Chapter 1
We Shall Rebuild
Lord Asher Forrester of Ironrath has always prided himself in being a strong fighter. After he was exiled from his home to Essos, Asher had become a sellsword to earn his keep. Five years after his exile, Asher returned to his home to try and defend it from the Whitehills. Unfortunately for Asher and the rest of his family, they did not prevail. It wasn't until Jon Snow fought Ramsay Bolton in the "Battle of Bastards" and restored Winterfell to house Stark that and other ancestral homes to their rightful families that Asher got to return home for good; or so he thought.
Asher was eating in Ironrath's great hall with his younger siblings when he was informed that a raven had arrived for him. He took the scroll and read the words written on the page.
"What is Asher?" his youngest sister Talia asks him concerned.
"Its a summons… from Queen Sansa. She is wanting me to come to Winterfell".
"For how long?" his brother Ryon asked, his voice was raspy.
"I'm not sure, but I know that when the Queen of the North calls I must answer" Asher responded not making eye contact with his two youngest siblings who were saddened by the news.
"That's not fair! We finally get to be a family again, and now the queen is wanting to separate us!" Talia exclaimed.
"Talia, you know it my duty to respond to Queen Sansa's demands, I can't ignore this" Asher responded.
"I know, it doesn't make it fair" Talia said under her breath. "Can I be excused?" she asked her brother, eyes feeling up with tears.
"Yes Talia, you may be excused" Asher said calmly. Talia arose from the table quickly and walked as fast as she could out of the great hall and to her room.
A few hours after dinner, Asher went to Talia's room to check in on her.
Knock knock
"Talia, can I come in?" Asher asked behind the strong ironwood door.
"Yes" Talia's voice rang out amongst sniffles. Asher entered her room and saw his youngest sister sitting in the corner of her room working on her embroidery.
"What are you making?" Asher asked.
Talia stopped and showed her brother her handywork, it was an ironwood tree with a sword down the drunk, their house sigil. The words Iron from Ice written on the top, their house motto.
"This is great Talia!" Asher exclaimed.
"Thank you, I wanted to give something back to our family. To remind us that we are strong, no matter how much we have lost" Talia responded.
"Talia, you know that I have to go" Asher stated a second time.
"I know" Talia responded.
"Then why are you so upset?" Asher questioned, looking at Talia's blotchy face and tears forming in the corner of her eyes.
"The last time a lord of Ironrath left Ironrath, they never came back" Talia stated. Asher was shocked, but she was right. When their older brother Rodrik left to bring Asher back to Ironrath, he had been killed by Gryf Whitehill.
"This is different Talia, I will come back" Asher attempted to reassure her.
"Don't make promises you can't keep Asher. Besides, sometimes its the waiting that is the worst" Talia stated. Asher was hurt, the last thing he wanted was to upset his family. He wanted to care for them and make sure that they were safe, but he knew that it was his responsibility to go to Winterfell as Queen Sansa commanded.
"It is hard to watch everyone else leave, wonder if they will ever return and wait. That's all I ever do is wait. I want more than that" Talia continued talking, giving Asher more information behind her distress.
"I can understand why that could be hard, you know I hate waiting" Asher responded with a coy smile on his face. Talia hit Asher playfully on the head with her embroidery. Asher laughed, he was just happy to see that Talia still had her fire.
"I'm serious Asher!" Talia stated.
"I know, I know" Asher said looking back at Talia. "You know, the scroll didn't say anything about me having to come alone".
"A Forrester has to be at Ironrath, we can't all go with you to Winterfell" said Talia.
"Yes, but I wasn't offering this to everyone. I was offering it to you. I can't imagine what life would be like if I always spent it behind these gates. The only time you have really left Ironrath was during the exile, you deserve to get to see more of the world" Asher's kind words made Talia smile.
"You are going to leave Ryon in charge of Ironrath?" Talia questioned.
"Not necessarily, he is still very young but Mira is also here as well as Duncan Tuttle and Beshka, I'm sure that everything in Ironrath will be alright if we sneak away for a bit" Asher stated.
"Ryon won't be happy" Talia responded.
"Ryon is going to have many adventures in his life, when he is older and Mira has probably had enough adventure for the time being. Remember she was at King's Landing during the whole Joffrey situation. I'm sure she will be more than happy to stay here". Asher reassured.
"You are genuinely asking me to go with you to Winterfell? The capital of the North?" Talia asked. Asher could gather a sense of excitement in her voice.
"Talia, I am genuinely asking you to go with me to Winterfell. So, what do you say?" Asher responded. Talia smiled back, stood up and walked towards her bed. She slowly turned back towards Asher.
"So when do we leave?" she asked, smiling back at him.
