- Winter Is Coming

Lyra was stood in the middle of her bedroom looking at herself through the floor length mirror, the blonde smoothed out her white and gold dress making sure that there was no creases in it as she and her family had to look presentable due to King Robert who will be arriving shortly. Lyra had a small smile on her face as her eyes connected with her direwolf that was laid beside her mirror, her head tilting to the side as she watched Lyra get ready.

The Stark girl grabbed a piece of dry meat that she had gotten from the kitchen not that long ago and threw it in Visenya's direction laughing lightly as she watched her direwolf jump in the air and gulping it down. Lyra walked over towards her bed grabbing her light purple cloak as the threw it over her shoulder and clasped it together before opening her door walking down the corridor with Visenya following after her.

"Are you going to the Wolfs wood?" Sansa curiously questioned as she appeared next to her sister startling her sister slightly but sighed in relief when she noticed it was just Sansa as she nodded her head in confirmation, " Good, well we can walk together then" Sansa hooked her arm through Lyra's as they continued making their way out of the castle where both Lady and Visenya immediately ran off in the forest.

Normally, the Direwolfs would of stayed with their owners but their mother had made it clear that they will not be presence when King Robert arrived due to not wanting to scare the Queen and their children, " Can you actually believe it? The king is coming to the North" Sansa stated with a look of excitement on her face as she watched Lady and Visenya's run off together towards the other direwolf's far into the forest.

"It's quite strange" Lyra mused as she watched a couple of servants rush by the two girls causing Sansa to nod her head in agreement as with the news of the King coming to the North it has caused quite the commotion as every servant, guards, cooks and maids were all busy with preparations for their arrival, " I know it must have something to do with the death of Jon Arryn"

" probably" Sansa commented as she shrugged her shoulders as she and her sister joined Rob in the courtyard causing him to raise his brows at his two little sisters wondering what they were talking about causing Lyra to roll her eyes as she informed, " we were just talking about how weird it is for the King to travel to the North not long after Jon Arryn died" Robb nodded his head in acknowledgment as the rest of their siblings were making their way to the courtyard.

Robb scoffed under his breathe shooting both Sansa and Lyra a knowing look, " I think that the King is going to ask father to be his hand" Lyra and Sansa both hummed, " You're right though, it is strange that he his coming all the way to Winterfell when he could of easily just sent a raven if he wanted to check in with father and ask him to be his hand. It has to be something else"

Lyra avoided eye contact with both Robb and Sansa as she knew it was also because King Robert wanted his son to marry one of the Stark girls while the other goes to Braavos to marry Khal Drogo and the blonde made it clear she would marry the Dothraki so her sister wouldn't have to especially since she is still a child, " Lyra, do you know something? Your horrible at keeping secrets you know something spit it out" Robb spoke with a knowing look as he knew his sister like the back of his hand and it was clear that she was hiding something from him and his siblings.

The blonde pursed her lips not saying a word before she sighed in defeat at the looks she was receiving from both Sansa and Robb but before she could say anything Catelyn appeared in front of her three children nodding her head in approval seeing that the three of them looked presentable before glancing up and down the line with narrowed eyes when she noticed that somebody was missing.

"Where's Arya?"Catelyn questioned her three children who's eyes widened as they turned around to see that their sister was indeed missing and was nowhere to be found, " Lyra? Sansa?" The blonde furrowed her brows as she shrugged her shoulders with a look of confusion on her face as she informed, " I haven't seen her since breakfast when she ran off with Nymeria"

Sansa nodded her head in agreement as Catelyn clenched her jaw together with an annoyed and frustrated look storming over towards their father causing the three siblings to sigh as they walked over towards where Jon and Theon were patiently standing, Lyra smiled brightly as she made eye contact with Eric only to look away with a small blush on her cheeks when Sansa nudged her with a teasingly smile on her lips.

At the last possible minute before the royal entourage arrived, Arya sprinted in from the outer gates, a guard helmet on her head. Lyra couldn't help but snicker under her breathe as she watched her father who managed to catch her sister mid-run and wrestle to get the helmet off her. The youngest Stark daughter scowled with an annoyed look before storming over to her siblings, " Move" Arya demanded pushing Bran to the side before standing between him and Sansa with an angry pout.

