Siblings

Jon

Time seemed to drag on endlessly as he awaited her answer with bated breath. The look of shock and confusion taking over the woman in front of his very eyes, he just hoped he'd not fucked this up with how tactless he'd been with his loaded question.

"No." Was her answer.

That one word. Who would think one word could do so much damage? A spear to the heart, a hope ripped apart in front of his very eyes.

He looked up at her eyes in the hopes it was a slip of the tongue, an involuntary reaction to seeing her son for the very first time in 17 years, almost like she couldn't believe who was standing right in front of her very eyes.

Instead of seeing that, all he saw was a look of determination and to Jon...annoyance.

"Are you sure?" He asked and instantly regretted what he'd said. Are you sure? It'd be pretty hard thing to miss.

The annoyed look grew on her face, yep, he'd fucked up. "Am I sure?" She asked in a low tone of voice. She shook her head "Is this some sort of jape? Who are you, did my brother send you in some form of joke?" She asked.

He knew he needed to start this whole thing off with a fresh start. He breathed in and shook his head "No this isn't a joke and I think we've got off on the wrong foot, my fault entirely." He cleared his throat "My name is Jon Snow, I'm Lord Eddard Stark's b..."

He didn't get to finish as he was abruptly interrupted "Ned Stark? Don't ever mention that man's name in my presence ever again!" She fumed, momentarily taking Jon by surprise. "The man is nothing but a liar and a coward!" She continued. She looked back at him fury in her eyes, now was not the time to be oddly aroused by this force of a woman.

She's not your mother, she said so herself. There's nothing odd with admiring this fiery dornish woman.

"And I'm guessing you're his son, the one he had outside his and his wife's marriage bed?" She guessed.

"You can say bastard you know, it's actually funny how little that word or what it means affects me anymore." He said with a grin. He appreciated the way she worded the circumstances of his birth but the subtlety was unneeded at this point, the word had lost its edge and couldn't be used as a weapon against him anymore.

She looked annoyed at his reply "I know I can say that word, I just choose not to. It's a horrible word in the first place and the way it's used is meant to be demeaning."

He was starting to like this woman even more. He only just realised something though "Wait, so you've met Ned Stark before?" He asked. He'd heard the rumours before, the rumours of him being smitten with the lady right in front of him but that's all he thought they were, rumours.

It seems the plot thickens he thought to himself.

Now he really saw the anger spew from her entire being "Met him? That man was supposed to be my husband! The promises we made to each other didn't seem to be even worth their weight in piss to that man. The rebellion happened and I wasn't even an afterthought to him." She growled out.

She wasn't done either "The last thing that man ever said to me was his promise to me. He promised he would talk to his father, promised he would make his father agree to the secret betrothal we'd mutually agreed on." She sat back down at her desk and sighed "We were in love or more specifically, I was in love like the fool I was. Evidently he'd gotten what he wanted and completely forgot about me shortly after." She finished.

Still processing what she'd said he still asked what he probably knew the answer to "And what was it he got from you?"

She looked up at him like he was stupid "Do I really need to spell it out for you? A good looking lad like you must have had some action with the ladies, loved them and left them no doubt...just like your father I suppose." She said, bitterness laced in every word.

"Don't compare me to that man, I'm nothing like him." He almost shouted out.

She had the decency to look down in shame "Sorry, don't listen to me. I shouldn't be taking it out on you. The man is full of secrets and if you're going around asking people if they're your mother I'm guessing he's been keeping secrets from you as well." She said as she looked on at him in pity.

"17 years I've been alive and every time I've asked him about my mother, he's said he'd tell me when the time was right. I got bored of waiting for him to decide when that was and just left. Best decision I've ever made." He said.

She gave him a smile "No regrets?" She asked.

He sighed "The only regret was not personally telling my siblings I was leaving." He shook his head "It was necessary though, if they'd got wind of my plans I would've been watched like a hawk and would've never found the opportunity to leave."

Ashara left her desk and moved over to a cabinet at the side of the room. She picked up a decanter and poured them both a glass of red wine, dornish red he assumed.

"Were you close with your brothers and sisters?" She asked as she handed him a glass.

He took the glass and thanked her "Thanks. Yeah, we were close, I'd like to think we still are. I love them all unconditionally and would do anything for any one of them. I just hope my time away hasn't soured our relationship." He finished as he necked the entire glass, the burn in his throat welcomed.

