The Forgotten Son: A Benjen Stark SI

[KingOfIreland777]

It all happened so suddenly. One moment, I had just picked up a twelve-pack of Guinness for my grandfather, and the next, I was being hurled through a portal. The precise details after that were fuzzy, to say the least. All I knew was that I was here now...

I was in the body of….wait, what? This was not my body!

A knock at the door caused me to panic further. I was frozen in place from fear of who it could be.

They knocked again and, this time, called out a name. "Lord Stark," came the raspy voice. "A rider arrived less than an hour ago, my lord. Your brother is on his way back from the war. The rider reports he is less than half a day away."

I was now too afraid and too confused to answer. Where the fuck was I? And who was this Lord Stark they were referring to? I only knew of two different forms of media with that name. Tony Stark from Iron Man and the Marvel Universe and…oh dear, it was so obvious now.

The castle should have given it away, now that I think about it. I appeared to be a Stark of Winterfell from the "ASOIAF" universe created by George R.R. Martin. The question remained, though, which Stark was I, and how was I going to keep my emotions under control enough not to be seen as a maniac?

I took a deep breath. I had to keep calm. That was the main thing. As long as I didn't raise any suspicions, I would be okay. I just had to delve into some information from the man at the door without letting slip any information that I shouldn't know.

I finally opened the door. The man who stood in front of me wore the chain and robes of a maester. Luwin, maybe? His eyes widened at the sight of me, and for a moment, he seemed to be speechless. I resisted the urge to speak and instead nodded at him to continue.

It took him a moment to recover, but he finally managed it. "Lord Stark". He said. "Lord Eddard Stark is less than a day's ride away. Would you like me to tell Lady Catelyn?"

I thought about what the maester had said for a moment. Lady Catelyn? Lord Eddard Stark? And referring to me as Lord Stark. That could only mean I was one person in particular.

"Lord Benjen, are you alright, my lord?" Maester Luwin seemed concerned in my distant look, and he confirmed my theory as well. I was Benjen Stark in the body of his teenage years…what bullshit had I fallen into? Yet I could not show how I felt in front of the maester, in case he thought I was mad as a scone.

"Yes, Maester Luwin, I am fine, no need to worry," I said, while trying to hide my worry. "Please do inform my…good-sister, and ready the household. Their lord is to receive a warm welcome." Hopefully, I sounded Westerosi enough.

The maester stared at me, looking as if he wanted to say something, but instead just nodded his head and shuffled off.

Well, that was some of the mystery solved. I was indeed within the body of Benjen Stark before he left Winterfell to freeze his balls off in an all-male ice colony. Considering Ned was returning from the war, it was the year two eighty-two or thereabouts, putting me at about sixteen years of age.

Good god, I don't know what was more terrifying right now—being in Westeros or being sixteen again. It would be like having to choose between living in Crumlin or Coolock, except I didn't have a choice, it seemed, and I wasn't in Ireland anymore, never mind Dublin.

Unless this was one big dream, then it seemed like I was truly stuck in the body of Benjen Stark.

So here I was, in my very own fanfic of sorts, in the world of Westeros, trying to figure out what to do now.

At least I was Benjen Stark before he fucked off to the Wall, so I could realistically run as far away as I could as soon once Lord Eddard Stark returned, but what would be the point in that? From my knowledge of A Song of Ice and Fire, I knew it was the year two eighty-two. Robert was King, and the Long Night was over twenty years out. I didn't have to fuck off to the furthest part of Westeros just yet. I could stay around for a little while, and it would be okay… I hope. Or at least, that's how I began to rationalise it to myself. That pondering could wait for another time, though. I had to find Catelyn Stark and the future King in the North. Fortunately, they were somewhere within the castle.

Winterfell truly was as big as it had been described in the books. I had been in a few castles in my time back in the real world, but this? This was different. It was built by some magical forces the author conjured up and was kept in shape by one family for thousands of years. The most exciting part was that it was warm, thanks to the hot springs under the castle. Now, that was a beneficial bit of information I had never thought would come in handy, yet here it was affecting me. Thanks, George!

---

I found Lady Catelyn Stark in the great hall as she cradled her only son in her arms. She was a ginger, much like my ex, and her face mirrored that of official fan art rather than the interpretation of Cat on the TV show. Which, if nothing else, confirmed I wasn't in the version of this universe created by HBO, but was instead in the original source material.

