Wife of the Wolf, Husband of the Sun
Chapter Seventeen
Ned hummed as he made his way to the small dining hall where the family had their meals when they weren't entertaining the other houses of the north, he couldn't help but feel happy at the moment as Elia had told him a few days ago that Lyanna had come to apologise to her and now they seemed to be spending a lot more time together.
It warmed his heart to see that his wife and his little sister were actually getting along, he was afraid that Lyanna would never warm up to her and he had been afraid that when she had managed to beat Lyanna in a sword fight that she would wind up resenting Elia but if anything the opposite had happened. Lyanna seemed to respect her more.
He then realised that he hadn't told Lyanna that he had forgiven her yet and he would do so at dinner tonight,
When he arrived in the small hall he saw that neither his father or any of his siblings had arrived yet but his wife and her friend were there and the table was already set with food, he smiled gently and walked over to her and gently kissed her, "Hello my Lady."
"Hello Ned." Elia said with a smile of her own and pecked his lips again, she looked beautiful in a red dress with gold lining around the trim and had no sleeves, mind you to Ned she would look beautiful dressed in a potoato sack. "Have you missed me?" She asked gently, almost teasingly.
Ned smiled slightly, he saw Elia every day and she knew that but despite what was clearly teasing on her past he couldn't help but silently admit that during the few hours or so that he had been away from her that he had indeed missed her, was that a good sign or a bad one? To be honest he didn't know and he didn't care. He loved his wife, he felt no shame or concern in that.
"Oh, greatly. Every second away was an agony." He said with a teasing smile as he kissed her again, her loveliness did sometimes take his breath from her.
"How are you Lady Ashara?" He asked the other woman, Ned was not blind to the other's beauty. Most men would agree that she was far lovelier than Elia but he did not find that to be so in his case, his lady wife seemed to be the most beautiful woman in all the world.
Ashara did seem to be a little upset about something, his violet her which were normally bright and happy seemed duller than normal and she seemed to be more subdued than normal, her head was bent slightly and she seemed to have been studying her feet most intensely.
"I am find Lord Eddard, thank you for asking." Ashara said, glancing up to look at him and gave him a comforting smile but it seemed more than a little forced and he couldn't help but wonder what was wrong but he would not force the matter if Lady Ashara did not wish to speak of it.
Ned turned his head back to his wife when he felt her hand cup his cheek, her dark eyes were burning with something that he didn't like though he could not put a name to it. She spoke softly, at least in terms of volume if not tone. "I shall not spoil this dinner as it is the first that I've been able to attend in what has been far too long but once we retire I must speak with you."
Ned couldn't help the heavy frown from appearing on his face, before he could ask any questions as to what exactly was wrong the door to the hall opened and his father and younger siblings walked in. This would have to wait until later.
After a few words spoken the family sit down the table and Ned looked towards the head of the table where his father was naturally sitting. "Where is Brandon?" He asked and he noticed that Ashara seemed to shiver as he asked.
"He is taking care of something for me, he will be here shortly." His father answered as he picked up the picture of wine and filled his goblet and Ned had to admit he was more than a little surprised as Brandon normally didn't much of any work unless he absolutely had to which probably meant that their father had ordered him to do it. "Apparently he got into some sort of fight, like a fool and he won't tell me who with." He commented as he took a sip of his wine.
The pitcher of wine was passed around the table and everyone's cup was filled but Benjen and Lyanna would only be allowed one cup each as their father thought they were still too young to have more than that.
No one said anything as Ashara finished her cup in less than a minute and filled it up again.
As soon as she placed the pitcher down the door opened once again and Brandon stepped into the room, Ned noticed the large red mark on his brother's face as soon as he stepped in but by this point he knew better than to say anything about it when Brandon was in a mood and he was clearly in a mood.
"I've done as you've asked of me father." Brandon said and it was one of the few times that Ned could remember Brandon speaking to their father so coolly, normally when he was made to do something that he didn't want he would be cracking jokes and mocking him not acting this coldly.
The older Stark boy sat down at the table on of the other side of Lady Ashara as soon as his eyes landed on her they darkened and he reached out for the pitcher which he used to fill his cup and slowly took a sip out of it. "How lovely you look this evening Lady Ashara." He said gruffly before he took another sip.
