Ned entered his private solar after many moons, and it looked much more inviting than the makeshift tents he had stayed in during the rebellion, as long as you ignored the large stack of parchment waiting for him to tackle. Just as he thought he could deal with that headache tomorrow, he saw his wife and Maester Luwin approaching his solar and realized that he probably wasn't going to get much rest today. He sighed and sat down in his seat, waiting for them to enter.
Maester Luwin spoke up first, "We know you have just arrived, Lord Stark, but there are a few issues that require your attention."
"It's alright, Maester Luwin, carry on," Ned replied.
He then went on to discuss some of the main issues that needed taking care of like overseeing shipments of grain, providing more metal for the blacksmiths to repair and replace everything that was damages or lost in the war, addressing bandit attacks on the roads, and repairing harbors that had been attacked by the Ironborn.
Thankfully he only had to send a few ravens to deal with the main problems even though there were a lot more smaller issues to answer, Luwin had the sense to push it back by a few days and Ned was thankful for it. But he couldn't rest just yet.
Ned noticed Cat's eagerness to bring up the last concern of the night. He turned to her and said, "I assume you want to ask about the boy and his direwolf?"
Cat's distress was evident on her face. "Ned," she began, her voice rising with frustration, "who is that boy? Why does he have that monster with him? It's dangerous and could kill anyone nearby at any moment. Yet, you've invited him to stay in the keep. Why?"
Ned calmly explained, "The boy possesses the ability to heal anyone with a touch, a skill that proved invaluable to the men in our army, a skill that I have witnessed with my own eyes, and he saved Jon's life. Without his healing, many would still be suffering from broken limbs and could have even succumbed to fever and Jon would be dead. And I have observed that monster ever since I first saw it. It has not done anything dangerous so It would be safe to assume that it is tame."
Maester Luwin, curious, asked for more information. "This is... most unusual, Lord Stark, could you tell me more about how he healed the men?"
"There's not much to say, Maester Luwin. He simply touched the skin near the wounds with his fingers and the wounds instantly closed themselves. In case of broken limbs, it would take a bit longer. When I asked my men what they had felt during the healing they said that their limbs went numb during the healing and felt perfect afterwards. The only thing he told them was that they might have to eat more than normal for the next few days." He explained
Maester Luwin was still uncertain. "I'm not sure what to tell you, Lord Stark," he said. "I'll need to observe him healing someone and ask him some questions before I can make a conclusive determination on what the boy is capable of. But I'm certain there must be some secret to his abilities."
"Maybe so, Maester," Ned responded with a strange look in his eyes. "But what I have seen that boy do is not something I can explain as anything other than magic."
"So, you've seen him use magic?" Cat exclaimed in disbelief. "Ned, what were you thinking? He could be using his vile magic on us, on our children, right this very moment inside our home!"
Ned let out a sigh and leaned back in his seat. "My decision is final, Cat. He has not given me any reason to suspect him of foul play, whether he can use magic or not. I will not cast him out for something he might do. His actions in saving Jon's life and the lives of my soldiers have earned him the benefit of the doubt, at the very least.
"He has told us that he is just passing through Winterfell," Ned continued.
Cat was quick to jump on that piece of information. "How soon is he leaving?" she asked.
"I plan on trying to convince him to stay in Winterfell," Ned replied. "He doesn't seem to have any long-term plans, just aimlessly wandering from place to place. From what I have seen, he could be of great help to the people of Winterfell if he continues to use his abilities."
Cat was clearly not happy about his decision, but she knew that once Ned's mind was set, there was no changing it.
Ned looked at Cat, who was still unhappy. He decided to throw in a compromise, "However, he is still new and we don't know much about him. He lied to me when he said he was from the North. His accent is very off and not something I have ever heard before. And the fact that he doesn't use his last name along with how well he speaks makes me think that he is the son of a minor lord who kicked him out when he started using his powers. Therefore, I want him watched, discreetly. You can assign a few of the house staff to keep an eye on him, but stress that they are not to interfere with anything he might be doing."
"Maester Luwin, you can meet with the boy tomorrow and ask him your questions and see his magic with your own eyes" Ned continued, turning to the aged Maester. "I would also ask you to not inform the anyone of the boy or his powers, Im sure that word will eventually spread about the matter but for the time being I would rather not have to deal with that particular mess"
Maester Luwin hesitated, but agreed to Ned's request.
