Chapter 1: We need to talk

293 AC

Eddard

He stood upon the battlements after dawn, as he looked on the fields of his lands. He heard the castle slowly awaken and saw the first farmers walk onto their fields in the distance. He stood there taking in the so familiar and relaxing sounds of the morning.

'It will be weeks before it is this quiet and relaxing again', he thought to himself whilst thinking on Robb's upcoming name day celebrations.

Robb's tenth name day was in two weeks but the first of his bannermen would be arriving today. They came to feast his son and celebrate this year's harvest festival.

Although he was looking forward to seeing some of his old friends and war companion's again, he was feeling apprehensive at the unavoidable decorum and politicking that would go along with it. Just the thought of Roose, and another one of his sly requests to better House Bolton in contrast to his other vassals, was making him dread the next few weeks.

He looked upon the rising sun in the distance and thought about many things, his lands, family and past as always chief among them.

Half an hour later, he walked back to the keep and saw Cat steer the household for the festivities with practiced ease, an ever dutiful Vayon Pool to her side.

After making sure that he was not needed, he headed to his solar to finish his work on the harvest numbers and taxes and prepare himself for the coming meetings with his lords.

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. "Come in", he said routinely. "Glover and Mormont banners have been spotted, my lord." Alyn told him when he entered his solar.

Standing up, he replied. "Thank you Alyn, go and get Lady Catelyn and our children to meet me in the courtyard." Snapping to attention Alyn answered "right away, my lord", before leaving the room.

He easily walked across the castle towards the courtyard. Arriving there he started routinely arranging the present household, before Cat arrived with a dutiful Sansa in tow. He smiled at his beautiful eldest daughter, who looked so much like his wife already.

Behind Sansa, lively little Arya was laughing with Bran. His little son running towards him from the moment he saw him. Arya, not wanting to get left behind, raced after him and not long after he was tackled by his two smaller children.

Getting them both in his arms, he started laughing while Arya immediately started babbling over some stick she and Brandon had found this morning in the Godswood.

"Arya and Brandon Stark behave yourself like the little lady and lord you are before you shame your father in front of his his bannermen!" Cat started scolding them. He walked over to her with the children to reassure her the Glovers and Mormonts would never take offense of two lively young Starklings, only to be interrupted by the running arrival of his two eldest sons.

He put down the children on the insistence of his wife and arranged the children in a line, with Robb and then Jon to his right and Catelyn, followed by the other children, to his left.

It wasn't long before Galbert and Robett Glover entered the courtyard together with the new Lady Maege Mormont and her eldest daughter Dacey. Both women were dressed in light furs. He also noticed their maces loosely hanging from their belts. The Glover men were in similar dress, although their belts brandished swords instead.

After bowing their heads to show their respect, they warmly embraced him one by one. "Ah Ned, it's good to see that you and your family are in so good health!" Galbert laughed while clapping him in a hug.

Lady Maege however looked at him apologetically, still trying to make up for her nephew's treason a few months prior. He immediately reassured her by warmly introducing her and her daughter to Cat and the children. He had known Maege since Robert's Rebellion. She would do well for House Mormont and bring back stability to the island.

Cat, although every part the gallant lady, looked warily at Maege and her daughter Dacey. Still, after all these years, not used to the eldest warrior women of Bear Island.

His gaze didn't fail to realize young Arya. His youngest daughter looked on with wonderment and admiration at the two warrior ladies, all the while he and Cat were exchanging pleasantries.

"Come in, I have rooms prepared for you in the keep, whilst rooms in the barracks have been made ready for your men." He said respectfully while faintly hearing Arya mutter something to Bran behind him about "Fatha wearing his 'lord's face' again". If this keeps up it will be an interesting few weeks, he thought to himself.

This ritual went on for another two weeks until Houses Glover, Mormont, Hornwood, Umber, Karstark, Bolton, Manderly, Ryswell, Cerwyn, Tallhart, Slate, Locke, both Flints and many more smaller houses were gathered into Winterfell. Almost the whole Northern nobility had gathered here with the only obvious absentee being Lady Barbery Dustin.

