THE STAR AND THE WOLF

EDDARD I

"Promise me, Ned," said his sister's voice in his mind, and the memory of her caused him to go back to the Tower of Joy, where he faced Ser Gerold Hightower, Ser Oswell Whent and Ser Jonothor Darry.

"I looked for you on the Trident," Ned told them.

"We weren't there," replied Ser Gerold.

"Woe to the Usurper had we been," said Ser Oswell.

"When King's Landing fell, Ser Jaime killed your king with a golden sword. Where were you then?"

"Far away," said Ser Gerold, "Otherwise, Aerys would continue to occupy the Iron Throne, and our false brother would burn in the seven hells."

"I went down to Storm End's to lift the siege," he told them, "Lord Tyrell and Lord Redwyne surrendered their banners, and all their knights knelt to swear allegiance to us. I was sure I would find you among them."

"We don't kneel so easily," said Ser Jonothor Darry.

"Ser Willem Darry has fled to Dragonstone with your queen and Prince Viserys. I thought you would have embarked with them."

"My brother is a good and honest man," said Ser Jonothor.

"But he doesn't belong to the Kingsguard," Ser Gerold said, "The Kingsguard does not flee."

"Neither then nor now," said Ser Oswell. The Black Bat put on the helmet.

"We took an oath," explained the White Bull and Commander of the Kingsguard.

Ned's wraiths stood next to him, with shadow swords in their hands. It was seven against three.

"And now it begins," said Ser Jonothor Darry.

Ned drew his sword and held it with both hands.

"No," Ned corrected, voice saddened for he knew what was to come next, "Now it ends."

And suddenly he was in Starfall with a baby in his arms and with Dawn, the sword his brother-in-law was carrying when he died in the Trident at the hands of Robert. He would return it to the Daynes, although he feared that would drive a wedge between the two if only Rhaegar had not kidnapped Lyanna.

"Ned!" Ashara shouted when she saw him, "My sweet husband, is it over yet?"

"It's over," Ned replied sadly and told the whole story to Ashara's family.

"What will we do with the child?" Asahara asked.

"An oath of blood," Lord Dayne proposed, "An oath of the First Men. After all, the same blood that runs through Dayne veins runs through those of the Starks, the Reeds, and the Dustins."

Ned looked at Howland Reed and William Dustin, the only survivors of the confrontation.

Lord Dayne explained the process and then took a knife and made a cut on his right palm, pronouncing "I swear" in the Old Tongue. And so, Ned and his men, like all the Dayne family members and their servants took the oath, under pain of being cursed if they broke it, the wrath of the Gods, Old and New, would be unleashed if they didn't hold to the oath.

"Now go, my good brother," Lord Dayne ordered, "Take my sister and never come back. In the eyes of the world, Ashara gave birth to twins Jon and Meera. Lyanna Stark died and was buried in the Tower of Joy, which I will guard with my life."

And Ned woke up startled, waking up his wife as well. The sun was already entering through the windows and he was able to detail the dark hair and violet eyes of his beautiful wife, which easily took away his grief.

"What's wrong with you, dear?" she asked.

"It's nothing," Ned replied.

"Ghosts of the past?" Ned nodded and his wife kissed him, "Come, let's get up and live in the present. Being the Lord of Moat Cailin is not an easy task."

For years Moat Cailin remained abandoned. In the past, it was the seat of the Kings of the Neck, until these were annexed to the North by the Kings of Winter. The Starks wiped out the lineage of the Marsh Kings and handed over the governance of The Neck to the Reeds, who have since become faithful vassals. Ned was glad of it.

However, his grandfather Lord Edwyle Stark began the reconstruction in the hopes of giving it to the second child that never came to be. His father, Lord Rickard, finished the reconstruction and granted the fief to Ned, who had ruled it for almost two decades. It was a better fate than any second child would have, after all, with its size and sparsely populated area the North had enough land to give to the spare of Rickard Stark.

