Queenie: I know some people want more interaction between Celena and the younger Starks, but in this chapter there is only mentions of her spending time with them. There is some Robb and Celena time. But more Jon and Celena since they're the "end game", but I promise that next chapter is all about how Celena interacts with the four youngest Starks, Catelyn, and a few other important characters of Winterfell like Luwin and Rodrik.

"Your father told you winter is coming," Ned said. "And that you will play a part in it?"

I nodded my head to Ned as I stood before him, Maester Luwin, and Ser Rodrik. After waking from my dream, I went to immediately wake Ned. Jory who had been guarding Ned's chambers had told his lord I had to speak with him urgently. When I told Ned of my dream, he had Luwin and Rodrik awakened as well to hear what I had to say.

"Did he say when it would come?" Ned asked.

I shook my head because Hades didn't mention a time. Only that winter was indeed coming.

"Did he say what would cause this winter?" Rodrick asked.

"No." I said. "He only said I was sent here to be a part of the winter to come. That it was my destiny to fight for those I chose as worthy, and that it would be that decision that led to winter ending…or becoming everlasting."

It was silent for a long moment in the large stone room as I waited to hear what they would say. Would they chase me from here thinking of me as some threat? Would they not believe my words and brush them to the side? What would they choose?

"And who do you fight for, Celena?" Ned asked.

He looked at me closely as he asked this, and I figured he was waiting to hear my answer before making his final decision. And what I say will decide whether I am allowed to remain here or not. I took a deep breath while having have already thought of my answer.

"I fight for no one in particular." I said. "I only wish to prevent this winter for as long as possible, or to end it swiftly. I do not want innocents to suffer any more than they have to over a war between two opposing sides. I will fight for what I think is best for this world as a whole, and I think what's best is an everlasting summer for all those who call this world their home. So I will not chose one person to fight for. I will fight for a cause I see as just, and hope there are others who believe that cause is just as well, so they will decide to fight alongside me."

It was silent for a moment as Ned continued to look at me with his piercing eyes. However, soon his face softened as he leaned back in his chair with his lips turning up into a smile.

"I see." He said. "That is all I need to know to trust you, Celena. For as long as you are here in our world, you are under the protection of my house. If winter is indeed coming, you have my support."

I looked at him with wide eyes not expecting that one. I was expecting something along the lines of being ordered to leave. Or perhaps being called a liar, or even being ordered to be killed, so that I couldn't be used in this war by someone with dark intentions. Anything but such easy acceptance.

"I can tell you are someone with an honorable heart." Ned said. "That is something I respect. Now, run along. Try not to put too much stress on yourself by worrying over this for too long. We will be sure to prepare once the signs of winter are stronger. Until then you should enjoy your youth."

"…Yes…thank-you, Lord Stark." I said tipping my head to him.

I turned heading towards the door. Would things really be alright? How along did we have until this winter was truly upon us? I had no knowledge of this world. If I am going to fight in a war against someone, I needed to learn of any possible enemies I might have in the future.

A few more days passed in Winterfell, and I've fallen into a routine. I would get up early every morning to do my exercises like from camp. Pushups, stretches, etc. Then I would bathe and get dressed for the day. After that I would have breakfast with the Starks, which was followed by having some lessons with Luwin who agreed to teach me about this world. The day would continue with training with Robb and Jon while Theon would be pouting off to the side. I, of course, made time for more leisure things like spending time with some of the younger Stark children.

Arya, Bran, and Rickon liked hearing my stories of the brave half-bloods of my world that have gone down in history. Sometimes Jon and Robb would sit in as well. I also have taken time to continue practicing walking in my dress with Sansa helping me from time to time. It was becoming easier, but every once and a while I still stumble.

"Δεκάρα (Damn)!" I cursed as I stumbled once more.

This was one of those times I stumbled. I sighed wondering why it was so hard to learn how to walk in this thing. I picked up sword fighting much easier than walking in a damn dress.

"Why do I have a feeling that word from your mouth wasn't nice?"

I blinked before turning my head to see an amused Robb Stark standing at my side. When did he get there? I blinked once more when his words finally connected in my head.

"Maybe because it wasn't." I retorted. "And before you mention it not being ladylike, I never claimed to be a lady."

Robb's lips twitched up in amusement even more, which had me frowning. Am I just amusing to both of the eldest sons of Ned?

"I think I figured that out the moment you told Jon you could overpower him when we first met." Robb said grinning still.

