AN: Thank you for the comments, follows and favorites. I'm so happy that this fic is so popular (not used to get that much feedback). You are the best! Now here is the first chapter. I'll start with Catelyn POV! Have fun and don't forget to comment, I'd like to hear your opinions! If there are mistakes please tell me so I can change it.

Edited: May 9, 2019

When the first rays of sunlight came through the windows, it made Catelyn Stark smile. The sun was rarely visible here in the north and she loved it dearly. At Riverrun, the seat of her family, sunshine was one of the most natural things. At Winterfell it was the cloudy sky and harsh weather, but over the years she came to like it here. It was her home now for almost sixteen years, hers and that of her children. She pushed the heavy furs away and stood up. Her chambers were always warm even without lighting a fire and she could sit there in only her nightgown. She wouldn't even freeze with nothing on but her own skin. Tonight, she had slept alone in her bed. Her husband was still mourning Jon Arryn, who had been like a father to him. It had shocked them all, when the raven had arrived with the message that the Hand of the King had passed away from a sudden fever.

She dressed in a light blue wool dress with a fur collar and did her hair. Here in the north she solely ever needed a handmaiden to help her getting dressed or prepared for the day.

On her way to the Great Hall to break her fast she crossed the courtyard where the boys were already training their swordplay. She smiled first, but then quickly looked away when she spotted her husband's bastard son Jon Snow among the group. Every time she laid eyes upon him her heart ached. Jon Snow had the dark hair and grey eyes of the Starks while her own offspring had the Tully traits, auburn hair and blue eyes. He reminded her every day that her husband had been unfaithful, that he had dishonored her. The noble Lord Eddard Stark to whom honor was the most important thing in life.

She shook her head and continued her way to the Great Hall. Her girls were still eating, and she was happy to see that both behaved. It was quite uncommon for Sansa and Arya not to argue with each other. Especially Arya was a real troublemaker.

"You look happy, mylady. Is it the sun?" Her husband Ned was sitting at the table already finished with his meal.

"Yes. It is very lovely outside, but I fear we have to start preparing today." She sat down on the chair next to him. "The king and his court will be here in little more than a fortnight. There are a lot of things to organize before we are ready to receive his grace."

He nodded and offered her some bread and a honeycomb.

"I still find it unbelievable that Robert honors us with his visit or burdens us if you ask me." He laughed.

Catelyn had just eaten the last of her blackberries when one of the guardsmen, Desmond, entered the hall. He bowed.

"M'lord, there is a rider at the northern gate. He says that he has a message for you and just for you personally. Shall we let him in? I think he's a knight but wears no sigil or banner."

"Aye," Ned answered. "Bring him here. I'm curious who sends a knight as a messenger." Catelyn was curious too. She hoped it wasn't a message from the king's party and luckily it wasn't. She didn't know the man who entered the hall nor was she able to identify the sigil on the wax seal of the letter. Ned seemed to recognize it and gave the knight a concerned look before inviting him to sit at the table. He ordered the rest of his household to leave the Great Hall and when he looked at her she could swear he was thinking of sending her away too. But he didn't.

"I must apologize for disturbing the breakfast, mylord, but I fear we do not have much time. My men spotted a scouting party carrying stag banners and I prefer not to be around here when Robert arrives. I am sure you know why!"

Catelyn inspected the knight more closely. As Desmond pointed out he wore no sigil but his way of talking gave him away as a highborn. He had fair hair and skin, his armor was polished and shining, silver plates with golden ornaments and golden chain mail. Too fine for an ordinary knight.

"Aye, it would cause me an awful lot of trouble," Ned answered and looked at Catelyn. "I would rather not involve you in this, but I guess I have no other choice. Please meet Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning and former Kingsguard to Aerys II Targaryen, the Mad King."

"It is a pleasure to meet you in person, Ser Arthur. I might be wrong, but we heard you died in the war while fighting my husband and his men in Dorne." Catelyn was confused and disappointed that Ned had lied to her. She remembered the servants talking about how her husband's party had slain three men of the Kingsguard including Ser Arthur Dayne to get Ned's sister Lyanna back. They also gossiped about the beautiful Lady Ashara Dayne, Ser Arthur's sister who was supposed to be the mother of Jon Snow. Could it be true?