She quirked an eyebrow as he went a refilled his glass "If you love them and the feeling is mutual then I imagine they just miss you." She said as she took a sip from her glass. "I bet your father misses you as well and maybe even Lady Stark in some sense." She said but it sounded more like a question.

He snorted as he returned to his seat "I couldn't care less if Lord Stark misses me, he made his choice, I made mine. It's up to him to live with those choices the same way I've lived with mine." He said.

"And Lady Stark?" Ashara said with a mix of intrigue and anger.

He let out a laugh "Lady Stark...That woman is a fart in a hurricane when it comes to the bigger picture. Granted, she didn't need to be nice to her husband's bastard but she could have at least treated me with an ounce of humanity." He chuckled "I thought I hated her I really did, but the few years spent away from her has made me realise that I just tolerate her existence. I think she was just angry with me because she had an excuse to be angry with the reminder of her husband's infidelity."

"Didn't Lord Stark speak up about your treatment?" Ashara asked. She looked rather annoyed.

He shrugged his shoulders as he took a sip of his wine "He tried but what could he really do? Take his wife's or his bastard's side of the argument?" He grinned which seemed to catch Ashara by surprise, she must think I'm mad. "I was the worst shit to her in my last few months there. The way I saw it, I had nothing to lose." He said. "The last day I was there, she struck me across the face for something I said." He smiled as he looked out the window that was across the room, deep in thought. "She ever does that again I'll break every bone in that fucking hand of hers." He finished.

He looked back at Ashara who seemed to have been taken back by his little outbreak "Sorry. Not something you really want to be hearing is it?" He said.

She shook her head "No, it's fine. She sounds like a wonderful person." She said. She looked down at her lap and stared at her hands, brow furrowed in deep thought. Whatever it was she was thinking of it seemed she'd made a decision with deep breath she took and released.

"Look, I can see that you aren't Lord and Lady Stark's biggest fan but you care very much for your siblings." She said. He didn't like the serious look she had on her face, almost like something was about to happen. The dragonsteel dagger belted around his right ankle he'd been gifted by one of the rescued Daimyo from Euron's ship was a reassurance.

He nodded as he saw Ashara visibly swallow.

"I'm going to tell you something and before I do, you need to know I had my reasons." She said.

Jon was getting anxious "Oookay." He replied.

"You were one of those reasons." She said.

Now he was just confused. It must have showed on his face because she was quick to explain.

"I thought me and your father were in love with each other, that turned out not to be the case. He got what he wanted and left me to fend for myself after the rebellion." She shook her head. "I understand he wanted to get his sister back but I'll never forgive him or House Tully for what they did. Greed from House Tully or Ned just neglecting to tell anyone of our betrothal caused me so much anger and resentment." She said. She was practically shaking with emotion.

She took a calming breath before she spoke again "And then news came of your existence and all was lost. You were evidence of what I didn't think Lord Stark was capable of. He was so kind and sincere when we first met and all the way up to the last day we saw each other. Evidently that was all an act that I fell for so easily, like the young naïve girl that I was. I couldn't believe I'd found a man who saw me for more than just my looks." She looked away from him as he saw the moisture building in her eyes "In a way he was the worst because I fell for it."

Jon couldn't believe what he was hearing, he knew his father had secrets but he didn't know he had this many. Turns out Lady Ashara had her own when she spoke again...

"With the stories you've been telling me, with the way you were treated growing up, I made the right decision with what I did. She would've been taken away from me the same way you were taken away from your mother and she would've hated every minute just like you did."

Now he was really confused "She? Who's she?" He said. The next words that came out of her mouth were shocking to say the least.

"My daughter. Your half-sister." Was all that was said.

His eyebrows shot up at that. The room was silent for a few moments as he tried to get his head around what she'd just said. Her daughter...his half-sister. He had so many questions to ask Ashara. Does Lord Stark know about her existence? If he did then why didn't he tell any of them about their sister? Can he meet this sister of his? The questions ran through his head like a stampede.

It would seem that one of his questions would be answered straight away. "Would you like to meet her?" Ashara said.

He nodded "I would love to meet my sister." He responded with a smile he couldn't stop. It would seem that his answer was the right one as a smile lit up Ashara's face in response.

He came here looking for his mother but ended up finding a sister instead. He shook his head as Ashara led him out of the room...

What other secrets do I not know about? He mused.

