Game of Death

by JeremieMcCary

I take down peopleon my list.

It was a very long journey. I had to sit in a carriage for hours on end waiting to get to Castle Black. I'm going to be trained how to fight by the nights watch. This is the beginning of a very long mission of mine. So many people have wronged me in some way, and they must die. The list of my victims is in my head. Cathy, Dain, Steve, Sandy, Diana, David, Peter and Danielle. Eight victims. I may need the three eyed raven's help finding them all. Now that he is king, it may be a lot harder to request his help. Maybe I might see Lord Teryan well he is out running errands. I may have to bribe him with a bottle of liquor. We could even talk about our disabilities. People always underestimate us. With my CP and his dwarfism, we could be a great team. Cerebral palsy hurts. The snow is making my muscles and bones ache as we speak. The Snow is making my eyes hurt too. My vision is bad enough, so this makes it worse.

We're here. We are finally at Castle Black. As I get out of my carriage, I think my driver and hear a familiar voice. It sounds like Teryan is here for some reason. Maybe he's here to talk to my trainer, John Snow. I know his real name is Aegon Targaryen, but he still prefers to go by John. Sure enough, they are talking. Turns out the three eyed raven, a.k.a. King Brandon Stark, saw me coming to Castle Black. Teryan was there to give him guidance. He told John about my CP and vision. John understands, and will train me well.

As they are talking, I take my crutch and cane and carefully make my way to their seating area. I have to sit down before my legs give out. It's so cold! I'm used to more tropical weather like in Kings Landing, so the ice and snow is hard for me to get used to.

"Well, look who decided to show up mid conversation!" Shit. Teryan is already a little drunk. I do you notice that whatever is in his cup is steaming warm. They must have heated up the wine to keep his little ass safe from the cold. I'm going to need some too, and they instantly give me a steaming hot cup of wine. It is still tart and alcoholic, but warms my insides very nicely. Time for me to introduce myself.

" hello fellas. My name is Jeremie, House McCary. I have come on a mission to learn to fight so I can take down all the enemies who have wronged me." They both look at me and nod. Teryan reaches out first to shake my hand. Of course, he tells me he's coming so I can see him. I reach my hand out to John as well, and he graciously shakes it. I can tell he's a little shy, but I am too. We sat back down, and started going over the plans of how John will train me. First, I need to get used to the cold weather. Next, we have to get my leg stronger so I can move better in battle. After that, I can learn to swing a sword. I am the most excited about that part. Of course, I voiced my concerns about my leg Strank's and what happens with my CP and spasms. When my legs give out, that's basically a big spasm. I can't control that. There are nurses on site, so if my legs get too sore they can help me. They can't even draw a bath for me to soak in.

After introductions and a hot meal, John escorts me to my quarters. It's a large room, with plenty of space for me to move and things to grab onto for balance. I notice Some Wood and other materials piled up in a corner. Maybe they will be used during training to work on my strength. There is even a pile of firewood next to the fireplace. I don't know how to light a fire, so I guess that's lesson one for me. John understands this, and teaches me how to light a quick fire. All I need to do is take a torch from the wall and light the firewood in the fireplace.

When the fire was lit, John and I sat down and enjoyed a cup of coffee, with cream and sugar for me. He likes his black. We are both down to earth, so I knew we were going to get along great. We talked about how we would start my training. We talked about a plan to get my leg stronger without overworking them. That was important. While we were talking, I was fidgeting with my hands and cup. He glanced at me, probably thinking I was getting fidgety from the coffee. I'm just anxious. I am fidgety with nerves and excitement. Plus, it helps me focus.

I put my mug down and classed my hands on the table. I must try to keep still. I fidget a lot for many reasons, including boredom, focus, anxiety, excitement, and just the need to move. If I don't fit it, my mind tends to wander and not focus on the conversation or what I'm doing. I heard it was called attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or something. Now, back to the conversation.

While we are talking about my weapon of choice, the sword, food gets brought in. Teryan brought us Bacon, eggs, and beans on toast. It was surprisingly delicious. Plus, it was packed with protein, something I desperately needed for the training ahead today. Next, John hands me a long parcel. Neatly wrapped in silk. Inside the parcel was a leather coated wood scabbard complete with a Valerian steel sword that fit my exact proportions. The scabbard was attached to a leather belt complete with a silver buckle. The buckle had the nights watch emblem on it. It makes me an official member of the nights watch. No, all I have to do is recite the oath. I will become an assassin for the nights watch. I will have my list, and they have theirs to give to me. They are also going to teach me the art of poison. Nobody knows what poison was used to kill Joffrey breathy in, but I'm sure it was a mixture of all the poisonous herbs blended together. This will be a separate class on its own. I will learn about this after I learn stealth. You have to be stealthy in order to slip the poison into someone's drink without them noticing. If I am too loud or careless, someone is bound to notice.

Training begins right after breakfast and reciting the oath. John and I start with how to hold a sword and maneuver it properly. I start off with a stick at first so I don't risk dropping my beautiful sword and cutting myself. I need to pick a name for it. I have decided to call him Dragon Edge. He is fierce like a dragon and has a sharp edge. It even has a dragon engraved on the hilt. The guard of the sword, which is attached to the hilt and the blade, makes it look as if the dragon is breathing fire. It's beautiful. Every detail is all sharp and gives the sword and a great grip. It balances nicely as well, so learning to maneuver it was a piece of cake. The stick was too lightweight so it didn't feel right.

After an hour of learning technique and posture, I needed a break. We sat back down by the fireplace and I learned how to sharpen my sword. With my vision, I thought using a sharpening stone would be a little dangerous for me, but I learned quickly. Soon, my sword had a razor sharp edge. Even looking at it can hurt you. John sharpened his as well. LongClaw was beautiful. Very well-made, and very well-balanced. John can maneuver it easily with great precision. One day, I will fight like him.

After I learned blade sharpening, it was time for a bit of a work out. We took a small hike around castle black so I could meet everyone there. Everyone was new to me and him. All the familiar people had died in either the war against the dead or the war against Cersi. Everyone was very gracious and kind. They were also great fighters as well. Most of them were prisoners who were exiled to the nights watch. I even got to meet Lady Brianne of Tarth. Boy, was she tall! When she took one look at me, I saw a doubt in her eye. I need to earn her respect. John reached out to her graciously. Of course, she shook his hand. Then, they started talking about me. Luckily, I was able to find a chair to sit down. My legs were killing me.

After a long day of training, I finally get to rest in my room. Since my feet were in so much pain, I took off my boots and socks and massage my sore, sweaty feet. They smelled like sweat and a hard days work. My feet were so sore that I couldn't even tickle them. They don't feel a thing. They are numb from the cold and the hard work.

A few minutes later, a maid knocks on my door and tells me a hot bath is waiting for me. Thank fucking God! I could really use a steaming hot bath right now. I get my socks and shoes back on and make my way to the bathroom. The maid understands my struggles, so she let me grab onto her arm and gently guided me to where I needed to go. Once inside the bathroom, I noticed the warm smell of cinnamon and other healing herbs. They designed this bath for me to relax my tight muscles. And, after my bath, they are bringing someone in who has mastered the art of massage. Let's just say I'm going to get a head to toe treatment. This is the perfect way to end a long day.

After a week of training, I have learned quite a bit. I am now able to spar with John. Flashing swords with him was what I was waiting for in my training. That way, I can learn to respond to different situations. I am even learning how to fight on the ground. My legs may be heavy and in the way, but I use them to my advantage. I can pin someone down pretty well so I can give them the final blow with Dragon Edge, straight to the heart. I learned all about power the hard way. They were throwing fruit at me, and I had to slice the fruit with my sword in order to not get hit. Let's just say I did get hit a couple times before I got the hint. Brianne even threw a melon at me, and I pierced it right in the middle. The look of shock on her face was fantastic! She even shook my hand. I have finally earned her respect. She even joined in on the power exercise, and I won. I wonder how Teryan would do.

One day, John decided to throw a knife lesson in the mix. I got to learn how to fight with a dagger and throw knives. It was important that I learned this because what if my opponent tries to run away? We started off with targets attached to the wall, and once I was able to consistently hit them all, we moved on to moving targets. That was a different story. I needed to know where the targets were at the beginning so I could track them. John helped at first, but then I was on my own. Soon, I was hitting them every time. It didn't matter if I got a bull's-eye or not. I am blind. He knew it.

Wednesday, I was very tired from a long day of training. I had just done a 2 mile hike, four hours of sword training, two hours of strength training, two hours of grappling, and two hours of hand to hand combat training. I was completely exhausted. I was sitting on my bed, removing my socks and shoes, when I heard a light knock on the door. I was too tired to get up to ask who it was, so I simply called out " Who is it?" A sweet female voice answered from the other side of the door. "It's Aria. May I come in?" Of course she can. I've been waiting to meet her.

As she comes in, I noticed how tired she looks. I invite her to sit on the bed with me, and pour her a goblet of water. As she walked over to the bed, I noticed she was smiling awkwardly. She graciously sat down and took sips of the goblet of water I gave her. Of course, I introduce myself as politely as I could sitting down. When she shook my hand, I noticed her grip. She has small hands, but a very firm grip. I guess wielding needle for so many years can give you the grip of a soldier. " are you OK?" I asked, glancing in her direction. Then, she said something surprising.

" i'm just nervous. I have been watching you train for a week. I can see your struggles. I can tell how much your legs hurt from time to time. I even saw them give out when you had a massive spasm. I am here for anything you may need." Wow. She has been watching me. No wonder why I felt like I was being watched at times. I glance over at her, and I can see that she is blushing. She is also moving the goblet from hand to hand nervously. This isn't like the area I have seen in battle. She seems shy right now. Then, she scooted towards me and put her shaking left hand on my right hand. Her touch startled me, because I didn't see her coming. I can't see anything from my right eye. When I jumped and pulled back, she apologized. She didn't know this was my bad side. She let me know that she was going to put her hand on mine again so I would be comfortable. We talked about my training, and I told her about my CP and my vision. I told her about how much I struggled when I first came to Castle Black. She seemed very interested, and genuinely wanted to help. Of course, I asked her about her adventure with the faceless and how she killed the night king. I asked her why she didn't use her spear, and she told me she kept the dagger just in case because it was made of valerian steel which kills white walkers. I can't believe she nearly got killed by that asshole as she was running to save her brother. Thank God she has great reflexes!

While we were talking, I noticed that she was wincing in pain because of her boots. " feel free to takeoff your shoes and socks if you wish. Get comfortable." I was already barefoot, so I was feeling more comfortable already. Now, it was her turn. I saw her literally pulling off her boots with s sigh of relief. " sorry about the smell," she says, placing her boots on the bed beside her and pulling off her socks. " don't worry about it. I actually find it pretty attractive." I look down, and see her small but beautiful feet dangling there. Then, she scoots to the right and props her feet up on the bed. Now I can get a better look. When I turned to face her, she blows my mind again with what she says.

