Grudge #23

As Benjen and Edd found themselves surrounded on all sides by the relentless undead, Gale slowed his pace, allowing them to sprint ahead of him. He formed a protective rear guard, intercepting any wight that dared to approach from the sides and the rear. 

With his ice blade, he expertly beheaded any undead creature that ventured within its reach, and he dispatched the rest with well-aimed obsidian daggers.

Benjen Efficiently dealt with any wights that managed to evade Gale's relentless onslaught. Together, they continued their frantic dash toward the cave's entrance. However, their pace began to falter as they beheld the peculiar sight of a diminutive figure emerging from within the cave.

This figure, no taller than a child, possessed nut-brown skin with paler spots, resembling the dappled pattern of a deer's hide. Her hair was a tangle of brown, red, and gold, reminiscent of autumn's rich colors, adorned with vines, twigs, and withered flowers woven throughout. 

Her features bore a soft, innocent resemblance to that of a child.

Edd's eyes widened in astonishment. "What is a child doing here?" he wondered aloud, his incredulity evident. The child, however, seemed either oblivious to his remark or chose to disregard it entirely. 

She raised her hand, conjuring a sphere of fire, and hurled it at the pursuing undead. 

"Quickly, come to me if you wish to live!" The child instructed, her tone commanding as the projectile hit one of the wights, exploding into flames that consumed the undead. 

Gale watched with a raised eyebrow as the wight was engulfed in flames. After they had distanced themselves from the pursuing undead, he quickly halted his steps, signaling for Benjen and Edd to continue and get Qhorin to safety.

"The two of you go ahead and get Qhorin to safety. I'll catch up shortly," he advised, ice blade in hand as he turned to face the oncoming horde of charging wights. 

Without breaking his sprint, Benjen turned around, frowning at Gale. "What do you intend to do?" he inquired.

"We'll have to leave this place sooner or later, so I might as well clear the way in advance," Gale explained, lunging forward to stab his ice blade into the torso of the nearest wight. 

"Besides, I can't leave my precious dragon glass daggers here," he added, putting his foot on the creature's chest as it crumbled to the ground before pulling his sword. 

Benjen could only nod as he understood that Gale was more than capable of handling himself. "Suit yourself, but try not to overdo it," he said before resolutely turning away from Gale and continuing toward the cave's entrance.

With the sound of wight shrieks and the strange child's fiery, explosive magic, Edd and Benjen quickly reached the cave entrance and stood before the brown-skinned child. 

As they took a closer look at her, they noticed a strange transformation in her features, shifting from soft and childlike to something more mature and sharp, leaving them perplexed.

"Is my mind playing tricks on me...?" Edd wondered, his frown deepening. "You looked very different a moment ago..." he added, scratching his head in bewilderment.

"It must be your mind," the child replied. "What of your companion?" she asked.

"Gale can take care of himself," Benjen reassured her, gesturing toward Gale, who was methodically dispatching the undead creatures. "He'll join us soon enough. There's no need to worry," he added.

The child gave another nod after briefly studying Gale's capabilities. "Very well. Let's go inside where it's safe," she said and turned to walk toward the cave's entrance.

Although still puzzled by the child's mysterious transformation, Edd and Benjen complied. Edd dragged Qhorin into the cave while following the child. However, he couldn't help but voice his doubts. "Shouldn't we stay here? Defend the cave's entrance?" he asked.

The child turned to him and shook her head. "The cave is protected by ancient magic. The frigid of soul cannot set foot in it," she explained, reassuring them of their safety.

A concerned frown crept across Benjen's face as he processed the child's words. "Then Gale...?" he began, his voice trailing off. The term "frigid of soul" seemed to apply to Gale, and worry gripped him. He couldn't help but wonder about Gale's state.

Once more, the child shook her head, offering some reassurance. "The blood runs cold in your companion's veins, but his soul is yet to be frozen rigid..." she explained.

"Yet...?" Benjen couldn't help but mutter under his breath, his thoughts filled with concern. However, he kept these worries to himself as he followed the child into the safety of the cave.

After ensuring he had retrieved every last one of his obsidian knives, Gale cast one last look at the wight corpses scattered across the snowy ground before making his way to the cave's entrance. 

However, just as he was about to step inside, a disturbing image flashed in his mind. It was a scene from the Game of Thrones series where wights had invaded a cave, leading to an explosive eruption of bone scraps. 

Although Gale wasn't entirely certain, he was almost sure that he was, in part, a White Walker or something akin to it. The idea of entering the cave and potentially exploding didn't sound appealing in the least.

As he stood at the entrance, contemplating his options, a sound emerged from within the cave. "You are not one of them. You may enter without fear," a mysterious girl's voice called out. She emerged from the cave's depths, her presence calming.

"Are you sure? I really wouldn't want to--" Gale began to voice his concerns but stopped abruptly as he raised his gaze and came face to face with a figure that he recognized. 

It was the child of the forest, known as Leaf, as Brandon Stark would come to call her in the future if and when they finally met. Although her appearance differed from the show, Gale couldn't mistake her.

"I know you..." Gale stated, his tone growing notably colder as he drew his sword and pointed it at Leaf, a subconscious sense of resentment and anger guiding his actions. "You're the reason I'm like this!" He added, his eyes glowing an eerie blue. 

He recognized her from his vision as the child of the forest who had stuck a dagger into his chest. 

"Indeed, I am," Leaf replied, her voice steady and unwavering, even as Gale's blade inched closer and closer to her throat. She met his gaze with her large, liquid gold and green eyes, devoid of any signs of fear. "I imagine you'd take great satisfaction in cutting me down, but you must remember, I'm the only one capable of saving your friend."

Gale gritted his teeth in frustration, the anger and resentment of the body's former owner still smoldering in his eyes. However, he took a deep breath and managed to calm himself. 

"Meaning you haven't helped him yet?" He asked, his emotions now under control, although the underlying hatred and anger remained. Leaf nodded, and reluctantly, Gale sheathed his sword. 

"If you're smart enough to withhold your aid, then you should be smart enough to know that Qhorin's life is the only thing holding me back..." He stated, clearly sparing no effort in his attempt to hold himself back. 

"I understand," Leaf replied, not bothering to argue or object. She did whatever it took to ensure the survival of her people, no matter how terrible her actions might have been, realizing there would be consequences sooner or later.

"Please follow me," she said, turning and leading the way deeper into the cave. Gale followed her, his guard still up but his concern for Qhorin's life taking precedence.

Soon, they reached a spacious chamber within the cave, its walls and floor covered in gnarled roots. Benjen and Edd were sitting near the unconscious Children of the Forest. Gale recognized some of them from his vision, and the sight of them nearly caused his temper to flare. 

However, he quickly reminded himself that ensuring Qhorin's survival took precedence over everything else. In the first place, the grudge he held against the Children of the Forest belonged to the body's former owner, and it wasn't Gale's responsibility to settle that score.

However, he would happily use it as leverage to guarantee assistance from the Children of the Forest. 

...

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