I really wasn't going to write this, but... I was getting sick of reading, so I decided to do a POV from Lawna's perspective. I had said that I was going to stop writing this, but, as you may or may not have noticed, I did not mark this complete, so we'll see what happens.

Lawna awoke that morning to the sight of Lady Stark's face.

Nothing in the world could have made her more happier, and, as soon as her eyes had opened, she made sure to be perfectly still, so as not to wake or disturb her. She scarcely dared to breathe for fear that the lady would awaken, and then she would have to leave, for ladies, as her father had often told her, were really not allowed in forges.

But there she was, laying there, fast asleep, the fierce look that usually adorned her hard features gone, replaced with what looked to be almost a half smile. She must be dreaming of the many battles she has won, Lawna thought with wonder, or perhaps she is dreaming of my baby brother.

What she dreamt did not matter. Only that she was there.

There was a crunching sound, and Lawna gave an involuntary jerk, looking up to see her father standing over them, smiling. Her father had a very nice smile.

"We must be quiet," she whispered earnestly. "So as not to wake Lady Stark."

"She'll wake soon enough," her father said in that gruff voice of his, leaning down to give Lady Stark a gentle look. "And if we don't wake her, Lady Sansa's wrath will."

"I don't want her to go," Lawna said, clutching Lady Stark's hand like a prayer. "I want her to stay."

"As do I, my dear," her father said with a grave gentleness, giving her arm a pat, "but, as you well know, we cannot always have what we want."

Lawna sighed sadly, looking back over at her hand entwined with Lady Stark's.

"A few more minutes, perhaps?" she asked shyly, and her father smiled.

"Lord Snow will be here soon," he said, standing. "I see no reason why Lady Stark should wake before then. After all, she has had a very long journey, and must be very tired."

"Might I stay here with her then?" Lawna pleaded, daring not to hope.

"Yes," her father said, ruffling her hair. "I see no harm in it."

Her heart was so full of happiness that she might have broken out into song, if she knew it would not wake Lady Stark.

Everything was always so much better when Lady Stark was there. Lady Sansa was always happier, and Jon Snow always walked with a spring in his step. But it was the change in her father that she liked best of all. His eyes always danced around Lady Stark, and his laughter was deep, and he told stories and jokes and never seemed to stop smiling. There were times, many times, that he grew angry with Lady Stark, and they would quarrel, and it would hurt deep within Lawna, for she knew that when the quarreling began, Lady Stark would be gone, driven away.

She would be angry with her father for making Lady Stark go, were that it did not hurt him so. Every time she left Winterfell, it was as though the winter had finally crawled under his skin, leaving him stoic and unreachable. He would often stare off into the night, or the space, and Lawna wondered if he was looking for her, wondering where she was. Lawna often wondered where she was when she wasn't with them. Perhaps she had another blacksmith, and a little girl that was infinitely better than she was.

"Don't be ridiculous," her father had said once, when she had confessed her fear to him, and it was the only time that he had ever looked truly angry.

He had fought angrily with Lady Stark upon her return, and she had left shortly after, and Lawna had known it was all her fault, and had wept bitterly for days and days. At long last, her father was finally able to console her.

"It's all my fault," she had sniffed in his arms. "If I was only better..."

"It is not your fault," her father had said fiercely. "Lady Stark loves you."

"No she doesn't," Lawna had cried, tears leaking from her eyes. "Or she would stay."

Her father's sigh seemed to be pulled from the lips of a man a thousand years old. Gently, he stroked her hair.

"When Lady Stark was a little girl," he began, "she endured terrible things. Worse than you can even imagine. And when I met her, she was a little girl who had lost her youth. And when she returned after we were separated, there was a long while that I feared that the losses she had suffered had drowned her."

"But Lady Stark is a fierce warrior," Lawna said, frowning.

"She is now," her father said gently. "But she wasn't always. She lost a good deal, and one day, when you are older, you will learn how much."

Lawna could only blink up at him, confused.

"She is afraid," her father explained. "She doesn't want to loose you too. That is why she leaves."

"Lady Stark cannot be afraid," Lawna said, frowning. "She is the bravest woman in all of Westeros."

"Did you know," her father said, turning her around to face him and balancing her on one knee, "that a great man, a man that once ruled over Winterfell many years ago, said that a person can only be brave when they're afraid?"

Lawna frowned. It didn't make sense.

But so little made sense, and her father was always telling her that when she was older, she would understand. But it was two years past that day, and she still didn't understand. She had come to the conclusion that she probably never would.

"Aha! I was wondering if I'd find her here."

Lawna was broken from her pondering to see Lord Snow towering over her, a smile on his face. His features resembled that of Lady Stark's, and so he was always a favorite in Lawna's heart.

Next to her, Lawna felt Lady Stark stirring. Her heart sank.

"Gendry," Lady Stark snapped sleepily. "You should have woken me."

