Eddard Stark
Everyone agrees that Ned Stark is an honorable man. What they don't see though is that honor doesn't mean anything when you're fighting a war. Ned Stark was a second son who always wanted more. He was the one who was sent away from his home. He was the honorable one out of his wild siblings. He was the northern boy who grew up in the South. He was always the odd one out. So, although they called him honorable and stern no one truly knew Ned Stark. They forced him into a marriage with Catelyn Tully. Ned Stark however, was a second son who always blended in and saw things no one else did. So, he made sure he wasn't there when this promise was made to the Tullys. He made sure after the bedding and a few months into the war that the marriage was quickly dissolved. He gave her a substantial amount of gold and sent her on her way. After all he wasn't a monster but, he also wasn't above a few tricks to get what he wanted.
We needed the Tullys on our side during this rebellion and I didn't want to be in Brandon's shadow my entire life. This was a way to give everyone what they wanted. The Tullys could not after all go to the mad king and tell him they changed their minds. They had already thrown their lot in with the rebellion. It's not my fault they assumed that divorces in the North worked just like how they did in the South. After that I figured it was time to start looking into taking a wife. Especially after Catelyn Tully sent me a letter saying she was pregnant but, took care of the 'problem.' It immediately reminded me that there was a chance I might not survive this war and needed an heir just in case.
In the end I decided on marrying Cersei Lannister. Her father honestly scared me a bit but, he was neutral in the war and she was beautiful if nothing else. So, I took Cersei Lannister as a wife and went right back to fighting the war. Not that it actually helped me get an heir in the long run.
In the end I did find my sister in the Tower of Joy and as soon as I found out everything I regretted starting a war because of her. After all apparently she wasn't kidnapped like I thought but, she ran away. She ran away and had a child while the entirety of Westros went to war over her. While our father was burned and our brother strangled himself. They did this trying to save her but, she didn't need to be saved. In fact they probably needed to be saved from her not save her. She was selfish and had caused more death than anyone would think could be possible just by running away and not telling anyone.
So, I didn't hide the fact that her son was the result of her coupling with Rhaegar. I told everyone everything and even Robert calmed down after that. Originally I know he wanted to kill every Targareyn he came across but, by then it was kind of like what was the point. It wasn't the dragon prince kidnapping a helpless girl as he thought it was an immature girl running away from marrying him. So, Jon 'sand' came home with me to the north and Robert became king.
We won the war and I held my first child when I was 25. She was small but, perfect. Her name was Sylene and even though everyone said I would get a son soon to cheer me up. To me she was everything and it was the first time I saw past Cersei Lannister's pride, ambition, and general lies to the person who lay underneath that. She gave me my first child when she was 22 and in that moment we understood each other. For this small little girl who could barely fit into my hands we would do anything. Sylene Stark was born less than a year after the war ended but she was perfect.
A year after our daughter was born my wife had her brother killed. I wasn't sure if she regretted it or not. On one hand she obviously hated him and now he was dead but, on the other hand everyone knew she was the one who killed him so she was a known kinslayer. Though she was her father's heir so I think she thought the rewards outweighed the losses. Though everyone forgot one thing Tywin Lannister was a man not to be messed with. It seemed he did not want Cersei being his heir no matter what. He switched his succession to Agnatic and Cersei was officially not his heir. He even remarried and had another son that same year Tytos Lannister was born and Tywin Lannister had outwitted my wife yet again. To say she was angry would be an understatement.
She threw things and screamed and she cried. In the end though she figured the best way to get revenge was by making herself seem unaffected so, a year later our second daughter was born she was named Sybelle Stark and she was just as perfect as her sister. Unfortunately as much as Cersei loved her though she was scared. She knew people whispered she was never going to have a boy and she just wanted to prove them wrong. I knew because she was my wife, years of marriage will make you understand someone no matter how much you wished you didn't. So even though our couplings started being less fun and more of a chore I had to get done I still went with it. I knew in a way no one else did that Cersei needed to prove herself and she thought this was the only way how.
