Author's Note:

EDDARD

More than ten years had turned like pages of book, only going forward until its inevitable end. Within the decade, Ned had felt pain so fresh each day and each year. He thought to rectify the mistakes he made, carrying out the promises made to and from him with earnest and steadfastness, but how could he? Everywhere his eyes looked, he saw a reminder of all he had went through. He saw all he loved, but mostly of all that he had lost. How does a man have a heart that does not ache with just that? Wherever his eyes looked, his heart ached just a little more.

His first reminder of all loved and lost was Robb, his first boy. Ned felt an intense happiness upon the sight of him when he came back from Dorne to Riverrun. Robb didn't hold the Stark features much to his relief. He was glad that Catelyn's blood, her Tully blood, had flowed so strong in all physical aspects of him. It hadn't, however, changed the fact that even though his boy did not have the Stark look, he had the Stark traits.

Robb reminded him every bit of Brandon, the older brother Ned loved and was envious of. Sometimes he wondered if this was old gods cursing his childish envy by blessing Robb of Brandon's curls and even the tone of his voice. Sometimes when his own son spoke, Ned thought he was hearing his brother. He wondered if it was all in his head, but Robb's mischievous smiles at times proved otherwise. What he loved most was that the boy smiled so much that sometimes Ned wondered how the boy's face wasn't so sore. Jon, however…

Jon made Lyanna's voice loud and even sadder in his head day and night. "Promise me, Ned. Promise me." It would make Ned's lips tremble at times and his eyes look like polluted rivers due to their grey. Jon was all of Lyanna. All of her. Even down to the way he would make his eyes big as he looked up at him. Those forlorn grey eyes had been the spitting image of when he saw his sister last. Sometimes Ned couldn't find it in himself to look the boy in fear his vision would make Lyanna appear before him instead.

Then there was Arden—Arden Sand since the girl could not hold the prestigious Dayne name. She had been a Stark in his eyes and even Catelyn's, who loved her, fed her, and raised her as if she were one of their own. Ashara had violet eyes that would laugh and haunt, so what of her daughter? Her daughter's eyes were a ghost of her mother's; laughing and haunting, smiling and frowning, all at once. The way her lips formed their smile, the catish way she could make her violet eyes look evil or mischievous, the way she laughed, the way she danced, even how she stood; Ashara. All Ned could see was Ashara. All he could see was the woman who he first met in Harrenhal, who Brandon convinced to give Ned the chance for a dance, and whose heart he broke into much tinier and fragile pieces than it already was. "You murdered my brother?"

JON

The Wolfswood was quiet. Perhaps it could be considered peaceful in a dangerous sort of way. You never knew what was lurking, what could be a threat, and yet you couldn't help but feel nervous and calm all at once. What he loved most was the fresh smell. The smell of the woods and the sounds of the streams that could lull you fast asleep. Sometimes he felt like camping out here, but the forest floor would never beat a warm bed by the fire. One day, he promised to come out here by himself for the solitude then he wouldn't have to worry about stepping on anyone's toes and he could become a better hunter in the process.

"I don't see any rabbits or elks" said his older brother Robb, who was still halfway spinning around where he stood in search for the animals he claimed he didn't see. Most of them had been scared off, possibly from the argument that ensued minutes ago. Jon and Theon were never friends, never really got along about anything. They had their moments, where friendship didn't seem so strange to them, but it was Robb or Arden that brought them together half of the time.

For the briefest of moments, he missed her while he was out here. Arden and Arya were the only two people that made him feel like he belonged here. Arden was an actual bastard like he was and Arya was different from the rest of the Starks in her own right. He remembered hearing that he and Arden came to Riverrun at the same time, which was probably why they were so close. Arden was always there and they shared their pains together. How they wished they were trueborn and that they knew their mothers. Sadly, their similarities ended there. Arden still lived a better life than he did.

