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  elia’s father and the others had been gone for three days, and Bran still remained in a a. Her mother, Catelyn, spent the days by Bran’s bedside, worried and unhappy, refusing to leave. As a result, Robb had to temporarily take her pce, assisted by Maester Luwin. Although things in Winterfell were still somewhat uain, everything was under trol.

  Robb showed talent in this area and would surely bee an excellent ruler iure.

  Everyone in Winterfell was busy, and the fortress seemed quieter than ever. Only Ri, at six years old, struggled to cope with all the ges. He was scared and unfortable. His mother was uo give him attention, so Ri spent every day with elia.

  She was also worried about Bran but knew she couldn’t leave Ri alone or wandering around. He was far too young to handle everything by himself.

  “Bran... will he get better?” Ri asked, lying on the bed, gripping the b with his small hands and crumpling it nervously. He looked at elia with sadness as she sat beside him.

  “Yes, he’ll wake up soon!” elia replied, giving Ri a ge to calm him and help him sleep. Until retly, Ri had never needed ao vince him to go to bed. He used to follow Bran ihing, obedient and fident.

  But the ret events had made him insecure and afraid. elia noticed his unease and decided to stay by his side until he fell asleep before leaving.

  “And... will Dad, Jon, Arya, Sansa, and the others e back too?” Ri asked again, his voice soft, almost shy. He remembered when Joo take him out to py, but now everyone had gone, leaving Winterfell in silence.

  “Of course, they will!” elia answered after a brief pause. She smiled, trying to reassure him, and nodded.

  “My birthday is at the end of the year. Will they be back by then?” Ri asked, and for the first time in two days, a smile appeared on his worried face.

  “Yes, they’ll be back by then!” elia replied softly, l her eyes to hide her owions.

  Ri visibly calmed down with her answer. He finally closed his eyes, now relieved, and began to doze off. However, inside elia, the words she had said felt like a lie. She sighed quietly but tio stroke Ri to fort him. When he fell asleep, she leaned over and kissed his forehead gently, thehe room without making a sound.

  Outside, elia hesitated for a moment before heading to Bran’s room to che him. There, she found her mother helping Bran his hands a. elia stayed to help for a while and took the opportunity to talk to Catelyn before leaving again.

  elia returo the hall and, uedly, found Robb waiting for her. She paused for a moment before approag and sitting beside him. In the past few days, Robb had been busy following Maester Luwin’s advice, always worried about making a mistake, which made him act with extreme seriousness. Because of this, elia and Ri had barely seen him over the past two days.

  “I’m worried about how Mom has been ag these days. She’s been busy all the time. Thankfully, Ri is still with you,” Robb said, after a long moment of silence. He had temporarily taken on the responsibility of leading Winterfell, but it kept him stantly busy. The situation was frustrating, and at this moment, little Ri needed his mother more than ever. However, Catelyn could only care for Bran.

  “I’ve always felt that our father was like the sky, something unging, always there for us. We never had to worry about anything,” Robb tinued, looking at elia. “But now that he’s goo King’s Landing, we o be strong and keep everything in pce. Home is our safe haven, but it also needs everyone’s prote to remain that way. That’s the most important thing, don’t you think?”

  elia remained silent as she reflected on her brother’s words. Home is indeed a safe haven, but that haven only withstand the storms if all family members protect it together. Only with a safe home people have a pce to stay. If the home is lost, where one find shelter?

  “Lia, do you know what I think? I think that, among everyone here, the person who’s been most unfortable these st few days is you,” Robb said, staring at her directly. He felt that elia was hiding something, suppressing her emotions. Although she seemed to be handling everything well, somethi off.

  After saying goodbye to the king and their father, elia had returo her room, tidied up her things, aed for a while. Later, she reappeared before the others, impeccable and calm, as though nothing had ged. During the day, she visited Bran, forted her mother, cared for Ri, and even helped Septa Mordane prepare the meals. She did all of this diligently, but Robb felt that something was wrong.

  “What more could I do?” elia replied, hesitantly and in a dry tone, avoiding his gaze.

  “Lia, even though our father is gone, I’m the older brother. I’m responsible for keeping everything in pce. You don’t have to force yourself like this! I’ll protect you,” Robb stated, pg his hand on her shoulder. He looked at her seriously. They had grown up together, and Robb knew something was wrong. How had the family not noticed this before? He felt like an inpetent older brother.

  elia looked at Robb, expressionless, for a long time. Then she lowered her head and silently leaned ba her chair. Robb said nothing more. He just stayed beside her, waiting.

  After a moment, elia finally murmured, “I... feel like I shouldn’t have let go of Bran’s hand that day. If I hadn’t let go, everything would’ve been different.”

  elia’s guilt was clear. She believed that if she had acted differently, Bran’s situation might have been avoided. Or, at least, she would have a clear answer, something she desperately needed. What elia wanted roof that the future could be ged.

  Proof that would defy the narrative that seemed predestined.

  “Why do you think that? It’s not your fault, Lia! No one predict the future, and no one should be responsible for someone else’s life, not even a family member!”

