A/N: GRRM still owns everything. I hadn't really decided whether or not I was going to do a Theon chapter, then I realized that Catelyn had just run off to go to King's Landing and wouldn't be seen in my story until she met back up with Robb and Daenerys, so this is my first attempt at doing a Theon POV. I hope it's not too awful, it was really hard to get his voice as he's so irreverent and I am attempting to shift his story arc as well. Also I was having trouble with a timeline for major events but luckily I found one online that I'll be using. I'm still scheduled for surgery tomorrow morning so I don't know when the next update will be but I'll try to do it as soon as I'm able.

Theon I

Life in the castle had calmed down for the most part once Lady Catelyn departed with Ser Rodrik nearly two moons ago. Though after all the excitement of late, it was a relief and Theon wondered whether or not they could handle any more surprises. Every time he thought things could not get stranger, some new crisis seemed to happen. So he was glad that some sense of normalcy had returned to his life. However, Theon found himself surprisingly being asked to handle more responsibilities in the running of Winterfell once Lady Stark departed south, a task he had not expected considering that he was a Greyjoy of Pyke rather than a Stark of Winterfell.

Truth be told, he had always wanted to be a Stark. He had left Pyke as a hostage for his father's good behavior when he was ten and although he felt disloyal for thinking it, he realized that he had enjoyed life much more at Winterfell. The castle was nicer, the Northerns were more pleasant than the Ironborn, and the family dynamic was a vast improvement compared to how he had been raised. That did not mean he had not always been an outsider in Winterfell though. As kind as everyone had been, there was no getting over the fact that he was there to ensure his father did not rebel again, and if Balon Greyjoy tried, Theon's life would have been forfeit. It strained relationships a bit. The fact that he was the second ward that Lord Eddard had to take at King Robert's behest did not help matters either, particularly where Lady Catelyn was concerned. Oh, true, she had been more polite to him than she had ever been to Jon Snow, but still he was no blood kin to anyone there, nor was he promised in marriage to anyone so he was not guaranteed ever having any family connection with anyone there. He had in truth always envied Jon Snow for having a father like Eddard Stark, even if he was a bastard and a bit of an outsider too, he was still part of the Stark family. And while Robb was more of a brother to him than his true brothers had been, he could always hear his father's voice in his mind saying the words he had spoken the day he had departed Pyke, that he was a Greyjoy not a Stark. Theon knew deep down that as much as he loved Robb, he would have never felt obligated to help with the running of Winterfell if it had not been for Daenerys.

It had been Dany that Theon could relate to growing up in Winterfell. They were both outsiders as the wards of Eddard Stark. They had both also had taints on their heritage as she was the mad king's daughter and he was the son of a failed rebel lord. Somehow it had never felt disloyal for Theon to think of Dany as his little sister, the way it felt disloyal to think of Robb as his brother, maybe because his brother had died during the rebellion that the Starks had fought in while Asha was still alive, or possibly because Dany had never given him any choice in the matter. From his arrival in the north, she had followed him around, and in his loneliness, he had not discouraged her. He thought that once she learned that a ward was not a blood brother she would stop clinging to him, but she never had, and when Dany had asked Theon to give her away at her wedding, he had never felt more like he belonged in Winterfell.

The feeling had only increased since the arrival of that mad letter from Viserys Targaryen. After the shock of the whole thing wore off, he had mused aloud to Dany and Robb whether the Greyjoys were as mad as the Targaryens. Some of the sentiments in the letter had been remarkably similar to some of what Theon could remember his father saying before and during his rebellion. The remark had not gone over well with Robb who seemed worried about how Dany would feel about her family being called mad, but Dany had just laughed as Theon had hoped she would and said she doubted that even Balon Greyjoy at his worse would send a letter to the ancestral home of the Starks talking about his so called gracious plans to let the Lord of Winterfell take the black.

Theon thought that Dany was taking everything well in stride, but she had on occasion begun to remind him of the four year old girl he'd first met who called him brother and shadowed him everywhere. He supposed it was natural, she had just found out that her long lost brother was as mad as she always feared her family was and so she was clinging to the family she had made for herself. He was grateful for the most part as it made him feel like he still had a little sister, something that he had worried would change once Dany was truly a Stark by marriage, but with Lady Catelyn gone, the young couple was in charge and Dany had decided that Theon could help out and for that he was none too happy.

He had planned to enjoy life in Winterfell without any adult Starks by spending time going into town and paying calls on Kyra or else out hunting or long nights drinking. Instead he had been assigned various duties, from watching Rickon while Dany and Robb were occupied, to helping the men remaining in the castle practice their skill at arms, to riding with Robb to visit various holdfasts nearby. It was a bit exhausting and he was starting to regret his desire to be one of the family. It reminded him a bit of one of Old Nan's mad stories she'd nattered at him about people regretting getting exactly what they wished for.

