Dance For Me
Chapter 1
“Finally we are here today to seek and to receive comfort. We would be less than honest if we said that our hearts have not ached over this situation. We are not too proud to acknowledge-
You couldn’t take it anymore, just by standing here listening to that preach addressed his departure. Your knees feel weak and your eyes burn, but you refuse to make a scene, taking deep breaths while clenching your fists is helping you calm down.
Still, it’s not enough.
You want to scream again just as you did when you saw his body limp against yours, scratch your arms in attempts of making the pain and hurt go away. To drift your mind from these ugly feelings.
A sick way of coping indeed, teensy bit of self-harm ain't going to kill you. It helps you somehow, preventing yourself from breaking even further in a public place like the cemetery.
Finally, you regain control of yourself and shift back to the preacher. Unfortunately, he concluded, now you have to prepare for the worse.
Henry, who is your most precious friend, is dead. His body was being carried away in the concealment of a coffin; he said his last farewell to you early in the morning when you ate breakfast with him, offering your company so he wouldn't feel alone, regain some strength by appreciation itself.
Something was up that morning; the old fart was more talkative than usual and flashed a smile here and there. You are at fault for not noticing from the start. You should have been more perceptive and observant; you are keen on people after all, especially when he gave you that look as if he was parting ways with you. He didn’t fight death, accepted it as embracing a hug from an old friend. That thought alone fills your head with doubt.
Was he even happy when he left?
Did he feel satisfied with the life he lived?
Were you enough?
Fuck, you never would've imagined his passing will affect you this much.
<<You old geezer, why were you so kind to me? Why did we let ourselves get attached?>>
The time is near, you will eventually have to confront him with all of these people staring at you, but you need to be strong for sake. You are what’s left of his loved ones. Linda died long ago. They never had a chance to procreate and bring a new life, Joey went mad or something along those lines.
Just like the rest of the crew, and he didn’t make any friends while he was on service for the military. If he did, they were dead. He didn’t like to talk about it.
<<I tried to make you happy, make you feel at ease as you did for me>>
Yet he kept secrets from you, of course, you respected his wishes and didn’t pry any further.
However, it stung.
<<Now it’s not time to reminisce, there’s nothing to reminisce for me at the moment>>
They called your name to the front; you ran out of time. It’s your turn. Is your first time burying someone, yes, you have assisted other burials besides this one, but now you are who’s lost a loved one. Those past times were favors people close to you had asked a long time ago; they said it felt nice to have somebody there when someone else is missing in their lives. In other words, you were there as comfort. A shoulder they could use to cry and lean on.
Hesitant, you take away from the burier’s grasp his shovel and with a gulp. You start shoveling some dirt into the hole were Henry’s coffin lies.
<<Shit, I can’t stop trembling! Come on, stop being a pussy and get over with this!>>
Despite that, your body wouldn’t obey, it made you look clumsy. No matter how much you lied to yourself.
You are scared.
After burying Henry, your vision goes black.
Waking up tomorrow morning at home without a clue of how you got there made your mind fuzzy.
How fun.
You try to get up, but end up failing.
“Fuuuuuck! Why do I feel like absolute shit! Everything hurts!” These feel just like a hangover. Why does it feel like one? Did you go to a bar once Henry’s funeral ended? How much did you drink?
“Enough to blackout it appears,” You say under your breath. Of course, your dumb ass would go to a bar and get drunk to cope with the pain! An upcoming headache awaits you for being arbitrary, instead of showing apprehension towards the situation and mourn, as you should, your voice of reason zonked out. “I reek of booze. Agh, it stinks”.
No more addressing what happened yesterday; feeling like trash isn't doing you any good. Henry would have called you out on your bullshit.
"Stop whining like a whore and man up, chum! I'll buy you a drink. Later we can relax and cut you some slack, nothing a magsman like myself can't do".
“Ok boomer,” You said in a humdrum tone, at least it made you laugh internally. “lo and behold, this will be a shitty morning-err afternoon, it’s 1 PM, I thought it was too early to be awake”.
