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123 AC, Winterfell
The other girl seemed to continue, completely unbothered by the effect of her accusation, "And before you refute it, I know my brother, and I know when he's lying. Oh, I haven't introduced myself. My name is Sara, Sara Snow. I'm Cregan's sister. Now, why don't you tell me what really happened today?"
Rhaena felt like she was an idiot. How had she not noticed before? The girl before her had the same grey eyes, the same cheekbones as Cregan, and the boy himself didn't seem used to being hugged by people publicly. She couldn't help but feel slightly relieved for some reason, even if she wasn't exactly sure why.
Of course, whatever relief she felt was immediately followed by panic as the girl gave her and the Potters an expectant look, which made Lord Harry smile for some reason. Rhaena had stopped trying to understand him and his motivation for weeks, "And I was so sure people would eat it up… Of all of the Lords in this castle, nobles and not, it's a young girl who ends up realising that something is wrong. I can't help but wonder if our tale was not exciting or plausible enough."
Sara seemed caught off-guard by Lord Harry's seemingly casual admittance that most of this was a mummer's farce, before meeting his smile, "Oh, it was definitely exciting. Travelling North of the Wall, to face mythical beasts in the honour of House Stark, trying to find priceless treasures from the Age of Heroes, and even finding one of them. And you sold that tale perfectly, but as I said, Cregan is a shit liar, and I could tell ever since we were children. I also know Lord Rickon, and he wouldn't have wasted gold for some fanciful quest to find the original Ice North of the Wall. So, what truly happened?"
Lord Harry simply shrugged, "There are some embellishments and a bit of misdirection, but the story's core is largely true."
"Oh, so you're a traveller who was employed by my father to search the far North for Stark treasures?"
"Of course not… I never had the privilege of meeting your father. I only said that to make sure that your uncle would be forced to hear me out in public. However, both the crown and the medallion belonged to Bran the Builder."
Rhaena had no idea why Lord Harry seemed completely willing to reveal most of his and Cregan's scheme. They barely knew this girl. She might be a spy for her uncle or something far more sinister. Lady Daphne didn't seem bothered either. Once more, Rhaena found herself completely in the dark compared to the Potters' plans and motivations.
Not once did he explain it, much like he had before, or even look at her from the moment they left the Winterfell crypts. She knew deep down that she was being punished. It wasn't some warning or a scolding, just silence. And for some reason, that was worse. All because she had taken that stupid medallion without permission.
No, she would think about that later. Instead, she focused on the girl before her, who looked shocked at the mention of Bran the Builder. That shock slowly morphed into realisation, and she spoke up with a mixture of awe and reverence, "You found Bran the Builder's grave in the crypts. That explains much."
Again, the girl was suspiciously accurate in her guesses, which reminded her slightly of Lord Harry. Speaking of the man, he had another smile on his face as he looked at her, "Hmm, you seem sure that we were in the crypts."
For the first time, the girl seemed out of her element. "You weren't?"
"Oh, we were. Everyone here suspects it, but you know it for sure. You were also the first one to find us when we returned, despite being nowhere near the crypts. Oh, I see it now… You're a Skinchanger, aren't you?"
Sara Snow's face grew pale completely as the words left his mouth, her jaw tightening ever so slightly. She didn't deny it. Didn't speak. Didn't flinch. Just met Lord Harry's gaze with a quiet intensity that made even Rhaena hesitate.
The moment passed, and Lord Harry only hummed, seemingly satisfied. "Thought so," he muttered, almost to himself, "I'm guessing an animal that could track through scent. A wolf?"
The girl almost gritted out the response, "No, a dog."
"Ah, much easier to sneak around Winter Town or Winterfell. No one would bat an eyelash at a hound running around. So, you followed Cregan's scent to the crypts but couldn't go in because of the guards. You must have caught his smell in Winter Town when we arrived. Does Cregan know?"
Sara looked like a cornered animal, but deflated, "No, he doesn't."
"You shouldn't be ashamed of it, you know. It's a wonderful gift to have, one that Cregan would treasure forever. Do you know how this gift appeared in your line?"
For the first time since the admission, the girl's expression picked up, "I do. A Stark once defeated the Warg King who ruled over Sea Dragon Point. He then married his daughters to his sons, tying the gift to his line."
"Yeah, pretty ruthless thing, but surprisingly common when it comes to magical conquest. It's essentially taking their magic as your own. Now, while I have seen other users of this magic, this is a valuable skill that your ancestors obviously treasured enough to tie to their line. Take pride in that, and we both know that Cregan will not judge you for it."
