Their hope for an apology was disappointed. They all scolded at their own naivety, for even thinking the thing possible.

Theon hardly spoke to them. Apart from snarky comments sent to Jon, and some vague observation of the odd bird. Observation that died in the fool's throat under Almathea's glare. He then remained silent, and as far as possible from them, choosing the company of the guards to his friends.

Kreacher's eyes almost popped out of their sockets at the sight of the beautiful creature perched on his mistress's shoulder. Judging proudly everything around her, her feathered chest proudly puffed. He opened and closed his mouth several times, grabbed the copy of Slytherin's locket that he never removed from his neck. Before he could find the courage to say something, Thea interrupted him with a quick sign, indicating their need to discuss later.

As they dined, talking silently, a discussion, not far from them caught their attention.

"This place smells like rotten eggs." Erin commented to the other two women who accompanied her.

She sniffed in disgust, and tried to warm herself up. That night they had not yet put the worn blankets to cover the windows, just lit the black fireplace. Thea was surprised that she had the courage to comment on such a thing. As the conversation carried on, though, she realized the maid had no intention to be overheard. Unfortunately for her, she was. At least to the witch's ears.

"And it's so cold that my bones feel like ice." she added full of contempt.

"It's not that much." Erena replied quietly. "It could be worse..."

"Worse than having to go for days without bathing,being forced to sleep on the floor like commoners and enduring freezing rain just to get to a place that smells even worse than horse waste? We should have stayed in Winterfell, this place is hopeless. Lady Catelyn- "

"We are following orders, we do what our Lady tells us to do." Lyessa replied, in a bored voice, apparently fed up with the subject.

After that, the three maids remained silent. Thea didn't miss the bitter expression still twisting Erin's face throughout the meal. The young witch seemed to be the only one who heard the complaints, or if others did, none of her companions reacted. Curious to learn more, she dared ask:

"Those three... what can you tell me about them?" Robb blinked something knowing shining through his blue eyes. Certainly he was remembering the conversation they had a few days ago.

"There is not much to say, they are good workers and loyal." Jon said. "Lyessa is the youngest, daughter of one of the cooks in Winterfell. Erena was born in Last Hearth, but the family moved to Winter Town a few years ago. Erin has been at Winterfell for as long as I can remember."

"She was my mother's maid in Riverrun, and came with her to Winterfell when my parents got married." Robb added as an explanation.

That made the bitter attitude toward Thea far more logic. If she had been with Lady Catelyn for so long, always loyal and with so many years of bonding... It wouldn't have been surprising for the maid to take on her lady's opinions. And if Lady Catelyn didn't like or distrust Amalthea, Erin wouldn't as well.

Amalthea and Kreacher - Kadeem! His name was Kadeem now! Damned she really needed to get used to it! - soon left the hall of the Gatehouse Tower and ventured into the dark night. They entered into the rubble of the old castle and lightened a quick fire with a twist of magic. The night was starry, but dark, and they couldn't see much more than two or three meters around the fire and, in the distance, the small points of light in the windows of the tower, where the others still were.

They took shelter behind silencing spells, as well as approach spells, and there, away from curious eyes and ears, took the time to discuss everything. The entire day, from the moment Amalthea had found those books in the Children's Tower until they left the other one with a phoenix. Old Kadeem was shocked, with every inch of his little body, wide-eyed and half-open mouth. His bald head glowed in the light of the flames. She had told him about the books and the runestones that he had found but that he hadn't had time to investigate.

In the middle of her conversation with Kreacher, her finger found the resurrection stone. Immediately,her parents, Sirius and Remus appeared. Followed a moment later by Fred, his thousand of freckles twinkling like a starry sky, fire- red hair shining vibrantly against the darkness of the night.

"I'm not sure what I thought I would find, but it certainly wasn't this..." she confessed calmly to an attentive Kadeem.

The flames of the fire were casting strange shadows on his face. Twisting his features, making his nose look drawn.

"I didn't find anything really interesting in the Children's Tower, I fixed the stairs. There were two books on the History of Westeros up there. One of them had stories about the children of the forest and one of them mentioned Moat Cailin." She proceeded to recite every story Robb, Jon and even Theon had shared with her while she was trying to explain to her friend who the Children were.

"We looked for the cellar too." she said then, her eyes lost in the memories of the day, "It was empty. Mostly. Jon and Theon fought. It's... I am kind of tired of their fights to be honest. They tend to happen a lot."

Kadeem nodded wisely.

"That said, if it weren't for them and that fight we would never have found the passage inside the wall. A secret passage. Like back in Hogwarts. It was very confusing. I think it's easy to get lost in there. But then at the end of it there was a door. And... there was something, you know? Something that was pulling me through that door. That seemed to say it was for me to discover. For my eyes alone. It was all very strange. Somehow it kind of reminded me of The Mother Goddess. And with that tree. You know the one." Kadeem nodded again, his brow knitted together, "So I went inside. Alone. And there was the egg. Nothing else. Just that old chest and the egg inside. And it hatched and then she was there." Hedwig puffed in her shoulder, very aware that the conversation was about her, "She was very tiny and kind of ugly looking. A little hatchling. But then I touched it and- I don't know. Something happened. We were like... connected. It was like I could see, I could- I knew then. I knew she was my Hedwig."

And there was no greater happiness than having her friend in her arms, feeling the warmth of her body, the softness of her red and gold feathers at her fingertips.

In the deafening silence that followed her tale, she finally allowed herself to look at the ghosts around her.

"How is that possible?" Sirius asked, shocked.

The other nodded, sharing his surprise. Fred moved, right next to her. She didn't look at him.

"That I would like to know." Amalthea replied, kissing Hedwig's small head.

"How did the egg get there? How was it never found? Any time a thief could have been lucky enough to break that wall and then what? He would find the egg too?" Lily questioned.

"Have you tried to contact Harlan?" Her father intruded quickly, cutting his wife in the middle of her babbling of questions.

