Hello, Hello! I'm back with another chapter and may I just say, writers block totally sucks!

Sorry for the delay, I wanted to wait until season 8 had finished and then had to go away and rethink how to write this story considering the utter travesty that the Double DD's made of the final season of what until now had been one of the greatest and most epic TV shows in the world.

About this chapter, it's a long one. Almost 10,000 words. Please bear with me on this chapter as I've had to stuff a lot of background and plot hooks into a single chapter while trying to keep it interesting. I'm not completely sure I succeeded in that and only you can tell me if I did.

As always, Enjoy!

Chapter 33 – A Samwell Story

Samwell

Samwell Tarley of Horn Hill stood in front of Lord Stark's desk in his solar. Ned studied the Tarley boy who was Jon's best friend in the Time Before with curiosity. From what Jon had told him, Ned had expected a fat boy with a slight stutter and no confidence thanks to his father who had always despised and abused Sam both verbally and physically, under the guise of "weapons training" for him for being a booklover and a coward.

That description did not portray the young man who now stood before him.

Ned knew that while Randyll Tarley was a superb tactician and an excellent solider, he was also a hard, uncompromising man who expected perfection from his people. According to Jon, Randyll hated Samwell because he was not the perfect heir and had threatened his life if he didn't renounce his heirship to Horn Hill join the Nights Watch.

It was probably the best thing that Randyll had ever done for his son.

Jon told him about his and Sam's time in the Nights Watch and after hearing everything, Ned had come to the conclusion that their experiences there had made them into outstanding young men who had seen both wonders and horrors and had still remained true to themselves. They had become smart and cunning without losing their compassion and mercy while they did what had to be done in order to survive.

When he told Ned that Sam had been the first man to kill a White Walker in over eight thousand years and how he did it, Ned had been very impressed and realised that Samwell Tarley was the bravest man he had ever heard of and while Ned would like to think that he would have been as brave in the same situation, he could admit that he really wasn't sure if he would be able to react in time. He had seen a wight and had frozen in disbelief, he wasn't sure if he was ready to face a Walker yet.

When Jon had originally asked Ned to bring Sam to Winterfell, Ned had questioned him as to why. Ned understood that Jon missed his Black Brother but that in itself wasn't enough of a reason to suddenly request Sam's presence in Winterfell. It was then that Jon has told him about the abuse that Randyll subjected Sam too and the threat to Sam's life and while Jon hoped that Randyll would still banish Sam to the Wall, he couldn't be sure that history would repeat itself in this new timeline once certain facts became known in the South and decided to put a plan in place that would keep Sam safe and away from his father.

Ned focused his attention on the young man standing in front of his desk. He had the look of a Tarley with some of his mother's Florent features but that was where the similarities between the boy that Jon described and the young man in front of him ended.

Sam was still large but it was mussel, not fat. His stance and body spoke of hours spent in the yard perfecting his skills and the confidence practically oozed out of him while his eyes practically shined with intelligence. This was not the Samwell Tarley that Jon had described and Ned was now feeling a little confused. Quickly shaking it off, he rose from his chair and walked to Sam, offering his hand in greeting.

"Welcome to Winterfell, Samwell Tarley. I'm pleased that you're here. Please, have a seat. Your journey has been a long one." Ned welcomed Sam.

"Thank you Lord Stark, I'm pleased to be here as well. Yes my journey has been a long one but worth it." Sam replied with an easy smile and friendly manner.

Yes he had had a long journey, but Ned was unaware at just how long it actually been.

#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#

Sam smiled as he settled into his new room. He had been assigned a room in the family wing, across the hall from Jon's room. Sam smiled, reflecting on some of the happier moments he had in Winterfell last time he was here.

Damn it was good to be back.

Sam didn't remember much of what had happened after he had died. He knew he had been in some sort of heavenly place but details eluded him. He knew that those he loved and cared for had been with him there and there had been a feeling of safety and peace. Sam didn't know how long he stayed in the peace of the heavens but after a while he had realized that there was someone missing. Two of those he called his family weren't with him in this place of sanctuary.

He began to wonder where Jon and Tyrion were. He somehow knew that the Night King had won but that didn't bother him. What was bothering him was if the Night King had won and killed everyone, then where were Jon and Tyrion? It began to gnaw at him. His worry for his "brothers" grew and grew to the point that one of the heavenly beings that watched over them came to him and asked him what was bothering him.

Sam remembered asking the being where Jon and Tyrion were as they should have been here in the heavenly sanctuary along with the rest of their family. The being tried to divert him by offering platitudes and excuses but Sam was persistent and eventually was told what had happened to his "brothers".

As soon as the being had finished speaking, Sam demanded to speak to the Gods. He was adamant in his desire to help his best friends as they would not be enough to ensure a better future would take place. The being refused his request and disappeared and Sam was livid so he decided to do something about it. His plan was quite simple and it would eventually work but it would take a little while to take effect and it would take quite the effort on his part but that was fine with him. He would enjoy himself when he finally executed his plan.

