Game of Thrones: The Long Night – ASOIAF/GOT GOT

[Chapter Size: 2800 Words.]

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To welcome the arrival of the king and queen, everyone in Winterfell was busy. They informed Robb that he should take care of himself to ensure everything was perfect for receiving the king. Meanwhile, Catelyn met daily with Maester Luwin to ensure all preparations were made, checking everything—drinks, rooms, food, and other details.

Cornelia, Sansa, and Arya were also invited to choose the most elegant and appropriate clothes for the occasion. Catelyn even specifically instructed Cornelia to wear the three new dresses she had prepared for her. However, Cornelia disliked wearing the long and uncomfortable skirts.

Despite this, Cornelia did not want to argue with Catelyn and simply agreed calmly and silently.

"Oh my God! How they've grown so fast!" Catelyn and Maester Luwin received the news that the king's party was about to arrive in Winterfell. Both rushed out through the city gate, and upon reaching the base of the tower, they saw Bran's giant wolf crouching, and Catelyn, momentarily distracted, marveled at the creature's rapid growth. However, something immediately caught her attention.

"Brandon!" Catelyn quickly turned, following the giant wolf's gaze. And, as she feared, she saw Bran climbing down the outer wall of the high tower. Instantly, she reprimanded him severely.

"I saw the king! There are hundreds of people with him!" Bran said excitedly, gripping the stones of the wall and descending skillfully, ignoring his mother's worried tone.

"How many times have I told you not to climb the walls? How many times has even Lia scolded you? Why do you never listen?" Catelyn was furious but also frustrated. Despite her warnings, the whole family seemed to let Bran climb as he pleased. Only Cornelia supported her on this, but Bran simply didn't listen. The towers were very tall, and an accident would be fatal.

"But they're coming! You can see them on the main road!" Bran defensively replied, sticking out his tongue mischievously as he nimbly jumped to the ground.

"Promise me you won't climb the wall again!" Catelyn stepped forward, still visibly worried. She only relaxed when she saw Bran safely on the ground. Kneeling in front of him, she held his shoulders and warned him seriously.

"I promise!" Bran said, kicking the ground distractedly and reluctantly, but nodding in agreement.

"You know that, don't you?" Catelyn asked, looking at Bran with an exhausted but affectionate smile.

"Know what?" Bran asked, looking at his mother with a confused expression.

"You always look at your feet when you lie!" Catelyn immediately noticed Bran's reluctance and attempt at lying. However, she couldn't really be angry with him. After all, Bran always knew how to use his innocence to his advantage. There wasn't much she could do, and Bran couldn't help but smile upon hearing his mother's indulgent tone.

"Run and tell your father the king will be here soon. Then go help your sister, Cornelia! She told me personally that to keep a secret that must not be revealed, you need to stay with her and be her support. It's important, you know that, don't you?"

Catelyn finally decided to let Bran go, but she shifted the conversation to Cornelia's matters. The king's arrival was imminent, and there were still many important tasks to be addressed. However, what worried Catelyn most was ensuring Cornelia met the royal family without compromising the secret surrounding her.

Of course, Cornelia had her own reasons for asking Bran to stay with her during the king's visit to Winterfell.

Bran agreed with his mother and ran home as if he were escaping. First, he went to tell his father about the king's approach, and then he went to Cornelia's room, the most secret space in the Stark family for the past six years. Only those closest to them knew the importance of that room and its meaning.

Catelyn had asked Cornelia to wear a long dress and an elegant cloak early in the morning. After getting ready, Cornelia sat by the window, deep in thought, waiting for the royal party's arrival. She knew what the king's coming meant.

The wheels of fate had begun to turn, and Cornelia understood they could not be stopped by anything or anyone. She knew her only choice was to face whatever would come, no matter what happened.

When Cornelia was led by Bran to the city gate, everyone was already gathered except for Arya. Bran took her to Sansa, but Cornelia still held tightly to her younger brother's hand. For the past two days, she couldn't stop worrying about him, insisting that Bran accompany her wherever she went.

"Where's Arya? Cornelia, Sansa, where's your sister?" Catelyn asked, looking around. Fortunately, Arya appeared shortly after, running alone with a helmet on her head. Ned quickly removed it and walked up to Cornelia, visibly frustrated. Arya stood between Cornelia and Sansa as they all waited eagerly for the king's arrival.

Cornelia couldn't see, but she could clearly hear the sound of horses and people passing through the city gate. It seemed like a sizable crowd. After a while, the sound of carriages and horse hooves diminished, eventually fading completely. Bran watched the people enter, and it was he who announced when the king finally arrived.

To be honest, Cornelia was momentarily stunned. In the world she came from, in her past life, there was no custom of kneeling before anyone. Even though she had been living in this world for thirteen years, raised in Winterfell as Lord Eddard Stark's eldest daughter, she had never been in a situation that required such a gesture. This left her somewhat confused.

