Chapter 2
This is just bloody bizarre.
Pansy would be thinking that a lot over the next few years as she adjusted to life as Melara Frey.
Once she had gotten over her shock that she was once more a newborn in a mother's arms, she had begun thinking she was hallucinating from the poison of the serpent.
Finally once she had gotten over the shock of that, she wondered if this was some sort of bizarre experiment she was being exposed to at St. Mungo's.
And once she had gotten over that idea, it had finally begun to sink in that this was her new reality and she had had a full blown meltdown.
Thankfully she was an infant at the time so it wasn't completely out of character for a child of her new and tender age to cry at times.
She had cried for around an hour before she realized she needed to buck up. Pansy Parkinson wasn't a girl who took things lying down. When she was younger she might have thrown a temper tantrum about a problem that she couldn't fix. But when this mysterious event had happened, she was twenty three….far more mature than she had been at eleven and mentally capable of rationalizing several things to herself.
Both of her parents had died in the war and in desperation she had turned to Ron for comfort, something he was more than willing to give. She was well used to the pain of loss and being independent and making her own way.
But this was something far different.
And for the first few years of time in this new life, her mother Bethany Rosby would comment on how quiet she was.
In her silence, there were a few things that Pansy was able to command herself to do and a few things she was able to learn pretty quickly.
For her commands, she willed herself not to act like a brainless moron like she had in the past. Yes the situation was bad and yes she did not know how to handle it. But she would find a way as she had done when she was a teenager and been forced by her parents to join the light side in the war. If there was one skill Pansy had managed to obtain when her parents changed sides, it was her ability to adapt.
She had spent nearly four years training for six hours a day to become an agent of the CRDC and some of the things she had learned to do were…under the counter to put it mildly. She had learned how to become an Animagus, practice wandless magic and fight with a sword as some creatures were impervious to magic and would require the sharp taste of steel.
She had learned how to do all of that and yet she had not once shown weakness. Showing weakness was not something a Parkinson did. And she would always be a Parkinson at heart even though her name was Melara Frey now.
She would adapt….she had no other choice.
Part of her adapting process was to learn absolutely everything she could about her new family.
And what she gathered was appalling to the brunette.
Her mother, Bethany Rosby was the fifth wife of Lord Walder Frey and had born him six children so far, including her and she was the oldest girl of all of the children he had had by her.
The next thing she had learned was that Walder Frey was a weasel.
There was no other way to go about describing him when she had gotten a close look at him as a child. He had a narrow face and sharp beady dark eyes that were always darting about and a cruel mouth that was always pressed into a firm hard line unless it was laughing about a joke or smiling because the hands of the owner were fondling a servant girl.
What appalled Pansy the most however was the fact the man she would have to call father was aging rapidly and he had so many descendants that this often led to infighting and blood shed which was just more pointless activity.
Walder's oldest son Stevron Frey had died in a battle, and his second son Edwyn Frey, who was the heir to the Twins was a very cold man.
Because Bethany was his fifth wife, none of the children she bore him would inherit anything so it made Pansy wonder why on earth he had married as many times as he had done.
He clearly had no more need of heirs as Edwyn was going to inherit it all when Old Walder decided to die but with the way things were going, Pansy thought it would be ages before he decided to kick the bucket.
The man had clearly lived past his prime and was ripe for death if what she had seen was any indication.
Plus, Pansy didn't trust a man who had had so many wives. She was suspicious of many of their deaths as well and didn't trust the fact that Old Walder, a man who clearly had no more need of children was an honest man in any sense of the word.
Because she had spent so much of her first life lying herself, Pansy knew exactly what truth and honesty looked like and Old Walder didn't have an honest bone in his body.
In those first few years of her new life, Pansy quickly learned that there were few people she could trust.
The first one was her mother Bethany.
Despite how much of an arse her new father was, Bethany Rosby was a sweet woman who lived for her children and nothing else.
There was no love lost between the two of them and that was something that Pansy could clearly see.
There were only two other people in the Twins when she was growing up there who Pansy felt safe enough to let her guard down with and those were her two older brothers Willamen and Olyvar. She called them Will and Olly for short because her in her babyish grasp of the language their names were a hard thing for her to pronounce at one. Since she was their baby sister, they were prone to be rather protective of her.
Pansy still found it hard to believe that in that weasel den they were the only ones who had some form of honor that she knew of. Will had expressed a desire to be a knight and Olly wanted to hold his own keep when he was older. They weren't big dreams, but they were dreams none the less and she hoped with all of her heart that they got them.
