Thank you all so much fr your support and patience!
I hope this next chapter makes up for all your waiting. I will be posing the next chapter either at the end of this week or at the beginning of next. (Keep your fingers crossed)

Before we continue, I'd like to give a HUGE thanks to RiStark who is Beta-ing for me. THANK YOU!

Now, without further ado, I give you Chapter 1. Winter is Coming

Winter is Coming

The icy breath of the North swept through the blood-red leaves of the ancient heart tree, sharing the tales which it had brought from beyond the Wall.

Death, it whispered.

The tree itself seemed to shudder and the leaves whispered that which the wind did not. Soon, they said, the loyal Wolf and the proud Stag were to fall, and once they did, that which the world knew of peace and life would follow.

Pausing only to caress the wild black locks of the young man seated at the roots of the tree, the winds soon moved on, for it had heard of something which it found far more sinister...

An ancient evil was beginning to stir in the far North.

Winter was coming.

"White Walkers, I saw the White Walkers... I saw them."

The young man draped in black was lead up to the stone alter which had been weathered down by rain and stained with the blood of men that had knelt before it many times before him.

His insane mutterings cut through the solemn silence and Brandon, the second Stark heir, watched on as his father spoke the madman's sentence.

Death.

Around him stood his elder brothers and the core of the Stark Household which included Theon Grayjoy, his father's ward, and Ser Rodrik. Behind him, he heard the gentle rattle of a chain which he knew by heart; each chain link was coated in a black enamel and had three deadly spikes, no larger than a fingernail, worked into its body.

Glancing over his shoulder, he caught the eye of none other than the young man he had known since childhood; Shadow, the guardian of the Stark Household. At first glance, having been draped in the colour of the honorary brotherhood, the young man appeared to be a brother of the Nights Watch. His luminous green eyes however, which peaked above the cowl covering his lower face and all but shone under the mop of long black hair, told Bran otherwise.

"Don't look away just yet, father will know if you do." One of his brothers, Jon, murmured, placing a hand on Bran's shoulder.

Blinking up at Shadow, he turned his attention back to his father once more.

With a mighty swing, the great sword Ice slit clean through the man's throat and spine, the severed head dropping to the ground with a spatter of blood.

For a moment it seemed that Bran was about to look away, but the boy held strong. Only once Shadow strode past him, placing a hand on his shoulder as he passed, did Bran manage to tear his eyes away from the deserters severed head which gazed with wide eyes and a slack jaw across the rolling hills before them.

"Well done, little Lord." He murmured, nodding at Jon over the younger boys head then striding over to their father, collecting the fallen head as he went.

For those who lived in the South, anywhere North of the Neck was considered to be 'uncivilized' as many of the towns, villages and holdfasts in the North followed the old ways and still worshiped the same Gods the First Men had revered for thousands of years.

Winterfell was no different.

The Lord of Winterfell, Eddard Stark himself could often be found in the Godswood during times of trials and tribulation, maintaining the great sword Ice which had been passed down through the generations before him.

Today was one such day; only a scant few hours before had he beheaded a member of the Nightswatch for desertion. A mad man granted, but despite his insane mutterings, Ned could find no lies in the young man's words.

To add to his thoughts, a Dire wolf and her cubs had been found just off the trail. The mother they found dead, her throat having been pierced by the great antlers of a Stag, but, after much debate, her cubs had been gifted to his children.

oOoOo

Turning around to signal that all was safe, Shadow put down the pup he had been inspecting and turned to the group gathering behind him.

"It's a dire wolf Milord." He stated, ignoring Theon's accusing declaration of 'It's a freak' as the group arrived at his side. "Killed by the antlers of the stag by the looks of it... It's unusual to see such an animal south of the wall, and if you believe; a bad sign..." he murmured.

"Why's that?" asked Bran, looking up at the dark guardian.

Shadow turned to the young boy, then to Lord Stark who had crouched down beside the dire wolf to examine it himself.

"I'll tell you later..." he reassured the boy gently before moving to Ned's side.

"It seems like the wolf had pups. What would you like to do with them Milord?" Shadow asked, motioning to the five pups huddling closer to their mother, quickly grabbing one by the scruff and offering it to Bran who grinned in delight.

Ned had looked at the pups and sighed, "They won't survive long without their mother. Better a quick death." He said, pulling himself to his feet and slowly making his way back up the gully.

Shadow nodded, reluctantly agreeing, and took a few steps back, refusing to take part in the killing of the pups and passed a blade to Theon instead.

Eddard understood the young man's reluctance to kill the pups. From what he had gleamed of the young man's past, he'd be the same; the boy had seen and dealt enough death to last a lifetime. According to the rumour mills however, other saw it as arrogance thinking that he wouldn't kill because he believed that the creature or man was not worthy of dying by his hand.

