Wife of the Wolf, Husband of the Sun
Chapter Forty-One
When the raven had arrived with message between it's claws, Ned had not wanted to believe it. The old saying always went that black wings brought black words and recent events in his life had thought him that was true more often than it was not but that day all those wings had brought had been joy, and more than a little disbelief. It seemed like something that would only occur in his wildest dreams.
Elia was back in the North, she was safe in White Harbour as a guest of Lord Wyman and she had given birth, to two boys. He was a father. That was the part that seemed to him the most unbelievable. It was like something out of a dream, how many men wished for even one son and he had been blessed with two. He would not have minded if they had been girls, but he had sons.
The moment the raven had arrived he had begged his father to give him leave to ride for White Harbour as soon as possible but his father had not granted it to him, he had been frustrated but he would never act against his father's wishes. But as time passed he did begin to wonder what he was waiting for, he only seemed to be reading the scroll over and over again. As if he was looking for some hidden meaning.
Thankfully, before the days threatened to turn into weeks, his father had finally relented and granted him leave to go to White Harbour but he had made it clear that he would be going with him as would Lyanna and Benjen while Brandon stayed behind to rule Winterfell in his stead, Ned wasn't sure about his father traveling even that distance but he could not be deterred no matter what any of them said.
And so they had set out and rode down the White Knife until White Harbour began to grow slowly but steadily in the distance, as they rode into the city Ned had noticed that there were ships with golden figureheads and crimson sails, Lannister ships. The letter from Lord Wyman had mentioned that it had been the Lannisters that had brought Elia back, that it had been Jaime Lannister who had accompanied her all the way North.
To say he had been conflicted about this information would be something of an understatement, there were no words for how he felt now that Elia was returned safely but it had been because of Jaime Lannister that Elia had been taken from him and that he had not been able to be there while his sons were born, why he had not been the first to see them.
He could not deny that every now and then over the past several months the thought of wrapping his hands around Jaime Lannister's throat and choking the life from him had not held a certain appeal to him. But now he had brought Elia back, he owed him a debt. Though the thought of that did leave him with a sour taste in his mouth.
Regardless, he had decided not too pay too much thought on that. At least not for now, for now he simply wished to see his wife and hold her and their sons until the eternal summer came to them.
He was pulled out of those happy thoughts when Lord Wyman arrived in Merman's Court, sitting on the great chair on the raised platform. The man was fat but that was common enough for those of House Manderly, his father had always said that the Manderlys were rich as they could often feast on the bounty of the sea. No Manderly was ever likely to know true hunger, not even in the darkest of winters.
"My lord of Stark, there are no words to describe what an honour it is to have you in my hall, though I will admit that I hoped the events that lead to the circumstances which brought you here would've been better for all of us." Lord Wyman spoke eloquently, a trait of his southern blood and those who descended from the First Men tend to be a little more blunt in their speech and their courtesies tended to be more rough around the edges.
His father did not seem put off, however. "My lord of Manderly, I thank you for taking my son's wife, and my first grandsons, as your guests. Such loyalty and kindness is not soon forgotten, I assure you of that now." His voice took on a slightly colder note at that moment. "However, I can not deny some concern. It seems that there are lions in every corner of White Harbour."
"My lord is perceptive, it seems that the Young Lion will refuse to leave until Princess Elia is reunited with your Ned in sight." Lord Wyman offered him a nod which he returned but he was certain that he saw something he didn't like gleaming in his eyes. "perhaps some command from Lord Tywin though I can not be sure, there is something that I feel that you should all be made aware of though I am unsure how much import it is. When Princess Elia's time came, she was, quite understandably, greatly upset. She asked that-
"Lord Wyman!" It happened so fast that for a split second Ned didn't realise that it had been him who had spoken but when all the eyes in the hall turned on to him he realised that it had indeed been his outburst. "Forgive me my Lord, I do not mean to be rude it is only that I have not seen my wife in...I honestly do not know how long it has been, the days seemed to painful to count at times. I wish to see her, more than anything in the world at the moment, so if I might have your leave?"
If Lord Wyman was angered by the outburst then he did not show it, perhaps it was due to the fact that he had not been a lord for very long as his father had only recently slipped away from the world. He was not an old man himself and lordship seemed new to him. He offered him a kind smile. "Of course, cousin would you be so kind as to show Lord Ned to his wife's quarters?" The lord of White Harbour asked his captain of the guard.
As soon as the captain had accepted the task Ned turned to his father and when he nodded Ned knew that he had his permission to go. As they were walking out of the room he could hear Lord Wyman complimenting Lyanna on her beauty, he did not think that the lord was married as of yet but it didn't matter, Lyanna was still betrothed to Robert. He hadn't truly heard her complain about the match since their father's attack although she still did not seem to be completely enthused by it.
