The Night is Dark

Three hundred ships sailed to the Reach and arrived at the local harbor the following night. Hundreds of black clad men and soldiers ran towards the Citadel buildings in the dead of the night. Entering the place after using her mental power to check the location for her workers, she found that the people who ordered the operation are not easy to pinpoint in this large place so she made a decision that will go down in history as the 'purge' of the gray rats. 

Sadly she only one one of he people alive, two have already succumb to their injuries. The man is cutting into flesh of the remaining worker asking the same question. Olivia doesn't need wings to float in the air after her advancement with the two dragons the night before. Like her children, she can use fire and Morpheus said she can use her abilities when she is done sorting out her inheritance, she can use her magic and will it to make her float.

Their bond is magical in many ways. Because Olivia was able to activate the raw power of her bloodline. The kind even the old valerians couldn't access, her activated blood that gave birth to her eggs is able to allow for many magical connection between the dragon and her rider. Although because of her frail human body she can not explore this connection to the fullest. 

She entered the window of the torture room even as it is small and up high in the wall. As she landed on the ground she made a sound. The man turned with the bloody knife on his hand. Not knowing where she came from, the man didn't cry in alarm but tried to stab her bloody. 

Olivia jumped back and let her fire burn a human for the first time, that is how angry she is at the sight of her people being mutilated to this extent. The bodies on the ground made her hyperventilate in absolute rage. He let out a scream but it was very brief. She raised her hand the same one to the man on the torture chair making him cream in fear.

"Shh...it's alright now. You're safe." She released her healing flame and it healed him but he had been frightened into a mini comma.

Now inside the building, Olivia brought in more soldiers this way. In a matter of minutes the torture chamber became filled with men wearing black slick armor. She gave them a few medicine pouches, just shake it on someone's face and they will faint after inhaling a little.

All the people with many chains around their necks died that say. Those who are safe are those not at the location. The rest were knocked out and many copies of scripts and ledgers were stolen that night. Anyone who saw them was knocked out and boxes were transported to the ships for most of the night. 205 old masters died that day.

Olivia sent out a decree, close all the shops in the Reach or any where near the Reach and sell the shops at a low price. Non of the products from the Haunted city will be sold to the Reach from now on.

She was tempted to burn all the remaining books but she didn't. She took a deep breath, reached deep with in herself and let go.

"Over 500 people for two? Seems like a fair trade especially since they don't know who we are although I am sure the Tyrells are aware of it now." Olivia said drinking her wine gazing at the view of her window.

Just as she suspected, the Reach suspected the North had something to do with it but then they found a piece of paper in their building with the words. "Come find me in the Haunted forest sometime. I'll play with you."

The Tyrells are the protectors of the Citadel. They have failed to protect their charge and must avenge them at this time. But...

"What do we know about this Haunted forest? How many soldiers do they have? Which side should we attack from? Are they a city? A village? A castle?" Olenna asked her son.

"Nothing." He said dejected.

"Then find out before you presume to be going in swords blazing. Make a plan first." She dismissed him.

"What do you think of this Haunted forest Willas?"

"Making assumptions about an unknown enemy is ill advised. But will travel to the true North for us? This person doesn't seem like an easy opponent. They came in through the night, knocked out several strong guards and other irrelevant people then proceeded to steal documents and kill their targets. This is not someone we should take lightly." He concluded.

"I know who it is. I knew it the moment I heard they were knocked out by medicine. Think about it, who has several medicinal formulas coveted by the Citadel and just about anyone with half a brain? Who is giving such pills for free to the poor? Let me make it easy for you.

"Who poisoned Lannister men so their skin melts from their bones in kings landing?" She smiled when she saw recognition in her grandson's eyes.

"Olivia Snow! Is it really her?"

"Who but a true Northerner can even think about turning a desolate place like the lands beyond the wall into a place one can live in?" Olenna asked.

"You mean?"

"She disappeared all those years ago. Presumably to make her own city. A kingdom of her own, if I am right and I probable am, she is the queen beyond the wall." Olenna concluded.

"It makes sense why she would continue buying so much of our grains even when the North is independent now." Willas said.

"All that food was probably going to feed the wildlings." She said.

"Do we tell the army this information?"

"Do you wish to kill them all? She is the master of poison. Let this be it was them who provoked her any ways. It is okay to pay a price for greed and haste." She sneered.

"209 masters. The price is pretty stip." He said.

