A flying arrow hit the centre of the target, and loud cheers were heard. Robb Stark and Jon Snow laughed and clapped at their sister.

Belle tried to resist the urge to bounce up in mere joy, but she wasn't capable. Her brown eyes were mostly concentrated on the target, but she knew that Theon was smiling at her, proud of what they had accomplished together in so little time. It had been almost three months since he had started training her, and Belle was finally getting better with her skills at archery. "Well done." Theon complimented her, noticing how much it pleased her to have his approval. Those two weren't in very good terms yet, but they managed to stand each other's company for the sake of others. Belle Stark tried not to smile, but she simply couldn't. Finally, she had managed to make her teacher proud. "Now, try it again. Come on." And so she did. Belle aimed, closed one eye, and let the string loose. The arrow pierced right through the previous one, once again hitting the centre. Robb and Jon broke out with wolf whistles and such, causing her to smirk cockily.

For a moment there, Belle was extremely tempted to jump on Theon and hug him close to her, but she held herself back, because it wouldn't seem like a proper thing to do in the eyes of others. Lord Eddard and Lady Catelyn had been watching the scene from afar, and they couldn't help but smile proudly. Belle had the spirit of her aunt, Lyanna. She was headstrong, courageous and even hot-tempered, and she always dared to break the rules imposed by others. That was what she was doing in that moment, thinking that both her parents were unaware of her classes with the Greyjoy ward.

Robb glanced around, still laughing, but he immediately ceased it when he saw that both his father and his mother were watching Belle. Discreetly, the future Lord of Winterfell walked closer to his twin sister so he could warn her about their unexpected presence. "If I were you, I would drop the bow and the arrows right now. Our father and our mother are watching you. I recall mother saying that she didn't want you to practice with swords, bows and arrows."

Belle was greatly surprised when she looked back and saw them, still gazing down at her. Theon followed Belle's brown eyes and he saw them as well, but he shrugged it off as he once again commanded her to carry on with their practice. "Fuck that." Theon said simply. "Let them see how good you are with the bow. If they want to punish someone, they can punish me. I am the one who has been teaching you."

The Stark girl was taken aback by his words. "But I was the one who asked you for these lessons."

"Fuck that." Theon repeated. "Go on. Show them. Make them proud."

And so she did, reluctantly. Belle aimed and fired another arrow, once again hitting the centre of the target. She glanced around and saw her father making his way towards her, his expression was completely unreadable to her and she couldn't even tell if he was angry or simply proud of her skills. Belle handed the bow and the quiver of arrows to Theon and went to greet her father rather nervously. "Father!"

"Belle." Eddard nodded to her, a small smile gracing his lips. "You have become quite skilled the bow."

"Yes, father. I suppose I have."

"But you have been skipping your classes with Septa Mordane."

"That I have, father. I am sorry."

Eddard seemed to ponder about it for a few moments, before his smile disappeared from his aged lips for good. Belle feared for what he was going to say to her. The current Lord of Winterfell didn't even know what to make of his daughter. If he forbid her from practicing archery, she would still find a way to dodge his commands. Perhaps he should allow her to continue with those lessons, as long as she still frequented Septa Mordane's classes of sewing and such. Forcing Belle into a marriage with Torrhen of House Umber was already hurting him enough, and he did not want to take that away from her as well. Her spirit was wild and she hated to be trapped under other people's orders. "You cannot skip your lessons with Septa Mordane." Ned said to her, noticing the pleading look in her brown eyes. "If you promise me that you won't do that anymore, you can continue practicing with Theon."

"What about what mother says?" Belle inquired, noticing that Lady Catelyn was watching them from afar, a stern look in her eyes. "You know I hate sewing, father, but I shall do that, if it means I can continue with the archery classes."

"Your mother saw how good you are with a bow, we both did." Eddard declared, causing her to smile a bit cockily. "But you are a lady, Belle, and Septa Mordane's lessons are crucial to you. Your mother was not very happy to know that you were skipping them but, if you promise to not do that anymore, you can continue with your training. I believe you can do both things, without having to exclude the other."

Belle nodded, not completely satisfied but obviously relieved to know that she didn't need to hide it from them anymore. "Your wishes are my command, father."

A faint smile appeared on her father's lips. "Good. Now, you can carry on."

"I will."

Lord Eddard whirled around and started to make his way back to his wife, while Belle turned the other way and approached Robb, Theon and Jon with a triumphant expression on her pretty face. Her two brothers observed her with concerned eyes, but she waved them off and grabbed the bow and the arrows from Theon's hands. "So?" The Greyjoy boy inquired, waiting for her to say something, anything.

"So?"

"What did Lord Stark say?" Theon asked, starting to grow impatient with all the mystery.

