His former home was a burnt shell of itself. The grey curtain walls were stained black, same with most of the keeps and towers. Any building not made of stone; the stables, the kennels, were nothing but ash or charred remains. Eddard walked slowly through it all, remembering everyone who served him. Hullen, Vayon Poole, Mikken, Ser Rodrik, and so many others.
Arya was right at his side, her little hand in his.
"It's all gone." She whispered, trying hard not to cry.
Eddard felt like crying himself. Winterfell was his home, even more so than the Eyrie. He had raised his family here. His siblings and he had been raised here. Winterfell was, in almost every sense, the heart of the North. Now it was a ruin, one created by the Bastard of Bolton.
"It will be rebuilt," Ned promised, holding Arya's hand a little tighter. "And those who died will be avenged."
"When?" Arya asked.
"When the time is right," Ned responded as the two came to a stop outside the gates to the Godswood. The walls around the small woods had kept the fire from ravaging the forest.
The two starks easily found the heart tree where Ned cleaned Ice after every execution. The small pool beside it was littered with a few red leaves. It was the only place that still felt whole to Ned.
"I wish you had never become Hand to the King," Arya said softly.
Ned could have laughed. His decision to accept the position of Hand was, in his opinion, what started all this madness. He listened to duty, to honor, and it got all of his men killed, his daughter taken captive, and nearly got himself killed as well. He had made mistake after stupid mistake in King's Landing, and now Robb and so many others were fighting to clean up his mess.
Ned nodded. "Aye, I wish the same. It was a stupid decision on my part. And I didn't make any more smart choices after that."
"You hired Syrio," Arya said.
Ned smiled slightly. "One small good does not make up for all the bad I did. I could have saved a lot of lives, and kept both you and Sansa safe if I had made better decisions."
"You did what you thought was right," Arya argued.
"What is right here, in the North, will, and did, get people killed in the south," Ned replied. "Thank you, Child, but there is no changing my mind on this. Your mother, your sister, are both captives because of my choices. The realm is burning because of me. The saying holds true. Starks don't prosper in the south."
Ned was once again reminded of his siblings. Brandon, Lyanna, and his father had all died in the south. His father and brother at King's Landing and Lyanna at that blasted tower. It seemed like every time a Stark went south, war always seemed to follow.
"Robb is," Arya pointed out. "He's beating the Lannisters."
"That's war, child," Ned answered. "Robb seems to have a mind for strategy, and he's been a surprise to the enemies of our house, but that's not politics."
"Do you think Robb will stay in the south once he wins the war?" Arya asked curiously.
Ned glanced down at his daughter. He had been wondering the same thing himself. With Stannis dead, same with Renly, and the Lannisters certainly couldn't stay in power, all that left was Robb. He was the only one who could provide a stable king. It also helped that he was backed by the second-wealthiest and more powerful region, and related by family to the Riverlands and the North.
His name alone gave him respect. Especially in the Vale and in the Stormlands.
The only problem was that Ned didn't want to see his son be corrupted by the Iron Throne. He had seen his best friend and brother in all but blood turn into a fat, lazy, depressed man who mourned every day about Ned's sister. Mad men who were obsessed with fire and dragons ruled from that throne. The last thing Ned wanted to see was his eldest son be corrupted by the damn thing.
"I'm not sure," Ned answered honestly.
The two stood silently by the pool of water. Ned knew that Arya was finding the courage to say something or else she wouldn't be so silent. The aging lord was bracing himself for whatever came out of her mouth.
"How are we going to get mother and Sansa back?" Arya asked finally.
Ned sighed. "It won't be easy. Roose knows he can't win and that will put your mother in a dangerous position. Sansa is in slightly smarter hands with Tywin. He won't harm her. He knows that if he does he's a dead man."
"Will Robb be able to get her back?"
Ned shook his head slightly. "I don't know. I hope so."
"Cousin," Derren Stark said, coming up behind the pair. "We have a guest."
"Where is he?" Ned asked, turning around.
"Back at camp," Derren answered. "You might want to change. You still look like Ned Stark, not Lord Stark."
Ned glanced at Arya before nodding. "No time to waste then."
As the three walked back towards their horses, Derren continued to look around the ruins. It was probably the first time a Stark from his family had stepped foot in their ancestral home since Rickard Stark, the youngest son of the last King in the North, had left to form the Company of the Rose.
"I am sorry it is such a ruin." Ned apologized. "It's not the homecoming you deserve. This isn't the welcome any of you deserve after so long away."
Derren shrugged. "We're back in the North, cousin. That is enough for us. Most didn't think we would ever see the day. Besides, we're sellswords. Fighting on foreign land is what we're good at."
Ned smiled grimly. "Roose Bolton will pay for this."
"Their blades are sharp, but Winter is Coming," Derren responded fiercely.
Line Break
Ned, armored in leather and steel, Ice strapped to his back, marched into the tent flanked by his cousin. It felt good to finally be able to wear armor and have a weapon by his side. Tomas Greenwood had been attending him nearly every day, and he was finally able to begin sparring again. He had years to slough away before he would finally be in fighting trim.
Inside the tent, the other captains of the company sat around a long table, all dressed for war with weapons at their sides. At one end of the table were two men. Both armored but unarmed. Their tabards bore the flayed man of House Bolton.
Ned recognized the first man. He was one of Roose Bolton's top captains. He had heard him be referred to as 'Steelshanks'. Probably because of the steel greaves he wore on his legs.
The man turned around and came face to face with Ned, and he could instantly see it on the man's face. There was surprise and also terror. It was like he had seen a dead man.
Which, of course, he practically was.
"Stark!" He gasped.
"Lord Stark." Ned corrected. "You're Bolton's man. Steelshanks, if I am correct."