Thea nodded, slowly.

"I tried when I called you. And sometimes those last few days. He didn't show up. Not once. Nor did his brother." she hesitated, "It's... strange. It never happened before."

It was frustrating.Whenever she tried, she could beg, demand, order, to see Harlan Perevell, or even his twin, there was something...stopping her. Like trying to call someone on the phone somewhere without a network. This never happened before. It was frightening. Why was this time different? Would it spread to other people? Could she also lose contact to the people around her. Her loved ones? If she lost them... if they stopped visiting her... If she couldn't see them- No. She couldn't think of such a thing.

Promptly, she changed the subject.

"There were books and some strange stones in the chamber. I didn't have time to investigate them, but I want to do it as soon as possible. The strangest thing is... they weren't there when I first looked."

The ghosts exchange a look between them.

"Maybe a glamour in the room? To hide its content to muggles?" proposed James without really believing it.

Sirius Shrugged.

"How were the stones like?" Remus questioned his brain already rolling behind his eyes.

"I didn't have time to see it in detail, but there were runes engraved on them." She picked up her wand, and just likeTom Riddle had done years before, Thea drew too. Quickly, a figure similar to a chicken's paw appeared in the air in front of her in red, luminous and shining lines. It was a long, vertical line, with two diagonal lines that came together almost at the top.

"A rune of protection, it must be Ward Stones..." Sirius explained. "We had these at home, all the houses of the purebloods had. They strengthen the defenses."

Kadeem nodded enthusiastically.

"Mistress Walburga had these at Grimmauld Place, oh yes she did. To protect the noble and powerful blood of the Blacks. Very careful my dear mistress, she knew that there were many envious people who might want to attack their superiors and try to get their hands on her fortune, but my lady was smarter and the protections were powerful." the tone of his voice was high, in a reminder of who he used to be.

Sirius gave him an unpleasant look, certainly not pleased with the mention of his mother. He shrugged and rolled his gray eyes.

"Fidelius just came to make the house even more secure and impenetrable later on."

Amalthea felt curiosity burst inside her head. She was quick to stand up, promptly followed by Kreacher.

"Come on, I want to go and investigate." They abandoned the fire and the burning embers, for the hall of the Drunkard's Tower.

They climbed down through the trapdoor to the cellar and ventured through the dark tunnel, with the tip of her wands emitting a brilliant light.

They opened the heavy wooden door, and approached the dark shelves. The stones and books were still there. Sirius took a great care of telling her the name of each and every runes they could find, as well as their purpose. One for strength and health, another for avoiding evil intentions, for good harvests, for wealth, joy and happiness, and several others. The books, to her amazement, explained more deeply their function, use and how to activate them. That was how they spent the rest of the night, while no one came looking for them.

Days later they finally returned to Winterfell.

☽ ◯ ☾

Their trip back was significantly shorter than the journey they took to Moat Cailin. To their relief. Theon carried his bad mood all the way back. Which, kind of seemed natural. Robb was the only one who did manage to get a couple of words out of that stubborn mouth. Though it was hard to miss the tension around the heir of Winterfell when he stood next to his Ironborn friend. There was still anger between them, despite their strong friendship.

The trip wasn't as peaceful as they had hoped, as short as it was. Erin seemed to get meaner by the day in her splinters. She had an endless list of complaints ready to be voiced at every hour of the day: the weather, the hunger, the horses even! It sounded like she rejoiced at being unbearable to her traveling companions.

Fortunately for everyone's nervous system they were able to rest in an inn for a very welcomed warm meal, bath and bed for the night. Which was enough to shut her up. For the night. Small mercies.

As useful as Amalthea's cleaning spells were, a real bath was a godsend. So much better. She could finally wash her hair and get rid of all the oil and grim sensation that made her feel like a fry potato.

That one night in the inn was the main event of their trip back, and soon enough, they were in front of the massive gates of Winterfell.

It was good to be back... It was a strange feeling for Amalthea, not something she expected. Sometimes she felt like she just wanted to flee as far as possible from the place and the looks that kept following her around and around. She was used to it, and had suffered them since she first learned about her status as a Witch back in England. As soon as she was within the Wizarding World, people looked at her. Here it wasn't the scar that caught the attention. But they still looked. It felt annoying and invasive. It made her want to scream.

But seeing the happy smiles on the Stark children's faces, all of them anxiously awaiting them in the middle of the yard, happy looks on their faces -minus Sansa who seemed determined to look serene despise her very obvious excitation- eased her apprehension. She had missed them. It was good. It felt good.

They were all lined up side by side. It was almost funny this formal order from the oldest and the talles to the youngest, little Rickon bouncing on his feet barely reaching his brother's shoulder with his curled little head. The horses barely passed through the gates and their feet couldn't even touch the muddy ground that already the three youngest Stark pups hurled themselves forward, throwing their excited little bodies right to their brother's arms.

"Robb! Jon!"

The sound of their laughter reverberated through the air.

"Children, come back here now..." called back their mother. She sounded annoyed and reproachful.

Now that was a voice Amalthea hadn't missed. At all.

"Jon! I'm so glad you're back!" Arya said quickly.

Her hair must have been tied up and braided at some point, but was now disheveled by the wind. Her little eyes shone with happiness, as bright as the smile that cut her long face in half.

"It's been so boring here without you! Septa keeps saying bad things about my stupid embroidery and Jeyne and Sansa laughed at me, so I found some worms and-"

"Robb!" Bran said right behind his sister.

The little boy gripped his brother's sleeve who in turn ruffled his hair warmly. Bran pouted for a full second before smiling again. Too happy to stay angry. Rickon practically fell to the floor at his oldest feet, in his haste to welcome him properly and be the first to do so! To comfort himself from being the last there, he promptly clung to his brother's leg and stayed there, stretching his little neck adorably to look upward, melting Thea's heart with the gesture.

