Chapter 18: Chapter 18
[Congratulations for reaching the adept level in a second skill
You have won a reward: Item selection chest]
After taking my hunting skill to the adept level, I began working on the second skill that was closer to a breakthrough. My crafting skill was already at 99% of expert when I arrived at Winterfell. Sadly, I didn't dabble in crafting for the entire six months of my stay.
After knowing the bountiful reward I had gotten from reaching adept in hunting, I began making things on the very next day. I decided to carve exotic weapons from wood. The fancier the better.
I carved a Klingon bat'leth, deer horn knives, chain knife, whip katars, claws, tonfa and even a fancy looking bow. It was after I was done crafting the blades of chaos that I finally recieved the notification of making the breakthrough.
[Select one of the items
Max heal potion x 5
Lembas x 5
Strength potion × 5
Homing knives x 12
Botulinum poison dart x5]
I blinked... And then again. There were some very tempting options in the chest. Homing knives would always hit the target even if it moves out of their path. They were twelve sure kills. Upon seeing their description, I learned that each knife could only be used once. That disappointed me a lot.
Botulinum darts were tempting as well. But, I had already extracted ricin and strychnine from their sources. I had the poisons that had little to no antidotes.
Finally, I decided to select the max heal potions. There was a possibilty of war in the near future. Anything could happen. Having potions that healed a person to their optimum health wss a blessing.
(ACJTF)
I was summoned by Rickard to his cellar.
'I'm having a sense of deja vu.'
*Knock* *knock*
"Lord Stark, I'm Allan. You summoned me?"
"Aye, I did. Come in."
I entered the cellar and he nodded to the chair, indicating me to take a seat.
"You've been in Winterfell for more than six moons. You've taught the art of sword to my men and to my children. For that, I am greatful. You've taught Lyanna the most. As you promised, she has indeed become formidable."
I interjected by saying, "She has a long way to go before she truely becomes formidable."
Rickard frowned and said, "I believe she is capable of defending herself now. There is no further need to train her."
I ground my teeth at that. He was going to stop her training. I controlled myself and asked, "Why do you not want her to learn how to fight?"
Rickard leaned back into his chair and said, "I've humored her petulance and allowed her to learn sword fighting. But, she will be wed to Lord Baratheon. He is a Lord Paramount. There will be enough men around her to protect her. I've allowed to stay at Winterfell out of gratitude for saving her life and for your skill."
"Lord Stark, please, get to the point."
He banged his fist on the table and said, "My point! Is that 'you' and Lyanna are getting too close to each other."
"This is ridiculous. I'm her mentor!"
"Do not interupt me while I speak! She is a highborn girl betrothed to a lord. She cannot have any kind of relations with a commoner like you! It is upon me to decide if you will become a lord or not. But, even if you do become a lord, for the rest of Westeros, you will remain a commoner."
He took a sip from his flagon of ale and said, "You say that you are her mentor. Then, as her mentor, you should know that this the is best for her."
I hesitated to respond. Lyanna and I were close, that was a fact. But, there was nothing intimate between us. We were friends and I was her mentor as well. That was the extent of our relation. I understood why Rickard was distancing me from her. His mind simply couldn't comprehend that friendship could exist between a girl and a boy without intimate feelings developing between them.
Rickard frown upon seeing me hesitate. He ground his teeth and said, "Your lord commands you to stay away from Lyanna! This may help you. The wildling raids in the North have increased. I want you to go beyond the wall and reduce their numbers. I will give you a written word with my seal on it for the Night's Watch to allow you through their gates. You can take some rangers with you as well."
Anger bubbled in my chest and I barely controlled myself from bursting. I simply got up and said in a low voice, "There will be no need for any rangers to accompany me. If that is all, I shall go and prepare for my journey."
He waved his hand and dismissed me. I rushed directly to the wolfswood and unloaded all of my anger on the trees with my bare fists.
I took part deforestation that day. Sadly for the trees, there was no one to stop me.
(ACJTF)
All of my things were packed... At least, what I wanted to show. A spear, sword, bow and arrows, throwing knives, some food and water. Since I was going beyond the wall, I chose a Garron as my horse.
Garrons were the only reasonable choice for travel beyond the wall. Men of the watch anf the free folk used Garrons as their ride and for cargo. They were very capable at dealing with unusual terrain and the cold temperatures of the North. Even the mountain clans preferred them over other kinds of horses.
"Hey! Stop, you twat!"
I was about to climb my horse when Lyanna came stomping towards my quarters. Anger was clear on her face. She was not happy.
"What?"
"What?! That is all you have to say?! Why did you not tell me that father was sending you on a quest beyond the wall?!"
I sighed and said, "I did write a letter for you. Didn't you read it?"
She threw a balled up piece of parchment at my chest and said, "I did read it, you jerk! You didn't even have the decency to tell that to me through your own mouth?! All you wrote was, 'Going for quest beyond the wall. Keep training. I'll test you upon my return.' I deserve to know more and directly from you! Not a piece of trash!"
A slight smile made its way to my lips. Lyanna's eyes were red and she was about to cry.
Calmly, I grabbed her into a gentle hug and said, "I know. You are worried about me. It's just an excursion. I won't be in any danger. And I apologize for not telling this to you, face to face."
I grabbed her by her shoulders and genlty broke the hug. I whiped her tears and said, "It's just for a few moons. I'll be back before you'd even begin to feel my absence."
She hugged me again and whispered, "I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you too."
She then walked away and kept looking back at me as I waited for her to leave.
As I was riding down the path towards the gates of the castle, I saw Rickard standing on the balcony, looking down at me with his head held high. On the balcony above him stood Lyanna who was trying to remain strong.
I looked back at Rickard and thought, 'What a dumb fucking son of a cunt.'
'Separation never works. Instead, it solidifies the rudimentary feelings between the two.'
I looked at Lyanna again and thought, 'I'm in a shit load of trouble.'
(ACJTF)
A/N: That's what slow-burn should be like. 'WhAt is tHaT fEeLiNg in mY ChESt?' The girl looks at the boy and thinks, 'He Is hOt. No! bAd gIRl!' This makes me cringe. Almost to the point of getting nauseous from how bad it is.
Only thing worse that that is eleven year olds kissing hands of girls and spewing flowery garbage out of their mouths. 'YoU aRE tHE MosT bEaUtiFuL gIRl. YoU hAvE SuCh pReTty hAiR aNd a BeAutIfUl bRaIn.' The girl's a kid, you sick fick! Get a psychiatric evaluation you fucking nonces.
Anyway, I got annoyed and a wrote a chapter just so that I could rant a little.
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