With his eyes focused in the horizon, he rode north, leading what was left of his army back to Winterfell. He had already gone through that stretch of the Kingsroad once, five years before, and it was nearly impossible for him not to think about the many similarities between that time and the present.

The other time he had travelled at the head of a host, too, after fighting in a war. And he had come back to Winterfell just like now, thinking of his wife, Catelyn, and the new family he now had with her. Wondering how that baby she had written about, who had left Cat's womb when he was far away would look like.

But this time he already knew his wife, and had lived with her for four years. And he knew Robb, their firstborn, and Sansa, the adorable little girl who had learned to say "daddy" shortly before Ned left. The one he didn't know was Arya, the baby Cat had birthed in his absence.

However, the biggest and most disturbing difference concerned the outcome of the war. When he returned after Robert's Rebellion, he came back after losing almost everything he cared about (his father had died, and so had his siblings Brandon and Lyanna), but he had returned triumphant, because the war had been won. This time the opposite had happened: his brother Benjen had remained safe at the Wall, while Catelyn, who was living in Winterfell with their children, hadn't been in any danger either. But Ned had been defeated, and now he had to pay the price of the defeat.

Balon Greyjoy had demanded the independence of the Iron Islands, and the title of King of the Iron Islands. Now the Islands would be ruled according to their own laws, which had been respected in the region before the Conquest. Besides, to make sure that they wouldn't try to retake the Iron Islands, Balon requested that each of his defeated enemies send him their firstborn to Pyke, where they would be treated as wards, but would actually be hostages.

Stannis had been exempt of that condition, as he didn't have a son. Balon had lost his interest in taking Robert's child when he was told that Joffrey was only three, and he had allowed the king to keep his baby until he was old enough to be a page. But Robb had seemed to Greyjoy old enough to be taken to the Islands, and Eddard could find no excuse to keep him home.

Far away, Ned could see the towers of Winterfell appear in the distance. He sped on. He wanted to reunite with his family and enjoy the short time he still had to be with his son, before parting from him for many years. The only thing that worried him was what Cat would say.

The other time, he remembered, he had returned with a child in his arm; a child that wasn't hers. It had hurt her very much, and Ned knew she hadn't yet got over that blow. Now he would come back to her to tell her she must part from her firstborn and send him to some faraway islands, resigning herself not to see him again until he was of age. That would be worse than returning with another bastard and demanding her to breastfeed him along with Arya, Ned thought.

But it wasn't something he could help, and Catelyn was strong; she would surely understand and accept it in spite of her grief. As he drew near Winterfell he saw that she was there waiting for him, with little Robb and Sansa, who was holding her left hand. Finally he noticed she was holding a lump in her right: a cloth bundle that mantled what Ned guessed was his unknown daughter.

He dismounted and hugged his wife tightly, kissing her lips softly. He hailed Robb, picked Sansa up to kiss her forehead, and regarded his new daughter for the first time. His wife had written in her letters that she had his eyes, and the thin short hair she had grown resembled his much more than Catelyn's auburn. But the girl was asleep, so he didn't hold her in his arms, for the moment.

Ned smiled. It was so good to be back home! But his children had to wait a little to have their father's attention, yet. He had to talk to Catelyn about Robb, and then tell him about the place they would send him to. And he wanted to see Jon, too, and make sure it hadn't been so hard for him to live without his father. Robb and Sansa had a mother who cared about them, but Jon didn't, and Cat had seen to it from the beginning that nobody thought otherwise.

He chose to inform his wife of the price to pay for the lost war first, so he told her in a hushed voice that he needed to speak to her alone. Right then, Robb asked Ned to build a snow castle with him. Ned loved playing with Robb, and he hadn't seen his son for a whole year, but in that moment he had to do something else. Fortunately for Eddard, his wife took over the matter.

"Robb, your father is weary from his journey. We should leave him alone for a few hours, so that he can rest. You can play with him later. Now please, go with maester Luwin, for it is time for your lessons."

The boy obeyed reluctantly, and Ned went with Catelyn to put Sansa to bed, for it was the time for her nap, and then to her room. There he found a piece of furniture that hadn't been there when Ned marched off to war: a small cradle where she left the sleeping Arya. After that they sat on the bed and she looked at him, expectantly and somewhat worried about what he would tell her.

