Chapter 7-Lord Stark's Promise.
Ned Stark POV:
I left the tent and made my way towards the kitchens to oversee if everything was ready for the feast tonight after the Jousting. I stopped when I saw Torrhen Frostwood, Lord Of Frostwind and Head of House Frostwood. He was walking towards the Great Hall. "Lord Frostwood!" I called to get his attention. Lord Frostwood turned around startled until his eyes landed on me. "Seven Hell's Lord Stark, You startled me." He said with a deep voice. "Forgive me Lord Frostwood, But might I have a moment of your time?" I asked when I caught up to him. "Of course My Lord." I led him to my study and offered him a horn of ale as he sat in the chair I offered him. "I wanted to ask you what you think of Jon Snow." I said as I poured myself a horn of ale and sat in my chair. "Ah, I see you noticed as well." He said with a small chuckle. "Noticed what my lord?" I asked, just to be sure we spoke of the same mind. "My Daughter, Elaena and Jon Snow." he said after he took a gulp from his horn of ale and continued. "My daughter is a very beautiful northern lady but she is also smart, a trait that very few tend to notice. You should have seen the way Roose Bolton's bastard son Ramsay Snow eyed her like she was a prize he would be given on a silver plate when the both of them traveled to Frostwind last year." He said with an angry look as is spit the names as if they were a disease. "I have heard rumors that Lord Bolton has been attempting to obtain access to your mines Lord Frostwood." I said as I remembered the reason of why Lord Bolton was known as 'The Leech Lord'. "Aye. When he came to me last year, He asked 'If my son Ramsay was to be legitimized and betrothed to your daughter Elaena, I would offer you the right to mine the mountains west of the Dreadfort if you were you give me rights to your mines.'" He said imitating Lord Bolton's Voice. "Even if the mountains near the Dreadfort had anything valuable I would not have betrothed my daughter to someone that looked at her the way Ramsay did." he exclaimed. "Forgive me Lord Frostwood, I did not mean to bring up bad memories." I said as I watched the angry look on his face returned back to a calm one. "Ah, It is not your fault. I just want her to be happy." He said before he continued. "Jon Snow is different though. I could see it when they broke their fast together yesterday morning. He listened to what she said instead of staring at her chest. and I saw that he kept her handkerchief tied around his wrist." He finished his horn of ale as I took his words to heart. "I spoke with Jon before Luncheon and he told me of how he admired her sharp wit. I must admit that he does have a reputation with the ladies and brothels but he has never spoken of a lady the way he spoke of your daughter." I said as I poured him some more ale before I continued. "If Jon were to be given his own name, would you agree to a betrothal between Lady Elaena and Jon?" I asked. Lord Frostwood took a few moments to think before he responded. "Where would they live? And what would they live off of for trade?" He asked. "I have thought of 2 possible castles that have been rebuilt and refurnished for the past twenty years. The Moat Cailin has been fully rebuilt with the original twenty towers and all of the wood replaced with stone walls that reach fifty feet high. Lord Forrester contributed 2 Ironwood gates for the outer and inner walls. Over the years the land north of the Moat has been worked on to where it is now a large fertile land while the land south of the Moat is still hard to cross." Lord Frostwood thought over for a moment before asking. "And what of the other castle?". "The Other castle would be Sea Dragon Point. It is an old fortress but it has been rebuilt with 30 foot high stone walls and a dock that has at least 10 fishing boats. The land is fertile but small for crops." I finished as I waited for his response. After a few more moments he spoke. "It is a good offer, but what is it you are wanting from me with this betrothal?" He asked a little skeptically. "I have raised Jon since he was a six moon old babe. He is all that is left of my older brother Brandon. When the Lady Ashara Dayne told me to bring him to the North, I made a promise in memory of the Brother who I had lost that I would raise his son as if he was my own and I have done that to the best of my abilities. I do not wish to take advantage of your daughter marrying a son of House Stark. I only desire the boy to have a life that his father would have wanted for him." I said. Lord Frostwood looked at me with an understanding look before he spoke. "I will talk with my Daughter about what she thinks. If she agrees to the betrothal, then I see no reason to deny her a happy life." He said as he offered his hand. "Thank you Lord Frostwood." I said as I took his hand. "Thank 'you' Lord Stark." He said. I gave him a questioning look and went to respond before he spoke again. "For being one of the few Lords to not ask access to the Frostwind 'Mithril' Mines." He said with a smile as we made our way to enjoy luncheon in the Great Hall.
As I entered the Great Hall I noticed Jon was seated with Asher and Smalljon as they drank some ale and laughed with a few other northerners that had lost in the Joust. 'He reminds me so much of Brandon that it is like I am looking at a ghost' I thought as I watched Jon and decided to wait until after the Tourney to tell him of his trip to Starfall.