I cleared my throat and hyped myself up for my second conversation in Westeros, this time with a high-born lady. If I were to fuck up and not come across as a highborn, then things could go to shite pretty quickly. Catelyn Stark was my sister-in-law and the Lady of Winterfell. She was also new to this place and was about to have her world turned upside down once her husband walked in with a bastard son in tow. So it was best to keep things brief, for both our sakes. The issue of Jon Snow would have to be dealt with, but not right now.

"Lady Stark," I called to her before bowing slightly. She returned my greeting with a small, shy smile as she cradled the future of House Stark in her arms.

"Lord Benjen, how are you today?" she asked.

"I am well, my lady." I lied. Needless to say, I was not very well. "How is my dear nephew?" I cooed at the child, as if he would give me some sort of answer.

"He is sleeping well, thank the Gods, and Maester Luwin reports that he is on his way to being a healthy boy." Her smile returned to her face.

"Aye, he will make a fine lord of Winterfell one of these days. I will make sure of it," I said in a half-joking tone. If only she knew the context.

I tried to continue the conversation using my limited range of talking skills. Starting a conversation about how "nice the weather has been the last few days" might work in Ireland, but not in the tundra-esque North.

"My Lady, would you like me to escort you to the courtyard? My brother is sure to arrive any moment now."

She nodded at me before calling to who I imagined was the nursemaid to inform them to take Robb to swaddle him in more clothes. It would not have been wise to let the baby out in the snow without as many layers as possible. I motioned for the guards to go to the courtyard and was about to leave before my sister-in-law stopped me. "Lord Benjen," she called out. "May I speak to you privately for a moment?" I gulped, but turned around and waited until we were alone.

It was then that her mood turned almost sour. "The soldier who acted as your brother's outrider, the one who delivered the news of his impending return. One of my ladies-in-waiting heard him spread tales about my husband, about how he had been unfaithful to his marriage vows while at war." She paused briefly, and I used this as my chance to speak.

"I did not hear that, my lady." I lied through my teeth, well, kind of. I hadn't heard this, um, let's call it a "rumour," that much was true, but given my knowledge of this world before my landing here, I was well aware that Eddard Stark was indeed riding North with his bastard son in tow, or supposed bastard son, depending who in the fandom you asked. I was under the presumption that this was an R plus L equals J realm.

"Well, do you think it may be true? I doubt anyone knows your brother as well as you do, my lord." Lady Catelyn said, trying to push me for a more concrete answer, I reckoned. I decided it was best to choose my words carefully, "My lady, I am sorry to say that I do not know my brother as well as I would like to. He has been in the Vale for years. I only saw him briefly when he came home to call the banners, but before that, it was the Tourney at Harrenhal, and years had passed before that time."

Her face was stricken with concern at my words, I hoped I didn't fuck things up. "Very well, my lord, we will find out the truth soon enough, I suppose." She then bowed her head and walked out of the room with her son in her arms.

What the fuck was I meant to do now? I had to think of something and think of it fast, Ned was about to arrive home, and it was during this time that Benjen, the real Benjen, fucked off to the Night's Watch, which made as much sense as Tywin's campaign in the Riverlands or the numbers these lords have in their armies, but how was I going to change things? The pressure was starting to mount again. Perhaps it was time to walk around. That usually helped me take my mind off things back in the real world.

Speaking of the real world, I was actually rather impressed with how I could hide the absolute mental fear I was feeling right now. The person I was back in a small Irish town was already starting to be buried by this fake Benjen Stark. It was all for show, maybe, but a show I would probably have to play for the rest of my life.

I made my way out to the courtyard with two guards trailing behind as I strolled. They followed me until we reached the entrance to the godswood, where I dismissed them.

The outside areas of Winterfell were beautiful in their own unique way. It was summer right about now, as far as I could tell from my knowledge of ASOIAF, but it was still cold, and it seemed snow had fallen recently.

I sat down on a tree stump to try to gather my thoughts. I had no fancy sword to polish, so I couldn't copy Ned Stark. Instead, I just sat there, figuring out my next move. What was the best thing to do? Neddy boi was galloping up the road right this moment. I would have to think fast. What could I offer him? I was his heir after Robb, so I had that going for me, and I wasn't willing to go to the fucking Watch, so I was sure he would find something for me.