The girl had a resolute expression on her face and nodded, "I will. I also wanted to thank you. I know that most of this was likely your idea. As much as I love him dearly, Cregan is direct. He would have fought our uncle and imprisoned him, not beat him at his own game as you had. News of this will spread. I will make sure that it does in Winter Town, and later through the merchants, the rest of the North. Far and wide, Cregan will be known as the chosen Lord of Winterfell, and no one would dare even think of saying that he is not ready after that display."
"Your brother is lucky to have you, Sara Snow," Lord Harry replied solemnly, before turning away towards Winter Town.
"You're leaving?" the girl asked in surprise.
Lord Harry gave her a small smile, "I came to see Winterfell and uncover a few of its treasures. I found what I was looking for, and now, it is time to go home. Cregan knows to contact me if he needs me, but he has everything he needs to make sure that everything goes well here in Winterfell. Tell him that I said goodbye, that we all said goodbye."
He turned and left, with Daphne and Rhaena following him in silence. Rhaena wished she'd say goodbye with Cregan, but she thought that she had pushed things enough, especially when the Potters obviously wished to leave.
It was only when they were halfway across Winter Town that Rhaena realised something important. This was likely her last adventure, wasn't it?
Is this why they were all so silent? Were they planning on taking her to Dragonstone and leaving her there? Would she be stuck on this small island until she was sold off to be married to some lord and become stuck in his keep instead?
The idea sickened her.
It was funny; a few weeks prior, she wouldn't have cared about any of this.
She would have been resigned, perhaps even happy, to end up as a Lady of some large castle, birthing heirs with the potential of riding dragons in their blood. However, after what she had seen, what she had experienced, she wasn't content with her fate, not like she once was. The Potters had changed her, made her want to see the world and its wonders. They showed her that there was more in life than a castle and a throne. There was more than Lords and Ladies, tourneys and knights.
She had lived her life unknowingly of what was out there, and now that she had gotten a taste, the idea of being confined once more on Dragonstone felt cruel.
Despite constantly telling herself to be strong, she couldn't help but let tears slowly stream down her face. When they disappeared back to Dragonstone with a blink of an eye, these tears turned to audible sobbing.
One moment, they were walking through Winter Town; the next, they were home. Except it didn't feel like home anymore.
Her sobs echoed across the stone as she collapsed onto the sand, trying to stifle the sound with her hands but failing miserably.
The Potters finally noticed her distraught expression, and Lord Harry was clearly about to say something, only for his wife to gently grab his wrist. They shared one of their looks, the one where it seemed like they had an entire secret conversation in seconds, before the sorcerer nodded and took a step back, walking towards their manse, leaving Rhaena and Lady Daphne alone, before the beach.
She expected to be scolded by the kindly but severe woman. She looked like the disciplinarian out of the two, whereas Lord Harry was the childish one, even if he didn't act like one when things were serious. She was always controlled, with every single hair in place, despite fighting gods or being in the heart of a volcano.
So, it came as a great surprise when the woman chose to simply sit next to Rhaena and pull her in, letting the younger girl cry into her shoulder like a child.
And Rhaena didn't resist.
The sobbing intensified, and the golden-haired woman said nothing, simply held her close, hand rubbing slow circles across her back, like her mother used to do before she died.
She didn't know how long they stayed like that. But eventually, her breathing slowed, and the tears stopped, leaving behind only red eyes and a lingering ache in her chest.
When she finally pulled away, Daphne handed her a handkerchief and gave her a small, tired smile.
Rhaena looked down, embarrassed. "I'm sorry… I don't know why I took the medallion. It was wrong of me."
"I know that you are. What you did was reckless and very foolish, Rhaena. The rules we asked you to follow were not to stifle you, but to make sure that we can protect you. Touching a magical artefact, and it clearly was given that it was glowing, could have easily killed you. Placing curses on old treasure is commonplace, and some curses are quick enough that you could die before undoing them. That's without the risk of an accident, much like what happened."
Rhaena could feel her eyes stinging, "I know. I shouldn't have done that."
"You also shouldn't have stolen the medallion with its owner barely more than a few yards away from you."
"Hey!" The young girl exclaimed with a small hint of indignation growing inside her, "We broke into the crypts in front of him."
Lady Daphne giggled slightly, "Perhaps. Harry chose to do that on a whim, really, and wanted to share the experience with a Stark. If we hadn't met him, we would have easily snuck in, and if he had refused, Harry would have put him to sleep and woken him up when we returned. As much as Harry acts recklessly, he really does think things through a lot more than you'd think. Back when we were your age, he rarely even went on a walk without thinking about everything that could happen. Of course, things were different back then."
Rhaena shook her head. She couldn't believe Lord Harry to be anything other than the sorcerer with seemingly endless power, but decided not to voice her thoughts.
The older woman continued, "We've gotten slightly off-track. The point is, Rhaena, you broke our trust. We have your rules, which would have helped keep you safe in a magical setting, and they were not very restrictive. You broke these rules without any thought or consideration to how we would have to deal with that, and that is not something that we will ever forget."
