Chapter One
First Meeting
The girls eyes roamed over the vast hills and forest that stretched before them, with a dark structure in the distance, this was Westeros? Hugging her fur cloak around her shoulders, she glared at the country side before her.
"So far, I am unimpressed with the North and with Westeros." Salvatore remarked, running his hand over his mop of dark brown curls, his amber eyes rolling in disappointment.
"Brother dear, we have yet to see anything yet except hills and trees! How can you say you are not impressed when you have yet to see much of the land?" Sapphire replied, her blue eyes widening in exasperation at her brothers lack of interest in this new world.
The girl continued to observe their new home as she listened to her siblings conversing behind her. Sage was still harboring bitter feelings about being shipped off to Westeros by her father, but even if she wasn't, she still would not be impressed by the new land around her. Compared to Ravens Edge, there warm little island they called home, Westeros was dull and lifeless.
"Just call it what it is Sapphire, and uninteresting and unsafe place for us to be, considering where our ancestors hail from beyond the wall." Sage said as she tossed her long, dark red braid over her shoulder and ushered her black horse forward, leaving her siblings to digest her words.
The closer the siblings got to Winterfell, the more their anger at their father grew. The outer stone walls of the castle looked cold and unwelcoming, raising the uneasiness in Sages stomach. As the gates opened and the three rode forward into Winterfell, Sage let her eyes roam over the various faces staring at her. Her unease grew until her eyes found the one familiar face among the crowd.
"Uncle Tormund!" She said in relief at the happy surprise. "We were not informed you would be here."
Dismounting her horse, Sage ignored the curious eyes around her and approached her Uncle, hugging him gratefully.
"Well I couldn't let my sisters children arrive at Winterfell without a familiar face being here!" Tormund said, returning his nieces hug.
Dismounting his horse and assisting his other sister, Salvatore and Sapphire approached their uncle with excitement.
"Father told us you knew Lord Snow and Lady Stark, but we had no idea you knew them well enough to be here! What a delightful surprise!" Sapphire exclaimed as she hugged her uncle.
Salvatore extended his hand to his uncle with a smile on his face,
"How great to see you again, Uncle."
"Salvatore! You are all grown up my boy!" Tormund said cheerfully shaking his nephews hand.
Behind their Uncle, a man cleared his throat and put his hand on Tormund's shoulder,
"Are you going to introduce your family to the rest of us, Tormund?"
Shaking himself out of his happy stupor, Tormund quickly remembered why his nieces and nephew were here. Straightening himself, Tormund stepped aside,
"Lord Snow, this here is my only nephew, Prince Salvatore of Ravens Edge."
Lord Snow stepped forward and bowed his head to the Prince,
"Welcome to Winterfell, Prince Salvatore."
Extending his hand to Sapphire, Tormund stepped forward,
"This blue eyed angel is my youngest niece, Princess Sapphire."
Once again, Lord Snow bowed his head to the Princess,
" I hope you find Winterfell to your liking, Princess."
Tormund then reached out and grabbed Sages hand, bringing her forward, and bringing her face to face with Lord Snow,
" And as you've already gathered I'm sure, this fire haired beauty is my oldest niece, Princess Sage, and your soon to be wife."
Lord Snow stared at the red haired girl standing before him, and found himself comparing her to his lost love, Ygritte. Even though it had been years since her death, he still found himself thinking of her from time to time.
They had few similarities, and he found himself relieved at this. Ygritte was more rugged and slim while Sage seemed softer and less aggressive. Sages hair was a rich dark crimson color while Ygritte's was more orange, and Sages eyes were a startling light green, very different from Ygritte.
"It is great to finally meet you, Princess. Your Uncle has told me so much about you, all of you actually."
Sage regarded her future husband, her uneasy feeling from earlier slowly starting to subside as she stared into the mans kind eyes.
"Well, we are pleased to be here, Lord Snow. And you may drop our titles, we are all to be family soon enough."
"Yes that is true, you all may call me Jon then."
Taking a step back, Jon extended his hand to a tall red haired woman next to him,
"This is my sister, Sansa."
"I am pleased to meet you all. I hope you find Winterfell to be as comfortable as your own home." The tall redhead remarked, bowing her head and trying to avoid the Princes eyes.
"I am sure we will, Lady Sansa…" Salvatore replied, returning her bow as he stared at her.
