From Winter to Summer and Winter Again 4

Part 10

The Riverlands were breathtaking, especially in the early hours. A silence spread across the land with a summer fog winding through endless hills that surrounded the Lord's keeps. It was a welcome sight, for in the hours to come servants would flee around the castle in work while the Northmen would spare in the gardens. 

The Queen of those crude men leaned heavily against the brick of Riverrun. Besides her sat her large dire wolf who long to be in their warm chamber's laying in front of the fire. Rhaenyra used the silence of the morning to enjoy the solitude, preferring the company of a wordless wolf overall. She dressed in the darkness, her outfit compiled of Robb's tossed clothing from their rumpus night. She did not mind for they smelt of him. 

Scratching her wolf against his ear, she smiled. It was the silence that brought contentment. The stress of the Freys being pushed away briefly. She reached down to pick up the bow and few arrows she had stolen from the courtyard. Rhaenyra began to walk forward calling Grey Wind with a small whistle. 

She huffed a cloud of breath as she furthered the treck up the small hill, turning slightly to see her wolf obediently following. Her eyes glanced around the lands in search of a natural target to practice her aim. With a giddy squeal, she picked up her pace to a lone tree.

Rhaenyra unpinned her dire wolf broach from her cloak. She flung it to the ground only to spread it for Grey Wind to lay upon. He did, stretching his legs past the length of the fabric's edge. Rhaenyra smiled and dropped the arrows beside him. 

She slid a single arrow from the carrier. It was a foreign feeling to have it between her fingers once more. Her other hand lifts the bow with a natural ease for her to immediately knock her arrow. Rhaenyra dropped her shoulders as her eyes met the center of the tree, she drew the bow's string back to her cheek. With a calming breathe she released it. 

It had been months since she properly held a weapon, even longer since she used a bow. A sense of pride filled her once the arrow struck dead center against the tree's trunk. The thought she lost her ability fading quickly as she reached for another arrow. Rhaenyra loosened the arrow and jumped excitedly as it too hit the center, above her previous shot. 

She turned to Grey Wind to share her delight, he did not bother to raise his head. Rhaenyra rolled her eyes muttering to herself about his laziness before bending to retrieve another arrow. She hissed as she straightened, her back erupting in pain. With a shake of her head, she knocked ready to shoot. As the feathers of the arrow's end tickled her cheek, she paused. The silence of the morning had ended. 

The sound of feet pressing into the grass behind her angered her. She was not ready to battle any man. Rhaenyra played ignorant to the intruder as they got closer. She moved as Grey Wind gave a huff of a growl. In a graceful motion, she dropped her previous weapon and reached for another. With fluidity, she retrieved her ancestral dagger from her boot. Rhaenyra turned, pressing the edge of her blade into the person's neck. Before slicing, she screamed, "Robb Stark!" Her husband laughed loudly as she dropped her hand in defeat to her side. "You dare frighten your wife?!" Rhaenyra's voice was high pitched, out of embarrassment and anger. 

Robb rubbed his gloved fingers against the nick at his throat, laughter still enveloping him. "Gods Rhea," a smile etched onto his face. "I simply wanted to share a breakfast with you. Yet here you are ready to murder me. After four years of marriage love, I did not take you for my killer." His laugh grew harder as he threw his arms around his wife. Rhaenyra returned his affections. 

"How did you know where I was? I sneak out quite early."

Robb's arms fell from her. He pointed to a point in the keep that seemed miles high, "The guard in the tower told me." Rhaenyra laughed, placing her dagger back into her shoe. 

"Grey Wind," she patted his head for him to leave. With an annoyed whine, the wolf trecked back to Riverrun clearly in hopes of continuing his sleep in the warmth of its hearth. Rhaenyra placed a hand against her husband, pushing herself onto her cloak. She sat against it, the poor fabric was wet from the grass causing it to smell of her wolf. With a defeated sigh, she patted the emptied spot beside her. 

 Robb smirked, "Here." He reached into his cloak pockets to retrieve flattened pastries. He handed her a fruit-filled one, holding it out in a way that reminded her of a child. With a curious look Rhaenyra reached for it. Robb sat beside her only to quickly pull the edge of his cloak onto his lap. "Shit." He sat on his pastry. 

Rhaenyra giggled as she ate her breakfast, watching Robb dig into his other pocket to retrieve the goodie. He turned his pocket inside out only to reveal the sweet mess of it's inside. Fruit and dough was everywhere, but somehow the majority remained intact. Robb muttered curses to himself before bitting into the destroyed pastry. "The Young Wolf gets upset over exploded baked goods, who knew." She giggled and kissed his cheek. "Don't fret we'll have it cleaned before we leave." 

Her stomach twisted as reality struck. The Stark party was meant to leave for the Twins. The uneasiness of the departure now lingered. She turned to her discarded bow, remembering why she craved solitude. "No later than noon. I want to make camp before nightfall." Robb's blue eyes shifted to the tree that stood feet away, he bit into his pastry before speaking. "You're anxious."

Rhaenyra sighed, "That and I merely wanted to prove something to myself."

Robb turned abruptly, tilting his head before questioning her. "What do you need to prove?" Her eyes shifted to her hands, looking to the fruit stains that covered her fingers. "Love."

"I find I have become a meek wife, mother. I have not used a bow in years, my dagger." She pulled her blade once more from her shoe. "I am grateful I haven't but I fear I have lost touch with who I was. The ferocity I once held is gone."

Robb shook his head before reaching for her hand, "Rhea, love look at me." Her eyes shifted from the blade to him. "You're the Pretty Wolf, they sing songs not only of your beauty and immortality but how savagely fierce you are. I see men cower as you walk by. I thought you were joking when you said you've become meek." Rhaenyra laughed slightly, tightening her hand against his. 

"I'm not soft then?"

"Far from it." 

"I just have moments where I doubt myself. I believe that doubt has diminished, my King." She kissed his cheek once more, "I love you."

"I love you."