Chapter 7: Injustice and Fury

Summary:

Lyanna witnesses an injustice that makes her furious, but she won't be the only one.

Notes:

And finally we arrive at a pivotal scene, but think we have a fun twist on it. We hope you all enjoy.

Chapter Text

LyannaII

Small Forest at Harrenhal

Lyanna had been surprised when she suddenly heard laughter in the distance. Her curiosity got the better of her, and she walked in the direction of the laughter, wanting to find out what was so funny. The closer Lyanna got, the more she had the feeling that the amusement was at someone's expense — someone who needed help. Just like her father and Ned, she had a strong sense of justice — so strong that it kept her walking — until she stopped out of shock, unable to believe what she saw in front of her.

Three squires were throwing dirt at a man — no, her eyes weren't deceiving her — it was a man on the ground who was clearly older than the squires, but wasn't as tall as them. It took Lyanna a moment until she recognized the man's clothing; he was a crannogman, one of her family's bannermen. Anger flared up inside Lyanna again, the wolf blood running hot through her veins again as she looked around for something — anything — to help her defend the man. Finally her eyes found a stick, fallen from one of the trees and nearly looking like a sword. Determination was on Lyanna's face when she picked up the stick and stepped out of the shadow in which the trees had hidden her.

"Leave him alone!" Lyanna screamed as soon as she stepped into the clearing, looking at the squires with the stick raised like a sword. "That's one of my father's bannermen!" She shouted again and walked closer to the squires. "Leave him alone or—" Lyanna didn't get to say more as the squires just laughed and teased the young man on the ground about needing a girl to defend him. She could feel her blood boiling, and was ready to jump at the squires and beat them with the stick, but a strong hand on her shoulder made Lyanna stop, the squeeze gentle and reassuring.

"What's going on here?" Lyanna would always recognize this voice — Ned's voice — even though it was not warm this time; his voice was like her father's lord voice: cold, with ice seeping through every word. Even though the words were said quietly, it felt as if they cut through the air, and Lyanna saw she wasn't the only one affected as the squires looked up and towards them. "That's one of my family's bannermen you're attacking." She felt Ned's hand let go of her shoulder when her brother stepped around her, walking towards the squires.

Lyanna again noticed how similar Ned had become to their father. He was not walking with a bowed head; his back was straight and his shoulders showed their full breadth while he looked straight at the squires. "Your masters should have taught you better; such behaviour is unacceptable from squires," Lyanna noticed that Ned had become an imposing figure — so imposing that Lyanna didn't want to be on the receiving end of his anger. "I should give all three of you a beating right here for daring to behave like this while wanting to become knights," her brother continued as he got even closer to the squires, who looked at him in fright. "And after that, I should give you a strapping with my belt so you won't be able to sit for days." Lyanna knew Ned would never have said something like that in the past, and he especially wouldn't have moved his hands so the broad and thick leather belt with the huge iron buckle was in clear view for the squires. Finally Ned stood in front of the crannogman, and he offered the other his hand while looking down; the three squires used this moment to bolt away, running into the trees to hide from the quiet wolf who'd bared his teeth at them a moment ago.

"Lord Reed," Lyanna heard her brother say after he'd pulled the man up from the ground, "I hope you're well and they've not caused too much damage?" Ned's voice was back to his normal deep and gentle tone, as if he'd forgotten about the scene and the squires — or as if he didn't care about them anymore. "My ki…" Lord Reed had moved to a bow, stopping himself just in time with a small cough. "My lord," he said as he moved to stand with a straightened back even while wincing from the pain of doing so. "I have to thank you for your help, Lord Eddard." Lyanna could see how her brother gave the man a light clap on his shoulder. "You're under the protection of my family; if someone hurts you he will feel our wrath." It impressed Lyanna how much Ned had changed, how he was handling this situation and leading the young lord towards her.

"Lady Lyanna," Lord Reed again bowed and winced when he moved back to an upright position, "I also have to thank you. Not everyone would have been as courageous as you and stepped up against three squires," a warm smile was on the young lord's lips, and Lyanna gave him a nod with a small smile, but then she turned to Ned, taking a step closer to him before simply punching him with all the strength she could bring to bear. "How dare you scare me like that, Ned?! I thought I was all alone here, and then you just step out from wherever?!" she said with an angry voice; another punch followed when she looked at Ned and he simply smirked. "Why are you smirking about this?!" Lyanna said with a clearly annoyed tone. "This isn't funny, you could've simply intervened before I did," she finally said with a huff.

