A/N Thank you all for acknowledging this story by follows, favourites and reviews – it means a lot.

Chapter One

It took Ned perhaps two seconds to react to what he had seen. After all, it wasn't every day that you saw two people fall from the sky.

He dove into the dark, freezing water of the godswood's pool, forcing himself deeper to find the strangers. The water was so dark that he could see nothing. He wasn't even sure which way was up or down. He just kicked and spread his arms wide, hoping to make contact with one of them. His arm bumped something and his fingers thrashed out to grab it. It felt like an arm so he moved his hand along it until he felt what could only be fingers. Ned reached out further to grab the body that the arm was connected to. Then he kicked his legs and heaved towards what he hoped was upwards. He found the body heavier than he was expecting, but he dared not take too long getting this one to the surface; he was sure there'd been two figures entering the lake.

Ned's head emerged from the numbing water and he sucked in a breath, dragging the body with him to the edge of the pool. He pushed it on to the firm, grassy floor of the godswood and realised why it had seemed heavier – its hand was clasped tightly to that of the other person. Relieved that he didn't have to dive down into the shadowy depths again. He pulled himself out of the pool, the icy water streaming from his hair and clothes. Then he bent down and dragged the two figures a safe distance away from the pool.

Neither of the strangers was conscious so he bent over the first one, his ear against their chest. He could hear a heartbeat but whether it belonged to the figure or was actually his own blood pumping ferociously through his head, he couldn't tell. He moved his head towards the mouth, his eyes watching the chest closely. Yes, this one was breathing. Ned moved to the other mysterious stranger and repeated his actions. The second one was breathing too.

Only then, relieved that the immediate danger seemed to have passed, did Ned take a proper look at what, or rather, who, he had rescued. They were a boy and a girl, or rather, a man and woman nearly grown, for they looked to be of an age with his sons Robb and Jon. The boy's hair was as dark as the wings of Maester Luwin's ravens. Dark wings, dark words, Ned thought, but tried to dismiss it; he would come to no conclusion about these strangers until he found out more about them. Over his eyes, the boy wore a strange item that appeared to be made partly by clear glass. Ned frowned, for he couldn't imagine that having glass so close to your eyes could be particularly safe if it was broken. He could just make out the point of a scar disappearing under the boy's sodden hair, the red line standing out in stark contrast against his pale skin. But that was the only evidence of any possible mistreatment to either of them except the girl's bottom lip looked a little swollen and bloodied. Both he and the girl seemed to have been well taken care of, at least from what he could see that wasn't covered by their clothes.

The clothes themselves though, were of a peculiar nature. The girl wore a plain white shirt accompanied by a strip of red and gold material that was tied about her neck. Her grey skirts were separated from the shirt and several inches shorter than anything he could remember seeing any woman or girl wear in the Seven Kingdoms, leaving her slender legs uncovered. Her feet were encased in grey, woollen socks and what looked like black leather shoes that were of a style he was unfamiliar with.

The boy's style of dress matched the girl's except he wore grey breeches in place of the skirts and he was wearing what looked like a sort of black cloak. At first, Ned thought that the girl was without one but then he spotted the girl's other hand was wrapped around one as well. A red and gold motif stood out against the dark material and he bent down to take a closer look. His back prickled uncomfortably at the sight of a lion on a quartered field of red and gold. Lannisters.

But the more Ned thought about it, the more he doubted that these two were associated with Casterly Rock. There was no denying that the coat of arms displayed on the boy's cloak was eerily similar to that of House Lannister but this was not the Lannister arms that he knew and he highly doubted Tywin Lannister would change hundreds of years of tradition. Not only that, but Ned knew that the Lannisters were too clever to attempt to secretly plant any of their men in Winterfell with such obvious Lannister affiliation. He prised the black cloak out of the girl's grasp and saw that hers too was emblazoned with the faux-Lannister arms. Across the bottom of the arms was what Ned assumed was writing. The letters were utterly unfamiliar to him. He had a very limited knowledge of the tongues spoken across the narrow sea therefore it was possible that the origin was from one of the free cities, the lands of the Summer Sea or even the lands beyond.

He needed answers.

He needed Maester Luwin.

The problem was he didn't want to leave the boy and girl on their own; should they regain consciousness when Ned wasn't there, he didn't know what they'd do. Nor did he want anyone else to know about them. Given their unusual arrival in Winterfell, he thought it best not to alert anyone to their presence for the moment.

Making a decision, Ned untwined their hands and lifted the girl effortlessly into his arms, before carrying her over to a small tree with wide, low hanging branches. Carefully, he placed her at the foot of the tree, before putting the boy next to her. Ned took a few paces back to determine whether it was a suitable hiding place. The pale flesh of the girl's legs stood out harshly against the gloom of the earth and foliage. It wouldn't do for anyone to discover the girl in that state so he covered her with the cloak she had been holding. Stepping back again, he saw that although it was obvious to him that there were two unconscious figures at the base of the tree, he highly doubted that anyone else would notice.

