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"Yes, the mint and the thyme. Grind those, and once you have a paste, you start adding the elderberry."
Caroline follows her fathers instructions, carefully using the mortar and pestle to grind the herbs. They were preparing a blend to help the blacksmith next door with his cold. She adds the elderberries and grinds them in, which forms a thick paste. "Now what, father?"
Had her father been in good health, he'd be doing this himself. But a couple years back, he began to lose movement in his legs. Now, all he could manage to do was direct her with his voice. When he slept, Caroline would read his books on herbal medicine, taking in every property of every plant. Their home was lined with shelves filled to the brim with pots l, which overflowed with green leaves. They had even managed to scrape up enough to install a glass ceiling to allow light in. This was quite the luxury.
There's a sudden bang at the door, and Caroline races to unlatch the door. A man stumbles in, carrying a boy, about her age, in his arms.
"Edd!" Her father exclaims in surprise. "I mean, my lord." He bows his head to the best of his ability.
Caroline looks at the man in confusion. She seems to recognize him from somewhere, but she can't quite put her finger on it. She must stare for longer than she thought, because her father scolds her. "Carrie! Bow for the lord of Winterfell."
Her eyes widen quickly and she drops to her knees.
"No need for that right now." Lord Stark exclaims quickly. "My son. He needs help."
Caroline quickly clears the table and Lord Stark sets down his boy. He has dark, curly red hair, and bright blue eyes. Despite his numerous coats and blankets, he shivers. He begins to cough, and Caroline sees blood.
"Diagnosis, Caroline?" Her father asks, struggling to see.
"Advanced pneumonia, I believe. The coughing has irritated his throat. It's bleeding." She gently wipes the specks of blood off the boys face.
"Can you help him?" Caroline finally looks up intro he eyes of the Lord of Winterfell. He looks at her intently.
He'd never seen a young girl this beautiful. Her red hair matched his oldest daughter, Sanaa's, but her features were so delicate, so graceful, that's she looked like a fairy. Her eyes were also a bright green color, seemingly as green as the leaves in the forest when the sun shines through them, and we're framed by long, dark eyelashes, that gave her the look of a wide eyed, innocent child. The freckles splashed across her nose would normally be frowned upon, but they seemed to draw her features together.
"He'll be fine." She reassured the lord. "He needs rest and a bit of medicine." She quickly grabbed a clean mortar and pestle, and got to work.
"What exactly are you putting in there?" Her father called to her wearily. He'd been up for hours, which was more than usual for him. Normally he'd leave Caroline to finish the concoction on her own, but this was for Lord Stark.
