Days passed since the incident, and I have barely left Bran's side. Only to clean up and relieve myself. Hardly to eat, however. Jon or Robb usually had to come beg me to come to supper. Or Arya would bring me some bread to eat for lunch. I felt too drained to eat on most days since while Bran laid in his bed, I was using the shadows to mend his spine. I couldn't heal like the children of Apollo. However, I could use the shadows to penetrate a human body without causing harm to mend what might be broken inside of it.

I was doing this for Bran hoping he wouldn't be a cripple when he woke. However, I just think I was keeping him alive. I might only be able to mend them to that extent. I let out a sigh praying to the gods for help. However, the gods of this world were foreigners to me even if they were just different personas of my gods. However, if my gods could just listen, I would give anything to see that Bran could wake able to actually walk and live normally.

"Anything?" A voice whispered in my mind getting my eyes, which had been closed to snap open as I sat up straighter. "You would give anything, you say? Are you sure about that, Daughter of Hades?"

This voice sounded feminine and almost sinister. It had me frowning as my hand curled into a fist. Before I could question the voice, footsteps came to my ears. I turned my head seeing Jory heading in my direction as I sat outside Bran's room.

"Celena," He said. "Lord Stark wishes to see you. The King has made a suggestion to have a fighting tournament to lift everyone's spirits during these troubled time…and Prince Joffrey said…that you agreed to fight the Hound if given the opportunity. Lord Stark wishes to know if this was true."

I mentally cursed that little prince because now wasn't the time for that. He probably gave his drunk, fat father the idea of the tournament in the first place. However, I did want the chance to show the Lannisters what they would be facing if they crossed me. And if I had any proof, I'd say one of them at least was behind Bran's current condition. Which means it's more important than ever if I do show them just how powerful I can be. At least give them a glimpse.

"Yes, I did." I said looking to Jory. "I agreed to that fight before…before Bran…"

I couldn't even finish the sentence, but Jory nodded in understanding. I then sighed as I got up from my perch.

"If the prince still wants to see what a warrior of my people can do, I will show him." I said. "I will show all of them."

The Lannisters will learn to fear me even if I have to show my power bit by bit. Even if I have shed someone's blood. They will learn not to lay a hand on anyone of House Stark if they don't want those hands of theirs removed from the rest of their bloody bodies.

As I put my leather armor on over some of Jon's old clothes, my door flung open with Jon and Robb both walking in. I paused while looking over at them.

"Thank-you, gentlemen, for knocking." I said dryly. "I could have been indecent."

This brought them slight pause as my words sunk into their thick skulls, but they obviously shook it off as they started talking.

"We apologize, Celena." Robb said. "But—!"

"Is it true you're fighting the Hound?" Jon interrupted, which got him a frown from Robb.

I sighed guessing word traveled fast. After going with Jory to Ned, I had been formally introduced to the King who had been surprised that the warrior Ned called for was me—a woman. He had laughed asking Ned to be serious, and while Ned didn't seem happy with any of this, he stood up for my skills as a warrior. After clearing up exactly what was agreed upon between the prince and I, it was decided instead of having a long tournament between men of the North and those of King's Landing, we'd have it me against any man brave enough to face me.

The King thought it'd be interesting to see what I could do, and if it's a show he wants, I will oblige. Though he might regret it later on. I'd put all his men in the infirmary if they were too stupid to challenge me after seeing what I do to the Hound. The Hound didn't do anything against me personally, but I would not go easy on him because I had to make an example out of him for the others to see. If any of them have brains, no one will challenge me after the first fight.

"Yes, I am." I said as I finished strapping my armor. "And anyone else stupid enough to fight me after that."

I hoped Jaime Lannister would be one of those men who stepped forward to fight. He seemed dumb enough to challenge me even after I defeat the Hound this afternoon. I'll knock Jaime Lannister right on his ass in front of everyone if he does step forward. Maybe even leave a scar on his pretty boy face.

