"Kneel to an unknown man who became King due to his forefathers and go south of the Wall?" A man wearing bone and fur armour asked Lyanna who was standing before him.
"Yes. The Prince of the North has decided to have the First Men unite together so that in the future the true enemy of the Realms of Man will have a hard time gathering its forces." Lyanna told the man.
"You speak about the Cold Gods. I see, so there is someone beyond the Wall who knows about the reason why the Wall was built. Good." Looking back at her, the man said "But, our clan will have to decline your offer. This land is our home, it's harsh and unforgiving, but it's still our home."
"The Prince is offering you an island for all the Free Folks to live in peace. Don't you want your people to have a better life than what you have now?" Alys asked the man from Lyanna's side.
"No. We will not bend the knee and become one of you kneelers." The nab spat out with disgust.
Alys sighed and asked Lyanna in a low voice "Can't we just force them?"
"That is also an option, but that won't work." Lyanna replied and thought what should she do?This is the first settlement we have come across but the chief of this clan is not willing to bend the knee.'
"Grrrr...." Fenris and Snow, started to growl out as a warning to Lyanna and Alys as they felt something coming towards them that is not an ally.
Lyanna looked in the direction where Fenris was growling and said out loud to her men and women "Everyone! Get ready for a battle!"
The chief's eyes went wide in fear as he heard her, and with anger rising from the depths of his guts he shouted at them "What the hell are you doing?! I gave you the guest rights and this is how you repay me! Is this the way of the kneelers!"
But, no one from the thirty warriors from the Kingdom of the North minded his words as they were looking around for danger that will be coming at them.
When the chief saw that they were not listening to him and was vigilant towards one direction, he looked over and saw fifty men and women with scars on their face coming towards them. Seeing them, he gulped down and screamed to his clansman "Take arms! The Ice River clan is here! The cannibals are here! Hide the children!"
Taking out the bone sword he had with him he said to Lyanna "Survive if you can!"
Shaking her head, she told Alys "Let's tag team, shall we?"
A smile bloomed on Alys's face as she replied "Sure. Let's beat them down. Do we see blood?"
"They're cannibals and Reagan has told me that he doesn't want them in the North." Lyanna shrugged her shoulders as she replied and took out her shield and sword.
With the shield in her left hand and sword in the right hand, Lyanna said out loud "Winter Wolves! Attack!"
"Awooooooooo" The wolves along with the warriors howled out and lunged towards the fifty cannibals with Lyanna and Alys at the forefront.
"Arggggghhhhhh" The cannibals also charged at them with some staying at the back with makeshift bows and started firing arrows at the Winter Wolves.
The archers from the Winter Wolves also fired arrows from the back assisting the warriors on the ground. The warriors did their best to defend and attack with the shields, spears and swords.
At the forefront of the Winter Wolves, Lyanna was gracefully dodging the swords of the cannibals and hitting them with her shield and making them disoriented then slice their neck apart in a single motion. Alys with her dual short swords was in sync with Lyanna. Alys was slicing the cannibals without any reserve and there was grace in her movements. Her sword style was akin to a maiden dancing between the blood and gore
The chief who saw this had his jaw hanging as the Winter Wolves decimated the cannibals in a matter of few seconds. His eyes never left Lyanna and Alys who were shadowed by Fenris and Snow, with blood all over their body and he thought to himself 'Will they kill us all if we don't go with them?'
He gulped down in fear when they came back towards him, but instead of what he feared, what Lyanna did was different. She asked Winter Wolves if they were alright and checked up on them for any injuries. Sighing to herself, knowing that there were no injuries with her people, she observed the wildlings for a bit and spoked up "I understand that you don't want to bend the knee to the King of the North. We will take our leave now."
The chief observed Lyanna as she was ordering her men to prepare for the departure from the settlement. "Sigh....." The chief let out a long sigh and shouted to Lyanna "Wait! I won't leave my home and become a kneeler to an unknown man who calls himself King because of his forefathers. But, I will allow my clansmen to make their own decision."
Turning towards his clansmen he told them "They are offering us a place to stay with all the free folks and have our own farm and shelter. If anyone wants to leave for the betterment of their future, you can leave with them. If not, you can stay with our clan and do what we have been doing."
Many looked at him expecting that it was a joke from him, but when they understood that he was serious, they started shouting at him along the lines "We are not going to be kneeler." and "Like our forefathers we are going to live our life out here."
Four women in the clan looked conflicted for a bit, but they squared up and step forward with a bundle in their hands. Seeing the four women walking out, the shouting stilled and the free folks were glaring at them. The four women looked at Lyanna and one of them asked her "Will we be able to bring our children with us to your Kingdom?"
"Yes, You and your children are all welcome to our Kingdom if you are willing to bend the knee to the King." Lyanna replied to the question she was asked.
The four women knelt in front of her and the one who asked her the question, said "We will kneel before you, warrior. We wish to follow you with our children."
Lyanna nodded at her and motioned four women who are in the Winter Wolves to help those four to pack up so that they could depart, so that they could camp near the Wall. As they were helping them out, Lyanna asked the free folk one more time "Are you sure that you will not join our Kingdom? I am asking on behalf of King Brandon Stark, the Ice Eyes, and Prince Reagan Stark, rider of Fenrir."
There was a pin drop silence when she said the last part and everyone heard someone else saying in a low voice "By the Old Gods! A Fenrir?!"
Before anyone could react, Alys lunged towards the tree where the voice was heard from with her wolf Snow. The person whose voice was heard tried to escape when he saw Alys and Snow coming towards him, but he fell to the ground as Snow pounced on him. Aly quickly placed her sword on his neck and asked "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you like your friends over there?"
"Those are not my friends." The man denied and continued "My name is Bjorn son of Ragnar. I would like to know about this Fenrir and its rider."
Squinting her eyes, Alys asked him "Why should we give you any information on my brother and his wolf?"
Tilting his head he asked in confusion "You are a princess? I thought you were the bodyguard of your leader."
Pushing her blade to his neck, making him bleed a little bit, she said in a dangerous voice "Answer my damn question."
"I will answer that in his stead, as I am also curious about this Fenris and its rider you spoke of." The chief of the clan said.
Both Alys and Lyanna looked at the chief for an explanation, and he didn't let them down. "This is a story that was passed down to each chief of every clan of the free folks. A day will arrive when Fenrir, the Great Wolf, walks on the earth again and at that time he will have a trusted partner with him. Then some time his brother, Jörmungandr, the Great Serpent, will be born with a partner. Both of them are the gift to men from the Old Gods. And when the time comes, they will fight against their sister, Hel, the Great Other."
(AN: I am going to post the AI edited chapters in the aux volume. Whoever want to read that they can find it in, i repeat in the aux volume. Thank you for reading this novel, as always I'll be writing one chapter everyday.)