Chapter Text
The last thing that Kagome remembered was the pain of the arrow piercing her back, and the maniacal laughter of Kikyo as her soul was transferred back to Kikyo. She remembered seeing the shocked look on her friends' faces when Inuyasha hugged Kikyo and didn't pay any attention to Kagome, who lay there dying. In desperation to save Kagome, her friends wished for Kagome to be reborn, even though Kagome tried to stop them.
“Kagome, you deserve happiness,” Sango told her as her friend held Kagome's hand.
“We'll accept whatever consequences the Jewel chooses to give us,” Miroku added.
“I love you guys.”
“We love you too, go in peace, my sister,” Sango sobbed as she kissed Kagome's head.
Shippou cried and kissed Kagome's cheek, and Miroku prayed over her body as the light faded from her eyes, and her body disappeared.
As soon as Kagome's body faded, Sango, in a fit of rage, attacked Inuyasha and Kikyo with her Hiraikotsu. The couple barely had enough time to duck; Kikyo quickly recovered and tried to shoot a sacred arrow at Sango and the others, but found that the Kamis had taken her powers from her. And when Inuyasha pulled Tessaiga from its sheath, the fang did not transform.
“What the hell?!” Inuyasha cried.
Miroku smirked, “Tessaiga has abandoned you, Inuyasha. You didn't protect Kagome. The sword has deemed you unworthy, Isn't that right, Lord Sesshomaru?”
Everyone whipped around and saw Sesshomaru standing there, watching the entire scene, “You are correct, monk. This half breed's only job was to protect the Shikon No Miko, and he failed.”
“I'm the rightful Shikon No Miko,” Kikyo said.
“Then why do you no longer have powers, human?”
Kikyo grew angry and fired an arrow at Sesshomaru that he quickly caught and dissolved, showing it was an ordinary arrow, “You are lost now, Little Brother. Without Tessaiga to protect you, your demon blood will take over, and you will kill your human.”
“I would never hurt Kikyo!”
“We shall see,” And with that, Sesshomaru took Tessaiga and left.
Not wanting to be around Inuyasha anymore, Sango, Miroku, Shippou, and Kirara left as well, leaving the two lovers to their fate. And just Sesshomaru had predicted, a month later, Inuyasha, having transformed into a demon after being attacked, killed Kikyo and was killed as well.
Meanwhile, Kagome was in the dark; then, she felt tremendous pressure. It didn't take Kagome long to realize that she was reborn. Kagome came into the world wailing and cold. Maester Walys cleaned the baby and wrapped her in a warm fur and given to her mother. Lyarra Stark held her twin daughters. She was tired and sweaty and still had the afterbirth to deliver, but she was happy. After giving her husband an heir and a spare, Lyarra finally had her girls. And she loved them dearly.
After giving the twins to the wetnurse to feed, Lyarra delivered the afterbirth. The midwife cleaned Lyarra and then changed Lyarra's bedding. Once everything was clean, the wetnurse brought the girls back to Lyarra. She held her precious daughters and kissed their heads. A few moments later, Lyarra's husband and the love of her life, Lord Rickard Stark, came into the room.
“My love, are you alright,” Rickard asked.
“Of course, my love. Come here and meet your daughters.”
Rickard smiled, “Twins? That's wonderful, have you named them yet?”
“No, my love, I was waiting for you.”
Rickard stared at his daughters. They were beautiful. Both babies had dark hair and blue eyes, but while both babies had blue eyes, it seemed that both would end up having grey eyes. Rickard asked which one of his girls was the oldest. Lyarra told him, “We shall name her Lyanna Stark.” Rickard then kissed the baby's head.
Lyarra smiled and nodded, “And we shall name the other one, Alarra Stark.” Lyarra said.
“They are both fine names,” Rickard told his wife.
Kagome stared at her new mother and father and smiled, so now her new name was Alarra Stark; Kagome could live with that. But as Kagome, now Alarra, drifted off to sleep, she wondered if there would be anything of her left from her former life. No one noticed the shine in her side where the now dormant Shikon Jewel rested.
Later that day, Their father introduced Lyanna and Alarra to their older brothers, Brandon and Eddard Stark. The eldest son immediately picked up Lyanna, and the little girl started to wail at being disturbed. But when Eddard picked up Alarra, she merely opened her eyes and smiled at him. At that moment, Ned felt a connection with his little sister and a fierce need to protect her. Of course, Ned loved both of his sisters, but there was something special about Alarra that drew him to her. Perhaps it was because they were both second children? Whatever it was, Ned Stark did not question it; he only reveled in knowing that this was his sister.