Their father had no issue telling her about her mother or of her Dayne heritage. The girl never knew her father, like he never knew his mother, but it was only because his father didn't know who the man was either. So in some ways, he was even luckier than her for having to know one parent. Then there was the matter of Lady Stark, who favored her mainly because she was not of the Stark blood like he was. He was the Stark bastard while she was the bastard from Dorne of another mother and father. She didn't stain his father's honor or was made during the breaking of the vows his father made to his wife.

"Jon?" Robb voice brought him back to reality, making him blink and shove his thoughts away. "Y'see that?" Pointing towards South, Jon turned his head to see a deer in plain view. "We're gonna have ourselves a deer for sup'."

"Really?" Theon challenged, "You gonna tackle it to the ground? Just let me handle it." The Greyjoy was already readying his arrow with a smug look on his face. Jon and Robb had their spears, but Jon wasn't as good with it as Robb was. It didn't matter to Jon though, he was more than sure the both of them could catch the deer without Theon's help.

"Robb and I can catch it just fine without you." Without a moment to waste, Theon let the arrow go, only for it to miss. The sound of a snapping branch seconds prior to his shot had warned the wild animal that it wasn't alone and making it run off, dodging the arrow by the thinnest of hairs.

"Who did that?!" Annoyed, Theon spun on his heels towards them as he prepared to berate them. "You knew I had it and—"

Robb shook his head, brows scrunched together in confusion. "Calm yourself, it wasn't us. It must've been another animal." His brother's eyes observed the place one more time, hoping he could catch what sent the deer away. "We have to follow it or we'll be going back empty-handed."

"We're going to follow a deer all around the Wolfswood?" Jon asked, making it sound even more ridiculous to him. He didn't, however, want to go back and show that their hunt had been for nothing. It was embarrassing, especially with the fact that three boys, almost men, couldn't catch a single animal? He knew their father would be disappointed, even if it he didn't say so. Just the look on his face and his pity encouragement was enough to seep deep into their bones and make them feel that they could've done better.

"We're going to split up and meet back here." Robb, always wanting to be the leader in things, had suggested. "Don't stray too far." He warned, giving them all a serious look. "Theon, put an arrow to the ground here so we'll know it's the right spot."

Rather reluctantly, Theon one of the several arrows out of his quiver and stab its sharp head into the ground. "I'll be back with the deer." Theon smirked, mostly at Jon before the three of them had split apart. Just thinking of how cocky the Greyjoy felt about this stupid mission had urged Jon to try much harder.

Tightening his grip of his spear, his dark and grey eyes darted around at every single spot of the verdant woods. Not once had he caught sight of that deer they saw earlier, but he was sure it didn't matter if it was the same one or not. An elk would've been a bigger achievement, one that their father might be more proud of. The sudden need to be the better son flooded his mind, almost to the point he hadn't realized that near a some bright, evergreen bushes was a tall elk eating away at blades of grass.

When his eyes finally caught sight of it, Jon slowed down his steps and quietly side-stepped towards the closest tree to remain unseen. There was a good distance, distance that worked in his favor, between him and the elk that he was sure he could take it down. Calming his nerves, he slowly raised the spear and narrowed his eyes to keep his sights locked solely onto it. As soon as he felt prepared enough to throw it, an arrow had pierced clean through the elk's neck and then a second to give it a quick death.

Its large body flopped to the ground, right on its sight, in the loudest of thuds that scared off birds that were in the treetops. The quickness of it all startled him and then incensed him all the same. "I almost had it!" Leaving his cover, too angered by his golden opportunity gone to waste, Jon stood out in the open to confront Theon. Seconds turned into minutes and he was still out there, by himself, right near the dead elk. He didn't hear a single sound as he spun around, looking for any sight of Theon.

"You were taking too long." His eyes snapped left, his angry expression slowly morphing into one of shock.