"Tomorrow morning, you best pack and get some rest" Asher got up and kissed his sister on her forehead. "We have a big day tomorrow. Have a good night Talia". Asher said as he left her room.
The journey to Winterfell felt a lot longer than what Talia expected. She was thrilled when they finally arrived at the gates, she was tired and was anxious to meet Queen Sansa. Asher and Talia walked through the halls of Winterfell Castle into the great hall where Queen Sansa stood. Next to her was her younger sister Arya staring back at the Forrester pair.
"Your grace, I am Lord Asher Forrester of Ironrath and this is my sister Lady Talia. You summoned me?" Asher said walking closer to Queen Sansa.
"I did Lord Forrester, thank you for responding so quickly. Before we get started I would like to introduce my sister Arya Stark and humbly welcome you to Winterfell. I trust that you had a safe journey?" Queen Sansa asked. Talia was fascinated by the queen. She was very eloquent in the way she spoke, the way she stood, she was basically perfect in every way.
"It is an honor to be in your presence. I must ask though, why have you summoned me?" Asher asked. Talia always admired how direct Asher was, he wasn't afraid of anything in her eyes. Asher on the other hand knew that he used his bravery and bravado as a front for when he was most terrified.
"I admire your directness Lord Forrester. That you will get you far here. I summoned you here because I have a task for you. Winterfell recently lost it's master-at-arms and we are needing a replacement, although for the time being we are unable to fill that role permanently. I need a strong fighter, loyal to House Stark that can fill the position for the time being" Queen Sansa requested.
"You want me to be your master-at-arms? I am humbled by your grace, but I have my own keep to run, a family to take care of. This is a huge task to take on" Asher stated.
"I understand your hesitation Lord Forrester, I know this is a lot to ask, but I do not know of any other house or any other fighter that is worthy for this position. It is temporary, keep in mind. I don't want to keep you from your family forever, and I am sure you left Ironrath in capable hands" Queen Sansa stated. Asher looked down and then back at the queen. He quickly realized that he doesn't have much of a choice in the matter, the queen has her eyes set on him becoming the master-at-arms and he is unable to say no.
"Yes your grace, my sister Mira and brother Ryon have things under control" Asher responded.
"Good, Arya here will show you to your chambers. I do apologize, I didn't know you would be bringing a companion. I don't have another chamber available at this time, but will work on having one set up for Lady Talia" Queen Sansa stated. Talia smiled when Queen Sansa said her name, even though Talia is from a noble family she never expected to speak with royalty, even an elected royal.
"That is alright my queen, my sister and I will be fine for the time being" Asher said, bowing at Queen Sansa's feet. Following her brother's lead, Talia curtseyed and looked up at the queen and princess. Talia could see from the corner of her eye, Arya Stark rolling her eyes at the show. This made Talia feel embarrassed; she didn't know if she did anything wrong and didn't want to give the Stark's any reason to hate the Forresters.
Queen Sansa bowed her head back at Asher and Talia, and Arya walked down the steps with Asher and Talia following closely behind her. They arrived outside a room, and Arya stopped.
"This is the master-at-arms chamber, I am sure that you will fit right in here Lord Forrester. Please make yourself at home" Arya stated opening the door and handing Asher a key. Arya looked right at Talia and simply said, "Lady Talia" and walked back in the direction that they had just come from.
Asher and Talia walked into the chamber and took it all in.
"I can't believe we are in Winterfell! I never thought I would get to see it!" Talia exclaimed.
"Yeah, it sure is a sight isn't it" Asher responded.
"What do you want to do first?" Talia asked eagerly.
"Do first? Somebody is anxious to get out aren't they?" Asher asked sarcastically.
"C'mon Asher. I never knew that I would be able to see a place as magnificent as Winterfell, I don't want to miss a second of it" Talia stated.
"The first thing I want to do is to send a raven back to Mira and Ryon so they know what is going on. It appears we may be in Winterfell for a while" Asher responded.
"A raven can wait, c'mon Asher let's go explore" Talia begged looking at Asher with her deep blue eyes.
"I'm going to stay here Talia, but if you are interested in taking a look around, be my guest" Asher compromised.
"Really?" Talia questioned.
"Yes, but you better stay within the castle walls" He commanded looking at his sister, who has a bit of a history of not listening to his requests.
"Yeah, yeah stay within the castle walls, sure. So I can go?" Talia asked a second time.
"Yes, please" Asher said letting out a sigh and cracking a smile.
"Thank you Asher" Talia stated and she ran out of the chambers. Asher peaked out of the window and watched for a few minutes to make sure Talia was safe and heading to his command. Asher then sat down at his desk and began writing a scroll to send back to Ironrath to inform his family of the news.