Word of Arabella's miraculous cure of Ser Garth Hightower spread like wildfire through the King's entourage. As they stopped near inns and taverns, as well as castles and cities, the people accompanying the King shared the news with basically anyone willing to listen.
Many people didn't believe it at first. However, coupled with the tale of how she had saved the younger son of Lord Stark, which was already a famous legend in the whole realm by this point, many began to entertain the idea that it could be true.
Arabella herself contributed to the legend. She was always dressed in the finest gowns and cloaks, her hair was always impeccable and she exuded great beauty but also a noble aura, perhaps regal even. After all, magic came with many benefits, such as not worrying for messy hair or disheveled clothes. The fact that Arya Stark and Nymeria were by her side more often than not also added to her fame, as the Stark girl was easily recognizable because of her wolf.
Despite being often seen by many wherever they stopped, very few actually had the chance to talk with Lady Slytherin, or the Witch of Westeros. The King's effort in spreading the moniker he had created for her was paying off and many referred to her as such. A lot of people were somewhat afraid of her, since her magic was still seen as sin and heresy by some.
Still, even for those with the courage to seek her out, most were left without an audience. The reason was that with all her current activities of researching the libraries, teaching Arya, and helping the King's entourage whenever needed, she had little time for idle chatter.
That being said, she had used her magic more than once to help mend broken things, including houses, tents and carriages or heal people who were in dire need. She did so openly and the witnesses or her abilities only grew. Her name was beginning to garner more than just fearful respect, but actual admiration from the people.
Eventually they arrived at the Crossroads Inn, which stood at the intersection of the River Road and the King's Road. That meant that they were somewhere ¾ of the way done until King's Landing. They planned to stay there for a week so that the men and the horses could rest with proper food and accommodation before making the remaining ¼ of the journey.
On the second day of their stay, Arabella was summoned to the inn's hall, which had been converted into a makeshift court for the King while he was there. When she arrived with Arya in tow, she saw Lord Eddard talking to a man with a tunic bearing the fish of House Tully. When they saw her, the man approached.
"Lady Slytherin" the man bowed "I come on behalf of Lord Edmure Tully. His father, Lord Holster Tully, is gravely ill and Lord Edmure has sent me to ask for your aid. He begs that you make a detour to Riverrun to examine his father's condition and see if you can save him"
Arabella was caught off guard for a moment. She knew the Lord Paramount of the Riverlands was sick, but she didn't expect to be asked to heal him. If that was the case, then it meant people had spread tales of her abilities all the way through the Riverlands and perhaps beyond.
"What ails the Lord of Riverrun?" she asked, although she already knew the answer.
"The Maester is unsure, My Lady. Lord Holster complains of sharp pains in his stomach, as if crabs were pinching it from inside. He now lies more in bed than does anything else. His vigor is all but gone and he has lost a lot of weight. All of the daily run of the castle has passed to his son."
Cancer. Stomach cancer to be precise. Not that the people of Westeros knew what cancer is.
"Can you help him?" asked Lord Eddard with evident concern for his father-in-law.
"I can't save him, Lord Eddard" Arabella said with a sigh "Lord Holster's illness is not unknown in my land. We call it cancer. It is caused when a part of your body grows too much and too fast, causing damage and eventually death. My magic cannot cure him and chances are his cancer is in an advanced stage so even the medicine of our healers, which I don't have nor know how to produce, could help him. He will never be cured of it."
Both men lowered their heads in sad disappointment. Their hopes had been shattered. They had expected one with such magical prowess would be able to create a method to cure him. Arya, too, was disappointed. Even with all the theoretical lessons, she had hoped magic could be taken further than where her teacher had said the limits were. It seemed that wouldn't be possible.
"Still, that doesn't mean I can't fully help him. I can ease his pain in a way milk of the poppy can't and make the disease recede to a tolerable state. It will not be a cure, as I've said. It will just give him a few more years of life. He will feel pain as the cancer grows again, but much less than now. And I can always return every few moons to check on him. Unfortunately, borrowed time is all I can offer him."
The atmosphere in the room cleared considerably. For both men, any help Lord Holster Tully could receive was already a blessing. He was an old man, so it's not like the disease was cutting his life too short. Still, any amount of extra months or years she could give him a dignified life, the better for him. As for Arya, she was excited to know that, even though not overpowered, magic was still a great force and had many uses.
