CATELYN
She had been so busy since all the lords had confirmed their impending arrival to Winterfell. There was so much to do and so little time that she barely had any time to see her children, as they had their lessons and their own duties to attend to.
Cat only had a week left to make sure everything was up to her standards as the lady of Winterfell, and that was not a lot of time for any respectable lady to organize such a large castle, but Catelyn was nothing if not determined to do her very best.
Catelyn may not have a lot of time to organize for the arrival of the northern lords, but this was what she did best. No one could organize like she could, and she took a lot a pride in that.
Cat was talking to the cook about what would be served at the feast when all the lords had arrived, when a servant came up to them and drew her attention.
"Lady Stark, lord Stark askes that when you have time, that you come to his solar." Cat nodded at the servant, so that she knew that Cat had gotten the message from her lord husband.
When Cat was finished with the cook, she began her trek to the lord´s solar. She really did love her husband, even though they were having a hard time right at this moment. Why couldn't he just let her raise their children as custom dictated?
Until a half a year ago, he had been content to let her educate the children and seeing to their rearing, but then something in him had changed, he started to take great interest in his children and in rebuilding the north. Not for the first time, Cat wondered what had made him take such a turn.
The eldest child of Hoster Tully shook her head, she had other things to worry about now, She could continue her argument with her husband when the lords had left Winterfell, she didn't want the lords of the north to know about how the lord and lady of Winterfell were fighting.
No, they could never see the disagreement between their lord and lady, the nobles of Westeros could never see weakness, then they would pounce like bloodhounds.
When she arrived at the solar, she let herself inside. As soon as she entered the room, she noticed that her husband was looking particularly worried. In the last few months her husband was looking more and more tired and worried by the day, but now he was also looking very sad.
He looked at her as she entered and bid her to sit down, his voice was so grave that she was sure that someone had died.
The question tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop it. "What is wrong Ned?" Her husband sighed.
"I don't know how to tell you this, my love." He looked her straight in the eyes and his grey orbs looked soft and sorrowful. "I got a letter from Jon Arryn today; I had thought to ask him to come to Winterfell and listen to the complaints that the lords of the north have."
Why was this causing Ned such trouble, Cat would think that the arrival of Jon Arryn would make him happy, as the hand of the king was like a father to Ned. Had something happened? To Lysa or her little son?
She waited with bated breath as her husband continued. "Jon said he couldn't come because…" He lapsed into silence as he seemed to gather his thoughts, but Cat was getting more and more unnerved. What on earth had happened to make her husband so rattled.
She couldn't take it anymore. "Ned, tell me what happened." She dug her hands into the skirt of her dress in anticipation of what Ned had to say. Whatever he had to say, it seemed serious.
Ned sighed. "Jon had a letter delivered to him some time ago, letting him now that he needed to go to his rooms in the tower of the hand, there he found his wife in bed with lord Petyr Baelish." Cat stared at her husband, was this some sort of joke? Cat stood up and started to stalk the room in her anger.
Her sister would never be unfaithful to her husband and little Petyr would never do this; he was just a sweet young man that was very romantic. Petyr had fought for Cat´s hand when she had been promised to Brandon and he had never had eyes for Lysa, surely Jon Arryn was mistaken.
Lysa couldn't have done this, this would cast doubt on the paternity of her son by lord Arryn. Lysa´s son stood to inherit the Vale, how could she put the future of her only son in jeopardy? Lysa would never do that.
Cat stood up and shook her head, this was nonsense. This was just lies told to Jon Arryn to cast doubt on her family, it had to be.
Cat looked at her lord husband, he was looking at her sadly. She opened her mouth to say something, but no sound came out, so she just stared at her husband and she could feel tears start to form in her eyes but she kept them at bay, she would not give whoever had told these lies to Jon Arryn the satisfaction.