"Arden?!" Jon supposed that he shouldn't have been shocked, knowing just how she was after all. She came from behind a tree, looking rather anxious as she chewed on her bottom lip. "You could've gotten hurt out here!" His steps were nearly frenzied as he closed the distance between them, his eyes roaming all over her form to see if she hadn't gotten herself hurt while out here. "What would I tell Father and Lady Stark had something happened to you out here? You do know wild animals and Wildlings come out here, don't you?"

Arden slung the bow on her shoulder, fixing it a bit as she adjusted the strap of her quiver. "The three of you were taking too long and I was worried." Despite how furious he wanted to be for her putting herself in danger like this, he couldn't help but find his lips twitching upwards into a smile. Sometimes he thought Arden and Arya were going to be the death of him for their affinity for chaos. They just couldn't just be proper ladies like Sansa, sit in one place and sew. Arden could sew, quite well actually, but she claimed the talent was good in case she needed to stitch a wound. Most girls strayed from wounds, except for her.

Unable to say anything more since it was already done, he shook his head and walked back towards the elk. "C'mon, help me tie it before another animal smells it and fights us for it."

The Dornish girl quickly made her way over, bending her knee in order to grab its hind legs while he grabbed the front ones to tie together onto the spear in efforts to carry it. Her violet eyes would occasionally glance at him, "If you want, I can hurry on to Winterfell and say that you were the one who caught it."

"They'll know it wasn't me." Jon's grey eyes pointed to the arrows as he spoke, "Only you and Theon are the ones that good with a bow."

"Robb is going to get angry, isn't he?" With a half smile, Jon gave her a nod as his answer. "I hate when he's angry with me. He gets so fussy." Sighing, she helped him lift it up, placing the blunt end of the spear atop of her shoulder while he kept the dangerous part, the bladed end, atop of his.

"You should've thought of that before you came out here." He heard her suck her teeth, making him chuckle as she hardly prepared herself for what was to come. "He probably won't be too angry seeing as you helped catch the supper he wanted."

Jon couldn't very well believe what he said. Robb was the protective brother, rather smothering his siblings than letting them have any free reign, mainly the girls. He didn't have to worry about Sansa seeing as she loathed these kind of things, but Robb constantly scolded Arya and Arden a lot due to their needs for adventure.

He led them back towards the spot that he was meant to meet up with Robb and Theon, just to see the two of them waiting with their arms crossed over their chests. It seemed that neither one of them had caught anything. Both of them were surprised when they caught sight of Arden as they approached. As of expected, Robb's surprise quickly withered away.

"Arden?" Robb called her name, voice laced with annoyance like she feared. He could tell without looking at her that she was grimacing at the moment, possibly cursing coming out here now. "What're you doing out here?"

"She was worried." He found himself defending her, as always, and sighing a bit when Robb's heated gaze was now at him. "Don't be too hard on her now."

"She shouldn't be out here." Looking back at Arden, Robb took several steps towards her. His hands rested on her shoulders, making her seem smaller even though she was taller than most girls. "You're not hurt anywhere are you?"

"I'm not." She sounded rather frustrated. "I can take care of myself." She slapped his hand away, not roughly, but enough to warn that she didn't want or like his doting. "I'm a big girl." Arden stressed, erasing the slouch of shoulders and tilting her chin up, "A woman-grown."

"Oh, you're definitely a big girl." Theon whistled, smirking afterwards just to receive a glare from both Jon and Robb simultaneously. "What? She's a woman now, we all can see it."

"See it less and quietly, will you?" replied Robb as he checked Arden again, almost having to make sure she was fine to his standards. "I told you before that you couldn't come out here with us and you still did it anyway."

"And I'm fine, aren't I?" Jon caught her giving Robb a small smile, trying her best to assure him that there had been no need for him to worry. "If I would've waited for the three of you, you all would've came back with nothing. A shame, really, that the three of you couldn't even catch a little rabbit."

Embarrassed and annoyed, none of them had the proper comeback or explanation. That is until Theon refused to let his pride be any more wounded than it already was, "I almost caught myself a deer until somethin' scared it off."