I actually slightly blushed at being reminded of that since I guess I had been a bit forward with my statement.

"But I see nothing wrong with you being who you are." Robb added sincerely.

I was a bit surprised by his words since almost every male here as commented about how my unladylike demeanor was unpleasing. Or that they could barely see me as a woman sometimes. Even Jon has said I'm a bit too rough for a bit. Then the women have been trying hard to reign in my "wild" attitude ever since I got here. I could understand why Arya looks so pained after having to deal with her teachers who try to raise her to be a lady. It was like trying to be caged sometimes. Robb is the first person to say there was nothing wrong being like I am since I got here. Well, and Arya, but I felt as if she didn't count since she was much like me in some ways.

"…Thank-you…" I said to him.

"For what?" Robb asked curiously.

"For accepting me completely for who I am." I replied. "You're probably the first person to do so as easily as you have. Well, you're the first person to voice it allowed besides my brother."

It had taken some time to be completely accepted even back in my own world, but that had been for different reasons.

"That cannot be true." Robb said lightly frowning. "Who could not easily accept you as you are? There is nothing wrong with you."

"I wish others thought like you did." I said smiling a slightly sad smile. "Even where I came from it was hard fitting in. I actually find it easier here, and I know I am welcomed even if my ways aren't completely accepted in return."

Though that was alright. I knew the Stark Family saw me as a friend at least. The younger ones liked having me around. Sansa…well, I knew she liked making new clothes, and I happen to give her a reason to, so I think she likes me. We honestly don't talk much. Jon and I banter kind of like how Percy and I do, and I felt as if he'd become a dear friend. Robb…we have spoken in the time I have been here, but I didn't know he accepted me like he apparently does.

"Hades, I wish I thought like you." I added chuckling. "There's all sorts of wrong with me, but no one is perfect, I suppose."

Robb looked as if he might have wanted to protest, but in the end he only shook his head.

"I will not argue with you, milady." He said dipping his head to me. "I suppose we will just have to disagree."

"I suppose we will." I said.

I smiled at Robb as the two of us started walking together to continue chatting. He offered to show me more around Winterfell since I haven't exactly explored it all yet. And considering how long I have been here I think it was long overdue to see all of the home in which I will for probably live in for the rest of my days.

NO POV:

Jon was practicing his swordsmanship on one of the dummies in the yard when he heard laughter. He turned his head seeing Celena walking with Robb. She was laughing at something his older brother had said with a large smile on her face. Robb was grinning as well as the two seemed to enjoy a walk together. Jon frowned slightly while feeling a burning sensation in his gut. He wasn't sure why, but he was displeased with what he was seeing.

He didn't like seeing his brother putting a smile to Celena's face, or the fact Celena had her arm looped with his as Robb escorted. Jon felt as if it should be him doing what Robb was now. He turned away from the sight wondering why these emotions were coming forward. He has never felt this before. Or not at least with a girl involved. He knew this emotion was jealousy. He's felt it before, but not over something silly like his brother spending time with a girl.

However, this wasn't just some girl. Celena was different than any other girl he's ever met, and she interested him. She brought something new to his life, and he found it exciting. He supposed he might feel attraction to her, which explains why it displeases him that she seems to enjoy Robb's company so much. Jon's frown deepened as he turned around to slash at the dummy with more force than before. The blow didn't make him feel any better, so he continued his assault on the dummy.

"What did that poor dummy do to you, Jon?" The person who has been haunting his thoughts asked.

Jon let out a sigh before turning to look at Celena, who was surprisingly without Robb. However, Jon could see Robb had been pulled away by Theon though the older Stark continued to cast glances towards Celena. It seems as if he wasn't the only one who felt attraction to the half-goddess.

"Jon?" Celena prompted when he remained silent.

"It did nothing." Jon said.

Celena tilted her head at Jon knowing something had to be wrong. However, it wasn't really her place to question him.

"Well, if you don't want to tell me that's fine." Celena said as she started climbing over the fence that went around the dummy Jon was practicing with. "But you really shouldn't swing your sword like that."

"And you shouldn't be climbing like that when wearing a dress." Jon replied as he moved closer since he was worried she might fall.

Celena fixed Jon with that look that told him she was going to be stubborn, which didn't surprise him in the slightest. Though he wished she might listen every once and while.

"I don't feel like having to go change at the moment just to come back here to climb over this thing just so I can speak with you." Celena said as she put one leg over the fence.

