Westeros (privat)

Grace was ready, she could hear the blood pound through her ears. The blood of the Dragon and the Khal. She took a firm grip around the reins of the horse. Since she had no saddle, the rains were the only way of controlling her stallion. She saw how a horse emerged through the trees and walked towards her. The man on its back drew his sword. Grace was ready, and was almost raising her sword as the man spoke.

Grace laughed when he asked his question.
“Probably” she said and lifted an eyebrow, “A mute of deaf person wouldn’t be a fool and ride alone” she said and shrugged. She was still tense, ready for anything, even though the man seemed innocuous. She had met people before who wasn’t what they seemed, this man might be one of them. She kept her eyes on his sword, trying to see through the darkness what kind of sword it was. The one she had in her hand had been made in Winterfell, and she didn’t like it quite as much as her Arakh. For obvious reasons, she couldn’t be seen carrying it though so she had to settle with this sword.

When the man came closer, she took a firmer grip around the hilt to be ready if something happened, but he stopped. It seemed like this man was not going to try anything. However, you should never let your guard down how nice your opponent seemed. Which Grace did not. She could do two things at the same time; talk and fight if needed.

She couldn’t help it, but she recognized the man, even though the moon was the only light source among the trees. The man didn’t laugh at the girl riding the horse with a big sword, which surprised her. Instead, he smiled. She frowned and got even more surprised when he addressed her as Lady Stark. She was on her way of asking him how he knew who she was, but then she rememberd that most people in the North actually knew about her and her family even if she didn’t know who they were.
“Riding, as you might have noticed” she said and tried to figure out why she recognized this man. She had met a lot of people through the last 10 years, he might have been one of them.
“What are you doing here, in the middle of nowhere, alone in the darkness?” she asked and looked the man in the eyes.
“And what is your name? You clearly know mine” she added, still holding a firm grip around her sword.

"They may, not everyone is cleaver enough to knew about the risks, or care about them" Ashter said. He knew that was more then true, his sword had tasted the blood from men like that. Normally he tried to avoid killing innocent, or people acting out of stupidity, but if they didn't listen to his warning, he couldn't do more. He wasn't one to give his enemies, more then one chance to pull back. If they didn't listen, it wasn't much he could do.

Ashter kept his eyes on the woman, but he stayed calm, and kept his distance, not wanting to scare her. Scared people could be the most dangerous ones, since you never knew how they would act. And he wasn't to keen on dying on the road, especially not in north.

When the Lady infront of him answered that she was riding he laughed.
"I may have noticed that" he said "I had to be sure tho, I could have been misstaken"
Ashter tried to keep the mode lightly, hoping to keep her call, and avoiding that the situation did go wrong.
"Cisco wanted to go north" he said and patted the horse on the neck. Cisco turned to look at him, when he heard his name. "So here I am, and I wouldn't say we are in the middle of nowhere. Winter Town are not to far from here. And I am not alone either, I have Cisco"
Asher smiled under the hood, and when she asked about his name, he looked at her.
"People most commonly know me as The Outsider" he only said.

She smiled at his response. Funny man. Grace sat calmly on her stallion and was satisfied with having him in front of her. However, she had to go back to Winterfell any minute now, which meant she had to turn her back to him, which she did not like. Turning your back towards someone was dangerous, especially when you didn’t know them. She pulled her braid forward over her shoulder. It was a proof on how good of a fighter she was. Not that the man knew that, but just by touching it, Grace felt more self-conscious and safe. She had the blood of a Khal in her veins, after all. She wouldn’t disappoint him by dying in the woods of Westeros. She had imagined her death to be in a battle, if she had to die before her time.

She nodded when he answered her question.
“Horses usually know best” she said and stroke her stallions neck. She looked on him when he told her his name.
“I’ve heard rumours about you” she said and once again, she felt how her muscles tightened. Now she could definitely not turn her back to him. She had heard a lot about this man. Nobody knew who he was. Some said he was dangerous, others that he was very helpful. Since Grace didn’t know which, she needed to be prepared. However, he wouldn’t be a fool and kill a member of the Stark family so close to Winterfell. She cleared her throat. She as worried that Robb had found out that she was missing, and that he might have sent out a search party to look for her.

