winter is coming;
❛ GOLDEN DEATH ❜
↷ game of thrones
❝ we've been riding for a month ❞

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Joanna remembered the first and last time that she had visited Winterfell and met the Stark family who she envied for many reasons — starting from their bond and ending with their undying loyalty.

She was merely a child when she last traveled to the North with her family. That felt like a lifetime ago. To an eleven-year-old girl who spent her days living in daydreams and fantasizing about marrying a man who would help her escape her life, Winterfell was a fairytale.

Joanna did not remember too much but she vividly remembered Catelyn Stark. She was a sharp but somehow still gentle woman. When Joanna saw the way she behaved towards her children, she felt envious. She never had a mother and felt Tyrion and Jaime were more like fathers to her than her actual father.

When she gave birth to Flynn, she immediately thought she wanted to be a mother like Catelyn.

She saw the adoration in Sansa's eyes as she looked up at her mother despite the fact that she was merely five years old at the time. She saw how happy Robb was to share something new with her. Each time they spoke to her, she directed her full attention toward them. Catelyn was the only woman whose mothering Joanna admired. Cersei's mothering, on the other hand, she despised. Her sister loved her kids more than any other person on the planet, sure, but she raised them to become horrible people. Or more specifically: Joffrey. It would have been fine if he was not her oldest son and therefore the heir to the throne. Tommen and Myrcella were spoiled but they were not arrogant and rude.

Spending the last couple of months with her favorite niece and nephew was one of the only things that kept Joanna going. Myrcella was a sparkle of light that made her days just a little better. She stayed glued to her side ever since she arrived at the Red Keep. She gushed over her pregnancy and spent as much time around Flynn as her mother allowed her. When her baby girl died, Myrcella cried next to her bed with her until Cersei told her to go to her chambers. Tommen did not cling to Joanna like his only sister, but he still quietly sought her approval. Despite the fact that his mother spent most of his life bad-mouthing her own sister, Joanna was still one of the few adults to show genuine interest in his life.

Joanna spent the last month traveling from the South to Winterfell. Originally, she planned on just returning back to Storm's End when King Robert and his lovely wife decided to travel to Winterfell to make Ned Stark the new Hand of the King. But Jaime and her father insisted on her coming along for a reason still unfamiliar to her.

The temperature became colder and colder the closer they got to the home of the Stark family. Joanna was shivering and barely slept at night due to the cold. Myrcella and Flynn were no better. Her niece curled up next to her in the bed so she could keep her warm and her son has been crying almost every night since they left the trip.

Joanna thought that it was due to the death of his sister or because he could feel the grief and sadness radiating off of her. According to her sweet and educated nephew, babies could pick up on those things.

"Are you feeling okay, aunt?" Myrcella's soft voice broke her out of her thoughts.

Joanna, who was previously staring blankly at the road ahead of her, blinked and turned to look at the golden-haired girl next to her. The black horse underneath her carried her right behind Tommen and Joffrey. The royal couple stood behind them so they could be shielded in case of an attack.

"Of course I am." She forced a smile. Over the years she spent around high-born people who hide their true emotions under perfectly sculpted masks, Joanna learned how to do the same. Her smile looked polished, yet the sadness in her eyes was not easily hidden. Especially to Myrcella, who did a good job at reading other people's emotions.

She tilted her head. "Are you sure? You looked lost in thought."

"I was just thinking about the Starks." Joanna easily lied, her smile softening a little to appear more genuine. "I was wondering how much they have changed since I last saw them. I am looking forward to seeing Winterfell, too."

An innocent kind of mischief twinkled in Myrcella's eyes. She had that look on her face when she knew something that Joanna didn't. "I heard that Lord Stark's eldest legitimate son is quite handsome. I believe his name is Robb, is it not?"

Joanna's eyebrows raised and she scanned her niece's face out of curiosity.

"It is." She decided to brush off her curiosity and turned her attention back to the road. "The last time I saw him, we were both children. I doubt that I will even recognize him."

"And Jon Snow?"

The widow gave her a confused look. "What about Jon Snow?"

"I only ever heard stories about Ned Stark's bastard. Have you ever met him?"

"Just once." Joanna vaguely told her and Myrcella decided to leave it at that. She sensed that she did not want to speak about him.

Joanna only saw Jon Stark once and she has never seen anyone who looked more sad. He was the one person with Stark blood running through his veins who was truly alone. Catelyn Stark resented him which stopped her husband from giving him his complete love. He could never treat him like he treated the rest of his children because he already let his wife down when he got into a bed with another woman.

The King's eldest daughter must have realized that her short answer meant she was no longer in the mood to talk. Joanna realized that she did not take it to heart, and she was glad about that. If she could sit in a comfortable silence with anyone it was her.

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Winterfell looked nothing like Joanna remembered. The cold but beautiful white coat covered every inch of its ground was gone but the stone walls were just as large. If she put aside the cold, she could picture this as her perfect home. It was a winter fairytale, really. But during the couple of months where they was no snow, Winterfell was gloomy and rainy.

