"Who is this woman?" it asked in Ned's voice. Perfect, exact, and unmistakably my husband's voice! "Look at her, she doesn't look like a northerner, is she some kinda rare breed? Like my brothers?"
I froze.
Everyone in the courtyard stopped. Arya and Bran stared at the bird, then burst into laughter.
The servants who heard Arya and Bran laughing started laughing too, and even the guards joined in the chuckles.
But I didn't laugh. I stood at the window, my hands gripping the sill, trying to understand what I'd just heard.
It took me several long moments to process it. To understand that this wasn't some trick in the wind or my imagination.
A bird speaking in my husband's voice?!
' It's Unnatural, Wrong, and evil.'
Fury rose in my chest.
I stormed down the stairs and out into the courtyard. "Robb! Where did these creatures come from?"
Robb turned, the bird still on his shoulder. His smile faded when he saw my expression. "Mother? They're just parrots. They're—"
"Where. Did. They. Come. From?"
"Jon sent them," Arya piped up, oblivious to my anger. "From Braavos! Aren't they wonderful? They can talk! Watch—" She turned to the bird on her shoulder. "Say something!"
"Arya is brave," the bird said in a voice that sounded like Arya's own. "Arya is strong. Arya will be a warrior, and she smells like shit."
She became angry at the last words, but Bran was giggling.
Evil, all I could see was corruption. That bastard's influence reaches back from across the sea to poison my children's minds.
"Those birds are not staying here," I said, my voice shaking. "They're unnatural. Possessed. They have to go."
"Mother—" Robb started.
"NOW!" I shouted. "Your father will hear about this!"
I turned and ran toward the keep, toward Ned's solar.
…
POV: Eddard Stark
I was reviewing grain storage reports when Catelyn burst into my solar, tears streaming down her face.
I stood immediately, alarmed. "Cat? What's wrong?"
She could barely speak through her sobs. "Your bastard—Jon—he's sent evil things here! Birds that speak with human voices! They're possessed by demons, Ned! Those things are trying to hurt our family!"
I took a breath, forcing myself to remain calm. "The parrots. I know about them, Cat. They arrived this morning."
"You knew?" Her voice rose. "You knew and you let our children play with them? With creatures possessed by evil?"
"They're not possessed." I gestured for her to sit, but she remained standing, trembling with anger. "I already spoke with Maester Luwin. Parrots naturally mimic speech. They're found in the Summer Islands and the Free Cities. It's a well-documented phenomenon. There's nothing supernatural about it."
That wasn't entirely true—I suspected Jon had enhanced these birds, given them intelligence beyond normal animals. But telling Cat that would only make things worse.
"They spoke in your voice! In Arya's voice! That's not natural mimicry, that's—"
"That's what parrots do," I said firmly. "They learn voices, copy them perfectly. It's unsettling, I'll grant you that, but it's not evil."
"Then send them away! Send them back to Jon! I won't have those creatures near our children!"
I studied my wife's face—the fear and anger there, the genuine belief that these birds were somehow dangerous. And behind it all, the hatred she'd always carried for Jon. The bastard who reminded her of my supposed infidelity.
A lie I'd maintained for fifteen years to protect a promise. A lie that had poisoned my marriage.
"I won't send them away," I said quietly.
"Ned—"
"But I will ask them to stay in the Godswood. Away from the keep. Where they won't disturb anyone who doesn't wish to see them."
Cat opened her mouth to argue, but I held up my hand. "That's my final word on this, Cat. The birds stay. They're harmless. And our children enjoy them."
She stared at me, betrayed and furious. Then she turned and fled the solar, sobbing.
I sighed and rubbed my face. 'Gods, this family…'
I left my solar and headed down to the courtyard, where Robb, Arya, and Bran were still playing with the parrots. They looked up as I approached.
"Father!" Arya ran to me. "Did Mother tell you about the birds? We can still keep them right?"
"Yes," I said, ruffling her hair. "But I need to ask you to keep them in the Godswood for now. Your mother is… uncomfortable with them being so close to the keep."
Arya's face fell. "But why? They're just birds!"
"I know. But sometimes we have to make compromises to keep the peace." I looked at the three parrots, all watching me with unsettling intelligence. "Come with me, all of you. Let's take them to the Godswood."
The children followed reluctantly as I led the way. The parrots flew overhead, staying close. When we reached the heart tree I stopped.
"This will be your home," I told the birds. "You're welcome here. You're safe here. But I'd ask that you stay in the Godswood unless my children come to visit you."
They nodded their heads like human and settled on branches near the weirwood.
"Can I speak to Jon?" I asked quietly.
The bird blinked. Then all three birds went very still, their eyes unfocusing unnaturally.
I waited.
After a moment, one of the three birds' postures changed.
"Father," the bird said in Jon's voice. Not mimicked—actually Jon, speaking through the creature somehow.
"Jon." I glanced at my children. "Robb, Arya, Bran—give us a moment, please."
They hesitated, curious, but obeyed. When they were out of earshot, I turned back to the bird.
"We need to talk about Petyr Baelish," I said quietly.
…
POV: Jon Stark(warging through the parrot in Winterfell)
Through the parrot's eyes, I watched Father's face.
"You were right," Father said. "About Littlefinger, about his grudge against House Stark, and his influence on Catelyn."
"You found something?" I had tell him about Littlefinger, but not all things. I wanted him to find out about Littlefinger himself, after all, it was his wife who was being manipulated.
"Letters. While Cat was at White Harbor, praying at the sept for Arya for some reason, after I come back to Winterfell, I… searched her belongings. I'm not proud of it, but I had to know." Father's voice was heavy. "Letters from Petyr, going back years. Dozens of them. On the surface, they seem innocent, just friendly correspondence and concerns for her well-being. But the patterns… the subtle implications… the way he frames every issue…"
"He's been poisoning her against the North," I said through the bird. "Against you. Keeping her isolated, making her feel like an outsider in her own home."
"Yes." Father's jaw tightened. "She came North as Tully, and he's made sure she never truly became Stark. Every letter reinforces her ties to the South, to the Riverlands, to the Seven. And every letter subtly undermines her trust in me, in the North, in the Old Gods."
"It's what he does," I said. "Littlefinger plays long games. He's been working on Cat since before she married you. Probably since he lost that duel with Uncle Brandon, or even before."
"The duel…" Father shook his head. "I should have seen it then. The obsession. But I was young, and I thought time would ease whatever feelings he had."
"Time doesn't ease obsession. It festers." I said, "What will you do about it?"
"Stop the letters, quietly. Have them intercepted before they reach her. And… try to help her see the North differently. Help her belong here, the way she should have fifteen years ago." Father paused. "But that's not why you sent the birds, is it? You want to know about the White Walkers."
"Have there been sightings? Reports from the Wall?"
"Nothing confirmed. But the Night's Watch has been sending worried ravens. Rangers start disappearing. Wildlings are fleeing south in greater numbers than usual. Strange things found beyond the Wall. Bodies arranged in patterns and symbols carved in trees."
"It's starting," I said quietly.
...
(A/N: I will upload extra chapter according to the power stones received.)