LYANNA SNOW STOOD BEHIND HER HALF-BROTHER, ROBB STARK, AND HER TWIN BROTHER, JON SNOW, AS THEY WATCHED THEIR SECOND YOUNGEST BROTHER, BRAN STARK, USE HIS BOW AND ARROW. He missed the target completely and hit a barrel instead. Lyanna was holding onto her youngest half-brother, Rickon's back, as he played on an unused horse's saddle.
Lyanna watched closely as Bran readied himself, looking big and powerful, but as he shot the arrow, it went too high and flew over the target. While both Jon and Robb laughed, Lyanna shook her head in disappointment. She knew how hard Bran had practised.
"And which one of you, aside from Lyanna, was a marksman at ten?" Their father, Eddard Stark, called down to the two older boys, as Lyanna quietly laughed to herself. "Keep practising, Bran. Go on."
Lyanna walked over to Bran, knowing both Jon and Robb knew nothing about shooting. Bran grabbed the last of his arrows and aimed it at the target. "Don't think too much, Brandon." She advised him. "Relax your bow arm."
Just as he was about to shoot, another arrow flew and hit the target right in the middle. They all turned to see their youngest sister, Arya Stark, holding a bow and taking a curtsey. Bran's anger grew and started to run after Arya.
"Quick, Bran. Faster!" Men in the courtyard were shouting as the trio laughed.
"Robb, Jon, Lyanna." The three of them heard their father call as he approached them. "A deserter was found. You three with me. Theon is off to fetch Bran."
Lyanna followed her brothers and father to their horses. Bran, who was riding his pony, was in between Robb and Lyanna. She took a quick glance at Bran and believed he was too young to watch what was going to happen. Hell, even Lyanna doesn't like what's going to happen. Although Ned had told her time and time again that the deserters have broken an oath and must pay for it.
A little outside of Winterfell, they stopped and saw the deserter. Most of them got off their horses as some Stark bannermen stayed on theirs, holding the Stark sigil, the Direwolf.
"I know I broke my oath," The deserter began to speak, and they all circled him. "And I know I'm a deserter. I should have gone back to the wall and warned them, but...I saw what I saw. I saw the White Walkers." Lyanna turned her head to see Robb already looking at her. They both had heard stories about the Walkers from Old Nan but never believed them. "People need to know." Bran flinched as the Walkers were mentioned. He never liked those stories. "If you can get word to my family, tell them I'm no coward. Tell them I'm sorry."
Ned nodded, and his lead guard, Jory Cassel, drew his sword, Ice, handing it to Ned. Two bannermen grabbed the deserter, pushing him down onto the stone.
"In the name of Robert, of the House Baratheon, the first of his name..." Ned began the oath, holding on tightly to Ice.
"Don't look away." Lyanna bent down and ordered Bran. "Father will know if you do."
"...Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm, I, Eddard of the House Stark, Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North, sentence you to die."
Lyanna composed herself to stand as tall as possible as Ned lifted Ice. She took a deep breath the moment Ice ripped through the deserter's neck, and his head fell off. She thought that no matter how many times one can watch a beheading, it's still revolting. An eerie silence hit as no one muttered a word, trying to take in what happened.
"You did well." She whispered to Bran, who was shaking. She wrapped her arm around him as they made their way back to their horses.
Ned, once again, leads the way down the road as everyone follows. As they ride, Ned is between Jory and Rodrick Cassel, who is the master-at-arms. Next was Robb, the heir to Winterfell, then Bran, who is heir after Robb, unless, of course, Robb marries and has children. Lyanna followed while her twin, Jon, was with Theon Greyjoy, their father's ward. Lyann watched Robb, thinking about how much of a good leader he'd make. He has that look to him. And Lyanna smiled to herself, thinking about being by Robb's side. That's all she ever wanted. She wants to help Robb become the best he can be. She wants to be a fighter and protect those who can't protect themselves.
All the horses stopping made Lyanna lose her train of thought. Theon stood in front of a dead stag in the middle of the road. Lyanna jumped off her horse, making her way to Ned.
"What is it?" Jon asked, looking at it's remains.
"Mountain lion." Theon said.
"There's no mountain lions in these woods." Lyanna corrected him as she noticed some of it's antlers were missing.
Ned looked around and began walking down the little hill to the side of them. As she follows, Lyanna started to get a strong smell of death. They all stop as they discover a direwolf. Ned, Lyanna, and Jon all bend down to look at it, and they discover there's puppies around it.
"It's a freak." Theon claims as Lyanna rolled her eyes.
