3rd Person
Lord Eddard Stark paced back and forwards in his room. He wasn't expecting for Robert to be visiting Winterfell, which worried him. Something felt wrong to him. He had a frown on his face as he crossed his arms.
His wife, Catlyn, looked at him from their bed. She gave him a slight smile as Ned stopped when he noticed her.
"What?" He asked
"Ned, you are over thinking this." She told him
Ned looked at her, "After all this time, he decided to visit." He said, "Does it not seem strange to you?"
Catlyn sighed, "Jon Arryn died, Ned. Maybe it is because of that." She said
Ned nodded slowly as he started to pace again. He wasn't sure why Robert would decide to visit Winterfell. Even though their former mentor has passed away, it seemed to strange for him. Considering that he felt like something was wrong, he was starting to get worried.
Catlyn looked at him and patted the spot in the bed next to her.
"Come." She told him, "Get some rest. Tomorrow we must make the preparations for their arrival, alright?"
Ned stopped and looked at the floor for a few moments. He was still thinking about the issue at hand. Why did he have a feeling something was wrong?
"What could be wrong?" He thought
"Ned." Lady Stark said
Ned snapped out of it and looked at Catlyn. He then nodded and walked to the bed and crawled onto it. He laid next to Catlyn who was sitting. His wife looked at him with a smile.
"It's a good thing, isn't it? You and Robert get to reunite after such a long time." She told him
"Yes, I suppose it is." Ned said, "King of The Seven Kingdoms, eh? Quite a position he ended up in."
Catlyn chuckled, "Yes." She said, "He also started his own family, Like you."
"Ah, Yes." Ned said, "I suppose we'll meet them when they arrive."
"Yes, we will." Catlyn said before patting him, "Now, sleep. You need the rest."
Ned chuckled and nodded, "Of course."
**********************************
The next morning, Robb Stark and his brother Brandon were in the courtyard training. Robb was trying to teach Bran how to shoot. He stood behind him as Bran pulled the bowstring back and aimed at the target.
He then released it and watched as it flew past the target. Bran had a look of disappointment on his face as Robb chuckled.
Bran glared at his brother, "Shut up!" He growled
Robb shook his head, "We've been at it for days now, Bran." He told him, "You haven't been able to hit the target at all."
Bran faced him, "I need more practice." He said, "You know what Father said, you did not become a marksman at my age."
Robb smiled slightly, "True. I may have not hit the bull's-eye, but I did hit the target." He said teasingly
Bran was about to say something when he was interrupted with a whimper. He looked besides him to see his direwolf pup.
"What, Summer?" He asked
Summer tilted his head curiously at Bran. He then laid down and whimpered.
Robb smiled, "Seems that Summer is bored at your futile attempts at shooting arrows." He said
Bran gave his brother a scowl. He then looked past Robb and saw Jon Snow walking towards them. He had a grim look on his face, as always. Robb followed Bran's gaze and watched as Jon made his way to them, avoiding several servants that were carrying baskets of linen clothing.
As Jon reached them, Summer looked at him with curiosity, sniffing the air towards the bastard's direction.
"Robb, Bran. Have you heard the news?" Jon asked
Robb raised an eyebrow, "What news?" He asked
"The King is visiting Winterfell." Jon replied
Robb was about to respond but Bran interrupted him.
"Really?!" He asked excitedly
Jon nodded and Robb looked at their little brother.
"You sound excited." Robb noted
Bran grinned, "The King is visiting, Robb!" He said
"Yes, I heard Jon the first time." Robb said
Jon chuckled, "I've been told that we must help for the preparations." He said
Robb sighed, "Yes, I suppose we must." He said looking at Jon, "Shall we then?"
Jon looked at Bran, "Why don't you keep a look out for when they arrive?" He said jokingly, "Robb and I will go and help out."
Bran nodded excitedly, "Yea!"
*******************************
It was the day that the King arrived. Everything was prepared for their arrival, even the feast. The Starks were all gathered in the entrance of Winterfell where they heard the marching of the envoy.
The Stark children were all somewhat excited for the arrival of the King, all but Robb who was mildly curious. Jon stood behind Robb as the group waited.