The dress rode up a bit on her, which revealed one of her smooth creamy legs to Jon. He looked away feeling his cheeks redden slightly. Were women from where she's from really this casual to not care if they show off so much skin?

"I could open the gate for you to walk in." Jon pointed out.

"It's too late now for that." Celena said snorting lightly "I'm already halfway over."

Jon sighed wondering why she had to be so difficult at times. It was as if she liked making things a bit harder on him. Celena got her other leg over while preparing to hop down to stand with Jon. However, the young Stark noticed her dress seemed to be caught on the fence slightly.

"Wait," Jon said. "Your dress is stuck."

He moved forward while placing one hand on her waist while reaching over to unhook her dress.

"Oh, thank-you." She said grinning. "I might have shown more than too much skin to those behind me if you hadn't caught that."

Jon just nodded while trying not to blush at how close they were. He then put both hands on her waist to help her down from the fence. He let her go once she was on solid ground. Celena thanked him once more as Jon happened to look over her head to notice Robb watching them closely. His brother seemed just as displeased about Jon being near Celena as Jon was about Robb being close to the same girl.

"What are you looking at?" Celena asked snapping him from his thoughts.

"Nothing." Jon said as he turned back to the dummy.

He felt Celena's eyes on his back, which had him hoping that she didn't press the matter.

"You certainly are a mysterious person, Jon Snow." Celena said with a teasing tone. "Don't you share anything with anyone?"

Jon glanced down at the brunette beauty as she was looking up at him with a grin on her face. He felt his own lips twitch up as well as he looked at her.

"Not much I suppose." Jon said. "I don't feel the need to talk as much as certain people."

He looked pointedly at Celena as he said this, and in return she rolled her eyes though the grin was still on her face.

"Very funny." Celena said. "Now, back to how badly you were swinging that sword, my dear Jon."

"My form wasn't that bad." Jon retorted before she could say another word.

"Sure it wasn't." Celena said snorting. "All I am going to say that even if you are upset and want to swing as hard as you can with your sword, make sure those swings count."

Jon tilted his head curiously at her as he wondered what she meant by that exactly.

"Aim for the weak points on your opponent." Celena said. "The soft parts that are easy to cut. The weak points in your opponent's armor. Don't just swing your sword carelessly. Make every slash, every thrust, and every blow count whether they be fueled by strength or swiftness. You cannot waste time attacking someone with swings of anger that have no true target and only look to maim. You must be smart about it."

Jon nodded his head because that made sense to him, and he knew she was right. He knew that already, but when he becomes angry, beating the hell out of a practice dummy made him feel better.

"When did you start practicing with a sword anyway?" Jon asked as he went back to practicing without his anger fueling his slashes.

"Hmm, let me think." Celena said then somewhat mumbled to herself. "My siblings and I were saved from the lair of the lotus eaters when I was twelve."

Jon looked at her funny when she mentioned these lotus eaters. He's never heard of such things.

"After that I was in camp for a few weeks before starting my training with Chiron. I was still twelve at the time, I believe." She continued before looking at Jon to speak directly at him. "I was twelve. So I've only been sword-fighting for three years, but I picked it up easily. It's in my blood to be a fighter after all."

Half-bloods were basically little soldiers in the end in Celena's opinion. They're practically to be born soldiers, and the ones they serve are the gods. They are the half-bloods' commanders. The ones who tell them who and what to attack. When they actually leave them on their own, they become survivors. People who struggle to live in a world where monsters lurk and want them dead.

"Did you always want to be a fighter?" Jon asked. "I'm just not used to women wanting anything to do with fighting."

Celena blinked while seeming a bit surprised by Jon's question. It was as if no one ever asked her such a thing before.

"…No," Celena replied after a moment's pause. "I suppose not. At least the thought hadn't occurred to be when I was a little girl still living with my mother, my older sister Bianca, and my twin brother Nico. I lived a happy life in our home. I actually acted a bit like a little lady back then. My mother made sure I was well-mannered and that I didn't get into fights or anything with the other children living in our small town. I wore dresses back then too."

Jon grinned while trying to picture a slightly younger Celena in a dress. He remembers she said the dresses from her world were shorter. Though he didn't know how short. But even so, he could somewhat see her wearing a dress though it almost seemed odd to picture her in one since she was obviously uncomfortable in dresses now.

"…but things changed after…after my mother was killed." Celena then added.

Jon's eyes widened as he looked at Celena who had a saddened look on her face along with a sad nostalgic smile that had dropped when she mentioned her more.

"Killed?" Jon asked.

