The Silent Wolf

Chapter 12

"If life gives you lemons, you make lemonade" The meaning of this saying is simple yet the power behind it was nothing to scoff at.

Life can be unpredictable. It can throw hurdle after hurdle at you until you're bruised and battered and ready to throw in the towel. But real strength comes from surviving these hurdles and evolving as a person.

From the moment I decided to change things around I knew it would not be so easy for me, that I would have to think before I act and make do with the circumstances at hand to get a favourable outcome.

Aerys Targaryen summoning me was not something I anticipated. The King was mad and who knew what he would do when I arrived? But just as lady luck was a cruel mistress, she was also known to sprinkle in moments of relief.

The Children of the Forest had left their home South of the Wall generations ago because of the First Men and their ways. The Andals did not help them either, cutting down the groves of Weirwood trees that the Children called their home. Whether they wanted to admit it or not, they had lingering animosity against the humans, which was probably why they helped Bloodraven, who had hate in him and the means to successfully derail the human society.

But they were not truly bad, just angry. And when given the chance to return home they jumped at it happily. I had expected them to stay only in the North, where the Weirwood groves were still old and strong. Finding one in Harrenhall's Godswood was a surprise and a good one at that.

I did not have the time to stop and explain to Black Knife what was happening, which was where my abilities as a warg came in. In the same manner that Bloodraven mentally tormented Aerys, I put into Black Knife's head about what was happening and that I might need his support. Again, it was lucky for me that the Child was more than happy to help. Or maybe that part was not luck and it was Black Knife's way of thanking me for helping his people return to this side of the Wall.

Having Black Knife at my disposal opened new doors to the kind of spins I could add to the story. The perfect plan came to my mind and I stuck to it.

I did not expect the King to react so strongly to it, nor did I expect to be Knighted. Knights were not a thing in the belief of the Old Gods, but this was a gift from the King and only a fool would say no to a King that could and would have you killed for anything he perceived as a slight.

The reaction to my Knighthood and the Targaryen family being in my debt was comical, to say the least. My family could not believe it, while Robert outright laughed at the situation I was in.

The King invited me and my entire family over to have dinner with his family, where he made it his mission to get to know about the Stark family better.

The moment he heard about the improvements Father was doing to the North, the King jumped in. The crown would chip in with the expenses of restoring the Moat, the King decreed. He also promised to send new war-ready ships to both ports of the North. Father was extremely pleased by these decisions.

Eventually, the time came when it was time for everyone to leave and return to their respective homes. All but one that is. The King was insistent that I accompany him to the capital.

The journey to the capital was unusual. The King was in no condition to ride a horse, so he had to travel by carriage, one that I was asked to travel in him with. The Prince was also told to stay with them, something that surprised the man greatly.

All through the journey King Aerys wanted to know about the North, what it's like there, and what are the people really like. He wanted to know what I saw beyond the Wall during my little trip there, about what Bloodraven looked like and what I did to him after killing him.