Lion Knight of the Northern Sky{Hiatus}

Winter is Coming: Part II

[Winterfell]

Sansa: thought Father had left the house a few hours ago to execute someone. I'm not sure of the details, nor do I care, but I'm worried about Bran as it's the first execution he'll witness. I'm sure Robb and Jon will take care of him, but the fact he's so young bothers me. Mother seems equally unamused, which is probably why she is having Arya and I continue our needlework for so much longer than usual.

Watchmen: muffled They've returned!

A servant rushes into the room.

Servant: They brought someone back, a knight.

Catelyn stands and follows the servant, Arya and Sansa close behind her. They arrive at the gate and see Ser Jory, Brandon, and six sworn swords dismount. Jory is holding someone in his arms and Brandon is holding a wolf pup.

Catelyn: Where are the others, and who is this?

Jory: We found the boy drowning in a river. Lord Stark told us to bring him ahead while theu search the area.

Catelyn: To the maester.

They rush to the medical wing where the maester Luwin and several assistants are preparing various elixirs and equipment. Jory lays the man in the bed, then begins removing his armor, while another knight lights a fire. The man has golden blonde hair and pale skin. He seems tall and well-built, but it is hard to tell since he's lying down and is covered in severe cuts and bruises. Sansa thought that he looked as if he was thrown through a wall.

Jory: How does it look?

Luwin: I've seen grown men die with a fifth the injury. But he is still a boy, and he is cold as ice and his lungs are filled with water. We will have to move quickly to save him.

They hurry to stick together his wounds, wrap bandages around them, and cover them in cloth to warm him up. His breathing becomes more stable and his face slowly gains more color. A servant walks in with a letter bearing the king's sigil.

Servant: A letter from King's Landing.

Catelyn: Of course.

Sansa: I'll stay with him.

Catelyn: Good girl.

Catelyn takes the letter and leaves the room. The medics continue tending to the boy, applying ointments to his bruises and wrapping bandages around him. Sansa notices Brand seems a bit white.

Sansa: whisper Arya, can you take Bran to Rickon?

Arya looks up at her, half asking for confirmation and half embarrassed. Sansa nods, which Arya copies before grabbing Bran's arm and leaving the room.

After about an hour, Luwin and his assistants step away, and he approaches Jory and Sansa.

Luwin: The boy is very strong, and doing quite well. He'll be fine and recover soon enough. But he's sleeping and I don't know when he'll wake.

Jory: Thank you.

They begin to leave the room, and Sansa approaches the boy. She hadn't noticed his face before and how handsome he was. The way his straight golden hair fell down the side of his face, and how square yet fair his jawline was captivated her gaze. She rests her hand on his chest and is surprised by how strong yet soft it feels.

Upon first glance, she thought he must have been around Robb, Jon, and Theon's age, but she realized he couldn't have been much older than her, around 13 or 14. Sansa wondered what color his eyes are, but her train of thought is broken as Arya runs into the room.

Arya: Father and the others are back.

Aya grabs Sansa's hand and pulls her out of the room before she can react. They arrive in the courtyard, with Brandon and Rickon already there, to see Robb, Jon, Theon, and the rest of the party handing their horses off to the stablemen, though Ned is already gone.

Jon: How is he?

Jory: Maester Luwin expects he'll recover. He's resting right now.

Robb and Theon then present the dire wolf pups.

Robb: We found a dire wolf and Father agreed to let us keep the pups if we cared for them ourselves.

Arya: So that's were Bran got him.

Sansa takes the second wolf from Robb, while Theon hands the two in his arms to Arya and Rickon. Robb's pup has light grey fur with dark grey fur on its back. Sansa's pup has white fur with light grey fur on its back. Arya's pup has white fur with dark grey fur on its back. Bran's pup has white fur with gold on its back. Rickon's pup has black fur.

Catelyn: Children, go check on the boy. I need to go find your father.

Sansa and Arya lead their siblings and adopted ward to the boy.

[Medical wing]

Theon, Robb, Jon, Sansa, Arya, Bran, and Rickon are around the room at the unconscious boy's side.

Rickon: What do you think we should name them? I'm gonna call mine Shaggydog.

Bran: Mine is Summer, cause he has gold fur.

Arya: I'll call mine Nymeria, after the first princess of Dorne.

Theon: What about you Snow?

The albino wolf pup on the bed stares up at Jon, not making a noise and only blinking occasionally. He reaches out and pets the pup.

Jon: Ghost.

Rickon: Sansa?

Sansa didn't react, nor did she seem to be aware of the conversation they'd been having. She kept her eyes on the young boy in the bed, blush growing. Robb and Arya start laughing, which finally draws Sansa's attention.

Sansa: What?

Rickon: We're deciding on names for the wolves.

Sansa: Oh. Um, I'll call mine Lady.

Arya: You seemed distracted. Did something catch your eye?

Robb: Or someone perhaps.

The two start laughing again as Sansa's blush deepens.

Sansa: It's not like that. Don't you find it strange that he was just out there? We don't know who he is or where he came from.

Jon: She's right. We took the same path both ways, but we didn't see him until we returned, so he couldn't have been there long, yet when we looked around where we found him, there weren't any footprints. It's like he just dropped out of the sky.

Brandon: It was like magic.

Jon: Whatever it was, it's concerning and I don't like it. I have quite a few questions for him when he wakes up.

Sansa returns her gaze to the sleeping boy, her sense of curiosity growing by the second.