Hello! I haven't written any kind of story in almost five years and I got this idea one day so I just decided to go with it. I really don't know if it is any good but I hope so. It is rated M for later chapters, it is going to eventually go AU and I have some crazy things planned.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything other than my own character Lyrina.
Prologue.
' I need to get away, I need to run faster, they will find me soon if I don't.' The young girl was repeating these words over and over in her head as she ran for the stable, where her only escape was. She needed to get away, she had to leave this place, it was her only chance to have a better life. She needed to be free, she longed to be free. She could blame it on the stories her father told her, or the ones he sent in his ravens. He once had the freedom he longed for, he went after the life he wanted and she could too. The young girl ran faster, trying to get to the stable before anyone at the castle noticed her. She had planned this for months, she knew tonight was the night.
The young child was out of breath by the time she reached the stable, making sure she was quiet not to startled the horses. She may have been locked up in the castle most of her life, but she was thankful she was able to take riding lessons. Lessons were all that her grandfather had seemed to care about, making sure she was well rounded for when he shipped her off to some far of Lord. But after tonight she hoped that would never have to happen. Once she escaped here maybe, just maybe, she could have freedom, a freedom she wouldn't have as being a Lady.
She quietly saddled up her horse , softly petting him to keep him quiet. Alyris, was a beautiful grey horse that was given to her on her tenth name day. Her grandfather told her it was from her parents, she didn't really know if she believed it since they hadn't made any effort to come see her. But she couldn't concern herself with that thought of her parents, she neede to keep focused on getting out. The young girl mounted the horse and began to ride out of the stables, and down away from the rocky cliffs she had once called a 'home'. She didn't look back, she was done with this life. Once she reached her destination, she would never again be who she was now.
Her journey was long, and by the time the young girl reached her goal of the North she was nearly dead. She hadn't eaten much in weeks, everything she had she split with Alryis to make sure he could still continue on. She was so worried that if she stopped longer than a few hours a day then someone would find her and drag her back so she rarely slept.
Jon Snow was walking about the courtyard of his home in the early morning when he heard a commotion at the gate. Knowing he was the only one of his family awake, he made his way over to see what the people were making a fuss over. What he found surprised more than he thought possible. At the gate a small group of people surrounded an empty horse and what he could only assume was a person on the ground. He heard them talking among themselves about the person, saying she was passed out, some were unsure if she was even breathing. Once he got close, the blacksmith that was in the group looked up at him and called to him.
"Snow, go fetch Lord Stark and the Maester!" Jon looked confused but just nodded at the man and headed toward the castle. He knew is father would be awake, and if not he would just have to wake him up himself.
The crowd around the young girl continued to grow as more people began to stir in the courtyard. A few of the servants had come out of the castle upon hearing the commotion Jon Snow had been causing trying to get the Lord and Maester. It wasn't long before the Lord of Winterfell made his appearance, followed closely by his wife. He was walking with purpose toward the crowd, greatly concerned since Jon could give him no real information of what this was all about. But as Ned Stark broke through the small crowd he noticed what the fuss was about. Laying on the ground was a young girl, who looked barley ten name days old. He looked back at his wife with an uncertain look, but she just nodded toward the girl.
"Does anyone know what happened here?" Lord Stark asked the people surrounding the young girl, as he slowly approached her.
"We saw her ride in through the gates, and then she just fell off her horse, my Lord." A man spoke out to answer his question. He knelt down beside the girl and brushed the dark hair out of her face to see if she was breathing. As he moved her hair he noticed what a mess she was, her face was covered in dirt, her riding clothes stained with what he could only assume was blood and her dark hair was matted and knotted. He gently touched her faced, hoping maybe a touch would wake her but nothing happened.
"Catelyn can you go inside and get one of the maidens to set up a bath for this girl. I will bring her to one of the guest chambers and await the Maester there." Ned gently lifted the girl of the ground and was surprised at how little she weighed in his arms. She felt like a small fragile doll in his arms as he began to carry her toward his home.
Running, she could feel herself still running toward the gates but the closer she got the further they were. She was panting, weeping and screaming in pain as she pushed herself harder. She had to get there, she just had to reach the gates and everything would be better. She just needed that sense of freedom, just a few more steps. And then she felt it, a searing pain in her side like a burning iron, she let out a scream and opened her eyes. She began to panic until her blue eyes landed on a pair of kind blue eyes.
"You are awake good." The woman with the kind blue eyes looked down at her as she spoke before turning to someone the girl couldn't see. "Sansa go get your father, tell him the girl is awake." She heard a door close as someone left the room.
She was still in burning pain and her hand went to her side to find the source of the burning but before she could reach it a warm hand grabbed hers. She instantly pulled her hand back clutching it to her chest and turned her eyes to her left where an old man stood. He was dressed in Maester clothing and smiled down on her.