"Would that I could," Lawna's father said, and there was a mischief behind his eyes, "but I fear, my lady, that not even a Lannister army could have roused you this morning."

"You're teaching him too many fine words, Jon," Lady Stark grumbled, rolling into a sitting position, her movements made harder by her round stomach. "He's starting to sound intelligent."

The grown ups laughed.

"I'd stop making quips and start running, if I were you," Lord Snow advised as Lawna's father walked towards her and helped Lady Stark to her feet. "The last time I saw her, Sansa was stabbing her breakfast and muttering curses."

"Sansa needs to enjoy her food more," Lady Stark grumbled, and then she looked over at Lawna, and Lawna felt her father reach under her arms and lift her up, swinging her about until she was dizzy and hysterical with giggles.

"I've made you miss your morning walk," Lady Stark said with a frown.

"That's quite all right," Lawna said at once, trying to sound as proper as possible. "I don't mind."

Lady Stark gave her a smile.

"You can come with us tomorrow if you like," her father said, still holding her, but now she was higher, her arms around his neck.

Lawna waited for Lady Stark's reply with baited breath.

"A morning walk would do me good," she said at last, and Lawna felt her heart sing.

It sang even louder when Lady Stark walked over to her and planted an unsure kiss on her cheek before she left. As Lawna watched her go, she turned to look back at her father and saw his eyes swimming with such a look as one she had never seen before.

"Lessons my sweet child?" Lord Snow asked, cutting through the mystified silence. Her father set her down so that they might begin.

Her lessons were nothing like the lessons bannerman children learned. Lord Snow had confessed himself that he was not much of a teacher, but her father had said he was more learned than a lowly blacksmith, and so Lord Snow taught her her lessons. Mostly, he recounted the history of Westeros, but more recently, he had begun to endeavor to teach her how to read. She couldn't wait to show Lady Stark.

As it was, however, it seemed as though she would not see Lady Stark until the next day. She and her father waited that night, waited a good long while, and she had hoped with all her heart that Lady Stark would find a way to come to them. But she did not.

It was with a weary heart that Lawna went to bed that night, hugging her wooden sword to her chest, but feeling like it paled in comparison to the feel of Lady Stark's hand entwined in her own.

But the next day she had awoken in all excitement. She had put on her best furs, and clothes, bundling herself up for the cold. Her father had laughed at her merriment, and then told her not to eat her breakfast so quickly.

When Lady Stark had finally arrived, they set off, Lawna on her father's shoulders and Lady Stark by his side, the cold morning air swirling around them, lightly powdered with a thin snow. It was so light, it almost looked like mist, and the sun looked like it was shinning, so there was no fear of a sudden storm.

The woods were quiet that morning, and though it had snowed a good deal during the night, the trees were so thick that there was only a light dust on the ground, easy to walk through.

Lawna could not remember a time where she was more happy. Her father and Lady Stark were telling stories, lovely stories. Funny stories.

"I remember that he said, 'bark like a dog if you're in trouble,' or something of the sort," Lady Stark was saying as they broke through the woods and headed towards the farmers house. "And I said, 'that's stupid. If I need help, I'll yell help.'"

Her laughter was tingling and sweet, ringing off the snow.

"I thought it sounded like a good idea," her father grumbled.

"And it wasn't," Lady Stark said, laughing again. Lawna laughed too, though she really didn't know why. It didn't matter anyway. Lady Stark's merriment made her merry as well.

They approached the farm, and the farmers children raced out, and then stopped short at the sight of Lady Stark. The farmer came out as well, and he too looked stunned. Lawna felt uncomfortable, and she could sense that Lady Stark felt so as well.

"Lady Stark," the farmer said, dropping into a respectful bow, his children following his lead. "We had no idea of your arrival, or we would have-"

"Oh no," Lady Stark said awkwardly, holding up a hand. "There is no need for ceremony. Gendry and Lawna were going on a walk, and they asked me to join them."

Still, it did not feel the same as it did when Lady Stark was not there.

"Might I go and play, father?" Lawna asked tentatively.

"Yes of course," he said, sounding relieved, and he lifted her from her shoulders so that she might play.

But no sooner did she run and begin her play, did Lawna turn around, hearing her father and Lady Stark having words. She just caught the word 'mother' before Lady Stark's face broke out in a livid anger and she turned on her heel and marched off, back towards Winterfell.

"What did you say?" Lawna demanded, rushing to her father in a panic.

"Nothing," her father said, and there was anger in his eyes as well.

"You made her angry!" Lawna cried, tears pooling in her eyes. "You made her want to leave! And now she'll never come back!"

"Lawna-"

But Lawna would hear none of it.

"I hate you!" She cried, tears running down her face, and then she took off after Lady Stark, determined to stop her and persuade her not to leave.

"LAWNA!"

