Game of Thrones: The Long Night Begins At Dawn – ASOIAF/GOT GOT

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[Chapter Size: 2000 Words.]

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On the way back, Cornelia felt strangely weak and vulnerable to the cold. Her cold seemed to be of an unusual intensity, different from other people's. Because of this, she couldn't walk alone throughout the entire journey.

Her father and Uncle Benjen had to take turns carrying her to Nightfort. Naturally, the return trip took much longer than the outward journey. However, both on the way there and back, the journey was calm. They encountered neither wildlings nor White Walkers.

The only exception was Cornelia herself.

It was still an unresolved mystery. She spent days and nights studying the egg. When thinking of eggs in this world, one famous figure came to her mind: Daenerys Targaryen, the Mother of Dragons. Although Cornelia didn't remember all the details of this legendary character, she knew about the three dragon eggs Daenerys possessed.

It was because she had hatched a long-extinct dragon that Daenerys came to be revered as the Mother of Dragons, respected and loved by many. Her dragons were also her greatest strength.

However, Cornelia looked at the egg in her hands and couldn't bring herself to compare it to the eggs of the Mother of Dragons. She knew Daenerys's eggs were extraordinary at first glance, with complex and impressive patterns.

And hers... well, it was better not to comment!

But, as common as the egg seemed now, Cornelia was certain of one thing: if it could burn with blue flames, there were reasons to believe it wasn't something ordinary!

Moreover, one night, Cornelia accidentally lost control, letting the egg fall and hit a stone. At that moment, her heart nearly stopped. Even without fully understanding what had happened, the sense of danger was real. After all, the egg was her only gain from the journey, and she had paid a high price for it. If it broke, the loss would be immense!

Fortunately, the egg was extremely durable. Even after the impact with the stone, it remained intact. Later, she decided to test it more boldly and confirmed that the egg was indeed very hard, like a diamond encased in an eggshell.

After many days of research, Cornelia discovered that the strange weakness in her body was related to the egg. Since she had woken up, she had noticed a constant cold and that her old powers had disappeared. She could no longer freeze objects or control snowflakes. In fact, she had lost almost all of her powers, becoming even weaker than a normal person.

This was undoubtedly the most frustrating and saddening experience of recent times.

Cornelia tried to regain her powers using the methods that had always worked in the past. However, whenever she felt her energy slightly strengthening, it would disappear the next moment. For a brief moment, she believed she would never be able to use her powers again, which left her panicked.

Fortunately, after many experiments, she realized that her energy wasn't disappearing, but being drained by something!

It wasn't that Cornelia could no longer use her powers. Since discovering them five years ago, her energy had grown. If, at first, she had only a small pool of energy, years of effort had turned it into a pool. Her power naturally increased with time.

Now, however, it seemed that someone had opened a channel that drained her energy away before she could use it. As a result, her body had no energy available for her powers.

To make matters worse, her body had become accustomed to the presence of this energy. The sudden loss caused extreme exhaustion, leaving her weaker than ever.

And the culprit for all of this was that seemingly ordinary egg!

For some reason, Cornelia couldn't feel any bitterness toward the egg. From the moment it appeared beneath the water, she felt it belonged to her, as though it had been waiting for her. It seemed the egg had called her to the North to recover it. And that was exactly what she did, even though she had paid a high price for it.

Cornelia didn't know how long this situation would last, but now that she understood the cause of her weakness, the panic had disappeared. She believed she would find a solution. One day, that egg would be full of energy, and she knew that eventually, it would hatch.

If she could absorb more energy than the egg consumed, she could use her powers again! Still, there was something she deeply wished to discover: what that egg would produce in the end.

Despite feeling a slight resentment over all the drained energy, Cornelia knew that, for now, there was no alternative. Her only hope was that the effort would be worth it.

Of course, deep down, she recognized that this was unlikely. Just looking at the egg destroyed any thoughts or hopes that it could be something grand, like a dragon.

But Cornelia wasn't ready to give up. There was still a glimmer of expectation and curiosity in her heart.

On the way back, the journey slowed down to take care of Cornelia. This made it take more than 20 days to reach their destination. When they finally arrived, they found Maester Luwin and Ser Rodrik, who were already worried. The delay had made them consider returning to Winterfell to fetch reinforcements.

Cornelia's father and Uncle Benjen left her at Nightfort in Maester Luwin's care before departing. Cornelia, on the other hand, headed for Winterfell accompanied by Maester Luwin and Ser Rodrik.

Given her condition, she could no longer ride a horse. Ser Rodrik improvised a simple cart using abandoned wagons at Nightfort. Cornelia's favorite horse, Shils, pulled the cart along the way. Wrapped in several layers of blankets and cotton cloaks, she finally felt some relief from the cold.

When they returned to Winterfell, two and a half months had passed since they left. As expected, Cornelia's weakened state caused despair in Catelyn. Even after hours of care and worried attention, her mother still couldn't feel at ease.

