I don't own the ASOIAF franchise

Chapter 6 – The trails

Two kids entered a small dark corridor, each of them wore long cloaks that hid their identity completely. They walked through the thin corridor until they were deep within the castle of Winterfell, the daylight barely made it possible to see where they stepped. After a while, they met a rotten wooden door and knocked on it three times.

"Dornish" One of the kids said.

"Banana." Came a voice from within.

"Fox" The same vice as before said.

The door opened with a creak and another kid, bigger than the two of them, stood on the other side and let them in. He, because there was no way it was a girl, closed the door behind them with a loud (and admittingly creepy) noise.

In front of them was a rather big room whose only light was from the torches on the wall. At the farther wall of the room there was a stage on which stood another small figure who wore a cloak. That one, however, had a much higher quality cloak than the two. Next to the figure with the fancy cloak stood a box of some kind that was hidden behind fabric.

The two kids quickly walked to the crowd of kids who wore the same attires as them.

"Why are we wearing those things again?" One of them asked. "It's not like we can't recognize each other."

"Shhh!" The other responded. "You're ruining the entire setting!"

After a few minutes of waiting for everyone to arrive, the figure on the stage finally spoke in a feminine voice.

"Esteemed customers, I bid you all welcome!" She greeted. "To all of you, both addicts and those who are still in deny, welcome!"

"I want to thank you all for coming here, my faithful patrons, despite the dangers that lurked on the way. From the patrolling guard to the cleaning lady, I am deeply honored by your loyalty!"

"And now, without farther distractions, I ask you all to get a number from the sack." She gestured to the big kid who somehow got next to her and held a big sack.

Each of the kids went and took a sign with a number from the sack and went to their respective places. Those signs actually made the kids learn to count to at least two hundred so that they could recognize their number being called. To this day the master couldn't explain the fact that the entire kid population of the castle could count that high and said that it was a blessing from the gods (to be politically correct, he failed to mention if those were the old or new ones).

"And now!" The fancy cloaked girl said. "Presenting!"

The big kid moved to the cloth covered box.

"The best of the sweets introduced at the fostering party! The tip of the cream, straight out of the freezing room and mere hours after the bakery!"

The big kid unveiled the fabric, revealing a trolly full of cakes, sweets, buns and many more mouthwatering goodies that seemed to shine to the eyes of the kids in the crowd.

And like any bunch of kids, they immediately began a frenzy to get to the sweets. A loud noise, however, was heard as the kids felt something flying above them, and then the sound of an arrow hitting something. When looking in the direction of the door, they saw a bolt deeply nailed at the rotting wood. Another look to the other side showed the big kid holding a crossbow in the exact direction the bolt was shot to, the crossbow itself had marks upon it as if something had bitten it.

That made all the kids quit and fall back to their places. They all recognized the crossbow (not like they didn't know exactly who was who in this room), and no one had the will to invoke the wrath of the Wolf Slayer and the Serpent Strangler.

"And now that we finally have your attention." The fancy cloak (oh who are we kidding, everyone knew that it was Lyanna Stark) said. "We shall start with the cinnamon cookies! Do I hear a penny?!"

The kids began to raise their numbers with fever.

"One?! Two?! A Groat?! A Groat and three pennies for number thirty-seven!" The joyful kid went to the stage as the big kid handed him his rightful spoils. Once the kid went back to his place, the sale continued.

"Lemon pie! Do I hear a groat?!" Immediately, numbers rose high.

It was near the end of the sale when the door began making sound as it opened. The kids immediately hid what they bought beneath their cloaks and the big kid covered the trolly with the fabric. Once the door opened, it revealed a single guard.

"What's going on here?"

The scene was a bit suspicious, with everyone wearing cloaks that hid their faces in that dark and hidden room.

"Oh, we're just doing satanic rituals to sacrifice the souls of the innocents to the outer gods." The fancy-dressed girl said in a cheerful tone, as if she was talking about planning a picnic.

"I brought a knife." The big kid added helpfully while showing his knife.

The man looked at them foe a few seconds, the room was completely silent.

"Just don't summon any Other." The man finally said. "And clean after you finish."

"Yes, sir!" Both kids on stage said in union. "Have a good day!"