None of those kids paid her any attention. Not that she cared much about it, too happy to witness this welcome home wagon. They had missed their older brothers dearly. It was wonderful to see such love.

"How was it? What did you see? What did you find? Can I come with you next time?" chirped Bran with huge sparkling eyes.

"Good to know that I was missed here." Theon snarked from his corner of the yard. He was smirking again though, after so many days of pouting.

Arya interrupted her self imposed mission to talk her brother's ears out about the latest things that happened in WInterfell to look at the Greyjoy, eyebrows raised in false surprise.

"Oh, hello Theon. You were gone too? I must have missed it..."

Theon rolled his eyes. "Arya Underfoot, I don't know how I survived all these days without you."

The girl barred her teeth in a smile far too sharp to be friendly.

"Oh, what kind of bird is that?" Bran asked abruptly, apparently burning in curiosity.

He was loud enough to call everyone's attention to the said creature. Hedwig, on Masquerade's saddle, contented herself to look around her boringly.

"This is Hedwig, she is a phoenix." introduced Amalthea, speaking for the first time since they came through the gates, "Do you want to meet her? Hedwig, come girl,"

Hedwig, of course, made a show of stretching her big and beautiful red wings and took a short fly through the air. She perched herself on Amalthea's outstretched arm.

"These kinds of birds come from Essos. You may touch her, she isn't dangerous,"

She looked sharply at the creature, waiting. Hoping that Hedwig would not show off and reveal how much more she was than a simple bird.

It was a conversation they already had. Or rather, Thea had repeated it again and again until the black eyes of the Phoenix were dull with boredom.

'You can't under any circumstances, no matter what it is to reveal what you are. Don't cry in anyone's wound, don't burst into flames. Don't even come to my rescue if something happens. I don't care what it is, here we have to be careful. I don't want you to get harmed.'

The bird's golden claws dug into her arm. Thea hoped it meant she wouldn't. Show off that is.

"It's beautiful! Where did they find her? Can I have one?" Bran asked excitedly, stroking Hedwig's feathers and head. Her feathered chest puffed. Because of course it would. h

"I'll tell you later."

"Oh! Oh! " Rickon staggered on his little legs in a hurry, and clung to the witch's skirts in his quest for a better look at Hedwig. "Cute little bird."

Hedwig, of course, was basking in all the attention. Amalthea refrained from rolling her eyes.

"Don't say that too much, she is far too vain already."

Lord Stark cleared his throat loudly, gaining the attention of the entire household in a moment. His solemn face was sparked with obvious amusement, non doubt at his children's antics. Next to him, his wife was pinching her lips so hard she seemed to have swallowed something sour. The sight of her children so close to Thea for sure...Sansa was silent and straight at her mother's side.There was something there, however, that made her look like she wanted to join her siblings. With a quick lock to her mother, the red-haired girl stayed silently right where she was.

"Welcome back. I believe your trip went well?" Lord Stark finally guessed, as his wife gestured for the younger ones to approach her again.

Amalthea thanked a stable boy who quietly took her mare away and followed the children, Hedwig safely on her shoulder. Lord Stark's eyes stayed a moment longer on the bird, but he asked no more questions.

"It went well, father. We didn't have any kind of unforeseen event, either on the way there or on the way back." Robb replied calmly.

"That doesn't seem to be true." Eddard frowned, his eyes on his bastard, face crumbled in concern. "Jon, it looks like you're limping... What happened?"

She wouldn't have called it a limp per see. He had stopped doing that a while ago. He did avoid putting too much weight on his still recovering ankle. She had made it her personal mission to watch his healing ankle every day during their journey back. It didn't hurt as much as before, Jon had said over and over. Still he didn't put much weight on it.

From the corner of her eye Amalthea witnessed the boy shift from one foot to the other under Lady Catelyn's cold stare.

"It is nothing to worry about, Lord Stark." Jon replied, avoiding a look at Theon who stood straight as a stick in the mud and paler than the moon."I fell, but everything is fine. Lady Peverell saw to it and nothing was broken. Merely a sprain. Not even as bad as it used to be My Lord. "

"Are you certain?"

Catelyn's mouth was getting tighter and tighter, her lips a white line severing her face in two halves, pale and almost trembling from all the strength she pushed in it. Thea could guess easily what was happening inside that head. How dared her husband's bastard get so much attention. Jon himself seemed to feel that, and was quick to answer a short 'yes, my Lord' trying to change the subject.

Lord Stark nodded, but did fetch the Maester to take a closer look at his injury. Good, Amalthea thought. She wasn't the best with healing spells, to tell the truth the best she knew was 'Episkey' and that was not what she had used on his ankle. Far too delicate to explain if things go wrong. Besides, she had used wandless magic for that. Or, well tried too. She was not the best in magic without a wand... No one was in her generation and she was afraid that something might have escaped her notice. Or gone wrong. After all, it had been quite a few days since Jon's injury. He definitely needed the opinion of a master in the art of healing.

Jon taken care of, Eddard gave her his attention:

"Did you find what you were looking for, my Lady?"

"Much more than that, my Lord. Much more than that." she replied with an amused smile on her pink lips, slender fingers stroking Hedwig feathers.

"That is good to know." The man answered. "You must be tired. You should all go rest. We will talk later. I wish to hear full details of your journey," Lord Stark smiled tightly and turned his heels to the castle.

Some followed quickly, like Theon, Jon and the pups, all running around under their brother's feet. Sansa and her mother stayed. They bowed to Amalthea and Kadeem, a visible tension in Lady Catelyn's shoulders all the time, and promptly went to Robb. Seeing the dismiss for what it was, Amalthea followed the others. As she turned her back, she couldn't miss the looks Lady Catelyn and the maid Erin exchanged.

