Magic, Power and Glory (Game of Thrones)

Bloody Ravens (Valyria)

I had no clue what was going on back at the camp, and it worried me immensely. Aegon could be hurt or they could be fighting a battle, but I was standing outside of Winterfell. All I had to do was ride over to the gate, but I just stared at it, as if I was in a daze.

Bran was in there, and he still did not know about Robb. I imagine how hard it must be for Rickon, Arya, and Sansa not to tell him, but they agreed that I must be the one to tell him. That was the last piece of news I have gotten since leaving the camp.

Hunter and Jon gave up and rode on, so I followed them. The gates opened immediately, and without hesitation. That itself worried me, but fear struck me when I entered and saw no one outside. I had left at least 400 men here, so where were they?

We all exchanged looks before putting our horses in the stables, which had been rebuilt once more. I put a blanket over my horse, and did the same for those without ones. Then I pulled down the hood on my grey cloak, and drew my sword, which I hid in my cloak.

Both Jon and Hunter did the same. We crept around Winterfell, using the cover of yet another blizzard to get us around to the kitchens. Relief washed over me when I saw women cooking and salting meat, but there was an awful lot of meat.

This was concerning, so we had to quickly sneak through the kitchens. We were not seen, so we calmly walked down the hallway that led to the side door of the Great Hall. Hesitantly, I pushed it open enough for us to slip through, but no further.

Sansa, Arya, Rickon, Bran, and two other children sat huddled together while a cloaked stranger sat on the throne. I made eye-contact with Arya for not even a second, but it was long enough to tell she was scared. All of my men, who were in the hall, feared this person.

"What do we do?" Jon asked, so quietly that I would not have heard him if it were not for my wolf-like hearing.

Steel and Ice slowly came out the door, and sat behind us. We were hidden in a shadow, and Hunter was hiding us a little more with his magic, but we cannot stay here forever. I did not know what I was to do, but I had to do something.

Carefully, I dropped my hood, let my sword slip out, and then I walked forward. I held my head up and carried myself with pride, as is expected of a queen. Everyone turned to look at me, and I heard a cold, bitter chuckle coming from the throne. Admittedly, it threatened to make me stop, but I kept going.

"Valyria Stark, I thought I could smell a wolf," the person on the throne said, making me freeze in place. "Your brother, Bran, told me all about you. I expected some grand entrance, but you just snuck in. I could not sense you until you stepped out of the shadows, but that is not enough to impress me."

There was something cold, but oddly familiar about that voice. The only thing I could see was that this person was a man. That is if you could even call him a person. His voice was cold, and did not sound like the voice of even the coldest, cruelest person in the world. There was something off about it.

"Well, sorry to disappoint Your Grace," I told him, sarcastically. "I do not know who the fuck you are, but you cannot enter my halls and terrorize my family and men. Now get off my throne before I pull you off it myself."

He dropped his hood, and a gasp erupted from the mouths of almost everyone in the hall. I just froze, and stared at the man in front of me. His skin what white, and so was his hair. He had one red eye, and was tall, thin and gaunt. There was a red mark on his neck that looked like an ink blot that was meant to be a raven.

This man could only be Brynden Rivers, who was one of Aegon IV's bastard children. His mother was Melissa Blackwood, and he was a loyalist to House Targaryen during the Blackfyre Rebellions. I was told that his half-brother took one of his eyes, and that he had gone missing years ago.