Hayley was depressed.
She thought her days of depression were over but no.... the depression came back and there was one indirect cause of it.
Jon Snow.
No matter how much she trained, how much she worked, how much she made conversation with other people, the thought of him wouldn't leave her mind.
He showed her unconditional kindness, was honest with her about himself, helped her when she arrived.... and she repaid him by telling him to leave his father, and then leaving him.
She had the right to do as she wanted, and even he understood that..... but all she felt was alone, something she always hated deep within her heart.
She felt peace and happiness when she left Hogwarts and traveled around, but she even felt happier at that bar in Wintertown when she served food and drinks to those working joyful people who smiled in the face of heavy Winters and praised her.
" Thank you, Hayley " a child thanked her after she treated his wound in one of the villages she passed through in the lonely hills and she moved on.
She had taken up work as a healer with her knowledge of making medicines and treating wounds. It brought her some form of peace to keep her mind off things.
" Oye, Fran, heard of that monster on Skagos, me cozin once went there - ".
" it ain't real !, those damn Skags make up stories to scare us ".
Hayley was curious at what she heard. She had heard a lot about Skagos, and its culture was like that of the ancient celts. The mention of a monster also piqued her interest.
Once she was far away, she called Shiva through her bond and he came out of the ground.
She spoke Parseltongue " How are you, my friend ? ".
" I miss that bird " Shiva sadly answered.
" As do I, but I know what will cheer you up, an adventure " Hayley smiled " We are going to Skagos ".
-
" Damn ! " Robb groaned as he fell from the knockback spell thrown at him.
It has been 11 days since Jon helped awaken Robb's abilities and had him do simple spells like Lumos and the levitation spell to help him adjust to his magic.
Then it went onto the ones like the bombardment spell Jon was currently learning.
He had him do all sorts of strange exercises like standing over his head with his arms for support with his legs and torso up. Then he had to cling to a branch with his legs crossed and lift his upper body up and down repeatedly.
Then he forced him to run aimlessly and dodge projectiles thrown his way.
" learn to move like I do, you need to let your body loose and jump into action " Jon said.
" not easy !, body's too stiff and set "
" should have practiced being fast and flexible like I did in childhood " Jon rolled his eyes.
" how about you teach me that red energy spear thing ? " Robb asked.
" too risky, you will risk cutting your hand off unless you learn to improve how to channel your magic " Jon shook his head " Hayley refused to teach me that until I had good control ".
" This is the 47th time you have said her name " Robb deadpanned.
" I would like to see you how you react when you fall in love and go through the aftermath of a bad breakup " Jon shot back.
Robb shook his head and stood up.
" it's getting dark, we need to go back " Jon said and Robb grimaced.
" I'm not excited to be cornered by that Baelon, I will cut my ears off if I have to " Robb grumbled.
" Try being cornered by his sister and getting badgered into being let in the crypts ...... knowing Targaryens, let's hope they must be balls deep within each by now to bother with us " Jon said and Robb chuckled.
" you can come help in Wintertown tomorrow, there are still many homes we need to construct " Jon suggested " it will help you in the long run ".
Robb nodded with surprise and walked after Jon.
-
Jon entered his room with Ghost, and closed the door, only to find Rhaenys Targaryen, Princess of the 7 fucking Kingdoms, sitting on his bed.
" What are you - " Jon was cut off when she stood up and smashed her lips with his.
The kiss was rough and needy but still warm and Jon found himself reciprocating it slowly but then he broke away and pushed her off him as the thought of Hayley invaded his mind.
Rhaenys looked surprised when Jon scowled in a cold tone " the hell was that ?! ".
" I..... you kissed me back. Why throw me off ? " Rhaenys demanded.
" What the hell WaS THAT ?! " Jon demanded with a growl once more.
" can't you see ?!. I love you ..... spending time with you these past few days..... they have made me feel far better than anything in my entire life - ".
" I love someone else " that one statement from Jon didn't register in Rhaenys' mind....
.... until it did....
..... and it shattered her heart as she looked at him in......
..... in betrayal.....
" No .... you just kissed me back..... it has to mean something " Rhaenys tried convincing him in disbelief.
" yeah, Hayley had to leave me and I won't lie by saying I'm not heartbroken " Jon said while looking away, then met her gaze.
She tried to kiss him again but he stopped her " but I still love her ".
" .... you can't keep being stuck in the past, you have to move on - "
" we are not happening " Jon sternly said " you're a princess and I'm a bastard ".
" you can be legitimized ! "
" not interested " Jon responded " and you're a Targaryen, no one likes your family here, especially after the recent shit your brother pulled ! ".
" the damn cat is no brother of mine ! " Rhaenys hissed " goddamnit, stop being so stubborn !. If you love this Hayley and she loves you, why did she leave then ?!. Shouldn't she stay with you ?!! ".
" You don't know shit about her, you spoiled bitch ! " Jon glared at her.
" Spoiled bitch ?!!. My entire life I have been suffering because of your whore of an aunt !!. People whispered 'Dornish bastards' when we were talked about !!. They whispered in our father's ears to set us aside and crown the Lannister brats !!!, because of how we looked !!! " Rhaenys had tears in her eyes.