☽ ◯ ☾

She ended up sleeping far longer than expected, missing lunch in the process. She probably would have slept over dinner too if not for Hedwig insistent hooting and a welcomed knock on her door. Still half-drunk from over sleep, she left her bed and blurily threw a cloak over her sleeping clothes. She found behind the door a maid carrying a heavy tray full of wonderfully smelly food. Potato soup, chicken with onion and a glass of watered wine. She let the maid in distractingly nodding to her babble of Lord Stark waiting for her in his solar and closed the door behind her. She then surrendered to the rumbling of her stomach and promptly devoured every last piece of delicious food available. Hedwig nipped enthusiastically on the few bits of chicken she spared her. Her meal didn't take long fortunately and soon enough she was dressed in a midnight blue gown embroidered with gray and silver thread on the sleeves and bottom of the skirt. She cast a cleaning spell on her mouth, missing dearly for a second her beloved toothbrush and the paste that went with it.

She left her room with one last longing look for her unmade bed and a roll for Hedwig cackling on the windowsill with her full belly and puffed feathers.

Lord Stark was already waiting for her, and swiftly offered her a seat in front of him.

"Did you have a good rest, my lady?" he asked.

He didn't sound upset at all, but she still pretended embarrassment.

"I apologize for missing lunchtime, my Lord. It was not my intention." It hadn't been, but she also didn't regret those good hours of dreamless sleep.

"No need for apologies, my lady. Theon failed to show as well, and both Jon and Robb almost fell asleep on their plates. Kadeem seemed energetic, but he was quick to tell us that you were in need of a rest. We can all understand your situation. You had a long journey after all. "

Yes, of course, she thought sarcastically, I am so very sure that your lady wife understood perfectly and didn't say bad things about me through her teeth.

The comparaison to Theon, as innocent as he might have thought it was, made her furious. And ashamed. She scolded herself.

Seeing she had nothing more to say, Lord Stark carried on.

"My sons already told me a lot of things about your trip. Now I would like to hear it from you."

Amalthea nodded,and took a deep breath.

"Very well..."

She dutifully told him everything she could remember, down to the smallest detail. The path they took, the places they stopped, even the food they ate. Most of it shouldn't have interested him, but she'd be damned if anything the boys would have told him were left out.

As she described Moat Cailin, she noticed a change in his expression. An eyebrow raised, a frown, a twitch of the corner of his eye. She could only guess what it all could mean, though the repressed smile spoke of amusement. That at least, was easy to read.

When she was done, he nodded slowly, and changed the subject.

"You brought a very intriguing animal with you."

Thea nodded and stuck to the same story she served Jon and Robb when they asked: Phoenixes were rare, even in Essos.

"I never heard of such a creature. Nor that House Peverell ever bred this kind of birds..." one of his brow lifted

In that moment, Amalthea knew he suspected something. He might not be sure of what he should be wary of, but he was. Hedwig's sudden apparition, as welcomed as it was, had been ill timed.

Amalthea swallowed, throat tight with nerves.

Fortunately, Lord Stark was busy with papers on his desk, and missed her nervous twitch of expression.

"But I suppose I can't know everything," he allowed, "there is still much unknown in our world and the story we know is far from everything."

Amalthea scolded her features into a serene smile, and thanked Merlin he did not dwell on the subject any longer. Though the gleam of curiosity still stayed in the man's eyes.

Other issues were addressed, the current state of the Moat being the main one. Lord Stark didn't look surprised at the condition. He had warned her of it before her trip after all. But he was attentive.

Once she was done, they began to discuss amounts. Amalthea asked for numbers, how much it could cost her to rebuild the keep. They had never touched the subject before but she knew it was going to be expensive. She just didn't know how much.

"There is no way of knowing for sure, I have not seen the state it's been in for a long time. Besides, if I may be perfectly frank, I am not the best person to evaluate such a cost... I've never been good with estimations," he stopped, thinking, "But, I can say this will ask a lot of work from you.."

"I understand my Lord. Would you still be able to give me a number? I have to start somewhere." she insisted.

Lord Eddard rested his elbow on the wooden table, rubbing his chin and stubble.

"If I had to guess..." He stopped for a moment and Amalthea waited anxiously, at the edge of the chair.

She could almost see the numbers flying high speed in his mind, as he thought about it. Finally he made a sound in the back of his throat and said:

"It would be an undertaking equivalent to, at least, a hundred thousand gold dragons, I would say. It is difficult to be sure, however. It will depend on everything, especially the necessary materials and labor, of course. Not to mention that there may be unforeseen events or delays, which may change the value." And there is something in his voice, a strange tone that almost resembles disbelief.

'Even the last Lady Peverell certainly doesn't have it just out there', are the unspoken words... And she really doesn't. Thea did her best not to show any kind of surprise or shock, she tried to keep her expression as empty as possible despite being mentally screaming. A hundred thousand gold dragons? How much would that be in pounds or galleons? Good thing she had gold and jewelry already with her. That and magic, of course.

She might end up gemini spelling the shit out of her gold in no time. She was the only witch around after all, who would forbid it?

They couldn't change the subject quick enough.

"Your sons think there may be a possibility of having you kept some copy of the original plans of Moat Cailin structure. They talked about...the Citadel if you don't have it?" she paused."If I'm not getting the name wrong."

To her sadness he was quick to deny it.

"Unfortunately, I have none in my possession. This was something that I asked Maester Luwin to check when you told me you intended to do the reconstruction, but he came back the same day empty-handed." However, he nodded afterwards, thinking. "You might have better luck with the Citadel, yes. Would you require help to write that letter? I could also be able to send one to support your request. "

She wasn't fond of the idea. It sounded childish to ask for help on a simple letter. But nobody knew about her and a letter from the Lord of Winterfell Warden of the North held far more weight than her little self.

"Yes, please."

She stepped forward, bringing the chair with her until she was close enough from the desk to be able to write comfortably. He kindly handed her paper, ink and quill. She dipped the tip of the quill in the inkwell, and stopped it in front of the paper, careful not to let any excess ink fall.

