A Lion In The Wolves Den ||GOT x OCs||

⚔️-HONEY-⚔️

The men laughed, the days to come were filled with laughter, the laughter of children that is. Specifically that of a blonde girl and a gray eyed boy, who chased her through the very same courtyard that they had met in all those years ago. The girl ran around a wagon, parked in the center of the yard, looking across to see the boy who moved back and forth attempting to reach her. The girl wore a brown dress adorned with furs at the shoulders and hips, it was common among the people of the north, but when she wore them they looked astrange as if she was a foreigner in her own clothing. Her blonde hair fell in front of her face distracting her just enough for the dark haired boy to bolt around the wagon to grab a hold of her. The girl screamed happily tugging at his arms and kicking her feet to try and get away. The boy wore similar clothes, his made of black and brown leather, he too giggled at the girl's capture as she tried to run, to no avail.
"Bran, you cheated!"
The girl claimed, as the boy finally released her,
"I did not!"
The blonde whipped her hair, flicking it in his face before facing him with a playful glare. He reached out his hands to grab hold of her again but put his hands down when he heard the voice of a familiar man.
"Honey!"
Called her father, the sweet nickname that her Aunt had temporarily given her stuck like glue to her similarly colored hair. She stuck her tongue out at Bran who returned the favor as she walked away to reunite with her father. The man's hair was impossibly whiter now, it blended with the snow but it did not take away his strength. Upon the sight of his only child he scooped her up into his arms and twirled her in the air, something Bran had tried once but could not succeed in doing. Her father smiled as he looked down at his daughter's perfect freckled face, he smiled lovingly as he set her back on the ground resting a hand on his aching back.
"I think you might be getting a little too big, sweet one" He remarked with a chuckle, earning a giggle from the girl. She turned her head back to the place her companion once stood only to see that he had retreated into the castle of Winterfell and out of her sight.
"Hurry now child, you have much work to do" Stated Ser Rodrik as he led the girl to another part of the castle. Honey groaned at the mention of her chores but followed her father anyway as he took her to the armory, which had become a complete disaster after the guards dropped all of their things along the floors.
"I have to go take care of some things, can you start working and i'll come help in a few minutes"
Honey rolled her eyes but then smiled, and nodded, picking up a rather heavy sword off the ground and placing it on its respective rack. She repeated actions that she had done a million times before only stopping when her eyes caught red hair, the blonde girl looked out of the window to see the Stark's eldest daughter. She walked alongside a few girls that looked similar to her age, chatting and laughing without a care in the world. Honey looked down at her dirty hands and chipped fingernails, she had never been one to question her beauty, she was hardworking and noble. But when she saw that head of ginger hair it seemed to remind her of what she was not, of what she never would be. She shook the thoughts from her head and turned back to cleaning chest plates and sorting dented armor to send to the smith, a Knight's daughter, was just as noble as any other.
A few minutes turned into a few hours and the armory was about finished. Swords shone in the glimmer of shining light against the wall, chainmail sat separate from each other to prevent it from tangling and a pile of padding waiting to be washed sat by the door. A loud creaking brought her attention to the wooden opening, she smiled to herself, her head moved quickly but was greeted with a thunk and a slight stinging that came from her skull colliding with the wooden post above her head.
She groaned in pain, a chuckle caused her to glare at the person who dared laugh at her, the voice was all too familiar. The boy with gray eyes stepped into her field of view as she continued to rub the spot on her head that began to ache with past pain.
"Oh shut it"
She said smacking him on the arm as he drew closer, Bran laughed again pulling back the arm that she mercilessly attacked.
"Ow!"
He cried in exaggerated agony, his hair reached a little above his small shoulders and bangs covered his forehead to his brow. His smile was small and sweet just like most boy's his age, it would sometimes make Honey feel all warm inside, not that she knew why.
Honey threw her eyes to the back of her head and smiled, picking up the corners of her skirt and curtsied to the worst of her abilities,
"What brings you to a lowly place such as this, My Lord"
She spoke with an overexaggerated accent, To which Bran just crossed his arms.
"I was going to ask if you wanted to come watch me practice, but since you're so busy..."
Bran teased, drawing out his last words as he turned, pretending to leave her behind. Honey scoffed, grabbing hold of his hand and quickly exiting from the armory, dragging the poor boy along with her.
After they were clear of the confinements of Honey's abundant chores she let go of his hand and allowed him to lead her to where Three men were standing, the eldest of the three had dark curly hair that sat like a mop on his head and a decent amount of facial hair for his age, not enough to make him look to old, but enough to make him look like a man. Similarly, a man with longer, shaggier curls stood beside him with fuller hair around his chin and upper lip however he still looked very young with big brown doe eyes. Finally there was a ginger boy, who stood close to the eldest of the three, he didn't have any extraordinary features but he looked well.
"Do you really feel the need to bring your pretty little lover to all of our training sessions?"
The eldest boy teased leaning down to meet Bran's eyes. Bran smacked his arm, "shut up Robb!" He quietly scolded his brother, earning a few chuckles from the older boys. The other two men laughed alongside him as they watched the two kids crawl out of their skins in distast at the thought of them being anything other than friends, if that.
"Come on now Bran, every man has to have had a first love"
Said the shaggy haired man, patting the smaller boy on the shoulder before moving to grab a bow that was just the right size for the younger boy to practice with.
"I don't think we'll have to worry, the girl is far too stubborn for Bran to handle"
Commented the ginger man before he placed his hand on the girl's shoulder playfully shoving her a safe distance away from the practice field.
