Hello friends!

Man, I haven't written fanfic in almost six years. I'm still writing, but it's my own original work. However; a few days ago, I was reading A Storm of Swords and a tiny idea came to mind, so I decided to write it out.

This takes place directly after The Greyjoy Rebellion. I'm going off the show's timeline, because in the book, Theon is five years older than Robb/Jon. In the show, he's only one year older.

Enjoy!

Like always, I don't own anything. All belongs to HBO and George RR Martin.

Theon Greyjoy stood on deck of the ship and watched as the castle of Pyke, his home and everything he knew, slowly disappeared.

Around him, no one seemed to notice the child. But that was to be expected; these were Greenlanders, wolves to be exact.

For the last several months, the Ironborn had been fighting against these strange people. The battles had raged on outside the castle of Pyke, until it had finally broken through the walls. After they had killed Theon's older brothers, his father had been forced to surrender and kneel in front of their enemies.

And then, they demanded Theon be ripped away from his home and return with one of them to his home to live. He hadn't wanted to go, but no one has listened to what he wanted.

Now, Theon stood shivering on the deck of this ship. It was early spring and hints of winter still hung in the air. But still, he didn't want to go below deck while he could still see his home in the distance.

He didn't want any of these wolves to see how scared he actually was.

Maron and Rodrick, his older brothers, had told him what wolves do to strays boys they find. Especially ones who show fear.

Theon knew at age eight, he was almost a man grown. Besides that, he was a Greyjoy and an ironborn. His blood was iron and salt. He was too old to be crying like a baby. But all this wasn't enough to stop the wetness that gathered behind his eyes.

When he couldn't see Pyke anymore and the cold was too much for him, Theon slowly went below the deck. Down there, rowdy men were drinking and yelling as the few women onboard walked back and forth between them. The ship rocked back and forth as the waves battered the hull, but few seemed to care.

No one paid any attention to the frightened child as he curled up in a corner and pressed his hands over his ears to block out the noise.

If he stayed quiet, maybe they'd all forgot about him. He could just stay onboard and hope that this ship would return to the Iron Islands. By the time Lord Stark figured out he was no longer with the party, it would be too late.

This is what Theon told himself as he sat alone on the deck as the ship rocked back and forth.

A few hours, he was still going over the details of his plan when a large hand shook his shoulder. Startled, Theon looked up into solemn grey eyes of his new foster father.

"What are you doing over here on the floor alone?" Lord Stark demanded. Without waiting for an answer, he pulled the boy gently to his feet. "Come, we're going to be reaching the harbor soon."

Theon had no choice, but to follow him through the sea of men.

About fifteen minutes later, Lord Stark pulled out a large cloak lined of fur and handed it to him. "Here, put this on."

Theon wrinkled his nose. It was made for a full grown man and much too large for him. "It stinks of wolves..." He protested, something he had heard Rodrick say several times.

Around him, several of the men laughed. "You'll be wanting that cloak soon enough." One of the men told him.

After the ship pulled into the harbor, Lord Stark began to disembark. Theon trotted behind him, only to be met with an icy blast of wind. To his great surprise, snowdrifts almost as tall as he was still on the ground. Now, Theon realized why they had wanted him to wear the cloak. The wind was bitterly cold and seemed to cut through him to the bone.

Hurriedly, he pulled the cloak on. "Why is there still so much snow? It's spring..."

In front of him, his foster father continued to walk. "Because the North gets hit the hardest in the winter, so it takes the longest for the snow to melt."

At the edge of the harbor, several horses were waiting. Lord Stark looked at them for a second and then down at Theon. "Is there a pony available for the boy?"

"No m'Lord," a man answered. "These horses are the only ones available."

Theon's heart leaped in his chest. This was his chance. If he couldn't go with them, then he could go back to the ship and return to his home.

To his great disappointment, Lord Stark just shook his head. "Can you ride?"

After a moment, Theon nodded a tiny bit. It wasn't a lie; he had learned to ride before, but not for long periods of time. The Island of Pyke wasn't very big and he wasn't allowed to go off riding by himself.

"Put these on, you'll be riding with me." Ned said, handing him riding leathers. Once the boy managed to get them on, Ned picked him up and swung him up on top of his massive white and brown stallion. A moment later, the man mounted behind him. When the rest of the men were ready, the horses started to trot forward.

Miserable, Theon clutched the front of the saddle. The only good thing about this was now he was warmer with his back directly against his foster father and a second cloak close around him.

Hours later, Theon felt like he wanted to die. His legs were extremely sore from riding, but no one gave any indication of stopped any time soon. The snow grew higher and the air colder the further north they went.

Lord Stark tried to talk to him a few times, but Theon only nodded when he had to. With his entire life being turned upside down, he didn't feel like speaking at the moment.

Just when he felt like he couldn't take it any longer, a shadow of a castle appeared on the horizon, a small town grouped around it. Lord Stark bent close to his ear. "That's Winterfell." He said.

Theon just stared as they came closer. It was nowhere near the sea and appeared to be just a dull and dreary as these people were. Dread filled his stomach the closer they came to it.

As the gates opened and the men rode into the courtyard, Theon stared in amazement up at the massive castle. It was much larger and older than the castle of Pyke. It looked like something that had been here for thousands of years and would be here for thousands of years after he was dead. (1)

Of course, Ned Stark crushed our rebellion and killed my brothers. Theon thought as the horses slowed to a walk. We never stood a chance against the man who lived here. (2)

Immediately, several men came forward to take the horse's bridles. The inside of the courtyard was busy, almost like a small city lived inside the walls of the castle. Ned dismounted first and then helped Theon down.

The pain the boy had felt while riding instantly became a thousand times worse now that he was down on solid ground. It was all he could do to not collapse to the ground in agony as his legs throbbed in pain.