Under the supervising eye of Lord Stark, she promptly started writing in her cleanest, most readable handwriting. She couldn't have been more thankful for the few suggestions he gave her.

To the Esteemed Archmaester or to whom it may concern,

I have come through this letter, in the hospitality of Lord Eddard Stark, of Winterfell and the North, to place a request. My name is Lady Amalthea Peverell. I recently arrived in Westeros, and it is my intention to claim the land of which I am entitled. Of whom my ancestor Harlan Perevell of which I am the sole remaining heir. It is my wish, with the knowledge of good King Robert Baratheon First of his Name, to rebuild the old keep of Moat Cailin that was once given to my family. The keep was purchased from House Stark, as noted in your records, by the former Lord Perevell. By law it remains, still, my inheritance. To this end, it is my hope that a copy of Moat Cailin's original plans could be sent to me, if possible.

I join this letter with a document written by the Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell, Warden of the North, to prove my claims.

I remain still under the care of Winterfell and will continue to do so until reconstruction begins. As it is, I await your answer.

With the blessing of King Robert I and in the Light of the Seven,

Lady Amalthea Peverell, Lady of Moat Cailin.

The letter finished, she offered it to Lord Stark who read it carefully with a nod of satisfaction. His own letter was already rolled, next to his hand.

Amalthea watched as the man opened a drawer on his desk and took out a small box. It was filled with small wax octagons. Lord Stark took two, put them in the metal spoon, and placed it over the flame of a lighted candle. It didn't take long for the wax to melt into a liquid, creamy substance. The older man folded the first letter, and spilled the gray wax on the paper, then took a stamp and pressed it into the wax while it was still hot. After a few seconds Amalthea was able to see the menacing and proud gray wolf on the seal.

It made her think of her Hedwig and her own sigil. In a previous conversation with Maester Luwin and Lord Stark, she had addressed the topic. At the time she had already decided, but now. Now maybe she could change some things. She had to think about it. Later.

As she was thinking, Lord Stark was repeating the process with his own letter. He then put his material away, and turned his attention back on her.

"I will ask Maester Luwin to send them today." He reported taking the two sealed letters and placing them in a corner of his table so as not to forget.

"I am very thankful." beamed the witch.

Then, she asked for his opinion on the best places where she could find the supplies needed for the reconstruction and qualified builders. Lord Stark readily agreed, promising a list later on, with all the information she desired. They spend the rest of the day brainstorming the numbers and problems she might have in her project.

☽ ◯ ☾

Days passed. Raven arrived. On the fourth day following that conversation, Amaltha spied one coming as she was going for a ride with Masquerade. Arya and Bran were following her like ducklings, fascinated by Hedwige who was balanced on the horse's saddle. They ran right to her back as she stopped to watch the raven's black wings fly to Maester Luwin's tower. She wondered the whole afternoon if this one was for her. Hoping to be called anytime. This one wasn't for her.

Nor was the one she spied three days later, nor the others three more days after. At this point it had been almost two weeks since her conversation with Lord Stark.

She tried to stay busy in every way she could. Reading, identifying most of the things she brought with her, an impressive large number of things kept in all the family vaults she didn't even know she had. She walked around Winter Town, explored the places, meeting the people who lived here, and giving them the chance to meet the stranger who now lived among them. Her days were as busy as she could get them.

I felt like there was not a single moment of the day where she wasn't surrounded by a member of the Stark family. Embroidery and walks with Sansa. Mischief -within reason-with Arya, games with Bran and Rickon as well as stories. Little Rickon was in love with Peter Pans and Tinkerbell. An island only for children where they played from dawn to dusk seemed fascinating for the little boy. She had been with Jon a few times, and only rarely spent any time with Robb. Both boys had been busy with their duties ever since their return and she could barely see either of them two or three times a day. If she was lucky.

She had once asked Jon to accompany her on a short walk to Winter Town, along her faithful Kadeem. Jon had agreed of course. When Lady Catelyn found them later, she gave him a look so cold, it would have chilled the bones. Septa Mordane, whom from what Amalthea saw had a very closed up mentality, took her away from the boy on the pretext of wanting to see the fabrics Thea had bought for Arya and Sansa. She then mumbled something about ladies of her statues who shouldn't in any circumstance be seen accompanied by any kind of bastard. Jon stayed expressionless. Thea was furious. From then on, the young man didn't seek her as often as before and tend to be very careful of the people around them before talking to her.

As much as she hated it, there was very little she could do for him. Except trying to show the boy, and the people around them that this bastard business didn't matter to her.

She could only see Robb for a very short time. It was strange, especially with all the time they spent together during their journey. Here, he was always busy. His classes with Luwin, meetings with his father, or who knew what else. She had an idea of course, of what was truly happening. She suspected Lady Catelyn was more than a little involved with her son's planning. Still, Robb remained sympathetic, the rare times they could talk together. Sometimes she felt like he suspected what was happening around them. When he was free, he spent time with his siblings. And with her.

As for Theon, well... She tried to avoid him as much as possible. She only had to bear him for an embarrassed moment when, while visiting Winter Town, she witnessed him entering the brothel along a beautiful red-haired woman. A prostitute.

"You missed!" chirped Arya with an odd mix of disappointment and amusement.

Amalthea was dragged out of her thoughts abruptly.

Her eyes focused on the tree a few meters ahead of her An arrow was stuck in the brown chalet much higher than it was supposed to be. Three other arrows were spiked there, and a few more ended up scattered on the floor.

"Thank you for stating the obvious." The older one said.

Arya answered with a wide toothless smile.

Result of a little event that happened weeks ago. One of Arya's lower front teeth had fallen out. She was boldly showing it to everyone in the Great Hall not two minutes later. The tooth still bloody proudly displayed in her hand. Lady Catelyn's scandalized shriek had been music to Thea's ears. Almost as much as the howling of the other Stark children happily laughed. And Sansa's disgusted screams. Amalthea had then told Arya everything about the Tooth Fairy and how she should put her tooth under her pillow. To her disappointment, Arya didn't believed it.

