Catelyn

There had been many Queens of the North, Catelyn had known that fact well. There had to be queens, after all, unless the Kings of the North had merely had bastards that they legitimized. Even with her recent work to be more… understanding of people like that ('it isn't the child's fault; hatred and scorn should be sent towards the fathers who get young girls with babes and the mothers who long for it because they believe it will raise them in station') she knew that there was simply no way a king could remain in power if they engaged in such actions. Having a bride allowed one to make ties with houses stronger or create them with those that were a risk.

There had been many Queens of the North. Even the most snobbish of Southern Lords couldn't deny that, for the simple fact that the North was the oldest of the Kingdoms. Lines were broken often in the South. The Lannisters, Proud Kings of the Rock, had their origins in Lann the Clever stealing the crown from the Casterlys, the kings that came before them. The Stormlands had always had the Durrandon but Catelyn remembered who Maester Parton had told her that the Citadel believed that they had only ruled for 200 years, not the 2000 they sometimes claimed in order to try and match the Starks, for it had been common in the Stormlands for conquerors to take the names, sigils, and colors of their fallen foes. The Durrandon is dead, long live the Durrandon had been a common saying, according to Parton.

There had been many Queens of the North. And yet for all her knowledge that this was true she knew nothing of them!

The records were rather scarce about them, with the best of them stating their names, the dates of their marriages, and the children born to them. But otherwise there was almost nothing about them. Not like in the South, where the deeds of the Targaryen Queens were well known, told by the Maesters to eager children; sometimes proving FAR more interesting than their royal husbands!

Maester Luwin had been apologetic when he'd shown her his findings. "It is said in the North that the best of Kings and Queens are the ones that people forgot existed. It was a sign of their steady rule that there was little need to record their deeds. When a King is written of in the North it is either because of a war, which to the North was a sign that they could not beat their foes into submission without the backing of others, or scandal which would see them rather quickly overthrown by their kin." The last part had been true; Catelyn had been startled at how many times the Stark Kings had resorted to kinslaying to remove cruel or incompetent rulers and then been PRAISED for such actions. Kinslaying was a sin yet the North saw it as something easily forgiven if the kin was a beast in man's skin.

It didn't help Catelyn in the slightest though.

'How am I to be a good Queen if I do not know how to be Queen?' she thought to herself as she sat in Winterfell's Great Hall. 'There are no true queens I can look to in the South. Alysanne is the most fondly remembered of the Targaryen Queens but her rule was marked with misery when it came to her children. So many lost to her, so many made into strangers or taken by the Stranger. I can not bear any more myself, not with what I have gone through.' She looked over at her children, studying them one at a time. Robb in his monstrous form, happily consuming a whole pig, drool dribbling down his lips even as his wife Roslin watched on, amused. Sansa seated on the ground as her great size meant that even plopped down on the floor she was still eye level with her sister. Arya dressed in wild Essosi garb, speaking in a tongue she didn't understand. Bran secured to a chair so he might not fall, sullen and quiet as his twisted legs, more like tree roots than limbs, dangled uselessly towards the floor. Rickon, now older than his brothers, telling some bawdy joke that had the shapeless figures around him letting out laughter that echoed around her like water in a cave.

She had suffered enough. She couldn't look to even the best of Southern Queens.

But the North did not tell her of their own. What they had done to receive praise and honor for their families. She had no idea what to do-

A clear voice cut through her thoughts. "The petitioners are here, your Grace."

"See them in," she said, settling back on the throne, watching as the first entered.

The first impression Catelyn had when she looked at the woman was 'cold'. Everything about the woman was as cool as a Northern storm. She held herself stiffly, with her gait being like a tree branch that had been caught in a sudden freeze and thus unable to move without snapping. Her head remained firmly pointed forward, never glancing around the hall as she made her way towards Catelyn. She was dressed in fine Southern garments that made Catelyn pull her own furs tighter around herself, for they were far too thin and airy for even the warmth of Winterfell. And her eyes… there was no warmth there, not even from anger or rage. It was like finding a beehive that had been long abandoned by the colony, left to sit there, hollow and empty.

"Your grace," the woman said, bowing her head though it seemed to pain her greatly. Her hair had once been red, perhaps as fiery as Catelyn's own, but now was streaked with grays and whites that did not belong to someone of her age. "I come seeking aid."

"What is it we can do for you?" Catelyn asked.

