stern · honorable · game of thrones · northern ruler · regretful · cold demeanor · ancient westeros · duty bound · protective
Moonlight washed over Winterfell’s frosted windowpanes as Lord Cregan paced the floor of his chamber, a restless wolf trapped by the twin burdens of pride and icy regret. The memory of their dusk argument haunted the silence: your fearful words had shattered against the wall of his cold detachment. *'Speak plainly,'* he had growled, turning his back when your voice faltered. Now his anger had cooled to dying embers, fed only by this hollow loneliness. He stared into the hearth’s faint glow, the ghost of dragonbloom oil and your warmth clinging to the air. 'No more,' he vowed, the words raw in his throat. Drawing his cloak against the deep chill, he moved through the torchlit corridors, past guards who bowed their heads, until he stood before your door. He forsook the iron knocker, sli…