Fun story.

Thea blinked away the memories, refocusing her attention at the present arrow, still in its truck.

"And besides, my goal was not to hit the center, it was to hit the tree."

And it was... She needed to train to improve... With a wand, her aim was stupidly accurate. But a bow... it was a different story.It could have been far worse, she wasn't that bad for a beginner, but it was far from enough. Being able to hit the tree was a victory on its own.

"Why?" Arya asked. "Why not the center?"

"The center is harder to reach. One step at a time." Amalthea explained.

She lowered the wooden bow and walked to the tree to pull out the arrows from where they laid stiff on the floor and truck of the tree. She came back to Arya, who was waiting impatiently, hopping on her heels.

"Touching the tree means I'm getting better. When I started I couldn't even hit the tree. It's a progress"

"Why don't you ask Theon for help? Is he the best with the bow."

"Do you think he would teach me?" The young witch asked, passing the extra arrows to Arya.

She was quick to hold them, keeping one for herself. She put it in the bow, pulled, breathed calmly, her fingertips stretching the cord.

"Maybe... if you asked."

Amalthea wasn't so sure, but it wouldn't hurt to try.

"I might have to try, yes..."

She held her breath, focused her eyes and shot. The arrow flew towards the target, much more to the right than she wished. Thea groaned in self-reproach, and grabbed another arrow.

"Let me try! I can do it!" Arya chirped, as she reached to grab the bow.

The black-haired witch didn't even bother to look at the girl. She stepped away from her sticky hands, bent her knees, and picked up one of the fallen arrows.

"No."

"Why not?"

She stayed silent, put the arrow in the bow, pulled one more time, breathed and took aim. She watched it fly at tremendous speed, closer to the center, but Thea was not satisfied. She took another one.

"Please, just once." Arya pleaded, stepping in front of her with her hands together, a sad look in her gray eyes.

Thea focused on her, a smile teasing the corner of her mouth.

"No."

Arya would never admit that she pouted, but she really did.

"Why not?"

"Because..." She pushed her away easily until the girl was safe and away from any danger.

"Your lady mother would skin me if she knew that I was giving you a bow and arrow of my own free will."

And Thea was sure that she would. Lady Stark seemed to hate her passionately. She was pretty sure that if Catelyn knew that Arya was even there, she could take the bow and strangle Thea with it.

"She doesn't have to know."

She doesn't, but she'll know... There seems to be eyes everywhere, she thought, looking back again into little Arya's eyes.

"Someone could see us."

"We are in the forest! No one will." The child refuted, almost stamping her foot in fury.

"Oh, really?" smiled Amalthea, mysteriously. She nodded to the left, "I wouldn't be so sure about that."

Through the trees,Sansa appeared, stepping on leaves and dry branches on the ground with her red hair in a long and beautiful braid well elaborated, wrapped in a beautiful blue-gray dress with white pearl embroidered, too beautiful to be in the forest. Definitely more beautiful than the simple, dark dresses that the other two decided to wear that day knowing that there would be a possibility of getting them dirty. Sansa seemed to have noticed this, as she was holding the skirt of her dress and lifting it slightly, trying not to touch the hem.

She hadn't even reached them yet when Arya was quick to snap angrily.

"And what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Jeyne?"

"Arya..." Thea scolded softly with a frustrated sigh, giving her a look that said explicitly to keep quiet. "Hello Lady Sansa, how are you?"

Sansa was not moved by her younger sister.

"Hello Lady Amalthea, I am well thank you, how are you Lady Perevelle?" Upon receiving Thea's quiet answer, the girl turned on her little sister, "I came to pick you up. We have a singing lesson soon."

"I don't want to go, why can't I stay here? How did you even know I was there?!"

"I found Bran when mother sent me to look for you. He was feeding your bird, my Lady. He told me he saw you coming here."

Amalthea raised an eyebrow at Arya, See? I told you so she thought'. Sansa continued,

"What are you doing in the forest, anyway?"

It was kind of obvious, with the wooden bow and the fallen arrows everywhere. Still, Thea replied calmly.

"I wanted to come here, to have more privacy than in the training yard. Certainly there would be many..." part of her wished to say 'annoying people that shouldn't stick their noses where it doesn't belong', but she restrained herself. "Different types of looks if I was to train there."

Sansa seemed to understand. Though even if she hadn't, her sister didn't give her the time to respond.

"I don't want to go, I want to stay here."

"Arya you can't..." Sansa protested, her eyes on the tree and the arrows. "That is not... Lady-like."

"Thea is a Lady, and she is doing it." The youngest fought back.

Poor Sansa blushed, her cheeks as red as her fiery hair. Before she could apologize, Amalthea talked.

"This is not the same thing, Arya, and you know it. And I already said I will not allow you to participate without your parents permission." There was no need for more reasons for Lady Stark to hate her even more.

"Mother will never let, and I'm sure she..." Arya pointed at Sansa accusingly. "... she will tell."

"I-"

"There is nothing to tell Arya, You didn't shoot, you merely watched me." Thea interrupted, stopping the argument before it could scale further. ²Seriously, she thought, between these two and Theon and Jon, I can't decide who is worse. "I'm an adult woman, and I can do whatever I want and I didn't put a bow in your hand for you to use so there's no reason to be scolded for anything, other than the fact that you're late for your class."

Arya pouted. Something she would certainly rubb on the little girl's face later.

"But I wanted-"

The young witch interrupted again:

"Listen, when I can, I will try to have a conversation with Lord Stark about this. If he agrees, we can train together. Perhaps Lord Theon can give us some tips. Lady Sansa can even join us. But I have to talk to your father before anything happens."

It didn't take long, after her little speech, for the girls' reactions to show. Sansa gaped like a shocked fish, wide eyes and opened mouth. She flushed even redder, before busying herself with the details of her dress, brushing some imaginary dust from her skirt. She looked like she didn't know what to do with herself, and Thea's proposition.