Ashara

She walked along the pristine corridors of her home along with one of the house guards and the boy, no...man who was currently taking up the most of her thoughts. It was shaping up to be a rather boring day with how many mundane tasks she had to complete before the end of it but Jon had turned up and was turning out to be a pleasant surprise.

The first time she set eyes on him it was like looking at a young Ned...well, if Ned was half a foot taller, fifty pounds of muscle heavier and had a chiseled jawline under the thickest beard she'd ever seen. To put it bluntly, Ashara appreciated the view...until he opened his mouth and blurted out the last thing she expected to hear. The questioning on whether or not she was his mother put the whole situation into perspective, Jon was a very young man and she was a jilted, middle aged woman old enough to actually be his mother.

And when he revealed he was Ned's baseborn son well, the bigger picture was revealed and her lustful tendencies were well and truly reigned in...for now.

"What's your daughter's name?" Came the young man's question as they made their way towards her daughter's chambers, essentially breaking her from her thoughts.

She turned to look at him and smiled. Gods, he was a handsome lad. His colouring was all Stark but whoever it was that turned Ned's eye, she must have been stunning and most definitly passed on her beauty to her son. Her smile wavered at that thought. Turned out Ned was like every man after all, using his other head to do the thinking.

He quirked an eyebrow at her and she realised she'd not answered his question.

She cleared her throat "Her names Clarissa, named after her ancestor Lady Clarisse Dayne." She answered as they rounded a corner and approached her Clarissa's chambers.

Jon smiled and looked down "That's a lovely name my lady. Am I right in guessing that the young lady that I bumped into in your solar was your daughter?" He asked.

She nodded "You would be correct in your assumption my lord." She said as she quizzically smiled when he shook his head.

"Just Jon my lady. I'm not a lord nor do I wish to be one." He answered.

It was her turn to quirk an eyebrow this time "You do not wish to be a lord m...Jon? And why is that may I ask?" She said.

He smiled when she asked that, it seemed an easy smile, not one plastered on by the many lords she'd met in her lifetime "Being a lord just seems so...so constrictive, like there's too many rules that prevent you from actually living." His smile didn't waver as he continued "In some odd twisted way, there's something about being a nobody that's extremely valuable. It grants you a degree of freedom if you will." He finished.

"But with the circumstances of your birth, don't you sometimes wish for that recognition of being trueborn? That one thing that stops the nasty comments or the poor treatment from the ones who, because of their birth, think they're better than you?" She questioned.

He shook his head "Maybe a few years ago but not anymore. Now that I have a better understanding on things, the words that are used to bring me down mean absolutely fuck all to me. If a lord or lady tries to argue with me or attempts to belittle me with words about bastardry or what have you, I'll just laugh in their face. I'll laugh in their face because I know that's all they've got, that they're nothing without their lordship. Using the gift of being trueborn that was bestowed upon them at birth as a weapon just makes that person look like a spoilt, stuck up cunt in my opinion. Sorry for the language my lady." He finished with a smirk.

Ashara was very surprised with his answer, either he had a rather large chip on his shoulder or he did in fact believe in what he was saying. And with the sense he was speaking when talking about bratty lords being entitled based purely on their status of birth, she believed it was the latter.

She waved off his apology for his language, she was a lady not a septa. They carried on walking until they finally reached her daughter's chambers, distinguished by the guard at her door.

The guard in question knocked on Clarissa's door and announced that her mother was here to pay her a visit. It wasn't long before the door was being opened and her daughter was looking into her eyes, the eyes of the Starks, the eyes of the man right behind her.

"Clarissa darling, may we come in? I've got somebody I would like you to meet." She said as her daughter briefly looked over her shoulder, no doubt eyeing Jon up. This could get awkward if the faint blush that was appearing on her cheeks was anything to go by.

Clarissa opened her door wider to let her and Jon in.

Ashara scanned the room and noticed an open book on her desk, she picked it up and noticed it was the book her uncle Arthur had sent her for her last name day. It was titled Dragons, Wyrms, and Wyverns: Their Unnatural History and according to Arthur, it was a rather difficult book to find a copy of. Fortunately for Clarissa, Arthur had a rather good source when it came to rare books. She imagined King Rhaegar was involved in that regard.

She turned to her daughter who was currently busying herself by cleaning and putting things back in their place whilst sneaking looks at Jon. "I'm surprised you haven't worn this book out Clarissa." She chuckled as she picked up said book.

