Wildlings

At the entrance to Winterfell Main Keep, Blood Wind's gray fur stood on end. His ears were pricked straight up, his fluffy tail held high as he let out a long howl, cutting an imposing figure.

The other five Direwolves, still looking like little pups, stayed low to the ground. Their fur lay smooth against their bodies, and their ears and tails drooped low in a show of submission.

"Robb, is that your Blood Wind?"

Eddard, who rarely showed his emotions, was truly astonished by how quickly Blood Wind had grown.

"Yes, Father. He... eats and sleeps a lot, so he's growing rather fast."

Robb first nodded in confirmation, then hesitated before offering the excuse he had prepared.

Eddard nodded. He stopped Catelyn from asking questions with a look, along with their other children from pestering Robb, and said, "Go on, Robb! We'll wait for you to return!"

"Yes, Father, Mother. I'll take my leave."

Seeing that Eddard really wasn't going to ask any more questions, Robb bowed to his parents, then led Blood Wind, who was gradually settling down, toward the Training Ground.

"Hmm, Robb's a glutton, and so is his Blood Wind. Nymeria, you should eat more too, so you can grow up fast!"

"Pfft, Arya, I'm afraid no matter how much she eats, she'll end up about your size."

Watching Robb walk away with the imposing Blood Wind, Arya crouched and picked up her Direwolf, muttering to herself.

Hearing her, Sansa covered her mouth as she laughed and teased her mischievous younger sister.

Arya rolled her eyes at her, then carried Nymeria back to the Main Keep by herself.

"Jon, what you said could only fool Arya and Rickon, right? Why did Blood Wind grow so fast?"

Brandon tugged at Jon's sleeve as he asked.

Jon's handsome face was full of thought. He glanced at Brandon, who was asking him, and smiled as he shook his head, showing he didn't know how to answer either.

Catelyn had heard her children speaking behind her. She rested a hand on Eddard's shoulder and said softly, "Ned, Robb said something not even a child would believe. Isn't he clearly telling us he has a secret of his own?"

"Catelyn, our son has grown up!"

Eddard didn't answer his wife's question.

Instead, he placed his rough hand over the pale one on his shoulder, a smile on his lips as he offered a meaningful remark.

By the time Robb reached the Training Ground, all the guards were waiting beside their horses in armor bearing their respective house designs.

They were only a little surprised to see the imposing Blood Wind, since they didn't know about his extraordinary rate of growth.

Theon was holding the reins of two horses. When he saw Robb, he stepped forward and handed him one set of reins, exclaiming in disbelief, "Robb, is this wolf Blood Wind? The little pup we rescued a few days ago?"

"It was ten days ago. Yes, this is Blood Wind."

Robb took the horse's reins and answered Theon quietly, then turned to the guards and called out,

"You should all know the details of this mission by now. Mount up and move out!"

"Yes, Lord Robb!"

At the unified response, all thirty-two men, Robb included, mounted their horses in unison, their movements crisp and practiced.

The knights rode out of Winterfell through the North Gate in a steady stream, then picked up speed toward Long Lake in the northeast. Blood Wind ran alongside Robb.

After being cooped up in the bedroom all this time, Blood Wind could finally run freely, giving in to his wild instincts.

At the edge of the Wolfswood, on the southwest side of Long Lake, Jory and more than a hundred and ninety soldiers from Winterfell were stationed in a temporary camp.

After riding for most of the day, Robb and his party reached the camp.

"A few days ago, House Bolton sent a raven saying that a group of forty or fifty Wildlings had somehow bypassed Black Castle and Last Hearth, then attacked their watch posts and nearby villages.

"The Count of Dreadfort, Lord Roose, personally brought several hundred horsemen to surround them, but they broke through before he could close in and fled into the lands of House Stark.

"By the way, the deserter soldiers we killed earlier came from that watch post."

After exchanging greetings, Jory eagerly explained the situation.

"Lord Eddard ordered me to bring two hundred cavalrymen to wipe them out, but the Wildlings are very cunning. Once they noticed us, they made straight for places where horses couldn't travel easily.

"After several days of pursuit, we've trapped them in this stretch of woods. But the woods are their territory. My men went in and didn't even see them before we lost several people.

"After I reported back to Lord Eddard, he told me to set up camp and wait for your support."

"Captain Jory, no wonder I haven't seen you lately. So you've been off fighting Wildlings. Hmm, I understand the situation. From now on, I'll take over this mission."

"Of course!"

As Robb chatted with Jory, he took control of the operation.

He gazed at the lush green forest and murmured, "This time, you'll be playing support."

In a flat clearing somewhere in the Wolfswood stood a camp made up of crude tents.

A group of Wildlings, wrapped in ragged furs and wearing murderous expressions, sat in a circle, arguing over one another.

"I say we charge straight into their camp after nightfall and slaughter the lot of them. Those southron bastards are nothing without their horses and armor."

"Right! We haven't slept or eaten properly since those southron bastards started chasing us on horseback. We might as well strike first."

"Yeah, those southron bastards were easy enough to kill before."

"Don't underestimate the southrons. Most of them are weaklings, but there are plenty of dangerous ones too. Weren't those crows southrons without armor?"

A Wildling woman with delicate features and unruly brown hair wiped down a homemade spear as she cautioned the Wildlings, who were getting a little too carried away.

As soon as she spoke, the Wildlings fell silent and turned to look at her. From their reaction, it was clear she was their leader.

Wildlings believed in strength and followed the law of the strong. They accepted this woman as their leader because she had led them through many close calls and brought them out alive.

"Osha, then what do you think we should do? If we just wait around, we'll run out of food, and there'll be more and more southron bastards outside."

A Wildling man with an axe in hand and a tangled beard covering most of his face asked.

Osha smiled faintly and replied with confidence, "So what if the southrons outnumber us? The forest belongs to us. If they dare come in here and fight us, they're signing their own death warrants.

"If we really can't beat them, we'll flee deeper into the forest. No matter how harsh it gets there, can it be worse than the Haunted Forest?"

"That's all well and good, but we risked our lives climbing over the Wall because we wanted a better life. Is hiding in the forest all the time really a better life?"

"Yeah!"

"We don't want to hide forever!"

One Wildling's words struck a chord with the others, and they began talking over one another again.

"We won't be trapped for long! You all know that King-Beyond-the-Wall has begun gathering a great army. Before long, all these southron bastards will go help those crows.

"Then our good days will come!

"All the villages belonging to these southron bastards will be like juicy chunks of meat, ripe for the taking!"

Osha's eyes gleamed as she spoke with longing.