Arya, as always, was more...heated. Her jaw hanging open, she went pale as a ghost for a moment. Then bright red. She looked like she was about to blow smoke from her ears, like some kind of cartoon.

"Lady Amalthea-" Sansa was interrupted by her sister.

"Sansa?" she rudely pointed at her sister, "That Sansa?! The perfect Sansa who loves embroidery and songs and boring stuff? Her? Using a bow and an arrow?" she snorted, "She couldn't even pull the string! She's too stupid for it!"

"Arya!" Amalthea scolded harshly.

This time she was genuinely angry at the girl. The sight of Sansa tearing up hurtfully was heartbreaking.

"What? It is true, she would be horrible at that."

Sansa's face was red as blood. There was no more smile. The Potter girl watched as she tightened her hands on the fabric of the skirt wrinkling it, and witnessed three lonely drops roll over her pretty face. She seemed to struggle at controlling herself.

"I don't want to try it, a lady shouldn't do these things. Septa Mordane is waiting for me to start the class. Don't be late Arya, you don't want mother to be angry." And with muffled 'Lady Peverell' she turned on her heel and disappeared the same way she came from.

The other two watched her leave in silence.

"Go to your class, Arya." The witch ordered in an empty tone.

"No, I want-"

"Go to class, Lady Arya or else I will have to tell your lady mother that you refused to go."

The child's gray eyes shone with disappointment, with tears also appearing.

"I... are you mad at me?"

Amalthea took her time to answer. She gathered the arrows scattered around on the ground and the trunk of the tree. She places them back inside their leather quiver. Finally, as she pulled the quiver on her back, she allowed her eyes to fall back on the little girl.

"I'm disappointed."

"But why? I just told the truth!"

"And how can you be so sure this was the truth? Your sister could be good with a bow for all you know! Now we will never find out because you cruelly embarrassed her and killed any curiosity she might have shown at the idea."

Arya frowned her little nose.

"I was just saying what she is always doing to me. She's doing it all the time. In the classes and everything."

Thea sighed, and knelt in front of the girl, unbothered by the dirt that quickly clung to the fabric of her dress. She held the girl's small chin, tilted it up to make her look into her eyes. Green against grey.

"I know, dear. But it doesn't mean what you did was not wrong. You hurt your sister. You don't like being hurt by her, why are you doing the same thing to her? You are sisters Arya, you shouldn't treat each other so harshly. Don't you know how lucky you are? You have a family that loves you with everything they have. You have to cherish that. Start acting like sisters. You are not enemies, but you could very well become such if you carry on like that."

"I didn't mean to hurt her. I'm just tired of perfect Sansa being perfect at everything. This is mine. I like weapons, bows, swords, and fighting. This is my thing, not hers."

"I know Arya, I know. You are sisters though. You are different but that doesn't mean that you can be mean to each other. It isn't right. You hurted her, she didn't deserve that."

"I wished she was more like you. I always wanted a sister like you," pouted the little girl.

"It's not quite how it works and I don't know if your parents would agree with that." Thea's smile was amused.

"I don't care. Theon is our brother, and now you are my sister."

"Very well then..." Amalthea smiled with a full heart. "We are sisters now."

"Good." Arya returned the smile.

"Just promise me that you will apologize to Sansa."

"I don't-" Seeing her dark eyebrow raised and the serious look in Amalthea's green eyes, Arya broke off.

"Promise."

"I promise."

"Good. Now go ahead, don't be late."

And while she saw the girl running through the trees as fast as she could, Amalthea couldn't help fantasizing the idea of this little promise being true. She knew better though.

☽ ◯ ☾

Arya lied. She didn't apologize. The relationship between the two, already tense, seemed to worsen in the week that followed. As much as their older brothers and Thea herself once she told them what happened that day, tried to lighten the mood and resolve things, they failed. The little boys were too young and only cared about playing and occasionally pampering Hedwig. Lord and Lady Stark seemed to think this was nothing but childish quarrel that would soon resolve. Maybe it was. Maybe it will pass the next day and maybe they shouldn't worry too much. But the sad pitiful look of one of them, and the cruel spikes the other kept sending was hard to ignore.

She was thinking about it, as she walked along the corridors absentmindedly looking for one or the other of the Stark girls to, once again, try to put some sense in those skulls when a guard stopped her, informing her of Lord Stark's summon in his solar.

She bowed her thanks and took the direction of Lord Stark's solar, a nervous pit in her stomach. Two more ravens arrived in the last days. She had not been called before this day though.

She knocked on the door and swiftly made her way inside. A pile of open letters stacked on top of each other in front of the Lord. He went straight to the point.

"I have not received an answer to our letters yet, my Lady."

That...wasn't what she was expecting. And it gave her reasons to worry.

Why was she called there then?

Thank Merlin, Lord Stark did not make her wait long. He pulled a pile of open letters from a drawer and set them down in the center of the table, revealing a mixture of different types and shapes of letters, showing that they had all been written by different hands.

The wax that sealed them was intact. Someone had been careful not to break them when opening. There was a sun in black wax, a two-bladed silver ax, something that looked like a bear on its two hindquarters legs, four crossed chains joined in the center by a link, some kind of merman armed with a trident, a man upside down... many symbols in many different colors of wax. Thea's mind whirled in its haste to remember them all.

Lord Stark helped her in that aspect too. He carefully pointed at every symbol.

"Houses Glover, Umber, Manderly, Karstark, Bolton..." he carried on, for a while, until they were all named. "I am sure you are wondering why I am showing you this. You should know you are the sole subject of all those missives my Lady."

The young witch's eyebrows arch without her permission.

"My Lord?" Thea asked, confused.

"Every letter you see in front of you is full of questions about you."

"Lord Robb had told me he had no knowledge that you had informed anyone of my arrival. Except King Robert, I mean."

