Queen of the North

Chapter Two

"I am my father's daughter," she smiled.

"You certainly are," said Robert, his eyes slowly traveling from the tips of her toes to the hairs on her head.

The king had just asked Ned to be the new Hand of the King, and yet all that consumed his mind was the potential fate waiting for his eldest daughter if she were to join him in King's Landing.

—

Jaime Lannister harshly slammed his elbows on the stone ledge overlooking the feast. He glared at the small woman he had just had the displeasure of meeting. She stood before the ogling king, smiling and flirting so effortlessly that she had the king undeniably wrapped around her pretty little finger in a matter of seconds. His hands bawled themselves into fists. These Starks were turning into a much larger annoyance than he had initially anticipated. Something must be done to keep them in their place, their place in the Lannister's shadow.

"She is quite breathtaking, isn't she?" said Tyrion, sipping his wine and positioning himself beside his older brother.

"Who's that?" Jaime grunted with an upward inflection.

"Please do not act so oblivious, brother," said Tyrion, "or I'll have to tell father his favored son has lost his touch."

"Ned Stark's daughter?"

"Do you see another woman with bigger doe eyes or perkier tits?"

"No, and nor have I seen one with a bigger mouth," said Jaime.

"She must suck a good cock then," said Tyrion, his teeth involuntarily biting the rim of his goblet.

"In my limited experience, more comes out of that mouth than goes in," he replied, watching as the eldest Stark curtsied to the king and took a seat beside her brothers and sisters.

"I like her," Tyrion affirmed.

"Add that to our long list of differing opinions, brother," said Jaime, gulping his final drops of wine.

—

The feast had concluded, the children were in bed and the planning had commenced. Ned glanced helplessly around the bedchamber. Catelyn's heart went out to him, but she knew she could not take him in her arms just then. First the victory must be won, for her children's sake.

"You say you love Robert like a brother. Would you leave your brother surrounded by Lannisters?"

"The Others take both of you," Ned muttered darkly. He turned away from them and went to the window. She did not speak, nor did the maester. They waited, quiet, while Eddard Stark said a silent farewell to the home he loved. When he turned away from the window at last, his voice was tired and full of melancholy, and moisture glittered faintly in the corners of his eyes. "My father went south once, to answer the summons of a king. He never came home again."

"A different time," Maester Luwin said. "A different king."

"Yes," Ned said dully. He seated himself in a chair by the hearth. "Catelyn, you shall stay here in Winterfell."

His words were like an icy draft through her heart. "No," she said, suddenly afraid. Was this to be her punishment? Never to see his face again, nor to feel his arms around her?

"Yes," Ned said, in words that would brook no argument. "You must govern the north in my stead, while I run Robert's errands. There must always be a Stark in Winterfell. Robb, soon enough, will be a man grown. He must learn to rule, and I will not be here for him. Make him part of your councils. He must be ready when his time comes."