" you can smell and play with them if you want. I saw how you played with your feet after a long day of training yesterday. I'm sorry, but I watched you through the window." She's blushing. She looks embarrassed, but I turned to her and Smile reassuringly. Then, I start playing with her feet. They smell incredible!

While I was playing with her feet, she told me about how she found out about me. Let's just say some of the guys from the nights watch don't believe that I am a good fighter. She wanted to do some surveillance to see if I would make for a good assassin like I am hoping to be. One day, she hopes that I could work with her. The thought of that really excites me. Aria also mentioned sparring sometime. Of course, I agreed, as long as she goes easy on me. She's a master fighter, and I'm still just beginning. She said I may have to learn fast. I am a fast learner. She even asked me if I would like her to quiz me on different battle topics. Of course, I said yes.

Before we could continue, I heard a familiar knock on my door. "hide! I think the maid is here to tell me about my bath. There is room in the closet back there." She runs off and hides in the closet. " Who is it," I ask, hiding arias socks and shoes under my bed. Luckily, I was right. Bathtime.

After a nice, steaming bath, I return to my room to find aria already waiting for me. Luckily, I was already dressed, so she didn't see me naked. She helped me climb into bed and tucked me in. She has been so sweet to me ever since I got home. I think I'm noticing something. My heart is starting to skip a beat whenever I think of her. Before she goes, she tells me one more thing. She tells me that by watching my training for the past week she has started to fall in love with me. How sweet! Next thing I know, I ended up blurting out " honestly, me too. Thank you for being so sweet to me today. It was an honor and a pleasure to meet you and talk to you. By the way, your shoes and socks are under the bed if you want them." She thanked me, found her socks and shoes under the bed, quietly slipped them on, and snuck out through the window. She was silent as a ghost running off into the night. " good night, sweet aria. I really hope to see you soon." My eyes are getting heavy. Time for bed.

The next morning, I woke up thinking they would be training today. Luckily, John left a note for me. "No training today. Get some rest. I will be out of Castle Black for a few days, so feel free to train on your own and explore as you wish." Perfect. Now is the perfect time for me to train with Aria. Speaking of Aria, I see her standing by the door. She looks relieved. I guess she really wants to be alone with me for a while. I might end up getting more than just a sparring session.

As I carefully climb out of bed, I noticed that my muscles are tighter than usual. I guess today would be the perfect day for a bad CP day. He has seen these bad CP days too often. Whenever I have a bad CP day, we end up having to end training early. Aria sees my pain and helps me out of bed. She asks me if I want to take another bath, but I don't think my legs will make it. I think today is one of those days where I have to stay in the room. Luckily, John has given me a bell to ring whenever I need something on my bad CP days. It is a huge help.

Aria steps out for a second to run a couple errands for her brother. I grab the bell and give it a good ring. I need my coffee. If I don't get coffee soon, I will end up getting a very bad headache. I will get this headache if I go a full day or more without coffee. Speaking of which, a maid brings it in with a worried smile. " this is the third CP day this week," she says, looking at me from head to toe. " maybe I should let John know so he can work you out less next week to see if that helps?" I tell her about the note he left me and how he will be gone for a while. Then, she tells me that the second he gets home, he is going to get an earful on compassion from her. He needs to learn a little bit about showing some compassion and empathy for me. Turns out, he is being a little too hard on me.

As I am sipping my coffee, the maid tells me that the masseuse of the nights watch is here. I haven't had my muscles worked on in months! I think it's time for a massage. After I finish my cup of coffee, The maid lets me grab onto her arm for support. Then, we carefully make our way down to a separate room where a massage table has been built. I guess they upgraded the massage table from the last time I was in this room. I also notice more torches and a fireplace. They have really done some renovations. Once I'm in the room, I can smell a different type of smell coming from the fireplace. Turns out, the masseuse has put some incense in the fireplace for a more therapeutic smell. It is a sandalwood and lavender incense. She is also warming some oil by the fireplace for the massage.

After a two hour long deep tissue aromatherapy massage, my muscles are starting to feel loose again. I can actually move my legs without groaning in pain. Before I leave the massage room, the masseuse hands me a big cup of a specialty blend for relaxing muscles. It's your own special recipe. As it goes down, I feel every muscle loosening up and I hear a few bones in my body crack back into place. This is some powerful shit! I could use a cup of this every night! When I mentioned that I would need a cup of this tea every night, she smiles and hands The closest made a big bag of tea. " 2 cups. One in the morning, one at night." I hope it doesn't overpower my coffee. Maybe I could have my coffee after the tea.

When I get back to my room, I notice a few parcels waiting for me. Maybe aria didn't just go run errands for John. Maybe she got a few things for me, too. I don't see aria in sight right now, but I can tell these are for me. They are all wrapped in a bright green silk. The first parcel is a new pair of boots. Because of my CP, I drag my feet a lot, which where is my shoes down quite quickly. The boots she got me have very thick souls with A slip resistant outsole. The boots match the belt that my sword came with, down to the silver buckles. They are beautiful. I really hope they're comfortable. Next to the boots are a new pair of socks. They are thick wool socks knitted by the finest wool you can find. The inside of the boots were lined by a very thick fur. The insoles of my shoes were nicely padded and comfortable to wear and walk in. And, the socks combined with this shoes will help keep my feet toasty warm. Thank you Aria!

The next parcel is nice and long. I think I know what it is. I just really hope I can learn how to use it even in battle. When I unwrap it, I find out I am right. It is a very sturdy support cane. The handle has been covered in leather for my comfort. When I go to try it out, I find that it is the exact height I need! I can walk around the room with relative ease right now. No need to grab onto the wall for stability! This feels good.

There are three parcels left. When I pick up the top parcel, I noticed it is very soft, fluffy, and heavy. When I unwrap it, I notice it is a new cloak. It is in the same colors as my new boots and cane. I'm starting to notice a pattern here. I think maybe she got me a whole new outfit, or this is my nights watch uniform finally coming in. That's when I finally find the note.

" dear Jeremie, welcome to the nights watch. All of these parcels are for you. You may notice that they all match your sword and sheath. These have been specially made for you and you alone. I hope you enjoy everything. We even added a couple surprises in there for you. Sincerely, the nights watch." It is my uniform! Maybe my new brothers are understanding that I'm here to stay. I feel excepted. Time to unwrap the last two parcels.

The next parcel I opened is a large box. I can hear something moving around inside the box. I put my hand on the handle of my sword just in case, and slowly lift the lid of the box. Suddenly, a little black face pops out of the top of the box with a happy little bark. It's a puppy! And, he is wearing a collar! The collar has a buckle on it that says guide for the nights watch on it. Then, I noticed a note on the bottom of the box. " hello, Master. My name is Justice. Please train me to guide you, guard you, and watch your back. I can be a great help to you. By the way, I am a very timid dire wolf puppy." I can't believe they gave me a puppy! At the bottom of the box, I noticed they gave me a couple bowls for food and water, a couple rope toys, and a treat pouch. Looks like he is smart enough to not dig into his treats just yet. They even gave me a pouch to carry him around in for now. That way I can get him used to different situations. Justice is an all black dire wolf puppy, with not a spot of white or brown on him. In fact, the only brown on him is his collar. I really hope they give us new colors as he grows.

The last parcel is the final bits of my uniform. Now I have everything I need to dress for work. Before I try everything on, I take justice out to see if he needs to go to the bathroom. Looks like he really had to go, because the second we got outside he went right away. Of course, I praised him and gave him a treat before we went back inside. Aria was waiting for me inside. When she saw the new puppy, her job dropped. I can tell she loves puppies. She used to have one, Nymeria. She sadly left Aria to create her own Wolfpack. Aria doesn't even know why she left. She misses her puppy. In fact, she tells me that she can help me train little Justice. She can train him to pick up things I have dropped, respond to any panic attacks I have, respond to my leg spasms, and a lot more. Aria is going to be a huge help to me, and I love it.

After I tell aria about the parcels, she wants me to try on my complete uniform. So, I go into my closet to try it on and come out to show her. Everything fits perfectly! And, everything looks fantastic. The colors of my uniform are black with silver accents. Seeing it on me really drives me into wanting to help my brothers of the nights watch even more.

Now that I have my uniform on, I also show her my new support cane. Then, she notices that I'm going to have to learn to fight while supporting myself with the cane as well. So, she decides to for fill one of my dreams right then and there. It's sparring time.

We go into a different room so Justice can sleep. When we get into the spiring room, we draw our swords and go at it. While we are battling, aria is giving me tips and complementing me as well. I complement her a lot and I even corrected her a couple times on something. When she saw how observant I was, that blew her mind. It's hard to learn how to be observant, but it's a natural gift for me. I was even able to catch her off balance and pin her down. When I pinned her down, she smiled and kissed me on the cheek. "Did I hurt you, my lady?" She smiled, winked, and shake her head. "Don't catch yourself off guard, Jeremie." Next thing I know, I'm on my back. Oh shit. I need to remember how to get out of this. Then, I remember. Now I just need to put that memory into action. And, I really hope my legs behaves right now. When I tried to move them, they just won't listen. Looks like she won this sparring match.

After the match, we make our way back to my room. Of course, aria scans the hallway before we go just in case someone is there. She doesn't want anyone to know that we are seeing each other. It's against the earth, after all. What I am doing is for bidden, and I love it! My job is risky business, anyway. But, I don't want to lose her. As we are walking, I feel her slip her hand into mine and give it a gentle squeeze. It was very reassuring. Yes, I lost to a girl. She is not going to let me live this one down. Dammit!

" don't put yourself down about it. Besides, it was just practice. I'm sure you'll get me next time." She put her arm around my waist and gave me a squeeze. Then, we finally entered my room. Now that we are officially in private, I turn to face her.

We start talking about our match, and how we both did. She was proud of me for being able to pin her down, but I had one fatal flaw. I wasn't paying attention. Fuck. She turned my ADHD against me. No hard feelings, though. I can't have hard feelings for her when I'm getting so warm and fuzzy feelings about her. As we are gazing into each others eyes, we start leaning towards each other. Should we stop here? I don't think so. I'm going in. I give her a very soft kiss on the lips. She doesn't pull back. In fact, she takes it a step further and wraps her arms around me. Looks like I really am going to get more than just a sparring session.

A few days later, aria comes running into my room, looking very frantic." What's wrong? Are you OK? Did something happen?" I hug her tight and try to calm her down.

