Visiting relatives (Tag: Kayley)

"Finally."

She gets out of the carriage and looked around the castle courtyard. The enormity of the castle complex overwhelmed her.

Admiration of Winterfell replaced after a while fear what they are her relatives - Starks.
She never met with them, and her father talked little about them.

"Miss Urduja, are you all right?" the driver's voice snatched her from stupor.

But she did not answer. She clenched her fists, bit her lip and stood upright in the courtyard.

Kayley was going to be honest with herself: Even though she missed Dorne, and Akhesa, it was still good to be back in Winterfell.  Even though some people saw it was a cold, barren wasteland, it would always be home to her.  She had spent plenty of time getting caught up on everything that had happened with her family.  And they had told her some very big news: Urduja Karstark was coming to visit.  Kaylely had never met her before, but if she was a Karstark, then she was practically family.  Her parents had told her that Urduja was only a few years older than she was, which made Kayley excited.  She was happy that she would be spending time with someone around her age.  The only other friends she had that were as young as she was were Akhesas and Eilonwy.  As soon as Kayley saw the carriage pull up, she hurried downstairs to greet Urduja.  She gave a friendly smile in the girl's direction, although Urduja seemed a bit...well, stiff.  And that was putting it lightly.  It looked like she was the serious type.  But that didn't damper Kayley's spirits.  "You must be Urduja," she said, still smiling.  "I'm Kayley Stark.  Welcome to Winterfell."

"Yes, it's me." She said and curtsied.

"I am very glad that I meet you Kayley." After these words the girl smiled at her cousin.  Urduja was hoping to get to know  better Kayley and the rest of the family Stark. Moreover she must eat something. Before traveling to Winterfell Urduja ate nothing. Now she began to regret. She was also tired after the journey and so far the only thing she need is a dinner and bed.

Kayley glanced back at the front door, where a bunch of servants were standing.  She gave a nod and they started to gather Urduja's things.  It felt kind of good, being in charge.  With her parents away for the moment, Kayley was in charge of things since she was the oldest.  And she was rather liking it.  "You must be tired after such a long journey," she said.  "Are you hungry?  I can have the cooks whip something up for you."

"I would be very grateful to you." Urduja replied.  

"Are these servants they gather my things to my room ? If so, let that I will go there with them." she added after a moment.

"Oh, yeah, that's probably a good idea," Kayley said.  No doubt Urduja wanted to make sure that the servants placed her things properly.  "Your room is down this way.  It's not as fancy as King's Landing, but it's pretty good for Winterfell."  She gave a little smile.  Sure, Kayley had only been to King's Landing once, and that was for Marina's coronation, but it was practically the plum-pie capital of the world.  Everything there was always the best.  Winterfell couldn't exactly compete with it.  But still, that didn't mean that Winterfell was no better than a trashy inn a traveler could find by the wayside.

Urduja followed the servants to her room. When they left , she immediately lay down on the bed. She did not fall asleep. In her mind whirled different thoughts about what tomorrow will bring.

The servants glanced at Kayley when Urduja practically flopped onto the bed.  They weren't sure if they should start setting stuff down without asking her where she wanted her things.  She must really be tired, Kayley thought.  Of course, she probably would be too, if she was in her shoes.  Long carriage rides bored Kayley to tears.  "Do you want your things in any particular place?" she asked.

"Huh ?" Kayley's voice snatched Urduja from thoughtfulness.

"I ... I will unpack myself." She got out of bed and walked over to her luggage. One of the suitcases she moved to the space next to the wardrobe. She began to unpack her clothes.

Urduja didn't look like she was going to budge from this matter.  Kayley just had the servants place her things wherever and then go about their business.  "You want some help?" Kayley asked.  She didn't mind.  Besides, it would give her a good opportunity to find out more about Urduja.  Truthfully, she didn't know a whole lot about her.

"Well..." She looked at the suitcase with clothes. Because she was planning a long stay at Winterfell , she packed a lot of clothes. Urduja sighed. One of the many things which she did not like was the unpacking.
"If it will not be a problem for you..." she said shyly.

