Things should start to progress a little in this chapter as it covers most of the first episode, not everything but most of the important parts, I was originally thinking about covering the first and second episodes but that didn't end up happening. I'm not going to cover everything though, so I'm not sure if I'm going to include some of Daenerys' early scenes. Then again that depends on the characters present in said scenes. Also for the sake of story progression there will be time jumps, the show does it anyway so, yeah, that's about it.

On that note, the Stark OC role has been taken, I appreciate everyone who sent me their OC's, and don't worry about missing it, there will be other spots open for various Houses as the story progresses. Speaking of which, if there is a role I'm looking to have filled, it will be in the Authors Notes at the end of the chapter, and if I haven't stated in the following chapters that any roles are taken, then that means they're still available, so feel free to submit an OC.

Disclaimer: I don't own Game of Thrones, if I did then I'd be focusing on doing a Robert's Rebellion TV Series after the show is over. I only own my OC's, Raymond Lannister, Benjamin Stark and Derek Baratheon. Jocelyn Stark belongs to Hear My Fury.


The Song of Life

Chapter 2:
'The Wolves of Winterfell'

The North, Winterfell

When his wife had informed him of Jon Arryn's death, Eddard 'Ned' Stark was visibly shocked and upset.

That man was like a father to him, and to die so suddenly out of the blue like that, it grieved the Lord of House Stark to no end.

He had little time to mourn however.

King Robert Baratheon was on his way to Winterfell, with the Queen and all the rest as his wife had told him.

It didn't take a genius to figure out the purpose of this visit, especially so soon after Jon Arryn's unexpected passing.

The King was coming to Winterfell for one reason.

He wanted Ned Stark to be the new Hand of the King.

For the longest time, Ned didn't believe he ever had to worry about debating on whether or not to accept the position, not when Jon Arryn was the Hand of the King. He had no reason to imagine himself in the role.

Yet, the unexpected death of Jon Arryn had made that into a potential reality, and now all Ned could think about was whether to accept, or refuse.

His wife, Catelyn Stark, told him that he could always say no, it wasn't as if he HAD to take the position.

He was well within his right to refuse if he wanted to, but there was just something off about it all that made him question if refusing was the right choice.

As he continued to debate in his head while he was still cleaning Ice, the ancestral greatsword of House Stark, Ned's silence was disturbed once more.

When he turned to look up at the visitor, he froze for just a brief second before offering a warm smile. "Jocelyn."

Jocelyn Stark, Ned Stark's eldest daughter. Being the eldest alongside Robb, she looked every bit the mature girl that was expected of her age, especially of a Stark. She was wearing a white fur cloak over her clean blue dress and had her dark brown hair tied up at the back, looking as beautiful as she always does.

Even without making herself look presentable, the boys in Winterfell would always be unable to take their eyes off of her, too captivated by her beauty to look away. Sometimes Robb would become aware of those looks, and he would get very annoyed, sometimes frustrated, but Jocelyn would gently calm him down, always letting him know that she isn't bothered by it, never has been, and neither should he.

And yet this was not the only case.

Some Northerners, even in Winterfell, took to calling her the 'Ghost of Lyanna Stark'. This was mainly due to the fact that Jocelyn was very much the spitting image of her late aunt.

Ned couldn't deny it. He could never forget what his sister looked like.

Whenever he would walk around Winterfell and come across his eldest daughter, he would forget, and for just a brief moment, he had thought that his sister was alive, and had come home.

The surprise in that brief moment would quickly change to heartbreak when he would remember what happened to his sister.

And every time he would look at his eldest daughter, she would look visibly hurt by his expression, because only she can ever notice that little flicker of heartbreak in his eyes every single time he looked at her.

It wasn't intentional, far from it. Ned would never want to hurt his daughters feelings, so of course he had to tell her one day and when he did, she simply apologised. Of course, Ned wasn't going to take that apology, because she had nothing to apologise for, if anything, he was the one who apologised for always thinking his sister had returned home alive and well.

When she was young, she used to be mocked for her looks simply because she wasn't pretty at the time. Ned was aware of this and he was always proud that she would simply ignore those mocking remarks and brush them off, as expected of a noble lady. Even back then, he predicted she would be a smart girl who wouldn't let others comments about her get to her, and he was glad to see that was the case.

