The Little Wolf

Courage, Lyra

Winterfell

The day had come. 

It was time to leave Winterfell, it was time to leave her family, time to leave Jon, and time to leave the safety of the North.

Lyra had already said her goodbye's to her mother and Bran, telling his lifeless figure that one day they would see each other again, and he would be better. She hugged Rickon and Robb, even some of the bannermen, maids and maesters she'd never met before but felt obliged to do so. She had been avoiding the last goodbye for the whole morning, hoping innocently that if she never said it, he would never leave. Jon walked up to her, and smirked as Lyra tried to avoid eye contact.

"It's time for us to say goodbye, little one" he said, bending down toward her slightly.

She'd been so brave through all the goodbye's, but now the agony of leaving home and the desperation to stay was building up a resistance. All her sadness broke its barrier in her eyes, and spilled down her cheeks. 

She sobbed, "I don't want to say goodbye".

"Well then, don't say goodbye. One day, pray soon, we will see each other again. You will have trained hard with Wolf, and learned how to control Lev."

Lyra didn't respond, she just sobbed as Jon scooped her up into a final tight hug.

"I'm going to miss you, Lyra."

"I'll miss you too" she responded, tearfully.

"When you miss me, hold Wolf close and think of me. Think of how one day we will be together again. Different roads sometimes lead to the same castle."

He started walking toward a horse-drawn wagon, Lyra still in his arms. He placed her down, held her hand and said simply, "Courage, Lyra."

Shortly after, the company were all riding out of the gates toward the Kingsroad, following the Lannister's lead. Jon, the small man and her Uncle Benjen would accompany them along the Kingsroad before splitting off in opposite directions. Jon was heading to the Wall to join the Night's Watch. Lyra had lost count of the amount of times she'd asked Jon if she would be able to join the Night's Watch. It was uttered that when you become a sworn brother of the Night's Watch, all your previous sins were forgotten. What Lyra didn't know was not only did those on the Wall hate the Outsider's like the Free Folk, the Watchers on the Wall would butcher any that passed. Maester Leland had told Lyra that most surviving Outsider's lived beyond the Wall in the Land of Always Winter, in a place known as the Land of Souls. Only a lucky few, Lyra included, were still alive on her side of the Wall.

As the company rode the Kingsroad, Lyra looked on sadly as Jon, Benjen and Tyrion parted and went a separate way. Way off in the distance, opposite from her direction of travel, Lyra imagined what the Wall looked like, and she dreamed of one day reuniting with Jon there.

Her mind continued to wander to far beyond the Wall to the Land of Souls, a place she only visited in her dreams. One day, when she was grown up, she would journey to such a place and meet her own kind, perhaps even unite them to bring back their honour. 

It was going to be a long journey, but if she was a knight, she would have to be brave. She took Wolf out of his Sheath, held him to her chest and whispered, "Courage, Lyra".