Another Stark

Chapter 2: Meeting the Kingslayer

After the arrival of the royal family, they were all now settling into Winterfell, Robb, Theon, Jon and Ned had gone for a little ride out into the woods though, presumably for a little bit of freedom, Hunter, Arya, Bran and Rickon were all in the shooting range, Arya and Hunter having a shooting competition, while Bran and Rickon sat on the fence watching, Arya was good with the bow, but everyone knew it was Hunter that excelled at it, as soon as she was old enough to hold a bow, she used it as if it was an extension of her arm, and the same went for a sword, she had always been good with weapons, she was built for them as much as they were built for her, as she shot another bulls eye Hunter spoke up "did you see the way she looked at our home, as if it was mere dirt under her shoe, how dare she, out here in the north, we care much more about honour and justice, rather than what we look like and who's fucking who!" immediately, Arya and Bran gasped while Rickon just looked on not at all affected by what was going on, it was the first time they had heard Hunter swear, they knew for a fact that if septa mordane or their lady mother had heard her speak such foul language and towards the queen no doubt, they would have her tongue, Hunter was about to speak before a voice spoke before she could "now, is that anyway a lady should be speaking?" and they all just turned to see Jaime Lannister walking over to them with a smirk on his lips and his hand resting on his sword handle, Bran, who had been told to take care of the girls, had hopped off of the fence and despite his fear, he came to stand in front of his sisters in a protective stance, Jaime thought it amusing as he let out a little chuckle, but he quietened when he saw the heated glare of the young she-wolf, who even he had to admit was a little beauty, he just smiled and as he was going to speak but suddenly was cut off as Hunter spoke before he could "the way I speak, is no concern of yours, and I'm not a lady" and Jaime was once again amused by not only her wit but also her younger brother who turned to her with a scolding look but quickly let it go as he saw the glare of his older sister so he just turned back to Jaime still with his protective stance, Jaime decided to speak then "well then, what shall I call you?" and Hunter just narrowed her eyes before folding her arms "it doesn't matter, what matters is your reason for being here, hasn't anyone ever told you it's rude to eavesdrop, and the fact that it's on children, how would that look to anyone who caught you doing so?" and Jaime narrowed his eyes before he let a smirk adorn his face, he had decided in that moment that he liked this little she-wolf, he hadn't met anyone with wit, that was so dis-arming that it was quite charming, and there was something about her eyes that seemed to draw him in, he had seen the same look in his sisters eyes when he saw the exchange his twin had had with the child "I had just been walking by, when I heard you talking about the queen, I wouldn't call that eavesdropping" and suddenly Bran began speaking "she didn't mean-" but he was cut off by Hunter who said "Bran, it doesn't matter, go ahead, tell her, tell her what I said, tell her so that she may learn that not everyone is gonna let her disrespect them and look down on them so easily, maybe it'll teach her a bit of humility" and at that Bran just gasped and turned to her and quickly covered her mouth with his hand the both of them having a silent conversation with their eyes, Jaime couldn't help the little chuckle that left his mouth, usually when someone spoke about his twin in such a way, he wouldn't hesitate to cut them down but for some reason whatever this child spouted seemed to always make sense, it seemed to be the truth and he couldn't help but feel a connection with this girl who seemed to have lost her naivety at a very young age "don't worry, telling her was the last thing on my mind, I feel that during my time here we'll get along very well little she-wolf" and Hunter just narrowed her eyes as she gently pulled Brans hand away from her mouth before saying "is this a trick?" Hunter couldn't help but like this man, who everyone seemed to loathe or be scared of, she didn't find him scary at all, he was actually quite interesting, Jaime just smiled "I think if I was tricking you, you'd already know, little she-wolf" suddenly Hunters seriousness was gone and a look of curiosity took over it "Hunter, if we wish to get along we must at least be on a first name basis, right?" and Jaime smirked before nodding and saying "hmm, than I guess you can call me Jaime" and Hunter nodded before saying "these are my younger siblings Arya, Bran and Rickon" and he nodded to them smiling when he saw the curiosity in their eyes as well, Arya suddenly feeling a bit more confident after seeing a nicer side of him asked "where's the imp?" and he chuckled as he saw Hunter, who was holding Rickons hand now, and Bran look to him curiously as well he smiled and said "my dear brother had other business to attend to, but I assure you, if you wish to speak to him he will be at the