Chapter 1 - Surrounded by the wolf pack

1K 18 2
                                    

The Lannisters and the Starks are at war and it doesn't look good for the young lion lord and his army.

19 year old Jaime, firstborn son and heir of lord Tywin Lannister of Casterly Rock, is surrounded by the Stark army, led by lord Eddard and lord Benjen Stark, second and third son of the late lord Rickard Stark, butchered by king Aerys, along with his heir Brandon, in the throne room of the Red Keep.

Surrounded by Stark soldiers on all sides and with no chance to escape with his life, Jaime first tries to flee but is quickly come upon and captured, his warhorse led up to the side of Benjen Stark, who takes the reins of both horses in one hand while wielding the great sword Ice, with the other.
"Yield, Lannister, and you might live to see a fortnight", Eddard says, casting a rope to his brother's soldiers to bind the kneeling, beaten and bloody young lion lordling to his horse.
"Not if my daughter gets a hold of him, my Lyra will break him", Benjen says to his brother with a little laugh, Ice, the massive ancestral Valyrian steel great sword of house Stark, dancing in his hand, the steel looking to be glowing with fire in the light from the bright sun as he fends off Lannister soldiers arriving too late to rescue their lord's heir from captivity.
"I forgot about young lady Lyra, she needs a man, doesn't she?" Eddard asks.
"Your niece does need something to take her mind off that dammed Edric Snow, you know, my squire's bastard pup that was sent to the Night's Watch, that she had something going on with for a while, he was a nice boy but I couldn't have a lowborn bastard boy for my daughter, Ned, you know that, you would never have accepted it had it been one of your girls who'd done something like that", Benjen says.
"Do you think she would have him? " Eddard asks, glancing at Jaime.
"As long as we bring him back to her in one piece, he can wash and get new clothes and be patched up by maester Luwin at Winterfell before we present him to her, I'm sure everything will be fine, Lyra will surely be pleased with such a price given to her to play with", Benjen says.
"She will eat the little lion lord alive, Ben", Eddard says with a little laugh.
"She might, either way I'm sure she'll definitely be a handful for the young lordling", Benjen says.
" I heard she nearly killed her last lover, that Tully boy", Edmure, my wife's younger brother, Eddard says.
"Oh no, young Edmure Tully was just a little bit unprepared for what your niece could do to a man, that's all", Benjen says laughing. "He was apparently untouched before my daughter got to him."
"How many men has your daughter had? Do you know?" Eddard asks. "And aren't you worried about not getting her married off to someone? If her reputation is tarnished by having so many lovers before she's wed?"
"Oh no, not at all, my Lyra will pick the man she marries when she's ready to wed, in the meantime, she samples the goods to see what's out there and to see what she likes, besides...she doesn't lay with them in the traditional sense, she pleasures them in other ways", Benjen says.
"And what if she picks that one?" Eddard asks, nodding at the captured Jaime.
"May the seven help us all if she does, but he is a fine man, a fine warrior, so I wouldn't put it past her, even when he's beaten bloody and dirty you can tell that he is a fine looking young man", Benjen says lightheartedly. "So I wouldn't put it past my daughter to at least sample the goods, so to speak."

As the company of Stark soldiers rides in to the Winterfell courtyard from their swift battle in the God's Wood, Benjen sees his own three daughters and four sons among his two nieces and and three nephews and gives a sharp wolf whistle to catch the attention of all the Stark pups.
"Father, uncle Eddard, you're back!" Lyra, lord Benjen's eldest daughter and heir, says happily. "Will, go tell mother and aunt Catelyn that father and uncle Eddard are home."
"Lyra, sweet daughter, I have a gift for you, come and see", Benjen says, getting off his horse with all the grace of a lord, embracing Lyra and bring her over to a wooden cage that holds the captured Jaime. "May I present Jaime Lannister, son of the mighty Tywin, warden of the west."
"He's filthy and he stinks, but perhaps under all the dirt and blood and grime, there's a handsome man that I might do something with", Lyra says.
"Do you like what you see?" Benjen asks.
"I do, father, I do indeed", Lyra says, turning to a servant. "Have him washed and dressed in clean clothes, then have him brought to my rooms and have maester Luwin tend to him there."
"Yes, lady Lyra", the male servant says as he follows after the now freed Jaime, dragged between two Stark guards.
"What will you do with him? The young lion?" Benjen asks his daughter curiously.
"First of all, I'm gonna have him cleaned up a bit, and looked after by the maester...then I'm gonna show him what happens when you enter a wolf's lair", Lyra says.

Lyra excuses herself with wicked smirk and leaves her father and uncle alone in the great hall of Winterfell.
"I swear to you, Ned, that child will be the death of me one day", Benjen sighs, shaking his head as he watches Lyra leave the great hall, so that his thick shoulder length curly black hair falls in his face.
"She's a willful headstrong child, she's always been a willful headstrong child, my dear niece, she reminds me of my own little Arya", Ned says. "And of our sister, Lyanna was just like her at that age, do you remember?"
"God forbid your Arya grows up to be as willful and headstrong as my Lyra, our daughters will the death of us, Ned", Benjen sighs again. "And yes, I remember exactly how Lyanna was at that age, that's what led to her life being cut so short, had she not been so headstrong and willful, then perhaps she would have stayed away from that damn Targaryen boy, Daeron and perhaps she would still be with us now."
"Come on, let's go see to it that my niece doesn't burn the castle down or bring the fury of Tywin Lannister down upon us by accidentally murdering his son and heir", Ned says lightly.

The she-wolf and the lion Where stories live. Discover now