(Male protagonist's perspective)
"My lord, you know as well as I do that I didn't come here for this." I replied coldly.
Lord Stark sighed heavily and said, "She is your wife."
"She tried to kill my familiar," I retorted.
"But she didn't know who you were! That's why she did it. It wasn't her fault," he argued.
I replied coldly, "This is no excuse. She tried to kill my familiar; she needs to learn her lesson. If I don't do something, she'll continue like this."
"You cannot harm her, I will not allow it!" Lord Stark declared.
"I won't hurt my best friend's mother, even though she completely deserved it. I'll punish her differently," I said firmly.
" Sith wasn't injured at all," he pointed out.
She is not alive because Lady Stark showed her pity.
I tried to use an analogy, saying, "What if I wanted to kill Rickon, but failed? Would you forgive me?"
"That's different, you know that," he replied.
I said angrily.
"No, it's the same! That's where you don't understand, sir." I continued. "I told you long ago, they can talk and think like humans. They're not just stupid animals! To me, they're like my children and friends. They're my family, and she tried to kill one of them just to provoke me, and she succeeded. She made the bed, and now she's going to lie down on it."
Lord Stark realized he couldn't dissuade me, especially now that he knew I wouldn't harm her. He gave in, his voice weary, and asked, "What do you intend to do?"
"Just like we do with the boys," I answered firmly. "She's behaving like a child, so I'm going to treat her like one. I'm going to give her a lesson in horror. From now on, she'll likely have a deep fear of spiders, and she might have night terrors for months."
After I told Lord Stark about my plans, I went into their room. Lady Stark was engrossed in her needlework and mistook me for Lord Stark.
"Are you going to lock that monster inside our walls?" she asked.
"Madam, are you referring to me or Sith?" I answered calmly.
She jumped up in alarm, shouting, "How dare you barge into this room! Guards! Guards!" She continued to yell, even though this part of the Citadel was abandoned; Lord Stark had made sure of it to prevent any witnesses or eavesdroppers.
"Madam, please stop shouting and sit down. We have something to talk about, and no matter how loud you shout, no one will come. Let's talk like civilized people," I urged.
"Civilized person? What do you, a country bumpkin like you, know about civilization?"
Despite my insults, she finally sat down in front of me. I said coldly.
"I've had enough of your arrogance. We're not in the South. I thought I'd taught you a lesson last time, but it seems you're slow to learn. In the North, lords don't feel threatened by capable men. In the North, we don't despise bastards. In the North, the Old Gods reign, and the Seven kneel at our feet."
My last words enraged her, and she threw the wine in her hand at me.
"How dare you utter the names of the Seven with your lowly tongue!" she roared.
"I can say whatever I want, because they have no power, just as the Old Gods have no influence under my neck. Just as your southern brothers insult our gods and our people, I can do the same here."
"Before I became a nobleman, you may have had the right to end my life. But that right vanished the moment I became a hero of the North and earned my noble status," I continued.
She stood up, trying to leave the room. I commanded with a wisp of magic, "Sit down, woman! Just because I call you 'my lady,' do you mistakenly think you can dominate me?"
"You, you can't speak to me like that! I am the Lady of Winterfell, your mistress, you must serve me."
"No, I am not, because I serve a higher authority. You are still alive because you are the mother of my best friend, and I care about your other children. I don't want to see them sad."
"I... I will see you beheaded because of this!"
"Woman, you won't see that happen. Why do you think there's no one in the Citadel? Because I've assured Lord Stark that I won't kill you, and he's already cleared this area. However, that assurance only applies today; what happens after today depends entirely on your actions."
I sighed heavily, my weariness evident, and continued, "Your perception of your authority seems to be clouded by a profound illusion. Let me clarify this: you have no power—that's the harsh reality. But allow me to explain why. Your influence comes entirely from your husband and father. When soldiers and lords obey your orders, it's not out of respect. In the North, they would show deference to your man, and you would lay your legs on him. This may sound offensive, but that's the reality of this world. Women are merely pawns used to build political alliances. Your noble father sold you and your sister to become the supreme ruler of the Riverlands. You were lucky enough to be sold to a young, handsome man, but your sister was sold to a man older than her father."
Catelyn was furious, but remained silent, seemingly numbed by the magic and her own anger.