"Kids those days…" The guard muttered to himself as he closed the door. "Outer gods, heh, what nonsense. In my time it was all about Grumpkins and Snarks."

Everyone waited a minute after the steps disappeared before continuing.

"Alright! Next on the list, sugar-covered apples! Do I hear a Groat?!"

The auction went for a little while. In the end, all the kids left with their hands full, and their purses empty.

"One, two, three… We got five stags, six stars and a groat!" Lyanna counted the money after the auction had ended and both Michael and her were back in her room.

"Just so that we clear, you know that you could probably ask your dad for this amount as change, right?" Michael clarified.

"Yes, but there is something special about having money that you worked for yourself that makes it more special."

He couldn't refute her words.

"Here." Lyanna handed him his cut of the operation, half of the coins they got from the sail. When Michael weighed it in his hands, he noticed that the sack of money weighed more than it should, around seventy percent if he had to guess. It also wasn't the first time Lyanna was seemingly mistaken and gave him more than his share.

Michael looked at her and she smiled in return, he silently put the sack in his pockets. He was aware that Lyanna was good enough with her numbers to not make such mistakes, mostly because her ego wouldn't allow her to be too much behind Michael himself, who she always spent time with.

"Anyways, you have your trails tomorrow, yes?" Lyanna asked.

"Yes, at dawn." Michael nodded. "We need to be at the training yard. I wouldn't lie, I'm a little nervous."

"You should be fine." She stated. "I asked dad about what would be in the trails, his only response was 'He got this'."

"Well, who am I to argue with lord Stark?" He tried a little humor.

"I will be cheering for you from the balcony." Lyanna promised before frowning. "At least when they wouldn't lock me in lessons."

"Thanks, I mean it." He said.

"No problem." She smiled back. "Just show them what you've got."

"Do you have your best shoes? The ones that stick well to the ground." Matilda asked her son as she made sure that he had everything for the trial.

"Yes mom."

"And did you remember to wear the chainmail underneath your clothes?"

"Yes, mom."

"And is your coat ready in case there is rain?"

"Yes mom."

"And what about-"

"Mom, please." Michael stopped her. "Everything is ready."

She took a deep breath to calm down. In truth, she was much more worried about her son's trial than Michael himself. It was just that so much depends on her son succeeding tomorrow. Years of preparation, for this single moment. Her son just had to succeed.

In all honestly, her little sunshine was probably going to pass by spades, but a mother worries. And if Matilda thought about this, her son achieved in his random encounters more than her. His meetings with Lyanna, him impressing lord stark and all the men around him, all of this did much more than all the dealing behind the curtain Matilda tried to do. She didn't know if she wanted to laugh or cry.

Maybe her son truly was as blessed as people spoke. It was funny in a way. Not even three years ago, they talked about her little Michael as if he was cursed. Now, those same people can't stop their praises. She had never understood just how two-faced people are, it was honestly depressing.

"Fine, I guess that you're already a big boy, almost a man." She relented. "Just promise me to take a good nap beforehand."

"Okay mom." Her son said as he kissed her on the cheek. "I love you!"

He then went to play outside, either that or to work on another one of his strange projects. She sighed after a minute and went out as well, her work wouldn't be made by itself after all. It took her about ten minutes to reach the room where all the maids gather to be given their job of the day, it took another few minutes until the head maid distributed the duties. Her mission of the day was washing dirty clothes, which she immediately started with a few other women she managed to befriend.

"Oh my, the bedsheets of young lord Brandon started to stain." One of the women noticed. "I believe that his balls have started to fall."

"Argh… as if he wasn't a handful already." Another maid said. "Now we have to watch out for him, as he wouldn't stop trying to sneak a pick under our dresses."

"So, who do you think managed to catch his interest?" The third maid gossiped.

"One of the new maids maybe?" Matilda added her two pennies.

"No" Said the first one. "I actually think it may be you, Matilda."

"Hanna, don't be silly." Matilda said to her friend with an eyeroll. "I'm literally old enough to be his mother."

"I don't know, I can think of two reasons why that may be the case." Maid number two added. "The same reasons why you can't look at your feet without bending."

"Har har, very funny Cindy." Matilda let out a very dry voice. "Any more jokes about my breasts?"

