Time passed slowly while they waited for the return of the heir of Winterfell, who would return later to take the guests to their proper rooms for the night.

Lord Stark and Maester Luwin were still a little incredulous at finally having a real member of House Peverell in front of them - the House they thought had been dead for dozens of years - and no longer a fake in an attempt to steal inheritances from other unfortunates souls.

Eddard sat down again behind the desk, but when he heard a maid walking down the hall, he was quick to ask for two chairs to be brought. Thea had said it wasn't necessary, not wanting to demand too much of the man's hospitality, but he had been quick to retaliate that he would not let a Lady stand while he himself sat.

In the time it took the maid to leave and carry out the orders of the Lord of Winterfell and return with two chairs with the help of another woman, Amalthea watched Eddard and Luwin closely. Both exchanged glances and slight signs, in a silent conversation that only they understood, trying to be as discreet as possible. Of course, they were not discreet enough, because the hawk eyes of the young woman with black hair captured all their gestures, despite not understanding any of them. However, she knew what it was about and the issue at hand was her.

Amalthea thanked the two maids who left in a hurry but with an extremely interested expression, and Thea was sure that, that night, she would also be a topic of conversation in the rest of the castle.

She approached the chairs in front of Lord Stark's table, and sat on the left while Kreacher joined her on the right. She was correcting the skirt of the dress that was wrapped around her legs and carefully smoothing the creases she had on the fabric when the Maester, on Eddard's right side, said: "My Lady, I am sorry to question you again because I know how tired you must be, but I can't control my curiosity and I hope you will forgive this old man for that, but please tell us your story."

Her story... Amalthea knew she would have to say something, but she had nothing prepared. She wanted to avoid that subject but she had the notion that it wouldn't be possible, they wanted a justification for why they only appeared now, and they also wanted to know where they had been all this time...

But the young woman couldn't tell them the truth. How could she tell them that she was in fact from another world, that she had magic in her veins and that a Goddess they had never heard of before had sent her here after a blood sacrifice? They would certainly have her arrested and later tried to execute her as well. She thought for a minute about the chosen method of execution... would it be hanging? Or maybe they would try to burn her at the stake like so many others tried to do to her people, unaware that most of those who burned in the flames didn't have a single bit of magic in their bodies...

"We thought that House Peverell was dead, my Lady. You must understand our curiosity." The Stark man interrupted her thoughts. "Please explain to us."

Well, Thea knew she was going to have to do something she didn't like that much. She would have to lie...

"Essos, my Lord." She said carefully, forming her story mentally.

"Essos?" The man with the stiff posture repeated.

"Exactly, Lord Stark. I lived there my whole life as well as most of my family. One of the many exceptions that tried to make a living in a new place, was the one you know, my ancestor, Harlan Peverell. My family started out very poor, you see, as well as several others who have this unhappiness. They were simple farmers and lived with the little they had. Harlan and his brother Hamish were young but they followed in the footsteps of their father, grandfather, and the great-grandfather before him... they were all farmers, and as farmers, they would one day die. But Harlan was different, he was too curious and always had his head in the clouds when he should have a rake in his hand. He was always an adventurous soul, a child who could not be quiet for a long time, and he always wanted more than his family had or could give him.

> He was bitter about his life, but he was also too afraid to disappoint his family by trying to be something different. But one day he heard about a ship that was going to set sail that night for another land and another country, a place called Westeros. Suddenly he made a plan... that night he would escape from home, infiltrate that merchant ship and only show himself to the crew when it was too late to go back. And with the help of Hamish, his twin brother who knew how unhappy Harlan was, that's exactly what he did. He fled that night, went and stowed away on the ship, and ended up in this new land, disembarking at White Harbor. But Harlan had not considered his plan well. He had no money and no place to stay, he had no food, and he only brought with him the clothes he wore on his body, and something he hadn't counted on was the cold of the North.

> Then he wandered through the snow, walking and walking for days, with nothing in his stomach and drinking the icy snow that melted in his mouth. He walked until he lost himself in an immensity of white and ended up fainting. And from there you know the story of how Torrhen Stark gave him shelter, how Harlan grew rich by selling the healing 'potions' he created and came to die several years later in his castle, already very old."

