Hope

Olivia stood up and went to get dressed. She put on a practical dress and went downstairs to meet the group of people sprawled on the ground. Some are dying from sickness while the others have lost the use of their limbs for all sort of reasons.

She has a consultation room in the ground floor of the tower where she is planning on curing these people one by one. The number doesn't seem too much for the first day.

The people in the North are hard people who endure a lot of hardships. "Hello I'll be your doctor today." Olivia reached for the man's wrist to check his palse but the man pulled back.

"Is this a joke? A child is going to help me get better?" The expression on Olivia's face didn't change.

"Anna bring me the next person." She doesn't have to beg someone she is providing help for free. 

A passed out young boy is brought in. Oliva checked his pulse and used her mental power to scan him. "He is just hungry. The frost on his feet is not helping."

The man looked at the boy. His feet are wrapped in thick rags. There is no way to see through it with normal eyes. Anna is also curious so she open the boy's feet and indeed there is blue color frost on his feet.

"This pill should take away his hunger and this one will help him radiate heat."

She has a full pharmacy worth of pills in her clinic which is why she chose to use it this way since these pills are not highly valued by the wealthy and the small folks who are in despair need them but can not afford them.

Anna pried the boy's mouth open and made him swallow the pills. The man watched as the frost disappeared at a pace visible to the eyes.

The boy opened his eyes squinting at the light. "How do you feel?" Anna asked. The boy looked frightened to be so close to a starnger and the place is not known to him.

"I know him. His name is Broady an orphan in the town." The man said.

"Broady, sit over there I need the chair." Olivia said and Anna brought in the next patient.

The leg has a large gash made by bite marks. The man from across the narrow sea had brought her several hundreds of pairs of gloves. She put them on and looked at the squirming man.

"Here eat this, tell me when you feel better." Olivia took a pair of scissors and cut the fabric.

"What did you give me?" The man felt several time better as if the pain is gone.

"It's a pain killer. You are going to need it for what I am about to do." She opened his wound. "Animal bite huh? You must have smelled like chicken."

The man laughed. "I went hunting." He saw her take out a needle. She injected near the area and touched him. He didn't feel anything.

She used disinfectant powder and water to clean it then cut off the infected area. When the wound looked clean she rubbed the healing paste she made before and bandaged his wound. Two of the guards she hired carried him to the next room where she will be monitoring the patient over night.

The place has several warm stones imbued on the wall to make the entire large room warm.

Many of the passed out people are either hungry or cold so she used a lot of the pills she called meal capsules and the yellow cold chasers. A large number of people were able to leave after the treatment. Even the boy was able to leave a while after waking up.

Olivia worked for hours without resting because she is very strong now. Out of 38 people only one required observation. The man who has been watching her finally spoke.

"Can you help me now? I have full confidence in your skills and medication now." He said. Olivia went to check his pulse without making a fuss.

The man has a bad stomach because he drinks alcohol on empty stomach and eats chilly food. She gave him a healing pill which will heal any internal problem. She only gives these for problems not visible to the eye to avoid suspicion. 

"Is that it? Did you even check my problem?" He said with a raised eyebrow.

"You have inflamed intestines because you like alcohol on an empty stomach and you eat way too much chilly food." Olivia said and asked him to leave.

"Am I cured after taking this?" He asked in disbelief. 

"Yes. But it will come back after a long time if you continue to abuse your stomach." She said.

"Only after a long time?"

"I will not encourage you sir. Please leave now." She said blinking.

"What is your name?"

"I have no name. Bye bye." She waved at him.

"What if your pill makes me sick or something?"

"Prey to the heavens that it doesn't." She smiled brightly at his growing annoyance.

"You are such a brat you know that?" He left.

"I know." This time she is amused to have found someone else to annoy besides her cheap father.

The next day she is called into her father's office.

"Olivia." Ned said

"Lord Stark." She greeted. There is a man in the room, by his features he seems to be from far away.

"I assume he is here for me?" She did a curtsy to the man in greeting.

"Why did you order a foreign weapons instructor?" Ned felt a headache coming.

"He is not just any weapons instructor he is here to teach me the art of concealed weapons. A frail thing like me needs a skill like this." She tilted her head and watched her cheap father closely.

"Are you by any chance upset by this? I would think you would be happy I am looking out for my health." She said confused by his reaction.

"I am happy you are learning something useful but If you had told me I would have found someone for you."