What he could never have predicted however was her growing up, and looking like Lyanna Stark reborn. And again, inheriting the looks of her late aunt blessed Jocelyn with unrivalled beauty, and like her aunt, there was simply no other girl in the North who could match her pretty looks.

Either way, Ned felt somewhat blessed himself. That even if his sister was gone, he felt blessed that he got to see Lyanna's face every single day.

It was only after Jocelyn cleared her throat that Ned eventually broke out of his thoughts and spoke. "My apologies, it happened again."

Jocelyn gave him a warm smile, simply replying, "No need to apologise father. At this point, I'm used to it."

A light chuckle and Ned eyed her up and down before asking, "The King won't be here for a little while longer, you don't need to look presentable yet."

"I just thought it would be nice to get a head start." Jocelyn said with a giggle.

Ned laughed a little, "You always say that."

Jocelyn folded her arms over her chest and replied, "Mother told me that the King is coming here because he wants you to become the new Hand of the King."

A simple nod was Ned's response as he returned to cleaning Ice.

"Are you?"

Ned looked back up at her, and she asked, "Are you going to become the new Hand of the King?"

He still wasn't sure. He needed a little more time to think it over and even then, he still probably wouldn't know his answer. "I don't know."

"I spoke with the others about it." Jocelyn replied.

When Ned looked at her again, she added, "Robb doesn't mind if you say yes or no. Neither does Jon. Sansa was pretty insistent that you accept however."

Ned straightened himself a little, looking curious. "She was?"

Jocelyn nodded. "Yes. I think that's only because she wants to go down to King's Landing and be near the Prince." She sighed, and then let out an amused chuckle. "I keep telling her that the world is not like the fairy tales, but no matter how much I do, she never seems to listen."

"You've done your research on King's Landing I assume." Ned replied, looking both amused and proud.

The eldest Stark daughter smiled, "When you read a lot of books and learn a lot about the histories of the Seven Kingdoms, it's not that difficult to see the world isn't an easy place to live in. I'm well aware King's Landing has a deceptive nature to it, that's why I'm against you becoming the new Hand of the King."

When Ned looked at her, slightly surprised, Jocelyn added, "It is only going to cause you trouble to no end father. Being the Hand of the King is burden enough. Being the Hand of the King in King's Landing however, that will only put you and your health at risk."

She always had a way with words. She was far more wiser than he gave her credit for and he couldn't help but feel more proud of her because of it.

Ned stood up and returned Ice to its scabbard. "I'm still giving it some thought. I need to speak with Robert myself before I can decide on an answer." He handed the Valyrian steel sword to Jocelyn, who gently took it and carefully held it in her arms. "Return it to my room will you? I'll be there shortly."

Jocelyn nodded and looked at the large sword as Ned began to leave, almost tempted to draw it from the scabbard, but ultimately decided against it. She loved sword fighting, but she wasn't about to try and draw such a big sword and risk dropping it, not after father had just cleaned it.

Suddenly, she remembered something. "Father?"

Ned stopped, turning around to look over at her. "What is it?"

"I just remembered, I haven't seen Benjamin around. You were the last one with him when you took him and Brandon with you to execute that Night's Watch Deserter." Jocelyn said, adding, "But he's nowhere to be seen. Do you know where he is?"

Having just remembered it, Ned couldn't help but chuckle in amusement. "Ah yes. Ben wanted to go and see your Uncle Benjen. He also wanted to return the remains of the Deserter so he could be given a proper burial deserving of a man of the Night's Watch. He was really insistent on seeing your Uncle Benjen though, so I let him go."

Jocelyn froze, and her grey eyes widened a little, almost breaking her calm expression. "You sent my little brother to Castle Black alone?"

"Of course not don't be ridiculous." Ned replied, looking surprised at the accusation. "He has an armed escort, so you don't need to worry."

That helped her feel a bit of relief, but she wasn't fully convinced yet. "Maybe, maybe not. But if there was a Direwolf south of The Wall, it's very plausible that there are Wildlings wandering around too."

"Jocelyn. He'll be fine." Ned said firmly before taking his leave once more.

