Desert Wolf

Chapter 8 Conflict

And so it went that Benjen helped Arthur train Torrhen in the Godswood. At first, it was unsettling for Benjen to see and talk to the ghost of Ser Arthur Dayne, but after a week of training, Benjen got used to the ghost's presence. He found that he enjoyed Arthur's company. For a dead man, Arthur was charming. Benjen chalked it up to Arthur, spending time with Torrhen and passing on his knowledge to his beloved sister's son. Sometimes Benjen would take food out to the godswood so that he and Torrhen could eat and Arthur could tell them stories about Ashara and his life.

Eventually, Benjen got up the courage to ask Arthur what happened with his sister and the crowned Prince. Arthur told them everything. He told them about how happy Lyanna and Rhaegar were together and that Rhaegar had annulled his marriage with Elia at her request so that she could go home and be with the man she loved. Rhaegar had promised that he would never disinherit his children by Elia and that Aegon would be the next king.

“What's Jon's real name,” Benjen asked.

*Rhaegar and Lyanna had agreed to name him after Rhaegar's great uncle Aemon if he was a boy. And if the baby had been a girl, they would have called her Visenya.* Arthur explained.

Benjen nodded. He became emotional listening to Arthur's story about his sister. At least she had been happy for a time. Benjen knew that she would never have been happily married to Robert, and Lyanna would have either escaped Robert or taken her life; she loathed Robert that much. Once they finished their lunch, Benjen and Arthur went back to training Torrhen to be the best swordsmen in all of Westeros.

After they finished their training, Torrhen would visit the foal that his father had given him and bond with him. He would feed him apples and grain from his hand and talk to the little colt. And the colt would nuzzle into Torrhen for attention. It was on one of those visits that Hullen asked Torrhen if he wanted to name the foal. Torrhen thought for a moment; he looked at the black foal, who had a white spot on his forehead that looked like a star. Torrhen's brow furrowed, then his violet eyes lit up, “Morningstar,” Torrhen decided.

“Excellent name, My Lord,” Hullen said.

“Thank you, Hullen. Do you like the name Morningstar?”

The colt whinnied then butted his head against Torrhen's chest, making Torrhen giggle; he looked up at Hullen, “I guess he does.”

Torrhen stayed a while longer with Morningstar then went back to the keep to see his brothers. Torrhen walked into the castle and greeted all the servants he came across with a smile. He would ask about their families and how they were doing. Torrhen consideration of the servants endeared him more to him and cemented their loyalty to him. The only ones he had problems with were Lady Catelyn's servants from the Riverlands, but he expected as much.

When Torrhen got to the nursery where his brothers were, he opened the door and peered in to make sure that his stepmother wasn't there. The only people there were Dania and Robb's nursemaid. When the toddlers heard the door open, they turned to see who it was and squealed when they saw Torrhen. “Ren!”
Robb and Jon cried. Torrhen smiled at his brothers, his violet eyes twinkling, and entered the nursery. Torrhen walked towards his brothers, and the little toddlers rushed on wobbly legs towards Torrhen and hugged him. Torrhen laughed when they all fell to the floor.

“Hello, Robb. Hello, Jon. How are my favorite brothers?”

“Good,” The boys said at the same time. And the boys begin to babble to him about what they had been doing all day and show their toys to Torrhen.

Torrhen listened intently to his brothers as they talked to him and began to play with them as they handed their toys to him. Dania smiled as she watched Torrhen show his brothers' equal attention while Robb's nursemaid sneered at the little lord. It was no secret that the servants from the Riverlands disliked Torrhen, but they kept their comments about him as quiet as possible for fear of Lord Stark hearing.

Torrhen sat on the floor playing with his brothers until it was time for the evening meal, at which time, Abagal came to retrieve Torrhen to get him cleaned up; she took Torrhen by the hand and led him back to his room where she had a bath ready for him. Abagal stripped Torrhen down, put him in the tub, and gave him a good scrub, washing away all the dirt and grime that the little boy had accumulated throughout the day of play. Once he was clean, she rinsed and dried him off and got him dressed to have dinner with his family.

Once Torrhen was ready, Abagal took Torrhen downstairs to the dining hall for dinner and Robb and Jon. Lord and Lady Stark were already there, along with Benjen. Catelyn smiled when she saw Robb come into the room being led by his nursemaid, but the minute she saw Torrhen and Jon, her smile fell, and she scowled at the two boys. Torrhen's father talked to his Uncle Benjen, so he didn't notice Torrhen glare at Catelyn, and his violet eyes glow slightly with power. Torrhen wasn't about to let Lady Catelyn treat him or Jon inferior, and he knew that it always frightened her when he did that.

And as sure as the sun will rise, a frightened look passed across her face when she looked at Torrhen. She quickly averted her eyes and picked up Robb. If Lady Catelyn could, she would keep her precious boy away from his half brother, but she knew that her husband would never stand for it. She knew that there was something wrong with Torrhen Stark, and she would prove it. Maybe that way, Ned would disown him and make Robb his heir. However, she doubted it very much.

Torrhen smiled a sweet smile when his father noticed that his boys entered the room after Benjen had tried to hide his laughter. Benjen had seen out of the corner what Torrhen had done, and he had been able to see Lady Catelyn's reaction. He did his best to hold in his chuckle.

“Papa, we're here!” Torrhen yelled.

Ned smiled, “So you are, come sit down, and we shall have dinner.”

“Alright,” Torrhen said, then took Jon's hand and helped him to the high table. Benjen stood up and took Jon from Torrhen and set him in between him and Torrhen while Torrhen sat next to his father. Once they sat down, the servants began to serve dinner. As they ate, Torrhen would make sure that Jon ate enough food and that the portions were small enough for him to swallow. Ned would look at his son and smile. He loved how Torrhen would take care of his brothers and make sure nothing would happen to them. After dinner, Abagal and Dania took Torrhen and Jon to their rooms and put them to bed, while Lady Catelyn took Robb to the nursery.

The year progressed, and not much changed other than Lady Catelyn fell pregnant with her second child. By the time Torrhen turned six, his little sister Sansa was born. She was a pretty little thing, with Tully red hair and blue eyes. Torrhen adored her, but as usual, Lady Catelyn tried to keep him away from her, which led to another argument between Ned and her.

“I will not tell you again, My Lady, I will not tolerate you keeping my children apart. If you continue to treat Torrhen and Jon in such a manner, you will force me to do something drastic.”

“I will not mother your son or your bastard,” Catelyn said to Ned.

“Do not call Jon a bastard; the king legitimized him.”

“He will always be a bastard to me.”

“Then you and I will always have a problem, My Lady. And I do not expect you to mother my sons. I expect you to treat them decently, and if you cannot do that, I will find someone who can.”

“You would set me aside?” Catelyn said incredulously.

“Without hesitation,” Ned said and dismissed her from his solar.