Amalthea was silent for a moment, feeling her throat dry after several minutes of talking. Maester Luwin offered her a glass of water to which she thanked him, and for a moment she appreciated the coolness of the drink as the two men reflected on her words.

Since the woman had now finished drinking, Lord Stark commented, "No one had any idea that Harlan had a family. Why didn't they come from Essos after learning about the good life he had created?"

Thea took a deep breath and thought carefully. She couldn't show any hint of falsehood and deception in her words, she couldn't have any of those men suspecting that the story was nothing more than her invention.

"And leave everything they knew behind? Oh no, Harlan's father was a humble man but too proud for his own good, and he did not want to live off the son who offended him by abandoning his family business. But unfortunately, he became ill and as much as Hamish wanted to join his twin brother, he had to work and help the family he had left, his father died, his mother was left alone and Hamish never left. He formed a life of his own with a wife and children, buried his mother when she also died, and lived his father's legacy even though he was rich after Harlan shared most of his assets with him."

Maester Luwin politely interrupted her. His gray robes rustled when he approached slightly: "But, my Lady, why only now? Hamish and his sons were heirs to Lord Harlan Peverell, they could have crossed the Narrow Sea and claimed the lordship of Moat Cailin..."

"They could, couldn't they? But Hamish suffered too much from the death of his brother, and made his own children promise never to try to set foot on this land: despite all the riches that Westeros brought to himself and his own, the man considered this one country cursed for separating him from his brother for so many years." Amalthea explained with all the calm in the world, transmitting confidence in her made-up words. Lying was becoming too easy for her. "His children fulfilled his wish and never imagined living in another land, each followed their way when they grew up and lived a happy and extremely rich life. Their money grew as each one followed their chosen trades, they had children, and that children had children until we reached me. Me and my beloved father, James, the last descendants of the Peverell family."

The anguished glow that shone in her beautiful green eyes was deep and true. She thought that adding a little bit of truth to her story would make it more real. Kreacher offered her a sad smile as he touched the Slytherin medallion that he wore around his neck, and the other two men who watched her attentively felt the atmosphere grow heavy and remained silent as if they knew that her next words would bring something immensely terrible.

"We were happy, my Lords. Me, my beautiful mother Lily and my brave father James Peverell, and without forgetting Kadeem who served my family well for decades. Our house was lovely and comfortable, with the most beautiful flowers in the huge garden that my father created as a wedding gift for my mother. We lived in peace, well supplied with money and with a good roof over our heads... But as always in life, there are those who hate and envy the happiness of others, and our family was no different. Our money and inheritance was the envy of the poorest and most terrible of men, and unfortunately, one night an attack was made on our home.

> My mother and I were reading in front of the fire when our front door was opened with a loud crash that rumbled through the house, and I heard my father's distant cry. "Lily, take Amalthea and go! It's him! Run! I will hold them off! Hide!" I didn't understand what was happening at that moment until I heard my father's body fall to the floor and heard the sound of meat being pierced by a blade. My mother screamed... a cry that froze my blood and froze my legs, grabbed me by the arm, and locked us in my room. She explained to me how my father had received threats from a business rival for some time, and that he must have been the one to hire the men who broke into our house to kill us. She opened my bedroom window and forced me to climb the nearest tree, kissed my face a thousand times with tears in her eyes.

> She said to me: "Oh Amalthea, you are so loved, so loved. Mother loves you, Father loves you. Be brave, be strong." Fists and kicks were heard against the wood of my door and she saw me go down the tree until I was safely on the ground. She told me to run away and not look back. I heard her screaming and begging to those men... she didn't beg for her life, but for mine. And I ran, and ran, crying loudly in the silence of the night. I couldn't control myself and did what my mother told me not to do... I looked back... And what I saw was my childhood home immersed in fire. I don't remember much of what happened the rest of the night... I remember almost choking on my tears, I remember the pain my bare feet felt when stepping on rocks and glass... And I remember meeting Kadeem in his home, and telling him what had happened and cry in his arms until I fell asleep. "

With an extremely heavy frown, Amalthea looked at Kreacher, who carefully touched her arm in a gesture that for the other two men showed comfort but which seemed to her to say: You're doing well, Mistress, they are believing you.