"Thank you, where is your soon to be lady wife this evening?" Ashara asked as she drank half her cup in one go.
Ned watched as his older brother's face twisted into something quite unpleasant and he began to piece everything together, something had happened between Ashara and Brandon but he still didn't know what. He was aware that his brother had quite a thing for the Dornishwoman and had probably laid with her in the past but he wasn't sure what the problem was?
Had Brandon was another tumble and Lady Ashara had turned him down? It wouldn't surprise him if that was the cause of his brother's bad mood as he was very used to women always wanting to lay with him so if Lady Ashara had turned him down for whatever reason then he would be in a bad mood as Brandon always expected everyone to fawn all over him.
Ned loved his brother but gods he could be an ass.
Their father finally cut through the awkward silence. "Lady Catelyn was not feeling herself so she has gone to rest, speaking of which." He turned his head to Elia. "How are you feeling now Princess, I trust you are well?"
Elia smiled gently nodded. "Yes, thank you goodfather. I think I was slowly losing my mind up there."
"I would just like to apologise to you again for my daughter's attitude." Rickard said as he shot a glance at Lyanna who looked down at her feet while tightening her fingers around her goblet. "Truly I can not put into words how disappointed I am with her, she should have known better."
"To be fair my lord I challenged her to a fight and she did come to apologise to me and I have accepted it, in my mind it is in the past and should be forgotten." Elia said as she smiled warmly but it was clearly aimed at Lyanna and it warmed Ned's heart and made him proud to see Lyanna to return it.
The mood did not last long as his father cut in. "Well, that is very genrous of you and I am very glad to hear that my daughter has had the grace to apologize to you it but that does not make up for it."
"It's not like I wanted her to faint." Lyanna muttered as she took a sip of her wine. "And I did say that I was sorry."
Lord Rickard still looked displeased but he seemed to realise that now was not the time for this fight so he simply grunted. "Now, Brandon I hope that you are being kind to lady Catelyn, it's less than a year now that you will be married."
"Please don't remind me." Brandon muttered as he downed his wine and filled up his cup again. "I'm trying my hardest to forget."
Their father did not looked pleased at his brother and Ned braced himself for the argument that was no doubt coming.
"Brandon. You are going to marry Lady Catelyn, you know that you have no other option. I've asked you to make your peace with this yet you continue to resist, you have a duty to me, to the north and to the family and you will fulfil it." Rickard said firmly as he stared at his eldest son. "Winter is coming."
Brandon laughed, he had always hated the words of their house as to him apparently it meant that they had to sacrifice everything, every shred of joy, to prepare for a winter that none of them might live to see. "Neither gods nor man can compel another man to marry."
For a moment there was silence until it was broken by their father's laughter, it was a bitter, cold harsh thing and Ned couldn't help but shiver as he felt a chill run up his spine.
"Foolish fucking boy." Rickard said as his laugh became nothing more than a chuckle as he got to his feet, bringing himself to his full height and Brandon couldn't hold back a gulp as he stared up at his father who made him look like a dwarf.
Ned knew that this was very, very bad. He glanced at his wife when he felt her hand grabbing his and linking their fingers together and gave her hand a squeeze to try and give her some comfort and was grateful when she squeezed back.
Benjen looked up at their father, paled and wide eyed. He had never truly seen their father truly angry before and Ned couldn't help but feel sorry for him, he remember the first time he had seen his father this angry and it had not been a pleasant experience, Lyanna had just been born and a minor lord from a minor house that bordered the neck had insulted their mother during a feast to celebrate Lyanna's birth.
He might not have loved their mother like a husband should love his wife but it had still taken half the lords in the hall at the time to hold him back from beating that man to death, that specific house if he remember correctly had not attended a feast of theirs since then and that was probably for the best as their father had a long memory.
Speaking of Lyanna she was the only one aside from Brandon who looking at their father with their head held and unlike him she showed no outward signs of fear and to be honest that did not surprise Ned much, whatever his sister's faults she had always been the bravest of them.
