Chapter 8

Jon swung his sword hard against the sack, feeling it rattle against his blows. His humiliation and anger pouring out of him as he thought of the stares and whispers he had received earlier. He remembered how Lady Catelyn had glared at him with such distaste he could only think she wished him dead. He remembered how Lady Everra had merely narrowed her eyes slightly and extended her arm out towards him without a word. They had walked down to the feast hall without a word but just before the door swung open, she had turned to him and said 'Stop looking so scared Snow, I do not bite,' her eyes had swung towards the unopened door and her lips curled slightly upwards, ' neither do they. Stay silent and leave as soon as possible, you have done nothing wrong.' Before Jon had the opportunity to answer her, she had motioned for them to open the door and before he could prepare himself, he was suddenly rendered helpless to the stares and whispers. He had rushed out of the hall as fast he possibly could and decided to vent his frustrations with his sword.

Just as he was about to raise his sword once again, a cold familiar voice called out,

"You have talent with the sword." Jon whirled around and turned to look at the source of the voice, Lady Everra. She was standing nearby, hands behind her back, with a cold appraising look in her eye.

Jon swallowed uncomfortably but kept his eyes on hers. "Thank you my lady."

Then they both stood there silently, each of them refusing to look away until she cleared her throat and motioned towards the sack on the stick, "Don't let my presence stop you."

Jon looked around uncertainly and turned back to face the sack, lifting his sword he swung and jabbed self consciously, he was very aware of her gaze assessing his every move and noticed mid swing that she had come closer to his side and her face was in deep thought.

He raised his sword again half heartedly but quickly put it down at the sound of her voice, "You're grip is wrong."

Jon turned around to look at her and felt himself growing rather frustrated and opened his mouth to question what exactly she knew about sword fighting and then remembered briefly how Arya had rambled on about how great of a warrior and tactician she was.

"What would you suggest I do my lady?" Jon forced out, agitated.

Lady Everra looked slightly amused at this and tilted her head slightly, "Have I offended you Snow?"

Jon stiffened and looked down, embarrassed. He heard her let out a small sigh, "What are your plans?"

Jon snapped his head up and gaped at her, "Plans my lady? For what?"

She rolled her eyes and waved her hand at him, "For the future, what do you plan on doing?"

Jon was rendered speechless and felt his face grow hot. She seemed to grow rather impatient with him and she snapped coldly, "Come on bastard, I do not have all night."

Jon felt stung and his blood boiled slightly. He hated it when anyone used that word even though he knew that was what he was. He swallowed slightly and answered stiffly, "The Nights Watch, my lady, thats where I plan on going." He turned back to the sack and began to lift his sword, "Ah how predictable, you have proven to be rather disappointing Snow." She then turned around and began to leave until his voice stopped her in her tracks, "What do you mean?"

She turned back to regard him closely and said, "You are awfully predictable. The bastard of an honourable Lord is desperate to prove himself useful to his father and is desperate to belong somewhere so he decides to go to the Nights Watch where no bastard has ever been turned away or rejected."

Jon felt the grip on the hilt on his sword tighten with anger but he also felt slightly awestruck and defensive. "You know nothing about me-"

She nodded in agreement but looked rather indifferent towards the situation, "That is true Snow, but what I do know is that you are the son of a noble Lord who also happens to be the lord of Winterfell and you are rather talented with the sword it would be a waste for you to waste your talents on something such as the Nights Watch."

Jon felt furious, who did this woman think she was? And despite all the common courtesy he had been taught he felt like he was going to snap or yell at her.

"The Nights Watch is an honourable brotherhood which is dedicated to defending the Seven Kingdoms from terror and destruction my lady," Jon said angrily.

She merely raised an eyebrow and responded, "That may have been true once. I have heard the stories about the Nights Watch, my mother told me them. There were thousands upon thousand of knights and soldiers dedicated to defending the realm until year by year it slowly turned into an escape route for rapists and murderers whom only joined to escape death," She took a step towards him and soon Jon found that they only the small wooden fence was in between them and was absorbed by the intensity of her emerald eyes, "Your uncle is the rare exception. Do not waste your life on something as unfulfilling as the Nights Watch."