His plan really was simple. The heavenly sanctuary was quiet and peaceful so Sam decided the best way to get the Gods attention was to disrupt that peace and quiet.

In short, he became a pest.

He would speak loudly, asking questions that he never got answers too. He hypothesized different scenarios that could happen if Jon and Tyrion couldn't foresee some various problems. When he ran out of ideas and possible plans, he would quote long passages out of books he had read when he was alive and he had read many, many books in his lifetime, also very loudly. He almost never shut up and the heavenly beings, not being used to this type of thing, soon lost their patience and asked him what he wanted. Sam had thought about what to say after he got the chance to speak to the Gods so he asked them to take him to the one who enacted the plans. The heavenly being sighed and asked him to wait while he got permission to bring him out of the sanctuary.

When the heavenly being had returned he had taken Sam to the place the Gods resided and left him in a white marble room that had no windows. There were torches on the wall that burned with some type of flame that had no type of fuel to keep them lit and a round table of black marble with three comfortable looking chairs around it. After Sam finished looking around the room he took a seat at the table and waited. He wasn't sure how long he waited for when a voice from behind had startled him.

"Greetings Samwell Tarley."

Sam jumped to his feet and spun around. Standing behind him were two beings. One was a handsome and regal looking man of slightly larger than average height while the other gave Sam the chills. The second being was taller, wearing a black robe with a black belt with a golden hour glass handing off it. What scared Sam most of all was the skeletal hand that held a wicked looking scythe and bone white skull for a face.

He felt terrified but he reasoned that he was already faced White Walkers and the Night King himself so a couple of Gods should be no problem compared to that.

"Um, Gre…greetings my Lords. Um, I thank you for allowing me this audience." He replied

The hansom's man's regal air disappeared when he smiled.

"I like this one. He's got guts and manners."

Death would have rolled his eyes if he could.

"Of course you do. Bloody chaos god" Was the sarcastic muttered reply.

R'hllor laughed and made his way towards Sam his smile firmly in place.

"Please excuse my companion, he's a generally a good guy but he really doesn't have a sense of humour but you Samwell Tarley, you interest me. Tell me, what is it that you deem so important that you demand to speak to the Gods themselves? Who are you Samwell Tarley to demand that of us? You are but a mortal, what could you do that we could not?" R'hllor demanded as he prowled in a circle around Sam, sizing him up as a cat would a mouse, regal and godly manner back in place.

Sam knew he had to convince them that they needed to listen to him and decided that only plain and blunt speaking would suffice here. He didn't know which Gods they were but as they were the ones who executed the plan but they needed to listen to him or their hopes for a new future would be in vain. Sam took a deep breath and looked R'hllor straight in the eye.

"Your plan won't work."

R'hllor stopped pacing abruptly and stared at Sam with interest. He was impressed with this soul. It wasn't often the Gods got told they were wrong and a mortal soul never got the chance to tell them that to their faces. That this soul had was impressive. It took a brave soul to demand to speak to one of them let alone tell them they were wrong. He motioned to Sam to retake his seat as he and Death joined him at the table.

"I'm impressed." R'hllor said as he took his seat. "It takes a brave soul to tell a God that he is wrong Samwell Tarley."

Sam sat with relief, glad he hadn't been punished for his presumption of demanding to speak with them but his desire to help his friends was strong and to help those he cared about would always be his driving force no matter the circumstances.

"Thank you my Lords for being willing to speak with me. I know it was presumptuous of me but I spoke true when I said that your plan won't work. I've given it a great deal of thought and I found a few flaws in your plans that I don't think you gave much thought to at the time. I mean I understand that you would have been under a great deal of pressure and only had time to flesh out a general outline of what was needed but there are some things that will need to be done that Tyrion and Jon can't and won't be able to do due to who they are and where they are." Sam explained very respectfully.

They were Gods after all. No point in pissing them off by being disrespectful and rude.

R'hllor tilted his head to the side and studied Sam intently. He was intrigued with this particular soul. Sam's life and experiences were well known to the Gods. Like Jon and Tyrion, Sam had also been a major player in the Time Before although he had never seen himself as such. R'hllor knew that Sam had a brilliant mind and an exceptional gift that allowed him to see the truth of things. He had a talent to take seemingly random bits of information and piece together the true story. He had done so on a number of occasions, the truth of Jon's true heritage being one of his more notable revelations.

Sam was bright, curious with an almost eidetic memory for information. His ability to store and recall information that he read years ago was astonishing for its accuracy and he was definitely no coward despite what he may think.

R'hllor smiled.

"Allow me to introduce me and my companion. I am R'hllor, Lord of Light…" He stopped and silently cursed at Sam's reaction. Sam had recoiled in his seat while suspicious eyes glared at him. R'hllor cursed silently that once again Melisandre's actions continued to follow him, tainting his name with a dark aspect. He sighed.