As Ned and Ser Marlon walked through the walls of the New Palace, drawing close to the quarters that had been assigned to Elia, Ned noticed something. A voice, a woman was singing. It took him a moment to realise that the voice belonged to Elia, how long had it been since he heard that voice? In all truth he did not wish to consider it.
As they drew closer, the words of the song became clearer to him. "The Father's face is stern and strong, he sits and judges right from wrong. He weighs our lives the short and long, and loves the little children. The Mother gives the gift of life, and watches over every wife. Her gentle smile ends all strife, and she loves her little children."
"The Warrior stands before the foe, protecting us wherever we go. With sword and shield and spear and bow, he guards the little children. The Crone is very wise and old, and sees our fates as they unfold. She lifts her lamp of shining gold to lead the little children."
"The Smith, he labours day and night, to put the world of men to right. With hammer, plow and fire bright, he builds for the little children. The Maiden dances through the sky, she lives in every lover's sigh. Her smiles teach the birds to fly, and gives dreams to the little children." Ned knew that there was more to the song, though no songs to the Seven had ever been sung in Winterfell, but no more words were spoken then. Only a gentle humming filled the air then.
A door stood at the end of the corridor, why did such a simple sight fill him with trepidation and made it feel like he had just shoved his hands into a furnace? A hand that was cloaked in mail came down on to his shoulder and he turned his head to face Ser Marlon who offered him a smile and gestured towards the door. It had to be done.
Ned reached out with hand and pushed the door open, the hinges seemed to scream their protest but the door did not care as it swung open to reveal the chamber beyond. It was a modest chamber. at least for the standards of a great lady but the room felt comfortable with a fire roaring in the heath. Standing in front of two small cribs, a babe in her arms and dressed in a gown of orange silk with a cloak of white sable thrown over her shoulders and her dark curls contained in a hair net that had been studded with sapphires, was Elia.
Elia turned when she heard the door open and the soft smile froze on her face, her black eyes widened in shock and then began to well with tears. Ned didn't know what happened but soon his feet were carrying him across the room and he took his wife into his arms and joined their lips together. She tasted of the sun and oranges and something that he had forgotten that he had needed.
He could not say how long they stood together, embracing one another. Ser Marlon did not interrupt them so he had to assume that at some point he had seen fit to leave them be, he didn't even think they had even stopped kissing one another but soon a tiny whimper from in-between them caused Elia to pull away and look down at the babe in her arms, her voice becoming a litany of soothing coos.
"I do believe that we we're crushing him my lord." Elia said with a small laugh after the babe had finally calmed down, his eyes were dropping and one of his tiny fists were wrapped tightly around one of Elia's fingers. Her dark eyes were still wet but no more tears fell down her cheeks, though her smile was a touch tremulous and that was akin to a dagger through Ned's heart.
"This is your firstborn, and your heir. I did not name him as I wished to wait for you. Our second son is asleep in his crib." Elia glanced towards said crib before she turned back to look at Ned, she reached out to cup his cheek and that simple touch made his heart swell. "Would you like to hold him?"
Ned hated that his tongue seemed to be failing him today, there was so much that he wanted to say to her and yet it felt as unwieldy as a lance. Instead, he simply nodded and held out his hands trying his best to mimic the position that Elia was making. He had some vague memories of holding both Lyanna and Benjen when they had been born but Lyanna had come when he had been practically been little more than a babe himself and with Benjen his mother had been growing weaker and weaker that he had barely focused on what he was doing when he had been holding him.
As soon as the babe was placed in his arms he was terrified for a moment that he would drop him but he didn't, he had him. The babe seemed to notice that he wasn't in his mother's arms and he began to squirm. His eyes opened and Ned found himself staring into grey eyes that were exactly like his own, framed in a chubby face.
The babe opened his mouth and he began to wail, Ned knew that it shouldn't bother him much as babes cried all the time but he could not deny the stabbing pain in his heart for a moment nor did he object when Elia took him back into her arms. She kissed the babe's forehead and hummed to him and after a few moments his wails turned into whimpers and his whimpers turned into silence before his mother placed him into to one of the cribs.
"I'm sorry Ned, he doesn't like anyone who isn't me I'm afraid. He kicked a handmaiden who picked him up so hard that I think he might have broken he wrist." Elia walked over to the other cradle and reached in to it to pick up another babe and she walked back over to him. "But this little man does seem much more willing to receive attention."
