41 Chapter 40
Auron approached the Tiger without any fear. As he came closer and closer, his eyes turned white looking at the severely wounded animal.
"You can now relax, you've been badly injured."
"Awwr!"
"What do you mean it's too late?"
The tiger lay down on the ground as blood keep flowing from her wound. The tiger looked at its cub tenderly while licking the cubs face.
"Sigh..anything I can do to help?"
The tiger looked at him for a moment before nudging her cub towards him.
"Are you sure? You want me to take care of your child?"
"Raaaaaw"
Auron approached closer to the tiger. When he was close enough, he crouched down to the ground and put his hand on the tiger's head. He leaned his head against the tiger before muttering some words of comfort.
"Don't worry, I will raise him well. You can now rest."
The tiger licked his face before it lay down and closed her eyes.
Auron on the other hand, sigh and picked up the cub.
"You're now with me, buddy. Your mother protected you well and I will do the same."
He put the cub in his arms and went back to the group to resume their journey.
"You look like a cat I saw from a movie.. Hmmm then I will call you Goose from now on." Auron chuckled as he saw the innocent look of the tiger cub.
--
North of Westeros
Bear Island
The ground was wet and muddy with few spots snow. A group of knights were heading towards the castle led by the Warden of the North himself, Eddard "Ned" Stark.
Guards greeted him in welcome though they are nervous as the group of knights pass by the gate of the castle.
Inside, a group of men and women wearing armor were waiting. The knights dismounted their horses and Ned didn't neglect the courtesy despite the tense atmosphere.
He was here because of the news that Jorah Mormont sold poachers to slavery which was a taboo. A crime punishable by death. However, it seems he was a little too late because Jorah fled the North with his wife leaving the House Mormont with no one to lead.
Ned Stark nodded to the woman in front dressed in full armor. The latter bowed to show their fealty.
Although, he already knew the target has already fled, he still asked.
"Where is he?"
"He fled with his wife my lord." The lady answered with a face full of shame. It was a stain from a long standing record of loyalty from House Mormont.
Ned Stark sighed and said, "Then let me ask, is the Bear Island still faithfully pledged under my banner?"
The lady and the surrounding men kneeled with their sword drawn pointing to the ground while bowing a little. They said in unison, "House Mormont is yours to command."
"From now on, I, Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North, appoint you Maege Mormont as the temporary head of the House until you're proven true to your duty."
"I will not fail you my Lord." Maege bowed solemnly.
--
White Harbor
Amazon Trading House
Marlena stood at the second floor of the pub as she watched the people come and go. She stood there dignified with confidence and grace, a stark contrast from the clumsy servant she used to be. All of this made only possible because of his Master Auron who currently entrusted her his wealth and business.
At this time, the trading Company has already expanded. The previous small pub that they have was already renovated to a larger one. Marlena also mamage acquire a lot of businesses around the pub. Currently, Amazon Trading House own three large pubs in White Harbor and is now en route to expand towards Winterfell. The pubs under Amazon Trading House became well known due to the quality and taste of the food they serve. Some influential figures even visited White Harbor just experience the taste when they heard the news from the traveling merchants.
As she was lost in her thoughts, an owl came swooping down from the window without any sound which startled her. She was sure it wasn't Hedwig since she had just dispatched the bird a while go to report the progress of the business to Auron.
She took the letter at its feet and stayed there looking for something to perched on.
When Marlena unfurled the letter, she unconsciously smiled when she learn the contents that Auron was about to join them. It also include the estimated time of their arrival according to Auron's calculation based on the speed of their travel.
She carefully hid the note and went towards another room where she found Bronn, Shera and Heman drinking ale. Oddly, Melissandre was absent.
When she entered, they looked at her and confusion on why she seem to be excited.
"Master is on his way to us." Marlena beamed.
Bronn couldn't help but snicker while the two former slaves nodded.
"He finally decided to join us, huh? I thought he would bore us to death here while he hugged all the fun in Pentos."
"We have to prepare. Call our men and let them know that the boss is coming. I wouldn't let anyone mistake him for someone they can bully or else he will be disappointed."
"Might as well."
Shera and Heman stood up and left the room followed by Bronn and Marlena.
--
"Herald, we are being followed", said one of the ten guards.
"Hmmmm.. I know."
"Should we?"
"No, let it be."
"As you wish."
Aidana who was in front of Auron leaned back and turned to ask, "Isn't it dangerous to let someone follow us? I'm just curious why are you allowing it."
"Because my dear, what was following us was a single horse."
"Huh?"
Auron couldn't help but smile wryly. The longer he stayed in this world, his encounters seems to get weirder and weirder. He recalled the first time he discovered the animal when he wanted into one of the owls to scout for anything dangerous on the way back to Pentos. He didn't take it to heart at first and deemed it as wild animal but then he thought horses travel in groups. This particular horse kept on following them for days and he checked if it was sent by a tribe of Dothraki as a bait by scouting a few kilometers past the horse. He didn't find anyone or any tribe lurking so he became more confused.
When the the group was about to camp for the night. They heard a neigh from a distance.
Immediately, all the guards became alert and tense. They hastily grabbed the hilt of their sword ready for battle.
They waited in each second and the atmosphere became intense.
After a few minutes as the clipping sound became nearer, the culprit finally revealed itself.
It was a tall majestic horse, dark as night. The muscles on it showed that it was bred for war. Its mane and tail was long and it was a couple of hairs on its four feet. The horse resembled a breed called Clydesdale in his previous life. Auron also noticed that it was taller than any horse he has ever seen.
A/N: The Horse
The horse continues to approach and the guards finally draw their swords ready to slice it up.
But Auron stopped them and let the horse go closer to him. Then it stopped in front of Auron and neighed in dissatisfaction.
Auron admires the horse in front of him as he place his hand on its head and rub it feeling the smoothness of its skin.
"So you are the one who was following us huh."
Auron immediately warged into the horse to know what it wants and he was surprised to know the answer.
The horse said that he was sent by the Horse God as gift to him as battle companion to his travels and wars. Auron found out that the endurance and explosive rush of the horse were incredible as of it was really trained for war.
As Auron stroke the mane of the horse, he said, "What else could be suitable for your name other than, Nightmare. For me, you are the embodiment of it. How is it, do you like the name?"
"Neighhh!"
"I'm glad you like it. You are actually just in time since Aidana's horse keep nagging how heavy the two of us are. With you here, we can now speed up our travels."
Then Auron turned to looked at the guards and said, "Help me saddle him because he's going to be my ride from now on."
The guards looked at each other in astonishment. They couldn't help but cast a glance of envy seeing a majestic horse travel a long way just to find him.
In the end, they followed Auron's instructions and put the reigns and the saddle on the horse.
Surprisingly, Nightmare didn't throw a tantrum and let the guards do their duty smoothly.
Aidana couldn't help but cast and odd gaze towards Auron. First was the owls, second was the tiger, then this horse. She couldn't help but chuckle at the thought that animals seemed to flock around Auron.
