Chapter Sixty One: Be A Family Again

                                    

                                          
It had been decided that Lyanna would sail up North with her small armed force and find Jon. The two of them would then assemble the rest of the north to try and take Winterfell back from the Boltons. Lyanna knew that it would be hard to get Jon away from the Wall, but once she got there she knew it would become easier. 
                          
Willas had agreed he would stay at High Garden, and Brandon would stay with him. She would miss them both dearly, but it would be too dangerous for them to travel with her. Eryk would also be staying, he'd decided since meeting Alize's sister to stay with Siane, saying he owed it to Alize to look after her family. Lyanna didn't know if he'd come to Winterfell afterwards if everything went well, but she hoped he would, because she would miss him so much if he stayed in the Reach. 
                          
Lyanna was packing the morning before she was due to leave, gathering up all of her weapons, when she heard a knock at the door. She didn't have time to answer it herself before Garlan let himself in. 
                          
"Garlan! What do I owe the pleasure?" Lyanna exclaimed, surprised to see him. 
                          
"Sorry, I know you're busy, but I know Willas is with my father and you leave tomorrow, so this is my last chance to talk to you," he began, his tone seeming quite anxious. 
                          
"What is it?" Lyanna frowned. 
                          
"It's just-" he sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Did Willas ever tell you about what happened the day  he got injured?" 
                          
"No, he doesn't like to talk about it," Lyanna told him, and it was true. Whenever Lyanna brought up the matter of his bad leg, Willas always dismissed it until she learnt not to mention it ever. 
                          
"Well, it was my fault, he wasn't going to enter the lists until I made him, Loras and I bullied him into it, saying he wouldn't impress any maidens if he was sat on the sidelines," Garlan began to explain, so much regret evident in his tone. "Loras joined in, but he didn't go on like I did. The next day when he was about to joust, I made him a bet that he wouldn't be able to unhorse any competitor, that all the pretty ladies watching would end up laughing him off. It was a joke, but it riled him up. He's so calm now, you wouldn't think how angry he ended up getting with me over it. I'd messed with his focus, so when it came to the joust against the Martell, he was still so angry with me, and when he was hit and his horse began to fall with him on it- it happened so quickly and he panicked. He blanked, forgetting what to do, and the next thing I remember was hearing the shriek of his horse as it fell onto him, and then realised that the screams weren't from the horse but from my brother. Oberyn Martell was over to him so quickly, and so was my father and Loras, but I couldn't move. I was stuck to my seat in shock and fear. Even Margaery and Grandmother were over by him, but I was frozen. 
"I went to see him when the maesters were looking after him. I remember he was still shaking and sweating, he could hardly speak through the pain, but all he kept trying to tell me was that he didn't blame me for making him joust. I didn't know what to do or to say, so I just sat with him for a month straight as he recovered. I didn't leave him once, I owed it to him. Our father, however spent most of that time worrying about High Garden, and how would Willas become Lord Tyrell as a cripple if he even survived? He spent so much time panicking about the fate of High Garden he wasn't even there for us when we needed him the most. 
                          
"That's why Willas spent so much of his time in High Garden, not just because his bad leg made travelling hard, but because he had to prove to our father that he could still be a good Lord of High Garden. Now you're here, all he wants to do is follow you, because he sent so much time following his head that now he just wants to follow his heart," 
                          
"He did mention that last part to me," Lyanna looked down, not sure what to say. 
                          
This was the first time they'd ever properly spoken. Normally Garlan was always making her laugh, whilst Margaery was the one Lyanna normally went to talk to about anything serious. That's just how things were with Lyanna and the Tyrells. After Willas, Margaery was the one she was closest to, and then Lady Olenna, whilst Loras and Garlan were more like friends. 
                          
"Listen, Lyanna, Willas is my brother, and one of my best friends, so when you go North, I'll inherit High Garden over him, which is something I thought would never happen," Garlan continued, sighing, running his hands through his hair. "You're a good influence on him, I haven't seen him be this passionate about anything as he is about going north, so I just want you to look after him when he gets there, okay? Because since his accident, I've felt like I've owed him a debt where I have to look out for him, but I won't be able to do that if you go North," 
                          
"Our wedding vows stated that he had to look after me," Lyanna pointed out, laughing slightly. "But Garlan, I promise I'll look after him, but this is what he wants too, I'm not making him go to Winterfell with me,"

                          
"I know, but father still hates you for it, he thinks he's betraying High Garden for you," Garlan laughed. "So much for being the second son," 
                          
Lyanna laughed, and then pulled Garlan into a hug. The two of them hugged each other, bonded together over their love for Willas. When she pulled away, she hit him on the arm gently, the way she used to with Jon. She missed Jon, and seeing the way Willas was with his brothers made her nostalgic to being in Winterfell with her own siblings. It would be a long road to getting her home back and finding all her remaining siblings, but if it went well, it would be completely worth it, despite her gambling her happiness in the Reach for it. 
                          
*** 
                          
"Are you ready?" Willas asked her as she packed away her last trunk. He stood hesitantly by the bed as she attached her swords onto her belt. 
                          
"I think so," she nodded. "I wish I didn't have to leave, but you know that this is something I have to do," 
                          
"Of course I do, it's one of the reasons I admire you so much, you know what you have to do and you're not afraid to do it,"
                          
"But I am afraid," she admitted, moving closer to him. "I'm scared that everything will go wrong, I won't find Jon or Sansa, or that I won't be able to get Winterfell back from the Boltons, or that if I leave I'll never see you or Brandon ever again,"
                          
Willas sighed and limped closer to her. He pulled her into an embrace, kissing the top of her head as she wrapped her arm around his back. She'd never met someone she cared about so much until she met Willas, and now she was being so reckless by leaving him. Sure, she had already lost Brandon once, but now he was back in her life and he was a big part of her new family unit with Willas. She knew that they both would be safe here in the Reach, but how would she know for sure if she was in the North? 
                          
"Listen to me," Willas took hold of her chin gently, making sure she was looking at him in the eye. "You don't need to be scared, okay? You're an excellent fighter, and you're the daughter of Brandon Stark, and you were raised by Ned Stark, you will have the other northern lords behind you, so if it comes to a battle, you'll be okay. You'll find Jon, you know where he is at Castle Black, and you know Sansa is at Winterfell. It's been a long time since you've been home, so you're just nervous, but you'll be fine, and once you're home, I'll be there, and so will Brandon, and we'll be a proper family,"   
                          
Lyanna lent up to him to gently kiss his lips, her hand moving up to the back of his head, holding him closer to her. She never wanted to let him go, but she knew she had to, especially when Brandon ran into the room. The two of them pulled away as he ran into them both, giggling. 
                          
"Hello, my boy!" Lyanna grinned at him, all her previous nerves gone as soon as she saw him, reaching down and sweeping him up into the air, placing him on her hip. "I'm going away for a while but it's going to be alright. I love you so much my sweet boy, and your father is going to be here and look after you, and Siane is staying here too, so you'll be safe, and then when I've got our home back, we can all be together again," 
                          
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Word count: 1591
                          
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Hey guys, please keep voting and commenting (especially commenting, I love reading them all)!
                          
You know what's gonna happen when Lyanna goes North right? That's right, my little Joanna shippers, there'll be a Jon and Lyanna reunion! I am buzzing for that!
                          
~Olivia