"You're father was an honorable man"

[thekittenqueen]

WHO: Margaery Tyrell
WHERE: Robb's House
WHEN: 6/13
OPEN TO: Robb Stark
WARNINGS: Brooding Stark talk

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As had happened for her, not long after Robb returned to the village after the Observers' games, his father had been pulled away. She knew the loss would be painful for him, but it was soon compounded by Sansa's disappearance as well. The house Robb occupied was no empty and there was only one sibling left to him in the village. There was a darkness now that she had come to recognize from his family, though she had only seen it in Sansa before coming here. It was loss as long and harsh as winter.

It was only a matter of time before it came for them here as well.

It was hard to say whether or not Robb was looking after himself properly. She didn't press him to stay with her at night, wishing to give him space if he wanted it. But after a day of not seeing him, she went to the Stark home and found him there. There weren't any signs of activity in the kitchen, as she suspected, so she worked to make something for him out of the leftover rabbit she had. It wouldn't be her finest meal, but it would be enough to sustain him.

When it was finished, she brought it to Robb and sat beside him. "Have you slept?"

Comments

[king_in_the_north]

Tears stood unshed in Robb's eyes, but he nodded. He'd cried enough for the loss of his father and sisters in moments alone, but this was something different. These tears, refusing to fall, were for allowing himself to let them go.

If they returned, they returned. Perhaps they would stay here with them here a month or a year or longer, but those left perpetually behind — Margaery, Jon, himself — could not carry the burden of waiting to see what came to pass. All that remained to them in this new life would be wasted with it.

Robb pulled Margaery close, cheek pressed to her hair. He'd been afraid the motion might draw up emotion lurking beneath the surface, but he did not weep. There was sorrow, yes, but he felt steady with her pressed against him.

[thekittenqueen]

She held him, feeling the tightness in her chest slowly recede. Everything was easier to bear here. The quiet moments were not so suffocating and the shadows didn't loom quite so large. Her heart could beat normally and all of the self doubt was removed as if it were mist over the morning lake. Whether he formally asked or not, she would have stayed at his side as he had with her while Lord Stark still lived here.

"We move forward," she said as much for herself as she did for him. "I'll speak with Mark soon about moving my garden. You will have to build a fence and help me move my things." This gave them something to focus on, something to keep them busy as they adjusted to this new state of being.

"Have you considered asking Jon to live closer as well?"

[king_in_the_north]

"Is that something you would want?" Robb asked as he leaned back, eyebrows pulling together as he looked Margaery in the eye. "I would mean Lyanna as well."

And that, of course, came with its own considerations. He and Lyanna had been getting on a sight better than they had at the start, but could they two live in harmony in such a small space? Perhaps the only way to know was to try it and see.

"I'd thought of it, but... I don't know how well it would go over, coming from me. Like I'm trying to take Father's place and tell them what they ought to do."

[thekittenqueen]

"It wouldn't trouble me, but I don't run at the sight of her as she does with me." She wasn't a woman who had reason to trust a southroner, certainly not one that had married into the Lannister house twice. It had never bothered her, though it would cause trouble for Robb if he wanted to have his family close. "You could at least speak to her about it? She might be willing to accept my presence, so long as she can be with you and Jon."

Everything was different now. There wasn't a point for the old squabbles. So long as they were the only ones remaining, they should band together. No one else would understand what they endured and the world they left behind. An ally was more important than old grudges.

"I don't think Jon or Lyanna would look at it that way, Robb. You have suffered the same loss. Tell him what you have said to me, that you want to make the most of this world with your family close."

[king_in_the_north]

"I don't know that it's your presence that would be the trouble," Robb replied with a knowing cant of his head. "She and I haven't always gotten on. To suggest we see things differently would be a bit of an understatement."

He heaved a sigh and pushed a hand through his hair. It was getting long and would need to be trimmed again soon lest he start being mistaken for Jon. "But you are right," he allowed. "I'll need to speak with them both, I suppose." He had hoped perhaps Margaery might volunteer for him, but he could see clearly now this duty was his own. Not to mention that she'd have her hands full enough with the business of moving house.

[thekittenqueen]

She had volunteered for him once before, but this was a different matter than the Red Wedding. It wasn't her place to speak to his family about staying closer to him. For as much as she was brought into their ranks, she was no Stark and she was not a Northerner. Their bond was stronger and this was a loss they shared on a deeper level.

She pressed a kiss to his brow, offering a small smile. "Whatever they decide, we will still be here together." They wouldn't be alone. She grinned, hoping to offer him a bit of amusement and lightness against the backdrop of pain and sorrow. "It isn't as though you are asking them to marry you."