The Lion, The Wolf, and The Falcon

Chapter Two

The cold was sharp as Valyrian steel and she didn't know how anyone could live in it, how the poor boy that was in her charge was going to survive here she did not even begin to know. But he was her charge and she was going to do everything she could to ensure that the boy would survive here, and more importantly that he would not lose sight of the true gods, here in this place where the barbaric old gods held the most sway.

They would try to change him, the Starks of Winterfell to whom the raising of the boy had been entrusted followed the old gods and they would plant the false seeds of their faith in his mind and would nurture them until the boy himself was a follower of the false gods, condemning him to the fifth of the seven hells. That was a hell of ice, the Seven-Pointed Star told them where all those who worshiped false idols would be frozen solid and forced to watch as righteous souls ascended to the pleasures and rewards of the seven heavens, forever out of reach of those condemned to that hell.

She would protect him from that as best as she could, and she would not be without friends in Winterfell at least. It was said that Lady Stark had convinced her husband to build a sept within the walls of Winterfell and that was a good sign at least, and Winterfell had a septa that was in charge of the education of the young girls of the house. She might be able to protect her charge and save a few souls as well.

There was also White Harbor as well, in the north's only city the Faith of the Seven was strong, even more so than the Old Gods themselves it was said and perhaps she would find friends there who would be able to help her protect her charge.

Her poor sweet boy seemed completely unaware to the danger that he was in, he was too caught up in the attention of the kitten that his mother had given him on the day that they had left King's Landing. He had named it after the family sword that the Lannisters of Casterly Rock had lost long ago in Valyria.

Septa Eglantine hoped that the poor boy never had to learn that there was a world of difference between a sword and a kitten, a kitten hadn't been enough to save poor Princess Rhaenys after all.

The wheelhouse trundled through the gates of the great grey castle of Winterfell, and when it finally came to a stop Eglantine had to remind herself that she was not the little prince's mother, and it would not be right for her to pull him close to her even if it was all she wanted to do in that moment.

The cold was even worse when the door of the wheelhouse was opened, but she did her best not to shiver as she rose from her seat and held out her hand for the little prince to take, Tommen did so readily, and they both stepped out into the cold light of day.

Lord Stark was waiting for them; the man was everything that she had feared that he would be. Grim and bearded and dark with grey eyes that were as harsh as ice, he was terrifying, and it took all Eglantine had not to pull Tommen close to her and hide him behind her robes, but she pushed back that instinct as she was not his mother, and he was a prince before he was a little boy.

The Lord of Winterfell at least knew his courtesies and fell to one knee in front of her ward, it was an odd sight to see such a large and grim man kneeling before such a small boy and when he spoke, his voice was gentle. "Prince Tommen, it is a great honour to have you to ward here at Winterfell, I am Lord Eddard Stark. Your father is a dear friend of mine, has he told you that?"

"Father doesn't talk to me," her charge chirped like the words like it was not a sad thing to live with, not a sad thing to hear, and Lord Stark did seem slightly wrong-footed for a moment. "But uncle Jaime tells me stories about the rebellion some times, and so does mother, they said that father won the throne by right of battle and you were always at his side."

"That is the truth of it, I suppose." Lord Stark agreed, though he did not look please all though Eglantine wasn't sure if the man knew how to be pleased from the look of him. "Regardless, as I said, you are most welcome here at Winterfell. My children have been most looking forward to meeting you."

At that invitation the children of House Stark stepped forward, the eldest boy and heir Robb was tall for his age and spoke a mile a minute but seemed a pleasant and courteous enough boy but a little too old to be a playmate for her prince, the eldest daughter was a lovely young girl called Sansa whose courtesies were perfect and gave Eglantine hope that maybe her charge would not be completely lost of southern ideals.

That hope did flicker a little bit when the next child came forward, a tiny girl with a loud voice and who was everything that her older sister was not. Arya, her name was and she seemed to have a thousand questions for the prince and did not give him even a moment to answer any of them.

And finally was the youngest child of House Stark and the second boy, Brandon Stark. He was a sweet little lad from what Eglantine could tell and he was of an age with her prince, they could be fine playmates indeed.

Once all the children introduced themselves Lady Stark stepped forward and introduced herself to the prince and offered to show him to his chambers within the castle, Tommen turned his head to look at her and when Eglantine nodded Tommen accepted and Lady Stark took his hand gently and lead him into the castle and Eglantine followed behind them.

Once they had arrived within the chambers Lady Stark left them alone so they could settle in, the castle was grey and dim but not so cold as she had expected and the chambers themselves were suitable enough for a prince of the realm. Eglantine knelt in front of one of the trunks that the servants had brought up with them and opened it, starting to pack away the clothes.