It is not all an invention, she thought. The pain in my voice could never be invented by anyone. There was so much pain, loss and longing in her timbre... She added some truths to the story, her parents' last words described in a different way. But it was true that they were threatened and murdered by a rival, it was true that James protected and empathized the monster as much as he could, and it was also true that Lily sacrificed and begged for her daughter's life in the end.

She watched the horror on Maester Luwin's wrinkled face and the grief on Eddard's.

"Do you want to know what I did after that? I... I didn't eat, I didn't sleep, I didn't rest until I managed to bring that monster to trial before all the people and all the gods. I gathered all the evidence I was able to get my hands on that told the truth behind that attack on my home and my family, and when the coward confessed his crime amid tears, piss and feces, I saw him hanged in a public square. I watched his ugly face swell until it was three times its normal size and purple, I saw how the angry crowd scoffed and threw stones and rotten fruit at the corpse that swayed in the wind, but even that didn't succeed in reducing my pain and bringing peace to my soul even though I knew that justice had been done.

> My parents are dead because a cowardly and greedy man thought he had the right to steal their lives. They are dead because in this world there are always those who envy what others have, be it wealth, power, happiness, or even love. There is nothing else for me in Essos, the joyful life I had can never be returned to me, and neither can my beloved parents. I grew up listening to stories about my ancestors and about the house and land my family owned here, and then decided that this is where I will live from now on."

Amalthea was silent then, having finally finished her story. In other times, perhaps she would have felt guilty for her false words, Thea knew so... when she was younger and extremely more naive when she was unaware of the cruelty of the world and the betrayals that could stand in the way of a mere orphan. But now, she knew it was an inevitable evil and a much more reasonable story to tell. She would not allow herself to feel the weight of the lies she just spoke on her conscience.

The wind outside whistled as it hit the stones of the castle and the wooden logs crackled in the fire. Eddard Stark had an intense and different shine in his steel look... that look that people sometimes have when they remember a traumatic moment in their lives, a moment that should never have been lived by anyone. He looked at her full of memories, sadness, empathy, and understanding.

"My Lady, I am so very sorry for your loss and the fact that you experienced something so terrible at such a young age."

"Thank you, Lord Stark." She just said.

"House Stark and House Peverell have been friends for a long time and have always helped each other. I have no intention of being the first Stark to break that partnership. I will help you and I swear to you that there will always be a place for you in Winterfell." Said the Lord of that place.

Joy bubbled up in Amalthea's body with those words, her story worked and softened Lord Stark as to her person. Eddard appeared to be very intelligent and astute, severe and rigid in his own way, and he looked like a man who didn't break his word. But that could be dangerous. What if she hadn't been there that day, the woman who actually had the blood of the forgotten family? What if it had been someone else, someone who had it, who also had a good backstory and other tricks? Lord Stark was smart and honorable but he seemed to trust too much... if there was one thing Amalthea had learned, it was not to trust a person fully and blindly. She would never make that mistake again.

"Oh, thank you very much. I thank you with all my heart." Thea gave him a beautiful and elegant smile. "Know however that I have money, Lord Stark, I do not wish you to think otherwise and I am not here at all trying to live at your expense. In fact, I have a large amount with me here, in Westeros, with reliable people and in a safe place, but most of it is in the Iron Bank of Braavos, very well kept and ready to use when I need it, and I know that eventually, I will need it. I intend to finance the reconstruction of my ancestral home and hire the necessary people to make that possible, as well as its operation. As I said earlier, I will have new standards and new words, I am proud of the previous ones but this will be the revival of House Peverell, and a clean start will be for the best."

Another lie. She had never been to Braavos before, and she had never entrusted her wealth to them. She did have money with her, she brought foreign money in her small bag... And if she needed money from that place, her magic would solve the problem.

Maester Luwin took a feather, parchment, and ink, with the permission of his Lord, and asked curiously, with his old eyes shining in search of new knowledge. "Tell me, my Lady, what do you want on your new banners so that I can update my documents about your family?"

Amalthea smiled, taking the paper and feather that the Maester handed her.