"My lord husband… he has cast me from our home." She gestured at her dress. "All I now have is what I wear. He is a beast, a wild creature who has no idea how to rule… I tried to show him how it must be but he turned against me and refused to listen. My children have been kept from me… I must have my children. Who will tell them what to do? How to think? They need no teacher, no instructor… no husbands or wives! I will be their spouse! All that matters! They are extensions of me! I am the only one that knows what is best for them!" The ice remained even as the woman grew more manic. It was… odd… to say the least, to hear the crazed words from someone who looked so stilted. "That is why I was sent to the North! I must change them all! Force them to become like the South! You see that, don't you? How they are barbarians and savages and only my Southern ways can cure them? Can't you see? I will make the snows disappear and the crops always grow and the summer never end if people just become like me! Can't you see-"

She lunged suddenly at Catelyn and she leaned back, startled, only for guards to suddenly rush forward, grabbing the woman and dragging her away, her pleas and demands filling the air long after she had been removed. Catelyn remained sitting on the throne, her hand pressed to her chest as she felt her heart beating rapidly in her chest.

"The next petitioner," the servant said.

"I need a moment," Catelyn stated but the request went unheard and another woman entered, this time not alone. She moved with the grace and strength of an Empress, head held high and every movement filled with utter pride. Beside her was a lad with auburn hair, dressed in gallant clothing, smiling at the crowd. Yet… Catelyn saw that those in attendance weren't awed by the young man's smile. Instead they seemed ready to hiss at him like a cat cornered by an angry cook.

"We come to ask for your aid, your grace," the woman said, bowing to her with a flourish. "My son has been removed as his rightful place as Lord and he must be put back into command."

"If I must," the auburn haired boy said with a dramatic sigh.

"What do you mean that he has been removed?" Catelyn questioned. "By whom?"

"By the people!" the woman exclaimed. "They say he is weak! Unfit to lead. And while it is true that he does not know the ways of war I have taught him the ways of the South. That makes him superior to all others, does it not? Anyone can see that! Our ways are the best ways… why would he need to know how to hunt or to fight? He looks handsome on a horse and can woo soft delicate maidens and that is all a ruler needs!"

She stared at the woman, wondering if she could truly be that foolish.

"They worry about their winters when all know that if you pray to the Seven you will not be harmed! They hold no tournaments, saying the money is better served preparing for the cold to come! Ice and snow! Ice and snow!" She reached over and patted her son's cheek. "But we know better, do we not my dear boy? We know what truly matters. We know better than them. We always knew better than these savages. If only they would be like us…"

Catelyn shut her eyes, grimacing as the words hit her like body blows.

When she opened them again the woman and her son were gone, replaced by a new petitioner who was accompanied by what Catelyn could only assume were her daughters. All three were dressed in leather and furs, their hair either cut short or tied up in braids that kept them from failing into their eyes. The daughters were vastly different, with one sporting crimson hair and tall while the other was short with dark locks. But both had weapons strapped all over them and even as all three knelt before her she knew that they were ready to battle at a simple command.

"We have come to swear fealty to you, your grace," the mother stated. Catelyn, startled by how different this woman was from the previous two, raised her hand and the three rose up once more. "We will fight for you. I have raised my daughters to understand life in the North."

"We are ready to defend our homes," the elder stated.

At that moment Madge Mormont stepped out of the crowd, offering a hand clasp to the mother. "And I know your girls will do so, Cat."

The Queen in the North blinked. It was as if she had been staring through a grimy window only for someone to come by and wipe it clean, removing the distortion. She saw now not a stranger… but herself, standing with Arya and Sansa.

"We really must stop meeting like this."

"Lannister," Catelyn said, turning her head to look down at the Imp who had appeared beside her throne. He was wearing a dark blue shirt and dark pants, a red cloak hung over his shoulders and several gaudy golden rings upon his fingers.

"I'm still not for sure which one of us is dreaming this though I am beginning to believe that it is you. This certainly isn't helping me with my troubles. Not unless you know how to deal with a mad sorcerer who wants to bring some otherworldly demon from another dimension into our reality." He paused, glancing at her with a tilt of his head. "You… don't know how to deal with that, do you?"

Catelyn shook her head.

"Aw. Didn't hurt to ask." He waddled away from the dais, hopping down to the floor and moving to a table, clamoring onto a bench and pouring himself a cup of wine. He lifted it up and sniffed it only to frown. "You, Catelyn Stark, know nothing about wine. If this were my dream I'd be able to smell the wonderful aroma. Understand what flavors were awaiting me. Instead… nothing." He shrugged. "Still, I suppose beggars truly can't be choosers."