That means it’s time for brunch.
Must compel your stomach desires, eat a lot little of food. Therefore, you'll have to leave the bed, go downstairs where the kitchen is; you force yourself out of the comfiness that are your covers. So you walk out of the room barefoot towards the kitchen. You open the fridge faking interest with whatever is inside and close it, then repeat, only that this time you pay a little more of attention.
You grab the water pitcher and pour some in a glass, then look for oatmeal and toss three spoonfuls of it at the water, after that you chuck a spoonful of sugar and mix it. A simple drink full of roughage. It’ll suffice for now.
*Clink clink*
Metal hitting porcelain serves you as a white noise to rearrange your thoughts. Yesterday was hectic and had your mind high wire, you were thinking about the old man; how long have you two been friends? Five or six years more or less, you met each other by autumn at a hospital. On that occasion, you were merely an intern in the middle of their practice and had to change sheets, deliver meals, give them their meds and reassure they took them at the time the doctors had said. Like a nurse or carer (the difference it’s you possess more knowledge than one and can prescribe medication, it was also part of your duty as a trainee assisting the doctors with whatever you could). That’s how both of you came face to face with.
Mr. Stein was sick and injured. He needed to tend some wounds since they required special treatment. Battle scars, you didn’t know at the time, however, as days passed, you became close to him, he told you how he got them; the biggest can be found on his back.
Unfortunately, a sharp pain arose, preventing you from wandering further in the past. You had forgotten about your headache, which it’s more noticeable now, you are sure there aren’t any pills left.
“I ain’t leaving being this crappy, besides I don’t feel like moving right now…” Your eyelids are heavy and keeping them open, it’s such a pain, so you shut ‘em in hopes of relaxing for a little bit. Leaning your back on the kitchen island while drinking your beverage, its coldness helping you somehow with the throb.
Once again, your mind wanders.
Thanks to it, you know where to find some ibuprofen.
“Are these the ones?” You asked while holding a box for him to see, squinting Henry finally recognized the packet.
“What’s it called again?” He questioned, rubbing his head to ease the ache a bit. His voice raspy because of a dry throat. His normal soft tone replaced by a croaky. He’s clearly suffering.
“Ibuprofen.” You read aloud as you’ve been asked and turn back to look at him.
“Yup, that’s the one, lass. I know I’ve bothered you enough, but could you serve me a glass of water?”
“You old coot, not a bother at all. I’ll be back with your water in a jiffy”.
The pills are somewhere inside Henry’s studio. You can do that, going upstairs isn’t as demanding as buying them, cuz leaving home means changing clothes that look presentable and aren’t dirty. Henceforth, you don’t feel in the mood for seeing the outside.
“I should stop thinking of how lazy I am and look for those meds…” Talking to yourself it’s quite common, so you ain’t no stranger to these situations.
Therefore, you took a break from your bullshit and went upstairs where Henry Stein used to draw; he passed most of his time in there, secluded from the outside world, before military service, he worked at an animation studio owned by the man he once considered his best friend, Joey Drew was his name if your memory doesn’t fail you.
Your friend called him a bastard, never explained why only responded by saying: “He lost his mind.”
Nevertheless, Henry kept drawing cartoons, and sometimes, he would let you watch him sketch and answered your questions. He carried on with his old comics he left unfinished long ago. The same he had drawn back thirty years ago. The main characters are three little fellas: Bendy, Alice Angel, and Boris. Henry said they animated their adventures and later on, added side characters. The Butcher Gang, if you recall, also consists of a trio: Charley, Barley, and Edgar.
When Henry started storytelling, you felt like a kid back again, he could’ve marked your childhood just as the rest of animators who made those toons while you were a child. Oh, how you treasured these memories, you’ll never forget the time you spent together.
Evoking past times has helped to soothe your headache an itty-bitty, yet you still need to find the ibuprofen.
“Where could it be…” You asked to no one, hoping the walls may respond, even though it’ll never happen.
