Chapter 14

"... When are you going to let me climb down?"

"When I'm sure there's no one else looking for you."

"..."

"This is a little inappropriate."

"Why do you care? You're not a 'lady'."

Lyanna growled in annoyance and said, "Just wait until I get my hands on a sword!"

"You shouldn't."

The frown on Lyanna's face grew deeper as she asked in anger, "Because I'm a woman?!"

"... No, you need to get your hands on a sword handle. The blade will cut you. Stick 'em with the pointy end. That's the first rule of sword fighting. I thought you knew."

If it was possible, Lyanna would have cursed up a storm in that moment. I had fun infuriating her to no end while she was helpless.

"Careful now... We wouldn't want for you to burst open your brain from anger."

If it was possible, she'd have ground her teeth to nothing. She truely had a lot of patience. Finally, she gave up and resigned to her fate and chose the get back at me on a later day.

"Something's.. poking me in the back."

"..."

"It's a knife tied to my waist."

Lyanna breathed a sigh of relief. We waited for the men to return to their dickhead prince when they finally decided they'd been away long enough from their sword-swaller inbred psycho.

... I seemed to have some reservations about Rhaegar Targaryen, the stupid waste of space infidel.

"So, why do you like fighting so much?"

Lyanna frowned and asked, "Why do you want to know?"

"We'll be on this tree for a while and talking will help up beat the awkwardness."

"... You truely are different from others. Men are either being perverts in front of me or they are outright terrified that my father or my brothers will behead them."

"Well, I'm still young and so are you. I have no reason to act like a pervert and you're more like a man than those knights in their polished armours."

"Hmm, that's more like it!"

"Also, there are other women who are far more pretty than you."

Lyanna just scoffed in disdain at the thought that she was being compared to the 'pretty ladies'. She didn't retort. Instead, she replied to my earlier question saying, "It isn't the fighting itself. It's the freedom of men to make their own decisions, have choices in their lives, make mistakes and learn, grow into better people and not be tied down by anything. My life was never my own, just because I'm a girl. Now, I'm my father's daughter who makes every decision for me. After he sends me off, I'll be the lady of a lord who whores and drinks himself, siring bastards wherever he goes and doubts my every move. A daughter, a sister, a wife, a mother... I'll never get to be.. me."

Tears had begun to run down her face by the time she finished opening up. I didn't know what to say to her. It wasn't something I had experienced in both of my lives. All I could do was offer her a clean piece of cloth to wipe her tears.

In an attempt to lighten the mood, I said, "You better blow your nose as well."

She narrowed her eyes and clenched her jaw before she sniffed... and cleaned her nose.

"... Throw it away. I'm not touching it."

She snorted in amusement and threw the cloth away. We sat in silence as she calmed down. The gentle summer breeze was soothing for my skin. The rustling of the leaves and the chirping of the birds was truely a marvel.

In the distance, I could hear Rhaegar's men yelling about a horse.

"Lyanna."

"... So, I'm not 'lady Stark' now?"

"No. You're Lyanna. While I can't say I know how you feel, I do understand your trepidation. I too will rebel if I was forced to do something I disliked. Freedom to make our own choice... It's a monumental thing to achieve. No one is ever truely free. There will always be things that bind a person. Be it may their pride, their honor, their beliefs or their duties. You have pride and you have beliefs. But, they conflict with your duties as the daughter of a Lord Paramount. Your duties have taken your freedom of choice. You feel confused and frustrated that no one around is even trying to understand your pain. Do you want to know the answer to all your problems?"

Her teary eyes burned with a fire that promised rebellion and defiance. He lips quivered with emotion and words couldn't come out of her mouth, so, she nodded her head.

I looked into her eyes and said, "Power. Power of your will, your courage and of your beliefs. You need that power and strength. Strength that can defy the world and rebel against anything that shackles you. Strength to break your chains and rise above your fears. Strength to not only defend yourself, but, to paint a legend of a warrior, a wild wolf that can never be tamed. A wolf that can survive without its pack and fight against dragons and krakens and all the beasts of the myth. A wolf who when bares its fangs, sends even the strongest to run and hide for their lives. You need that strength and power to be truely free."

I remembered Brianne of Tarth, the woman who defied all odds and walked the road unraveled. She became a knight and fought for her beliefs. A warrior who went against the society and the norms, facing failures and defeat, but, she triumphed in the end. Despite of all the hardships, she stayed true to her path and became a legend.

Lyanna looked at me with a new vigor as she asked, "Where can I find that power and that strength?"

I smirked and replied, "There are no easy ways to attain it. The power and the strength you seek can only be achieved by shedding your own blood, sweat and tears. All I can do is guide you and teach you. I can be your mentor, but, in the end, it's going to be up to you."

That day, I lit a spark in Lyanna. A spark that became a raging fire, ready to burn its enemies asunder.