As soon as her father had left, Jocelyn sighed and kneeled down next to the large pond. After staring at her reflection for a long moment, she put a finger into the water and twirled it around before looking up at the Weirwood Tree next to her.

She quietly asked, "If he goes, will he be okay? Will my sisters like it down in King's Landing? What if they do and decide they want to stay there forever?" In her mind, she was trying to picture the many things she thought could go wrong down at King's Landing.

But in the end, most if not all of her imaginations were exactly just that. Her imagination. Perhaps she was thinking too hard on the subject, or perhaps she was just trying to think of too much too quickly.

"Maybe I'm just worrying too much. I suppose Sansa and Arya will at least get to see what the south is like for themselves, if father decides to become the new Hand of the King." She said quietly.

Jocelyn then smiled to herself at the sound of a bark and got back to her feet, still holding Ice carefully in her arms.

"Direwolves, south of The Wall. Truly, Winter is coming."


The North, Winterfell

"Why is your mother so dead set on us getting pretty for the King?"

Jon Snow didn't seem too thrilled about the King's visit, not as much as his siblings anyway judging by their mixed reactions upon hearing of the King's visit.

While Sansa, Arya and Bran seemed excited, Robb wasn't making a big deal out of it, the same could be said for Jocelyn, and Rickon, well, Rickon was mostly oblivious to the whole thing. He was unable to get Benjamin's opinion, due to the young boy being away visiting their Uncle Benjen at Castle Black.

The thought of Castle Black got him curious, and, somewhat, interested.

He'd always stuck out, and felt like he didn't belong. It wasn't like that at Castle Black though from what he knew, as it was common knowledge that the Night's Watch welcome any man willing to join their ranks.

For a moment, he entertained the thought, until Theon Greyjoy spoke up.

"It's for the Queen, I bet. I hear she's a sleek bit of mink."

Robb replied after having his facial hair shaved. "I hear one of the Princes' is a right royal prick."

Theon just grinned in response. "Think of all those southern girls he gets to stab with his right royal prick."

Once he was done, Robb got to his feet and moved aside to let Jon sit down next. "Go on Tommy, shear him good. He's never met a girl he likes better than his own hair."

Jon just frowned lightly as Robb and Theon laughed at the formers joke.


So far, everyone was doing fine making themselves look presentable for when the King arrived.

Catelyn Stark however was almost stressed out of her mind trying to get everything in order for the King's arrival.

She was thankful however that Maester Luwin and her eldest daughter Jocelyn were there helping her set everything up.

When Maester Luwin brought up the topic of how much Lord Tyrion liked to drink, Catelyn and Jocelyn were very curious as to exactly how much the Lannister could drink.

Maester Luwin simply told them that they brought out eight barrels of ale from the cellar, stating that they would find out soon enough.

While Catelyn didn't seem to mind much, Jocelyn was looking very forward to finding out.

As they made their way outside, Catelyn was caught off guard by Summer, Bran's Direwolf pup.

"Gods, but they grow fast."

Curious upon noticing Summer staring off in a certain direction, Catelyn and the others followed the pups gaze to Bran, just in time to catch him climbing down from the walls.

"Brandon!"

Jocelyn flinched when her mother shouted her younger brothers name.

"I saw the King!" Bran said as he climbed down the wall. "He's got hundreds of people!"

Catelyn didn't seem to care right now, replying, "How many times have I told you? No climbing!"

Bran was a little too excited however. "But he's coming right now! Down our road!"

Once he had reached the ground, Catelyn approached him and leaned down a little to look him in the eye. "I want you to promise me. No more climbing."

As Maester Luwin and Jocelyn held back an amused smile, Bran looked down at his feet for a brief second, before looking his mother in the eye again. "I promise."

Catelyn straightened up before raising a brow at him. "Do you know what?"

Bran braced himself for whatever punishment she was about to give him. "What?"

"You always look at your feet, before you lie." Catelyn replied.

The Stark boy couldn't hold back the smile that eventually appeared on his face and chuckled.

Catelyn couldn't help but smile at her sons amusing behaviour and decided to just let him off this time. "Run and find your father. Tell him the King is close."

As Bran went to leave, Jocelyn leaned down next to him and whispered in his ear, "Don't get caught next time, ok?"

The two exchanged smiles before Bran nodded and ran off to find his father, Summer following right behind him.