"The red rose was supposed to start blooming today. And, I wasn't feeling very well this morning. I'm still feeling a little nauseous. Jeremie, I think I'm pregnant!" Well, that's two valves in the oath that I have broken. I'm with a girl. I got the girl pregnant. What the fucking hell am I going to do! Then, it comes to me. She's going to have to have the baby in secret. Maybe I can come visit them once in a while, whenever I can. But, I can't leave her alone with a child, especially if she has work to do as well. Looks like I need to finish my training as soon as possible so I can leave the nights watch. Then aria and I can be together, forever. A couple of assassins, A baby, and a dog. Time to start training harder than I have ever trained before. Aria tells me that castle black has a maternity ward for Wildlings who are pregnant so they don't have to live in the cold. She could lie about the pregnancy and say that it's an accidental pregnancy from a rape. She could say that she killed the rapist who assaulted her. That would make it a lot more believable. Of course, that's a great idea. Plus, that would keep her and the baby safe until I can get us both out of there. Of course, she will be able to roam the castle as she wishes.

After she finally calm down, we sit on my bed and play with each other's feet. Her foot massage feels nice especially after all the training I've been through. I give her one of the best massages I can as well because she's going to need it as the baby grows. While we play with each other's feet, we go over the plan. She will start walking to the Wildling maternity camp tonight. When she gets there, she will make sure she is safe and warm until either she gives birth or I graduate and move on from the nights watch.

The next day, it's back to training. John sees that I am invigorated and ready to work harder than before. When I asked him where he went, he took me into the main room, where I saw a dragon's head on a spike. When I asked him how he did it, he drew his dragon glass sword. He had a new one made exactly for this purpose. It was stained red by dragons blood. It must've taken a lot of stabbing and slicing to kill the beast, and I'm surprised John didn't get burned. Maybe he did it while the dragon slept. Maybe he also had help. A few nights watchmen that he left with didn't come back. We were going to have a funeral for them this afternoon. John brought back their burn remains.

When we started training, John noticed my uniform. He liked it and approved of it. He's the one who designed it. Then he met my puppy, Justice. When he saw him, I saw his face light up. This is the happiest I've seen him in a while. Then I showed him the training that I have been doing with him. He has now learned how to sit, come when called, and stay for a short period of time. John is proud of what I have done. John has a couple commands that he wants to teach justice, including attack and pin. The pin command can be used on either of my opponent or me to stop my anxiety attacks or leg spasms. Of course, we have to start with the basics first, so we had to teach him the touch command.

John worked with me and justice for five hours straight. We worked on more swordsmanship, more balanced techniques, more teamwork exercises with justice, and a couple leg workouts. That's when John noticed that my muscles have been looser than usual. Of course, I told him about what the masseuse recommended. When I told him, I noticed that he had an epiphany. He then called the maid in to ask for the masseuse. When the maid saw John was back, she opened her mouth as if to say something. John saw her hesitation and asked her to speak her mind. Here it comes. John was about to get in earful from the maid. So, I turned to justice to work on more training. In the background, I heard them arguing a little bit, and then he drew his sword. I looked over at John, and he was just pulling it out of his sheath. Just then, he realized what he was doing and put it back in. The maid apologized, thanked him, and ran off. Then, John turned to me. He asked me if he was working me too hard. Of course, I said no, because I was willing to be trained hard, no matter the amount of pain I was in. I told him that in those exact words, and I told him about the bad CP day that nearly left me crippled in bed for a day. He looked at me, shocked. Then he remembers how fragile my muscles really are, and apologized. Then, he called for the maid so he could apologize for his temper. He could have nearly killed her. All she was trying to do was protect me and he snapped. After the maid came back, I could tell she was frightened. John knelt on one knee, pleading for forgiveness. He apologized for his temper, and told her that he now understands that she was just trying to protect me. She told him to stand back up, saying there is nothing to apologize about. She knew the risk of talking the way she did, and she apologized as well. Now that they have made up, we can get back on with our day. Well, we were. He decided to let me off early so my legs could heal.

When I got back to my room, with Justice in one arm and my new cane in the other, I open my door and see aria sitting on my bed. She looks exhausted, and her belly is starting to show. The baby is growing fast. I nearly drop my cane as I run to give her a hug. I've been so worried about her! " are you OK? How's the baby doing? Do you need anything? How The hell are you? I miss you so much! Justice missed you too." I hand Justice to her, and he licks her face affectionately. Then, we sit on the side of my bed to catch up. She tells me that the maternity ward is still a very cold place, no place for mothers who are pregnant and about to give birth. When I hear that, that makes me concerned for all the mothers who go to that ward. I would love to ask John if we can make a new one in Castle Black, but I don't want to give anything away. Then, I have an idea. I tell her to find Breanne of Tarth, and start a school for women, where they learn to act like ladies, but fight like men. I tell her to treat them like princesses, so they feel special. I tell her to put the school in Dragonstone castle. I would send men to help with the process, but I think it should be built by women as well. I am sure she and Brianne could find the right women to do the job. When I was telling this to her, she was nodding, as of taking notes in her head. Then, she gave me one last kiss before going to find Brianne. I really hope I see her again soon. I have to hold her tight one more time before she leaves. When I hug her, she hugs me back. Of course, I'm gentle around her stomach because of the growing baby. I don't know if it's a boy or a girl, but I really hope it's a girl. " if the baby is a girl, call her Ariana." It's a beautiful name, and it's a spin off of her mothers name. Plus, we can call her Ari for short. Aria loves the idea of having a daughter named Ariana. She could end up being the closest link she has to me. " if it is a boy, please name him Aeron. He will grow up to be a strong man under my care if it is a boy. You can train Ariana in your new school. Aeron Will stay with me and be the next nights watch brother." She smiled and gave me a hug. We are going to be great parents. We may be apart, but we will make sure that we both see our children. As she is walking away, I start to panic. I do not know how I can live without her right now.

Training in the next few weeks was hard and intense. I started learning archery, which was a fun project. I even learned how to make my own arrows. I learned that if I make them out of dragon glass, they will shatter as they hit my opponent, and the shaft will fall off. I even had to pluck the feathers off a freshly killed chicken for the fletching's of my aero. I also learned how to put a knock at the other end, where I would hold it to the drawstrings of a bow. it was a very tedious task, and I nearly cut my hand a few times, but soon I was able to make a quiver of arrows in five minutes flat. Soon, some of my brothers in the nights watch were asking me to make quitters of arrows for them. I got paid in coffee or other goods.

John also started to help me with my hand to hand combat skills. I was getting pretty good after a few weeks of training, and was able to switch weapons throughout the fight as I pleased. That way, I could go from hand to hand combat to swordsmanship to swinging an ax. Learning these transition methods made battle a lot smoother. John and I even started storing every day. We would be pretty even on who won the most amount of days. Looks like I might be getting close to finishing my training.

One day, after I had finished a long grueling training session, I was just getting back to my room when I saw aria running towards me. She was struggling to run because of her belly, and she was limping. I ran into her and caught her as she started to fall. She will not be falling on her unborn child on my watch. When I caught her, I noticed she was crying. She was also bleeding and bruised in a couple places. " what happened? Who did this to you? Are you OK? Is the baby OK?" When look at her, and I don't see any cats on her. Why is she bloody? Then, she explains everything. " Brianne and I were looking around for women who were good at different trades such as carpentry and blacksmithing. We got separated in a snowstorm. When we were separated, a crazed Wildling tried to attack me with his bare hands. He didn't have a weapon or anything but his bare hands, sharp nails, and teeth. I tried to fight him off, but I didn't know how, so I had to draw needle and kill him. I didn't want to kill him, but I had to to spare my life and our kids life. Please teach me hand to hand combat. I beg you." Of course, I agree. I will do it for the sake of John as her brother, for the sake of her life, and for our child. But first, she has to go back to the ward to be seen by a doctor, to find out if the baby is still healthy. Of course, she agreed. I won't be going with her to find out myself because that would raise suspicions. Instead, it's time for my bath. I'm sure I will find out once I get back to my room.

My bath was long and relaxing, and of course I have a massage afterwards. As the masseuse was working on my muscles, she commented about how much looser they were. I guess that he is really doing his job. My muscles are starting to feel like a normal man's muscles. That makes me feel a lot better. After my massage, I start walking to the room. I notice that I'm starting to rely less on my support cane, and walking with a straighter back. I start trying longer strides to see how my legs would react. Of course, they try to fight me, but I fight harder. I will learn to walk normally. I will push through this.

When I open the door to my room, I see aria laying on my bed. She is barefoot, and smiling. That must mean good news about the baby. I take a look at her from head to toe. Her feet are a little swollen because of the pregnancy. I bet she would love a foot massage right now. As I massage her feet, aria tells me about her trip to the doctor. She tells me that the baby will be fine. She has been given an herbal remedy for the pain that will also improve the babies health. She must brew it as a tea and drink it twice a day. No, I wonder if I have a teapot in my closet. I go over to look in the closet, and there it is. I can have the tea pot by the fire so I can boil water for tea. She hands me a small amount of the herbs, and I combine it with some water from my jug and set it by the fireplace. It's made of ceramic, so it won't burn. Of course, I angle it so the handle will stay cool so I can pour her a cup of tea. Five minutes later, the teapot is whistling. Her tea is ready.

As she drinks her tea, she talked about her adventures so far besides being attacked. Are you completely agrees with the idea of an all female school. She will be one of the main teacher teachers who will teach combat skills. Since aria was raised with a sister, she will try to teach most of the more ladylike part of the school. She mentioned that she talked to her sister Sansa about the school, and Sansa jumped at the chance of coming to the school once in a while to teach needlepoint and other women's duties. That is pretty cool. I can't think of how honored the students will feel to be taught by the queen of Winterfell!

After aria finishes her tea, I can tell she feels much better. Color is returning to her face, and she is more energized. I guess a nice hot cup of tea was just what she needed to get back out into the world. Now, all she has to do is find Brianne and get back to finding women. She did promise me one thing, though. She promised me that she would send letters to me through ravens, and they will wait for me to write a reply. That way, we can keep in touch. I don't feel so panicky about her leaving this time. I did, however, tell her about how anxious I got when she left, and told her to stick to Brianne's side this time. She hugged me understandingly, gave me a kiss, told me she loves me, and started back off again. I can hear justice whining as she left. He loves her. I block over to him, pick him up, and give him a big hug. " i'm not going anywhere, buddy. I'm here for you forever." He gave me a kiss on the nose. Aren't puppy kisses the best?

Next thing I know, I remember something. She is very pregnant and having trouble walking. I can't have her go out there alone. She has to stay with me. Maybe I can have Brianne help me take good care of her, but that would mean revealing our secret to someone. " aria! Please come back! I fear for your safety. Please come stay with me at castle black." Aria looks back at me, and nearly falls trying to turn back around. " you're right! I can't be out in the world like this. What is that crazed while Lang tries to attack me again? What if it's something worse but I can't defend myself from in this state? I will stay with you. I should have Brianne come to Castle Black to hang out with me while you train." That's a really good idea. I didn't think of it that way.

