As usual I do not own GOT or ASOIAF. This chapter is mostly flashbacks to show why the main character is doing what he is doing and why he is so loyal to the Starks. The next chapter will be the battle but I might split it into two chapters. It depends on how long it is and if I find a good place to end the first part. That said thanks again for reading.

Chapter 3

While riding with Red, my mind began to wander back to the past. Growing up in Winterfell with the Starks, my family, my journey with Red, and even Daenerys. I knew I could trust Red to watch for danger so it came easy to go back to those times. This battle is not a guaranteed win so thinking back on everything came easy.

The first memory I could think of was when Robb, Jon, Sansa, Bran and I went down to the crypts of Winterfell. "Come on guys I don't want to be in the crypts. It is dark and dirty, not a place for a lady." Sansa whined. We had just entered with a torch. Robb, Jon, and I rolled our eyes at Sansa.

"Come on Sansa, it is okay to not be a lady all the time. It is good to do other stuff. You don't think your mother is a lady every waking second do you." I replied. When Sansa turned towards me with an evil glare, I stared right back with a grin on my face. Jon, Robb and Bran laughed at the comment although Bran probably was not sure what was going on. He mostly just laughed because he heard Robb and Jon laughing. Sansa gave up with her glaring and continued walking and stepped in a puddle.

"My boots! I knew coming down here was a stupid idea! Why did I listen to you! Mother will be furious at me and you four because of this!" Sansa whined. At that exact moment Arya jumped out from behind Lyanna Stark's tomb and scared Robb, Bran and Sansa. Jon, Arya, and I had planned for this to happen but what happened after that was unexpected. Sansa had jumped back and lost her footing only to fall in the puddle and drench her furs. While Jon, Arya, and I were laughing at scaring the other three, we noticed what happened to Sansa after she started screaming and crying. When we went back to the Great Hall, where Lord and Lady Stark were with baby Rickon, we knew we were in trouble from the glare we got from both. I followed Lady Stark's glare towards Jon and saw more hatred in her eyes looking at him and most likely blaming him for all of this. We were scolded for our behavior but as soon as Sansa and her mother left to clean her up we saw Lord Stark smile a little bit. He asked us who planned it and Jon immediately was ready to take the blame but Arya and I came to his defense. What surprised us even more was that he told us that Lyanna did the same to him when he was younger. He then gave us a warning not to do mess with Sansa again for at least a few months, knowing that family does stuff like this.

When I was finished thinking about that memory Red stopped moving sniffing the air. He then pointed in the northwest direction where I heard the bushes rustling and two men talking. We hid to see who it was and saw a Bolton shield on one of the two men. I nocked an arrow and shot one of the soldiers through the left eye and Red killed the other one. It was nearing night time so I started making camp and told Red to sleep so that he can be ready in case we are attacked. The bodies were being burned in a different area to make sure that people would go to that area instead of my camp. I found an area where it seemed like a tree crashed on another and allowed for some shelter above my head. I started a small fire so that I can stay warm in case it gets too cold during the night. While staring at the fire and my sword, I remember my family on my tenth name day.

My father had just woken me up for the day and told me to come to the Feast Hall because he wanted to show me something for my name day. I quickly got up and put on my furs and ran to the hall. My family was there wishing me a good name day and my father told me that I was doing well with my training under Ser Rodrik and that it was time I finally had a sword of my own.

"Thank you father; I am very grateful for the sword."

"Remember, this weapon should only be used to protect the ones you love and care for as well as those who need to be defended. A sword given to a mad man causes devastation. Protect the ones you hold dear to you and save those that need saving. A true knight knows this." My father said while looking at me proudly.

My family then celebrated my name day and we were then off to Winterfell where I was greeted by the Starks wishing me a good tenth name day as well. When it was night time and we retired back at Snowfall, my father came to my room and told me words I still remember to this day. "There will come a time where you must choose what you want to do with your life and when you do promise me you will fight every day to fulfill that choice."

I pull my sword from my scabbard and realize that I never gave my sword a name as I was too busy with my name day to think of one. As I think about my family the name pops out and finally give it the name "Rebirth." It is to remind me that I am a new person since that day and everything that has happened has given me a new life and reason to live. The North is on its way to a new life and I want my sword to be remembered for generations as this was the reason for its name. After naming it I fall asleep only to wake up when the sun peak through the trees. I realize it was early morning based on the fact that the sun was still barely above the horizon.