"Don't take it too seriously." The last maid, Anna, said. "We're just jealous of your girls."

"Believe me, If I could cut them in half the size, I would." Matilda stated. "Maybe this will stop the backaches."

"But it would still bigger than mine…" Cindy lamented.

"I am more interested in hearing about the guardsmen trails tomorrow." Matilda changed the subject. "Hanna, your husband is one of the score givers, isn't he?"

The other women gave her a look.

"What?" Matilda said in confusion.

"Your son will be fine." Anna said in a dry tone.

"Was it this obvious?" Matilda said with a touch of embarrassment.

"YES!" The other women said as one.

"Seriously, you have no reason to worry." Hanna said. "Julian said that the very fact that your son is even there is for appearance's sake, there is no way thar lord Stark wouldn't take him in. Honestly, my husband felt bad for the other kids who will have to face your son."

"Yes, I have seen him in the training yard." Anna remembered. "I swear, he was a total beast to anyone who wasn't a Stark. Just what are you feeding him?"

"He got plenty of food when he was young, that's for sure…" Cindy muttered, to which Matilda only rolled her eyes.

"In any case." Anna continued. "Your son will be fine. I promise, really."

The rest of the day continued with no interesting events.

It was the day.

Michael stood with the rest of the boys as the guards counted them and separated them into groups of eight. It was the crack of dawn, which meant that it was still very foggy as the cold night air met its first rays of light. The boys themselves could also be separated into two groups, those that usually woke up at such an hour or were a morning person, and those that did not.

For Michael it was the former, he wouldn't allow himself to be any less than in his best on the most important day in his life so far.

Everyone stopped doing whatever they were doing, however, when lord Stark started talking.

"I'll keep it brief." He started. "Each of you are here to be tested if you fit to be a guardsman in the Stark household."

"This job wouldn't be easy, and there is a very real chance of you meeting an early death, but you will have the honor of serving directly under house Stark and protecting the ones you love. I will not sugarcoat it, the work is dangerous and will leave you rugged. Be aware that there will be plenty of times when you will have to wake up even earlier than today and will have to go through sleepless nights. If you feel that you are not fit to such lifestyle then go now, there is no shame in knowing your limits."

"Now, as you can see, there are six groups. Each group will work on a different task and will switch tasks until every group did all the six tasks. The tasks will be the following: running test, combat test, obstacle course, medical attention, endurance test and last but certainly not least, a differences test.

"The running test is simple. See that tower there? You will run there and back, not leaving the path. Your time will be measured through sand clocks, and you have twenty minutes to complete the course. The faster you finish, the better your score will be. Those who don't finish in time, will face… penalty."

"Combat test is as it sounds. You will be scored by how you wield sword, spear and bow, as well as how you manage yourself in a fight between yourselves and against an adult. All instruments will be blunt, obviously, but remember that you have other tests so don't take too many hits."

"The obstacle course is a combination of crawling, climbing and other difficult physical challenges. You will be scored by how far you get, don't worry if you don't finish the entire thing. You will do the basic parts that you didn't get to after everyone finished the course in one way or another."

"In medical attention you will be shown how to treat injuries and will be tested on how you put that knowledge into practice. This requires your full attention, so listen well. None of the injuries is real of course, but for the sake of your score you will treat them as such."

"In the endurance test your resilience and resolve will be tested. You will be submerged in freezing water with nothing but your underwear for five minutes, anyone who leaves, fails."

"And in the differences test you will have to notice all the differences between two seemingly similar rooms. It will test your detecting skill, an important tool for catching infiltrators."

"And now, with the explanation done, get going!"

Be it by luck, Michael's first test was the run. It was fine, he could do it. They had ten minutes to prepare themselves, so Michael used this time to relieve himself. In doing so, he also disrobed the coat he was wearing as well as the metal plated shirt beneath. A few stretches, and he was ready to run.

"Gods this is so stressful…" One of the kids said.

"We should be fine." Michael said. "Twenty minutes is a fair enough time to run there and back. Talking from experience."

"Hope so." Another kid said. "Running isn't my strong suite."

"Alright boys, get in line!" The guard next to them said. "Ready! Set! Go!"