Seeking everywhere you soon turned the room upside down, papers on the floor resembling a carpet, art supplies rolling across the table (pencils, colors, pens, paintbrushes, blending stumps, etc.) and some books based on anatomy and animation were disorganized on their bookshelves. It all ended after you opened a drawer (this one didn’t need your touch, it was already a disorder) and found what you were looking for, and because of your rashness, more papers fell on the floor.
“Damn, what a mess…” You muttered under your breath a little irritated with yourself for being so careless while searching. You collected the papers and put them in order back again one by one, because of it you grew curious and read some of them, a letter grabbed your attention.
It was one of those fancy letters with a seal and all (what does it say? Seems of importance).
You don’t consider yourself nosy, just interested in its contents.
<<From Joey Drew? Huh, looks like your old buddy send you his salutations after all this time>>
Oh, you had no idea.
Henry knew about the letter, he already read it and did as they told him. The old studio where they used to make dreams come true transformed into a living hell.
‘DEAR HENRY
IT SEEMS LIKE A LIFETIME AGO SINCE WE WORKED ON CARTOONS TOGETHER.
30 YEARS REALLY SLIPS AWAY, DOESN’T IT?
IF YOU ARE BACK IN TOWN, COME VISIT THE OLD WORKSHOP.
THERE’S SOMETHING I NEED TO SHOW YOU.
YOUR BEST PAL, JOEY DREW’.
You finished reading the letter.
*Snrk*
Well shit.
Did you just read a confession or a love letter? Why not both? You don’t know why, but it feels like one.
“Okay, let’s stop right there. I can’t make jokes on circumstances as these ones”.
What could be so urgent for Joey to write a letter after thirty years of silence?
Should you investigate?
<<The letter could’ve been sent years ago! Henry surely read it; otherwise, it wouldn’t be inside a drawer of his studio, though there’s a possibility he didn’t, I doubt it. He must have seen his friend has written message>>
Okay, sure. Let’s suppose he didn’t pay any mind to the damn thing, you can pretend, now the real issue it’s the location. Joey Drew Studios must be closed (or broken down into pieces, you didn’t know if they decided to demolish the whole building).
“Wake up ___! Face reality, you shouldn’t be fantasizing, this ain’t some silly story with you as a heroine…instead of wasting my time, I shall swallow that damn pill and take some zzz’s”.
You left Henry’s solace and went to bed once again after you swallowed the pill with some water. A dreamless sleep greeted you.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bendy’s POV
“ん乇'丂 ムの刀乇”.
Even though he should be celebrating, the Inkarnate can’t seem to find any joy in his being, no emotion tried to overtake him. Why? He doesn’t feel anything. True, he may not possess all the emotions a human has, but anger, joy, sadness, and hysteria weren’t unbeknownst him. There’s no satisfaction nor sorrow towards his creator’s death, not even an ounce of regret. Ok no, he won’t sense any guilt for what happened to Henry, he deserved to die just as much as Joey, but he was grasping straws in here!
How’s it possible to not perceive the slightest of emotion within himself?
The Ink Demon was turning apathetic in regards to the subject; he didn’t have an answer as to why. One thing he’s sure of, his world turned dull no longer exciting as he thought.
It was as if the little dancing demon had opened his eyes for the first time, after all those years blinded by the dripping ink, before that, he only saw what his mind showed him. He finally realized how monochromatic his world truly is.
All is black and white for the demon’s eyes.
A wave of indifference invades his mind and his mind is fuzzy, he dissolves into his inky form and rests.
However, not for much.
“-aHahaHAhahaHahaHAhaha!”
Alice.
That bitch.
He despises her nearly as much as those liars, yet the little devil darling couldn’t give a damn about her right now. Let her laugh all she wants as the malady she’s. The Angel probably got the word, celebrating, unlike him.
Immersing himself even more inside the ink, he found…peace. He can work with that, serenity aids his jumbled thoughts; darkness envelopes him and swallows his body whole.
