A/N I own nothing
Eddard I
Ned has had quite a bit of time to get used to being lord of Winterfell and warden of the north, in fact he likes to think he's pretty good at it. He cares about his people, does his best to make fair and honorable decisions and thinks long and hard about anything that could greatly affect life in the North, or even other kingdoms. Ned would consider these to be the bare minimum that any good lord should put forward. Unfortunately there are a great number of lords who would disagree with this assessment, thankfully most of them in the south.
Ned also likes to believe he is a good and attentive father, to all his children trueborn or otherwise. Robb is by far the easiest to handle, always striving to be the perfect picture of his father, even when he was younger it was like he was trying to re-live a new version of Ned's life, taking Lyarra and Theon into the Wolf's Wood to see if a Mandalorian would be wounded on the ground for them to rescue. However they stopped doing so when Ned told them that Val Kirdan only agreed to train Ned because there hadn't been a Stark Mandalorian since before Aegon's conquering of Westeros, and considering Ned had to abandon his training when his father and brother were murdered it was unlikely they would take another for a long time. Robb had cried for days after that, but he had Lyarra and his mother to comfort him.
Speaking of, Lyarra is most likely the hardest to take care. Ned loved Lyarra as he loved the rest of his children, however she never saw herself worthy of him. It wasn't that Ned didn't understand, she thought she was a bastard, and so did everyone else, including Catelyn's septa. Eventually Ned got tired of the damn woman whispering depreciation into Lyarra's ears that Ned decided she would work on her studies better under Maester Luwin. Catelyn of course didn't understand why she was removed from her septa's teachings and Ned never had the energy to explain that he didn't want Lyarra's entire childhood to be dictated by her perceived birth. Luckily it wasn't, she had decided soon after being moved into Luwin's lessons that she wanted to be a knight, and while Ned didn't know of any woman knight's, he had known enough female mando'ade that could knock him to the ground to not dispute her. However seeing her wield a sword in the training yards with her brother brought many… unpleasant memories.
Then there is Sansa, a beautiful young girl who much like Robb wants to take after Ned, Sansa would love to be just like her mother. Oh she still loved her father of course, but Ned was resigned to the fact that Cat would always be Sansa's favorite. She was polite and whimsical, she always loved the stories that Ned would share about the many warriors he had met both on and off the battlefield. However sometimes Ned worried she would always have her head up in the clouds, fortunately where Sansa was whimsical and polite, Arya was determined and headstrong. Not only that but Arya could also bring out the wolf in Sansa when the two argued, a habit Cat was determined to break them of. Ned however insisted it was good for them both.
Arya perhaps was the one who reminded him most of Lyanna, constantly hinting at wanting to learn the sword like her sister. Cat however was adamant that neither of our daughters would be learning the sword and that both should stick to their studies with the septa. That didn't stop Ned from pretending he didn't see Lyarra teaching Arya the different ways to hold a sword.
Then there were the two youngest, Bran was much like Rob in the way he wanted to live a life of adventure, like the stories he had heard of Ned's younger days. Sometimes it was exasperating to keep track of him taking his little adventures around the keep, there was one time a whore from the Winter Town brothel had caught him about to enter the brothel, luckily the girl recognized who he was and immediately brought him back to the keep. Cat was furious and for good reason, Bran however was still too young to realize what exactly he had done wrong.
Rickon was still too young to get a proper read on but from what he could tell the boy was as wild as Arya and as mischievous as Bran. It didn't take long to figure he was going to be a hellion when he gets a little older.
However of all of the times he had been stressed, from being a good lord, to caring for his wife when she had been upset, to teaching his sons to be honorable and understanding, to making sure Theon was cared for and that Lyarra knew that he would always love her the same as any of his other children. None of that stress, not even all of it combined could compare to the stress he felt at this moment opening the gates to his unannounced teacher, Val Kirdan and two other Mando'ade he didn't recognize.
In fact this visit was so sudden that his wife was scrambling to get the children outside and lined up for the greeting, and knowing Val, Ned felt that for whatever reason she had decided to visit it couldn't be any good. Luckily his wife was a treasure and managed to get everyone outside and waiting just as Val and the two others trotted in on their horses. Lyarra however was noticeably absent, something he would have to speak to Cat about later.
As Val got off her horse and the other two followed, a silence fell over the courtyard, and suddenly the intense stress he felt had multiplied. He hadn't properly spoken to Val since the end of Robert's war, and the letters he had sent had never been replied to. It made him think the worst, perhaps it wasn't even Val in the Armorer's garb, maybe she had died and they came to inform him, but he doubted it, after all he was excommunicated from Mandalore and marked for his abandonment of the order. If Val had died he probably wouldn't have even gotten a letter. Which meant that the reason she must be here is of grave importance that she would come to an exiled without any warning.
He was so wrapped up in his worries he didn't notice that Val had made her way to stand right in front of him. While far more than a few heads taller than her, she still made for an imposing sight for him, though that was probably more do to his personal experience than anything else. The other two seemed to have hung back by their horses letting the stable master guide them away.
