This AU was inspired by the Shadow World created by Cassandra Clare (in book series such as The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices). And I thought it was best to introduce this world, so you could better enjoy this fic.
In this world lives a race of warriors called Shadowhunters, their power is drawn by the runes they draw on their bodies (they can give them many different especial capabilities). This group mainly fights Demons or other supernatural creatures that could put mundanes (mortal/normal human people) in danger.
On the other hand, there are Downworlders – warlocks (similar to wizards), vampires, werewolves and fairies (elves, mermaids, satyrs, "classical" fairies, ogres, etc).
I'm writing this story in a time period similar to the one in ASOIAF canon (which for the readers of TMI/TID means no Accords are in place yet).
"Ned! Ned! Is that you?!" Ned heard his friend call, and he tried to go back, maybe go around the stables. "It's you! For the Gods, you're alive!" Robert yelled, throwing his arms around him. "I was so scared… I thought I had lost you, you can't leave without me, you know that. You're my parabatai." Ned still didn't know what to answer. "We should talk to Jon, something weird happened – my parabatai rune disappeared. How's yours?"
"I need to talk with Lord Jon as well."
"About the rune, right?! I've never heard anything about this. Have you?"
"No."
"Come on, Ned. You're acting weird, is there something else happening? Do you need an iratze?" Robert asked, taking his steele from his belt.
"No," he said, pulling back immediately – an obvious mistake, Robert was now sure something was wrong.
"What's wrong? You don't need to pull away." But Ned kept walking backwards, until he stumbled in a rock and fell into the ground. Robert ran to his side, and seemed to notice the gashes in Ned's clothes only now. "Your tunic is ripped, so are your breeches. What happened?" he asked. "Your hand, the voyance rune is gone – it shouldn't be gone."
"I need to tell Lord Jon to call the Clave – they will set the punishment. Just try to get my bones returned to my family."
"What are you talking about? What's this about punishment?"
"I can't live like this – the law prohibits. It's my duty as a Shadowhunter to turn myself in."
"For what?!"
"Robert, it was a full moon last night, and you felt the connection between us break – it's not that hard to figure out."
"You were bitten?! When?"
"Three weeks ago, in Runestone."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I thought that maybe I wouldn't change. There are stories about people that are bitten, but aren't affected by the lycanthropy. Maybe I could be one of them."
"You should have told me. I would have been there for you."
"You couldn't, you would have to report it."
"I've never been one to do my duty. Now, come on – we're thinking about this, and finding a solution."
"The quickest I tell Lord Jon, the least trouble he and you will be with the Clave."
"We can find another solution."
"No we can't." Robert seemed to be ready to argue with something else, but he stopped himself and suggested something else.
"Why don't you sleep for a bit before doing that? You must be tired – it was a complicated night."
"Maybe I can sleep for a bit, but I need to talk to him before lunch."
"I'll wake you up before it's time."
"Thank you," Ned said, walking back into the Institute like nothing had happened, he hided his hands in his pockets and took Robert's tunic to cover his now naked shoulders, before always marked with runes. Ned didn't take long to reach his room; he stripped down to his underpants and climbed under the thin sheet.
"I'm sorry, Father. I'm sorry, Mother. Lyanna. Brandon. Benjen," he whispered into the hair, since the people he needed were far way; before falling into his last sleep in a featherbed.
Robert did his best thinking when he was fighting, and already barechested after having given his tunic to Ned, he moved to the training grounds. He picked up his hammer immediately, and started gulping the air, which felt strange since he always had Ned to meet his hammer. He needed to do something; he couldn't fight alone for the rest of his life – it just wasn't right.
He knew Ned well enough, to know that he would do what he thought was the right thing, and that was turning himself in. But Robert had always been more stubborn that his friend; and he wasn't letting him go like that. Obviously he would have to trick him, since Ned would never run away in his own will.
Robert realized the solution when he left a huge dent in a tree while swinging his hammer around – I'm stronger than everyone else, and I'm not even wearing a strength rune, right now. I can just pick up Ned and go. With his plans formed, he only needed something else, from the Maester's room, something to keep Ned asleep.
