Immortal Dragon ON HOLD

Chapter V

Rhaella opened her eyes. For a moment, she blinked, disoriented, before recognizing her surroundings. Snow-dusted stone walls. Tall towers.

The quiet northern air.

Winterfell.

The Red Priestess had told her this place's name the last time she had been here. This time, however, the priestess was nowhere to be seen. 

Rhaella frowned slightly. "Well," she muttered to herself, "guess I'm on my own." She began wandering through the courtyard, quietly exploring. Eventually, she reached a training yard.

Three boys stood there holding wooden swords.

Rhaella stopped and watched them for a moment.

One of them—an older boy with dark hair—lunged forward. The blond boy across from him tried to block. Rhaella rolled her eyes. "He needs a tighter grip on his sword," she muttered. "Otherwise, he's going to get disarmed in two seconds." She paused, then added under her breath, "That fight's going to be over before it even starts."

Suddenly, the auburn-haired boy snapped his head toward her. Robb Stark stared straight at her. 

The other two boys looked at him. "Robb?" Theon said. "What are you doing?"

Robb frowned. "You didn't hear that?"

"Hear what?" Theon asked.

Rhaella's eyes widened slightly.

'Right,' she thought. This was the boy who had seen her before.

She looked directly at him. "How can you see me?" she whispered. "No one else is supposed to be able to." She glanced at the other boys. "They can't even hear me." Then she lowered her voice. "Got somewhere we can talk without you looking like you're talking to thin air?"

Robb gave the smallest nod. Then he turned back to Jon and Theon. "Nothing," he said casually. "Must've been the wind."

He paused before adding, "But Theon... you should tighten your grip on your sword next time."

Theon blinked. "...What?"

But the boys soon put their wooden swords away and wandered off. When no one was watching, Robb nodded toward the woods.

Rhaella followed him. They walked into a quiet grove filled with tall trees and soft northern grass.

Robb finally turned to her. "Alright," he said. "Who are you?"

Rhaella smiled slightly. She wasn't sure if she trusted him yet. "You can call me Ella," she said. She tilted her head. "I heard them say your name, but I'd rather you tell me."

Robb chuckled. "Robb." He studied her curiously. "So... Ella... how come nobody else can see you?"

Rhaella sighed. "It's complicated."

She shrugged. "But the short version is... I'm not really here."

Robb frowned. "What do you mean?"

"It's a dream," she explained. "Well... on my side it is... There was a priestess here before who said no one could see me." She crossed her arms. "But then you looked straight at me."

Robb shook his head. "I didn't see any priestess... I just saw you standing in the dining hall. No one believed me."

Rhaella sat down across from him on the grass. She studied him carefully.

"What makes you different?" she asked. "Why can you see me when nobody else can?"

Robb shrugged. "I was actually wondering the same thing."