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Post by Snowglobe18 on Oct 7, 2017 20:49:22 GMT -7
Katherine had to admit that she never thought she would see Winterfell again, being in the south had changed so much for her and mostly because of the fact that now she was a vampire or at least that is what Emilia had told her. They had sat down and had a talk and she had started to see everything different. Edric always seemed to give her a side glance and there had been a time when she wondered if he knew.
Of course he does, Emilia had said and watched him. He was a wolf after all.
Leith has come back with them to Winterfell and for that she was glad because he was a good person it's just the fact that he had grown up in King's Landing. She had told him that there would be work in the kitchens and he didn't mind that. They were friends after all and if there was one person she didn't mind taking with her to the north it was him.
She looked up at the castle and then came to Jon's side in the courtyard, she had Amelia cuddled into her chest. "Home sweet home" she said and smiled over at him. This was the first real time their daughter would be staying in Winterfell. She still felt bad about Sarah and Gwin and promised that she would never forget them. Katherine felt this overwhelming sense of relief to be home because she had missed this place when they were in the south.
But she did have to admit that it felt good to be home. It would also mean that Amelia would grow up here and for the first time they were going to be safe. She wasn't sure if that word would completely apply to them but for now she was willing to use it. "So does this mean that you're going to be sleeping in with me more often or do you want your own room?" She said and smiled over at him.
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Post by Ray on Oct 7, 2017 21:11:18 GMT -7
Katherine joins him -- Amelia bundled in her arms, a smile on her lips. He smiles in return, glad to be here at the end of all things. There were so many times when he believed he would never see Winterfell again, even on the journey home. It seemed too fortunate, too good to be true. But now that he's here, breathing in the winter air, feeling the chill upon his cheeks, listening to the sound of people wander through the courtyard, the worry building in his chest like ice has melted away.
He's home. Really, truly home.
She speaks, causing his brow to raise a little. A slight laugh escapes him in a huff as he looks away, smiling a little wider and shaking his head slightly. Katherine is not nothing if forward. "Do you really have to ask?" He replies, looking to her with a hint of a tease upon his lips. They'd barely been apart since meeting once again on the fields outside Winterfell all those months ago. He doubts things will change all that much now that they're back in Winterfell. It does not seem like a secret they really need to keep anymore.
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Post by Snowglobe18 on Oct 7, 2017 21:27:46 GMT -7
He teases her and she smiles and looks down. If there was ever a person she was glad to have by her side it was him, him and his Targaryen looks. Katherine looked up and over at him. Sometimes even she couldn't get over how beautiful he was. She opened her mouth to say something but they were interrupted by Leith coming up to them.
"Katherine, I mean.. Your Grace" he said and grinned. "This place is wow" he held his hands out as if to express just how amazing Winterfell looked. Leith hadn't been anywhere outside of King's Landing so to see him here was a bit strange but Katherine was sure that he would be alright up here. He was the type of man that could settle anywhere even in the freezing cold North.
Katherine laughed softly. "Katherine will do and it is rather amazing" she grinned back at him and then he gave her a look as if to ask where he went now "Oh," she said and then pointed in the direction of the kitchens "that way" she nodded and then watched as he walked off in the direction of the kitchen. Something told her that he was going to go far here and that maybe he wouldn't always be in the kitchen. Katherine looked over at Jon and then smiled once more.
Sometimes it would take people by surprise at how she treated the people of the lower class because of the fact that she had been a Princess and then a Queen and she guessed they expected her to treat everyone as if she was above them. But she never did. Katherine never looked down at people and thought about the fact they shouldn't be near her, she embraced them. Loved them. "I dunno" she said and then pushed her lips out "I thought that maybe you might have got tired of me and was looking for someone much more.. better" she said in a soft tease.
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Post by Ray on Oct 7, 2017 22:03:05 GMT -7
Leith interrupts their conversation, lamenting happily about Winterfell despite the bitter chill in the air and the snow up to their ankles. Jon smiles faintly, a little amused by him. He hasn't known very many Southern men who've come north and found something amazing about this cold, dark place. Even King Robert, especially King Robert, used to piss and moan about how much he hated Winterfell. How all he wanted was a warm day and a nice pair of golden tits.