"Father he is a master of disguise and can perform an assassination in a throne room without being caught. I need someone to teach me such skills."

"Why would a dignified daughter of the North need to sneak around and assassinate people?"

"I need to know the skills so I can recognize them incase someone does something like that to me. You do realize I am not going to end up just your daughter. People will want me dead in the near future." She said in a serious tone. 

"We can protect you here." Ned interjected. 

"Am I going to live in a tower for the rest of my life?" She challenged.

"No. But this.." Ned said with an uncomfortable expression.

"Is dishonorable I know. Which I why I am doing it because in the end it will either be a living person or a dead one. There is no honorable dead person just... a dead person. I need this, you have trusted me so far so trust me now."

"I trust you I just..."

"This decision doesn't reflect on you in anyway. You are a good man, your teachings will serve your children well. But I am different. The honorable little kids you are raising are not gearing to deal with the type of people I am going to face in the future."

"I can't convince you out of this can I?"

"You already have your answer. Taste this dish I made with my new recipe. This is how the North is going to be completely independent of the South." She put a well crafted wooden box on the table.

"East slowly." She took away the man towards her tower.

She pointed at a couch for him to seat. "Welcome to the North. What is your name? Ela said you are a very good teacher." She said after making warm coffee with milk for him.

"I drink it black." The man said with a thick foreign accent.

"My name is Gu. We can start your training first thing tomorrow." He looked around.

"I heard the North is poor. Having docked by the Stoney shores I agree. But I also saw large clearings are you building something?"

"Why did you agree to come? Ela said you take tasks based on your mood."

"I was curious why the daughter of the house known as an honorable house would want to learn my skills." He sat comfortably on the couch.

"Do you have your answer?" She asked him drinking the coffee with milk and gave him a black coffee like he asked.

"For now. So what are you building all long the road it seemed the same."

"Housing." She answered calmly.

"For free?"

"Yes." The final verdict was farming families will get the three stories with a plot of land. The hunters and the others will be living in the apartments being built near towns.

This undertaking is happening all around the North at the same time providing jobs and hope for a better future for all the Northern people.

Initially lord Stark had expected to have some lords protesting this undertaking since they are being made to pay for man power. However, when each lord saw the plans for each of their regions they fell in love with it. Even the Bolton's became very happy.

The provision of the two pastes became an even bigger encouragement for each lord. Not only are they happy to pay for the man power, they are very grateful to Ned Stark for his contributions.

Foreign builders were invited by Winterfell at the urging of Olivia to supervise the sewers of each region. There is a flushing process which leaves the potty very clean taking the waste along with the water to a prepared tank. When the tanks are full there is a powdery substance that Olivia decided to give the for Ned to sell. 

She gave him a formula that will produce powder that melts fesses turning them into particles that will vanish even inside water. The water is left clean but it is better to not drink such water so it is released into the sea.

The next morning Olivia started her training in the training grounds she had prepared. The instructor became very excited when he saw her agility, and flexibility. He decided to be serious because she has true potential.

On the otherside of the Castle, Ned woke up feeling different. He washed himself but when he took a closer look at himself, the signs of aging on his muscles and skin have decreased by at least 30% he immediately knew it must have been the delicious food Olivia had made for him.

At 12 he was about to go to lunch when she came back with the same lunch box. "Did you see the difference?" She smirked.

"Is this medical soup? And what is this soft white grain?"

"It's called rice. I want to give the seeds to the Moat since they have wet lands. If we make this grain, there is no need to bother the south anymore. This summer is long, the winter will be even longer we will need stock." She advised.

"About the soup." He coughed with slight embarrassment.

"It is an age reversal recipe. The process of making it is daunting. You will eat it three time a week and stop when you feel young enough." She said but Ned seems deep in thought.

"Do you realize how valuable this soup is? Think about the strong soldiers who are now suffering from body aches. If they can get back their health the army will be full of experienced soldiers." Suddenly his excitement vanished

"I'm putting too much pressure on you aren't I? Is this soup expensive to make?" He asked her.

"I have the herbs in my glass house. It is a lot of work I need to put precise measurements. I can make it but only for the veterans of the Winterfell army. And dear father, it will not be cheap." She said.

"That is more than enough. Thank you Olivia."

"Its okay, I have to go back to my training." She left a grateful lord behind.

Her trainer is surprised she is not tired after they have been training all day. She even have the time to cook him food.

