The Northern Dragon

CH 38: 282-285 A.C.

The Sack of King's Landing wasn't the end of the war. Storm's end was still under siege by the Reach, and Lyanna Stark had yet to be found, being nowhere in the Crownlands.

Lord Eddard Stark first headed to Storm's End with his forces to lift the siege, which didn't take much effort after the Tyrells and their men learned of the fall of King's Landing.

From there, Lord Eddard headed further south to Dorne, having heard his sister Lyanna was there. However, he only took six men with him: Howland Reed, William Dustin, Ethan Glover, Martyn Cassel, Theo Wull, and Ser Mark Ryswell.

Lord Eddard did find his sister in a tower in the Red Mountains of Dorne, in the Prince's Pass. The Nightsong was to the north and the Kingsgrave to the south.

The tower was guarded solely by Ser Arthur Dayne and Ser Gerold Hightower, the last two remaining members of the Mad King's Kingsguard other than Ser Barristan Selmy.

Seven men against two but by the end of it, only Lord Eddard and the future Lord Reed survived. As for Lyanna Stark, Lord Eddard was only able to bring back her corpse.

But before returning North with his sister, Lord Eddard rode toward a town close to the border between Dorne and the Reach. Outside the town was a forest and the carriage Lord Eddard had brought with him was stationed by that forest. The two horses were tied to a tree while the carriage was silently on the side.

The young Lord Eddard got down his horse and walked at a fast pace toward the carriage. When he opened the door, what he found was an empty carriage.

A mixture of different emotions passed through his face. Lord Eddard took a step back, debating his next move, when he heard a noise coming from the forest.

Lord Eddard looked at the forest for a second. He then tied his horse to a tree and followed the sound. Just a short distance into the forest, Lord Eddard found the little girl who was missing from the carriage with a young man who was around Lord Eddard's age.

The young man wore a full plate of mainly black armor with a yellow cloak. His colors were similar to House Baratheon's but the sigil on his chest was vastly different from the Baratheon stag. The sigil wasn't in its complete form. The one on the man's armor was only divided into two sections instead of the six in the actual sigil. On one side were a pair of red lips and on the other was a yellow skull.

The sigil clearly explained the meaning behind the words of the young man's House. Their words, the Choice is Yours, might not mean much on its own. But when it was accompanied by their banner, the meaning became clear.

You can choose between making up and sharing a kiss, or death. House Lonmouth from the Stormlands had always been very clear about who their friends and foes were.

The young man's relaxed expression changed when he heard the nearing noise. His hand gripped the hilt of his sword and he turned around, his movements halting only when he saw who it was. "Lord Stark."

"Ser Richard." Lord Eddard nodded at this man many knew as the Knight of Skulls and Kisses, the only heir to House Lonmouth. And formerly Prince Rhaegar Targaryen's squire before the prince himself knighted him.

Ser Richard looked at Lord Eddard's changing expression. "You seem surprised. Were you expecting me to have disappeared with the princess somewhere? Is that why you left her in my care while you went to find your sister?"

Lord Eddard flinched. A part of him did hope for that. Even if Robert would shout at him for it and Tywin Lannister would condemn him, Lord Eddard thought it might be better if this little girl was taken by someone who could be trusted with her life. But that wasn't something he could admit to. "She is not a princess anymore."