And they began running. On his run, Michael noticed that some kids were sprinting ahead, clearly not knowing how to run for a distance. Not that he was one to tell, as he was way before those "smart" enough, but he was confident in his endurance. Once one of them started to slow down, Michael tipped his shoulder.

"Hi, see that kid with brown hair" Michael nodded toward a kid who seemed to know what he was doing. "He looks like someone who knows how to run smart, and you two are around the same fitness. Shadow him and you'll get through."

Michael didn't wait to hear a reply as he continued his run. After a minute or two he looked back to see how he was compared to the others and was pleasantly surprised to know that he was in first place by a lot. It also seemed like the kid he talked to before took the advice, good for him.

When most of the kids reached the tower, Michael was already half the way back. It was hard, and Michael felt like his lungs were going to burst, but he kept going. He saw the finish line with two guards and gave his all-in-one final push. Three… Two… One… There!

He passed the line and got a number from one of the guards, number one of course. He continued and walked for a bit to gather his bearing. Gods, this was tiring. After that, he gave his number to another man who told him that his time was exactly ten minutes. From there it was just walking slowly and waiting for the others to arrive.

Michael pleasantly noticed that the kid he talked to did reach it on time. The kid only nodded to him, too tired for anything else.

"Alright, listen up boys." The combat instructor gathered the group. "We'll start by seeing how good you are with a bow and an arrow. See the targets there?"

He pointed at the row of circular practice targets next to the wall. Those were the cliché red and white targets. Each of them was about a meter and a half in diameter with two red rings, two white rings and a red circle in the middle. There was a target for each of them.

"You have ten arrows, hit your respective target as close to the center as possible as many times as you can." The man continued. "I wouldn't tell you how much you need, so treat every shot as if it's your last one. Now pick up your bows and move it!"

"Yes, sir!" the kids cried in union.

Michael went to his target, third from the left, and drew his arrow. He thanked again Rufus and the other hunters for the tips they gave him about bows. Correct your stance, relax your grip, draw to the right length and shoot.

A weaker hold of his drawing fingers and the arrow was released. It hit the target at the inner red ring. Okay, anchor point made. Now he needed to move a bit to the left and follow through the shot.

Another shot, this time in the red circle. Perfect. Now Michael just needed to follow the exact shot another eight times, and so he did. Shot number seven was a bit close to the inner white ring, but all the shots were in the red circle. Except the first one, of course.

Looking at the other candidates, he saw that the best among them had five arrows at the target, and none at the red circle. Needless to say, even without knowing the passing score, Michael was sure of himself.

Another look at the boys showed him that they were looking at something. When Michael followed them, he saw Lyanna looking at them from the balcony. Or, more precisely, at him. Once she saw that he looked at her, she waved her hand. To which he waved back.

"Man, you know lady Stark?" One of the boys asked, a bit jealously, if Michael noticed right.

"Yes, we talk here and there." Michael decided not to make a big deal out of it. An enmity with his future co-workers isn't a great start. "But so does anyone in the castle, no?"

"That was more than just a 'we sometimes talk' hello right there." Another kid said.

Before they could question him further, however, the man called them to the arena.

"All right, listen up. You have two minutes to put on this practice gear and come back here. Anyone who's late, we'll put it in his score. Now move it!"

In exactly two minutes, they were once again at the arena. Each was dressed in thick leather paddings that offered protection from blunt hits yet kept their movements as unrestricted as possible. They also had helmets on their heads with a visor that looked more like cell bars and allowed them to have a full view. Not something you'd wear for war, but for training it was perfect.

"You all will have three spars with the man there to see how well you face someone stronger and more experienced than you." He explained. "The battle ends with first blood, but don't worry. You will use wooden practice swords and won't have to worry about something piercing through the leather. At most, you will get some blue marks."

"Now." The instructor called them. "Who's first?"

Michael stepped in without hesitation, he needed to show himself to the testers. The opponent was somewhere in his early twenties or late teens. Not too experienced, but with enough stamina to push through the day. The two nodded at each other

"Very well then, begin!"

The two clashed their swords. The young man was obviously stronger than a ten-year-old but not so much so that Michael couldn't resist. He must be going easy, Michael thought. It made sense after all, this was a test for kids, not even teenagers.