"When Ned returns, I definitely won't be able to forgive him. What kind of care did he take with you? You're exhausted from the journey! Go back and rest!" Catelyn said, unable to contain her frustration.

In all ten years, she had never seen Cornelia so weak, with such cold hands. How much suffering had Cornelia endured during this journey beyond the Wall?

She had said from the beginning that she couldn't go, that she shouldn't go! But no one listened to her. Catelyn seemed reluctant to complain again, but she knew she needed to have a serious conversation with Ned when he returned.

Catelyn took Cornelia back to her room, made her eat something, and insisted she rest. Exhausted, Cornelia fell into a deep sleep, without even seeing Robb, Jon, and the others.

She was so tired that she slept for hours and hours.

At noon the next day, Robb and Jon arrived in her room accompanied by their brothers and sisters. They gathered around her bed, surprising Cornelia, who had just woken up. She quickly realized there were indeed a lot of Stark children there.

"What happened up north this time? Why are you so cold?" Robb asked, furrowing his brow as he looked at the closed window and the thick blanket that Catelyn had placed on the bed. He knew that, normally, Cornelia's room windows were open all year long and that her blanket was always light and thin.

They had never seen Cornelia wrapped in such a thick blanket. Robb and Jon felt strange about it, but mainly concerned.

"Anyway, everything went well. My father and Uncle Benjen made it back to Castle Black safely. My father should arrive in Winterfell soon!"

Cornelia and Maester Luwin had returned slowly, even though Castle Black was farther from Winterfell than Nightfort. Her father had probably returned as quickly as possible, riding a horse.

"My mother picked up some clothes last night and adjusted them to your liking. Try them on to see if they fit. This should be enough for now."

Sansa placed a thick dress on the bed, which her mother had swapped for her the previous night. Noblewomen's clothes were always long skirts that reached the floor, but Cornelia had never liked that style since childhood.

Cornelia was somewhat germophobic and loved being clean. While Arya played like a boy and often got dirty, Cornelia preferred light-colored dresses and was always immaculate, from morning until night.

For this reason, she hated the idea of the hem of her dress dragging on the floor. Even though her clothes were washed and changed every night, Cornelia couldn't stand the sight of a skirt stained with mud and having to wear it for the rest of the day.

Because of this, her clothes and even her cloak were made to avoid touching the ground. They ended at her ankles, ensuring an elegant look without being long enough to get dirty. If it weren't for Catelyn's strong opposition, Cornelia would have probably cut the dresses even shorter.

Catelyn believed long dresses were the most appropriate for all women, including princesses and queens. However, she eventually gave in somewhat, allowing Cornelia to wear dresses that reached her ankles.

"How is the Wall? Did you manage to solve your physical problem? Why does it seem to be getting worse?" Jon asked, unable to contain his curiosity. He had always known that Cornelia didn't feel cold and liked light clothes. Seeing those thick clothes on the bed felt strange. It seemed something had drastically changed in her after the journey to the North.

"Jon, you ask so many questions at once! How can I answer everything at once? There's a lot to say about the Wall. I'll tell you everything later. As for the North… I think I've discovered the reason for my current condition!" Cornelia replied, looking at Jon with a sigh of helplessness.

Knowing Jon's fascination with the Wall, she decided it would be better to tell him the details later. She then pulled her hand from beneath the pillow and showed them the egg she had found.

"A egg? What egg? A bird's egg? Why did you go to the land of eternal winter to find it?" Bran asked, carefully taking the egg. He examined it from all angles, but saw nothing special about it. It looked like just a regular bird egg. So why go to the North just to find a bird's egg?

"Well… maybe!" Cornelia replied, feeling that Bran had touched on a doubt that had been tormenting her. She really didn't know what kind of egg it was.

"Could it be a dragon egg?" Arya suggested, taking the egg with curiosity. She had always been fascinated by the Targaryen dragons since she was little. Wouldn't that be amazing?

"I think that's unlikely! Definitely impossible!" Cornelia replied, embarrassed by the very idea.

Cornelia's words only increased Bran and Rickon's curiosity. They leaned in closer to observe the egg, as if they could discover something just by looking.

"So why do you say it made you like this?" Robb asked, looking carefully at the egg before turning to his sister, his concern evident.

"I feel that… it's absorbing the energy from my body… I'm not sure, but that's the feeling I have."

Cornelia took the egg from Arya's hands, holding it carefully. Although she wasn't sure of anything, that was the only explanation that made sense to her.

No matter how unknown the outcome was, one thing was certain: she was deeply connected to that egg. It belonged to her, just as she belonged to the Stark family.

So what if her powers came from the land of eternal winter?

She felt the presence of her brothers and sisters around her bed. Even though she couldn't see them clearly, she felt their affection and concern, which warmed her heart.

No matter what happened, she knew she belonged in that place.

She belonged to Winterfell.

She belonged to the Stark family.

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