Chapter III

It seemed as if I had been locked in my bedchamber since forever. This time the visiting schedule seemed to be stricter. I barely had any visits. But as it turned out the gods were merciful and Mother had to leave for some days to Riverrun. I didn't know for what but I was thankful. If I was lucky enough, maybe Father would let me out of this dungeon.

I got near the window. The yard was full of action, everyone running this way or the other. Even my brothers were in the middle of it.

"You should be getting ready." It was Father.

"Getting ready? For what?"

"Your Mother would probably kill me for this but you've already been punished for too long. Besides, no one can stop "the wolf blood" that runs through your veins, something I think your lady Mother hasn't quite understand yet." He said with a smile. "The wolf blood". I liked to think that we Starks descended from the direwolves, and so we carried their blood through our veins. Yet Father had only refer to it when talking of Arya or me. "Get ready, I have to do my duties as warden of the North." After that, he left.

I decided to use my own clothes this time, although I knew Robb's would be more comfortable. I put on one of my warmest cloaks as well. It might be summer but in the north, well, it was needless to say that that didn't mean "warmth" at all. I also got my little dagger, the one Jon got from Mikken, the smith. I ran as fast as I could, looking forward to be free, to get out of Winterfell. At the door I found my horse, already saddled, ready to be mounted. Apparently, Robb, Jon and Theon knew nothing about this: they were very surprised to see me.

"Father has definitely got a soft spot for you, sweet sister," said Robb drawing a wide smile on his face. I just answered with a funny face.

Lord Eddard Stark took his duties very serious which this time meant visiting one of the other Lords of the North. He usually received them at Winterfell but the Lord wasn't feeling very well and his Maester had strongly advised him not to go too far from bed. I think that's why Father was loved in the North. He cared as much for his Lords as he did for his daughters and sons.

My brothers decided to entertain themselves doing some horse races well ahead of the rest of the party. I would have joined them but for one time I preferred to stay at the rear, smelling and listening my freedom. Or well, I was, until Greyjoy ruined everything by shouting that I was a craven. My eyes snapped open in the blink of an eye and before anyone could say anything I was galloping towards those three idiots. When I was getting near I could hear them laughing as they ever had done before and then in a matter of seconds they were also galloping. Needless to say how exhausted were our poor horses when we arrived at the lord's castle, just before night broke.

We were received with great honor by the Lord himself. You didn't have to be a Maester to recommend that poor man to stay on bed. He did look terrible. He went one by one of us, remarking how strong Robb was or how remarkably similar Jon was to his father but with me was different. He did stop to say some compliments.

"Your eldest daughter, I would dare to say," he glanced at Father briefly and after he nodded, his stare went straight to me again. "What they say is true, then. With each passing day she looks even more similar to your sister. If it wasn't for that auburn hair and those blue eyes of the Tullys, anyway." I just draw a nervous smile, incapable of saying anything, not that I was invited to. Obviously he completely ignored Theon. After that greeting we were lead to the Great Hall, where a copious dinner was being served. I was really hungry but I remember that a Lady has to maintain certain courtesies at table, so I ate with a rhythm that seem to indicate that my stomach was just as the size of a chickpea. At Winterfell I wouldn't have stopped talking during all the dinner, but it was difficult to articulate any word in front of these strange people, especially when the Lord's sons were looking at me continually.

After dinner, servants were ordered to lead my brothers and me and the rest of the party to the guests' rooms while Father and the Lord talked peacefully near the fire. I was starting to follow one of the maids when one of the Lord's sons stepped in the way and offered himself to lead me personally. He said it so gallantly it was impossible to refuse the offer without being rude. I glanced at my brothers for some kind of help. The three of them just smirked. I was surprised even Jon had done it. It was the first time the three of them were on the same boat. I looked back to the boy and accepted his hand. He was silent at first, like trying to think what to tell me. In the end, I took the lead.

"This is the first time I've been so far from home."

"Oh, is it? I hope you're enjoying yourself then, my lady."

"I am, indeed. It was a warmth welcome and a marvelous dinner." We followed talking for a while but it didn't go on much further. Before going he kissed my hand and bowed. I gave him a warm smile hoping that he didn't take it for a sign that I liked him. I mean, he seemed nice but nothing else.

This room had views to the outer part of the castle which meant that now by night, a sky full of stars was looking down at me. I went to sleep promptly, unaware of what businesses kept my Father and the Lord wide awake on the Great Hall.

Lord Eddard almost certainly knew what his Lord wanted from him. They had been talking about old battles, about the long summer they had been granted with and any other subject they could have had the opportunity of talking. But those weren't the reason why he was there. The Lord cleared his throat and expose what Ned had been waiting for all night:

"I believe you've seen my sons, Lord Eddard. Quite strong boys and smart. I'm very proud of them," he made a dramatic pause and looked straight to the eyes of his Lord, "and yet I haven't quite achieved to marry my eldest son. His mother has such a soft spot for him she didn't let me even make arrangements for a future wedding. I couldn't resist but fulfilling her desires either, you see. So it would be a great honor if you could give your eldest daughter's hand in marriage to my eldest boy. I believe you already had glimpsed that, hadn't you, my lord?"

"I did, indeed," Lord Stark said, nodding and making the thinnest hint of a smile.

"And?"

"And I'm afraid I must decline this gentle offer, my Lord," the man was taken aback at first for the refusal but then he just nodded and looked at Ned waiting for more explanations, "as my daughter is already promised to Quentyn Martell, Prince of Dorne." Ned was happy he had decided to make this match beforehand. At first he felt bad as he promised Lyanna not to talk about marriage for a while but what she said on the yard that day about Dorne made him think. "Dornish women are treated equal to their men," his daughter had said. She was no Dornish women and she would never be one… unless she married a Dornish man. Not long after that, he talked with Catelyn and Maester Luwin, his counselor and tutor of his children. The Maester loved them as if they were his own blood and so he would know if it was a good match.

"For all I know about Dorne, I do think it's the perfect place for your daughter Lyanna, my Lord. I've even heard that prince Oberyn's daughters, so called Sand Snakes, are well trained in warfare," the Maester had said. Catelyn agreed but only partially as she thought their daughters were meant to be ladies, not warriors. But she too had to accept that Dornish princes were a perfect match for their daughter. "The oldest son of Doran Martell, Quentyn, hasn't yet been betrothed." Although it was usually done the other way around, Lord Eddard sent a raven to Sunspear. His response was back at Winterfell within a fortnight. The Prince Doran accepted his petition. He determined that on Lyanna's thirteenth Name Day, his son Quentyn and he himself would visit them at Winterfell in order to formalize this marriage proposal. It would be after her sixteenth Name Day that House Stark and House Martell should join.