Going up adjacent to the White Knife river, Wylis crossed a ford and made his way straight towards Castle Cerwyn. Since it was nearing sunset, he stayed at Cerwyn for the night. The next morning, they continued early.
Just half a day's ride later, Winterfell was finally in view. He allowed his men to take formation. Two men rode ahead of him on either side, holding poles with a fluttering flag of House Kaiser. The rest were behind him, maintaining formation. They were trained for it.
Watching the castle grow bigger, he couldn't help but feel nostalgic. So much had changed since the last time he was there. He'd never returned to Winterfell after leaving for the Tourney at Harrenhal.
Winning the tourney, Lyanna, knighthood, rebellion, lordship. So much had changed. Years had passed. He felt proud of what he had achieved; the sigil of House Kaiser made him proud.
Yet Winterfell remained the place where he'd grown from a worthless fat stableboy to a warrior. It was here he carved his body into what it is today.
Where I fell for Lyanna.
"What's your mom's name?" Wylis asked his son, who rode on his horse with him. He only allowed his kids to call him dad and mothers, mom. He felt it was a more intimate way of bonding and made it mean more.
"Ellyn." Magnus chirped back.
"Good. Try to befriend Robb, but be proud. Suffer no insult and trust no smooth tongue. If any speak ill of me, your mother, or Ramsgate, you will tell me. And enjoy your time. Your dad grew up here."
"Have fun! Understood!" Magnus chirped with resolve.
Right then, his entourage rode through the Winter Town and crossed the gates of the sprawling Winterfell castle. There was no grand welcome; he didn't expect one. He allowed his guards to move sideways while he rode straight to the main keep's entrance with Benjen.
He's got common sense, at least.
There, he noticed Eddard standing, Catelyn right beside him with a babe in arms and a toddler on the side.
"Easy, boy." He brought Caliburn to a stop and got off, walking the last few steps to reach Eddard. From the get-go, he could feel he wasn't welcome. No clasp of hands, no hugs.
"My lord." Wylis gave a nod to Eddard and looked up at the castle's frame. "Been a long time. Same as ever. Winterfell stands tall no matter what."
Eddard nodded back. "Aye, as it has through all its years. Welcome back, my lord. You may have gone from here, but this is yet your home. You'll have bread and salt, and a roof over your head for as long as you've need of it."
Stiff as ever. How does Robert tolerate him?
"This lad's my boy." Wylis nudged Magnus to speak.
"Greetings… mm… I'm Magnus Kaiser, I'm three years old, and I like—"
"That's enough." Wylis awkwardly smoothed Magnus' hair and moved to greet Catelyn. "Lady Stark, seems the Mother blesses you with not just beauty of self but also children."
One thing he liked about himself was his height. No matter who, they had to look up at him to speak. But while men usually disliked that, he usually found women blushing. And undeniably, he noticed a faint blush on Catelyn's face as she eyed him. She was tall as a woman, but still only reached up to his chest.
Fine as ever.
What he did notice was her beauty. As he had attended the wedding, he remembered the difference. Back then, she had a slender, hourglass frame, while her breasts were full. Now, she had a more curvier frame, tall, and breasts… seemed bigger. Facially, she looked the same, youthful, with long red hair.
"Lord Kaiser, you honor me with such gentle words. Yet I must return it in kind, for the Warrior's favor shines on you. You stand mightier than in my memory."
He just smiled, not flirting back since Eddard was right there, hugging Benjen. Instead, he eyed Robb Stark, the little boy standing beside Catelyn's leg, clutching the hem of her gown, almost hiding.
In comparison, Magnus was influenced by Wylis and barely feared anything.
"I'm Magnus." Magnus stepped forward, greeted Catelyn with a light bow, and then walked over to Robb. "What's your name?"
"Robb."
"Let's be friends, Robb."
Not that direct, boy. That's not how you make frie—
"Alright." Robb chirped back.
Ah, it worked?
At that point, he stopped trying to interfere. Seeing Catelyn's smile, it seemed she didn't mind it either. He allowed Magnus to drag Robb to the side and talk nonstop. However, the height difference was noticeable. Both were almost the same age, and yet Magnus stood a full head taller.
"You have a lovely son," Catelyn said.
Wylis hummed with a nod. "Wait until he does something. Age doesn't tame them. It only makes them harder to rein in."
"These young years of innocence ought to be cherished. When they are grown, they won't seek it as they do now," Catelyn added.
