The Wolf Priestess and the Lion Knight

Chapter 16 The Wedding

By the time the wedding was supposed to happen, most of the Northern Lords had arrived and were unhappy about a daughter of the North marrying someone from the South, especially a Lannister. They scowled at the thought and complained to Ned, but there was nothing the Warden of the North could do. The king decreed it, and he could not go against the king.

Many of the Lords proposed rebelling against the crown. What had the Southerners ever done for them? With the ideas that Lyarra had about crop rotation, the North was finally self-sustaining. Big Jon Umber was the most upset; he had planned to ask Lyarra's hand in marriage for Small Jon Umber. The two were great friends, and marriage would have been perfect.

Big Jon stood and looked Ned dead in the eyes, “I want it known that if the Kingslayer hurts Lyarra in any way, I will happily take his head.”

Ned had already made the same promise to himself as had Robb and Jon. No one was going to hurt his precious daughter. He would rather die than see his daughters hurt, especially Lyarra. Ned knew he shouldn't have favorites among his children, but Lyarra held a special place in his heart.

Ned thought for a moment. In a few more days, his daughter would be married to the Lannister. Ned shuttered at the thought. He suddenly stood and left his Solar with Midnight following him. He walked towards Lyarra's bedchamber. He decided that he needed to spend time with Lyarra before her wedding.

Ned knocked on the door, and Lyarra bid him enter. Ned entered and smiled at his daughter, who was sitting by the fireplace, reading; Kouga was lying at her feet. Midnight saw her pup and walked toward him to greet him. Lyarra and Ned smiled as they saw the wolves cuddle and lick each other. Finally, Lyarra closed her book, looked at her father, and smiled.

Lyarra hugged her father, “Father, it is so wonderful to see you. What brings you by?”

Ned chuckled, “Do I need a reason to come see my eldest daughter?”

Lyarra smiled at her father and hugged him tighter, “No, of course not, Father. But I have the feeling you are worried about something,” Lyarra told her father.

Ned smiled sadly, “I am only worried about your marriage to the Kingslayer,” Ned commented as he kissed his daughter's head.

Lyarra gave her father an encouraging smile, “Do not worry, Father. All will be well. No matter what happens, I will always be a Stark of Winterfell, and the best thing is that I get to go South with you. I will help you look after the girls.”

“Aye, but you will be surrounded by Lannisters and eventually go to Casterly Rock to become its Lady.”

“I have a feeling that will not happen for a while. The Queen will not let her brother go that easily.”

Ned raised an eyebrow, “Then you see it as well?”

“Aye, the unnatural attachment the Queen has towards her twin, I have seen it. From what I can tell, Ser Jaime does not feel the same,” Lyarra explained to her father.

Ned nodded and accepted his daughter's observation. He knew that Lyarra was a good judge of character, and she had never been wrong. Lyarra had often told her father that she didn't like or trust Theon Greyjoy and that he should be treated as the hostage he was, not a ward. Had Ned listened to his eldest, Theon wouldn't have attacked her; from that moment on, Ned listened to the advice of his daughter and trusted her feelings. Lyarra was never wrong.