When their blades met, Michael used another trick he learned. He placed his front leg in a more stable position. Seeing that he wasn't pushed back, the two-eye colored kid pushed with his hind leg forward and let his entire weight be supported on his front leg (which became the new hind leg). Balancing himself with the momentum of his opponent's strike, Michel pushed his former front leg and jumped with the sword pointed at the man's face.

It was a perfect hit, the blunt end of the training sword struck true on the opponent's visor and caused the young men to stumble backwards. The young man did regain his footing very quickly, but it didn't matter A whistle sound stopped the fight. That was it. Michael had first blood, and it all took less than two seconds.

He got off the arena and saw the astounded look of his peers. Whatever they expected, it wasn't it. Before they could say something, however, the man responsible for this station immediately called for the next boy. Let's just say that he wasn't performing as well as Michael.

"How did you do it?" One of the kids asked.

"I saw an opening and took it." Michael answered. "It was a little trick I was working on for this exact situation when I have to face adults."

"Think you can teach us?" Another one said.

"In a few minutes, no." Michael answered. "But I would advise going for the legs. The goal here is first blood, not better strike. Oh, and always try to stay close. He has a bigger reach, so you will never win if you run."

"Any more tips?" Another kid asked.

"Try to though snow into his eyes?" Michael suggested. "There is no rule against that."

"Huh…"

In the end, most of the kids managed to lay a hit in one way or another in their three tries. Michael himself managed to win the other two duels as well. The second one he won by making a faint and the third one he won after he led the tester to trip over a snow pile Michael gathered during the fight.

Now they stood at the start of the obstacle course. A strange looking thing that took a good part of the yard. The boys, now out of their protective gear, stood in attention as the current tester explained how this station was going to work.

"Alright, you have to pass all the obstacles to finish the course at full mark. However, you may retry any part separately for a passing mark." He explained. "The first obstacle is a six-foot wall, passing above it. Next you will have to walk on the plank without falling to the sides. If you fall, then you start over."

"After that, you will climb the rope to reach the top and then climb down. I repeat, climb to the very top and touch it. crawl under the wires to the other side of the field and pass the training dummies. I warn you, they will spin if you push them and will hit you back. Keep your focus on your direction as well, if you don't make a more or less straight line when you exit, you fail and start over."

"Ready, set, go!" And they ran.

Michael was the first to reach the wall and climbed effortlessly, just a jump and a pull and he was on the other side.

The plank was next. It was about the width of Michaels own feet but was flat, thank goodness. It was about ten feet in length and very easy to misstep. Michael didn't run, but he did walk quickly. The more he spends time on it, the more opportunities he has to fall. In addition, Michael always had his legs bent a little so he could control his balance better. With hands moving where they needed to keep himself from falling, Michael walked through the plank in a matter of seconds.

Allowing himself to take one breath of relief, Michael now began his rope climbing. Honestly, there wasn't much to say there. He climbed, touched the top, and climbed down.

Now there was the final obstacle, the dummy field. There were dummies with stretched arms in all heights standing very close to one another, as in close enough so that if one dummy's arms are spinning, it could cause the dummies next to it to spin as well. In theory, it could make the entire field a hellhole of whipping and bumping to pull through if you or those with you move enough.

The solution? Don't move fast, that's it.

Because Michael was the first to reach the obstacle, all the dummies were completely still. But he didn't know when others may reach and shake the entire thing up, so he immediately went in. a simple walk, with blocking a puppet limb here and there, at a straight line was all he needed to pass through the field. Once he reached the end line, the man there wrote Michael down and let him sit.

The Michael's surprise, the other boys didn't even reach the crawling obstacle. There were one or two trying to climb the ropes, but the majority were stuck at the plank. A not insignificant number still tried to climb over the wall. Michael sat there for quite some time before the tester called them off. Not everyone finished the test.

They sat as the current tester explained to them how to patch different wounds in different areas on the body. Michael already heard those before with the hunters, even saw a few when one of the men had an unlucky incident with an elk. Luckily enough, the man survived even if just barely and bedridden for at least a month or two.

"And then you tie it like that…"

Right now, the tester explained how to do a seven-star bandage on a limb. It was called that because of the seven- pointed star the ends of the bandage formed as they tied it. Honestly, it was actually a six-pointed star [-], but those fanatics down south were craze about their "holly" number, so they decided to make the free ends as another point in the star.

