Parting Shadows
Winterfell, Before Arya Leaves for King's Landing
The snow fell lightly over Winterfell as Leo Pendragon stood in the godswood, blades of frost clinging to his cloak. Arya Stark charged at him with a wooden practice sword, breath misting in the cold air.
She had improved—faster, sharper, more determined.
Even the system had quietly noted: "Potential unlocked: 12%."
Leo parried effortlessly.
"Again," he said calmly.
Arya grinned, wiped her nose, and attacked once more.
For ten days he had been teaching her—quietly, out of sight, out of mind. Not formal training, not lessons… just survival and movement. Enough to help her, but not enough to reveal where his strength came from.
And she never told a soul.
Not even Sansa.
Not Jon.
Not Ned.
Arya Stark kept the shadow's secret.
THE ANNOUNCEMENT
That morning, Arya arrived late to the godswood, face tight, lips pressed.
Leo noticed immediately.
"What happened?" he asked.
She looked down.
"We're leaving. Father, Sansa, and me. We're going to King's Landing."
Leo paused.
The capital. A nest of snakes.
Even without knowing the timeline perfectly, he knew the south was dangerous.
"When?" he asked.
"Two days…" Arya said, shoulders slumping. "Maybe one."
Leo nodded slowly. "You must listen to your father."
"I know. It's just—"
Her voice cracked.
"I don't want to stop training."
Leo kneels in front of her.
"You won't. You already know enough to stay ahead of people who underestimate you."
Arya swallowed hard.
"But it's not enough."
"For now, it is."
He reached into his pack and pulled out a small, thin-bladed practice dagger—wooden but balanced like a real blade.
Arya's eyes widened.
"This isn't a weapon," Leo warned. "It's a reminder of how you must move. Quietly. Lightly. Quickly."
She held it like it was something precious.
"Thank you," she whispered. "Shadow."
KEEPING THE SECRET
Arya hesitated before leaving the godswood.
"You won't tell anyone you trained me, right? Not even Jon?"
Leo shook his head. "I told you — I keep secrets better than anyone."
She smiled.
"The best shadow."
"And you," Leo said, "are becoming something far more dangerous."
Her grin grew sharper.
"A wolf?"
Leo shook his head.
"A wolf who moves like a ghost."
THE GOODBYE
The day before departure, Arya slipped out one last time to the small wooden cabin Leo slept in.
She stared at it, in awe, like she always did — a warm modern-like shelter built with techniques she didn't understand.
"You think I'll like King's Landing?" she asked.
"No," Leo said honestly. "But you will survive it."
She nodded, fists clenched.
"I'll come back stronger," she promised.
Leo smiled faintly.
"I know you will."
Ghost-like footsteps approached — Jon Snow. He nodded respectfully to Leo but didn't pry. Arya had made him swear not to ask.
Arya ran off to join her father.
Jon lingered.
"She likes you," Jon said quietly.
"She reminds me of someone," Leo replied.
"Keep her safe?" Jon asked.
Leo looked toward the distant south.
"I'll try. But the south is… complicated."
Jon's eyes dimmed with worry.
Leo placed a hand on his shoulder.
"She'll return. Changed, but alive."
Jon nodded, trusting him without fully understanding why.
Arya Stark left Winterfell the next morning.
And the shadow who had trained her watched silently from the battlements, unseen and unknown.
But he already felt it—
the storm was closer than anyone realized.
"The Fall That Begins the War"
Winterfell was quieter than usual. The king had not yet arrived, but the preparations had begun. Servants rushed through the courtyards, banners were cleaned, and halls dusted.
Leo Pendragon stood alone on the outer walkway of the broken tower, sharpening a dagger out of habit. The metal sang softly with each stroke.
Then he felt it.
The system pulsed.
A warning.
A reminder.
"Certain events must not be altered."
He didn't know when or where it would happen—only that the first domino in the great game of thrones was close.
BRAN CLIMBS THE TOWER
Bran Stark, small and fearless, moved like a spider up the stone wall. He climbed often, and Leo had watched him several times. He admired the boy's courage—dangerous courage.
But today, Bran climbed higher.
Higher than he ever had.
Leo's grip tightened.
"No… not today…" he whispered.
But the system was silent.
Bran reached the top window of the old tower, the wind lifting his hair.
He peered inside.
And froze.
WHAT BRAN SAW
Two voices.
Low. Urgent. Forbidden.
Queen Cersei Lannister and Ser Jaime Lannister were inside the tower, bodies entangled, whispers filled with danger and desire.
Bran's young face twisted in confusion—he didn't understand what he was looking at, not fully, but he knew it was wrong.
Very wrong.
Leo took a half-step forward.
He could reach them in seconds.
He could stop it.
His fingers twitched, longing to act.
But the system message burned like fire:
"WARNING — Interfering here will break the timeline.
The war must begin."
Leo's jaw clenched.
He hated it.
He hated being forced to let this happen.
But this moment… this fall…
This is what tears the Seven Kingdoms apart.
THE PUSH
Inside the tower, Jaime turned.
His golden hand gripped Bran's shirt. His face was pale but calm, like a man accepting his fate.
"The things I do for love," Jaime whispered.
Leo muttered the words along with him.
And Jaime pushed Bran Stark into the empty air.
Time seemed to stop.
Bran's body twisted downward, arms flailing, wind screaming around him.
Leo closed his eyes, jaw grinding so hard it hurt.
He could have saved the boy.
He could have moved faster than Jaime realized.
But the system forbade it.
The moment was destiny.
The fall.
The lie.
The crown.
The war.
All of it began here.
When he opened his eyes, Bran lay on the ground far below—still breathing, but broken.
Winterfell erupted into screams.
LEO'S POV — A STORM BEGINS
Leo stood at the tower ledge, fists trembling.
"Damn this world…" he whispered.
He knew what this fall meant:
Ned would search for the truth
Cersei would fear discovery
The King's visit would turn into a chain of betrayals
Jon would take the Black
Robb would march south
The realm would bleed
And all because of one push.
The kingdom didn't know it yet, but the War of Five Kings had just been born.
Leo stepped back from the ledge and disappeared into the shadows.
He couldn't stop fate.
But he could prepare for it.
And he would.