The party began the trek back toward Winterfell. The horses picked their way carefully over the uneven ground. The mood among the guards was somber but relieved. For them, the execution was merely another duty fulfilled. For Link, it was the signal that the clock was ticking.
He stayed toward the rear of the column. He kept his eyes scanning the banks of the half frozen stream they were following. He knew that somewhere nearby, a miracle was waiting in the slush.
"You are quiet today, Link," a younger guard named Desmond said as he pulled his horse alongside. "Still thinking about the deserter? Do not let it get to you. The man broke his oath."
Link nodded without looking at him. "I am just thinking about the cold, Desmond. The man was terrified. He was not just running from the Watch. He was running from something he saw."
Desmond snorted. "He saw shadows. He saw the madness of the frost. There has not been a White Walker in eight thousand years. You have been listening to too many of Old Nan's stories."
Link did not argue. He knew that arguing with a doomed man was a waste of time. Instead, he pulled on his reins and slowed his pace. He was looking for the bridge.
Suddenly, the lead riders came to a halt. Robb Stark and Theon Greyjoy were at the front. They had spotted something in the shadows of a large boulder near the water.
"Lord Stark!" Robb called out. His voice was filled with a mix of excitement and confusion. "Look here!"
The guards closed in. Link felt his heart hammering against his ribs. He pushed his way through the horses until he could see the ground. There, tangled in the roots of an old tree, lay the massive carcass of a direwolf.
The animal was huge. It was larger than any pony in the Winterfell stables. Its fur was matted with dried blood and a jagged shard of elk antler was buried deep in its throat. It was a gruesome sight that felt like an omen.
"A direwolf," Ned Stark whispered as he dismounted. His eyes were wide with a rare trace of unease. "There have not been direwolves south of the Wall in a hundred years."
Theon Greyjoy drew his small blade. "It is dead, anyway. Look at the pups."
At the side of the dead beast, five small shapes huddled together for warmth. They were tiny and blind and shivering against the freezing wind. The guards began to murmur. They spoke of bad luck and curses. To them, a dead direwolf was a sign of a dark winter.
Ned Stark looked down at the pups with a heavy gaze. "Kill them," he said quietly. "It is a mercy. They will not survive without the mother."
"No!" Bran Stark cried out. The young boy had rushed forward. He was clutching one of the grey pups to his chest. "Please, father. Do not kill them."
This was the moment Link had been waiting for. In his previous loops, he had stayed silent. He had watched as Jon Snow made the suggestion that saved the wolves. But this time, Link needed to establish his presence. He needed to be more than a face in the crowd.
Before Jon Snow could speak, Link stepped forward. He kept his head bowed respectfully but his voice was clear.
"My Lord," Link said.
Ned Stark turned his cold grey eyes toward him. The pressure was immense. It was the gaze of a man who could order an execution without blinking.
"The direwolf is the sigil of your House," Link continued. He chose his words carefully to avoid sounding like a common soldier. "There are five pups here. One for each of your trueborn children. Perhaps it is not a curse. Perhaps it is a sign that the gods are watching over House Stark."
The silence that followed was deafening. The other guards looked at Link as if he had lost his mind. A low born guard did not give advice to the Warden of the North.
Jon Snow stepped out from the shadows. He looked at Link with a flash of surprise before turning to his father. "He is right, Lord Stark. Five pups for five Starks. I am not a Stark. I do not need one."
Ned Stark looked from Link to Jon and then down at the pups. The tension in the air seemed to soften. He remained silent for a long time as the wind howled through the trees.
"You have a bold tongue for a guard, Link," Ned said. There was no anger in his voice, only a deep weariness. "But you speak the truth. Robb, keep your pup. Bran, keep yours. You will feed them yourselves and you will bury them yourselves if they die."
The boys erupted with joy. Link felt a surge of triumph. He had successfully altered the dialogue of the scene without breaking the flow of history. He had planted a seed in Ned Stark's mind that he was a man of observation.
As the men began to gather the pups, Link felt a strange pull. He walked a few paces away toward a thicket of white briars. He knew there was one more.
He reached into the snow and pulled out a tiny ball of white fur. Its eyes were already open and they were as red as fresh blood.
The Ghost.
"Wait," Link said. He held the white pup up for everyone to see. "There is one more. This one is different from the rest."
He walked over to Jon Snow and handed the pup to him. "This one belongs to you, Jon."
Jon took the pup with a look of pure gratitude. For a moment, the two of them shared a look of understanding. Link realized that he had just made his first real ally in this world.
Anchor Updated: The Discovery of the Direwolves.
Link smiled to himself. He had survived the morning. He had secured the wolves. Most importantly, he had done it all without a single reload.
....
Author Note
Hi guys! Thank you for reading my fanfiction.
I wanted to let you know that I'll be releasing bonus chapters for Power Stones. Here are the goals:
15 Power Stones: 1 Bonus Chapters
30 Power Stones: 1 Bonus Chapters
50 Power Stones: 1 Bonus Chapters
75 Power Stones: 2 Bonus Chapters
100 Power Stones: 2 Bonus Chapters
Thanks for the support!