Preparations before entering King's Landing

Ghost froze. She had never known her own lineage was so badass... But if Wolf Spirits and the Children of the Forest were both servants of the Old Gods, why had they fought?

She asked in confusion, "Cursed Greensight? What's that..."

Weilisi fell silent for a long time, then changed the subject. "We'll leave before dawn and head east to Lord Harroway's Town. From there, we'll take a ship across the Bay of Crabs to Pentos..."

"Wait! Why the rush?" Ghost put those tales of gods and monsters aside. She was not mentally prepared yet, nor could she bear to leave Lyanna and Ned.

"The king's ship won't stay in Pentos for long. We must get you aboard the ship back to King's Landing before the Dornish arrive, without leaving any holes in the story."

A ship back to King's Landing? They were going to sneak off to Pentos first, wait for the king's ship and men to find her, and then return to King's Landing?

As if things weren't troublesome enough already...

"Why not send me straight to King's Landing? Why take a detour through the Narrow Sea?" Sea routes in this era weren't safe at all! One mishap could sink a ship.

Weilisi was pleased that Ghost had actually taken the initiative to think about something other than food. "King Aerys is suspicious by nature, but he isn't stupid. Having his own men find you will save a great deal of trouble."

"Listen, little wolf. You belong to the North too. Do what you ought to do." Weilisi's voice suddenly grew grim. "Do not disappoint Lord Rickard."

Ghost paid little heed to the old man's warning, but her worries deepened. Rickard Stark had become downright obsessed. Did he intend to turn her into a pawn to influence Rhaegar, and the future rule of the Seven Kingdoms?

Why? Did he actually want to expand House Stark's lands south of the Neck?

Ghost shook her head. "Don't expect too much of me..." Wasn't this clearly sending her to Rhaegar's side as a spy?

Realizing he had lost his composure, the old maester calmed down. "Don't worry. I'll stay with you."

Ghost: ... Now I'm even more worried. What are you putting yourself through all this for, looking as sickly as you do?

It seemed there was no changing her early departure from Riverrun. The old maester finally said, "We leave in the small hours. Go say goodbye to... Lyanna."

Ghost did not go to Lyanna. She feared her resolve to leave would waver. It was better to slip away quietly and leave what she wanted to say in a letter.

Everything ahead was unknown. She hoped there would still come a day when she could return to House Stark in the North.

Only after Ghost had been gone from Riverrun for more than half a day did Lyanna learn that she had left. The letter she had left her was filled with reluctance to part and worry.

She had a vague feeling that Ghost had not left simply to uncover the secrets of her own body.

Mischievously, she told Ned that Ghost had only left her a farewell letter and had left nothing for him. Before her eyes, Ned wilted completely, like a little cabbage struck by frost.

Though she sympathized with Ned deep down, as the child of a great noble house, he was better off ending a first love with no future sooner rather than later.

After Ghost left, Lyanna did not deliberate for long before deciding to seek out Robert. She wanted very much to help Ghost. As for her disgust toward Robert... she could endure it for a while.

To Lyanna's relief, Robert readily agreed to her request. He did not ask why, only what result she wanted.

It had to be said that Robert did listen to Ned's advice. He gradually began to show the bearing of a mature great lord in front of Lyanna and stopped visiting disreputable places to drink and womanize.

Moreover, the young Robert was tall and formidable, unmatched in martial prowess, and one of the strongest knights of his generation. He was also loyal and affectionate toward his friends. Lyanna had to admit that, aside from being far too much of a womanizer, Robert was a charming man.

Thanks to the efforts of Ned, caught in the middle, Lyanna's opinion of Robert Baratheon improved a little.

By the time Ghost reached Pentos, nearly two months had passed. Thank heavens she had not been seasick, and she finally no longer had to eat sea fish...

She was settled in a wealthy merchant's home, where she quietly waited with Weilisi for the king's men to fetch her.