  Robb interrupted elia’s words with a serious expression. He was also deeply saddened by what happeo Bran, and if he could, he would give everything to restore his younger brother’s health.

  But elia shouldn’t carry that weight. She had warned Bran tless times not to climb the wall. No one could have predicted the act that happened.

  elia lowered her head, f a bitter smile. But deep down, she khat this wasn’t the whole truth. Precisely because she could foresee the future.

  “I know, Robb! Don’t worry, I’m fine!”

  elia sighed and looked at her brother beside her. Over the past two days, she had started to accept certain truths, but she still ime to process them. So, she decided to keep herself busy, avoiding any deeper thoughts.

  “Actually...”

  elia was about to tinue expining when, suddenly, she felt an intehrobbing pain in her chest, as if something were pierg her heart. Soon, a sharp, familiar cold began to spread throughout her body, starting from her neck. She colpsed onto the b-covered bench, too weak to tinue.

  “Lia! What’s happening to you?” Robb rushed to help her, but as he held her, he noticed that her body was as cold as ice that had not melted in decades. He felt his own hand tingle from the touch.

  “No... Don’t touch me!” elia said with difficulty, enduring the peing pain. She pulled away from Robb, nearly falling to the ground. At that exaent, a blue-ice fme erupted from her neck, burning fiercely. Before she could do anything, the wild fire spread quickly through her entire body, like an untamed horse esg its reins. The fmes even began to reach the objects around her.

  "Robb! Get out of the room! Lock the door! Hurry! Get out of here!"

  elia shouted urgently, ign the pain that was tearing her apart as she raised her hands toward the neckce with the egg hanging around her neck. The blue-ice fme was ing from that egg.

  She k had finally reacted, after so much time in silence. Whatever was i was waking up. But she also khat Robb couldn't stay there. She had no trol over the fire at that moment, and no one khe dangers of blue-ice fire better than she did.

  "But what about you? What are you going to do?" Robb asked, hesitating to leave. He was worried about his sister and looked terrified at the blue fmes surrounding her.

  Robb knew about elia's blue-ice fire. After she returned from the North, he helped her duct several experiments. He himself had hunted rabbits, moose, and wild boars so that she could test the properties of the fire. He kly how destructive and uable this power could be. And that's exactly why he couldn't leave her alo that moment.

  "Go, Robb! I'm fine! I promise, this 't hurt me! Just go!" elia shouted urgently as she struggled to trol the violent fmes. Luckily, she felt a wave of sharp cold ing from her hips, which made the fire recede momentarily. However, she khat sooner or ter she would lose trol, and she felt that the power ihe egg in her hand was increasing rapidly.

  "I'll be outside. If something goes wrong, you o call me!"

  Robb hesitated, his body tense as he fought the urge to help her. He wao step forward, but he khere was nothing he could do. In the end, he simply gave elia a worried look before leaving the room and closing the door. Even so, he didn't go far. He stayed outside, pag bad forth, anxious, as he waited.

  Ihe room, upon seeing Robb leave, elia sighed in relief. As soon as he closed the door, the ice fire exploded freely, without restris. Fortunately, nothing in the house was burned.

  That's because what the ice fire burns is the soul.

  All living souls be ed in an instant, but the physical bodies remain intact.

  elia khis because she had spent the st three years experimenting and studying this dangerous power. And although the fire she could trol at the moment wasn't as devastating as what maed in that room, she khat one day she would be able to master it pletely, and she worked hard to do so.

  Outside, Robb stood watch the entire night. As dawn began to light the sky, he noticed that elia's door was covered by a thick yer of ice. It was impossible not to associate this se with another m, eight years ago, that he would never fet.

  On that occasion, he had brought Sansa and Arya to see elia. But when they reached her bedroom door, they found the same thick ice c it, and a cold air seeping through the cracks. When they finally mao open the door, the se they saw horrified them.

  They thought elia was dead.

  She was lying motionless on a bed covered in ice, looking lifeless, just like Bran now.

  Sansa and Arya were terrified. They both wao run for help, but Robb stopped them in time. He instructed Arya to stay in the room to watch elia, while asking Sansa to guard the door so no one would notiything strange. He, in turn, rushed out to fetch their parents.

  Sihat day, Robb had felt the weight of proteg elia, even without fully uanding what was happening to her.

  Now, he was fag a simir situation. With his forehead pressed against the frozen door, Robb silently prayed to the Old and New Gods to protect his sister. He was willing to sacrifice everything for her.

  The night passed, and when the dark sky began to lighten with the bluish-gray glow of m, the door finally opened.

  After a whole night of tension, elia appeared before Robb. She was standing, unharmed, holding something in her hands pressed to her chest.

  "Bran was right," elia said with a slight smile, looking at Robb before slowly opening her hands.

  In her hands was a tiny bird, with shimmering blue-ice feathers.

  The creature was so small that it was barely rger than Robb's thumb.

  Perhaps this was expected, after all, the egg from which it came wasn't much bigger.

  But as he looked at the creature, Robb couldn't help but think:

  "So small... How something so small have caused such a rge fire?"

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