I don't own the ASOIAF franchise
Chapter 5 – One Wolf Less
Michael strolled through the streets of Wintertown. It was the day after Lyanna borrowed his charm, and he searched for a charm that will be Lyanna's own. So far nothing had caught his fancy. There were a few pretty ones, but nothing just said "it".
It was midday by now, and he browsed through all the shops where trinkets like that may be sold. Exhausting the usual options, Michael decided to take a little break and just take a stroll. Maybe he'll think of something on the way.
On his way, he listened to the townspeople talk to each other. A pair of wives discussed different recipes, a group of kids played hide and seek, two men spoke about the ever-growing prices. A random conversation, however, caught Michael's attention.
"You heard that the bard started playing again at the inn?" A man asked.
"Sure did." His friend said. "Heard that the guards tried to bring him in again, how he still manages to evade them is a mystery."
"From what I know, he just danced around them while making them fall on each other." The first man explained. "He even made it a part of his show. The guy has balls of steel if nothing else."
"Why does lord Stark seem to hate the guy so much? Arrest resistance aside, I don't remember him committing any crime." Man number two wondered.
"From what I gathered, lord Stark was less then pleased when the bard wrote too many songs that can translate to saying that lady Lyanna should marry that whoreson boy." The first person explained.
"How did you get this?" the second man looked at his friend weirdly. "Not to offend, but literature was never your strongest skill."
"Blame my wife, she won't stop talking about it." The first man lamented. "She's a romantic like that, you know, can't get enough of this 'forbidden romance'. Managed to infect my daughter too."
Michael tuned the conversation afterwards. In truth, he almost forgot about mister bard. It did make Michael feel a little bad, mister bard helped him a lot when he needed it and after Michael got a place in the castle, he didn't even try to reach the eccentric man. Well, that's settles it, Michael will have to pay a visit to mister bard. He'll probably have to pay a visit to mister John and Lars as well.
The man said that mister bard preformed at the bar, so it was worth a try to check there.
The walk to the bar itself was quick and uneventful, it was a relatively easy place to find after all. One just has to know the approximate direction and after they reach a certain distance, the noise would guide them on its own. From what Michael heard, the bars down the neck are much fuller, but what the bars in the north lack in quantity, they make up in the loudness or their patrons.
A fact that he almost met head on once he entered the establishment as he ducked just in time to avoid a mug of ale that was thrown to his head. It seems like there is some kind of a brawl, but then again, it wouldn't be a true northern bar if there wasn't at least one fight going on at any point of time.
Walking around the fight, Michael asked one of the wenches where mister bard may be. She politely pointed at table at the corner of the bar where Michael recognized the eccentric clown like wardrobe. The bard watched the ongoing fight with amusement as he drummed a matching tone with his fingers on the table.
"Ah, little hero!" Mister Bard called Michael once the older man saw him. "Long time no seen!"
"Hi mister bard…" Michael was a bit flustered. "Sorry about that. You see, with the castle and all-"
"No explanation needed." The bard waved him off. "Living the good life and all of that, it's actually touching that you came back to visit little old me. So how have you been? Any interesting stories?"
"Well, there was this one time when…"
And so, Michael began to tell a few of the things he did in the castle, to which the bard listened attentively. It also worked well for Michael himself, as he both made up for lost time and had something to talk about to not let things get awkward. In the end, he decided to ask the more experienced man for some help with his current problem.
"Hey, mister bard, do you know something about charms?" Michael asked.
"Why do you ask?" The other man leant his head to the side. "Are you hunted by nightmares again?"
"No, it's not for me, it's for Lyanna." Michael clarified.
"Ah." The bard nodded in understanding. "Say no more."
"I'll also respect the lady's privacy and not ask the content of such dreams." The older man added. "And let me guess, the charms here at the stalls didn't feel 'right'?"
Michael nodded in confirmation.
"Figured." Mister bard said. "If I were to give the lady stark a charm of any kind, I'll use the direwolf motif. And silver, don't forget silver."
"Why?" Michael was confused.