So, two years later when Syrona Stark was born and I think something in Cersei broke. She just didn't want to try anymore. She assumed it would be another failure that she would be blamed for. So, she just stopped. There was no more visits to my chambers and we no longer had the long talks we used to about what it was like being a second son, where everyone looked through you or what it was like being the daughter of Tywin Lannister, when he looked at you and all he saw was what you weren't. I had started training Sylene as my heir a long time ago but, I think she always assumed I always wanted a boy and I did nothing to dissuade her from that but maybe I should have.
Maybe I should have told her I was okay with the three beautiful girls we already had and they were perfect. Maybe she needed the assurance that there was nothing wrong with her and everything was okay. I didn't give it though and we just drifted further and further apart. This is where it all went wrong. I was a person just like everyone else and I missed having someone to talk to, someone to love. So I took a lover but, it wasn't public I wasn't shaming Cersei in anyway. I was just lonely but maybe I should have kept that loneliness to myself. Palla Ashwood was her name and two years after my wife and I started drifting apart she gave birth to a son and nothing was ever the same.
After two years Cersei had finally stopped shutting me out. She had let me in again she had started visiting my chambers. Things were going back to normal but Ronnel 'Snow' put a stop to that very quickly. The whispers which had just died down because, of the promise my daughter was showing in the art of war started up again. This time it didn't break Cersei it enraged her. They all blamed her they said obviously I proved I could have a son so the problem must be her. They started pushing for me to legitimize my bastard but I knew in the same way I knew my heart was beating that if I did that Cersei would be done. She was in the north long enough to know that divorce didn't take as much in the North as it did in the South. She would go back to her fathers house even with her tail between her legs before she let me disgrace her like that. I also knew in a way I shouldn't that she would start a war to take my daughters with her.
So, when the maester came to me and said my son was sickly I did something that no one would ever expect honorable Ned Stark to do. I told him to leave it to the gods to decide. It was a coin flip would my family break into tiny pieces or would I be sacrificing a life to keep it together. In the end Ronnel died and I knew I was nothing like what people thought I was when the announcement only made me relieved. It didn't fix the pieces of my broken marriage not by a long shot. As for my lover she never forgave me for not letting the maester look after our son and in the end she left too.
I knew that love wasn't in the cards after that. My wife had shut me out and my lover had actually left Winterfell to get away from me. So I threw myself into politics. I made betrothals for all of my daughters. I matrilineally betrothed my heir to a prince from Dorne. I betrothed my second daughter to Tytos Lannister who although her uncle stood to gain the entirety of the Westerlands. The one I might never forgive myself for though is the engagement of my third and last daughter. Jon Arryn had died and left the Vale to a relative of his Alyssa Arryn and she had a son, who was heir to the Vale. I betrothed my daughter to her son. The problem with this betrothal was my daughter was 2 and her son was 13. It was eleven years of age difference and I wondered if my daughter would ever forgive me much less me forgive myself.
My wife died when she was thirty. It was suspicious but, she had more enemies than she knew what to do with. It wasn't like we could narrow down who it was. I invited all the lords of the north to the funeral and they didn't even wait until she was buried to start pushing for me to remarry. I knew they wanted me to marry someone from the north this time but, after the mess they had made my marriage I decided a little punishment would not be the worst thing for them to experience. So, I married Nymeria Sand, Oberyn Martell's daughter though she was a bastard she was smart, attractive, and patient. I figured these were all things my daughters needed to learn after all I did somewhat agree with the other lords I did need a wife but, not to have a son like they thought but because my daughters needed a mother.
Unlike what the Lords of the North seemed to think and be pushing for there wasn't a son. By the time we had been married for three years even they were getting antsy after all my eldest daughter was 11 and some of the less conservative lords and ladies seemed to be accepting her as heir. So the conservatives really started pushing Nymeria and she broke. She tried and tried and tried until she actually ended up pregnant. As sad as I felt for my daughter that she had trained for thins all her life and it would be taken from her. I thought this would be best. The Northern lord and ladies would finally have the heir they dreamed of and Nymeria could relax and not be so on edge all the time.