Lyra raised her brows at her sisters words catching the deadly glare from her mother who was narrowing her eyes at her youngest sister, " Arya!" The blonde scolded her causing the young girl to freeze at Lyra warning tone falling back in line without saying another word. The oldest Stark girl rolled her eyes with a shake of her head, as the sound of horses could be heard as the royal party began to make their way into the gates of Winterfell.

Jaime Lannister appeared first, riding a white steed, his blonde hair was blowing in the wind as he pulled his helmet off his head sending an arrogant smirk towards the Stark family. Close behind him was Sandor Clegane or the hound as many people call him before Joffrey Baratheon rode forward gaining the attention of the entire courtyard with his back straight as he came to a stop on the other side of his uncle.

Lyra raised her brows not impressed by the slightest as she watched him dismount his horse as he looked around his surroundings with an disinterested expression on his face before his eyes locked with Lyra causing him to smile at her politely as he looked her up and down before turning away from the blonde pulling off his gloves as Robb elbowed his little sister causing her to look up at him who was watching the way Joffrey stared at his sister with narrowed eyes.

"He was staring at you" Robb stated as he clenched his jaw glaring over at the Prince before turning his attention back to Lyra who shot him a look not noticing the look of jealously that she was getting from Sansa as the red headed girl has always been envious and jealous of Lyra as she was known as the beauty of Winterfell and always seem to catch everyone's attention but knew there is only one man that caught her eyes and that is Eric but it didn't make the situation any better as Joffrey seemed to be already smitten by her older sister and he had only just arrived.

Lyra groaned as she tilted her head slightly with a shrug of her shoulders, " and? What do you expect me to do about it. He can stare all he wants it's never going to happen" Jon chuckled quietly at his sisters sarcastic response as she grabbed her dress curtsying deeply as the King appeared, Lyra couldn't help but feel disappointed and unimpressed.

Most of her life, Lyra's father had told her and her siblings stories about Robert the usurper, who fought with a giant war hammer and would kill anyone in his path but the man in front of her didn't seem like the person she thought he would look like as he was old, fat and what she had heard from her brothers he was a drunken fool who flaunted his whores in his wife face.

"Oh, that poor horse" Lyra muttered under her breathe but she was not quiet enough as her siblings and Theon heard her causing them snort attempting to keep their chuckles at bay. " Lyra!" Ned scolded his daughter while Catelyn looked at the blonde mortified at her words but before they could scold her any further one of the guards brought over a stool so King Robert could dismount his horse.

Robert then strode over towards the Stark's coming to a stop in front of his best friend, holding out his hand signalling for Ned to stand up right, " Your Grace" Ned bowed his head before rising to his feet causing the rest of his family and household to follow his lead. There was a moment of silence before Robert spoke up, " You got fat"

Ned raised his brows looking at the King up and down before the two of them began to laugh as they hugged one another tightly after not seeing one another on years causing the tension that had appeared to quickly vanish, " Cat!" Robert called out with a grin walking over towards the auburn haired women pulling her into a tight embrace who smiled politely, "Your Grace"

Robert turned his attention back onto Ned with a grin on his lips, " Nine years" King Robert trailed off raising his brows at his best friend, " why haven't I seen you? Where the hell have you been?" Ned smiled politely at the King with a shrug of his shoulders and resorted, " Guarding the north for you, Your Grace. Winterfell is yours" Arya was getting impatient at the other end of the line causing Robb and Lyra to share a look before turning to face forward as the Queen stepped out of the carriage after her children looking around with a look of disgust on her face.

"Where's the imp?" Arya questioned turning to look at her sisters as Jon snorted in amusement at her words from behind Lyra causing her to elbow him in the ribs as Sansa had a scowl on her face as she glared at her little sister and snapped, " will you shut up!" Lyra had enough at the girls who would probably start bickering with one another, " girls!" Arya and Sansa looked up at their older sister before turning to face the front once again as the King gazed down the line at the Stark children.

"Who have we here? You must be Robb" Robb nodded his head in confirmation accepting the King's hand to shake before he then turned his attention to Lyra with a small smile and kindly spoke, " You must be Lyra, I guess the rumours are true. You are certainly the beauty of the North" The blonde dipped her head and smiled, waiting for him to move down the line before she looked back up once more as Robb grabbed her hand squeezing it in reassurance.