"Well! Why don't I help you three to your rooms? You can catch me up on how my dear little sister Ayla is doing over there in Ravens Edge!" Tormund said, while clapping his hands together, "This way!"
Each sibling grabbing one bag from their horses, they turned and followed their uncle into the castle. After some twists and turns in a maze of hallways, Tormund brought the trio to two separate doors, directly across from each other,
"Alright Sal, Sapphire, these are your rooms. Will you be able to find your way back to the front of the castle?"
"I am sure I will remember, and I can guide Sal back with me." Sapphire said confidently, smiling at her older brother, who nodded in agreement.
"Alright then, Sage will be just up the stairs at the end of the hall. Her being the new "Queen" of the North, she will be closer to Lord Snows room until the wedding."
The two nodded at Tormund and gave Sage a small smile then entered there rooms. Sage followed her uncle up the stone steps at the end of the dimly lit hall, dread setting back into her stomach.
When they came to the first door at the top of the stairs, Tormund stopped and turned around, looking at his niece and seeing the unease all over her face.
"Hey now, spite fire! Why are you looking so sad? Jon isn't a bad guy to be betrothed to. You could definitely have it a lot worse. He will take care of you and your sister til his last days! Not that you yourself need protecting.."
Tormund trailed off as he noticed Sage nervously fidgeting with her leather satchel she had retrieved from her horse. She seemed to not hear him as he was talking and his eyes lingered on the satchel as realization sunk in.
"Sage! You didn't!"
Tormund's eyes widened with surprise, "You brought your creature here! To Winterfell!" He realized then that the look of unease that his niece had had plastered on her face since her arrival was for a completely different reason then he had originally thought.
Sages light green eyes, went wide with panic as she saw her uncles face twist with shock and worry, "It is not a big thing, uncle, she will be fine here! I just need to keep her hidden until Jon and I marry, then everything can be in the open before we head to war."
Tormund stared at his niece, still in silent shock at his realization. He could not believe what she had hidden in her leather satchel. As his mind began to recall, he had seen both her siblings with identically bags. He shook his head in disbelief,
"Do you know what this will mean, Sage?"
Sage lowered her eyes and nodded. This meant they would have to share the secret Ravens Edge had been hiding for years.
"I know, Uncle. This is what has to be done."
still shaking his head, Tormund turn and abruptly left his niece standing in her door way.
Sighing, Sage turned and opened her door. Stepping inside the dimly candle lit room, Sage crossed to her four poster bed and sat roughly on the edge. Looking down at her satchel, she slowly reached her hand inside, whispering quietly to the creature inside,
"It's alright, Vara. You will be just fine here."
Feeling the creature climb onto her hand, Sage slowly withdrew her hand from the satchel. There, clinging to her hand and forearm, the creatures green scales glistening in the candle light, was a Dragon.
"Father says this is what has to be done to ensure our safety and the safety of all the Dragons…I'm not sure he is right.."
The dragons emerald eyes glinted with understanding. Laying back on her bed, Sage lightly stroked the tiny dragons head as her mind wandered with the intense situation her and her siblings were entering.
Chapter Two
Remember Your roots
Tormund
Tormund could not wrap his mind around his brother-in-laws plan. Why had he sent his children here with their dragons? What was he intending to do? If Cersei were to find out about the dragons… Tormund shook his, he couldn't think of the out come if the Mad Queen found out about the Dragons and the hidden city that protected them. I need to find Jon…he needs to know about this.
Entering the great hall, Tormund marched straight up to the table where Jon was seated, crossing his arms, Tormund stood before the Lord of Winterfell,
"We need to have a chat, Jon. In private."
Signaling to the people in the room to leave, Jon set aside the papers he had been reviewing and looked at his friend.
"What news has you looking so bothered, friend?"
Pulling a chair closer to the table, Tormund sat down heavily, rubbing his hands over his face,
"I have some things I need to tell you before you marry my niece. I know you agreed to the exchange because of my brother-in-laws armies, but there is much more you need to know."
A brief look of concern passed over Jon's face as he sat back in his chair,
"Go ahead, my friend, tell me what you believe I need to know."
"I know you think my niece and her siblings hail from a small kingdom at the edge of the North…But they actually come from a hidden city far west across the Sunset Sea. Let me start by telling you how this city came to be.
