Long May She Reign [Robb Stark]

viii

When I awoke the next day, the sun was shining through the window. A heavy arm was draped over my waist, and held me tight against Robb. His head was rested against my shoulder, and his breathing was even, noting that he was asleep.

His chest was bare against my back, and it was comforting. He was warm. And liked to cuddle, apparently.

I wondered what woke me, when I heard a knock on the door. It sounded impatient, so I figured that the person had knocked already. Robb stirred, and I didn't want to wake him, and I stage-whispered, "Come in!"

The door opened after a moment, and I saw Catelyn walk in. She seemed quite surprised to see me there. I blushed furiously, my black hair falling into my face.

I would not have been embarrassed if we were naked. but somehow this was more emotional, and I was not used to it.

I lifted Robb's arm up and slipped out from his embrace, my body feeling colder. I took one of the spare pillows and placed it where I had been. He pulled it to him and muttered my name softly in his sleep, causing my cheeks to only go redder.

"I apologize, Lady Catelyn," I said quietly once I'd crossed the room to speak with her, "He had a nightmare, and I was trying to make him feel better, and we just fell asleep."

"I don not know why you're explaining yourself to me. From here on out you'll have to share a bed anyway," She said easily, and I nodded.

I crossed my arms awkwardly, and Catelyn cleared her throat.

"I suppose that I should wake him up. Only four hours until the wedding," Catelyn said.

"No, please... Let me," I said, "I will have to anyway from here on out, right?"

She smiled gently and nodded, looking at Robb one more time before leaving.

Once it was just me and him again, I walked back over to the bed and sat down. He looked very young in his sleep.

"Robb, wake up," I shook him gently, and he was a lot easier to wake when he wasn't yelling.

"W-what?" He asked blearily as he blinked.

I stood up, clapping my hands together. I walked over to the doors and opened them, looking at the guards. They were the same ones as last night.

I looked at the one on the left, "You, go find a servant and tell him to please draw the king a bath. Also, go find Lady Catelyn and locate King Robb's wedding attire."

The guard nodded, and I thanked him before I closed the door.

When I turned around Robb was siting up and smiling tiredly at me.

"You're such a queen," He said, and I raised an eyebrow.

"I would like to take that as a compliment," I said, "And I'm not quite a queen yet... We've still got four hours."

"Only four hours?" He asked, letting out a breath.

I got where he was coming from. Four hours until we were bound for life, in the eyes of his gods and mine. It was intimidating.

Also, he was the only person I'd ever be with for the rest of my life. That in and of itself was nerve-wracking enough for me. What if he was terrible in bed?

I pushed the thought away. That was quite rude of me to think.

"Are you ready to be my husband?" I asked teasingly.

"I don't think any man could ever be ready for that," Robb replied, and I grinned. Being around me was sharpening his tongue- good.

The doors to Robb's room opened, and all at once, five people entered. A servant wheeled in a bath, and I could see that the water was steaming. Another had a stack of clothes. A third had a stool to stand on, most likely to make last minute adjustments to Robb's attire, if need be.