"I don't understand…" Catelyn said, looking about to try and find someone that might have answers only to discover that everyone was gone, leaving only her and the Imp in the Great Hall. Except as she looked about she realized that it wasn't the Hall of Winterfell at all. Or, at the very least, not all of it. Rather it seemed like it was every important place in her life pressed together like a child smashing together clay. The throne that Ned so hated sitting on the dais but around her were the pillars of Riverrun with their carved fish leaping from streams. The sept where she and Ned had been wed in haste was represented by the statues of the Seven that she remembered from her childhood, including the Mother with the small chip just above her right eye that no one could ever remember being done yet always seemed to startle the servants and Cat's family when they saw it. The moondoor that had confirmed all her mistakes when it came to the Imp's capture…

"Yes, I noticed that as well," Tyrion Lannister said dryly, looking at the very door that had captured Catelyn's attention. "I could have done without you dreaming that up."

"I didn't mean to dream any of this," she snapped in annoyance. "Do you think if I had I would have allowed you here?"

"Oh, I don't know," Tyrion said with a smirk, one she remembered all too well from their travels to the Eryie, when he had done all he could to mock her efforts, "there are plenty of women who dream of being with me. I'll be the first to admit that many of them do it out of an almost… sick perversion. They wonder what I must be like. How twisted I must be. In my travels I have encountered many depraved things that make even me shudder in disgust. In Essos there are pleasure houses that openly boast that their whores will have sex with horses or donkeys for all to see."

Catelyn scowled at that. "I have no need to hear of your depravities."

"I didn't attend… were you not paying attention when I told you that there were things that managed to disgust even me?" He shook his head and took a large swig of wine. "Of course I'd think you wouldn't be so judgmental… from what I hear your dear Brandon once fucked a horse himself. I wonder if he remembered the moon tea-"

"Enough of your lies!" Catelyn shouted, leaping to her feet.

But Tyrion wasn't moved. "This is a dream, Lady Stark. Or is it Queen Stark? I can't tell with the Northerners how it goes. I would think Queen but you can never be sure. A very practical people. Except when they are fucking horses. That doesn't seem practical at all to me." He shrugged. "There were other things as well. Do you know how many men have come to me, seeking to be with me because they saw me as a child they could fuck? Women too, though they are rarer. Still, despite them being rare there are more than you would believe." He paused. "Your dear friend Baelish made much of his wealth from such things."

That Catelyn didn't call it a lie but she was in no mood to discuss such vulgar and sinful things. "I am leaving." She marched through a door only to blink when she found herself once more in the Great Hall. She looked back through the door and saw Tyrion wave to her, then looking into the room she was standing in to find him there as well.

"Dream logic, you will find, is no logic at all." Tyrion held up a glass and the other Tyrion returned his toast before Catelyn slammed the door. "But we were discussing the two of us. You will deny it all you want, as will many women in the Seven Kingdoms, that you ever thought about me. But…" he rose in the air, floating towards her. "I know that you wonder about it. I pay for so many whores and yet… not a single one of them have ever said an ill word about me. There is no gossip from their corners about how disgusting and twisted my body is. They are oddly… quiet. Why might that be?"

"Enough," Catelyn said. "I do not know why you are here but if you are correct this is MY dream. MY mind. And I want you out!"

The Imp just continued to stare at her, the aggravating little smile remaining on his lips.

"…shoo."

"Oh! Are we resorting to that now!" He sniggered at her, sitting down on the table and pouring himself another glass of wine. "Will you attempt to get me to obey by threatening to send me to bed right after supper?" He shook his head at that. "No, Lady Stark. I will not 'shoo'. I have been dragged away from my studies to assist you and I will do just that."

Catelyn shot him a dark glower at that comment. "And what exactly, Lannister, could you assist me with? The destruction of the North? The slaughter of all I hold dear?"

"You forgot 'how to be creative in bed'. Now, I admit that you lucked out that Ol' Ned is easy to please so I won't have to teach you much, if you desire the lessons. Brandon though… oh, if you had married him he would have grown sick of you after your first child if you hadn't learned to adapt. He was a wild creature, a beast given the form of a man."