"It's a direwolf." Ned told him. He looked at Lyanna and then to Jon. "Tough old beast." He grabbed the stag's antler from it's throat.
"There are no direwolves south of the wall." Robb told them.
"Now there are five." Lyanna spoke as she lifted one of the pups into her arms. She then turned to Bran. "You want to hold it?" The pup whimpers as Bran takes it into his arms.
"Where will they go?" Bran asked as he petted the pup. "Their mother's dead."
"They don't belong down here." Rodrick chimed in.
"Better a quick death." Ned said as he drew Ice. "They won't last without their mother."
"Right, give it here." Theon ordered as he grabbed the pup out of Bran's arms.
"No!" Bran shouted as the pup began to whimper again.
"Put away your blade." Lyanna ordered him.
"I take orders from Lord Stark, not you, bastard." Theon smirked at her. She was about to grab her own sword but knew Ned wouldn't have wanted that.
"Please, father!" Bran begged him.
"I'm sorry, Bran." Ned apologised as he walked over to Theon.
"Lord Stark?" Jon called out, turning their attention to him. "There are five pups. One for each of the Stark children. The direwolf is the sigil of your house. They were meant to have them." It pained Lyanna listening to her twin brother. She knows they are Snows, but they're still Ned's children.
They all turned back to Ned, waiting for his answer. "You will train them yourselves. You will feed them yourselves. And if they die, you will bury them yourselves." He told Bran, who smiled.
Lyanna gladly watched as Theon handed Bran back the pup. Robb and Lyanna made their way back to the dead direwolf to grab the pups.
"What about Lyanna and Jon?" Bran asked as he had two pups in his arms.
"We're not Starks." Jon reminded him. "Go on."
They started to make their way back to their horses when Jon stopped. "What is it?" Robb asked, turning around.
Jon bent down to the direwolf and lifted up two small pups, an albino one and a pure black one. "Ha, the runts of the litter." Theon sneered. "They're yours, Snows."
Jon handed Lyanna the pure black pup, and he kept the albino pup.
••••
Lyanna watched from high up on the castle wall as the royal procession approached Winterfell.
"Lyanna!" She heard her name being called. Looking down, she saw it was Bran. "Can you see them?"
"They're on their way." Lyanna calls to him as she climbs back down, being joined by her direwolf pup, Shadow and Bran's, Summer. "You're lucky your mother isn't around. She'd have my skin if she knew you were about to climb up the castle."
"I wanted to see the king!" Bran cried out.
"And you will see him soon, Brandon." Lyanna placed her hand on his head, messing up his hair. "I want you to promise me something; no more climbing."
"I promise." Bran looked down at his feet.
"D'you know what?" Lyanna let out a laugh.
"What?" Bran looked up at her.
"You always look at your feet when you lie." Lyanna shook her head. "Run and find Father. Tell him the king is close."
A huge smile crosses Bran's face as he and Summer run off to find Ned.
Lyanna, followed by Shadow, joins her family and locals of Winterfell as the king's horses and men arrive. Lyanna looks around, watching Arya, wearing a helm and cloak, pushes her way through the crowd.
Joffrey Baratheon, the king's eldest son and heir, rides in, followed by the Hound. Lyanna is lined up behind her father, stepmother, and half-siblings, waiting to greet the royal family. Joffrey rides up, receiving a smile from Sansa Stark, Lyanna's other half-sister. The Hound pulled up his helm, looking around. The coach carrying the Queen, Cersei Lannister lumbers in, followed by King Robert Baratheon. Everyone knelt as he arrived. Robert struggles to get himself off his horse. Lyanna looked up, watching as the look of shock plastered on her father's face at the sight of his old friend, now fat and red-faced. Robert signals for all to rise and looks at Ned.
"Your Grace." Ned was the first to speak.
"You've got fat." The pair of friends laugh as Robert turns his attention to Catelyn. "Cat!"
"Your Grace."
"Nine years." Robert turned back to Ned. "Why haven't I seen you? Where the hell have you been?"
"Guarding the North for you, Your Grace." Ned bowed his head. "Winterfell is yours."
Cersei and her other two children, Tommen and Mycella, descend from the coach.
"Where's the Imp?" Arya asked as Lyanna shoved her shoulder, telling her to be quiet.
"Will you shut up?" Sansa loudly whispered.
"Who have we here?" Robert looked around at Ned's eldest legitimate child. "You must be Robb." He then looked at Sansa. "My, you're a pretty one."