Moving quickly now, he left the godswood and made for the Maester's turret, using one of the lesser used wooden gates to get to his destination more quickly. Luckily, he passed very few people on his way to the turret. Those he did, he greeted with a confident nod of the head as they paused, bowed and murmured, "M'Lord." If any of them found it odd that he was completely sodden, they didn't comment on it.

He climbed the stairs of the turret two at a time, hoping that the Maester was within. The door to the Maester's solar stood ajar and Ned knocked swiftly before entering. Inside, Maester Luwin looked up from where he'd been tutoring Ned's sons Robb and Jon.

Ned could feel each of their eyes taking in his wet clothing but he did not intend to involve his sons in the matter just yet.

"Maester Luwin I have need of your services." He instructed, attempting to downplay the importance of the situation for he knew that if anything caught the boys' interest, he would be hard pressed to keep them away from it. "Boys, you will continue your lesson later. Go find Ser Rodrick and train for an hour. Take Theon with you."

"Yes, Father." Jon and Robb put down their quills obediently but Ned could see the questions building behind their eyes. However, they both knew better than to voice their questions when their father had deliberately not involved them in matters. Robb and Jon left, with last lingering looks at his dripping clothes before walking stiffly down the steps. Ned shut the wooden door to prevent his words travelling.

"How can I be of assistance, my lord?" Maester Luwin asked as he packed away the parchment and quills.

"Two figures appeared in the godswood," Ned replied bluntly. He didn't have time to waste with too many words – not when he had left the boy and girl on their own, unconscious. "They landed in the pool by the heart tree. I retrieved them but both are unconscious, yet breathing. I would have you assess their condition."

Maester Luwin's brows were furrowed in confusion. "I – why, yes, my lord, of course." Ned nodded and opened the door, knowing the Maester would be following. They had descended only a few of the stone steps before Maester Luwin's curiosity forced him to speak. "My lord, you said they appeared. May I enquire at the choice of words? It –"

"I will offer further explanation when we are in the godswood."

"Yes, my lord."

They descended the rest of the steps in silence and were soon out in the cool summer afternoon. They came across no one this time as Ned retraced his steps to the godswood and he was very relieved to find the boy and girl hidden just as he had left them.

Maester Luwin knelt down and Ned forced some of the branches out of the way so that he could examine them without the irritant of twigs and leaves.

"How long were they in the water, my lord?" Maester Luwin asked as his hands checked various parts of the two bodies.

"No more than half a minute."

"And how did they come to be in the water?"

"They fell. I heard snapping branches, I looked up and these two fell from the sky into the pool." Ned explained, as precisely as he could. The maester's mouth opened slightly and his eyes flickered to a dozen locations. "That is what I saw." Ned reaffirmed, though Maester Luwin had voice no doubts.

Maester Luwin nodded but looked as bewildered as Ned felt. "It is as you say, my lord, they are unconscious but it appears you rescued them before they inhaled or swallowed any water. Do you believe them to have been unconscious before entering the pool?"

Ned thought back for a moment. "I heard no indication that either of them was aware of their descent – no cries or screaming." Maester Luwin nodded again, looking grave. "I can offer no explanation for their arrival or where they have come from. The only hint is the arms they both wear." He pointed to the lion on the girl's cloak and Maester Luwin drew it towards him for a closer look, inadvertently revealing her bare legs. The Maester gave Ned a shocked look at the flesh he had uncovered but words did not need to be exchanged. This was only a small part of the greater mystery.

Maester Luwin turned his attention to the crest, a frown heavily marring his features. "It is not a Lannister lion," he announced gravely, "but its similarities should not be ignored."

"A poor imitation?" Ned asked. A soft cracking sound made him turn his head to the left, but he could see nothing.

"If it is, then it's a very poor imitation." Maester Luwin conceded. "It would fool none but the simplest of men."

"What about the writing?" Ned asked, hoping to get a more solid answer but Maester Luwin sighed.

"I have not seen its like before."

Ned's hopes vanished. If Maester Luwin did not recognise it even slightly, then where had these children come from?

"What do you think I should do?" Ned asked.

The Maester thought for a few seconds before answering. That was something that Ned always appreciated from him. Some people he questioned would answer instantly, so as not to keep him waiting but their answers would be flawed, ill-judged. Maester Luwin would not worry too much about letting the seconds drift by in order to give Ned the wisest counsel.