As I guide her back to the castle, I see a raven flying in through my window. Maybe it's a letter from Brianne to Aria. I hope it's something good.

The raven is waiting patiently for her when we get in to the room. Turns out, it is a letter for me from John. Looks like he is out on another mission for the nights watch. He is in Westeros cleaning up debris and looking for survivors. Any survivors he finds Will automatically be recruited into the nights watch if they are male. If they are female, they will go to Winterfell. Aria decides to send a raven to Brianne, asking her to go to Winterfell to wait for the females. They would be perfect for the school. She also adds in the letter that she needs Brian to come to castle black. She has to tell her something. Let's hope she gets here soon. Maybe she can stop here first on the way to Winterfell.

A month or so goes by, and aria's strength is getting less and less because of the pregnancy. She is getting more and more tired every day because of her growing belly, and her back and joints are hurting her to the point where she can barely move. Soon, we hear the sound of a horses hoof beats, and Brianne's voice bringing her horse to a stop. I go out to the main entry to guide her to the room. Brianne looks worried. " where is aria?" She asks, putting her hand on the hilt of her sword. I smile and reassure her that aria is OK, and that I will take her to her. She gets off her horse, handing it to the maid.As we walk to my room, I update her on the situation. Brian already knows about the pregnancy, but she doesn't know who the dad is. She's in for a shock.

When we get to the room, Brianne sees aria laying on the bed, looking weak and tired. Of course, bring in his little bow to her and respect. Aria spells her head as well, thanking her for coming. Then, she asks Brianne to swear secrecy before we tell her the story. She agrees, and even crosses her heart. Here we go. We take turns telling her how she fell in love with me, how she watched my training, how she came in to meet me, how we fell in love together, and how I got her pregnant. Of course, I gave her a goblet of water before we started talking so she could sit on something while she listened. When we were finished with her story, she nodded and turned it to Aria.

" I understand your story completely. Love is blind. Love doesn't know who to make following love into not to. I will stay and take care of you, aria. I will keep your relationship a secret. In fact, I have heard that John will be away for a year or two, so I would like to escort both of you to Dragonstone Castle. I will tell the nights watch that I will be training you. We will train every couple days so you can be there for Aria. Now, pack your belongings and grab a horse. Let's go."

I decided to pick a black stallion named midnight. He is an easy rider, good for people who are just starting to learn to ride. I've tried learning a couple times, but my fear of heights always makes me panic, which spooks the horse. This time, I am determined to stay on the horse for Aria. I will be bringing justice with me as well, tucked in his little travel pouch. When I first get into the saddle, I start to panic from the height, but close my eyes and take a couple deep breath's. Brianne sees my fear and pats me on the shoulder. "A good warrior must also be a good horseman. Consider this a training session." Done. At first, we started with me learning how to walk and control the horse. While I was learning how to ride a horse while walking, Brianne held the reins so I could focus on keeping my balance. Luckily, the saddle had stirrups so I could Put my feet into something that can help my balance. Plus, keeping my feet in the stirrups will help me absorb some of the impact while at a full gallop. I'm not looking forward to that. I may love going fast, but I don't know if I want to go that fast just yet.

It took around a month for us to ride all the way to dragon stone castle. Now, Aria is getting close to the birthing period. In fact, I am checking on her the whole time we are writing. She looks like she can barely hang on. We haven't been able to stop for rest in a while, so I totally understand her. Maybe we should have brought a carriage for her.

As we are trotting up to the entrance of the dragon stone castle, I hear Aria scream. " guys, I need to get off. I water just broke. It's time." We all start to move our horses faster through the entrance, and right to the stables. Brianne helps me off my horse, and puts him in a stall. We both lift aria off her horse, and I hold her tight as Brianne puts her horse away. I do you see a clear liquid running down her leg. It really is time now. All of a sudden, she clings to me in pain. " it hurts! My stomach is so tight!" Brianne scooped her out of my arms and starts running towards the castle. I have to try to keep up. I start running too. I can feel my legs start to tighten up, but I fight it. I will not let my legs spasm right now. I must watch the birth.

If you hours later, aria is ready to push the baby out. We are both praying for a girl. Brianne is also praying for a girl. The pain is getting very intense for poor aria, and justice is noticing the tension in the air. He curls up in my lap and stays there so I can pet him. I really needed that. I want point, aria screams so loud that it makes me and justice jump. I run over to her and grab her hand. Then, Brianne takes one look down there and says something shocking. " I can see the head, aria. You're doing wonderful. I have helped other women give birth before, so I can help you with this one. Grab Jeremie's hand, and give me one big push. I'm going to try to pull the baby out while you push. But, only push during the contraction. You need to work with your body, not against it." Here we go. I called for a maid to get a warm bucket of water ready so we can watch the baby before putting her on aria's stomach. Of course, the maid runs off to get what we need. She also brings us water to drink and a little food as well. Aria tries to eat, but a contraction takes over so she starts pushing again. Breanne is able to grab onto the baby, even though it is very slippery, and gently pull it out with every contraction.

Soon, aria gives one big push, and the baby is out. She did a wonderful job. A maid takes the baby and starts washing it in the warm water, gently talking to it. The baby starts crying immediately. It's a healthy one, thank God. Then, the maid looks at us and hands the baby to aria. " it's a girl. You have a daughter. She's beautiful." Welcome to the world, Ariana McCary. When Aria starts holding her, she starts crying. She is so happy and relieved to see her baby girl. Then, maternal instinct takes over and she starts breast-feeding her. Arianna is absolutely beautiful. I can see tufts of dark brown hair, and beautiful blue eyes. She looks like a combination of me and aria, but she definitely has a lot of her mother in her. As I spend time with my family, Brianne is cleaning area up down there. Birthing is messy business. When she was done, she hands an arm load of messy bloody towels to the mean, who takes it to the laundry room. They have a maid who works there Full time washing anything people need.

After the birth, Brianne and I washed up and started more training. She wanted to teach me more about horsemanship, including how to groom a horse and take care of it. It was fun to take care of the horses next to an ocean breeze. Brianne and I loved the feeling of the salty sea winds blowing through your hair. I can tell the horses liked it, too. There's something about being close to the ocean that resembles freedom. Then, I noticed something. I haven't cut my hair in over a year. It's time for more than just a trim. I wonder if Brianne knows how to cut hair. Plus, I get too hot when my hair is long. Being in warmer weather helped me remember that I like my scalp and neck to be able to breathe, especially on hot days. Summer is also coming in Dragonstone.

When I asked Brianne about my hair, she mentioned that there is a barber who lives at the castle. Perfect. I could use a shave as well. Being at the wall in the north can really get to a man and make him forget about caring about himself when it comes to his hair and beard. Plus, I heard the barber has a new method of removing facial hair besides using wax. He has found a way to take a blade and make it super sharp, sharp enough to cut through hair without much effort. He calls it a razor blade. I don't know if I trust razors just yet, but it's worth a try. Let me put it this way. Never trust a man with a sharp blade. He could try to slit my neck at any chance he could. When look at Brianne, and she looked back at me reassuringly. " he doesn't slice throats, no matter what." I guess he's not the killing type. Let's do this.

The walk to the barber was short but full of stairs. When we finally got there, I thought my legs were going to buckle from under me because of all the steps I went up and down. I don't even know how high up we are right now, and I'm too afraid to look. Let's just say I'm deathly afraid of heights. When Brianne saw my discomfort, she gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze and gave me her arm. " we're not too high up. If you see a view and start to panic, just look at me." Not to hire up? Yeah right. I was a little uncomfortable while on horseback because even that is too high for me. Then, I remembered aria and the baby. I hope they're OK. Who is watching them? Who is there to make sure the baby is latching properly? What is aria is still in pain? I hope this haircut is quick. I must get back to my family. " Brianne, can you please go check on aria and the baby while I'm getting my haircut? I need to know if they're OK." Brianne nods and decides to bring her up here as well so she can get her first mommy haircut. That's a great idea. Plus, I can bond with the baby while she's getting her haircut.

A few minutes later, I am comfortably seated in a chair with a man named Rupert cutting my hair. Turns out, he was born here. He told me about the inns and outs of the castle, the amenities this castle has, and even about the doctors. I had no idea they had doctors here. Maybe one should see aria to make sure the birth was smooth. As he is cutting my hair, I start voicing my concerns about aria, the baby, and my fear of heights. When Rupert heard about my fear of heights, he nodded. Turns out, he used to be afraid of heights as well before he started working here. Now, he finds heights comforting. I wonder if I will get like that someday.

As Rupert is finishing the haircut and moving onto the shave, Brianne arrives with my family. Aria looks exhausted. She is gently holding Ariana, who is starting to get a little fussy. Then, Rupert calls one of the maids to bring a doctor for her. She is also going to need a A lot of supplies for the baby. She's going to need clothes, diapers, a swaddle blanket, bottles and more. I'm sure the doctors will set her up. Speaking of the doctors, one shows up to take a look at aria and Ariana. Of course, they took her into a different room so she would be more comfortable, especially with her skirt up. Ariana, of course, gets handed to another Doctor Who starts looking at her right away. 10 fingers, 10 toes, a perfect umbilical cord, and a cute little face. So far, she looks healthy. Then, the doctor notices something about Ariana's eyes. They're not focusing as well as a newborn babies should. " my Lord, I think your daughter is blind. Look at how her eyes can barely focus." So that's why she doesn't look at my face very much. Poor thing.

A couple rooms over, I hear aria suddenly shriek in pain. Then, I hear the doctor trying to comfort her. Turns out, they have to give her stitches down there. " it happens every time, my lady. Take some deep breath's with me now while I continue my work." I can hear aria trying to take deep breath's, but it really hurts. Giving birth can really stretch out a woman's vagina, I guess.

A couple minutes later, the doctor is carrying aria back in. I guess she passed out from the pain. I look at the doctor, and she puts one finger to her lips. "I gave her something for the pain. She will wake up in a couple minutes. Is she going to want to get her haircut?" I nod. Then, aria stirs. I can tell she starting to wake up. Luckily, my shave is done. My face is as smooth as a babies bottom. There was no wax needed for this transformation.

I help Brianne lift aria into the barber's chair. She looks a little confused, but I hold her hand and tell her that I'm getting her a haircut. She smiles and thinks me. She's really groggy from the medicine. I'm going to hold her hand the whole time so she knows I'm here. I also have the baby, sleeping soundly, swaddled in a blanket and my left arm. I really have to tell her about the doctors news, I really want to wait until she's more awake.Rupert starts slowly and comfortingly working on aria's hair. He is very gentle with her. I appreciate that.

After our haircuts and the doctors visit, we are guided back to our room. We are staying in one room as a family for now, until Ariana grows up and is able to sleep on her own. Plus, if a baby is left alone at night, they can randomly die. We will not risk that happening.