Celena nodded her head with her expression becoming a bit more grimmer as she looked down.

"Yes, my uncle Zeus killed her." Celena replied softly. "He was trying to kill my siblings and me, but our father managed to save us in the end. My mother—Maria—hadn't been as lucky. Though my father had our memories erased of that moment for most of our lives. It wasn't until we met him again that we soon learned the truth and our memories were restored."

Jon shook his head slightly. To think her own uncle had tried to kill her and her siblings. To think he had killed their mother.

"What did your father have to say about that?" Jon asked. "What did he do?"

Jon was sure there was more than just a bit of feuding between the two brothers after Zeus committed such a crime.

"Nothing." Celena said. "Hades did nothing. He was angry, of course, but that was all."

Jon couldn't believe that. How could her father not care that his wife had been murdered by his own brother? Jon knew he'd be furious. He'd end up disowning one of his siblings completely if any of them ever did that to the woman he loved.

"It might seem strange to you, but the gods…well, it is slightly hard to describe." Celena said when seeing Jon's expression. "The gods have been living for over three-thousand years from where I am from, and through the years I suppose you can say they become more detached to those things they say they love. It might upset them for a moment that it is gone, but it is easy to forget later one because they were used to things not lasting forever like they do. Even if one of them betrays the other, it is forgotten over time because it wouldn't be the first time and it won't be the last. They just don't bother themselves with such things much anymore."

Jon wondered if he wore immortal and lived as long as the gods that he'd be the same. He wouldn't like to think so. He would like to keep the part of him that cares about the things that these gods seem to think of as trivial matters like someone they love dying.

"So if you were to die," Jon began.

He paused not sure how to finish what he began. A part of him didn't wish to continue though it was easy for Celena to see where he was going with what eh was saying.

"My father might mourn me for a day if I'm lucky then would be over it by the next day." Celena said bluntly. "It is something I have come to except from him and all the gods, so it does not bother me anymore."

Jon looked closely at Celena while having a feeling it bothered her more than she let on. Though he decided not to push her to figure out if she was more upset than she seemed. It wasn't his place to.

"And your siblings…how do they feel about the fact their uncle killed their mother?" Jon asked.

"I've never really asked Nico how he felt, and Bianca died not long after we were freed." Celena said. "She went to join the Hunt. Her first time serving Lady Artemis the goddess of the hunt and the moon and she died. Nico and I weren't even there. And while Zeus technically our uncle we are not exactly a close family."

It didn't matter which god or were related to or how many. They didn't treat half-bloods as family. Hades, they sometimes didn't even treat each other like family most of the time.

"I still can't imagine just being able to just brush off the death of my wife as your father did." Jon said shaking his head.

"My father and mother weren't married." Celena said. "My father is married to the goddess Persephone. So like you…I'm a bastard child as are most of his children. In fact, every half-blood where I am from is a bastard child."

Jon was shocked to hear this as he looked at Celena. She was a bastard child like him? He thought she was a highborn lady with her father being the king of his domain and her mother his queen. Now, she's still technically highborn, but bastard children don't exactly get to make such claims. They are not even allowed to claim their father's family name.

"What is the name given to them?" Jon asked. "What name do you use to describe bastard children?"

"You mean like how your last name is Snow?" Celena asked.

Jon nodded her head knowing some people use different surnames for bastards. It was just common in the north to give bastards the surname snow.

"Where I am from bastard children aren't denied their family name by law or anything like that." Celena said. "My father has no family name, so I took on my mother's family name. The children who are born from a goddesses and a human male are given their father's family names."

"Sounds nice." Jon said wishing that was how things were here.

Celena looked at Jon softly when seeing his mood had dropped slightly. She reached out to place her hand on his arm, which had him glancing at her.

"Even if you carried your father's name, it wouldn't change the fact that you're a bastard like me." Celena said. "You shouldn't be ashamed of the fact that you happen to have a different mother than your siblings. Never be ashamed of the person you are, Jon. You might be a bastard, but I can tell you are a good, honorable person, which is far more important than whether you not you carry your family's name."

Celena gave him one last smile then actually left out the gate like a normal person to return to Robb who had finished speaking with Theon and was waiting for her. Jon watched them go silently with his and Celena's eyes meeting once more when she looked back to him. He tried to give her a smile to ease the worried look in her eyes, and she returned the gesture. She was then out of sight leaving Jon to his thoughts. As he thought about her words, his smile grew a bit. She was certainly different that was for sure.