Warden of the North

Winterfell Castle

POV of Eddard Stark

Lord Eddard Stark was having breakfast with his family in the great hall when a majestic eagle entered through the door, being chased by a few of the family guards, and flew straight toward them before gently landing on the middle of their table.

Eddard Stark put his hands in front of his wife and children in order to protect them. The older ones among his children jumped from their seats in fright at the sight of the giant eagle while watching it in fascination.

It took a while for the commotion to die down. Only then did Robb, his eldest, notice the roll of parchment attached to the eagle's leg. The parchment was larger than any raven could handle and for a moment, Eddard Stark wondered if that was why the Giant Eagle was sent instead of a raven.

But if that was the case, then who did this Eagle belong to? Seeing one of these birds in the North was a rare sight. To tame them was almost an impossibility. In fact, he doubted any maester had ever done it before. If, this was the job of a Maester at all.

Slowly but surely, he approached the Giant eagle and then looked into its eyes, as if to ask for its permission. When it didn't react, he felt bolder and reached for the letter before unfastening it from its legs.

The eagle then gave a loud cry that startled everyone in the great hall before it unfurled its mighty wings, making Eddard realize once again just how large it was. Then the eagle took flight and left the great hall, and everyone watched it go in silence before they started murmuring to each other as some pointed at the letter in his hands.

He clutched it tightly for a moment before noticing the sigil in the seal.

The sigil was a Weirwood tree. But there were no such sigils in the North or in the South as far as he knew. So, who sent this letter to him?

He contemplated on his thoughts for a moment before he told everyone to go back to enjoying their breakfast. Once everyone had taken their seats, he looked at his wife and upon her nod, unfurled the letter and started reading it.

Despite its length, it was a short letter written to him by none other than Domeric Bolton, son of Roose Bolton who was now the new Lord of Dreadfort and its lands if the letter was to be believed.

"What is it, my love?" Cat asked and he passed on the letter to her.

"Lord Domeric Bolton is going to arrive in Winterfell within a week along with Lady Barbrey Dustin whom he had chosen for his Regent." He told her and she frowned upon hearing the name of Lady Dustin.

Everyone in North knew that there was bad blood between Lady Barbrey Dustin and him. And it was not like he could blame Lad Barbrey for hating him either. He felt too guilty to blame her for anything.

But Boltons and Starks had never been friends. Liege lord and bannermen, true. But never friends. And now, the last Bolton in the lands was going to be raised by a woman who hated him to the bones.

He didn't know how he felt about that.

The thought of using his authority as the Lord Paramount and choosing another regent for young Lord Bolton did cross his mind but he removed that thought as soon as it entered his mind.

"What do you plan to do lord husband?" Cat asked as she held little Arya to her chest. Arya. Their second daughter and third child.

"Nothing for now." He said "Domeric Bolton is arriving in Winterfell within a week. I'll talk with him then and see what I can do about his regent."

Cat gave a nod before she went back to feeding baby Arya and he wondered why Domeric Bolton would send his message with an eagle. And why was the sigil that of a weirwood and not the traditional 'Flayed man'?

Eddard Stark was also thinking about the same thing. Changing the sigil of the House was no small matter.

'The sigil and the banner of a House represent the House's philosophy and carry its history. Changing them means changing the House's philosophy and abandoning its history. Even if the boy doesn't understand this his regent should. Is it the Lord's wish or his regent's? And what is their purpose first place? Is Bolton House becoming ambitions again or something else?'

That was the main concern of Lord Eddard Stark. House Bolton was one of the Greatest Houses of the North and a strong one undoubtedly. He needed to take some precautions if they became ambitions again.

Looks like he needed to have a good talk with this new Lord of House Bolton. But could boy even give him some satisfactory answers in the first place? Should he talk with his regent instead? But He doubted he can make a civil conversation with the Ladt Barbrey Dustin.

'What a headache.' Who thought a 7-year-old could give him such a headache?

'I hope the peace will not be broken in the North. After all, 'Winter Is Coming' and we need to prepare.'

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I hope you enjoyed it. There will be one more chapter today, probably.