I could be his Captain of the Guards, except I wasn't particularly skilled with a blade, given that I was some Redditor from the year 2023 body-snatching a high-born lord, so what was I to do? It wasn't as if the answer to all my woes would fall right out of the sky.

Just then, I heard a crack above me. I looked up to see the sky had opened up in a circle formation. I thought I was seeing things at first, but it seemed something was falling right out of the sky. It was only a speck at first, but it quickly gained speed. This mystery device of some kind turned out to be a black box. Next, a crack occurred as it crashed into the weirwood tree at an extreme force of speed only broken by the strength of the branches, and before I knew it, this black box was right beside me, landing with a thud.

I could not believe my eyes. It was Guinness. It was a box of Guinness, possibly the same box I had bought for my grandfather before I ended up here. What the actual fuck was I meant to do with my Grandfather's Guinness?

"Lord Benjen." One of the guards called from a distance away. "Lord Stark is moments away. He will be expecting you to meet him in the courtyard. Lady Stark already awaits with Lord Robb."

Who gives a fuck about tradition? I just found a fucking twelve-pack of Guinness in the middle of the Winterfell godswood. That's what I thought about saying, but it was best not to draw attention to myself. "I will be there momentarily, I am just finishing my prayer," I said, trying not to sound like I had lost my shit too much.

I heard the guard's footsteps as he walked back to the castle. I was expected to meet my supposed brother, but I could hardly do that while holding something that was clearly not from this time. I considered if it would have been best to take the packaging and cans apart but decided against it, as that would just mean more things to hide. No, it was best if everything was together.

So I took the packaging and placed it behind the tree stump. I could hear the cans rattling within it. How they were not destroyed by the impact was beyond me. I just knew by the size that it was definitely a twelve-pack. That was my grandfather's favourite pack size to get. Pity it cost over twenty euros.

I covered the packaging up with as much snow as I could in an attempt to keep the cans cold. God only knows if it was going to work, but it's not like there was much I could do with them anyway.

Satisfied with my work, I ran towards the courtyard to await my brother.

---

Moments after arriving and fixing myself, Eddard Stark trotted through the gates of Winterfell atop his steed. He looked younger, much younger, in fact, but his face more resembled the version of himself from the books rather than the flashbacks shown in the later seasons of the show.

"Lord Stark, Winterfell is yours," I said, hoping it wasn't out of character or tradition to say such a thing. Eddard stood in front of me for a moment, staring at me, suspicious of me, maybe? It was hard to tell. Slowly, a slight smile appeared on his face. "It is good to see you, brother. You have my thanks for looking after Winterfell when I was away." I let out a silent sigh of relief. I had not been found out quite yet, anyway.

He dismounted, and I moved in to hug the man that I was to pretend was my brother, at least until I could think of a way out of this mess. It was almost as if someone heard my inner thoughts, because I noticed a serving lady carrying a babe into the castle, but it wasn't just me who noticed. Lady Catelyn saw it, too, judging by the look on her face.

"My lady," Ned said nervously as he grabbed his arranged wife's hand to kiss it. "You have my thanks for bringing my child all the way here from Riverrun. May I hold him?" I watched as Cat nodded slightly at Ned. The new Lord of Winterfell held out his hands to be handed the future King in the North. "Well met, Robb. I have been waiting a long time to meet you for myself," he cooed at the child.

"Do you approve of the name, my lord? It is not a traditional northern name, but I thought it a good choice to honour our new king." She said nervously.

Ned smiled at her. "Yes, my lady, I think it is a great name, a name fit for the next Lord of Winterfell."

She returned his good-natured comment with another shy smile. Cat looked as if she was about to say something again, but I decided it best to interrupt them as there were important matters that needed to be said in private. "My lord, my lady, would it not be better if we continued this conversation inside the castle? I am sure my nephew would appreciate being in the warmth, as would I."

---

The sun had set by the time Ned called me to his solar. That wasn't quite an indication of how many hours had passed, given how weird time was in this universe, but it was the best I could do.

My approach to the door to the solar was interrupted by angry whispers on the other side. "And you plan to keep him here?"

"Aye, I do," replied a male voice. "He is my son. Let him and Robb be raised as brothers."

"And what if your precious base-born son disagrees with your ideas? What if he decides he wants to be Lord of Winterfell? Would you dare put Robb, your true-born son, in harm's way to benefit your love child, my lord?" The female voice snarled.