But he put up with it and not just for Dany's sake. He imagined that life with the Starks was about to get more exciting now that he knew that Lady Lysa Arryn had told her sister of a conspiracy behind her husband's death. Theon longed for a good fight and while he would have been grateful to fight anyone really, it was the Lannisters that he most longed to quarrel with. After their awful visit to Winterfell, Theon was itching to knock some of the smug looks off their faces, particularly that brat prince. And he longed to test his skill at arms against the fabled swordsman Jaime Lannister. He imagined that he would soon get a chance with Lady Catelyn rushing off the King's Landing to try to find proof that the Queen and her brother had tried to kill Bran.

It was a reckless move on her part, Theon thought. Not that he didn't agree with her that the Lannisters were likely behind Bran's fall and his subsequent attack, but they had nothing in the way of evidence at present except for their own prejudices and the ravings of a grief ridden widow in a letter that Lady Stark had apparently already burned. The dagger might offer more concrete proof, but as Dany's dragon's eggs had taught them, there was clearly no guarantee that they were not all being watched in Winterfell. That was doubtless even more true in King's Landing where Lady Catelyn should be by now. He wondered how she would investigate the dagger's origins and he amused himself by briefly picturing her arriving in King's Landing and waving the weapon in the Queen's face while demanding answers. Theon thought that was unlikely though neither Lord not Lady Stark showed much political savvy. He doubted any of this would remain a secret and it would likely come down to a fight between House Lannister and House Stark and Theon would be ready.

He was currently trying to practice his archery skills while watching Rickon. The boy was more interested in running around the castle with the direwolves like a mad thing than he was at watching Theon practicing his skill at arms, but he had been forced to perform this duty today when Old Nan had been unable to find Dany to watch him. Theon thought he'd try to interest the boy with a demonstration. He'd been shooting with his usual accuracy and thought maybe Rickon would like to learn some tips. The boy was a Stark after all and the Starks were nothing if not serious, even at a young age.

"You want to keep your grip on the bow handle relaxed and comfortable, don't grip it too tightly or the arrows won't hit your target dead on. You need to relax and focus on your target, it might look like I'm aiming at a straw man, Rickon, but I'm imagining I'm aiming at Joffrey Baratheon's foul little head…"

"Theon! What are you teaching him?" Dany asked indigently as she walked into the practice yard.

"I was about to teach him about good follow through," he replied with a grin. "You don't want to lower your bow too soon or it will change the path of the arrow downward. Wouldn't want me to miss my target would we?"

"You can't say things like that to a four year old. Joffrey Baratheon is the crown prince, it's treason to talk about shooting an arrow at him," she said sternly. "You never know when Rickon will repeat your words." She smiled kindly down at Rickon and said, "The cooks made you a special treat, would you like to run go get it?" The boy nodded and ran off with Shaggydog on his heels.

"You've been married for a little over two moons and you've already become a stern lady of the North," Theon teased. "Where have you been anyway? He was asking for you. Anytime he loses sight of you and Robb for too long he panics that you've left and gone south too."

"It's too be expected I assume," she answered glancing around the yard. "I was with Maester Luwin. Do you know where Robb is?"

"He's off with Hallis being a good Lord of Winterfell," he told her, hoping that there was not another secret delivery that she needed to tell Robb about. Theon didn't know if he could handle anymore secret deliveries. "Why were you with Luwin instead of tending to Rickon? Has something else happened?"

Dany flushed and said, "No, it's nothing. I just need to speak to Robb. I have some… I just need to speak with Robb is all. Nothing is wrong."

Theon scrutinized the girl's flushed face trying to figure out what she was hiding. He knew her well enough to know that she was behaving oddly. She seemed nervous and excited, her purple eyes were practically sparkling and she kept avoiding eye contact with Theon, like she was embarassed. He began to have a suspicion of what she needed to tell Robb and it was not that surprising the way those two had been carrying on since the wedding. He was about to open his mouth to make a jest to put her more at ease when he heard a loud commotion from inside the castle.

Remembering all that had happened recently, Theon instinctively reached for his sword and moved in front of Dany assuming something else had gone horribly wrong. For all he knew someone had actually sent him a kraken and at this point he would not have been that surprised. He was about to draw his sword out of his sheath when one of the serving girls burst out into the yard yelling, "He's awake! He's awake! Master Bran is awake!"

A/N: Okay, like I said, I'll try to update as soon as possible after my surgery but I'll have to see how all that goes. Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and as always thanks to everyone for taking the time to read/favorite/alert this story. And especially thank you to those who reviewed! You guys are amazing and you keep me motivated!