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Cornelia's father and the others had been gone for three days, and Bran still remained in a coma. Her mother, Catelyn, spent the days by Bran's bedside, worried and unhappy, refusing to leave. As a result, Robb had to temporarily take her place, assisted by Maester Luwin. Although things in Winterfell were still somewhat uncertain, everything was under control.
Robb showed talent in this area and would surely become an excellent ruler in the future.
Everyone in Winterfell was busy, and the fortress seemed quieter than ever. Only Rickon, at six years old, struggled to cope with all the changes. He was scared and uncomfortable. His mother was unable to give him attention, so Rickon spent every day with Cornelia.
She was also worried about Bran but knew she couldn't leave Rickon alone or wandering around. He was far too young to handle everything by himself.
"Bran... will he get better?" Rickon asked, lying on the bed, gripping the blanket with his small hands and crumpling it nervously. He looked at Cornelia with sadness as she sat beside him.
"Yes, he'll wake up soon!" Cornelia replied, giving Rickon a gentle pat to calm him and help him sleep. Until recently, Rickon had never needed anyone to convince him to go to bed. He used to follow Bran in everything, obedient and confident.
But the recent events had made him insecure and afraid. Cornelia noticed his unease and decided to stay by his side until he fell asleep before leaving.
"And... will Dad, Jon, Arya, Sansa, and the others come back too?" Rickon asked again, his voice soft, almost shy. He remembered when Jon used to take him out to play, but now everyone had gone, leaving Winterfell in silence.
"Of course, they will!" Cornelia answered after a brief pause. She smiled, trying to reassure him, and nodded.
"My birthday is at the end of the year. Will they be back by then?" Rickon asked, and for the first time in two days, a smile appeared on his worried face.
"Yes, they'll be back by then!" Cornelia replied softly, lowering her eyes to hide her own emotions.
Rickon visibly calmed down with her answer. He finally closed his eyes, now relieved, and began to doze off. However, inside Cornelia, the words she had said felt like a lie. She sighed quietly but continued to stroke Rickon to comfort him. When he fell asleep, she leaned over and kissed his forehead gently, then left the room without making a sound.
Outside, Cornelia hesitated for a moment before heading to Bran's room to check on him. There, she found her mother helping Bran clean his hands and feet. Cornelia stayed to help for a while and took the opportunity to talk to Catelyn before leaving again.
Cornelia returned to the hall and, unexpectedly, found Robb waiting for her. She paused for a moment before approaching and sitting beside him. In the past few days, Robb had been busy following Maester Luwin's advice, always worried about making a mistake, which made him act with extreme seriousness. Because of this, Cornelia and Rickon had barely seen him over the past two days.
"I'm worried about how Mom has been acting these days. She's been busy all the time. Thankfully, Rickon is still with you," Robb said, after a long moment of silence. He had temporarily taken on the responsibility of leading Winterfell, but it kept him constantly busy. The situation was frustrating, and at this moment, little Rickon needed his mother more than ever. However, Catelyn could only care for Bran.
"I've always felt that our father was like the sky, something unchanging, always there for us. We never had to worry about anything," Robb continued, looking at Cornelia. "But now that he's gone to King's Landing, we need to be strong and keep everything in place. Home is our safe haven, but it also needs everyone's protection to remain that way. That's the most important thing, don't you think?"
Cornelia remained silent as she reflected on her brother's words. Home is indeed a safe haven, but that haven can only withstand the storms if all family members protect it together. Only with a safe home can people have a place to stay. If the home is lost, where can one find shelter?
"Lia, do you know what I think? I think that, among everyone here, the person who's been most uncomfortable these last few days is you," Robb said, staring at her directly. He felt that Cornelia was hiding something, suppressing her emotions. Although she seemed to be handling everything well, something felt off.
After saying goodbye to the king and their father, Cornelia had returned to her room, tidied up her things, and rested for a while. Later, she reappeared before the others, impeccable and calm, as though nothing had changed. During the day, she visited Bran, comforted her mother, cared for Rickon, and even helped Septa Mordane prepare the meals. She did all of this diligently, but Robb felt that something was wrong.
"What more could I do?" Cornelia replied, hesitantly and in a dry tone, avoiding his gaze.
"Lia, even though our father is gone, I'm the older brother. I'm responsible for keeping everything in place. You don't have to force yourself like this! I'll protect you," Robb stated, placing his hand on her shoulder. He looked at her seriously. They had grown up together, and Robb knew something was wrong. How had the family not noticed this before? He felt like an incompetent older brother.
Cornelia looked at Robb, expressionless, for a long time. Then she lowered her head and silently leaned back in her chair. Robb said nothing more. He just stayed beside her, waiting.
After a moment, Cornelia finally murmured, "I... feel like I shouldn't have let go of Bran's hand that day. If I hadn't let go, everything would've been different."
Cornelia's guilt was clear. She believed that if she had acted differently, Bran's situation might have been avoided. Or, at least, she would have a clear answer, something she desperately needed. What Cornelia wanted was proof that the future could be changed.
Proof that would defy the narrative that seemed predestined.
"Why do you think that? It's not your fault, Lia! No one can predict the future, and no one should be responsible for someone else's life, not even a family member!"