Clarissa stopped what she was doing and grabbed the book from her hands and closed it. "You know I love this book mother and with recent events that have come to light, I deem it necessary to read up on dragons further." She said as she placed the book back down on her desk.

She quirked an eyebrow at that "You still believe in what you told me earlier?" She sighed "I don't mean to rain on your parade sweetie but what you saw was probably some bird or some sort of weird reflection off the sea. I very much doubt what you saw was a dragon, they've been extinct for over a hundred years for starters." She explained.

Clarissa shook her head as she huffed "I know what I saw mother." She said as she looked directly into her eyes, eyes that diverted to the man stood at the door when Jon coughed.

Ashara at that point realised she not introduced the two "Oh gods, where are my manners. Jon, this is my daughter Clarissa. Clarissa, this is Jon Snow...erm..." She said as she struggled with how to present Jon to her daughter.

Jon cleared his throat and held out his hand for Clarissa to shake "I'm a close relative." Was all that he said as they shook hands.

Clarissa quirked an eyebrow at that and looked towards Ashara for clarification.

Brilliant. Seems like subtly isn't something Jon is too fond of.

She cleared her throat and briefly glared at the young man "Yes, a relative. Clarissa darling, you might want to sit down for this little chat." She said.

Clarissa frowned and hesitantly sat on her bed, Ashara sat next to her and Jon brought a chair from across the room and sat in front of the pair of them.

She looked towards her daughter, Clarissa herself was too busy eyeing Jon up and down to even notice her mother.

"Clarissa..." She said as her daughter dragged her eyes away from Jon "We've talked about your father in the past, haven't we?" She said as a grim look came over her daughter's face "And I've told you who he is and why I've not told him about you haven't I?" She said as delicately as she could.

Clarissa sighed "I know mother. I've heard the reasons why and I can't help but agree with them..." She said before a whole different look took over her beautiful face "but a part of me wished he knew, wished he knew so he could see what he's missed all of his life." She finished.

Ashara knew how passionate Clarissa was about the whole situation regarding her father. She remembers when she told an eight year old Clarissa who her father was and then explaining it all further to her six years later. To say her daughter blew her top over Lord Starks actions would be an understatement.

"And I understand you wanting to hurt him, trust me, I know." She said as she shook her head and looked up at Jon who was quietly taking in all the anger his father had caused to her and her daughter "You're not the only one he's hurt in the past Clarissa." She finished as her daughter followed her line of sight.

Her daughter looked confused at first but that was quickly remedied with what she said next. "Clarissa, Jon here is Lord Starks son...your half-brother."

Jon gave her daughter a little smile and wave "Hello Clarissa, it's an honour to meet you." He said to ease the awkwardness of the whole situation.

Clarissa herself just shook her head in confusion "I don't understand, I thought you lived with Lord Stark? What's he done to hurt you?" She asked in an almost judgemental tone.

His smile disappeared at her question "You're right, I did live under Lord Stark's roof, and I went wanting for nothing. I got a bed to sleep in, I got regular meals every day, I got a decent education and I got to grow up knowing my brothers and sisters...by the way, you'd love every one of them just like I do." He sighed "It's the torment that finally made me leave that place."

Clarissa looked even more confused than before "The torment?"

He looked at her and then back at Clarissa "Listen, I'm just gonna be straight with you, I don't deal well with any of this heavy shit and talking about it all is the last thing I want to be doing right now." He said as Clarissa's eyebrows shot up "I'll just get straight to the point. Since the age of about 5 or 6 I've been asking Lord Stark about my mother and I didn't stop for almost a decade with my questioning. In that time, the only thing I ever found out was that I was born in Dorne. I don't know her name, where she lives, if she knows about me or if she's even alive."

"Well, I got well and truly fed up with the whole situation, coupled with the fact that Lady Stark was nothing but a raging bitch towards me and the pair of them seemingly angling for me to join the nights watch, I decided to take matters into my own hands and decided to just fuck off. The only regrets I have are that I couldn't personally say goodbye to my siblings." He said as he took a calming breath.

"Fast forward nearly 3 years after I left to now, where the only reason I'm in Starfall right now is because of some dumb rumour that your mother was in actual fact my mother. Turns out she's not but at least I made the right choice in coming here or I wouldn't have found out I had another sister...The end." He finished as he seemed to slump in his chair in relief.