When she turned to her mother, who was giving her a questioning look, Jocelyn just laughed. "What?"


The King had indeed arrived just as Bran had said.

Arya Stark, wearing a cloak and a helmet, was sitting in a tall wagon already watching Baratheon and Lannister men riding in on their horses.

They were followed in by a blond-haired boy who Arya could only assume was one of the Princes.

Accompanying the boy were a few Kingsguard, but Arya had her eyes on a large man who was riding next to the Prince. He was nearly armoured from head to toe, his helmet looking like that of a vicious dog, and the jaws of the helmet were shut, concealing the mans face.

Rather than sit and watch from the wagon, she decided to get up and ran to find the rest of her family before the King himself arrived.

Her family was already standing in line in the courtyard, all of them having made sure to each look their best for the royal visit.

Ned stood between them all, with Catelyn to his left, and Rickon right next to her.

To his right stood Robb, with Sansa next to him, Bran next to her, and Jocelyn standing right next to him.

Catelyn was starting to look a little nervous as she looked around, before asking, "Where's Arya? Sansa where is your sister?" She asked her daughter, who simply shrugged in response.

Thankfully, Arya had made it in before the royal family did, running to where her family was lined up, until she was stopped by her father. "Hey, what are you doing with that on?" Ned asked as he took off the helmet she was wearing, much to the amusement of Robb, Jon and Jocelyn. Ned looked back at his daughter and gestured for her to stand next to her siblings. "Go on." He said before handing the helmet over to Rodrik Cassel, Winterfell's Master-at-Arms.

Arya just groaned at having her helmet being taken away before making her way into the line between Bran and Sansa. "Move!" She said, pushing her brother back a little so she could stand between him and Sansa.

Jocelyn moved a little to keep Bran in line with them before whispering to Arya, "Be nice."

Arya was too busy looking at the visitors to pay attention however.

The Baratheon and Lannister troops had arrived inside the courtyard, followed by the Kingsguard, then by the blond-haired boy and his large companion.

Sansa was already eyeing up the Prince, smiling like she'd seen her dream man, and the Prince just smirked in return.

It didn't go unnoticed by Robb, who could tell where his sister was looking and just glared at the Prince.

They were then followed in by a slim and slightly younger, shorter looking boy. Unlike the other, this one had the black hair and blue eyes that the Baratheons were known for, which puzzled some of them as this boy and the other one looked nothing alike, except the length of their hair. Clearly they had their hair tended to by the same person.

There was one Kingsguard that was riding right next to the young black-haired boy.

Ned immediately recognised the man as Ser Barristan Selmy, the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, which indeed confirmed the black-haired boy as the other Prince.

The black-haired boy stopped his horse once he was next to his older, blond-haired brother. The two Prince's exchanged looks, and while the black-haired one smiled a little, the blond-haired one simply stared, his smile disappearing in an instant.

A carriage followed, slowing to a stop in the courtyard just as the large man next to the blond-haired Prince opened the jaws of his helmet, revealing a rough looking man with half of his face scarred and burned.

Finally, following the carriage into the courtyard was the King himself, accompanied by Kingsguard and Baratheon men.

Everyone in the courtyard got down on their knees and bowed as soon as he appeared.

After a few assistants provided a set of steps to help him, the King dismounted from his horse and immediately started making his way towards Ned.

Upon reaching him, the King gestured with his hand for Ned to rise.

Ned then stood back up to his full height, as did everyone else.

"Your grace." Ned said, bowing his head a little.

The King looked rather serious, eyeing Ned up and down before replying, "You've got fat."

Ned was taken aback briefly, looking at the King for a moment before using his eyes to gesture towards the Kings own belly.

Only a second after, did the King and Ned start to laugh before hugging each other.

After pulling away, the King approached Catelyn next. "Cat!" He said happily giving Ned's wife a hug also.

"Your grace." Catelyn said bowing her head briefly, welcoming the King's hug.

The King then ruffled Rickon's hair before making his way back over to Ned, still smiling. "Nine years. Why haven't I seen you? Where the hell have you been?"

"Guarding the North for you, your grace. Winterfell is yours." Ned replied as the Queen and her other two children exited the carriage, one a young blond-haired girl, the other a young blond-haired boy.