"Are you insane?" Jon asked. "You'll only get yourself hurt if not worse!"

Robb placed a hand on Jon's shoulder to probably calm his younger half-brother, but I could see it wasn't really working since Jon threw Robb a glare. Robb ignored it as he looked to me.

"Celena, I beg you to reconsider this." Robb said in a calmer tone. "You haven't slept properly since Bran's fall. Nor have you eaten as you should. Your body couldn't possibly take a fight against the Hound."

I sighed knowing they were worried about me, but I wasn't about to back out of this fight. I could just imagine all the mocking words Joffrey would throw my way if I did. And the very thought had my blood boiling in anger already. If it was possible, I'd like to kick his ass too, but I'm pretty sure hurting a prince is a bad thing and is frowned upon.

"I'm fine." I said looking at both of them as I grabbed my sword to put on my back. "I will win this fight, and any fights after that. I assure you both of that."

I went to walk out of the room out to where I knew everyone was gathering for this fight. However, Jon grabbed my arm a bit roughly to make me look him in the eye.

"How could you possibly know you'll win?" Jon asked me. "Tell me."

I could tell he needed some kind of answer, so I looked him dead in the eye to get my point across to him.

"Because losing isn't an option." I said then pulled back from him. "You want to see how I fight while fighting to actually hurt my opponent? You will soon find out."

I left the room and the two of them behind to head to where the others were. I went outside already hearing the crowd talking quickly together about the fight or fights about to happen. I could see up in the balcony that the King and his family and the Starks were sitting. My eyes locked with Ned's eyes, and I could see worry in his eyes. I gave him a grin and a nod before the crowd took notice of me. Everyone grew shushed then allowed me passed them into the small circle space set up for the fight. The Hound was already there with a small frown on his face as he looked to me.

"I have fought many challengers before." He said. "Never one so small."

Some laughed at his words while others jeered at me, but I ignored all of them as I grinned at the Hound.

"Oh really?" I asked. "Well, I've fought bigger. And you know what happened to them?"

The Hound remained silent as he looked towards me waiting for this answer of mine.

"I sent them home with their tails between their legs, so they could go back to suckling on their mother's tit." I said deciding to skip trying to be ladylike.

There was some shocked expressions once the words left my mouth, but there was also some laughter as well. Like from the King and I'm sure Tyrion Lannister was chuckling away as well. Instead of getting angry, the Hound's mouthed twisted up into an amused smirk. I'm actually quite good at trash talk. I learned a lot of from Mena during our sword training lessons. She was the master at it. Ned Stark then called for quiet as he stood up on the balcony to get everyone to look at him. As he explained the rules of the fight, and how this "tournament" would go, I glanced up at the Starks.

Sansa and Catelyn looked positively worried while Arya was standing there with a big grin on her face. She mouthed to me "you can beat him", which had me winking at her and nodding. Her grin grew as she nodded in return. Rickon had a smile on his face as he waved down at me from his seat between Arya and Robb. Robb, who had arrived with Jon, looked pale and worried, and for a moment our eyes met. I gave him a reassuring smile. He didn't look too relieved as he tried to smile back though failing. Benjen sat with his family as well while looking intrigued with what could possibly happen.

My eyes then found Jon as he stood stiffly behind his family in between Theon and Ser Rodrik. He looked angry. He probably was at me considering I'm stubbornly not listening to him or Robb about this. However, I wasn't just about to let this go. I would show everyone here what I was capable of, so no one will ever doubt me again. I looked away from them as Ned was finishing up, and asking if we—the fighters—were ready. The Hound answered silently as he drew his sword from its sheath. I felt my blood start to pump through my veins as the excitement built. I was going to have fun with this. It's been some time since I had a fight like this to look forward to.

"Ready." I said as I drew my own sword.