Mother and daughter were both silent after what had been said, no doubt absorbing what had just been said.

Jon seemed to take that the wrong way "Listen..." He said as he rose to his feet "I'm just gonna go, this seems to have been a mistake. I'm annoyed that the search for my mother continues but I'm glad I got to meet you. It's safe to say, I won't be informing Lord Stark of anything that has happened today...he's not the only one who can keep fucking secrets." He seemed to growl out as he picked up his chair and moved it back to its original spot.

Clarissa shot up from her bed "No wait!" She said as she grabbed hold of Jon's arm.

Jon looked down at her, almost startled by Clarissa's outburst.

Clarissa held his hand in between her two smaller one "At least stay for dinner...I want to hear about my brothers and sisters...I want to get to know you." She said as she bit her bottom lip and looked up at him with her big grey eyes.

Whatever it was that Jon saw it seemed to do the Job as he all but melted at the look Clarissa was giving him. "Okay, I'll stay. A warm meal sounds lovely. And it would be my pleasure telling you all about our siblings." He said as Clarissa hooked her arm around Jon's and headed towards the door. Ashara just shook her head and smiled at her daughter's antics.

"Well, let me start off by telling you about our little devil of a sister..." Was all she heard as they exited the room.

Daenerys

She lifted her skirts as she upped her pace, the corridors of the Red Keep were almost a blur with how light footed she was being, all to avoid the one person she really didn't want to be talking to right now. Ser Jaime was hot on her heels in an attempt to keep up along with that annoying but charming grin he carried so very well. There was no doubt he knew the reason for her eager pace.

"Your Grace! He's your brother, it can't be that bad." Ser Jaime huffed out as he finally caught up.

He nearly bumped into her as she stopped and turned around, a quirked eyebrow aimed at him "Really Ser Jaime? You've met my brother, one of the greatest moments of my life was when my brother told me Viserys was marrying and subsequently moving to Sunspear. You know why I don't want to see him, the ravens have been getting more and more aggressive." She said as she turned back around and carried on down the corridor.

Ah the ravens. Viserys had been living in Sunspear for around 2 years now and within the first 6 moons of his stay she'd received 5 ravens from him, each one getting more and more aggressive. To cut a long story short, her brother hated living in Dorne, hated living with the Martells, hated his wife and ultimately, hated their brother for making all of that happen.

The first 5 ravens she'd read and kept to herself, obviously Viserys needed somebody to vent to and she was kind of surprised she was the one he'd chosen. Even with him moving away she couldn't get rid of him. But then the ravens changed, as much as her brother thought she was stupid and simple she, unluckily for him, wasn't in the slightest. A pattern had started to emerge in the letters he would send to her and she cottoned on pretty early.

He was trying to get out of his marriage.

According to Rhaenys, who had heard from Tyene, who had been told by Arianne, Viserys had only ever visited their marriage bed the one time and that was the night of the wedding. She'd blushed when Rhae had told her everything that Tyene had told her, the fact that Viserys hadn't even finished inside Arianne due to his heavy drinking at the wedding feast. And since he'd not slept with her since, it was no surprise they'd been no pregnancy announcement.

So Viserys wasn't even visiting his wife's bed. He'd also mentioned time after time how he felt belittled and laughed at behind his back by everyone in Dorne, how nobody showed him the respect he should be shown except for the likes of his brother in law, Prince Quentyn and his new personal guard, Gerold Dayne. Prince Quentyn was another man she didn't want to show the time of day to either and was very involved in her brother's mad plan, a plan that was doomed to fail.

Turns out, Gerold Dayne was more than just a new personal guard, he was in on this elaborate scheme as well, along with her brother and Quentyn...with her unfortunately being the catalyst that tied this entire thing together.

Viserys wanted out of his marriage with Arianne but couldn't end it without causing offence to the Martells. He couldn't kill Arianne, she knew her brother had psychopathic tendencies but even she knew he wouldn't do such a thing. So, his way of fixing all of this would be to runaway to Essos for a few years, the Martells would be offended by his disappearance and demand an annulment and some form of compensation. And in her brother's twisted mind, her marrying Quentyn was more than enough to fix that.

Gerold Dayne, or Darkstar as some people liked to refer to him as, also profited from this whole farce. The man believed if Viserys was out of the picture then he had a shot at taming the Princess of Dorne for himself. The whole situation made her sick and she wanted absolutely nothing to with it, thus she'd decided to ignore every single one of Viserys' progressively worse letters.