"Right." Rolling her eyes, she let Robb take her end of the spear in order carry the large elk. "C'mon now before Lord Stark wonders if his sons and ward got themselves lost out here."

"Aren't you missing stitching lessons?" Robb asked, not taking more of her jabs. "Septa Mordane won't be happy."

"When is she ever?" Arden mumbled, making both Robb and Jon laugh due to how true it was. The Septa was scary and always angry from what Jon always saw. "This is fun isn't it? The four of us, out in the woods, about to eat some tasty elk when we get on home."

Robb didn't share her enthusiasm. "You should be more worried about my mother and father finding out you were out here."

"How about we not talk about that?" Jon watched the Dornish girl squint her eyes in feign aggravation as they walked their way to their horses so that they could ride back home.

ARDEN

Steady breaths.

She learned to take steady breaths whenever she was in trouble or else she'd start rambling, making excuses that always didn't make sense. Lady Stark had the ability to dissect everything she said and prove her wrongs in several different ways. The woman made it easy to make her regret everything she wanted or what she did, and that regret for running off to the Wolfswood was sitting in the pit of her stomach. "What were you doing in the Wolfswood?" The question she knew that would come came and Arden couldn't think of a single excuse. She tried to find one, thinned out to elaborate; any known to man to make, but nothing. Nothing. Absolutely nothing could come to mind. It would've been better to just take the lecture and be done with it since there was nothing she could say or do to change it all.

"You could've gotten hurt," Lady Stark's eyes were like a blizzard or perhaps, more like a solid block of ice. "You could've gotten killed." She stressed to show the severity of the situation she rose herself in. "What if they mistook you for a Wildling or one of the animals? An animal could've attacked you and nobody could've known you were out there."

All the scenarios could've played out, Arden could at least mentally admit that. Still, she couldn't help but find that the woman was being overdramatic. It all really stemmed down to the fact that Lady Stark believed in to be proper little things; masters of sewing, singing, and manners galore. Arden tried to live up to that. She took her lessons diligently and tried her best to please the Septa and yet it was all so boring. When she read the story of women warriors, Arden wanted to be a little like them. She wanted to keep her femininity as well as obtain the masculine arts of fighting and war tactics. Arden never understood why a woman couldn't have or do both. Dorne wasn't as strict and allowed their women to fight. There were even a few Westerosi women that fought, but they had gave up their dresses and voices for song in some ways in order to achieve that.

"I'm a good archer." She found the will to defend herself, "I am very capable of protecting myself. You should worry not, Lady Catelyn."

A sigh escaped the woman, her pale and petite hands gathered both of Arden's own to hold. "You are like a daughter to me, Arden." said Lady Stark, her voice soft and warm. "I feel as though you were my first girl, right before my Sansa." That made her heart flutter and it made her smile. "I fed you from my breast, just like you were mine because you are mine in all the ways that it matters."

Arden felt the same about Lady Stark, considering she never knew her own mother since the woman died when she was a few hours new to the world. Lord Stark never wanted to speak of how her mother perished, but she heard the rumors amongst the halls of how her mother threw herself from a tower and into the sea.

It left Arden unsure of whether she should pity or hate her mother for having done that and leaving her behind in this world. When she was younger, less willing of having a different perspective than her own, she held a deep hatred for Lord Stark. It began when she learned of what happened to her uncle and her mother. It wasn't his fault, at least she wasn't sure if she grew to realize that or forced the thought onto herself. It wasn't his fault, not an entirely, for her mother's death and her uncle did side with the man that had taken Lord Stark's sister after all. It was also Howland Reed that gave the decisive blow as well.

It left her feeling quite numb and unsure most days and then others, she felt no reason to feel anything because she had loved the Starks and was loved by them in return. She loved it here, even if her mind did sometimes wonder how life would've been back in Dorne at Starfall. How much of a difference would it have made? What would she be like? Bastards, from what she read, were treated much better there than they were here in Westeros.

