winter is coming;
❛ GOLDEN DEATH ❜
↷ game of thrones
❝ everybody is wondering why she was dragged here ❞

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Jon Snow did not know much, but he knew what somebody looked like when they were desperate to escape their life.

He and Joanna Baratheon stood on opposite sides of an enormous hall, yet he could spot her unwavering mask of coldness from a mile away. He then realized what a mistake he made by eavesdropping on the conversation about Lady Baratheon's future with his older brother. Jon was never the best at keeping secrets and was quick to tell his brother everything the second they were alone.

"𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘔𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵."

After he overheard the conversation between Jaime Lannister and Lord Stark, he could not help but wonder how pleased the dark haired lady would be after hearing about the marriage that they have arranged. He was sure that Robb would be honorable and do as his father commanded. Still, he did not look happy when he told him, but he also did not look surprised.

Jon had always looked for his blessing before he did anything that made him feel like he was overstepping. He knew his place. Robb was the oldest brother. The heir. The future Lord of Winterfell. The greatest swordsman and the second most honorable man that Jon ever met.

He only wanted what was best for his brother. Despite how jealous he was of his status as Ned Stark's eldest legitimate son. Cat might have hated him but his half-brothers and half-sisters treated him like he was their mother's son ── much to her displeasure.

"She is quite the looker, is she not?"

Jon jumped a little, startled by the man sitting down next to him. He momentarily scanned his attire and then felt blood rushing to his face once he realized a knight caught him staring at the stunning widow.

"I──"

"No, I understand." The dark-haired man chuckled and shook his head. "I do not think I have seen a woman who is more beautiful than Lady Joanna." He narrowed his eyes. "Your name is Jon Snow, is it not?" The bastard merely got the chance to nod before the knight was opening his mouth once again. Clearly, he could talk a lot. "My name is Skot Grifin. Lady Joanna gave me the title of her sword protector when she first got to Storm's End."

Jon's eyes widened and he nodded. "It is a pleasure to meet you. And to assure you, I have not been staring. I got lost in thought."

"I, personally, do not mind." Ser Skot smirked, his deep brown eyes sparkling with mischief. "Your brother, on the other hand..."

"Has Lord Stark announced it already?" Jon asked him. There was no way that he was that lost in thought while staring at Joanna. He thought he had at least some self-awareness.

Ser Skot started pouring himself a drink and said, "No, but people do talk. Everybody is wondering why she was dragged here. I was curious myself so I had to listen in on their meeting for her."

Jon's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "So she is aware of the engagement? What does she think of it?"

"She just got out of the claws of one powerful man and is being thrown into the claws of another." The man said, his voice dry as he gave him a sarcastic smile. "She is pissed." He tilted his head and admitted, "But she likes the North. I just wanted to make sure she was in safe hands because no one is getting her out of this after they get married."

"Robb is a good man." Jon was quick to assure him, already knowing what he wanted to ask him. "He will do right by her. That I am sure of."

"He better."

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Joanna wanted to scream. She wanted to rip her hair out, slit her arrogant half-brother's throat, wipe that nasty smirk off of her half-sister's face, and then burn Winterfell to the ground.

She could not believe that they were doing that to her again. Sending her to King's Landing all those years ago so she could find a husband was painful enough. But marrying her off to a man that not a single person in her family has seen in years? That was cruel. They had no idea what he was like. They just wanted to trap her as far away from King's Landing and Storm's End as possible so she would not be a bother to her siblings and so her child could not claim his father's land.

It was ridiculous.

Tommen absolutely ruined her. He was a charming prince on a white horse when they met. He was sad, a little mysterious but still incredibly sweet to her. He was the kind of man that Joanna read about in romance books as a little girl. He was a dream come true. A fantasy. Until he became her worst nightmare.

She was foolish to believe that real love could come out of an arranged marriage. Especially when the man had all the power and he knew it. All of the men that she knew made sure she never forgot that. First her father, then her first husband. She was sure that Robb Stark would not be the exception. Joanna wanted to make sure not to end up the foolish one in her second marriage too.

Joanna followed her betrothed around the room with her eyes, watching as he joined his father who was talking to another man. Robb embraced the man who was unfamiliar to her with a boyish smile on his face.

Women's laughter tore Joanna's attention away from the men to see the King gripping some whore's hips like his wife was not in the same room as them. She curled her lips in disgust, not being able to mask her distaste for the drunk man, and turned to look at Cersei. She was sitting at the head of the table next to her husband's and Ned Stark's empty seats and next to Catelyn Stark. Her eyes were glued to her husband and Joanna felt herself sympathizing with her half-sister when she saw the look of both sadness and disgust on her face.

He was not only indulging in the presence of another woman (he often did that, so nobody was surprised) but he was doing that in public and making a fool out of her.

Joanna's status as the Queen's sister was the reason she was sitting so close to the head of the table. She was seated next to the two youngest Stark children who were playful and bickering through the entire evening, not minding her presence. On the opposite end of their table, Joffrey, Tommen, and Myrcella were seated. They never engaged in conversation with the Stark children, but Brandon did try, only to be shut down by the heir to the Iron Throne.

In conclusion, Joanna was demoted to the children's table while her actual child slept comfortably in his bed.