The gates to the castle opened the second Robert and his men, who were at the front of the line, got close to them. No one wanted to keep the King of the Seven Kingdoms waiting. Joanna had no idea why so many people still feared him. He was a legend when he first took down the Mad King and took the Iron Throne. He was a great swordsman and a charming ladies' man. Now? He was a mean drunk who had to pay girls to fuck him. He was no longer fit to rule and he did not raise a proper heir to take his place. Cercei did all the raising when it came to Joffrey but she never taught him how to be a good king and Joanna knew that no one was going to do it.

People said that the Seven Kingdoms were finally at peace after the Mad King was killed. But the truth was that one mad king just replaced the previous one. Judging by the arrogant and cocky smirk that Joffrey wore as he rode into Winterfell behind his father, Joanna knew that things would only get worse after Robert's death. If they were lucky, the heir would piss somebody off enough for them to kill him and then Tommen would have to take over the heavy crown on his father's head.

When they came to a stop, Joanna's eyes instantly fell on the Stark family. Ned and Catelyn Stark stood side by side. On Catelyn's left stood their youngest child, Rickon. On Ned's right stood Robb, Sansa and Bran. But there was not sight of their youngest daughter.

As she got off her horse, Joanna noted that they were all pale which was a great contrast to the tan skin that every Lannister had. That was not surprising due to the fact that the Sun did not shine as bright in the North.

She watched as Arya Stark ran up to the rest of her family. Her father silently scolded her and then she stood between Sansa and Bran, pushing the latter in the process. Joanna felt a smile ghost her lips at the interaction.

Robert rode in an everyone's breath hitched. The people on the ground kneeled while those on horses bowed their heads to show respect and submission. Joanna could not believe how men liked him got that kind of respect when they did not do anything to deserve it.

Nobody dared to look up from the ground until their king told them to. He kept his eyes on Ned Stark, his oldest friend, and slowly walked up to him the moment he got off his horse. Out of the corner of her eye, Joanna watched Ned stand up, his family and all of Winterfell following suit.

"Your Grace." Ned's greeting echoed through the otherwise empty courtyard.

"You've got fat."

Even Joanna was surprised at the King's blunt insult. Her eyebrows raised in surprise and she watched the intense stare-off between the life-long friends.

Then, Robert snorted and the two of them burst out laughing.

Joanna could not help but smile at that. The two men were raised together. They fought together. They killed and survived together.

She wanted to be tied together to somebody in that way. The knowledge that you could spend years without seeing somebody and then acting like you haven't been apart for even a day when you reunite was heart-warming.

Robert greeted "Cat" first and then took a second to greet each one of his best friend's children. But the words that stuck out the most to Joanna were, "Winterfell is yours.". There was still a clear power dynamic between the two friends despite how comfortable they were with each other.

Cersei got out of her carriage, her ladies in waiting following, and walked toward the Starks. Ned kissed her hand as a sign of respect and his wife bowed to her.

"Take me to the crypt." Robert's words made Cersei's cold face harden further. "I want to pay my respects."

"We've been riding for a month, my love." Even the nickname she gave him sounded bitter. There was not a hint of love in her voice or eyes when she spoke it out loud. "Surely the dead can wait."

"Ned." Robert nodded toward the crypt, acting as if his wife had not said anything in the first place.

One of Cersei's ladies in waiting, who has been taking care of Flynn in the carriage while Joanna rode the horse in front of them, carefully handed her her son.

A small smile appeared on Joanna's face as she took the dark haired boy in her arms. The two year old gave her a tooth-less smile and hid his face in the crook of her neck.

"Where's the imp?" She heard Arya whisper-shout to her sister.

Sansa looked embarrassed when all three present Lannisters turned their heads in their direction. She tried her hardest to avoid their gazes and glued her eyes to the floor.

Cersei turned to Jaime and glared at him as if it was his fault that their brother was nowhere to be found. In a way, maybe it was. Well, it would have been if they were still children.

Back when neither of them had any important titles, Jaime did his best to take care of both Tyrion and Joanna. He was the only reason she did not go insane while growing up. He was the man who put a stop to Cersei's nasty comments and their father's scolding. Tyrion sympathized with her but he could not do too much to help while he was still a boy. He did not know who they hated more.

But, unlike her, Tyrion never grew up. He remained a drunk who spent his free time with women with questionable morals. Jaime still had to clean up his messes despite the fact that his reputation was destroyed a long time ago.

"Where is our brother? Go and find the little beast."

Jaime gave her a curt nod and then looked at Joanna. She gave him a short shrug and then allowed one of Catelyn's maids to escort her to her chambers.

a/n; I am so excited for this because of joanna's interactions with characters like cat, sansa, jon and, of course, her family. she really looks up to cat because joanna never even had a mother figure and was not always surrounded by best female authority figures. she and sansa will become closer around season 4 after robb's death and she will, in the end, become somebody she cannot live without. jon and joanna are also going to be very interesting since they are kind of similar but also so different. I also debated on making him her love interest and that might still happen in the later seasons if I feel like theon and joanna end up being too rushed.

joanna is also such a big brother's girl when it comes to both tyrion and jaime. she is debetably the most importan person in their lives and I feel like she is the only one able to talk some sense into jaime about his toxic and fucking weird relationship with cersei