"My dear sister," her brother then started. "I would have intervened before you if I'd arrived before you," the grey eyes of her brother were so damn warm it was hard for Lyanna to stay angry with him. "When I thought you may have calmed down I went to the forest, wanting to check on you. Then I heard your scream and came here as quickly as I could," Ned gave her a warm smile and Lyanna really did consider just hugging and forgiving him. "And I have to admit I'm very proud of you; you stepped up without fear and confronted those squires, even though they outnumbered you," she could hear the pride in Ned's voice, could see it in his eyes, and finally the anger was gone and Lya simply hugged her brother tightly.

"You know," a voice could suddenly be heard, "I could teach you how to punch your brother so he winces instead of smirking." Robert Baratheon, who else if not the Lord of the Stormlands would interrupt the moment she shared with her sweet brother Ned? With a sigh Lyanna let go of her brother and turned around to give the young lord a piece of her mind, but she was interrupted before she even could start. "She-wolfy brave!" Little Mya said happily while having a small stick in her hand and trying to hold it like Lyanna had held the bigger stick earlier, and Lyanna decided to make up for her earlier failure — maybe because seeing the brilliant blue eyes of Mya full of adoration had melted her heart a bit.

She slowly approached the girl, squatting down and resting on her heels. "And you will be just as brave one day Mya," she gently whispered to the little girl, her hand moving through Mya's black hair while the other hand gently wrapped around her little one, helping her to hold the stick in the correct way — just like a sword. "Brave like she-wolfy?" Mya asked with wide and excited blue eyes, looking directly into Lyanna's grey eyes. "Yes, one day you can be as brave as the she-wolf, Mya," Lyanna answered, her hand running through Mya's coal black hair again. Seeing how happy these words and the little bit of attention from her made Mya, Lyanna was sure she now understood how the little girl had won her brother's heart.

"I think Howland and I should go see father," Ned was next to her again, his hand this time moving through Mya's hair while he looked at Lyanna. "Father should know what happened — what they did to Howland. It is unacceptable that squires attacked a bannerman and friend of House Stark." That was the difference between she and Ned; she would have kept it a secret and taken care of the squires in some way, but Ned would report it to their father and ask how he could get justice for their bannerman.

"I will go with you, I saw the scene and can vow that you speak the truth," Robert said, surprising Lyanna as she looked at him now. She had anticipated he would be more than happy to get a moment alone with her, but instead he was the loyal friend Ned had described in his letter. Lyanna had always thought Robert was only nice toward Ned when no women were around, but right now he showed he wouldn't drop Ned for a moment with a woman. "Thank you Robert," her brother answered, and Lyanna looked up, her eyes moving between the two men. "Uhm," such a sound from Robert made Lyanna look at him with raised brows. "If you want, you can stay here with Mya and play," the man slowly started, one hand at the back of his head as if he was unsure about his words, "or I can take her with me; I understand if you'd be more comfortable with that," Robert quickly added. "Or Mya and I can come with you all," Lyanna finally offered as a compromise, her hand still wrapped around Mya's as she looked at the girl with a small smile. "It will be much more fun in the camp than out here," she told the girl in a gentle tone before slowly moving to stand up while Mya clearly didn't want her to let go of her tiny hand. For a moment Lyanna was hesitant before she simply lifted the little girl and decided to carry Mya to her family's camp.

Slowly the group set out, Robert walking next to her while little Mya kept looking at her with big blue eyes full of adoration. Ned and Howland led them, talking in a quiet tone so that Lyanna couldn't even hear them.

RickardII

Camp of House Stark and the North at Harrenhal

Rickard would have been surprised if ten minutes had passed between Jon Arryn leaving his tent and Ned suddenly appearing at the entrance; he had hoped to have a quiet moment alone with Lyarra, but the way Ned greeted him was enough for him to know it was about something important. "Lord Stark," his son had said — always approaching him with his title, and as if Ned was no more than a knight or bannerman — so different from Brandon, who felt as if being the heir gave him the right to act against protocol. "Ned, what brings you back to my tent so early?" If Rickard was honest he had anticipated his son being out and about longer with Robert, and to now see him at the entrance of his tent was a real surprise.

