Howland pulled Catelyn by the hand into the chambers she had been given. "Are you alright, my lady?" he asked, closing the door behind him. "Did he injure you?"

He looked at Catelyn as she sat on the bed, gasping for air. After a few minutes, she seemed to calm. "I am fine, my lord, just shaken," she informed him. Sparing a glance at the door once again, she added, "Lady Mormont was telling us quite a truth there about Ser Alliser."

"I suspected that was he," Howland replied. "I heard him make mention about killing a secret in the cradle. Can I guess he knows about Jon?"

Catelyn nodded. "He most likely overheard all of the conversation I had with Maester Aemon and was not pleased, as you can well see."

Howland was about to agree with her assessment when there was a knock. "Who is it?" he called out.

"Lady Mormont," came the reply, to which the door was opened. Maege Mormont saw the state Catelyn was in. "What has happened?" she asked.

"Ser Alliser Thorne overheard my conversation with Maester Aemon," Cat said.

"And took exception to it," Howland continued. "You were understating your warning about him. He threatened Lady Stark, threatened to kill her so it does not come out."

"Fucker," Maege mumbled. Despite the situation, he could not help but chuckle. It was a rare thing to hear a highborn woman say such a word, but then again, the Mormonts had always been different in their own way. "And with Jeor unreachable!"

"There is no chance of getting word to him?" Catelyn asked.

"I spoke to one of the brothers, he said the party was to stop at a keep before journeying on. It is a distance, but it's been a while since the party left here, so they are probably very far away from there by now. And, knowing the...lord of the keep, Jeor would want it to be a short stop," Maege explained.

"Perhaps we can have word sent to the keep and they can send it out to the raiding party," Catelyn suggested hopefully. "If it can be done, perhaps we can get to Jon that way."

But Maege shook her head. "Nay, my lady. Would be no help from Craster. He's a nasty bugger, even by wildling standards. The things my brother has told me…" She shook her head again.

"What was it that Maester Aemon said to you," Howland asked, trying to figure out another move.

Catelyn removed a scroll from her cloak. "Aemon believes in some prophecy that Prince Rhaegar was researching. Something about a prince that was promised, whose song is ice and fire. Whatever that may mean."

Howland let out a gasp when he heard those words. That was the same phrase he used when he first met Lyanna Stark that day at Harrenhal. Instantly, he was taken back all those years ago, to a springlike day in the Riverlands.

He remembered the squires attacking him and then a slip of a girl beating them back, frightening them off. When they introduced themselves, she found it curious that a crannogman would travel to a tourney. "I came to hear a song, my lady. A song of ice and fire," he had told her, earning himself a curious glare.

Now, hearing Lady Catelyn repeat that phrase, tell of a prince with such a song, Howland Reed began to understand it all. "Did Maester Aemon tell you anything else?" he asked.

She glanced his way, before continuing. "He said that Rhaegar brought much of the research to Dragonstone. This scroll gives permission for me to be there and retrieve documents from the maester for Aemon. Or so it says."

"There is another purpose, then, for him sending you there, you think?" Howland asked.

"There must be, but what it is or even where to look for it, I have no idea," Cat said. She took another deep breath. "Ser Alliser scares me."

"He is a fierce bastard, aye," Maege said.

"No," Cat replied, a shudder passing through her. "It's more than that." There was a blush on her cheeks as if she had something she did not want to say aloud. "I dreamed of him." Neither he nor Maege seemed to understand, so Catelyn clarified her statement. "Before we left Winterfell, I saw him in a dream."

Now Howland was more intrigued. Catelyn Tully was of the Riverlands, of the Andals. They were not known to have any magics, like the First Men or the Valyrians. It would seem unlikely she would, in any way, have the abilities of a greenseer, or dragon dreams. Yet, he needed to know more. "What was Ser Alliser doing in the dream?"

Cat seemed to fall into a trance, a painful memory. "I was standing atop the Wall, he a few feet from me. Beneath us was a great number of people, perhaps as many as thousands. I knew Jon was among them even before I saw him step forward. They needed to be let in for their safety. Jon had gone to save them from...something." She shook her head like she was trying to refocus specifically on the dream. "For a second, I did not think Ser Alliser would allow the gate to be opened, but in the end he did. He did not look happy with his decision though."

"When did you have this dream, Lady Stark?" Howland queried further.

She took a moment before answering. "It was after we spoke to Maester Luwin, after he learned about Aegon's gift to Torrhen and the language of the pact." She paused now, still recalling details, it seemed. "And that Jon was unreachable. I had gone to the godswoods hoping to find some direction in which to go. Nothing came though until I tried to sleep that night."

