Minisa V

Somewhere in the North, 298 AC

Winter has come.

Those were the first words that came to Minisa's mind as soon as she opened her eyes and took in her surroundings. She was standing in the middle of a clearing, surrounded by trees that were covered with snow. Just like everything else around her. Not just the trees, but also the ground, the rocks, and even the ruins of a castle she could glimpse in the far distance. Everything was of a blinding white, except for a few streaks of grey here and there.

It seemed that her House's words had finally come true. Winter had indeed arrived.

The most unsettling thing about all this, though, was the silence. There was no rustling of leaves, no chirping of birds, and no animals running through the trees. She seemed to be the only living thing in that place.

What happened here?

"They came, child." a very familiar voice suddenly said.

She turned toward the source of that voice. Perched on a nearby rock, looking straight at her, was someone that she had seen quite often as of late. Someone who had become a strange sort of companion during her inprisonment.

The talking raven. It had come back, just like the other times.

"They? Who are you talking about?"

"The cold ones. The beings that dwell far beyond the Wall, in the Lands of Always Winter."

It took her a few moments to understand what the bird meant. "You mean...the Others?" She remembered all of Old Nan's tales about the horrors of the Long Night. The ones about the Others had been the most terrifying to her.

The raven nodded. "Indeed. They finally managed to overcome the black brothers and the magic wards set up by your ancestor, and this is the result."

In her mind's eye, she saw creatures of ice hunting down humans and mercilessly slaughtering them. She saw undead men turning on their loved ones, only for the latter to come back and bolster the former's ranks. She saw entire hosts, entire realms, brought to heel. She saw the end of all life and the beginning of a new realm of cold death.

She saw all this, and shuddered.

She hugged herself, more out of fear than anything else. Oddly enough, despite her surroundings, she didn't feel cold. "Why...why are you showing me this? Why did you bring me here?" In their previous meetings, the raven had just talked to her, always trying to comfort her and take her mind off her troubles. What was it trying to accomplish now?

"I want to prepare you for what is to come. This place we are in, and the things you saw, are but a glimpse of the future. A possible future, in fact, for only the past is set in stone."

Minisa stared confusedly at the raven. What did it want from her? What was he preparing her for? What did it mean with "a possible future?"

"I don't understand."

"I don't expect you to understand all at once, my dear child. You have every right to feel confused. You are still young, after all, still naive about the ways of the world." The bird paused to spred its wings as if ready to flight.

"We still have a lot of time left, and I can be very patient. I will explain you everything you need to know in due time. For now, though...open your eyes!"

Minisa's eyes snapped open as the dream ended and she was back in the dark, damp room. With a startled yelp, she rose to sit on the dirty straw where she slept. She massaged her temples and took a couple of deep breaths, still thinking of the raven's words. What did it mean? What did it want from her? And why was she giving so much thought to what was just a particularly strange dream? Well, more like a series of dreams, which somehow took inspiration from her own memories of the tales she had been told (but then, where did the talking raven come from? She didn't remember any tales about birds that talked like humans).

But what if...what if those weren't dreams? What if something, someone, was trying to communicate with her? She pushed those foolish thoughts out of her head as soon as they surfaced. Don't be stupid, she told herself. The only ones who could do such a thing were greenseers and skinchangers. And greenseers and skinchangers were just myths, stories to tell to entertain people and maybe warn them about something.

Reality, as she had learned thanks to her captor, was quite different from a story. It was a dark and harsh place. There was no magic, only people. Many were good, but unfortunately the evil ones were just as many, if not more.

And Torrhen, her bastard brother, was one of them.

Minisa still couldn't fully accept that truth, though. She had spent entire nights awake, wondering what had happened to Torrhen to make him that...that cruel. Was it the result of years and years of being treated like a bastard? It could be, although from her experience she had to admit that it wasn't always the case. She had met two other bastards in her life, Lord Bolton's and Lord Hornwood's, and they had been nothing but kind to her.

But then, the alternative...what if Torrhen's behaviour in years past had always been a lie? What if he had just pretended to be kind so as to not rouse suspicions? What if he had always wanted Winterfell for himself, and only now had acted on his desires? It was a very strong possibility.