"You seemed to have gotten a very nasty cut on your side, young one. Luckily, it won't get infected but you will have a scar I am sorry." She just stared at the Maester, she knew about the cut, she had gotten while slipping on some rocks. She looked away from him back to the woman the blue eyes, she was beautiful. She had dark auburn hair, a beautiful complexion and a warm smile, it almost made her feel safe, almost. She didn't even know if she had reached her destination, she knew she had reached the gates or was that all a dream. The whole room was quiet except for the occasionally wince out of the girl, and Catelyn couldn't help but feel bad for the poor girl. She was under fed, dirty, lost and very scared. She couldn't begin to imagine the worry her family must be feeling for this lost little girl.
"How is she doing?" The girl jumped as someone new came into the room and her green eyes instantly darted to the man who entered. He was tall, with shoulder length hair and a serious look on his face. He frightened her, not because he made any move to harm her , but because she knew he could.
"She hasn't spoken yet, she is very scared Ned." The lady spoke and the girls perked up at the mention of his name. Ned? Could he be Eddard Stark, the man many refereed to as Ned Stark Lord of Winterfell. Had she reached her destination? She looked at the man again and began to compare him to the man she heard stories about and heard about in letters. He seemed like he could be the same man.. but was it possible?
Ned approached the bed carefully as if not to rattle the child further but he was in need of some answers. The little girl looked up at him with sullen blue eyes that he had seen before but could not place, in fact there was something about this child he recognized but could not place.
"Hello, I am Lord Eddard Stark and you are in Winterfell. What is your name child?" This was it, this was him. The girl froze and just stared at the man, if this was him she couldn't tell him the truth. If he knew who she truly was he would send her away and she would be right back where she started. He was an honorable man, at least that is what she was told, but not even honor could stop him from doing what was logical. She bit her lip and looked between the man and his wife. What could she do, she felt bad for having to lie but they couldn't know the truth, not yet.
"My nam-" But it was hard for her to speak and she was even shocked at her own voice. Normally her voice was soft and calm but now it was rough and grainy. Catelyn handed the child a cup of water which she gladly took and down very swiftly. It had felt like almost forever since the girl had anything to drink. After her drink she looked at the man, Lord Stark, once more and opened her mouth to speak this time, still unsure of what to say.
"My name is Rena Lorch, I come from the West." It wasn't a total lie. Her name was Lyrina, sometimes the servants she had grown closed to called her Rena. She was from the west, that too was not a lie. The husband and wife exchanged worried glances, obviously curious what a young child was doing here from the west, the land of the Lannisters.
"What brought all they up here, child? It is no easy road from the West to here, especially for one as young as yourself." Lord Stark careful in choosing his words, he was still unsure of exactly who he was dealing with here. Lyrina took another sip of water and looked at the man with a sad look.
"I hated it there, I was mistreated so badly. I couldn't think of anywhere else to go, I heard stories of you Lord Stark. The most honorable and noble man my father had ever met, he said he served in the Baratheon rebellion with you and he talked so highly of you I just came here." Again it wasn't a full lie, her father had spoken highly of Lord Stark and they had served together, and she was greatly mistreated at Casterly Rock. Ned looked at the child with great care, he knew he had seen some features of her before, could she be the child of a man she had met years ago. He wasn't one to stand for mistreatment, especially of children so he couldn't jut send her back to be mistreated.
"Where are your parents now? Why didn't they travel with you? You can't be more than what 10 name days old?" It was Catelyn who spoke this time, she was very worried. This young child traveled so far to just escape mistreatment. Where were her parents?
This is where she knew she had to lie the most, there was no way they could find out about her parents. The minute Lord Stark knows where Lyrina is from he will send her right back, he would do it without a doubt. If it wasn't for her mother she would not have minded her father knowing but she couldn't go back. With a deep breath she began knowing that once she told this lie there was no going back.
"My parents are both dead, I was living with family friends at Lannisport, but they treated me so badly. They never let me leave the house, I had to clean and do everything they told me to. I could never write letters, or go exploring to make friends. And yes, my Lady, I am almost 11 name days old, I may actually be I think my name day passed as I was traveling." The Lord and lady heard her tale and instantly felt sorry for her. That place was no place for her. They asked Lyriea more questions and she answered each one with a calm voice and sense of determination. After about an hour they both excused themselves to discuss this situation.
Once she was left alone Lyrina could only pray to the Gods they would let her stay here, because if not she had no where else to go.
Lyrina was left alone in the room for days except for the times someone would bring her food and water or set up bath for her. Lyrina was nervous that the Starks didn't believe her and were contacting Casterly Rock, alerting them to her absence, though she was sure someone there had noticed her being gone. Eventually on the the third day Lady Stark entered the room with group of children behind her.
"Rena, I would like to ask if you would want to stay here and become a ward to this family?" Lyrina felt a smile grace her lips for the first time in what felt like forever. She told Lady Catelyn she would like nothing more and greatly appreciated it.
"Now let me introduce you to this lovely bunch. First is my eldest son, Robb, my two daughters Sansa and Arya. I have two younger sons, Bran and my very young son Rickon. Also this Theon Greyjoy, he is also a ward of our home." There were so many of them, Lyrina didn't know if she could get used to them. She gave them all a small smile while looking them all over, they seemed nice enough, though Arya was the only one to smile back at her.
Lyrina began to wonder what she had gotten herself into.