"I want a completely black background and this in a rich shade of gold." She dipped the tip of the crow's feather in the black ink and carefully, due to all the years spent at Hogwarts, drew on the paper in dark and precise lines: a full moon, flanked by a waning and a waxing crescent. In the center of the full moon, she drew a triangle, a circle and a line there. Hecate and Thanatos together in the symbol that would one day adorn her flags. She passed the piece of parchment to the man who examined it and he then passed it on to Lord Stark, who looked at the drawing with curiosity.

"Very interesting, my Lady, it will make a beautiful symbol for your honorable House. But what does it mean, if you can excuse my curiosity?" Questioned the Maester.

Amalthea broke into an amused smile: "It is just... something very important in my family's history."

"What about your new words?" Eddard asked then, seeing that the young woman wouldn't elaborate further. "The words of the Peverell House are known around the world, are you sure you want to change that?"

Amalthea felt a twinge of irritation when she heard the question and the tone with which it was spoken, but she didn't show it. She thought about how much House Peverell had honored Hecate in its symbol and motto, but the black-haired woman knew that there was now another one that she also wanted to honor.

"'Blessed are those who give their sacrifice' are strong words that have served my family well in other times. But times have changed, and my house is no longer forgotten or finished."

"So and which ones do you want now?"

Amalthea whispered. "Life, Death and Sacrifice."

It wasn't her intention to make the air around them thick and dark, but that was what had happened when she said those words. Thea's attentive eyes captured the slight chill that went through old Luwin's body. He himself felt the need to comment in a strange tone: "Very... strong words, my Lady."

They talked for a little longer while Winterfell's heir was slow to return to that room. Lord Stark said that in the meantime the dinner would be ready and asked if his guests would like to join him and his family, but Amalthea with all courtesy and respect replied that it had been a long journey and that if he would agree, she would like to rest for the rest of the night. The man understood perfectly, said that later someone would bring them a plate of food and didn't mention it anymore.

Finally, after a few minutes of waiting in a comfortable conversation, there was a knock on the door and Robb Stark appeared, his copper hair even redder in the light of the candles and the fireplace

His restless gaze flew from person to person, finally stopping at his father. "I did as ordered, father. The maids prepared everything for our guests."

"Ah, Robb... Very well, thank you." Eddard looked at the visitors still seated in the chairs across from him. "I know how tired you are, my Lady, and since you both refused to join us for dinner, my son will accompany you to your new rooms."

Amalthea agreed, getting up as well as Kreacher who thanked the other man for his hospitality, smoothed the long skirt of the dress and said: "Of course, the journey has been long and the weight of it already feels on the bones. Thank you very much for your time, gentlemen, and we are deeply grateful for your help. "

Robb approached: "If you want to follow me..."

Amalthea gave him a smile. "If you want to show us the way."

Robb Stark gave her the right arm and she accepted, while he accompanied her to their new rooms with Kadeem not far behind. They left the small room and ventured into the castle.

Walking for a while, all silent without knowing what to say, Amalthea noticed that she could feel the warmth of Robb's skin even through his clothes. Without thinking too much, wanting to keep herself busy while being guided to an unknown place, she extended her magic, pulling it out of her and invisible tentacles of power crackled silently in the air. She commanded the tongues of magic, directing them towards the copper-haired man, urging them to investigate him. Robb was suddenly even more tense than he already was, and Thea knew he felt the magic entering his skin, even though he didn't even know what was going on. He winced for a moment but ended up relaxing, feeling a strange sense of peace, just as the young woman wanted him to feel.

Amalthea's magic ran through his body, and she studied what it told her about Robb... whether the man was reliable or not. When she pulled the power back to herself, it did vibrated contentedly and Thea felt a cool, sweet taste on the tip of her tongue. Robb was indeed trustworthy, a kind and honorable young Summer man, who never felt pain or torment within those stone walls that protected him from all the evil in the world. But her magic recognized something wild in his flesh, something volatile if woked up at some point in his life.

He's a wolf and his blood is warm, thought Amalthea as she felt his body heat behind the fabric of his sleeve. A wolf with a reddish fur, but that keeps its teeth and claws hidden, not feeling the need to use them. He may not even know the weapons that he has. Maybe one day he will. He is dangerous without even knowing it.

They all walked for a moment, Amalthea studying the Winterfell corridors and trying to memorize the way. He is a wolf, yes, but I am Death in human flesh. And neither wolves or lions, krakens nor dragons, or any other beast is strong enough against death.