Unfortunately life does not always work out how you want it. Owen Stark was born stillborn and nothing was the same. It was like watching someone die. I had never truly considered Nymeria a romantic interest I married her at 21 while I was 33. But, she was a 25 year old woman who had just lost her child and I didn't know how to comfort her or even if I should. The north didn't care about that though. The conservative lords finally knew that legitimate sons could happen and they wanted them quickly. So, I did the only I could to help the young woman who was stranded in a cold wasteland when she was used to the desert. I set her free. Two years after the stillbirth when I knew nothing I did would help her I divorced her and gave her all the money she would need to be happy. Last I heard she'd married a dornish knight.
After that I had put my foot down. My daughters were 14, 12, and 10 respectively none of them needed a mother and every time I took a wife it seemed the north broke her. Unfortunately the north was only willing to give so much of a break. They gave me a year before they started pushing for me to marry again. It took another for me to finally agree but I still wouldn't budge on the Northerner issue. As far as I was concerned they hadn't learned their lesson the first time. This time I took a wife from somewhere in the Vale. While it didn't get as cold as the north I knew it had a low temperature.
Her name was Osmeri of Hartbottle and I couldn't even bring myself to touch her at the bedding. She was only months older than my daughter and I had really only married her to shut up the lords. I knew just as well as she did that their would be no children of this union. She reminded me too much of my daughters so, I protected her. I made sure that the North would not break her like it broke my previous wives.
As much as I wanted to forget my sister's son. She was my sister and I figured I could do her just one favor. I engaged her son to Alyssa Tully the lady Paramount of the Trident. If he ever wanted a shot at being King he needed a strong supporter and from the moment I announced who his parents were I already decided it wouldn't be me. Though he was fourteen years older than her that probably made it better she was much easier to control. I figured her regent thought being of house Targareyn was better than being a Tully because, they agreed to a regular betrothal.
It was the only thing I would do to help my nephew he was on his own after that. He seemed to know that as well because, he didn't even let it stay as betrothed and immediately went to marry her at two years old. Last I heard he was trying to take control of the Riverlands by using his status as her husband. Obviously the Riverlords wouldn't let him just get it so easy though. It is apparently a hard battle for him.
That wasn't important to me though the actual marriage I was worried about was Selene's. After her betrothed had traveled down to finally marry her she came into my solar and said a bunch of very unconvincing arguments but, the gist of it was she didn't want to marry. I immediately thought of forcing her to go through with it but, then my mind thought of a few things. I thought of Cersei who even though she started to tolerate me never truly loved me. I thought of Nymeria who married me at 21 and went though the biggest tragedy of her life. I thought of Osmeri who at the moment was still my wife but, was a young girl my daughter's age who wanted to be free and definitely didn't want to marry a man who had a daughter her own age.
Mostly though I thought of Lyanna who wanted to marry Robert so little that she actually ran away and started a war. Even if my daughter didn't exactly start a war I knew that she didn't want to be tied down and might run away. So I told her she didn't have to go through with it. I insulted the Martells and I was sure they would never let me forget it but I was thinking of a little girl who I taught to hold a sword and the blinding smile she gave me in return.
Fortunately for me my other two daughters were much easier to marry off. Sybelle left with a spring in her step teasing her sisters about how she was going to be lady of the rock. I think I would have much preferred if Syrona reacted like Sylene. If she had just asked or refused to marry I wouldn't have gone through with it. I think the way she reacted was worse though. She went without even a frown on her face she closed herself off. I just wished that she'd tell me no though. However, Syrona was my daughter who had the least time with her mother. Cersei died when she was four and like I said Nymeria couldn't handle the responsibility of being a stepmother. By the time Osmeri came Syrona was 12 and Osmeri was even less of a stepmother than Nymeria.
So many people whispered she should have been a boy and I knew she heard the whispers. It wasn't like Sylene, in the beginning everyone assumed we would have sons later Sylene was doted on and by the time it was shown that we wouldn't she was already far enough ahead in her training to be heir that they couldn't really say anything. By the time Sybelle came people were disappointed but, Sybelle was always the pretty, attractive one of her sisters she just had to flash that toothless baby smile and everyone forgot they ever wanted her to be a boy in the first place.