He leaned in on his half-brother, "How long do we have to wait?" He whispered
Robb glanced at him, "I do not know. But I suggest you keep your mouth shut." He whispered back
Jon straightened up and sighed. Theon, who stood next to him, chuckled as he looked at Jon.
"Getting impatient, eh?" He asked
"Shut up." Jon told him
Theon was about to talk when Lady Stark gave them a scolding look a the both of them. They both then looked down as Robb resisted the urge to chuckle. Ned merely shook his head as the rest waited.
Ned stood there, looking at the gates when he saw the first of the riders. He noticed it was a young black haired man, well built and looked a lot like Robert.
"Is that...." He thought as the rider rode into the courtyard followed by three more riders
Riding a brown stallion, a young blonde boy with blue eyes scanned the group and noticed Sansa, the eldest daughter of Ned. Sansa met his gaze and stared at him. Joffrey gave her a smile and Sansa blushed a little and smiled.
Behind them, a carriage rode in, one suited for royalty and Ned assumed that was where the Queen was being transported in. Behind the Carriage, a large burly man rode in and past the riders that had stopped behind it. Ned's expression softened as he recognized Robert who stopped his horse and waited for the servants to bring him his steps.
Then, everyone knelt in respect to the presence of their King.
As they did this, Robert got off his horse and rapidly made his way to Ned, who waited for him kneeling down. Robert stopped before Ned and then signaled him to stand up. Ned did this as the others did the same.
Robert stared at Ned with a serious look.
".....You got fat." Robert said
There was a nervous silence among the Northerners. Ned stared at Robert for a few seconds before he raised his eyebrows and looked down at Robert's belly, silently telling him that it was in fact him who was fat.
Robert then started laughing, "Hahaha! Come here you!" He pulled Ned into a strong embrace, "Ah, Nine years, where the hell have you been?"
Ned pulled away, "Guarding the North of you, Your Grace." He said
Robert nodded and looked at Lady Stark.
"Cat." He said joyfully as he hugged her with one arm
He then pulled away and scruffled Rickon's hair who stood next to his mother. He then walked over to Robb and offered his hand.
"You're Robb." He said
Robb shook his hand, "Yes, Your Grace."
"You got big, boy." Robert chuckled
He then slowly walked over to Sansa who was nervously looking at him.
"My, My, aren't you a beauty." He told Sansa who blushed and smiled
He then looked down at Arya who stood next to Bran.
"What's your name?" He asked her
"Arya." She told him
"Hm." He looked at Bran, "Hey, you. Show me those muscles."
Bran then flexed his arm and Robert chuckled.
"You'll be a soldier." He told him to which Bran smiled
The Carriage door opened and a beautiful blonde woman walked out. Ned then looked at the Queen as she made her way to him. As she reached him, she gave him her hand. Ned then took it and gave it a kiss.
"My Queen." He said
Cersei gave him a slight smile.
Lady Stark bowed, "Welcome to The North, Your Grace." She said
Cersei gave Catlyn a smile as well.
Ned straightened up and looked past Cersei. He noticed Jaime Lannister sitting atop his horse as he waited for instructions. He then looked at where the riders were at in front of the carriage.
He looked at the large man in armor, and recognized him as Sandor Clegane, The Hound. He then looked at the young blonde boy and deduced he was Prince Joffrey.
Finally, he looked at the young man who sat on his horse with a serious look. Now that he looked at him better, he bore a striking resemblance to when Robert was his age. He then recognized it was Robert's eldest, Prince Rickard. He was wearing an outfit similar to his younger brother but a bit darker and more leather, his fur cape also had a shade of brown instead of full black. He had a sword sheathed on his side and a dagger next to it.
"He's grown quite considerably." Ned noted
He was about to say something when Robert spoke up.
"Ned, take me to the crypts." He said, "I need to pay my respects."
Ned looked at him.
"We've been riding for a month, My Love." Cersei said, "Surely the dead can wait."
Robert looked at Cersei momentarily and then looked at Ned.
"Ned." He said before walking away
Ned gave Cersei an apologetic look and followed Robert. Cersei sighed and heard Arya say something.
"Where's the Imp?" Arya asked Sansa
Cersei looked at Arya for a few moments and then walked back over to Jaime.
"Where's our brother?" She asked, "Go and find the little beast."