Arya looked up at Sansa and asked, "Where's the Imp?"

"Will you shut up?" Was Sansa's response.

The King then turned and walked over to Robb. "Who have we here? You must be Robb." He said extending his hand.

Robb took the King's hand and shook it with subtle nod.

"My, you're a pretty one." The King said to Sansa as he walked by her, the latter smiling at the comment.

After stopping at Arya, he leaned down and asked, "Your name is?"

"Arya." The Stark daughter replied.

The King nodded and moved over to Bran next. "Ooh. Show us your muscles." Bran smiled and flexed his arm, causing the King to laugh. "You'll be a soldier."

Once he stopped at Jocelyn, the King was silent.

His smile was gone and for a moment he just stared.

He looked like he was seeing a ghost and the subtle expression on his face soon didn't go unnoticed by Ned and Jocelyn, the former starting to feel a little concerned, and the latter starting to feel confused.

As the King continued to stare at her in silence, Jocelyn's smile slowly started to lower a little but she did her best to keep it as she bowed her head. "M-My apologies. I'm Jocelyn, your grace."

Her words managed to break the King out of his trance and he nodded.

Arya looked over at one of the Kingsguard who removed his helmet, and said, "That's Jaime Lannister. The Queen's twin brother."

"Would you please shut up." Sansa said, clearly not interested in listening to her sisters comments.

The Queen herself approached Ned and extended her hand to him.

Ned bowed his head and leaned down to kiss her hand. "My Queen." She smiled at his gesture.

Catelyn then bowed her head also. "My Queen."

"Take me to your crypt." The King said, glancing a few times back at Jocelyn. "I...want to pay my respects."

The Queen then spoke up. "We've been riding for a month, my love. Surely the dead can wait."

"Ned." The King said almost immediately as if he didn't hear her, casting one last long look at Jocelyn before taking his leave.

Ned exchanged a brief glance with the Queen before taking his leave also, following after the King.

Arya looked up at Sansa and asked again, "Where's the Imp?"

Hearing the question, the Queen glanced over at the Stark daughters before making her way over to her brother. "Where is our brother? Go find the little beast." She said.

Looking amused, Jaime didn't reply and instead set out on his search.


"Tell me about Jon Arryn."

It was the first thing Ned said after he and King Robert Baratheon entered and made their way through the crypts of Winterfell.

Robert wasn't sure what to say, and replied, "One minute he was fine, and then..." Unsure how to put it, he simply added, "Burned right through him, whatever it was. I loved that man."

A nod was Ned's response. "We both did."

"He never had to teach you much, but me? You remember me at sixteen?" The two laughed, and Robert added, "All I wanted to do was crack skulls and fuck girls. He showed me what was what."

Ned agreed completely, looking at him and giving him a short, "Aye."

Robert looked back at him and grinned, "Don't look at me like that. It's not his fault I didn't listen."

The two laughed again before stopping, turning to face each other as Robert sighed. "I need you, Ned. Down at King's Landing, not up here where you're no damn use to anybody."

Ned knew he was going to say it eventually. Better sooner rather than later he figured.

"Lord Eddard Stark..." Robert started before stating the main reason for his visit. "I would name you the Hand of the King."

Ned was still surprised to hear the words come out of Robert's mouth, and responded by bowing down on one knee. "I'm not worthy of the honour."

"I'm not trying to honour you. I'm trying to get you to run my Kingdom while I eat, drink and whore my way to an early grave. Damn it Ned, stand up." Robert explained, patting Ned on the shoulder.

Robert continued as Ned stood back up. "You helped me win the Iron Throne, now help me keep the damn thing. We were meant to rule together. If your sister had lived, we would have been bound by blood. Well, it's not too late."

Ned stayed silent, waiting for whatever Robert was going to suggest. "I have a son, you have a daughter."

The King waited for a second to let it sink in before confirming what Ned was guessing. "We'll join our Houses." He said before continuing his way through the crypts.

Ned was still trying to process everything.

First Jon Arryn's death. Then Robert coming all the way to Winterfell to ask him to become the new Hand of the King.

Now this?

It was all too much for Ned to take in so quickly, he needed time to think.

He turned around and followed after the King.