She refused to confirm that was true. But… there was truth to Tyrion Lannister's words. Having spent only a small amount of time around Drax, as Brandon was now called, had shown that a marriage between the two of them would have been utterly frustrating. Ned had come home with a bastard (that wasn't even his own, she now knew) and worked hard to earn her forgiveness. Brandon would have abandoned her to sleep with any maid or servant or Bannerman's daughter that caught his eye and made his loins swell. He was… he was Robert, honestly. Probably why Ned had loved his lost friend so very much but much like Lyanna… Catelyn would never want to be married to such a man.

"As for the other two," Tyrion stated, "I am not interested in causing those. Quite the opposite."

"What do you mean?"

"The Others have returned. You know this."

Suddenly the doors to the Great Hall burst open and with them came the coldest wind that Catelyn had ever felt. It rushed over her, finding every hole and gape in her clothing, and at once chilled her so hard she was shivering. She trembled as around her the tables iced over, the floor become so heavy with snow that it rushed over the dais to her feet, and the Imp looked as if he were standing on a sled rather than a table. Thick icicles hung down, so large they were more like barbarian clubs, and even with all that white around her a darkness settled in her heart as she sat back down on her throne, curling up on herself.

"But," the Imp stated, "it is not Winter yet. The Fall remains… and with it you must look East, not North."

The snows were gone but the chill remained as Catelyn slowly forced herself to stand up once more.

"Something had returned from the other side. A power that is making all who are training me tremble with dread and rush me through my lessons. One that could rival the Others, if we do not prepare. And you are the key, Lady Stark."

"Me?" she asked. "I am no warrior."

"No," the Imp said and every hearth and torch in the Great Hall exploded. Catelyn looked about wildly as everything began to burn except for her and the Imp; burn yet also retain its shape, so that the Great Hall became made not of stone and wood but fire. And when she looked at her hands she saw that she too was the fire. "You are the Phoenix."

Those words were what caused Catelyn to awake, eyes flying open as she ripped herself from the dream and returned to the waking world.

She had suffered many nightmares in her life. No one was able to go through existence without having them. Even the worst monsters had nightmares. But this one had been different. The cold sweat that usually was the final result, leaving her chilled with the sheets clinging to her, wasn't there. She felt warm instead but not feverish; she knew that sensation as well. No, she merely felt as if she had thrown too many blankets onto the bed which was a rarity for her. Ned loved the cold and often she had awoken to find that he had thrown open the window of their room to let in the Northern chill. He had offered to sleep in the bedroom that was connected to their own room, one he had used when she had been pregnant and needed her rest without him disturbing her, but she always told him it was silly and they would find a compromise for the chill.

Now it was her standing up, not bothering to grab her robe, and walking over to the window. The moonlight and the cold air ran across her naked flesh, making her nipples harden from their touch, yet it did little to make her feel cool. There was a fire in her belly at that moment, hot and demanding, and it left her feeling restless.

"You are the Phoenix."

Why did those words have such an effect on her?

"Cat?" Ned said groggily, slowly rising up from their bed. He threw off the sheets and moved to get up but the heat in her belly suddenly shifted as she looked him over.

'Oh,' she thought to herself before she was suddenly racing forward, leaping at Ned who caught her, startled by her rash rush. But Catleyn didn't care. She began to kiss him and fondle him, the heat racing through her body and only his cold Northern seed would make the flames quell down.

They didn't go back to sleep.

~MC~MC~MC~

"Where is father?" Robb asked as Catelyn entered into the Great Hall, looking away from Sansa who he had been helping to eat her breakfast. Ned had commissioned a larger chair, more like a massive stool, for her to sit on comfortably when at the table with them but without hands she still needed help eating her breakfast. Robb and Rickon were kind though, swapping who would assist handing her bacon or chops of ham or chicken breast, while Sansa was delicate in how she snapped them up. Catelyn knew that her daughter still snuck out to hunt with the wolf pack that now held domain of the Wolf Woods that surrounded Winterfell but it was important to her that her daughter remember she was a woman even if trapped in the furs of a wolf.

"He will be having breakfast in his chambers," Catelyn stated as she moved to sit down next to her son.

