#doe drabble

[doestark]

> a drag path

i don't know what this is but have it<3 uh tw for death during childbirth. not at all accurate to canon but i do nyot care.

Some men say that sword is the most dangerous killer in Westoros. Other say lies, cheats, lust, gold. All ma-made and controlled by the hands and lips that wield them. But Eddard knew the truth - it burdens his shoulders and fills his heart like river stones. For it was not sword that took his beloved Catelyn. It was not any steel, nor lies or cheats. No lust could ever stray him from her, not truly - and what need did either of them have for gold? No. What took his sweet woman was not something any man could hope to tame.

Fever.

Fever was the killer of Catelyn Stark. And she was a Stark - a true she-wolf in all the ways that mattered. A babe had been the cause, according to the maesters - Little Rickon, she named him. Eddard could still remember every second of that night. Holding his wifes hand so tight, fearing she may actually break his very bones but he voiced no complaint, merely raised her hand to his lips and pressed kisses to each knuckle. Even when the babe was still drawing his first breaths, all Eddard could focus on was his woman. Beautiful as she was - curls a mess and sweat giving her skin a fine shine under the candlelight. To most men, she would look a proper mess - but this was his wife, and he loved all of her.

Or so that's the lie he tells himself. He could still remember her quiet 'I love you's and 'take care of him's with faint breaths, her chest struggling to rise and fall. He had seen enough death in his years to know when the light in someone was fading - but this was Catelyn, his woman, the very heart beating in his chest. The pregnancy had made her more susceptible to the bone-deep chills of winter, even when he had dressed her in the heaviest of furs and attended to her every need. Some things just could not be challenged by the Gods or the Fates - or whatever other damned creature saw fit to rip Eddard Stark's heart from his chest with his lady's last breath.

Even when the maesters handed the babe to him, holding Little Rickon securely in his arms - tiny little hands grabbing beseechingly out for him as if to beg forgiveness for a crime that was not meant for any child to shoulder. Eddard was a proud man - but even a King would fall to his knees under the weight of this new, unforgiving truth. Catelyn Tully-Stark, mother of his children, his sweet wife, his other half - now in the gentle embrace of the Stranger, leaving the newborn babe to be kept warm in his own.

As his own eyes meet the bright blue of the newborn babe and those little fingers curl in his hair, pulling and tugging at the strands with the curiosity of something experiencing everything for the first time - he cannot find it in himself to hate this little creature, that which had weakened Catelyn so, had taken his wife from him. This was her last gift - to him and the world. The Lord of Winterfell can only blink back tears as he raises the babes wee head to his lips and presses a kiss between those eyes - Catelyn's eyes.

[alullabyfordoe]

Daddy's home.

"Mama, no." Kayleigh whined, kicking her little feet back in forth as Doe shook her head. 

"Do you want to grow big and strong like Elizabeth?" She asked, kissing the top of Kayleighs head and brushing the soft skin of her cheeks soothingly.

"Yes." Kayleigh sighed, smiling at her mothers touch and the thought of growing up to be like one of her idols.

"Eat the peas." Doe said, standing up as she collected her own plate. Kayleigh obliged, pulling various amusing faces while she shoved the small green things into her mouth as quickly as possible. Doe put her plate in the sink, turning on the faucet to cover the plates and cups.

"All done!" Kayleigh beamed proudly, hopping off her chair and picking up her plate to present to her mother. "Good girl!" Doe said, taking the plate to add to the small pile of dishes in the sink. "You can go play in the living room while Mummy finishes cleaning, ok?"

"Desert? Movie?" Kayleigh asked on cue, bouncing on the balls of her feet. The small pink princess shoes lit up as she jumped, one of the many muggle things Kayleigh owned and loved. 

"Only because I love you so much." Doe said, earning a happy squeal from the three year old. Her tiny blue eyes were wide like a baby deers, something she had inherited from her mother along with silky red hair. Kayleigh's long locks were parted into two pigtails, bound with blue and green ribbons.

But when Doe looked at her tiny daughter, all she saw was him. His smile, his nose, his bright blue eyes. Tears always followed, something she learned to hold back for the sake of Kayleigh.

"I luff you to Mama!" Kayleigh reached her arms up for a hug and Doe wrapped her arms around her daughter, lifting her up. 

"Mama!" Kayleigh pulled on her mothers shirt and pointed towards the large bay window. 

The figure stood so close to the glass, a cloudy mist had formed. His eyes were dark, hands clad in tattered fingerless gloves pressed against the window. 

He smiled.

Doe screamed, forgetting everything as she gripped Kayleigh and bolted from the room. She ran towards the staircase leading to their bedroom, the safe place with muggle locks and spells.

She always forgot he was a wizard, not just a werewolf. Not just a madman.

Fenrir stood in front of the staircase, smiling. His smile had always been one of the most terrifying things in her life, rivaling his glare or growl or bite. Doe put Kayleigh down and shoved her daughter behind her as she slowly backed a way. She would have to flee, possibly never returning to their small cottage. Marlene's would be safe, or Hestia's. Yes, Hestia's.

"Doe." His voice wasn't raspy as most would accept, but dark and smooth like coffee. It was oddly serene and comforting.

"Kayleigh." He added, his eyes lighting up simply at her name. 

"Stay away." Doe hissed, fumbling in her cooking apron for her wand. She felt Kayleighs's tiny hands grasping her legs - but she didn't feel the small girl peeking around them. And she didn't feel her let go until it was too late.

"Daddy!' She squealed, running him as quickly as her tiny legs would let her. Her shoes lit up while she scampered towards the tall dark man, the soft red pigtails swinging back and forth. "Mama, Daddy home! Daddy home!" Kayleigh allowed herself to be lifted into Fenrir's arms, wrapping her tiny arms around his neck. 

"Daddy is home." Fenrir added, kissing the top of Kayleigh's head just like Doe had, before turning to smile at Doe.