Tyrion Lannister didn't waste any time getting himself comfortable at a whorehouse upon their arrival at Winterfell.

Some of his friends had told him good things, great things about the 'services' of Northern girls, so naturally, he jumped at the opportunity immediately after it presented itself.

And, suffice to say, the girl currently servicing him so far was proving his friends right.

"It is true what they say about the Northern girls." Tyrion grinned and chuckled before lying down on the bed and lifting his feet up.

His companion, Ros, laughed with him, taking his boots off while asking, "Did you hear the King's in Winterfell?"

Tyrion nodded, "I did hear something about that."

"And the Queen. And her twin brother. They say that he is the most handsome man in the Seven Kingdoms." Ros replied.

After she had removed his trousers, Tyrion moved up on the bed and waited for her to join him. "And the other brother?"

"The Queen has two brothers?" Ros asked as she crawled up on the bed next to him.

Tyrion held up three fingers. "Three actually. There's the pretty one. There's the serious one. And there's the clever one."

Ros leaned against him and replied, "I hear they call him the Imp."

"I hear he hates that nickname." Tyrion said, keeping a straight face.

Twirling her finger on his chest, Ros responded, "Oh? I hear he's more than earned it. I hear he's a drunken little lecher, into all manner of perversions."

Tyrion smirked. "Clever girl.

Ros chuckled. "We've been expecting you, Lord Tyrion."

The Imp looked down at his crotch and simply asked, "Have you?"

Ros followed his gaze, and then looked back at him in surprise, "Already?"

Both of them laughed as Tyrion lay down and let her climb on top of him.

"The gods gave me one blessing." Tyrion said as he was about to get to the part he enjoyed the most.

However, before they could get started, the door opened, catching their full attention.

When they looked over, they saw Jaime Lannister entering the room.

"Don't get up." Jaime said with an amused smile.

"M'lord." Ros replied before moving aside to let the two Lannister brothers speak.

Tyrion gave Jaime a lecturing look, telling him, "Should I explain to you the meaning of a closed door in a whorehouse, brother?"

"You've much to teach me, no doubt but..." Jaime started before closing the door. "Our sister craves your attention."

The Imp looked almost amused at his brothers statement. "She has odd cravings, our sister."

"A family trait." Jaime said as he helped himself to a mug of ale, adding, "Now, the Starks are feasting us at sundown. Don't leave me alone with these people." He said before drinking from the mug.

Tyrion raised a brow at his brother. "Couldn't you have just went and fetched our dear brother, instead of breaking my heart by interrupting my fun?"

Jaime chuckled, giving Tyrion the same look. "I'd much prefer the brother that can bear my presence."

"Well I'm sorry." Tyrion replied. "I've begun the feast a bit early. And this is the first of many courses."

The Kingsguard nodded and made his way back over to the door. "I thought you might say that, but since we're short on time..." As soon as he opened the door, a few more girls rushed into the room. "Come on girls." Jaime said, prompting them to run over to the bed, giggling and laughing as they swarmed Tyrion.

Jaime laughed, calling out, "See you at sundown." Before taking his leave.

"Close the door!" Tyrion called out after him.

Not a few seconds after leaving the whorehouse, Jaime found himself face to face with a young man in full Lannister armour.

"Ah, little brother." Jaime said with a smile.

The young man resembled Jaime in some ways. Unlike Jaime however, his short hair was a little more dirty blonde, he wasn't as good looking as Jaime, which was to say that he was good looking, which only added to how good looking Jaime Lannister himself really was.

"I see you already beat me to him." The young man said with a calm frown.

Jaime shrugged, "My apologies, I can't help how good I am at everything I do."

The young man didn't react to his comment, and replied, "Is he coming or what?"

"He will." Jaime nodded. "And you, Raymond?"

Raymond Lannister just narrowed his eyes at his older brother, before turning his back and walking away.

Jaime stood in silence for a few seconds, before calling out, "So, is that a yes?"


Ned and Robert stood before the tomb of Lyanna Stark, both silent as Ned watched Robert approach Lyanna's statue and place a feather into the statues hand. Words were not enough to describe the grief that both of them felt.

"Did you have to bury her in a place like this?" Robert asked quietly. "She should be on a hill somewhere with the sun and the clouds above her."