"Melisandre's visions were corrupted. The Other somehow managed to corrupt what she saw. How The Other did this I still don't know but what I DO know that it doesn't excuse what she did as she could have, should have chosen not to burn anyone. I don't demand human sacrifice and especially not children."

Sam relaxed a little.

"Well, she did redeem herself somewhat at the first Battle for the Dawn so I guess that makes up for some of what she did." Sam decided to be kind. Her fire had helped until the wights started falling into it to make a clear path though to Winterfell. It hadn't been her fault that there had been too many wights for it to have made a huge impact.

The first Battle for the Dawn had been the beginning of the end. The Night King may have been killed but he had achieved his purpose.

His Master had escaped his prison under Winterfell.

That's what his whole campaign had been about the first time and nobody knew because the true history had been forgotten.

R'hllor cleared his throat.

"Hmm well, we seemed to have diverted from the main topic. Anyway to complete the introductions, my companion is simply known as Death." Death inclined his head towards Sam but said nothing.

"Well then Samwell Tarley. You have stated that our plans will not be successful due to incomplete planning and you were right, we were pressed for time…sort of, so how do you Samwell, propose to help us in this great venture of changing the future?" R'hllor asked him.

Sam took a deep breath and let it out slowly. This was it. If he failed to convince these godly beings that he could indeed help, then he knew he would not get a second chance.

"Well? How do you plan to help Samwell?" R'hllor asked again.

"By becoming the Lord of Horn Hill." Was Sam's quiet reply.

#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#

Tyrion wasn't the only one who wanted to depose his father, but unlike Tyrion, Sam had the means to do so legally. This time, it would be Randyll Tarley who would be sent to the Wall not Sam.

Randyll Tarley had been conspiring with the Florent's for years to unseat the Tyrells as Lords of the Reach. The Florent's and the Tarley's had closer blood ties to the Gardener Kings then the Tyrell's who had been only Stewards to the Gardener Kings and thus believed that they should be the rightful Lords of the Reach by blood. They had enacted several plans and had mixed results.

When Sam had visited Horn Hill in the Time Before on his way to the Citadel, he had sneaked into his father's study and quietly had a look at his father's papers. He wouldn't have dared do this before he had gone to the Wall but his experiences at the Wall and beyond it had put steel in his spine and he was no longer the scared little boy he had once been.

It had been completely by accident that he had found his father's secret hiding place for those documents and letters that could not be destroyed for various reasons but were too explosive to be left in plain view either. In the hiding place, Sam had found years' worth of letters between his father and Axell Florent about their plots to overthrow the Tyrell's.

It was in one of those letters that he discovered that Willis Tyrell's jousting accident wasn't an accident at all but a failed assassination attempt by his father at Lord Axell Florent's order. Willis's horse had been dosed and his armour intentionally tampered with. Sam could see no evidence that Oberyn Martell knew anything about such a plot and so was innocent of any real wrongdoing. He had jousted in honour and fair play and it had been sheer luck that all Willis had broken was his leg and not his neck as his father and fellow conspirator had hoped.

While Willis hadn't died, it hadn't been a complete loss in his father's eyes. To be a cripple was to be looked down upon with scorn and pity. Instead, by crippling Willis rather of outright killing him, they had managed to cast doubt about his future as Lord of the Reach because for some strange reason Sam didn't understand, people in general seemed to think that a crippled body also meant a crippled mind. It cast doubt on his ability to lead the Reach when he was finally Lord Tyrell and Warden of the South.

There were years' and years' worth of such letters and documents. Another such document showed that the Maesters weren't the benevolent keepers of knowledge that they appeared to be.

They had been responsible for the male line of the Targaryen's decent into madness through regular dosage of potions in their food from the day they were weaned off milk and it didn't hurt they were already pre-disposed to madness. The Maesters also didn't want the people to believe in magic and as dragons were magic and fire made flesh, so they poisoned the dragons to extinction.

The potions had worked on Aerys but not on Rhaegar, (the Maesters were unaware that Queen Rhealla suspected something was amiss and suspected them of foul play so she went out of her way to deny them access to her son) and they didn't even bother with the women as they knew the Lords of Westeros wouldn't tolerate a female ruling over them as women were considered weak, not very intelligent and ruled by their emotions.

Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. The killing off of the dragons was one such success.

They had also done something similar with the Lord Paramounts of the Reach. They had kept the Lords docile and tractable with smaller dosages of a potion that was similar to what was used on the Targaryen's. They had wanted to do the same for all the Lord Paramounts in order to keep them tractable and dancing to the Maester's grand plan but it was deemed to unsafe to do so. The reason they did so with the Lord Paramounts of the Reach was simply so they would keep their noses out of the Maesters business (as the Citadel was based in the Reach) while they did their best to maintain their hold over Westeros. By keeping the small folk illiterate and having specially selected Maesters close to the other influential Lords, the Maesters had been able to amass fantastic levels of power and influence over the years. Everyone knew of the saying that Knowledge is Power and the Maesters had an immense amount of knowledge to back-up their power.