"You're supposed to be dead." The second man grunted, also shocked. "Joffrey cut your head off!"
"I'm not," Ned responded crisply, crossing his arms. "Why are you here?"
"Lord Bolton," Steelshanks started, glancing around the table and noticing for the first time that no one seemed particularly welcoming. "Sent us to hire the Company of the Rose."
"They're not for sale." Ned barked, leaning forward and placing both hands on the table. His grey eyes were like steel. "Go back to the Leech Lord, tell him that Eddard Stark is back in the North. Tell him that there is nowhere in the world that he can go that I won't find him."
Steelshanks glanced at his friend, who was staring at Ned with quite a lot of fear. More often than not, Ned put on a cold facade that hid his warm, kind soul from all except those he loved. When he had been with Arya in the Godswood, he had been Ned Stark, husband to Catelyn Stark, father to Robb, Sansa, Bran, Arya, and Rickon Stark as well as Jon Snow. in front of the two bolton soldiers, he was Lord Stark, lord of the North, the man who fought and defeated Ser Arthur Dayne.
He was also the last man alive who had toppled the Targaryen dynasty.
"Leave." Ned snapped.
The two men couldn't obey the order fast enough.
"That was entertaining." Derren chuckled, taking his place at the other end of the table. "I wonder if Roose knows that Tywin has been defeated?"
"Most likely," Ned answered, taking his own seat. "Roose isn't stupid. He knows that he is alone. That's why he sent men here, to try and buy the company. When he learns that I'm alive, he'll do two things; hold my wife hostage as long as possible and find a way to use my honor against me. If he's left without those two options, he'll try to cause as many deaths as possible. Make the cost of victory as bad as defeat."
"Speaking of Lady Catelyn: Alec, what do we know?" Derren asked.
"My friends would have made it into the castle if not the ironborn." The Company's spymaster grunted. "Asha Greyjoy attempted to save her brother and failed. Now the castle is guarded carefully night and day." The slight man looked at Ned. "I am sorry, my lord."
Ned and Alec Reed had been looking for any way to get agents into the Dreadfort to rescue Cat. Ned knew that Roose was now a man without morals and essential a dead man walking. He couldn't allow Cat to be another casualty in the war.
"Why was the daughter of Balon there?" Ned asked.
"Theon Greyjoy was the reason why Winterfell was taken in the first place," Alec explained. "It was then burned by Ramsay Snow, Roose's bastard. Somehow the bastard got his hands on both Ramsay and Lady Catelyn. That's why Asha was there."
"Was she able to make it out with Theon?" Derren asked.
Alec shook his head. "No. Bolton's bastard snuffed out her plans and set a trap using Theon as bait. She made it into the castle, but when she re-emerged with her brother, she found all of her men dead and bolton soldiers waiting for her. She was the only one to escape the Dreadfort that night."
"Where is she now?" Derren asked.
"Deepwood Motte," Alec answered. "Most of the ironborn is gone from the North. She and her men are the only ones that remain."
"What of King's Landing and Lady Sansa?" Derren asked quickly before the topic switched.
"Our agents have been strangely quiet," Alec answered. "As of right now, we don't have eyes or ears in the capital. Lady Sansa's life is in King Robb's hands."
Ned repressed a curse. His other plan had been to somehow get Sansa out of King's Landing and get her somewhere safe. Highgarden or Storm's End. Robb's army was a long way through bandit-infested territory from King's Landing. Storm's End and Highgarden would have been much better. But now that was no longer an option.
Ned shook his head, clearing his thoughts. He feared for his wife and daughter, but there was nothing he could do for them now. All he could to save his wife was to win this damn northern war.
"Enemies to the east and west," Ned said finally, tapping the table thoughtfully. "Jon has control of the northern army, doesn't he?"
"Yes, my lord." Dwan Umber replied.
"Where's he gone?" Ned asked.
"West, my lord," Alec answered. "Ser Marlon Manderly and his reinforcements are marching towards them now."
"Then the company shall go west as well," Ned said. "I taught both Jon and Robb strategy. If Jon doesn't know why the Company of the Rose has landed in Westeros, he is assuming that they are his enemy. That makes Roose stronger in the west. That means Jon is marching east to take the Rills and Barrowton before marching on Rodrik Ryswell at Eagle's Roost. If the Company meets up with him, it can be of some use snuffing out the rest of the ironborn or bolton men still in the east."
"Why not attack Bolton now?" One of the captains asked.
"Because there's every chance that Roose could slip out or have a force nearby that could attack the Company from behind," Ned answered. "If Jon is heading west with his entire host, then he does not mean to leave any enemies behind him. The addition of the Company can make the process go a lot faster."
"You sound like you're not coming," Derren commented.
"I will meet up with you all later. I mean to get more help. Roose Bolton wanted the entirety of the North to bow to him. I mean to show him the fury of the entire North." Ned answered.
"Where will you go?" Someone asked.
"The Mountain Clans," Ned replied simply. "Hugo Wull is an old friend. It will take time to rally the clansmen, but I should have them all by the time the Company and Jon march east towards the boltons."
"There are also reports that the Last Hearth is under siege." Alec Reed pointed out.
"It won't be for long," Ned said, waving aside the man's report. "Once Roose realizes that we are not on his side, he will draw all his men in on himself and dig in. We need to send a rider back to Wyman and tell him to watch out for any raider. Davos and Lord Valaryon's marines might be able to help in a pinch."
Derren nodded. "Very well. A rider shall be sent to White Harbor. Lord Stark shall ride for the Mountain Clans, and the Company shall march west to meet with the White Wolf. If we move quickly, we should be able to merge with him before he reached Eagle's Roost."
"If all goes to plan, we should have the North free from traitors and raiders within a few months," Ned answered. "Then we shall see what my other son has been up to in the south."