THE NORTHERN KING

“Doctor, how long before he can walk again?” Catelyn asked.

“That depends on him now, the drugs will be effective, but everybody reacts to it differently, and hopefully, he would have recovered fully before the king returns”.

“Isn't that wonderful news my love?” Catelyn asked as she turned to Ivo.

Ivo simply smiled and nodded as he turned to the other side of the bed.

“Doctor can I talk to you outside about my husband health?” Catelyn asked as she pulled the doctor outside the door.

She turned to smile at Ivo as she locked the door, Ivo sighed and stood up walking toward the door, he had recovered his locomotives for about a week now, but he wasn't going to lose his advantage just yet.

“What about his memories?” Catelyn asked

“What about them?” the doctor replied.

“Sebastian you told me that the only way he was going to come out of this room was in a golden coffin but in there is my husband to be that I hate alive and kicking, he has refused to eat anything I bring and won't even let me sleep in his room”.

“I understand—”

“I don't think you do doctor Catelyn said as she straightened his leather coat, my patience is running out so is your time in this life, I would bring everybody down with me” she said as she lowered her voice while two guards passed them, and she flashed them a smile.

“You run along now and go to your little lab, whip up something and get it done, I don't want him dead any more just more user-friendly” (added this on purpose).

The doctor nodded and straighten his coat before bowing and turning to leave, she arranged her black dress and her gloves before opening the door with a smile.

“Is there anything that I can get you my love?” she asked with a smile.

It was finally nightfall, Ivo sat up on bed staying in bed all way was beginning to have it toll, worse was having to play pitiful because his older half brother and his silly wife to be.

Anymore of their nonsense and he will likely hang himself from his window, he stood up, but he was dizzy as he tried to regain his balance.

His body arched from staying idle for over five months, he had been doing light workout to help regain his bodily functions, and it hurts as hell.

Sneaking out of the iron castle wasn't as different as it sounded, nobody ever came to look for him because his wife to be was too entangled with his brother and his maid slept like a beer.

He never went too far from the castle, his route was usually the same he walked down the market, out through the hard pass on a fake identity—he stole from a merchant named Frick Hams, he can't be a chosen now can he?, then he took the narrow gate to the Brookwood which was the kings game reserve.

After a couple runs up and down the black mountains and practicing his old martial arts which is decades already in this world, he read and learned when he could and planned.

In a fortnight, the king was returning to start the annual hunt, and he had to be ready, it was his only chance to kickstart his big plan and get his revenge.

It was almost first light when he returned to his room, took a cold bathe and went to bed, soon the maids came in with food, but he refused as usual as Melisa his maid will bring him food secretly.

“Master do you think you will ever walk again?” Melisa asked as she massaged his legs, but Ivo was busy scribbling on a piece of paper, she knew how he spent time drawing crafts she didn't understand, she didn't bother to asking where she was from no man had ever made it back from the cold sleep and remained the same.

Many of them had visions and some went insane but never the same, and she didn't think her master was any different, he was calmer, and his blue eyes peeked at everything like threat or prey, but she prayed it was the former.

His cough pulled her back to reality as he passed her some sketches,

“go to the royal blacksmith and carpenter tell him that with the king order you have been asked to submit this, and he should be made before three days nightfall, or he will have their heads ivo instructed as she nodded and grabbed the paper holding it close to her chest and making for the door.

She bumped into Catelyn just outside as she bowed for a brief moment before running along.

“One day I'm going to slay that wild goose alive” she thought to herself as she opened the door with smile.

“My love isn't it about time we went home?” Catelyn asked as she stroked Ivo's hair—Ivo's head was buried in a book as much as he hated his idea of being in his favorite book as the one that was pre-destined to die he found something that countered that contemporary literature, and it was in its purest form.

“Ivo didn't you hear me, i want to go home” Catelyn said in a louder tone.

Ivo sighed as he closed the book and moved away from her, “go ahead my love, if you want to go home so badly, go on” he replied.

“What? Are you sending me away?”

“Did I? You wish to go home, don't you? I thought you hated the Blightrock?; I feel more at home in the capital aren't those your words?”.

“No, not anymore I miss the heavy tides and cold winds on my hair”.

“You miss a barren land that is on the verge of either been washed away by the sea or outgunned by pirates but its fine you can still catch the next ship HOME” Ivo replied as he picked up his book and ignored her.

She groaned and jumped off the bed heading for the door if only s

he looked back to see Ivo's smile.