R'hllor and Death agreed to Sam's plan and Sam asked if it was possible for his soul to be sent back into his ten year old body. When they had asked him why that age, Sam had replied that everything had really started to go wrong with him and his father at that age for it was at that age that Sam had discovered he enjoyed reading more than fighting and wasn't really interested in training with the sword at all. He had tried to reason with his father that just because he couldn't fight, it didn't mean that he couldn't rule Horn Hill with competence. Naturally, his father had disagreed and started to make Sam's life even more of a hells on earth, heaping both verbal and physical abuse upon Sam under the guise of "training" and ending with Sam taking the Black due to the threat on his life thanks to his father.

Sam had plans to change this. His experiences in the Time Before had taught him that while he still hated fighting with a vengeance, it was necessary for his survival. He had almost died on any number of occasions and most of the time when he was forced to kill someone it had been luck and not skill that had landed the killing blow. While he had eventually learned to fight with some skill during the Second War for the Dawn, it had really been a matter of too little too late. Sam realised that he would need to begin his training in earnest when he went back as this time he was determined to be able to fight so when the War for the Dawn came, he would have a much better chance at surviving it.

The two Gods thought about it and agreed and sent Sam's soul back to his body at age ten.

The first thing Sam had done once he returned to life, was to start cultivating a friendship with Willis Tyrell, first though letters, then short visits to Highgarden and finally as a foster child in Highgarden once Oleanna Tyrell had heard about the abuse that Randyll heaped on his highly intelligent son. She got her son Mace to ask Randyll to foster Sam at Highgarden not only as a favour to Sam who she had developed a soft spot for but also to annoy Randyll Tarley whom she considered a humourless, bitter man who's only claim to fame was that he beat Robert Baratheon at the Battle of Ashford.

It was only after Sam had been installed in Highgarden that he started enacting his plans.

Sam had been smart and started off slowly. He had cultivated friendships with the other Tyrell children. He trained in weapons and fighting skills with Loras, debated books and spoke about horse breeding with Willis and befriended Margery by not treating her like a pretty, empty headed noble girl. Sam knew that Margery was smart, cunning and subtle in her manipulations and she definitely had the legendary Tyrell beauty but Margery appreciated that Sam always spoke to her like an equal.

He employed all the skills in diplomacy and manipulation he had learned from Tyrion, Sansa and Dany, before she cracked her nuts as the small folk put it, and used it on Mace Tyrell. Sam had attended the older Lord as a scribe of sorts and used the time he had with Mace to make "suggestions" so he could improve Highgarden's status. In reality, the "suggestions" would make life a whole lot easier when the Long Night came. Food and men would be vital to Westeros's survival and the Reach had both in vast numbers. Mace had swallowed his "suggestions" whole and Sam didn't care if the old lord took credit for his ideas, just that the Mace actually acted on them was all Sam cared about.

Things had been going smoothly until the day Lady Oleanna finally confronted him about what he was up to. Sam wasn't surprised by this but by the time she confronted him, Sam had been at Highgarden for almost four years and Sam was surprised that she hadn't confronted him sooner.

She had him brought to her in her personal courtyard for afternoon tea and while she had been pleasant so far, Sam knew she was just trying to get him to relax so she could catch him off guard, so Sam decided to turn the tables on the venerable old matron.

"Lady Oleanna, let's cut the horse shit shall we? You did not bring me here for tea and dumplings and a pleasant conversation. You have questions, ask them." He knew how blunt he sounded but he also knew that while Lady Oleanna was an accomplished player of the game, she also appreciated straight up, plain speaking when not in a more formal setting.

Oleanna's face was still in a hardened expression of suspicion but her eyes glinted in approval of his no nonsense attitude.

"Well young man, what's your game? What are you hoping to achieve here? Marriage to Margery maybe? A title for yourself? Influence with the current and future Lords of Highgarden to suit your own plans? Or are you here as a pawn of your father's and Axell bloody Florent's conspiracy to rule the Reach?"

Sam's eyebrow cocked slightly in surprise.

"Oh don't give me that look young man! I know. Of course I know what your father and Axell Bloody Florent have been doing. Every player in the Game of Thrones has their own informants. They would be stupid and very foolish not to. I've known all about it for years. I am the reason why they continue to fail in their efforts to unseat my family." She told him bluntly.

Sam doubted that Oleanna knew all of what Randyll and Axell had been up to. If she did, then Sam would already be Lord Tarley of Horn Hill because his father would be dead and so would Axell Florent.

Oleanna continued to question his motives.