"There is more." Ned looked at the letter that was on the table, that she was just noticing now. "Jon talked to Lysa and she told him that her son, Robert, isn't Jon´s trueborn son but Baelish´s bastard."
Cat just stared at her husband; she couldn't comprehend his words. "No, this isn't true, these are lies." She stated firmly, she had to be strong now, for her family, for her children.
Her Ned frowned. "Cat, Jon walked in on Lysa and Baelish in bed together and your sister confessed to having lied about her own son and trying to pass him of as Jon´s." Catelyn could feel a lump in her throat, and she could barely breath. How could her sister have done this? How could she have shamed them so?
Lysa had shamed house Tully in front of all the lords of Westeros, oh how would their poor father take this? Hoster Tully would be heart broken when he heard this.
Cat collapsed into the chair that she had been using before and stared at her husband. "Ned, what will happen to Lysa now?" Would Jon Arryn set her sister aside and take a new wife? Cat´s father had been so happy when he had he had found both his girls' respectable husbands and this was how Lysa repaid him? By throwing all his hard work aside.
Then a darker and more terrifying thought crept up to her, would this cause her husband to suspect her of having an affair? Would he doubt the legitimacy of her trueborn children? Would he set her aside and call her beautiful, perfect babes, bastards, and put his own bastard ahead in the line of succession?
But Ned had told her himself that his bastard would never bare the name Stark, but that had been before Lysa had shamed them all with her abominable behavior. Would he now change his mind?
Before she could force the tears away, she started sobbing uncontrollably. She buried her face in her hands as she cried for her little babes. All of her children except Arya had the Tully coloring, would Ned think that his wife had an affair and that was why she hadn't given him sons with the Stark look?
As she buried her face into her hands and cried for her babes, she could feel her husbands' large arms wrap around her, to her comfort. Cat dug her hands into his tunic and wailed and cried.
She didn't know how long she stayed in his embrace, crying in fear of her perfect children´s birth rights. When she calmed down, Ned sat down on a chair beside her and held her hand. She loved this about her husband, he could be so sweet and caring, underneath the cold exterior.
"I know you are frightened about your sister and her boy, and what will happen to them now." She looked at her husband as he spoke. Now Cat was a lot more worried about her own precious children than what would happen to Lysa, her sister had brought this on herself with her reckless behavior.
She said nothing to her husband as he continued. "While Jon hasn't decided on what will happen to Lysa, I am sure that your father will take good care of her boy." What? Her father? What did he have to do with any of this?
"What on earth do you mean my lord? What does my father have to do with this?" Her husband frowned at her question.
"Jon intendeds to send the boy to your father, as he the boy's grandfather." Jon Arryn intended to do what? Hadn´t her father been shamed enough? Did Jon Arryn really want to dump the shame of their house into his lap?
Cat stood up and started to pace again. How could they do this to her father? After everything he had done for them in the rebellion, Hoster Tully had supported them in overthrowing the Targaryens and now they wanted to shame him like this?
Cat turned to her husband. "Why on earth would Jon Arryn do this? Why is he sending the family shame to my father like this?" She demanded to know the answer, her father had been through enough.
Ned stood up from his chair and stared at her. "I highly doubt that Jon intends to shame Hoster, but the boy should grow up with his family and right now the only family he has that is not being detained, is your family."
Cat shook her head at her husband, house Tully had been shamed enough, they shouldn't have to take in the family bastard. Cat had enough of bastards for one lifetime, she had suffered enough humiliation, her family shouldn't have to suffer more. "No, Ned this cannot be allowed to happen. My father cannot be humiliated like this."
Ned looked at her and furrowed his brow. "Cat, this is out of my hands, there is nothing I can do."
Of course, Ned could do something, Jon Arryn loved Ned like a son, he would listen to reason when it came from Ned. "Talk to Jon Arryn, make him see reason." She implored her husband.
But her husband just shook his head. "I am sorry my love, but there is nothing I can do." He looked so sorrowful that she almost believed him, almost.
