Chapter 6: The birth of a new Stark
295 AC
(Another time jump of about a year)
Eddard
He felt tired, but so very happy. Catelyn had just given him another son. He was a beautiful boy, who just like Robb and Bran, favored his mother in looks. He had what he always wanted now, a big family.
The Stark line was more secure than it had been in decades, a thing he knew that his father would be proud of. In respect of his father he had called the boy Rickon, a strong Stark name for a healthy and strong Stark boy.
More than that, he was just very happy that both the boy and Catelyn lived. He didn't know what he would have done if he had lost Cat, like his father had lost mother.
Having seen to the fact that Catelyn and newborn baby Rickon were both healthy and asleep, he finally walked over to his solar. Some things are more important than sleep, he thought. He took out two pieces of paper and started writing messages to Robb and Jon about the birth of their little brother. It was time for them to come home, so his whole family would be united.
(Around one month later)
Eddard
He enjoyed breakfast with his whole family more than he could have ever hoped. They were all sitting at the head table in the Great Hall. All of the children were chatting happily and exchanging stories of their time apart, while Cat was fussing over baby Rickon.
She was so busy she didn't even seem to mind Jon's presence there. Maybe it was something else as well. He had noticed how Jon's departure from Winterfell and her assurance that only one or two of his other vassals would meet him in his travels, had softened her more extreme edges. She mostly seemed to ignore him when he came to visit now.
She probably thought that with his departure he had less ability to steal Winterfell from Robb, he thought with a sigh. Whatever it was it seemed to work out for him well, as he had peace in his keep. More importantly, Jon really seemed to enjoy his time spend in White Harbor and beyond on Ser Wendel's travels.
Jon had arrived around a week ago. He had received the raven, just as he had arrived back to the North from a trip to Braavos with Ser Wendel. As the roads to White Harbor were on favorable terrain and in reasonably good condition, he had arrived in a fortnight on horseback.
The same could not be said about Robb, as he had taken over a week extra to travel. Especially the start of his journey, through the woods of Karhold the terrain was a lot less favorable. The fact that roads were a lot sparser and in worse condition that far North also played a part, he sadly thought.
Thinking about roads, he thought about the progress he had made on that front for the North. He had written to Jon Arryn for the repairs on the Kingsroad. To his surprise the finances of the Crown weren't as good as he had expected and thus, he hadn't been able to get any coin from his former foster father.
He had, however, managed to get a tax reduction for the North of around twenty thousand golden dragons a year, over a three-year period. He had immediately started talks with Houses Cerwyn, Dustin and Reed after he had received the raven. He had come to the conclusion that in total, with the tax reduction and contributions of House Stark and those respected vassals, they would have just enough to repair the Kingsroad. They would manage to repair it from the border with the Riverlands to Castle Cerwyn.
In some places through the Neck the road would even be enlarged and the road from Moat Cailin to Barrowtown would also get minimal work. As all four houses would put their workers on the job, and with the works from Castle Cerwyn to Winterfell long finished, it would only take just over two years if summer held.
Hearing of the news, House Manderly had also proposed repairs to the road from White Harbor to Moat Cailin. He sadly didn't have the coin for that however and had let them know. As such it had come as a very big surprise, when Jon came home last week and told him of the new trade deal that House Manderly had managed to get with the Sealord of Braavos.
The revenue the deal would make for House Stark directly through a small tax increase as well as the trade of their personal lumber from the Wolfswood made the works to the road feasible. House Manderly had known this it seemed, as Jon also came with a new proposal of Lord Wyman. They even proposed to pay for half of the total costs of the repairs.
Jon was very happy, when he had let him know yesterday, that he had sent a raven to Lord Wyman that he accepted the deal. Workers from White Harbor would be starting on the road within a month and they would be ready long before House Reed or Dustin would finish their works.
