I do not own any of the rights to the Game of Thrones characters those belong George RR Martin. I only have the rights to my original characters.

Chapter 1

"You will be going to leaving for Winterfell tomorrow." Lyonel Corbray said as he stared directly at his only daughter, who glanced back at with him with indignity in her face. "Do you understand me, Eleanah?"

She bit the inside of her cheek to keep her from what she really wanted to say and broke eye contact with her father only to catch her brother, Brydan's blue eyes encouraging her. "Yes, father." Eleanah said through clinched teeth. She was being shipped off like livestock to marry a man she had never met in frozen wasteland. This whole thing started while her father was with Lord Arryn's men on a task for him to Winterfell and Castle Black, he and Lord Eddard Stark decided to join their families. And by join their families, they meant to marry her to his eldest son, Robb. Eleanah never wanted to be forced to marry a man and had always like the idea of marrying the one she wanted to, whether he was a nobleman or a pauper. "Is that all Father?" Her words were hard and cold.

"You may go and make your preparations." Lyonel dismissed his daughter. He watched as she turned swiftly and left the room. He had just done his daughter a great honor by arranging a marriage with the Stark boy. None of the less, the eldest Stark boy would be Lord of Winterfell. The Corbrays were a lesser house than she would be marrying into, she would be a lady of the House of Stark, Wardens of the North.

Lyonel was going to be sad to see Eleanah go, she was the image of her mother with his fiery personality. Her insolence towards him was his own fault, he had indulged his daughter as she grew up; he had no clue how to raise a daughter, he had only raised a son. His beautiful wife, Nyra died after giving birth to their youngest son, he was left to raise all their children on his own. He prayed to the Seven Gods that one day Ele would forgive him for sending her to Winterfell.

"My dear sister, you will get over this soon enough when you meet your husband to be in the frozen lands of the north." Brydan called out from behind her.

Eleanah stopped where she was and waited for Brydan to catch up with her. "Well, my darling brother, at least I will no longer be trapped here with you." She turned and gazed at him with a smirk on her face.

Brydan laughed, "You know you will miss me, Ele." His floppy brown bounced and he continued to laugh.

"You think so highly of yourself, Bry." Eleanah raised her eyebrow at her brother. He was the dearest person to her after her mother, who she only knew of in tales. She had always adored Brydan and he knew it. Bry never treated her any differently that he would have treated a brother. Against their father's wishes, he had taught her how to shoot a bow and arrow; she quickly became a better mark than her own brothers were. Brydan was her elder brother and heir to Heart's Home; he would make a good and just Lord. "And who will marry you and keep you in line?"

"Well little sister, there are a good many women who would be happy to marry this." Brydan held out his arms to show himself off. He was an attractive and strapping young man and woman would be happy to have him.

Eleanah laughed at him. Her mood quickly turned serious, "I shall miss you. Oh my dear Bry what will I ever do without you?"

Brydan looked into his sister's pale blue eyes, the edges rimmed with a darker shade of blue; she had their mother's eyes. He brushed a stray hair brown hair from her face as he gave her an somber look. "Keep your gift a secret, Eleanah." His words were suddenly serious and full of warning.

Ele swallowed hard as she nodded at him. "I will." He saw her secret as a gift and most days she saw it as that too but when she had to hide it she felt as if it was curse. Eleanah couldn't help that she could speak to the ravens; that could hear them when them when they sang their song and they listened to her as she spoke to them. "If they were to find out do you think they would kill me as a witch?" Eleanah stopped walking as a chill ran through her bones.

Brydan walked up to his sister, "They would be mad to rid this world of your beauty and kindness and tempt my anger so. You didn't ask to speak to the ravens. They are after all our emblem. You my sweet, sweet sister will win over the Starks, as you have won over all of all of the Vale." He leaned towards Eleanah and kissed her forehead. "Tomorrow I will ride with you out of the Vale but will turn back at night. Septa Heighden will be joining you on your journey as well as several of our men. The journey will take you about two weeks. Do you think you will be able to handle that my dearest?" Brydan's voice had humor in it as he ended.