"I'll say." A voice came out of the shadows in a corner.

"Who are you?"

"A man is no one." He leapt out the window.

Olenna thought she was having a stroke, she has never been so close to death in her life. It seems some of the masters in the Citadel were suspecting the Tyrells of the massacre. Now that man has enough information to track down and kill Olivia.

"Lets see if you live through this hurdle Bloody Snow, queen of the wildlings." She released a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"She us so dead." Willas said.

"Time will tell."

.....

The food is plentiful and sumptuous but there are many guests today. "When are you all leaving?" Olivia seated at the host seat asked her many guests.

"We would like to discuss trade." Jeor Mormont said.

"We are too far apart. Do you expect my people to travel to your place to trade for what? Its not like you have gold?" Olivia asked.

"We may not have much gold but we have other things..." He looked at his men and had a silent conversation with them before he stood up.

"We don't involve ourselves with wars in the south but between you and Mance Rayder, we will support you. Given that your goal unlike his, is not going South with an army of invaders. This is true yes?"

"Support me?" Olivia frowned and looked at her people. "Then we are friends and allies." She raised a glass of wine."

"Here here!" Everyone cheered.

"Thank you."

"Is there something else?"

"Coffee."

Olivia chuckled "Food, as you may have thought, I have glass houses here when I get time, I will get you them. What exactly does support mean?"

"If you ever need men against Mance Rayder or what lays beyond the snow we will spare what we can. In return you give us supplies when you can."

"I see. Well then. I will have to have this agreement in writing and it also has to be approved by all the crows so I will have to go back with you. If you don't mind this."

"It makes perfect sense." He agreed.

"What would have happened if I was Mance Rayder as you budge into my city unprepared that way?"

"We know you are some other leader because we know where Mance lives. Between your city and the wild animals out there, we had little choice but to request entery." One said.

"You are lucky we are not the Thenns or you would be in big trouble." Veer sneered. 

"Ominous." Tyrion says on the side.

"Huh?" Olivia turned to the Dwarf. "Weren't you with that Mance fella? How come you are amongst the crows now? Are you some sort of broker or something?"

"No, I am Tyrion Lannister. I have travelled a long distance to meet you lady Snow....."

"She is the queen of the true North." One of the council members she doesn't know who said."

"Shouldn't I get rid of that other guy first?" She whispered.

"You could have, why didn't you?" Tyrion heard her even though she whispered so he asked her.

"Huh?"

"You were there in his tent but you didn't kill him, why?"

"If he dies the wildlings will go back to being scattered sand. I want to know where to find them should I need them. Why is a Lannister so far away from the South?"

"I..can I speak with you in private?" He asked seeing many people watching and listening.

"No, we're all friends here. What do the Lannister's want from me?"

"My father said to say that he needs a favor."

"....."

"What's the favor?" It's not even her who asked, it goes to show this statement was unfinished.

"My sister had an accident. She needs healing medicine."

"Oh? Did she fall from the red keep in a drunken stupor?" She asked with a chuckle.

"Maybe she tried swimming inside a pool of gold. I heard it's painful.." One man from the nights watch said making everyone laugh.

"Molten gold?"

"Who knows man, rich people..." This one sounded helpless.

"How much did your father give you to pay for those healing medicine?" Olivia finally asked after listening to the comments.

"He didn't give me any money. He said it is a favor for Tywin Lannister."

"Really obnoxious."

"Can this 'favor' be eaten?"

"Urgh Southerners..."

Olivia busted out laughing. "Does the old lion remember that his daughter did not make the best impression on me?" She is finished eating now. Standing up, she looked to Jeor Mormont.

"Tomorrow we ride south at first light." She stood to leave.

"Can I ask you something. What are those roaring sounds we keep hearing?"

"Beasts. Powerful beast." She left them. It has been a while since the massacre at the Citadel. They should have investigated her whereabouts by now.

When she is nearing her bedroom she turned to her guards. "Go back. I am safe now." She watched them go a good distance away then she turned and opened her balcony window.

"Well come on in." A white light flashed inside followed by a black one.

"Hanging 30 floors high for how long?"

"10 minutes." That's right, her dragons can talk although it is in her mind and there must be a connection between the two to establish communication. She opened them with her own magic and blood so they are very connected.

Morpheus sounds like a teenage boy and Aeryn sounds like a small girl. The feel in the mind when they speak is ancient. She thought she was dreaming the first time.

