Desert Wolf

Chapter 23 Decisions, Decisions

News had already spread through the North that Lord Stark and Lady Catelyn's marriage had been dissolved, much to the relief of the Lords. They had never liked Lady Tully; she thought herself above them and did not hide her disdain for the North as long as Ned was not around. This gave me the opportunity for the Lords to present their daughters to Lord Stark, who would need a new wife. Everyone knew that Torrhen was betrothed to Dacey, so there was nothing they could do about that. But Ned was fair game.

Ned also knew that the Lords would present their daughters as potential wives for him. Ned felt it was his duty to marry a woman from the North; perhaps now he could have a happy marriage. Ned considered his options. He knew his new wife would be significantly younger than him, but he decided he would not marry anyone younger than Torrhen.

That limited his options, and he didn't want to insult his bannermen by favoring one House above the others. Ned thought for a moment, and he decided that if Lord Tallhart suggested his daughter, Ned would accept. She was older than Torrhen, and House Tallhart had always been loyal to House Stark. With his decision made, Ned had only to wait to see what Lord Tallhart would do.

Meanwhile, Abigal ensured that the feast was prepared and that everything would go smoothly for Torrhen's welcome home feast with the Northern Lords. She couldn't wait to see Torrhen's reaction when he saw Dacey. She was everything of Son of Dorne could want in a bride. Dacey was intelligent, well-trained in the art of combat, and above all, beautiful. She knew that her nephew would fall in love with her.

While all this was happening, the Stark boys were out hunting. Torrhen had decided to gift his bride-to-be a bear-skin cloak. As the boys laughed and joked around, the Dire Wolves led them to their prey. Suddenly, Torrhen stiffened as he felt through his connection with Nyx that they were close. He motioned for his brothers to dismount and follow the wolves on foot. The Stark Brothers tied their horses and proceeded on foot.

Suddenly, there was a mighty roar, and the giant bears the boys had ever seen rushed toward them. To their surprise, it was a snow bear from beyond the wall. The men readied their bows and fired. The arrows hit the bear, but it didn't slow it down. Torrhen stepped between his little brothers and the bear. If it were necessary, Torrhen would summon the Elder Wand and kill the bear. He wouldn't let Robb or Jon get hurt.

Torrhen didn't need to do that. Their Dire Wolves, led by Nyx, surrounded and attacked the bear. The boys, worried about their wolves, loosed more arrows. Nyx had a grip on the snow Bear's throat and was slowly cutting off its air supply. But the bear was able to dislodge the wolves. It was hurt and angry and focused its rage on the nearest target, Torrhen.

The bear charged Torrhen. Torrhen yelled for his brothers to get back, and they reluctantly followed their brother's command. Robb and Jon watched in horror as the bear charged Torrhen. At the last minute, Torrhen raised his spear; the snow bear collided with Torrhen and impaled itself on the spear through the heart. The bear collapsed on Torrhen and Jon, and Robb rushed forward. They were afraid that the snow Bear had crushed their brother. With the help of the Dire Wolves, the boys were able to turn the bear over. They found Torrhen covered in blood and gasping for air. Robb and Jon were shocked to see Torrhen unharmed.

“How did you do that?” Jon asked.

Torrhen stood and wiped the blood from his face, “When an opponent is larger than you, use its strength against it,” Torrhen explained. It was something his Uncle Arthur had told him once.

Robb and Jon congratulated Torrhen on his kill. They celebrated and teased Torrhen on how Lady Dacey would love her wedding gift. As the boys began to haul away their kill, Nyx ran toward Torrhen and began yipping at him and growling. She pulled on his trousers wanting him to follow her. When Grey Wind and Ghost returned, they did the same thing to Robb and Jon. The brothers looked at each other, confused, but decided to follow their wolves.

The Dire Wolves led the boys to a cave and began sniffing around it. Dread filled Torrhen, and he decided to go inside the cave. Torrhen and Nyx went into the cave, and Torrhen's heart sank when he saw a baby snow bear curled up in the corner.

Torrhen got closer to the cub. Only for it to growl at him. Torrhen spoke softly to the cub until it smelled his hand and licked it. Torrhen was confident that the snow bear cub could sense his magic, which calmed the bear. Torrhen picked the cub out and brought it to his brothers. The boys were saddened that they had killed a mother bear, but Robb suggested that Torrhen give the snow bear to Dacey as a symbol of her house.

“That is an excellent idea, Brother. I shall make a cloak from the bear and give the cub to Lady Dacey as a wedding gift,” Torrhen commented.

The boys and the wolves hauled the carcass and settled it on Morning Star's back, as he was the most muscular horse. Torrhen mounted a different horse, and Robb gave the cub to Torrhen, then they rode back to Winterfell.

A/N Sorry about this being a short chapter. The next one will be the feast and Torrhen meeting Daceey.