He and Robb never quite stopped finding that funny.
Jon watches Leith disappear towards the kitchens, before his eyes return to Katherine. She teases him back, as if Jon is likely to find another woman around here that catches his eye quite like Katherine does. He laughs a little, surprised she's this good-tempered after the long ride. He knows he's exhausted, ready for a hot meal and a long sleep, but she seems to be taking it all in stride. Happily so. "I'll trade off," Jon replies, jokingly, "A few days with you, a few days with..." he falters for a moment, eyes skimming the grounds, trying to find another woman who's face is recognizable in a sea of strangers and men. "Brienne." He says, finally finding the blonde lady knight near the stables. But as soon as the name leaves his mouth, he huffs out a disbelieving laugh. "Gods, imagine."
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Post by Snowglobe18 on Oct 7, 2017 22:18:34 GMT -7
Katherine gasped when he said about trading off between her and Brienne and she nudged him with her elbow before laughing softly. "I wouldn't say anything like that about Brienne near Tormund, he'll be tempted to pull your hands from your wrists" she said with a soft smirk. It wasn't any secret that the redhead giant lusted after Brienne and how Brienne didn't feel the same way.
She looked up when it started to snow and smiled to herself, there was just something beautiful about snow. The way that it looked across the fields was enough to make her want more of it. Katherine then dropped her eyes back to Jon and saw that he had flakes in his hair and she couldn't help but let the smirk fall into a soft smile. She was actually pretty content with everything right now. Katherine then leaned forward and put her lips to his cheek and then pulled back. "Still want to trade me in for Brienne?" she asked before then walking away towards the Great Keep.
Katherine walked into the building and then up the stairs, she remembered that they had been away for so long that the room wouldn't be warm yet but as long as she got Amelia out of the snow and then she could build the fire to make the room warm plus she doubted food would be done yet. She got to the room and pushed open the door, laying the little girl on the bed and looked around. It still had her stuff in it so she was thankful for that and it had kindling in so she would be able to make a fire. The one thing about being a vampire was the fact that she no longer felt the cold but she couldn't go around without a cloak on because no one could know what happened to her just yet not even Jon. He had lost too much already and adding on that she had died in the throne room at King's Landing would only hurt him more and she didn't want that. She didn't want to be the reason anymore sadness appeared on his beautiful face.
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Post by Ray on Oct 7, 2017 22:41:53 GMT -7
"I'm more worried about what Brienne would do." Jon admits. He and Tormund, once bitter rivals that would have cut each others throats given the chance, have cemented a strange but substantial friendship. And while the wildling still has his moments, he's more likely to laugh at Jon's jokes about Brienne then threaten to pull anything off of anywhere. Brienne, on the other hand... Brienne is very likely to break him.
Katherine leaves him for the Great Hall after a moment and another tease, carrying Amelia with her into the warmth inside. He remains for a moment, lifting his dark back to the grey skies looming overhead, snow drifting down lazily to collect upon his face, his hair, his shoulders -- cold, wet kisses. He wipes one from his cheek as he drops his chin once more, turning to walk towards the Great Hall, when his eyes catch upon a flash of white hair turning towards the godswood.
His brows furrow, the content feeling slowly dissipating. Jon glances around for just a moment, watching the others continue on their business, noticing nothing. He clenches his jaw, squares his shoulders, and lets his feet carry him towards the stone archway.
The weirwood bleeds red leaves onto the white ground, still standing tall and solitary in the middle of the godswood. The woman stands just beneath it, eyes turned away from him, fox furs snuggled high against her cheeks. She does not look as Jon approaches, his steps cautious and unsure.
"And so comes snow after fire," Rowan says aloud when he's close enough, her stormy eyes finally flicking towards him, "And even dragons have t'eir ending."
"What are you doing here?" Jon asks, words cold.
"I never left." She replies like it were a dumb question.