Eleanah studied her brother's face, she wanted to remember every part of him. From his dark brown hair and his blue-gray eyes to his tall lean body. "Two weeks on the road. I, fear I shall parish." She raised her hand to her forehead and smirked as they reached her room. "Until tomorrow brother." She kissed his cheek before she entered her room. It would be the last night that she would spend in Vale and the last night she would spend in her childhood home with her family.

"We are only a day's ride from Winterfell, my lady." Ser Duran Smithe said as he halted his horse next to Eleanah's tan mare. It has been a long and arduous journey that Eleanah never wanted to relive. "Shall we rest for the evening or would you like to carry on a bit further?"

A weary Eleanah sighed. "We will carry on a bit further Ser Duran. It just means we will be all the closer to Winterfell in the morning."

"Very good, my lady. Shall we send word to Winterfell that we will arrive tomorrow eve?" Ser Duran asked as he ran his hand over his beard that was the color of salt and pepper, like the hair on his head.

Eleanah nodded at him. He was a man of stature and if she had not known him her whole life Ele may have been afraid of him. However she knew the truth, that he he had a good heart and he would protect her with his life. "Thank you Ser Duran. What did my father charge you with when we reach Winterfell?"

"He bid me to stay and be sure you get settled in. If you would like that." Duran's brown eyes regarded the girl he had watched grow from a small babe in a cradle to the beautiful young woman that rode beside him. He always knew she was destined for great things and now she would marry Robb Stark of Winterfell and one day be Lady Eleanah Stark of Winterfell. Duran didn't know if she knew what a prodigious honor that had befell her when her father and Ned Stark arranged the marriage of their children. She came from a poorer house whose prominence would be restored by the union. Not only did the marriage raise her statue but it also helped her family. He prayed it would give her happiness as well.

"I would enjoy having faces I know around for a while. Thank you Ser Duran." Eleanah graced him with a smile. One had not crossed her face since they had left Heart's Home nearly two weeks before, and even then that smile was filled with sadness.

They rode until the sky was full of stars and the moon was high above them. When they stopped Eleanah couldn't have felt more relieved, her bottom ached and her thighs throbbed fiercely. She could not wait to sleep indoors on a real bed instead of the hard wagon floor that she shared at night with her Septa. The fat old lady snored in her sleep and on occasion she stayed up and read by candle light. It left Eleanah feeling unrested most mornings, but tonight she was determined to sleep well.

"My lady would you like something to eat?" One of the men, who accompanied them asked her as she walked stiff legged towards the wagon, her body begged to fall asleep before her Septa went in for the night.

"No, thank you. I am far more tired than I am hungry." She moved closer to the man who smelt of sweat and horse. "I will let you in on a small secret, I want to fall asleep before Septa Heighden makes her way to the wagon; she snores." Eleanah whispered the last part. The man laughed as he walked back towards the fire where the others in their party gathered.

Ele's stomach churned in anticipation, even if she was hungry, she would never be able to eat. What if she found Robb and the Starks unagreeable? Eleanah knew she would be an outsider in the vast North and she feared that. Thoughts ran through her head until she finally fell asleep to the sound of the men talking merrily around the fire. She slept hard that night, it was the dreamless, restful sleep she needed.

"Eleanah, wake up, we need to start towards Winterfell." Septa Heighden shook her awake. "Come on, girl your future husband awaits you."

Eleanah stretched out her body, which ached from the previous days ride and the week and a half of riding before that. Two weeks on the road had left her weary and ready to reach Winterfell. "I think I will ride in here for part of the day Septa. I wouldn't want to meet my future husband with bow legs and dirt from the road in my hair."

"Very well, my lady. You need to eat." Septa Heighden had noticed that she had not eaten the previous night.

Her Septa didn't miss anything. Eleanah thought to herself as she watched the old lady lumber out of her wagon. Ele followed closely behind her yawning as she stepped out of the wagon. She walked towards the group of men near the fire. "Good morning." She gave the men all a nod as she pulled her cloak tighter to her body. The morning air was crisp and had a biting chill to it.

"My lady, I hope that you slept well." Ser Duran looked up from his bowl of warm oats.

