"So, how's Jaime been? And the others? Uncle Kevan? Uncle Tyg? Uncle Gerion? Aunt Genna? I'd ask Father but Father hasn't been telling me much as of late."

"Cersei, calm yourself! Take a breath!"

And so she did. It was nice having a comforting face around. Although Red was older than her, it did not matter. His auburn-coloured hair made him quite distinguishable but it was his eyes that marked him as a Lannister. Although, looking at his hair somehow reminded her of stupid, stupid Catelyn. Do you even have anyone to call a friend, Cersei? Her stupid words echoed in her head. Mayhaps his auburn hair comes from the Marbrands? Though his hair is quite fiery, it was not nearly as coppery as the Marbrands have, it flowed like a pure silk cloak.

Yet, her head kept ringing with Catelyn Tully's insipidly stupid voice.

"Jaime is alright from what I had seen him last. He's found himself a couple of good friends in Addam Marbrand and Elys Westerling. Although, if he's not with them, he's with your little brother, Tyrion. Uncle Kevan ..."

Tyrion. I hate that name. The name of a monster. Tyrion. Tyrion. Tyrion ...

"Oy, Cersei! Are you alright?"

"Oh. It's, uh, it's nothing, coz." Cersei said sheepishly.

"So, what do you make of the boys around here?" Red asked.

"They're nothing really. Greyjoy's off doing something, don't know what exactly but he's hardly ever around. Elbert Arryn, he's just a twat. Stannis Baratheon is quite boorish really. And Eddard Stark, heh, he's just stupid. He looks and acts like a horse in desperate need to be put down!"

"Stark interests me. Lucky bloke to be training under Ser Barristan," Red growled. What was he complaining about? He's squiring for Brynden the Blackfish. He's a legend much like Ser Barristan.

"Is it true what they say about the North? All of them filled to the brim with nothing but filthy savages?"

Truth be told, she never put much stock and thought in Eddard. She found him to be too quiet to her liking. I've certainly seen him stumble like a savage.

"Don't know. Don't care all that much. Why do you ask, coz?"

"Just to see just how strong the North really is! Even if he is trained by Ser Barristan, he won't be a match for me!"

Ugh! Stupid boys! Always thinking of their swordplay. I wonder if Jaime has gotten as stupid as Red? Or ... Bloodborn as he'd like to be called.

I hope you're not stupid, Jaime.


There should be some more ladies, he finds himself thinking. Though, it's not the thing to think about, especially during swordplay.

All of them quite lovely. Mina, with flowing and bouncing brown curls. Catelyn, with her fiery red hair. Cersei, who's as frigid as the gold she wears in her hair. Elia, who's dark eyes showed immense kindness. Ashara, alluring and vivacious. Mariya, quite lovely with her slightly delicate features.

Some more boys were being brought in to curry favor with Prince Rhaegar, but there should be as much girls as there are boys. There will be plenty of knights with few ladies to rescue. There was that Frey squire that came with Cat's uncle the Blackfish. Though he seems to be an interesting twat of sorts. Cat's brother would only be here for as long as the Blackfish would be here. Mayhaps, he could lend me a hand? Surely, he'd be better as a mentor than cranky old Ser Oswell?

He had heard that some distant Martell cousin would come to attend to Queen Rhaella along with the others, but not much else. Some other nobles would be visiting soon but that was it.

"Oy, Arryn! Are you even trying?" Willem Darry roared at him. He hadn't even noticed that his sword had flown away from his hand.

"Sorry, ser, Distracted. Won't happen again!" he said as he went to get his sword and resume his training with Stannis.

"What distracted you?" Stannis asked as he swung his sword.

"Ladies. Girls. That there should be more of them. One of them is bound to be my future wife. Mayhaps you'll find yourself a lady for yourself!"

"I'll likely marry a lady of the Stormlands. My father will be making arrangements, when I'm older." Stannis said. He's not putting up much of a fight.

