Date: 298 AC, 17th day of the 1st month
Location: The North, Regional Capital: Winterfell, at the residence of the Stark family
Lord Eddard "Ned" Stark is returning home from his visitations from the surrounding land, the gates of the castle open as he comes riding in with his guards; they dismount and Ned heads to his room and changes from his outside attire and cleanses himself. Later on when he was supervising the training of the castle's garrison; he was asked by his wife, Catelyn to come to the Godswood. There she told him that his mentor, Jon Arryn, has died in King's Landing, the capital of Westeros and King Robert is on his way here to offer him the position, Hand of the King. Shocked he slumped down to his knees, as he recalls the wonderful times he had with Jon, who was his father figure and mentor in his youth. He remained solemn for the next few hours, thinking about all the memories he had of Jon, with a few chuckles here and there. Every time it felt like a-part of him has died. Afterwards, Ned regained his composure and reorganised his thoughts.
He asked Catelyn, "Can you please handle the preparations for the arrival of the King's retinue."
She responded, "Of course I will and what will you be doing."
Ned replied, "I'll clear my head out and see what needs to be done from there on."
Lady Catelyn along with her two children Robb and Sansa was on the first floor of the castle where she announced for everyone to gather in the courtyard. Afterwards, she announced,
"Dear residents of Winterfell, as you may have heard King Robert and the royal retinue are coming to Winterfell for a great cause. I have been charged with the task of preparing for the arrival of the royal family. This is a monumentous task to be a completed and to be successful you the people, the residents of the castle, you who are the most important, our core in pulling off such a task. Let's help each other to prepare for the rare occasion."
The crowd roared with cheers and happiness; everyone was soon divided into groups and assigned their roles. The people were synchronised in their teamwork and effort although there were few hilarious mistakes here and there everyone was enjoying it. From the second floor of the castle, Brandon 'Bran' Stark, Ned's second son and Jon Snow, Ned's bastard son were watching the people scurrying around and causing the hilarious accidents here and there they had a good chuckle.
The workers and their leaders were like a well-oiled machine. Bran got bored of watching so he ran down the stairs through the busy courtyard and climbed up the wall of the South Gate to see if the King's retinue had to arrive yet or not. Jon smiles and watches Bran moving through the castle; he knew there was no point in telling Bran to stop climbing the walls because he would not listen anyway. For the rest of the day, the people continued to work to ensure smooth preparations for the royal arrival. Jon was worried about Bran's safety regardless thus he went on a walk around the castle's battlements; watching his younger brother from afar.
Meanwhile, Lord Eddard was in the Godswood reminiscing and mourning the death of his father figure, Jon Arryn. Resting on the logs near the pond encompassed by the Weirwood tree, he prayed to the Old Gods; that may his friend rest in peace and that they bestow him the strength and will about the truth behind his death. He got up and solemnly walked in the direction of the Royal Library of House Stark. A library that has existed since the days of Brandon "The Builder" Stark and those of the Kings of Winter; a place only known to the members of the house. Entering the library he moved about to the centre where he saw his third son, Rickon Stark who was reading a book.
He spoke, "What are you doing here my son?" Rickon recognised the voice, he immediately got up and beamed with a bright smile.
He bowed and replied, "Greetings, father I was just reading a book its called The Lineages and Histories of The Great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms, I found it to be quite fascinating."
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