It struck her as odd that there seemed to be more crimsons among the prince's clothes than blacks but Eglantine knew that the Queen had a great deal of pride in her own house and it was not for a septa to question a queen, as she started to pack away the clothes her prince spoke to her. "Lord and Lady Stark seem very nice, don't they Lady Eglantine?"

"They were very courteous to you Prince Tommen, as is only proper." Eglantine said as she packed away his silk shirts and moved on to his doublets. "And you must be sure to be very courteous to them as well, and remember to include them in your prayers tonight before you go to sleep."

"I will Septa." Tommen chirped before he started to giggle as Brightroar licked at his fingers.

Eglantine was just about done putting all of the prince's clothes away when a knock sounded from the door, Eglantine put the trousers she had been carrying down on to the bed and walked over to the door and pulled it open to see Arya and Brandon Stark on the other side, starring up at her with wide eyes. "Can the prince come and play with us?" Brandon Stark asked.

"We're going to play the last hero, the snow queen and the ice dragon and we need three people." Said Arya Stark, leaning to the side and it took Eglantine a moment to realise that the little girl was trying to look around her.

"I'm sorry Lady Arya, Lord Brandon, but Prince Tommen has had a very long journey and has yet to have anything to eat today, perhaps another time?" Eglantine said, hoping the two children would just accept her words.

"I'm not tired Septa," Tommen said from behind her and it took all Eglantine had not to sigh. The castle may not be as cold as she thought but the same could not be said for outside and Tommen was not a strong but, she would rather keep him inside and send to the kitchens for some soup in order to keep him warm to stave off any possible illness.

But Tommen was her prince, not her son and she was not his mother and it was not for him to tell him no, nor to tell Lady Arya or Lord Brandon no either. "Very well, but do please be careful Tommen and come inside at once when you start to feel to cold!"

"I will, thank you Septa!" Tommen chirped and stepped past her, his kitten still in his arms. "Can Brightroar play as well?"

"He can be the last hero's dog," suggested Arya and the little kitten meowed but did not seem displeased at his role. "I'm the last hero and Bran's the ice dragon, so you can be the snow queen."

"Okay!" Tommen said and as soon as it was said they were off, Eglantine watched them go and wondered if she had ever been so fast when she was that age. She sighed and shook her head and set about finishing putting the clothes away.

Once she was done Eglantine left the chamber and made her way out of the keep and towards the castle's sept, it was one of the more modest sept's that Eglantine had come across in her time but she supposed she should not have expected too much from it all things considered, it was the newest part of the castle by all account.

it also seemed to be the coldest as well, as soon as stepped inside the chill seemed to be even worse than outside and she quickly hurried over to the altars to light some candles, once she had done so she knelt and began to pray.

"Greetings sister," Eglantine had been finishing her prayers and rising to her feet when the voice spoke and she turned to see a young man dressed in septon robes standing there, a peaceful smile on his face. "I am Septon Chayle, I assume you must be Septa Eglantine, are you not?"

"I am brother," Eglantine said with a smile of her own. "I must say it is glad to see another of the faith here, I knew that Lord Stark had built a sept for his lady but I was not certain if it had anyone to attend it."

"Lord Stark sent down to White Harbor for a septon as soon as it was completed, I had the honour of being chosen to care for it." Eglantine could see he took a great deal of pride in how well he cared for the small sept, he barely seemed to notice the cold. "As you have your own honour, I imagine that being chosen to care for and educate a prince is a great blessing."

"Prince Tommen is a good boy, he has a gentle heart." Her good-hearted little man, whose only shield was her. "We must defend him as best we can, brother."

Septon Chayle was still smiling at her, but there was a confused tint to it now. "I'm sure every man of Winterfell would take it upon himself to protect Prince Tommen sister, but I do hope it will not ending up having to come down to the two of us. I must say that I have never been much good in a fight."

"Perhaps not, but we are the only ones who can defend Prince Tommen in the only way that matters. We must not let him be lead astray and lose sight of the light of the seven." At her word, the smile on the septon's face fell away.

"I see," his words were cool but not unkind. "Septa, it is true that I am a septon but I am also a northman. My own father and mother kept to the old gods, as did my older sisters. I did not, Lord Eddard keeps to the old gods as do most of his children. They were and are noble souls, despite following different gods and Prince Tommen, I am certain, is a noble soul regardless of what he decides. If will excuse me I have important matters to attend to, I hope to see you at prayer."

And with that, Eglantine was alone and it only seemed to be colder than before.

End of Chapter Two.

Sorry for the wait, I wasn't sure how to continue this but I decided to change the format as having Tommen and Robert arriving in the same chapter would have a lot of repetition so I decided to have Tommen arrive first and let him get settled in for a chapter or two and then we will have Robert arrived later on.

Anywho, I hope you enjoyed.

With warmest regards,

DiscordantSymphony.