"If it's marriage to Margery then I shall tell you here and now, as much as I like you young Samwell, she's not for the likes of you. Margery shall be married outside the Reach in order to cement future alliances that will benefit House Tyrell and I sincerely doubt that you have the same…inclinations as my dear grandson Loras when it comes to relationships. You are highly intelligent and you don't strike me as the type to blindly follow your father's lead. Gods Randyll Tarley is a hard bastard. I pity you Samwell, I truly do, having him as your father. I also feel very sorry for your mother. Dear Melessa deserved so much better than that cold hearted perfectionist. I was dead set against the match from the beginning but alas, I am only a woman so what right do I have to interfere in such matters?"

It took a great deal of will power not to roll his eyes at the Queen of Thornes. Sam wasn't deceived in the slightest; he knew full well that the old harridan was the true ruler of the Reach. Everyone but her son knew that. As far as her opinion of his father, Sam was in full agreement. Randyll Tarley was a bastard and a perfectionist and he insisted that his family be perfect as well. His mother had learned early in her marriage to conform fast. Randyll Tarley wasn't averse to using his hand to re-enforce the lesson in he felt it was required. Sam had been on the receiving end of his father's hand on a regular basis for years. His brother and mother not so much but Sam had seen his father slap his mother on occasion when she had done something to embarrassed him or he felt that she had disrespected him.

Sam refocused at the situation at hand. He needed to answer Lady Oleanna in such a way that it wouldn't get him thrown out of Highgarden. His plans would be thrown into disarray if that were to happen at this point in time. He looked Lady Oleanna in the eye.

"Lady Oleanna, first of all, whatever you may think, I am not here to cause trouble or to further any plot of my father's. I know you won't believe me when I say this but I am acting in the best interests of the Reach and Westeros. Yes I do have my own plans but my plans will have no negative impact on House Tyrell. My time here has been a pleasant and insightful one and your own grandchildren have treated me as if I were family. I would never do anything to hurt House Tyrell." Sam started to explain.

Oleanna looked at him hard, looking for a hidden motive or any lie in what he just said and to her surprise, she couldn't find any. She knew that Sam had his own plans that had something to do with House Tyrell but be actually believed him when he said that it wouldn't hurt them.

"That being said, My Lady, there is trouble on the horizon…." Sam was interrupted by Lady Oleanna's inelegant snort.

"There's always trouble coming young man. It still doesn't explain your actions towards my son."

Sam wondered how much of the truth he could tell her as he continued to speak. She'd be an invaluable ally in the future if she could be persuaded to work with him in his plans.

"I believe that there is a Long Winter coming soon. Sometime within the next decade and while I cannot prove this to Lord Mace's satisfaction, I have managed to impress on him that it would be wise to take precautions in order to keep the Reach and it's people strong during winter." Sam told her. It was only part of the reason but it was an easy place to start.

"So you convince my foolish son to start stockpiling more stores for a Long Winter. Smart, if there's actually a Long Winter coming and if there is no Long Winter?" She asked.

"Well if there is no winter, I'm positive there will be a war at some point. Either way, it can't hurt to be prepared." Was Sam's reply.

Lady Oleanna laughed.

"You are definitely not your father. You actually have a sense of humour and some common sense. I would be proud to call you a son of mine. If only Mace were the same but still, the Gods gave us a mind, it is up to us how we choose to use it. Of course, some minds are dumber than others but still we work with what were given. Tell me young Sam, how did you convince my oaf of a son to dance to your tune?"

"Well first I looked over all of the ledgers of past and previous harvests of the Reach, especially the ones dealing with Long Winters. I then looked at the histories about the Long Winters to see if there were any similarities between them and how long they lasted. What I figured out was that the saying of a long summer is followed by a long winter is true. It has something to do with the world's passage around the sun and at various times, we are further away from the sun and it's when that happens we suffer from long winters that can last up to and over a decade at length."

Sam continued told her everything he had researched in regards to long winters. Lady Oleanna listened and asked pertinent questions in order to further her understanding of the situation and was impressed with the amount of work that Sam had put into this. Finally she nodded and held up one had to stop Sam from speaking further.

"Well, you've convinced me. I'm very impressed with the amount of work you put into this. It shows that you'll be a good Lord because you're willing to put in the hours to do so. But, it's not just this, there have been other things. I heard that you oppose my foolish oaf a son's latest plan." She said.

Sam couldn't stop the frown from forming on his face. Lord Mace's plan, courtesy of Loras and Renly Baratheon was to marry Margery into the Royal family, preferable King Robert, if he could be convinced to put Cersei aside but they would settle for Joffrey. Sam was well aware of the folly of this as Margery marring into the Royal family can caused the extinction of House Tyrell. Sam's mouth opened before his brain got into gear.

"It will get Margery killed. If she marries into the Royal family, Cersei will kill her along with the rest of your family."

Sam was fond of Margery and she definitely didn't deserve what Joffrey would do to her once he got the crown on his head, if he got the crown. Sam was hoping that Jon and Tyrion would have a plan to stop that when they eventually got here.