NO POV:

Jon stood stiffly with the others as both fighters got ready. For a second neither the Hound nor Celena moved from position. But then the Hound raised his large sword while going to slice at Celena. She spun around to the side as if dancing then sliced towards the Hound's side. However, he moved much quicker than his large size would suggest, so he could to block her swing. Jon watched Celena's grin grow as excitement flashed in her eyes. She was obviously having fun with this, which had him worried that she might not focus properly. The two blades ground against each other with sparks flying due to the force, which had the crowd gasping slightly.

"For someone her size, she has strength, Ned." Robert said to his friend. "Just who did you say she was exactly?"

Ned didn't take his eyes off the fight as he watched the Hound push Celena back slightly, which had him worried. Though Celena didn't look worried at all since she still had that small grin on her face.

"She is Celena di Angelo of Greece." Ned said. "It is a small nation cut off from most of the world. I did not learn of it until Celena came to our land."

Robert grunted not questioning it as he watched Celena give a shove to put the Hound off balance even if just an inch before quickly stepping to the side. It had the Hound, who was still putting force on his sword, falling forward. Celena didn't give him a chance to try and balance as she kicked the back of his knees to send him to the mud in a knelt position. More gasping happened at how easily this tiny girl managed to get the Hound down in such a disadvantaged position. Was the fight over already?

Celena went to make a final strike though Benjen with his well-trained eyes could tell Celena wasn't going for the kill. Jaime could as well, which had him wondering if she was unable to kill her opponents. This could be a great weakness in a fighter. Though before Celena could strike the Hound whirled around kicking up some mud that got in Celena's eyes. It had her flinching backwards, which gave time for the Hound to stand up. As Celena was trying to clean the mud from her eyes, she sensed the Hound's strike coming as everyone else watched the Hound swing his sword.

Joffrey smirked from his seat thinking some blood would be spilt now. Jayderia gasped covering her mouth with her hands as her eyes widened. Was Celena going to die? However, just as the Hound's sword was about to hit Celena she used her own sword to deflect his blade to make it move past her, so she was unharmed. It was silent for a moment as Celena, who still couldn't see, turned her head towards the Hound.

"You might have blinded me, but I assure you it will take much more than that to defeat me, Hound." She said with her voice a tad colder than her usual warm voice.

Then without warning, she gave a shout while swing her sword hard. Everyone watched as her blade made contact with the Hound's face. It had his face snapping to the side to reveal a deep cut in his cheek. It'd scar over in the end, but it wasn't as if he didn't already have many scars. Everyone was stunned silent that Celena drew first blood, but Celena didn't give anyone long to think about it as she continued being on the offense.

She went forward going to stab the Hound in the gut, but he managed to deflect her blade. For a few moments the two just exchanged hard swings with their blades clashing over and over. Celena was pushing the Hound back, but then he would push her back. It was a game that went back and forth. Jon watched closely wishing Celena had time to clear her eyes because even if she was doing well, it took one small misstep that could get her hurt or worse.

Ned was thinking the same as he watched the girl who he thought of as another daughter fighting hard against an opponent so much larger and physically stronger than her. And right now she was blinded by mud. She was at so many disadvantages. With each swing and clash of the sword Ned felt his heart clench. He watched as the Hound managed to cut open Celena's armor. However, thanks to the leather it slowed the blade and made it where her skin was left unharmed.

Before the Hound could retract his blade, Celena used her blade to hit it as hard as possible. Everyone was surprised as the blade went flying from the Hound's hands out of the makeshift ring around the two fighters. It fell outside the ring at the people's feet, which had some of them jumping backwards. Then before anyone could blink, Celena whirled to the side kicking the Hound in the side of the knee with a loud snapping sound being heard. The Hound hissed in pain as he fell to his knees for the second time in this battle.

Before he could register anything else, he felt the coolness of a blade against his throat. He glanced down at the sword at his throat without moving too much since the blade was already drawing blood. He then looked up at Celena and her calm expression.

"I believe I win this fight, Hound." Celena said. "So yield. I'd rather not have to kill in front of the children, you see. Besides, I don't kill the unarmed."