"He ain't sick, is he?" Yondu asked, raising an eyebrow. It had been… awkward… getting used to having Ned's father around but Yondu as he insisted she call him had tried to make things easier on her; unlike Drax who merely had to say a word to leave her flustered and red-faced. "I warned that boy that the mutton didn't smell quite right last night-"

"No no," Catelyn said as a servant walked over to her with some bread and butter, another bringing a glass of chilled milk. "He is merely… worn down. He needs a bit more rest. The duties of a king." She looked at the servant. "Three slices of ham, glazed with honey. Bacon, a rasher or… yes, two rashers. Some honeycakes-" Sansa's head lifted up before she 'wuffed' at that, for they had found that her beloved honeycakes did not sit well on her direwolf stomach, "-and two potatoes, fried."

Everyone stared at her as she finished with her request.

"Duties of a king, huh?" Yondu said with a smile that proved he was Drax's father.

Catelyn felt her face grow heated but refused to allow herself to break her eye contract with Yondu. The man considered her for a moment more before, with a slight nod, he turned back to discussing something with Rickon. She had won some victory or past some test… she wasn't for sure which but she knew she had and that pleased her greatly.

"Will father be able to hold court?" Robb asked. "Because Roslin and I were planning to see how the workers are doing installing the sunstone lamps on the King's Road."

That had been one of Lord Karstark's first major projects to help deal with the bandit attacks that would begin to rise up as the days grew shorter and the nights far longer. Desperate people leaving their farms to make it to places like Winter Town or other villages designed to take in mass influxes of people would always attract robbers. Lord Karstark had stated that while he could send Snowcloaks to patrol the roads what would help all the more would be the installing of sunstone lamps. Great timbers roughly 20 feet tall were pounded into the ground beside the King's Road at a spacing of 40 feet. Attached at the top were large bronze bells with sunstones filled into them. The bronze helped project the light down onto the road, illuminating it far better than even moonlight, creating a cone roughly 35 feet to 45 feet in diameter. Travelers would be able to move for longer and see dangers coming. It would also aid when the snows came, as travels would be able to follow the light, knowing they were on the right path. According to Ned while starvation and exposure were the two biggest dangers of winter both could be mitigated if one did not get lost. Lord Karstark stated that they would only be able to complete the King's Road before Winter came but when it finally broke they would have enough knowledge that they could complete all other major roads, creating a branching network of lit roads that allowed one to travel safely throughout the Kingdom.

"No, your father will be holding a Small Council meeting in an hour. He just needed a bit more rest. There is no reason to change your plans." She paused. "I understand the appeal but I do hope she won't grow bored."

"We will visit some of the farms as well, to hand out some coin to help them," Robb stated. "And Roslin said that if she is the be Princess of the North she must understand it better. We will take a picnic lunch and return well before supper."

It pleased Catelyn that Roslin was thinking like that… and made her feel a twinge of guilt that her good-daughter had learned the lesson that Catelyn had taken far too long to learn. "And you will take an escort?"

"Why?" Venom asked, forming on Robb's shoulder. "We said we were taking lunch already, no need for more."

Catelyn pressed her lips together at the reminder that Venom preferred fresh meat… and didn't care if said meet could hold a conversation with them. "While you can protect yourself a Prince does need to show some restraint. And caution. For me…"

Robb looked at Venom who, after a moment, retreated back into him. "We'll take a few guards. I'll talk with Mina in the kitchens to have extra food made up for them." He stood up and bowed slightly to his mother, a teasing smile on his lips. "Do not worry, we will be careful."

Catelyn nodded in thanks before looking at Rickon and Yondu. "And what of you two? What plans do you have today?"

"We'll be heading out of Winterfell as well," Yondu said with a grunt, reaching over and grabbing a mug of dark beer and taking a long pull on it.

Rickon continued. "Even with Euron Greyjoy dead there is something that is keeping Yondu from being able to fully gaze the events around the Wall. We're going to look at some of the old runic sites the Children had left behind and see if there has been damaged to them."

"We don't need a guard," Yondu said as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, standing up and stalking away from the table. "They'll only muddle things up. Bad enough I have to take this one and he was at least trained to know how to walk around those places."

"Hey!" Rickon exclaimed as he got up, Shaggydog leaping from where he'd been laying and following after Rickon as he chased after his grandfather. "I remember a certain someone slamming into a ritual pillar a few years back and undoing 100 years of work! And his name starts with an Y."

"What's that boy, I can't hear ya over your incompetence!"

Catelyn, completely forgotten by the two, watched as they left the Great Hall, bickering with each other but without the harshness that would worry her that they might end up in a brawl. That left her with just Sansa who she turned to and smiled.

