Chapter Text
Something was wrong. And that something was wrong with Ned Stark which made it even more concerning. It all started with a letter, a very important letter it would seem. Most of Winterfell had been breaking their fast in the great dining hall. It was an average morning so there was no seating protocol. The inhabitants of winterfell were mixed all amongst themselves, the only designated seats were Catelyn and Ned at the head of the table. There was conversation and smiles all around. Robb and Jon were busy talking about the upcoming sparring session that always happened after their first meal.
“I think if I can just get a little stronger then I will be able to use that new training sword, imagine the reach that would give me!” Jon said excitedly
“But don’t you think it would be more difficult to block using it?” Robb asked. That was their morning ritual, Robb sat in between Theon and Jon so they wouldn’t fight and ended up spending the whole morning talking about sword fighting. It irritated Theon to no end. How many conversations can one have about sword fighting? This morning though Theon didn’t care much at all. He was busy talking to Arya about how to best shoot from a moving horse.
“The key is to anticipate the horse's stride. That’s why it’s so difficult to shoot from a new mount, because you don’t know their stride yet,” Theon explained
“But what if I know my horse’s stride and they trip?” Arya asked. Her mare had tripped with her the other day causing Arya to miss the target by a mile. Luckily her black and white paint pony was sure footed and able to right herself.
“Then there is nothing you can do and the shot is lost,” Theon said matter of factly.
“But what if-“ Arya stopped mid sentence, her eyes locked on the head of the table where her parents were seated. Theon turned to see what she was staring at. Luwin was standing at Ned’s chair looking out of breath, handing him a letter. Theon then understood why Arya had stopped so suddenly. This was not something that happened, ever. Ned took the letter quickly, he knew that Luwin wouldn’t have interrupted if it was not something that was important. Ned took the letter and unfolded it. His eyes scanned the whole page once, then again, then another time. His facial expression grew more stormy with each read through of the letter. Without a word he stood and left the hall with Luwin at his heels. Theon knew, as did the rest of Winterfell, that this was not good at all.
The rest of that morning was tense, unbearably so. Robb, Jon, and Theon spent most of their day together. They were all close in age so their schooling and training were relatively at the same level. They usually started the day with sword training and archery with Ser Rodrick Cassel, but today they were instructed by a different man. Just one of the lead guards.
“Where is Ser Rodrick?” Robb asked when it became apparent the man was not just running late.
“He is attending to some important matters with lord Stark,” the guard replied.
“What important matters? Is something wrong?,” Robb questioned, becoming more concerned based on what had occurred earlier in the dining hall.
“It is nothing for you to worry about.”
“I am heir to Winterfell, if it involves my house I should be worried.”
“If your father wanted you to be spending your time thinking about the matter he would have told you what the matter is”
“I’m sure he was simply too busy to pull me aside and tell me.”
“But not too busy to call his advisers?”
“He has his advisers with him? If it is that important I’m sure he wants my opinion!”
“I don’t believe that your father wants your ‘opinions’ on war quite yet.” The guard snapped back with an eye roll, obviously running out of energy for the conversation.
With that last sentence Robb fell silent. The word ‘war’ hung in the air like a noose. War? War with who? Certainly not the Iron Islands. Father wouldn’t put me at risk like that. That word sucked the air out of all three boy’s chests. They all remained quiet for the rest of the training session. They did not utter a word once.
When they were finally dismissed Theon stopped Robb with a hand on the shoulder.
“The guard said war. What war is he speaking of?” Theon questioned.
“I’m not sure, I haven’t heard anything about a war,” Robb said, his expression full of worry.
“Oh come on,” Theon said with a nervous chuckle. “I’m sure you heard whispers of something”
“No, I’ve heard nothing at all.”
“How can the heir of Winterfell not know anything? Now tell us, what is this war all about?”
“I don’t know Theon! I’ve spent the whole morning with you, how would I know anything different from you?” Robb nearly yelled. That caused Theon to take an involuntary step back. Robb had never spoken to him like that before. Theon knew he was worried about what was happening, but he didn’t expect him to react like that.
“Ok, sorry for asking.” Theon said in his best ‘I don’t really care because I’m better than you’ tone. Theon then turned on his heels and walked back into Winterfell. What is wrong with him?!? I know he’s anxious about everything, but still! It’s not like HE’S at risk of losing his head! I just wanted to know if he knew anything that I didn’t. Fine, if he wants to be a grumpy ass hole then let him. It’s not like I care! Even when Theon was thinking that he knew that he really did care. He cared quite a lot about everything.
It was no surprise then that Luwin was not there to teach their lessons. Old Nan simply told them that they had the afternoon off. As soon as those words left her mouth Theon was already thinking about what he and Robb could do together. But then he remembered that he was mad at Robb, so of course he could not spend his afternoon with him. It still made him burn with jealousy though when he thought that Robb might spend his afternoon with Jon. But much to his relief Robb was already marching to Ned’s meeting room by himself. Jon and Theon were left standing in the hallway looking after him.
“What do you think this is all about?” Jon asked Theon
“Do you really think that you should be worrying about this? It’s not really a matter for bastards to be involved with.” Theon said in the most condescending tone he could manage. Jon’s face darkened, he turned around and started to walk away from Theon.
“I mean really, have you ever heard of a bastard leading an army?” Theon called after him. He always felt a little better if he was able to make someone else feel some of the misery he was feeling.