"Silver is a pure metal, little hero." The bard explained. "Good for fending off malicious forces, they can't stand it. Salt also helps, especially against ghosts and slug like things."
"Okay…?" What was he talking about?
"And the most important thing is the mortal connector, something that connects the charm to the person. The snake head that you strangled by your own hands is a perfect example, for lady Lyanna I would have suggested a fur piece of that rabid wolf. For many reasons."
"How do you know all of this?" Michael asked confused. "Why do you know all of this?"
"Oh, I traveled a lot." The bard said as if it explained everything. "Saw some strange things out there, little hero. The world is a big place, with ever bigger wonders and dangers."
Just what kind of life did that man lived? No, no, one headache at a time.
"So you're saying that I should find silver, salt and that wolf's fur?" Michael asked to clarify. "The silver I can probably buy at mister John's smithy, he always has an ore or two for special occasions. Salt to shouldn't be a problem. But how would I get that fur? You think that the hunters have something?"
"They do like their trophies." Mister bard nodded.
Well, it's not like Michael had a better option.
"Thanks, for everything." Michael said as he left.
"No problem." The bard waved at him. "And don't be a stranger, little hero, you can come to me how whenever you please! There are many stories to be told, and tricks to be thought!
"Will do, thanks again!"
With that Michael left the bar. He had to lean sideways as a mug once again was thrown to his face, it spluttered at the beam behind him. Thankfully, nothing hit Michael's clothes. Huh, it seems that the brawl went to another part of the bar, or was it a new one altogether?
Ah, northern bars, you can't help but love the experience.
"You want what again?" Rufus asked.
After the whole fiasco with the wolf, Michael sometimes got lessons from the hunter when the later was at the castle for training the newer guards how to shoot and survive in the wilderness. Apparently, Michael's shot with the wolf wasn't a fluke as the older man complemented him. Michael still got plenty of pointers and corrections, but it was expected. The lessons on the wilderness to where interesting and would surely come handy one day.
"A piece of fur from the rabid wolf I killed." Michael repeated.
"Fine, I'll be more precise. Why do you want it?"
"Lyanna asked for it." Michael answered. "And before you ask, no, she didn't explain me why. Probably wanted a souvenir or something."
"Then why did she remember now?" Rufus touched the bridge on his nose. "It was about two years ago."
"Hey, I don't question the lady Stark." Michael shrugged his shoulders. "And neither should you."
"You're right about that at least…" The lead hunter muttered, clearly remembering the beating he got from Lyanna's father all this time ago. Actually, if Michael looked up, he could still see signs of the damage to the ceiling when Rufus was sent there flying.
"Oy, Boris!" Rufus called to one of the hunters. "Do we still have that wolf from two years ago?"
"In the basement at row six!" Came an answer. "Next to that bear Jony's group took!"
"Fine. Larry, take the kid and let him gat what he wants." Rufus ordered one of the men near. "Make sure that he doesn't touch anything else or gods forbid, break something."
"Yes, bossman!" the man said as he guided Michael.
After the two went down the dimly lit stares (Seriously, just being in there gives you creeps, walking with a stranger grown man doesn't help), they reached the basement. It was… dusty in one word. It also was full of shelves that had all kinds of animal parts, from horns, to bones, to furs… and was it an eye in a glass there?
"Here it is." The man, Larry, said as he showed the grey pelt. "Kock yourself out."
Michael looked at the pelt and searched the right spot, he found one at the tail with long enough fur and cut it. With no reason to stick longer in the creepy basement (seriously, it was like all the dead animals were looking at him) Michael went upstairs and thanked Rufus.
Next stop, mister John's smithy.
"Well, it's a face I didn't see for a long time." The man himself said as he saw Michael.
"Hello mister John. I was around and decided to say hi, how are you doing?" Michael greeted.
"Good, good." The man answered. "A bit more pressured now with one less pair of hands, but we manage alright. I have to say that I didn't expect to see you ever again, now that you're rubbing elbows with the Starks."
"Sorry…" Michael scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I'm being kept rather busy, but if it's really a trouble then I can ask-"
"Ha! No, none of this nonsense, boy." John finished for Michael. "I appreciate it, really, but we manage here well enough without you. Don't worry about it. Anyway, how things are going for you and your mom there?"