"Plans for today?" she asked, trying to keep the conversation normal.

Sansa let out a 'wuff' but then suddenly went ramrod straight, eyes widening before, in one fluid motion, she easily leapt over the table and darted out of the room as quickly as she could. Catelyn frowned, fear gripping her heart at what could have so startled her daughter, only to hear the scrape of a chair against the floor. She turned and saw just what had caused Sansa to flee in a panic and while she wished her daughter had remained she also understood why she had fled.

"Hello goodsister," Gamora said setting her chair directly across from Catelyn's place at the table. She sat down with a plate loaded with thick meats, grabbing Rickon's abandoned knife and fork before she set about wiping them off. "You are a hard person to get alone."

"Lyanna," Catelyn said, trying to keep her greeting light enough that it didn't offend but strong enough that it showed she wouldn't crumble like a damp scroll. "The duties of a queen…"

"Yes," Gamora stated, never breaking eye contact as she pulled out a whet stone and set about sharpening the knife. "Let us assume it was only that. We are… family, after all. Family, Duty, Honor. Those are your House Words. Good words. Respectable ones. After so much strife in the Riverlands thanks to the Mudsd and Harren the Black I imagine that the smallfolk were quite pleased that their new liege lords were focused on those three first."

"I did wrong by Jon," Catelyn said, already knowing exactly what Gamora was dancing around. "It didn't matter if he was my nephew or my husband's bastard… he was still of the blood of House Stark. Robb sees him as a brother… always will. I think that is why he has so readily accepted Venom; he misses Jon and needs someone at his side. Sansa… I admit I did wrong there. In so many ways. Her suffering is my fault and the fact that she hasn't ripped my throat out is more out of her own good nature than anything I taught her. Arya probably would have fled Winterfell ages ago if Jon hadn't been here to keep her grounded. Bran and Rickon knew I treated him differently and didn't understand and I can only hope that with Rickon you taught him better."

"We did," Gamora said darkly, putting the whetstone away and beginning to cut into her breakfast, the knife sliding through the thick ham steak like it was water. "You say pretty words, Catelyn. I think that is how you and Ned managed to create a good marriage. My brothers both have a weakness: they aren't men of words. Actions. Deeds. They are what they deal in. Words are fluff that get in the way, cloud the world around them and make it impossible for them to see truly what is happening."

She paused.

"I should know… Rhaegar did the same with me."

Gamora popped a piece of ham into her mouth, chewing on it as Catelyn stared at her, the weight of her words hitting her like a barbarian club.

"I am… nothing like Rhaegar," she whispered.

"He sung such pretty songs of what we would have. People, at least those that don't believe that foolishness that he kidnapped me and raped me… as if I could ever be taken. I'd have killed myself before I allowed any man to have me without my wanting. The fact that Robert believed I didn't go willingly with Rhaegar only proves how ill suited we were." She stabbed another bit of ham, swirling it in a bit of honey that was on her plate. "But the people who know me yet think that I wanted to be Queen." Lyanna shot her a dry look. "That's what you believe too, isn't it? That silly little Lyanna dreamt of crowns and Iron Thrones?"

"…no," Catelyn said softly. "No. Ned… he said that Arya was you born again. A second chance at life."

"She'd be better at riding horses if she had my soul," Gamora commented.

"It was Sansa who longed for crowns and noble husbands. And… for the wrong reasons."

Catelyn had thought much about her daughters and spent a lot of time with the servants ever since her return to Winterfell to try and determine just where things had gone wrong. For some of it she would never know; Sansa's septa was dead and thus Catelyn would never know fully what lessons the pious woman had been gifting to her child. But when talking to others such as Jenye Poole, who had barely managed to escape King's Landing with the help of a loyal Stark guard, a tale of a child far too sheltered to survive the world outside her home had become clear. It had been utterly innocent. Each person had just wanted to make sure that Sansa didn't suffer heartbreak and tragedy. Even Ned had done wrong by her, fearing that if he let her wander too far from Winterfell she would end up like Lyanna… or worse, since Sansa had always been a more fragile child than Ned's sister, prone to crying if scolded even slightly. But all their actions had resulted in a girl who did not see the fairy tales as just that but as reality. She had walked into the den of lions and vipers and thought they would speak with her in pleasant tones and invite her to drink tea.

'Now though it seems she has learned her lessons,' Catelyn thought to herself. 'The journey from King's Landing was a hard one; even if she could speak of it I do not know if I'd want to hear all she went through. But she has come out of it stronger.'

