Lyanna (Game of Thrones)

Prologue

[Lyanna- Age 9]

Snow. That was the name of a bastard in the north. They were unworthy of their family name, born of lust and sin. Looking down at the man in front of her from her horse, Lyanna swore she would never bear anyone by the name of 'Snow' in her life.

"I don't see why you had to come" Brandon hissed at Lyanna, looking disgusted that his father had the audacity to bring a women to a beheading and sit her amongst men. "This was meant to be Ned's first time witnessing a beheading, not yours".

Lyanna shrugged. She would never be an equal in Brandon's eyes, but that didn't matter to her. All that mattered was the way father and Ned saw her. Somehow, Lyanna felt it, deep within her bones, that Brandon would never rule in her fathers stead, so she had no reason to make herself look good in front of him.

Veering away from Brandon, Lyanna moved her horse closer to Ned, noticing her little brother was quaking with fear. Ned was only seven, making this his first execution, as was tradition in the north.

"I hope you're feeling brave, Ned. Father will be watching you, just to make sure you're not scared" Lyanna whispered, as her father began to deliver the mans sentence.

"How can he watch when he's about to kill someone?" Ned questioned smartly. Ned was a smart boy, Lyanna noted, but he only saw what was there before him, what made sense. If it didn't make sense, Ned didn't believe it. In the north, most things that existed didn't make sense.

"He'll find a way, trust me. Just don't look away, father will know if you do" Lyanna advised. Her brother quavered and nodded, pushing himself up higher on his horse and put on a courageous face.

"Why does he have to die?" Ned quipped after a moment, naturally inquisitive like all seven year old boys. Lyanna threw another glare at the prisoner, her blood boiling with anger.

"He's a deserter from the nights watch. He left his brothers in an hour of need and burned fields all the way to winterfell, wanting to start a war with father single handedly. He isn't in his right mind, he's a danger to all of us" Lyanna seethed.

"Shouldn't we try help him, if he is suffering?" Ned asked kindly, his kind nature almost melting Lyanna's heart. Ned's good nature was what made Lyanna so confident he would be a good ruler one day, yet she also knew it would be his downfall. That and his friendship with Robert Baratheon.

"There is no helping some people" Lyanna answered honestly. "Now be quiet and remember what I told you" Lyanna whispered as her father finished the sentencing and reached for ice, the Stark's famous long sword.

"Any last words?" The lord of winterfell questioned, glancing down at the prisoner, a bastard from a distant village.

"As I die underneath a sky full of stars, I die a free man, my contract to the nights watch null and void" the man cried. Lyanna bristled, expecting her father to hit him for his blatant disregard for his crime, but instead her father nodded, looking somewhat impressed.

"Then so be it. Let this man, an unknown bastard from a distant land, die a free man. As of now, I realised him from his contract to the nights watch so he can die a free man" her father commanded, his lords chiming in with the echoes of "he shall die a free man", moments before her father swung the sword that ended his life. Ned didn't flinch once or look away, instead, he looked on, somewhat pleased with his fathers decision.

Lyanna wasn't pleased though, she was furious. A promise was a promise, no matter what. No matter how hard life got, you stuck with your family and sworn brothers, no matter what. To defy your family was a bigger sin than murder in her eyes.

And that was the day she saw she would never make the same mistake the bastard before her had made.

"Come on Lyanna, everyone's leaving" she heard her father call behind her. She ignored him, staring down at the victims severed head. It should've been more than that, she hissed internally. Her blood was boiling. She needed a release. "LYANNA!" Her father bellowed.

Knowing nobody could know her secret, she plastered a smile on to her face and spun around on her horse, pulling her sheepskin cloak tighter around herself and battering her eyelashes innocently. "Coming father" she chimed, sounding like the perfect little lady.

But on the inside, she felt like anything but a lady. Lyanna Stark was fierce and rebellious.

She was the blood of a dire wolf.

An; sorry, this is so bad, but I wrote this around a year ago and have inky just had the guts to post it. Just to clarify, all the characters and events in this story belong completely to George RR Martin. I hope you enjoy and the next chapter is already written so it should be up soon.