And then he'd turned up in King's Landing and she couldn't ignore him as easily as she wanted to anymore.

She'd only seen him once since he'd arrived and that was during the welcoming party. She'd kissed each of his cheeks in a public show of endearment, fooling absolutely nobody who knew about their childhood. He'd gripped her shoulders like a vice when they'd embraced, not too dissimilar to when they were kids. A whispered breath in her ear "We need to talk soon sister." was all that was said and he moved on to greet the rest of the family.

Viserys had used the excuse of seeing his new grand-niece for coming to the capital but with Prince Quentyn and Ser Gerold Dayne accompanying him, she wasn't easily fooled...that and the fact that Viserys didn't give a fuck about the 'Half breeds' of the family.

Daenerys and Ser Jaime hurried down one of the many corridors in the Red Keep with no particular destination in mind.

'Maybe I should go and see Alysanne again, Viserys definitely won't be there.'

"Where are we going? if you don't mind me asking, your grace?" Ser Jaime questioned as his polished armour clunked in the silence of the corridor.

"I'm not quite sure yet but anywhere that isn't in Viserys' presence is always ideal. I think another visit to my grand-niece is in order, don't you?" She said.

They were moving that quick that when they rounded one of the many corners in this maze she calls home, she collided into the chest of an unsuspecting individual. Ser Jaime held onto her shoulder and steadied her which gave her the opportunity to look up at whoever she'd clashed with.

Brilliant. Of all the people to bump into right now and it had to be this idiot.

"Your grace, what a pleasant surprise. If I knew you were in such a rush to see me, I would have come to you immediately." Lord Aurane drawled out.

Dany rolled her eyes, it's not that she hated the man, it was more to do with what he wanted, and he was barking up the wrong tree. The fact that he looked very similar to her brother Rhaegar was enough to make any form of intimacy with the man way too awkward and off putting, coupled with the fact that he was so far up his own arse he could probably taste his breakfast, Dany couldn't for the life of her see Lord Aurane as anything but a pest.

"Don't worry my Lord, I don't think people being in a rush to see you is something you should be worrying about." She said in the most innocent tone she could.

Lord Aurane just looked at the ground and smirked "Duly noted your grace." He said before looking back at her "If I may be so forward in saying, you look beautiful on this fine day your grace." He said as he seemed to put his best smouldering look on. To Dany, the compliment was as basic as anything she'd heard from any of her suitors and his face looked like a mongrel chewing a wasp.

She would play this little game though, if she kept him keen then maybe he could be useful against the many advances from her suitors, mainly Prince Quentyn.

She lifted her chin and looked him right in the eyes "I know." Was all she said and proceeded to carry on walking, past the now smiling Master of Ships. She wasn't a vain person but she wasn't naïve enough to think she was ugly, their family had always been blessed with the great beauty of their dragonlord ancestors.

Ser Jaime caught up with her quite quickly, she could almost hear the smirk on his face when he spoke "Well played your grace, you know I've never been much of a fan of his and to see him dismissed so casually really warms my heart." He said. She turned and looked over her shoulder and just smiled back at him.

"Dogs can be useful if they're trained Ser Jaime, I'm dangling the treat completely out of his reach with one hand and tying the collar around his neck with the other." She whispered to him in an amused tone.

Ser Jaime just shook his head and grinned "You've been spending too much time with your mother." He said as they reached a door to the outside that lead to the Royal Gardens. Two guards bowed their heads as they opened the door for her.

She looked over her shoulder again at Ser Jaime "So what if I do, I love my mother and she is a remarkable woman." She said in a tone that refused anything but agreement. Her mother was the most remarkable woman she would ever meet, a survivor and warrior in her own way. If her grace was a weapon, her mother could wield it and cut down any knight with minimal effort.

Ser Jaime to his credit looked down and almost whispered in agreement "That she is your grace, that she is." He said as he looked back up at her with the most serious face she'd seen on him in a while before his eyes wandered just over her shoulder and widened.

He put his arm around her shoulder and ushered her towards the stables at the bottom of the hill. "Don't look now your grace but I've just seen the three people you've been avoiding all this time." He said in a hushed voice.

