A Dragon In Wolf's Clothing ~A Game of Thrones fan fiction~

Chapter Eight: Goodbyes

Lyanna sighed, wiping away her tears as she sat next to Bran, holding his hand whilst he laid unconscious in his bed. It had been three days since he fell and he had not woken up since. Maester Luwin had tended to him but all they could do was wait. Neither Lyanna's father nor Lady Stark had left his side and the Stark and Snow siblings had been taking it in turns sitting with him.

Today was Lyanna's turn, and it seemed fitting since Lyanna, Arya, Sansa and their father were riding south to King's Landing. Lyanna didn't want to go and she could tell Arya and their father didn't either. Sansa was the only one who was looking forward to getting to the capital.

It wasn't just the fact that when she got there, Lyanna would have to get married to Jeoffrey. Everything about leaving Winterfell was terrible. She would miss the walls which would occasionally erupt steam because of the hot springs the castle was built on. She would miss the snow. She would miss dinner with her whole family. She would miss going for rides with Robb, Theon, Jon and Bran. She would even miss Lady Stark.

Lyanna looked out of the window and she could see the royal party beginning to stir, preparing itself for the long ride ahead. She could not see the king, queen, their children or either of the Lannister brother's but she could tell that they would be leaving soon.

"I'll miss you Bran," Lyanna sighed, trying to force away tears. "I will miss sparring with you; you were easy to beat. I'll miss riding with you, listening to you complain about your pony. I'm sorry you fell, Bran. I wish you were with Jon and I that day and I wish I had been there to catch you,"

That was when Lady Stark came into the room. She looked more miserable than usual, especially when she saw Lyanna. Except her expression seemed more of a sudden realisation, like she had suddenly seen her properly for the first time in Lyanna's whole life. "What are you doing here?" she asked her husband's bastard.

"Saying goodbye, my lady, we're leaving in a few hours," Lyanna explained, before turning back to Bran. "I'm sorry Bran, I wish I could be here for when you wake up but I promise you I will visit when I can, when the wedding is over and done with. But if I promise that, I need you to promise to me that you will wake up and get better, okay?"

Lyanna got up and wiped away the tears that she hadn't realised had fallen. "I wish I didn't have to leave him," Lyanna admitted to Lady Stark. "I wish I didn't have to leave full stop,"

Lady Stark then did something which she had never done before to Lyanna; Catelyn engulfed Lyanna into a hug. It felt surprisingly warm and caring, even if she could tell Lady Stark still did not like her much.

"Good luck, Lyanna, watch over Sansa and Arya for me," Lady Stark said quietly.

Lyanna left Lady Stark alone with Bran as she headed for her bedroom to finish packing. She had been far too distracted with making the most out of the time she had left with her brother's, packing properly had slipped her mind. It was not like she had lots of things to pack. She was getting all new clothes in King's Landing, as the few dresses she had few woollen and sewn to keep her warm and were far too thick for King's Landing's warm weather and her other shirts and trousers were far too scruffy for the prince's betrothed to wear, or so Queen Cersei said.

This left Lyanna throwing her riding clothes into her trunk as well as her two formal, summer dresses which were almost as old as Rickon. Lyanna packed mostly books, and a pair of black, woollen gloves she had made with the septa. As she was sorting out the few parts of jewellery she owned, Lyanna heard a quiet knock at the door.

Winter, who had been asleep on Lyanna's bed woke and began howling at the knocking. Lyanna didn't answer but instead the door opened, revealing Jon, holding an object wrapped in a cloth.