"Do you think you would be the first man to marry a woman that he did not wish too? The first Stark man? Well, you aren't." Rickard spoke softly, dangerously making it clear that Brandon was on very thin ice with him. "You aren't and you won't, it is not just the women who are forced to marry. Now, I have been extremely patient with you but I have had more than enough, you are going to marry a beautiful woman and you are going to be the Lord of Winterfell one day, what do you truly have to complain about and I will not hear one more word?"
Before Rickard could sit back down to let his word be final Lyanna got out of her chair and glared at her father. "And what about me father? Do I have not the right to complain, you know the man I am marrying."
"Lyanna." Rickard warned but his daughter would not heed it.
"You know what Robert is, he has bastards in every kingdom already and he still takes whores to his bed even though he knows that we are going to be wed." Lyanna said, her wolf blood enflaming her anger and making her blind to any possible consequence. "Is that the sort of man you want me married too? Truly?"
"What would you have me do girl? You can not remain unmarried and you can not stay in Winterfell for the rest of you life." Rickard said as he stared his daughter straight in the eyes, his grey eyes like cloudy ice while her daughters looked like grey steel. "I would not marry you if I did not think it were for the best. Robert loves you."
"How is marrying me to that whoring bastard for the best?! I'd rather marry a Frey or a Bolton or gods, I'd take a Lannister!" Lyanna shouted, nearly screamed it. "Are you such a fucking fool!?"
Rickard's face turned slightly red, his grey eyes be slivers and he slammed his hands down on the table so hard that Ned was fairly sure that he heard it splinter. Lyanna jumped back slightly but she did not break her gaze off of her father.
"Do not call me that, I am still your father." Rickard warned in a low voice.
"You're a piss poor one." Lyanna said and there was a sudden intake of breath from around the table. For a moment a look of sadness crossed over Rickard's face but it was only there for a moment
"Lyanna. Stop this now." Ned said as he glanced between his sister and his father, he honestly had no idea what was going to happen next but he was ready to get out his chair and act if he had to, glancing towards his brother he could see that he was ready too as well.
"I won't and I will not marry Robert father, I will not!" She shouted as she slammed her hands down on to table as well. "If you try and make me then I will throw myself of the top of the broken tower, I mean it!"
"Are you so ungrateful!" Rickard shouted, his face bright red now and he spoke without taking a breath. "I've done everything for you! I allowed you to learn how to fight without complaining once and now when I ask you to simply do your duty you refuse? What I have done wrong Lyanna, what have I-" He suddenly stopped talking.
"Father?" Ned asked he slowly got to his feet, his father looked terrible. His skin was bright red and he was sweating heavily, his lips were pressed together and his eyes were in slits and he was breathing harshly. "What's wrong?"
Rickard couldn't say anything, he fell to the floor with a crash that seemed to shake the world itself.
Her father who had always been on the most alive men that Ned had ever seen in his entire life, he used to think that the gods would have to return to the world and kill him for his father to actually die but at that moment, as his father lay still on the floor, he saw the truth. His father was just a man like the rest of them, and gods that terrified him.
"Father!" Lyanna shouted in panic as she stared down at her father as everyone else got to their feet.
Elia ran over to the fallen man and quickly knelt down next to him, her husband quickly following after her. She gently lifted his head and rested it in her lap, frowning heavily as he saw that he was unconscious. She looked up and spoke quickly. "Ashara, go and find the maester. Now!"
"Benjen go with her." Ned spoke firmly and his brother did not protest, leaving the room with Ashara.
"Could someone please find me a cool rag?" Elia asked and Brandon nodded before leaving the room, he came back after a few minuite's that passed in a tense silence with a rag clutched in his hands with a pale-faced servant trailing behind him carrying a bucket of water. The servant placed the bucket of water down next to Elia and Ned and Brandon passed the rag to Elia.
Elia dunked the rag into the water and squeezed it go rid of the excess as she gently pressed the rag to Rickard's forehead, he moaned and wheezed and tried to shift. "Hush goodfather, everything is going to be fine. I promise." She gently soothed as dunked the rag again.
"What happened?" Lyanna whispered as she stared down at her father, her eyes were filled with confusion and fear.