"That has changed, my lady. As much as I tried to keep your presence here a secret, it was clear that it wouldn't stay that way for long."

He gestured for her to read. She promptly did so, under the stern look of his grey eyes.

It was odd to read the letters and words of all the lords... Odd and intimidating.Their words were demanding, veiled under vain courtesy. Why hadn't they been informed before of her arrival? Was it true what they heard? When could they meet her? When would she go to their lands? and, to her disdain, if she was compromised...

"What does this mean now?" Amalthea wondered, all the letters gathered up and handed back to the man.

"Well, I guess it means you'll have to go meet them." Lord Stark said simply.

Had he gone mad? Thea's mind briefly ran back to Bellatrix and the madness glinting behind her black eyes. The man had none of it. He was calm; appraising. With a little something sparkling in the back she could not name.

Did he really want her to get out of her comfortable corner, to venture into uncharted lands to meet a few lords from the north who only seemed interested in what they could gain from her? How many were already imagining marrying her with their second or third sons, nephews and even cousins?

There was no way for her to do that. No way in hell.

"Visiting each lord takes a long time. Time that, to be honest, I have doubts that I can spend when my focus should be on something different." She said coldly.

His voice was as cold as hers. "It's your duty."

Her fiery temper, ran through her blood, making the end of her hair snap and crackle under the pressure.

Duty? Oh, how utterly and exhaustively tired she was of people trying to assume they knew what her duty was or wasn't. So, so tired. Who was he to tell her such a thing? He who, above all, had a duty to be a good father and who, from what Thea had seen in the time she'd been here, was failing that part with Jon and wild little Arya. Even Sansa if they took the time to think about it. Which she may have done with the groing animosity between the girls.

She took a long breath and let it out. She couldn't afford to utter such words even if she wanted to. She couldn't get out of control as she had often done before. Her explosive temper as relieving as it might be sometimes, was one of her biggest flaws. That had to change she was well aware of that. Westeros didn't seem like a place where wild behavior would be well accepted. Especially coming from a woman.

She licked her lower lip quickly as she thought, and mentally cringe at the image of a Barty Crouch Jr and his thin, wormy lips. She would never forget those lips and tongue repeating that disgusting habit over and over again. And she would never forget the manic look on that pale, cadaverous face as well.

"My Lord, I understand that the common thing might be for me to visit them, but that doesn't seem logical in my opinion."

His left eyebrow rose curiously.

"Lord Stark, it makes no sense to me to have to travel from place to place, visiting every lord on a journey that would keep me out of my home and business for so long. The north is huge. It would take me many days or even months to move from residence to residence to satisfy the wishes of all the lords, keeping me away from my important business that I want to carry out as quickly as possible. You know that very well... Not to mention the dangers of the road for a woman, even accompanied." Amalthea said without delay. "That and telling the same story over and over again doesn't seem necessary."

It was only a while later that she realized she hadn't thought of Moat Cailin when she said home. She pushed the thoughts away quickly. Now was not the time for introspection.

"Elaborate."

"Instead of visiting them, why not call them to Winterfell? It may not be the usual and many may even be offended, I understand. However the practicality of such even must go before a couple of bruised egoes if you forget my phrasing. Besides, they will all have the occasion to see me and know me, without the delay of a long journey from keep to keep. I will only have to tell my story once and no one will have to go through rumors and gossips to know me. And, most importantly, you will also assist this meeting. Your word can only help me in my presentation to your bannermen." Amalthea had never been a woman of politics, she had always been a woman of more action but she tried to explain herself as best she could.

And that seemed to please him. She saw a small smile play on Eddard's lips, so small she almost thought it was imagination. But when she focused her green eyes she saw that it really was there.

"Very well."

"My lord?" Thea squeaked back, amazed over how easy it had been to convince him .

He nodded, his face morphing into some kind of smile. She watched him open the drawer again, take out his writing kit, long raven quill, paper and ink, and placed it on the table.

"Your argumentation has some valid points I can not deny. The Northerners are difficult, and can be very suspicious of outsiders. But they are loyal above all. They might indeed be more inclined over your tale with my presence." The woman's dark eyebrows remained raised high as she watched him. He removed the stopper from the bottle, dipped the tip of the pen in ink carefully to remove the excess.

"Let's get down to business, then?"

And without further ado they wrote a new letter, as they had done days before. This time aimed at different people. They had to make several copies, but they had all afternoon to do it.

Several crows flew from Winterfell that day.

Hello! *waves shyly from behind his computer screen* how are you? A long time, am I right...? *dodges the rotten tomatoes and cabbages that her dear angry readers have thrown her way* PLEASE FORGIVE ME. I know this update took too long to post, and I bet many of you didn't even remember this story anymore or thought you'd never update again, but here I am to prove that I'm still interested in continuing to write.

My excuse, as always, is that my life has been busy lately and unfortunately, I got stuck in writer's block and reading slump so big I thought I'd never make it out. But, it seems that reading Circe by Madeline Miller was my lifesaver as I finished this book in less than 5 days and it made me want to write. So yaaay, I'm back, and writing as fast as I can.

I want to thank you, my wonderful BETA who has helped me a lot and who worked her magic in this chapter to make it enjoyable to read. Also the scene where Thea is training archery with Arya and Sansa was inspired in a scene that happens in her story, go read it!

I'll leave the link to her story here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19849615/chapters/47005126https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13346000/1/The-Wolf-Queen-BOOK-ONE-Summer-child

And I want to thank the wonderful Anmewrie for the cute artwork she made of Hedwig as a phoenix. Omg, I couldn't even believe what my eyes saw when she sent me! Thank you so much, here is her Instagram link to go see her artwork: https://www.instagram.com/anmewrie/

As always, if you want to be part of my discord server dedicated to this story, comment here, or send a private message.See you next chapter <3

(If you have any problem with this chapter please let me know!)