But she ignored her father's roars, pushing through the snow in all haste, following the tracks made by Lady Stark. She could just see her, disappearing back into the woods, and, her breathing ragged and her heart swelling in her chest, Lawna ran to catch her.

"Lady Stark!"

Lady Stark did not hear her, so Lawna ran faster.

"Lady Stark!"

This time she heard and turned around, the expression on her face one that Lawna could not place. Lady Stark waited at the edge of the woods for Lawna to catch her breath.

"Lady Stark," Lawna said, hastily wiping away her tears. "Please don't leave. Father's wicked to make you upset."

"Your father is not wicked," Lady Stark said with gentle firmness. "He is a good man."

"Please don't leave Lady Stark," Lawna begged, coming towards her. "I don't want you to go, and neither does Father, even if he says things to make you upset."

Lady Stark gave her a long, hard look.

"I know," she said after a long time.

"Then you'll stay?" Lawna said tentatively. She didn't dare to dream.

"I think so," Lady Stark said thoughtfully.

"For... Forever?"

That seemed to cause Lady Stark some discomfort, for she did not speak for a long time.

"Is it Father?" Lawna pressed. "Do you not love him?"

She knew she really ought not to say such things. It wasn't her place, especially when she was talking to Lady Stark. But she had to know. Had to. She had to be sure that it wasn't her fault that Lady Stark was leaving.

"Why would I not love him?" Lady Stark said, and to Lawna's surprise, she sounded almost wounded.

"Because he is a blacksmith," Lawna said, frowning. "And ladies are not supposed to love blacksmiths."

"Your father was a knight once," Lady Stark said thoughtfully. "Did you know that?"

"No, my lady," Lawna said, coming forward to walk with her.

"I was so angry with him," Lady Stark said, her eyes stormy from the memories.

"Why?" Lawna asked, not understanding.

"Because he left me," she said, and for the first time, Lady Stark looked very sad, and there was a sort of look on her face that Lawna couldn't place. A brokeness. "He left me to be a knight and ride about the land with a bunch of outlaws.

"Why would he do that?" Lawna wondered, feeling confused.

"Because he was a stupid, stubborn bull that's why," Lady Stark said, kicking at a bit of snow. And then her expression changed. "Did I ever tell you about the Lost Knight?"

"No, Lady Stark," Lawna said, even more at a loss as to how this related to anything at all.

"It's a very sad story," Lady Stark said, and Lawna could tell that it was. Lady Stark looked sad just telling it.

"What happened?" Lawna asked.

"There was once a knight," Lady Stark said, looking off into the snow dusted wood, "who road over the North and the seven kingdoms, in search of a girl."

"His lady love?" Lawna guessed.

"Yes," Lady Stark said, giving her a small, rewarding smile. "His Lady love, though he didn't know it at the time."

"He didn't?" Lawna was confused again. This was a very confusing story.

"All he knew was that they had been parted, and that, out there, somewhere, she was alive and lost. And without him," Lady Stark said softly. "He just didn't know how lost."

"Where was she?" Lawna asked.

"Some place," Lady Stark said with a shrug, "some city in some exotic, foreign country. It mattered not. He rode over the kingdoms, in search of her, never giving up hope. Years, it took him. They said his eyes were the saddest in all of Westeros."

"Did he end up finding her?" Lawna wanted to know.

"No," Lady Stark said very sadly. "He thought he did, though. He rode back to her old castle, and her old home, after hearing rumors that she was there. And when he arrived, he was sure that he had found her."

"How was he sure he had found her when he hadn't?" Lawna demanded, her mind running circles in her head.

"Oh the girl looked like her, she had her eyes and her hair and her body, but she wasn't the girl he had known," Lady Stark said, looking off into the woods again, and Lawna had a feeling that she was not looking at the woods, but something else. "That's the sad thing in the story. She was lost to him, and when he found her, she was still lost."

"It's a very sad story," Lawna agreed. "I hope one day that he found her, that she wasn't really lost forever."

Lady Stark turned to Lawna, and there was a hint of a smile on her face.

"No," she said softly, kneeling down so that she was Lawna's hight. "See there was this girl, a little wisp of a thing, and she came into the world, and though the knight's lady was quite lost, the little girl knew where to find her."

Lawna gasped.

"Was that little girl me?" she asked. Lady Stark smiled, and what a rare and pretty smile it was.

"Yes," she said, standing up and taking Lawna's hand as they neared the gates of Winterfell.

"So does that make me the hero of the story then?" Lawna asked shyly, a foolish grin spreading itself across her face.

Lady Stark laughed.

"Yes," she sighed. "I suppose it does."

The idea for the knight was not mine, but I absolutely adored it and wanted to put it in here. No stealing was intended, I just loved how beautifully haunting the story was, and really wanted to place it in this story. The original I believe is here, along with a fic that was written about it. I recommend checking them out, if you want:

. /tumblr_m5jue3S7LW1qe1i57o1_r2_

/works/429934/chapters/72647