The Love We Never Had

Chapter One

She loves Ned. 

But she would have preferred one of her other brothers instead of him, like her brother Brandon or her brother Benjen. They would at least talk with her, something about Ned had always made him seem very standoffish to Arya, and whenever they were alone he did not speak very much to her. So the entire ride to the Rock was spent mostly in silence, except when Ned would ask if she needed to rest, or eat, or a drink. So she instead spent her time reading up on the history of the Lannister family.

From what she could discover, the Lannisters claimed to be descended from Lann the Clever, who tricked the Casterlys out of their home, Casterly Rock. Once in possession of the Rock the Lannisters ruled as Kings of the Westerlands, known as King of the Rock, until Aegon the Conqueror came for the Lannisters with his dragons. The Lannisters are descendants of the First Men and the Andals, as their blood was mixed in a marriage with a woman from the Vale. It is all very interesting to Arya Stark, as she herself is a descendant of the First Men, who were alive while the Old Gods were still found in the South, and the Children of the Forest roamed.

"Arya, come on, we are here." Ned said gruffly, snapping her out of her reverie. She frowned, and before she could ask for a moment to gather herself, he was already opening the door to the carriage, stepping out, and turning to offer her assistance down. She quickly straightened out her facial features, plastering a small, polite smile onto her face, as she could see people looking at her. People with strikingly blood hair. She shifted her gaze back to Ned, who was still holding his hand out toward her, and grabbed it gently. As she moved out of the carriage she allowed her eyes to scan the people around her. Most of them were Stark men, moving about, taking her and Ned's things off the roof of the carriage, getting the horses settled, and things of that nature. However there were two very tall, very blond men, in gold embroidered tunics, and blood red capes standing almost directly in front of her, about twenty or thirty steps away. She quickly looked at her shoes before they could notice her staring, and carefully set her feet on the ground before letting go of Ned's hand. She then glanced up at Ned, who was looking at the two men. And then her arm was placed in the crook of Ned's elbow, and they were walking towards them.

"Lord Eddard Stark, may I present Ser Jaime Lannister, and Lord Tywin Lannister, Lord of Casterly Rock, Warden of the West, and Hand of the King." Ned's squire was a sweet boy, who gave the introductions. He was an amazing swordsman, but he had yet to be Knighted. Ned bowed slightly at the waist.

"My Lords. May I present my sister, Lady Arya Stark." Ned said, holding my hand in his as I used it for support as I curtsied.

"My Lords, it is a pleasure to meet you." I said softly, while still in my curtsy before straightening up. As mother always says that a proper Lady should always be soft spoken, it means that people will try harder to listen to you, but you won't seem too bossy. Ser Jaime smiled softly at me before taking my right hand, the one that was free of Ned's grip, and raised it slowly to his lips before placing a gentle kiss on the top of my hand.

"The pleasure is all ours, My Lady. Shall I escort you to your chambers so you may rest before supper?" Jaime asked while straightening up, still not releasing my hand. I looked over at Ned who was frowning, but he nodded and so I turned to Jaime who, using the hand he still grasped, tucked it into the crook of his left elbow and began to lead me away from all the hustle and bustle of the courtyard through to a beautiful room, which looked like it could be used for large feasts, and was probably a throne room in the days of old.

"How was your journey My Lady?" Jaime asked me after a few moments of silence.

"Please Ser, call me Arya, we are to be married one day after all. And it was fine, very long, but I was able to catch up on some reading I had been trying to finish before arriving here." Arya answered sweetly, looking up at him every so often to find him already looking at her as she talked, even though he was supposed to be leading her to her chambers. But maybe he already knew where to go without having to look.