"In that case, My Lady, if it pleases you, I humbly ask that you offer your assistance to My Lord."
"Very well." she nodded "Lord Eddard, how long will the King's entourage remain at the Crossroads?"
"Only until the end of the week, My Lady" he said "I'm afraid we won't be able to wait for your return. We need to make haste for King's Landing. His Grace has been away for almost two moons. The Kingdom needs ruling. Especially with Tywin Lannister being so silent after the death of his son and daughter. The sooner we start dealing with him, the better. Still, you won't be unprotected. The Tully messenger came with a guard of ten men and I'll add twenty more from my personal guard, led by Jory Cassel. Once you're done in Riverrun, they'll accompany you to King's Landing."
"Understood, My Lord. Thank you for your care"
"Your safety is important both to me and to His Grace. Not to mention you will also have my daughter by your side, won't you?"
Arya looked at her expectantly.
"More than just by my side, My Lord, she'll actually help me with the Lord of Riverrun herself."
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Three days had passed since the escort left with Arabella and Arya in tow towards the capital of the Riverlands. During this time, Arya's studies were focused on the theory behind healing spells and potions. Their lessons had become longer and Arabella had become stricter. She wanted to make sure the girl would be ready to help instead of hinder. Even without a wand, magic could still be used and she expected Arya to have her first practical use of it in helping her deal with Holster Tully.
On that night, both girls were in their tent meditating so that Arya could feel herself more connected to her inner magic. It wasn't useless for Arabella either. Instead of focusing inwards, she focused her meditation outwards. She already knew which magic was inside her. The one present in Westeros, however, was a different type of energy and, even if dwindled before the appearance of the Red Comet, she could still feel slim traces of it, as if it beckoned her closer.
Arabella paused her meditation to examine her ward. Arya, as always, got distracted during these sessions. Her wild and active spirit made it hard for her to concentrate and to stay quiet for more than a precious few minutes. It was common for Arabella to have to bring her back into concentration many times in each given session.
Still, the Witch would be lying if she didn't recognize the progress. She knew Arya had successfully found and connected with her inner magic. Awakening it would be only a matter of time. Arya's concentration spam had also increased with the passing of the weeks. She was still getting distracted, even now, but it happened less frequently.
Arabella was thinking about what she could do to help expedite the young wolf's awakening. Normally it would be triggered in small children through a strong emotional reaction. What could she do to provoke such a reaction without bringing any harm to Arya, however, was another matter entirely.
Her reverie was stopped by the sounds of screams and metal clashing.
They were being attacked.
"What's going on?" Arya asked, wide eyed, as one of the nearby tents went up in flames and the firelight shone through the cloth of their own tent.
"Arya" Arabella said, picking her wand amidst heavy heartbeats "stay close to me and don't leave my side under any circumstances, do you understand?"
"Uhum" the girl nodded, apprehensive.
"Let's go" she said, dragging the girl out of the tent "we need to get out of here."
The scene that awaited them outside was of utter chaos. Tents were aflame, corpses lie sprawled on the floor, some with grueling wounds. Some men were still alive, muttering prayers and begging for help that wouldn't come. But, most of all, there was fighting.
Her escort was being ambushed by what seemed to be bandits. At least half of the soldiers traveling with her had already been killed or gravely wounded. She looked around trying to find a way out, but saw they were surrounded.
There would be no way out without a fight.
Soon, she spotted Jory Cassel, fighting off three bandits with the help of another soldier bearing the sigil of the wolf. They were being pushed back and it was clear the fight would end soon and not in their favor. Arabella grabbed Arya's hand tighter and moved to assist them.
"Stupefy!"
The first bandit didn't even have the time to react before a blue flash of light hit him in the back and he was sent flying meters away and hit the ground unconscious. The other two had barely even acknowledged what had happened before another one met the same fate, this time hitting a tree. The last one was dueling Jory and the distraction caused by Arabella gave the soldier an opening to strike at the bandit's neck, killing him almost instantly.
"My Lady" said Jory amidst difficult breathing "Thank you for saving us! We tried to get to the left side of the camp, where most of our men are, but we got separated. We must rejoin them, if there's anyone left to join."
