( ACT I; a dreary existence. ) ⟵ ◊ ⟶ chapter 2: the king is coming.
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SUMMER snows fell as they often did in the early mornings, their flakes gracing the warped, aged glass of Raina's chamber window. It was a quiet morning, with few awake except the house guard changing shifts and servants tending to their early morning duties. The midnight-haired bastard loved the quiet, with nothing except the sound of a crackling fire burning under a wax covered mantle. She stood before the wooden structure while breaking away pieces of the wax as she sometimes did when bored or anxious. She rubbed the smooth substance with her fingers before tossing it in the flames below her to watch it melt into nothing.
The small whine of Ryder caused her to turn toward her bed, where the pitch black pup looked up at her with its golden eyes. She smiled slightly to herself as she wandered over, causing the pups ears to fold back and his tail to thump uncontrollably.
Scooping up the pup, she looked into his eyes. "Such a demanding little thing you are," she remarked as a slight giggle emitted. "So energetic as well. How does a walk sound? Perhaps outside?"
At the sound of her enthusiastic tone, the pup squirmed and whined with excitement as Raina went to place him on the floor.
A sennighthad passed since the arrival of dire-wolf pups, but the joyous occasion came to a halt once dark news on the wings of a raven reached Winterfell after a long flight all the way from King's Landing. Jon Arryn, a man her father had known and practically been raised by, had sadly passed away. He was Robert's Hand of the King, but had unfortunately been taken by a ravaging fever.
The most strange of news to come from the capital was the impending arrival of Robert himself, on his way toward Winterfell. Even if one had never seen the King for themselves, everyone knew the man was a notoriously lazy monarch. It was apparent that he had no interest in actually ruling the Seven Kingdoms and therefore left the governing of the country to his advisers and those alike. Instead, Raina had heard rumors that he did nothing but drink, eat, and whore about despite having a Queen that was rumored to be a goddess among men.
As the girl and the pup exited the room and entered the hall, Raina mentally scowled at the thought of such an ignorant man, with the world in his grasp but with no care about his prestige. She thought about all the things she would do just to be able to live her days without shame, without Snow.
She thinks about those that will be arriving to Winterfell: a small army of Lannister men, likely, with knights, sellswords and those alike following after the trail of gold, crimson, and black. If she remembered correctly, the king had four children, all little lions like their mother she'd heard. If she wouldn't offend them with her presence, she might have liked to speak to them a time or two.