"Good," Ned nodded, shifting his attention from Maester Luwin to the pile of paperwork on his desk. "That's all," he declared.
Cat was the first to leave, still obviously mad, but Ned hoped that she would come to see reason soon enough. She walked out of the solar with her head held high, with Maester Luwin following closely behind her.
Once he was alone, Ned buried his head in his hands and prayed to the old gods that he wasn't making a mistake. Despite his doubts, he knew in his heart that he was making the right choice. 'If he can do even half of what I believe, he is far too valuable to let go,' he thought. 'A healer capable of performing the feats I've witnessed is unheard of.'
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I let Fenrir run off into the nearby forest. He wouldn't be comfortable staying in the castle and I doubted that he would be allowed to stay in the stables, given how much the horses were scared of him and I didn't want to make my hosts any more uncomfortable than they already were.
The servant led me to a small room, which was surprisingly spacious, with only a bed and desk as its furnishings. I rearranged the furniture to accommodate my OCD. Behind a partition, I spotted a chamber pot and I had to fight the urge to gag. "Alright...first things first. I need to either find a way to make a toilet or find a place to relieve myself in the forest. There's no way I can live my life using a bucket for my waste," I thought to myself.
I then opened a window, and Skitter flew in. I hadn't seen her all day and felt guilty for ignoring her, so I petted her for some time. For some reason Jon had completely forgotten to mention Skitter to his Father and I was perfectly ok with that. She was going to be my assassin in the dark and I would eventually give her the perfect abilities for it. I fed her some of the food I had kept on me.
I had initially planned on staying in the forest or staying on the move until I had a good grasp on my powers, but one night in the forest had me throwing away that idea very fast. Being on the move would affect how fast I improved my powers, so the smart thing to do was stay in a place where I could get a constant supply of people to subtly experiment on without much effort. I also needed to make sure that I only showed my healing powers or things might get complicated. My knowledge of this world was purely based on fanfiction and a few initial episodes I had watched, so considering all I knew, I had decided that staying in Winterfell where Eddard Stark wouldn't bother me too much would probably be the best option.
I wake up the next day to the sunlight hitting my face, I lay in bed for a few minutes, thinking about the things I need to do today.
I will need to talk to Lord Stark and Maester Luwin to probably answer some questions about my powers, I will definitely need to stick to the story that I can only heal people and nothing more as
admitting to anything more was plain stupid at this point at least, and discuss where I can set up my clinic to continue healing and improve my powers.
I have thought of some ideas in this regard, like a sonic radar to sense people better and even night vision, but I would need to scan a bat first. I also need to develop some kind of ranged attack, but haven't figured out how to go about it yet.
I also consider incorporating something like photosynthesis into myself to get more energy efficiently because I have noticed that I was getting hungry twice as fast as before due to the energy I am using to maintain my improved body and healing powers.
Maybe I could ask for training in how to use a sword because swords are cool and it would be nice to have a way to protect myself better without overly relying on my powers and it would also help me not stand out too much.
Anyway, all of this could be done later because I was hungry again and needed some food.
That's when someone knocks on my door, and as I open it, I see a girl about my age standing there nervously.
"Lord Stark has invited you to break your fast with him," she says.
I nod and she then leads me to a room where I see the entire Stark family having their breakfast.
"Good morning, El. I trust that the room was to your liking," Lord Stark says.
"It has been a long time since I have slept on a proper bed, Lord Stark. It was quite refreshing,"
Lord Stark nods. "You can break your fast with us, then we have important matters to discuss."
"Thank you"
I smile at the kids staring at me and looking behind me, trying to look for something.
"Where's Fenrir?" Arya asks.
"I let him out into the forest, my lady. He does not like being cooped up inside for too long," I explain.
"Was that a good idea, letting the wolf run around without supervision?" Catelyn Stark asks in a tone that I was starting to find annoying, but I knew I had to be polite because I am in their house.
"He knows not to attack anyone unless provoked, my lady," I say in my best HR voice.
She still doesn't look happy but lets the matter go for now. Some of the kids look like they're going to ask me more questions but stop themselves when they see their mother giving them the look. I don't get asked any more questions after that.
I laugh internally at the absurd situation I've found myself in and just eat my breakfast in peace.