Red and I move on to where I was standing in my dreams and this is where I see the two sides gathering. I see the banners of House Stark and Mormont on one side and the Umbers, Karstarks, and Boltons on the other. While I cannot hear them, the body language shown shows me that it is not all too friendly of a meeting. I see the Umber reach into a bag and throw a black wolf head onto the ground and I realize that the head belonged to Shaggydog. I hold back tears for Shaggydog and Rickon. I focus again on the meeting and Sansa must have said something because she gallops away. The meeting goes on for only a minute or two after that and the groups disperse.

While preparing myself for tomorrow and the fight that is to come and continue to remember some of the past. I had just read the letter of Lord Stark's imprisonment and the death of my family in King's Landing. I had destroyed a lot of my belongings because of my anger and feeling of uselessness. Red seemed to understand my emotions and watched me to see if I would hurt myself. I was not in the right mind set and stormed out of the place I was living without my sword. This would not have been a problem in the North but I was in Essos, specifically Braavos. Two men saw me in my weakened and emotional state and was about to rob and most likely kill me. I knew there was no way to get out of this but Red followed me and killed one of the men that was about to attack me. He ripped the man's throat out and as the other one looked in shock, Red jumped on top of him and did the same thing. I owed my life to Red and the only look he gave me was on of sadness. I knew then that there was more to our companionship than just a man and his pet. I never left him home again, anywhere I went he went and our bond grew. He helped me save Dako, killed men that were going to kill me and I did the same in return. A man tried to buy him from me for a lot of gold but I turned him down and when he mentioned that it was just a stupid pet I nodded down to Red and he immediately jumped on top of the man. He did not kill him but I told the man that if anyone was a pet it would be him as a pet to Red. Red showed the man his fangs and the man must have pissed himself because of the liquid that flowed underneath him. I shared my food with Red and in no time he grew to be quite big. He was not Direwolf big but probably bigger than an average coyote. Before Ser Barristan told me about the Red Wedding, both Red and myself felt like we lost something. Red felt worse for a little while and when we were told about what happened we knew it was because of the Red Wedding. Red has been my companion since the day I left for Essos and the only family I had left. I vowed that I would protect him until my last breath because of the bond I shared with him.

Red had just came back from hunting because he had brought with him a rabbit. He must have caught two because there was too much blood on his fur to just be from one. I cooked the rabbit and gave half of it to Red and he enjoyed the cooked meat. He must have felt my mood change to a solemn feeling because he laid down next to me and put his head on my lap. I petted his head for a while before getting up and looking at Winterfell in the distance. This brought me back to another time I spent in Winterfell only this time it was a memory of just Jon and I.

Jon and I had been the only ones in the training yard because his family had gone to visit some of the other houses in the North. Jon was not invited because Lady Stark did not want her husband's bastard to come along as it would be seen as dishonorable. Lord Stark gave his wife the approval of Jon staying in Winterfell. My family went with them and invited me along but I told them if Jon did not go, then I would not either. It was no secret that my father disagreed with how Lady Stark treated Jon but there was not much he could do so he encouraged me to become friends with Jon. It was a little hard at first because he could act cold towards you but once you show him you want to be friends he is fiercely loyal. "Jon when we come of age, we should go out and see the world. We could go to Essos and go farther east to see what lands there are." I told him while practicing with our swords.

"I do not think that life is for me. I am a bastard of the North; my place will be the Wall. Thank you though." He replied.

"It does not have to be, come on Jon let's go to Essos for a few years and then come back and join the Night's Watch. It will be you and I, we would become actual brothers then." It was no secret that I had pretty much adopted the Starks as my second family.

"You can go to Essos and then come to the Wall. By then I will know my way around and my Uncle Benjen could help make you a Ranger. Why do you even want to be part of the Night's Watch, you are not a bastard?"

"Starks have guarded the Wall for generations, maybe I can help add the name Frost to that as well. Jon, you are my friend and practically family, you may be a bastard but you have Stark blood running through you. My family has been loyal to the Starks for generations and if you go to the Wall then it is my duty to follow you."

We did not know exactly what the Night's Watch was and the types of people that joined. We thought it was people of honor, not thieves, rapists, and murderers who were given a choice of death or the Night's Watch. It never occurred to us to truly ask what the people that make up the Night's Watch actually were because of all the stories we heard about them. It was not until much later, just before leaving Winterfell did I find out what type of people made up the Night's Watch and felt sorry for Jon because he was worth so much more than to be hated because of how he grew up. I would have kept my promise to him if the war had not happened. Maybe I would already have taken my vows for the Night's Watch.