"Good –"
Michael continued his small talk with Mister John as he told the older man about his life so far. The blacksmith was impressed that they allowed Michael in their own smithy. Apparently, it was a restricted area.
"Must have made a really good first impression on lord Stark." John commented. "Either that, or Lady Lyanna cares about you enough to bother her father until a permission is granted."
Michael was honestly thinking it was the second option.
"Anyway, you said you wanted an ore of silver?" The blacksmith went down to business. "It will cost you, you know."
"Not a problem" Michael said as he put a sack of coins on the table, just the right amount for the ore. "Lyanna has some change to spare."
The man looked at the beg shaking his head. "Bloody nobles… Make sure to stay on their good graces kid, would hate to see your head on a spike."
"But we don't have head on spikes here." Michael said in confusion. "Do we?"
"It's just a figure of speech, kid, forgot how naïve you can be sometimes.
" John scratched his nose. "Don't worry, we don't do things like that in here, except for the Boltons… maybe, but you'll see much more of this in the south and especially at King's Landing."
"Oh…"
"Yeah, all those 'civilized' folks that judge us barbarians." The man vented as he fetched the silver ore. "In any case, here is your ore, have fun."
"Thanks! Say hi to Lars for me!" Michael called as he walked away.
"No problem! Come to visit any time, kid!"
Great! Michael had everything he needed here to make the charm, salt he could smuggle later from the kitchen, now was the time to work his magic.
Funnily enough, Michael found the quiet wolf before the she-wolf. He sat quietly as he gazed at the horizon. Michael decided it was as good time as any to give the parting gift and halted the 'defiantly not brooding according to Ned'.
"Hi Ned!" Michael waved his hand.
"Oh, Michael?" Edderd looked surprised. "I didn't see you there."
'Of course you didn't, you were too busy thinking about why we are here.' Michael wanted to say, but had enough tact to keep his trap shut. Instead, he went on with his original goal.
"I wanted to give you this." Michael handed lord Eddard the nameless multi use tool. "Something to remember me by."
"I tank you for your gift, you didn't have to." The Stark said, ever the polite one. This was why he was he was Michael's favorite male Stark. "What is it?"
Oh, Michael was going to enjoy this…
"Just some small trinket I was working on, see the different metal bumps?" At Eddard's nod, Michael continued. "If you pull the like that, the blade comes out."
Michael then explained on the different blades in the tool. From the regular dagger to the fish gutter, to the saw, to the lockpick and to the filling rasp.
"That is very impressive." Michael would lie if he said that he didn't feel pride at the Stark's Amazement. "You made it all by yourself?"
"Yes." Michael nodded. "It would mean less if someone helped."
The other boy really didn't need to know that Michael did it so no one would question him about his more illicit activities, a few eyebrows will rise at the mention on a lockpick and why a kid would need it.
"I… I don't know what to say, thank you." The Stark was at a loss of words, he didn't expect such personal gift from anyone outside his family.
"Nonsense." Michael smiled. "We all just want you to have a great time down south, and to see you soon."
"Thank you." Lord Eddard smiled again, before frowning. "I'm afraid that I have nothing to return for this gift…"
"It's a gift, Ned." Michael smiled. "I don't expect something in return by definition."
It didn't seem to pacify the young lord.
"No, no, I should have prepared something as well. It was not right of me." Ned shook his head from side to side slowly. "When I come back, I will have something to compensate you with. You have my word as a Stark."
"You really don't need to do anything." Michael stressed, even if he knew his friend. "But I wouldn't stop you from doing what you want."
"Oh!" Michael then remembered. "Do you know where Lyanna is?"
"She should have sewing lessons right now." Ned replied.
"Thank you!" Michael then went to his way.
Michael waited until the woman responsible for the sewing lessons (He never got her name, Lyanna only ever called her dumb sow) exited the room. Once there were no possible interruptions, he knocked.
"Lyanna? It's me."
