When it comes down to it, Robb has never actually been courted before in his life, and certainly not with the slow persistence of a stream wearing down a canyon. The pressures of war and intense teenage love don't really allow for such, and beyond that, it's just not something that's done in Westeros. Or for that matter that often on the island, either.

And Robb, already hurt and so attached to duty, has been so guarded for so long that it's become a habit. So it's a strange thought indeed, when he looks at the entrancing mismatched eyes of the woman above him and realises that even if it all ends up going completely to hell in some way he trusts her.

Which is a big deal, by Robb Stark standards.

"I'm sorry," he says, still smiling a little, reaching up to brush a hand down the back of her hair. "That's not an easy challenge for anyone to take on."