He wasn't the most discreet person, so he knew he would barely make it if he was the one entering the room, so he had to use his second best quality – his looks and flirtation capacities. He quickly found one of his favorite servants, who had never pushed him away.
"Could you help me with something?"
"Of course, Lord Robert. Anything you need?" she answered, politely as ever, trying to please him and hoping that maybe she could gain a place among the Shadowhunters.
"I need you to get me some of milk of the poppy from the Maester's room." It was the best option; the Maester could make milk of the poppy, one of the warlock potions would be more effective but also easier to notice.
"Of course, m'lord. Are you not feeling well, m'lord? Should I call for the Maester, he's in Lord Arryn's solar, but he will come."
"No, thank you. Sleep will be enough; I just need a bit of milk of the poppy to help me."
"I understand. I can bring it to your room, m'lord."
"That would be great," he said, already moving away from the hall. He needed to start packing some essentials for them, and firstly he needed to find a suitable bag – easy to carry and not too heavy, since he needed to carry Ned as well. After awhile Robert finally found one, under the bed; he started packing every piece of clothing he dimmed essential, trying to look for something that would fit Ned as well, which was hard since Ned wasn't as broad and tall as Robert
When he heard a knock, he immediately threw his bag under the bed, and opened the door.
"Hello, Lord Robert. The milk of the poppy."
"Thank you," he said as he convinced himself that he had no time to invite the girl in. "Maybe I can sleep now. Anything you need just ask," he offered, partly because he was leaving and he didn't need to keep his promise.
The girl left, and Robert took another look through his room to see he was missing anything, but he couldn't find anything, so he threw his bag over his shoulder, looked around the hall, before escaping to Ned's room.
His room was much tidier than Robert's, and he quickly found some cleaned tunics and breeches, throwing them together with his things in his bag. He knew that Ned would want some other things, so he started looking – it wasn't hard to find his family letters, all seemed to have been re-read a few times (Robert had some in his room as well, but he didn't bother taking them, they would just take up space, he didn't need Stannis' words of nothing); Robert took Ned's Shadowhunter Codex (it was better than his own, with Ned's notes everywhere); and he packed his steele as well even if Ned wouldn't need it anymore. And only after that, did Robert prepare the drink for him, and forced it down his throat, he slapped Ned a few times but he didn't move – so Robert knew that now was the chance to make his move.
He dressed Ned in his tunic and breeches, and put some boots in his feet; after that Robert drew a strength rune on him again, and then, now able, threw Ned over his shoulder, and their bag over the other. Robert peeked again into the hall, and quickly made his way out of the Institute; outside he immediately noticed that the practice yard had people around at this hour, but he still needed to get the weapons. So Robert dropped a sleeping Ned nearby, and walked into the armoury, he took his hammer, a few seraphs blades, and Ned's seraph sword.
Now he was finally ready, he had Ned, their bag and their weapons; he needed to leave the Eyrie quickly, and then he would have to make it to the Mountains – they were more danger, but Jon wouldn't think they went that way.
Getting down from the Eyrie was not an easy thing to do while you carried someone else, and since he couldn't buy a goat or a mule, he was in big trouble. Until he remembered something – he could not buy, but he could steal (and since Ned was still passed out nobody would oppose); so instead of walking down, he walked into the nearest houses, he passed three before he finally found one that had any sort of animals.
He climbed the wall, after finding a good hiding place for Ned's body, and inside he found various animals, but in the end he got a goat that seemed strong enough to hold him and Ned.
After that the journey down was as tiring, Robert would walk a few times, letting the goat carry Ned. But he missed having someone to talk to, especially Ned's voice telling him to be careful with that and that rock, to put his foot correctly or he would fall – and he did fall a few times.
Ned felt the pain before he opened his eyes; he was surprised to find above him the dark sky with since what he last remembered was falling asleep on his bed. He looked down and noticed why he felt pain – the full moon was still strong enough to make him change – he tried to stood in his four pawns, looked around and concluded that he was in the middle of some forest; he took another look again, and that was when he noticed Robert sitting in a rock with his hammer next to him.
Some part of Ned told him to attack, that humans were dangerous, but he was strong enough to pull that feeling deep enough to make his way to Robert. His friend picked up the hammer immediately when he noticed him – Ned imagined that he must be a terrifying picture, something both of them had killed multiple times – but then, thankfully, he noticed Robert take a second look to the place where Ned had been lying.