Cat stood as straight as she could and left the room with her head held high, this was not over, not by a long shot.
SANSA
She was sitting in the great hall, beside her was her older brother Robb, and her younger sister Arya. Sansa´s only sister was being extremely well behaved compared to what she was usually like when she was attending feast and had to sit still, and Robb was trying his best to show all the lords that had gathered in the great hall of Winterfell, that he was a worthy heir to the North.
Robb was sitting beside her in their house colors and trying his best to seem older than he really was, but it was easy for Sansa to see how worried he was.
Not that Sansa could blame him, the last two weeks had been hard. It had started by Jon being injured when they had been attacked by the bastard of Bolton and then a week later, they had gotten the news that Lysa Arryn had been caught by her husband having an affair with Petyr Baelish.
That worried Sansa more than she could say, it hadn't happened the first time around and that meant that there was someone in the capitol that most likely had their memories of their last life.
That was what kept Sansa awake at night, they didn't know who it was that remembered, and they had no idea if they were on their side or against them.
Sure, getting Littlefinger out of the way, was good for helping Jon to the iron throne, but Littlefinger had so many enemies in the past life that it could easily be someone that was playing against placing Jon on the throne.
Sansa couldn't help but to feel a little gleeful at the prospect that Lysa Arryn had been caught by her husband having an affair, after what she had done to Sansa in her past life, she could say that she didn't like her maternal aunt. That woman was cruel and vindictive, and Sansa could honestly say that she never wanted to see her again. But all that gleefulness evaporated when she had seen what the news had done to her mother.
The last week had been very hard on her mother and Sansa could see that her sister's indiscretion was weighing heavily on Lady Stark´s shoulders.
While Sansa could understand that her mother was upset that Lysa had an affair and now her son was declared a bastard, her reaction was a little bit extreme. But it hadn't taken Sansa long to figure out what was bothering her mother.
Her mother was worried about how this was looking not only for house Tully, but herself as four of her five children had the Tully look. Catelyn Stark must be worried about her own husband thinking that Robb, Bran, Rickon and herself were all bastards themselves and that he would disinherit them.
Sansa knew that she would have to talk to her father about this, her mother had to be assured that her husband wouldn't be setting her aside and declaring his children by her, to be bastards.
Sansa looked to where her parents were sitting, and she could see that her lady mother was tense and trying her hardest to seem like herself, but anyone that knew her, could see that she was very worried.
Sansa could see that her father was glancing at his lady occasionally, he must be worried about her as well.
Sansa tore her eyes from her parents and looked over the crowd of lords and lordlings. The great hall of Winterfell was filled with lords and ladies from all over the north, and their banners hung all over the walls of the hall in their honor.
She could see the Umbers cheering loudly as the Smalljon was gulping down ale. It was strange to see him here after he had declared for Ramsay in the last life, drinking and celebrating under the banner of the Starks and surrounded by people that had fought against him in their last life.
Beside the Umbers, were the women of Bear island cheering the Smalljon on in his drinking. She looked over the gathered women of Bear island and saw that Lyanna Mormont was missing, she must have been left behind on the island because of how young she was.
As she looked over the hall, she noticed that all the lords had showed up and while most of them were feasting and celebrating, some however were not.
Roose Bolton was sitting in a dark corner of the great hall, looking grim as his cold eyes looked over the hall, beside him was lord Ryswell who was whispering to him and Lady Dustin was looking down her long nose at the gathered lords.
Sansa knew that they would have trouble with these three houses, though she doubted that Lord Ryswell and Lady Dustin had the courage to defy her father while he was still in the north. Ned Stark was too well loved by the other lords for those three houses to defy him openly, but that didn't mean that they wouldn't try to work against him from the shadows.
Tomorrow, her father would be holding a meeting of the lords to discuss the wall and the funding for the restoration of the castles, and she was sure that Lord Ryswell and Lady Dustin would grumble and moan about having to help paying for the castles.
