"Mother! Come out!" A teenage girl shouted out, terrified.
"Why are..." The mother didn't finish what she was saying and gulped down at the scene in front of her.."
Through the streets of Wintertown, a pack of wolves consisting of twenty gray wolves was led by two dire wolves larger than the gray wolves. The black one had a child on its back, and the white one was looking around curiously. As for the wolves, they were on guard against the inhabitants of the town. The pack finally reached the castle gates, with all the town folks following the pack from a distance.
"Isn't that, Prince Reagan?" One of the guards at the entrance asked his companion, but there was no response from him as he had run inside the castle to inform the king.
Some of the small folks who recognized the child said in hushed whispers that he wouldn't spook the wolves. "That's the Crown Prince. It seems that Prince Reagan has found a pack of wolves that follow him."
"So the legend about the Royal Family having wolf blood is true?" A woman asked from beside the man.
The man only shrugged at the question, as he also knows that legend, but he isn't sure about it. "I'm not sure about that. But today we are seeing twenty wolves following the prince without any problem. So it might be true."
When Reagan reached the entrance, he told the guard who was left there, "The wolves will be staying for a short while; they're disciplined ones, so don't worry about them." Petting Fenrir, he told him, "Tell them to be at ease with the guards."
"Awooo awoo yip yip." Fenrir howled and barked at the wolves, and they returned their own barks in agreement.
Looking at the guard, Reagan continued, "See that? They're disciplined ones; now watch over them; I'm going to see Father."
"You won't be going anywhere, boy!" A shout was heard from the castle, and Brandon Stark, with his imposing figure, was walking towards him with Sarra and Alys with him.
He could see fury in his mother's eyes, and he could only think of one thing: 'I'm screwed.'
When they reached him, Brandon saw the new dire wolf and gray wolf. He rubbed his head in frustration and asked him, "Were you traveling through the coastal region of the Bay of Seals?"
"I think so." Reagan replied with some hesitation.
Hearing that, the guards exhaled out as the fear left them after hearing the confirmation from their prince.
Before Brandon could speak, Sarra spoke in an icy tone that had a coldness akin to that from the Land of Always Winter: "There won't be any questioning here, into the Solar."
Saying her piece, she turned her heel with Alys in her hand and went inside the house. Sighing at the reaction of Sarra, Brandon told Reagan, "You scared her; she was vulnerable for a whole day. Come now; there are many things we need to talk about, mainly about your recklessness and then about the snowy owl that came here before you."
Reagan didn't say anything and followed his father, with Fenrir and Fenris closely following him. The wolves entered the castle, went to where Godswood was located, and laid down around the weirwood tree.
Inside the keep, Brandon and Reagan reached the solar, and Brandon made the guards stay outside some distance away from the door. They entered the room and saw Sarra sitting on the chair where Brandon sat, usually with Alys wiggling on the desk, trying to get some warmth.
As Brandon closed the door, Sarra spoke up. "What were you thinking?"
"I wanted to find Fenris." Reagan said as he lowered his head, as he knew that what he did was wrong.
"Why?" Sarra asked, and even though she wanted to give him a new one, she still wanted to hear what he would say.
Holding his tunic with both of his hands, he said, "Fenrir protected us when I was a baby. I wanted Alys to have someone like Fenrir who would always be by her side."
"Sigh. It's just like you said, husband." Sarra said as she glanced at Brandon.
"Well, I did tell you the truth. You just didn't believe me at that time." Brandon said as he shrugged his shoulders.
Walking around the table, Sarra stood in front of Reagan, and Reagan expected a slap or pinch for what he had done, but instead he was hugged by Sarra. ``Don't do that from now on, okay? Tell us where you are going, and then we will assign two guards for you. I don't want to lose my baby." Holding his face with one hand, she growled out, "Got it?"
"Yes mother." Reagan instantly replied.
Nodding at his reply, she said, "Good. Now you have been grounded in your room for a week. You won't get out unless you want to have a bath or go to the toilet. Food will be given to you three times a day. This is your punishment for worrying your mother like that."
Breathing out, she continued as she looked at Fenris. "Where did you find her?"
"Um, near the gift?" Reagan said it with some uncertainty, as he does know the names of places in the North thanks to his mother teaching him, but he was not sure if it was in the Gift or near the Mountain Clan region.
"You went that far?" Sarra asked, surprised, "What did you eat then?"
"I roasted some rabbit that Fenrir and the other wolves hunted." Reagan told her, which only increased her worry, but she didn't speak about it as Brandon started asking questions. "About those wolves, where did you get them from? How did you form a pack?"
"Um.. They started following us from Wolfs Wood, and they somehow elected Fenrir as their alpha. If Fenrir calls for them, they will come to him within a few minutes." Reagan told his father, and Brandon was surprised by that fact.
Shaking his head, he asked Reagan, "So, is your Fenris going to guard Alys from now on?"
"Fenris is for Alys; Fenrir found her for Alys." Reagan said that he felt the connection between him and Fenris becoming stronger through his connection with Fenrir. Feeling that, he cursed in his mind and told his father, "It looks like I have a bond over Fenris, just like Fenrir. But I will let Fenris guard Alys if you allow it, father."
Nodding his head, Brandon said, "I agree with that. Now on to another matter: what is up with that snowy owl? It came inside our room and hooted at me."
"Um, I found her where I found Fenris, and I just told her to go to you by saying your name." Reagan said, and when both Sarra and Brandon heard that, they had a gleam in their eyes, but they shook their heads to clear their minds, and Sarra asked Reagan, "Does that mean if we say a name to the snowy owl, she will find that person?"
"I think so." Reagan didn't know what his mother and father were up to.
"Alright. That's the end of the talk. Now, as your mother said, you will be staying in your room for the next seven days; during those days, I want you to read all these books." Saying so, Brandon gave three books to Reagan.
Holding them in his hands, he asked his father, "What are these for?"
Smiling at his question, it was Sarra who answered his question. "One of the books is about the runes used by our ancestors; the second book is about the children of the forest, giants, and others; and the third book is about the history of the North from before the Long Night. Read all of them, study them, and do whatever you want. That is the only entertainment you will get."
Widening his eyes, he said, "But I don't know how to read!"
"That sounds like a you problem." Sarra said with a smug tone, and picking up Alys, she continued, "And you are not seeing Alys for these seven days, and Fenrir will guard Alys with Fenris. Have fun in your room, son."
"Wha? Reagan couldn't put together words about what just happened.
Brandon just chuckled at his son's plight and thought, 'That's what happens when you get the ire of a woman, son. Keep it in mind, and you will survive in the future.'