Jaime got off his horse and nodded. He then walked away as the guards and servants were spreading away to go to their duties.
Cersei looked inside the carriage and called out her two children.
"Tommen, Myrcella, come out my loves." She said
As the two young blondes walked out, Joffrey got off his horse. He stood there next to it as The Hound did the same. Lady Stark then walked over to greet the princes.
"You must be Prince Joffrey." She said kindly
Joffrey looked at her and smiled, "Lady Stark." He bowed, "It's a pleasure to meet you."
Catlyn then looked at Tommen and Myrcella who were nervously standing next to their mother.
"My, my, you two are quite big." She smiled at them
Cersei smiled, "Can you please have them escorted to their quarters? The cold doesn't agree with these young ones." She said
Catlyn looked over to some servants and nodded.
"Of course." She said as the servants walked over, "Follow them, they'll show you to your rooms."
The two then followed the servants as they made their way inside.
Joffrey looked at Sansa who was standing next to Robb. He was giving her some smiles but then noticed Robb giving him a serious look, prompting the Prince to look away.
"Your children have grown up." Cersei said, "Especially that Robb. Robert tells me that he's your eldest?"
Catlyn nodded, "Yes."
Cersei smiled slightly and nodded past Catlyn.
"My eldest is the same age as him." She said looking past Catlyn
Catlyn followed her gaze to see Rickard sitting atop the horse in a leaned position. He didn't seem to be paying attention to them as he stared off into the distance.
"Prince Rickard?" Catlyn said a bit surprised to see Rickard all grown up
"Yes. Rickard, show some respect to The Lady of Winterfell." Cersei said
Rickard didn't show any reaction to his mother's call.
Cersei sighed, "Rickard!"
Rickard then looked at her, "Hm?"
Cersei gestured at Catlyn, "Lady Stark awaits your greeting." She said with a scolding tone
"Oh." Rickard said before he got off the horse
He then walked over to Catlyn and bowed.
"Lady Stark, it's an honor for you to host us." He said, "I apologize for any trouble that has or will be caused."
Catlyn smiled, "Prince Rickard, the honor is all mine." She said bowing slightly, "Please enjoy your stay."
Rickard looked at her and smiled, "Will do." He said before turning around, "Where are the target practices? I need to train my sword arm."
He then walked away, in search for the target practices. As he walked, looking around, Robb looked at Catlyn who gave him a nod. He then walked towards Rickard as Jon and Theon followed.
Cersei sighed, "I apologize for Rickard's behavior, Lady Stark." She said, "He had implied his disinterest in coming here."
Catlyn looked at the Queen.
"And why wouldn't he want to come?" She asked
"He said something about training and sparring with Ser Barristan." Cersei said, "But I must say, Rickard enjoys fighting more than being a Prince. However, I told him he must come so he can keep his father in check. Seems that he's the only one that can."
Catlyn nodded and then gestured her over.
"Let us show you to your quarters." She said
Cersei smiled slightly and walked past Catlyn.
Meanwhile, in the Crypts, Robert was telling Ned of why he came to Winterfell.
"I want you to become Hand of The King." He told Ned
Ned was taken aback and then knelt down.
"I do not deserve such an honor, Your Grace." He said
"Oh please, get up Ned." Robert said
Ned stood up and Robert patted his shoulder.
"I want you to help me keep the Iron Throne you helped me get." He told the Stark, "You'll even get to take my place if my demise comes."
Ned gave him a surprised look.
"Wouldn't your son take your place?" Ned asked
Robert chuckled, "Rickard?" He said, "He's not ready. He won't be for quite a while, he prefers fighting than ruling. Quite like me."
Ned nodded, "I see. He's grown a lot."
Robert looked at him, "Yea, he has. Quite like your boy Robb, eh?" He said, "I hope they become mates like we did. Brothers even."
"I hope so too." Ned said
Robert then sighed, "We may have been brothers by law, if your sister were still alive. Bounded by blood." He said, "But we still can. You have a daughter, I have a son. We'll join our houses."
Ned raised an eyebrow, "The young Prince? Joffrey?" He asked
Robert chuckled, "What? No. Not him." He said,
"Rickard, Ned. Rickard and Your daughter will Marry."