"Until we can ascertain what sort of threat they pose, if they are threats at all, we should look on them as prisoners. They have entered the grounds of Winterfell through some sort of false means after all. However, given the unusual circumstances of their arrival it would be best to keep knowledge of their existence as limited as possible." Ned nodded in agreement. "But where to keep them without raising suspicion?" Luwin continued. "All it would take is one person to notice and the whole castle would hear within an hour."

Ned ran a hand over his face and turned to the left. "Robb, Jon, come here," he called. There was a heart's beat of silence before his sons emerged from behind a bush, looking guilty. Ned stared them down as they approached and neither could find the courage to look him in the eye.

"Ser Rodrick is leading a patrol for wildlings in the Wolfswood." Robb meekly offered in explanation, looking at his father's feet. Had Ned's mind not been on mysterious appearing children, he would not have forgotten the Master-at-Arms' absence from Winterfell.

"You will look at me when you address me," Ned rebuked and both boys looked up at their father apprehensively. "You were both perfectly aware of Ser Rodrick's absence from the castle when I spoke to you in Maester Luwin's solar. Why did you not speak up?"

The boys exchanged guilty glances.

"We wanted to know of the matter that brought you to Maester Luwin; why you were wet." Jon blurted. "As we reached the bottom of the turret we heard you both leave and mention someone appearing." At this, both boys glanced over to the two prone figures lying under the tree. Maester Luwin hurriedly replaced the cloak over the girl's legs. "We followed you to the godswood and overheard most of your conversation. We are sorry, father."

"Had you walked through the godswood boldly, I might have been less grieved by your actions," Ned told them sternly. "But to creep around in the shadows like a spider, dishonours you both." Their gazes dropped again but he would find time to scold his sons further when the boy and girl were safely concealed somewhere. "However, now that you are both here, I will have use of you."

Relieved that they were no longer under their father's icy gaze, the boys moved towards the strangers.

"Who are they?" Robb asked.

"Where are they from?" Jon looked at his father expectantly.

"How did they get here?"

"What are they doing here?"

"Why are their clothes so different?"

"Are they going to wake up?"

Maester Luwin gave Ned a slightly amused look at the boys' onslaught of questions. This was exactly why he had tried to keep them away. "I'm afraid I can answer none of your questions, boys." He responded. "I sincerely hope that they wake because I am as eager as you to find the truth."

Before Ned could stop him, Robb reached down and took the peculiar item off of the boy's eyes. "What are these?" Robb said to himself.

"Robb, no, put them back," Jon advised.

Ignoring his half-brother, Robb inspected them briefly before placing them over his own eyes. With a yell, he wrenched them off and Ned moved forward, concerned.

"What happened?" Jon asked, taking them from Robb and also peering curiously at them.

"They made my eyes go strange. My vision was altered. Try it," he urged but Ned had had enough of their curiosity.

"This is not a game, boys." He said sternly, taking the strange object from Jon and placing it back over the mysterious boy's eyes. "Until we know more about them, we must consider them to be a serious threat to everyone in Winterfell."

"But they're only about our age." Jon pointed out. "How dangerous could they be?"

"Appearances can be deceiving, Jon," warned Maester Luwin. "Danger comes in all shapes and sizes and sometimes from where you least expect it."

"You have disappointed me by coming here in secret but now you can redeem yourselves by vowing to me that you will speak to no one of what you have seen here." Ned said.

"Not Theon?" Robb asked.

"No."

"Not even, Lady Stark?" Jon enquired nervously.

"No one." Ned reiterated. The boys finally seemed to sense the seriousness of the situation because all the mirth drained from their faces.

Jon dropped to one knee, Robb a split second behind him. "I do so vow, father." They said in unison and Ned brought them both to their feet.

"There are rooms in the first keep that will be suitable for the boy and girl to be kept in while we wait for them to wake. We will place each of them in a sack to conceal their entry into the keep but to ensure there are as few witnesses as possible; you two will provide a distraction."

"What sort of distraction, father?" Robb asked.

"Whatever will be the most effective without arousing suspicion." His sons looked at each other thoughtfully. "Now, go to one of the store rooms and bring back two large sacks."

"No, let me go, my lord." Maester Luwin requested. "It would draw less attention."

Ned nodded his agreement, Maester Luwin leaving immediately.

The boys' attention turned back at once to the boy and girl on the ground. Ned couldn't really blame them.

"They don't look related." Robb commented.

"Neither do we," Jon pointed out, prompting Robb to shrug his shoulders. "Have you searched them?"

"No," Ned replied. "And neither will either of you." He added as both boys bent to start rummaging through the two cloaks. "Maester Luwin will search them when they have been relocated."

"Can we be present when you question them?" Robb asked hopefully.