Roose Bolton would also be answering for the crimes of his son tomorrow, which explained the fowl look on his face.
As she pondered on the reactions of the lords when they heard that Robert Baratheon was refusing to help with the wall and how Roose Bolton would answer her father, she felt something heavy lean against her shoulder. Sansa looked at what it was and saw her sister, half sleeping and using Sansa as her private pillow.
Sansa could help the smile that sneaked it´s way to her face, she loved that Arya had begun to trust her more in the last half a year.
Sansa shook her sister gently to wake her up. "Come on Arya, let's get you to bed." Arya grumbled softy as Sansa helped her to stand up.
Sansa guided her to where their parents sat, so that she could tell them where Sansa was taking Arya.
"Father." Sansa spoke close to her father so that she was sure that he could hear her over the din of the gathered lords. "I am taking Arya to bed; can I talk to you after the feast? I have something to tell you."
The lord of Winterfell looked at her and smiled gently at her. "Of course, I will see you in my solar in a few minutes."
With that Sansa left the great hall with her sister in tow, she was glad to escape the great hall. She would have preferred to spend her evening with Jon in his sickroom, but she had to attend the feast and she could go and visit Jon when she was done talking with her father.
When Sansa hadn't been attending her lessons and helping her mother, she had been spending her time with Jon and helping maester Luwin taking care of him.
Jon had been feeling better with every passing day, he had even been walking around his room with the aid of a cane, as well as Sansa. But he had escaped attending the feast, but he would have to attend the meeting tomorrow, to testify against Ramsay.
As Sansa and Arya arrived at the younger girls' bedroom, after Sansa help her sister into her sleeping clothes, she guided Arya to her bed, and her little sister was asleep before her head hit the pillow.
Sansa then hurried to her father´s solar and entered the room. Her father had not yet arrived, so she just sat down and waited for him, Sansa was glad that she didn't have to wait for long.
The warden of the north entered the room around five minutes after her and sat in his chair. "So, you have something to tell me, sweetling?"
"Yes, I wanted to talk to you about mother." This made the lord of Winterfell lean back in his chair as he waited for her to continue. "I think that mother might be worried that you might think that Robb, Bran, Rickon and I are bastards too, after the whole Lysa fiasco."
Her father´s face looked so shocked as she said this. "Why would she think that? You are all my children; I have no doubt of that."
Sansa was starting to feel annoyed. "I know that father, but you need to assure her that you know that we are all your children, as you may have noticed, we don't exactly have many Stark traits."
This caused her father to smile at her again. "I wouldn't be so sure of that." He said warmly.
This made Sansa frown, she had been told all her life that she took after her Tully mother and that she didn't carry a lot of the Stark looks about her. Before Sansa could say anything to contradict him, her father started again.
"Rickon is just like my brother Brandon, and Bran is a lot like Benjen. Robb however takes after my father a lot in his character." Her father fell silent as he seemed lost in his memories of his fallen family. "But you however, take a lot after my mother."
This statement cause Sansa to just stare at her father. Sansa didn't know a lot about her grandmother, all she knew was that she had been her husband´s cousin, and that she had the Stark look.
"I take after my grandmother?" She asked, with her voice filled with curiosity.
Her father smiled and nodded at her. "Aye, from what I remember of her, you are just like her, she was incredibly intelligent too and she kept my father on his toes and in line."
Sansa was about to ask her father more about Lyarra Stark, but he pulled himself out of the reminiscing mood very quickly.
"I shall talk with Catelyn tonight about these concerns, I don't want her to worry about something that will not happen, but I should tell you something." This caught Sansa´s interest. Had something happened?
"I got another letter from Jon Arryn." This caused Sansa to grow even more curious, in his last letter, that had arrived a week ago, he had stated that he couldn't come north, until he had resolved the situation with Lysa and her son. Had something changed?