It was the day after the feast and while sitting wearily in his solar, he was secretly happy that most of his vassals would be leaving upon the morrow. He wouldn't have to sit through any more talks about wounded pride or reduced harvest taxes for a while, he pondered smugly. His happy thoughts didn't last long though, as they were abruptly disrupted when he heard sounds at the door.

When the door opened, Desmond peeped his head in. "My lord, Lady Mormont and Lords Umber, Manderly and Karstark are here to see you." Confused, he responded to Desmond to let them in.

As they entered his solar, all four members of the northern nobility looked upon him sternly. "Maege, Jon, Rickard, Wyman, … what is the meaning of this? Has something happened?" He asked some of his most trusted lords.

"We need to talk Ned." Jon replied without his usual energetic attitude.

"What is this about Jon?" He asked whilst looking upon his vassals.

"The future of the North and House Stark," Wyman calmly answered.

"My lords? Do you have a problem with anything I have done at the feast? If so, I believe this can easily be settled." He responded, as he tried to get a grip on the situation.

"No Ned, you have done nothing wrong. We are here more to speak on something you didn't do than anything else." Rickard joined in cryptically.

"My lords, explain yourself!" He managed to get out angrily. His bannermen could come to him with anything, but he didn't like this cryptic showing in the slightest.

"Oh bugger this," Jon Umber shouted, "You're acting a like a damn Southerner Ned and we don't like it. Your beautiful Andal lady and her Southern ways ain't helping either."

Perplexed he looked at his loud friend for a few moments, after collecting his thoughts and realizing what had just been said about him and his family the rare drops of 'Wolf blood' in him started rising. "What is this outrage? You come into my home, into my own solar, and you dare to insult me and my wife?!" He declared whilst trying to control his anger.

"Ned, sit down please. We are not trying to insult you", Wyman said. "We're trying to do what's best for the North and are here to give our advice, nothing more I promise." The fat Lord of White Harbor continued more diplomatically.

Before he could respond, Maege followed up. "No one blames you personally Ned, but due to your fosterage in the Vale and your subsequent marriage to Lady Catelyn, who although a great lady of the castle is still not from the North, you are behaving way too Southernly".

"What could you possibly have to say about my ways or those of my lady wife?" He grunted angrily. He respected all the people in front of him, but the gall to come over to him and insult his family was too much.

"For fuck's sake Ned, a Sept in Winterfell for starters? We didn't beat back those Andals for thousands of years to bring them and their blasted ways with you in your marriage bed." Jon Umber sputtered out angrily.

"Not to mention that blasted Septa who seems to follow your wife and daughters around like a hawk." Rickard muttered.

He looked around the room incredulously. "Really that's your problem? A Sept and a Septa?"

"It's not only that, Ned." Wyman added. "It's how this castle is being run. It feels like I'm in a Southern keep sometimes, not the hearth of the North."

"Even you Wyman? Doesn't your family believe in the Seven anyway?" He asked perplexed. The Manderlys complaining about things being to Southern or the presence of the New Gods, he couldn't believe his ears.

"Aye we do, but even my granddaughters aren't being brought up half so piously as those daughters of yours. Besides, from getting a look at it, the smallest doesn't like it one bit more than we do." Wyman sighed, looking at him apologetically.

"So what do you propose then?" He asked pensively, shocked at the revelation that even the greatest followers of the Seven in the North thought Catelyn's Septa was a problem. The complete absurdity of it made his anger dissipate. He would try to look at this with a clear head, although he still didn't see a problem.

"To get that woman to stop poisoning your daughters, while you still can. Give them a Northern governess just like the rest of us bloody had! It made do for my mother and my wife, it'll do for your bloody daughters Ned." Jon said indignantly.