Pansy knew what it was like to be sneaky and conniving and she still could be that way but after turning sides in the war, she found she didn't like to do it as much. There was much she would risk for family but as far as she was concerned, there were few Freys that she would consider family.
When her younger sister Roslin came along just a year after she was born, Pansy made it her personal mission in life to protect her sister. She had never had a younger sister before and so it made her all the more protective of Roslin.
She knew what it was like to be a younger sister, but never an older one and it was a new feeling for the brunette.
It also seemed that as much as she knew she was different from the majority of her family, they were aware that she was different from them as well. But their observations were much shallower.
Pansy was aware that she didn't look like a traditional Frey but her cousins and half-brothers and sisters seemed to think that this made her different from them.
When Old Walder had seen her as a baby, he had proclaimed her the most beautiful of all of the daughters he had had so far. But it wasn't a compliment. Pansy knew she was the only one with thick black curls that hung to her waist and jade green eyes in the family and she often wondered why it was that she had retained most of her Parkinson features when it was so obvious that she had been born into a different life to different parents.
She puzzled about that for so long that she got a headache, but after a while decided it wasn't something she needed to worry about. Bethany Rosby had had hazel eyes as well but they were nowhere near as large and jade colored as her own.
She remembered when she was in school Draco teasing her and tell her that her eyes were nearly as green as Potter's, something she hadn't liked at all.
Her father did seem to like it however as it meant a great deal many things to him.
Pansy had seen the greedy gleam in his black eyes when he had said this and wanted to squirm in his arms as he had held her. It meant that he saw her as a chess piece to move about a board. And the prettier she was, the easier it would be to marry her off to a lord that was above their station and exert more Frey influence.
That was another thing that made Pansy's lower lip curl in disgust.
As much as she had reformed her ways in the last eight or nine years of her first life, she still liked to know that she was from a powerful family.
In Westeros, while her family did command some respect, they were hardly powerful. The Freys were the sworn bannermen of the Tullys, the Lords Paramount of the Trident.
They were capable of fielding a thousand knights and three thousand foot soldiers which was rather impressive for what was technically known as a minor house. They had been able to amass wealth because of the bridge that they controlled but that was all.
The one thing that Pansy did inherit from her father however was the old man's ambition. She liked to think it was something that she always had however, even when she had been a witch working at the Ministry of Magic. Hermione had often told her that her ambition did push ups in her sleep and made the Muggleborn look like a couch potato in comparison.
That had always made Pansy laugh, but now she could see her friend's point.
This time however, her ambition had had a wholly different focus. She wanted to be rid of weasel like Freys like her father and many of her half brothers and sisters. The one who did have some semblance of ambition were completely idiotic about it and used it to take advantage of those weaker than them. And the rest were just bloody cowards.
Pansy had been surrounded by cowards when she was in Slytherin and was fully able to admit that she had been one herself before her parents had forcibly made her switch sides in the war.
And something she had learned about cowards was that they were bloody annoying to be around.
Some of her older half-brothers….the ones that weren't idiots that was were the ones that were completely cowed by her father.
As far as Pansy was concerned, there was absolutely nothing to be afraid of. Walder Frey was a peevish old man who liked to fondle young girls and brood about all the slights he had imagined that he had suffered.
He was just as much of a coward as the rest of them were and he would sit there and watch them all at mealtimes with a sly gleam in his eye as if they were all his puppets and he was the one holding the strings.
Suffice it to say that Pansy hated her new father.
Callum Parkinson had been a hard man but that was one of the reasons she had loved him as much as she had. He expected nothing but the best from herself and her brother Trystan and his ambition had fuelled her own.
Walder Frey's gave her nothing but the creeps.
More than once she had contemplated running away but there was only the matter of where she would go to.
She knew she had her magic to protect her as one of the things they had taught her in training for the CRDC was how to practice magic wandlessly.
Sometimes she had been faced with a creature that moved so fast it had been impossible to draw her wand and so she had had to draw upon the wandless magic she had been taught. It took a good deal of effort and will when one was first starting out but the rewards were great. Pansy loved the fact that she didn't need a wand to be able to cast magic anymore and it made it that much easier to retaliate on her cousins when they bothered her.
It also took some getting used to when they called her Melara all the time and she would take a second to respond. She still thought of herself as Pansy and she knew that was something that was going to have to change soon.
She didn't want anyone to think of her a simpleton when she didn't respond after they had called her.
Pansy wasn't used to having such a large family before and the fact that she had been the youngest of only two in her first life and now had at least fifty family members was something that took a lot of getting used to.
As far as she was concerned, that title only belonged to her mother Bethany, Will and Olly and her sister Roslin.