She decided not to interrupt her father and let him continue. "He is coming to Winterfell after all, but he will arrive in a month and he will be bringing both his wife and her son with him to Winterfell." Her father looked grave as he told her this. Something was going on; she could feel it.
"Father what happened?" She had to know, lord Arryn was coming to Winterfell with his disgraced wife and her bastard son, something fishy was going on and she had to find out what it was.
"Jon asked your grandfather, Hoster Tully to take his grandson in, as it is unseemly that the lord paramount of the Vale is raising his wife´s bastard that was born after he married his wife, but Hoster denied taking the boy in, stating that he is a shame to his house." This made Sansa slump in her chair, she knew that Hoster Tully was a proud man, as was very clear in her mother´s demeanor, but to deny his own grandson hearth and home was harsh.
Sansa looked at her father and asked him. "Do you think that he intends to ask you to foster the boy? I mean mother is his aunt, making you his uncle by marriage."
But her father shook his head. "No, I don't think so, I just know that Jon cannot have the boy in his own home but he needs to find him a good home to grow up in, and your grandfather has denied taking him in and your granduncle Brynden is not the type to raise children."
Sansa had never met her grandfather or her granduncle as they both had died before she had the chance in their last life, but her grandfather wasn't looking like a man she wanted to meet, how could he be so mean to a boy because his mother had committed a crime?
Her father sighed. "But we will deal with those problems when it comes to it, why don't you go to Jon and inform him what has happened, I am sure that he is going stir crazy in that room."
Sansa nodded, Jon was going crazy cooped up in that room, with nothing but read the books the maester had given him to read during the day, and warging into his dragons at night.
Sansa was sure that Jon was itching for any news, so she stood up and left for the sickroom of the rightful king of the seven kingdoms.
VARYS
He made his way to the tower of the hand through the secret pathways that lay all through the Red Keep. The servants of the hand of the king were all busy as bees, making sure that they hadn't forgotten anything before Lord Arryn traveled to White Harbor and from there to Winterfell.
Varys was glad that Jon Arryn was going to Winterfell, this gave Varys an opportunity to move very precious cargo north where it would be safe. Jon Arryn would also take Lady Arryn with him north, and that would make the Red Keep a lot better working environment, as Varys wouldn't have to listen to her shrieking, that echoed all though the castle.
Varys had to make sure that no harm would come to the shipment, and who was better than hand of the king to make sure that Varys´s shipment would make it north and to the rightful king of the seven kingdoms.
When Varys had woken up in his bed a three months ago, he had been very surprised to see that everything that he had been told had indeed been the truth, and now he could focus on making sure that the trueborn son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark would take back the iron throne.
Sure, the young man had been hesitant to take the throne in their last life, but everything had been explained to Varys what had happened after Daenerys Targaryen had burned him in dragon fire.
Varys was very glad that Jon Targaryen had seen what Daenerys was in the end, but Varys would have preferred him to have been placed on the Iron throne after he had killed his aunt, but they had a chance to do that now, and Varys would be making sure that Daenerys Targaryen wouldn't come near the throne this time, hells if it was up to Varys, the girl wouldn't even get to Westeros in this lifetime.
Her father´s madness was too profound in her and her brother, to let them anywhere near the throne, Or Westeros for that matter.
But Varys was even more glad when he had been told that Daenerys would not have dragons this time, in fact it was Jon Targaryen that would have the dragons now. When he had heard that, Varys had almost started dancing in happiness, he was sure that the rightful king wouldn't start burning people that displeased him, no he was of the north, where the lords didn't employ headsmen but believed that if you passed the sentence, you should swing the sword.
The rightful king also had Sansa Stark on his side, and she remembered, and was trying to help him to win back his birth right. Now, Sansa Stark was a formidable woman. Varys had greatly admired her strength and courage in the crypts of Winterfell when the long night was looming over them, and Lady Stark had the guts to stare down the dragon queen when Daenerys was demanding the northerner to march south to take the capitol.