She had long since memorized her fabricated background by heart. She was the "granddaughter" of a wealthy magnate in the Free Cities. Her grandmother had been a "treasure" a Good Master had purchased with an enormous sum of gold-an exceedingly rare person of Old Valyria.

Upon hearing that the crown prince on another continent was seeking a bride of the same ancestry, her so-called father had decided to present her to the great king of Westeros, holder of the Iron Throne, descendant of true dragons, King Aerys, Protector of the Seven Kingdoms and the Realm.

Of course, not for free.

Ghost found this concocted background utterly ridiculous. It all felt so familiar. Was she about to experience the path the Mother of Dragons had walked?

The arrangements were quite convincing. This Good Master and his family actually existed, though whether they would survive after Ghost left was another question.

In any case, she would shed no tears over dead slave traders.

Amusing as it was, her life was no laughing matter. Ghost obediently memorized every detail of her background and name.

Beyond that, people were assigned specifically to teach her noble etiquette and the history of Old Valyria, among other things. Most importantly, there was the mother tongue every descendant of dragons had to learn-High Valyrian. She had to master it thoroughly and know it backward and forward.

Maester Weilisi's cram-style teaching had been quite effective. This period was mainly spent consolidating what she had learned.

Perhaps it was a perk of transmigration, or perhaps it was due to her interests in her previous life. She had not learned history particularly well, but Old Valyrian had already become her second language. It sounded quite impressive.

As the day that would decide her fate drew closer, Ghost grew increasingly nervous. She remembered that King Aerys was also called the "Mad King"... Could she really survive in the tangled web of King's Landing?

Confined to the wealthy household in the city-state of Pentos, she spent every day either studying Valyrian lore or being taught how to operate undercover and conceal her identity-it always felt as though she was about to take part in an ancient version of 007, with herself as the latest Bond girl...

Amid her tension and fear, Maester Weilisi's raven brought news that both pleased and worried Ghost.

Through Ned and Lyanna's covert intervention, the "duel of honor" between Brandon Stark and Petyr Baelish had been successfully thrown into chaos by the Laughing Knight, Robert Baratheon.

Since Petyr Baelish was not yet a knight or a nobleman-his father had not kicked the bucket yet-and was merely a freeman, Robert had intervened "out of pity for the weak," fighting Brandon in the common-born boy's place... In the end, the people of Riverrun had been treated to a spectacular duel that opened their eyes.

Though Petyr Baelish had still been injured, no one paid him any further attention.

Everyone was cheering wildly for the young, valiant, highborn heirs of the wolf and stag houses.

Robert Baratheon had stolen the limelight, while Brandon Stark had also displayed exceptional martial skill and magnanimity. Having come to know each other through combat, the two heroes appreciated each other and became friends.

Overall, the outcome was good. It was simply no longer possible for Petyr Baelish to remain at Riverrun, and he would soon be sent home.

Somehow, Littlefinger had learned of the news. Before leaving Riverrun, he secretly left Lyanna a bronze family badge bearing a giant's face, then disappeared.

Lysa had reportedly wept and made a tremendous scene, and for some unknown reason her father had confined her to her room.

Lyanna told Ghost all of this in her letter and sent the badge along with it. Ghost understood that Lyanna was worried about her and hoped to forge a favorable connection for her.

Perhaps one day, that favor would come in handy?

During the long wait in Pentos, Ghost's mood shifted from fear and unease to reckless resignation... before the people sent from King's Landing to collect her finally arrived!

The envoy's ship the king had sent to seek a bride for the prince had been stalled along the Pentoshi coast for nearly a year and a half because of storms before coming to fetch her... No matter how she looked at it, something was fishy!

Hadn't Maester Weilisi fooled her back then by saying the ship from King's Landing would soon be returning? This was soon???

Heaven only knew how she had survived nearly a year of spy training. The heavy coursework and examinations in particular had nearly driven Ghost to end her young life herself.

But this torment of exam-oriented education had been necessary. To all outward appearances, she was now a bona fide noblewoman of Old Valyria.