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THE north had never seemed so vast and empty as it did when Raina Snow passed through Winterfell's gate on horseback, bound for the road that would lead to the capital in the very far south. The one place that now held her destiny, the North no longer a refuge she could cling to. Not when she needed to find herself and what she was meant to be. The young woman had been convincing herself of that since the moment she'd decided to leave.
Raina looked ahead, toward her future, her brow furrowed as she scanned the distance. All she could see were the familiar rolling hills and outcroppings of stone that would soon be replaced by the features of southern Westeros, with its lush forests and teeming rivers she'd read so many times about. She would miss the forests of pine that dotted the scenery of dead grass and endless distance, as dreary as it was.
The family she was leaving behind was even harder to come to terms with. Her little brothers, whom she was unsure when she would see next. Robb, whom she fully expected to have a wife and multiple children by the time she saw him next. Jon, whom she hoped and prayed would find true contentedness in his decision to become a brother of the Night's Watch.
Even though she was ready to move on to King's Landing, she tried to drink in every moment she possibly could, tried to recall every memory she could muster from her life there. The Old only knew how long she would be away from the north. The only place she'd known in her young life.
The royal presage filed out to the crossroads, splitting off due south while a different detachment made their way toward the direction of the Wall, criminals and those alike from Winterfell's dungeons in tow. Raina pulled her horse aside to allow the presage to continue without her in hopes of allowing Jon to catch up to her. A farewell she was not ready for and had mulled over endlessly since the wee hours of the morning. She'd been dreading it since the moment she knew made her decision to leave.
Her father appeared first, bringing his horse to a stop near hers. Stryder stood close to her, his eyes focused off in the distance as if to remain weary of threats. Always close to her, the ever-loyal beast.
"You'll miss the North," Her father told her by way of greeting, his tone laced with sadness. His grey eyes looked down at the dire wolf, a small, sad smile on his thin lips. "Believe me. I've looked on the same horizon with lament as you are now."
"Is the South really that bad?" She asked him, brow furrowed. She hadn't envisioned it to be so. In fact, she was excited to see what the South had to offer. Though at the cost of leaving behind everything she knew.
