23. Change of Attitude (2)

"I've been having dreams sir. Something I haven't had in a long time." I start with a big and wonderful lie. This is how true bonds and friendships are built, right?

"I don't understand…" Ned starts, but I cut him off.

"Sometimes it's the past, sometimes it's the future." I look straight into his eyes. "A couple marked by destiny, a prophecy that needed to be fulfilled, the birth of hope, and the emergence of chaos.

My past dream shows me that. A woman flees from frozen lands, and bears a child by a man of fire. Sadly, her parents perish, but a wolf takes him in.

The wolf treats him like his cub, but there is a thorn in the wolf's eye that prevents him from seeing and acting as he should. The pack grows alongside the wolf cub, but this wolf is not just that.

These were the things I saw in my dream of the past, Mr Stark, now I want to present what I saw of the future.

The lion is circling its prey, a fat deer. That deer can feed many lions, but one of the lions doesn't want to keep that deer alive. No, the lioness wants the stag's crown.

But she can't, because she knows, the eagle and the wolf watch her steps, so she keeps quiet. But she also has allies, those aren't in the same jungle as her, so it wouldn't draw her attention.

The eagle dies with the thorn of a fish, the wolf is ready to protect the deer, but the lion is no longer afraid of the wolf. The deer falls, the wolf falls, and their pack loses its way.

The lion takes the stag's crown, but it doesn't last long, as the cold begins to come from the north, lifting the fallen and showing that there will be no place to take cover. Hope finds a way, but it is difficult.

He's already been betrayed once, and he doesn't want to experience it again. So he joins the one who has his blood, and together, they manage to curb the overwhelming cold. But not everything goes as expected, and hope is thrown once more into the cold, to follow its path." I finish my story, and drink from the wine served by Ned.

He remained thoughtful from the start. After some time he reacts.

"Since when do you have these dreams?" he asks me.

"They came back a few days ago. I kind of know why they came back, but this is not the time to reveal it. I think showing is more effective than talking, and both take time."

"What do you understand from these dreams?" he looks at me much more closely. focused on every detail of my face.

"Honestly sir, almost nothing. But that was until I saw the wolves and the pups. For some reason, those pups gave me a sense of proximity, that's when I realized that this was your home.

The wolves of Winterfell, House Stark has always been known that way, so I started researching what the others were. and discovered a great deal of things.

Lady Catelyn's house, the Tullys, has the symbol of the fish, the eagle, has to do with the house Arryn, the lions, would be Lannister, and the stag, would be Baratheon. But I didn't think who the girl was, despite her coming from the North, nor the burning man."

Ned gets up, and walks to the door. There, he calls out to two of the closest soldiers.

"I want no one to enter this hall, no matter who it is, until further notice. Stay at the end of the hall." he tells the guards, who rush to carry out the task.

He then comes back and sits down and pours us both some wine. I knew he was waiting a while for the orders to be implemented before he started to speak.

"I understood every point of your dream, the one from the past a lot, but the one from the future, it kind of opens up some room for imagination. So I'll explain everything and then listen to your thoughts." and then he begins his account.

I listened to each piece intently, and when he finished, I was still contemplating over what I heard.

"Then." he looks at me curiously.

"It almost feels like we're in some kind of sick power game. And that's not good. But at least if we take my dreams seriously, we could prepare ourselves as well as possible for what's to come." I answer.

"What do you suggest?"

"We can start with improving our soldiers, and I mean really improving. Second would be finding a lighter and sharper weapon. From what I've read, in dragonstone there is a rare metal, which you could trade with Lord Stannis . I think he would see a negotiation with the North very welcome."

Ned nods in agreement.

"We'll do that then, I'll also see if I can find a blacksmith who is capable of working the metal. Dragonglass is very rare and very difficult to work with. Now, what about my children?" he looked like a hawk staring at me now.

"I will put Robb and Jon as my private apprentices regarding combat, you can teach them leadership, while Ser Rodrick the art of war. The girls we can teach at least how to defend themselves, while the younger ones, we can teach more slowly , and when they reach a suitable age, we move on to the more serious things."

"What about the cold problem?"

"Well, we can only prepare as well as we can, and that means weapons and armor for anyone going to fight in this war. If your words are true sir, I think dragonglass will do the job.

If they don't, well, we'll die knowing that at least we tried our best to stop them." I reply sincerely, to which Ned just nods.

"When you leave, ask Jon to come see me." he finishes, gets up and turns to the window, watching outside, lost in thought.