It was nonsense to Michael, but he certainly wasn't going to run to the great sept at King's Landing and shout it with all his lungs. Didn't make it less stupid though. There were two free ends for crying out loud, by that logic it should have been an eight-pointed star!

"Alright, now come here one by one and show me how you listened."

Now the real test has begun.

Michael was first, as always today, and began treating his "patient". The "wounded" had a "Bleeding" through the main vain in his leg, so Michael immediately stopped the blood flow with a tourniquet. He then made sure that the man was responsive and that the air flow was clear. When all was done, he returned to the rest of the boys.

He saw that a few of them had concerned looks on their faces. He decided to help them a little as they asked him questions about giving aid.

"How do you even know all of that?" one of the kids asked.

"Oh, Rufus and the hunters showed me the ropes." Michael answered truthfully.

"Wait…" Another kid suddenly started to realize something. "Your eyes have different colors… Are you Michael Wolfsbane by any chance?"

"My name is Michael, yes." He admitted with some confusion. "But the 'Wolfsbane' part is new."

"Gods damn it." Another kid swore. "No wonder you were always so on the top at everything. You're a freaking legend!"

Really? Michael didn't think that he would cause such a reaction, just what the hell was mister bard singing about at town?!

At least he knew now that those kids weren't from the castle, if they were they would have at least recognized his face.

"Kinda obvious now, with the mismatched eyes and what's not." Another boy said. "Now I feel stupid."

"I'm sure that the excitement had to do with something."

The rest of his time in this station was left answering questions. And no, he didn't fist-tight an Other nor did he rase a dragon in secret.

Now came the most demanding stop, the endurance test. The group stood with nothing but a pair of underwear in the freezing cold, already starting to shiver. But oh no, the test didn't even start. It will only start when all of them are neck deep in the freezing water. Michael listened to the tester of this station and couldn't help but think about when the guy will shut up already.

"C-can't he m-move on already?" One of the kids said quietly, his teeth moving against each other.

"F-fat b-bastard…" Another one said. "W-wearing the c-c-coat w-when we a-are n-nnn-naked…"

The man did wear a long and thick coat, something that didn't help endear him to the group in the slightest.

"A-any A-adv-vice, b-bb-boss?" someone asked Michael.

"T-think about a long song that you like." Michael said with clenched teeth, even he was effected by the cold. "Ignore a-anything else. If t-the song ends, restart it."

For some reason, the other boys decided to call him "boss" for whatever reason. Really, all he did was give a few pointers and answer a few questions, what was so amazing about that?

Anyway, the man finally stopped droning and told them to get in the water, gods freaking finally, and Michael started singing in his head about a catchy song mister bard sang at one of his shows before Michael relocated to Winterfell. It was an introduction song about a rag-tag group of mercenaries and outfits that managed to save their kingdom from dragons, Vox-Machine something.

If Michael was in any other situation that actually allowed him to think, he would have thought that the song may be more than a little treasonous. You know, with all the dragon killing and the fact that the entire motif of the royal family was dragons. Michael was pretty sure that people died for less.

Then again, even if by miracle a word reached all the way down to the capital. And by an even greater miracle, a group actually made all the way to this freezing hell-hole for a single man with a stupid song, Michael was confidant in mister bard's ability to keep himself safe.

Nevertheless, the next five minutes were an absolute nightmare. The whistle of the end of those demented five minutes couldn't come soon enough.

Michael didn't waste time getting out of the freezing water and happily noticed that the vast majority of the boys stayed with him. He helped a few that almost slipped while getting up from the water, and the fat bastard finally told them that they could go to the fireplace and change back. Needless to say, they ran there faster than they ran at the running course.

"Ah…."

The group was inside the castle in one of the guest rooms, taking their well-deserved rest near the fireplace. They were each given a warm blanket and hot tea.

"It almost makes the water worth it." A kid said. "Almost."

"Alright, get up." The voice of a man called them. "Your last station is waiting."

With a bit of reluctance, they left the cozy fireplace. The tester waited for them between two doors.

"Listen up." He addressed them. "Behind me there are two seemingly identical rooms. The only difference- the right one had been breached. Your mission is simple, you will have exactly one minute to look around the unbreeched room and another minute to look at the breached one. During that minute you will say to the inspector all the clues you see that point at any unusual activity."