Sybelle though was born with a harelip and everyone wanted her to be a boy. So, when she wasn't the backlash wasn't pretty. She got by in life by diplomacy, she talked circles around people and got them on her side without them even realizing they were ever against her. She survived the chill of the North by hiding her secrets and telling people what they wanted to hear. So, I never knew how she really felt about the marriage and maybe I'd never find out.
I had three daughters and they were all as different as the sun, the moon, and the stars. My sun Sylene warm and supporting but, get too close and you'll be burned just as quickly she can lead an army better than most grown men and handle a sword as good as an average knight. My moon Sybelle she smiles and shines in front while she hides a dagger and her darkness behind, she could distract you with her face only to sink a knife into your heart and you'd die with a smile. My star Syrona so close but so far away, she makes you think you're the closes of friends until she needs you no longer and she drops you just a quickly and she lifted you up.
Sylene by the time she was 19 just got more and more extravagant reasons why she couldn't marry any of the people I picked. When I picked a Northerner her excuse was they were too closely related. Someone from the south and she couldn't marry someone who didn't follow the old gods. Sybelle had blossomed in the Westerlands, she became the crown princess they loved and she thrived in her mother's hometown she was the only child who I got to see have a grandchild before I passed away. Cersei Lannister was beautiful no matter how much people from the Westerlands said she looked too northern. Syrona never did tell me if she resented being married in the Vale or not. Though she was a well like there as she was in the North. She won everyone over no matter how many people thought she didn't look as beautiful as her sister with a harelip.
In the end the only children of his who survived were the ones he had with Cersei and as he was getting stabbed with a knife he wondered how the Northerners felt about that.
Eddard Stark died at the age of 45 leaving behind 3 beautiful daughters a wife who never loved him and one granddaughter. He died with a smile on his face and on his tombstone lay, 'Eddard Stark beloved father and husband of Cersei Lannister.'
Everyone agrees that Ned Stark is an honorable man. What they don't see though is that honor doesn't mean anything when you're fighting a war. Ned Stark was a second son who always wanted more. He was the one who was sent away from his home. He was the honorable one out of his wild siblings. He was the northern boy who grew up in the South. He was always the odd one out. So, although they called him honorable and stern no one truly knew Ned Stark. They forced him into a marriage with Catelyn Tully. Ned Stark however, was a second son who always blended in and saw things no one else did. So, he made sure he wasn't there when this promise was made to the Tullys. He made sure after the bedding and a few months into the war that the marriage was quickly dissolved. He gave her a substantial amount of gold and sent her on her way. After all he wasn't a monster but, he also wasn't above a few tricks to get what he wanted.
We needed the Tullys on our side during this rebellion and I didn't want to be in Brandon's shadow my entire life. This was a way to give everyone what they wanted. The Tullys could not after all go to the mad king and tell him they changed their minds. They had already thrown their lot in with the rebellion. It's not my fault they assumed that divorces in the North worked just like how they did in the South. After that I figured it was time to start looking into taking a wife. Especially after Catelyn Tully sent me a letter saying she was pregnant but, took care of the 'problem.' It immediately reminded me that there was a chance I might not survive this war and needed an heir just in case.
In the end I decided on marrying Cersei Lannister. Her father honestly scared me a bit but, he was neutral in the war and she was beautiful if nothing else. So, I took Cersei Lannister as a wife and went right back to fighting the war. Not that it actually helped me get an heir in the long run.
In the end I did find my sister in the Tower of Joy and as soon as I found out everything I regretted starting a war because of her. After all apparently she wasn't kidnapped like I thought but, she ran away. She ran away and had a child while the entirety of Westros went to war over her. While our father was burned and our brother strangled himself. They did this trying to save her but, she didn't need to be saved. In fact they probably needed to be saved from her not save her. She was selfish and had caused more death than anyone would think could be possible just by running away and not telling anyone.