For the first time since the conversation had started, Lady Oleanna's composure failed her. She stared at Sam in horror and disbelief. It was treason to accuse the Queen of possible murder without proof but here Sam was stating it as outright fact.

"Why do you say that? How could that possibly happen? You speak of this as if you know it will happen? Who are you Samwell Tarley?" Oleanna asked, frighten.

Sam flinched. He'd been so careful until now and now he had just possibly ruined everything. He had to do something to try and save his plans but didn't know exactly how. For the first time since he came back, he would have to just see where this lead.

"You won't believe me. I know I wouldn't believe me and would probably have me committed to some secluded room as a crazy person to be forgotten and it's really crazy I mean." Sam rambled on and it gave Oleanna a sense of normalcy to focus on. She took a deep breath and focused.

"Just tell me and let me decide if you're crazy or not." She ordered him with a snap of command in her voice.

So he did.

He told her everything that had happen in the Time Before. What had happen to Jon Arryn, what happen to Eddard Stark and the War of the Five Kings that been the result of Eddard's unjust execution. He told her what had happened at the Wall and beyond, he told her about the Night King and his Walkers and army of the Dead. He told her what happened to the Stark children. He told her about the great alliance of the Living and the First Battle for the Dawn that happened there. He told her about Daenerys Targaryen and her Dragons, her "liberation" of Slavers Bay and her conquest of Westeros. He told her about Joffrey and how he died and how it was her that had killed him. He told her about Cersei and how she had become known as the Mad Queen. He told her about the First and Second Wars for the Dawn and how they had lost.

He told her how her family was murdered by Queen Cersei, First of Her Name, Queen of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm, with Wildfire in the Sept of Baelor along with a major portion of the Lords of Westeros.

She could almost see the capital letters in that title.

Sam did not tell her Jon's true name. Sam was refusing even to think about that disaster waiting to happen.

Sam told her everything and once he had finished, he sat there, waiting for some reaction.

Lady Oleanna sat there in silence thinking hard on all she had heard. She had been watching Sam's body language and other such things to determine if what he said was false and as an acknowledged master of such things, due to years of dealing with Lords and Ladies from all the Kingdoms, she could detect nothing that would alert her to any lie. The story she had just been told hadn't been spoken in rote as if it had been memorized and the emotions displayed throughout the telling had been all too real but could she bring herself to believe it, she didn't know but if what he had told her was true, he would be an invaluable resource at her fingertips as she navigated her way safely through the nightmare that was apparently to come.

"Let's say I believe you. What would you now suggest? If as you say, you've been brought back to help bring about a better future then what you lived, then by telling me this, you have already changed some of what is to happen and as such, what you now know is irrelevant. So what would you suggest our next move be?" She asked him in order to determine if he truly believed what he said and to test him to see if he had the spine and the brains to do what must be done.

"First off, we stop Lord Mace's plan for Lady Margery. He wants her to be the Queen but he is blinded by the reflected prestige of the position to the inherent dangers that follows such a lofty station. When you rule, there are always going to be people who will try to bring you down so they can take your place and when you rule as a King or a Queen, that danger multiplies significantly. Also let's not forget that Cersei will see Margery as an imminent threat to her position as Queen and her family, especially Joffrey who is almost as mad as Aerys was. As far as Cersei is concerned, no one will be good enough for her sainted son and Cersei will fight Margery for control of Joffrey even as Joffrey slips further into madness and stupidity. There is also a very good chance that if Margery is married to Joffrey, he will end up killing her, accidently or not in the pursuit of his perversities and if he doesn't outright kill her, he will definitely hurt her as he enjoys inflicting pain on others, especially those he considers his "things"." Sam silently thanked Tyrion and Sansa for trusting him with this information as it would help solidify his position and credibility with Lady Oleanna even more.

Oleanna shuddered at the thought of her beloved granddaughter being at the not so tender mercies of that monster. She had heard stories coming out of the court that as young as Joffrey is, there is something not right with the boy. Among the rumours she had heard, she had heard one about a cat that he had tortured or something close to that, she wasn't completely sure on the details but one thing she definitely agreed with is that Margery will not marry such a depraved monster as Joffrey.

"Very well, we are in agreement on that. If she shall not marry Joffrey then who would be a good match for her and House Tyrell?"

Sam smiled. He had never met Robb Stark but he hopped he would appreciate the beautiful bride Sam was about to try and secure for him.

"I believe Robb Stark of Winterfell would be an acceptable choice for Lady Margery My Lady." Was Sam's opening gambit.

Oleanna was intrigued and thought fast. There were other matches available for a girl of Margery's station but Oleanna was curious to see why Sam believed Robb Stark was worthy of her dear granddaughter's hand.

