A Dragon In Wolf's Clothing ~A Game of Thrones fan fiction~

Chater Sixty Seven: Choices

For the first time in a while, Lyanna was cold, especially since her resurrection. She was still cold, even after a bath in scolding hot water. As she towelled herself off and began to dress herself into a black woollen dress, its neck coming up to cover the scar and stitches on her throat, Lyanna considered that the chill was that of death. Death's icy touch had hold of her only hours ago. Hours ago she was still a corpse, so maybe from that point onwards she would forever be cold, as death remained like an echo to her. That considered, she wrapped a thick fur cloak around herself after she'd attached her weapons belt around her waist, making sure it was tight, the support of her swords making her feel less anxious about going outside.

As she was about to leave to find Jon, there was a small knock on the door. Lyanna answered it to see the red woman who had resurrected her, looking ambiguous as she waited for Lyanna to invite her in, which was when she realised she didn't even know her name. This reminded her of the early days in Kings Landing, when she didn't know Alize's name either.

"Lady Stark, may I speak with you?" she asked, as Lyanna let her in moving back to the bed and taking a seat.

"Of course, anything for the woman who restored my life," Lyanna felt a small smile appear on her face. "I'm so sorry, but I don't even know your name,"

"Melisandre, Lady Stark," she said. "It was not just me who saved you, seeing your brother and yourself alive was a restoration of my faith. The flames had bid me to support the wrong king,"

"Which one?"

"Stannis Baratheon,"

"Ah, well, he owed his claim to my Uncle Ned, so without Lord Eddard informing Stannis of Robert's children's illegitimacy, you'd have never come north with Stannis, and Jon and I would still be dead," Lyanna smirked slightly, the memory of her father's final days playing through her mind. "That's another thing I guess we owe to him,"

"The lord works in mysterious ways," Melisandre smiled back slightly, though there was an aura of mystery about her too.

"I don't know much about the Lord of Light," Lyanna confessed. "I was never really a pious girl, I didn't really like the northern gods much until I was forced away from them, so tell me, why would your fire god see me as a worthy candidate for resurrection?"

"Maybe you were the warrior I was supposed to see in the flames, not Stannis," she shrugged, her casual nature seeming out of place. "I saw a great battle in the snow at Winterfell, the Bolton banners falling to the ground, and one warrior to lead them all. Maybe that was you. Or maybe the next time I look in the flames I'll see two instead of one, you and Jon Snow, and only one of you was supposed to be there but the Lord was merciful. Or maybe the Lord decided to grant both of your lives back, regardless of a great snowy battle, but I did not come here to discuss the flames,"

A battle in the snow at Winterfell, the Bolton banners falling. That was everything Lyanna wanted and more, but that couldn't be true. No fire god would be that merciful to give her the north back. As much as Lyanna wanted it, she was sure it would never happen, it was too unlikely, despite it being what she told Willas she would do. It seemed further away as a goal now that she had died and come back.

"What did you come here to discuss?" Lyanna frowned.

"I came here to tell you..." she paused, as if not knowing how to say it. "You were harder to bring back than Jon. He came back first, and he was screaming and crying at me to at least try to bring you back too, but you were harder than he was. It was almost like bringing two people back at once. I thought it was down to the way they killed you, until I sensed something within you,"

Melisandre paused and reached her hand out, then stopped herself, hesitating, making Lyanna frown slightly in confusion. Melisandre looked up at Lyanna, as if asking for her permission to touch her, and when Lyanna nodded, her hands reached out and touched Lyanna's stomach, where she had noticed herself putting weight on. At her touch, she felt something inside her that she had been blocking out, too busy to think of, too afraid to consider, but now it was impossible as she felt the world spin around her as everything centered around where Melisandre held her hands.

"It was like bringing two people back at once because I was bringing two people back at once," she clarified and Lyanna shot up.

Now on her feet, one hand went up to cover her mouth, feeling suddenly queasy again. She began to pace, not able to stay still, beginning to tremble, and before she knew it she had begun to cry. Lyanna attempted to take in shaky breaths but nothing would make her feel any calmer, not even touching her stomach, which just reminded her that she had been so careless and selfish that she had not only killed herself but her baby.

Her baby, Willas' child, a sibling for Brandon. On other circumstances this would have been fuel for joy, but it was not so. Not whilst she was so far away from her husband and his family, not whilst she was about to start a war against the Boltons, and especially not when she had just died. She'd put her child's life in danger as well as her own, and considering what her plans were, she would continue to put her child in danger.

"How far along?" She asked finally, her voice shaky.

"I can only guess around three months, I'm no maester or midwife," Melisandre said.

"Right," Lyanna nodded, letting everything settle in her mind, disbelief still surrounding her. "You can't tell Jon,"

"And why is that?"

"Because... he'll try to stop me fighting the Boltons, and I need to do that," Lyanna decided. "He was always protective of me, I can't imagine what he'd be like if he found out I was... pregnant,"

It took a while for her to say the word, not wanting it to be real. She loved Willas, so of course she would love his baby, just as she loved Brandon, but she didn't want a child so soon into their marriage. It was the wife's duty to give her husband and house heirs, but she didn't expect it to happen so soon, for some reason she'd hoped it wouldn't happen too.

Two months after she'd married Joffrey she found herself pregnant with his child, though he had refused to acknowledge Brandon. Despite the toxic, abusive relationship Brandon was born out of, Lyanna still loved him with her whole soul, so of course she would love her child with Willas, the man who held the key to her heart, but she did not love it as much as she loved Winterfell and the rest of house Stark.

House Stark had been her priority before she discovered her pregnancy, and it would remain to be until she was safe at home.

"I will not tell Jon, or anyone else, the lord restored your life for you to make my own choices,"

"My own choices?" Lyanna let out a bitter laugh. "The first time I made a serious choice about my own life was about Willas, I've never been allowed to make my own choices. I guess that all changes now,"

In that moment, Jon burst through her door, and seeing it was him, Lyanna quickly dropped her hands off of her stomach. He looked urgent, almost giddy, his face like he'd seen a ghost.

"Lyanna!" He gasped out, paying no notice to Melisandre.

"What's the matter, Jon?" She moved closer to him, frowning, struggling to read his face.

"Sansa, she's here!"

***
Word count: 1360
***

Damn son!
So as per tradition, in the week leading up to Christmas, I post a chapter everyday, so to make sure I have enough written, this will be my last update until the 20th, and then after Christmas Day I won't upload again until the 7th as it's the first Sunday of the year (though I may struggle due to mocks and other exams). I'm actually hoping to have this story finished by the end of January, so hopefully this will be completed in 2018, four years after I first published it!  I know you guys probably don't care I just wanted you all to know the plan and this felt like a good chapter to end on for a few weeks.

Please leave a bit and a comment telling me what you think!
See you at Christmas!
~Olivia