Now it was Maege who smiled. "The Old Gods blessed you, my lady. You asked for their help and they obliged you, sent you a message, maybe even a warning."

Cat looked as if she did not believe it, shaking her head in denial. "I am a child of the Faith. I...In all the years I have lived here, the Old Gods have never spoken to me."

"The Old Gods do not gift their blessings to just those who believe in them," Maege said. "We do not have such stringent tenets to our faith. But they have every so often given them to those they feel do their work. This appears to be a path they wish for you to be on, and continue on."

"Do you think that too, Lord Reed?" Catelyn did not seem convinced by Lady Mormont's words

He nodded. "It is rare that the Old Gods speak to those who follow them, but rarer still that they speak to those who do not." Now he prodded, sensing there was more. "Did you see anything else in the dream?"

For a moment, her face was blank. "I was in," she looked around, as if suddenly realizing something, "I was in this very room. It was night and I heard a wolf howl. Jon's direwolf, the ones found near their dead mother. When I heard Ghost, I knew something awful had happened. I ran out into the courtyard and Jon...Jon was lying in the snow."

He could see she was shaken more by the vision and asked nothing further. Yet, he knew what needed to be done. "It is no longer safe for you here, my lady. I think it best we make the arrangements for you to be off to Dragonstone. Lady Mormont, can you begin to see to that?"

"Aye, I will, and best make haste with it," she said as she left.

But Cat looked at him suddenly. "You will not be accompanying me to Dragonstone?"

With great reluctance, he shook his head. "No, my lady, I cannot. I can take you as far as Eastwatch, but after that, I must return here. I must stay behind, for the role I have to play is here."

"Then who shall go with me? Surely it is too dangerous a trip to take on my own," she cried, fear obvious on her face.

"You will not be alone, of that, I can assure you," he replied. But when he saw she did not believe him, he knew he needed to reveal his secret. "We of the Neck, of the crannogmen, we too are very often blessed with visions. Greensight, we call it. I have a little of this magic that has allowed me to know things of the future I should not." He smiled, repeating some of what she had said earlier. "When you made mention of a song of ice and fire, that was the same term I used when I first met Lyanna. She asked me why I was there, that it was strange for me people to travel far from our home. I told her I was here to bear witness to a song of Ice and Fire. And it was there that Ice and Fire met."

"Rhaegar and Lyanna? You knew?"

"Not know per se. But I saw the path being laid out. It was also why I joined your husband as he made his way to Dorne. It was completing the circle I had first seen, the death of Ice and the coming…" He took a deep breath before completing the thought, "the coming of the Prince Who Was Promised." He could see her beginning another question, but he stopped her. "It is nothing I can explain, my lady. Just know that it is."

He could see the protest forming, but she stopped herself. "If you have foreseen such things, can you at least give me a clue about what I must find on Dragonstone. Who will I be traveling with? Please, my lord, anything!"

He could see she was desperate for answers. "The former, I honestly do not know. But the latter..." He smiled broadly now, remembering a face from the past, from Harrenhal. "You will know the man because you have seen him once before. He was at the tourney. It was his loss that led an event of great gossip, of a first crowning of a Stark."

She looked befuddled for a moment, then recognition dawned on her. "I know who it is you speak of, Lord Reed. Thank you."

He bowed slightly. "I will see you off, I promise. And we will see each other again. That is a vow." He left her at last, praying to the Old Gods that she remained safe. For the future was murky, at best. Despite his gift, even he wasn't sure of the direction.

Thinking about it now, Ser Barristan Selmy had to laugh. Of all the people in the Red Keep, he was amazed the one person he had come to trust was the least trustworthy person of them all. No one knew much about Lord Varys, the Master of Whisperers, least of all his allegiances. Yet, in him, the former Lord Commander of the Kingsguard had found the most unlikely ally.

As planned, he had met with him the following morning, introducing him to a reliable captain. Delmar Nortos was Essosi, but for some strange reason, enjoyed the travel to the North. He seemed to have known Varys for some time and actually trusted the man.

"He will see you to the coast, my Lord," Varys informed him. "And he stands ready if you have need of him in the future."

Nortos nodded in agreement. "We will be leaving port shortly. If you need to complete any business, my lord, best do it now."

Selmy acknowledged the man. "I will only be a moment. There are some things I need to say with this man." He tilted his head in Vary's direction.

Nortos nodded once more then headed up the plank. When he was sure they were alone, Barristan asked, "What are your other plans? I think I ought to know."

Varys smiled enigmatically. "I do still sense Daenerys Targaryen figures into the future. And, there are men in this city I trust, and those I do not. I will be keeping an eye on both sets and see if I am correct. That is all I can tell you for now."