He was very happy to see the North, or at least its southern parts, start to do so well. He and Luwin had already come up with several plans to do the same in the lands of Houses Umber, Karstark, Ryswell and Locke as well as in parts of the Wolfswood. As bettering infrastructure to help trade was the only way for the North to make some extra coin, it seemed. He didn't have the gold to pay for it though and thus the plans would not be put into action for now. Maybe in a few years and if not, Robb can finish them later, he mused.
It had also made him look at Moat Cailin, the lay of the roads showed him how important Moat Cailin was for the North. It was the first impression people from the South really got from it, as well as its first and best defense. He knew he could never restore the castle to its full glory in his lifetime, but there needed to be something he could do.
If he and Cat got their way, it would be Bran's or baby Rickon's seat in a decade, maybe two. It needed to be cleaned up and repaired in some way before that was even possible to happen.
"Father you aren't even listening to Robb's story!" Arya suddenly pouted from his left, as he was taken back to his family meal.
As he looked around the table everyone was staring at him, even Cat looked up at him with annoyance in her face.
"Oh, excuse me everyone. I was just musing over some work I have to go over with Luwin later. Please Robb, tell us all of what has happened in these months you have been away." He said as he smiled at his eldest son.
The boy answered "No worries father, Lord Rickard showed me how much work being a lord brings. I can only image what you all need to do, as that was only for the Karstark lands, not the whole North."
He looked to his son then, seeing the first signs of the dutiful man he would become. It seemed stern Lord Rickard was having a good effect on his son, for which he was glad. He added a nod in thanks to him, for his acceptance of the apology.
Arya still looked cross at him, but she was soon enraptured in Robb's stories of Karhold. He told about his lessons first. How he learned about the lumber trade, the North's history and some of its long-forgotten customs. When he came to his sword fighting lessons, he could see Bran and Arya hanging on his lips for every word. Even Jon cut in as he asked Robb for a spar later today, which the latter accepted with a smirk.
The boy continued. "I have been getting to know Karhold and its surrounding lands more and more. I have been making frequent trips with Torrhen and Eddard throughout the woods. Harrion, Alys, Osric or Alaric often accompany us as well. Hother made a trip with us too, once."
"Karhold's crypts are also very interesting. If you go back enough, you can find eight Stark princesses from before the conquest and four Stark ladies from after laying there. All married into House Karstark and became the lady of Karhold. I think Lord Rickard showed them to me to prove how closely related our houses still are. For the same reason I think, he also showed me a book with twenty-seven ladies of house Karstark who married into all layers of House Stark. Kings, princes, lords, second sons literally all of it happened apparently." The boy said good-naturedly.
More to show you how a marriage between you and his Alys would be a good thing, if I know Rickard at all. He thought to himself, without interrupting his son's stories.
Robb continued to talk about the time were Torrhen and Osric had managed to put horse dung in their cousin Alaric's riding boots, without him noticing. Cat and Sansa looked to him with a scandalous expression on their faces. Arya and Brandon were crying from laughter however, as Robb continued to tell how Alaric had chased his younger cousins across the yard with the boots still on.
After their breakfast, Sansa and Arya went with Jonelle Cerwyn to their lessons. Jonelle's lessons had been a blessing for both Cat and himself. While Cat had been positively surprised at how well she managed to get Arya to sew, he was mostly happy at how Sansa seemed to learn from the stories of great Northern ladies Jonelle told. Sansa seemed to start to realize that it was possible to be a lady, who sewed, sung and bore a lot of beautiful sons as well in the North as in the South. She still seemed to like songs about Southron princes and knights more, but it was a start.
A giddy Brandon went with Robb and Jon to the training yard, under the watchful eye of Ser Rodrik Cassel. Ser Rodrik had also loved the arrival of Jonelle, as it made his nephew Jory finally want to settle down.
After a lot of haggling with Lord Cerwyn, who seemed both happy Jonelle finally wanted to marry and sad that it was only to a lower masterly House like the Cassels, Medger had finally relented. He had needed to ensure him Jonelle would have a good life in Winterfell close to her family home and that the marriage would bring a lot of goodwill with House Stark. Although he secretly thought the fact, he would need to pay a smaller dowry than expected, also played a role.