"I know." Her voice was soft, weak in will in the slightest of moments. "But I am not a little girl, I'm a Dornishwoman. My people take pride in women warriors, I can't—I won't forget that." She knew those words seemed to pierce the woman in the heart because it reminded her that blood did matter in some ways. It built a wall, small as it may be, but it was there and its presence could not be ignored.

Her eyes caught Lady Stark's nod, slow and rather feeble. "You are right," She began to say, "it is in your blood and I cannot change it no matter how much I wish to."

"Lady Catelyn, I…" Her guilt made the words sit in her throat, knowing she'd feel worse if she actually said them. It surely hadn't compared to how Lady Stark felt of her pushing who she really was in the forefront.

"I know." Was all she said, meaning there was no need to explain. Arden wanted to, she wanted to apologize, but Lady Stark would have none of it. "Make sure that Arya is dressed and goes to lessons. There are a few things I must attend to."

Nodding, Arden watched the woman leave her bedchambers to drown in uncomfortable silence. If only she took the woman's feelings into consideration instead of stressing her stubborn desire for freedom to do and be what she wanted. It wasn't fair to project her frustrations on someone that only cared for her wellbeing.

"All right." Letting out a much needed exhale, Arden tried to school her expression into something happy and playful, one that Arya would rather meet. She hoped Arya was already awake for she didn't want to tousle and fight the girl just to simply get her out of the bed. Arya in the mornings was quite the little monster. She would cling onto the blankets for dear life and roll herself into them, all so she could avoid lessons with the Septa. Arden couldn't say that wasn't how she truly felt inside. Sometimes she wanted to roll in the blankets herself and sleep during the duration of lessons. By the time she would hypothetically wake, she could do whatever it is that she wanted.

A little too good to be true, Arden supposed.

Her mother was a handmaiden for Princess Elia Martell, both Lord and Lady Stark told her that. Whether if her mother was a good or bad one was really unknown, but Arden couldn't help but think that her mother was a good one. She had to for a princess and the two were said to be quite close. Who would keep someone that was terrible at their duties? Friendship couldn't necessarily cover that completely. So at times, Arden thought that she had to be the same just to feel some sort of kinship with a woman she didn't really know.

When she reached the younger Stark girl's door, she pressed her ear to the door to hear if there was noise from the other side. At first, she heard shuffling of barefeet, which made her wonder if Arya was fully dressed. Then she heard mumbles and the forceful sound of a drawer being shut. Arden decided to give the girl a solid minute before she opened the door to see that Arya's was mostly dressed, but it was her hair that was a wild mess.

"Arden." The girl called her name, rather enthusiastically since she knew what it meant when Arden came to retrieve her for the mornings.

"Let me brush your hair." Knowing that Arya could barely do a simple braid, the young girl said nothing but flopped down to a chair, waiting for Arden to take the brunette's unkempt locks.

Her fingers, long and pale, had slipped between the swinging strands of hair that belonged to Arya. "I don't want to go to stitching lessons." Her every day mantra, meant to cool her frustrations since they couldn't change anything.

"Neither do I." Arden replied, sighing even. "I just came back from the Wolfswood."

Intrigued, Arya's big and grey eyes looked up at her from the reflection of the mirrors. "What were you doing in the Wolfswood?"

"I followed Robb, Jon, and Theon." The both of them instantly smiled, "They took too long hunting and so I followed them."

"You should've took me with you!" She expected the girl to say that.

A section of hair was now free of tangles while the others are not, but she sooner rectifies it with a few strokes of the brush. "I would have but I did not wish to wake you. They left at dawn and I waited for three hours until I went looking for them."

"Did you catch anything?" Arya asked, "If it took them that long then I know they didn't."

Arden couldn't help but laugh at how Arya knew them too well, "I did. I caught an elk. He's quite big and took two arrows to the neck, but he went down."

"His neck must've been thick to need two arrows." Arya mumbled, "I don't really like elk or deer, not that much."