Robb interrupted Cornelia's words with a serious expression. He was also deeply saddened by what happened to Bran, and if he could, he would give everything to restore his younger brother's health.
But Cornelia shouldn't carry that weight. She had warned Bran countless times not to climb the wall. No one could have predicted the accident that happened.
Cornelia lowered her head, forcing a bitter smile. But deep down, she knew that this wasn't the whole truth. Precisely because she could foresee the future.
"I know, Robb! Don't worry, I'm fine!"
Cornelia sighed and looked at her brother beside her. Over the past two days, she had started to accept certain truths, but she still needed time to process them. So, she decided to keep herself busy, avoiding any deeper thoughts.
"Actually..."
Cornelia was about to continue explaining when, suddenly, she felt an intense, throbbing pain in her chest, as if something were piercing her heart. Soon, a sharp, familiar cold began to spread throughout her body, starting from her neck. She collapsed onto the blanket-covered bench, too weak to continue.
"Lia! What's happening to you?" Robb rushed to help her, but as he held her, he noticed that her body was as cold as ice that had not melted in decades. He felt his own hand tingle from the touch.
"No... Don't touch me!" Cornelia said with difficulty, enduring the penetrating pain. She pulled away from Robb, nearly falling to the ground. At that exact moment, a blue-ice flame erupted from her neck, burning fiercely. Before she could do anything, the wild fire spread quickly through her entire body, like an untamed horse escaping its reins. The flames even began to reach the objects around her.
"Robb! Get out of the room! Lock the door! Hurry! Get out of here!"
Cornelia shouted urgently, ignoring the pain that was tearing her apart as she raised her hands toward the necklace with the egg hanging around her neck. The blue-ice flame was coming from that egg.
She knew it had finally reacted, after so much time in silence. Whatever was inside it was waking up. But she also knew that Robb couldn't stay there. She had no control over the fire at that moment, and no one knew the dangers of blue-ice fire better than she did.
"But what about you? What are you going to do?" Robb asked, hesitating to leave. He was worried about his sister and looked terrified at the blue flames surrounding her.
Robb knew about Cornelia's blue-ice fire. After she returned from the North, he helped her conduct several experiments. He himself had hunted rabbits, moose, and wild boars so that she could test the properties of the fire. He knew exactly how destructive and unpredictable this power could be. And that's exactly why he couldn't leave her alone at that moment.
"Go, Robb! I'm fine! I promise, this can't hurt me! Just go!" Cornelia shouted urgently as she struggled to control the violent flames. Luckily, she felt a wave of sharp cold coming from her hips, which made the fire recede momentarily. However, she knew that sooner or later she would lose control, and she felt that the power inside the egg in her hand was increasing rapidly.
"I'll be outside. If something goes wrong, you need to call me!"
Robb hesitated, his body tense as he fought the urge to help her. He wanted to step forward, but he knew there was nothing he could do. In the end, he simply gave Cornelia a worried look before leaving the room and closing the door. Even so, he didn't go far. He stayed outside, pacing back and forth, anxious, as he waited.
Inside the room, upon seeing Robb leave, Cornelia sighed in relief. As soon as he closed the door, the ice fire exploded freely, without restrictions. Fortunately, nothing in the house was burned.
That's because what the ice fire burns is the soul.
All living souls can be consumed in an instant, but the physical bodies remain intact.
Cornelia knew this because she had spent the last three years experimenting and studying this dangerous power. And although the fire she could control at the moment wasn't as devastating as what manifested in that room, she knew that one day she would be able to master it completely, and she worked hard to do so.
Outside, Robb stood watch the entire night. As dawn began to light the sky, he noticed that Cornelia's door was covered by a thick layer of ice. It was impossible not to associate this scene with another morning, eight years ago, that he would never forget.
On that occasion, he had brought Sansa and Arya to see Cornelia. But when they reached her bedroom door, they found the same thick ice covering it, and a cold air seeping through the cracks. When they finally managed to open the door, the scene they saw horrified them.
They thought Cornelia was dead.
She was lying motionless on a bed covered in ice, looking lifeless, just like Bran now.
Sansa and Arya were terrified. They both wanted to run for help, but Robb stopped them in time. He instructed Arya to stay in the room to watch Cornelia, while asking Sansa to guard the door so no one would notice anything strange. He, in turn, rushed out to fetch their parents.
Since that day, Robb had felt the weight of protecting Cornelia, even without fully understanding what was happening to her.
Now, he was facing a similar situation. With his forehead pressed against the frozen door, Robb silently prayed to the Old and New Gods to protect his sister. He was willing to sacrifice everything for her.
The night passed, and when the dark sky began to lighten with the bluish-gray glow of morning, the door finally opened.
After a whole night of tension, Cornelia appeared before Robb. She was standing, unharmed, holding something in her hands pressed to her chest.
"Bran was right," Cornelia said with a slight smile, looking at Robb before slowly opening her hands.
In her hands was a tiny bird, with shimmering blue-ice feathers.
The creature was so small that it was barely larger than Robb's thumb.
Perhaps this was expected, after all, the egg from which it came wasn't much bigger.
But as he looked at the creature, Robb couldn't help but think:
"So small... How can something so small have caused such a large fire?"
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