"Can you learn to open the balcony windows? Or just cone in through the front door. You can find my room this way right?"

"We can but the other humans are noisy when they see us. We came to say something."

"What is it?"

"Aeryn can feel a connection but it is far away from here."

"What! You are too young. What if its a bad person?" Olivia panicked as all mothers do when their children move out of the house.

"Not much can be done. But unlike others I can talk to my rider. I'll be more than a tool for destruction." The little dragon assured her as she rubbed her body on her side trying to sooth her mother. 

"Morpheus you said you have magic, what does that mean exactly?" 

"Does my name really has something to do with dreams?" She asked her with slight reproach. 

"How did you find out?" Olivia became guilty. "It is the god of dreams, master said he can enter people's dreams and control them. He is said to hold much power in the realm of sleep." 

"And you thought my majestic self should rule over dreams? You know I have actual fire right?" 

"Yes love, you are the most powerful." 

"Hehe.." Aeryn laughed on the side.

"What of it?" Olivia asked. 

"Names are very important in our culture." Aeryn said in amusement. 

"Magic, you said you have magic, what does that mean exactly?" Olivia tried to change the subject. 

"We can reduce or enlarge our size as we see fit. We wanted to show you." Morpheus changed his size to a bird size then Aeryn did as well.

"This is wonderful. You guys can just come in through the door and no one will see you."

"The memories of inheritance are not all organized it takes time to piece it all together. For now this is all we can do." Aeryn said.

"This is plenty. I am glad you can just blend in the shadows and run if something happens." She admitted.

She had forgotten about their ability to talk because she had to leave as soon as she woke up.

"When are you finding this person?"

"The time is not right yet. I just wanted you to know so you are not surprised when it's happens."

"You are very wise."

"I am constantly inheriting old knowledge. Some may argue that am older than most humans in this castle." She said proudly.

"If you inherit something that can make me wealthy, let me know."

"Okay."

.....

"Do you think she will ever come back?" Ned asked his now grown up son. Robb was very surprised when his father admitted to him that he got all the materials and money to revive the North from Olivia.

"After what she went through here. I doubt but something tells me, she never left."

"Are you going to be the hand of the King?" He aske his father.

"I don't want too. But I doubt the king will give me much of a choice." Ned has cultivated a closer relationship with his son ever since Olivia called them little southerners.

"What would she say to that?" Robb asked.

"She told me I am too predictable to survive in the south. Now I know she had in fact wanted to run away and not come back." He said sadly.

"She will come back, the pack will unite again. What we should worry about is whether she will be alright out there alone." Robb comforted his worrying father. 

The door opened in aggression as Caitlyn walked in with a piece of paper. "Ned, your daughter has murdered 209 people! Good hardworking people of the Citadel, she walked in there and harvested all their lives. Can you believe it?" She is so excited that she doesn't see the frown on her own son's face hearing her bold accusations. 

"We don't know that. Where did you hear this?" 

"Lysa sent it to me. She said your daughter murdered tens of people in a horrible fashion, did you know that she melted the people's flash off their faces in Kings landing all those years ago? I bet that is why she didn't come back home at that time." 

"I think we all know why she didn't come home all that time. Mother!" Robb said standing to leave his parents. Ned didn't reprimand him because he agrees with his son. His wife is responsible for him losing his daughter and failing to keep his word to his dear sister. 

Caitlyn has recently gotten permission to receive letters without them passing through her husband and the first thing she does is accuse his daughter like a mad woman. Ned knows what she did and he also knew his daughter may be capable of something like this which is why he would have preferred her here where he can watch over here and guide her where she might lose her way.

"There is a reason a child as young as she is can be capable of inflicting such horrors on another human being. You should know better than anyone why she turned out like that." Ned stood up and went to practice. 

She had come in to turn them against her but it turned out they already knew and they don't blame her for it, if anything they seem to blame herself. She sat on the chair left alone in her husband's office not knowing where it all went wrong. 

Her son, the one they call the young wolf now resents her after understanding just how horrible she was on his half sister. He is now closer to his father than he is to her, she always felt that things shouldn't be like this, after that menace left they should finally be a family without her loitering around dirtying the honor of her husband. 

She always thought her husband agrees with her on the way she handled the bastard child, why is he blaming her now? Has he changed his mind or did she go too far? No matter what, the bastard's absence should have been a good thing. She always thought he was giving silent consent about matters on the bastard and had only reprimanded her to keep up appearances. 

...