<<In the end…I feel empty. Is this how revenge it’s supposed to be like?>>
He can’t respond to that, how could he? He doesn’t even know what’s life supposed to feel like.
<<Their imagination cursed us all with life, they couldn’t take responsibility for their actions and show us how to drive through it>>
Back when he was the small little imp everybody loved, there were all kind of colors, unlike now. The studio felt warm in contrast to all the ink that surrounds it now.
The remains of those old days lurk inside the deep abyss as ink creatures, husks who replaced the humans that worked here.
Thinking about it got him tired, Bendy finds himself drifting from consciousness, he’s falling asleep.
“Was it worth it?”
<<Again that cunt>> Despite his thoughts, the Inkarnate didn’t feel irascible towards the narcissist woman. Actually, there isn’t much for him to perceive.
She’s not in here, she wouldn’t dare to step a foot on his domain. The wench had the nerve of placing her cutouts and posters; he destroyed a few just as she did the same. She is communicating with him using a damaged poster with her face.
“I know you can hear me, demon, don’t fake pretend.”
“Wんリ りの リのひ ᄃム尺乇?” He hopes to scare her, even though he knows it won’t work while using his beast form for some reason his speech turns nightmarish. Yet he doesn’t wield it often because of how difficult is controlling his instincts. Thoughts become more primal, talking it’s hard after a few hours transformed in it gets tiring, and he can’t measure his own force. He favors his inky form best: practical and gets the job done.
“I don’t”. So she’s just shitting with him, insufferable.
“Then why ask?”
“Spirit of inquiry. Your relationship intrigues me, up there in Heaven, we get curious as to why you didn’t kill him yourself. And don’t even try to justify your actions. You had many opportunities. The little errand boy nearly ends up killing you, he tried the same with me”.
After listening to what the Angel had to said, his permanent smile turned slowly into a frown. It’s never a good thing when the Lord ain’t wearing one.
“…”
“Well?”
The fallen angel is laughing at him.
“Not even you know the reason behind your acts of mercy!” He remains silent, it’s not like she’s wrong, the little devil does not why he was so resilient with Henry.
After that fiasco, she left him be.
Thanks to Alice’s short visit, Bendy finds questioning why she dropped by. They hate one another, true. She has eyes here and there, but it’s to keep him in line, so he won’t cross an inky limb on her domain. Unlike the female cartoon, he does not have any cutouts, posters, plushies, or ink servants near her place. He wants nothing to do with her. That’s why he finds it so unusual, it’s not like her.
Unless…
She fancies something he has.
<<If that bitch knows what’s good for her, she won’t be picking her nose in my business>>
Later he’ll do his rounds throughout the studio, maybe, the imp will find what she’s searching before she does, whatever it may be, he won’t let her have it.
He’ll make sure of it.
Who knows what her deranged mind has planned; he’s tired of the gruesome scenery this place is in, corpses all around, clones of his ol’ friend bring back unsavory images from the past. Oh, Lawrence, he’s a madman, made satanic circles as a way of showing his devotion towards the black devil. Thanks to Sammy, he has eyes in nearly the entire place.
Yes, he’s aware the musician it’s alive, but Sammy Lawrence continues being of use for him.
<<I’ll take care of him when I wake up…>>
He’s exhausted. However, he stays on his beast form sunken in ink.
The demon’s slumber it’s a peaceful one…
.
.
.
.
.
Until you enter his kingdom.
An animalistic rumble shakes the tinted walls.
He’s coming for you.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Three days.
You paced on the issue for three days, until you finally had an answer.
“I’m gonna pay a visit to your ol’ pal, maybe he’s still alive…or not…” You lowered your voice in the last part; Henry called Joey a bastard and accused him of being mentally unstable, you trust his word, but what if…what if he changed? There’s a possibility he redeemed himself and went through a rehabilitation process to help him with his instability.
<<I need to look for the address and from there I’ll see what can be done>>
You googled ‘Joey Drew Studios’ on your phone and within seconds Google Maps showed up, you were going to click at it, but then something catches your eye.