Catelyn was clearly uncomfortable and tried to break the ice by sparking up a conversation with the woman next to her. "Is this your first time in the North, Your Grace?"

Cersei nodded, her face void of any emotion. She was much like Joanna in that department. They never showed revealed emotions to people whose intentions were unfamiliar. "Yes. Lovely country."

Her eyes wandered around the room until they landed on Joanna. Their eyes met and Cersei's face fell only slightly but enough for her to notice. There was an apologetic look in her eyes. She looked guilty. Joanna instantly realized why.

"I'm sure it's very grim, after King's Landing." Catelyn gave her a toothy grin. "I remember how scared I was when Ned brought me up here for the first time."

Joanna took a sip of wine and leaned back in her chair. She was ready to dissociate through the entire night when a head of red hair moving toward her half-sister caught her attention.

"Hello, Little Dove." Cersei smiled up at the young girl. "But you are a beauty. How old are you?"

Sansa smiled back nervously. Her innocence made Joanna's heart soften. She knew that it was only a matter of time before the world turned that against her. She had the idea that the royal family coming to Winterfell was a catalyst for that.

"Thirteen, Your Grace." The redhead answered.

Cersei scanned her from head to toe and asked, "You're tall. Still growing?"

Sansa spared her mother a short glance before saying, "I think so, Your Grace."

"And have you bled yet?"

Joanna clutched the glass in her hand so hard that she swore that it was going to break in her hand. Sansa shook her head, "No, Your Grace."

Cersei did not seem pleased by that answer but did not let her see it. Instead, she plastered on a fake smile and asked her, "And your dress. Did you make it?"

Sansa did not catch on to her lack of genuineness. Her smile was back and she nodded eagerly.

Cersei hummed. "Such talent. You must make something for me." Once again, Sansa nodded. Then, she skipped back into her seat, her red hair bouncing behind her as she did.

Joanna was perfectly content in listening to other people's conversations the entire night. Reading books at dinner was improper so that was the next best thing. In the end, her plans were ruined when Robb Stark took the empty seat next to her that once belonged to his youngest brother.

"Lady Baratheon." The heir to Winterfell greeted her politely, a broad grin gracing his lips that did not seem as forced as she expected it to be. "Are you enjoying your time in Winterfell?"

Joanna brushed her dark curls away from her face and straightened her posture. She tilted her head and smiled back. "Please, call me Joanna. And, yes, Winterfell is as beautiful as I remember. Although, I have to say that it was much prettier the last time I was here. Snow is the reason the castle looks like such a fairytale."

Robb's eyes narrowed as if he was trying to read her. He wanted to know if she was making up things that he would most likely want to hear.

"But then again, I will be seeing Winterfell surrounded by snow when winter comes." Joanna realized, her smile growing.

The man let out a breathy chuckle and nodded. "I am not surprised that you already know about our families' arrangement."

"Oh, Lord Stark." She hummed, her voice teasing. "I have eyes everywhere."

Joanna's grandmother taught her many things about being a woman before she passed away. She told her that, in their world, a woman could either be seen as a villain or a victim. If you did not have the guts to be the villain, you instantly became a victim.

That was exactly why Joanna chose to be a wolf in sheep's clothing. Poisoning her husband was easy, but pretending to be devastated and lying about her grief was harder. As a Lannister, being a villain came naturally to her. That was one of the few things that she and her sister had in common. The world knocked them down, so they got back up ten times more bitter and cold.

Joanna liked her way of manipulating men and it seemed to do her plenty of favors. The only exception was her late husband who nobody could control because he was insane.

She liked to pretend to be innocent, gentle, and easily manipulated. It made men think they got the upper hand and made them even easier to manipulate. She hoped that Robb was one of those men.

Robb's eyes raised and a subtle smirk replaced his broad grin. "Do you really? Already?"

"I am a lady of many talents." Joanna gloated and shrugged. He chuckled and silence followed it. The two simply stared at each other, neither wanting to break the silence.

That was Joanna's first time seeing Robb up close. She hated to admit it but he was devilishly handsome. His personality aside, any lady would be lucky to be called his wife.

She opened her mouth to make a taunting remark to ruin the moment when Sansa's screech rang through the room.

"Arya!"

The youngest daughter of Ned Stark laughed uncontrollably at the look on Sansa's face. There was food all over her face as well as the blue dress that she was so proudly talking about a few moments prior.

Robb barked out a laugh from next to her and (although she did feel bad for Sansa) Joanna's lips tugged into the smallest of smiles. The man next to her calmed down when he received a single scolding look from his mother.

He cleared his throat and grabbed Joanna's hand gently before placing a lingering kiss on it. He met her gaze and apologized, "I think that it is time I take my sisters off to their chambers. I apologize for leaving so suddenly."

"It is alright." Joanna smiled back at him, her smile tight-lipped and slightly awkward. She was not expecting him to be so charming and easy-going. "We can continue our conversation tomorrow. I am sure we will have plenty of time."

If their families had their way, they would have a lifetime left.

a/n: I'm going be messing around and writing in other people's pov's (as I've already mentioned) and I know jon's pov is going to be one of my favorites

okay, yes, cersei hates joanna and everything she stands for mainly because their father hates her. but, as a woman, she is sorry for her because she is getting married off once again.

joanna having a soft spot for the stark family and then having to watch half of them die is going to be my villain origin story