After a long nights rest, which was very needed, Brianne gently wakes me up for an early morning session. While she wakes me up, I smell a very familiar smell. Coffee. I guess she knows about my love for coffee. Now, does she have cream and sugar? When looking at the breakfast tray, and I know that she does. She even made a cut for herself and a cup for aria. Hers will be kept warm until she wakes up. Speaking of waking up, the baby starts crying right as I wake up. Luckily, Brianne has made a bottle for her. I feed Ariana while I sip my steaming hot cup of coffee. Time to give mom a little break.

After getting dressed and eating breakfast, I noticed that aria is awake. Of course, I go over to her before I leave. I tell her that the baby has already been fed half an hour ago. She looks relieved and happy. Then, I say my goodbyes before I leave for training, and she lays back down. I kissed her on the cheek and took her in before leaving.

Training was very intense that day. We went for a 2 mile walk, brushed divorces, went for a horseback ride around the castle, and did some strength work. Brianne even decided to add a new exercise to the workout routine, and when look at it scares the living shit out of me. She wants me to work on climbing a rope all the way up the castle, climbing through a window on the top floor. She says there's a surprise waiting for me up there, of course. She knows how to get me to work. I guess she's doing this so I can friend my fear of heights.

As I look up the rope, I crack my knuckles and think about how I'm going to tackle this. I grab the rope and put 1 foot on the side of the castle. Brianne nights and holds me up when I take my first few steps up the wall. She even calls to me, reminding me not to look down. Focus on the task at hand. Before I know it, I am already halfway there. I can feel my legs starting to shake. Focus. Breathe in, step. Breathe out, step. Keep to the rhythm. I feel my hands starting to slip. Not on my watch. I wipe my sweaty palm on my leg of my pants and keep going. Five minutes later, I can reach the window. I grabbed onto the ledge and pull myself up and through the window. Believe it or not, Brianne is already waiting for me. Turns out, as I was climbing up, she was climbing up on the other side. No wonder why I didn't hear her. When I get through the window, my knees buckle and I almost fall to the floor. Luckily, she catches me. " it took me only two minutes to get to school. I know you can do better. This was a great first shot, though. I'm very proud of you. Now, let's have lunch." How can I eat this high up in the air? I guess it's another part of the exercise. When I look out the window, my knees almost buckle again. I can't believe I climbed a wall this high. I can't wait to tell aria about this.

Luckily, there was a flight of stairs inside the tower. That means, I was able to get down the tower a lot easier than getting up. As we walk down the stairs, she tells me the plan for that exercise. Soon, the stairs will be off-limits. I will have to get up and down the tower from the rope. Then, she reminds me that the wall in the north is twice as tall, and John would have been crazy to make me climb that. So, of course, I think her for having me do this instead of the wall.

When we get back to our room, I see that aria is up, feeding the baby. When she sees how pale I was, she calls me over. Of course, I tell her about the tower exercise. The look of shock on her face was amazing. Then, she said something shocking. " looks like Brianne and I need to race to see how quick we truly are." Sadly, Brianne walks in and says " it's a deal. When you get your strength back, let's race. Winner buys drinks." I can see the camaraderie between those two. I am so glad I thought of the idea for them to join up and make an all female school. Then, I remember but I need to tell aria something. " aria, when the doctor looked at Ariana, they noticed something. Do you notice how her eyes aren't focusing as well as they should? That is a sign of blindness." Aria looked at me, looked at Brianne, and looked at Ariana. I can see her fighting back tears. I quickly give her a squeeze to remind her that it's going to be OK.

Training for the next few days was brutal, intense, full of more fears to face, and sometimes dangerous. Of course, I let aria know before I left for training, and she was the first person I saw when I got back as well. She started to get a little worried about me because of how intense training was. Within a few weeks, aria's strength was returning so she was able to train a little bit on her own to get her strength back up. The three of us would be training together at some point, but we have to make sure we have a nanny or someone watching the baby during training. The first time aria joined us, she had to quit after a couple hours because she was getting too weak. Of course, I reassured her that she will get stronger and she can fight this. That helps her a lot. In fact, that helped her so much that she picked her self up and kept on going. She was determined to get stronger with me.

After a few months of intense training with the ladies, we heard news that John was coming back. We had worked on so much while he was away. I hope he is impressed with my progress. We decided to have a feast for him in his honor, and the cooks started working on it right away. We were going to have everything from seafood to steak to chicken. We were going to have lots of vegetables and desserts as well. Aria then realizes that she's going to have to hide our daughter, but when Brianne told her something in her ear, she started smiling and clapped excitedly. I wonder if this means I'm going to graduate. Does this mean I get to start my journey? I really hope so.

When John finally made it to dragon stone castle, the three of us greeted him with open arms. A maid had taken Ariana to another part of the castle where he wouldn't find her for now. I told John about all our training, how Brianne helped me face my fear of heights, and all the adventures on horseback I had been on. Then, he said something surprising. He is going to test me.

First, he tests my archery. I shock him by shooting all targets while riding on horseback. I even got a bull's-eye or two. Midnight did a great job as well, carefully jumping and weaving around obstacles. Justice even passed his obedience test. He had learned so many new things in the coming months, including how to guide me. That way, when I'm not on horseback, I can make my way around without anyone's help. It felt very empowering.

Along with the horsemanship, archery, and dog training tests, John tested me on my poison skills, my knife throwing skills, and other things that we had worked on. I passed with flying colors. I wonder what my final test is going to be.

John, aria, Brianne and I were all standing in a circle outside the castle. Then, John says something that surprised us all. " all three of us are your final test. You must find us one by one. The only way we will submit is if you put us down. This is a test of skills and endurance, so be wise. Aria, your first." Oh fuck. Oh shit. Why her first? But then I remember. She One hour last sparring session back at Castle Black. Time for revenge. I look over at aria, and I see pure determination on her face. She is still slightly weekend from having a baby, but she's getting back up there. I, on the other hand, has gained a lot of strength.

John and Brianne stepped back into the shadows to act as referee. Nobody will help any of us. It's time to show my strength, and take my love down. On three, we draw our swords. The battle starts off with swords flying, fast footwork, and lots of twists and turns. I first, she almost had me. Then, I mustered all my strength and gained an advantage. Time for my final move. I grabbed her shoulder, and use my right foot to kick her left foot from under her. She went down, and submitted. Right after aria submitted, Brianne came up from behind me and grabbed me. I didn't expect this. I ducked and hit her right between the legs. Of course, she is wearing full armor. I had my hand mad cold hard valerian steel. Ouch. I have to keep moving. We draw swords and start fighting. She is tall, so she has a bit of a high advantage like I had on aria. But, I am quicker on my feet. I'm able to weave around her, making her miss her blows a few times. Then, I can see frustration on her face. She didn't expect this. We start hand to hand combat so I can try to take her down. Since her legs are a lot chunkier, they're a bit more of a struggle to kick out from under her. Luckily, I know a technique that works around this. I have to catch her off balance. In fact, she gives me the perfect opportunity. She lunges with the punch towards me. I grabbed her wrist and keep pulling in the same direction, taking out her left leg. Losing her balance, she screams and falls to the floor. Got her. I'm starting to get a little tired, but I must push on. Now, it's John's turn. I hear him draw his sword behind me, so I draw mine and spin around, starling him. Our sword fight was long, intense, and full of technique. I tried to catch John I found a few times, but somehow he still kept his balance. I had to figure a way around this to pin him down. John told me there were no rules in this fight, and I could use any tool that I would have at my disposal. That's when I remember justice. "Justice, attack!" I keep lunging and dodging, trying to get him off balance. Justice runs up behind John and jumps on his back. That extra weight was what did him in. He falls over. I win. I call just just to my side, and help John back up. He looks so proud.

My final test is complete. John turns to me and justice, and reaches his hand to me. " hi, John Snow of the nights watch, declare you an assassin of the night. You will work for anyone and everyone, including yourself. You have graduated from the nights watch. You are free to go as you please." He then has me Neel, draws his sword, and touches the blade to my shoulders. I am now freed of my oath. Now, do I tell John the news? Do I still keep it a secret? I looked over at aria, and she runs over to John. Then, she told him the story of how she met me, fell in love, and got pregnant. Now that I am no longer in Nightwatch member, John doesn't get mad. Instead, he wishes to meet his niece. Aria runs off to grab Ariana. When John saw little Ariana, at four months old, I can see tears in his eyes. She is so beautiful, and he is so proud of his sister for becoming a mom. He then hugs his sister and niece close. Of course, since I'm the dad, I join in. Brianne joins in too.

After the massive group hug, John pulls me aside. He tells me that he has saved a ring or if he ever finds a wife outside the nights watch. He gives it to me, saying " make me proud." He wants me to propose to aria, right then and there. I walk over to aria, who looks super happy especially with our smiling daughter. Then, I get down on one knee and pull out the ring. I spilled my whole heart full of love to her. As I was speaking, talking about all our future adventures together, the kids we may have, the houses we own, I see aria with tears in her eyes. Once I am finished, she jumps into my arms, saying yes. She excepted my proposal. We will soon be husband and wife. Now it's time for us to plan our wedding.

We decided to invite everyone from the nights watch, King Bran and his kingdom. It will be a big event. We will need to find Aria a dress, me a suit, Arianna a dress, and the rest of the wedding party. Maybe John can be my best man and Brianne can be Aria's maid of honor. We have the venue picked out. We will get married at Dragonstone Castle. Let the planning process begin.

After six months of planning, the day has finally arrived. I haven't seen aria in 24 hours. That is tradition for bride and groom to stay separated before their wedding day. I can't wait to see what kind of dress she wears. The nights watch provided me with my suit. Of course, it is black with a white undershirt, silver accents and silver tassels. They wanted to make sure I sparkled on my wedding day. As my groomsmen, the man who I trained with in the nights watch, got me ready, John came up behind me and put a black and silver cloak over my shoulders. It is a gift from them to me. It's a little heavy, but then I realize it has layers. These layers can be removed depending on the climate. It's very versatile. Then, I grab John's arm and we walk to the altar. Justice is going to be the ring bearer, and Ariana is our flower girl. She is just under a year old now. She's already growing to be such a beautiful girl.

While I'm standing at the altar, the entire wedding party starts walking down the aisle. First the groomsmen, then the bridesmaids, then Ariana and justice, walking together. Arianna is gently holding onto justices collar for support, because she is still just learning how to walk. Justice has a little box attached to his collar with ribbon. That little box contains the rings. After they walk down the aisle, aria appears. She is wearing A long sleeve, flowing white dress, complete with lace and a veil. Her veil is covering her face for now, and I know I will be removing it very soon. After she walks down the aisle, I notice she has a big smile on her face. Everyone looks so happy to be here, including King Brandon. I guess he saw this coming, but never told aria because she would end up telling someone in the nights watch. Speaking of the Night's Watch, they are all here and they all look happy. I even heard one of them say they didn't want me on the watch anyway. I would be too much of a liability because of my disability. Well, I have a surprise for them. Wait until they see me now. They might have been added to my list. When I look in his direction, he awkwardly smiles and waves. I can't remember his name for the life of me. Oh well. Maybe he'll have a change of heart at the reception. John and I are going to be putting on a bit of a show. That is, a sparring show. I am going to show everyone what I can do now.