The question was also the invitation Ned had waited for; Rickard knew that Ned would not enter if he didn't make it clear he had time to listen. What surprised Rickard was that Lord Reed entered with his son, this time looking as if he'd been beaten by someone. "Lord Stark," the young lord greeted him and bowed, wincing when he moved to an upright position again. "Lord Reed," Rickard returned with a nod, "what happened to you?" The grey eyes of the old wolf moved over the crannogman, noticing the damage on his clothes, and that he was bleeding with bruises already appearing.

"I was attacked by three squires, my lord," Howland Reed answered and looked at the ground before green eyes looked into grey ones. "They surprised me — I didn't expect any attack on my way through the forest — and I was on the ground before I could do anything, and they beat me down," even though Rickard's face showed nothing he was surprised; the crannogmen were very skilled fighters in close combat, and he was sure Howland Reed could have defended himself against all three of them if he'd wanted to. "At some point your daughter, Lady Lyanna, came out of the forest and shouted at the squires, but they just laughed at her," the young Lord continued his story, "and when Lady Lyanna was ready to attack them with a stick, it was Lord Eddard who stopped her. The squires were scared when he said he should beat them and give them a strapping with his belt," the eyes of Rickard moved to Ned — he had not anticipated Ned would speak such threats. "When he helped me up, the squires saw their chance and ran away. After that it was Lord Eddard who decided we should come to you with this," with that the young Lord of House Reed finished his story, and Rickard continued looking at Ned, still surprised about the threat his son had made.

"It is true Lord Stark, I threatened those squires with a beating and a strapping," Ned said without Rickard even asking him, "but I wouldn't have done it. I only wanted them to be scared so they'd leave Lord Reed alone." Rickard gave a slow nod to Ned's words, and waited for him to continue. "I know that attacking a lord makes a punishment necessary, but I think it's worth more to confront the knights those boys squire for." Rickard raised a brow at his son's words. "And how would you confront them, Ned?" he asked his son, clearly intrigued by it. "With an open challenge during the tournament, with the stated reason being they didn't teach their squires the lessons they should have, otherwise their squires would have known to stay away from Lord Reed, and not to laugh at a member of House Stark," as Ned finished, Rickard noticed Ned's eyes had gotten cold and hard, not giving away his emotions. "If they take a squire, they should be ready to teach them, and not simply use them as servants. They didn't; now they need to be taught a lesson in front of everyone."

Rickard was impressed by his son's words; he knew from Jon that Ned was a very mature and intelligent man, but even many intelligent men didn't follow such a way of thinking. Most would simply punish the squires and leave the knights alone. For a moment Rickard stayed silent, thinking about the words until he gave a nod. "I agree Ned, the knights won't understand their failures if the squires are punished, but if the knights themselves are punished in public, I think that will change their thinking," the grey eyes moved to Howland Reed for a moment, taking in the damage done once more. "Still, I think we won't be allowed to give them a beating in front of everyone: that might cause some trouble with the Houses they come from," he added as his eyes moved back to Ned.

"I could participate in the melee and joust — I'm sure the knights will be participating in one or the other — and challenge them directly," again Rickard was impressed as Ned gave him that answer rather quickly, not even thinking a minute about it. "That way I can give them a word of advice after I beat them," another surprise for Rickard was to hear Ned being so sure of himself and his skills, not acting as if there was any possibility he might fail. Rickard slowly gave a nod, but he raised a hand. "If you participate in the melee and joust," he started while his grey eyes locked onto Ned's eyes — more similar to his own than any of his other children — again, "I want you to finish them. Show me and everyone else what you've learned; make House Stark and the North proud," with this he extended his hand towards his son, waiting until he took it and noticing how strong Ned's grip had become. "I promise I will do my best Lord Stark," his son answered, and with those words Rickard shook his hand, knowing he would never break a promise. "Your best? Now I might expect a win," Rickard answered, and with these words a small smile came to his lips as the handshake ended and he let go of Ned's hand.

"If there is nothing more you need to talk about Ned, it would be nice if you could leave me alone with Lord Reed. I will make sure his wounds are taken care of, but first I need a quick word alone with him." His son gave a nod, saying "As you wish," before he left the tent. Now grey eyes looked onto dark green ones. "Three squires surprised you Lord Reed, and you were unable to defend yourself?" Rickard raised a brow while a smile came to the other man's lips. "Lord Eddard would follow any order you gave him, Lord Stark, but now he has some additional motivation, and he wants to participate of his own free will," the crannogman answered. "You really are a special man, Lord Reed," was all Rickard could say with a smile before he called for a healer.