"I'm not sure, we'll have to wait for the Maester." Elia said as she chewed her bottom lip, she wasn't sure what happened but she knew that it wasn't good.
Ashara and Benjen returned with the Maester after another minute and he sighed heavily as he saw his lord lying on the floor, he walked over and knelt down next to it. "What happened?" He asked, his old voice creaky.
"It's my fault we were arguing and he just started to turn red and sweat." Lyanna said weakly as she took a step forward and Ned didn't think he had ever seen his sister so upset in his life.
"It wasn't all her fault, I was arguing with him first." Brandon said as he stepped forward and threw his arm over Lyanna's shoulders and that didn't surprise Ned, he had always been Lyanna's protector.
"I must ask that someone help's me carry him to his room." The maester said and Ned, Brandon and the servant who carried in the bucket all volunteered to do it.
It was a difficult task to say the least, their father was a massive man and there was only the three of them and he was a dead weight but still they manged to carry him through the stone halls, many other servants coming to their aid when they saw their fallen lord.
And as he carried his father through the stone passageways of Winterfell, Eddard Stark found no shame in admitting that he was very afraid.
Lyanna sighed and nervously pulled at her hair to try and give her hands something do while she waited, the chair outside her father's bedchambers was uncomfortable but she didn't want to ask the servants to fetch her a more comfortable one, to be honest comfort was the farthest thing from her mind at the moment.
Her stomach felt like it was filled with beetles, an endless number of squirming things turning her stomach and eating it from the inside. Gods, how did this happen?
How many times had she prayed to the gods for the others to take her father? How many times had she prayed for a way out of this marriage? How many horrible things had she said to her father? How many times had she called him cruel or unfair or evil?
If he died now...
Lyanna loved her father, she loved him a great deal. When she was little he used to swing her up into his arms like she was as light as a feather he could probably still do it now considering how strong her father was and how light she was.
He was the one who taught her how to ride, along with Brandon. He watched with a smile as she had learned to wield a sword and he laughed while her mother fretted over another one of her dresses that had gotten dirty and torn from playing hide and seek with Brandon or wrestling with Ben.
If her father died now than her heart would shatter into a thousand pieces, like an icicle falling to the hard ground below.
Her brothers did not seem to be taking it much better than she was, Brandon was pacing back and forth and muttering something under his breath though she could not make out what he was saying. His left hand was purple, bruised and swollen from when a few moments ago he had hit the stone wall in his frustration.
Eddard was sitting in another chair and was sitting next to his wife and was holding her hand tightly and the two of them were speaking in hushed whispers. Gods, if he didn't already hate her then he surely did now.
Benjen was curled up in his chair and his eyes were shut but Lyanna could tell that he was not sleeping, how could any of them sleep at the moment?
Ashara had gone to inform Lady Catelyn and to make sure that she was well.
It was another two hours before the Maester finally came out of the room, the man had already been old but he looked like over the few hours that he had been treating his lord he had aged an another half a decade. "He lives." He said with a tired sigh.
Lyanna nearly sobbed with relief but she managed to keep control but only just.
"What happened Maester?" Eddard asked as he stood out of his chair.
"The blood which flowed to the Lord's heart was disrupted, it caused a...heart attack." The maester said and allowed that to sink in.
"What caused it?" Benjen asked from his chair, his voice quiet and unsure.
The maester looked unsure of himself for a moment before he spoke. "There are many possible causes for such an event, diet is sometimes a factor but in this case...stress I think is the main cause. As lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North he is under a great deal of stress and Lord Brandon and Lady Lyanna, please forgive me for saying this but I am afraid that I must. You two are not helping."
That did it. Lyanna began to sob harshly into her hands, she was vaguely aware that it did not sound even remotely like a human crying but rather like a dying animal but at the moment she could find it in herself to care.
She vaguely heard Brandon yelling at the maester and Ned telling him to sit down and what sounded like Ned restraining Brandon and the maester trying to calm him down.
"May I see him?" Lyanna asked as she looked up at the maester, her red eyes her dark hair hanging limply around her face.
"He needs to rest, my Lady." The maester tried to let her down as gently as possible but Lyanna had to see him.