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Post by Snowglobe18 on Oct 7, 2017 23:09:34 GMT -7
Katherine wasn't sure just how she was going to get away without eating. For such a new vampire she already knew some things. Vampire. That word made her want to laugh, it seemed to be something new. She got the fire lit in the room so that Amelia would be warm but she found herself taking the necklace off and staring at it. It was pretty, silver with a red stone on it. It was something she had never seen before and she was starting to wonder just where Emilia had got it from. Katherine never asked but knew that if she wanted to leave the room during the day then she was going to have to wear it.
She sat on the bed and ran her hands through her hair, it was hard to believe that everything was over. That they were free of the South and that the Iron Throne was no more. Katherine had had dreams about that thing being destroyed and now finally after all the years that her father had sat on the damn thing, of all the years her sister had sat on it and now it was over. Gone. It still didn't feel real.
Katherine moved after a moment and took Amelia with her, she moved from the Great Keep towards the hall and for a moment she listened to the sounds going on in there. Men were hungry and they were tired and they had earned themselves the gift of going back home. She moved in towards the hall and leaned against the door, a smile pulling at her lips. After everything that has happened to get them here, it finally feels like they could breath, they could laugh and drink and sing if they wanted too. It seemed like everything was going to take a while to get used too again but she was sure she could slip back into the role of Queen while here.
She moved away from the door and headed down towards Ned's office, she shouldered open the door and looked at the room, it was like she had left it. Katherine left the door open and let the sound of the hall drift down towards her but right now she had work to be done plus eating food wasn't the way she done it anymore. A servant asked if Katherine wanted her to look after Amelia and for a moment she had thought of saying yes but she had been away too much from the small girl so she thanked her but said no and sat down behind the desk, Amelia's head resting against her arm.
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Post by Ray on Oct 7, 2017 23:45:21 GMT -7
"Are you scared of me, Jon Snow?" Rowan asks him, inclining her head to the side, her white hair drifting across one shoulder. "Did t'e Fenriswolf warn you about me?" She says, almost as if she were amused by the very idea. A slight smile tugs are her pale lips as she crouches to pick up a red leaf from the ground with long fingers. Jon watches her carefully, his eyes following her as she stands straight once more and spins the leaf round by the stem.
"He did." Jon replies. But it's more than just that. This woman, this witch, brought him back from the dead as if it were nothing. Child's play. And here she is in Winterfell, standing like winter herself in the fresh fallen snow. It makes him feel uneasy. As if bad tidings are on the horizon.
"I am not t'e worst t'ing walking your halls," she comments, turning to face him. Rowan takes a step towards him, and Jon has to force himself to keep his ground, to not step away. But she closes the distance, and places the leaf to his lips. "And you forget...It was me who gave you a heart." She continues, letting the leaf drift down over his chin and neck and chest until it rests right over the scar still wounding him. "I would not take it back so easily."
"Then why are you here?" Jon asks through his teeth, his hands balling into fists at his side.
She pulls the leaf away once more and sets it upon her own lips, looking up at him with her dark eyes. "When you ask t'e right questions, I will answer. Until t'en, I would enjoy the quiet." She drops the leaf to the ground as she steps around him, making her way back towards the courtyard and leaving Jon standing there alone.
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Post by Snowglobe18 on Oct 8, 2017 15:48:59 GMT -7
Katherine sighed as she went through the letters and then ran a hand over her cheek. This was boring and she really wished that someone else would do this but she thought that it was the only way that she could get away with not eating. Amelia was asleep and she heard the noise from the hall but it sounded like she was in there with them. It was going to take a while to get used to the new side of her. She could hear heartbeats from across the room or even across the courtyard, the hearing was so much more louder, her heart no longer was beating.
She wasn't sure just how Jon was going to take this, if she ever told him. Katherine didn't want to worry him with things like these after all he was going through a lot himself and to add this onto him would only make her feel like the worst person in the world. How could she sit there in front of him and say that she had died and then was brought back. She still remembers her own expression when she found out about Jon. He had lost Daenerys, he didn't need to know this too.