welcoming feast tonight" he did not wish to tell the kids the real reason his brother, Tyrion, could not make it, and he decided he was right when he saw the kids eyes light up, and saw the childish gleam in Hunters eyes causing him to genuinely smile, though when he looked up his smile dimmed at the sight of lord Stark, his two eldest sons and his ward walking towards them, looking at him with barely concealed anger and also a slight bit of panic, presumably at the sight of him so close to the young lords and ladies of Winterfell, the young ones he could stand, like, almost, but the older ones he could do without which is why he decided to stay to see how far he could aggravate them with just his presence and the fact that the young lords and ladies liked him and found him interesting, as they neared Ned just called out to his children "children" and the four young ones quickly turned around and seeing him standing there, they all ran to him hugging him shouting "father!" and Jaime immediately saw the hostility in Neds eyes leave him as he got lost in the loving embrace of his children, Ned just looked down at them with a smile and said "we've got a surprise for you" and the kids faces all lit up with excitement and curiosity, Hunter asking "what is it, father?" and he just chuckled before looking up to his two eldest sons and his ward who were holding what seemed to be bundles of moving fluff in their hands and he nodded to them and the three of them bent down and gently placed the balls off fluff on the ground and to the kids surprise the little balls of fluff stood up and they realised that they were not balls of fluff but in fact dire wolves, the sigil of their house, the four of them immediately bent down petting the little cute dire wolf pups, Jon, Theon and Robb smiling at the sight as they stood over them with watchful eyes, Ned deciding this was a good time to confront the Lannister walked over and stood beside him the both of them watching the children, Ned folded his arms and said in a low and threatening voice "I don't know what game your playing at here, kingslayer, but don't even think about bringing my children into this" the assumption had Jaime feeling sick to the stomach, he had done many things in his life that had been dishonourable, but the thought of harming a child made him sick, it was one of the things he swore he would never do and is one of the  things he has stuck by, it made him angry that he would make such a claim "If your children were anything like you, Lord Stark, I wouldn't be here right now, they would've judged me before they got to know me, I'm going to drop my pride here just to tell you that, as long as I'm with them, not a single hair on their heads will be harmed, children are a precious thing, to harm something so precious is a dishonourable thing that not even I the 'kingslayer' would do, so you don't have to worry, my lord" he said the last part mockingly before turning around to leave, before he could get far though, four voices called out to him, and he turned around to see Hunter, Arya, Bran and Rickon all smiling and waving at him then they all shouted in unison "bye, Jaime!" and to the surprise of the four older men he gave them a genuine smile and wave "I'll see you four at the feast" and they all nodded before turning back to the dire wolves Jaime just stood their staring at them with the genuine smile still on his face before he chuckled and shook his head turning back around and continuing on into the castle of Winterfell, the four men were left stunned, Ned the most, this man, who he had thought had no emotion, and held no affection for anything or anyone, was able to make his children who took ages to warm up to anyone to warm up to, like him instantly and in turn he managed to show them a side of him that they never thought he could have, maybe he wasn't so bad, Hunter was always a good judge of character and personality so if she liked Jaime, it must've meant that she saw some good in him he decided not to dwell on it though, pushing it to the back of his mind as he suddenly heard loud laughter and looked to see Hunter laying on the ground, with a few of the dire wolves licking and nipping at her, the others laughing at the sight, though Robb was attempting to help her through his laughter, as he bent down and gently pushed the dire wolf pups away and grabbed Hunters hands and easily lifting her back to her feet, he walked over and said what he had said to Jon and Robb back where they had found the pups "you can keep them as long as you promise that you will be the sole carer of the pup, you cannot ask the servants to care for them, and if they die, you will bury them yourselves" and the kids nodded without hesitation though Hunter said "that's a little morbid, father, you could've left the death part out" and they all chuckled and Ned smiled before saying "yes, well it is true, when your wolf dies, you will have to be the one who digs the grave, a lot of responsibility comes with caring for another life, this is a good chance for all of you to learn a bit of responsibility, after all-" but he was cut off as they all simultaneously said "winter is coming".