"Do I forgive all of this? No, but this is the reality we face. Now, let's discuss your authority and why it has no effect on me. If a man isn't afraid of your husband and father, what you say is as meaningless as farting. To me, every time you give orders, it's no different from farting or talking."
I tried to express regret and added, "Please don't misunderstand, I'm not naturally rude or foul-mouthed. I deliberately used offensive language to emphasize my lack of respect or affection for you."
She gritted her teeth and retorted hoarsely, "You will pay a heavy price for these insults!"
This woman still doesn't understand. Do I have to hurt her for her stubbornness to lessen? I sighed deeply and said, "It seems you still don't understand. I said you can continue living only because I allowed you to, Im!"
I clasped my hands together and extended them toward Catelyn Im, the white snake with mesmerizing green eyes, whose movements were graceful, almost ethereal. Its winding body slid methodically from my sleeve, its scales shimmering with an otherworldly, icy sheen, coiling itself in my hands. Before the Icicle Snake, the air around us seemed to grow colder; its eyes held a captivating, almost hypnotic allure, like a window to another world.
Do you recognize this creature?
Upon seeing the snake, her anger began to give way to fear.
"This is Icicle Snake."
"That's right! How much do you know about Warg?"
"That's just the clumsy babbling of Wildlings."
"You can't change the power of what you insult. I can control animals. When you're riding a horse, I can throw you off and trample you to death, or when you're lying defenseless in bed, Im can bite you while you sleep."
As I spoke, Im opened his jaw and pretended to lunge at Catelyn, Catelyn let out a terrified scream.
"Just because I don't kill you today doesn't mean I won't kill you tomorrow. You tried to kill my familiar. To a Warg, that's the same as trying to kill my child."
"Everyone here knows you have an Icicle Snake. They'll be suspicious of you."
"Oh, you're right. So I'm going to use this to kill you."
I took a small black spider with yellow spots from my jacket; it was a spotted spider, known to be venomous, found from the North all the way to Dorne.
"I've heard that biting someone hurts a lot, and the person bitten will feel like they're dying."
I started playing with the spider with my left hand, while Im remained coiled around my right arm.
"Or should I use the most common snake—the black snake? No, I want you to die a painful death, so I'll use the yellow-spotted spider."
As the spider walked across my palm, I said, "Bite!"
The spider stuck its fangs into my palm, and Catelyn's eyes widened, almost popping out of their sockets.
"Oh, it really hurts a little, but don't worry, I'm immune to all poisons. It's one of the blessings bestowed upon me by the Old Gods; neither animals nor plants can kill me. Now I've decided how to kill you. All I have to do is wait for your next foolish move. Maybe while you're asleep, maybe while you're sitting on the balcony."
I stood up from my crouching position and gently placed the spider on the windowsill. A few seconds later, the spider disappeared from my sight.
When I returned, I murmured to myself:
"Glome Agri ( Spore Field )"
Colorless spores were released into the air around us. I went back to Catelyn and took her trembling hands in mine. She was still petrified, especially when Im was wrapped around my arm.
"I truly don't want to hurt you, but if you plot against me again, things will change. To me, your life is meaningless; you are a worthless burden. I will spare your life today, but I promise there will be no second time. If your conduct is worthy of the Lady of Winterfell, I will give you a semblance of respect, even if I have no respect for you. However, you must understand this deeply: we are not in the South, so stop pretending. Besides, I do not work for you or your cowardly gods."
I tightened my grip on her hand, enough to frighten her, and continued, "But I can't just give you a scolding. Can you see the spotted spiders crawling from my arm to yours? There are dozens."
The moment I finished speaking, the spell I had prepared was triggered, and Lady Stark's face contorted with terror. Countless phantoms of poisonous spiders appeared in her vision, their sinister legs slithering all over her body. I gripped her hands even tighter, forcing her to focus her attention on me.
"If you move, they will bite you. So, don't move at all."
At my command, she froze like a statue, holding her breath, her eyes darting wildly around as if she could see spiders everywhere. I moved closer to her and warned her:
"If you back down, they will bite you. But if you stay still until Lord Stark returns, they will vanish without a trace. Now, I'm going to let go of your hand. Don't move."
I carefully released her trembling hands and let her stand in the room, her whole body stiff, paralyzed with fear, tormented by imagined spiders that seemed all too real to her.