Chapter 11

Ned was standing in the courtyard along with his lady wife and their three children Robb, Sansa and baby Arya.

Just a few minutes ago, the giant eagle that he had come to associate with Domeric Bolton entered the Maester's rookery with a message on his leg, claiming that Lord Bolton and his entourage would arrive in Winterfell within half an hour.

He knew that it was not necessary for him to wait for one of his own bannerman like this. But House Bolton was one of the greatest house in the North, second only to the Starks and he knew that he needed to show his respects to Lord Bolton even if the lord in question was just a 7 year old boy.

The guards had already announced that Lord Bolton's party of 20 men was already within sight.

Arya squirmed uncomfortably under her mother's grip and he let out a sigh before giving Cat a sympathetic look.

Of all the children that were born to them so far, Arya was the one that gave them the most trouble. He just hoped that she would grow up fast or all the hairs in his head would become gray before long.

It was then that he heard the beat of hoofs coming closer to them and looked up see their guests and froze.

A silence descended upon the courtyard as a large black direwolf entered the Winterfell gates with a snarl on it's face and Ned felt intimidated by the sight.

He was the veteran of a war, was the Lord Paramount and Warden of the North and had killed numerous men in life and he felt intimidated.

And not only at the sight of the direwolf but also at the boy who was riding the direwolf with such ease and grace as if he had been riding one since his birth.

There was just… something about that boy that screamed 'danger' to his senses and as their eyes met, time stopped.

Ned Stark felt naked as the boy gazed in his eyes. As if each and every single one of his secrets were laid bare in front of the boy and as if hearing his thoughts, the boy's lips quirked in a slight smile and then averted his gaze from him and Ned let out a breath he didn't knew he had been holding.

But despite the fact that the boy was now observing the rest of his household, there was a slight pressure on him. As if he was standing in the presence of a king and not a 7 year old boy.

And then the boy smiled and pressure was gone. The time that seemed to have stilled until this point started to flow as the boy descended from the black Direwolf.

A direwolf that could easily kill him and the rest of his family before his household guards even had the chance to take out their blades.

A direwolf that was the sigil and symbol of House Stark.

A direwolf that now belonged to Lord Bolton.

He wondered if this was a show of power on the young Bolton's part. If he wanted to show off his direwolf and tell him that them that he was better than them.

There was also the question of how on earth did the boy found a direwolf south of the wall. And how did he tamed it.

And then his eyes went to the banner that his men were flying and he was surprised to see that instead of the Flayed man like he had been expecting, there was now a Weirwood tree in the banner with a black background. He had not known that the Boltons had changed their banner. And the fact that the boy had done so on his own violation clearly spoke of him having enough conviction to change his house and create a whole new reputation for it. A reputation that he would have never gained if he had continued to fly the 'Flayed man' banner.

There were so many questions running through his mind but as the boy climbed down from the Direwolf and moved toward him along with his retainers, Ned forced those thoughts back for later.

Then the boy looked in his eyes and held the eye contact for a second before he went down on his knees, an action that was then followed by the rest of his men except for the woman whom he remembered as Lady Barbrey Dustin.

Then Lord Bolton spoke his oath of allegiance, a short ceremony. And once it was done, Lord Bolton and Lady Barbrey along with the rest of his guards were taken to the great hall for a feast.

Later that evening, Lord Bolton and Lady Barbrey arrived in his Solar and they talked about various things. Him often forgetting that Domeric was only a 7 year old child and not an adult because of how mature and intelligent he was.

By the end of their discussion, Lady Barbrey Dustin had become the official regent of Lord Bolton and he had signed the charter for the expansion of Dreadfort into a town as well as the charter for creating a port town at the mouth of the Weeping Water river.

He was not sure exactly why he did that. Signing a charter like this to a house that were once the enemy of the Starks was not a wise thing to do. He just knew that the young lord Bolton could really persuading when he wanted to be.

And that was that.

The next day, Lord Bolton and his entourage left Winterfell and he was left with the feeling instead of dooming his house 'as most boy lords did', Domeric Bolton was going to change his house for the better.