"What do you suggest I do my lady?" Jon said bitterly. He felt betrayed by everyone, when were they planning on telling him this? They all suspected he would one day take the black, Lady Stark had prayed for it most likely.

"That is quite simple Snow, I would like to train you to become a part of my army."

Jon gaped at her, his brown eyes widening. He blinked several times in confusion and he felt as though he was just hit over the head with a pot. The words kept on repeating in his head,on and on until that was all he knew.

She cleared her throat expectantly and Jon realised he had been staring at he open mouthed for a few minutes straight and he felt his cheeks flush.

"Your army… training" he said, voice filled with wonder.

"Yes training for my army. Most of my soldiers are Unsullied or SellSwords but there are a few thousand which I handpick for training if I think they have potential. I think you have potential and I am in need of some new soldiers as majority of mine will remain in Essos for the forceable future."

Jon was still reeling from the dramatic turn in events. He wanted desperately to say yes but feared that if he answered to enthusiastically she would take back her offer. She did not seem the type for such happy emotions.

He opened his mouth to speak but she cut him off, " I understand you are very honoured by my offer and that you must ask your fathers permission first, I am giving you two days for your response, if I receive none, I will merely forget I ever asked you. You're good but not irreplaceable."

Jon nodded and smiled at her, she did not return it.

"Thank you my lady for your generous offer."

They stood there in silence for a few moments, gazing at each other until there was a distant sound of a horse galloping towards them. She turned to look down the hallway and sighed knowingly she then turned towards him once more and said, " You must make up your mind quickly, Snow. Remember what I said, do not waste your talent."

Then she promptly strode back towards the entrance inside, leaving him to his own strewn thoughts.

It was only after he noticed a familiar man walking towards him that he realised that she had gone, he had been too shell shocked to notice. When he did recognise the familiar face striding towards him he momentarily forgot the past few minutes and strode forward to meet him, grabbing him into a hug, "Uncle Benjen!"

The older man chuckled slightly and pulled back from their embrace, patting Jon on the shoulder.

" Been riding all day, didn't want to leave you alone with the Lannisters. Why aren't you at the feast?"

At this Jon's smile cooled down considerably as did Benjen's, "Lady Stark thought it might insult the royal family to seat a bastard in there midst."

Benjen nodded his head in understanding and asked him, "Whom was that woman who just left?"

Jon's eyes widened and he felt like cursing but tried his best to conceal his internal panic, "She just wanted to learn my name, I ended up escorting her to the feast, she is Lady Everra Legrath."

Benign stilled slightly and Jon saw a flash of shock in his eyes which was quickly concealed, he stepped forward towards Jon and cupped his head and asked fiercely, "She did not ask anything else from you, did she Jon?"

Jon paused for a moment and was tempted to glance towards the floor but forced himself to keep on looking Benjen in the eye, "Nothing at all, Uncle Benjen."

Benjen relaxed, seemingly convinced and then took a step away from Jon, forcing a smile, "Well I better go rescue your father from his guests," He smiled again at Jon, "I'll talk to you later."

Jon stared at his uncles retreating back and was curious and confused as to his reaction. What he did know now though, was that he was as tempted as ever to accept Lady Everra's offer, he just needed to ask his father. Soon, he promised himself, Soon. Then he swiftly turned back to the sack and swung at it once more.

Everra leaned against the wall in an empty corridor and let out a breath she had not known he had been holding. She stayed in that positions for a few moments and then quickly straightened her back at the sound of someone approaching the hall. She glanced around slightly, looking for some form of escape but found none. She was not in the mood to deal with another Lannister but it seemed that the gods were not in her favour tonight as Tyrion Lannister stumbled over in her direction and she could smell from here the wine from his breath.

She stood there, watching him cooly until he looked up an finally noticed her presence and he let out a drunken chuckle, "Pleasure to meet you my lady."

