Winterfell had grown familiar over the past weeks.
Not safe — nothing in Westeros was safe — but predictable.
And predictable meant exploitable.
Leo moved like a shadow between trees, stone, and snowfall, learning guards' rotations, memorizing servant routines, watching the noble families from angles no guard ever checked. He didn't seek confrontation. He didn't want attention. He wanted information.
This world rewarded the informed.
And butchered the blind.
Tonight he would infiltrate the heart of
Winterfell again — this time deeper, longer, and more dangerously than before.
INFILTRATION: THE MAESTER'S TOWER
He waited until the courtyard emptied and the last drunken guard collapsed on a bench.
Then he climbed.
The Winter Soldier's body remembered how to scale walls, grip stone, twist weight, control breathing. Leo didn't feel those memories — they were just… there, like tools in a toolbox he could borrow.
He reached the window silently and slid inside the tower.
The Maester slept, but the ravens did not.
Several scrolls were newly arrived, sealed in wax. Leo scanned each one carefully.
Letter 1 — From King's Landing
Lord Arryn's health failing
Rumors of internal tension among the small council
Queen's relatives gaining more influence
Letter 2 — Eyrie
Lysa Arryn urging Ned Stark to "stay vigilant"
Hints of suspected poison
Mention of a southern plot
Letter 3 — The North
Reports of wildling movements
Complaints about disappearing patrols
No mention of the band Leo annihilated — good
He returned every letter exactly where it was.
No fingerprints.
No displaced dust.
No trace.
He slipped out silently.
SHADOWING JON SNOW
Leo tracked Jon's routine over several days.
The boy was earnest, disciplined, and painfully isolated.
Jon's pattern:
Morning sword practice
Training with Robb and Theon
Afternoon archery
Evening solitude
Long, silent walks near the kennels
Quiet conversations with Benjen Stark when possible
Jon was consistent.
Jon was trustworthy.
Jon was exactly the kind of ally who wouldn't betray someone who saved his life.
Not yet, though.
Leo needed more data before approaching him.
For now, he observed silently from rooftops, shadows, and battlements.
SPYING ON LADY CATELYN AND THE STARK NOBILITY
This was the most dangerous part.
The Great Keep was alive with activity — servants, guards, noblewomen, children. Leo avoided torchlight. Avoided wooden floors that creaked. Avoided windows where his shadow might be caught.
He positioned himself behind columns, between barrels, in blind spots where no guard expected anything but rats.
What he overheard:
Catelyn & Ned
"I fear the South pulling you back into their politics."
"The king is my old friend, Cat."
"Friends do not drag you into danger. And danger is the only thing waiting in King's Landing."
Cat feared chaos.
Ned feared dishonor.
Both were right.
Catelyn & Septa Mordane
"Sansa must be ready. She may become queen someday."
"And Arya…?"
"I pray she becomes something else."
Leo smirked. Arya Stark would become more dangerous than any queen.
Robb & Theon
"Father says something is coming from the South."
"Then let it come."
"You say that because you've never seen a war, Theon."
Leo logged it away. Robb had potential. Theon… not so much.
Arya (muttering to herself)
"Stupid lessons. Stupid sewing."
Even as a child, she radiated defiance.
THE NOBLE STRUCTURE — WHAT LEO LEARNED
Winterfell's power hierarchy finally made sense:
Top of the Chain
Lord Eddard Stark – honorable, predictable, deadly when needed
Lady Catelyn Tully Stark – fiercely protective, politically sharp
Heirs & Influencers
Robb: future Lord, level-headed
Sansa: political future, southern dreams
Arya: wild, dangerous potential
Bran: curious, reckless
Rickon: too young
Jon Snow: strong, skilled, ignored by the Lady
Secondary Powers
Maester Luwin: knowledge gatekeeper
Ser Rodrik: military backbone
Theon Greyjoy: hostage and liability
Benjen Stark: Night's Watch link
Servants & Guards
Silent observers. The real carriers of rumors.
Leo now understood the internal dynamics:
Catelyn distrusts outsiders
Ned respects loyalty above all else
Jon is an outsider within his own home
Robb has subtle leadership emerging
Sansa is naive
Arya will become a threat someday
Theon is cracking under his own ego
Maester Luwin sees everything
Knowledge was power.
And Leo had gathered a mountain of it.
THE NEXT MOVE
Leo returned to the wilderness that night, breath steady, cloak tight, vibranium arm glinting faintly under moonlight.
He had infiltrated Winterfell's heart.
He had mapped its politics.
He had spied on its future warriors and rulers.
And no one knew he existed.