She-Wolf | Game of Thrones [1]

[1.1] Anyone

It was a gentle day, the snow thawing. This winter had been very short, lasted only five moons. Rydinia overheard Father and Maester Luwin talking about it just three days before. They have agreed this is not a true winter and Rydinia thought it was time to ask others.

Mikken called it a blessing and maybe that wasn't surprising. She had been near the forge lots of times and it always needed to be really hot. When the first snows fell and she was wrapped in furs by her mother, she would always need to take them down in there. With the metallic cling of the hammer hitting steel still echoing in her head, she made her way inside once again and asked women from the kitchen and Old Nan later.

They responded with superstition. 'The shortest winters are followed by the longest ones.' Old Nan even told her a story – she always did – about a long, cold winter unlike anything the little girl has ever seen. Nan told her that the last time winters were so short was thousands of years ago. Then came a long summer and an even longer winter. However, this was no ordinary winter. It brought other things along with the snows. It brought a cold that froze not just land but men as well and with it came the White Walkers. It was called the Long Night, where the dead rose to hunt the living like wolves hunt for prey.

Rydinia didn't want to believe the stories Nan said at times but there was no denying that however little evidence there was to the dreadful Walkers, the Wall was built for a reason and the Maester said there were even books talking about the Long Night.

The five-year-old Stark girl trotted along the courtyard, mindful of the greatest puddles of slush at her feet. She wished Sansa could join them in their game with the boys, but she just had her second nameday a fortnight ago and was still too young for Mother to let her run around without someone by her side.

Of course, Rydinia was used to playing with the boys, Robb being her twin and Jon as good as. She loved playing knights the most, but they were going to try another game today. They heard this from one of the household guards, Harwin, who played it with other children in his youth.

The game needed one of the children to be a seeker. The seeker counts down from a chosen number with closed eyes and the other children need to hide somewhere away from the seeker. When the count ends, the seeker is supposed to shout, "Ready or not, here I come!" and start searching for the others. Who they finds first is the next seeker and the last found is the winner of the round.

They agreed to meet with the boys after the morning meal in front of the weirwood tree. Rydinia was so excited she could barely fall asleep last night. She always loved spending time with her siblings but maybe now they can add a new game to their list. There was nothing the oldest Stark child would have loved more in this moment.

Still, she hoped that soon, Sansa would be able to join them. It would be good to have another girl playing knights with them. They could unite against the boys, the first female knights fighting against White Walkers or Lannister soldiers or Targaryen ones. Oh, maybe one group could be sellswords and the other the Kingsguard!

At the moment, her little sister was at her mother's side in the bedroom, probably. She really seemed to be fond of sitting next to Mother and watch her, no matter what she did. It was adorable, especially since not much truly happened with Mother these days with her belly being as big as it was. Maester Luwin says their new brother or sister is going to arrive within a moon's turn.

Rydinia didn't remember much from when Sansa came to the world and she was endlessly curious about the whole affair. She couldn't even imagine how a baby fits in a person's stomach and even less so that it can somehow get out. Maybe it was some kind of magic? Maybe the baby will turn into a ghost, go through the skin, and then turn back?