An article and it’s quite old.
‘Joey Drew Studios, also known as the workshop. Is an American corporation and an animation studio of the Bendy franchise, established in 1929.
Founded by Joey Drew and Henry Stein in an unknown full date other than the year of 1929, Joey Drew Studios is located at Broadway, Brooklyn, New York City, New York.
In 1946, Joey Drew Studios was under investigation after reports of hazardous work environments, missing employees, harassment, and excessive back pay, as well the company's danger of being bankrupt, all of which are a result of Joey's mismanagement of the studio. Anonymous employees threatened to make labor unions over the poor conditions, which included unpermitted buildings, hazardous electrical wiring, and a plumbing system prone to bursting. In addition, there were excessive work hours, most of which were unpaid and several animators were unable to see their families in weeks, after being threatened with disciplinary action and termination if they were unable to finish animations on tight schedules.
There were reports of barricaded offices, employees locked up in work spaces, and complaints of crazy malfunctioning machinery. Despite the evidence against the company, Joey Drew remained firm that the studio has done nothing wrong, calling the accusations "preposterous" and "ridiculous", dismissing them as either complaint from menial employees, or feeble attempts by competing studios to discredit Joey.
On August 16, 1959, the law firm known as Snooks, Spitner and Snooks sued Joey Drew, having heard the rumors of Joey's mismanaging of his own workers. 12 days later, the studio was closed down in accordance to legal regulation 11 U.S Code § 1125 (which forbids the misrepresentation of legally established companies) as evident by the bankruptcy report found in Joey's apartment, as well as health and safety concerns directly by the mention of a health and safety board meeting schedule found in the appointment lobby.’
Oof.
<<That’s a lot to take in>>
Why the fuck would Henry’s friend would want to meet at that nightmare show? Has he learned nothing after all this years? And not only that, the sucker it´s/was an abusive prick with his employees!
<<Man, you weren’t joking>>
You fear a screw lose isn’t Joey’s only problem.
<<He sounds like an asshole, I don’t want to put up with his shit...I’ve got enough dealing with people like him on a daily basis. Sure, not everyone it’s an ass and there’s some decent/kind people out there, but handling jerks as the likes of him tires me out>>
Sometimes you aren’t the most patient person, it all depends. But this whole ordeal it’s too much for you.
<<The studio is in the big city, New York it’s fucking expensive. I don’t have the money for travelling that far, I’ll have to bid on my savings and package supplies for the journey>>
Crap. Three days and you didn’t think all of this through! How can you be so stupid?!
Now this looks like one of those impulsive decisions you take for being careless and inattentive.
<<How could Henry put up with me when not even I can stand myself?!>>
You need an adult, that’s what you ought to have beside you.
Your life is such a mess sometimes…
“Before spending money on my idiocy I should read more and prepare myself.” You mutter angrily to yourself.
That’s exactly what you did the next two days, finally you are ready for departing.
You grab your backpack and the car’s keys. “Cellphone in the front pocket, all that’s left is open the door, lock it and call Abby, easy.”
During those two days you made a few calls and went up for gas, it was going to be a long trip from Miami to New York. Sure, it ain’t that extensive, but you’ll be driving by yourself for approximately 20 hours. A place to stay, money, gasoline and food are big girl’s problems. Not counting the money you’ll spend on a cheap motel to rest your head.
“That or make a few stops on gas stations…maybe sleeping in the car won’t be that bad…” The good thing is you have options; you aren’t tied solely to one alternative.
<<Abby won’t charge me for doing me this favor, another plus>>
She’ll guard the house in your absence and will call if any emergency transpires.
Now, you are free to go.
<<I hope I made a good decision doing this>>
The first 8 hours were a torment, bored and your ass felt numb of sitting for that long, the last time you remained that still was in high school, since you made your schedule. Your feet hurt just as your arms did. You made a stop for eating and going to the bathroom, after that another 8 hours.