Everra nodded in cool acknowledgment and returned the greeting, 'The pleasure is all mine, my lord."

She did not like many Lannisters, just as she did not like many people, while she may not particularly like him, she respected him a great deal. That in itself was as far as she got to caring about someone. She respected his wit and intelligence even if he did not know it. He had probably been the sole reason why the Lannister's had survived Stannis at the Battle of Blackwater Bay, it was a shame he would have to die.

At this point Everra noticed that he was staring drunkenly at his shadow giggling and hiccuping in random pauses, "Excuse my rudeness my lady I am just admiring my shadow, you must have seen it and could not escape fast enough," he said with a hint of bitterness and amusement.

"A small man can cast a very large shadow I've learned, my lord," Everra replied, eyes cold.

At this he turned up to peer at her thoughtfully, seemingly sobered. "You are quite the mystery my lady, "

"Am I now?" She replied, her eyebrows raised.

He nodded and then swayed on his feet but quickly caught himself, "Yes quite the mystery," he turned around to face her and stumbled slightly, chuckling at his own clumsiness, "I've always-" hiccup "wondered" hiccup "Why you fled to Essos after your dear dear father's death?" hiccup.

Everra took a step towards him and felt slightly amused. He would not remember this conversation in the morning. She crouched down to his height and stared into his eyes, "When I was younger I was afraid of ghosts and my home was full of them, seemed like the appropriate thing to do at the time."

He raised his eyebrows at her questioningly and said, "And it took you ten years to realise that ghosts can not harm you? Seems rather out of character, my lady, you have already gained quite the reputation."

Everra nodded in agreement and then replied, "Ah but thats where your wrong my lord,ghosts can hurt you. In more ways than one might think."

"Ah! So you left to conquer your fear of ghosts and the marks they leave behind? How very touching my lady," he replied mockingly. "Did you leave to grieve your suicidal mother? I've heard multiple stories of her demise, but I would far rather prefer hearing the story from you."

Her eyes narrowed down at him and she was tempted to curl her hands into fists but quickly calmed herself, he only wanted a rise out of her and she would be damned if she let him succeed.

"My mother was a weak spineless woman who spent her days wallowing in self pity and when she deemed me old enough she flung herself from the highest tower at RedRun and when she hit the floor her face was so disfigured it took a while to realise it was her," she said casually and could not help but feel satisfied as the expectant look on Lord Tyrion's face quickly vanished.

He regarded her carefully and then said, "Well it is a rare occasion when someone actually holds up to their reputation, congratulations my lady, you have proven to be as cold and heartless as they say you are."

Her lips curled upwards sightly, " I'm afraid I can not say the same thing for you my lord, unfortunately you are far more predictable than I expected," at his curious expression she continued on, "When you were younger you craved your fathers approval to try to prove that you were more than just a dwarf that killed your mother in childbirth, which was actually not your fault, the only person who has showed you any form of genuine love is your older brother, Ser Jaime or perhaps better known as Kingslayer, while you continued on to crave your fathers approval you ended up meeting a woman, I unfortunately do not know her name, but you fell in love her, but she was a lowborn your father would have never approved and when he did find out, she turned out not to be who you thought she was. What was she? A prostitute? A spy your father sent or your brother paid for to make you feel a little less lonely. Judging by your expression I am rather close, something happened to the woman, something that traumatised you and ever since then you have returned your fathers hatred and you must have sworn to yourself to never wed again and continue to drink and whore your days away even though you are more intelligent than most of the people in that room put together," she finished off, looking at him coldly.

He glared up at her but accepted his defeat grudgingly, he did not like to be defeated.

"Perhaps you should have been the one who fled to Essos for ten years, not me," she added as a last retort.

He clapped his hands together, impressed but stung.

"I see we have reached an understanding with one another?" she asked stiffly.

"Yes it would seem so, my lady," he replied.

He rather reluctantly respected her, not that he would ever let her know, he had a sneak feeling that she knew perfectly well how to manipulate someone.