"Robb would never be at risk, my lady. You have my word. Jon will be Robb's loyal man to a fault. I will make sure of it." Ned said, with passion seeping through his voice.

"I would rather not be forced to take that chance, my lord," came an icy reply.

I chose to enter the room at that very moment. It was clear things were escalating further than I would have expected.

"Lord Stark, Lady Stark, I am sorry to interrupt, but…" The truth was that I wasn't sorry at all and it didn't seem like it annoyed anyone. Rather, I was a scapegoat for breaking up a rather intense conversation.

"You need not apologise, Lord Benjen. I need to attend to my son anyway" Cat said pridefully as she picked up her skirts while glaring at Ned one last time as she left the room for good.

I watched as the Lady of Winterfell made her way down the hall and around the corner before I closed the door.

"Lord Stark." I began.

"There is no need for that formality here, Benjen. Besides, I am afraid we have much more important matters to attend to," Ned replied grimly.

I could only nod, sit, and await my lord's command. "As you know from my ravens, Lyanna died in a tower in the middle of Dorne, as did most of my companions and the three Kingsguard who were her makeshift gaolers."

"Aye." I nodded, pretending I received such ravens, I could only presume the previous Benjen, the real Benjen that is, did, in fact, know what Eddard Stark was talking about from a personal point of view. I just knew it from meta-knowledge.

"What the ravens did not include was the fact that Lyanna bore a babe before she died." He let the words hang for a moment.

This had to be the time when he admitted that the child he brought home, the one his wife had been so upset about, was not actually his own bastard but the child of Lyanna and Rhaegar.

"That child you brought home, I can only assume, is hers and, therefore, the last living child of Rhaegar Targaryen." I blurted out. "It will all work out fine, Ned. I will help you keep the child safe. You need not explain anymore to me." I then placed my hand on his shoulder. "We will make sure the child has a good life. Catelyn will come around eventually and will at most ignore him most of the time, don't you worry." I said, trying to reassure him.

"Benjen…" Ned said so cautiously that it had me alarmed. "What I was about to say was that Lyanna died giving birth to a baby girl, and that babe died soon after as she had no access to a wetnurse."

"She gave birth to a girl?" I managed to stumble out, utterly confused.

"Yes." He continued. "Rhaegar got his Visenya, but it cost his own pathetic life and, more importantly, the life of our sister and our niece."

"P-pathetic?" I stuttered.

"Aye, Rhaegar is a pathetic man who ran off with our sister, forced her to marry him in a sham wedding, and then raped her on their wedding night. May Rhaegar Targaryen rot in the Seven Hells for all the war and destruction he caused." Ned's anger was genuinely frightening. This whole situation had been very confusing, to say the least.

"And what of the babe you brought home? If it is not Lyanna's bastard, then whom does he belong to?" I asked.

"He is from my seed. His name is Jon, Jon Snow." Ned answered matter of factly.

"Yes, Ned, I figured out that much myself." Well, I did eventually. "I was asking who his mother is."

Ned sighed. "His mother is Ashara Dayne. Unfortunately, in her grief at seeing her brother dead, she threw herself from the tower of Starfall, leaving behind only Jon. He is safest with his father, and that is where he will be."

There was a lot more work to do than I thought. I guess I was going to need to visit the godswood again. The Guinness was calling to me.

 

[pentheaus]

I fuck with it

 

[KingOfIreland777]

I fuck with it

Click to shrink...

Thanks! I was nervous, this is my first time posting a fic on any type of forum, I usually just stick to AO3 haha

 

[tariq]

Looking forward to more chapters

 

[KingOfIreland777]

Looking forward to more chapters

Click to shrink...

Thanks! I have 4 more ready to go, there seems to be an audience, so I will probably post within a few days

 

[NakedFury]

God damn! what a twist.

You have to be one of the few people that went with that twist and just had Ned break into a full vitriolic moment slamming Rhaegar for all his worth.

Thanks man, I was not expecting this.

 

[KingOfIreland777]

God damn! what a twist.

You have to be one of the few people that went with that twist and just had Ned break into a full vitriolic moment slamming Rhaegar for all his worth.

Thanks man, I was not expecting this.

Click to shrink...

Glad you liked it! yeah I decided I was going to be one of the few not to contribute to R+L=J, but hey Rhaegar still got his Visenya...I guess.