"Come in Michael!" He heard her voice and opened the door. Once inside, He saw Lyanna looking frustrated as some kind of cloth that had the Stark symbol on it.
"Why the frown?" He asked.
"Stupid sow forced me to start my work from scratch ten times Michael, ten times!" She moved her hands to show how done with it she was. "Others take that woman."
"Looks good enough for me." Michael commented. "But then again, I don't really understand sewing."
"That's what I said!" Lyanna exclaimed before correcting herself. "The first part, I mean, not the second."
"A bit too emotional for someone who claims to not care about sewing." Michael commented. "Maybe the lady does like it, even if secretly?"
"Shut it, you ass." His overlady threw a pillow to his head, which he decided not to avoid. All things considered, it was a good throw.
"Anyway." Michael changed the subject to the reason he came here. "For you."
He showed her the fruit of his labor. It was a small charm of silvery color. There was a head of a wolf with its mouth close, a direct copy of the direwolf of house Stark, the entire size of the head was not much bigger than a nail. From where the neck should have started, a mane of grey fur in the length of a pinky trailed downlike a tail. All of this was supported by a thin chain of silver long enough to be worn around the neck.
"It's beautiful." Lyanna said in wonder. Like with Ned before, Michael felt very, very good. Unlike with the male Stark, however, he felt a little embarrassed for some reason.
"It's not a big deal." He scratched the back of his head. "There wasn't a charm that felt right for you, so I made one. Took all day to find the right ingredients, but I'm happy you liked it."
"Wait, you made it?!" She was shocked. "It looks like it was made by a professional!"
Again, his cheeks became hotter for some reason.
Lyanna then pulled the snake charm that was buried under the clothes she wore and replaced it with the wolf charm. Micheal, once he had his charm back, wore it once again around his neck. He missed the familiar weight, it felt like he was whole again.
"How do I look?" She asked.
"Amazing." Michael said, and he didn't lie. The charm went well with the Stark girl, it would not be out of place even in a gala.
"T-thanks." It was Lyanna's turn to blush a little. "A-anyway, let's talk about the other thing."
Ah, the other thing, of course. The other thing.
"I'm reedy with the escape route, I only need you to distract them for a few seconds."
"I can give you that much." Lyanna nodded. "Do you remember where the good stuff supposed to be?"
Michael nodded in confirmation.
"Good." Lyanna moved her hands one against another like those villains from the stories when they acted all scary. It looked more cute than scary on her, though Michael will never say that out loud in front of her. "You will have your share in the spoils, my minion."
"Actually, I'm the one who thought about everything and prepared accordingly. So if anything, I should be the mastermind."
She of course ignored him.
"Tonight, we strike!"
There was a feast in the castle for the quiet wolf, as lord Eddard was leaving. Lord Stark didn't cut corners in making sure that his son will have the best farewell Winterfell can provide, and it showed. There were no vassal lords, for as important as it was for the Starks, that was not a reason to call the banners. But the castle was merry all the same.
As the party for the adults went in the hall, however, the kitchens were in an understandable chaos. A chaos that served Michael rather well as he and Lyanna went there. Or she went, and he tailed behind her.
"Oh, my lady!" One of the cooks said in surprise as he noticed her. "How can I help you?"
"Hi Kurt, Lorence." She greeted the two men in front of her. "Sorry to interrupt, I just wanted to know when the sweets will be served in the hall. To manage how much to eat, you see."
"Oh, you still have a good time." The man named Kurt said. "It will be about an hour and a half after the serving of the last round of the main course, so you have another… five hours?"
As the two men were busy talking to Lyanna, Michael walked close to the wall and sneaked inside behind the backs of those man. Lyanna, while she saw him, gave no indication he was there.
"Is that so?" Lyanna asked in a not completely fake dismay. "But it's so long!"
"Sorry, my lady." Lorance answered. "It's just how things are."
"Oh well, thank you in any case. At least I know what to expect. Good evening to you two!" She said as she walked away.
"You too, my lady, you too!"
Neither of them saw the grin their lord's daughter had as her back was turned to them. She went to the hall to join the celebration without raising a single eyebrow, she was invited after all.