"If I could take it back, I would. I was wrong to take the medallion, but please don't send me away. Please don't leave me on Dragonstone."
Her voice cracked at the end, the last few words barely more than a whisper. She hated how pitiful she sounded. How desperate. But she couldn't stop herself. The thought of being cast aside, of being left to what her life used to be on Dragonstone, was unbearable.
She didn't even let Lady Daphne answer before mumbling, "I can be better. I will be better. Just… don't give up on me."
The silence that stretched after her plea felt like an eternity, but eventually, Lady Daphne turned her head so that their eyes would meet and spoke up, "My dear girl, do you think that we care for you so little that we would discard you after a single mistake. We are disappointed, severely so, with what you have done. You broke our trust, and you will have to prove to us that we can do so again. But we are not so cruel to cast you away."
"But Lord Harry barely even looked at me. He barely said anything since that happened. He didn't even explain to me what happened, like he had on Skagos," Rhaena protested.
Lady Daphne shook her head, "That man! Harry often gets lost in his own head sometimes. What happened in the crypts unsettled him, far more than you'd think. While activating that trap could have destroyed Winterfell completely and killed us all, it did reveal some of the magic in the Age of Heroes, magic that should not have been there."
"I don't understand," Rhaena replied.
"Much like most people do in their crafts, Harry and I have specialisations when it comes to our magic. Oh, we have learned many fields of magic in ways that most would call us masters, but at our core, we still have our specialities, which overshadow everything. Mine are druidic and blood magic, essentially the magic pertaining to nature and blood, and I learned healing later in my life. Harry's specialisation is magic that deals with space and time, and when he claims that the magic that attempted to throw us into the void was foreign, I believe him."
"Space and time," the young girl murmured.
"I believe you've seen a fraction of it during the confrontation in Skagos."
Rhaena remembered Lord Harry holding a scythe, facing off against a god, and pieces started to appear, "So, what I did helped him, didn't it?"
The woman rolled her eyes in exasperation, "We would have likely figured it out without collapsing the largest settlement in the North. What you did was extremely reckless and very dangerous, which you'll need to face for your punishment."
The young girl gaped at her, "You said that I wouldn't be punished."
"No, I believe I said that we would not cast you away. You are not off the hook. Tomorrow morning, you will go to your grandparents and tell them exactly what happened. I believe that they will want to meet with us to make sure you didn't miss anything, so don't think that you can skimp off. They will be the ones to decide your punishment, and until it's done with, you will not come with us during any expeditions we do in the meantime."
"But…" Rhaena protested.
Only to be interrupted by Lady Daphne, "No buts. This is what all of us agreed on, including you, and you will respect our decisions. You are not an adult yet, Rhaena, and that means that you still have to listen to your grandparents."
"They won't let me come anymore if they knew."
Rhaena could see in their grandparents' eyes that they were unsettled by the entire affair and her relationship with the Potters, especially her adventures with them. If they knew what happened in a 'safe' adventure in Winterfell, well, they would likely not let her leave their sight again.
The golden-haired woman gave her a soft smile, "I promise that we won't let them bar you from joining us again, but you need to be forthcoming with them."
Rhaena nodded, still hesitant, but hugged the woman in gratefulness.
The woman continued, "Alright, now I believe it's time for you to return home."
Rhaena nodded once more and took a shaky breath. She was grateful that the Potters hadn't abandoned her, that she would still be allowed to go on their adventures, but dreaded the coming conversation with her grandparents.
With a muttered thank you, she slipped away and made her way away from the Potters' manse. It wasn't long before she reached the edges of Dragonstone proper, the black stone castle rising like a jagged shadow above the sea. And soon, she had snuck into the corridor where her chambers were located using the bracelet that the Potters had given her. The corridor was empty, the torches low. She had hoped it would be that way. She deactivated the bracelet and opened the door to her chambers.
But as soon as she closed the door behind her, a voice made her freeze in place.
"You've been keeping secrets."
Rhaena's heart skipped a beat as she recognised the voice.
Baela, her own twin, sat in her bed, giving her a look that she'd seen on their father's face far too many times. Rhaena didn't know what to say. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out.
Baela tilted her head. "So, do you want to tell me everything, or should I start guessing?"
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AN: I sort of put myself in a corner in the previous chapter, since it turned out to be too long, and I had meant to put the Sara reveal there. I ended up needing to combine the Sara Snow reveal as a Skinchanger and the conversation with Rhaena. As usual, I don't mind rewriting this chapter depending on your feedback.
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If you want to support me check out my patréon at https://www.patréon.com/athassprkr
I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions of them so you can read up to 20 chapters ahead as a bonus.
Thank you guys for your support in these hard times.