Wife of the Wolf, Husband of the Sun.
Chapter Two
Eddard Stark had never wished that he had been only a child in his entire life, he loved his siblings a great deal, Brandon was brave and strong and goodhearted, Lyanna was strong headed and knew no fear and Benjen was a sweet and playful lad who loved his older siblings with all his heart who bore no one any ill will.
But at the moment he was wishing he was at least two siblings short, he was sitting on a small chair in Brandon's bedchamber listening as his older brother and sister were once again complaining about their betrothals to Catelyn Tully and Robert Baratheon respectively.
He understood, he truly did. He had been just recently informed that he was to be betrothed to Elia Martell, princess of Dorne. It wasn't that he didn't understand his siblings feelings.
It was just that at this particular moment in time he did not care and did not want to hear their complaining, but it seemed that at this moment in time he could do nothing but bite his tongue and wait for them both to finish complaining.
"It's completely unfair! I've never even meet Robert Baratheon before and now I am expected to marry him!?" Lyanna shouted as she paced up and down the room. "How could Father want me to marry a man like him? He already has a bastard daughter, that girl in the Vale! How could you want me to marry him Ned if you already knew that?"
Ned had to bite his lip at that, it was true that Robert did have a baseborn girl in the Vale, put on one of the serving women of the Gates of the Moon. She was a jolly little thing, to be sure. Little Mya Stone and Robert was extremly fond of her, oft he would ride down the mountain to go and visit her and often Ned would go with him to watch as his friend tossed the little girl up into the air, never failing to catch her, his laughter louder than the squeals of her joy.
He understood why Lyanna was upset, of course. Knowing a man that you had been betrothed too had already forsaken your bed could not be a happy thought to deal with, but at the same time there was nothing for her to be concerned with. Many unmarried lords had bastards before they wed and Robert did not stop talking about how much he was looking foreward to the wedding, he did not doubt that Robert would keep to her bed in the end.
But Lyanna at least had solid enough reason to complain, unlike Brandon. Brandon was going to marry Catelyn Tully, a woman widely believed to be one of the most beautiful woman alive and Catelyn had visited Winterfell in the past few moons as she had struck Ned as a lady of grace, wit and intelligence that more than matched her beauty, so therefore Brandon should have no reason to complain.
But complain he did. and unlike Lyanna he didn't even have a good reason. He did have a reason but it wasn't a good one and as much as he hated to admit it, it was a reason that made Ned ashamed to be Brandon's brother.
Brandon was the wild wolf of Winterfell and he was lead by his passions and had little restraint, thus he slept with every serving wench and servant girl who would let him lay with them. Brandon had been very lucky that so far no woman had turned up at the gates of the castle with a new-born babe in her arms. He had to wonder what Father would do if one did.
Thus he didn't want to marry Catelyn because he didn't want to be tied to woman so he could continue to lay with as many women as he choose to, and it disappointed Ned a great deal. He had always defended his older brother to his father, saying that soon Brandon would grow out of it, so far he had yet to grow out of it.
At least Brandon didn't complain quite as much as Lyanna did but that wasn't saying much at all. At the moment their brother was sitting on his bed nodding along with everything Lyanna was saying, agreeing with every word she was saying against Robert despite the fact he wasn't much better and in some ways was far, far worse.
Lyanna sighed and sat down next to her eldest brother. "I can't believe father is being so unfair." She moaned.
"He isn't being unfair Lya." Ned said with a loud sigh. "We all have to get married eventually, none of us have any real choice in the matter." He supposed that technically speaking he and his brothers had a little more choice, they could go to the wall but there was no chance in all seven hells that Brandon would even consider going celibate, Benjen was a sweet boy not built for it and he would rather get married then freeze to death there despite it being an honourable cause.
"Why are you still defending him Ned?" Brandon said with a disbelieving look on his face. "You're being forced to marry someone who you've never even met aside from seeing her across from halls during feasts."
"Yes I am!" Ned yelled as he jumped out of his chair, knocking it to the floor. His siblings looked up at him in shock and he understood why, he was quiet and somber Ned who never raised his voice and made his disapproval known by how quite and withdrawn he was.
But he had reached the end of his patience and his siblings had forgotten that he was a wolf as well.
"Lyanna, you have two more years before you have to marry Robert, you aren't even betrothed, you are engaged to be betrothed. Brandon, you have another year before you are to marry Catelyn. I am marrying Elia as soon as she arrives, father has sent over the invitations so could the two of you please stop your whining because I do not want to hear anymore of it!" He shouted at the top of his voice.
His siblings stared at him open mouthed before Ned spun on his feet and stormed out of the room with a grim expression on his face.
He was going to the godswood, he needed to pray.
End of Chapter Two.
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