Katherine grabbed another letter and felt like it was the same thing over and over again, she wasn't sure just how long all of this had been sitting here but she guessed it was around the time that everyone went South to King's Landing. Although some of it looked rather new. She quickly read the letter and put it to one side before she grabbed another scroll, this time there was a sigil on there that she hadn't seen before. So it definitely wasn't from Westeros but she read it anyway.
It was from Rohan.
She really didn't imagine that someone across the water from them would send them anything especially after the war to bring down the Iron Throne.
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Post by Ray on Oct 8, 2017 17:00:59 GMT -7
Jon carries himself back to the Great Hall, his hands never relaxing from their fists at his sides. Rowan has vanished from sight, a fact that should leave him feeling more at ease, but doesn't. The last time he had seen her, she had been at the Wall, pouring that burning black oil down his throat, raising him from the dead. He has wondered about her for months -- let his circling questions make rounds in his skull, all pointing back to the white-haired witch he'd found in Mance's tent. It's dizzying.
But he tries to force them away, tries to remember where he is, how he got here. A single woman should not be enough to ruin the victories they've won. A single woman should not make his relief diminish.
He's home. And that's all that matters.
He steps into the Great Hall, familiarity carrying his feet forward. A fire burns in the hearth within the hall itself, weary travelers gathering around it to warm their hands and feed their hungry stomachs. He's hungry himself, traveling always taking the most out of him, but when his eyes do not find Katherine among the gathered group all laughing and talking amongst themselves, he frowns and drifts away from the door. He walks instead towards the office his Lord father had once occupied, keeping his mind from correcting him, from filling Rhaegar's face in place of Ned's. Ned might have not been his father, but he still raised him. Still cared for him. Still protected him at his mother's request.
He's more a father than Rhaegar ever could have been.
He knocks upon the door when he reaches the office, leaning close to it, "Katherine, you in there?"
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Post by Snowglobe18 on Oct 8, 2017 17:18:02 GMT -7
Katherine Stark, Queen in the North, We in Rohan have heard quite a few tales of the events that have transpired across the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. Should you need any supplies or a helping hand, the Durin line is willing to send aide. Our friendship with the North is unwavering. Signed, Eoin, Ruler of Rohan
Katherine read the letter again and again and couldn't remember if she had ever heard of Eoin. She knew that Rohan had gone to war with their old King which actually sounded so familiar that it was like the two countries were connected and apparently from this letter it looked like they were connected to someone. It felt nice to know that someone outside of Westeros was willing to send them anything if they needed it. It felt nice to know that someone wasn't going to lecture them on how stupid it probably had been to march South, mostly because they had marched on their own King.
She had been deep in reading that it had taken her a moment to hear knock on the door even with her hearing and then a voice came through and she smiled softly when she heard Jon. "Come in" she called to him and then watched as he opened the door and came in. She gave him a soft smile "Just getting through these" she said and nudged her head towards the letters before putting the latest scroll on top of the others. "I thought you might've been in the hall eating" she said and sat back in the chair and looked down at Amelia asleep in her arm before looking up at Jon once more and watched as he walked into the office more.
Katherine was avoiding the hall so that she wouldn't have to 'eat' in front of the others.
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Post by Ray on Oct 8, 2017 17:31:43 GMT -7
He steps into the office after being called, closing the door softly behind him when he notices Amelia asleep in Katherine's arms. The office is warm, despite the snow outside, and Jon cannot remember the last time he was in here. It must have been years ago, before all this. Ned didn't often allow his children to wander in, always busy, always serious. Robb was the only one who ever got to join his father in here, studying alongside the Lord to learn how to be one himself some day. But Jon hadn't been too much a stranger to this small study. There were times he'd found himself in here as well, though Ned never knew about those. Times when Jon had to drag Arya out by her feet, times when he and Robb used to sneak in for some childish reason, times when Jon just wanted to know how it felt to sit in that chair, read those letters, be that man.
It still smells like oak and pipe smoke.