Ned frowned. He would rather just have Maester Luwin with him. He had already involved Jon and Robb more than he had planned to. However, seeing children their own age may calm the strangers if they were innocent of any wrongdoing. "I will make that decision when the time comes."

Robb and Jon exchanged pleased looks and Ned felt that he'd already lost that battle.

The Maester soon returned with two large sacks so Ned sent his sons off to carry out their diversion. The boys jogged from the godswood, whispering back and forth, giving Ned a feeling he was going to regret giving them leave to cause a bit of chaos.

Carefully they placed the boy and then the girl into a sack each; Maester Luwin assuring him that being in the sack would cause them no harm. The sacks were light enough for Ned to carry one in each hand to the entrance of the godswood and through the iron gate.

Ned walked confidently, even moving the sack with the girl over his shoulder. Maester Luwin hurried beside him but the people they met paid Ned no more mind than what was due to their lord. The route he took was longer than if he wanted to go there directly, but it meant they encountered less people – especially if Jon and Robb's diversion was working.

The first keep soon loomed above them and Maester Luwin unlocked the door. They located a room on the first floor that held only empty storing barrels. Ned took both children out of the sacks and left the boy in the barrel room, Maester Luwin locking the door as they left so the boy couldn't escape. On the next floor they placed the girl in a room with various broken items of furniture that no one had ever gotten around to fixing. This door was locked on departure as well.

"I will find Jory and ask him to post a guard on each door just to be safe, but I would like you to remain as well. When one of them wakes, inform me immediately." Ned instructed and Maester Luwin bowed in obedience.

Once outside the first keep it did not take long to find his Captain of the Guards. In fact, Jory Cassel found him instead; Jon, Robb and (for a reason that Ned couldn't fathom) his younger daughter Arya in tow. Jon and Robb were both bleeding from cuts to their cheeks but looked calm, while Arya's eyes were wet and she looked both angry and slightly scared.

It transpired that a practice bout between Robb and Jon had turned sour. Blows were dealt in anger and curses rang through the yard as the half-brothers battled with their wooden swords. Arya, upon seeing her two beloved brothers trying to break each other's bones, had launched herself between them with flailing arms and hysterical shrieks, causing the bout to promptly end. When Ned realised that it had been Arya's nails that had drawn the blood on her brothers' cheeks, he almost laughed. Instead, he forced each of his sons to apologise to the other and then to their sister before banishing them to their rooms.

Crouching next to his daughter, he cupped the side of her head in one of his heads. "You were very brave to stop your brothers like that," he told her. "But promise me you won't do that again, Arya – you were very lucky that you weren't hurt."

She breathed deeply twice and Ned could tell that she wasn't happy about the promise he'd asked of her. "I promise," she muttered.

He kissed her on the forehead. "Good girl. Now off you go, I'm sure Septa Mordane or your mother have need of you."

Arya left, barely refraining from stamping her feet.

"Jory, Maester Luwin has need of two of your guards in the first keep." He instructed.

"Of course, my lord," the Captain replied and left to fulfil his command.

The remainder of the day past slowly for Ned as his thoughts turned frequently to the first keep. He visited his two eldest sons and thanked them for their part in the moving of the strangers although he expressly forbade either of them from entering the first keep without him. Then he had to endure Catelyn's disapproval of the boy's bout, which according to her was of course Jon's fault.

He visited the first keep late in the afternoon to see if there was any progress but Maester Luwin had to disappoint him.

They dined on a rich, beef stew that evening and it was a markedly tense affair. Ned, Jon and Robb were all anxiously awaiting news from the first keep while the rest of the high table believed there to be strain between Ned's elder sons after their fight earlier. Arya went from scowling at her brothers, to clinging desperately to their sleeves and back again.

Ned was relieved when the meal was over. He announced his intention to walk the walls. Jon and Robb looked as though they wanted to accompany him but they were to stay confined to their rooms as part of their fake punishment for fighting.

It was on the wall by the south gate that Maester Luwin found him.

"The girl is stirring, my lord," he said, only slightly breathless at the climb.

Ned nodded. "Fetch Robb and Jon. It is time we got some answers."

A/N Just a word about the Hogwarts uniform; I've gone for a blend of book/film for that because JK Rowling never makes it clear in her books what the students wear under their robes (I checked!) so I've gone with a uniform but I've actually made them wear it on the night they rescue Sirius, which is different from the film where they wear their own clothes. See, a blend.

I suppose you could say that the universe I based this Westeros on is a blend of book and TV show too, but more of that in the future.

The reviews I've had were great because so many of them made me think of aspects of the ASoIaF/GoT world that I hadn't thought of. So please, keep them coming because I can't think of everything otherwise my brain would melt!

Lots of love,

Lil Drop of Magic