"The glass houses were bought from overseas?" Gu asked.

"A traveling merchant group provided it for the North at an exuberant price. But we need them." She lied with a straight face.

"Makes sense. I saw your schedule, you have consultation?" The man asked just as the two maidservants came in

"Were are back!" Anna and Faith brought the group of patients for the day.

"Mr Gu you may rest in your room if you don't want to see sick people." She advised but he wanted to see what is going on.

Olivia started the consultations and healed many people with medicine. She decided to melt the pills in small cups before giving them to the patients because they have been trying to take the pills away to sell as of late.

"Why are they getting liquid medication only today?" The man who was a patient with a bad stomach last time came back to work for her as a guard.

"They are selling the pills outside." She informed.

Olivia has recently made a flesh recovery pill without going through the cocoon incident. There is the other pill she made which is a bone and flesh recovery pill. The process of regrowing limbs and flesh is uncomfortable but it only last for a day.

She will use these pills to win the hearts of many. But she is not ready to show it to the world. There is a pill she hasn't been able to make due to a missing ingredient. It is a high level detoxifying pill that will make the user immune to a hundred poisons.

For now she has a low level potion that can help if bitten by poisonous insects and snakes. She uses it to cure the people who come to the clinic after being beaten by such animals while hunting.

Time moved slowly. The North gradually improved on all sides. First it was the glass houses then the small folks moved from their shabby houses and huts to live in apartment buildings with water, bathing rooms for every family and toilets that uses water to flush.

The warm stones generously installed on the walls and floors allows them to live comfortably even without warm blankets for those who cant afford them. Although it is not enough to discard covering with a blanket, they will not die from freezing when they live inside these homes. 

After every family and teenage orphans were housed whether in the homes or apartments flats, a new project started. Each family home where the three story house was built is given two large glass houses where they will farm and send 30% of the yield to pay their taxes annually.

The apartment buildings are tall buildings where the young and healthy lives upper floors and families with old and sick are located at the lower floors. The place is maintained and the lord of the land provides security or new guards are employed.

A year passed by and Olivia is ten and one name days. She is visiting the Riverland's looking like an old lady. Because of her taking the strengthening potions and her training, she is as tall as a 15 year old boy. Although she is tall, she has a flat chest. Anna and chubby faith always tease her about it. 

One might wonder why she traveled all this way. She is looking for reliable people to turn into her own. In the last year the North has turned from a wasteland into a livable place that others move to. The population has increased by a large margin as soon as people heard there are free warm houses provided for the small folks. 

When her father finally brought up the topic of upgrading the towns into several small cities the lords objected on the account that they have emptied their pockets paying for man power on the construction of housing.

Ned didn't force them, he agreed with them and quietly built a Winterfell city after building the Tumbledown tower from ground up. The small city is not overly big and grand but it has a clean design. Shop buildings providing the same product or service placed together.

Ned then invited those with business to conduct and rented out space for them. 

The wobbly looking terrain was ironed out with cobweb obsidian stones and concrete grounds. The place has completely transformed. When the other lords saw this place, they couldn't sit still and requested for similar developed towns.

Especially for the towns near Kings road. The Tumbledown town as it is called is closer to the crafters village which is now mainly apartment buildings. There is nearby woods where hunters hunt and come to town to make money.

Now one and some change years later lord Stark is ready to begin the construction of Kings road. This up coming project kept Olivia busy for several weeks. The concrete used on the road will be a thousand times harder than the one found in towns. She developed another concrete that is similar a to a permeable concrete that can absorb water. 

This quality of the permeable concrete is even more useful after inserting large amounts of warm stone as a first layer concrete that will dissolve the snow on the road. The Idea that building a road will suck all of Winterfell's resources crossed Ned's mind but he will not be dissuaded from this undertaking. 

This is the matter of transforming the North from a place where people ran away from to a place to aspire to. The concrete paste can be produced from Olivia's basement and the solution is mixed in the construction site with gravel. What he needs is the coins to pay for the man power. This, he turned to Olivia and even drew a contract to pay back every sent. 

Olivia has that much money because she sells her pills for the brothels across the narrow seas now. The beauty pill and the one to stop menstruations is on high demand. So much so she had to compensate the courtesans' Emma for her help in the sales generating process since they have to buy them from her. 

As a result, a year has passed band Olivia is worth a few tens of millions. She now locks her coins inside a large vault she had built in she tower. 

.....