"Or if you really need a damn Septon or Septa, get a Northern one in White Harbor instead of that blasted Riverlander woman. In only two weeks it has become clear to me that she knows nothing of the North and doesn't teach anything about it to your daughters, however charming the eldest may be. That will not do for a daughter of House Stark." Maege said defyingly.

"So that's it? You're worried about the upbringing of my daughters?" He grunted under his breath.

"No that's not all Ned, you must understand the Northern houses have not gotten a Stark Marriage for two generations now. Meanwhile, most of your children look like Southerns, your daughters are being prepared for Southern matches, a damn Sept has been built in the hearth of the North and not a house in the North has gotten an offer of fostering in." Rickard Karstark said to him calm but sternly.

"Fostering? Who, Robb? Have I also heard it right and are you disrespecting my children, amongst them my heir, all because they look like their mother?!" He asked, his rage starting to rise once more.

"No Ned, we would never presume to do so. We are trying to tell you that we, even the most loyal Northern lords, feel like House Stark is losing its connection with the North with everything that's happening as a whole. You, our lord, were fostered in the South. Your wife is from the South. She brought with her Southern ways and a Southern religion, in which your daughters are being groomed. To top it all off it seems like House Stark has no intention to bond itself with their Northern Houses either through fostering or betrothals. That is an evolution no true Northman or woman can look upon without fear." Maege explained, and although harsh no disrespect could be heard in her voice.

He wanted to react equally as harsh, but when he saw he three other lords grunt and nod in support for what the new Lady of Bear Island had just said it made him pause. He started to really think on her words. 'Did Catelyn want Sansa and Arya to be married into the South? Was that what that Septa was preparing them for? Is it dumb of him not to foster Robb? Robb is ten and he had already been fostering in the Vale at the age of what, ... eight? His elder brother Brandon had also been fostering at Barrow Hall by the age of ten, hadn't he?'

Jon broke up his thoughts when he said gruffly to him. "All of us here followed you into war twice Ned, for the honor of house Stark and the North and we would all gladly do it again a third time. We just don't want it to be in vain."

Turning to his old friend, he calmed down and did his best to sound as honest and respecting as he could. "House Stark appreciates your sacrifice Jon, I appreciate it. I will think about what all of you said and what to do with it. However, whatever I decide to do I can promise you now that House Stark will never forget the North and the blood of the First Men that runs through its veins, through mine AND my children's. You can be very sure of that."

Jon squeezed his eyes to slits and looked at him suspiciously for a short moment before laughing and clapping him on the shoulder. "That's all we wanted to hear Ned, House Umber's yours as always. We wouldn't want to miss the next time we can go kill some Southern cunts with you."

The others in the room nodded and also reconfirmed their loyalty to him without him detecting a hint of any dishonesty. Afterwards they all left, but not before Wyman send him a reassuring smile his way while telling him "Lord Robb is always welcome at White Harbor to talk about trade or if he has any more questions. The doors of the Manderlys are always open the Starks."

When the door finally closed behind them, he let out a sight he didn't knew he had been holding in. Afterwards, he moved to his desk to ponder all that had been said today … he really had a lot to think upon. Before that however, he was going to have to ask his wife about her intentions for their children and subtly check upon the education of Sansa and Arya. If only a fraction of what his bannermen thought was true, he had a serious problem in his keep.

Welcome to my story.

The idea is to keep this fic as realistic as possible. Only very small changes will be made that will slowly and over time lead to far reaching consequences.

I hope you enjoy it!

Fannic

Reviews:

- People saying that the heir is rarely fostered: that isn't true. Brandon Stark was fostered, as was Robert Baratheon. Most Andal heirs are send away as pages and squires to other houses, which has the same implications as fostering? Examples here are Jaime Lannister (to Lord Crakehall), Prince Doran Martell (to Lord Gargalen), ... That is four heirs of eight major houses (not royal) in one generation. Many and many more lower lords would would have fostered that we don't know about just because it isn't truly important to GRRM's narrative. Here it is and so more focus will be on it.