Author's Notes

Sorry this has been so long, but the season 8 finale took a lot out of me. Here's the latest chapter, and thanks to all who are reading my crazy story.

Lyonel

The first thing Lyonel noticed about Jon Snow was his Northern features, as opposed to his half-siblings whose features were dominantly Southern. Except, perhaps, the youngest daughter, Arya, and if her actions earlier were any indication, she held the same rebellious personality most Northerners were rumored to have. Starks, a curious bunch where the only children to share their father's features were a single daughter and a bastard. If this was any other family, Lyonel would have suspected infidelity on the part of the wife, but Catelyn Tully, despite coming from the south, held honor on par with the people of the North.

Lyonel found the whole situation humorous, normally Lyonel would be grim at the possible implication of bastard children would have on the nobles of a region and the common people who would eventually be caught up in the eventual succession wars that would follow, but here, Lyonel didn't have to worry about that. For the Starks were honorable, and that gave Lyonel a sense of security, that the future of the North was a stable and peaceful one.

His musings on the Stark children carried Lyonel to the topic of his thoughts. He and Artys reached the Stark children, who stood at attention in the presence of a royal. Lyonel waved his hand back at Artys, indicating he'll handle the introductions.

"Greetings, I am Prince Lyonel Baratheon."

Robb stepped forward and started to introduce himself, "My name is Robb Stark, these are my..."

"I know who you are, who all of you are. Part of my education was to learn and memorize all the lords of Westeros and their heirs, especially House Stark, I…" Lyonel trailed off when he saw Artys make a face, then he realized he was being rude.

Lyonel bowed slightly before Robb before he raised his head back up while displaying shame on his face.

"I am deeply sorry for my actions, I let myself get carried away. When you get to be a prince in the capital people start to spin sweet lies to you, and I'm afraid old habits, combined with a long journey to get here, have worn me down. It's not an excuse for behavior, so please accept my humblest apologies."

Robb looked shocked and confused, but he forced himself to speak.

"I-I accept your apology, Your Grace," he said.

At this, Lyonel cracked a smile, "Please, Your Grace is my mother or father. Just call me Lyonel when there are no adults around, Prince Lyonel when there are."

Robb smiled back, "And you can call me Robb, whether our fathers are around or not."

"Awful amount of trust to place in me," Lyonel responded.

"I don't see it like that, I see it was the first step in trust." Robb continued to smile at Lyonel as if he didn't realize what he just did.

It wasn't the name itself that bothered him, it was the trust that the name entailed. With any titles or formalities, a name meant a close bond between people. Ordinarily, Lyonel would be thrilled that such a bond had formed, after all, it meant that he was one step closer to getting the Starks on board for his plans. However, it betrayed a fatal flaw the heir to Winterfell had.

'He trusts too easily, far too easily. Men like Robb thrive in certain elements. The south, and my Coup, in particular, are not those elements.' Lyonel felt a swirl of conflicting emotions over this revelation.

Dragging Lyonel out of his thoughts was the bastard of Winterfell, who was trying to slip away unnoticed. Remembering that Jon Snow was part of the reason he was with the Stark children right now, Lyonel made a move to stop him.

"Jon Snow, could you stay here?" Lyonel asked, trying to imbue enough genuine emotion so that he didn't sound cold, but also held back so that he didn't come as overeager.

"My Prince, I'm not sure a bastard like myself is worthy of being your presence." Jon stared at the ground as if he was afraid of making eye contact with Lyonel.

Lyonel tried to speak but ended up staring down a very angry Arya. "Listen here, Prince Lyonel, I don't care if you're royalty or not, you won't mess with my brother. So if you're just going to insult or humiliate him, then you'll have to deal with me!" Arya yelled with a ferocity rivaling that of a wolf.

The atmosphere tensed up, going from lukewarm to freezing cold. Robb looked unsure if he should intervene, though he looked ready to jump to the defense of his sister. Sansa covered her mouth and was glaring at Arya, while Jon stepped forward, tense and ready for a fight.

This all reversed when, much to the Stark children's surprise, Lyonel started laughing and clutching his sides.

