain questioned as the abrupt silence snapped her out of her trance. She stood up and Alyssa caught her sister's hand. Ashara looked down at her sister and she shook her head.

She let to a huff and she turned around, nearly colliding with Aegon. "Holy-" she stopped and corrected herself. "Your grace." She said trying to hide the annoyance in her voice. "I apologize, Lady Stark. I could not help myself." He placed the harp in her hands and she looked up at him in surprise. "Would you..." he trailed off and stepped back quickly. "Would you play for us? I haven't heard music since I was on Dragonstone."

Ashara hesitated before letting out a puff of air. "I'll indulge you since my sister tells me to be nice to you."

Author's Note:

I know it was really short, but I've got finals and school with a sprinkling of family drama. More will come in the future though so don't worry!