"Su cuy'gar Ad'ika" She greets with that even tone that makes her sound inhuman, and the helmet didn't help to ease against that assumption
"Su cuy'gar Goran" He replies a little hesitantly, after all only mando'ade were allowed to speak mando'a
"Stand straighter boy, you look like a badly forged saber" She commands softly, making him go ramrod straight on instinct. He could hear a badly concealed snort from Robb only for Cat to give him a clap over the head
"…Val, it's good to see you but why are you her-" He's cutoff by her holding up a hand slowly
"Let me take in your old age for a moment Ad'ika, we can discuss important matters after I've gotten used to how decrepit you look now" To others it sounds like it's supposed to be a joke but the tone she uses is far too even and rigid
"If I'm old and decrepit then I think it's time to drop the Ad'ika" He grumbles
"Is that complaining I hear boy? Old and decrepit of appearance you may be, but also young and stupid as you ever were Ad'ika" She reprimands with feigned anger, this time Arya and Bran join in with Robb, only to be silenced by a look from their mother
"I believe you once taught me something about this, what was the turn of phrase again? 'Insulting a lord in his own home is like cutting yourself in shark infested waters'?" He asks with a small smirk
"Pfft, don't think you're in any position not to get your ass knocked to the ground, or that I'm in a position not to be the one to put it there" She threatens while pointing a finger
"'A battle of wits is only won when a man's own words can be used against him'" He quotes from her again
"Shut your mouth and introduce me to your spawn" She orders with fake coldness
"Of course" He breaks from his spot at the front of the line and leads Val to is wife, only for her to go straight to Robb. He can see Cat give her a look before schooling her features reluctantly, Ned gave her an apologetic look before moving next to Val
"Wipe that grin off your face boy, your bearing is worse than your father's, and he couldn't sit through a thirty minute ceremony without cracking some horribly timed jest" She reprimands lightly, well lightly for her anyway. Robb however lost the smile but instead it was replaced with a look of confusion
"My father jest during ceremonies?" He asked with disbelief
"Hm, and got beat for it more times than I can count" She nods he's left a little speechless at that "Don't be rude boy, introduce yourself before I move on and never learn it" She prompts sharply
"I- Robb, Stark" He says quickly, surprised by her tone
"Of course you're a Stark boy, wouldn't be in this line if you weren't" She says coldly before moving onto Sansa
"Name" She prompts with the same sharpness
"Sansa my lady" She introduces with a curtsy
"I'm not a lady girl, do well to remember that" She responds coldly, she then moves onto Arya "Don't you dare curtsy girl" She orders sharply
"I- I'm Arya, is it true that the steel fortress is bigger than King's Landing?" She asks quickly, but also hesitantly which is something he hasn't seen from his second daughter
"Much" She replies curtly and then moves to Bran
"I'm Bran my la-" He's cutoff by the sharp but low voice of Val
"Don't you dare finish that sentence boy" Ned smiles a little at her, when Bran sees his smile it seems to reassure him as he breaks out of his stupor. Bran then smiles at Val with confidence and Val just stares for a moment before moving onto Rickon, Ned flinches when he sees him staring into space and not paying any sort of attention when Val approaches.
"…." Val waits for him to acknowledge her but after a few moments Val turns away from him and looks at Ned, who stands a little straighter again now that her eyes are on him again
"Last I recalled from your letters you had six children, and since I can only guess the small one is Rickon then the missing one must be Lyarra" Rickon finally looks towards her at the mention of his name but says nothing.
"Lyarra snow is currently practicing with our maester" Cat says from behind him, emphasizing Snow in Lyarra's name. Ned visibly flinches at Cat cutting in, his children seemed to have taken notice and look questioningly at him
"…." Val is quiet for a moment but he can see the gears turning in her head, even behind the expressionless helmet
"Cat I think it's time to dismiss the children-" Ned starts now turning to Cat slowly
"Who are you again?" Val interrupts, Ned flinches again seeing Cat's look of pure surprise and then outrage
"I am Catelyn Stark lady of Winterfell and wife too-" She starts only for Val to interrupt her
"Then as a lady you should know to mind your manners, I was speaking to Lord Stark not Lady Stark and just because you are offended does not give you the right to cut in whenever you like" She reprimands coldly
"How dare yo-" She starts with outrage only to be interrupted again
"No how dare you" Val says taking a step passed Ned and towards Cat, only to stop about half the distance "Lady or not it is rude to answer a question that was not directed at you, I'm sure whatever septa taught you did not skip that lesson, though based on how you are conducting yourself at this moment I wouldn't be surprised if you skipped out on that lesson"
"I- you-" Cat is left speechless and looks to Ned for assistance
"Uh, Val perhaps we should go somewhere private to talk about why you're here" He says with a hardness he isn't familiar with using on Val
"Yes that is a good idea, take me to your godswood before your wife makes even more of a fool of herself" She says walking passed him again on her way inside, Ned shoots Cat a solemn look before following Val inside and starting to lead her towards the godswood. On the way he see the various looks of either awe or outrage or a mix of both in Robb's case on his children's faces