Dragons and Thrones: An Unusual Union

Chapter 25 of my crossover story, enjoy.

Reviews

Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks, glad you like them.
wazzup11: Thanks, well, to be honest, why just the dead, when has she ever really respected anyone, she's basically just putting on a front anyway.
Boris Yeltsin: Thanks.
Veridissima: Yup, it has, glad you enjoyed it, well, we can only wait and see, things are about to become very interesting is all I'll say :)
Guest: I'll be honest, I don't know what you mean by your first comment, no, she doesn't do that, she's different remember.
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Game of Thrones belongs to George R.R. Martin. Dragon Age belongs to Bioware.

Eddard

Ned sighed as he rode with Robb and Catelyn. Behind them rode their army, the various other armies returning to their homes, ready to respond again when called. Amongst the army were various camp followers and other people; Ned wasn't sure where some of them came from, but they were all helpful.

One in particular however confused him, a young woman, who appeared to be a foreigner to Westeros; her complexion suggested she was from Essos. She was trying to remain unobtrusive, which just made her stand out more.

'Strange; still, she's been most helpful, treating the wounded.' He noted to himself. 'So, it's come down to this; war will be beginning soon, I had hoped my family wouldn't…But there's no other option now. Still, right now, I can't escape one simple happy fact. I will soon be home.'

He smiled softly to himself at that thought, Winterfell was in sight, it wouldn't be long now, he'd be back home. Back in familiar surroundings, he'd see Bran and Rickon again, yet despite this, one thing ruined it; the absence of both hi daughters.

Yet right now, his hands were tied, there was nothing he could do except pray and hope that some chance to rescue Sansa would present itself, that Arya would find her way back home safely. Still lost in thought about that, he continued to ride on.

Before too long they were riding through the gates of Winterfell; word had been sent on ahead of their return and Ned couldn't help but smile to see his two youngest sons. Bran was seated on a small stool that had been set up, Rickon stood next to him, barely able to keep still.

'They've grown, even in the short time I've been away.' Ned noted to himself. 'I was worried about Bran when I heard, but he's adapted well to his new life already.'

He finally dismounted along with his wife and eldest son and made to greet his younger sons. Rickon immediately launched himself at his father, who laughed and returned his embrace. Robb and Catelyn both grinned and joined in as Rickon greeted them just as enthusiastically. Bran smiled and spoke, calmer.

"Hello Father, welcome home…I'm glad you returned, along with Robb and Mother."

Ned smiled and stepped up to Bran, embracing him. "It is good to see you to Bran; I am glad to see you are well."

Bran returned the embrace. "I am, thank you Father."

Looking around Ned noted that, to his relief, just as he said, Howland's children were present. They bowed as he greeted them, he also noted a strange young man with them who stood out at once due to his pointed ears, an Elf, who introduced himself as Taren. Ned smiled and welcomed him to Winterfell; but then, the happiness faded when Rickon looked around and his smile dropped.

He then asked. "Where are Sansa and Arya?"

Ned sighed. "We better go inside, sit down, this will take some explaining."

Bran and Rickon both looked worried when they heard that; but they followed him inside, Hodor coming to pick Bran up and carry him inside.

Soon they were all seated in the great hall and Ned shook his head; he had to explain the hard truth now.

"I'm afraid I wasn't able to bring Sansa and Arya home." He said sadly. "We…We face great difficulty now. Due to certain, discoveries I made, None of Robert's children have any legitimate claim to the throne. That means the true heir to the Iron Throne is Stannis."

There was a stony silence following that, before Bran then said; his voice barely over a whisper.

"That means…War."

Ned nodded. "Yes, sadly, while I was able to resign as Hand of the King and come here…Joffrey only accepted on the grounds I keep his and Sansa's betrothal; so she had to stay in King's Landing."

They all gasped, clearly horrified by this.

"Yes; so, while we will support Stannis, we cannot directly get involved in any attack, especially on King's Landing, unless we care certain we'll have some means to save Sansa." He explained.

There was another long silence after that, before finally Rickon spoke up.

"What about Arya, she…is she in King's Landing too?"

Ned shook his head. "No, Arya is…ever since the explosion, Arya has been missing. Presumably she's ended up in one of these new lands that have appeared since then."

There were gasps around the table from those who hadn't heard the story before.

"Our one hope is that Arya finds her way home. She's resourceful, I'm certain she'll manage it." He continued.

The others nodded, but it was clear, like him, they were still rather worried.

Later, Ned sighed as he sat in his solar, it would soon be time for them to make their move. He considered carefully however, he knew he had to be careful with what he planned to say and do.

He thought carefully. 'It will soon be time to begin, no doubt Stannis will issue a call to war soon, he will want to know who is loyal to whom. I have to ensure he is aware of our loyalty, but also knows of our difficulties.'

He got to work, composing a letter to be sent to Stannis. As he wrote he pondered to himself.

'Something about this explosion isn't right; it's not like anything that's ever happened before. While we need a legitimate Baratheon on the throne, we also need to figure out the truth about the explosion and these other lands.'

He sighed; this wasn't going to be easy; especially with so many mysteries to resolve and he still had to find a way to ensure his daughters returned to him safely. Just then there was a knock at the door and Maester Luwin entered.

"Maester?"

Luwin bowed. "My Lord, there are a few things we must discuss, things that will also require your attention here in the North."

Ned nodded, knowing he was referring to things that had happened during the times Robb and later Bran had been ruling in his stead.

He sat back and waited.

"Well my Lord, first and foremost, there are groups of these people, the ones known as Elves within the North." Luwin explained. "We don't know what to do with them, how to approach them."

Ned nodded. "I see; anything else?"

Luwin nodded. "Yes, it seems there is more danger here in the North than we thought. Bandits have appeared. Your guests, Lord Jojen and Lady Meera Reed were accosted and captured by a group of them on their way here. If it wasn't for the Elf Taren, they might have faced worse danger at the hands of these bandits."

Ned tensed at this. "Bandits, that won't do…We'll have to deal with them swiftly. Thank you Luwin, I will see to this, I'll also decide how to approach the Elves. In the meantime, I must ask you send this letter to Stannis via raven, it explains everything, our loyalty to him, our difficulties, our hopes to resolve them."

Luwin nodded and took the letter, heading to send it, meanwhile, Ned prepared himself for whatever lay ahead; he had to get to work at once.

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.

Well, that's the last Ned chapter now, next up, the last Arya chapter.