Shrugging mentally, Ned pushed the thought aside; since when did he care of what people thought of his shadow?

"Right then; look away Bran." said Theon curtly, making a grab for the pup wrapped in the boys cloak.

"NO!" Bran cried in protest, turning his body away and taking a step back to try and stop Theon from getting to the pup in his arms.

Robb frowned and grabbed Theon's arm, "Put away that blade," he ordered.

Theon glared at the eldest Stark child. "I take orders from your father, not you." He snapped, roughly pulling back his arm.

"Father, please!" cried Brandon looking up at him with large eyes.

Jon was the first to crack and took pity on the boy, his eyes darting to the remaining pups.

"Milord, there's five pups, one for each of the Stark children. The dire wolf is the symbol of your household," Jon stated. "It's as if they were meant to have them."

Shadow it seemed was eager to support him and put in his own argument. "Dire wolves grow to be fiercely loyal, Milord. If trained properly they can serve as watchdogs or protectors for your children."

Eddard glanced at Shadow and Jon before turning to Bran, who still had his pleading eyes trained on his father.

Sghting, he narrowed his eyes at the boys."You will train them yourselves and feed them yourselves. If they cause any trouble, it will be on your heads then if they die you will bury them yourselves. These pups are now your own responsibilities but I will not have any of you treating them like the courtyard bitch." He said sternly, much to Bran's delight, before turning away and making his way back up the gully.

oOoOo

Jon had also received a pup in the end; a small albino, the runt of the littler which he had found a short distance away from the rest.

Shadow however, had lapsed into a deep contemplative silence and had melted into the shadows upon their return to Winterfell. Most suspected him to have disappeared into the Godswood, as he often did.

It had been many years since he had taken in the young man during what came to be known as Robert's Rebellion.

He had found him as a young teen; wandering the streets of Stony Sept in the aftermath of the battle, staring in horror at the blood which stained his own hands. Once he had taken him in, the boy had refused to leave his side, neither for food nor for sleep no matter how much he had tried to convince the boy otherwise.

When he heard he was to be riding into battle once more, Shadow had to be restrained by several men and chained to a tree to keep the boy from following him. Yet in the end, he did anyway; breaking the chains that held him and joining the battle himself, armed with nothing but the loose chain around his wrist, the very same chain he still held today, and a dagger.

It had been on that day that he had earned the name Shadow, and swore himself to house Stark with the Gods as his witness.

While the young man was peculiar, he had never lead his family astray or allowed them to come to harm if he could prevent it.

All-in-all, he trusted Shadow with his life.

Shadow watched from the walls as Lady Stark left the Godswood with a contemplative yet determined expression on her face. The Stark matriarch never had much reason to enter the Godswood as she was named under the light of the Seven. Seeing her leave the Godswood meant that she had entered in order to speak to Lord Stark who was probably at prayer beneath the heart tree.

Wandering slowly into the place of prayer, Shadow allowed the wind to whisper through his hair and listened to the clinking of the small beads Sansa had weaved into his dark locks. Soon, as he had wondered deeper into the Godswood, he spotted Lord Stark right where he thought he'd be.

"Milord Stark, may I speak with you?"

Pausing in his chore, Ned looked back at Shadow. Sansa had obviously been able to persuade the teen into sitting still long enough for her to braid or knot some wild feathers and silver beads into his long hair.

Shadow had always had a soft spot for the Stark children he mused before agreeing and motioning for the teen to approach.

Funnily enough, rather than making the guardian of his household look like a doll belonging to the children to dress up as they wish, the new accessories had given the teen a wilder and more dangerous look about him. Ned briefly toyed with the idea of showing the guardian off at Kings Landing and introducing him as a wildling just to see the looks on the faces of the Lords and Ladies of court but quickly dismissed the thought as Shadow arrived at his side.

"Is something troubling you?" he asked as he caught strange look in the young man's eyes.

Shadow walked forwards and gently stroked the white bark of the wierwood tree. After a slight hesitation, Shadow spoke up, "Milord, may I be frank?" Ned nodded his approval and Shadow sighed. "I fear for the safety of the Stark household, and of that of the King's."

Stark frowned, "Why? What's wrong?"

Releasing the weirwood, Shadow turned to look Eddard in the eye. "Twice now have the Gods have delivered warnings to the great Stag and Wolf, and what happened today on the Kingsroad merely confirmed my suspicions..."

"The houses of Stark and Baratheon are in danger."

Haha! There is is everybody!

I hope you all enjoyed it. I know it's not much but I'll try and update soon.
Exam season is coming up, so updates might be slow.

Anyway, please review and let me know what you think!

Until next time!