Theon decided that he would spend the rest of his day with his horse, Smiler. He had saved up all his money for two years to be able to afford the stallion. Of course Smiler was unbroke when Theon got him. There was no way he would have been able to purchase such a fine animal if it had been fully trained. Theon had only had Smiler for a year so he was still green. But Theon spent most of his free time with the horse, so he had improved immensely. He had started Smiler under saddle himself, refusing any help offered to him. The bond that they shared was obvious to anyone that saw them together. Theon had learned rather quickly after arriving at Winterfell that he loved working with horses. When he was finally able to buy Smiler, that horse was all he could talk about for a month.
“Oh Smiler~!” Theon called when he got to the pasture gate. “Hey Smiley, do you want to go for a gallop?” The black horse always loved to gallop along the top of a nearby ridge and then trot back home alongside the river. Smiler picked his head up from the grass he was eating when he heard Theon’s voice. Of course Smiler only started to walk towards Theon after he had crossed most of the field. Theon gave him a rub on his neck and slipped the halter over his head, fastening it. Smiller didn’t really need a halter, he would follow Theon around without it no problem.
“How are you doing, Smiler?” Theon asked, the pair walking back to the gate, he always had to ask him how his day was going. As he closed the gate behind him and started the walk back to Winterfell he sighed.
“I hope your day is going better than mine. Ned got a letter at breakfast and then left without saying a word to anyone. Right away I was nervous, I mean, why would he act like that if everything was fine? Anyway turns out I was right to be worried, there’s a war going on apparently. We heard it from a guard during training. And when I asked Robb ‘what war?’ He snapped at me! I mean, I don’t really care, you know how that stuff doesn’t really bother me, but still!” Smiler nudged Theon with his head and gave a soft nibble at his hand holding the lead rope. “Ha ha ha, yes I know, you think he overreacted too!” Theon laughed. “Well anyway I don’t think that the war has anything to do with back home… I still have my head after all.” Theon said with a nervous chuckle. I would know if it was father. He would have sent a bird. Or he would have gotten me out of here before news got out of what he was planning. Even as Theon thought that he wasn’t sure if his father would have bothered to do any of that. Just then he saw movement in the leaves to the side of them. Theon had been talking to Smiler as they went from the pasture through a patch of woods back to Winterfell so had not been paying attention to his surroundings. But Smiler wasn’t startled by it at all so whatever it was it had been following them probably since they entered the woods. Theon stopped in his tracks.
“Who’s there!?” He called “come out now!” There was a long pause then a cracking of branches and a head of curly black hair appeared out of the foliage. It was Jon. Theon felt his heart stop for a moment, then send all his blood straight to his face. Jon had heard. Every. Single. Word.
“Theon, I didn’t mea-“ Jon started to say, but he was cut off when Theon’s fist met his gut. Jon doubled over with an ‘omfph’ and stayed hunched on the ground.
“I can’t believe you would spy on me like that!” He yelled. “Ha! What am I saying? I guess that I shouldn’t expect anything different from a bastard!”
“I wasn’t s-“ Jon started to wheeze from the ground looking up at Theon, but he was cut off when the other boy kicked the dirt from the trail into his face. Without another look back Theon turned and ran back towards the field, Smiler trotting after him. By the time Theon got to the gate he felt hot tears running down his face. All the stress, anxiety, and frustration from the morning was amplified by what had just happened. He quickly wiped his face of tears and then mounted Smiler from the pasture fence. He would just ride bareback today. There was no way he was going back to Winterfell with his eyes red and puffy, his nose running, and a quivering lip. Not to mention the fact that if he saw Robb, Jon, or Ned he would probably break down crying all over again. And that would just be the cherry on top of the cake for this day.
It was dinner time when Theon and Smiler arrived back at Winterfell. They had galloped down a different trail past the horse pastures and into the fields used for the sheep and cattle. Theon only broke to a walk when he saw that Smiler was becoming winded. They found a small creek where Theon got off to wash his face in the cool water and Smiler had a drink. He hoped that the coldness of the water would remove any of the red or puffiness from his face. After spending a while sitting at the creek’s edge he had calmed down enough to start heading back. They had gone farther than he thought, and the bell for dinner was ringing just as he was done with grooming Smiler and was putting him back in his stall for the night.
“Ok, wish me luck Smiler.” He said with a sigh. He started to walk away before he stopped, turned and said:
“Thanks for dealing with all my dumb human stuff today. I love you.” And gave him a kiss on his velvety black nose. Smiler was the only living thing who Theon had said those three words to since he came to Winterfell.
When he entered the dining hall the mood was already tense. Everyone was seated according to rank so luckily Theon didn’t have to sit by Robb or Jon. Everyone ate in silence and by the end of the meal Theon was about ready to burst. Ever since ‘war’ had left that guard’s mouth he had been constantly stressing over how this war would affect him. When Ned finally stood, Theon's breath caught in his chest. If the hall had been quiet before, it was utterly soundless now.
“This morning I received a letter,” Ned started to announce to his audience. “It told me that Robert Baratheon had discovered that another rebellion was being plotted” Theon felt his heart stop. “Unfortunately the house that was plotting against him is too important to be rid of. The role they play is not easily filled.” Theon was sure that he was about to faint. “So he is unable to kill the head of this house. He has decided on a different route to keep them in line. One that we have used in the past to great effect.” Theon’s vision was starting to get cloudy and his sense of balance was quickly turning upside down. “So that is why he has decided that Roose Bolton, lord of the Dreadfort, will send his heir, Ramsay Snow, to Winterfell to live under the care of the Starks as a ward to assure his loyalty to the crown.” and just like that Theon could breathe again. His heart beat like he had just run around Winterfell ten times over. The ground was firm beneath his feet and all was right with the world “My men and I will ride out to the Dreadfort in a day's time.” Ned continued. “I’m sure that we will have no problem welcoming this new face to Winterfell. I know that he will feel at home with our people, and make friendships to last a lifetime.”