"If Benjen had not entered the Night's Watch, he would also be a lord, from Cape Kraken or Sea Dragon Point," Ned thought, but someone knocking on the door brought him back to reality.

"It's me, my Lord," said Maester Hother.

"Wait a minute, maester."

Ned and Ashara dressed to receive their maester. He was the tallest man in the castle, second only to Hodor, the champion of his house. Maester Hother was an Umber, whose family boasted of having giant blood in their veins.

"Pass maester," Ned ordered when he was fully clothed.

The maester had in his hands a letter, "Black wings, black words," thought Ned, who took the parchment and read it.

"Jon Arryn is dead," Ned announced sadly. Offering the parchment to his maester to read.

"I'm sorry, my lord," said Maester Hother. "I know he was like a father to you".

Ashara for her part just hugged him, even after the maester passed her the parchment for her to read as well.

"We will have to prepare the castle," she said, "If the King comes, we must offer him a treat worthy of his position."

The maester nodded to Ashara's proposal, "We could invite Howland and my sister."

"It would be nice to see Howland again," Ned smiled.

And the preparations began. Later that day, Jon was training in the yard with his twin sister Meera and brother Arthur. Of the three, only Arthur had the violet eyes of the Dayne, however, otherwise, Stark traits predominated over the Dayne. Ned thanked the gods for this, that it was his son Arthur and not Jon who had violet eyes, and felt it could not be anything other than a protection of the gods of the North.

"Children!" Ned announced in the courtyard, "I need to talk to you."

"Father," said these three in unison.

"Jon Arryn, my adoptive father, has died. The King is on his way to Moat Cailin, I hope you will have the best behaviour possible, nothing that can embarrass House Stark. Understood?"

His children nodded and Ned allowed them to resume their activities. What he took advantage of to spend some time alone with his sword in the Tower of Lovers, one of the twenty that made up Moat Cailin. It was said
that it was there where Ser Artos Hardyng proposed to his aunt Branda Stark.

"It's a beautiful place, don't you think, Ned? Unlike the Tower of Dreams, I get a bad thorn in that place. Once there I dreamed awake that I threw myself from one of the windows of Starfall and on another occasion, I saw myself as a somewhat impudent septa."

"An impudent septa?" asked Ned in surprise, trying to divert the conversation to a cheerful topic.

"Yes, I bathed in a river without being ashamed that others saw me," she confessed mischievously.

Ned kissed her.

"What else makes you think about this tower?

"Your aunt Branda," Ashara replied seriously, changing the attitude of Ned, who frowned.

"My Aunt Branda? But you've never met her."

"True, I didn't know her," she agreed, "But if I remember correctly, her grandson is the heir apparent of the Vale. We could marry our Meera to Ser Harrold Hardyng. Horrible as it sounds, I doubt very much that Jon's poor son will reach adulthood. And if he arrives, he will have a faithful vassal in our daughter's husband."

"Ser Harrold is said to have a bastard daughter," Ned recalled. "Are you sure you want such a man for your daughter?"

Ashara pondered it, and then repudiated the idea. He had come to love Jon as a son, but he would never forgive Prince Rhaegar for the death of his good brother Arthur. For Ashara the dragons were to blame for everything, trying to fulfill a stupid prophecy took away her good sister and good father along with her favorite brother. And the North would have narrowly lost Brandon Stark, were it not for Lord Rickard who faced King Aerys for himself.

"Let us not lose what we have built, Ned," said Ashara with a hint of sadness in her voice, "You promised Lyanna, whatever you do, protect Jon, but don't forget Meera, or Arthur."

"I'm sure everything will work out for us," Ned replied, "Meera will marry a good man, Jon a good woman, and Arthur will be a renowned gentleman."

"Ser Walder nicknamed it The North Star."

"Ser Walder is a kind man."

"Whatever you do, don't take it away from you," Ashara ordered, "His heart may be soft, but he will kill anyone who puts a finger on you. After all, you can already imagine what the King is coming to ask of you."

And Ned nodded in fear and unease at the future.