However, Cornelia quickly regained her composure. She lowered her head and, like everyone else, kneeled to greet the king. To be more exact, she knelt on one knee. Her long skirt, which had already gotten dirty walking from her room to the city gate, was now even more soiled. Even without looking, Cornelia knew the fabric dragging on the ground had collected even more dirt.

The discomfort with the clothes made her wish she could go home immediately and change them.

Fortunately, Bran soon pulled her by the hand, signaling that she could rise. She did so along with the others, and as she stood, she heard the king joke with her father, saying he had gained weight. Cornelia couldn't help but smile discreetly upon hearing the comment.

She still had memories of her past life and remembered that her father, Eddard Stark, had been a handsome man with an imposing posture and impeccable physical form. However, as she now saw, it was common for people to develop a tendency to gain weight over time.

Cornelia knew that King Robert Baratheon and her father shared a deep bond, as if they were brothers. She watched as they exchanged smiles and embraced warmly. Then, the king turned to greet Catelyn Stark, Cornelia's mother, before starting to look at the couple's children.

"You... must be Cornelia?" the king said, directing his gaze at her.

Robert slowly approached, studying the girl in front of him with a certain melancholy. Cornelia's beauty was evident, capable of drawing attention even in a crowd. However, her dull eyes, devoid of sparkle, conveyed a sadness that was hard to ignore.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Cornelia replied, bowing her head and performing a flawless curtsy, adhering to all the etiquette of a lady. There was no room for mistakes in her movements.

"She's a good girl!" Robert declared, observing her posture and noticing how similar it was to Catelyn's. He nodded in approval before turning to the others.

However, Cornelia, who remained attentive, heard her parents greeting the queen. Immediately, she clenched her fists.

She longed to see the queen and her son. Although her memories of what happened in King's Landing were hazy, Cornelia knew enough to remember that it was Queen Cersei Lannister and Joffrey Baratheon who were responsible for her father's execution.

"Take me to your crypt. I want to pay my respects!" The king's voice brought Cornelia back to reality. She knew exactly what he meant. She thought about the old stories she had heard more than ten years ago and understood that the king wanted to visit the crypt where Lyanna Stark was buried.

Although Robert Baratheon was a fool in many ways, his love for Lyanna was genuine. Perhaps he had never realized that he was actually in love with an idealization he could never forget.

Thinking about it, Cornelia felt a pang of compassion for Queen Cersei. It was lamentable to be in a marriage where the husband worshipped the ghost of another woman. However, her sympathy quickly dissipated as she remembered Cersei Lannister's cruelty, which was no less brutal than her father Tywin's.

While the king was approaching Ned Stark, the queen seemed visibly upset and tried to stop Robert. But he completely ignored her, calling Ned to follow him and walking away without even responding to his wife's words.

"Where is the imp?"

After Ned and the king withdrew, Arya looked around, curious, but saw no sign of Tyrion Lannister, the legendary "imp" of House Lannister. Impatient, she asked Sansa and Cornelia.

Cornelia simply sighed, helpless. This was the third time Arya had asked about Tyrion. Her curiosity was understandable, after all, stories about the "imp" were spread all over. However, Cornelia knew the truth: despite all the legends, Tyrion was just an ordinary man who faced the difficulties of living with dwarfism in a world that despised him for his condition.

Soon, everyone began to disperse. The queen and her retinue had traveled from King's Landing to Winterfell, and the fatigue from the long journey required them to rest before attending the welcome feast that would be held at sunset.

Later, at dusk, Cornelia donned a clean and luxurious outfit. Catelyn personally helped dress both her and Sansa, adjusting every detail. Despite this, Cornelia found the whole ritual unnecessary, but she knew Catelyn did it out of precaution. It was their first formal meeting with the king and queen, and everyone had heard that Cersei placed great importance on aristocratic etiquette. There was no room for failure.

As she waited, Cornelia couldn't help but worry about Bran. However, she had asked Robb to look after him, so she felt a bit relieved. She knew that Bran would soon come to accompany her to the feast, as he always did.

Cornelia's thoughts were interrupted by Sansa's voice.

"Do you think Prince Joffrey will like me? What if he doesn't think I'm beautiful?"

Cornelia turned to face her younger sister, noticing the anxiety in her words. The king and Ned had just returned from the crypt with the news that Robert planned to marry his heir, Prince Joffrey, to one of Eddard Stark's daughters.

Cornelia realized that the choice would fall on Sansa. Arya was only 11, and the queen would never allow a blind girl like Cornelia to be considered as a candidate to become the queen of Westeros.

What particularly intrigued Cornelia was the fact that Sansa seemed to have fallen in love with Prince Joffrey at first sight, simply because she had met him at the city gate.