In fact, a part of her believed it to be the truth.

That thought caused a tear to fall from her eye. It was the thing that hurt the most, knowing that she had been lied to by someone she loved and trusted. She couldn't bear that knowledge. What if...what if other people had lied to her, too? What if her parents had lied to her?

No, Mother and Father would never lie to me. They always loved me. They would never lie...

...or would they? She had thought the same of Torrhen, and look how things had turned out...

NO! a voice inside of her screamed with fury. She couldn't think that of her parents. It couldn't be true! She couldn't let Torrhen's cruelty ruin the image of the two people she loved the most! Her parents had always loved her.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a metal rustling coming from the opposite side of the darkness, where she knew the door was located. The rusty hinges creaked, and she shielded her eyes as light invaded the room.

"I brought you something to eat." Torrhen left the door open as he stepped forward. In his left hand was a shape that Minisa was able to identify only once it was close to her. It was a loaf of bread. Her stomach grumbled at the sight. Torrhen had been keeping her on the verge of starving, seemingly remembering to feed her only once in a while. He hadn't even given her fresh clothes. Minisa was beginning to be disgusted by her own smell.

Torrhen uncerimoniously threw the bread at her feet and watched as she leapt at it ravenously. He laughed, and then kicked her in her ribcage. Minisa let go of the loaf and howled in pain.

"I can't wait for this shit to be over. Every time I come in here, I have to keep myself from just killing you." His eyes shone with a cold glee as he said that. Minisa huddled on the straw, wishing to be as far away from her monster of a brother as possible.

"I could cut off a finger or two, though. Or an eye. Just for fun. You would still be alive..." He shook his head. "But no, better keep you whole." He juggled the keys he was holding in his right hand. "In a few hours I will be meeting some people. They should be bringing an answer from your bitch of a mother." He made to kick her again, but stopped when she gasped and retreated even more into her corner of the room. He chuckled and then left.

Minisa found herself in the dark once again.

She lay on her side and closed her eyes, trying to lull herself to sleep. The pain in her chest was too much, though, for Torrhen had an absurdly strong kick. She cried and cried, and wished for something to happen. For a moment, she even wished for a knight in shining armor to come and save her, just like in the stories she had loved so much.

It won't happen, ever! she sternly told herself. Those are just stories. No one will come to save me!

No one...

She stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity. Then she heard some muffled voices from outside the door. One sounded like Torrhen's, but the others she didn't recognize. They were too far. She decided she didn't care. Whoever they are, they aren't here to save me. She sobbed and tried again to sleep. Maybe this time she would succeed, and dream again of her feathery friend...

Then, something happened. The voices grew in intensity, so much that she now could make out a few words. It seemed that Torrhen was having an argument with whoever else was there with him. She heard words like "deal" and "traitor" and "kill"...

The words turned to savage screams in an instant. She heard booming noises, like objects heavily falling on the ground, and yells of pain and rage. She heard a chilling scream of agony, a voice that sounded like a beast's but that she knew was Torrhen's.

What's happening? Maybe Torrhen and the other men had fought over something, and now...she shuddered. What were they going to do to her, now? She held her breath as the noises from outside died out and she waited for her fate.

The door slammed open and a new shape appeared on the threshold.

"It's all over." Minisa's eyes widened in surprise. She knew that voice! A spark of hope lit in her heart.

"You..."

"Yes, it's me. I found out where Torrhen was hiding you, and came as fast as I could." The newcomer stepped into the room toward her. "He is dead, now. He and his cronies. You are safe, Minisa." he said as he knelt close to her, his arms open.

For the first time since her kidnapping, Minisa smiled. She almost couldn't believe it! It was all over. She could go back to Winterfell and her family. And it was all thanks to this man. She recalled her thoughts, and understood how wrong she had been.

Sometimes, stories could become real. Sometimes, knights in shining armor really came to rescue young innocent maids. Her savior wore no armor, but she would nonetheless be forever grateful to him.

This she thought, as she leapt into Lord Petyr's warm embrace.

AN: Minisa isn't just naive. She is...well, let's just say that she isn't the sharpest blade in the block.

See you in two weeks with the next chapter! (we're almost at the end, folks!)