I had another dream of my parents, seeing them in my mind and hearing their voices calling out my name. It was as if they were trying to protect me from something that was about to happen, giving me some kind of warning. Their voices were so clear, so close as if I could hear them next to me and telling me to get away from before I got killed. Was it some kind of sign? I had no clue, but I remember them in my dreams, and that me sad knowing that it was not reality and not meant to be.

However, I was awoken to Astrid clicking my face and the soothing chill of the winter morning. I grinned from my spot, knowing that I was both being awakened by my direwolf and still behind held by Gendry, whom was laying behind me and was holding me close to him with one arm around my middle, having me feel his skin against my own and hear his breathing. I started squirming from Astrid's licking against my cheeks, having me then feel him pull me against him softly and groan from me moving and almost waking him.

"Good morning Astrid." I said to my wolf softly, having me feel her nuzzle her nose against my cheek and having me giggle in delight. Gendry kissed my head from behind, having me feel him stroke my hair with his spare hand as I stroked Astrid's fur with my own spare hand.

"Must you wake this early?" Gendry said against my skin as I saw Astrid bark at me once and then trot away, knowing that she woke up fully.

"Leave it to Astrid to get me awake in the morning, since you are no help at all." I replied back to him, hearing him chuckle as I gazed out towards the window, seeing some more fallen snow that was bringing me a sense of familiarity of home. It made me think of Sophia, and how her dark hair contrasted in the snow, making it lighter and more homely for me. It was a nice thought for a moment or two.

"I'm plenty of help." Gendry argued with me behind me, having me move so I could face him and see his face. I knew his face, the line on his faces that were there since the moment I met him, the stubble on his jaw, the small scars that were evident from the previous experience as a blacksmith. Even his eyes, the blue the reminded me of the sea, or even the fabric color that I would rarely use since blue was a color for highborns, his eyes were unique and filled with wonder and love.

"That you are." I replied to him, seeing him smile at me, having me already feel weak in the knees and in my heart from seeing them there. I drew on his face with my slender finger, tracing the scars that were on his jaw, the lines that were there and then his lips, trying to map them out in my mind incase I would ever need to think of him in the future whine he was not there at all. But I didn't want to think of that at all, a moment without Gendry by my side. That would be a terrible thing to live with, a bad painful bruise against my heart.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked me, having me hear his voice being so soft and so gentle to me.

"I had a dream of my parents, and how they were here with me." I explained to him, seeing him watch me intently as I continued, "They were warning me about something."

"About what?" he asked me aloud in confusion and a hint of worry.

"I don't know." I replied to him, "They never told me what was going to happen, or what I was going to do, but they were afraid for me." I thought about it some more, having me wonder what they were warning me about. Was I in trouble, what did this mean? Was this my future? How could it be so, since dreams never felt as though they could be real. They were dreams, weren't they?

"They were only dreams, Nora." Gendry said to me finally, having me see him search my eyes and see the worry in his own blue eyes, "Something that you shouldn't worry about."

"It wasn't that." I countered back at him, seeing him watch me as I thought about it some more in my spot on the bed, hearing the morning sounds of the people in the fortress already at work and the chill in the wind.

"It's only sad, knowing that I can only see my parents in my dreams, only hear their voices in my head and only knowing them as a distant memory." I explained to him in a softer tone, hearing myself break as well as having my heart tear in two, thinking of how my parents only existed in my mind now. It wasn't a soothing thing to think about, more along the lines of saddening and heart aching. But I then felt Gendry pull me into his arms and stroke my hair with his fingers, planting kisses along my skin and having me feel both the sense of warmth and lust for him coming over me. I sighed and moaned at the same time as he kissed me lovingly on my mouth, silencing the pain that I was feeling and the harshness of the reality of my parents being gone.

"Not a distant memory, Nora." He reminded me as he hovered over me, looking down at me and having me arch up to him, "Never a distant memory."

I walked through the white snow that was on the floor that lead me to the Godswood that was part of the fortress, Astrid next to me as I was wearing a cloak and a gray dress, along with my boots and my hair braided down and to the side. I wanted to find my own alone time, away from the responsibilities and the tiredness. I knew Sansa and Arya, along with Gendry and James, were going to do just fine without me since they knew Winterfell better than I did, so I decided to have some time alone to myself for once. It didn't feel right, ruling over the fortress when Sansa and Arya rightfully belonged there to rule and not me. They grew up in those walls, I did not.

I walked around the corner, seeing nothing but the forest at first. I twas soothing, reminding me of the times that I was on the road with the caravan and going to the Wall, peace and quiet was filling my brain. The chill against my skin, the whiteness around me, it reminded me, once again, or home and how simple it used to be. But now everything was fresh and new, just like the snow. And as I ventured further into the small haven that Winterfell had, I looked around me some more. A sense of peace washed over me, as if I was walking into sacred ground. And I was, since I then saw a poll of water in front of me, then a large white tree with red and maroon leaves, with a face on the trunk of the tree. I knew where I was now: This was where the Old Gods were worshiped.