"Hmm, Robb Stark. Interesting but totally unsuitable. For one he's a Northerner and they are known to be a rather crude and barely civilized lot, closed off to the South and completely loyal to their own. They would never accept Margery as their Lady. Besides, Margery is a Southern flower and you would condemn her to the cold and remote North? Also, according to you, there will be a great deal of danger in the North if the Night King, if he even exists mind you, declares war. Winterfell would be in the immediate line of fire if the Wall fell like you said it had in the future and most likely the first place attacked. Never. I will not allow it. There are other options, better ones. Safer ones" She concealed a smile as she watched Sam get ready to reject the other possible candidates.

"Oh, my Lady? And who would you deem a suitable match for Lady Margery?" Sam was ready to shoot down whoever she suggested.

"Well Tyrion Lannister is a possibility."

"Tyrion is a good man, underneath all the drinking he does and he would certainly never harm Lady Margery but even if Lady Margery did consent to marry a dwarf, there is the small problem of Tyrion Lannister never inheriting Casterly Rock. Tywin Lannister would never allow it. If he cannot get Ser Jamie away from the Kingsguard then he would rather his brother Keavan's line inherit the Lordship rather than Tyrion."

Oleanna made a face. Yes she had to agree that Tywin really was that petty when it came to his youngest son.

"Well then, how about Edmure Tully?"

"Ah, the Flopfish as he's is called in the Riverlands. The man has no spine, no vision, no military, no intelligence to boast off, no prowess, a terrible sense of humour and a bigger, more pompous ego then your Lord son my Lady. I fear the Riverlands are in for a terrible time of it when he is eventually Lord Tully. Lady Margery would be terribly bored and would despise him. She would probably end up killing him just to get away from him."

"Hmm, Robert Arryn."

"A sickly, simple minded boy who is ruled by his mother with an iron fist. Seriously, the boy still nurses at her breast at his age! Lysa Arryn is like Cersei. She will view any wife as a threat to her control and position in Robert's life. Lady Lysa would try to kill Lady Margery within a year and there has been some speculation that the boy isn't actually a true Arryn. Rumour has it that Lady Lysa and Lord Baelish are "special friends" and that the boy could possibly be his not to mention that she would see Lady Margery as a rival for Littlefinger's affections and would most definitely take some sort or rash action to get Lady Margery away from Littlefinger."

"Renly Baratheon."

This time Sam laughed.

"You'll never have great grandchildren."

"Theon Greyjoy."

Sam didn't even bother answering that one.

"One of the Martell men."

"The Lords of the Reach would kill you and your family themselves for allowing a marriage into Dorne considering the long and bloody history we have with that country."

Oleanna was delighted and having quite a bit of fun. It had been a long time since she had been able to spar with someone this well informed and quick witted, especially at his age. But then again, if the story he told was true and Oleanna had decided to wait and see and withhold judgement until proof had been offered, he wasn't a mere fourteen years old but a man of twenty five years inside his younger body.

For a fleeting moment, Oleanna wished it was possible to do the same. If she was able to go back into her younger body knowing what she knows now, well, it was entirely possible that it would be the Tyrells ruling Westeros now instead of the Baratheon's.

"Very well Samwell. Now that you've shot down my candidates, tell me why Margery should marry Robb Stark. He may be a future Lord Paramount but what to stop me from marrying Margery to another Lord's son? While Future Lord Paramount is a nice title, it's not an unbreakable requirement." Oleanna challenged him, looking forward to hearing what should be both an interesting and informative argument.

Sam's political education had been an unconventional one. Horn Hill's Maester had taught Sam and Dickon the basic but Sam's real education started when he joined the Nights Watch and then later refined by Tyrion and Sansa and then polished till gleaming by his stint as Grandmaester to Bran the Broken's court. It was there he learned how to play the game of courtiers and cut throat politics that dominated the Red Keep.

"Well to be honest there really is no way for me to stop you from marrying Lady Margery to any Lord's son but if I may refer to something you said at the very start of this conversation? You said that Lady Margery isn't for the likes of someone like me and if we follow that logic then according to you, no one lesser then a future Lord Paramount or Prince will do as a husband for her. With all due respect my Lady, the Tarley's are an ancient house. We can trace our origins to the First Men and we were Lords of Westeros, steeped in venerable and honourable history, related by blood to the Kings of old, while the Tyrells were still just mere servants to the Gardner Kings. Anyway you wish to look at it, the fact that my blood is older and nobler then yours cannot be disputed."

The most important lesson Tyrion and Sansa had ever taught him was it wasn't what you said but how you say it that matters and Sam had hit Lady Oleanna where it hurt the most. Sam quickly continued before Lady Oleanna recovered her wits from the insult he had handed to her.

"Therefore, again by your logic, only the son of an existing family that is directly descended from the rulers of one the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros is a suitable match and they are the blood of royalty even if they no longer hold the title of Kings. Now, in the case of the Lannisters of Casterly Rock, that is not strictly true. Their ancestor, Lann the Clever, somehow managed to dispose of the Casterly's, took Casterly Rock from them and from their declared themselves Kings. They may have married into First Men families but the Lannisters descend from the Andals so if you are looking for pure Royal blood, that rules them out." Sam was enjoying himself.