"I was hoping for something more concrete," Ser Barristan muttered. "But, when with a puzzle, one shouldn't hope for much." He let out a sigh. "I guess, once we dock, I will head for Eastwatch. That would be a starting point in looking for Lady Stark."

"Though there are no gods I believe in, I do have faith you will find her," Varys said. "How does that blessing go? The rather maudlin one?"

"'I wish you good fortune in the wars to come'," the old knight quoted. "And you as well."

Varys shrugged "I had hoped there would be no need for a war, but it does seem inevitable." Without another word, the Spider turned on his heels and walked off.

That had been two weeks ago. Two weeks ship bound, and it was beginning to cloy at him. He was on his daily visit above decks when he saw the captain of the ship approach. "When do we dock?" he asked.

"It should not be much longer, my lord," Nortos assured him. "You do not like the sea?"

"Not normally," Barristan admitted. "But It's more of getting on with my task."

He was expecting the captain to inquire about what that task was, but he said nothing on the subject. Perhaps Varys had told him, perhaps that was why Varys and the Nortos seemed to trust each other. "We should be in Karhold in a few days. A powerful family, there, yes?"

Selmy didn't know much about the North, or the noble families, and said so. "I only know they are a guarded people, and rightly so."

"Their great lord is rebelling against the throne, is he not?"

Barristan wracked his brain, trying to remember. "Lord Robb Stark, aye. And with good reason," he said, as he remembered that day at the Sept of Baelor. "Any son would, had their father been executed without cause."

Nothing more was said in the conversation. The former Lord Commander left for his cabin, wanting to go over in his mind what information he had.

He knew Robb Stark had declared independence from the Seven Kingdoms. It seemed outrageous, even taking into account the fact that Ned Stark had been executed on trumped up charges when then he remembered a fact his maester told him.

"The North, lad, was never properly conquered. They chose to accept defeat with nary a drop of blood. Some though their king foolish, other a craven. But there are wise choices such as that. So, never underestimate a Northman. Their word is their bond and it is never lightly broken. But when it is, there is good reason and a wrath one should not wish to face."

Meeting Ned Stark and knowing what he did, what he had been doing all these years, he saw the truth in them. He had wanted to say something, all those years ago. But there was too much risk, the kingdom too precarious.

He wondered, briefly, if Lord Stark knew the truth. He must have. Why else would he have passed Rhaegar's son off as his own bastard? No one looked at the boy with such a mark. Barristan knew it had driven Robert crazy, trying to guess the identity of the boy's mother. Best you never knew, Your Grace, he thought wickedly.

He could still remember that day on the Isle of Faces. He and Oswell had found the lady with tears in her eyes. She had wanted her father there, to give her away all right and proper. But there had been no answer to the letter she had left. Lyanna took that as an admonition. But it did not deter her.

"I started on this path. I cannot desist from it," she told them. Yes, Rhaegar had chosen a fierce wolf.

And she had not wanted any other to give her away. She went it alone, save for Rhaegar and the High Septon. It had been strange to Barristan's ears, hearing a man of the Faith intoning something close to a Northern ceremony of vows, and in daylight too! But they had stood there, Lyanna offering herself before the Old Gods, beseeching them for their blessing and Rhaegar, acknowledging his taking of her. Then the High Septon fell into the routine of the Faith's vows, save for the cloaking.

"I see no need to cloak a wolf in my protection," the prince had said. "They are as fierce as dragons."

That was the last memory he had of a happy Rhaegar. When he rode with Barristan to the Trident, his melancholia had returned. "Newly married, and your mood does not change, does it, Your Grace?" the knight had asked him along the way.

"My Uncle Aemon said something very similar to that the last time I saw him. But don't you think it appropriate, to be saddened, being away from your new wife and when she is with child?" his prince asked him.

"Point taken," he had agreed. But there had been more to it, Selmy had sensed. It was confirmed when he heard Rhaegar's last words as he lay dying in the river. His wife's name was on his lips, her face in his memory for sure. A wife he would never see again, a child he would never meet.

It was the word of Lyanna's death that completed the beautiful, tragic story of their love. But then Barristan had seen the small baby being held by his nurse in the back of the crowd when Ned returned to King's Landing with his sister's body. For an instant, he believed Lord Stark's words, just like everyone else. But as Ned left, the Kingsguard caught sight of the child and even then, even that small, he knew the truth.

The truth of it was, it was the knowledge of who that child truly was that kept him going all these years. And it was the thought of righting such a grievous wrong that propelled him to the North, to the Wall. He would seek out Lady Catelyn Stark and help her in whatever way she needed, he swore silently to whatever gods, whatever ghosts were listening. He would see Rhaegar's son on the throne before he joined the Stranger.