"I can see the Starks live up to their sigil, quite interesting. Forgive, Arya, I meant no harm to your brother. I simply wished to discuss swordplay with him, his skills have reached King's Landing and I wanted to see if they were true or just exaggerated rumors." That was a lie, Lyonel wanted to investigate Jon's mother, hear about the woman who made even Eddard Stark forget his honor, but he had to back off of that lest he risks alienating the Starks.

That seemed to calm Arya down, but there was still fire lit in her eyes that threatened to burn Lyonel at the slightest provocation. Sansa rushed over, grabbed Arya, mumbled something about Septa lessons, and rushed off with Arya. Robb approached Lyonel, his eyes shining with warmth over the prince's reaction to both Jon and Arya.

"Lyonel, it would be an honor if I could escort you around the keep. And Jon can join if you want," Robb said.

"You both go on ahead, I have some matters to discuss with Artys."

Robb and Jon left, leaving Lyonel to stare blankly off into the distance.

"What's the real reason you didn't go with them?" Artys hesitantly approached Lyonel.

"They love each other, they love each other. Even Jon Snow, they love him as if he was a trueborn," a single tear rolled Lyonel's eye, "I've never seen love like that, it's fierce and protective. The way that Robb and Jon were about to defend Arya, and the way that Arya was protecting Jon. Joffrey would never do that for me, my older brother doesn't love me."

Lyonel let another set of tears roll down his eyes before he composed himself and followed Jon and Robb deeper into Winterfell. His focus on the Stark family transition from a political to a personal one, Lyonel attempted to quell newfound feelings and turmoil within him to no avail. Like it or not, he was now emotionally tied to the Starks.

Artys

Artys sat with a handful of Valeman who accompanied him on his journey to Winterfell. He sent the majority of the House Arryn men to escort Lysa and Robert to The Eyrie, and to ensure that his orders were carried out once his "mother" got to the castle. But the company he did keep filled the void that he would have otherwise felt being separated from Lyonel at the Stark banquet that was held in honor of the royal family.

He spotted his friend seated at the high table, next to Joffrey, eating his food rather unpleasantly. Artys mused that it was the close proximity to Joffrey that was currently spoiling Lyonel right now. However, given Artys's current drunken state he was in no position to help him. He took a deep draft of his wine, much to the cheer of his men, and finished it in one gulp.

Suddenly feeling the need to gather some fresh air, Artys excused himself from the table.

"Sorry boys, have to go. But a gold stag to whoever can drink Carson under."

He left the table, letting the loud roars of the challenges mask the sound of his footsteps as he left the hall. Artys wasn't a drunk by any means, but he had quite a bit of alcohol up till this point. Artys cursed under his breath, he should act calm and collected, a manner befitting the new Warden of the East and close companion of Lyonel. Though with the behavior of King Robert, Artys mused his own behavior went unnoticed. Still, he would collect himself so he would never do this kind of reckless act ever again.

Feelings of grief were still raw, Artys had yet to properly process his father's death with all the things that had happened recently. Alcohol was a way through that, but not the proper way. It clashed with his identity as a warrior, made him feel he sullied his honor. His actions fought against his integrity, it the exact wake-up call he needed. Artys would have to put aside some time to grieve his father, then he could resume his life.

He looked back into the hall, seeing Catelyn still at the dinner table. Despite only meeting a handful of times, Catelyn was still more of a mother to Artys than Lysa ever was, perhaps she could help him through his feelings so he could sooner return to Lyonel's side. At least, that was part of the reason he wanted to go to her, the other being, he wanted to bask in her motherly love that he so rarely ever experienced. Maybe that was another reason he was drawn to Lyonel, he never felt a sibling's love, while Artys never felt a mother's love. Yet more similarities that intertwined the two.

"Look there's a lot more men here with 'orses than usual. And 'orses need hay to feed them."

Artys looked over and saw two servants arguing next to a large wagon of hay.

"I know, but Lord Bran likes to climb this tower."

"If he doesn't like it, he can take it up with his parents. I have orders to keep these 'orses healthy and that's exactly what I'm going to do."

Artys continued on from that conversation, passing by Tyrion Lannister and Jon Snow talking.