Chapter - 30

As soon as I took flight, my mind was consumed by the sheer thrill of it all. The world below me became a blur, and I found myself soaring higher and higher, propelled by the pure joy of flying.

However, I soon realized that I had flown too high. The air grew thin and icy, and my wings could no longer sustain me. I couldn't ascend any higher. I stayed there for a few moments, taking in the crisp, cold air and the breathtaking view of the planet's curvature. It was nothing short of mesmerizing.

With no other choice, I let myself fall, relishing the rush of adrenaline that coursed through my veins. It was a moment of pure exhilaration, as I plummeted towards the ground.

At the last moment, I unfurled my wings, gliding gracefully through the air and taking in the beauty of my surroundings. It was a moment of peace and tranquility, as I enjoyed the breathtaking scenery around me.

Finally, after an hour of flying, I arrived at my destination - a clearing in the woods.

My landing was anything but graceful, as I stumbled and tumbled, crashing into trees and creating a cartoonish crater in the earth.

I quickly picked myself up, hoping that nobody had seen my clumsy landing. I retracted my wings and tried to regain my composure, brushing off all the dirt off my clothes.

I walk deeper into the forest, following the signs of life, and soon come across the mercenaries still passed out at the base of a tree. It appears that Fenrir was not gentle with them while dragging them into the forest.

I couldn't see Fenrir anywhere nearby, but I could sense his presence lingering in the area.

I wake them all up and stand in front of them. They take a few moments to wake up, get their bearings, and try to figure out where they are. Once they see me standing in front of them, they quickly realize the predicament they are in and flinch in fear at the sight of me.

As one of the mercenaries turns and bolts in the opposite direction, I don't bother to stop him. Instead, I focus my gaze on the remaining ones, who look like they're about to follow suit.

Just as they take a step back, a blood-curdling scream pierces the air from the direction their friend had run off to. The sound stops them in their tracks, and they stare at each other in fear, unsure of what to do next.

"Anyone else?" I say, nocturnally.

As I surveyed the trembling trio before me, a sly smile crept across my face. It was time to begin.

"Let's get started," I declared, my voice dripping with menacing charm. "I have some questions, and I expect truthful answers. If not, well...let's just say things won't end well for you."

Turning to the first man, I sauntered over and gripped his face in my hand, leaning in close. "You seem like a man who knows something interesting. Something that might interest me."

The man stammered, his eyes darting around nervously. "I...I don't know much. It was Ralf. He planned everything."

I raised an eyebrow, intrigued but not quite satisfied. "Interesting, but not quite enough," I murmured, and suddenly, I made every single one of his nerve endings react as if his skin were on fire.

The man screamed and writhed on the snow-covered ground, the heat of the imaginary flames searing through his body. But even as he writhed, I was already moving on to the next man.

"Ralf, was it?" I said, my voice deceptively calm. "Do you have something interesting to say?"

The man trembled, his eyes wide with fear. "I don't know who gave me the job," he insisted. "I was just told to get the girl's books and abduct her."

With a bored tone, I brushed off the man's response. "Meh, that's not really that interesting to me. I already knew that," I said, turning away as I left him to writhe and scream on the ground beside his friend.

I moved on to the last person and began to ask, "Well, do you have anything interesting to say-" before I could finish my question, he pulled out a dagger and stabbed me straight through my heart.

----------

Lem knew he was in big trouble when he woke up in a forest with the rest and saw the white mage standing in front of them without any expression on his face.

He was seconds away from bolting before he heard the screams of his friend who had tried to run, which promptly made him reconsider. He knew running was no longer an option.

He looked at the thrashing forms of his fellow mercenaries, and he knew what he had to do.

As the mage approached him and began to ask his question, Lem drew the dagger he had hidden at his waist and stabbed the mage straight through the heart. The mage fell to the ground, his smug expression replaced by wide-eyed shock.

Lem stared in disbelief at the body before him, unable to believe that his desperate move had actually worked. His two companions, now standing up from their previous writhing, looked at him in amazement.

"How did you do that, Lem?" they asked, clearly impressed.

Lem sneered at them. "You two were too scared to do what needed to be done. So I took matters into my own hands."

Ralph cackled, "Well, now we've got something even better than that mage's whore. I bet the maester will pay us a fortune for bringing back the white mage's head."