Overall, the journey was relaxing, while driving you admired the views offered to you, savoring each sight. It helped you keeping away some melancholy.
You miss Henry, no matter how much you tried to distract yourself with this excursion of yours, the emptiness stays in the back of your mind.
Your wounds are still fresh, you haven’t mourned properly, because you don’t want to. That’s why you are doing this, to keep yourself busy so you won’t think about it. You need it, you ain’t prepared for it yet.
Soon you’ll be.
After a short nap (before that you made many stops, ‘cuz you’re a whining bitch who ain’t strong enough to control her fucking bladder), you started driving again. You have three or four hours left on the road.
Time to listen some music, you activate Bluetooth and connect your phone to the car’s stereo, finally you found a song of your liking in Spotify and play it. You spent the rest of the trip singing along; sometimes you’ll speed up a little bit on the spur of the moment.
Soon you got to your destination, didn’t waste time changing clothes, you collapsed on the bed in the motel and slept for an hour. After that, you washed yourself and got ready for visiting Joey Drew.
“Here goes nothing…”
You regret already coming here, silly you just ruined a change of clothes! Why is there so much ink? You’ll never get out the ink of your shoes, fuck! You have been here for less than ten minutes and all went to shit for you! It doesn’t help this place keeps giving you the heebies-jeebies! Every time you take a step on the creaky wooden floor it feels as if someone is following you, like a slithering sound. The ink splashes keep creeping you out, if it wasn’t black you would think it’s blood, Jesus Christ.
<<Thank God, the lights still work; it would make this place spookier if they didn’t>>
As you venture further deeper into the studio, a beast rumbles, shaking everything around you, more ink drops fall.
At that moment…
…you knew you fucked up.
So you hide.
Your mind provides you one last thought before going high drive
‘WHY ARE YOU RUNNING?! WHY ARE YOU RUNNING?!’
<<FUUU-
3 notes
·
View notes
Almost Home Pt. 4 (Robb Stark x Reader)
A/N: Okay, I kinda feel bad for making Catelyn Stark seem like a bad person (I actually liked her character for the most part), but it’s driving the story along. XD Hope you enjoy. I’ll attach my updating schedule in a second author’s note at the bottom of this part.
Also, I decided to make this an AU, where the Red Wedding doesn’t happen, there was never a deal made with the Freys, etc. (saves us all some heartbreak lol)
---
The first few days of my new life in Winterfell were rather difficult. Although my shoulder was almost healed, one wrong movement on the first day made it ache fiercely for the following number of days, which bled into weeks and eventually a couple months. It wasn’t exactly getting of to the best of starts.
After much discussion about what job I was to be placed in, it was decided that I would be Catelyn Stark’s handmaiden, and if needed, I would assist with the care of the horses. If I was honest, I would have much rather had that role permanently than this, but I was not in any position to argue.
“Y/N, please draw a bath for me.” Robb’s mother sighed as she entered her room. I frowned slightly, remembering learning from my mother that those particular tasks were almost always reserved for women of lowborn status. She turned and glanced back at me. “You heard my words.”
I nodded silently before doing as she instructed, beginning to fill the tub for her as she began to speak once more.
“I will remind you that since you chose to stay here in Winterfell, your status with House Y/L/N is erased permanently. You have betrayed your family, and chosen to stay with us. Your allegiance is with House Stark, and your identity is in House Stark. You are no longer in House Y/L/N, and you will start at the bottom, where you will most likely remain. You are now nothing. You are now no one. Remember that.”
I remained silent, as memories with my family flashed through my head. Would it have been better if I had stayed? Was losing my own identity worth not marrying that horrible man?
A hand touched my shoulder and I jumped slightly, looking back to see Catelyn Stark standing behind me. Her eyes were hard and skeptical. “And how do you reply, Y/N?”
“Yes, my Lady.”
“Good. Once you finish with this, you may go down to the stables and care for the horses. I will see you tomorrow morning.”
