The Stag and The Wolf

Chapter 3

Arthur's POV
I met Lady Skylea at the entrance of the hall. I had taken every precaution in my look making sure there wasn't any imperfections. I had decided on wearing a black doublet with slashes of gold and golden stags dancing around the collar in honor of my fathers house. My twin brother Joffery wore the crimson and gold of my mothers house along with Tommen and Myrcella. It would look odd if at least one of my fathers children weren't wearing their house colors.

"Hello." I heard a voice say behind me. I whirled around quickly to the sight of a goddess behind me.

"My lady." I said breathlessly. She was gorgeous. Her dark, silk dress glimmered in the candlelight. Her dress twinkled like the stars above glimmering and golden. The direwolf of House Stark was pinned to her collar and a wolf skin cloak was pinned to her dress. She was the image of beauty and grace. Her shy smile sent shivers down my spine. That's when I knew she was going to be my queen.

"How do I look?" She asked shyly. Her thick auburn hair was wavy and loose with a braid tying together her bangs. in response I kissed her hand and smiled. "Breathtaking m'lady. Absolutely fantastic." Her blush was the only response I needed.

We entered the hall right after my mother and father and were seated to the right of them. My heart skipped a beat when we entered and the crowd cheered. I tried not to look to overjoyed when I saw a somewhat approving look cross Eddard Stark's face. We sat down quickly once we crossed the hall. Robb Stark followed our entrance, Joffery and Sansa after him, Myrcella and Bran, and finally Tommen and Arya. The youngest was nowhere to be seen but I figured he was probably already in bed and their bastard brother looked to be sulking in the back of the halls. Once everyone who mattered had entered and somewhat settled Lord Eddard stood high above the crowd with glass of what appeared to be wine raised high.

"My lords and ladies, I'd like to raise a toast to my old friend and our king Robert as well as his family! May their reigns be prosperous and long!" Lord Eddard's voice rang deep throughout the hall. The crowd cheered their approval. In response I toasted Skylea with a light chuckle. The feast began then. At first our conversation was only a few shy words and flirty smiles but as time progressed we actually began to talk.

"So what's life in the north like?" I inquired.
"Alright." she said with a shrug. "Probably boring compared to life in the capital. I mean it snows a lot." She giggled which made me giggle.

"Trust me the capital isn't that fun. From the way it sounds you'll be experiencing the capital soon enough though."

"Who'd you hear this from?" She inquired rather seriously.

"My father. He says that he requested your father to be his hand and a few other things of course." I mumbled the last part.. My father had asked for Sansa and Skylea's hand in marriage to myself and Joffery.

"What kind of other things?" Her voice was nervous and her face had that cute blush on it again.

I shrugged. "I dunno.. Marriage things perhaps.." I said with a boyish grin.

"Well I could do much worse I guess.." She said with a wink. The rest of the night felt like it would never end and I was praying it wouldn't. We joked and we laughed and we fed each other food. I could feel every eye on us as the night progressed but I only had eyes on one thing, her. Finally the feast began to clear out. I felt extremely bad for the serving girls who were getting touched at every chance by my father. Eventually Lord Eddard whispered something to him and he stood up, rather wobbly. "I, the king, would like to make a toast. To my son, Arthur and future good-daughter Skylea." He then crashed to the floor, a drunken mess. The crowd cheered a mighty roar but not before they laughed at my father. One of the Stark me helped my father up and back to his chambers but not before my mother could storm out of the hall. It was no secret that my mother hated my father but it was nights like these that I feared for my father's life. My mother does not handle mockery well.

"Let's go m'lady. I think the feast has ended." I whispered to Skylea who was still in shock over my fathers accident. She took my hand and I led her out the hall, legs pumping hard in order to escape the japes the people would make. I was used to them in court but here on the night of my betrothal, it made me furious.

"I'm sorry m'lady. You deserve much better than that." I told her as we exited the hall.

"It's fine Arthur. Honestly." She said rather forcefully. It made my heart break. This wasn't how our night was supposed to end.

"Would you like for me to escort you to your room? I can if you'd like." I asked sheepishly. Anything to make up for this.

"I wish you could but actually I have to go find Arya. My mother gave me the duty to force her into the bath after the feast." She said plainly. My disappointment must've shown because she kissed me lightly on the cheeck. "I'll see you tomorrow." My cheeks burned a bright red at her sweet smile. She was gone before I could reply so I made my way back to my chambers.

I could hear steps behind me as I made my way back. I didn't give it much thought at first. I figured it was a serving girl or perhaps a guard or something. When I turned around though, I was surprised to find Robb Stark and Jon Snow right behind me with Theon Greyjoy behind them.

"Uh hello?" I called out to them. I had been talking to Robb and Jon quite a bit before we fought after our arrival in Winterfell but I had barely said over three words to Theon.

"Hey come here for a second." Called out Theon. It took me a second to realize it had been a command. As a prince I shouldn't of been taking commands from some little lordling but I came over as he had said.

"Hey I got a question for you. What do you think you're doing with my sister?" Robb Stark's voice was clear and harsh, his question straight to the point.

"Marrying her apparently." I said with a smile. Robb had been trying to appear very cool and collected but he couldn't stop his stupid grin from splitting across his face.

"You better treat her right." Is all he said back before turning to leave. Jon and Theon following behind him. It was then in the pale moonlight that I saw the weapons they held.

"Aye. I'll treat her like a queen." I turn and hurried back to my chambers then. I could hear my parents screaming and yelling at each other through the thick stone walls and the sickening slap of skin crashing against skin. I made a silent vow to myself that I'd never treat my queen like that. Never.