Ashter nodded and scratched Cisco between his ears, even if it took a bit of an effort.
"Don't let him hear that, he think he is better then anyone already" he said, and as he understood him Cisco nodded with his head. Ashter was used to the horse doing things like that, having a almost spooky timing, when it came to things said about him. When Ashter got him, he often got the feeling that Cisco understood him more then he should. But since that was impossible he started to get used to it instead. "But you are of course right my Lady. They are intelligent animals, to intelligent sometimes"
Ones again Cisco moved his head and Ashter rolled his head under his hood, before he looked at the woman again.

"Nothing bad I hope" he said with a light tone "I have come to understand that people all to often spread the bad rumors, instead of the good ones"
It wasn't completely true, both rumors spread, but the bad ones was the ones that people remembered. Ashter choose not to listen to the rumors, both about himself and others, at least not when it was more gossip then rumors. If the rumors could help him survive, he remembered them, but he did not base his fact up on them. No he often went to find out for himself, to see if the rumors were true or not.

But when he judge the woman's reaction to his name, he knew that she hadn't heard only good rumors. He didn't blame her for being careful, but he got a bit irritated at it. Did she really think he would attack her without a reason? What did the rumors say about him in the north?
"If you no longer seek my company, I can go my way" he told her.

Grace smiled at the horse. She could see that the horse, apparently named Cisco, was very intelligent. And that he had a bond with his rider, of course. She had a good bond with her stallion, called Brego, as well. She had gotten Brego as a gift and she had built her bond with him ever since. She could tell him apart from hundreds of other black stallions and he had been a very quick learner when it came to the Dothraki ways. She had also taught him commands both in the Common Tounge and dothraki. She tried to use dothraki as much as possible, since she didn’t want to lose her mother tounge, but she also considered dothraki as the best language for horses to understand. Her sisters, and the rest of Winterfell, thought it was a made-up language Grace had created, and she had just gone with that lie.

Grace looked at the man under the hood. She raised an eyebrow when he talked about rumours.
“Hear, hear” she agreed. How often hadn’t she heard rumours about the Dothrakis, and how often were those rumours bad ones? She had never heard someone say something good about the Dothrakis, only that they were savages and killers. Which was far from the truth, it all depended on the khalasar and its Khal or Khaleesi. Yes, her father’s khalasar had been in many battles, but never an unnecessary one. Yes, Dothrakis were brutal, but it was the way you had to live across the Narrow Sea to survive. The stories never covered how nice the members of the khalasar are towards one another, and how the Blood Riders live to serve and assist the Khal or Khaleesi and his or her offspring until they draw their last breath? No, you always hear the bad rumours.

Grace took a deep breath and smiled.
“Well to be fair, I was the one who called you out” she said and laughed dryly. She nodded towards Winterfell.
“I need to go back, before my father starts to worry” she said and rolled her eyes. She looked at the man.
“Well, if you want there might be some food left at the feast” she said and clicked her mouth and touched Bregos sides with her heels, and he turned around. She decided not to trust the Outsider yet, but she still needed to go home. And after all, she could quickly turn around if she heard him attack. During the time it would take him to charge for her, she would have time to stand up on Brego’s back, and the Outsider wouldn’t have a chance. At least that’s what she told herself. Because without good self-confidence, how else could you be a good fighter?

Ashter nodded against the lady. It seemed like she understood the power of rumors, for better or worst. Ashter didn't know the reason for her to know it. It wasn't impossible that a lady got a certain rumor about herself, but he doubted that she would understand because of that. His guess was that it was something else, but he couldn't figure out what. Or maybe it wasn't a rumor that was connected to her, and if not, then it could be anything. With that insight, he choose to drop the subjects, he had other things to think about.

"That is true my Lady, but a man can still walk his way, if a lady no longer want's his company" Ashter said. It was more often the other way around, he walked away, despite being wanted. But he never had a reason to stay, except a good night, or some good company.
"Fathers tend to look for their children, especially daughters" Ashter said, not doubting that Petyr looked for him, in one way or another. He was sure that if his father hadn't been the one to raise and teach him, the things he did, he had been found a long time ago.