"My, you're a pretty one." King Robert continued causing Sansa to smile with a small blush on her cheeks as she locked eyes with Joffrey who smirked in the red headed girl direction as the King bend down slightly so he was level with Arya and Bran, " your name is?" Arya kept her back straight as she stared directly at the King and confidently informed him, " Arya"

"Oh, show us your muscles" Robert chuckled as he greeted Bran who flexed his arms, " you'll be a soldier" Lyra smiled slightly at her little brother but her attention was soon drawn to Arya who was staring at Jaime with a curious expression and informed, " that's Jaime Lannister, the Queen's twin brother" Sansa clenched her jaw narrowing her eyes at her little sister and snapped once again, " will you please shut up?"

Lyra shook her head in frustration as the Queen walked over towards the Starks as she sent Ned a fake smile while offering her hand for him, " My Queen" Ned greeted smiling politely at the women while Lyra scoffed under her breathe noticing the look of disgust on the Queen's face when she looked at the Stark family. Catelyn quickly repeated the statement, curtsying at Cersei

The King spoke up once more, "Take me to your crypts, I want to pay my respects" The king stormed past them once again as he was eager to see the statue built for Lyanna Stark. Cersei clenched her jaw trying to hide her anger as he openly humiliated her as she sweetly called out, "We've been riding for a month, my love, surely the dead can wait"

"Ned" Robert motioned for their father to follow him, who smiled sheepishly at the queen, before slipping past her. He sent his two oldest a look, that clearly said to behave, before wandering off after the King. Lyra eyes connected with Eric ocean blue eyes who gestured his head towards the stables, " go on, I'll cover for you" Robb spoke causing a smile to appear on her lips as she pressed a kiss on his cheeks before following after Francis.

❀❀❀❀

A little while later, Lyra had followed Eric to the stables who decided to take them both on a horse ride through the woods causing a smile to appear on her lips as the wind blew through her bright blonde hair when Eric glanced at Lyra with a look of awe and adoration on his face, " where are you taking me?" Eric curiously questioned with a smile on his lips.

" I want to show you something" Lyra spoke as her eyes glanced around her surroundings coming to an halt on her horse, " there's a beautiful lake down in the forest. What do you say we go for a swim? We could leave our clothes on the shore and..." Lyra trailed off biting her lip staring at Eric who immediately climbed off his horse before helping her down.

Lyra grabbed his hand tightly in her own giggling as they rushed down the small hill towards the lake and immediately began to undress each other causing a small to appear on Lyra face as she cupped his face in her hands pressing her lips against his as he untied the back off her dress slipping it off her shoulders watching as it pooled around her feet before grabbing her hand as the two jumped into the lake.

Eric grinned with an mischievous look on his face as he launched himself towards Lyra who splashed him with water, " No, no, no, no, no, no, no." The blonde squealing as he wrapped his arms around her waist before turning around pressing her lips against his wrapping her arms around his neck as the two flowed in the water.

Lyra sighed breaking the kiss as she looked into his eyes, " I have to tell you something and you're not going to like it" Eric frowned with a look of confusion on his face as he pushed her wet hair behind her ear, " whatever it is you can tell me." Lyra stayed silent for a moment before she informed, " The King hasn't just come to Winterfell for my father to become his hand. He gave him two options"

"What do you mean?" Eric frown deepened as he stared at Lyra for an explanation not understanding where she was taking this conversation, " King Robert wanted rather me or Sansa to marry Joffrey where the other one will have to marry Khal Drogo for his armies against the Targaryen's. I couldn't let my sister travel to Westeros to marry a man half her age. I love you more than anything, I don't want to keep anything from you but my father can't say no to the King"

"Lyra.." Eric trailed off his grip tightening against her waist with a furious expression but before he could finish what he was saying Lyra cut him off, " I don't want to spend the last days we have together arguing. I want to enjoy it with spending time with you and my family before I am forced to marry a man I do not love"

Eric frowned as he stared at the blonde in his arms with a saddened look as he stroked her cheek with the pad of his thumb before pulling her body close to his as they continued kissing passionately not caring about anybody else as he knew this was just the start and even if she is forced to travel across sea he would follow her anyway as there is nothing he wouldn't do for the women that he loves.