"Ned?!" Ned nodded the best he could, and Robert seemed to relax again. "You're huge. I hadn't imagined you would be that big… and the fur is the colour of your hair, and your eyes are the same. Wait?! Can you even understand me?!" Ned nodded again. "I'll take that as a yes."
Ned had a ton of questions, starting with what they were doing here, but unfortunately he couldn't talk, and he hadn't figured out a way to communicate, yet. But Robert knew him well enough to know what Ned was thinking.
"I guess you're wondering why we're here – maybe I shouldn't tell you now, since you can rip me apart, but at least you can't yell at me in disappointment." With that Ned started having an idea of the reason behind them being here. "Yeah… you probably would be talking about our honour and duty as Shadowhunters. But Ned, I couldn't let you be killed – we're parabatais, we have each other backs and I protect you, even from yourself."
Ned was touched by Robert's words, but he still couldn't accept it – his promise as a Shadowhunter was that he would do his duty, keep his honour and follow the Codex.
"We'll go North. Think about it, you would at least get to see your parents and siblings one more time, even if you take yourself in. I still think you shouldn't, didn't you tell me that your parents kept contact with Downworlders? If they only kill the ones that hurt mundanes – why would they kill you? Come on, Ned, trust me."
Ned wasn't confused, he would still talk to the Clave and accept his punishment, but he couldn't deny it was good to see his family one more time before dying – he hadn't seen them in so long.
"And right now, you're probably thinking that I can be killed or stripped of my marks as well for being an accomplice. But come on, where would I be if it wasn't for you?" And now Ned felt bad for not pondering this before, putting Robert at risk was too dangerous. But with that he moved closer to him, and Robert reached for Ned's fur – it felt good to be petted, no matter how weird it sounded. "Thank you, friend. Do you think I can ride you? We'll move quicker," Robert suggested, and Ned growled back. "Okay… okay… just kidding, man. Now can you keep guard for awhile, you're not that light and I had to carry you around, so I'm a bit tired."
Robert left to take the place where Ned had been sleeping before, still with his hammer, while Ned took guard. But unlikely his normal state, he didn't want to be in the same place, and he took off running, never too far away from Robert – always keeping an ear on him. And before he knew it, the sun was rising again and Ned went back to his human form, finding his clothes and pulling them on.
"What were you thinking?" Ned asked, the moment he got closer to Robert.
"Gods, can't you see I'm trying to sleep?!"
"Robert, you kidnapped me."
"No, I protected you, from your own judgment."
"You read the Codex, you were in the same classes as I was. We swore in our honour as Shadowhunters to do our duty, ably by the law – The Law is hard, but it is the Law," Ned said, remembering Robert of the Shadowhunter motto.
"Shadowhunters should protect the mundanes and the innocent. That's why we kill Demons. And Downworlders, when they are dangerous."
"You say that now, but we've been killing them without discrimination."
"That's not true, we perceive who could cause danger. Haven't you told me that your father keeps a warlock near Winterfell? That she even sits at the table sometimes."
"She does." Ned thought back to Old Nan, she had been with the Starks for centuries, she couldn't move very well due to her old age (all warlocks stopped aging at a random age, but she was the warlock that he knew of that stopped aging so late in life, leaving with an eternity to live and not the physical strength to enjoy it fully). "But it's not the same, she was not a Shadowhunter before."
"Right, she wasn't. So why would your family trust her? Your parents know you and care for you. We'll go there Ned, and if you still think you should call the Clave, you can."
"I'll hold you to that."
"I'm sure you will. Now since we're up, we should get going – I'm sure Jon as noticed that we're missing by now. I don't think they would suspect we would go through the mountains."
"What?! We're at the mountains."
"Yes. I supposed since you're a Downworlder too now, it wouldn't be as dangerous."
"There are all types of faeries in there – ogres, goblins, nymphs…"
"Nymphs, what could be wrong with that?"
"Robert, that's how we would get in trouble. Don't you dare go off with any kind of faerie, I don't care how beautiful she is."
