Gwynesse Stark

Serena Stark

Ethan Stark

**Gwynesse Stark**, known to her friends as **Gwyn**, is the youngest daughter of King Alaric Stark, and his only child by his second wife Leyla Osgrey. She is the only one of his children yet unmarried--a fact Alaric has tried many times to correct, but to no avail. Among the court of Winterfell, she is best known for the well-disciplined and well-bred group of Ladies in Waiting she keeps around herself, collectively known as the Fangs.

### History

#### Childhood

Gwynesse came into the world kicking and screaming in the 2nd Moon of 75 AC. It was a welcome relief for her parents (the pregnancy had been hard on her mother, leaving the Maester worried that carrying her to term would threaten her survival), and a one of the few joyous occasions in Winterfell that punctuated the bitter winter between 75 and 78 AC. Most surprising was the shock of blonde hair that adorned her head--stark white then. While most expected it would grow dark like her sibling's one day, they would remain disappointed: Gwyn's fair blonde hair remains the eternal curse reminding her half-siblings of her different parentage, though her facial features and eyes leave no doubt that she is her father's daughter.

Gwyn wanted for little while she was a child. Though she was Alaric's youngest child--a woman at that--and therefore unlikely to ever sit the Throne, her father made sure she was given an upbringing befitting of her station. She did not take to her letters quite as quickly as her father might have liked, nor did she seem particularly possessed of his gift for managing money, but she did well enough to avoid embarrassment. She was always a well-behaved child, quick to listen and eager to please.

#### Teenage Years

As she grew older, though, and childhood gave way to life as a teenager, she grew much more troublesome. Her eldest brother Theodan, just a few years her senior, bullied her relentlessly. She can scarce remember a time they were in the same room without him calling her a *southron whore*, or a *blonde-haired bitch*, or otherwise finding some way to insult her or her mother. Frustrated at what she perceived to be her father's refusal to (or inability to) adequately discipline his son and heir, Gwynesse took every step she could to distance herself from him. Of course, this also necessitated distancing herself from court life. Gwyn became withdrawn and aloof.

Recognizing her daughter's sadness, Leyla pleaded with her husband to do what he could to guarantee her happiness. Hoping that new companions would help break her out of her melancholy, Alaric and Leyla found girls roughly of an age with her to come to Winterfell and serve as her Ladies in Waiting.

The first of these was Marry Darry. Though she was the daughter of a southron Lord, Alaric could not deny the benefits of making connections with the nobility of the territory on his border (and besides, it was a *friendship*, not a *marriage.* Hardly a permanent commitment). After her arrival in 88 AC, followed shortly thereafter by Serra Poole a moon or two later, the trio quickly became inseparable friends. Once isolated, Gwyn now had ever-present company willing to match wits and trade verbal blows with Theodan when he harassed her.

They also got into their fair share of trouble together. The girls were infamous for their habit of sticking their noses in places they didn't belong, pulling harmless, but certainly irritating, pranks on the inhabitants of the castle. It seemed there was almost no place the trio couldn't get: no lock that could keep them out, no guard could resist their charms, and few could stand their biting wit when it was turned against them.

As Gwyn grew older and her siblings were paired off into marriages of their own, Alaric's attention turned to his final child. He invited a whole host of suitors to the castle--older lords, younger lords, greater lords, lesser lords. None managed to pique Gwyn's interest in the slightest. In fact, the entire *prospect* of marriage terrified her. The last thing she wanted in life was to become some broodmare for some noble's squalling babes. She and the Fangs did just about everything in their power to keep any matches from being made. So devoted to their task they were, that Serra even married one of Gwyn's suitors herself. Whether this was a noble sacrifice or a stern command is a matter of some debate.

#### Marry

Gwyn didn't realize *why* she was so hesitant to get married until 93 AC. Marry and Gwyn had always been closer than they had been to Serra--a relationship that only grew closer when Serra left to be wed in 91 AC.

Gwyn had long been aware that her gaze lingered on the women in her life, though she had thought little of it. Men always complained about how hard it was to avoid looking at beautiful women. She had always been attracted to beauty in all forms--art, music, poetry. What was the big deal if that beauty simply happened to be the female form? She would never *do* anythingabout it. It'd be wrong.

That was what she told Marry when they were alone that night, too. Those protests fell silent when Marry grabbed her by the waist and kissed her.

The Princess fell fast. If the court had thought the pair inseparable before, they were *certainly* inseparable now. Gwyn finally understood why she was so hesitant to get married. She loved Marry like she could never love a man.

Only, Marry didn't feel the same. When the war in the South ended, and her father summoned her back for a marriage to some Celtigar, Marry left with little pomp and less circumstance. There was no life for her in the North, she explained. There wasn't--and couldn't be--a future for them. That was just how the world *worked*.

Gwyn did not cry when Marry broke her heart. She did not cry when they said their goodbyes at the gates of Winterfell. She would not allow her that satisfaction.

#### Present Day

Winter made marriage a less attractive idea for a time, which helped Gwyn escape her father's notice. With the harsh winter giving way to a verdant spring, though, Gwyn is worried that this might not be the case for much longer. *Especially* with her father's old age, and Theodan's distaste for her. In an attempt to save her future Gwynesse began to cultivate connections with thieves and smugglers in the North until she had an information network that would make her quite invaluable to her father, the King. It was difficult to do anything in Winterfell or White Harbor without word of it reaching her, and as Spring settled in on the North she began looking elsewhere to gather information.

### Recent Events

When Gwynesse's father abdicated the throne to Theodan at the Tournament of White Harbor in 98 AC she thought that her life as she knew it was over. With her brother on the throne and her father out of the way she would be shipped off to some lordling far from Winterfell and expected to warm his bed and bear his children. But fate intervened and Alaric chose to remain behind to assist Theodan in the transition, particularly with filling the two vacant council positions.

Theodan needed a Winter's Grasp, a the position had gone unfilled since Domeric Bolton's death five year's past and everyone he asked told him to appoint Gwynesse to the position. He resisted at first, casting out a wide net in attempt to find someone who was not the half-sister he despised, but the pressure of his father and Lord Medrick Manderly to set aside his prejudice combined with a lack of competent spymasters in the North lead him to appointing her Winter's Grasp.

### Family

http://familyecho.com/?p=LUBDU&c=3xs4idjis&f=832251730505647389

### Meta

Skills: Subversion(INT) Espionage(INT) Silver Tongue(CHA) Intimidation(CHA) Home Turf(STE) Clandestinity(STE)

Aptitude: Cloak and Dagger(INT)