Eleanah smiled warmly at him, "Very. I will be riding in the wagon until we are several miles out of Winterfell, then I will take up my horse again. All this riding." She rubbed the side of her leg.

Duran laughed. "I will have us stop when we are close to Winterfell." He handed Eleanah, a bowl of warm oats. He watched over her while she ate hungrily. Ser Duran had noticed that she had grown more peckish the closer they got to Winterfell so it did him so good to see her eat well for once.

"May I ask you a question Ser Duran?" She asked after finishing her bowl of food.

"Of course." He looked at her, she reminded him of her mother in so many ways. Duran had grown up with Lady Nyra before she married Lord Lyonel Corbray. Ser Duran would never tell another soul but he had loved Nyra madly when they were younger and would have asked for her hand in marriage if it hadn't been for Lord Lyonel.

"Have you met Lord Stark and his family?" Eleanah's question.

He could tell she was nervous, "I have met Lord Stark but none of his family."

"What sort of man is he?" Her blue eyes searched Duran's brown eyes.

"My lady, he is a good man and honorable. I can only assume that he has raised his children that way. Are you worried about the Starks?"

Eleanah waited for a moment before answering, "I am. They will be my family and I have never met is not exactly how I imagined my life going Ser Duran. I always imagined I would live in the Vale near my brothers." She wanted to be close to her brothers mainly Brydan, she was not as close to her younger brother, Clayce but he was still family.

"I am sorry to interrupt Ser Duran, my lady but a raven has returned from Winterfell." The man handed Ser Duran a scroll. He opened it and read it with Eleanah looking on.

"It says that they are expecting later this afternoon but Robb will not be in until later in the evening around the time of the feast." Duran turned his head towards his lady.

"Shall we go then?" She asked as she rose from her spot on the large rock she was sitting on.

"Let us. Everyone let us go!" Duran said loudly as he escorted Eleanah back to the wagon where she would ride with her septa.

The wagon jostled worse than any horse could however it was far more comfortable. Eleanah fell asleep quickly after lying down and listening to Septa Heighden tell her stories.A sudden stop and rapping on the door of the wagon awoke Eleanah from her sleep.

"My lady, Ser Duran sent me to let you and Septa Heighden know that we are nearly to Winterfell." The man said.

"Very well Ser. I will be out presently." Eleanah pulled on her heavy wool cloak and leather riding gloves and stepped outside into the chilly air. She walked up to her mare and pet her, "Only a few more miles my beautiful girl and then you can rest."

The ride into Winterfell was cold but Ele enjoyed the feeling of the cool air against her skin. It helped her nerves calm down and surprisingly relax her body. She felt better than she had the whole trip. Maybe it was because she knew Lord Stark was a good man and she was sure that Robb was probably as nervous about meeting her as she was about meeting him. The raven came and landed on her shoulder. "Hello Evin." The bird bent his head forward and allowed her to stroke his head. "Thank you for your service in delivering the letter to Lord and Lady Stark."

Winterfell is cold. Winterfell is gray. Starks nice, feed good. Eleanah heard Evin's voice in her mind as she got flashes of the bird's vision. She could see the large gray castle of Winterfell from his view and heard the sounds of the ruffling leaves and people bustling around when he landed.

"That's enough now Evin." Eleanah said softly to the jet black raven, who flew off of her shoulder and towards the woods. She knew he would stay close to them; he was never far from her. When Ele was young she found Evin in the woods near her home with a broken wing, he was only a fledgling. She took him home with her to care for him and had the master help heal his wing. After that Evin followed Eleanah everywhere like a small flying shadow. That is also how she learned she could hear the ravens speak and see what they saw.

Ser Duran pulled everyone to a halt as they sat upon the hill. "Here is your new home Eleanah." He said quietly as she sat on her horse next to him. Winterfell was beyond anything she had imagined. Yes, it was gray and gloomy but it was something she could handle as long as she could bring some color into the mix. "We should be there within the hour my lady."

Eleanah nodded and took a deep breath before making her horse follow Ser Duran. Her nerves were beginning to get the best of her and she was starting to become home sick. She wanted Bry to be with her when she first met her future husband and his family. He was good at reading people and their intentions; it was one of Brydan's many gifts. Eleanah smiled as she thought of her dear brother, she would write him and send a raven as soon as she got to Winterfell.