"Any loud noises or anything else that may clue the others will be seen as cheating and the person will be punished. Severally."

And so, the boys made a line. Once again, Michael found himself first in line. Again. Seriously, before they did it because no one wanted to be the first, but now they actually made way for him to be first in line

Ignoring that, Michael was led to the "safe" room. It was a very standard one, a window, a bed, a closet. The simple carpet covered most of the floor. Another few little things here and there: a picture of some Stark lord of old that probably only two or so in this castle knew of, a fireplace, and so on.

"Alright, time's up!" The man said as he led Michael to the other room. "Alright, start!"

Let's see, exactly the same room, except…

"The carpet has a wrinkle, the floor beneath the window has some leaves as if they were blown inside from the window, and that closet isn't closed as if someone opened it and quickly closed it." Michael listed. "The painting is a bit diagonal, and the bed isn't as well made as the room before."

"Time's up."

Michael walked out of the room and was led back to the yard. His tests were over.

"So, how do you think it went?" Michael asked Lyanna and Benjen after the tests were over.

"I think you did great." The Stark lady smiled. "Much better than anyone else, that's for sure."

"You think so?" Michael was still uncertain. Sure, he may have been the best of his group, even he will admit it, but there were so many people in different groups. And it's not like he had time to watch how each and every kid was doing.

"You did great." Ben nodded with certainty. "Even compared to the other groups. You even beat the man at the sword fighting ring."

"I'm pretty sure he went easy on me."

"He didn't." Lyanna shook her head. "At least not after the first fight. I saw his look, and 'going easy' was not what he did."

"You know." She continued. "Dad also took a great interest in your performance."

"Really?!" Lord Stark was giving him special attention?! That was never a good thing.

"Ahm." She nodded.

"Oh! And before I forget, father told me to give you this." Lyanna handed him some kind of a grey shirt and a grey cloak. "He ordered you to be in the yard in half an hour."

"Half an hour! Why are you telling me this just now?!"

"I may have forgotten?" She chuckled awkwardly.

Unbelievable.

Without wasting a word, he took the clothes and sprinted to prepare himself.

"Greetings." Lord Stark said to the row of boys in front of him. Each dressed in the same uniform as Michael got from Lyanna. "You are all here because you have passed the tests, welcome to Winterfell, officially now."

Lord Richard let them have their moment of excited triumph.

"Each of you have faced the challenges, some better and some worse. Each of you has their strength and weaknesses as well, none is infallible. But it is your duty as brothers in arms now to cover for each other. However, to pinpoint your start, as well as to keep your improvement, each of your achievements had been written on the board."

The lord then nodded towards a wooden board that showed the names of the graduates, as well as their scores in different things. And on top of that, in first place, stood Michael, who's scores were far above the one in second place.

"Would Michael step forward?"

Lord stark may have phrased it as a request, but it was anything but. Once Michael stood before his lord, the man spoke again.

"Michael, you have shown great strength, resolve and wits. You have achieved the greatest score in each test among your peers, and for that you have been granted the title 'first graduate'. You have great expectations to fill, both from your superiors as well as from your peers. This is a privilege, but a duty as well. But don't let it blind you with pride. The wolves hunt in packs after all, and it is your duty to lead your pack. Your status can and will be replaced if you are found wanting, am I clear?"

"Yes, my lord!" Michael mimicked the same salute he saw the guards do so many times. Apparently, he did something right, as lord Stark smiled.

"Very well. Now then, hold still."

The lord pulled a silvery pin with a wolf's head on Michael's chest, the people around him clapped.

Michael couldn't describe in words how he felt.

AN

A big pause, but I did warn that it was a side project. Nonetheless, sorry about the wait.

Anyway, please write what you think about the chapter.

Now for the reviews:

02cjd :

Thanks.

To answer your questions, for now he will be baseline human. I plan to keep things low fantasy, so at most any unnatural tricks he will learn, if he even will, will be very mundane to not cause a case of an overpowered protagonist. As for the trees, I still not sure if I want to include them, but it sure wouldn't be in the near future.

Engineer1869 :

Glad you liked it.

If you take all the credit, you take all the blame.