Wylis doubted that, however. He knew his own future trajectory, and with the extra Life Points Magnus would get, they were both destined to walk through many battlefields together.
At last, he turned to Eddard again, with no wish to linger in Winterfell. "Lord Stark, I'll join you in the castle soon enough. I would see my kin first. Do you know where my father may be?"
"Last I remember, he was tending to the horses."
Still managing the stables?
"Then I'll go see him. Magnus, come here." He left with a slight nod, letting Mangus keep pace by running on his little legs. "You're to meet your grandfather."
"Grandpa? What is he like?"
"Tall as a tower. In my younger days, he ruled with a hard hand and a stick to match. That was long ago. When I grew past him in height and in sense besides, his hand softened. Fear not, grandfathers are gentler with their grandchildren. He will dote on you."
"He'll give me candy?"
Wylis shot him a look. "Boy, if you twist their love to serve your schemes, I'll see you kept from sweets for good. And I'll take your hidden hoard as well. You truly think I don't know where you hide it?"
Magnus gulped and giggled innocently. "I… was just… hehe… I would never do that, Dad."
He was dressed in a simple attire, but a lord's simple attire was still luxury for a smallfolk. His fingers had rings, one of which was Valyrian steel. His cloak was pure white fur at the collar, thick and big over his shoulders, held together by a golden chain clashing on his chest. His belt buckle was gold-plated, his pants and tunic were cleaner than the cleanest smallfolk attire. His boots were heavy leather.
The guards and servants of Winterfell cleared his way as he walked towards the stables. The closer he got, the more guilty he started to feel for leaving them there for so long. He remembered the time they all contributed to get him better robes for the tourney at Harrenhal so he would look good.
A great debt was left unpaid. He had to make it right this time.
Finally, taking a turn, he arrived at a more smelly part of Winterfell with the ground riddled with marks of horse hooves. It was muddy and wet there. So, he lifted Mangus under his arm like a sack and kept walking to the main stables.
"I spent most of my years here, before I earned my knighthood," Wylis said, passing their family story to his son bit by bit.
"It's stinky."
"Aye, it is." Wylis pushed the stable's door and walked inside, putting Mangus on the dry ground at last.
He continued to walk further in, noticing how some of the horses immediately turned their head towards him. They likely recognised him, he reckoned. He did care for them well, after all. They were his only friends to talk to besides Lyanna.
Patting their faces, he walked further in and finally saw the back of a very large man, crouched and pouring horse feed in a bucket. He didn't speak for a while, a little awkward. While he'd spent years calling this man father, he wasn't the original Hodor.
Still my old man… Taught me to ride.
"They replaced me with you?" Wylis voiced.
Immediately, the large man stopped and rose to full height. He was tall, very tall, and wide. Wylis didn't know the exact numbers, but he reckoned his father was the same height as Robert, while he was an inch over seven feet.
However, his father had a belly, not the big, fat type, but the one that wrestlers had. Combined with rough, light brown hair and a thick beard, the man was like a bear in the wild.
"So you do remember the way then, eh?"
Wylis noticed a few extra age lines. But for the past part, he saw no extreme changes. His father still had light brown hair, a thick beard, and no dark circles under the eyes.
"Never forgot. I was busy wearing a lord's burdens. A city doesn't build itself, nor can it be abandoned at the start," Wylis explained, but he stopped talking when his father came closer.
"A lord, eh?" his father gently patted his shoulders, dusting his cloak's fur.
A sudden silence fell between them. Wylis stared into his father's blue eyes while he did the same. He had changed so much, he felt. Old Nan was his great-grandmother. His grandfather and his granduncles were supposed to die in Robert's Rebellion. But that never came to pass, as his lone presence on the battlefield did enough.
And his father was supposed to die in the coming Greyjoy's Rebellion. Again, that would never happen as he would never allow him to enter a battle. Likewise, his grandaunts had no reason to leave.
He honestly felt nervous. He didn't know what his father was thinking.
"Look at you… My boy."
Woosh!
And suddenly, he found his father's arms wrapped around him, pulled into a hug like he was still a young boy.
"My son's a noble lord! A knight… A goddamn war hero through and through."
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Advance chapters on [PATREON] are in long-form format. I have 12 long chapters of this story on P@treon. That's equal to 45-50 Webnovel chapters.
Check out Solo Dacey Mormont & Wylis X Elia NSFW art, and advance chapters at [email protected]/MrPlotThickens Or Subscribestar.adult/mrplotthickens
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