The Dragon Cub| Game Of Thrones

THE CAT'S OUT OF THE BAG

Winterfell 294 AC.

Ned.

He had tried once again to bury himself in his work, tried once again to get away from the thoughts in his head by keeping busy. But it was no use, visiting Wintertown to see the people who'd arrived, to make sure they were settling in and had what they needed wasn't enough of a distraction. Going over plans with Luwin, making sure their stocks were coping with the influx of people wasn't enough of distraction.

Even spending time with his children, taking part in one of their archery lessons, or watching as the Blackfish put both Arya and Bran through a training session wasn't enough of a distraction. The peace and solitude the Godswood always brought him to had become something of a distant memory lately. He would go there, sit with Ice and polish the Valyrian steel to a glimmering shine, yet where usually his mind would clear, now it never would.

He had read the letters more times than he could count, he had memorized every sentence, every word, and had tried to discern whether he was reading them wrong or whether he was misinterpreting them. But he knew he was not, he knew that this man had played on his wife's own fears, on her hatred for Jon, but even knowing that didn't stop the thoughts that lay at the back of his mind, Cat had felt that way too.

"Father, will you come with us today?" Arya said and he raised his head barely remembering where he was, so lost was he in his own thoughts.

"With you?" he asked.

"Elle is taking us to the Wolfswood, me, Bran and Nymeria and Summer, can you come too father, please." his daughter asked and he tried to get his brain to function, tried to remember had he been told of this.

It took him far longer than it should, something which was beginning to be a problem and beginning to be noticed, but thankfully he remembered what it was Arya was speaking about. Elle had suggested taking the children to the Wolfswood, not deep inside, and with a heavy guard, but she had said and he'd agreed that it was time the children knew more of the lands they lived in.

"I will see if I am able, if I am not too busy here then I'll come along." he said and while he had meant to back out when the time got closer for them to leave, he quickly began to think it wouldn't be a bad idea for him to go along with them, perhaps the day away would clear his head.

In the end, fate intervened yet again, a letter arrived from Highgarden and as he read it any thoughts of joining Elle and his children were forgotten.

Father,

I wished to write to you to explain what happened with mother when she came to visit, why she was asked to leave and to give you my side of things as I don't believe mother will speak the truth on this. Mother arrived just before we heard the news that we believed to be true about Jon, from the moment she arrived it was clear she disliked the Tyrell's for some reason, but it was my brother she expressed her true feelings over. Lady Margaery and I walked in on mother speaking with Lady Olenna, we were just in time to hear her call Jon a Bastard, to run him down in front of the lady, and unbeknownst to her, Lady Margaery and myself.

I was upset, embarrassed, and we didn't speak for some time, when we did she once again made it very clear how she felt about the Tyrell's, and about my fostering here before she then informed me of my betrothal to prince Joffrey. When I told her I had no wish to marry Prince Joffrey, that I had heard tales of his cruelty, heard tell of him beating his sister and brother, she told me it was all lies and that it was the Tyrell's trying to steal him for themselves.