"It had been a pleasure to become your acquaintance , Lady Everra but if you will excuse me I need to take a piss."

"The pleasure has been all mine, my lord, I'll leave you to your… pissing."

And with that, she strode out of the hallway, leaving the older yet shorter man to his own thoughts.

Robb burst into laughter at the sight of Arya flinging food at the side of Sansa's face and laughed even more at her exclaiming "Arya!" He could not stop laughing at the sight and Theon joined in, his insides were hurting from how strong his laughter was.

As Arya prepared to fling yet another spoonful of food, he caught his mothers eye and she jerked her head towards Arya and Robb rather reluctantly strode over towards her and lifted her from her seat, effectively preventing her from launching yet another attack at Sansa, "Time for bed!"

On their way towards the door they dodged drunken men and passed his father and Uncle Benjen, whom were talking in hushed whispers but cut off abruptly at the sight of him and Arya passing by.

As they finally managed to leave the feast, they stumbled into the darkened hall and waited a few moments for their eyes to adjust to the obviously darker hall. He could still hear the drunken laughter from inside the hall and the lively music which slowly turned faded away as they walked to Arya's chambers.

"But its not fair! Why do I have to go to bed!" Arya complained and Robb shook his head at her, amused.

"If you did not wish to go to bed perhaps you should not have thrown food at Sansa," he replied, ruffling her hair.

"But it was funny! You laughed," Arya said, accusingly.

Robb chuckled slightly and paused, gripping her shoulders, " Yes I did but mother did not find it very amusing. Maybe if you tried to get along with Sansa-"

"I've tried but she always ignores me or tells me to shut up!" Arya replied, her voice small.

"I know, I know," Robb said empathetically, "Come on, lets get you to bed."

Then they continued on walking in silence but as they almost reached her chambers Arya peered up at him and asked, "Robb?"

"Yes Arya?" He replied, looking down at her.

"Are you going to marry Lady Everra because if you are that would be fantastic I could ask her about fighting and she could teach me and tell me stories-"

"As nice as that sounds Lady Arya, I am afraid that is not going to happen," a familiar voice called out from the shadows.

Both Robb and Arya whirled around to face her, she had been leaning against a wall in the shadows and she took a step forward, revealing her face to them.

Robb felt his face warm slightly and swallowed, "My lady, you are far from the feast," he said, his voice firm.

"What an astounding observation, my lord, really, I was not already aware of that," she responded, rolling her eyes at him.

Arya fisted her hand against her mouth in an attempt to cover her giggles. Robb scowled slightly and gently pushed her towards her room, "Get on," he said and ignored her protesting. He waited until he heard the sound of her chamber door closing until he replied.

He turned to face the beautiful woman in front of him and replied coldly, "Is there something you wish to discuss my lady or can I return to the feast?"

She raised an eyebrow at this and took a step towards him, he tensed slightly and was tempted to take a step back away from her but he refused to show any sign of weakness.

"Awww, did I offend you my lord?" She said mockingly, tilting her head to the side.

Robb jaw tightened as he stared at her. No he officially had no regrets refusing to marry her, her past be damned. He attempted to step around her and said, " If you will excuse me, my lady, I must return to the feast," she sidestepped in front of him, blocking his exit, "Now, Now, dear Robb, your father would be quite ashamed of you now wouldn't he? Leaving a poor defenceless woman all alone in an abandoned hallway, free to be raped and murdered," she said,mockingly shaking her head at him.

Robb nose flared as he attempted to keep calm, his mind racing. "Somehow you do not seem like a poor defenceless woman to me, my lady," he replied curtly.

She raised her eyebrows and leaned forward slightly, her eyes assessing his face and Robb could not help but notice how close his lips were to hers and could feel his face turn pink at the realisation.

She smirked slightly and brought her face even closer to his and Robb could feel her inhaling and exhaling against his lip. Her eyes looked up to meet his and Robb stared right back into hers, she purposely bit her lower lip and Robb's eyes darted down for a split second before he quickly snapped them back up to her eyes.