The Hound frowned knowing he was beaten, so he called out he yielded loudly for everyone to hear. It was silent for a moment before those of Winterfell started clapping and cheering for Celena. The young half-goddess stepped away from the Hound as she wiped at her eyes trying to rid the mud from them. Her eyes were really starting to sting because of the mud, and who knew what else was in the dirt in her eyes. She didn't want to get some kind of sickness. She heard footsteps coming her way, so she paused turning her head to see a blurry form of Benjen.

"Hold still." He said. "And keep your eyes open."

Celena did as she was told while letting Benjen tilt her head backwards. She then was assaulted by water into her eyes, but thanks to the water the mud was all cleared away. She shook her head trying to get some of the water off of her before taking the cloth Benjen held out to her.

"Thank-you," She said then wiped her face off while clearing her eyes a bit of the water.

She could see clearly now, which put her more at ease. Yes, she acted fine earlier, but she honestly didn't like being blinded during battle.

"You did very well." Benjen told her. "You fight better than some of the men of the Night's Watch."

"Thank-you," She said again then looked to the Hound as he collected his sword.

He used it like a cane to lean on since she had dislocated his kneecap, which would need to be set. He nodded to Celena with respect in his eyes, and she nodded to him in return. Everyone then looked to Robert as he stood from his chair.

"Are there anymore challengers?" He asked as everyone shushed while he spoke. "Any man brave enough to fight this warrior of Greece?"

It was silent for a moment with no one uttering a word. Not even Jaime Lannister stepped forward to fight against Celena, and he was one of the best sword fighters in Westeros. Robert waited a few more seconds then nodded.

"Very well then." Robert said. "Then I name the winner of this fight to be Celena di Angelo."

As the clapping and cheering started up again, Celena looked up to the Starks to see Arya and Rickon were the only ones grinning broadly. The others just looked relieved she was okay, and Jon still seemed a bit mad. However, a face was missing, and Celena knew if Bran was here, he would be grinning just like Arya and Rickon. Thinking about him had her thinking about the voice from earlier. Who had been speaking to her? And can they help Bran?

CELENA'S POV:

"That was very well fought." Robert complimented me. "Celena, wasn't it?"

After the right was over, I had been called in front of Robert, so he may congratulate me on my win. Honestly, I didn't care if he approved or not or that I was an impressive fighter. I only agreed to fight the Hound to let those here know that I was someone to be wary of.

"Yes, Your Grace." I said dipping my head to him. "Thank-you."

"Ned says you are from a small island known as Greece." Robert said. "And that you have been fighting since you were a child."

I nodded my head as I shifted my weight from one foot to the other. I'd rather me somewhere else than answering questions right now. I wanted to speak with Jon since he had left still looking angry.

"Yes, Your Grace." I said. "I have wielded a sword since I was twelve years of age. I was trained by the best mentor to ever grace our shores, and fought many foes."

"And tell me, Celena," Robert asked. "Do you enjoy fighting?"

I blinked not sure how to answer that question. I suppose I do enjoy the thrill of fighting every once and while. However, I could live without it. Sometimes I really wished there was no reason for fighting.

"On occasion." I said.

Robert nodded his head then dismissed me as if he grew bored with me, which was just fine by me since I grew bored of him ages ago. I dipped my head to him and the Lannisters before I went on my way. As I was leaving, I glanced towards Joffrey while smirking at his sullen face. He was obviously displeased that I won that fight. He glared at me in return, which just had my smirk widening. I then continued on my way while knowing I needed to find Jon to make sure he wasn't too angry with me.

After searching for near an hour, I found Jon hacking away at a practice dummy. One of his usual pastimes. At least, he's swinging with more precise swings than those erratic ones he had been doing when I first caught him doing this. I sighed though since he was obviously still upset with me.

"Jon," I called as I walked towards him.

He stiffened while pausing mid-swing. He slowly turned to look at me as I stopped just outside the gate. He looked at me for a moment longer in silence before letting out a sigh as he looked away.

"What do you want, Celena?" Jon asked.