Belle ignored his question and began firing arrows, all of them hitting the centre of the target. Her brothers were absolutely astounded by how good she had become. Another arrow was fired by her, and that one pierced right through the others, some of them even fell on the ground. "So? Do you think I would be doing this if my father had forbidden me? Gods, Theon, sometimes it seems that you only use your smaller head."

"It's not so small."

"I don't care."

Robb and Jon chuckled at her response, but Theon clearly did not enjoy it. "You're just mad because I don't use it while I'm thinking about you."

"No, actually I am glad!" Belle shot back, not even daring to look at him. The Stark girl fired another arrow and smiled proudly. "And besides, I would not want to be a part of those dirty thoughts of yours."

"Nor would I want to think of you." Theon snapped at Belle, causing her to frown in mere confusion.

"Honestly, Theon? That was the best answer you could come up with?"

"Aye, it was, because you do not even deserve better than that."

Belle snorted and rolled her eyes, whirling around to shove the bow and the arrows in the Greyjoy boy's hands with obvious contempt and aggressivity. The brown-eyed beauty nodded to her two brothers and smiled, starting to walk away from them. Before walking away, though, she stopped and glared at Theon. "I don't know how you do it, but you always manage to make me run away from you, have you noticed that?"

"Aye, and there is nothing that pleases me more than that."

"Idiot."

"I am not sixteen yet, father! I do not understand! You said I would be married only when I turned seventeen!"

"Belle, the Umbers are coming just to visit. There are a few details about the wedding that we must discuss, so you mustn't worry yet."

"And when are they arriving to Winterfell?"

"In two days, I believe." Eddard responded, his grey eyes following after his daughter as she paced across his office rather nervously, her soft hands running through her brown hair just to leave it entirely tousled. She did not want to marry Torrhen Umber, but she did not know why! After all, he was a good lad. She had been asking herself that question for a while now, and she did not have an answer yet. "Torrhen is coming too, as well as the Greatjon's two daughters, Rosyn and Serena. Smalljon is staying behind in their Keep." Oh, great! Belle thought sarcastically, rolling her eyes at that. Not only do I have to put up with those two girls, I also have to put up with Theon bragging about how Serena throws herself at him. Every time they come around for a visit, Serena cannot keep her hands off of Theon, while Rosyn spends most of her time chasing after Belle's twin brother, Robb. Those things were very hard for her to stand, but Torrhen would usually agree with Belle on such matters. He knew how his sisters could be with boys, and he always knew just how much Serena and Belle loathed each other. Rosyn was different, though. She was nice to Belle, but she shared the same flaw of her sister: she did not know when to stop running after someone. While Theon enjoyed a pretty girl's attention a little too much, Robb wanted nothing to do with the Umber girl. Surely, she was beautiful, but he was not interested in any way.

"Oh, isn't that great?" Belle murmured, throwing her hands up in the air. "Will you force Robb into marrying Rosyn as well? Because you know that the girl adores him. I remember the last time they were here, she was always after him."

Lord Eddard shook his head at his daughter. "I have not found a good match for Robb yet. And it will not be Rosyn Umber."

"Lucky him..." Belle mumbled, opening the door of her father's office to leave. The Stark girl definitely needed to clear her head after that. "I do not want to marry Lord Torrhen of House Umber. I do not know why, father, but I do not want to."

"It is because you do not love him. Yet."

"Perhaps."

"I did not love your mother either." Eddard suddenly said, causing Belle to arch an eyebrow in response. "Only after we were married did I fall in love with her, and I have loved her since then. I did not know Catelyn before that. My brother, your uncle, was meant to marry her, I was not."

"It is different, father." Belle answered, glancing down at her feet. For some very strong reason, she couldn't marry Torrhen. "I will not love him. Of that I am sure."

Why she was saying something like that Ned couldn't understand at all. She was still very young, she had plenty of time to find out what love truly was, and yet there she was, assurance written all over her pretty face. Torrhen Umber was a good lad, he was intelligent, very strong and very handsome, unlike some of the members of his family. From what Ned had gathered and seen in the past, Torrhen treated Belle with respect, and he enjoyed her quite a lot. Belle did too, but apparently not enough. The only plausible reason for Belle not wanting to wed Torrhen, Eddard thought, could be the fact that her heart had already been taken by someone else. That definitely had him thinking about every possibility.

Two days later, like Lord Eddard had said, the banners of House Umber were seen from afar Winterfell, and Belle knew it was time to see her future husband once again. She wasn't nervous, which was quite strange because every lady would be minimally jumpy if they were to meet their future husband. If anything, Belle was restless and wanted it to be over as soon as possible. The fact that she would be a married woman within a year and a few months still confused her greatly. No other place would ever feel like home to her, not like Winterfell. She was already missing home and she wasn't even gone yet.