Elia handed the babe to him, this one was thinner than his brother and he wondered for the first time if Elia had enough milk to feed them. He had always found Elia to be one of the most beautiful women in the world from the moment that he had first looked at her and women in the North were expected to feed their young but that did not change the fact that Elia had thin breasts and they might not be able to hold enough milk to feed both babes at once.
He would need to speak to father about arranging a wet nurse to help her but that could wait for now and he would not bring it up yet, he did not wish to upset her after only now having been reunited with her. Ned glanced back down at the boy and smiled.
The boy was staring up at him with wide eyes and his fist shoved into his mouth, copious amounts of drool leaking out around the fist. He had dark eyes that clearly belonged to his mother but the few wisps of hair atop his head were the same brown as Ned's own.
He bent his head and pressed a kiss to the babe's forehead before he looked up at Elia who was looking at them both with a fond smile on her face. Ned reached out and cupped her cheek, using his thumb to brush it gently. "You've done so well, my lady. There are no words that I can find that would be enough to thank you for this."
"Thank you my Lord, but please Ned. Call me by my name now, it has been too long since I've heard it from someone I love." Elia whispered and leaned into Ned's touch. Ned swallowed heavily and stepped closer, leaning into whisper into his lady wife's ear.
"Elia. I love you."
Elia shivered and for a moment Ned thought she was going to cry but then she seemed to regain her composure and looked him in the eye. "I love you as well, my sweet lord." With that she walked back to the other cradle and picked up the older babe and rocked him gently. "And speaking of the matter of names, these little lords both need one. I feel bad simply referring to them as...them. Have you any ideas?"
"Have you?" Ned asked as he stepped forward and looked down at both of the babes, it was odd but he had been so bust worrying about Elia and the babes that he hadn't even stopped to consider what he might want to name them. It hadn't seemed important at the time.
"I thought of a few names, but there were very few that I could think of that seemed to fit and there was no one else to discuss them with. No one that I wanted too, at any rate."
Ned hummed and looked down at his younger son for a few moments, he briefly thought of all his brothers. "Brandon. Benjen. Robert." All good and strong names but none seemed to fit either of the little lords. "Rickard?" He loved his father but that didn't seem right either.
"Doran, Oberyn, Mors, Olyvar." Elia hummed over the names and seemed to be pondering them before she shook her head. "Elron, that was my father's name thought I must admit that I do not think it fits. It seems something of an old man's name. Lorenzo, a male version of my mother? No, that sounds silly."
"Torrhen?" Ned asked and he had to admit that he liked that one. "For the older boy, after king Torrhen Stark, a King of Winter."
"And now that I think of it, I actually do like Mors. Not after my brother, but my ancestor. Who was lord of what would be Sunspear and who wed Nymeria and made us princes and princesses." Elia smiled and leaned down to press a kiss to the older babe, to Torrhen's, forehead. "Torrhen and Mors."
"Torrhen and Mors." Ned said with a smile of his own and pressed a kiss to Elia's cheek, suddenly Elia let out a large yawn and her eyes began to drop and she had to sit at the end of the bed to stop herself from falling. Ned quickly sat down next to her.
"I'm sorry Ned, I find that I tire more easily now. I wasn't able to get out of bed for days after the birth." Elia spoke with a sad smile as she reached over brushed a thumb against Mors cheek, the babe looked up at his mother with wide eyes. He seemed to be curious about everything.
"It is nothing that you need to apologise for, wait just a moment." Ned carried Mors over to his cradle and placed him inside before walking back to pick up Torrhen, thankfully he was asleep and thus did not cry, before placing him inside of his own cradle.
Ned walked back to the bed and crawled on top of it he, he made Elia lay down and stared into her dark eyes. "I love you, you are home, and we will never let them separate us again. Do you understand?"
"I understand."
"Good, now rest love please. We are all hear and you are safe, I will be hear when you wake and we may speak of whatever you wish." Ned pressed a kiss to her forehead and held Elia until her breathing evened out and her eyes slipped shut.
It occurred to Ned then, something he hadn't considered, as he listened to his wife breath as he held her in his arms and listen to his sons moving in their sleep that for the first time in a very, very long time. That he could say without a doubt in his mind, that he was truly happy.
End of Chapter Forty-One
So, this was shorter than I originally planned as I was going to have a Jaime/Ned confrontation and have the rest of the Starks met the babes as well but it was the reunion that people wanted more than anything and that was what I wanted to give you.
So, this was literally a short and sweet chapter and I hope everyone liked it, I hope you liked the names I chose as well.
Please review, favourite and follow.
Love,
Doctorwhofan12345.