Note: This story is AU and set during World War Two. To comply with the setting and plot of the story, events from A Song of Ice and Fire will be switched, moved or deleted entirely. Names have also been changed to fit with the timeline era. A list of the characters mentioned in this chapter will be posted below for any queries. Some relationships will also have been slightly changed.

Eddard

"…unless [England] heard from [Germany] by 11 o'clock that they were prepared at once to withdraw their troops from Poland, a state of war would exist between us. I have to tell you now that no such undertaking has been received, and that consequently this country is at war with Germany."

Ned Stark turned off the radio and sank into the nearest chair, rubbing a suddenly weary hand across his forehead as Neville Chamberlain's words quickly faded into silence. Through the open doors to the kitchen, he could see Caitlin's hands were shaking as she carefully placed the tray full of freshly baked biscuits upon the counter.

The voice of the Prime Minister had been audible to her even across the distance of the room and despite the low volume. Her breathing was forcefully steady and quiet, her expression pale, the heat of the cooking tray forgotten beneath her thinly covered hands as Ned could tell her thoughts were turned to the worse.

His eldest daughter, Sansa, had gently laid her sowing kit and fabrics to the side, respectfully spending a moment of silence for the trouble ahead. Aria, Brandon and Rick were all playing around outside while John and Robb were down in the main part of the town, going to the picture show.

"Sansa, can you please go and bring in your brothers and sister?" Ned asked, eyes returned to his wife with worry. "They're probably in the forest."

"What about Robb and John?" Sansa asked, obediently standing up, graceful as ever.

"They'll come back when they do." He decided and waited until her auburn hair had disappeared around a corner and the front door to the house had closed before he stood up as well.

"Cat-" Ned began, only to be interrupted.

"You're going off to war again. You're going to leave us, all alone." She said, her voice breaking slightly as he control began to fall and tears rose to her eyes. Better than their children, she understood what Churchill's announcement meant.

"Robert Baratheon is going to come to visit and he's going to persuade you to go with him to war. You're too old, Ned. You have a family now. You can't leave us. I'm not going to have you die fighting for your country when you have a family who needs you more."

"Cat, Robert is not going to come and visit. I'm not fighting. He's probably already off at war, fighting Hitler with that gun he calls 'war-hammer' and commanding armies against Hitler. He doesn't have time to come after an old veteran with a family." Ned said, trying to comfort her.

"He loves you like a brother, Ned, and knows even better than that that you're a good fighter. You've taken down armies. You and Robert. There is absolutely no chance at all that he's going to forget you when the greatest chance for you both to be boys again comes. Then if it's not him, it's going to be the actual army fighting to bring you back into the fray." Caitlin replied, letting go of the tray so that she could wipe her eyes. Before she could do it though, Ned reached out and grabbed her wrist, stopping her.

"Cat, look at what you've done to yourself." He sighed, examining the burned fabric and the flamed, peeling skin beneath. Caitlin looked at them with despair and then back up at him, allowing herself to be led over to the sink.

The water came in little drops at first but then sped up until it was a constant flow. He worried that the flow would hurt her more than the cool would help ease the pain but she didn't seem to notice, the same way she had been when the heat ate at her hands.

"This war is going to change everything." Caitlin said with tear stained eyes just before the front door slammed open and the sounds of laughing and crying entered the house. Ned kissed his wife's forehead before leaving her and entering the living room.

Aria was covered in mud, her brown hair matted with the wet soil laughing along with Bran and Rick but Sansa was in a tearful fury, a large splat of mud on the front of her dress and a hand print of the substance on her cheek. Ned couldn't stop a smile as he surveyed his children and waited until someone began to talk.

"Aria threw a ball of mud at my dress and then 'comforted' me by putting some on my face." Sansa wailed, glaring at her younger sister.

"I thought it was Bran." The girl laughed. "We were down at the bank and Bran and Rick challenged me to swing across to the other side. I almost made it too. When I heard walking I grabbed a big glob and threw it. It was instinct and how was I supposed to know that it was Sansa? She never go down there anyway."

"Have you apologized?" Ned asked.

"Sorry Sansa." Aria said, sounding far from it and then cementing that when she stuck out her tongue.

"Go and change clothes, Sansa." He said.

Sansa huffed and charged towards the stairs, and until she disappeared out of sight, her walk was as gracious as usual so that she could try and retain as much dignity as she still owned.

"What's going on?" Bran asked, as Caitlin entered the room with a roll of bandages for her hands. Ned reasoned that he had guessed the wrong reason though.

Aria frowned and took a seat where she sat, spoiling the rug but understanding better what could have better than the others. Rick went over to his mother's side and Bran stood where he was.

"Churchill made an announcement today over the radio. England is at war again. Against Adolf Hitler, against Germany and against Germany's allies." Ned told them.

"What does that mean?" Rick asked, his eyes going wide slightly.

"This is the second World War." Bran replied.

"And you're going to leave us." Aria realized.

An indescribable quiet fell over them in that moment, a strange mixture of grief, disbelief, sadness, anger and hope. That small shred of hope came from a wish that maybe, despite past events and relationships and Aria's words, that Ned Stark would not be participating in this sure to be devastating event. He did not want to leave his family. He loved them too much. But as he loved them, he had to make the decision between whether or not he wanted to fight to keep them safe or try and protect them from home.

Caitlin returned from the door with a letter in her hands and Ned realized that he hadn't even noticed he leave the room, having been much to focused upon his children and then his own thoughts after. If it was even possible, Ned would have said that his wife's expression was even more devastated than it had been when Neville Chamberlain had informed the country about a new horror that was about to arise. Theo's wolf whistle at a girl walking down the street outside alerted him to the fact that the boy had delivered the letter, the last errand of servitude to the Stark family that he had to complete for the day.

Cat's words weren't needed as much as his discovering the sender and content of the letter just by looking at her face. "It's from Robert." His wife let out a soft, strangled sob, found she could not cross the room to give it to him and simply left it to drift to the floor as she stumbled away from it and him. Aria, understanding the gravity of the current situation, stood and ushered her brother's out of the room to leave her father to an inevitable decision.

Ned Stark was an honorable man; there was no doubt about it. Despite the promise that he had made to Cat about not going off to war again, the promise he had made to his country and his family was stronger than any self-preservation he felt.

Eddard Stark - Ned Stark, Catelyn Stark - Caitlin Stark, Arya Stark - Aria Stark, Rickon Stark - Rick Start, Jon Snow - John Snow, Theon Greyjoy - Theo Greyjoy.

Robert Baratheon remains. Sansa remains. Bran remains. Robb remains.

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