Aria has finally reached the altar. She is holding a beautiful bouquet of white roses. Her dress is very simple, but fits her very well. She even has a tiara on with her veil. Well, we did buy dragon stone castle, so she is a lady now. I am going to be a Lord. Ariana will be a Highborn. And, since she is the eldest child, she will be the heir to the castle.

After I removed arias veil, we exchanged vows and exchanged rings. Then we were introduced as Lord and Lady of Dragonstone. Then, of course, I was able to kiss the bride. It was our first kiss in so long, because we had to hide it from John in the past. We have so many responsibilities now. We won't have to deal with any laws that are broken on my land. I can buy slaves if I want to. Of course, I won't. I will hire maids. I will pay them a fair salary. I will treat them well. I will not trade them for anyone else. I will also be a good father. Aria will be a great mother. Aria and Brianne will also continue to make my castle a school for women. Our family will have our own wing. Only the family can access that part of the school. The students won't even know I am here.

OK, enough daydreaming. Our reception is about to begin. We go to the ballroom, which has been beautifully decorated in the new house colors, which are green, black, and silver. Our new flag is flying everywhere. It is a centaur, with a sword in its sheath, pulling an arrow back in a bow. It is inspired by my Sagittarius sign, my journey with learning weaponry, and my new love of horseback riding. Aria helped design it. The green color is an accent color. Most of our armor and possessions will be black and silver with a touch of green. An artist even made a tapestry of me and aria. When and if we have more kids, the artist will make a tapestry of them. He will update the tapestry every time the kids grow up. Everyone looks real nice, and very happy as the orchestra plays, and everyone is dancing. Of course, aria and I start dancing together. We take turns holding Ariana, but she is starting to get tired. Luckily, we hired a nanny to help with anything we need in case we are busy with our Lord and Lady duties. The nanny quickly whisked her away to her room, talking to her about reading her a bedtime story. How sweet.

As the music plays, dinner is brought out. It is a very big feast, practically the same feast that we brought out for John when he first came back to Dragonstone castle. But, this time, everything was made with a bit more flair. Plus, we had a giant 10 tier wedding cake complete with little edible crowns made of pulled sugar. It had the richest chocolate flavor we could find. Everyone had a piece. We even saved a piece for Ariana. No sugar before bed for her. Wentz, we had given her a piece of candy before bed, and she had a very bad nightmare. She wouldn't fall asleep alone for weeks.

The wedding reception lasted for a few days, and everyone enjoyed the cake throughout the whole party. Luckily, Ariana was able to enjoy her piece of cake. She danced a little more wild afterwards for about half an hour, and then had a bit of a sugar crash. It was pretty funny.

After the festivities were finally over, John and I wanted to show everyone our sparring scene, and aria and Brianne still had a race to complete. They said we could spar first. Time to entertain our guests. This time, we put our backs together and then took five big steps forward. We drew our swords and then turned around on the count of three. Time for battle. When we turned around, I noticed determination in John's face. He wasn't going to let me put him on the ground this time. I was determined to show him that I can still put him on the ground even without training for a week. We longed forward, and the sword fighting begin. The crowds cheered. Of course, we tried it to make it look a little bit more flashy so people could really see what was going on. Time to put my acting skills to the test. Some people were rooting for John, while others were rooting for me. I couldn't tell who King Brandon was rooting for. Maybe he already knows who's going to win, but doesn't want to say. I did notice, however, that most of the men in the nights watch we're rooting for me. Only a few we're rooting for John, including my new nemesis. Speaking of which, I started talking to John about him and how he still that's me. When John saw who it was, his face went red. That guy is normally very caring and understanding. Something hardened him. John will spar with him later, and make him lose. But, for now, he is focusing on me. I am his problem right now. I smile.

The match got more and more intense, and we used multiple techniques to try to get the other person to submit. Finally, I can see John getting a little soft. He's tiring out, but I'm not. Time for my signature move. When he goes to punch me, I pulled his arm to make him go off balance and kicked his leg out. Down he went, like a sword and water. He submitted, and everyone cheered. Then, he turned to the guy who always doubted me. " Hey you, sir. Remember how I trained you to have humility? What happened to that lesson? You sir, have to fight me. This is no sparring session. This is war. I saw that you keep laughing at Jeremie and ridiculing him. Enough is enough. On guard!" The man Sheakley stood up and drew his sword. He was very drunk. I could tell it wasn't going to be pretty, so I sent Ariana into another room. John and the man fought hard. The man thought surprisingly well drunk. I guess you learn to fight drunk in the nights watch as well. Brianne had taught me how to fight drunk quite a few months ago. It wasn't easy, so seeing him struggle made me feel a little bad for him, but only a little. It was pretty empowering to actually watch what I went through in training. His balance is as bad as my Cerebral Palsy. He even stumbled a few times with his sword in his hand, but found a way to regain himself. Everyone in the crowd was laughing at him. Who is the laughingstock now? I wasn't the clown here. He was. Suddenly, I saw the man on his knees with his head down. " I, Jon Snow of the nights watch, no hereby charge you with treason and sentence you to die. Jeremie, come up please. You may do the honors. You may have your first kill." He's not on my list, but I'll take it. I stand up and walk to him, a lot more steady than he was. I draw my sword, and aim it at the back of his neck. I can hear him crying. He has no family. No one who's going to miss him. I don't feel bad for this at all. Training has hardened me into a cold hearted killer. " I hope your death is cold as ice. For laughing at me, you will now pay the price. I hope I kill you in just one slice." I raise my sword, and look at where I'm going to hit. He puts his head in his hands, as if that's going to save him. I take one big swing. His head is now resting in his hands, no longer on his neck. The rest of his upper torso creeks backwards and hits the floor with a wet thud. The crowd cheers and stands on their feet. I hope everyone learned a lesson today. Mess with the nights watch, you get the sword. I then kick his head out of his hands and turn away. The maids will clean up the body. I won't even offer him a proper burial.

As I walk away from the body, aria stands up and gives me a hug. " well, no one's going to mess with you again. Thank you for sending Ariana out of the room. I didn't want her to know that her dad is a trained killer. Congratulations on your first kill, my love." I hug her back and give her a big kiss. I can't believe we are Lord and Lady now. " thank you my love. How does it feel to be a lady now?" She looks up at me. " honestly, it feels strange. As a kid I said I didn't want to be a lady, but now that I've found you, I'm OK with being a lady." We start dancing. " well, my lady, how about we spend some quality time together tonight?" I put air quotes around quality time. "Yes, my Lord. The festivities are almost over, so we will have our room to ourselves." Suddenly, she stands on my feet to give me a big kiss on the lips before running off to check on Ariana, who should be asleep by now.

"Lord McCary, can you please come over here? I have to ask you something." It's King Brandon. Of course he would want to ask me something. I wonder what he would like to ask me. " let me get right to the point. Seeing you take that man's life gave me an idea. I don't have a sworn sword yet. Would you like to be my sworn sword?" I can't believe he's asking me this. Of course, he needs someone to protect him and kill whoever he needs to be killed. "It would be an honor, your grace. I will gladly fight for you, protect you, and kill for you." Teryan has me Neel before him and the king, and touches my shoulders with a sword saying "I, Lord Teryan Lannister, hereby swear you in as the kings sworn sword. You will fight for him. You will kill for him. You will protect him. Now, rise as the sworn sword of King Brandon Stark. Ruler of the six kingdoms." The sound of the applause from the crowd was one of the most heartwarming applauses I've ever heard. Now, it's time to get back to business with Teryan. I heard he likes to drink. " Will someone please bring home the strongest wine we have? I think it's time for him to have a little bit of fun. In fact, let's all have a little bit of fun. Drinks on me."

After everyone's cup was re-filled with our strongest wine, Jon Snow stood up. " I would like to propose a toast. I toast to the groom. I toast to his beautiful bride who is my sister. I toast to the sworn sword of the king. I toast to the load of dragon stone castle. I toast and I drink to my best friend, Jeremie. Who is with me?" Everyone cheered for me, aria, and all the festivities. After one last drink, everyone started to leave. Teryan, however, stuck around for a second to speak to me. He thanked me for the invitation to my wedding. He thanked me for the drinks. He also thanked me for the opportunity to see so many pretty women in one place. I can tell he is going to be very busy tonight. Then, he realized that he was about to leave the king behind, so he quickly scurried back to his side and pushed his wheelchair for him. As he pushed, they were joyfully talking about how beautiful the wedding was. Of course, Teryan also talked about the wine and the women.

When aria and I got to our room, we made sure to close and lock the door. We made sure that the nanny would let us spend some time alone together. Things are about to get wild. We leave for our honeymoon tomorrow. Aria sits down on the bed and propped her feet up. I start playing with them while we talk about our honeymoon. For our honeymoon, we have decided to have John drive us in a carriage around our new land, meeting the folks who live here. He is also going to drop us off at the beach so we can have a day of fun in the sun. Aria wants to train with me on the beach as well. There is a little cabin that someone built sitting on the beach, perfect for a romantic a getaway.

Soon, we are playing with each other's feet and reminiscing about old times back at castle black. Justice even remembers those days, and he Yonns and stretches out as if stretching out in front of a fire. A few minutes later, we are both naked and under the sheets. We were going to need a few minutes alone.

I wake up with a pounding headache and a very dry mouth. I am so hung over from all the wedding festivities that I can barely move, but I smell something familiar. It's hot. It's steamy. It's my first love, coffee with cream and sugar. The fats in my coffee helped to clear my system of all the negative side effects of my hangover. I even saw aria having a cup with me. She must have been pretty drunk last night as well. We also heard that little Arianna is still asleep. She will be taken good care of while we are away. John comes in to check on us, and helps us get into the carriage. Afterwards, we were off to the tune of squeaking wheels and horses hooves. Aria had never been in a carriage before, so it was a little frightening for her not being in control of where she was going. I reassured her she would be fine. We were headed to our first stop, which was A little community of families in very run down homes. Looks like we have some work to do on our land. When they met their new Lord who bought the almost abandoned dragon stone castle, they bowed down immediately. Of course, I showed them some compassion and reassured them that their homes would be in better condition very soon. I would also make sure that every family was fed. Aria and I decided to host a feast once a year for the poor. It would be our little gift to people who live and work on our land. People were pretty shocked at our generosity, but I was raised with generosity so I am giving it back. Some of the families brought over some gifts that they had been making and preparations to seeing us because they saw the new banners flying on the flagpole. They brought us gifts for us, for Ariana, and for justice. The local blacksmith even gave me a helmet that he made. It was black with silver accents and a giant green feather at the top. I won't be wearing this when I do my kills because the green feather is a big giveaway. However, this would be perfect in battle. One woman who is a master of cloth making and needlework gave Aria a really pretty dress that comes with a matching dress for Ariana. One of the leatherworkers in a store brought me a very fine saddle that they hand made them selves. I noticed it was covered in green gems. He said each stone into the saddle by hand. This took him years. Of course, I graciously thanked him for such a fine gift. Some women of the community brought us toys for Ariana, and a local florist gave Arya a huge bouquet of flowers. When they heard about our wedding, they added a special celebratory bread to the pile of gifts. Of course, you're supposed to break the bread together with wine. We would do that on our first night.