"Wondered where you disappeared off to," Jon admits, stepping forward to take a seat in the chair across from the desk. He settles down, his back and legs sore and aching as he does, and sighs out a slow breath. "Anything interesting?" he asks, nudging his chin towards the letters strewn in front of her.
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Post by Snowglobe18 on Oct 9, 2017 5:55:59 GMT -7
Katherine watched as he came into the room and smiled softly, watching as he sat down across from her. She pulled her lip in between her teeth, thankful that her cut lip had healed in the time that they were coming back from the South. It had kept splitting everytime she smiled but thankfully it had gone now and she was able to smile without it splitting and pouring blood.
She better not keep thinking about blood, it was bad enough that her life was determined on it.
Katherine dropped her eyes down towards the letters when he asked if there was anything interesting. "Well I had a letter from the new ruler of Rohan" she admitted and leaned forward before handing the letter over "Asking if we need anything then they would happily send us supplies" she sat back in the chair and honestly felt weird about sitting in here because this was where Ned was, Katherine didn't feel worthy of sitting in here but she did anyway. It was where she would sit and read the letters that had been sent to Winterfell, it had also been where she found herself getting some peace and quiet when she found things a little bit overwhelming. Now she sat in here to make sure they didn't know she wasn't eating normal food.
"Have you ever heard of anyone called Eoin?" she asked and looked over at him. Katherine had heard that Rohan had gone up against it's last King and she guessed that there was now a new ruler in town.
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Post by Ray on Oct 9, 2017 12:42:41 GMT -7
"Rohan?" Jon presses his brows close, having not expected to have a letter from them come their way. Growing up, he'd overhead Ned talking with his council about the continent across the Summer Sea, greener and wilder than their own. There always seemed to be conflict, the kind that rivaled even Westerosi problems. Jon had only been a child when news came their way of the usurpation of the Durin line and the disappearance of the princes. Ned had been upset. Angry, even -- on the verge of sending armies across the sea to instill justice for their former allies.
But Robert had been particularly nonchalant. He'd ordered Ned to stand down and, always an obeying man, he had.
News had trickled over in the years since, mostly letters trying to force some sort of allegiance with the Starks that Ned always denied. Last Jon had heard, they'd found themselves in another war, another contest for the throne. But his mind had been too wrapped up in the death of his own family, his own line, to care.
He takes the letter from Katherine and skims the words, the furrow between his brow deepening with every passing second.
"It would have been nice to receive this letter a month ago." Jon murmurs under his breath, rereading it for a second time. "No," he admits, shaking his head, "I've never heard of an Eoin. But he mentions the Durin line...who I thought were all dead." He reaches back across the desk to hand her the letter once more.
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Post by Snowglobe18 on Oct 9, 2017 12:58:47 GMT -7
"Maybe I need to find out some information about this Eoin" she muttered and took the letter back from him. "It seems everywhere at the moment is rebelling against their Kings and Queens and that makes me fear for us" she admitted and watched him. Katherine had never said this before, but after reading the scroll it made her worry that what happened to Cersei would happen to her if she done something the Northern lords didn't like.
She sighed under her breath before biting on her lip. Maybe they could have an alliance with Rohan or this Eoin could be as bad as the last king that had sat on the throne over there but for now she was going to have to consult with the others before she makes any deal or any alliances. Katherine looked down at the scroll once more and tilted her head slightly. It would be nice to have allies that were across the summer sea but they couldn't be brought into another war if anything happened over there, they had lost enough as it was.
Plus Rohan did seem like it was getting through the troubles that had taken place there, Westeros however wasn't exactly normal at the moment and she wasn't sure it would even get back there. Everything has changed and whether it was good or not she couldn't tell right now.
Katherine put the scroll to one side and then looked up at him. "How you doing?" She asked softly and gave him an even softer smile. She worried about him especially after Daenerys had died. She felt like a little girl pretending to be a grown up in this chair and it wasn't a feeling she actually liked. Maybe someone else should sit in here but she had found it comforting and peaceful but now she could hear men belchinf as if she was right next to them.
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