"Many good men lost their lives in the war. I have learned a lot from Lord Commander Gerold Hightower and Ser Oswell Whent was one of my closest friends. It pained me when they died, but we swore an oath and our orders were clear. Nobody was allowed to get near Lyanna Stark. Your lord husband defeated us, and he was merciful enough to spare my life."

Ned broke the seal and unrolled the paper.

"You talk about oaths and, yet you do not serve the king," Catelyn said.

"I do not serve Robert Baratheon for he is not my king. I remain loyal to House Targaryen and that is why you do not want me being here when Robert arrives."

She looked at Ned who was still reading the letter.

"Ser Arthur are you sure that Robert does not know about what is written in this letter?" Ned asked. Catelyn sighed. Her husband looked concerned. She put her hand in his.

"No, I am not sure. Both men died before we could question them in detail. The older man mentioned Varys and that they were after the prize Robert offered for the heads of Viserys and Daenerys."

Ned exhaled. "I hoped he would give up on them."

"They pose a threat to his claim. He will hunt them down until they are both dead. When one of them has sent word to Varys our cause is lost, and we will all die!"

Catelyn stood up. "Ned, what is he talking about? What have you done?" She could hardly keep her anger at bay. "You and Robert have overthrown the Targaryen dynasty. Why are you suddenly concerned?"

Ser Arthur took a few steps back and lowered his head.

"It is about the boy." Ned started.

"The boy?"

"Jon. I lied to you about him!" Now Catelyn was more than angry.

"What part was the lie? It seems Ser Arthur knows. Was there something between you and his sister?"

Ser Arthur coughed. "Ashara was never interested in timid boys. It was the wild wolf she invited into her bed. No, I fear my late sister has nothing to do with that lie."

She thought about what he had said. "Wait, you mean Brandon broke his vows?"

"My brother had that reputation. He had a lot of lovers much like Robert. Nothing comes from talking about the past and the dead. I lied to you when I said that the boy was mine." Ned explained calmly. It took Catelyn a moment to get what he had said.

"Then whose son is he? Another one of Brandon's?"

"Lyanna's!" He paused. "And the second trueborn son of Rhaegar Targaryen. That is why I am concerned and why I kept it a secret from you. You and the children are not involved; thus, Robert would not harm you."

"How many people know about him?"

"Not many. Ser Arthur, Howland Reed, his parents and I."

"His siblings as well and probably the Martells!" Ser Arthur added.

"Ned, how could you? You lied to Robert about the baby and your sister too? You kept her from him?"

"She started a war not to be with him! She said that she would rather kill herself than spend even one minute with Robert."

"What is written in that letter?"

"Lyanna is scared of Robert. She writes that there have been assassins in their house and that her daughter Alyssa almost got murdered in her bed. One of the assassins recognized her and they had to leave Essos. She is here and there is something really important she has to tell me. Something she cannot write in a letter."

"Then go see her. I will stay here and organize the preparations."

"I was ordered to invite Lord and Lady Stark to come with me," Ser Arthur said.

"I want to hear the whole story on our way. No more lies and no secrets." Her heart ached, and she felt betrayed. It was reasonable to not tell her back then, but after all those years she thought he would trust her. Robert would kill all of them anyways.

Ned went to the stables to ready their horses while Catelyn waited in the yard with Ser Arthur. The boys were still sparring. Like always Robb trained with Jon.

Ser Arthur observed them. "You must be proud of your son, my lady. He seems to be a good fighter for his age."

"I do not watch them very often. It pained me too much to see my children getting along with Jon Snow."

"I believe it was hard for you to have him here. He looks like a wolf among fish. No offense!"

"None taken. You are right. May I ask what his siblings look like?"

"His half-sister looks like her Dornish mother. Aegon and Alyssa both have pale silver blond hair and purple eyes. With the babies it's hard to say."

"That sounds exotic. I never had the chance to see a Targaryen before the war started."

"Trust me, mylady. There is nothing you have missed. I spend most of my life in their company. All of them were or still are mad in their own way. The only one who was close to normal was Queen Rhaella. They all have some obsession that is close to insanity."

Before Catelyn could ask more about it Ned arrived with the horses.

"I told Maester Luwin that we return by nightfall. If someone asks, we had to go because something happened that needed my personal attendance."

When they were on the road north Ned started explaining, but obvious to Catelyn he didn't know where to start.

"You should start with Harrenhal. It was the beginning and the end of many things." Ser Arthur suggested. "At least it's the beginning of their story."