The remainder of ride took them a quarter of an hour but to Eleanah it felt like years; she was losing the bravery that she had begun to build up inside of her. She could only think of negative things like: what if Robb was a fat and lazy whore monger? Or what if the Starks hated her? Or what if she had a loveless marriage because it was arranged? Or would she just be used for breeding? Why couldn't her father and Ned Stark have left well enough alone? She wondered as they rode into the courtyard of Winterfell. That is when her eyes were drawn to a small family standing in a line in of the gates to what must have been the keep or the great hall.

Ser Duran dismounted his horse first and made his way to a man who must have been Lord Eddard Stark. He had a short beard and longer light brown hair and friendly blue eyes that gazed towards Eleanah.

"My lady?" One of the men who accompanied them offered her his hand so she could get off of her mare.

Eleanah dismounted her horse and gave her a good pat. "Good job girl." She said as she walked towards Ser Duran.

"Lord and Lady Stark, I would like to present my lady, Eleanah Corbray of Heart's Home." Ser Duran said proudly when Ele reached him.

Eleanah gave a small bow of her head, "Lord and Lady Stark."

"Oh my dear you must be weary from all your travels." Lady Catelyn said as she looked at the woman who would be her eldest son's wife. She was a pretty girl, her eyes were a lovely shade of blue and her skin was a creamy ivory which was contrasted by her darker brown hair. Robb would most certainly adore her.

"It was quite a long road but nothing a long bath and a good night sleep will not remedy." Eleanah smiled politely at Catelyn. She wondered which of his parents Robb looked like the most. Neither of the Stark matriarchs were ugly so that was a relief to her and the four children that stood beside their parents all looked handsome.

"I am sorry Robb is not here to greet you." Eddard said. "He left on a hunting trip with my ward and his brother. They are due back this evening. You are a few days earlier than we anticipated. I can however introduce you to our other children. Sansa, Aria, Brand and Rickton." Ned named his remaining children who stood to his right.

Eleanah couldn't help but feel relived the Starks seem kind at first meeting. They seemed like people she could live with for the rest of her life; ones she wouldn't mind calling her family. "It's fine Lord Eddard. I am sure I am not looking my best after being on the road for nearly two weeks."

"You look lovely my dear." Catelyn said. "And please call me Catelyn. No need for formalities if we are to be family soon. Would you care to freshen up before the feast we have planned for the evening?"

"I would love a bath if I could as so much. I am sure I have dirt in places I never knew I could get it." Eleanah smiled.

"See I told you." Aria said loudly to Brand. Eleanah glanced over at the two of them and gave Aria a puzzled look. "I told Brand it wasn't stupid that we were heating water all day to draw you a bath because would want to take one after traveling all the way from the Vale." Aria said proudly.

Eleanah giggled. "Well I am glad you were prepared."

"Mother?" Sansa looked over at Catelyn. "May I show Eleanah to her room?"

"Of course dear." Catelyn smiled over at her eldest daughter whose hair was a deep auburn and glowed like burning embers in the sunshine. It resembled hers when she was a child. "Eleanah, I will send someone up for you when we are ready with the feast."

Eleanah nodded as she and Septa Heighden followed Sansa to the room where she would be staying until she wed Robb. Her stomach flipped as she thought about sleeping in the same bed with a man. She was not stupid she knew enough about relations with a man but she was still a virgin and the thought of it made her heart beat in over drive.

"I hope you like it here." Sansa smiled as she pulled Eleanah from her thoughts and back into reality. "It will be nice to have someone other than Aria to talk to."

"It will be nice to have other women around. I have always been surrounded by men, well other than my Septa." She glanced at the round little old lady who had become her motherly figure.

"This is your room." They stopped at a room where the door was open. They entered it and it was warm and inviting. The fire burned brightly and there was a steaming bath drawn next to it. "I will leave you to get ready. I am glad that you are here, Eleanah."