"Ned!" She said as she saw him after she took something to drink. "I'll miss you."
"What did you do." He said in a tired voice, knowing his sister enough to recognize when she was up to no good.
"Why are you always so sure that I'm up to something." Lyanna pouted. "Why can't you trust your little sister a bit more?"
"Because I know you." Ned said in the same dead tone. "And your mouth rises up a little at the corner whenever you're thinking about something that you shouldn't have done yet got away with."
She had no real answer to that.
"What did you have Michael do?" He pressed. "You always get him involved with your schemes."
"It was his idea!" She defended herself… which was a mistake now that she took a second to think.
"At your command, which you undoubtedly took full credit for."
"…I hate you." Lyanna muttered so only the two of them could here.
He only looked at her with those dead eyes.
"Fine… I may have him smuggle a few sweets under the table." Lyanna relented. "Are you going to tell dad?"
"No." Ned said simply.
"Alright, how much do you want from your cut?" He was obviously bribing her.
"None." He smiled. "I already talked with father, and he approved of my suggestion to bring a good number of sweets as a gift for the other kids I will be foster with, so I'm not law on sugar for the foreseeable future. Do give Michael my thanks for the idea."
"So, no tricks?" Lyanna sked with a raised eyebrow.
"None." He agreed. "It's rather amusing to see how things are forming up with you two, always fun to watch."
So silence for amusement, she could live with this. It was that moment where Brandon came to the two.
"Ned, Lyanna, how are you?" The eldest Stark pup greeted them. "How is the man of the party?"
"Good brother, thank you." Ned said with a smile.
"Oh, Ned, so stiff." Bran scolded. "It's your party, live a little! It would be a while until we could be here together to party like that again."
"I thank you for your concern, brother, but I enjoy how things are now." Ned said with a smile. "I'm afraid that I'm not a party animal like you."
"Oh well, to each his own I guess." Bran shrugged his shoulders. "In any case, what are your plans once you get there?"
"Hard to say." Ned admitted. "I guess that I'll just get there and figure things out. The Sweets I secured from father will give me a good first impression at least."
"Sweets?" Bran asked in confusion.
"It was Michael's idea." Lyanna said helpfully, making it sound as if she had a part in the idea.
"Of course it's him…" The eldest brother muttered.
The other siblings noticed it but decided to ignore it for the sake of the mood.
"Where is Ben?" Lyanna suddenly asked. "I don't see him here.
"Oh, he probably still climbing the broken tower." Brandon said as a matter of fact. "He was there the last time I saw him."
"We better bring him in." Ned stated. "Before father does."
With that the three left to fetch their youngest brother.
Ironically, infiltrating a place with a lot of people was much easier than a place with a few, Michael even didn't have to hide. The trick was to act normal, as if he was supposed to be there. Even when someone noticed him, because Michael acted as usual, they just figured out that he was there for a reason and let him be. Whatever few that would have come to investigate him, were to busy working for the party to care.
It just showed that sometimes simplicity is the best option.
Discarding that thought for now, Michael continued his search was for… There! A trolly that was meant for food, it's used to bring all the courses food fresh to the hall. And by all, he meant sweets. With eyes on the price, he needed something to do until the time comes. Just walking from side to side for hours is bound to raise eyebrows. Fortunately, there was one place were there was always something to do.
"Oh? hello there." One of the maids that washing the dishes greeted him. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to help with the dishes." Michael said.
"Truly?" She was surprised. "Oh well, any help is appreciated. Come and take this spot."
And here it was, his camouflage and alibi. And no questions asked on top!
He of course made no mental comments to tempt fate, he knew better than that. As for now, however, he was stuck with manual labor for the next few hours, cleaning whatever mess there was on the plate while being yelled at by a superior to pick up the pace. Nothing he couldn't handle. He did feel sorry for the maids, however. At least he will be compensated very well for his work (albeit from les savory sources), the women just had to suck it up.
After a few good hours, Michael finally noticed that sweets were starting to be loaded to the trollies. Excusing himself, he left the dishes. There were little complains about it, mostly because he worked non-stop and took no potty breaks. Never be afraid to utilize a good work.