“Yes, my Lady.” I finished my work quietly and quickly, before walking through the door and towards the stable. Tears began to form in my eyes, my heart seeming to break as her words ran through my mind once again.
“You are now nothing. You are now no one.”
I made it to the stables and began to the stable master with his work. As my back was turned to pick up more hay, a familiar voice began to speak behind me.
“Getting used to the new job?”
I turned to see Robb, dressed in his warm furs and looking exceptionally handsome. His eyes were friendly while his smile was warm and inviting. It made hiding back my tears all the worse.
“I’m getting there.” I gave him my best fake smile before putting the last bit of hay into the final stall.
“It’ll take time. Before you know it, you’ll be a true Stark.”
I closed my eyes for a moment and let out a sigh, praying to the Gods that he would leave and that I would be able to release my frustration and pain in whatever means I needed to.
“I’m sure I will be. But I think your mother believes otherwise.”
“What do you mean?” Robb’s voice sounded confused, and I opened my eyes to see him staring at me.
“I don’t think she plans on making me a guest in her House, now or ever.” I gave a small sarcastic laugh as I turned to the Chestnut mare in the stable, stroking her nose softly. “I will live the life of a handmaid for the rest of my life.”
“Is it really that bad? I mean, wouldn’t it be fair to say that others have lives worse than this? You could have been in a position that was a hell of a lot worse!”
“I’m not trying to come up on top, with having the worst life in Westeros.” I look back at Robb, my frustration bubbling to the top. “I obviously don’t. But she is taking away my identity and my worth, Robb Stark. And she will never accept me for anything other than a slave in her home.”
“How? You were the one who chose to leave your home, not her.” His blue eyes were starting to light up with anger, and I took a step closer to him.
“You don’t understand.” I whispered, my anger disappearing and hopelessness engulfing me as I continued. “And why would you? You are her son.”
“If you are so unhappy here, why don’t you leave?” His voice was bitter, and I winced at the venom that was laced in his words. “I’m sure that the Lannisters would love to have you.”
“The Lannisters want my family dead.” Tears bubbled in my eyes. “But I’m sure that your mother would not mind sending me their way.”
“Why is my mother in the wrong?” His voice grew in volume. “She let you stay here, when you had nowhere else to go.”
“She blackmailed me into staying.” I snapped, my tears starting to fall down my cheeks. “You were there, Robb Stark! She would rather let my ‘husband’ kill me than to let me live the life that I wanted.”
“You could have always just left in the middle of the night.” Robb shook his head, his body tense with anger.
“And you could have just let me die in the woods!” My voice cracked at the words, and I could tell that my words startled him. “I wouldn’t be anyone’s problem if you just left me for dead. I wouldn’t be your problem.”
Without thinking, I moved forward and shoved him in the chest. “Why did you do it? Why did you save me?”
“Y/N...” His eyes were now full of sadness, but I didn’t care. I shoved him again, making him stumble a few steps backwards.
“Oh... I just lay my hands on you, twice. What’s the punishment for that?” My pain began to wear me down, and I kept trying to shove him backwards. “I’m sure your mother would know. She already thinks I’m nothing, so I’m sure she wouldn’t mind my execution.”
“Lady Y/N, stop!” His voice was insistent, but I didn’t care.
“I’m not....” A sob escaped my lips. “I am not a Lady. I am nothing, and I am no one.”
And with that, I let myself fall apart completely. I felt my knees give out, but before I could hit the floor, warm arms caught me and pulled me to their chest. I cried softly, burying my head into him, not bothering to push away from him.
“I’m sorry.” I sobbed softly, trying to regain control again. “I’m so sorry.”
“No, you have nothing to apologize for.” His lips brushed against my ear as he spoke. “I did not ever believe my mother could ever be this cruel. Did she really tell you that you were nothing?”
“Yes.” I sniffled.