He had expected his wife to get angry. To shout at him for letting them take their son away from them, to insult him for failing to defend his family, or to turn away from him and refuse to look him in the eyes. Instead, when Ned was done talking, she hugged him, wetting Ned's cheeks with her silent tears. He hugged her back. She didn't want someone to blame, but someone to share her grief with and a shoulder to cry on.

They lay on the bed and stayed there, hugging each other silently, until they were interrupted by Arya, who had just woken up and started crying. Catelyn picked the baby from the cradle, sat down on the bed with the girl in her arms and breastfed her. Ned kissed Cat and went out of the room, telling her he was going to find Robb to build the snow castle he had promised.

But the boy Eddard sought was Jon. He found him in his room, playing with a wooden horse. When the father entered the room, the boy just looked up at him and remained seated, only muttering "hello, father", unenthusiastically.

"Jon, is there anything wrong?" Ned asked him, sitting by his side.

"No, Father. Nothing."

But Ned knew by the way his son avoided his eyes that he wasn't telling the truth. That saddened him, because Jon had never lied to him before. Now he seemed to have ceased to trust him due to his long absence. He wondered what he could tell the child to get him to talk to him confidently again, and in the end he decided to offer him to build a snow castle together, thinking that as they played Jon might dare to reveal what was troubling him. The boy accepted the offer.

"Come, let us go to the Maester's Tower to tell Robb. He wanted us to make a snow castle with him since I arrived," Ned said.

"Is Robb going to play too?" Jon asked, surprised.

"Yes. Why not?"

"It's just that Lady Stark doesn't like me to play with him. When we are together in the yard she always gets angry and tells me to go away. Or else she asks Robb to go somewhere with her, or she sends him to maester Luwin for his lessons."

"And don't you have lessons too, Jon?"

"No. When I asked Lady Catelyn if I shouldn't have lessons too she got angry and told me she wouldn't be the one who saw to my education, and that as long as she was in charge of Winterfell I won't have lessons. She said it wasn't her fault that… I existed, and that if it was up to her… I wouldn't be living here. And she said that… bastards like me… don't have titles… or castles… and they don't need… to know those things." As he said that his voice broke gradually, until he ended speaking in sobs.

"Don't worry: I am in charge of Winterfell now. You will have lessons with maester Luwin if you wish, and you will be able to play with your brother Robb whenever you want. Catelyn will not trouble you any more." Ned promised, hugging him.

Eddard felt guilty. It looked like his wife had mistreated Jon very much during his absence. When Ned had marched off to fight the Greyjoys, Jon hadn't learned yet the meaning of the word 'bastard'. Now he didn't only seem to understand it perfectly, but he was also painfully conscious of being one.

Ned knew that Catelyn was a kind woman most times, but she had from the beginning treated Jon as if he had chosen not to be hers. Sometimes he wondered if it wouldn't be better to tell her the truth, but he wasn't certain. She might get offended by the fact that he had not trusted her, and she could take revenge by telling Robert, or Jon. He didn't think that she would truly do that, but it was better not to take unnecessary risks.

Jon settled down and wiped his tears away, and they went to find Robb. He was very thrilled by the idea of building the promised snow castle with his father and brother. And Eddard didn't think his eldest son seemed surprised to see that Jon would play with him too; he just looked happy.

Maybe, then, Catelyn had not insulted Jon in front of his older brother, and Robb had no reason to think they shouldn't be playing together. Or maybe, Robb knew Ned loved both his sons equally, and he wanted them to love and respect each other, as brothers. Maybe, Robb loved his brother Jon, and he saw him as a peer. Maybe he thought that, despite what his mother might say, playing with him was the most natural thing in the world.

And as they built the castle together, Ned couldn't help but notice how happy his sons were then: together, playing in the snow and helping each other. He was also happy, because there is no greater joy for a parent than his children's happiness. Yet he was sad at the same time, because he knew that it wouldn't last. His children would be separated again soon, and a long time would go by before they met again.