PART ONE- CHAPTER THREE

"Destiny is the push of our instincts to the pull of our purpose."

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"Sansa, do you know what father wants of us?" She just shrugged. Whatever it is his father wanted to talk about, he would just tell him. But if he's calling them to his solar, him and Sansa, with the royal family here and everything, he knew this was something different. Robb knocked on the door and heard his father's approval. That made him come in, with his sister in tow.

"Well, both of you. There's something I need to ask." His Lord father said, and Robb wanted to know what. So he asked.

"What is it, father? You don't usually summon us to your chambers like this."

"Aye, I don't Robb. But this is important." His father took a long breath and walked to Sansa.

"How would you feel about marrying Joffrey when you're of age?" He said.

The prick?

Robb wanted to scream and say the Prince was no good, especially not for his sister. Even his own sister thought so. Or at least that's what she implied at the training ground earlier. But he shuts up.

Sansa gave a toothy smile and nodded her approval furiously. "Father, I would love to marry the Prince! He's so gallant, handsome and so nice! Joffrey would make a great husband, I-"

"Yes, yes. The Prince is everything you say he is." His father smiled, "You may leave Sansa." Sansa smiled and walked out the door, unable to keep her giddiness to herself.

"She's only thirteen. And we're already talking about marriage for her? And even she doesn't have the sense to think!" Robb asked, failing to hide his arrogance at the news he just got. Joffrey didn't impress him in the least, and something makes him think that he definitely isn't going to meet Sansa's expectations.

Gallant and handsome and nice, my arse.

"You're seventeen and much older than her. If we're talking for Sansa, then we're talking for you too."

Robb was definitely shocked, it was written explicitly on his face and despite his best efforts to deny it, he knew well that his father had seen it.

"My...My marriage?" He asked, at a loss for words.

"Well, if the King has asked Sansa's hand for Joffrey, his second son, then didn't you think that Robert would not want to see his daughter, who is his eldest and of age, married before he sees his underage son say his vows?"

"Of course he would."

"Well, then. Here it is. If your usually fast brain couldn't process this, King Robert has asked for you to take Princess Rhea's hand in marriage, and make her your wife."

Rhea? My wife?

"Father, I really don't know what to say, to be honest. I've never given marriage a fair amount of thought. Unlike someone." He said, snidely referring to his sister, who was immensely pleased to marry a royal and become his Queen. And that's when it hit him.

Queen. Sansa would be Queen.

"Father, Sansa is not ready to be a Princess, or a Queen later on. She's naive, and lives in her songs and-"

"Sansa would grow. Besides, Robb, I asked about your marriage to the Princess, not about your sister's."

"Well, as I said, I don't know, and I'm sure I'm not ready." Robb said, adding an air of certainty to his voice, which was a lost cause, he knew. Their fathers have made a decision, and there was nothing they could do.

"I understand that, Robb. I'm sure you understand that your mother was first promised to my brother Brandon? Well, when it was then decided that I was going to marry her, I wasn't ready either. But look where we are now. Five children, and a marriage stronger than many noble families. I mean, you saw Robert and Cersei. Didn't you?"

"I did."

"Exactly. And who knows, Rhea is a nice girl, as far as I've seen, and she might make a good wife. You'll never know. Besides you're not the only one being pushed into this. She is too. I saw her when her father talked about her wedding. She reacted the same way you did."

"Well, what about the fact that she won't be a royal anymore? I mean, from being a Princess to a Lady, it has to be hard for her. She won't say yes to that. That might stop this wedding from happening. Princesses marry Princes, not Lords."

"I'll tell you one thing, Robb. Rhea has always been the apple of Robert's eye. He'd think a thousand times before he made a decision for her. And once he does, he doesn't slip away from it. He's a King, and a King gets what he wants."

"What about what I want? Or what Rhea wants?"

"As much as I don't like to say this, that isn't how it works." His father said, with a solemn look on his face.

"Well, Robert's told his kids by now. God knows how Joffrey and Rhea are taking it." Eddard said.

And Robb wanted to smash the King's head into a wall.

Should be easy.

***

"No!" Rhea and Joff said to their father.

Of course, the one thing that Joff and I work together on.

"Yes, and I won't hear another word of it."

He pointed to her brother and said, "You will marry Eddard's elder girl, and you will make her your Queen. Is that clear?" Joff looked positively shocked, but looked like this was going to happen anyway.