She glared at him in anger, and slapped him " you.... you called my brother 'Dragonspawn', and I forgave you .... why the hell should I forgive you in the first place ?!!!. I wanted to hate you and your entire family when we came here !!.... but damn me, I couldn't !!!.... I don't even know why ..... ".
There was silence for a moment as Jon felt her words hit home. He felt shame. How many times did Catelyn slapped and beat him as a child before his father found out and he learned to fight back ?.....
And then there was Rhaenys..... this beautiful girl who he spent time with, got along with and felt something for.
" I..... have feelings..... for you " Jon reluctantly admitted and Rhaenys was shocked " but I love Hayley too..... I just can't ".
Rhaenys was heartbroken, and left.
-
Wintertown
Jon's heart wasn't in the work as his thoughts were distracted.
He continuously thought of Rhaenys Targaryen.
On one hand, he hated Targaryens
On the other hand, he couldn't believe he had started liking one.
On the 3rd, he couldn't imagine how his life got so chaotic in just less than 2 months. One day it was going normally as he was hunting to put meat in storage, but the next moment he met a witch, and the next he learned of other worlds vastly different and yet more similar to this one, to finding out he was a wizard, to falling for that witch, to having a Targaryen princess fall for him to have his thoughts scattered all over.
Jon wasn't used to feelings, he was used to burying 3/4th of them and using the rest to find amusement in simple things in life.
He tried to go back to the same routine but he couldn't.
Suddenly, a loud shrill was heard.
Garuda came in his giant form, carrying a bag of wood in one paw and a dead shark in another. He dropped it on the empty ground where people weren't walking and minimized himself in a ball of fire as it disappeared, and he sat on Jon's right shoulder.
" so.... who likes seafood ? " Jon asked as all of them were in a state of shock when witnessing what they did in front of them.
Butchers jumped into action, carrying the shark to cut it open and make meat out of it as many suddenly became excited at the thought of eating cooked shark meat and how it would taste.
Robb, however, took Jon by the arm and dragged him away from hearing distance, as he hissed " are you mad ?!!, the entire Winterfell must have seen the bloody bird !!. Those Targaryens would come sniffing around here !!!.
" So what ?!. Let them see how well equipped we are to deal with them if they raise a fuss " Jon smirked.
As if on cue, the hooves of horses was heard as a group of 20 Knights came into town, lead by Prince Aegon and Loras Tyrell.
" The bird flew that way, it could only be heading further North ! " Aegon exclaimed.
Robb glared at Jon, who rolled his eyes " fine, you win ! ".
Robb was satisfied and left to go collect some wood for the night as he suddenly bumped into a girl in the woods.
She drew back and looked panicked.
Robb recognized the red haired and brown eyed girl as Yrsa, Tormund's oldest daughter. He had seen her once or twice, and thought she was beautiful.
" Run ! "
" What ? " Robb was confused.
" Wolf, we should - " she was cut off as she turned to look at the growling behind her.
It was a grey furred Direwolf with yellow eyes, to Robb's awe. He was far from big as ghost, but he came close to a horse's size.
Robb and the Direwolf stared into each other's eyes, and they both felt a connection to each other.
Robb moved closer to the Direwolf and knelt down, hesitantly moving his hand to carass his fur and the Direwolf whined in contentment, as he nudged his cheeks against Robb.
Yrsa was open mouthed at the turn of events.
" well, I'll be damned " Jon revealed his presence, along with Ghost's, as he whistled " Grey Wind got a friend ".
" Grey Wind ? " Robb was confused.
" the guy is Ghost's little brother " that information from Jon shocked Robb " there is a secluded valley where Direwolves thrive, and I helped make it for Ghost's siblings and mom that came on this side of the Wall years ago ..... Grey Wind chose you, Robb. Congratulations ".
-
After arriving on Skagos and searching for the so called monster, Hayley never expected to find a gigantic Dragon with black scales, horns that ran down its spine, green eyes, and a sharp jaw with teeth like spikes. It was about 320 feet tall with a few small holes in its gigantic wings and 2 enormous legs.
It had just come out of its cave when she was outside it.
Shiva was on high alert, ready to protect his companion.
The Dragon looked at the Basilisk curiously and then at Hayley growling at her.
" we mean you no harm " Hayley slipped into Parseltongue.
At once, the Dragon stopped and blinked in surprise as he let out a low growl " you can understand me ? ".
" my ability allows me to talk with serpent and serpent based beings " Hayley spoke.
" This is unusual..... who are you ? " The Dragon asked.
" My name is Hayley Snape.... what's yours ? ".
" My former masters called me The Cannibal ".
And just like that, all 3 sat down, conversing with each other for an hour as Hayley told her story.
Listening to her story, Cannibal was sorrowful, furious and overall murderous.
" You are one strong Witch to survive bullshit like that " Cannibal commented in respect.
" I grew up " Hayley shrugged and she sat across Cannibal as they continued conversing.