The first to tell him of the impending arrival of one Lady Nyssa Manderly had been his mother. Robb had looked down at her with a frown, not believing the words for one moment. There was no way that Nyssa was on her way here - after so many years of not seeing the brunette. He was often teased by Theon and Jon about how in love with her he still was. It hadn't helped when they had stumbled upon him in the middle of the night, mid wet dream, whimpering her name as he twisted and turned under the furs. Waking to the sound of howling laughter, Robb had been truly and utterly horrified to discover his brother and his best friend had witnessed such a thing. Robb had worked to keep it a secret - Nyssa was of lower status. He thought there was a brief chance he could persuade his parents into allowing the marriage. But then, just a few weeks after contemplating the idea, a raven arrived to Winterfell. An invitation to Nyssa's wedding to a Florent son. Robb had gone on a long ride that day, intent on clearing his head and for once, his friends hadn't bothered to follow after him. Of that, he had been thankful.
Only days later had another raven arrived, asking for protection for their only daughter. Robb, if he had known before Nyssa was sent for, would have been on his horse before he thought better of the idea. His parents had kept the news from him until the day of her arrival for that very reason. Many words could be used to describe the eldest Stark son, honorable perhaps the most prevalent. Robb had grown up beside Nyssa, he was like a sister they said. They had been right to assume Robb would go to her aide because the moment Catelyn mention Nyssa's troubles, he had stood from his seat at the table, an order on the tip of his tongue for one of the servants to fetch his sword and his horse. Ned stopped his son with a hand on his shoulder, promised that Nyssa was already safe, she would be here before nightfall.
Instead, Robb had apologized to his parents and excused himself from the table. He needed to ready himself. Robb asked a passing servant to ready a bath and by the time he reached his quarters, a steaming one was ready. Shooing the servant away, Robb bathed and dressed in his best clothes. He had to impress... perhaps there was still a chance. No, never mind that. Nyssa would return to her family one day and marry to the Florent boy like she was supposed to, surely. Robb wasn't going to dress horribly though, he had a reputation of the heir to Winterfell to uphold.
Standing beside Ned Stark, Robb felt like time was crawling by. The sound of horses hooves were enough to bring everyone down to the clearing in the center of the castle. The castle doors opened and the first sight that greeted him had unfortunately been Stark men. Not what he had been hoping for. He was quiet even as a carriage pulled around so that the door faced them. Robb couldn't help the smile that was brought to his lips, watching intently as Nyssa Manderly climbed out of the carriage, followed by an older, wrinkled woman.
His father greeted her first and then her mother spoke. Then it was his turn. Robb stepped forward, forcing his lips into a firm line. He reached out his hand to take hers as Catelyn spoke. Robb looked up to Nyssa then and a smirk found it's way onto his lips. "C'mere," he said, pulling Nyssa into a tight embrace, in front of them all. He was the heir to Winterfell, he could surely get away with a bit of informality in his own home. "Missed you," Robb muttered into her hair, only pulling away when he heard Ned clear his throat.
The moment that Nyssa finished greeting the other Stark children, Robb held out an arm for her. "Come, I'll show you to your chambers, m'lady." Leading the way to her chambers, Robb did his best to contain his excitement. It had been shown enough by his greeting of her. "I've been well. Mother didn't tell me of your arrival until lunch today," Robb said, letting out a soft laugh at the thought. "Or I would have prepared something more extravagant for you, of course."
June 29th, 2016 at 08:07am