I frowned wondering why he was so upset. I get it that he was worried when he learned I'd be fighting the Hound, but in the end I'm fine. Not a scratch on me. Well, my leather armor would need some patching, but besides that I was fine.

"I came to check on you." I said then started climbing over the gate. "And to ask why you are so upset with me?"

I made it to the other side of the gate while getting between Jon and dummy, so he'd be forced to look at me. Jon jumped while jerking back his sword, which he had been about to swing.

"Are you mad?" He asked. "I could have hurt you!"

"If I was afraid of you hurting me, I wouldn't have gotten in front of you." I retorted. "Besides, I'm still waiting for an answer. Why are you mad at me?"

I didn't like him being mad at me, and me not knowing the reason. If he had a reasonable reason of why he's upset, I'd try to make it up to him. If not, I might smack his pretty boy face. Jon was silent for a moment then sighed as he sheathed his sword.

"I'm not mad at you." Jon said.

Oh really? He could have fooled me. I didn't say this though as I continued to let him speak.

"You're too reckless." Jon continued. "It has me worried about you."

My brow quirked as I was wondering if he was really upset just because I accepted that challenge.

"What is there to worry about?" I said. "It wasn't as if I was in danger."

"You weren't in danger this time." Jon retorted. "But what about next time you decide to do something reckless? Your decision to fight someone like the Hound has me wondering what else you might do when I'm gone. It has me worried that I'll receive a raven telling me you got yourself killed."

I frowned in confusion wondering what he meant by "when I'm gone". And why would he need a raven to deliver him a message about me?

"Jon, what are you talking about?" I asked him. "Are you going somewhere?"

Jon looked down at the ground as if he felt guilty about something, which had my gut churning. Don't tell me that he decided to go there?

"You're not." I said shaking my head. "Please, tell me, Jon, that you are not going to the Wall."

As Jon looked at me with those deep brown eyes of his, I realized he was going. He decided to leave. He decided to leave home. He decided to leave me.

"You know I have wanted to go to the wall for a long time." Jon said.

"Yes, I do know that." I said. "But I was hoping you would have changed your mind."

Or I would have had time to convince him to follow a different path. To stay here with his family. To stay here with me. How could he be leaving now? Bran was still unconscious. Ned was practically being forced to leave for King's Landing, and he was talking Sansa and Arya with him. The Starks were already being stretched out, and he wants to stretch them out even more.

"Why?" Jon asked. "There is nothing for me here."

I felt as if someone stabbed me through the chest when he said that, and I could feel my eyes start to water.

"I…I was hoping you would stay here with me." I said. "We need you here. Everything has been set into motion. The prophecy has begun."

Jon stepped up while cupping my cheeks, which did not bring me comfort, but more pain. How could he look at me as he is now, but still plan to leave me?

"Don't look so worried." Jon said. "Robb is still here, and he can keep you safe in my place."

He looked as if the words hurt to come out of his mouth as my brows furrowed. What did Robb have to do with any of this? And I wasn't asking to be kept safe. I can protect myself. Doesn't he know why I really want him to stay? I suppose I never have told him how I feel, but surely he could see how I look at him. How I go to him to be at his side when I am troubled.

"This does not mean I am breaking my promise to you." Jon said as he let go of my face. "I will keep you safe. I will join the Night's Watch to keep the rest of the kingdom safe from the White Walkers you have seen in your dreams. This why there will be no reason for you to fight."

I shook my head as I stepped away from him. I knew he wasn't the brightest, but now he was being plain idiotic.

"You don't understand a thing, do you?" I asked bitterly. "So your plan is to go play hero at the Wall? To be a rider in black? To try and keep the White Walkers at bay? You foolish, boy! You will only succeed in getting yourself killed. Do you think I want that, Jon Snow?"

I then turned on heel to open the gate, and hurry away from Jon even when he called for me to wait. He was a fool. A fool who will only succeed in getting himself killed. What can I do to keep him safe? What can I do to stop any of what is coming?