"Please Maester, I swear that by all the gods that I will not bother him but I must see him. Please." Lyanna was few moments away from getting down on her knees and begging.
"Very well but he must rest so it can not be a long visit and I must ask that the rest of you wait until morn to see him." The maester said with a tone that made it clear that he would not tolerate any arguments.
Everyone one nodded and Brandon stormed off, Ned glanced at Elia and whispered something to her before he followed his brother and Elia sighed before going in the opposite direction.
Just as Lyanna was about to go into the room Benjen grabbed her hand. "Tell him I love him." He said quietly and left as soon as he saw her nod.
Lyanna took a deep breath and followed the maester inside the chambers, the only light came from a candle that was burning on her father's bedside table and the maester nodded before leaving the room and closing the door.
Lyanna stepped closer to the bed and what she saw nearly made her break out into sobs once again Lyanna had ever seen was lying still in the bed, so still that if the maester had not just assured her that he was still alive then she would think that he had left this world already.
He was as pale as the snow and he seemed a great deal smaller somehow, Lyanna sat down in the chair that was placed next to the bed and reached out to take her father's hand. He was cold with one the slightest bit heat and that brought tears to her eyes.
"Lya?" That weak whisper made her Lyanna look up in shook and her eyes widened as she saw her father look at her with half open eyes. "My sweet girl."
"Father, father I am so sorry." Lyanna said as tears rolled down her cheeks and she clutched his hand with both of hers. "I didn't mean for this, I swear that I didn't. I didn't mean anything that I said."
"Hush now, sweet girl I know that you didn't." Her father reached out to stroke her hair and even that slight action which he normally did every other day seemed to take a great deal of energy out of him and that caused even more tears to roll down her face. "You must not blame yourself."
"But I already do father, as does your maester." Lyanna thought to herself as pressed a kiss to the knuckles of the hand she held. "I am sorry though father, so sorry. And I-" She couldn't continue saying it, it would take all her strength to do so.
"I won't complain about marrying Robert anymore, I swear to you that I won't. I'll do my duty father." Lyanna said quietly and she couldn't bare to look at her father's face while she said it, she would never love Robert most likely she would hate him for all of time but if he took even a little bit of stress off of her father then she would do it.
For him.
"I am so proud of you, my sweet girl." Rickard said and Lyanna had to hold in a sob, she rest her head on her father's chest and closed her eyes as she felt him gently stroke her hair.
She would do this for him.
"Keep fucking up!" Brandon's slurred voice shouted as Ned had trouble drinking his...sixth? He thought that it was his sixth goblet of wine anyway, he didn't normally drink much anyway outside of feasts and one goblet with dinner so him trying to keep up with Brandon was like a green boy armed with a stick trying to beat Arthur Dayne armed with Dawn.
Still, he would try. He might not normally drink but he was well aware of how well it did for easing pain and right now he had a great a deal of pain to ease. "How do you mange to keep drinking like this?" Ned asked and his voice sounded more slurred than his brother's and he was on his...he wasn't sure but there were at least two empty pitchers of wine in front of him as well as a half full one while Ned only had one picture and it was only just nearly empty.
"A lot of practice." Brandon said with a wild laughter that made Ned's ears ring, gods if he and Robert ever spent any real time together then all the breweries in all of the kingdoms would be empty in a moon or less. "Oh gods, I always told father that he would work himself into an early grave."
"It's not funny Bran." Ned said sternly, did his brother ever take anything seriously? Their father had nearly died!
"Do I look like I am fucking laughing Ned?" Brandon asked as he emptied his current goblet and threw it to the side and grabbed the pitcher's handle and began to drink straight from that. "Did you know that I said that I didn't give a shit about him? Oh, that was just tempting the fucking gods wasn't it?"
"When did you say that?" Ned asked as he took a sip of his wine, he didn't remember him saying that but it had been hard to remember anything over the past couple of hours.
"When I went to speak Lady Ashara in the stables." Brandon said with a hiccup and then sighed heavily as he put the pitcher down. "She's mine Ned."
"Lady Ashara?" Ned asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No, her daughter. She's mine." Ned's goblet nearly slipped out of his hands and suddenly everything connected in his mind and everything made perfect, terrible sense.