Lyann's attention is brought to the soldier, all in gold. He takes his helmet off, and his golden hair flows. "That's Jaime Lannister. The Queen's twin brother." Arya says as Lyanna watches him get down from his horse. He stood proud, leaning against his sword. He turns to Lyanna, smirking at her as her brows furrow. Before anyone could notice, Lyanna quietly slips out of the line and heads down towards the crypt.
"Tell me about Jon Arryn." Ned's voice echoed as he and Robert walked towards where Lyanna was. She placed fresh flowers on her aunt and namesake, Lyanna's crypt.
"One minute, he was fine, and then...burned right through him, whatever it was." There was a hint of sadness in Robert's voice. "I loved that man."
"We both did."
"He never had to teach you much. But me...You remember me at 16?" Ned's laugh came through as they entered the crypt, not yet noticing Lyanna. "All I wanted to do was crack skulls and fuck girls. He showed me what was what."
"Aye." Ned went quiet as he noticed his daughter watching over her dead family members.
"Apologies, Your Grace." Lyanna bowed at him. "I had hoped to be out of your way before you came down here."
"Your Grace, this is Lyanna." Ned told him, as she stared at the young woman.
"One of your bastards, eh, Ned? By Gods, you are the spit of your aunt." Lyanna gave him a small smile, not sure if she was a touchy subject. "However, you do have your mother's hair. I hope Cat doesn't mind too much." Lyanna pulled at her blonde-grey hair, which was braided. He looked her face over once more, taking more attention to the scars that have maimed her face. "You're a fighter, eh?"
"Yes, Your Grace." Lyanna said, rubbing her thumb across one of her scars.
"You should see the other man." Ned laughed, being proud of his daughter.
Robert looked between the Lyanna that stood in front of him, and the crypt of the Lyanna he once loved. "I need you, Ned. Down at King's Landing." Lyanna and her father exchanged looks. "Not up here, where you're no damn use to anybody. Lord Eddard Stark, I would name you the Hand of the King."
Ned kneels, and feeling awkward, Lyanna follows his movement. "I'm not worthy of the honour."
"I'm not trying to honour you." Robert scoffed at his friend. "I'm trying to get you to run my kingdom while I eat, drink and whore my way to an early grave. Damnit, Ned, stand up. The pair of you." As Lyanna stood back up, Robert looked at her. "Lyanna, remind your father that he helped me win the Iron Throne. He now needs to help me keep the damn thing." He placed his hand on Ned's arm. "We were meant to rule together. If your sister had lived, we would have been bound by blood." Robert once again looked at Lyanna's crypt. "Did you have to bury her in a place like this? She should be on a hill somewhere with the sun and the clouds above her."
"She was my sister." Lyanna watched as sadness appeared on Ned's face. "This is where she belongs."
"She belonged with me." Robert walked over and touched Lyanna's statue. "In my dreams, I kill him every night."
"It's done, Your Grace." Lyanna told him. "The Targaryens are gone."
"Not all of them." Robert looked to Ned.
Ned looked at Lyanna with a small smile. "Little Wolf, would you excuse us for a moment?"
"Of course, father. Your Grace." Lyanna bowed at Robert as she left them in crypt, being greeted by Shadow at the entrance.
"I was wondering where you had gone." An unfamiliar voice had stopped Lyanna, making her turn around to face Jaime Lannister.
"Ser Jaime." Lyanna nodded her head at him.
"I have heard many tales of Winterfell's Assassin." Lyanna took a deep breath as Jaime called her the dreaded name that stuck to her. It seemed like Shadow could feel the dread coming from Lyanna as she growled at Jaime. "Feisty." Jaime glared at the wolf pup.
"What kind of tales have you heard, Ser Jaime?"
"Well, by just looking at those gods' awful scars, one can guess that they came about by fighting." He smirked at her. "You have a great talent in swordfighting. One of the best the North has ever seen."
Jaime took a step closer to Lyanna. "Those tales are too kind, Ser Jaime."
"Or maybe you are too humble, sweet Lya." He pushed a piece of her hair behind her ear. "Should you ever find yourself in King's Landing, it would be good to have you in the field. The competition has become a bit stale."
"I don't fight in tournaments." Lyanna tells him, taking a step back from him.
"No? Are you afraid that the men will hurt you?" Jaime smirks once more.
"I don't fight in tournaments," Lyanna lets out a little chuckle. "'Cause when I fight a man for real, I don't want him to know what I can do."
"Well said." Jaime bowed his head at her. "Now, if you excuse me, sweet Lya, the feast awaits my arrival."