Obviously when somebody tells you not to look you look anyway and Daenerys had always been an inquisitive soul. With quick look over her shoulder, the words Ser Jaime had uttered were confirmed. Viserys along with Prince Quentyn and Ser Gerold were having what looked like a rather interesting conversation with her nephew and niece, Aegon and Rhaenys. The pair of them were accompanied by their Kingsguard, Ser Barristan and Ser Jonothor.

With her mind already made up, she hurried her steps and approached the stables, a visit to the orphanage sounded like a wonderful idea right about now. She entered the stables with Ser Jaime close by and walked up to her horse, a light grey almost white mare called Silver, a name day gift from her mother 3 years ago.

With her mounted on Silver and Ser Jaime on his brown stallion, they both left the Red Keep into the busyness of the city to, ironically, seek some peace and quiet from some of the inhabitants of her home.

Arya

"Arya Stark, sit back down right now!" Came the annoyed cry from Septa Mordane.

She completely ignored her as she exited the room, even her last warning from the old bat fell on deaf ears. Sewing fishes into little bits of fabric was the last thing she wanted to be doing right now. She'd rather be climbing with Bran or sparring in the godswood with Rickon with any of the sticks they could find. What she really wanted to do was find out what had got her mother and father in such a state recently, whatever it was surely involved Robb since he was always in father's solar as of late.

She was heading outside to look for Bran or Rickon when Jory walked past, giving her a small grin and shaking his head "Skipping lessons again m...Arya. Wouldn't it be easier to just tough them out so you can at least avoid your septa's and your mother's ire?" He said.

She shrugged as she passed him and shouted over her shoulder "Not really. It's fun to see how red in the face I can make them go. Mother gets very annoyed but Septa Mordane is the best, I've gotten into the deep reds with her now, I can't be far off purple now surely?" She said with that grin that seemed to work on most people apart from her parents. Jory just chuckled.

Before she opened the door to the courtyard, she shouted back at him "Jory! Do you know where Bran and Rickon are?"

"Where do you think? They're in their lessons like you should be you little troublemaker." Came his amused reply. She liked Jory, he was her favourite guard around Winterfell. It was two things about him that stood out really, first he could actually take a joke and have a laugh unlike some people around here and second, whenever he caught her messing around with sticks in the godswood or wherever, he would actually giver her pointers and tips instead of snatching her fun away and sending her to her mother.

She rolled her eyes and huffed at his answer though, of course they'd be in lessons. "Fine, guess I'll go find someone else to bug." She said.

He laughed at that and turned around to head off to wherever it is guards go "You could just go back to your lessons." He said over his shoulder.

"Sod off!" Was all she said as she opened the door and breathed in the cool northern air. She heard Jory laugh one more time before rounding a corner and that was the end of that.

She eyed the yard in search of her two younger brothers but that was empty apart from a few guards sparring, one of which was still sporting a crooked nose that her brother had so kindly gifted him with. Her face fell when thinking about him but recovered quickly before she fell down that hole of misery.

It's not the time for thinking about him right now, that comes one random night of the month where I can bury my face in my pillow before letting it all out.

With a deep breath to centre herself, she headed up towards the maesters turret where Bran and Rickon were no doubt receiving their boring lessons from Maester Lewin. She liked Maester Lewin but he didn't half drone on sometimes.

She entered the turret and bolted up the stairs two at a time, it wasn't long before she was reaching the top and pressing her ear to the door of the maester's room. All she heard was a monotone voice speaking, the words of which she couldn't decipher for herself.

She decided to knock on the door and hope for the best with the whole situation.

Maester Lewin was the one to answer the door, as to be expected. "Lady Arya, this is an unusual surprise. Especially since, just like the boys here, you are supposed to be in your lessons hmm." The maester said in a somewhat amused tone.

She got up on her tip toes in an attempt to look over the old man's shoulder to see what her brothers were doing. Unfortunately, her small height had once again betrayed her and her straining was in vain. With a huff, she planted her feet back down on the floor and looked up at the maester who had an eyebrow quirked, no doubt waiting for an explanation for her appearance.

"I've just come to see what Bran and Rick are up to." She said in the most innocent voice she could muster. Unfortunately for her, absolutely nobody in Winterfell fell for her act.

"Again, you should be in your lessons with Septa Mordane young lady. What would Lady Stark say if she found out you've skipped another lesson this week hmm?" Lewin questioned.