As long as they were safe, she didn't care about what happened to anyone else.
That belief would be tested when she turned sixteen and faced her first real challenge in Westeros.
The great game.
Ω
Fifteen years later…..
Melara aimed at the target, keeping her aim slow and steady. She could feel the brush of the feathers from the tip of the arrow against her cheek and fought not to be distracted. Will had told her that the trick to hunting with a bow was patience and precision.
Though she knew how to use a sword as it was something that was required for her career in her first life, shooting a bow and riding a horse were things that were new to her and her brothers had turned out to be good teachers.
The one good thing about being some of the younger of Walder Frey's children was that he didn't pay as much attention to them as he did his other sons and daughters who had come along first.
As far as the newly named Melara was concerned this was the only good part of being a Frey. The Twins were a place that was rife with deceit and she was always more relaxed when she was outside of the place. The halls were cold and creaky and there was an air of deception about the place that had her constantly on her guard.
Her magic was something she had had to keep carefully hidden while she was inside of the walls as well. If Walder Frey knew she was in possession of such powers he would no doubt wish to use her to further House Frey by any means necessary and that was something she was completely unwilling to do.
Pansy knew what being used felt like. She had felt like that many times when she had had a thing for Draco Malfoy in school, and even though this was far different the underlying principle was the same.
She would not be used….not now…not ever.
Once she had centered her eyes on the target and levelled her stance, she took aim at the large barrel of hay about fifty yards away and fired.
There was a decisive twang as the arrow was released and a sharp sound as it cut through the air.
Willamen who was overseeing her lessons when their father wasn't around gave her an approving look. "Well done Mel, you are improving."
Melara gave the target an appraising look and noted that she was just shy of the center. "It's not bad I suppose."
She and her older brother would a good ways into the trees and out of sight of the Twins. If Walder Frey ever learned that this was something they were doing, he would no doubt beat Will and make Melara watch. She had no intention of getting her brother into trouble for something she had asked him to teach her.
She hadn't liked learned to shoot a bow at first but it did have its uses. She'd never be as good at it as her brothers were but she had accepted that a long time ago. And a well-placed spell was just as good if not better than an arrow from a bow.
"You are too hard on yourself," Will said as he walked toward the target and removed the arrow. "No one else I have taught has been able to adapt to the skill as well."
Melara twisted up her mouth slightly as she was thinking. "That is most likely because no one else has had as much to lose learning it as I do."
Will's face darkened. "Father would not punish you for learning this."
"It's not me I'm worried about if he finds you," Melara shot back. "It's you I'm concerned for."
Will adopted a careless expression. "He would not harm me."
She raised an eyebrow. "Oh no? You know how unpredictable and sadistic he can be at times."
Will smiled and placed his hands on her shoulders after he had put the arrow back in the quiver on his back. "Sweet sister, you worry far too much. Father is too busy dealing with our other brothers to pay any attention to what we do or say."
Melara wasn't convinced. The part of her that was still Pansy Parkinson was the part that was still suspicious of everyone and everything.
A few years ago her mother had died while she and her brothers had been out riding and to make matters worse, the cause was unknown. Pansy had come close to killing the old man for that. The words to the killing curse had been on her lips until Olly had put his arm around her and reminded her of where she was.
And now the old bastard was on to his sixth wife, Annara Farring. Melara had no fault against the woman herself as she pitied all the wives of Walder Frey and Annara was a bit of a simpleton. She wouldn't last long Melara had no doubt.
The children she had given birth to thus far had all inherited the Frey, weasel like features that made them stand out. She didn't know how she and Olly and Will and Roslin had inherited more of their features from the Rosby side as opposed to the Frey side, but she counted herself lucky in that regard.
They also seemed to have inherited a good deal of their personality traits from the Rosby side as well. Well, all aside from Melara who still retained much of her personality when she was Pansy.
She was fierce and determined and had no qualms about killing to get what it was that she wanted. She had fought in a war after all and sometimes the only path to peace was through taking lives.
It was a hard lesson she had had to learn when her friend Daphne had died in the last battle. Pansy had personally gutted the Death Eater responsible.
Demonstrating ruthlessness had been in her before she ever became Melara Frey.
The worried look on her face must have increased for Will tilted her chin up and forced her to look into his eyes.
He had green eyes as well but they were nowhere near as vibrant as hers and were a deep dull colored hazel, the kind that their mother had had.
"Perhaps we should leave the Twins for a while," he suggested.
Melara scoffed. "And how do you explain that to father? Tell we are going for a stroll for a few weeks and see what he says?"
