Many things had been different in the trip back to King's Landing if compared to the original trip in the book or series (not that Arabella knew there was or ever would be a series). For one, there were no Lannisters in the escort, having been replaced by Starkmen. By the moment of their departure, the remaining Lannister, the Hill bastards and their escort should already be close to crossing the neck. That also meant that there was no incident with Nymeria biting Joffrey nor Cersei's venom to convince Robert to have Sansa's wolf killed. Both girls kept their wolves safe and sound next to them and the beasts grew at an astonishing rate, just like their siblings next to the Stark boys.
John Snow still decided to join the Night's Watch, which earned him the respect of many northerners, despite the current reputation of the order across Westeros. He had even received somewhat prophetic, yet encouraging words from the Slytherin Witch before departing.
"John, know that you have made the right choice" she said, unaware of his destiny "The Night's Watch needs good men like you if it is to truly be the shield that guards the realm of men. I urge you to be brave as you stand watch. I urge you to be mindful of your brothers and not only treat them with respect, but also do your best to elevate them. Not all of them had the education a maester could give, nor a swordsman such as Ser Rodrick as their sparring master. They will need your council and your help. Offer it with humility and they will accept. Most of all, however, I urge you to keep vigilant to the perils beyond the Wall. Wildlings are the least of the threats that dwell amongst them. You must stand against them, but you won't stand alone. Your sworn brothers will fight alongside you and, once it's time, perhaps even I will join you."
Moreover, the lessons with Arya started in earnest. As soon as they had camped for the first time, Arabella had Arya sent to her tent.
"Hello Arya, please take a seat" she showed a cushion on the floor in front of her and waited for the girl to sit. "Before we start there are two things you should know."
"What are they?" the girl asked in anticipation.
"First, is that your magical talents are, as I've told your father back in Winterfell, latent. That means they are asleep. The process of awakening them, while absolutely safe, can and probably will take quite some time. Secondly, the magic I can teach you and the magic present in this land are widely different. The magic I use may be impossible to teach you, as it comes from another place altogether and the magic of this land is frail. However, it won't be like this for much longer. Soon we shall see a red comet in the sky and magic will return in great strength. If I fail to teach my magic, I will teach you the one of this land as I learn it myself. No matter what happens, you will have great powers once we are done. Do you understand?"
"Yes!" she said with a note of apprehension. She really wanted to be as cool as Arabella. Hearing that it could not be possible brought a twinge of fear to her heart. Still, she was much more excited than she was afraid.
"Good. For our first lesson, we should start by looking at magic for what it is. It is an energy that is both part of us and that flows all around us. Some people, like me and you, have a greater attunement to this energy, to the point that we can channel it into something concrete. These are spells, charms, potions… and more. However, magic is not to be treated as a mere tool, just like you wouldn't treat a sword as a mere tool, would you?"
The girl shook her head, eager to show she was understanding.
"Indeed, a sword wielded in the wrong hands can cause a lot of harm to many people and in inexperienced hands can cause as much harm to the wielder" Arabella said as she used her wand to create a small fire in her tend, which would have burned everything if it were not doused immediately by another spell and the tent repaired by her used of the reparo spell "Magic can be dangerous as you've just seen. Playing with fire is fun, but if I didn't know what to do once the flames took the tent, we'd both be dead. Before you go out using whatever you learn with me, you need to understand this: magic is no mere tool and definitely not a toy; it demands respect and careful study and mastery before being used. Am I clear?"
The irony of a 7th Year Hogwarts student teaching magic as if she was the greatest sage in the world didn't evade Arabella. She smiled widely when the Stark girl nodded once again. Her face was serious and she was completely focused on her teacher's words.
"Very well. Now let's start the process of awakening your powers."
For many weeks she trained with Arya every time they stopped to make camp. They started with meditation sessions, to help the Stark girl connect with her body and find the magic within. Then Arabella taught her about magical theory, how spells are created and how they are learned and the basics about potions. The latter was more difficult since many ingredients were either not found in Westeros or existed under different names. Still, she told her about the potions that she knew could be made with local ingredients, as she had found out on her research on herbs and flowers together with Maester Luwin back in Winterfell's library.
In her first attempts, Arya had failed to even locate the magic within herself, which had left her frustrated and disappointed. She even considered requesting to be taken back North, but Arabella told her from the start that the process would be slow. Around the third week, she was able to feel her latent power, to communicate with it, but still unable to use it.
It was around this time that a soldier had an accident with his horse. He had approached the animal the wrong way one night at camp and had ended up taking a kick straight in the chest. Arabella was summoned to see what she could do. When she entered the tent, she saw that three men were watching the fallen soldier. Ned Stark, Robert Baratheon and a man in grey robes, a Maester no doubt.
"Lady Slytherin" Eddard acknowledged her.
"Your Grace, Lord Stark, I came as soon as I knew" answered Arabella "what's the man's situation?"
The Maester answered before any of the other men could.
"He was hit by his horse squarely in the chest" said the man in grey with detachment "he has broken several ribs and I suspect there is internal bleeding in the lungs. He won't survive the night."