She dragged her lips up to his ear and whispered, "I'll be seeing you Stark," then promptly pulled away from him and strode back towards the feast hall, leaving him standing there with his mouth open and an uncomfortable straining against his breeches.

Robb closed mouth and ran a hand over his face, What had just happened? he thought to himself, bewildered. One minute he was annoyed the next minute…. aroused?

It did not occur to Robb until a few moments later that perhaps she had been testing him, what for he did not know.

He had a sneaky suspicion however, that she was right. He would be seeing her and not just over the next few days.

Everra woke up later that night to someone knocking on her door. She had layed there for hours upon hours, waiting for them to finally come. Andromache kept on snoring on the bottom of the bed and Everra gingerly lifted her sheets as to not wake her and gently climbed out of bed, walking as quietly as she could towards the door.

She opened the door slowly and she was not at all surprised to see whom it was at the other side.

"Anna," she acknowledged and her eyes drifted down her form, unsurprised to see blood stains against her dress and a bloodied knife in her palms. Her eyes were glistening with tears and her cheeks were already stained with tears that had already fallen and her eyes were wide with shock, as if she could not believe she had actually done it.

Everra regarded the girl with something close to sympathy, Anna reminded her of how she reacted when she first killed someone. She remembered the guilt and the shame, the fury and the self-loathing and then the shivers and the nightmares and the unbearable denial that somewhere deep inside she had actually enjoyed seeing the light leave his eyes, until slowly over the years, she would only feel slightly surprised at the emptiness she would feel whenever she killed someone. Like it was not even real, like they weren't someones son or father or husband or brother, like she did not feel anything.

Anna let out a small sob and whispered, her voice choking, "I-um, I did uh wh-what you wanted- I mean- what you um uh suggested," her voice broke off with horror as she realised just exactly what she had done.

Everra simply stepped aside and gestured for the girl to come inside before someone saw her bloody appearance and Anna gratefully scampered inside the room and Everra closed the door quickly, but not before checking that no one was there or had witnessed anything.

"Did someone see you?" She demanded.

Anna shook her head slightly and tried to say between her ongoing tears, "I don't think so, we were alone and everyone had um, had-"

"I see, " she replied coldly and led the girl over towards the fire.

"I um made sure that- that-'

"No need for the details Anna whats done is done," she interrupted and turned to look at the fire.

They both sat there in silence, the only sound being Anna's random hiccuping and muffled sobs which eventually quite down.

"How do you do it?" Anna asked, her voice uncharacteristically empty. "How do you live? How do you-" Her voice broke off and she covered her mouth with her hand in an attempt to calm herself.

Everra thought carefully about her answer, no one had ever asked her something like this before, she was not quite sure how to answer and so instead she said, " Try to get some sleep Anna, you are going to need it. I suppose you will have to sleep here until we can get you a change of clothes, it was rather… unwise for you to come here."

Anna nodded slightly and lay her head against the stone floor and tried her very best not to picture his cold, dismangled corpse whenever she closed her eyes and slowly, eventually, she fell asleep.

Everra rose from the floor and looked down on the sleeping girl by the fire and felt something tug in her stomach. It was an uncomfortable sort of feeling and she did not particularly like it. She sighed softly and look at her bed and then tugged a fur off from it and gently lay it upon the sleeping girl.

She did not like it at all but strangely enough Anna reminded her of her mother in some weird sort of way.

She then climbed back into bed and tried not to think of tomorrows events.

A/N Hey guys! I hope you all really enjoyed this chapter and I thank you for all of your support, it really means a lot too me. I originally planned on having Brans fall in this chapter but that would have taken me another week or so to write and I wanted to upload something as soon as possible so this will have to do for now. i hope you all like Robb and Everra's scenes together and Everra's scenes with Tyrion and Jon. I had to rewrite the scene with Tyrion and Everra like 7 times until I was finally satisfied.

Please tell me your thoughts, I really like knowing your opinion on the story and if you have any suggestions please let me know! Thanks again!