Yeee, new chapter! :) I'm so happy to be writing this story again. I'm trying to make up on lost time and I want to move past season 1 of the show, so I hope to keep updating frequently. When we get into season 2, that's when things are really going to start differing from the show.

I don't think I ever mentioned before who I take inspiration from when it comes to looks for the sisters. Storm is portrayed by Emma Watson (like in the picture) and Mari by Leighton Meester (brown hair).

I also want to take a minute to welcome new readers, and thank those of you who reviewed! Thank you, thank you! I hope you enjoy :)

A Tale of Magic and Monsters and Lords

Chapter 12. Wolf in the Lions' Den

Storm

"The king is dead!"

A voice whispers in my ear from the darkness which surrounds me.

"The Hand is next..."

The air feels sticky and stale, and it smells of sweat and piss.

"One wolf stands no chance in a den of lions."

I hear the sharp scraping of metal against stone and a chill runs up my back.

Suddenly, a small light appears in the distance; the tiny flame of a single candle burning in the dark.

As it grows closer, a figure is revealed; it's Mariene.

"Sh," She warns, putting a finger to her lips, "Don't make a sound."

When close enough, she holds out a hand to me and I take it without hesitation.

"Quickly," She tells me urgently, "You must come with me now."

Although I've taken her hand, and I don't protest, she speaks as if I have, "Please, Lord Stark, they're going to kill you if you don't!"

I open my mouth to tell her that I'm not who she thinks I am, but words escape me.

Mariene pulls me along beside her, our footsteps transitioning from hurried to a full sprint. The flame in her hands is snuffed out and we're left running through the darkness.

"Wolves belong in the North," The ominous male voice returns, sounding loud in my ears, "Wolves only die in the South."

"Come on," Mariene urges, "Quickly! This way!"

We have distanced ourselves from the voice, but I hear him call out one last thing: "Lions don't like water..."

Lions don't like water? What does that mean?

Before I can give any thought to the cryptic message, Mariene and I are falling through the darkness and land with a SPLASH into a black sea.

I jolt awake with a gasp, my lungs crying out for air, almost like I'd been holding my breath. I don't open my eyes at first; instead, I simply breathe through my nose for a minute while I recover from the dream. I am laying on my side, legs curled up to my stomach, head resting on something soft and warm, and the hand that isn't underneath me is grasping at something hard and smooth...something that's moving. Suddenly, my memory from last night returns and I realize I'm sleeping in Jon's tent, and sometime during the night I moved closer to him and claimed his bare chest as my pillow. Oh my, how embarrassing. Not only that, but when I do open my eyes, I see that the hard, smooth surface I've been running my hand over is his nicely sculpted abdomen. Please don't be awake, please don't be awake...I think to myself as I lift my head from his chest and move into a sitting position. I allow my gaze to shift from Jon's chest to his face, and when I see his eyes open and staring up at me, I think I might die of embarrassment.

I open my mouth to apologize for feeling him up in my sleep, but before I can say a word, Sam's frantically shouting outside of the tent, "She's gone! Jon! Pyp! Come quickly! Storm's gone missing!"

"What d'you mean?" Pyp's footsteps pass the tent, and I feel guilty for how worried both of them sound.

"She's not in her tent," Sam elaborates, "I came out to start breakfast and I noticed it was open...and empty."

"Jon, wake up!" Pyp yells.

Jon groans, reaching up to run a hand through his dark curly hair, which is unruly from sleeping. "I'm awake," He calls to the two of them, "And Storm's not missing. She's right here."

"I'm so sorry," I whisper to him, both for what happened while I was sleeping and for the mess I've just made for us now. Sam and Pyp are totally going to think something's going on with Jon and I now that I've slept in his tent. It won't matter if we deny it, because I can already hear the endless teasing from both boys. Pyp already thought Jon and I were secretly harboring feelings for each other. Nothing will shut him up now.

Surprisingly, Jon doesn't say anything about the awkward position I woke up in. Instead, he pulls his discarded shirt over his head and informs me, "You were talking in your sleep." He glances at me out of the corner of his dark grey eyes. "What were dreaming of?"

I frown, "What did I say?"

"You said, 'Lions don't like water'," Jon replies as he puts on his boots and starts to open the tent, "What does that mean?"

"I don't know," I answer honestly, "It was something said to me in my dream."

Ghost bolts out of the tent as soon as he's able, full of energy and ready to hunt for his breakfast.

Before I can follow, Jon catches my wrist and prompts, "What else happened?"

