The silent wolf was doing his daily patrols of the castle, giving advice when needed and keeping order. A boring yet stressful task. He was also keeping up with his own lessons and well as making sure his siblings kept up with their own, which was possibly the hardest task of the day. The Maester was of some help, but Eddard often found him to be more a gnat in his ear. It was like having his mother around, but worse. His abrupt departure home to Winterfell from Eyrie still had him a little sullen. He did enjoy being home, but both his father and mother had left the day after his returned with his older sister, Ravenna. Lyanna had told him that father and mother had been in a dispute for days on figuring out if he or Ravenna would be going to King's Landing.
Even though he was technically the heir to Winterfell, it was Ravenna who was the eldest and who knew how to run Winterfell like his father. Lord Stark had apparently been arguing that Eddard would be a better choice since he was the heir and Ravenna would be better fit to keeping Winterfell going in their stead. Lady Stark countered that the heiress and Ravenna were closer in age and there must always be a Stark in Winterfell, and it was about time Eddard learn how to take care of Winterfell without Ravenna constantly handing out advice. Benjen and Lyanna were still a little young to take care of the North, in the end, it was Ravenna who had to go and Eddard who remained home.
He was quite sure that he wouldn't be returning to Eyrie or seeing Robert Baratheon and Jon Arryn for some time. At one and six he was already considered a man grown and would be needing to learn how to be a proper Lord of Winterfell, not something he was looking forward to. The silent wolf still had a great deal of things he wished to do before taking his seat in the North. Ravenna would be better suited for this, everyone knew that, but it was Eddard who was born the male. He often wondered how life would be if Ravenna had been born as a boy.
"Reluctant wolf." The teasing tone of a girl claimed his attention as she threw herself at him in an embrace. Lyanna had grown since he last saw her, taller and older. It was clear she would become a beauty as she continued to grow. She often called him the 'reluctant wolf' because of his reluctance of taking over Winterfell."You won't believe what I saw."
"Little she-wolf, you really need to stop jumping on me you're getting rather heavy."
That comment got him a fist to the chest, one that actually hurt. Why was it both girls hit harder than the boys?
"It was huge, it looked like some sort of dog but bigger." Lyanna grinned from ear to ear as she went off into her story. She had a mischievous glint in her eyes as if she had done something grand.
"Aren't you suppose to be doing needlework with the Septa?" He interrupted her.
The smile fell and she looked at him as if he had sucked up all the joy out of the world. Eddard returned her frown with one of his own, slightly more stern. Whenever Lyanna missed her lessons he was the one punished by listening to the constant nagging of the Septa about how Lyanna would never be a proper wife without learning to do her needlework. The two Starks stared at each other, but in the end, Eddard was declared the victor as Lyanna gave an exasperated sigh and explained.
"I was going to go, but Ben told me that Lily had her pups." This time it was Eddard's turn to sigh deeply.
Lyanna had written about Lily in her letters, Lily was a loveable stray in Winter town, Lyanna and Benjen had gotten attached to her and often visited her whenever they could, they had dogs in Winterfell so many that mother wouldn't allow any more. What was so special about Lily he couldn't understand. "So we skipped lessons to go and see her. We were going to make the lessons up." She lied smoothly, ignoring the sounds that were coming from her older brother. "It was supposed to be quick, but we had to name the puppies and make sure Lily had food and water. Then we lost one of the pups cause Lily kept moving them around, so we looked for it for a little bit and when we couldn't find it I decided to head back but Ben wanted to stay and look a little longer so I went ahead of him. But on the way back here I saw it!" The pitch in her voice grew higher as she got more excited. "I don't really know what it was, but it was huge and it spooked my horse something fierce before running off."
All Eddard got out of that was that she left Benjen in Winter town by himself and that she skipped her lessons. He didn't remember being this much trouble at her age, that was often left to Raven.
"Lord Stark!" Eddard shut his mouth, unable to get words out as a guard ran up to him. He looked out of breath and very frantic as Eddard turned to face him. "They're attacking the Town!"
"What? Who is attacking?!"
"Wolves, there is a whole pack of them in Winter Town, they're attacking everyone."
Eddard and Lyanna shared an identical look with each other.
"Fetch my horse and the Captain of the Guards."
"It's already done, your horse and the Captain are waiting outside for you."
With a nod, Eddard strolled off heading to his room to get his sword with Lyanna at his heel.
"You're not coming, Lyanna." He didn't bother looking over his shoulder at his sister as he opened the door of his room and headed straight for his sword leaning up against the wall.
"I left him and I am going to get him. He's my brother too." Lyanna's voice wavered with strong emotions that Eddard could understand. However, he was going to make this clear. He slowly turned to face his sister, his eyes were as cold and harsh as winter.
"You're not coming. I understand how you feel, Lyanna, I do. But father and mother put me in charge. You and Ben are part of that responsibility. Besides, there must always be a Stark in Winterfell." The man allowed his frosty demeanor to drop when he found the tears beginning to form in Lyanna's eyes. Lyanna didn't cry.
"Mother, Father, and Raven left. Now Ben's in trouble because I left him and your leaving too." There was a quiver in her chin and the stubborn tears in her eyes wouldn't fall. "I don't want to be alone." She whispered. As independent as Lyanna acted she was still a Stark, she was still a wolf. Everyone knew that when the snow falls and the white wind blows the lone wolf dies and the pack survives. It was hard enough watching her parents and her the elder sister she looked up all suddenly leave, but now...
