Based of a prompt at valar-morekinks ( . ?view=comments&page=14)
Original characters to be featured
Only a fortnight had passed since his arrival at King's Landing. He had mostly kept to himself. His mind wandering to thoughts of Winterfell; the North. It was all he had known. I want to go back and show Lya how to use a bow, spar with Bran and even chase after Ben. Gods, Lya. He knew just how much she missed him. The last words she said to him still rang loud and clear even now.
"The lone wolf never makes it alone. When the cold wind blows the lone wolf dies but the pack survives," Lyanna said, tears building in her voice. "That's what Mother always said. We have to be a pack, but how are we going to do that if we're apart?"
He missed his pack. He missed them all more than anything in the world. I wonder if that Tully girl feels that way? The motto of her house is Family, Duty, Honour. Mayhaps she misses them as much as he misses his?
He did not like King's Landing in the slightest. It reeks of piss, and shit and ... something else that he couldn't place. It smelled worse than a privy!
Even the memory of entering King's Landing was terrible. The pale red stone used to make it seemed to gleam as they approached. The smallfolk seemed to crowd his party. They seemed excited or fascinated that a northman had come so far south. The only northman who did was the Old Man of the North; Cregan Stark. That had been one of his favorite stories. How Cregan did his king a great service yet he only spent a day as his Hand. Right now, he wished he could be like Cregan Stark. Just to go back home. It is so unbearably hot. I want the flurries of the summer snows, the smell of pines and the cold winds.
He hated the thought of King's Landing, the south, these people that he's never heard of but they were about to become something like prisoners together because Ned had heard rumors about the king. He had heard rumors that the king was not alright, that he was not sane. He had even heard rumors that the king liked to burn people and while his father reassured him that they weren't true, he saw the gleam of worry in Rickard Stark's eyes.
What had scared him the most about King's Landing was not simply the sight of the king but the chill he sent to his spine as he said, "I welcome you all to King's Landing!"
Right now, he wanted to escape those thoughts. So, he headed off towards the training yard. Ser Willem Darry was a rather kind if not a bit of a brash man with a gruff kind voice. In truth, he somewhat reminded him of a bear. Mayhaps he's part Mormont and doesn't know?
Ned quickly noticed the blonde-haired boy training with his bow and arrow.
"OY! You're Stark, right?" the boy asked. He quickly took notice of his surcoat. Pale blue with a moon and falcon. Elbert Arryn of the Vale.
It's almost strange, I would have been fostered with him and his family had it not been for the king. Elbert looked to be of an age with him and kind to say the least. Armed with the same blonde locks like his uncle and dimples as he tried to smile his way at the court. He recalled standing between his party and the Tullys.
"You're right about that. I take it you're Arryn then?"
Elbert quickly gave a loud laugh. "The second part at least. The first is Elbert. You're ... Eddard, correct?"
"Yes. But please, call me Ned. My family and my friends, they ... they call me Ned."
"So, I take it we're best mates then?"
"Do you want to be best mates, Elbert?"
"You're an okay sort. And I wouldn't mind having you around. So, Ned, ever use a bow properly? My heir cousin Denys taught me a couple of things"
As much as he did not like King's Landing, he could try to make the best of it. And he'll certainly need Elbert's smile and jests to help him through.