So, I didn't hide the fact that her son was the result of her coupling with Rhaegar. I told everyone everything and even Robert calmed down after that. Originally I know he wanted to kill every Targareyn he came across but, by then it was kind of like what was the point. It wasn't the dragon prince kidnapping a helpless girl as he thought it was an immature girl running away from marrying him. So, Jon 'sand' came home with me to the north and Robert became king.
We won the war and I held my first child when I was 25. She was small but, perfect. Her name was Sylene and even though everyone said I would get a son soon to cheer me up. To me she was everything and it was the first time I saw past Cersei Lannister's pride, ambition, and general lies to the person who lay underneath that. She gave me my first child when she was 22 and in that moment we understood each other. For this small little girl who could barely fit into my hands we would do anything. Sylene Stark was born less than a year after the war ended but she was perfect.
A year after our daughter was born my wife had her brother killed. I wasn't sure if she regretted it or not. On one hand she obviously hated him and now he was dead but, on the other hand everyone knew she was the one who killed him so she was a known kinslayer. Though she was her father's heir so I think she thought the rewards outweighed the losses. Though everyone forgot one thing Tywin Lannister was a man not to be messed with. It seemed he did not want Cersei being his heir no matter what. He switched his succession to Agnatic and Cersei was officially not his heir. He even remarried and had another son that same year Tytos Lannister was born and Tywin Lannister had outwitted my wife yet again. To say she was angry would be an understatement.
She threw things and screamed and she cried. In the end though she figured the best way to get revenge was by making herself seem unaffected so, a year later our second daughter was born she was named Sybelle Stark and she was just as perfect as her sister. Unfortunately as much as Cersei loved her though she was scared. She knew people whispered she was never going to have a boy and she just wanted to prove them wrong. I knew because she was my wife, years of marriage will make you understand someone no matter how much you wished you didn't. So even though our couplings started being less fun and more of a chore I had to get done I still went with it. I knew in a way no one else did that Cersei needed to prove herself and she thought this was the only way how.
So, two years later when Syrona Stark was born and I think something in Cersei broke. She just didn't want to try anymore. She assumed it would be another failure that she would be blamed for. So, she just stopped. There was no more visits to my chambers and we no longer had the long talks we used to about what it was like being a second son, where everyone looked through you or what it was like being the daughter of Tywin Lannister, when he looked at you and all he saw was what you weren't. I had started training Sylene as my heir a long time ago but, I think she always assumed I always wanted a boy and I did nothing to dissuade her from that but maybe I should have.
Maybe I should have told her I was okay with the three beautiful girls we already had and they were perfect. Maybe she needed the assurance that there was nothing wrong with her and everything was okay. I didn't give it though and we just drifted further and further apart. This is where it all went wrong. I was a person just like everyone else and I missed having someone to talk to, someone to love. So I took a lover but, it wasn't public I wasn't shaming Cersei in anyway. I was just lonely but maybe I should have kept that loneliness to myself. Palla Ashwood was her name and two years after my wife and I started drifting apart she gave birth to a son and nothing was ever the same.
After two years Cersei had finally stopped shutting me out. She had let me in again she had started visiting my chambers. Things were going back to normal but Ronnel 'Snow' put a stop to that very quickly. The whispers which had just died down because, of the promise my daughter was showing in the art of war started up again. This time it didn't break Cersei it enraged her. They all blamed her they said obviously I proved I could have a son so the problem must be her. They started pushing for me to legitimize my bastard but I knew in the same way I knew my heart was beating that if I did that Cersei would be done. She was in the north long enough to know that divorce didn't take as much in the North as it did in the South. She would go back to her fathers house even with her tail between her legs before she let me disgrace her like that. I also knew in a way I shouldn't that she would start a war to take my daughters with her.
So, when the maester came to me and said my son was sickly I did something that no one would ever expect honorable Ned Stark to do. I told him to leave it to the gods to decide. It was a coin flip would my family break into tiny pieces or would I be sacrificing a life to keep it together. In the end Ronnel died and I knew I was nothing like what people thought I was when the announcement only made me relieved. It didn't fix the pieces of my broken marriage not by a long shot. As for my lover she never forgave me for not letting the maester look after our son and in the end she left too.