Arabella didn't say a word. She didn't know whether to accept the suggestion or not. On the one hand, taking Arya to the thick of the fighting would be a bad idea. On the other hand, she couldn't find in herself the guts to leave behind the men who were now fighting for her safety as much as their own lives.
"My Lady, we need to move," said Jory tugging on her arm. The touch was gentle yet firm. She found herself being guided before getting her thoughts in order. When she did get them, it was already time to fight again. There were perhaps ten men ahead of them, Tully and Stark soldiers alike, trying to fend off a much larger force. There were thirty, maybe forty men on the other side. Too many to count on the heat of battle.
"Stay with us" she ordered Jory "Help me protect Lady Stark and I'll help you fend off these bastards"
"Aye" the soldier nodded with a grin "Let's get them."
"Stupefy!"
"Confringo!"
"Expelliarmus!"
Arabella's wand darted across the battlefield and wherever she pointed it, a bandit fell. Four soldiers also laid dead on her side. She was causing a lot of damage, but they were still being pushed back. There were just too many of them and their line was starting to show cracks under the onslaught of the bandits. It was true that many were now afraid of her and avoided being on her way, but the same was not true for the unfortunate soldiers on her side. Her attention was picked by a booming angry voice that passed over them.
"Kill the sorceress bitch! kill her now!" said a man who seemed to be their leader, pointing his sword at her a few meters away.
Then, out of nowhere, one of the bandits managed to bypass the line of defenders and bolted straight for them. Arabella had little time to react before the sword came down. But the sword was not aimed at her.
It was aimed at Arya Stark.
Arabella tried to push her away and the Stark girl's own reflexes told her she should dodge, but it was too late for the blow to fully miss. Arya was hit on the shoulder, her blood spilling on the floor. The girl screamed in pain and put her hand above the wound. She wanted to run, but something inside her stirred. Instead of running she just stood her ground and as the man was about to strike again she screamed at him and her bloodied hand came forwards, conjuring a burst of kinetic energy that sent the man flying several meters away at high speed and broke his neck on the fall.
Did Arya just cast Depulso? Arabella thought to herself, shocked by the girl's burst of magic, but even more by the injury she had sustained. Her shoulder didn't stop bleeding and it now dropped all through her left arm and Arabella's right hand.
The Witch looked towards the man that had ordered her death. She could see his fear, his despair, but also his hatred. He shouted once more.
"What are you waiting for, you bastards? Kill the Slytherin bitch! Kill the Slytherin bitch!"
Some men hesitated, but most moved forwards. Witch or not, they still feared their commander more than most things in this world. After all, he was Amory Lorch. The second of Tywin Lannister's Mad Dogs.
The line was about to fully break and most men were already dead or dying. Jory tugged on her arm again and shouted.
"My Lady, we'll hold them off for as long as we can!" he said, pointing to the other soldier that she had saved "You need to leave now!"
"No!" shouted Arya in reply "we can't leave them!"
"My Lady, please!" he pleaded with Arabella, completely ignoring the Stark girl "you promised Lord Stark you'd keep her safe. Keep your promise. And let me keep mine! Run!"
Without ceremony he pushed her away to drag Arya behind her. She took a few steps and stopped. She looked back at her escort and the few brave souls still alive defending them. She looked at the bandits, who obviously had been sent there to kill her. She saw Arya's wound.
It couldn't end like this. They needed to run, that much was sure. It's not like Arabella could kill 30 men on her own while they charged at her. Well, she knew one spell, but conjuring it here would mean not only losing her wand, but causing a massive forest fire that would end up killing her and Arya anyways.
But it couldn't end like this. It wouldn't end like this. She knew another spell. One she had never used and hoped she'd never have to, but she knew it all the same. She couldn't take the lives of all these bandits, but she could take one life. Their leader's life.
Fueled by despair, rage and anger, she pointer her wand towards the bandit leader and shouted with all her might as a green bolt left her wand:
"AVADA KEDAVRA!"
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Hey, Agandor here!
I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. It was a lot of fun to write and honestly I had considered at least three other directions before settling on this one. It was a touch choice, hahaha.
A new chapter is coming on Wednesday!
Thank you very much for reading =)