"Lady Stark and Lord Stark," Lucas said, the attention of the entire hall fixed on him. "I would be honest with both of you."
"To choose gifts for the both of you was really a cumbersome process. I wanted a present that would not only suit the character of both of you but is also able to wriggle its way into your hearts."
"And I know as a matter of fact," he continued, "that there are few things that can actually impress both of you. Both of you care too little about materialistic things to be swayed by gold, wealth, or jewelry."
At his gesture, another of the boxes was unbolted and another gift pulled out of it. It was another figurine, but not like what he had given to Rickon or Arya.
The previous two figurines had been of metal, but this one was of pure white crystal. The figurine had two parts.
The first part was a fish, the sigil of House Tully, while the second part was a bust of a direwolf, the sigil of House Stark. The crystal was remarkably beautiful, and the craftsmanship of the figurine spoke for itself. It was truly a marvellous gift.
"Lady Stark," he said, facing Catelyn. "It was about fifteen days before I departed for Winterfell from King's Landing when I encountered a man from Lys. The man was a sculptor, an excellent craftsman if I may say so."
"With him, he was carrying a beautiful white crystal, which he had sourced from a merchant from Yi Ti. It is said that the crystals from that particular mine in Yi Ti retain their color for centuries to come. And such crystals are very rare."
"And the moment I laid my eyes on that crystal, I knew what gift I wanted for you, Lady Stark," Lucas said, taking the figurine in his hands. "A figurine representing the union of two great houses of Westeros: House Tully and House Stark. I had that craftsman forge this gift for you."
Lucas took a couple of steps forward and placed the crystal in front of Catelyn. She had a genuine smile of happiness on her face.
There were a lot of things about Lucas which Catelyn did not like or approve of, the greatest being him belonging to the House Lannister, but this gesture of Lord Lannister had genuinely touched her heart. She liked the gift and was pleased by it.
Meanwhile, though Lucas Lannister had said he was not going materialistic for the gifts of Lord and Lady Stark, and neither had he tried to show off the price of the crystal, anyone with a discerning eye could tell that it was enormously costly. Probably even more so than the jewellery he had gifted to Sansa Stark.
"Thank you, Lord Lucas," Catelyn said in her polite voice. "I truly appreciate your gift. And I can assure you with full confidence that it will remain close to my heart, and I will care for it for the rest of my life."
Lucas nodded back in response and turned toward Ned Stark.
"Lord Stark," he said. "You are a very noble and honorable man, and probably this is the reason you are extremely difficult to impress."
"Not to be disrespectful to anyone, but for anyone else, a few barrels of my expensive new wine would have done the trick. But not you," he added with a little helpless smile.
"Anything you give me, it would be my pleasure to receive it," Ned responded with a small shake of his head.
"As I said, you are too honorable, and I know that you will surely keep my gift in high regard no matter what I give to you," Lucas said, gesturing to his man.
Another box was unbolted and Lord Stark's gift was pulled out of it. It was nothing extraordinary. In fact, out of all the gifts brought out from the boxes, this was the most ordinary. As people in the hall looked at the gift, they could not understand what was special about it. So special, that it was to be presented to Lord Stark.
It was a cloak, a long cloak with furs on it, suited for the winters of the North.
"Some time ago," Lucas said. "I hunted down a bear. I have hunted a lot of animals, a few bears too, but this bear was special for me."
"It is my greatest and most special hunt to date and would perhaps remain so for the rest of my life. I hunted this bear when I had been at my weakest. At that time, I had not been such a skilled warrior, and not this powerful."
"And I thought that something involving my own personal touch would be a very fine gift for you, Lord Stark," Lucas said.
Ned nodded, a genuine smile on his face. If it had been something extraordinary and too pricey, it would have been too difficult for him to actually accept that gift. He would have been too uncomfortable.
But he liked this gift. And he appreciated the gesture from Lucas. He understood that some hunts were really special and people generally wanted to keep the loot of those hunts as memories. Lucas giving him a gift from his most special hunt was a truly significant gesture.
"Thank you, Lord Lucas," Ned said, accepting the cloak. "I really appreciate this, much more than I would have appreciated a costly gift."
"We have one more thing, Lord Stark," Lucas said, smiling, and Ned frowned. He was one of those rare people who became uncomfortable when accepting gifts. Perhaps it was because he understood the liabilities that came with them.
Another box was unbolted and another item was pulled out. Thankfully, it too was nothing extravagant. It was a longsword. A very long one.
"I know about the ancestral sword of your house," Lucas said. "Ice, forged out of Valyrian steel."
"And from the best steel available at my disposal, I had this forged, an exact copy of Ice," Lucas said. "Though it is not Valyrian steel, it will also do the trick."
Another thoughtful gift. Though he was not sure what he would do with this sword, he was impressed and liked the gift.
"Thank you, Lord Lucas," Ned responded with a smile, accepting the gift.
Every Stark had been given their gift but there was one more person for whom Lucas had brought gifts. And he knew this was going to raise some heat in the hall.
*
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