"Okay, I won't. Now come on," Robert said, going back to the bag, which Ned hadn't noticed before – he was glad the Robert had at least thought enough to pack one – and pulled Ned's seraph sword, and two small blades (one for him and other for Ned). "I know you have your wolf powers now, but I thought you would still like the comfort of a sword."
"I would," Ned nodded. "Come on, I'll take the bag – after all what did you pack?"
"Some clothes, mostly. I packed your letters too, relax – I know how important they are to you."
"Thanks, Robert," he said, stepping deeper into the heart of the mountains.
"Wait. I don't know if it still works better or not – but could you mark me," Robert asked, handing him his steele. Ned didn't know if without the parabatai rune working it would still have a stronger effect than Robert doing it on himself, but Ned like the routine of it, so he drew three runes – the one for agility, the one for speed and the one for strength.
After days of running through the mountains, killing Downworlders and seeing Ned rip Demons apart with his new teeth and claws; Robert was glad to be out of there.
Their plan was to get to the Riverlands, probably rest in the famous Inn at the Crossroads, and then take the Kingsroad North. But before that warm and featherbed that only good coins could buy, they needed a good night sleep on the hard ground.
The moon wasn't making Ned change without control anymore, but he was still experimenting with his ability, he could change at will, during the day too, what had been very useful against the Demons. Now he was trying to change only parts of himself, but until now unsuccessfully.
Robert lay back against a tree, looking at Ned and laughing at his several missed tries. "You can do better than that."
"I'm trying, Robert, this is harder than it seems," Ned complained, and Robert closed his eyes, just for a few moments later hear Ned say, "You can sleep for a bit if you want, I take the first shift – I'll wake you when the moon is high on the sky."
Robert took his advice and fell asleep; he couldn't have imagined how much he had need it after long days of running and fighting. It had been different from all the times before, because while he could see Ned behind him or next to him, he could no longer feel him or guess what his movements were going to be, and he no longer felt Ned's power sipping into his.
Robert never dreamed of much, or at least he never remember it – mostly it came back to the girls he had back in the Eyrie. But tonight he dreamed of something different, a part of him told him that the Starks would accept Ned back, why wouldn't they? But Ned also talked how honourable his parents were; after all he had that sense of Shadowhunter duty before they were both moved to the Eyrie Institute, and were taught by Jon Arryn. What if his parents punished him for being a Downworlder? He could imagine him being tortured with silver – Robert had never seen that done, since Jon had always been very clear about being against torture, but he knew that other Shadowhunters did it – he also knew that the Starks were not in that group, but fear was more powerful than logic sometimes.
Robert still couldn't awake from his nightmares, and multiple death scenarios played through his mind – surprisingly never for his own (he feared Ned dying more than his own death).
Ned was being tortured with silver stags in his eyes, when he was woken by the real Ned; clearly shaken up, something that his friend couldn't help but notice.
"Robert, are you okay? You look like you saw a ghost."
"It's nothing, I promise. I'm okay. Go to sleep, Ned. We'll take off in the morning." And then they traded places, Ned lying where he previously was and Robert stood at the side with his hammer ready to attack if needed.
While ready, he was still pondering on his dreams, and what would happen when they reached Winterfell, but Robert made a decision. Someday he would be the Lord in charge of the Storm's End Institute; he would take his place earlier and present Ned with protection there. He knew the South and his bannermen wouldn't like, only the North and Dorne seemed to have any interest fraternizing Downworlders, but maybe the Stormlands could change, especially if it was for Ned.
But Robert knew enough, to know he shouldn't be distracted when it was his turn to stand guard so he ignored his thoughts, and turned back to his surroundings with eyes and ears everywhere. In a few days they would be out of the Vale, and the treat of Arryn coming after them further away; while a new treat, besides Demons and Downworlders, arose in the Riverlands, since the region was famous for the many outlaw groups around, and for obvious reasons they couldn't deal with these mundane groups the same way they dealt with everybody else.
Nothing came during the night, and then the sun rose he let Ned sleep for a bit longer, at least until the light was too much, he looked for something to eat. He didn't bother hunting this early, since they still had a few pieces of meat to eat later in the day; what he wanted now was something smaller, maybe sweeter, he finally found something that seemed comestible, and took it back to camp, waiting for Ned to wake up and check them to be sure they could be eaten.