The Lord of House Stark simply replied, "She was my sister. This is where she belongs."

Robert struggled to hold back his tears, and could only respond with a few short words. "She belonged with me."

The King slowly reached up and gently placed his hand on the face of Lyanna's statue. "Gods, she looked exactly like her Ned."

Ned looked over at him. "Hm?"

"Your eldest daughter." Robert said. "She was exactly the spitting image of your sister."

Ned didn't say anything, but nodded, understanding where his friend was coming from.

Robert then added, "For years now, I had forgotten what she looked like, and it pained me greatly. And when I walked over to her, and I saw her smiling face, I remembered once again."

It was literally not that long ago, so Ned could easily remember, when he saw Robert staring at Jocelyn as if he'd saw his sister again.

"I remembered what she looked like once again. Gods, for a moment, I swear, I thought your sister had come back Ned." Robert said, tears starting to fill his eyes.

Ned looked over at his friend again before quietly replying, "I understand, believe me, I've done it plenty of times myself."

Robert wanted to chuckle at his friends comment but was unable to. "She's so beautiful, just like your sister was."

A short silence filled the air for a moment before Robert spoke again. "...In my dreams, I kill him every night."

"It's done, your grace." Ned said, hoping his friend would put the past behind him. "The Targaryens are gone."

Robert's grief was slowly replaced by anger as he quietly, and dangerously replied, "Not all of them."


Once they had concluded their business in the Winterfell Crypts, Ned and Robert had returned to their families to inform them of the marriage between Ned's daughter and Robert's son, while waiting for the banquet to begin.

And while she was unsure how the Queen felt about it, Catelyn Stark wasn't exactly confident about the idea.

Much to her dismay, her daughter Sansa seemed very excited, and once she had found out, she just would not stop talking about it.

Despite some of Catelyn's attempts to change the subject, all Sansa continued to talk about was Joffrey.

"Do you think Joffrey will like me? What if he thinks I'm ugly?" The Stark daughter asked her mother.

Catelyn stopped fixing her daughters hair for a moment to reply, "Then he is the stupidest Prince that ever lived."

Sansa looked into a mirror and smiled. "He's so handsome." Her comment caused Catelyn to roll her eyes. "When would we be married? Soon or do we have to wait?"

"Hush now. Your father hasn't even said yes." Catelyn replied, trying to focus on fixing her daughters hair.

The Stark daughter looked a little confused. "Why would he say no? He'd be the second most powerful man in the Kingdoms."

"He'd have to leave home." Catelyn started, not really needing the time to think of an answer to such a question. "He'd have to leave me. And so would you."

Sansa simply replied, "You left your home to come here. And I'd be Queen someday." Silence followed for a moment before Sansa quickly turned and looked up at her mother. "Please make father say yes!"

"Sansa..." Catelyn started.

Her daughter interrupted her however. "Please, please! It's the only thing I ever wanted."

Catelyn was conflicted, unsure how to respond. If she asked Ned to accept the position of Hand of the King, indeed, he would have to leave her, and so would Sansa.

Yet at the same time, if she persuaded him to refuse, and they stayed, would Sansa hate her for it?


The banquet had, in King Robert's words, finally begun.

And as expected, the main hall was full of people sitting at tables eating and drinking, Robert amongst them all, having the time of his life.

Robert was wasting little time getting his arms around a wench and kissing her, much to the disgust of Cersei, while Catelyn, who was seated right next to her, couldn't help but feel rather embarrassed for the Queen.

Outside, Jon Snow was by himself, bringing his sword down repeatedly on a fencing dummy.

He was too busy taking his frustration out on the dummy that he didn't bother paying attention to the group of men riding into the courtyard.

A man from the Night's Watch and a young, short brown-haired boy who looked like he inherited Ned's Stark's looks, accompanied by a few men in Stark armour.

Eyeing up Jon, the man asked, "Is he dead yet?"

Jon turned around, just as the boy dismounted from his horse and smiled at him, "Look who I brought home!"

Dropping his sword, Jon smiled and approached them. "Uncle Benjen!" He laughed, throwing his arms around his Uncle, hugging him.

The boy just waved his arms, asking, "What about me?"