But when Varys had found out that everyone had been played by the thing that was inhabiting the body of Brandon Stark, he couldn't help but to shiver. When Varys had met the thing that was disguising itself as Brandon Stark, he had felt unnerved at being in the same room as the thing was occupying.
Varys could understand why they had lost, that thing could see everything, they hadn't stood a chance.
But now it was different he thought to himself as he entered the solar of the hand though the secret door, Varys didn't want anyone to know it was him that had let Jon Arryn know about the affair his wife had with Littlefinger.
Varys had hoped that Jon Arryn finding Littlefinger with his wife, would have resulted in Baelish losing his life a lot sooner, but at least this would limit Petyr´s options by a lot. Littlefinger was in the wind for now, but he had very little resources from what Varys could tell.
He couldn't go back to the Vale, as the Valemen would no doubt find out and drag him kicking and screaming from his holdfast, and all of his establishments were now being searched high and low for him and they were now the property of the crown, until such a time when they would be sold off to the highest bidder.
While Varys was sure that it wouldn't take Robert Baratheon a long time to spend all that money on tourneys and whores, at least Baelish wouldn't be here to sink the crown into more dept than it could possibly pay off in a hundred years.
It wouldn't do for Jon Targaryen to take back his throne only to be having to pay of depts until he was old and grey. No, that wouldn't do at all.
It did bring up a troubling fact though, it seemed like the books on the crown's finances had also disappeared, Varys´s little birds hadn't found them anywhere, but as luck would have it, neither did Cersei Lannister´s people.
But Varys was now making sure that all his little birds were also looking for Littlefinger, the man may be disgraced, but he was still dangerous and had to be found.
Varys saw the hand of the king sitting by his desk, with his head in his hands. "Bad time my lord?" Varys asked the older man.
Jon Arryn jumped at hearing his voice. "Lord Varys, how did you get in here?" The man sounded suspicious as he looked back and forth between Varys and the door of the solar.
"I have my ways, my lord." Varys wouldn't be telling lord Arryn about the secret passageways anytime soon.
"Is there anything you need Lord Varys?" The warden of the east clearly wasn't in the mood to make small talk.
So, Varys decided to get straight to the point. "Indeed, my lord. I have come to ask you for a favor." Varys could see that the man looked a little skeptical at him. "Nothing illegal or sinister I promise you my lord."
The older man sighed at that, even if he didn't like it, Jon Arryn owed Varys for telling him about his wife and Littlefinger. If Varys hadn't said anything, he would still be thinking that Robert Stone or Waters was his son.
"Alright, what is it that you need?" The defeat in the older man´s tone was evident.
Varys smiled a little. "I need you to take something with you, when you head north, I need you to take it to Winterfell and put it in Lord Stark´s care."
Jon Arryn just stared at the bald man in front of him. "Why on earth are you sending something to Ned?" Varys just shrugged his shoulders; Jon Arryn didn't need to know anything about the history of the package or why Varys was sending it to Winterfell. Varys just needed him to deliver the package save and sound to Winterfell, where it would be kept safe until they needed it.
The lord of the Eyrie then sighed when he realized that he wouldn't get an answer. "Alright, I will do it, as long as it isn't illegal." Lord Arryn said the last thing with a stern glare that he must have used a hundred times on Robert Baratheon when he was younger. Too bad it didn't work anymore; life would be so much easier for Varys if it did.
Varys grinned. "Good it shall be at the docks tomorrow, and ready when you set sail to White Harbor."
Before the lord of the Vale could say anything more Varys left the solar, he had a lot of work to do, Varys had to make sure that the package would arrive, ready to be shipped and then he had to start laying to ground work for Jon of house Targaryen, the last son of prince Rhaegar Targaryen, to take back his birth right and become the king of the seven kingdoms.