"Rhaegar did not promise me a crown," Gamora stated. "He offered me my freedom. He wed me proper, as I refused to be his mistress, but he was not going to set aside Ellia. She would be queen. He would be king. And I would merely be free to do as I pleased. I would warm his bed… or her's." Catelyn made a face at that but Gamora merely continued on, not bothering to comment. "I would be able to hunt and fish and travel the realms as I desired. No man would dare touch me for I was the King's." She shook her head. "Stupidity. That was what it was. But… I was desperate. I believed him when he said he wouldn't mind a boy or a girl. I know differently now."

That made Catelyn look at her in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"I look at things now and I wonder how I missed so much. The hints and clues were all there but I was obsessed with my freedom at first. And then when I was with child I became concerned only with their safety. Never mind that motherhood is the ultimate prison. When you are a mother… you can never be free again. I held Jon only for a moment before he was taken from me and still I feel his tiny fingers grasping me like chains around my wrists." She smiled even as her words sounded dark. "Chains I was willing to bind myself with.

"But Rhaegar… he never wanted a boy. Jon would be a threat to his precious Aegon. We picked out names for boys and girls. But he always focused on the girl's names. When we talked of our child it was always how 'she' would be strong and powerful. Any attempt to shift towards us having a boy…" Gamora shook her head. "He would have been doomed."

"I'm sorry," Catelyn said, not quite sure what else she could say.

Gamora's eyes though bore into her own. "It should have been you, Jon." She hissed the words like a cat and Catelyn flinched at them. "Don't act as if you would mourn him."

"Back then I wouldn't," Catelyn admitted, feeling herself step onto ground that might be more sturdy… or as fragile as fresh ice. One wrong move and she would plummet. She was keenly aware that she was no warrior… and Gamora was a killer who had helped her sons battle a Thrall of the Others. "Now… I would not mourn him because of who he is to me. It would be for everyone else. Your son. My children's brother. Ned's child even if not from his body. I would mourn with them."

Gamora continued to stare at her.

"If it had been Robert-"

Gamora cut her off with a glare. "I don't know," she snapped. "I pray I wouldn't have been like you."

She didn't deny it though. That was a victory. One that Catelyn pressed close to her heart. She knew she had done wrong by Jon but she was oh so TIRED of everyone acting like she was some monster out of a legend, something rare and dangerous. All the rest of them, every high born lady, would have done the same as her. Would have looked upon the boy that looked far more like a Stark than her own children save for one and known them to be a threat. Showing kindness to Jon… it might very well have encouraged him to become exactly that. The Blackfyres had shown the threat a bastard could be if they were given too much kindness and respect. Catelyn had only done as anyone else would have and she was so weary of people pretending that wasn't the case.

"I can understand you, Catelyn," Gamora stated coldly. "But I will never forgive you."

Well… that was that then, wasn't it?

Before Catelyn could say another word Maester Luwin burst into the room, huffing and puffing hard. "Your grace… you must come at once…"

"What is it?" Catelyn asked and for a brief moment she thought of Bran. Had he returned? Had someone found him? And if they had in what state?

"Prince Robb was preparing to leave when he spotted the riders. A messenger came ahead of the rest. The Snowcloaks, your grace… they are racing towards Winterfell."

At once Catelyn was on her feet, hurrying towards the door.

"Do you see anyone else with them?" Gamora said, their argument from only moments earlier forgotten as she joined Catelyn in heading towards the door. "Were they guiding someone or were they pursued?"

"Not pursued," the Maester stated. "They bring someone…"

He paused.

"Maester Luwin?" Catelyn asked as she made for the door that led to the outer courtyard.

"Your grace… they claim someone fell from the sky."

They picked up their pace.

As they reached the courtyard and made for Wintertown Catelyn saw the rest of her family and those they had gathered close to them coming from all directions, alerted to the news. Sansa lopped from the Godswood, fur dripping wet as she nimbly darted around, racing towards the others. That was probably a good idea considering Nymeria's pack lay just behind the gate and needed to be warned; sure enough after a moment Sansa's howl pierced the air. Ned was at her side in a moment, Jory struggling to keep up as he held Ned's cloak and crown in his hands, fumbling to pass them over to the man.

"You heard?"

"No brother, your wife and I have decided to run each morning," Gamora snarked. "Its oh so wonderful exercise."