Ned had never thought he would miss a featherbed that much, he had never been a man who worried too much about material things, but a bed made the difference.
They had made it to the Riverlands five days ago, and they had spent the last night in the Inn at the Crossroads – a soft bed, a warm meal and Robert had even spent money in a woman to keep his bed warm. But even if Robert did spent money on that, neither of them saw the sense of spending money on a bath, with so many rivers nearby
So leaving the Inn behind, after a long time trying to convince Robert that they could not stay any longer, they tried to look for a proper place to bathe – not too exposed and with calm waters. When they finally found a good place, far away enough from the roads, and hidden by the trees, they both stripped and put their things under a tree (and still under their ray of vision) before entering the cold water.
Ned liked the cold water; the Riverlands were too hot – while the Vale was never as cold as Winterfell, the strong blows of wind always made the place fresher. While they both bathed, sharing a bar of soap they had bought at the Inn (because Robert had never thought that it was necessary to get some when he arranged their get away bag); Robert kept talking about his night with the prostitute he had paid last night. He was about to go into explicit detail about something the girl had done with her tongue, when he was pulled underwater.
Ned couldn't process what was happening, maybe Robert was joking (Ned wouldn't put it past him); but since he wasn't sure, he dived underwater. He couldn't see much, but he did as he had been training and luckily was able to change his eyes to wolf form, so it became easier to see underwater
He quickly noticed that Robert hadn't been playing. A large coral fish tail was wrapped around his torso, holding him down. His eyes followed the tail, and noticed the body of a woman attached to it. He jumped into action, and tried to pull her away, catching her by surprise – she almost loosened her hold on Robert, but no luck. She didn't seem to understand what was happening, and since he couldn't explain underwater, and he knew Robert couldn't hold on much longer, he clawed at her – not enough to seriously harm her but enough to scare her away.
She relieved her hold on Robert for enough time, so he could drift from her hold, while she growled at Ned and he noticed her sharp teeth, which seemed strong enough to rip someone's throat. Ned left the water, and helped Robert into the bank, giving him enough space to breath, and starting to look for the steele between Robert's clothes.
"What are you doing?" the female voice asked from behind.
"I?! What were you planning?"
"He's a Shadowhunter, I thought he was trying to kill you or something. I know you're a Downworlder like me, they're never nice to us."
"He is. He's my friend," Ned answered, reaching for the steele and doing the first iratze, trying to heal him – but that had always worked better with external wounds.
"Try this," the mermaid said as she came closer to the riverside. "It's seaweed, smash it and spread it around his neck and chest. It helps opening his airways; now just press his chest, I'll open his mouth," she said, pulling herself out of the water.
Ned counted six pushes on his chest before Robert started spitting water, showing signs of being alive.
"Thank you," Ned said finally meeting her eyes.
"The least I could do. I'm sorry I put your friend in danger," she apologized as they both looked down to his body, both their hands on his chest now. Only now Ned realized that all this time he and Robert had been completely naked – he shouldn't be presented to a lady that way. And just as he was looking around for some clothes to cover him and Robert, the later spoke.
"What happened? Ohhh... a dream for sure, such a beauty next to me," he murmured looking at the girl, before turning his head to his friend. "Wait... Ned isn't normally part of my dreams with beautiful ladies."
"Because it's not a dream," Ned answered, finally noticing that she still kept her hand on Robert's chest, and seemed to be doing some pressure – still scared of him and keeping him down.
"He won't hurt you,…"
"Catelyn. Are you sure?" she said with a frighten look in her eyes, that he hadn't noticed before.
"Even if he wanted to, he isn't strong enough right now." That seemed to be the right answer, because she let go of Robert and went back into the water. Ned picked up his clothes, and also threw a tunic to Robert, who only picked it up and covered his waist, still lying on the ground. And while he was pulling his breeches up, he heard her again.
"So what are your names? You never told me."
"Robert Baratheon," he answered, pointing at his friend. "My name is Eddard Stark – Ned."
"You have a Shadowhunter name too," she concluded confused. "I know you're a Downworlder."
"How do you know that?"
