A New Hope (Books I - VI)

Chapter 1

A/N: If you haven't read my story 'How To Be a Husband' you might want to. It is the prequel to this story, so you don't need to read it to understand what is going on, but it will help you understand the changes I have made in the timeline from before the Stark children were born. But, like I said, you don't need to read it if you don't want to, and all of the changes will come up here at some point. I hope you all enjoy, and for those of you who did read the other book, they will be in this one! So yay! Enjoy!

Somewhere in the Narrow Sea, near Gull Town - Year 300

The waves were crashing against the hull of the ship in a steady rhythm, that Elia was sure she would fall asleep to if she wasn't as keyed up as she was. She was at the helm for the first time in this trip, and she was glad because it was providing a useful distraction from where she knew they were going.

Winterfell.

That blasted, snow infested, stone castle was where her future lay. Honestly, Elia was pissed. She was the General of Dorne's armies, and she was being sent off to marry a man like a prize. Thankfully, there was one saving grace. Her uncle, Oberyn, had decided to come with her as her escort. He would stay with her at Winterfell until she was married, and comfortable enough for him to leave again. She was so thankful he was coming with her, besides the fact that he could spar with her and keep her in shape, he was the person that knew her best. Even better than her father, and her siblings.

Oberyn treated Elia as his friend, not his niece, and not his general. She loves her father, but he treats her as his general. And her siblings treat her more like a mother than a sibling, since their mother died when they were young. But enough of that, Elia was upset enough without thinking of her siblings. She looked over to her right where the Captain was standing, looking out over the water as they sailed past Gull Town. In a few more days they would be docking at White Harbor, where Stark men were meant to be meeting them to escort them to Winterfell.

Elia brought with her thirty men, plus her uncle, and her new handmaidens that her father had forced her to bring, even though she had never had a handmaid before. She cleared her throat before looking back over the water, but she knew the captain was looking at her.

"Captain Pryor, would you take the wheel? I am feeling the need for a spar with my Uncle." It was a question, but it was more of a suggestion as he didn't really have a choice in the matter. But he nodded anyway, and moved to take the wheel from her while she flashed a quick smile at him and moved away, and down the steps before moving onto the deck. She let her eyes scan the area where her men were walking around doing different chores. When she finally saw her uncle her face split into a large grin before she moved over to him.

"Oberyn! I'm feeling a little antsy, so... would you like to spar with me?" She gave him a pretty cheesy grin while she waited. Oberyn looked over at her with a smirk on his face while he pretended to think about it. He let out a little chuckle before answering.

"I suppose dear Elia." She broke out into a huge grin before nodding and turning to lead him to the makeshift sparring ring that they had made on the deck their first day at sea. The men stopped to look at her as she stepped into the ring and pulled her spear off of her back where it was attached, it wasn't her favorite weapon, but it was her uncle's favorite, so she suffered through it. When her uncle stepped into the ring, the men around them stepped back, and as the spears met, bets started to be thrown around and the whirlwind started.

Beyond the Wall

Three Rangers rode through the tunnel leading out to 'beyond the wall' and into the woods. They rode together for almost eight hours before one of the Rangers rode off ahead of the others as he was the scout, until he found a campsite. The campsite was full of mangled bodies arranged in a weird pattern, that almost looked like a shield, and when he turned to go back to the other two men, he saw a child hanging from a tree.