Deciding it's only right to tell him, since the dream did involve his father, I retell, "I was somewhere dark, and a voice whispered in my ear that the king was dead. Then my sister appeared, only she...she called me 'Lord Stark', and she told me to come with her, to save my life. Then, the voice said that wolves don't belong in the south, and that lions don't like water. I don't know what that's supposed to mean. Before I woke up, Mariene and I fell into the ocean."

Jon seems to soak in the information I told him before he motions for me to crawl out of the tent, and so I do, putting a smile on my face and waving to the two boys who appear flabbergasted at the sudden turn of events. Jon is last to emerge, looking like he'd rather not. Or he could just be deep in thought about the dream I shared with him. It's almost comical, to me, to see Sam and Pyp's reaction at a girl climbing out of a boy's tent. In Chicago, no one would have thought it weird for us to sleep platonically in the same space, but that's clearly not the case here. Then again, sex is also much more casual where I'm from, and it isn't odd for a girl of sixteen to have lost her virginity already. I haven't, much to Trey's disappointment, but I'm not a prude either; we've done nearly everything else together except for the actual deed. I assume that here girls are supposed to save themselves for marriage, and if they haven't they're basically ruined. That or they're prostitutes. I've heard the boys talking about them, so I know they're around. I just hope none of these young men think I'm as easy as a whore, because that's not a reputation I'd like to have following me around Westeros.

"You two can stop your staring right now," I state, wagging a finger in Pyp and Sam's direction, "Because nothing happened. It was all Ghost's fault. He dragged me in there and wouldn't let me leave."

Pyp can't hide the smile pulling at his lips, but he holds up his hands in surrender. "Whatever you say..."

Recalling what a bitch I'd been yesterday, I approach Sam with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry for worrying you," I begin, "And I'm sorry for snapping at you yesterday. It wasn't your fault I was having such a bad day. Today will be better. I promise."

"It's all right," Sam shrugs, a blush creeping onto his cheeks.

As an after-thought, I add, "You too, Pyp. Sorry for threatening to slap you."

"I didn't think you'd actually do it," Pyp lies, and I smirk.

Repeating his previous words, I tease, "Whatever you say."

"We should eat and pack up," Jon suggests, his usual serious self, "It's still a long way to Winterfell."

I can't argue with his point, though. We have close to ten more days of riding ahead of us, according to Jon, and our time is precious. My dreams can't tell me when things will occur, just that they will, and I don't want to fail Jon. If we arrive in Winterfell only for his father to be killed, all of this would be for nothing. Without another word, I go into my tent to change into fresh clothes and prepare myself for the day. I am still slightly crampy from my period, but not nearly as bad as yesterday, so I don't think I'll have a problem riding Honey. Even if I do, I won't complain, because I gave Jon, Pyp and Sam enough hell yesterday. I check my bag for more cloth rags, and I'm thankful Aemon thought to pack me extra; I wonder if the old man knew I might suffer my women's curse during our trip. I sure as heck hope not, but I'm still grateful he gave me some supplies. I'm going to miss that old man. I hope I'll get another chance to see him.

After I've re-packed my belongings, I start to disassemble my tent, and Pyp helps me roll it up so it will fit in my bag. I load my bags on Honey's back before stroking the soft spot on her nose, which is my favorite part to pet. I am glad she couldn't understand the things I said about her yesterday. She might not be as eager to carry my weight if she knew I resented her for my aching backside. Today will be better, I remind myself.

By the time I'm done loading up, Sam has made breakfast for all of us. "Your breakfast, m'lady," Sam presents me my bowl of mush with a flourish, which causes me to laugh.

"Why," I mimic his accent, "Thank you, m'lord."

Sam's eyes widen and he seems surprised, "You can talk like a lady."

I shrug off his comment and take a bite of my breakfast. It isn't hard to copy his accent. But I wouldn't call it speaking like a lady. He could talk like I do too, I'm sure, if he tried it. And it isn't the first time I've taken on an English accent. Last year, me and my best friend Holly spent a whole day talking like Brits. I don't recall why. I just remember us calling stupid things to each other all day, like, 'Time for tea and crumpets!' and 'Off with your head!' It's not such a funny joke now that I know it could be Ned Stark's fate.

I finish my breakfast in record timing and announce, "All right, I'm done. Let's hit the road."

-*-*-*-*-A-Tale-Of-Magic-And-Monsters-And-Lords-*-*-*-*-

Around mid-morning, I notice a huge body of water that is frozen solid and seems to go on for miles. "What's that?" I ask Jon, pointing up ahead, to the left of the Kingsroad.

"It's Long Lake," He replies without looking to see where I've pointed, "It's how I know we're halfway to Winterfell. We should be able to pass the lake completely before nightfall, or at least reach the end before we make camp."