"The great Tourney of Harrenhal. It brings back a lot of memories. Lyanna had nearly ruined our house twice in only one week. I know why my father was so reluctant to let her go with us. She caused more trouble than two Aryas." Catelyn couldn't remember seeing her husband in such a good mood.

"When I think back to it your sister nearly got herself killed once. With her daughter we have stopped counting. She plays in a whole different league and it gets worse every year." Ser Arthur mentioned.

"Is she there too?" Catelyn asked.

"Yes, she is. But she will behave in your presence. No need for concern."

"At Harrenhal Lyanna met Robert Baratheon for the first time." Ned continued. "She was horrified by the thought of marrying him. We should have listened to her. Robert of course was in love with her beauty from the first moment he has seen her. When he wasn't drinking he was only talking about her. Lyanna made herself known right on the first day at the feast. Didn't know what happened but my brother Benjen had teased her and she was so angry that she stood up and poured a whole cup of wine over his head. Everyone in the room has seen it.

"On the second day of the joust she participated as a mystery knight who was later called the Knight of the Laughing Tree. She did it to defend Howland Reeds honor. It ended with the Mad King demanding the knight's head. When we thought it could not get worse she was crowned the queen of love and beauty by Rhaegar Targaryen."

"I heard about that. Robert must have been really angry." Catelyn knew what it meant to give someone the crown of love and beauty.

"Brandon Stark was angrier. We thought he would explode any second. It is quite ironic he got so upset about his sister's honor while he had sired a bastard with my sister the night before." Ser Arthur paused. "He was lucky the king did not hear what he said. He would have lost his head the same day."

"Maybe it would have been better if he had heard it. The day after the tourney Lyanna returned to Winterfell with our father and brothers while I returned to the Eyrie with Robert. That day has been the last we have all been together. A few months later Lyanna and some guards were sent to Riverrun for the wedding. Brandon was angry at father for allowing her to go alone, but Benjen later told me that father knew Lyanna would never make it to Riverrun. He wanted to keep Brandon away from her. When her entourage reached Lord Harroway's Town, she ran away from the guards."

"I picked her up in Harroway's Town, so she could escape her guards. They were very dutiful, and it took some time to trick them but in the end, we took my horse and crossed the Trident with the ferry."

"I bet it was all her idea." Ned said shaking his head.

"She was quite resourceful."

"That sounds just like her. It makes me happy to be able to meet her again after all that time." Catelyn watched her husband. He seemed happier every second while she was fuming. It was hard to not show him how angry she was at him for lying to her no matter the reason. Earlier she had told herself to calm down, but it wouldn't let go.

"So, she was not kidnapped?" Catelyn asked into the silence. Both Ned and Ser Arthur shook their heads.

"I suspected it near the end of the war, after leaving King's Landing for Dorne," Ned continued. "In the Red Keep shortly after finding Ser Jaime Lannister in the throne room I searched for hints to find Lyanna. When I met Ser Gregor Clegane covered in blood I started to run. The only person still alive I found in the nursery. It was Princess Elia Martell. I have seen a lot of horrible things in the war but what Ser Gregor did to her was by far worst. She laid in a pool of blood barely conscious. When I came to her side she begged me to find my sister. In her last moments she told me where Lyanna was."

"Princess Elia has always been kind. She did not deserve to die like this."

"Why did she beg you? There must have been bad blood between Elia and Lyanna," Catelyn said.

"Lyanna took Aegon with her to Dorne. Elia seemed to believe I would not hurt the babe. Robert would have killed him without a second thought. It shocked me when I saw Lyanna with the infant. Seeing Jon for the first time was worse though."

"Why did you bring him with you? He could have stayed with her." Catelyn still didn't want to say the boy's name.

"No, my lady," Ser Arthur answered. "The war was lost, and Robert wanted all of the remaining dragons killed. We fled to Essos and it was impossible to take two infants and a newborn babe with us. They wouldn't have survived a day. Aegon and Rhaenys were given to the Martells and then your husband declared he would take the boy with him home to Winterfell. He named him his bastard, and nobody has ever questioned it, not even you."

The conversation was interrupted by a dead bird falling from the sky hit by an arrow.

AN: That's it! In my opinion Catelyn is not angry enough about the whole 'bastard story', but I think it's not like her to show her anger around other people. But she is really mad about it.

Next chapter is Aegon POV.