Whatever the case, Jorelle and Jory were planned to marry in two weeks' time. It was planned as such so Robb and Jon could attend as well, to show Medger what a big deal this was to House Stark.
After Ser Rodrik and the boys left, Cat gave baby Rickon to a wet nurse and joined him in his solar. They needed to have another talk about their children. Ravens to ask for a possible fostering for Sansa, Arya and Bran kept flying in over the year, as news of Robb and Jon's departure spread. Originally, he had wanted to keep Sansa and Arya here as Bran would leave, but the birth of baby Rickon in combination with some very interesting offers made that both unnecessary and unwise.
He and Cat, with the help of Luwin, had narrowed the proposals for Sansa down to the four most beneficial for her development and the North. Houses Blackwood, Manderly, Dustin, and Royce were the surviving candidates.
They had also received word from his father-in-law, but he had waited to open the letter until now so Cat could be there.
They read through it together. Hoster seemed very happy about the possibility to foster Bran. That had been no surprise to either of them of course, as the man longed to see his grandchildren. He was much happier at the news, Hoster also reacted very positively on his remark that maybe Bran could be joined by some sons of his bannermen to ensure he had friends to play with.
He had already gone as far as to extend invitations to foster Alyn Blackwood and Lyman Darry apparently. He read that both boys were born in the same year as his son and that he expected both their fathers to accept.
"Oh, this is wonderful news, Ned!" Catelyn called out as she turned towards him. "He will have friends his age from the Riverlands. That will make his fosterage both better for him and for our House." She said.
"That's very true Cat, this is wonderful news." He smiled at his wife. "It is also very interesting, the Darry's fought at the side of the Targaryens at the Trident. It seems your father wants to strengthen his hold on the Riverlands." He mused.
"Yeah, you're right. Maybe Bran could restore the divides between our Houses and bring the Darry's back into the fold again." She said, happy that the Riverlands would be doing well.
"There is also the matter of the Blackwood boy, if Bran fosters with one of Tytos' sons, I don't see a benefit of sending Sansa there as well." He said as he looked questioningly to his wife.
"Hmmn, you're right Ned" She said sadly. "It seems only of my children will go to my homeland for now."
He took his wife in his arms as he consoled her, knowing she missed the Riverlands after all these years.
"Bran will have a wonderful time there, my love, and who knows maybe you and most of the family can visit him when he is settled in completely." He smiled at her.
She smiled back at him "I would love that Ned, thank you" as she hugged him. After a while they broke apart and talked further about Sansa.
"I also received word from Jon Arryn about Lord Royce." He said.
"What does it say?" She asked intrigued.
"Well it seems he takes on a lot of the duties in the Vale that Jon isn't able to perform from King's Landing lately. As such he is travelling a lot. I don't know if it would be a good idea for Sansa to go there, if he isn't there to keep close watch on her education."
"You might be right," She sighed. "but that means my daughter would be fostered in the North." She said sadly.
"Yes, it does" He stated matter-of-factly. Seeing how she got upset, he quickly added. "It doesn't mean she has to marry in the North however, both Lady Dustin and Lord Manderly have no sons or grandsons her age, so no marriage would be expected."
As she calmed down a little, she suddenly stated "It must be Lady Dustin then."
"How so?" he asked surprised.
"Well, if we sent her to the Manderlys she will be there with your bastard. We cannot send her there when he is already. It would give of the impression she is no better than the bastard. Besides that, I don't want him to influence her in any way." She stated angrily.
He felt the anger raging as he heard her words and started to angrily cut in "Cat, I do not want you to speak about Jon in that way and besides he is almost never there and …" He suddenly stopped as he thought about the consequences of what she had said.
She willingly wanted to send Sansa to Lady Dustin. This could help mend the rift he had with the only three powerful vassals he didn't have a great relationship with, the Dustins, her family of House Ryswell and through her and her nephew the future of House Bolton.