As the girls grew, it became apparent which brother each girl took after. While Lyanna was a beautiful little girl, she had the typical Stark look, long face, brown hair, and grey eyes. Lyanna looked like her father and brother, Ned, but was as wild and hot-tempered as her brother Brandon. And Alarra was a stunningly beautiful girl with black hair and grey eyes like her mother and brother Brandon, but she took after Ned. She was kind and thoughtful, though not nearly as quiet. Alarra was quick to laugh, and her smile lit up the room. She was the apple of Ned's eye.
And even though they were twins, it was Alarra that advance the fastest. She was the first to crawl, the first to walk and speak. But when at the age of three name days old Alarra started reading, Maester Walys declared her a prodigy. Alarra's parents were amazed and proud, but they never pressured Lyanna to be like her sister. Lyarra knew that each girl was destined for great things and would reach their potential at their own time.
When the girls were four name days old, Lyarra fell pregnant again. It was a joyous occasion, and Alarra couldn't wait to welcome her new baby brother or sister into the world. The day the Lyarra went into labor, their father Rickard, a large burly man, sat outside the birthing room with an anxious look on his face while Lyarra struggled to bring their child into the world. Alarra, being the considerate child that she was, went to sit with her father.
“Alarra, you shouldn't be here, daughter,” Lord Rickard said when he saw her coming down the hall.
“I know. Papa, but I don't want you to be alone. Please let me stay.”
Rickard smiled at his youngest child and waved her over. The little girl ran towards her father, and he scooped her up. Alarra kissed his cheek and settled in his arms. Rickard would never admit it to anyone, but Alarra was the apple of his eye. She was as kind and sweet as his beloved wife, but as strong-willed as he was. Lyanna was a lovely child, but Rickard could already tell that she would be a handful, as Brandon was.
Father and daughter sat outside together, listening to Lyarra giving birth, and waited for the sound of a baby's cry. An hour later, Lyarra screamed, and a few seconds later, a baby began to wail. Rickard and Alarra looked at each other and smiled. Rickard kissed the top of Alarra's head, and she kissed his cheek. They waited until the midwife came out to tell them they could see Lyarra and the baby. A few minutes later, the midwife emerged, “Lord Stark, you may enter.”
Rickard carried Alarra into the chambers and towards the bed so that she could see her mother and the baby, “My love, how are you feeling,” Rickard asked.
Lyarra smiled, “Tired, but happy, my love. Let me introduce you to your son,” She said and unwrapped the blanket so that her husband and daughter could see the baby. Rickard smiled down at the baby, “He's beautiful. And what do you think, Alarra?”
“He looks like squishy,” She said, causing her parents to laugh.
“Would you like to hold him, Alarra,” Lyarra asked.
Alarra's blue eyes lit up, “Aye, momma, I want to hold him.”
Rickard put Alarra down and told her to sit down in the chair. He took his son from his wife and brought him over to his daughter. Rickard explained to Alarra how to hold the baby, and she did exactly what her father told her to do. He placed the baby in her arms. Alarra held her baby brother and stared at him.
“What did you want to name him, my love,” Lyarra asked.
Rickard was trying to think of a name when Alarra spoke, “Benjen. You should name him Benjen Stark.”
Rickard looked at his wife, who grinned and nodded, “Benjen Stark, it is then, Alarra.”
Alarra leaned down and kissed Benjen's head, “Hello, Benjen; I'm your big sister Alarra. I promise to take good care of you.”
Lyarra's heart swelled with pride at hearing her daughter's proclamation. She knew that if anything should ever happen to her, Alarra would take good care of Benjen and the family. After a while, Rickard took Benjen back from Alarra and placed him with his mother. He left the room to tell his other children about the birth of their little brother. A few minutes later, Alarra's siblings came into the bedroom to meet the newest member of House Stark. Brandon demanded to be the first to hold Benjen, but Alarra smirked at her oldest brother.
“You're too late, Bran. I held him first.”
Brandon playfully glared at his sister but took Benjen anyway. Brandon held his brother and the baby started to whimper then cry. Ned took the baby from Brandon, and Benjen calmed down, “Why do they always cry with me,” Brandon asked.