"I'll be back, Ben too. I'll bring him home. Mother and Father are supposed to be returning soon and Raven with them. We'll be together again." He reassured her as best he could, pulling the younger girl into his arms in a hug. Lyanna acted like this unstoppable force it was sometimes hard to remember that she was a girl and so young.
Lyanna clung to him for a moment longer before letting go as he laid a kiss on her forehead. "I'll be waiting." She assured him, with one more hug he left her standing there with unshed tears.
Once outside, Eddard found his horse, Swift, and his men waiting for him. He dipped his head to the Captian as he mounted his horse and kicked his horse into a fast gallop, his men following behind him. As they approached the village, they heard the sound of screaming and snarls. Eddard slowed Swift and freed his sword, the sound of blades being freed sang loudly behind him. The town was in chaos, a young woman clutching a screaming child to her bosom ran past Eddard, a large brownish wolf chasing after her.
Eddard swung his blade down in a strong arc, slicing the wolf across the side. The beast abandoned his pursuit of the woman and turned instead to snarl at him. Several more appeared, splitting his party up by snapping at their horses' legs, frightening them and forcing riders to gain control of their mounts instead of focusing on their target. That when they lunged, wolves knocking riders from their horses and going straight for the neck. Eddard wasn't as good a horsemen as his sisters, but unlike the rest, he managed to keep his horse under control while focusing on the wolves coming at them. Normal wolves would be too small for him to fight from horseback, but these wolves were massive, standing three even four feet taller than normal wolves.
Without warning, two circling wolves jumped at Eddard and Swift. Swift lashed out at a grey wolf, landing a kick to the side with an audible crunch. Eddard swung his blade at the other wolf, catching it across the leg. The pair fell back and resumed circling. Suddenly, they rushed again, however, before Eddard could make his move a crushing weight landed on his back, knocking him from his horse. He lost his grip on his sword and fell awkwardly with an arm pinned underneath him, pain twinging in his elbow.
He managed to roll over, the weight turning out to be another wolf. This one was nothing like his kin, he was monstrous, towering over the rest of the wolves easily matching the size of a full grown horse. His silky coat was whiter than snow, scarlet orbs glowed with decidedly human intelligence. There was no doubt in Eddard's mind that this wolf was the Alpha male. The grey eyes clashed with scarlet in a silent battle, it wasn't until Eddard tried to go for his sword did the Alpha move. Quicker than the eye could catch and as silent as the wind, the Alpha slammed a hefty paw down on Eddard's chest, forcing the air out of his lungs painfully.
Hot breath wafted over his face as long fangs snapped inches from his nose sending a fresh wave of fear into Eddard's body. He thought he was going to die, silently praying to the gods that Benjen was safe and away from all of this. He had squeezed his eyes shut waiting for the wolf to strike, yet peeled them open again when nothing came. The white brute was still staring and growling at him, but nothing else. He looked more as if he was observing him, Eddard took the chance to sneak out a dagger hidden at his side. He lashed out blindly with it, cutting the wolf vertically across his face.
The creature yelped before retaliating, digging his fangs into Eddard's arm. The wolf added pressure until he heard the bone creaking and then released. In his intense silence, Eddard somehow screamed with his whole body. The eyes wide with horror, the mouth rigid and open, his chalky face gaunt and immobile, the fists clenched with blanched knuckles and the nails digging deeply into the palms of his hand. Even in pain, the Silent Wolf lived up to his title.
He believed it was the sound of a mournful howl that kept the white wolf from killing him. The large head swung to the right, blood leaking down his face, ears perked to listen and then the alpha left the man. Eddard didn't move, staring after the wolf, heart still beating erratically and electricity coursing up and down his back. The white wolf let out few barks and then a commanding howl of his own, gathering his packmates. Eddard sat up with his good arm, panting as he watched the wolves retreating from the town as one unit.
Some grabbed their fallen and others just fled until it was just the white wolf standing at the entrance, waiting. That's when the last wolf came with something in her mouth. It was more of a wail than a scream and made the hair stand straight up on the back of Eddard's neck. It was the loudest most piercing sound he's ever heard. It sounded like a scream of wild panic. A scream of hysteria and disbelief, bordering on terror. In the last wolf's maw, she held the arm of young Benjen Stark, dragging him kicking and howling out of the town and away from Winterfell.
Okay, so I know I said that I wasn't going to add them but I changed my mind after getting another request about them. I might have to change some stuff in my other chapters because I really hadn't planned on adding them, but that's okay. The Stark family, with Ravenna replacing Brandon, will remain the same. I have no real clue what the age gaps were between them so I just made some educated guesses. But here are their ages in the story, and because I made Sintara a young heiress and Ravenna around her age, the rest of the Starks become younger as well.
Ravenna=18
Eddard=16
Lyanna=12
Benjen=11
In this chapter, it's been about two weeks since everything gone down at King's Landing. The Maester has received a message about what has gone on in King's Landing with the Starks from the queen in secret but hasn't told any of the Stark children since he believes that Lyarra will be returning soon enough. I don't think I"m going to do an Arthur and Lyarra chapter, but I'll explain what they've been doing whenever they show up again. Sintara and Ravenna will be at Winterfell in the next chapter