"Maybe you already have found yourself a lady, Ser Stannis?" He then whacked at his arm.

"Shut your mouth. You haven't the faintest idea," Stannis said. A ... blush seem to come out of Stannis' face. Stannis is blushing! He has found a lady to call his own!

"Is that why you haven't given me your all? Your lady love isn't here to ... assist you?"

Suddenly, Stannis' eyes darkened and he began to ... I'm not sure what he's doing with his face. Is he trying to smile? Scowl? Smirk?

"... Arryn? Arryn? You alright?" said a voice. It was the unmistakable growl of Willem Darry; his large bear-like frame loomed over him. Myles and Rich were standing over him too. And ... Stannis.

Ours is the fury, indeed.


She loved the crackling sounds of its wicked and treacherous currents of the Blackwater Rush. It almost reminded her of the crackling waves that surrounded the Palestone Sword. She almost wanted to jump into the waves. The godswood was not like Starfall's. As her brother Aron once teased, she could not feel the presence of the gods; for this was no true godswood.

I do wish that Elia were here with me though. But she had been spending much time with Queen Rhaella, moreso than the other girls. It seemed pretty obvious to anyone that the Queen Rhaella was grooming her to be Rhaegar's bride and carry the burden of being Queen. And mayhaps dealing with the Mad King. From what Elia had told me, the Queen and her mother Princess Loreza had wanted their children to be betrothed and married to one another. She might think that she's honouring some old wish, but Elia would be a good queen. There was little chance for either of the other girls to be Rhaegar's bride. Especially that thorny Cersei, not even if Lady Joanna's ghost compelled the Mad King to do so.

Suddenly, she heard a loud crack. She then made her way to the heart tree. It was the northman, Eddard Stark, by the trunk of it. He looked intent as he seemed to be stabbing at the bark.

"Are you one of the Children of the Forest now?" she said teasing. Eddard Stark then jumped, clearly startled. His whittling knife had dropped. She could see that he had been etching a rather crude face on the bark. It looked almost like a laughing face.

"Lady Ashara! I'm terribly sorry. I didn't know that you were here!"

"What are you doing here, Ser Eddard?"

"I usually come her for peace and quiet. What are you doing here?"

"I came looking for the same thing. It gets quite boring simply doing needlework and gossiping with the ladies. But then again, there isn't much to gossip about. But this might be worthy of it - what are you doing?"

Eddard then looked to be as stiff as a board. She then made her way closer to the tree. The face did appear to be laughing, but it was still rather crude. It almost reminded her of the weirwood at Starfall.

It was then that she truly noticed his eyes. Grey; soft as a cloud. There was a fierceness in them matched by pride. It made him look like a feral wolf; the wolf he could be.

He must truly miss his home to be carving a ludicrous face into the tree. He clearly wasn't angry.

"You must truly miss your home, don't you Eddard?" she asked.

He then let out a heavy sigh. "More than I ever thought I could, my lady"

"I'm certain everyone here misses their home. Maybe even more than you. I know that I miss my home. I miss the crashing rapids and waterfalls of the Torrentine river. I miss how when the light of the moon or the sun hits Starfall just right, it makes it almost luminescent. Making it look like a castle made of light. I miss the shifting sands, that get in between my toes. I even miss the godswood at Starfall."

"You have a godswood?" he asked with curiousness. Curiousness, not admonishment.

"Yes, me and my brothers would play there all the time. There was another heart tree there, but all that remains is a stump. My eldest brother Aron is suspicious about what happened. Mayhaps the Children of the Forest had it cut? Or one of our ancestors had cut it?"

"it wouldn't make much sense for the Children to cut one tree and not cut another?"

"You almost sound like him"

"I think you and him would get along with Old Nan; she's a rather old serving maid at Winterfell" he said with a smile.

It was a rather faint smile. Close-lipped and lopsided, but nice. It was nice to see Eddard Stark smile.