Ashter let his gaze wonder to the castle. It was towering against the sky, spreading a safe feeling for most he guessed. He wasn't to sure what he felt when he saw it. He wouldn't call it fear, maybe more on his guard. He had most likely spent more time in Winterfell then any other city, except the capital. When he was younger his father often took him here. Most likely because he was in love with Catelyn Stark, the woman's grandmother. He had even been more in Winterfell then the Eyrie. Petyr spent very little time there, and it wasn't like it bothered Ashter. He had never felt at home there. It was a cold, unfriendly and isolated place, fare worse then Winterfell, where he had felt more at home. But despite that, he wasn't to keen on following the lady inside.

Ashter followed the woman and her horse, when she turned around and started to follow the way back. It was a brave move to do, he could attack her. It wasn't something he would do, stab someone in the back. No it was his fathers way, Ashter preferred to watch his opponent in the eyes.
"I can keep you company, for some of the way. Would be very irresponsible of me to leave a lady on her own, especially a Stark" Ashter said in a light voice, to show that he didn't mean to offend her. Soon Cisco was walking next to the other horse.

Grace let Brego walk in a slow pace. Hopefully, she would arrive just in time for her to snuck back in at the feast, bid the guest farewell, and retreat to her room. She hadn’t been out long, but sometimes, Robb kept an eye on her a bit too much, so he might have noticed that she was gone. However, this was something he was used to. Grace used to go somewhere by herself a lot, but mostly within the borders of Winterfell. Robb had always waited patiently for an hour or so before he started to look for her. But his time he would quickly figure out that she was beyond the walls of Winterfell, and he would not give her an hour.

Grace hated feasts. At least the Westerosi feasts. They were dull and long, and not even one fight during the entire evening. She had gotten used to it though, since there had been a lot of them since her arrival. Every nameday she had they had to celebrate her defeating the “sickness” that had kept her “locked away” for eight years, just to keep the charade. For every year, she got more and more homesick. She just wanted the Queen to forgive the Targaryen family for something her grandmother’s brother supposedly had done, and let them live their lives without fear. But the Queen did not, she still punished the descendant of a man who they don’t even know if or what he did. Grace hated it. She wanted everyone to know who she really was, Rhaenys Targaryen. She hadn’t heard that name in years, except in her father´s letters. She had been really close of telling people her secret a year ago, when she had had a bit too much to drink. Luckily, Robb saved the situation and the secret remained just that, a secret. Grace shook her head at the thought. How long would she have to keep this secret? Ten more years?

She nodded.
“It’s your choice” she said and put her sword in her belt. She didn’t trust him, but to be fair, he hadn’t tried anything since they met. If he wanted to kill her, he had already tried. She made a grimace at his statement.
“Well, lucky for you, this lady is pretty good at taking care of herself if you want to leave” she said and sighed.
“It’s not very fun to be a lady sometimes, I’ll have you know” she said and looked at him.
“People think I’m fragile and will break if they touch me” she said and looked on the road. She could see the walls of Winterfell in the distance. At least they hadn’t sent out a search party yet, which meant that time was still on her side.

Ashter laughed at the woman's statement. He could more the understand her, or at least to some degree. He was a man, that was true, and he had somewhat more freedom then her. But he was also, or rather had also been bound by rules, and exceptions. He hadn't be free to do as he like, not as he was now. This days, he could go wherever he wanted, when he felt like it. It was true that he had to be somewhat careful, and keep his identity a secret, but it wasn't something he had a problem with. He rarely used his birth name, often coming up with new ones. Names so no one would know his real name, and the name of the Outsider would be kept a mystery. Most things around the outsider was a mystery, but it made his life easier, for most parts.

