Game of Thrones: A Name Doesn't Make a Person
Chapter 1 of my Game of Thrones story, enjoy.
Disclaimer: Game of Thrones belongs to George R.R. Martin.
Chapter 1
It was a crisp spring morning at Winterfell; home of the Stark family. The family was all in the kitchen at this time in the morning, having breakfast. Eddard Stark and his wife, Catelyn, were talking quietly together while they ate. Their five children, four of whom inherited Catelyn's auburn hair and blue eyes, were also eating, as well as talking. Their eldest nineteen year old Robb was engaged in conversation with a young man the same age, with brown hair and grey eyes, much like Eddard, it was his cousin, Jon. The second eldest child, seventeen year old Sansa was trying to engage her younger sister, fifteen year old Arya (the only family member to inherit Eddard's brown hair and grey eyes) in conversation. Arya however wasn't a morning person and was almost sullenly silent as she ate. The final two family members were fourteen year old Bran and ten year old Rickon. The youngest two also engaged in conversation. The family lived very comfortably in their ancestral family home; they were also well-known and well-liked by many of the people they met. This stemmed from Eddard being the mayor of the Northern state, which, along with the other states, formed the continent of Westeros. This led to the family being well-respected, yet many knew they were also practical. While coming from a rich family, the children had all been given relatively normal childhoods and mixed well with others. Indeed a few of them had friends who weren't involved in politics or rich and they got along well together.
As they were reaching the end of the breakfast, they heard the rattle of the letterbox. Being the nearest one to the dining room door, Robb stood up.
"I'll get it." He said before heading out into the hall.
Not too long afterwards he returned, holding one letter separate from the others.
He then explained. "Just the usual, junk mail, bills, that sort of thing. Oh and there's a letter for Jon here too."
He handed him the letter he was keeping separate.
"Thanks." Jon replied, looking confused at the letter.
There was a stamp on the letter showing a golden lion on a red background.
Jon noted this and thought to himself. 'A Lannister stamp; only one Lannister really cares I exist and would send me a letter.'
Not certain he knew who the letter was from, with the breakfast dishes now all cleared away, he opened it.
"Well, what does it say?" Arya asked, suddenly speaking up.
Jon smirked, shaking his head. "Patience Arya, give me a chance to read it first. All I know is it's from Tyrion."
That got a pensive look from Eddard; he was never really fond of the Lannisters; the head of their family, Tywin, was mayor of the Westerlands state. Seeing the look on her husband's face, noting they were now alone, Catelyn turned to him.
"Ned, what's troubling you?" She asked.
He shook his head. "It's nothing really Cat. You know I don't really like the Lannisters…I can make an exception for Tyrion; I don't think he likes his family very much."
Catelyn smiled lightly at that. "I know, still; Tyrion does seem to be a bit of an exception. The Lannisters don't really like us remember; but Tyrion does."
Ned nodded and relaxed; albeit curious about what Tyrion had to say.
Jon meanwhile was reading Tyrion's letter; by the time he was done, the whole family was curious. They had all gathered and when Jon saw them he smiled and began to explain.
"Tyrion's holding a party at his home, we're all invited. He…He's adopted a young man, named Podrick Payne."
That drew a few gasps from the rest of the family.
Cat however smiled. "That is very nice of him, giving the young man a chance to start over."
Jon nodded. "Yeah; apparently Tyrion took a liking to Pod while he was working for him. He ended up telling Tyrion his story, about his home life and that. Something which touched Tyrion and Shae."
Shae was Tyrion's wife; a young woman who was certainly not part of the social elite the Lannisters preferred to associate themselves with. It was partially due to this that Tyrion lived separate from the rest of the family. The others all exchanged smiles; impressed with Tyrion and Shae opening their hearts and giving the poor young man a chance to start over.
'His last name, Payne…That would mean his only living relative now is his second cousin, Illyn.' Catelyn noted to herself. 'No wonder Shae and Tyrion adopted the poor boy; nobody with a grain of sympathy and emotion in their hearts would leave a child, teenager, anyone, to be raised by that man. He hardly takes care of himself after all.'
The others had all immediately begun murmuring about the party.
Finally Ned asked the question that was on everybody's minds.
"So, he's invited all of us?"
Jon nodded. "Yeah; he wrote that he invited me, due to our friendship, and extends the invitation to the whole family."
Ned nodded; a troubled look on his face. Catelyn knew what was bothering him; while he wanted to go and congratulate Tyrion and Shae and meet with this young man, Podrick; he knew the Lannisters were likely to be there.
Cat however knew how to remove his doubts. "It would be rude not go, especially for such an occasion. It would be good for Podrick too, he might make some new friends."
That seemed to clear it up for Ned and he smiled.
"Very well, you're right Cat. Okay Jon, please reply to Tyrion, let him know we'll all be there."
Jon nodded as the others all voiced their agreement too. Even Arya who detested social gatherings like this; since it meant she'd have to wear a dress, seemed eager. Like her father, she also detested the Lannisters, but made an exception for Tyrion, and she had to admit, she was curious about this boy Podrick. She wasn't the only one of course; the whole family was buzzing with excitement at the upcoming party. Especially Sansa, who, being Arya's polar opposite, absolutely loved these sort of social gatherings. Her only fear however was that, more than likely, her ex-boyfriend would be there. But she was determined not to let that ruin things for her.
End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.
