[Musebox] - "I Told Robb I’m Sure to Give Him Twins"

[widow_of_the_crag]

She had comforted Robb in his grief as he recovered from the news of Winterfell. His two younger brothers had been killed and his home seized by a man he considered a friend. It was a loss that had rendered him broken and vulnerable, struggling to find some foothold in the midst of his sorrow. Jeyne had offered her embrace and then her body, allowing his anguish to be buried into her again and again. In that moment, she hadn't seen the king that had taken her family home or the Young Wolf that had captured her father. She saw a boy no older than she was, suffering and broken.

But that had only lasted a night. She lingered in his bed until he had fallen asleep, feeling a pang of regret that hadn't existed before. Her mother had always been strict in her upbringing, reminding Jeyne that she was worthy of a Lannister and should conduct herself as befitting such a bride. While those marriages had never appeared, it was a lesson her mother wouldn't let her forget. So how would she respond, knowing her daughter had bedded the man that had laid siege on them.

Perhaps as well, she was a craven, afraid to see any shame in his eyes or a dismissal in his tone. She was a maid when he took her. It took more courage than she believed she possessed to let her body speak in place of her head. Yet it seemed none of that remained by the time the sun crested the horizon.

She hid away during the rest of his stay at his castle, only emerging from her rooms in time to hear him name another as keeper of the Crag in his absence. There was something he had to see to in the Riverlands before continuing onward to Casterly Rock. Her last glimpse of him was as he steered his horse from the courtyard and left with a large company, his hair tussling in the wind. She shielded her heart from the pain of that sight and feigned the same relief her mother exhibited. It didn't matter. None needed to know what happened between them. It was possible to pretend that she was as innocent as before, even if her heart knew otherwise.

***

A year passed, one of hardship and heartbreak. In the company of a young maid from the Crag, Jeyne appeared in Robb's camp, the battle against the Lannisters still strong. She wrapped herself in a frayed cloak, dressing no better than a servant herself. Her maid remained behind as Jeyne searched the campgrounds for the King's tent. There were others in his presence, men that were helping him plan for the coming battle, many of them were figures she recognized. Great Jon Umber, Lord Karstark, and Roose Bolton, men that left her trembling.

She cleared her throat, a bit more loudly than she intended. The men looked up at her, but none seemed to know her. She pulled back her hood, waiting to see that acknowledgement in Robb's eyes. "I have come to see King Robb."

Comments

[widow_of_the_crag]

"It does matter," she echoed his thoughts, glancing up at him apprehensively. "It is something you worry about and will affect the North. I understand. You need an heir." Something that Roslin had yet to give him, but no doubt wished to. It seemed impossible to Jeyne that any woman might not feel the same for Robb that she did. He was a remarkable man and any woman would wish to be his.

"Their hair color can be ignored." Though he was right. There were no redheads among the Westerling family. Her mother's line was dark and exotic looking, while her father bore the golden hair that was common among the Westerlands and even more so among the bannermen of the Lannisters. Everyone knew he had laid siege to the Crag. It wasn't hard to guess what happened between them.

"I sleep where I am able. I have learned now what a luxury a bed truly is. I don't think I could ever look at food or silk sheets the same again." She mused softly. It was only when he spoke that her head shot up, pain registering across her features. "I left before you could broach the question. You had to keep your word, Robb."

[kingofbadlifechoices]

His head starts to hurt a little as he tries to think of different solutions. What would Ned do? What would be honorable? What would his men say? What should he do with his own feelings? How to remain distant as your sons grow up before your eyes?

"To be fair...my words do not mean much when they will find out I have fathered bastards..." Robb's voice sounds soft and more as if he is talking to himself than actually responding to her words. Slowly he tries to shift while holding one of the children, the frown on his face deeper than it has ever been.

"May I ask you what the true reason is why you have come to me?" The words come out of his mouth in a heavy way and the boy in him tells him he sounds like an old man. Maybe he wants to hear that she has been seeking for love, the way he silently aches for it.

[widow_of_the_crag]

"Your men forgave your father." She offered, hoping to somehow soothe his fears and uncertainty. Whatever others might think of her, it wasn't uncommon for men to father bastards, even Northmen. Eddard Stark had a child by an unknown woman as well, yet he was still regarded as a pillar of honor and integrity. Whatever else, there was a chance that Robb would lose none of their respect or loyalty. He kept his word, even after taking another woman to bed.

She hesitated, afraid to meet his eyes. She knew what he was seeking, what he wanted her to say. The days had been long and cold, hardening her from anything other than survival and the strength needed to find her way to Robb's camp. She hadn't thought about what was buried within her heart or what motivations might be hidden behind her instincts. "Robb, I-"

She loved him and he had to know that. It might have been easier to say before, but now? So much time had passed and so much suffering had been endured. It felt as if she were unraveling, vulnerable and weak. She wasn't the sort of woman a king should love, broken and defeated. "I had nowhere else to go." It wasn't what he wanted to hear. Hesitantly, she tried to give him what he was looking for. "I knew I could trust you and I wanted to see you, as I thought you might want to see me?"