Ashara's natural born daughter, Lauryn had the Stark look about her. How did none of them notice it? Was it because they simply hadn't wanted to notice it? Regardless, it seemed as through his brother's luck had finally ran out. "Does anyone else know?"
"None of us, but I would be surprised if your wife didn't know." Brandon muttered and Ned had to admit that he would be surprised if Elia did not know as well, most likely that was what she had wanted to talk to him about after the dinner before all this had happened.
As soon as though about his wife her face almost seemed to dance before his eyes for a moment and a smile, a stupid drunken smile appeared on his face and he threw his goblet to the side and got to his feet. Life was far too short for this, to worry about his father or Brandon or Ashara or Lauryn or Lyanna or Catelyn or Benjen. He began to make his way out of the room.
"Where are you going?" Brandon asked as he watched his brother leave.
"I'm going to fuck my wife."
Elia kneeled in the small circle she had made with the carved figures of the Seven, she had brought them with her from Dorne and while it was not the same as having a sept to pray in it would have to do.
"Father Above, if this is Lord Rickard's time then please judge his justly and take him to the seventh heaven. Gentle Mother, have mercy on him for many people still need him, Warrior give him the strength to overcome, Maiden extend your kindness, Crone light his way to which ever world he belongs, Smith arm him well, Stranger...do not take him yet."
Elia sighed and picked up the carved figures and placed them back in the chest at the foot of her and her husband's bed, as soon as she had put them away there was a loud hammering at the door and Elia got to her feet and pulled the door open and she was surprised to see Ned standing there.
She opened her mouth to ask why he knocked, it was his chambers as well and he did not need to knock but she didn't chance the chance to say anything as Ned stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her pressed their lips together roughly.
His breath stank of wine but that was only truly unpleasant thing about it as the feel of his strong arms holding her tightly to his chest made her feel boneless. "Ned." She whimpered as he broke their lips apart for a moment. "We should talk about-
"My wife, my beautiful wife. My lovely wife." His voice spoke slurred as he kissed her cheek and down her neck while he gently lead her to the bed and gently laid her down before kissing her lips. "Mine."
"Ned, we need to-Ah!" Elia's words died in her throat as Ned hitched up her dress up and buried his head in between her thighs and pressed kisses to her clit.
Ned licked in between her pink lips and sucked on them, he slid a finger into her and thrust it in to her with each flick of his tongue, he grunted in approval at her taste and slid another finger into her and sucked harshly on her clit.
Elia came with a loud keen and she didn't see how it was possible that the rest of the castle hadn't heard it, she grabbed Ned's hair gently and tried to pull him off as he kept licking and sucking at her. "Ned!" She whined
"'M thirsty love, I've only had wine today." Ned said as he pulled away from her and the sight of her juices on his lips and cheeks and beard were enough for her to let him be as he dived back between her thighs.
He was buried between her thighs and made her cum another three times her legs were shaking and ached despite the fact that Ned was holding them up. He pulled back and his face was drenched and the sight sent a pleasant ache through her.
Ned quickly ripped off his clothes and laid down on his back and gently grabbed her by her hips and picked her up and adjusted her so she was sitting over his cock, he gently guided her down and Elia moaned as it filled her.
For the next few moments the two stayed there, just enjoying the feel of one another before Elia rocked her hips back and forth for a few moments.
She was sensitive, overly so and it didn't take much for her to find completion again and as she shook her proud, honourable lord husband came inside her with a grunt.
Elia collapsed on to his chest and took deep breaths to calm herself, a few drops of something hit her head and she looked up to see her husband with tears running down his cheeks, he opened his mouth to try and say something but all that came out was a little whimper.
So Eila wrapped her arms around him and she wasn't surprised when Ned wrapped his arms around her and began to sob into her neck.
Elia stroked his back and hushed him until he feel asleep and she followed after him, taking comfort and the strength in his closeness. It was going to be hard, she knew that but she knew that everything was going to fine. She had to hope that anyway for what other choice did she have?
After a few more moments she close her eyes and let her Lord Husband's heartbeat lull her back to sleep.
End of Chapter Seventeen
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