Luke had never expected to meet the Golden Paladin.

In part because he had assumed her to be a myth, but also because their village was simply too far away from everything else.

She was as the songs described, for the most part. Golden hair, strong demeanour, yet a soft heart. Only her green cloak was missing - perhaps she'd lost it, perhaps she'd never had it in the first place. Instead, she wore a dirty blue tunica that might once have been very expensive.

No one had doubted her when she had introduced herself. Something about her made everyone want to believe her. Luke wondered if people would believe her if she said the sky was green and the grass blue. But then again - she was no witch.

Then there was the thing with her hair. Luke had never seen gold in his life, but it had to look like this. Otherwise he would be disappointed in actual gold.

The Paladin had given them no name to call her by, yet had immediately started doing any work people could find for her. They had been quite untouched by the war, so she was mostly relegated to farming and building and taking care of the children. The village elders clearly felt terrible for not giving her something proper to do, but she seemed quite content.

As she ran around town, endearing herself to his fellow people, he was left confused. Despite never having exchanged even a single word with her, he wanted to. He wanted to get close to her, stay by her side, and remain there for the rest of his life.

Something drew him to her. It was not love - his friends had explained that feeling enough times for him to know he'd never feel that. No, this was something different.

He decided to keep his distance from her. Lest he'd do something stupid.

Like Elias.

One day into the Paladin's stay he had marched up to her and screamed that she had killed his brother. He had said her existence had caused the Lannisters and some Vypern general to kill anyone associated with her, and his brother had gotten into the crossfire.

Luke had expected her to be angry - she had every right to - but she wasn't. She simply laid a hand on his shoulder, and spoke.

"I am sorry for your loss. I know what you feel, have experienced it myself more than once. It never gets easier. But his death is not my fault. It is the fault of the Lannisters, who are so obsessed with control that they can't even let a simple girl help those in need. I started my journey as a reaction to the pain and suffering I was seeing wherever I went. All of this would have still happened were I not here. But if I were not, who knows how many more people would have died. Look around. We're fighting back. That has to count for something, does it not?"

It was the most Luke had ever heard her talk at once. Elias had huffed, but had left the Paladin alone from then on.

She had a sense of sadness about her, he noticed. Something was constantly weighing on her mind it seemed - but she was also the Golden Paladin. The thing on her mind was likely the war, the death, the misery around her, not one person.

The Paladin was surprisingly good with children. They flocked around her like a herd of sheep, fascinated by everything about her. And she did not seem to mind. She entertained them, talked to them, showed them even a few tricks with knives. More than once did the Paladin walk through town with a flower crown on her head.

One night, when Luke returned home, he found the Paladin in his sister's room. They had been giggling about one thing or another, yet when he approached, the Paladin already tried to get Lea to fall asleep.

"Please tell me a story," his sister begged. "I promise to be nice if you do."

"A story?" The Paladin laughed quietly. She had a deep voice, not enough to fully pass for a male, yet still distinct.

"Yes! You're the Golden Paladin, you must know so many."

Luke knew there was no denying his sister.

"Once upon a time there lived a princess. She grew up in a beautiful palace, surrounded by all the luxury the lands had to offer. But she felt there was something missing. And so she set out to explore the world."

"But what about her family? Did she not miss them?"

"She did. But she also met new people, and found herself a new family. This lessened the pain of leaving.

"With her new family she had more fun than ever before. You see, the life of a princess is very lonely. She is not allowed to talk to people below her station, and everything she does has to be approved by either her mother or her father. And as the queen and king, they could not risk losing face. But now, in this new life, no one told her what to do. She was free for the first time.

"But the princess' life seemed doomed. She soon found out that some in her new family tried to use her to take revenge on her father. And so, with a heavy heart, she left them as well."

"This is sad," Lea whined. "I want something happy."

"It gets happier. Very soon, as well. Because the princess found a purpose for herself. While she was travelling her kingdom, she found her people desperate and abandoned. So she started helping them in any way she knew. Thanks to her they found hope, found ways to end their own suffering, despite the indifference of the men that ruled over them. And she also met someone."

"Was he a prince like her?"

"No, not even close. He was a bastard, lowborn, and someone no one would have allowed her to be around in her previous life. But he was kind, and clever, and loved her for her, not for the crown that awaited her at home."

"Did they marry? Please tell me they married!"

"They did. After having had to separate, the bastard risked everything to get back to his true love. She fell into his arms upon his return, and they lived happily ever after."

"Did she become queen?"

"No, not this princess. Her and her husband settled down far away from the palace she grew up in, and from the restrictions they both would have had to suffer. They had many children, and gave them the life they never had."

"I think she should have been queen. She would have been a good one. She could change the rules and make it so that no one had to suffer again."

The Paladin left their town two days later. She refused any gifts and money and food, simply accepting one last flower crown before riding into the distance on her white steed.

The visit of the Golden Paladin would never leave the stories of their town.