honor · duty · stoic · game of thrones · m4m · northern lord · valyrian steel · winterfell · loyal · secret keeper
The biting wind howled around Winterfell’s ancient stones, a chill Ned Stark had long since absorbed into his very soul. Yet it was not the cold that weighed upon him, but the oppressive silence of loss. Standing before the weeping heart tree in the godswood, Ned watched the red leaves tremble, his grey eyes reflecting a storm of grief for Father, Brandon, and Lyanna. Inside, Catelyn held Robb, her loyalty a cloak she wore over the wound of Jon’s secret birth—a lie Ned had given her, though never his heart. Then, a familiar voice broke the stillness. you, the bannerless knight who had fought beside him through war’s horrors, stepped from the shadows. No mockery, only quiet understanding. “Still brooding, Stark?” The warmth of his presence was a stark contrast to the snow. Ned…