The Emancipation of Rhaegar

Lyarra Stark was never known for a tender heart, worse yet especially to those who had threatened her family. Currently, she was stood in the courtyard for Winterfell with her milkmaids and three children, Brandon, who had just turned passed his fourth name day, Lyanna who was two and babe Eddard who had been born a few moons earlier. Eddard let out an uncomfortable squeal and she patted his back gently, he had been restless all night and day.

"Here my lady," her milkmaid offered extending her hands for Lyarra to put Eddard in.

Lyarra shook her head, "no, I want to show him myself." She said, smiling to herself as the gates lurched open.

The entire household had stood to be present for their Lord Paramount, Rickard Stark and his men's return. As they opened Lyarra stood on her toes to look for her husband, who seemed to not be leading the party.

How odd. She thought to herself, he always insisted on leading the party. As the men jumped from their horses to meet the household Lyarra waved Lord Manderly, who had attended the task assigned by the King, over to her.

"Where is Rickard?" She asked him once they had gone through formalities. Lord Manderly rubbed the back of his neck and let out a sigh. Lyarra's eyes widened, "he's not dead is he!?"

Lord Manderly shook his head, "no...not yet," he said moving for her to see her husband enter the castle. Rather than be riding a horse, he was leading on with a young Dornish woman perched on top of it. The girl held a bundle close to her and she looked around the courtyard, confused more or less.

He handed the reins to a stable boy and walked over to his wife and children. "Hello my sweet children," Rickard smiled bending down to kiss Brandon and Lyanna who squealed and hugged him. He stood back up and touched Eddard's cheek, "this must be little Ned."

"Eddard," Lyarra corrected glaring up at him.

"And my beautiful wife," he smiled kissing her forehead.

Lyarra shrugged him off, "I hope there's an explanation for that."

Rickard turned around, the Dornish girl he had helped in was being ushered to the Great Hall. He refused to turn back around, though he heard the shuffle of the maids and his children as they were moved away from their parents.

"Rickard Stark! I present you with a son. A beautiful son. A second son. Three happy, healthy children and you present me with that?" Lyarra cried, wondering why her husband was being so cold towards her. Instead of responding to her, however, Rickard walked briskly into the Great Hall, behind him a fuming Lyarra followed.

"Lyarra please, lower your voice," Rickard said, his wife had started rambling incoherently.

"Lower my voice? My voice? You have brought a whore into my home."

"I am no whore madam!" The girl snapped, angered by Lyarra's words.

Lyarra scoffed, "a whore who speaks, you have outdone yourself, Rickard, truly."

Rickard looked at his wife astonished, her usual kind demeanor had vanished. "This is Lilia, she is to take care of the child. She is not the mother and you will treat her as you treat any other maid of our child, do you understand?" Rickard asked her.

Lyarra only then noticed that Lilia wore the cloak that she had made for Rickard, the black rabbit pelt hiding in her long curly locks. "And you gave her your coat."

"The Dornish don't know how to deal with the cold. I'm sure you cannot blame her for that."

Lyarra ignored him, only glaring at the bundle in her arms and thinking of ways to get the babe out of her home. "There's an orphanage in Wintertown."

Rickard shook his head. "Where she will either freeze or be sold off to be a whore before she even bleeds. She is of my blood; I could not live with myself if I knew that she could have had a happy home in Winterfell, a home where she could grow up with her siblings."

"Spare me your words of reassurance Rickard. I will forever want that thing out of sight; no amount of sweet words will change that!" A short silence followed them; the only sound was the crackling fire, the pitter-patter of rain and wind hitting the window too hard. "I spent nine months- nine wretched months carrying our child, and you strip me of all honour with a bastard. I say this with no remorse; I cannot ever love you as I had once loved you Rickard Stark. I can love you as my family, but never as my husband." And with that, she was making her way out of the Great Hall.

"Lyarra Stark will you stop this foolishness?" Her husband bellowed, following after her. He reached into his cloak to pull something out as he did so.

She froze at his words, knowing she might have pushed her luck with her tantrums. She hadn't even noticed that little Eddard had been taken from her arms and that neither Lyanna nor Brandon was to be seen. She didn't care for his words anymore, however. "What!?" she bellowed back, pushing his limits.

Without even responding, Rickard took her hand and brought her back to the Great Hall. The babe had woken from its slumber and was squealing in Lilia's arms happily.

I would be happy too if I was a bastard soon to become one of the richest children in the Seven Kingdoms. Lyarra thought to herself.

"Now look here woman-," Rickard, however, was cut off by the so-called woman. She snatched the tattered letter he held in his hands and read through it.

Having read it, she felt ridden with shame and guilt. "Oh Rickard, Lady Lilia, I am so sorry I just assumed that-,"

Lilia shook her head, "naturally, I would burn myself if my husband had a bastard as well."

Lyarra smiled sheepishly and looked back at her husband. "Now can I get the welcome I deserve?" Rickard asked her.

She took his exceedingly larger hands into her own as if to say sorry once more. "May I see the babe?" she asked Lilia. Lilia turned the jumpy child to Lyarra. The babe, a girl, had grown considerably, looking to be a few moons older than Eddard. "She is quite thin," Lyarra pointed out.

"We did not have the luxury of a milkmaid on the journey here," Lilia said, looking down at the girl sadly. "She's been on a diet of water and broth."

Lyarra tutted, "I can sort that out. Now more importantly, what is her name and how will we explain that" Lyarra sighed pointing to the purple eyes of the babe.

"As far as anyone needs to know she is my daughter from Dorne," Rickard said.

Lyarra bit her lip, wondering if anyone would believe that. "And her name?"

"Arianne Snow," Rickard responded, the name rolling off his tongue oddly.

Lilia shook her hand. "Arianne Sand, she was born in Dorne, not the North. She must remember where she is from, even in the smallest of ways."

"Arianne Sand," Lyarra smiled touching the child's small hands. "At least Eddard has someone other than Lord Umber's aggressive son to play with." Rickard let out a small chuckle. She turned to her husband and smiled, "now since you have not in fact been a lying cheating son of a whore, you must be tired and I had the maids prepare a bath for you."

"That's quite a lot of things I am not," Rickard frowned as he let his wife guide him to their chambers.

"I'll send the maids for you, Lilia!" Lyarra said faintly, leaving Lilia to fend for herself in the Great Hall.