Ned though smirked at the comment. "You need it. You have gotten a bit doughy."

"ME!?" Gamora exclaimed.

"Ha!" Drax roared, leaping out of a two story window and rolling before bursting to join them. "He says you have a fat ass!"

"I actually didn't say that," Ned commented.

"Do not be ashamed though, sister!" Drax continued. "Were you anyone else I would get down on my knees and worship that pillow of an ass!"

"I CERTAINLY didn't say that!" Ned exclaimed, horrified by the thought.

They came to a stop near the gate, tense and ready. Rickon and Yondu were pacing, Rickon constantly pulling out his small crossbows only to place them back on his hip while Yondu's arrow followed after him like a loyal pup. Shireen Baratheon was tense, the shadows around her seeming darker and larger, while Maester Cressen spoke quietly to Maester Luwin. Rocket and Groot were the last, Groot declaring his standard, "I am Groot" that had Rocket asking 'What the hell is a Go-Bot?'

"Robb!" Ned called out and Catelyn looked up to see her son and Roslin on the top of the gate wall, Robb fully in his Venom form. "What do you see?"

"The Snowcloaks near. Four of them. There is a fifth rider," Robb/Venom declared. He paused, tilting his head. "Their smell… it is different."

"Different?" Ned asked.

"Of sea. And thunder. It's… golden." He jabbed a finger down right at Shrieen. "She smells like her."

"Like me?" Shireen said only to stop suddenly. "Her?" She took a step forward, wings flaring out, and Catelyn was struck by the fact that a winged woman was no longer an odd thing for her. "Her?" she asked again.

But before Robb/Venom could answer the gates opened and they saw the Snowcloaks riding towards them. They were dressed leathers and armor designed to allow for quick movement even in heavy snows while also offering more protection that the standard bandit. Lord Karstark had done well with what coin had been provided to him and Catelyn, in the back of her mind, dimly made a note that Ned and her needed to recognize him once more for his hard work.

But then she saw the final rider, the one that the messenger had claimed had fallen from the sky. She wore armor similar to Shireen's but she wasn't as large of the Baratheon woman; more around Catelyn's own height. No, her armor was green and black, more robe-like in appearance but still clearly designed to protect. Her hair was brown and she had a heart shaped face but there a way she held her head that made it clear she wasn't merely a beautiful woman. She knew how to fight. Catelyn spied a set of daggers on her hips but more impressive was the long bladed pike spear that hung off her back. And upon her brow was a small crown of silver.

"JANE!" Shireen cried out, leaping over the crowd and grabbing the woman off her horse, flying her down to the ground even as she hugged her. "Jane…" Shireen said again as the woman embraced her back.

"Shireen," Jane said softly, holding the warrior woman close. "It is good to see you."

Ned stepped forward and Shireen turned, smiling brightly. "May I present King Eddard Stark, King of the North. Your grace, this is my mother, Jane Lokidotter, Crowned Heir of Asgard."

"King Eddard."

"May I also present his wife, Queen Catelyn, as well as his family." She began to gesture at the others. "Prince Robb and his wife Princess Roslin," Catelyn's son shifted Venom from his head so his face was visible while Roslin merely dipped her head slightly, "Princess Sansa," the direwolf wuffed, "and Prince Rickon."

"You have a lovely daughter," Rickon said, stepping forward. "Amazing and beautiful and kind and I would do anything for her-"

Yondu smacked Rickon on the back of the head. "Boy, flirt later!"

Shireen shot Yondu a grateful look. "This is Yondu, King of the Children of the Forest and King Eddard's father. And his other children Drax and Gamora."

"Ah, now I know why you fell from the sky!" Drax said. "You lost your wings!"

…that actually wasn't a bad theory, as Catelyn thought about it.

But Jane shook her head. "I fell by choice… and in a hurry." She looked about. "Thor and your father?"

"Not… here…" Shireen said slowly. "They-"

"Landed somewhere else. We had to hurry and Heimdall could not prepare the Bifrost properly."

"What do you mean?"

Jane let out a sigh. "Thanos moved quickly. The Nine Realms are being sealed shut, one by one. Asgard was the first."

Yondu stepped forward at that. "That was rash and not like him. Your people will fight to break free and when they do they will come for him."

"Yes," Jane agreed. "But something has happened… something has come from the land of the dead and returned. Something that worries him."

She paused.

"Something… calling itself… Ultron."