It would be an ideal situation for him. Sansa could charm her way up to Barbrey and could help meant the schism that has been there between their Houses for over a decade. It could also help him when he inevitably needed to handle the Dustin succession. Barbrey, although only a Dustin by marriage, was allowed to rule those lands for life. When she passed, it would need to revert back to some very distant Dustin line. Without her cooperation to do this however, the inheritance of the Barrowlands could become a real messy affair. Nothing he wanted for himself or his son to have to deal with.
As he considered all these things really quickly, he suddenly looked up to his wife and said "You're right my love, it would be for the best if Sansa is send to Barrowtown."
She looked suspiciously at him "What made you change your mind so quickly?" She demanded to know.
"You're right that it might be a bad influence for her, it would also be best for the North. So, I will follow your thoughts on this." He stated diplomatically. He hated how she spoke about Jon, but he was safely away in White Harbor and this was an opportunity he could not let go to waste.
She nodded contently. "Still, as she is sent to a Northern lady, preparations need to be made so she doesn't forget her Southern education." She said smoothly.
He squinted his eyes. "What do you mean with that Cat?" He asked her questioningly.
"Oh, just that Septa Mordane will accompany her to Barrowtown for the duration of her stay." She stated easily.
He was surprised to hear about this. "Really Cat? What about the help she gives you and what about Arya's education?" He asked perplexed.
"Arya barely listens to the Septa, Ned. I hate to admit it but the only one who makes any basic progress with her is Jonelle. Although I don't like it, it might be best for Arya to let Jonelle take over her education completely." She said sadly, wanting both her daughters to be educated in her faith.
"As for the help she gives me, that will be harder. However, nothing a combination of Septon Chayle and some talented maids from the household can't fix over time I think." She stated pragmatically.
He looked at her deep in thought. It would indeed be better for Arya's development to have that women far away from her. The things she was trying to teach his youngest daughter infuriated him to no end, but he could do nothing without risking Cat's ire which wasn't worth it to him. It would be a way to solve this and apparently Cat her work wouldn't suffer under it too much.
The only problem would be Lady Dustin, he thought somberly. I don't think she will like to have a Southron holy woman in her court. "I will try to discuss it with Lady Dustin my love, but I can't promise anything."
"You can, otherwise Sansa will not be going to her." Cat responded harshly.
He sighed and looked at her. As he saw that reasoning with her would bring him absolutely nowhere, he just responded calmly. "I will make it clear to her that allowing Septa Mordane to go there is in her best interest."
His wife nodded contently at him.
"That's settled then, I just wanted to ask you about Arya now." He said, giving in on the subject of the Septa.
"Arya? What about her? You don't plan to foster her somewhere in the North too, do you?" She asked, her eyes wide.
"No, no Cat, Arya stays here. She will however be lonely, so I thought maybe we could ask for a few ladies to come here so she will have friends to play with. It would make the news of rejection for some of the houses we passed over a lot easier as well." He said hopefully, not wanting his daughter to feel alone here. He knew what feeling alone in Winterfell felt like and he didn't wish it for his child.
"That could be a good idea Ned, but why do I get the feeling we will not agree on which ladies to send." She asked suspiciously.
"I think we will be able to strike a balance between different influences." He tried diplomatically.
"Which influences?" She asked, while her eyes squinted together.
"I think the youngest Manderly granddaughter would be a good idea, for starters." He tried.
His wife nodded happily at that, she looked favorably on the House from White Harbor and hated the fact Jon was the one that could go there, he knew.
"Other daughters of bannermen would also be a good idea, especially Lyanna Mormont and Allara Umber." He said, awaiting his wife's reaction.
"You want one of the Mormont women here in Winterfell?" She exclaimed.
"A mere child, she will hardly be a warrior in padded armor at the age of five Cat."
He saw her looking it over, "and this Allara Umber?" She finally asked.
"The Greatjon's youngest daughter, she is about a year older than Arya, I think. It would endear the Greatjon to us and it might bring the Umbers to look more to the rest of the North, instead of only the Karstarks and the Mountain Clans. The young lady will probably like it here." He said honestly.
"That could be an option, yes. However, you said something about balancing influences, this doesn't seem balanced to me." His wife responded cleverly.