My younger sister and her husband escaped the North with a group of Wildlings, I stayed behind to continue helping others escape to the Island. Upon reaching this Island, my sister and her husband discovered something quiet unique about. I've heard stories that the Island is a spectacular sight to behold. Lush green hills, beautiful dense forest and rocky shores with cliffs reaching into the skies.
It was below these cliffs that the Wildlings found the caves, dark, damp and unwelcoming. My sisters husband braved the wretched caves, only to find that at the middle of the island was a cavern stretching miles and miles. At the heart of this cavern, he found Dragons. Hundreds of them! Clinging to the stones, flying around the ceilings and simply laying or sitting on the floor. There was one in particular that drew Nathaniel's eye. This monstrous creature had light blue wisdom filled eyes, its scales were deep glistening blue, while its wings dark grey. This Dragon seemed to step forward out of the mass of creatures gathered around it. The ground shook with every foot fall the Dragon made. Nathaniel stood in awe as the creature continued its approach.
The Great Dragon lowered its head, looking directly at Nathaniel. As Nathaniel stared into the Dragons blue orbs, he began to hear a voice in his head, congratulating him on discovering their world,. and bestowing the great gift of the Guardians on him and his family. These dragons had been waiting centuries for their guardians to find them. The Great Dragon told Nathaniel stories of the future, how he would be blessed with a strong male heir and how his wife would also birth twin girls. It was the girls that would be the true power behind the family, for they would be the Mother Guardian and the Warrior Guardian. This is how Nathaniel and his family became the guardians of the Dragons of Ravens Edge. It would be their duty from now until forever to protect this land and the secret it holds. Nathaniel's daughters would pass this gift on to their children and so on until the last days. The son Nathaniel's wife would bare would be the protector of the Guardians and would one day rule Ravens Edge and so would his own son and grandson until the end of time.
Nathaniel continued to smuggle wildlings out of Westeros and to the refuge now known as Ravens Edge without Kings Landing knowing, and in return, the wildlings pledge their devotion to the dragons and their guardians, agreeing to keep the secret. They created a tiny village at the north western edge of Westeros also called Ravens Edge to help hide their secret. I myself have never been to the island, and have only met my nieces and nephew once when they helped a group escape the north. They are some amazing people, but I am afraid I do not know their fathers full plan of action.
I am telling you all of this Jon, because they have each brought a dragon with them. Sapphire is the Mother Guardian, meaning she has the ability to communicate telepathically with the dragons. By her brining her dragon here, she has a direct link to all dragons in Ravens Edge. Salvatore and Sage each have a dragon they are close too as well. These dragons are not like the ones the Targaryen Heiress has, Sage has the ability to help these Dragons change their size on command. They merely appear to be a lizard, but when needed or when Sage commands it, they can expand to there full sized self…"
Looking up at his friends bewildered expression, Tormund sighed heavily,
"Are you following any of this?"
Blinking away his astonishment at his friends confession, Jon scratched his head while digesting these words,
"Why are you telling me all of this, Tormund? I thought you wanted this union to unite Ravens Edge and Winterfell?"
"Yes, it would bring me so much joy to see you marry my niece, But as your friend, I cant let you enter into this union without knowing what it will truly mean. I think Nathaniel wishes to not only assist you in war, but also wishes to take over Kings Landing when Cersei falls."
Jon thought silently on his news. Looking up at his friends tormented face. Jon smiled and replied,
"You mean to tell me, I have three pygmy Dragons in Winterfell, and that my soon too be wife and her twin sister are their Guardians?"
Tormund let out a loud laugh, reaching across the table to slap his dear friend on the shoulder, he smiled back,
" Yes friend, you have two very powerful women sharing your home, and no one is the wiser. Just keep the dragon stuff to yourself."
Laughing softly, Jon nodded his agreement and stood up,
"We will go on with the marriage, but will keep a watchful eye on your brother in law Nathaniel."
Shaking Jon's hand, Tormund bowed his thanks and left.
Staring after his friend, Jon was still in astonishment, Those two seemingly harmless girls are Dragon hoarders…Never judge a book by its cover, Sage may be more aggressive then Ygritte…What am I getting myself into. What is King Nathaniel planning?
Out of the corner of his eye, Jon so a small shadow pass on the wall. Turning quickly towards the window, Jon caught a glimpse of a small figure moving away from the window. Must have been a child…