“I will talk to her.” Robb gently pulled me away from him, tilting my chin to make eye contact. “She is never to say a word like this to you again. You may not have been born a Stark, but that does not mean that you can’t ever be one of us. “
“Thank you.” I wiped the remaining tear on my cheek as I looked at him. I did not have the energy left to convince him not to. But even more, I knew that if he had said something to her, maybe some things could change. Maybe she would change. But it all depended if Lady Stark would listen to her son, the King of the North.
It was silent a moment before he smiled and said, “As much as I love my mother, I wouldn’t let her hurt people I care about. I won’t let her do it anymore.”
“You care about me?” I giggled softly. “You’ve only known me for a few months.”
“Don’t laugh at me.” Robb chuckled and rolled his eyes slightly. “I’m being honest with you here. And trust me, I’m not this honest with just anyone.”
“I know. “ My eyes lingered on his face a moment longer, my heart feeling something other than sadness for a few moments. My eyes moved down to his lips, before looking back up. “But I’m-”
“Don’t.” Robb shook his head, slowly starting to lean in.
“But your mother said-”
“We went over this.” His voice was at a gentle whisper, one of his hands rising to cup my face gently. “You are not nothing. And you are not no one, either. You are Y/N, a stunning girl who I met because my brother was careless and accidentally shot you in the forest. You have no idea how lucky I am to have met you.”
My lips parted to say words, but nothing came out. A moment later, a soft pair of lips came into contact with mine. Whatever sadness had filled my heart was slowly starting to melt away, replaced by a feeling that I could only describe as warm. Our lips moved in sync for several moments before he pulled away gently.
“I want you here.” Robb said softly, his hands moving to hold mine. “And I promise you, that you are more than just a handmaiden. No matter what anyone says, you mean the world to me.”
“And you, for me.” I blushed, and he smiled.
“As much as I would like to stay here in the stables,” He stood up, and helped me up after. “I do have other places to be. But before that, could I walk with you back to your room?”
“Of course.” I took his arm when he offered it, and we walked back towards where I was staying. When we paused in front of the door, he gazed down at me gently, before leaning in and kissing me once more.
“I will see you later, love.” His eyes were bright, and he squeezed my hand once more before turning to leave as I entered my room.
3rd Person POV
Little did the two young adults know... that Catelyn Stark had been silently watching the exchange from afar. Her physical expression was calm, but inside, she was furious.
She knew she had to do something, but she did not know what. An idea popped into her mind, and Catelyn smiled as she walked back towards her chambers, finding a sheet of parchment and a quill alongside a pot of ink.
For the next thirty minutes, she wrote diligently but delicately on the piece of parchment before sealing it shut with her seal. Above the seal, she wrote in perfect script,
To The House of Y/L/N
Catelyn Stark smiled slightly as she stared at the letter, which described how Y/N had deserted her family in order to avoid marriage. How she had tried to find refuge in the House of Stark. How she expected to be treated with hospitality when she had betrayed her own parent’s trust and their agreement with another.
She knew she could use this, but she also knew that this very moment wasn’t the right one. If Catelyn Stark wanted, the letter would reach Y/N’s house before midday the following day if it was entrusted to the fastest rider.
Lady Stark could ruin this little girls life before it really even begun. Maybe she would even end it.
With a gentle sigh, she stood up from her seat and placed the letter underneath a book on her nightstand before laying down in her bed.
When the right time came, Catelyn Stark would use this letter.
All she could do now was wait for that day to come.
---
A/N: Wowsa. Thatttt was a lot to take in. XD Anyway, moving on... updating schedule! So, I’m having a pretty full summer. I’m going to Europe to study abroad for six weeks starting at the end of June and then coming back around mid august. I will have my laptop with me, but I do not know how often I will have access to the internet. During that time, updates will be whenever I can, so basically pretty spontaneous. If things change, I will let you know.
Until then, I will be updating every Friday, guaranteed. If I have a bit of extra time during the week, I will have extra updates, but those are just based on how much free time I have. When I start up my second year at college, I may need to shift my update schedule, but that is not until September, so we won’t have to worry about that for awhile.
Thanks for reading,
-M <3
57 notes
·
View notes