"About the name? Or about you being a werewolf?"
"Both."
"We have to protect ourselves – we are taught about Shadowhunters and who they are," she told him, resting her shoulders in the bank, looking up at them. Only now Ned noticed that she had nothing but her hair to cover her chest, her hair was auburn and long, decorated with some shells and seaweeds. "So how long have you been a Downworlder? And I always thought you were followers of your code – that Downworlders were something too disgusting to be or mate with."
"Almost a moon, I think… How long does it take to get here from Eyrie? We haven't actually kept track."
"So you ran from the Eyrie Institute? Arryn, right?"
"Yes, Arryn. But we didn't actually run…"
"It was my fault," Robert said, trying to sit, but giving up immediately. "He's a good Shadowhunter, he was going to turn himself in and tell everyone he had been changed. But I kidnapped him, you know – not letting my friend be killed," he said, before starting to cough.
"Don't let him talk, Ned. I'm going to get more of that seaweed for him."
"But it smells," Robert protested still coughing.
"Ignore him. Thank you for helping, Catelyn." She disappeared inside the water again, her coral fish tail splashing the water.
"She's beautiful, Ned. But don't let yourself be fooled by her tail, she's still a fairy." Ned knew, he hadn't forgot what he had learned about those creatures, they seemed to always have a hidden agenda, and while some of them couldn't lie, they talked in a way that tricked them all the same.
"Here you have it," she said, handing him the same seaweeds as before, and he took the same procedures. "You should rest here for awhile. He's not capable of going. If I had known, I wouldn't have hurt him."
"He will heal," Ned affirmed, drawing another iratze on Robert's skin.
"You can't take them anymore, can you?" she asked, as Ned left Robert's side, who seemed ready to fall asleep to sit by the water, and still barefoot dove his feet into the water.
"No, not anymore. Never will take another rune on my body."
"Does it hurt?"
"The first one, I think. We get used to the pain."
"Isn't it a sad thought? Getting used to the pain – people shouldn't expect pain."
"As a Shadowhunter, you know you're going to live a life of pain, and you prepare for those things, as you do for dying young. Our propose is to protect mundanes, most of us die young by the hands of Demons or Downworlders. Some say it's a worst faith to be changed into one of them."
"Do you agree?" she asked and she took of swimming through the river, but never going far away from him.
"I don't know yet. Have you live here all your life?" he asked, thinking it was his turn to make a question.
"Up and down this river. You cannot say that the Riverlands aren't the best place for mermaids."
"I heard about the raids and groups of outlaws."
"Eddard, you saw what I almost did to your friend. Imagine with mundanes, that don't have werewolves for protection. We may look beautiful and fragile, but we can handle ourselves." Ned liked how she talked about her people – it gave him hope that not all Downworlders were as despicable as he thought, that they were more than vicious killers (but that was probably what they thought of them).
"Right… I forgot about that," Ned whispered looking behind him.
"Where are you going?" she asked.
"Winterfell. I probably should see my family one more time."
"How long have you been at the Vale?"
"Since I was ten. I still got my first rune at Winterfell, but all my training has been done here."
"And your friend?"
"He was already there when I arrived. But I think that his parents were there when he was marked, I'm just not sure if he went south or they came to the Vale."
"Why don't you ask questions?"
"I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable, Catelyn."
"I'm not leaving you here alone, when I can keep you company. But you need to cooperate – a conversation is a two way road." Ned nodded, and tried to think of an appropriate question, he could see that Catelyn was still waiting, even if was once again, she was swimming, not very far from him. He found himself distracted again, by the colour of her hair and of her tail, as well as the curve of her back as she jumped out of the water.
"What does the bottom of the river looks like?" he asked, and she smiled, before moving closer and starting her tale.
Robert wasn't sure how this happened, but just this time Ned had gotten the hot girl. The problem was that she wasn't actually a girl, she was half a girl… actually how would that work… where would he put it? He thought about asking Ned, but he would probably be insulted by the question.
Robert observed them from afar; it had been like this every night, every time Robert woke up to take his shift. Sometimes they were both just talking by the river, but other times like today Ned was running in his wolf form while Catelyn swam next to him.