Did my mother and father worship here? Did they believe? I was never raised on one religion or God, so I and no idea on how it was done, but I was someone sitting at the base of the tree with his black cloak on and his white direwolf at his feet: Jon Snow. He was quiet as he watched the tree, having me see a grave look on his face. I felt as though I was prying in on him, since it was a sacred place and those who would come here needed alone time. But I saw his direwolf look over at us, the red eyes on the white fur haunted me for a mere second before Jon spoke up.

"They would come here, you know." He said aloud, still looking at the tree as I walked over slowly, Astrid still at my side as I watched him carefully. It was speaking as though it was so casual for him.

"Father would come here to think every once in while, the same with your mother." Jon explained some more as I was now next to him, see him with his dark eyes as he looked at the trunk in front of it. I did as well, seeing the well hinted history that people came here to guidance, for peace, for clarity, and for love if they needed it.

"What of your mother?" I asked him, seeing him pause as he thought to himself. It must of been a awkward thing to ask him, since I felt as though I overstayed my welcome from what I just said, but he didn't seem phased by it, not once.

"I had no memory of her." He replied, having me watch him as he finally looked over at me with his dark eyes and heroic face, "Father was going to tell me about her before he passed, I never knew who she was." I nodded my head, looked at the tree myself and seeing the contrasted red leaves in the white snow around me. I felt the snow touch my nose and skin, some of it in my dark auburn and brown hair and in my braid as I spoke up once more.

"I thought I was a Bastard." I said to him in a soft tone, "The woman who raised me told me that they died when I was still a infant, having me think that I would never see them again." Jon watched me as I gazed at the leaves, seeing how red they were and how, for a second, they reminded me of the Lannisters and what they did to me to bring me to this point.

"You look like her." I looked down at Jon as he said that, seeing him eye me up and down as I was confused as to who he meant, "You look like Lady Catelyn Stark. And of Rob as well, I seem him in you." I couldn't say anything after that, so I merely smiled at him, since he was my half brother and we were related in the sense. I knew then, that he too had a burden behind him as well as Gendry, they were Bastards. It was something that they had to carry with them for the rest of their lives, if they wish to.

"Were you at the Wall this whole time?" I asked him in curiosity.

"I thought it was the honorable thing to do: to serve Westeros and to protect it from outsiders. At the time, when I left this place, I felt as though I had no place here amongst my siblings and father." Jon explained to me aloud, having me watch him with a grave look on my own face, "The only ones who found peace with me, who accepted me and showed the meaning of family, were my siblings."

"They showed me that before they knew I was their sister." I said to add to the conversation, "They accepted me from the moment they met me, they must of known then." I paused, thinking of them once more and having a small smile on my face. I never once felt that with someone else other than Sophia, and sense of belonging to a group that I knew I had no place with, not at first.

"Perhaps they knew you were a part of this family for certain." Jon replied, having me see him watch me as I stroked Astrid's fur next to me, "I saw it from the moment I saw you in the courtyard: you have Stark blood in you." I smiled at him once more, feeling a bit better that were getting to know each other more and more.

"I was told by Arya that you are handy with a bow." He explained to me in now a casual tone, having me eye him with a small smirk on his face," Perhaps you should show me how good you are, and I can help you if you need assistance."

"Really?" I asked him aloud in shock, and he gave a small smile, having me think of Rob for a moment.

"We are family after all."

"How many men do we have now?" James asked aloud as the four Stark children sat with him at the large table in the Great Hall, trying to figure out the next step to getting Winterfell back to the former glory we once had.

"With both Winterfell and Thedra Ascent, up to 300." Jon explained aloud, "Adding with the few men from the Watch that came with me, that's 350."

"And the Brotherhood?" I asked aloud, looking over at James and seeing him watch me.

"Another 50 men, we're at 400 now Milday." he explained to me aloud, having me nod my head and look back at the map of Westeros in front of me. Sansa was next to me on my left, standing poise and proper as she always does in her dress and her flowing hair that was no longer in the Southern Braids. Arya was back in her tunic and pants, her hair was longer now and was showing her femininity once again as she scanned the map with more interest.

"We need to recruit more people, bring more here." She explained aloud as I nodded my head in agreement.

"I can go with Sansa, Gendry and a couple of our solders, we can find more people and rally them." I explained to them all, seeing Sansa watch me from her spot with hesitance.

"I wish to stay here, in Winterfell." She said in a bold tone, but I knew she was not trying to start a argument with me, "The men here need me more than you need me next to you. And it's a risk for you to be out there in the first place, as our eldest sister."

"She's right, Milday." James said aloud, but I shook my head.

"I want to do this, to find more people to join us in this." I said in a determined tone, "If they see my face, and who who I am and what I want for this place, then they can be more convinced."

"I'll go with her." Jon said aloud, having me look at him and see him already thinking about it in his head, "You already have James here for protection, as well as plenty of other men. I can help with recruitment." I nodded my head a him, seeing him smile at me. We were spending more time together as siblings, getting to know each other more and seeing that we both had the same mission. But my mind was on Rickon and Bran, the more I thought about them the more I was worried about them. Where were they?

Where were my brothers?