It's big, really big, but not as big as Lake Michigan. I can tell because this lake is completely frozen over, but Lake Michigan has never frozen over completely. Still, this is the second largest body of water I've ever seen, since I've never been to the ocean. It looks like a nice place to go ice skating. Too bad that's probably not invented yet. That and we wouldn't have time to stop for ice skating anyways.

"It's the first thing I've seen besides snow and trees since we left the castle," I comment.

"We crossed the bridge over the Last River not three days ago," Jon reminds me. "We've passed a few houses as well."

"Oh yeah," I recall, "I forgot." Probably because it wasn't much to look at. Everything is white in the north, white and gray. The snow on the ground, white; the clouds in the sky, constant grey. There's no color.

I look over my shoulder to see how far behind Pyp and Sam are, since I haven't heard a word from either of them in over an hour. They're about fifty or so feet back, far enough away for their voices not to carry to my ears, but close enough to catch up quickly if they needed to. Returning my gaze to Jon, I urge Honey forward a bit so we are beside he and his horse rather than behind.

"I've been thinking," I tell him, and his eyes shift in my direction for what feels like the first time since we broke camp this morning, "About the dream I had last night. Obviously, I understand the part about wolves not belonging in the south; your father is in danger there. But the part about lions not liking water...that got me thinking. King's Landing is a port, right? It's on the ocean?" Jon confirms my thoughts with a nod, as I suspected. I lose myself in my thoughts again, analyzing every detail of the cryptic dream.

"Well...?" Jon presses, his leg knocking into mine as our horses step too closely together, "What are you thinking?"

A ship must travel faster than horseback, that's what I'm thinking. There must be a way to get a ship to King's Landing before Ned Stark is executed. In my dream last night, I think I was supposed to be Ned, locked up in the dungeons of the Red Keep. I think the best bet we have on getting him out is sneaking him away on a ship. But will it work? Will we reach him in time? Will he come with us? And what part does Mariene play in all of this? Is she in King's Landing, with Lord Stark and his daughters? Or is that just a trick of the dream?

I shake my head, chewing on my cheek, unwilling to share my thoughts with Jon. Instead of telling him, I ask, "What will you do when we get to Winterfell?" I've been thinking of asking him for days, but I don't think I really wanted the answer. He has to go back to the Wall, take his vow, and commit himself forever to the Night's Watch. I know this, but still I hope for a different answer. I want him to stay with me, because he's come so far but it's not far enough yet. His father isn't safe, and neither are his sisters, and what will I do without him? I need him to help me, to guide me, just like he needs me to save his father. If he's gone...

"I will help you convince Robb and Lady Stark that my father is in danger, and after they've agreed to help you..." He trails off, looking uncertain. A small frown appears between his eyes. I think he's going to admit that he isn't sure what he's going to do, that he wants to stay and see this through to the end, but then his face hardens. His eyes seem to change from grey to black as he states firmly, "I will return to Castle Black with Sam and Pyp. You knew that I had to go back. I need to take my oath. I gave my word to Lord Commander." He gives his horse's reigns a small jerk to the right, and his horse steps away from mine.

It hurts, strangely, his words and the gesture that he doesn't want to be near me anymore. I don't know why. Maybe it's because I'd been hoping he'd change his mind. That's stupid, though. He probably would have taken his oath by now if I hadn't shown up, so why should I expect him to give that up for me? I knew there was a reason I didn't want to ask that question. I should have kept my mouth shut.

I wish Sam and Pyp would stop keeping so much distance between them and us. They'd really help with the awkward silence that's suddenly ensued. I toss another look over my shoulder to see what they're up to. They were laughing pretty hard before they saw me turn, and then strangely froze, the smiles sliding off their faces. I eased Honey to halt.

"What are you two doing?" I call back to them.

"Nothing," They both claim, speaking at once.

"Well, what was so funny?" I question as they approach. They look guilty, the both of them. I wonder why.

Sam looks to Pyp, who tries to keep a straight face. "It was nothin', really. I could never say it in front of a lady. Oh, girl." He corrects himself quickly.

I allow Honey to trot alongside Sam and Pyp's horses. "Oh, come on," I insist, "I can handle it. What is it? A dirty joke or something? I can bet I've heard a lot worse than whatever it is you said."

Pyp laughs nervously, "I don't know..."

I wait for him to continue, but he doesn't. I send a hopeful look in Sam's direction, but he shakes his head. Neither of them want to spill the beans. "Ugh," I groan, "You guys are no fun." I could have really used a laugh right about then.