"I can see that this lady is pretty good to take care of herself, unless you have the sword for decoration. Which I say you don't" Ashter told her. "You seem to take after your aunt Arya, at that point"
Ashter didn't know if that was true or not, but he had heard rumors about Arya, how she compare to her sister Sansa, had picked up a sword, instead of a needle.
"And I can imagine. I do not envy you for being a lady" he told her "And people often think that most women will break. and very few understand that they will not. More people should understand that, since we have a queen who rules the country now"
Ashter had learn that fare more woman than he thought were fragile, and he had learned it fast. He remembered when he met his first woman outside the wall of the castle, she had almost ripped his head off. He could still smile at the memory.
"But none less how you feel, I can't let you ride alone. I don't want your father to kill me for leaving you alone" Ashter said. He had no intention to meet Robb, afraid of what may happen then. But if he got hold of the information that Ashter had left his daughter to ride alone, in the dark, he may find him, and punish him. Something Ashter wasn't to big fan off. So instead he choose to ride next to the lady.

Grace laughed.
“I think father would like for this sword to be a decoration” she said. That was not entirely true, though. Robb had supported her fighting, since it was part of the agreement with her actual father, but she thought that Robb had hoped for her to be a bit more lady-like. Well, she definitely took after Arya Stark, even though they did not share blood whatsoever. Arya had always been the rebel of the Starks, and Grace loved it. Arya had been the first to fight with her when she realized Graces skills in the field. Since they fought in such different way, it was a challenge. Grace loved it. However, since Arya worked as the Queensguard in Kings Landing, she didn’t come visit Winterfell as much anymore. Sansa came more often though, but she was a real lady, and quite boring, if Grace was honest.
“Yes, I guess I take after Aunt Arya” Grace agreed and laughed. She nodded towards his sword.
“How about you? I never saw you use it, but I guess yours is not for decorations as well?” she asked. She was curious in what way this man had been taught. If she was lucky, she only had the sword as an attempt at intimidation, but probably not. The odd that he told her how good he was with the sword were pretty low, but she had to ask. If they had been across the Narrow Sea, she had already known of his skills, and one of them had probably been hurt if not even dead.

She watched the walls coming closer and closer, and suddenly they stood in front of them. She turned to the Outsider.
“Well, I guess I have to thank you for the company, as the lady I am” she said and grinned. She turned towards the gate and heard noises from behind it. She was really close in swearing in dothraki, but she held her tounge. She recognized the steps, it was Robb, probably checking where she had gone. She sighed and looked up at the star-filled sky and practiced some good lie in her head about why she was out there. She looked at the Outsider.
“Well, if you don’t want to meet a very crossed father, you should probably leave” she said and rolled her eyes, grinning.

"I think most parents wish for that, regardless gender. They want to protect their children from harm. But they force their son's to get strong and protect themselves. And they want their daughter's to marry someone strong, someone that can protect them." Ashter said after awhile. This was of course speculations from his side, since Petyr hadn't wanted neither of them. His reason for him to learn to fight, was so he could get fame, and their for a better wife. He had no intention for him to be able to survive on his own, or in a war. Ashter self had that intention, and trained harder, so he could do just that.
"Taking after her, can be a good thing. I say that she is doing well for herself. But it is a risky move, so going Lady Sansa's way, isn't always as bad. If you meet the right man" Ashter said. Petyr had told him that Sansa had dreamt of marrying her prince since she was a child, and it seemed like hers dream had came true. At least from what he heard, Sansa were happy with her husband, and their children. Ashter hadn't met her since he was a child, no reason too.

When the Lady looks at his sword and asks about it, he smiled.
"If it was only for decoration, I may have gotten it a bit to bloody through the years" he said with a small smile. Bragging about killing, wasn't something he did, but he wasn't afraid of killing someone, and he stood up for his actions. "And I don't think it's beautiful enough to be a decoration"
Ashter couldn't care less about the look of a sword, a sword had one purpose, to help you defend yourself. He needed a strong sword, that he could use for hours without getting tired in his arms. And that was what he had.

"It was my pleasure" Ashter said and lowered his head a bit, when they stopped outside the gates. This was as close to the castle he would go, already feeling unsure of being this close. He felt like he needed to leave as soon as he could.
"I feel like that is the best. And I don't need to fear of you being attacked by someone, outside the gate" Ashter said jokingly to the woman, as he turned Cisco around, towards the town, just as he gates opened. Ashter kept riding, hoping that he was to faraway for Robb to pay him any attention.