Will rolled his eyes. "You underestimate me sweet sister. I always have a plan."
"Well then tell me."
He smiled at her. "King Robert has appointed a new Hand since Jon Arryn has recently died and the tourney to celebrate his appointment is in a fortnight. We should go. I will compete and it will get you away from the Twins for a while. If Father allows you to go that is."
Melara rolled her eyes. "I can handle that old bastard."
Will raised an eyebrow at her and she grimaced, realizing what she had said.
About two years ago, both Will and Olly having known something was different about their sister had demanded to know what it was. They had seen the way she could do things, odd things that she couldn't understand.
For instance when she was little, she had often liked to play a game called hopscotch along the bridge that cross the Trident. And when she had jumped, she always remained in the air a little longer than normal before coming back down.
Or there was a time when she had been five and had thrown a temper tantrum because Will had been allowed to do something and she couldn't go with him. She had broken every glass goblet in the keep.
But there was one time when she was eleven that had stuck in Will's memory forever. He had been teaching her how to ride a horse and all of a sudden with no warning, the creature had bolted. Due to her inexperience on the creature it wasn't long before Melara had fallen off.
Will had been in a panic thinking she was dead or grievously injured but when he had gotten to his sister and rolled her over he had seen that she was perfectly unhurt, not even a scratch or a bruise on her.
They had kept the incident between themselves but from then on, Will had watched his sister closely.
Olly had noticed the same thing and when she was thirteen, they had approached her to demand answers, listing all the things she had done that were impossible for a normal human being to do.
She had finally caved and told them about her magic of which they had been astonished. Immediately after conveying her secret, they had demanded that she keep it hidden for they were afraid of what their father would do if he ever learned of her abilities.
Melara had been touched by their concern and had agreed.
But ever since she told them the truth, both of her brothers had watched her like a hawk to ensure that she wasn't revealing too much.
It got a little annoying at times, but it did prove that they loved her and would do anything to protect her.
"We've talked about this," Will said quietly giving her a rather severe look.
"I know," Melara grumbled. She understood why they were asking her to keep quiet about it but she didn't like it.
Will sighed. "Perwyn is going to compete in the tourney. I will simply ask father if you and I and Olly can accompany him. And if you really want to sweeten the pot you can tell him that while you are there, you will look for more…..agreeable connections for House Frey."
Melara grimaced. "Sometimes I feel as if he is going to try and wed me to one of the four wardens or their sons for all he talks about my looks."
Will smirked at her. "No matter how deep his ambitions run, there is little chance of that happening. The only ones close to your age are the Wardens of the North and the South and you would have to marry one of their sons. Although with your looks I suppose that it possible. You must count yourself lucky sister that you inherited nothing of the Frey features."
Melara sighed. "Perhaps if I did it would ensure I wasn't under his attention so much."
Will took her hand. "Come, I will talk to him and we will go to the tourney. Seeing as how our good King Robert is so fond of a celebration he will wish for many of subjects to be there. The tourney will not be complete without House Frey."
Melara rolled her eyes. "Now I know you're teasing me."
Will chuckled. "Come sweet sister, he will agree, you will see."
"Whatever you say."
They slowly walked back to the Twins and when Will went to put the quiver and the arrows away, Melara stood there for a moment looking at the keep and sighed. Her life wasn't bad, it really wasn't….but the part of her that was still Pansy Parkinson, the reformed Pansy Parkinson that was, was telling her that this wasn't how it was supposed to be. She was a witch and a she had spent the latter part of her teen years and her early adult years helping people.
And she would be lying if she said she didn't want to do so in a practical way again.
Soon, she thought as she walked toward the Twins. Soon, I will be able to help people again. Once father decides to leave us one final gift and dies. I am going to figure out a way to do that again.
A time for both of those things would be coming sooner than she thought.
Ω
So I probably should have clarified in the first chapter that in this story, Pansy/Melara is the oldest daughter of Walder Frey by Bethany Rosby which was his fifth wife I believe. So she's a year older than Roslin but not his oldest daughter. And if my calculations are correct, than that means she will be seventeen when she marries Robb hehehehe can't wait for that. Also, since Walder Frey has so many children, I thought it might be a good idea to flesh out the characters of some of them, which is what I am doing for Willamen and Olyvar. I thought it would be good for Pansy to have some people that truly love her and as a symbol that House Frey is not all rotten to the core. So in the next chapter we will be heading to King's Landing for the tournament. I feel I should warn you however, with one exception things will be pretty much canon until the Red Wedding. After that things are going to be extremely AU. That's all for now. Don't forget to review!