He went to the trollies and inspected them. He couldn't just take and leave with one on plain sight, there were people watching. Therefore, there was only one way. Infiltraion.
When a trolly was full, it had its stomach covered by a piece of cloth. That's how you knew that it was ready to be sent. He found a trolly with sweets on its roof and an empty stomach. Making sure that no one was looking, he went inside and closed the curtains. As far as anyone else were concerned, this was a trolly ready to be sent.
Soon enough, Michael heard a servant coming near.
"Alright, another one ready to be sent. Hm… no one will miss a few sweets." Michael's heart stopped for a second, thinking that he was made, but the servant thankfully took the sweets from the roof. Which was obvious after a second thought, why bend and open a curtain if you can just take it.
"Well, that was good." The man said. "Now, back to work. Huh?"
Michael felt his heart stopped again as the trolly began to move and then stopped.
"This trolly is much heavier than it's supposed to be." The man mused. "Could it be?"
No, no, god's please no.
"The weight of my sins?!"
… The fuck.
"No one had to know, it's between me and the gods…" The man said as he began to move the trolly again.
Okay… It was super strange, but Michael wasn't complaining. He honestly felt stupid for not considering his weight, he wasn't a small kid anymore. Well, he was a kid, just not a small one. He was just lucky that the vast majority of what can be considered smallfolk are very superstitious (and a bit dumb).
They went through the kitchens, they passwd the corridors, and they entered a room where the trolly stopped. Michael noticed that it was extremely cold here, meaning that they got to their mark.
"Few." The man said. Michael was sure that the servant was cleaning sweat from his head. "Sure glad that's over. Welp, no reason to stay alone in this freezing storage."
Michael waited a few minutes after the sound of steps disappeared before coming out. He then went out of the trolly, to be greeted with another sharp drop of temperature. Even without looking around, he knew that he was in the cooling chambers. A special room that used the ice and snow gathered during every season that wasn't summer (and there was a lot of it) to keep the chamber in a constant cold to store all the things that need to be stored in low temperatures.
Checking again that he was alone in the room, Michael finally saw the reason he did all this operation. Rows upon rows of trollies filled to the bream with all the kinds of sweets that Winterfall can afford. Seeing all of this, he felt like a thief who got in the vaults of the iron bank.
"Heaven do exist." He said, with a single tear coming out of his eye. The brown one to be precise. Which he immediately wiped off as it began to freeze.
Michael began to filter through the trollies and load on a single trolly the best of the sweets the chamber had to offer. He had to be quick about it, there was no telling where the next servant will open the chamber. When done, he placed in among the farther trollies, so that there was a little chance for the servants to take it.
Time went by, and servants came and went. Michael hid all that time in his trolly, which was next to the trolly he was going to… barrow. When he heard that the servants started to come and take trollies, he waited. He waited until a large group of servants left and he acted.
He got from the trolly and took hold on the trolly he marked. He then went to the door, which from experience he knew was locked, and knocked. Soon enough, the door opened, and Michael was faced by two guards.
"Kid?!" One of them asked. "What in the old gods are you doing here?!"
"Hi, I was with the last bunch. I guess that they must have forgot about me." Michael lied through his teeth. "Sorry to bother you."
Here it was, the moment that will make or break the entire operation. Because of the mass of people going in and out of the chamber, Michael counted on the guards not noticing that he didn't enter the chamber. But if they did remember that they didn't see him, there will be problems. Yet, he acted cool. Showing that he was supposed to be there was the name of the game. Now it was time for the perception check.
"Fine, just yell next time." The guard said as Michael was let out.
"Will do!" He said as he walked farther away from the chamber. "Have a nice shift!"
And to the victor, go the spoils.
"By!"
"We'll Miss you!"
"Go get them, Ned!"
It was time for lord Eddard Stark to leave for his fostering. The entire Stark family was saying their goodbyes, as well as anyone who wasn't duty bound to one task or another. Michael, of course, would never miss it. He was standing, not exactly near the Stark family, but way too close than his station would have otherwise allowed him.