Belle stood next to Robb, who moved to stand next to Lord Eddard Stark. Lady Catelyn was right by her husband's side, and she kept a tight smile on her face to maintain her emotions hidden so she wouldn't show others how much it displeased her to have her oldest daughter married so soon. Belle wasn't pleased about that either, but she didn't even try to hide it. Theon and Jon stood behind Belle and Robb, while Sansa, Arya and Bran placed themselves by Belle's side. Rickon clutched onto his mother's dress, and Lady Stark ruffled his hair, still trying to smile but failing miserably. Theon wasn't happy about the Umbers arriving to Winterfell, that was noticeable. Well, the fact that Serena was back there brought him some joy, but not enough to put a smile on his lips. Belle was going to marry another man. For some reason, Theon didn't want that to happen. He didn't want her to belong to some other lad.

The gates were opened to allow the entrance of Jon Umber, Torrhen, Serena, Rosyn and the rest of their men. Torrhen was as handsome as ever, what with light brown hair and dark eyes, he was the man every girl would want to wed, and yet, the woman he was supposed to be married to didn't show any desire to be with him. Serena's light brown curls flowed gently down her back as she entered the yard as well, her dark green eyes immediately searching for Theon. As soon as she found him, she smirked. Belle saw the interaction between them and rolled her eyes, tilting her head to the side. "Brace yourself, brother. Rosyn and Serena are back, and they won't be able to keep their hands off of Theon and you."

"Rosyn is not so bad." Robb decided, whispering softly in his twin sister's ear. "Serena's the real problem."

"Tell me about it." Belle growled, narrowing her eyes at the girl.

"Torrhen won't quit looking at you." Robb pointed out.

"I know."

"You know, father made a really good deal with the Greatjon." Robb countered, offering her a reassuring smile. "And Torrhen seems to agree with me."

"But I don't."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to marry him."

"But why?"

"You know why, Robb."

"No, I truly don't know why you wouldn't want to marry Torrhen."

"I don't want to leave Winterfell."

"But you will have to, sooner or later."

"But why? I mean, can't I remain unmarried for the rest of my life?"

"Sadly, that's not how it works, dear sister."

"This is our home." Belle murmured, glancing around the front yard with sad, gloomy eyes. "Could you imagine yourself living somewhere else? Because I can't. I can't think about leaving our family, I don't want to leave you, brother."

Robb was about to reply, but he saw the Greatjon and his children approaching the Starks, so he held onto his sister's hand and squeezed it, trying to offer her some kind of comfort and assurance. Lord Stark hugged the Greatjon and both patted each other's backs, their raspy laughs filling everyone else's ears. Then, Jon Umber hugged the twins hard against him and did the same to Arya and Bran. If there was one thing Belle knew for sure, it was the fact that the Greatjon adored her and Robb. Whenever he visited Winterfell, it was always like this. "Gods be good, girl, you've got even prettier than the last time I saw you!" She laughed and hugged him back, a large smile plastered on her pink lips.

The Greatjon moved towards Ned again and both started chatting about his trip to Winterfell, while Torrhen approached Robb, Belle, Theon and Jon. First, he greeted the boys, and then he turned towards Belle. He took her hand and placed a small kiss on her soft skin, causing her to smile a little. Theon rolled his eyes at that. The guardsmen of the Umbers began dispersing across the front yard and talking among themselves, and so did the rest of the people of Winterfell. Arya and Bran quickly ran away, and Belle could almost imagine that they were, in that very moment, making their way towards the courtyard to see who made it first. She laughed at the thought, but swiftly focused her eyes on Torrhen's dark ones.

"My lady." Torrhen's tone was sarcastic and she knew that he was only joking.

She bowed mockingly and smirked. "My lord."

They laughed and hugged each other, causing Theon to whirl around and start walking away from them. Torrhen hadn't changed much in two years, Belle had noticed. He was more handsome now, and perhaps even taller, but he was still the same person. Even though she was not interested in marrying him, Torrhen was a good friend to her, and if they were to be wed, at least they shared a friendly bond, and she wouldn't be marrying an unknown man. Belle and Torrhen started chatting among themselves, mostly about his trip to Winterfell, and their wedding. Both had been very surprised to find out that they were betrothed, but Torrhen didn't show any distaste towards the agreement. Seeing that he was in fact pleased with it, Belle decided to remain quiet. She was not going to escape from this, and she knew it. Belle glanced around the front yard and saw that Theon and Serena were having a quite heated conversation. She felt her cheeks turning bright red from anger. Of course, what else was she supposed to expect from him? He took every opportunity that came along, it was unbelievable, but she was no longer surprised by that. Still, it angered her very deeply, and she hadn't figure out the reason why yet.