Robb cleared his throat and gave her an uneasy look. The woman could see all the curiosity and questions he had hidden inside his blue eyes. "I hope the rooms will be to your liking, my Lady. The rooms are in the same corridor, but on opposite sides." He informed at last.

Feeling pity for the young man who seemed extremely uncomfortable in the silence that had befallen the three, Amalthea replied: "I am sure they will be lovely, do not worry my Lord. It is very kind of your father to offer us a place to spend the night."

"My father would not deny a Lady and her..." Robb looked back at Kadeem, who was watching him with wary eyes, forgetting what Lord Stark had said that man was.

"Counselor... and guardian." I suppose, Thea added.

"Of course, as I said... My father would never deny a Lady and her guardian a shelter to spend the cold night."

"There are many Lords who would refuse, but your father appears to be a different type of man... kind and honorable."

Robb's chest seemed to swell slightly at the words, extremely proud of the man he called his father. When he spoke again, after turning once to the right and again to the left, he nevertheless changed the subject: "Please forgive me... But I presume I did not hear wrong when my father introduced you as Lady Peverell?"

Amalthea smiled, amused. She knew that Robb's curiosity for her was reaching the point of overflowing. "You did not hear wrong. I am in fact Lady Amalthea Peverell. I am sure that Lord Stark and Maester Luwin will inform you all about me this evening. And she had no doubt about it.

The man seemed to want to say something more but he didn't since they had finally arrived at their destination. He stopped by a dark wooden door, opened it, and commented: "These are your rooms, Lord Kadeem."

"I am not a Lord." Kadeem scanned the room quickly, nodded, and said, "I appreciate it. But where did you say Lady Amalthea's room would be?"

Robb pointed to the end of the corridor on the left, four doors away. "There, I hope there is no problem."

Seeing Kreacher's look, who was afraid to be away from her Lady in a huge and unknown place, Thea was quick to reply: "No, there is no problem. You can go in and rest, Kadeem. Soon I will do the same."

The former house-elf had an air of doubt on his old face: "Are you sure, my Lady?"

"I am, I will be perfectly safe." The last thing Amalthea wanted was to offend Eddard Stark's son in any way when the trip to Winterfell and her conversation with him had gone so well.

After saying goodbye to Kadeem, who grudgingly stood on the edge of his bedroom door watching, Robb and Thea went to what would be hers.

Finally, the young man opened the door that would give to her chambers, and Amalthea came in and looked around curiously. It was small - not that small, Thea would never complain about a room that allowed her to wander and stretch her legs after years of sleeping in a tiny miserable closet - but extremely pleasant and welcoming. There was one large window in the center of the opposite wall where a gentle breeze came in, as well as the silver moonlight that bathed the big bed full of furs, blankets and pillows, and a small table in the left corner with a common-looking chair. To the right, a fireplace burned, illuminating the room and filling it with light and heat; a comfortable armchair, warm skins on the floor and a dark wooden tub rested close to the fire.

"Do you like it, my Lady?" Robb asked hesitantly, watching her reaction from the outside.

Amalthea ran her hand across the gray fur on the bed, feeling the softness of the material on her fingers and skin, looked around the room again and showed him a beautiful smile. "It is beautiful and looks extremely comfortable. Yes I like it, thank you, Heir Stark."

Robb looked pleased and said, "A maid will show up later to see if you need anything. I have to go now, dinner should be served and my family is waiting for me."

"Of course, don't let me arrest you here."

The young man bowed in a graceful movement and stepped back slowly, looking like he wanted to go but at the same time he wanted to stay. "See you tomorrow, Lady Peverell."

"My name is Amalthea Dorea Peverell, close friends usually call me Thea." She commented, with a malicious gleam in her green eyes.

"And are we friends, Lady Peverell?" Asked Robb, bowing his head slightly to meet her gaze - he was a head taller than she was - and giving her a gallant smile with straight white teeth when he thought of her words.

Laughing, Amalthea said, "That is the question, isn't it? Good evening, Lord Robb." She watched the man step back with his ears looking as if they were on fire, closed the door, and dropped herself on the bed with an amused smile painted on her pink lips.