"I am not stubborn"
The girl argued, crossing her arms as she looked up, craning her neck to meet the man's eyes. Honey turned her back to him as she attempted to climb up onto one of the fences of an unoccupied horse stall, her arms hooked around the horizontal wooden post before sliding off and setting her gently back onto the ground.
"Do you need some help?"
mocked the ginger man who stood behind her with a smirk, one hand on his hip, he was dressed similarly to the Stark brothers. In black and brown leather, neat laces tied up their shirts ending in little bows around their necks loose spring shoved underneath them, but the clothes didn't look quite right when he wore them, as if he wasn't meant to.
"No I do not"
The blonde girl responded as the foot she placed on the fence slipped, searching for a good grip of the wood. The man with blue eyes chuckled, walking towards her. He placed two hands right under each of her arms, and hoisted her up onto the third wooden ledge, setting her atop it in perfect view of the range. The ginger haired man looked up at the girl, a smirk meant to mock her stubbornness falling on his face. The girl turned her head away from him, her arms still crossed over her chest.
"Hurry up Theon!"
Shouted the eldest and the ginger man, rushed over giving a smile to the girl before turning off to join the Stark boys. Honey returned the smile with a roll of her eyes, but she could never actually be upset with Theon or any of the Stark children really, even if he was only Ned's ward he was always lumped into the group. Her father spoke so highly of them it sort of ingrained in her brain that no Stark could ever do any wrong, she believed it wholeheartedly as she watched the three older boys huddle around the youngest of them in support of his efforts to better his skills.
The quiver at Bran's side was two sizes too big, slightly dragging on the ground when he moved. He pulled back the arrow, quickly releasing his grip on the white feathers on its end, the arrow whizzed past the target and lodged into a barrel beside it. Bran stomped his boot into the dirt, swinging his arm down in defeat, huffing out the breath he had been holding in an attempt to focus. Jon, who was standing at Bran's shoulder approached him, pulling Bran to look at him gently holding onto his collar.
"Go on, Father's watching..."
Honey heard the stomps of Lord Stark's boots as they thumped against the wood above her head. Bran's head looked up to the balcony where his father stood, broad shoulders covered in furs, his clothing was more detailed than the boy's making it hard to mistake him for anything other than the lord of Winterfell.
"And your mother too"
Jon said as Bran's eyes caught sight of bright red hair and a kind smile, the lines on her face becoming more defined but not discouraging from her radiance. His father looked to him with pride, as if he had achieved some sort of impossible triumph, but he hadn't even done anything yet. Bran smiled back at them before turning his attention to the target, raising his bow and leaning back. His posture wasn't the best but what else could you expect from a young child? She giggled to herself as Bran shot another arrow and missed royally, his face blushed red as he turned and glared at her causing her to laugh more.
"And which one of you was a marksman at ten?"
Asked Lord Eddard Stark, after the boys did very little to contain their amusement at their brother's ill performance The men turned their heads to their father, who leaned forward his hand supporting him on the railing as he cast all of winterfell in his protection.
"Keep practicing Bran, go on"
Bran looked down at the dirt, letting out a sigh before removing another arrow from the quiver at his side.
"Don't think too much, Bran'' Jon spoke, leaning down to his ear patting his shoulder reassuringly moving back so Bran had room to pull back the bow.
"Relax your bow arm" Commented his eldest brother, who stood with his arms crossed over his chest as he examined the boy's stance.
He pulled back the arrow trying his best to focus on the target, but just before the arrow left his hand another lodged into the center of the target. Honey turned her head and beside her was the youngest Stark daughter, dressed in blue bowing confidently at her triumph. Bran shot in his sister's direction, laughter erupting from the mouths of his brothers. The young Stark boy let out a groan in embarrassment before dropping his bow and chasing after his sister, who smiled at his frustration. The blonde girl watched as Bran hopped over the fence she had been sitting on and continued his hunt for his older sister. Honey quickly turned herself around, her boots hitting the ground flat, leaving a slight sting in her calves, which she ignored as she ran after the middle Stark children. However, she halts at the sound of her father's voice addressing the Lord of Winterfell. Honey turns her head tilting slightly upwards looking to the faces of the two men above.
"Lord Stark." Ser Cassel addressed, nodding his head in a simplistic bow, to which Ned Stark returned a smile still ever present on his face.
"My lady." Ser Rodrik offered the same gesture to the ginger woman beside the lord, before turning back to the man his face growing more serious,
"A guardsman just rode in from the hills. They've captured a deserter from the Night's Watch."
Lord Stark sighed, a grimace finding its way to the man's face, his wife grabbing onto his arm, looking up to his face.
"Get the lad's to saddle their horses."
"Do you have too?" His wife spoke a bit of disdain in her voice, searching her husband's face for the answer that she hoped for every time she asked. Eddard placed a hand over hers that rested on his arm.
"He swore an oath, Cat."
His tone was even and serious as he looked into her eyes, attempting to reassure Lady Stark that the things they did were honorable.
"The law is law, My Lady"
Ser Rodrik stated, his eyes drifting to the girl that stared from below, his gaze did not go unnoticed by the lord and he found himself looking upon the little blonde girl standing in the courtyard. Honey jumped when she noticed the eyes on her person, quickly she turned her heel and rushed off to find her companions in no mood to receive a lecture about eavesdropping, which she had heard too many times already. Eddard's eyes still linger on the spot where the girl once stood,
"Tell Bran he's coming, too"