"Thank you, Sansa. I will see you at the feast." Eleanah said with a hint of sadness in her voice that was detected by Septa Heighden.

"Let the water wash away your sadness." The septa said after Sansa closed the door behind her. "Start a new my dear."

Her septa was right, the warm water that smelled of lavender washed away all of her sadness and made Ele feel like a new person. She was ready to start her life in Winterfell, when she stepped out of the bath. She dressed in a light blue dress that her father had made for her before she left. It was a light fabric that had a deeper neck line and was fitted across her breasts and ribs but hung loosely off of her hips. The sleeves wear long and flared out at the ends. Lyonel had hearts and ravens embroidered upon the inside of the sleeves so she would always remember home. Her septa pulled the sides of her hair back and twisted them into two rows and fastened it with a gem stone clip that was Eleanah's mother's before she died. All the while the septa was grooming her Ele wrote her brother a letter.

There was a knock at the door and Arya walked in. "It is time for the feast and Robb is back. He looked pale when he heard you were here already; I am sure he is upset we got to meet you before he did." She shook her head.

Eleanah liked Arya, she was so honest and she didn't hold her tongue; she was like a breath of fresh air. "I am glad to hear that I am not the only one who nervous. Before we head down to the feast is there some where I can go to call my raven?"

"You have your own raven?" Arya asked with joy in her voice.

"He adopted me after I saved his life." Eleanah confessed as Arya took her hand and pulled her down the hallways and out into the courtyard where she ran into a dark haired man who wore similar clothing to Lord Stark. Eleanah's heart skipped a beat when she saw him. He was tall and muscular with a broad jaw and dark brown eyes. "I'm sorry." Eleanah said as she glanced up at him through her eye lashes.

"It's fine. You must be Eleanah." The man said.

Was this Robb? If it was Ele would have been more than happy to have called him her husband.

"I am and it seems that you have me at a disadvantage." She said to him.

"I'm Jon Snow, Ned's bastard." Jon offered quietly.

"Jon, did you know Eleanah has a raven that she saved?" Aria said with excitement.

"I didn't not. Did you tell her we have dire wolves that would probably mistake her raven as a meal?" Jon smirked at his little sister.

"Nymeria would never do that." Aria scowled at her brother. "How do you get your raven to come to you?" She asked

"Like this?" Eleanah whistled loudly and Evin came flying towards her within seconds and landed on her shoulder. She pet his head gently and offered him some corn she had in her other hand. "I need you to take this letter to my brother." She tied the letter to her bird's tiny leg.

To Brydan…to Brydan, her bird's lyrical voice said into her head as he took off from her shoulder.

"That's impressive, most ravens are trained to go one place or another but it was like he was actually listening to you." Jon watched Eleanah.

"That is because he was, he is an extremely smart bird." She said proudly.

"He might be smarter than some of the people around here." Jon smiled as he joked.

Eleanah giggled. "Are you coming into the feast, Jon?"

"I am afraid that my presence were not requested for dinner this evening." He said with shame.

"I am quite sorry to hear that Jon Snow. I would have liked to hear about those people who are not as smart as Evin and more about these dire wolves." Ele offered, she felt for Ned's bastard. Even if her father had shipped her off to marry Robb at least she had never felt unwanted.

"Come on, Eleanah. Mother will be upset if I don't bring you to the feast." The excitement of the raven was quickly forgotten.

Eleanah smiled at Jon, "Will you tell me about your dire wolf next time I see you, Jon?" She asked hoping to see him again soon.

"Of course." Jon said as he watched the girls walk away. He thought that Eleanah was breathtaking and was instantly jealous of his brother. But then again, who was he? Just Ned Stark's bastard. If he married he would marry some whore's daughter or some other bastard. He would never be a lord or never be worthy of a lady like Eleanah.

"We're here." Aria pulled Ele to a stop before she opened the door to the hall.

Eleanah took a deep breath before she walked through the doorway to meet her the man who would be her husband for the first time. She only prayed he was half as attractive and nice as Jon Snow.

A/N: Thanks for reading my story...its just the beginning. I hope you enjoyed it thus far. Hugh shout out to my beta Queen Preferences.

Please review and let me know what you think.