"I finished early..." She lied "and I wanted to see if Bran and Rick had finished too." She said as she smiled up at Lewin.

"FINISHED!" Rickon yelled from within the maester's room as he emerged from the gap between Lewin and the door frame and slapped a piece of parchment into the maester's hands. Maester Lewin didn't even get chance to speak with the boy as he'd already shot down the stairs whilst furiously giggling at something that had clearly tickled him.

Between the gap she could see Bran still writing at a table in the middle of the room, he gave her a wave and a smile before looking back down at his work. Bran seemed to be the only one out of them all who actually enjoyed Maester Lewin's lessons...somehow.

"Oh, that little..." She heard after she'd returned the wave Bran sent her with one of her own. She quirked her eyebrow at the old man, almost daring him to finish his sentence.

"You and that boy are going to be the death of me, mark my words." He said as he shook his head. She looked at the piece of paper Rickon had given him and couldn't stop the laugh that emerged from her.

Rickon had drawn a picture of a dog or a wolf, she couldn't tell, all she did know is that it seemed to have one too many limbs and happened to be pooping on a person who looked remarkably like a septa. He'd even signed his name at the bottom.

The stern look Maester Lewin was giving her made her reign in the laughter. She cleared her throat and composed herself.

"Maester Lewin...are you gonna keep that or can I have it?" She asked. It was a work of art and it would look splendid on the wall in her chambers.

He shook his head and muttered something under his breath before replying "Yes I'll be keeping it and no you can't have it, Lord Stark will probably want to see this." He said.

She couldn't help it when she replied "Why? Does he need visual guidance on how to poop on a septa?" She said and didn't wait for a response, she was already half way down the stairs when Maester Lewin shouted "You're not funny Arya Stark! Your parents will be hearing about this!" Was all she heard as she exited the tower.

She laughed as she broke out into the fresh air and it didn't take her long to notice Rick sat on a barrel across from her munching on an apple with a massive grin on his face.

"We are so dead when mother and father find out what we did." Rickon explained as he jumped off the barrel.

"Where did you get that apple Rick?" She asked.

"Found it on Maester Lewin's desk." He said before taking another big bite out of said apple.

She quirked an eyebrow at him as they started walking off towards the godswood "Found it or stole it?" She asked.

He shrugged his shoulders and answered with a mouthful "I dunno. It was just there and nobody else was eating it."

She shook her head and smiled as they walked under the arch that led to the godswood, Rickon was so random sometimes.

"I liked your picture by the way, you have a talent. I tried to retrieve it to keep for myself but Lewin seemed to grow attached to it rather quickly. You'll have to draw another one for me so I can put it on my wall." She said as she smiled at her little brother. Even at the mere age of 5, he was still shaping up to be her perfect partner in crime.

Rickon didn't get chance to answer her request because she was dragging him into the thick bush surrounding the grove as soon as she heard the raised voices coming from near the heart tree. She put her finger on her lips and Rickon did the same as she listened in on what was being said.

"Are you sure?!" She heard somebody say, it sounded like Robb.

"I'm almost certain Robb, Lord Karstark received a ransom note anonymously but has already made up his mind. He believes its Lord Bolton's bastard and he's already threatening to go to war with House Bolton because of it. This needs to get settled as quickly as possible before any war can be declared so I'm rounding up some of our best hunters and fighters in the North and we are going to hunt this monster down, mark my words." Her father seemed to growl.

"I'll kill him. I'll kill him if he's done anything to her...that's a promise father." Robb almost shouted.

What in the world has happened to get Robb so worked up? Done anything to her? Who's her?

"We'll get him Robb, I promise you that." Her father replied.

"I know we will, because I'm going and I'll put him in the ground myself." Robb declared.

"Robb..."

"No father, this isn't up for discussion. That cretin has kidnapped my betrothed, what kind of person would I be if I just sat back and did nothing? How could anyone respect a Lord like that?" Robb forced out. She'd never heard Robb speak to their father in such a tone before.

Whatever her father's response was gonna be was lost to the wind as a guard seemed to rush into the grove shouting.

"Lord Stark, a note from Lady Stark...Lady Arya ran off from her lessons and hasn't been seen since." The guard huffed out as he caught his breath.

Shit.

She eyed Rickon who was doing a bad job at keeping the grin off his face "You're in trouble." He whispered out.

In trouble indeed, and by the sounds of her father and brother's heated conversation, she wasn't the only one.