Expecting this answer, he stated with a smile "Well, l I had thought Lord Royce youngest daughter Rhea might be a good match too."
"Very well," his wife said, suddenly happy. The Royce girl would probably serve as the Southron influence she hadalways wanted for Arya. "it would be a good idea for Arya to have some ladies around her, to remember her of her station. You will take care of the correspondence?"
He nodded smilingly. "Then I will have to go to the Household now, there are things that need to be done." She said as she stood up, kissing him softly before she left to walk to the door.
She suddenly halted and turned around with a hand on the grey iron door handle. "What did you decide about Theon?" she asked.
"I will write to King's Landing." He said sadly.
She looked at him for a while, nodded and left.
This is it for this chapter!
This ends the ark where Ned ponders over what to do with his kids. The next few chapters will flesh out how it goes with all the Stark children and how friendships and/or characters develop differently due to them not having the canon upbringing, sudden developments may also appear.
Rickon is finally here and the family is happily united for a while. Ned's works for the North are baring fruit, although nothing major happens because of the fact the North is poor.
As it becomes clear to Westeros that Ned is sending his children to foster a lot of Houses suddenly become very interested. Basically all of the North, but also closely related Southron Houses like Blackwood, Royce, ... etc.
Thank you so much for reading this!
Fannic
- BigSmokey: well 0, no way the Targaryens would ever approach a Manderly, who they see as a treacherous House, or "the bastard of one of the Usurper's dogs"
- Guest1: You're definitely right about the fostering situation! I would like to add that not only Robb's personality, but also Rickard Karstark's (who canon describes as a stern man) plays a role. Rickard would never allow Robb to freely do as he pleases.
Sansa will go to Lady Dustin.
I went for a compromise: Arya stays in Winterfell under the watch of a governess, but will still bond with Lyanna Mormont there. It would not be realistic for Eddard to sent away all his children as there always needs to be a Stark in Winterfell.
I agree with the fact a betrothal for Jon is too farfetched (for the moment). Jon will also not be legitimized any time soon. Who knows what will happen down the line, but for now Jon just happily travels a lot to Essos or sits in White Harbor.
Ned did hesitate about sending the boy away, but he trusts the Manderlys. He also (although I didn't write it) found it very important that Jon will not be travelling across the Seven Kingdoms, but mostly to Essos were no one will see him as any more then either Wendel's page or a child of House Stark. Jon will, at most, go to Gulltown once. He also sees the benefit for his House trade with Essos could mean, as demand in the Seven Kingdoms is mostly met already, it is there possible extra buyers from Northern goods may be. So Jon learning about it is very interesting to him and House Stark.
I agree rebuilding Moat Cailin, especially in time for the books, is completely unrealistic. Ned still wants to however, even if it is in smaller scale and he is coming to grips with the North's money situation. Probably minor repairs will happen, but nothing with big impact. More as to stop the decline of the castle and make possible future repairs possible, instead of doing it all now.
I haven't forgotten about Theon, read on to see what was decided in the end of this chapter between Cat and Ned.
- Guest2 & 3: Jon is still Ned's bastard (for now?). Nothing will change here, for at least untill way in the books, as nothing did in canon.
- Guest4: Cat is happy he is away, as shown, but not so happy it is with the Manderlys. In her thoughts however, "it could be worse". So she accepts it and ignores him.
- Guest5: are we at variations of wow now? :P
- Guest6: Thank you so much! I agree Sansa goes to Lady Dustin.
- Guest7: No, at least not for now no Jon x Wynafryd, as I explained above.
- Guest8: How do you like my Blackwood solution?
- : Thank you for the replies! Although Robb being a kinslayer in farfetched. Robb is actually closer related to Houses Royce, Blackwood, Locke and Clan Flint than House Karstark and the male kinship is a thousand years old and so nothing more than any of their vassals. In this story however Robb and Rickard try to act as something it is not, Robb to appease Lord Rickard's pride and Rickard to make Robb want to marry Alys.