"It was the closest thing we could find. I suppose I should've looked for a turkey for you, huh?" Arden watched her nod, her mouth looking as if it wanted to water at the thought of a roasted turkey for supper. Arden couldn't deny that had sounded much better than elk too.

"We should go riding later." Her suggestion made Arden frown, really because she loathed horseriding. She hated the way her thighs would be so sore and even though she loved the wind whipping her hair, she didn't love the price she had to pay for it. She liked to watch Arya and Bran ride, hearing them laugh as Robb and Jon would lead them around. That had been more satisfying than being ahorse.

Weaving the girl's hair into a braid with all the tangles and knots gone, she prepared to make it all into a neat and braided bun. "How about you go on riding and I just watch?"

CATELYN

Her duties pulled her to many places, everywhere and anywhere, outside and inside of Winterfell. Her legs were used to the long walks and standing for hours, which made her all the more grateful when the sun finally sunk and the moon took its place. The best part was when she could lie down by the fire, curled next to Ned, and sleep soundly. It was her duty as the Lady of Winterfell, but her duty as mother tired her and stressed her more than running a castle.

Her blue eyes looked away from Luwin, just to observe her home, and caught sight of Arya running through the courtyard and to the stables with Bran right behind her. She watched curiously as they met with Robb and Jon Snow, who were smiling and tousling their hair. Hodor came to greet them, smiling and excited as the half-giant always was. From the looks of it, he was told to prepare their horses and she knew more than anyone that it meant they would ride around the castle.

Coming rather late to the joyous bunch was Arden, who walked with little Rickon at her side and their hands clasped together and swinging. She speaks to him and him to her, the boy never so shy when she was by his side. Rickon and Arden were quite close all because Arden been so enraptured by a baby when she understood what a baby really was. When Sansa was young, she was a toddler herself, and Arya and Bran, she was only five or six. Six years ago, when Rickon was born, Arden had affinity for him and hated parted with him when he had to be fed. If anything, the boy became spoiled for attention because of her and he had a hard time unlatching himself from others due to her clingy nature with him.

"I am not a Stark."

Arden's words echoed inside her head, bringing that needle like pain through her heart in the same essence as when she first heard it. It was the truth, Catelyn knew that more than anyone, but it still hurt to hear it than it was to acknowledge it.

Arden Sand was hers, she declared it so, just a few months when the girl was forced into her life. When she first met this Dornish girl that Ned felt obligated to take care of, she was just a sickly and small thing in a bundle of lilac blankets. She was not weighty and red like her Robb was when he was born, but fragile and pale because she had been born too soon. Most times, Catelyn had been so afraid to touch her for she had been worried that the baby would fall apart beneath her fingers or be crushed in her hold. When her fears had lessened, she fed the girl plenty with her teats, hoping the child would gain more weight since she didn't feel as though the wet nurse fed her enough. It could've been her own excuses to get a glimpse of what it feels like to have and hold a daughter.

Before her eyes, Arden grew and became healthier with some bumps along the way. She was stick thin, delicate in health as a child, but the Seven ( as Catelyn prayed it to be ) had made the girl well in due time. Her milk, her love, and her faith had made that all possible. Now Arden was a beautiful girl that was a woman grown with hopes and ambitions despite her limitations. The girl knew the way of the court and the way of the bow like it was the rightful balance when it was the wrong scale.

"They've grown quite quickly, haven't they?" The Maester frightened her for a second, but she hadn't let it show. Catelyn stood still, her eyes observing her children and the bastard Jon Snow.

"They have." She smiled, sadly, as she watched Robb laugh and Arden glare her eyes she could narrow like fine daggers back at him. "Too quickly."

"When will you tell Arden that she has received a letter from her lord cousin in Starfall?" Catelyn wanted to ignore his question, to act as if it was never asked. All mention of Starfall, she wanted to push away, just to keep Arden close to hearth that was Winterfell.

Her eyes glanced at Luwin, who gave her a knowing look. "Not yet. Just give me a little more time."