“Because you scare the babies with your ugly face,” Ned said with a rare smirk.
If Ned hadn't have been holding Benjen, Brandon would have punched his little brother. After Ned held Benjen for a while, Rickard took Benjen and had Lyanna sit in the chair as he did Alarra so that she too could hold the baby. Lyanna wrinkled her nose at the baby; he looked strange and smelled even stranger.
She looked at her parents, “He stinks.”
Alarra giggled, “Benjen soiled himself.”
Lyanna grimaced, and the others laughed. The wetnurse took Benjen to change him and nursed him. After that, the Stark children left, leaving their parents alone to talk, “How are you truly feeling, my love,” Rickard asked.
“Tired and a little weak but nothing to be concerned about, my love.”
Rickard's brow furrowed, “Are you sure,”
“Aye, I will be fine.”
Rickard nodded and kissed his wife's head, “Rest, then, I shall have food brought to you later.”
Lyarra nodded and settled into her bed to sleep, “I love you, Lyarra.”
“And I love you, Rickard,” Lyarra said, with a smile.
They kissed, and he left the room. The minute he left the room, Lyarra frown. She felt worse than she let on. Lyarra only hoped that it would not lead to her death, but if it did, she would rely on Alarra to take care of the family.
A few days passed and a fever set in; slowly, Lyarra started growing weaker and weaker. To the point that her children were no longer allowed to visit her, much to Alarra's distress. Alarra was convinced that she could heal her mother. She could still feel her healing powers just under the surface of her skin, and Alarra was not going to lose her mother. So she enlisted the help of Lyanna to be her lookout while Alarra snuck into her mother's chambers. Alarra confided in her twin that she thought she could heal their mother, but she only needed a bit of time.
Desperate, Lyanna agreed to help, “Whatever you need, sister, count on me.”
So, Alarra entered her mother's chambers and gasped when she saw her mother. Lyarra looked worse than she assumed, but that wasn't going to stop Alarra. She walked towards the bed and wiped the hair out of her mother's face. Lyarra was burning up. Alarra placed her little hand on her mother's forehead and then her tummy. She closed her eyes and began pushing her healing powers into her mother. Alarra's hands started glowing pink, then her entire body and slowly, Alarra engulfed Lyarra's body in the pink glow as well. Lyarra's breathing became less labored, and her fever broke. Lyarra's eyes slowly fluttered open, and she noticed her four-name day old standing over her, Alarra's entire body, glowing pink. Lyarra gasped when she realized that her daughter was healing her. After a while, Alarra slumped forward onto her mother.
Lyarra reached out and placed her hand on Alarra's head. The little girl looked at her mother, “How do you feel, momma?”
“Much better, Sweetling. What did you do?”
Alarra gave her mother a sweet smile, “I healed you. I won't let you die.”
“I wasn't dying, my love.”
“You do not have to lie to me, Mother, I could feel you were fading away, and I had to do something,” Alarra said.
Lyarra gave her daughter a tired smile, “Thank you, Sweetling.”
“You don't have to thank me, Mother, I love you.”
“And love you,” Lyarra said as tears ran down her cheeks.
At that moment, Lyanna burst into the room, “Alarra, Maester Walys is coming!”
“Quickly, under the bed, both of you,” Lyarra told her twins.
Lyanna helped her sister under the bed then slid in after her. They waited for Maester Walys to examine their mother and pronounce that she was doing much better and that she would make a full recovery. As soon as the Maester left, the girls came out; they flung themselves onto their mother and hugged her tightly. Suddenly the door burst open, and Rickard went into the room; he hardly noticed that his twins were already in the chambers with their mother. They quickly moved aside so that their father could get close to their mother.
“My love, Maester Walys gave me the good news, are you truly feeling better?”
“Better than I have in weeks,” Lyarra caressed her husband's cheek, “You do not have to worry, my love, I am not going anywhere.”
Rickard chuckled as tears of joy and relief ran down his face. He had never been so happy to hear anything in his life. A few minutes later, the Brandon and Ned came in, and they all crowded around their mother, talking to her at once, telling her how relieved they were that she was going to be alright. While all this was going on, Lyarra looked at Alarra and smiled as she saw her asleep in the chair. Lyarra was right; Alarra was going to do great things with her life.