With some final words between father and son, the carriage finally took off. Michael will miss the quiet wolf, he wouldn't lie.
When the entire event ended, and people went back to whatever they were doing, Michael decided to comfort the other Stark siblings. At least the two he actually gotten along with. Frustratingly enough, it took him some time to catch them alone.
Even then, it was just half success as he only managed to find one.
"Hi Ben." Michael called the youngest Stark. "How are you?"
"Michael?" Ben was caught by surprise for a moment. Probably because of the fact that he was caught eyeing an abandoned tower, his thoughts clear for everyone who knew him. "Oh, I'm good. Thanks."
"Eyeing another tower?" Michael asked with a raised eyebrow. Really, this kid likes to climb towers like other kids liked to eat candy. Oh well, everyone needs a hobby, Michael guessed.
"No….?" Ben said in one of the most unconvincing answers Michael had heard. It was almost as bad as when Lyanna trying to hide the fact that she skipped lessons.
"Fine, just make sure that the tower that you completely aren't going to climb has something soft to land on. Alright?"
"Sure!" The younger kid asked.
"By the way, where is Lyanna?" Michael asked.
"Oh, she has her lessons in her room now. I think."
"Again?!" Michael asked in surprise. "What did she do to be punished like that?"
"Oh, nothing." The youngest Stark explained. "Dad said that it was so that she wouldn't have enough time to get in trouble because she miss Ned."
Yeah, Michael could see it. There was a good logic in Lord Stark's decision. Sucks for Lyanna, though.
It was an hour or so later that he finally managed to get an audience with the lady of the house.
"You still breathing there?" He asked as he entered her room.
"Argh… Don't start with me." She complained. "I swear, if I have to repeat another main export of each house, someone is going to die."
"There, there." Michael patted her shoulder.
"Stop it." She glared at him, but there wasn't a real heat in there. "Lets talk about something else, did you get it?"
"Sure did." He nodded. "Want to have a look at the merchandise?"
"Obviously."
And so, Michael led Lyanna across the castle to where he kept the spoils. A cool and dark room at the corner of the castle. He opened the door and showed the trolley, exposing all the best of the best sweets he managed to get.
"Oh, Michael." Lyanna said as she held her hands together, stars seemingly showed in her eyes. "You magnificent bastard, you. We're going to make a killing!"
He'll take it as a job well done.
AN
And this is the end of chapter. A bit later then I hoped, but I did said that it's a side project.
The next chapter should involve the tests for guard training.
Anyway, please tell me what you think.
Now for the reviews:
02cjd :
Thanks!
Lyanna is a very spirited and tomboyish girl. It is stated in both the books and the show that she constantly played and beat her brother Ben in spars. She also beat three boys around her age at the tourney in canon, Frey kids if I'm not mistaken. Therefore, her having Michael, who has an uncanny ability to beat someone to submission and has no problem with teaching her, is very in character.
As for her attitude, it's what I wanted to picture as well. Lyanna Stark, despite her best qualities, is flawed. She is the girl who was so desperate for freedom and to escape a marriage to someone she didn't like because she thought (rightfully or not is not the point here), that she accepted the advances of a married man with wife and kids. Which a civil war that engulfed the entire continent and ruined everybody she knew and cared for.
Micheal is a jack of all trades. He will be very good at a lot of things, but he wouldn't be the best. He wouldn't be some overpowered characters, mortality is the name of the game in this story, but he will be a very difficult opponent to overcome. There are just so many storied where the protagonist is a protege with a sword, so I wanted to change things a bit. That, and I have plans for the future.
Engineer1869 :
Thank you.
Reading and writing will help him a lot in the future.
The smuggling antics continue! as well as in the next chapter.
JBean1 :
Thank you! I'm glad that you liked it!
TysonG :
Thank you, it's the exact narrative I was going for in the story.
Happy that you liked it, we wouldn't see the last of them. As for the attacks, Let's just say that Bloodraven has his eyes on bigger problems for now. Taking care of a tick will come later. As you said, Answers will come later.
javi30 :
Thank you, blessings to you and yours as well.