It isn't until much, much later that Jon and I make the discovery of Pyp and Sam's suspicious behavior. While they were dragging their asses behind ours earlier, it wasn't a dirty joke they were laughing about, it was their successful ditching of their tent that they thought was hilarious. When it came time to set camp up for the night, there were only two tents erected: mine and Jon's.

"What did you idiots do?" Jon asks angrily. He doesn't think it's any funnier than I do.

"I don't know how that happened," Pyp lies smoothly, "It must have fallen out."

I laugh sarcastically, "Yeah, sure it did. It just fell out and neither of you noticed."

Sam looks about ready to blame Pyp for the whole thing, which is probably true, but I continue before he can even open his mouth. "I don't see how you'd think it's funny. It was your tent. Looks like you two are shit outta luck tonight." I smirk, "Have fun sleeping with the horses."

"You wouldn't make us sleep out in the cold," Pyp says confidently, "We'd die."

"Shut up Pyp," Jon sighs, "I know why you did it, and it was a stupid thing to do. Now you two are going to be taking up room in my tent." He adds pointedly, "Ghost can sleep in Storm's." He starts heading away from camp, Ghost following dutifully.

I watch him go, thinking about going after him but deciding against it. He's entitled to a few moments alone. I send Sam and Pyp a disapproving glare for a few seconds, just to watch them squirm a little.

"Sorry," Sam says quietly, "We didn't think you'd be so mad."

"Yeah," Pyp agrees, "You both seemed pretty content together last night."

"I already told you nothing happened last night. It was completely innocent," I tell them, though they didn't listen the first time. "Jon already told you guys, before we left, that he wasn't interested in me, and he wasn't going to try and sleep with me. Remember? Nothing's changed."

"Well, you've shared looks," Sam points out, "We've both seen it."

"'Shared looks'?" I repeat, "What does that even mean?"

"You know," Pyp puckers his lips and bats his eyelashes, "You've made eyes at him. You know it's true. You like Jon Snow's handsome face."

I give Pyp's shoulder a shove as I deny, "I do not." Well, maybe I do. "It doesn't matter anyways. You shouldn't encourage it. Nothing can happen between us because he has an oath to take."

"He hasn't taken it yet," Pyp has to remind me.

"But he's going to," I say, frustrated that I'm having this conversation twice in one day, "He already told me. I'm not going to get involved with someone who will leave me. I already had to leave Trey, and I never even got to say goodbye. I knew all along I'd have to say goodbye to Jon. I'm not going to get myself hurt again."

"She's right," Sam says as he sifts through the food pack to decide what's for supper, "It's not fair to her. We shouldn't have been meddling." He hands me a hunk of bread and some cheese and fruit, which we bought from a lone house two days ago.

We all eat in silence. Jon isn't back by the time we're finished. I tell them I'm going to sleep. The fire isn't enough to keep me warm, and my body aches, as it does at this time every day. I could use a deep-tissue massage, not that I've ever had one, but it sounds really nice. Right before I duck into my tent, I see Jon and Ghost in the distance, approaching camp. I crawl inside, hoping he didn't notice me. That conversation with Sam and Pyp left me feeling vulnerable. Until today, I hadn't given much thought on how I felt about Jon returning to the Wall so soon, because I was so focused on doing something to help change his father's fate. It hit me hard earlier, that in ten days or less, he'll be leaving and I might never see him again. Even if I do, I can't have feelings for him because men of the Night's Watch aren't allowed to get married or have children; they aren't allowed to love.

I had convinced myself there was a reason I dreamt about Jon before coming here, a better reason why he found me that night in the snow than just a random act of fate. Was it really all to save one man? I believe that Eddard Stark is a good and honorable man, I do, but is he truly so important that saving his life could change the fate of this entire world? If so, why didn't the magic that brought me here deliver me to Ned Stark himself? Why drop me off with Jon at the Wall and send me on a long, dangerous journey? I always picture Jon there with me, until the end, but now I have to accept that he's not going to be there. It's not his journey; it's mine.

Please Review! I don't know I feel about this chapter. I was going to continue, but it got awkward. Comments, suggestions...anything? :) I like to try to build realistic relationships, and I don't want to rush things, so I'm trying to take things slowly. It's only been 15 days since Storm arrived, and things are a bit more complicated for them since she comes from a different world, basically, and she's got these weird magical dreams and feels like it's her personal mission to rescue Ned. Ok, I'll stop rambling now.

Next Chapter: Will be in Mari's POV! Things are starting to get tense in King's Landing...

Thanks for reading!

-MissCarolineForbes