"Come, let's get out of the wind." Ned said and led him to a door. Inside, it was a lot warmer than Theon thought it would be. At least the massive walls managed to keep the wind and the snow out. He knelt on the ground to remove the riding leathers and massive cloak.

"Father!" A small voice rang out.

Surprised, the boy turned to see a very small girl with bright red hair running full force toward them. She wove around Theon with ease and went right into Ned Stark's arms. The Lord of Winterfell let out a laugh as he hoisted her into the air. "Sweet girl." He said, hugging the child close to him.

A second later, two boys appeared at the other end of the hall. One had dark hair, almost identical to Ned Stark, the other had the same curly auburn hair that the girl did. The two boys were much closer in age to the iron boy and like their sister, both came running as fast as they could to hug their father's legs.

All the while, Theon only stared at them and then looked around, almost if he was half expecting more children to come running out of the hiding. He watched as Ned knelt to embrace all three of them, laughing with joy.

It was odd; if Theon had ever tried to do anything like that with his father, Balon, the old man would have growled and shoved him away. The Ironborn were a hard, fierce people. And they did not lovingly hug their children where others could see them.

But to Ned Stark, he acted like this was completely normal.

Hurried footsteps came down the hall and a woman with long auburn hair and fierce blue eyes like her children appeared. She was carrying a baby, which she handed to servant and moved toward her husband.

In an instant, it was like the two of them were the only two in the room. They embraced and the Lady Stark kissed her Lord husband on his cheek. A smile spread over his face as he returned her kiss.

Sullenly, Theon watched this. Up until the moment the girl appeared, he had no idea this Lord had children or a family back home. It hasn't occurred to him that a man who could come and kill his brothers and destroy his home would have something precious of his own.

The boy with auburn hair began to tug at Lord Stark's arm. "Did you win the war, father?" he asked excitedly.

"Did you kill a lot of men with Ice?" The second boy asked.

Ned shook his head slightly, "We'll talk about it later." He said and looked directly toward his new foster son. "First, there's someone I want you to meet."

The entire family turned to look at Theon. The other children seemed curious and pleased to see him, but Lady Stark's look was as cold and icy as the weather outside. "That's him?" She asked, her voice soft.

"This is Theon Greyjoy. He'll be living with us from now on." Ned said. "Theon, this is my wife, Lady Catelyn Stark. And my children, Robb, Jon, Sansa, and the baby's Arya." He said, touching each of his children lightly on the head.

A look of delight came across Robb's face and he came closer to the Theon to inspect him. After a moment, Jon followed him, looking more serious and uncertain.

"How old are you?" Jon demanded.

"Eight."

The light shone in Robb's blue eyes. He looked like a smaller male version of his mother. "Jon and I are both seven."

Theon's chest puffed out a bit as he realized he was the oldest now. Quite a surprise, as he had gone from the baby of his family to being older then all of those children. "Are you two twins?"

"No." Jon said shortly.

"But…"

Some of the joy left Robb's cheerful face. "Jon's a Snow." He explained as gently as he could.

Shocked, Theon turned toward the darker haired boy. "You're a bastard?" He asked. When he didn't get a response, he continued to talk. "I've never talked to a bastard before… My father doesn't allow me to speak with them."

This statement seemed to annoy Job and fascinate Robb. "What are bastards called in the Iron Islands?"

"Pyke."

"Like the castle? Doesn't that get confusing?"

Theon only shrugged, as pain from both his empty stomach and throbbing legs seemed to take over his body. "I don't know…" He muttered, turning a desperate expression to Lord Stark in hope to be rescued from a thousand questions.

Ned seemed to understand him immediately. "That's enough boys, he's tired and saddle sore from traveling." He said, before grabbing the arm of a passing servant. "Will you take Theon up and show him his new bed chambers? Then get him fresh clothes, a tub of warm water and some supper. "

"Oh course," She said, before turning toward the boy. "Come along, little Lord."

For a moment, fear raced through Theon's heart as he realized he was about to be led away from Ned Stark and the rest of his family. He might only barely know them, but they're were better than going off with a strange woman into a castle he didn't know.

"Go with her." Ned said, nodding toward her. He leaned toward the child and put his hand on his shoulder. "Someone will come fetch you tomorrow morning, when it's time to break our fast."

Theon nodded and then slowly followed the servant up the many stairs.

To his surprise, he was taken to a comfortable, good sized bed chamber. The bed was big enough for several more people and covered in wolf skins. Several candles were lit to show a window and the great view from it. From here, a person could see down in the courtyard and across the battlements.

After a moment, several servants came in, carrying clothes, food and a tub of water. They all fussed over him, helping him into the tub and scrubbing away the salt and smell of his sea. Once that was done, they dressed him in fine, beautiful clothing. Much better quality and warmer then what he had been wearing back at home.

Theon was amazed and wondered what his father would have said if he could have seen his son now. No one, not even the Lord of the Iron Islands himself wore clothes this fine back home.

The servants left him a bowl of soup and piece of bread before they took away the tub.

Half-heartedly, the boy slowly sat and ate the dinner. He was too hungry not to. When the bowl was empty and the bread gone, he left it for someone to take and crawled into the massive bed.

The moonlight shone in the window, high-lighted by the falling snow. Theon rolled away from the light and buried his face in the pillows. This room was nothing like the cozy bed chamber he had slept in back on Pyke.

This place was not home.

Finally, all the tears he had held back during the day sprang to his eyes and the Theon cried himself to sleep. When everything else was gone, he realized, his grief stuck around to comfort him.

(1 and 2 are a direct quote from season two, episode ten Valar Morghulis. In that episode, Theon tells Maester Luwin this is what he thought when Ned first brought him to Winterfell.)