Kayley smiled.  "Oh, it won't.  I know how particular packing and unpacking is sometimes."  She gave a little laugh.  "I hate folding clothes when I was younger.  My mother lectured me a lot.  Don't know how much good it did, though.  I still don't do it when she's not looking."  She gave another chuckle.

She smiled. Urduja pulled out of suitcase one of her dresses and looked at her closely. Under her breath she reprimanded herself for reckless packing to suitcases dresses ideal for the summer, but not for cold climate of the North. She carelessly tossed the dress back to suitcase. Then, Urduja began to rummage in a suitcase in search of dress, in which she doesn't freeze after leaving the castle. Being "glued" to the fireplace in the castle was the last what she wanted to do in Witerfell.

Urduja was quiet for the moment.  Kayley wondered if something was on her mind.  She seemed to be looking for something in her suitcase.  "Lose something?" she asked.  She hoped it wasn't something entirely major, like handed-down jewelry or something.

"What...? Oh,no,no. Everything's fine. I just..." she looked again to suitcase. Among the dresses she noticed something else. Small,round thing. Urduja pulled it out of the suitcase and sat down on the bed. A gift from her father... She was absolutely sure that she left it in Karhold. Urduja smiled slightly . After a moment she looked at Kayley.

" I'm sorry. I was pensive a little bit. This is a fairly common phenomenon in my case." She said.

"Oh," was all Kayley said in response.  Urduja seemed a bit...sad.  Or at least, contemplative right now.  Kayley wondered if she should leave her alone.  But her curiosity got the best of her when she noticed something in Urduja's hand.  She couldn't see it clearly, only that it was round and pretty small.  "What's that?" she asked.

"This ?" Urduja indicated the round thing.
"This is a medallion with the symbol of our house - a white sun. I got it on my 16th birthday from my father. I had a good relationship with him." she said and after a while she sighed. Urduja looked again at the medallion.
"I really want him back..." she whispered. Urduja clenched her hand on the medallion and lowered her head.

Kayley's brow furrowed.  Urduja seemed so sad, talking about her father.  Being at odds with parents was something Kayley had experienced only a couple of times in her life.  She loved Proteus and Juliana, and they loved her in return.  "What happened?" she asked.

For some time Urduja did not answer. She was too sensitive, and scarcely some time ago she managed to reconcile with the departure of her father. Finally she answer, without looking up:
"He's dead."

"Oh!  Oh dear, I'm so sorry," Kayley hastily said.  She hadn't expected that.  She vaguely remembered how bad it was when she had lost her birth parents, before Proteus and Juliana took her in.  Being with them had helped the pain, but she still felt echoes of it sometimes.  It was one of the reasons why she wanted to learn how to fight.  She wanted to be able to protect the people she loved, so she wouldn't lose anybody else.

"Now I do not feel so bad."Urduja said.
"I think that it is not worth despair because it will not do anything . The key is to not forget about those we love" she smiled slightly. Urduja got out of bed and went to the window.

Urduja did have a point.  Feeling sorry for yourself wasn't going to do you any good.  All you could do was move on and go on with your life.  Kayley was glad that at least Urduja had come that far.  Some people just sank into a dark hole and stopped living when they lost somebody they loved.  It was easier for them that way.  It took courage to keep going.

She sighed. After telling Kayley about her greatest suffering, Urduja felt some relief. She looked at the medallion, which she still in her hand.
"The key is to not forget." Urduja repeated in her mind and she put the medallion on her neck.

There was a moment of silence between the two, and Kayley wondered if it was wise to change the subject.  She knew how difficult it was to talk about lost loved ones sometimes, and she didn't want to make things difficult for Urduja.  But, on the other hand, Kayley didn't want to just kick the subject aside if Urduja did want to talk about him.  After a moment of thinking, she just decided to ask "What about your mother?"  She wondered if she was dead along with Urduja's father.

"My mother ? Oh, fortunately I still have she, so I'm not alone in this world.I hope that someday you'll have a chance to meet her. She's a wonderful person ! It's a shame that we know better each other after the departure of my father..." Urduja said clearly happier.