Before he could say anything more, the sound of deranged laughter echoed through the forest, causing them to freeze in their tracks.

"Did you morons really think it would be that easy?" The white mage slowly rose to his feet, still laughing hysterically, with the knife still sticking out of his chest.

"I was honestly thinking about adding blood to the whole act, but blood is such a bitch to clean, you see, and this is a white coat that was a gift. Someone would be very mad at me if It was stained with blood when I returned."

Lem fell on his ass as the mage started walking towards him while slowly pulling out the knife.

"Thanks for that. It was itchy in there, and for the life of me I couldn't figure out how to scratch it," he said and dropped the knife in front of him.

Lem noticed that there wasn't a single drop of blood on the knife.

"M…monster," Lem whispered in terror.

The mage let out a chilling laugh, his eyes locking onto Lem's as he approached.

"That's right," he spoke with a sinister tone, "I am a monster." The words were like daggers in Lem's ears, his heart racing with fear.

The mage leaned down, his face inches from Lem's. He held his gaze, revealing a grin that sent shivers down Lem's spine.

"And now that I have all I need from all of you," the mage continued, his voice low and menacing, "the next few days are going to be a living hell for you."

Lem felt his body go limp, his mind unable to process the terror he was experiencing. He met the mage's gaze one last time before darkness overtook him, his body collapsing to the ground.

----------

Petyr fought to keep his eyes open, despite the searing pain and the bruises that covered his battered body. Each day had brought new rounds of merciless beatings, and he longed for it to end. If only he knew where the gold was hidden, he would have gladly given up its location to his tormentors, just to be spared the agony.

But he also knew that the only reason he was still alive was that he hadn't given in. As long as the location of the gold remained a mystery, he still had some value to his captors. So, he gritted his teeth and bore the pain, determined to hold on for as long as he could.

He traced everything back to the arrival of that blasted mage in the capital. He was convinced that the mage had somehow discovered his gold and stolen it.

As a result, his power and wealth had taken a major hit. He had to sell some of his assets to keep his network afloat, but just when he had managed to stabilize things, he was caught by Jon Arryn and thrown into a cell.

He had no idea how long it had been. His body was now covered in scars, even larger than the one Brandon Stark had left him with.

Just as he was contemplating how it all went wrong, he heard footsteps approaching his cell, and he prepared himself for another beating.

When the cell door opened he saw a face he was not expecting to see Janos Slynt, the head of the city watch, unexpectedly entered his cell.

"Get up, Littlefinger. You don't have much time left," Slynt said.

Petyr slowly got up, knowing that even though Slynt was on his payroll, he wouldn't have acted on his own accord to free him. "Why?" Petyr asked.

"Same reason as always. I got paid. Now, get moving. I'm sure you know how to get out of the keep. There's a ship waiting for you," Slynt replied.

Petyr didn't waste any more time with questions. He would get his answers later. It was dark outside, and he quietly made his way to the port without getting caught.

As he reached the port, he saw a figure waiting for him, and things started to make sense.

The figure noticed him and immediately ran towards him, hugging and kissing him repeatedly.

"Oh my Petyr, what did they do to you?" she asked.

"I'm fine," he said, grabbing her hands and getting them off his face. "Thank you for getting me out, but what are you doing here?"

"We can run away together, Petyr. We can go outside the Seven Kingdoms and live together happily," she said, with feverish excitement in her voice.

He grimaced at that. Lysa Arryn was one of his most important pawns; she was the reason he had become the maester of coin so easily, and she would be useless if she ran away. He was going to have to handle this matter carefully.

"Lysa, my love," he began, his tone softening, "you know how much I care for you, but we both know that we must be strategic in our actions. If you come with me, it will only make things worse."

"But...how will I live without you?" she asked with tears in her eyes.

He almost slapped her for being so dumb but held himself back.

"I promise you, I will write to you every chance I get. And once everything has died down and my name is cleared, we can finally be together. You have my word," he said.

Tears streamed down her face as she nodded, her expression a mix of sadness and understanding.

Petyr breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that he had one less problem to deal with now.

He held her in a brief embrace, his mind already racing with plans for revenge. As he turned and disappeared into the night, his thoughts turned to the chaos he would unleash upon his enemies.

"They will all burn."