Jon chuckled and ruffled the boys hair. "There you go Ben. You better head on inside quick. Your mother wasn't happy that you weren't here for the King's arrival."

Benjamin's eyes widened a little, "Ah, well...I-is she really that angry?"

"I'm just teasing you, go on, get." Jon laughed, nudging his younger sibling along.

Ben rolled his eyes and walked away to find his mother, muttering to himself about Jon's jokes.

Once the Stark boy was gone, Benjen turned back to Jon. "You got bigger. We rode all day. Didn't want to leave you alone with the Lannisters." He said, still smiling. "Why aren't you at the feast?"

Jon's smile lowered a little. "Lady Stark thought it might insult the royal family to seat a bastard in their midst."

Benjen nodded, sympathising with Jon. "Well you're always welcome on The Wall. No bastard was ever refused a seat there."

"So take me with you when you go back." Jon replied almost immediately, as if he had been giving the idea some thought.

His Uncle didn't look too sure however. "Jon..."

Jon interrupted him before he could say anything. "Father will let me if you ask him, I know he will."

Benjen took a brief moment to think on it, before settling with, "The Wall isn't going anywhere."

"I'm ready, to swear your oath." Jon said.

Indeed, Jon looked and sounded very serious about it, but it wasn't something Benjen would want for him unless he truly wanted to go. "You don't understand what you'd be giving up. We have no families. None of us will ever father sons."

His nephew replied immediately, "I don't care about that."

"You might, if you knew what it meant." Benjen said calmly before looking in the direction of the banquet hall. "I'd better get inside. Rescue your father from his guests. We'll talk later."

With that, Benjen walked away to head inside.

"Your uncle's in the Night's Watch."

The new voice caught Jon's attention and he turned to where it came from, and saw Tyrion Lannister leaning against the stone wall watching him. "What're you doing back there?"

Tyrion approached Jon, taking a drink of his ale before replying, "Preparing for a night with your family. I've always wanted to see The Wall."

"You're Tyrion Lannister. The Queen's brother?" Jon asked.

The Imp nodded. "My greatest accomplishment. And you, you're Ned Stark's bastard aren't you?"

A subtle look of anger showed on Jon's face as he turned his back on the dwarf. "Did I offend you? Sorry. You are the bastard, though." Tyrion added, walking after him.

Jon faced him again, replying, "Lord Eddard Stark is my father."

"And Lady Stark is not your mother. Making you, the bastard." Tyrion continued for him before approaching him. "Let me give you some advice, bastard. Never forget what you are. The rest of the world will not. Wear it like armour, and it can never be used to hurt you." He said before taking his leave.

Jon stopped him though, asking, "What the hell do you know about being a bastard?"

Tyrion turned, facing him again and simply replied, "All dwarves are bastards in their fathers' eyes." He took another drink of his ale before walking away.

Sighing, Jon walked back over to the fencing dummy and picked up his sword.

But before he could return to his practice, he saw movement at the corner of his eye.

He turned and saw Jocelyn standing a short distance away.

Was she there the entire time?

Even though it was dark, there was still enough light in the courtyard for Jon to make out the hurt expression on her face.

Jocelyn stared at him for a long moment, then looked away from him before returning inside.

Jon wondered if she heard his conversation with his Uncle, or Tyrion. Either way, it didn't matter right now. He had some anger he needed to vent.

He tightened his grip around his sword and unleashed that anger on the fencing dummy.


Authors Notes: I wanted to at least get to where Bran fell but that didn't end up happening, and I really wanted to just get this over and done with so I just stopped there. The chapters title is supposed to reflect how it mostly focuses on the Starks, in case anyone was wondering. I'll try and make the next chapter a little more progressive, unless, some or most of you prefer stories taking their time. And yes, I have full intention of sticking to one of Game of Thrones' golden rules, which is nobody is safe. Rest assured, I'm not afraid to kill off characters where it's necessary. We'll get there very soon.

On that note, I might as well call this a casting call at this point, as I'm looking for a strong and kind female OC for House Dayne, and a learning younger brother OC, also of House Dayne. The characters in particular will not show up right away this early in the story, but they'll be referenced for later appearances. As usual, send me a PM of your character. And one character per person please. I want to give plenty of people a chance to have fun with the story.

As usual, please Review, the feedback is appreciated.