"Then he's the most foolish prince in the world!" Catelyn was helping Sansa comb her hair when she heard her daughter's statement. For a moment, she froze, holding the comb in the air. She clearly didn't want any of her daughters to marry into the royal family, but of course, she believed her daughters were the best.

"He's so handsome! When will we get married? Or do we have to wait a little?" Sansa asked excitedly. Perhaps it was because of the sunset, but at that moment, Cornelia's normally dull eyes seemed to regain some clarity. She observed the joy and shyness on her sister's face perfectly.

"Stop talking like that! Your father hasn't agreed yet!" Catelyn rolled her eyes and, without hiding her irritation, scolded Sansa for dreaming so high, even though this was completely outside her elegant manners.

Cornelia just watched the scene, trying to hold back a laugh. However, seeing her mother's awkward and sincere attitude, she couldn't help but burst out laughing. After all, it was rare to see Catelyn lose her composure like that.

"What reason would he have to disagree?" Sansa insisted, crossing her arms. "With this, he would become someone greater than anyone, an imposing figure!"

"He would also have to leave his hometown, leave me... and leave you too!" Catelyn responded, the sadness evident in her tone. Agreeing to this engagement meant Ned would be forced to travel to King's Landing and take the position of Hand of the King. Catelyn had anticipated this possibility and knew that the chances of Ned agreeing were high. Not because of ambition for power, but because of his loyalty to his childhood friend, Robert Baratheon.

She knew her husband deeply and couldn't imagine any reason for him to refuse the king's request.

"You also left your hometown and came here, didn't you?" Sansa retorted without hesitation. "And one day I'll become a queen! Please, let my father agree! Please! He is my dream in this life!"

Cornelia, who had been listening silently until then, finally decided to intervene. "Wait, Sansa. What exactly do you like about Joffrey?" Her voice carried a mixture of disbelief and irritation. "You've seen him once and already want to marry him? Did he enchant you, or what?"

"Why wouldn't I like him? He's so handsome!" Sansa replied, with a stubborn expression.

"Handsome? Sansa, beauty fades over time!" Cornelia retorted. "Look at our father, for example. He was incredibly handsome when he was young. Of course, I'm not saying he's not handsome now. It's just a different, more mature, and stable kind of beauty. What I mean is..." Cornelia paused, trying to organize her thoughts.

The truth was that she had no idea what Joffrey was really like. She hadn't seen him up close yet, and honestly, something in her instincts told her he wasn't as impressive as Sansa believed.

Cornelia had always been obsessed with beauty. Despite having forgotten many things over time, she could still remember how Robb, Jon, and the others looked as they grew up. However, she had no memory of this Joffrey character.

Was she remembering things wrong? Hearing Sansa speak with such enthusiasm, Cornelia decided she needed to observe him more closely that night. After all, what could make Joffrey so charming that it had Sansa obsessed with him?

"But do you really think he's handsome? What do you think of Robb? Of Jon? And what about Bran?" Cornelia asked, unable to hide her doubts about Sansa's aesthetic standards. After all, even Bran, who was only ten years old, already showed signs of becoming a handsome young man in the future.

"Robb and Jon are my brothers! And Bran is also my brother, besides... he's only ten years old!" Sansa replied, frowning. To her, it didn't matter how handsome they were, Robb, Jon, and Bran would always be her brothers, nothing more.

"Of course I know that! But..." Cornelia began to reply, trying to organize her thoughts. She knew they were brothers, but what she really meant to say was different. Sansa had grown up surrounded by handsome men all her life. How was it possible that she had fallen for someone she had just met?

Before Cornelia could finish her sentence, Sansa interrupted her, her eyes shining with excitement. "Didn't you see how he looked at me today? His eyes were so kind and chivalrous, you know? It was like he only had eyes for me!"

Sansa seemed to lose herself in the memory of the moment when Joffrey, mounted on his horse, had looked at her directly. Just thinking about it made her excited.

Cornelia was left speechless. She felt a lump in her throat, and for a moment, her thoughts seemed to freeze. Slowly, she turned to look at Catelyn, who seemed equally helpless. All the words Cornelia wanted to say were stuck in her mouth.

Joffrey... kind?

Where had Sansa seen kindness in him?

Cornelia didn't know how many things she had forgotten over time, but there was one memory that remained clear: the cruelty of Joffrey Baratheon. However, looking at Sansa's shy and hopeful eyes, she realized she didn't know where to begin. Even though she had countless reasons to criticize him, they all seemed inadequate in that moment.

She wondered: was it because she knew the future events that she hated Joffrey so much? And if she didn't know anything, would she have ended up liking him too?

It was a question without an answer, and it made her even more uneasy.

Cornelia felt that if she continued to argue with Sansa, she would be led down a path with no return. For the first time, she clearly realized that love could truly blind people.

And so, she made a silent promise to herself: she would never be like that in the future.

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