I knew that love wasn't in the cards after that. My wife had shut me out and my lover had actually left Winterfell to get away from me. So I threw myself into politics. I made betrothals for all of my daughters. I matrilineally betrothed my heir to a prince from Dorne. I betrothed my second daughter to Tytos Lannister who although her uncle stood to gain the entirety of the Westerlands. The one I might never forgive myself for though is the engagement of my third and last daughter. Jon Arryn had died and left the Vale to a relative of his Alyssa Arryn and she had a son, who was heir to the Vale. I betrothed my daughter to her son. The problem with this betrothal was my daughter was 2 and her son was 13. It was eleven years of age difference and I wondered if my daughter would ever forgive me much less me forgive myself.
My wife died when she was thirty. It was suspicious but, she had more enemies than she knew what to do with. It wasn't like we could narrow down who it was. I invited all the lords of the north to the funeral and they didn't even wait until she was buried to start pushing for me to remarry. I knew they wanted me to marry someone from the north this time but, after the mess they had made my marriage I decided a little punishment would not be the worst thing for them to experience. So, I married Nymeria Sand, Oberyn Martell's daughter though she was a bastard she was smart, attractive, and patient. I figured these were all things my daughters needed to learn after all I did somewhat agree with the other lords I did need a wife but, not to have a son like they thought but because my daughters needed a mother.
Unlike what the Lords of the North seemed to think and be pushing for there wasn't a son. By the time we had been married for three years even they were getting antsy after all my eldest daughter was 11 and some of the less conservative lords and ladies seemed to be accepting her as heir. So the conservatives really started pushing Nymeria and she broke. She tried and tried and tried until she actually ended up pregnant. As sad as I felt for my daughter that she had trained for thins all her life and it would be taken from her. I thought this would be best. The Northern lord and ladies would finally have the heir they dreamed of and Nymeria could relax and not be so on edge all the time.
Unfortunately life does not always work out how you want it. Owen Stark was born stillborn and nothing was the same. It was like watching someone die. I had never truly considered Nymeria a romantic interest I married her at 21 while I was 33. But, she was a 25 year old woman who had just lost her child and I didn't know how to comfort her or even if I should. The north didn't care about that though. The conservative lords finally knew that legitimate sons could happen and they wanted them quickly. So, I did the only I could to help the young woman who was stranded in a cold wasteland when she was used to the desert. I set her free. Two years after the stillbirth when I knew nothing I did would help her I divorced her and gave her all the money she would need to be happy. Last I heard she'd married a dornish knight.
After that I had put my foot down. My daughters were 14, 12, and 10 respectively none of them needed a mother and every time I took a wife it seemed the north broke her. Unfortunately the north was only willing to give so much of a break. They gave me a year before they started pushing for me to marry again. It took another for me to finally agree but I still wouldn't budge on the Northerner issue. As far as I was concerned they hadn't learned their lesson the first time. This time I took a wife from somewhere in the Vale. While it didn't get as cold as the north I knew it had a low temperature.
Her name was Osmeri of Hartbottle and I couldn't even bring myself to touch her at the bedding. She was only months older than my daughter and I had really only married her to shut up the lords. I knew just as well as she did that their would be no children of this union. She reminded me too much of my daughters so, I protected her. I made sure that the North would not break her like it broke my previous wives.
As much as I wanted to forget my sister's son. She was my sister and I figured I could do her just one favor. I engaged her son to Alyssa Tully the lady Paramount of the Trident. If he ever wanted a shot at being King he needed a strong supporter and from the moment I announced who his parents were I already decided it wouldn't be me. Though he was fourteen years older than her that probably made it better she was much easier to control. I figured her regent thought being of house Targareyn was better than being a Tully because, they agreed to a regular betrothal.
It was the only thing I would do to help my nephew he was on his own after that. He seemed to know that as well because, he didn't even let it stay as betrothed and immediately went to marry her at two years old. Last I heard he was trying to take control of the Riverlands by using his status as her husband. Obviously the Riverlords wouldn't let him just get it so easy though. It is apparently a hard battle for him.