She had been following them since she attacked him, and he wasn't sure how far she would be able to go, but it was obvious, at least to him, that she and Ned liked each other. Firstly Robert had never seen Ned act that way around anyone from the female gender, he was talking, sharing stuff and he even had new kind of smile (that Robert had called the Catelyn smile, but it could be just a ladies grin – he had just never really shown it before).
Robert waited to see if Ned would notice that he had already given him extra time to sleep, but since he didn't seem to even notice, Robert had to interrupt the two love birds.
"Ned!" he called and his friend turned back, not being able to change back since it was a full moon. "You let me sleep. It's your turn, I'll take guard now." He howled, in a way that seemed to agree with Robert and then looked back at Catelyn before curling himself to sleep.
"Sorry, Robert – I must have kept him busy," Catelyn said, as he moved closer to the river. Gods, he loved who ever decided that mermaids shouldn't cover their chest, while somehow her hair covered her breast most of the time, there were some movements she did that bared him her glorious naked breast – really if Ned didn't like her, he would have fucked her by now.
"No problem, it's him who looses sleep. You should sleep for a bit too. We'll take off walking right in the morning."
"Thank you, Robert. See you tomorrow," she said diving back into the water, probably to sleep in some cave or something – really, he wondered what the fuck existed down there. Also where were all her mermaid friends, he couldn't have her but if her friends were as hot as her he would be a happy man.
He sat in a nearby rock, looking at the clearing, trying to see if he noticed anything. I took awhile, but when the moon was coming down, he heard a sound. Ned was still sleeping peacefully on the floor and by all accounts Catelyn was still under water, so it couldn't be them. He thought about waking up Ned first, but he decided to take a look first, if it seemed like he couldn't handle it, he would go back and get Ned.
Robert picked up his hammer from inside, decided to draw new strength, speed and agility runes. And now with regained strength of the runes, and his hammer, he made it into the woods; he tried to make sure we wouldn't step in anything that made too much noise, and he made it through the woods until he found a Demon – it didn't seem very danger, it was one of the less threatening species. Knowing this, he picked up his hammer, stroke the Demon down, and with him down he stabbed him with a seraph blade – the only thing that could sent him back to the Demon realm.
Robert searched around, but found no more traces of Demons around, and went back to camp finishing Ned sleep asleep in the same position. He took his place as watchman once again, and waited for the morning.
The journey continued for days, each day closer to the destiny, and each say closer Catelyn and Ned grew. Robert would be left behind, as he noticed their movements, how they always tried to keep an eye on each other, making sure the other was far away; how when they ate, they always shared what they had – Robert couldn't get the logic, they were already dividing it three ways, why would they share it again.
Robert knew he needed to talk with Ned about his feelings, so finally a sennight after he was able to find Ned alone and speak with him; but surprisingly Ned was the first one to spoke.
"We're in the North."
"Since when?" Robert asked surprised.
"Two days, I think."
"Why didn't you say anything before?!"
"I wasn't sure. But today, Catelyn told me she was cold – she had never been cold before. It's only going to get worst from here, I should tell her to go back around. There isn't much river left either." Robert knew this was the moment to introduce what he wanted to talk with him.
"You should tell her."
"To go back, I know."
"No, not that. Kiss her, tell her how you feel."
"I can't, I shouldn't"
"Why?! Haven't you told me to not play with girl's feelings?! And I know she's a Downworlder, but now you're one too, so nothing is stopping you but your own insecurities. Tell her!"
"She won't feel the same way. Girls don't like me, they like you."
"Mostly, since I'm the hottest and everything. But you need to be blind to not see how she feels for you, Ned."
Ned didn't answer him, but he knew that these words would make him think and maybe he would actually do what he wanted, instead of what he deemed right, at least once in his life.
Catelyn missed Ned; she really missed talking to him, but she couldn't decide what she should do. She never thought he would tell her, even if she already knew how he felt, but somehow he had gathered the courage and now she was more confused than ever – not about her own feelings those she knew well.
The problem was that she didn't know if she could do this, she would get hurt eventually; she had heard enough stories about immortals and mortals getting involved, besides how could they leave when she belong in the water and he on the ground.
