Chapter Text
Promise me. Promise me. Promise me.
The words echoed in his mind. He squeezed his eyes shut and swallowed the tears.
The sorrow was still there, too close to his heart. He knew the sorrow would always be there, like a frozen piece of metal that had sunken into his chest and pierced his heart. Only, it was frozen and therefore stopped the bleeding, and he lived on, his frozen heart pumping ice water through his veins.
The scream of a newborn pulled him out of his mind and he stood up, walking over to the cradle to look at the child. The boy was lying on his back, and stared at the man standing there.
”Hey, little one,” he whispered, brushing his thumb lightly over the child's cheek. Someone knocked on the door. He was granted a permission to come in.
”My lord,” the soldier said.
”Yes, Jory?” asked the man, turning to look at the soldier, who had brown hair and grey eyes.
”Lady Catelyn, sir. She wants to see you,” Jory Cassel said. Ned Stark nodded, watched the child close his eyes and then stepped away from the cradle.
”Stay here with the boy, Jory. Let nothing happen to him, and may the gods help you if you wake him up”, Ned said before leaving. Jory nodded and sat down to the chair. He looked at the bastard boy sleeping solemnly in the cradle. He looked more like a Stark than the other boy. The boy with blue eyes.
Catelyn was beyond furious.
Ned rode to war, leaving her to Winterfell. They had only been together for a fortnight when the call came. Robert Baratheon had started a rebellion against King Aerys. It had been more against Prince Rhaegar, really, for it had been Rhaegar who had taken Lyanna, but the war had been declared against the King.
Catelyn had followed the news from the war, nervous and afraid. She had been afraid that Ned might die. She had not yet found love towards the man, but she had known that Ned was her husband and Ned was the father of the child growing inside her.
So when she had heard the news that lord Eddard Stark was riding back North, she had been happy. She had been more than happy when Ned had embraced her, and kissed her, and told that he loved her and he had missed her. She had told the same thing, and then she had taken Ned to meet his son, his firstborn, his heir. They had decided that the boy's name would be Robb. It wasn't the name of a lord that had died long ago, but they both thought it was a good name.
And now, when Ned had been home for two days, Catelyn heard about the bastard. She was furious. Ned hadn't told her, she had heard from a servant. How could Ned do something like this?
”You lied to me!” Catelyn shouted when Ned opened the door.
”I never lied to you, Cat, ” Ned answered. His voice was tired, exhausted, but Catelyn didn't care.
”You swore an oath, remember? When you were married to me! Does this sound familiar? I thought that you loved me. I thought that the honorable lord Eddard Stark would keep his oaths. Clearly, I was wrong! How could you do it? How could you sleep with a whore when there was a war raging and you knew your wife was waiting for you back home?” she continued. Ned stepped closer, grabbing Catelyn's hand.
”Cat, listen to me. I swore an oath to you, and I will stay true to that oath. But the boy... I made a promise to a dying woman. I promised I would keep him safe, raise him as my own, treat him as equal to our son. If you hate me, hate me. If you can never forgive me, I understand. But whatever feelings you may have, do not blame the child. It is not his fault that he was born,” he explained. Catelyn frowned.
”Is the bastard yours?” she asked sharply, lookind Ned in the eye. Ned hesitated for a split second. Promise me, Ned.
”Yes. He is my son, my blood, my family and you will treat him as such,” he said and kissed Catelyn's hand before leaving.