After we went to that poor community, we found a slightly richer community higher up on the hill. Their houses were a little nicer, but they definitely needed renovations. We saw some people living on the streets here, too. Some people cannot afford to have a home. That hurts to hear about that on my land. I will have more built for them.

Our honeymoon lasted a week and a half. We fully enjoyed every moment of it, and received so many gifts from all of the communities. Everyone had something to give us. Some of the men in the communities also volunteered to be in my army! I'm going to have an army! That way, if any intruders come onto my land, we can defend ourselves, finally. Aria is looking a little worse for wear, for some reason. I ask her if she is OK, because she doesn't look comfortable. " The red rose was supposed to start blooming last week. I am pregnant again." We had sex a lot during our wedding festivities, and during our honeymoon, so she definitely could be pregnant. We whisk her straight to our local doctor, who takes a good look at her. " my dear, you are with child. You are pregnant." She looked so happy! Maybe this time we will have a boy, Aeron. We hug each other in excitement, gently of course. Arianna is going to be a big sister!

Throughout the rest of the day, I prepare to go off to make my first kill. I will be killing David and Dianna tonight. 2 for 1. Since it will be midnight, I will be able to slip into the safety of darkness to hide myself. I heard David and Dianna like to spend romantic evenings out on their balcony. They are one of the richer couples on my land. I can't have competition with them now, so they have to go. I have decided to leave at 11 in the morning so I can be there just before midnight. I will make all my kills at midnight. When I tell aria this, she gets a little worried. What if I don't come back? What if she becomes a widow? I reassure her that I will be fine and that she will not lose me. The kids will not lose their father. I remind her of all the training that I went through just so I can do this. She remembers and lets me go. I give her one big kiss to say thank you before I left. Of course, I also say that I love her. She loves me too. Then, she hands me the reins to Midnight, and I hop into the saddle.

After a 45 minute ride on horseback, I make it to their house. I see a maid carrying two drinks. She sets them down for a second. " can you please watch these for second? They go to David and Dianna. I need to step away to do something for a minute in the kitchen." I nod. I'm not going to speak or I will reveal who I am. She runs off to the kitchen, where are you see black smoke pouring out of the window. Then, I remember the little packets of poison I have prepared for them. They love to have a romantic drink together every night. This will be their last one, I guarantee it. There is enough poison in one packet to kill 10 fully grown man. I empty one packet per drink. It dissolves instantly into their wine. I can hear them talking to each other on their balcony. I shall stay and listen to their deaths. As I pour in the poison, I think to myself. " I, Jeremie McCary, lord of this land, sentence you to die."

Finally, the woman is back. There is no residue of the poison anywhere on the platter, so she easily lift it back up and carries it up to them. I look over to the kitchen where she was, and I see the smoke is gone. I do smell a very strong smell, the smell of badly burnt food. I hope everything is OK in there now. Well, it won't be OK very soon.

A couple minutes later, I hear Dianna yelling at the maid for taking so long bringing their drinks. Poor thing. She had to tend to the kitchen. Well, she won't be yelling for long. Soon, she will be choking on wine laced with poison. It should be hitting her in three, two, one. Now. I hear them both coughing, and their goblets fall to the floor, shattering. They drink all their wine, and the poison is starting to set in. Of course, thinking that they are choking on the smoke coming from the kitchen again, The maid runs off to the kitchen. She must finish preparing this meal for her masters. I know they are dead now, because the coughing has stopped. I don't hear anything else. Good riddance. I get on my horse and ride back home. " so much wine, so little time," I say, as I ride into the distance. That's two people checked off my list. Six to go.

When I got home, aria was sitting up in bed waiting for me. Arianna was sound asleep in her bed. I got off my horse, put him in his stable, removed his saddle and bridle, and went to go greet my family. That kill was very easy. Of course, since I finished two kills in one day, it's time to celebrate with a nice drink with my wife, but she will be having something different instead of wine or ale. Legend says that drinking while pregnant can hurt your baby. So, I pour myself a single glass of wine and sit down to have a chat with aria. I tell her about what was going on, and how I decided what method of killing do use. Nothing is decided until the last second. In that second, I had an opportunity to take the easy route and poison their drinks while the maid was away. Aria laughed. Of course I would pick the easy way out. Work smarter, not harder.

After I enjoyed my wine, the maid brought us a very late dinner. She knew I would be hungry after my excursion.

Dinner consisted of protein rich steak with mashed potatoes. It was simple, but it was delicious and prepared well. The steak was even a nice medium rare. After dinner, we cuddled together and went to sleep. So far, the pregnancy was going very well for aria. She wasn't struggling as much with this one. As the baby grows, she might end up getting weaker again. This time, aria is determined to stay strong. She is going to work out with the baby. Plus, training while pregnant can make you feel happier. That's a good thing for you and the growing baby.

The next day, we spend all day hanging out together, training together, and having family time. Aria and Brianne did go off for a while looking for more women to start their school. I totally forgot about that for a while. Now, it's just me and my beautiful daughter Ariana. I talked to her about my adventures and how I became so strong. I even told her about how I climbed that tall tower. When she heard about that, she looked up at the tower, looked at me, looked back at the tower, and back at me with a shocked look on her face. Then, I had no idea. I asked a maid to throw a rope down for me and hang it from the top of the tower. Of course, she asked if I was crazy. Then, I told her about how I trained on that tower. That helped her realize how strong I was, and how much training means to me. 10 minutes later, she threw a rope down and ran back down the stairs. A fear of heights is a serious thing. I let her and Ariana watch as I climbed all the way to the top, through the window, then all the way back out the same way. As I did this, I remembered how hard it was that first day. Heights don't scare me now. When my feet touched the ground, Ariana came over to me, laughing and clapping. She was so proud of her daddy. I told her she will be that strong someday. Her mommy will train her really well.

After a few days, aria and Brianne came back with more women for the school. Aria is starting to look a tiny bit tired, so I remind her to train. She agrees and goes for a run. Justice joins her for motivation. While they were gone, I started planning my next kill. I have been watching this man named Peter, who doubted me before my Nightwatch journey, every day. Turns out, he likes to go for a midnight run. I might get to use my sword this time. No more poison. How would I be able to poison him while he's running? A poison arrow would work, but he would hear it coming. I have to be quick and silent.

That night, I get midnight ready to go for another stroll. Time to execute the third person on my list. Since he sometimes leaves a little bit early, we make sure to go at his fastest Gallop. We get there in about 20 minutes flat.

When we get to the alleyway that he normally runs down, I sit on midnight, planning things out. I have to hide it somehow, but then I remember I am wearing all black on a black horse. I will not be seen. I draw my sword and keep the blade close to me, so it doesn't catch the light. If he can't hear a draw, he won't know he's about to die. Five minutes later, I hear his footsteps. He goes at a steady pace, but a good enough pace for me. I get off of midnight and prepare myself between two piles of boxes. Midnight lays down close to the wall behind a stack of boxes. He knows how to fit into a tight space. Good boy.

As Peter ran down the alleyway, I counted to three. On three, he would be passing me. Hopefully he doesn't see me. One. He is slightly to my right. Two. He is directly in front of me. My palms are getting sweaty. Three. He is slightly to my left, a small distance away. I get up and thrust my sword through his spine, exiting through his stomach. Then, as the life fades out of him, I whisper in his ear. " I, Jeremie, Lord of this land, hereby convict you of treason and sentence you to die." I put my right foot directly on his tailbone and ass, pulling out the sword while kicking him away for me. Now that's what I call an ass kicking. For good measure, I stand over him and chop off his head. Now he's really dead. Case closed.

After I wipe my sword blade on his ass cheek, I put it back in the sheath and carefully lead midnight out of his hiding place. Time to go home. That is three targets down. Five more to go.

On the way home, I repeat the last five names in my head. " Danielle. Steve. Sandy. Cathy. Dain. Five more heads will roll."

When I get home, I see that aria and Ariana are both sleeping. I put midnight away, pet justice, and head to bed. A glass of wine can wait until later.

When we finally wake up, aria notices that I fell asleep in my full armor, with my sword attached. I didn't even realize that I hadn't taken anything off. I am a mess. I am still tired from being in the dark for so long, and that quick jolt to get the kill. Let's just say I had an adrenaline rush until I got home, and then crashed right as I got home. I'm surprised I slept like a baby. Armor is uncomfortable as it is, so it is not worth sleeping in. I hope I didn't bend anything. I look it over, and it's still in perfect condition. Whew.

While I'm drinking my coffee, Ariana runs up to me excited. I hope she doesn't know about my job.

"Daddy! Did you get the kill? Did you? I can't wait to hear the story!" Who told her? She is very hyper and excited today. She's even a little fidgety. She has been getting more and more hyper active every day, and less and less focused. I strongly believe she has what I have. The name of the condition is called attention deficit hyper activity disorder. People also call it ADHD. Let's just say she's going to need to train a lot.

As I watch her wildness, I noticed the nanny looks uncomfortable. She is mumbling things about a crazy child and how she needs to learn to behave. I tap from the back, which startles her. " she's only two. Give her a break. Plus, she has a condition that I have as well. I'm sure you can find this in the library medical books. It's called ADHD." The nanny went pale and scurried off to the library. I think she's afraid of me because she saw me kill that man at my wedding reception. I don't want to be feared. I want to be respected. Fear is a very negative reaction to something. Respect is more positive. I want to be a positive part of their lives, not a negative. When she came back, she looks like she learned quite a bit. But, when she sees me, she stiffens up. I give her a hug, telling her not to be afraid of me. I did tell her I am a very nice person, and the only way you are in danger is if you get on my bad side. She nods, takes a step back, and tries to regain her self. Of course, I ask her if she's done anything wrong. She starting to look a little suspicious with all that nervous energy. I have to keep all the bases clear. Of course, she says she hasn't done anything wrong. But, my little lie detector, Ariana, chimed in. " daddy, she beats me sometimes if I don't keep quiet. She really scares me. When she gets upset, she gets mad quick." My face gets red with rage. I call for a maid to call the doctor and to look at her. I have to deal with this right now. I draw my sword and turn to her. " if I hear that you beat her one more time, I will have your head on display on a spike for everyone to see." She goes pale again, and almost faints. I have my guards lock her in the dungeon for a couple hours. Then, I turned to my daughter, who is been checked out by the doctor.