I can now keep my promise to Jon and follow him now. It was getting late and I built another small fire to keep me warm through the night and while looking at the fire I started to think about Daenerys Targaryen. The first time I met her did not go nearly as planned as Ser Barristan was right beside her.

I stood at the bottom of the steps, looking up at the man next to the Mother of Dragons as they called her. It was Ser Barristan Selmy, one of the greatest swordsman in Westeros. I knelt in her presence and when she asked me my name, I hesitated a bit before reminding myself what my father would do. I knew I had to tell her the truth and let the cards fall where they may.

"Your Grace, my name is Brian Frost, I am not from Essos but from the North, specifically from a place just north of Winterfell called Snowfall." I introduced myself.

Immediately after finishing that sentence Ser Barristan gripped his sword was ready to strike me down until the queen asked him to hold and tell her what was going on. Ser Barristan told her of my family's demise at King's Landing and the betrayal of Petyr Baelish. He told us that Lord Stark was a just man and when he found out Robert wanted you dead he resigned because of the dishonor it would bring to him if he was part of the assassination of an innocent woman and her children. He also told her that Lord Stark did not mean any ill will towards her because she could not be blamed for his family members' deaths. I was about to cry after hearing all of this that Ser Barristan realized I was no threat and told everyone to settle down, and suggested that Daenerys listen to what I have to say.

I told her everything about my family and why I was here in Meereen, why I have slaves but why I was not part of the deaths the masters suffered. Ser Barristan must have believed me and vouched for my honor as he knew how much my father instilled it into his children. Before the end of the meeting Ser Barristan told me something that shook my entire world.

"Lord Frost, I am sorry to tell you this but a little while ago, we received word that the North was defeated in the war. They were at the Twins for the wedding between Edmure Tully and a Frey woman. After the ceremony, the Freys and Boltons launched an attack that ended up killing Robb Stark, his mother, his wife and unborn child, and your brother William. The note did not mention your brother's name but it said what houses were killed at what they call the Red Wedding. They took Lord Edmure prisoner and sewed Robb Stark's Direwolf's head to his body." He told me in a sad voice.

I was holding back tears even more now when I bid the Queen goodbye I ran back home. There was no stopping the tears that were running down my face as everyone I loved was now gone and there was nothing I could do. I must have cried myself to sleep because I woke up with a knock on my door. The queen must have had someone follow me because there were a few Unsullied and a woman named Missandei waiting for me. She told me that the queen would like to see me. I told her I would be ready in just a minute and Red came with me this time. When the men saw him, they got ready to attack until Missandei told them to stand down. I was grateful and told her that Red would not attack unless provoked or he thought I was in danger. She led me to the hall again and I knelt before the queen again. She told me that she was sorry for everything that had happened to my family and I told her I am sorry for the position she was put in because of the war. I was worried that she would tell me she reconsidered my proposal to take in former slaves to learn to fight and read. She did not mention it at all which to me meant it was still alright. Then she said something that did not completely shock me but still made my eyes widen. "My plan is to take back the Iron Throne when I have learned more about ruling from my time here in Meereen."

I told her that it would not be easy even with dragons. The Lannisters would think of a way to kill the dragons even if it means losing half or almost all of their army. Cersei Lannister is not to be underestimated. She is smart and cunning, something that is very hard to fight against as it would be hard to know what the next move is. There was no honor in her and would rather see King's Landing burn than give it up to her. Ser Barristan agreed with me. Nearing the end of the meeting I finally just looked at her and realized that her beauty was both a strength and a weakness. And I told her as such. "You are a remarkable and beautiful person, most people will underestimate you and it will be their downfall. On the other hand, due to your beauty, men will fight for your hand in marriage so they can rule. Your beauty could cause a civil war in Westeros so be careful." I left shortly after that and went back home.

I had a good night sleep because of my thoughts going back to Daenerys. When I woke, the sun was a little higher than the previous morning and I looked out over the field and noticed some men getting ready for the fight. I hoped my men were close to the fight and would be able to help us otherwise we were overmatched and would die. It took about another hour for the armies to form and on the Bolton's side I saw Ramsay moving to the front and I realized that now was the time to move because he would release Rickon anytime. I jumped on my horse and galloped as hard and fast as possible as I hoped they would not see me right away. If need be I was ready to die to give the Starks back their home.