Hera's family was murdered in cold blood by their enemies. Hera got away and went to Winterfell, where the Starks lived. She knew she would be safe there, because Ned Stark and her father were close friends. Now, years later, she still live there...
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CHAPTER TWO - THE DAYDREAMING GIRL
Hera swung her arm forward so that her wooden sword met Arya's wooden sword. They weren't allowed to fight with real swords, in case anyone was to get hurt. Hera hadn't intended to practice with swords today, but Arya had pleaded with her until she said yes. Because Hera had trained with weapons from a young age, she was one of the best sword fighters Arya knew.
"You're doing good" Hera encouraged Arya, who was starting to pant. Arya swung her sword again, aiming at Hera's torso. Hera quickly moved out of the way, causing her braided hair to flick her in the face. Hera swung her sword at Arya's feet, but the younger girl jumped out of the way.
"Break!" Arya yelped out after a while. She was sweating, and her brown hair was stuck to her forehead. Hera was tired too, so a break sounded very nice at the moment.
The weather was nice outside today. The sky was clear blue, and the sun shone brightly on its surface. Birds were chirping, its beautiful melodies bringing a smile onto Hera's face. She could feel the sun warming her face, and she closed her eyes to enjoy it. Lord Stark always said that winter was coming, so Hera tried to be as much outside as possible when she had the opportunity to.
Bran appeared in front of Hera shortly after, his direwolf following close at his feet. The small pup was colored silver and smoky grey, and it had the yellowest eyes Hera had ever seen, almost like the sun. When they had gotten back from the execution yesterday, they had found a dead direwolf in the woods. It had been killed by a stag, and its antlers was still in the direwolf's body. The wolf's six remaining pups was left without a mother, and with a lot of persuasion, lord Stark agreed to let them adopt them. So now, each Stark child had their own direwolf.
"Oh hello Brandon" Hera said with a smirk covering her pink lips. Bran scowled, he hated when she called him by his full name.
"What are you doing?" he asked, deciding to ignore the small irritation he felt.
"I'm enjoying the nice weather" Hera answered. The sun hit her face perfectly, making her emerald eyes glitter like diamonds. Bran had always had a small crush on Hera, but he was too nervous to tell anyone. Besides, he was much younger than her, so he knew it was stupid. But still, he felt butterflies in his stomach everytime she was near.
"You're always enjoying the weather" Bran commented confused. He always saw her outside, she was barely inside the castle at all.
"As your father always say, winter is coming." Hera gave him a funny wink, causing Bran to blush. "What are you up to?" She then asked with a mischievous look in her eyes. Bran's chocolate colored eyes adverted to the ground as he nervously shuffled his feet.
"You're going climbing aren't you?" Bran's eyes widened as he stammered for an answer. His distressed face caused Hera to chuckle. Her chuckle was like a melody, which could brighten up anyones day. "Relax, I won't tell anyone" she assured him. Bran let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank you Hera" he smiled. After she smiled back, he ran towards the castle walls, his direwolf following close behind.
♛
Hera was venturing through the castle halls as she often did when she was bored. She walked towards the dining hall because she saw that something was happening in there. She lingered by the door, just watching as people scurried around. They were making the dining hall ready to hold a feast, she realised. But she didn't understand who they would be holding a feast for?
She spotted Catelyn Stark talking to Maester Luwin. Curiosity got the best of her as usual, so she decided to listen in on their conversation. "We'll need plenty of candles for Lord Tyrion's chamber, I'm told he reads all night" Lady Catelyn announced.
Maester Luwin lifted an eyebrow. "I'm told he drinks all night."
Lady Stark looked at him with raised eyebrows. "How much could he possibly drink? A man of his..." she searched a couple of seconds for the right word to use. "...Structure."
"We've brought up eight barrels of ale from the cellar. Perhaps we'll find out."
Lady Catelyn nodded. "In any case, candles."
Maester Luwin nodded before he left her alone. Hera decided it was time to make her presence known. She slowly walked over to Lady Stark, her braided hair swinging against her back. Catelyn offered her a kind smile when she took notice of her presence. "Hera" she said in acknowledgment.
"Lady Stark-" Hera began, but she was interrupted by the woman in front of her.
"Hera, how many times must I tell you that there are no need for formitalities?" Hera sheepishly nodded.
"What is going on? Why are you preparing a feast?" She watched Lady Catelyn curiously and with excitement.
"The king and his family are coming to visit" she answered. Hera noticed that she didn't seem that happy about it, and to be honest, Hera wasn't either.
"Why would he come here?" Hera asked with furrowed eyebrows. King's landing was one month away from Winterfell, so the king and his family rarely came to visit. Why he would come now, remained a mystery to Hera.
"I don't know, but he wants something, I'm sure of it." Catelyn accused. Hera got the feeling that there was something she kept hidden, but she didn't push it.
"When are they arriving?" She asked as she ran her fingers through her chestnut hair.
"Sometime later today" Catelyn answered grudgingly. Hera's eyebrows shot up in surprise. If they were arriving later today, it meant that they had been travelling for a month already. Why had no one told her about this?
"I see" She mumbled. "Well, I guess I better get ready then." She gave Catelyn her famous smile before she turned around and walked out of the dining hall.