" take a look at her back. She is covered in bruises." When I looked, I grew even angrier. It may be time to hire a new nanny. I might just have to kill her on the spot. Her execution will be public tonight. The doctors kept checking her from head to toe. Luckily, her toes are fine. She's just bruised up in a few places.

After she got checked by the doctor, I brought her into her room and close the door. I needed to have a talk with her to make sure that she is OK. I notice she is barefoot. She climbs up onto her bed and lays down. Her feet are right in front of me, soft, smooth, and perfect. I pick up her left foot, give it a sniff, and tickle it. She giggles joyously. She likes being tickled by daddy. I repeat the same thing on her right foot. Now she is really laughing and happy. " that tickles, daddy! More please!" I keep going, which makes her really happy. Then, a guard knocks on the door. Ariana jumped from being startled by the door.

"My Lord, it's time for the execution." Time for me to go to work. Everyone has been gathered into the courtyard of the castle. Our former nanny is then lead out of her cell and into the execution area. When she asks what's going on, I tell her about the bruises that were found on my daughter, and how I am afraid that she's going to continue, so she has to go. I look at my sword, which has been freshly cleaned and sharpened. "Ready for work, beautiful?" Let's do this. I can hear the crowd chanting for her to be killed. I guess she also beat other children in the kingdom. Why hasn't this been brought to my attention before? One of the guards puts the woman on her knees with a simple flick of the wrist and a kick. The crowd goes nuts. I take a deep breath and begin to speak. "I, Jeremie McCary, Lord of Dragonstone, hereby charge you with multiple counts of assault and battery, and sentence you today. Any last words before your head gets cut off and fed it to my dog?" The chanting continues, and she starts pleading for her life. " no matter how much you plead, you will bleed. My blade it will still streak you with great speed." I raise my sword, and take a deep breath before bringing it down hard. She's quite a heavy woman, so all that fat you gave the sword a bit of resistance to cut through, but I got the job done. When justice saw the head roll, he waited patiently for me to give him the OK. She won't be missed. Her family died long ago, so she was the only one left. Two guards carried her body away to be made into dog food. I asked the guards if there were any more prisoners who received a sentence. They went to go check. I still haven't figured out the laws for theft and all that, but I may have to decide them on the spot. If the charge is theft, they will be sold into slavery. If the charge is murder, there will be no mercy. They will be executed on the spot. If the charge is treason, they will be either exiled or executed. The severity of the treason determines the severity of the punishment. If the charge is rape or sexual assault, the punishment will be brutal. For men, they will get fully castrated and have their penises cut off. If it is a female, they will have their entire uterus and fallopian tube's removed. They will also have their vaginal opening closed off, leaving only room for them to go pee. If they are charged with animal cruelty, they will get fed to the dogs. More will be decided later. The guards bring back to very big man, who were seen beating a horse to death. I hope justice is hungry.

After the brutal Festivities, I return home to aria and Ariana, who look very worried. When I told aria about what happened with the nanny, she nearly screamed. Who are we going to trust now? We thought she loved children, when she really hated them. Or, she wanted to make sure there was no air to the throne. We are glad she's gone.

That night, aria was sleeping a little bit more restlessly. She kept changing positions, trying to get comfortable. I decided to get up and rub her back to help her sleep. It worked. Then, a maid gently knocked on our door. She tells me she saw someone who is on my list walking to the cliff to admire the view. It is almost midnight. Showtime.

As I get midnight ready, I hear Justice waddling over to me. He is still so full from eating those men. I guess I didn't trim the fat. My bad. He plopped down next to me and fell asleep right away as I was grooming midnight to put the riding gear on. When I hopped into the saddle, he tried to wake up but I told him to go back to aria and keep her safe. He wags his fluffy tail and waddled back into the castle. I hope he can sleep off the rest of his meal. I will exercise him real good tomorrow so he can work it off.

Midnight and I ride over to the cliff where there is a flat area where you can enjoy watching the ocean lapping against the rocks of the island. I even had a bench put there in case he wanted to sit. Danielle was standing at the very edge, with the wind blowing her long blonde hair. She was wearing a long beige dress that was billowing in the beach she wins. I have to be careful. One wrong step and she will hear me. I just have to get a little closer... CRACK! Oh shit. I just snapped a twig. She swings around startled by the noise. I have to react. I draw my sword and drive it through her chest. I can see the fear in her eyes as her life leaves her. " I, Jeremie McCary, Lord of Dragonstone, sentence you to die. I hope you enjoy your view on the way down." I slowly push her over the edge of the cliff and pull my sword out from her chest. She is already dead, so there is no screen. I killed her in a heartbeat. Afterwards, I wipe my sword off and put it back in its sheath, then I get back on to midnight and ride home. I think I made who notified me and gave her a small raise. She thinks me gratefully and runs off to do her duties. Hi, on the other hand, have to remember to remove my armor before getting to bed. My back still hurts from last time. I can't believe I'm halfway done with my list. I have two couples to go. Steve. Sandy. Cathy. Dain. You will all die.

Boy, did I sleep great that night. Aria did too, because I rubbed her back before I left. When she woke up, I told her about my adventure last night. Of course, she congratulated me and gave me a hug. Then, we went to go check on Ariana.

When we got to Ariana's bedroom, we noticed she is still asleep. Somethings not right. Her face looks a little red, and she is sweating. I touched her for head and her cheek, and she is burning hot. I called for the doctor right away. I will not lose her like this. Are you around to get breakfast prepared while I stay with Ariana. After the doctor looks her over, he says that she has the flu. All she needs is some soup, medicine, water, and lots of rest. Thank God! She will be OK. Aria said she will stay with her while Ariana is awake. She will read her a book once in a while. Brianne is going to stay with aria and continue planning the school. I will take a look around my land and see how things are going. I'm also going to do some surveillance to find my last four victims. I might end up doing another kill tonight.

I have decided to go for another kill tonight. It will be my second to last kill. Steve and Sandy will fall tonight. They like to survey their properties late at night, so I'm going to join them so to speak. When they are riding away from me, I will shoot them with an arrow to the back of the head. That is my plan. I don't have a back up plan for this one just yet.

I can hear them coming. They are both on horseback. I am high up in a tree. They cannot see me, but I can see them. They slow down to talk to each other about something. They are right in front of me. I learned a technique where I can fire two arrows at the same time. I load to Eril's into my bow and aim at their heads. When I release the drawstring, I hit them both between the eyes. Bullseye. I can see them start to fall off their horses. When they hit the ground, the arrow is driven further into their heads. I just killed two birds with one stone. Now, I can get back in the saddle and ride on home. I am the lord of the land now. It's time for me to head home and rest up for a big battle tomorrow. My last two victims have been well trained in combat. I'm going to have to spar with aria and John to prepare myself just in case. Here's my plan. I am actually going to knock on their door and see who answers. Then, I will fight that person first and execute them, so that way when the other comes out I already have one down. But, if I encounter them out and about, I may end up fighting both of them at the same time. They are trained in weapons, hand to hand combat and grappling. But, so am I.

When I finally return home, I see aria still watching over Ariana. She starting to look a little better, but not completely. I tell aria that we should get some rest, and she agrees. Of course, she congratulated me on another successful kill. Time for bed.

John and I train for nine months to prepare for this final kill. Aria will pop at any moment, so I'd better get this done quick before she has our second baby. Her belly is weighing her down quite a bit. The doctor is checking on her almost every day now. I wonder what we are going to have.

When is night, we get an unexpected visitor at my castle. It's Cathy and Dain. They say they wish to speak to me, but I can see some hidden weapons. Cathy has a knife. Dain has two swords. I asked them why they are here, and they each draw a sword. Crap. I didn't see that hidden sword in Kathy's skirt. What else does she have hidden up there. When I advanced closer without my sword drawn, they point their swords right at my heart. I think they found out about David and Dianna, but how did they know it was me? Time to execute them. I am lead them to the courtyard outside the castle, where aria is enjoying the sun. When she sees us coming, she stops reading her book and set up to watch the battle unfold.

" I, Jeremie McCary, Lord of dragonstone castle, hereby charge you with high treason and sentence you to trial by combat. If you lose, you die. Now, raise your swords!" Of course, they do with a determined look on their faces. I think they want to get rid of me so they can take over. They are not the true air to the throne. Let's do this. The battle was intense. I was jumping, dodging, blocking, stroking, and weaving around my opponents with ease. They were surprised at how well I can move now, and kind of backed off a little bit. That dearly cost them. I was able to disarm them. Then, I put my sword away and started wailing on them with punches and kicks. Of course, they are a little bit more skilled at this, so they start to take the advantage. Then, I remember my signature move that I did while sparring. This time, I will actually use a fatal blow right afterwards. Dain tried to punch me. I grabbed his hand and pull it in the same direction, kicking his leg out. As he went down, I drew my sword and sliced his head off. Cathy screamed and dropped her sword. Then, she tried kicking my head. Luckily, I dug under her leg and use my arms to throw her off balance. I am then able to pin her to the ground and sleeves off her head as well. That was quite exhausting, but worth it. My list is complete. No that's what I call a slice of victory pie. Time to celebrate.

" my Lord, speaking of celebrating, its coming. My water just broke." Well, that's one way to celebrate. Finish your list, how do you second kid. Let's do this. I called for a doctor to wheel her into our room, and he carefully lifts her and carries her to our bedroom. Aria told him that her water broke, and he said he will take a look and see how far along she is. I'm glad we have him here this time.

After a couple hours of pain, pushing, and screaming, our baby comes out with ease. Aria needed to do was get the head through, and then the body basically took over and pushed the rest of the baby out. The maid had a bucket already for the baby to be washed, and she grabbed the baby and gave it a quick bath while the doctor wiped aria up down there. No stitches needed this time. It's always easier with your second. Then, they made and the baby to the doctor for a check up. " it's a boy!" He says, handing the screaming baby to aria. Welcome to the world, Aeron McCary. After he hands the baby to aria, he says something surprising. " your baby boy is going to have the same conditions as your daughter. I noticed he is blind as well. He may also have ADHD like his sister. Best of luck to you." Both of us thanked him before he left. After that, we bonded with our little one. Ariana even got to meet her baby brother. I, on the other hand, can look out the window happy about life for once. I don't have a list to fulfill anymore. If people need me to kill someone or I have to punish someone on my land, I will. But, for now, it's just me, aria, the kids, my dog, my horse, and friends. We are all going to live happily ever after.

The end