That wasn't important to me though the actual marriage I was worried about was Selene's. After her betrothed had traveled down to finally marry her she came into my solar and said a bunch of very unconvincing arguments but, the gist of it was she didn't want to marry. I immediately thought of forcing her to go through with it but, then my mind thought of a few things. I thought of Cersei who even though she started to tolerate me never truly loved me. I thought of Nymeria who married me at 21 and went though the biggest tragedy of her life. I thought of Osmeri who at the moment was still my wife but, was a young girl my daughter's age who wanted to be free and definitely didn't want to marry a man who had a daughter her own age.
Mostly though I thought of Lyanna who wanted to marry Robert so little that she actually ran away and started a war. Even if my daughter didn't exactly start a war I knew that she didn't want to be tied down and might run away. So I told her she didn't have to go through with it. I insulted the Martells and I was sure they would never let me forget it but I was thinking of a little girl who I taught to hold a sword and the blinding smile she gave me in return.
Fortunately for me my other two daughters were much easier to marry off. Sybelle left with a spring in her step teasing her sisters about how she was going to be lady of the rock. I think I would have much preferred if Syrona reacted like Sylene. If she had just asked or refused to marry I wouldn't have gone through with it. I think the way she reacted was worse though. She went without even a frown on her face she closed herself off. I just wished that she'd tell me no though. However, Syrona was my daughter who had the least time with her mother. Cersei died when she was four and like I said Nymeria couldn't handle the responsibility of being a stepmother. By the time Osmeri came Syrona was 12 and Osmeri was even less of a stepmother than Nymeria.
So many people whispered she should have been a boy and I knew she heard the whispers. It wasn't like Sylene, in the beginning everyone assumed we would have sons later Sylene was doted on and by the time it was shown that we wouldn't she was already far enough ahead in her training to be heir that they couldn't really say anything. By the time Sybelle came people were disappointed but, Sybelle was always the pretty, attractive one of her sisters she just had to flash that toothless baby smile and everyone forgot they ever wanted her to be a boy in the first place.
Sybelle though was born with a harelip and everyone wanted her to be a boy. So, when she wasn't the backlash wasn't pretty. She got by in life by diplomacy, she talked circles around people and got them on her side without them even realizing they were ever against her. She survived the chill of the North by hiding her secrets and telling people what they wanted to hear. So, I never knew how she really felt about the marriage and maybe I'd never find out.
I had three daughters and they were all as different as the sun, the moon, and the stars. My sun Sylene warm and supporting but, get too close and you'll be burned just as quickly she can lead an army better than most grown men and handle a sword as good as an average knight. My moon Sybelle she smiles and shines in front while she hides a dagger and her darkness behind, she could distract you with her face only to sink a knife into your heart and you'd die with a smile. My star Syrona so close but so far away, she makes you think you're the closes of friends until she needs you no longer and she drops you just a quickly and she lifted you up.
Sylene by the time she was 19 just got more and more extravagant reasons why she couldn't marry any of the people I picked. When I picked a Northerner her excuse was they were too closely related. Someone from the south and she couldn't marry someone who didn't follow the old gods. Sybelle had blossomed in the Westerlands, she became the crown princess they loved and she thrived in her mother's hometown she was the only child who I got to see have a grandchild before I passed away. Cersei Lannister was beautiful no matter how much people from the Westerlands said she looked too northern. Syrona never did tell me if she resented being married in the Vale or not. Though she was a well like there as she was in the North. She won everyone over no matter how many people thought she didn't look as beautiful as her sister with a harelip.
In the end the only children of his who survived were the ones he had with Cersei and as he was getting stabbed with a knife he wondered how the Northerners felt about that.
Eddard Stark died at the age of 45 leaving behind 3 beautiful daughters a wife who never loved him and one granddaughter. He died with a smile on his face and on his tombstone lay, 'Eddard Stark beloved father and husband of Cersei Lannister.'
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