Rhea didn't understand why he was so shocked though, he was the one eyeing Sansa Stark at the welcoming.

"And you, Rhea. You will marry Robb Stark, and be his Lady." He said, and Rhea wanted to run away. She wanted to be free of all this.

"Robert, both our kids to the Starks, we need the power of the other major houses, and the Starks can't bring us that. You surely know that. Joff can marry someone else, let Rhea become a Stark." Her mother said, and Rhea huffed.

"I don't want to marry Robb or anyone right now for that matter. So please! Just don't make me do this."

"Me too!" Joff said.

"Joff, your wedding isn't taking until you're of age. You have years for that, so stop pining like the shit of a Prince you are and get your arse out, boy!" He said, and Joffrey walked out, his mother behind him, scowling. Rhea got up to leave, but her father called her and told her to stop. She looked everywhere but him.

"Rhea, listen to me." He said, sitting down with her. "I've had enough with your mother and your siblings, you don't shut me out too." He said, and Rhea's desire to just walk out of the room faded away like sunlight at dusk.

She swallowed the saliva in her mouth and looked at her father, now beside her. "You don't have to worry about that." She said. "Well, that's good. Now listen."

"I love you, Rhea. I really do. I didn't think when I mentioned Joff to Eddard for his daughter..." "Sansa." "Yes, her. But the whole journey on the Kingsroad, I did think only about your marriage to Robb Stark. I don't make decisions in a haste for you, Rhea. I don't.

"And if Robb Stark is half the man that his father and his uncles are, then I know, that he'll keep your honour intact. He'll make sure that he doesn't so much as look at another girl with you around, I'll promise you that much."

"But I don't want to get married. Besides, isn't that what everyone says to the bride? 'Your betrothed will look at no one but you.'"

"And that is partly mine and your mother's fault. I'm aware that we were not the most shining example of a loving marriage, but I know that you and Robb will have a much better one than us, Rhea. As for your question, I can tell you that no other boy will take care of you as this boy will. He's a Stark. Those buggers are born with honour in every inch of their body." He said, and Rhea had to laugh.

"I mean it, Rhea. As I mentioned, there was a time when I had all the girls I wanted, and I still do." Rhea frowns at that but continued to listen.

"But Ned Stark, didn't so much as look at a girl when we were together in the Vale, and we were there a long time. Ned Stark's son would definitely be the same."

"Yet, Ned Stark had a bastard."

"Well, I suppose the boy learnt from his father's mistakes then." The King then drew in a large breath and drank the remaining ale from his goblet in one swift swallow.

"Now, I'll have you know, there are fathers who push their daughters to the altar without so much as a word to their children. I'm not doing that to you, am I?" He said and laughed.

"And be happy, I got you a handsome and a strong young lad. His aunt married a man old enough to be her grandfather, you should be grateful I didn't find you an old oaf like that."

"You mean Jon Arryn? You just called him an oaf, father. You once told me he was wise."

"Oh, he was wise, for sure. Just a nosy oaf. 'Robert do this, Robert do that.'" Her father said and laughed.

"Okay, I'm going to be out now, you're just drunk." She said and walked out.

She went to find Myrcella and Tommen sitting in a corner and went to them. "What are both of you doing?" She asked.

"We're telling each other scary stories of Winterfell! You should listen to Ella's story, it isn't even scary." Tom said, and Rhea laughed as Ella scoffed.

"You would have cried if Rhea didn't come, it was that scary. Stop lying." She said. "Okay! Don't fight, we don't want to turn into Joffreys now do we?" She said, and the other two giggled.

"Is it true? What mother said? That you are going to marry Lord Robb and Joff would marry Lady Sansa later?" Tommen asked.

Word travels faster here than at Kings Landing.

Rhea smiled or at least tried to do what she hoped looked like a smile. Through gritted teeth, she said, "Yes."

"Lord Robb Stark is so handsome. He'll be your gallant knight from the songs and bring you flowers!" Myrcella said, and Tommen laughed.

Not wanting to spoil their moments, Rhea said, "Yes, I suppose he will. You'll never know." They then walked along and came face to face with Jon Snow and Theon Greyjoy laughing their heads off, and Robb Stark with a calm expression on his face. She then just nodded her head toward him, and smiled toward the other two, and walked past, her brother and sister in tow.

***