So that was why she was avoiding him, why she hadn't seen him in three days. She was still following them, but always under water, never coming to the surface. She sometimes heard them talk, she had learned that it had been Robert's idea that Ned told her – what made much more sense; she heard Robert tell Ned that it wasn't his fault and that he was still sure she cared for him – and while she was glad Robert was trying to keep Ned's spirits up, she wasn't sure how she should feel that he kept giving him hope.
She was still under water, when she heard a howl; somehow she knew it was Ned, even if she had never heard anything like that before. At first she feared they were being attacked, but listening closer, she closer learned that they weren't, and when she peeked Robert was still sleeping on the ground. But it was also then she found Ned.
Ned was in his wolf form once again, and his paws were in the water, as his face looked down; and seeing that she decided to reveal herself. She swam in his direction, and Ned must have heard or felt the movements in the water, because he lifted his head and looked around.
"Good night," she whispered when she broke the surface, and was face to face with him again. Ned quickly and awkwardly changed back to a human, and searched for his clothes – he was always rather shy about his nakedness, or Catelyn's (she had never actually caught him looking at her chest, even if she knew he did it sometimes, but not as openly as Robert).
"Hi, Catelyn…" he finally said, coming down to sit next to her, already properly dressed. "I thought you had left."
"No. I was following you from underwater. And if you thought I went back why did you keep following the river? Why didn't you make it to the main road?"
"I don't know, maybe hoping it was easier for you to find us if you wanted too."
"Ned…"
"I know. I shouldn't have said anything; I'll forget what I said. But I still want to be friends."
"Ned… didn't you listen to Robert? I thought you knew that when I left, it had nothing to do with my feelings for you. I kissed you back, Ned," she said, thinking back to that kiss three days ago, so sweet and tentative. "I left to think, about what this could mean. The river is ending, Ned, and I can't survive that long out of water, and I can't walk by your side even if I want too. And someday you would die, and I wouldn't – these things worry me. You've been saying you deserve to die, that you'll get to Winterfell and call the Clave and that they will do that."
"I need to tell them. The Law says I need to tell them."
"And I understand, but what future does that leave for us?"
"They could give me a different punishment."
"Maybe… I like you and I think we could be happy, and if there was a sure future for us, I would search for a warlock and built our future."
"A warlock?"
"I would give up my immortality, for a pair of legs would let me live on the land with you."
"You would do that?" Ned seemed shocked, but she had no doubts about what she was saying; and maybe it was irresponsible to be able to make this kind of choice when they've only known each other for less than a moon; but her heart didn't lie.
"I would. I would want a future with kids and growing old together. I would still be me, I would still change inside the water, I would teach them to be the best swimmers in all the land." He smiled, and she could see his mind working, probably imagining what she said – and she wondered how their children looked in his head.
"The Law is hard but is the Law. I need to go, Cat…" he told her, using a diminutive nobody had used in a very long time.
"I've known you for less than a moon and I knew that would be your answer," she whispered sadly. "Wait here," she said, diving deeper into the river, the bottom was full of different seaweeds and animals – she finally found what she wanted, and took the special seaweed to the surface. "Take this, Ned. If you can and still want me, come back and drop this seaweed into the river, with a drop of your blood – I'll be able to feel it. And I'll come to wherever you sent it from."
"I would still want you."
"So make sure you can prove the Clave you're innocent. Also bring a warlock with you too if you want."
"You should think about that a little bit more, Catelyn. Immortality is a very big thing."
"I know… it's long when you don't have anyone to spend it with. And I want to enjoy life."
They looked at each other, neither knowing what else to say, or how to say goodbye, but Catelyn as always moved first.
"I'm leaving you now. There's very little river left anymore, and it will be quicker for you and Robert to take the Kingsroad. I hope you come, Ned, but you do what you need to do."
"I will try. I promise," he said, and she smiled, knowing how much a promise means to him. She put her hands around his neck and pulled him down, kissing him, he immediately responded, one hand in her hair and other at her waist, almost lifting her off the water – that kiss itself was an eternity for them, not knowing if they would ever have a future together.
When they pulled away, they were both panting, Catelyn looked one more time at his grey eyes, hard features and dark hair, before diving back under the water, and swimming in the opposite direction that she knew Ned would take.