"Tell me about your home,"

Eddard glanced at her. "Of the North?" he said, looking around them and rather nervous as well.

"Yes," she confirmed, "I know so little about it. And it sounds like you know little of Dorne"

He looked across at her. Her question, he thought fondly, must come from her own curiosity. Whether it was her curiosity about this far away kingdom, or her desire to know him better, Eddard was not sure, but he felt more anxious to oblige Ashara than he had anyone else before her.

"It's cold," he finally said, and Ashara laughed. She was beautiful when she laughed, Ned thought.

"That is as much as I learnt in lessons," she told him cheerfully, and Eddard could not help but smile too. Ashara made him smile more than anyone did, except his sister Lyanna.

"That's the important thing, I suppose," he conceded with a low chuckle; he did not see the way Ashara smiled at the sound, how she blushed a little. There was a moment of pause, before Ned asked, "Is that really all you've learnt? That it's cold?"

Ashara shook her head. "Well, no. We learnt about the division of the Kingdoms, about King Torrhen and Aegon. We learnt a little of the geography, about the Wall and Winterfell and White Harbor. But not very much at all,"

"It was more important that you learnt about your own kingdom," Eddard pointed out. "Back home we had learnt little about the south. That is before I came here."

"Just that it was hot?" Ashara joked, earning another chuckle. "If it please you, Ser Eddard, I would love to hear about Winterfell,"

Eddard pulled a face – he seemed to dislike being called 'Ser Eddard'. But he nodded, and leaned against the trunk of the tree, crossing his arms. "Winterfell. Well, it is a grand old castle, plenty of halls and chambers, with turrets and towers and dungeons perfect for exploring,"

Ashara's eyes sparkled, recalling how she had found Eddard and Elbert Arryn had been running around a week previously.

"The yard is always filled with activity," Eddard continued. "Soldiers training, dogs barking, horses being groomed and saddled. When the Lord of Winterfell holds court, people come in from the Winter Town, and sometimes from all around the kingdom, to lay their requests at his feet. He's a true Stark, my father, a reasonable man, and kind when he can be. We keep to our own gods up there, not the Seven they keep to down here; only the Manderlys at White Harbor are different. Most Northerners worship in the godswoods, outside where we're closest to the gods.

"It can get cold up north, yes – in the winter, the snow falls deeper than you can imagine, and sometimes you can't much see the sun. But Winterfell's kept warm by hot springs, and the walls thrum with the life of it. When our bannermen from further north come to stay, they're unused to such heat. The closer to the Wall you are, though, the colder and colder you get. The few Southern visitors we get find Winterfell to be freezing, but they get the warmest rooms and the best furs, and sooner or later they realise it's not the ice kingdom rumours say it is. And it really is not. There's nowhere else I would rather have grown up."

Eddard paused for breath; he had not talked that much at once in a long time, if ever. He missed home, and it was nice to talk about it. When he refocused his gaze on Ashara, she was watching him intently. After a moment, she realised he was not going to speak again, and said, "It sounds so… different,"

"It is," Eddard agreed, and momentarily he regretted telling Ashara so much, fearful that she would be put off him for it. "But different is not always bad,"

Ashara watched him for a long moment. And then she smiled. "No. No, it's not. In fact, Winterfell sounds wonderful,"

"I hope you get to see it one day," Eddard said without thinking. He stiffened immediately, and opened his mouth to rectify the situation, but Ashara cut him off.

"I hope so, too," she said simply, looking again at the crude carving at the tree's trunk. She turned to face him fully, her expression warm. "I believe it is nearly time to eat, my lord. Shall we…?"

Still slightly in shock, Eddard nodded and gestured for Ashara to lead the way. She smiled up at him.

"Ned"

"I'm sorry?"

"My family and my friends, they call me Ned."

Ned. She liked the way it sounded off of his tongue.

"Well then, Ned, shall we go?"