She looked at the man laid on a stretcher. His surcoat and shirt had been removed, showing a heavily bruised and somewhat deformed chest. Arabella shuddered at the sight. It was her second time watching the horrific sight of what serious damages the human body looked like. The first time, of course, had been when the King had decided to blow up his wife's head and her brother in law's chest. She was happy she didn't bring Arya along. Although this could have been a valuable learning experience, the Witch decided it was best if a child that young didn't see such things more than necessary.
"So, Witch" asked Robert without any formality "can you save him?"
"His state is critical, Your Grace. At this point it is as much in my hands as it is in the hands of the Gods. I can mend the damage, but he will have to fight through the night in order to live."
"Your Grace" intervened the Maester "surely you don't mean to let a sorcerer use her vile magic on this Knight. He's a pious man of the Seven…"
His antics were interrupted by the angry glares he received from both the King and the Witch.
"Maester, I think it's best you leave us" said Eddard before the situation got out of control.
"Very well, as you wish, My Lord" the Maester said with clear disappointment in his voice before bowing and leaving.
"We apologize on the Maester behest, My Lady" said Lord Eddard.
Arabella, on the other hand, wasn't paying attention to him. Her gaze was fixed on the man laid in front of her. She took her wand and started tracing the man's chest while murmuring the spells.
"Costae Emendo"
"Vulnera Sanentur"
"Costae Emendo"
"Vulnera Sanentur"
After a while, the chest deformity turned back into its original and normal form. The bruise, however, hadn't completely gone away. They just receded a little. Arabella inspected the half-healed chest and a relieved smile passed her cheeks. She then used her wand for one last spell.
"Ferula"
With her words and the motion of her wrist, clean bandages surrounded the wounded man's torso. She made sure there was no blood coming through the bandages or through the man's mouth and nose and when she was satisfied, she turned to the two nobles that were looking at her, astonishment clear in his eyes.
"Your Grace, My Lord, I'm confident he will survive. I was able to take the blood out of his lungs, heal it, and diminish the swollenness in his chest. As for the broken bones, they've returned to their original place, but they are not fully bound. The injury he sustained was severe and he will need time for his body to naturally mend the broken ribcage. He will feel quite a lot of pain in the upcoming days, but as long as he doesn't try to go around and stay laying down, there will be no risk to his life nor a full recovery. Just give him milk of the poppy for now on and let him heal. In a few weeks or months, he'll be as good as new."
She was still surprised that Robert was in the tent. Normally, he wouldn't bother, but it seemed that his latest setbacks with his wife and his children had made him more aware of the need of being a present king. Perhaps that would finally start ruling the Kingdom instead of just fucking around. She could only hope. The two men, however, were even more surprised than her. They had just seen a man being pulled out of the grasps of death and were astonished to hear, matter-of-factly, that he'd make a full recovery.
"That was… that was…" Robert tried to say.
"Nothing much, Your Grace. Magic is powerful but has its limits. I couldn't cure him entirely. I just made it easier for him."
"No, Lady Slytherin" said Eddard "if what you say is true, you just saved this man's life. Even with the pains of recovery, I'm sure he'll be grateful when he wakes up. As will his father."
"Who's his father?" asked Arabella "Is he here?"
"No, his father is Lord Leyton Hightower, he's in Oldtown taking care of his lands. This man is Ser Garth Hightower, his only son and heir."
Arabella was surprised to see a member of one of the southernmost houses of Westeros being so far up north. She was now even happier for having saved his life. If the Hightower's gratitude could involve access to some of their magical secrets, she certainly wouldn't complain.
"Witch, can you resurrect the dead?" Robert asked bluntly, taking her out of her thoughts.
"What?" she asked without hiding her surprise "No, Your Grace. This ability is beyond me. In fact it's beyond any magic from my land. There were once three brothers that tried to cheat death and their fate is told to us since childhood as a cautionary tale. None have attempted such arrogance ever since."
"A pity…" replied the King with a somber tone before he said one more thing and left "Ah, yes… thank you for saving this man."
"A pleasure to serve, Your Grace"
Soon, she and Ned Stark left the tent, leaving the man to be examined and taken care of by the Maester. They walked slowly and chatted about Arya's progress. If she kept this pace, perhaps she could have her own wand when they reached King's Landing. Ned was proud of his daughter and he was glad she had such a good influence near her.
The Maester, on the other hand, waited for them to leave the surrounding area before taking notes of everything that happened and the man's state. When he was sure Garth Hightower wasn't going to die, not wake up soon, he left the tent and put his notes together with a letter on a raven and let it fly all the way south. Towards the Citadel.
Brothers,
I have uncovered a practitioner of magic most foul. She has ensnared the King and his hand and even dared take a life out of the Stranger's grasp.
I've sent notes about what I've witnessed for your revision. I'm sure the Citadel will know how best to deal with this threat to our Order.
I'll await instructions, should there be any.
Maester Archibald.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hey everyone, Agandor here!
I hope you've enjoyed this chapter!
I know today is not a scheduled day for posting, but I've finished it early so I decided to share it with you instead of holding it off to Monday. I won't always be able to make out of schedule posts like this, but I wanted to send it now as a way of thanking you for the views, support and kind words you've given me since we started on Thursday!
New chapter coming on Monday!