Oleanna on the other hand was both interested and annoyed. She was interested in hearing his arguments for Robb Stark but she also knew he was playing with her by explaining his reasoning in minute detail.

"Now, Robb Stark is of the line of the Kings of Winter and blood of the First Men. His ancestors are celebrated as heroes of the First War for the Dawn in the Age of Hero's. Brandon Stark the first Lord of Winterfell, Bran the Builder, built the Wall, Winterfell, Storms End, Highgarden, he helped construct the Eyrie and Casterly Rock. An more honourable house you'll not find. Robb Stark as you are aware is the son eldest son of Eddard Stark who's honour is legendary and you can be sure that he would make sure any child of his would be the same so you may be reassured that Robb Stark would never hurt or dishonour Lady Margery."

Sam continued pitch why Robb Stark was the best match for Margery. He also made it clear that it was a good match for the North as they would need the food supplies of the Reach if nothing else when winter came and in return, they would have access to new markets as Sam as told her that he believed that the North and the Wildlings would come to an accord in order to save the Wildlings from the Night King's army. The Free Folk may not live as the rest of Westeros did but they did have wealth they could trade on.

It went on for hours with Lady Oleanna asking piercing questions in order to determine the boy's character with Sam supplying answers and defending Robbs decisions from the Time Before when necessary.

It had been the beginning of a beautiful working relationship between them while they steered the Reach into the strongest it had ever been.

#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#**#

Three years after that first conversation, Sam was Lord of Horn Hill and was in Winterfell.

Just before Sam turned seventeen, he had approached Lady Oleanna with solid proof of Randyll Tarley and Axell Florent's crimes towards her family. Especially the letters that held the plans for Willias assassination attempt. Sam had tried to stop Willis from riding that day at the tourney but had been unable to overcome the pressure that Mace Tyrell had put upon his son. History had repeated itself and Willias once again needed a care to help him walk.

Sam had been correct in his surmise that Lady Oleanna's hadn't known about his father's hand in the assassination attempt on Willias. When she had found that particular piece of information, she had demanded justice in the form of their heads on pikes on the gates of Highgarden. It had taken all of Sam's persuasive alibility to talk her out of having the Lords and their innocent families killed outright.

"If you execute Axell Florent, even with justification, you are leaving yourselves open to accusations of revenge killing instead of justice. This could spike off a blood feud if you don't handle it correctly my Lady." He told her.

"And what would you suggest? After all, your own father is one of the perpetrators here." Oleanna had snipped at Sam.

"You could kill my father and not only would I not shed a tear; I would quite happily defend you from any Florent reprisals. My father deserves whatever fate awaits him. It's the Florent's you must appease here. My suggestion to you is to have them stripped of their titles and lands and have them sent to the Wall. The Wall is always in need of good fighters and they can do little to no harm from up there due to the Vows of a Nights Watch Brother and if we're very, very lucky, the army of the dead will kill them for us. It's quite the harsh punishment. I've served at the Wall and it's not a pleasant place. Life is cold and life is very hard. Trust me, they'll suffer."

Oleanna had eventually agreed and then proceeded to basically tell Mace to shut up and do exactly what she told him to do. He had just found out about the attempted murder of his heir and had been in the process declaring he would call the Banners for this outrage and they would pay in blood when Oleanna walked in and proceeded to berate her son for being an idiot then began giving out instructions to the Master at Arms to send forces out to arrest Lords Tarley and Florent on charges of treason and attempted murder of the heir to House Tarley.

Events had moved swiftly after that. While Randyll and Axell were awaiting their trials, Sam had received a letter that had been address to the Lord of Horn Hill and now that Sam was Lord Tarley, the letter had come to him.

When he had first read the letter, he had been confused. Apparently Lord Stark was asking his father if he could send Sam to Winterfell in order to help educate his bastard son. Sam knew for a fact that Jon was actually rather well educated as Eddard Stark had insisted on Jon being educated as a true born son would be. It was then that he wondered if Jon had finally returned to the past and as he didn't know that Sam had also returned, maybe this was his way of bringing Sam into his life sooner and where better then Winterfell to become reacquainted. The letter at least indicated that something had changed because he knew that his father had never received a letter from Winterfell in the Time Before.

Sam decided to volunteer to escort his father and Axell Florent to Castle Black personally and then he would head to Winterfell as requested. Sam had taken great pleasure at seeing the dismay on his father's face when they had first entered Castle Black and he had seen where he would now be spending the rest of his life in this cold and desolate place.

Sam however had been surprised at the amount of activity that had been happening along the Wall and Castle Black itself had obvious repairs to the building and he had never seen so many men, both Wildlings and Black Brothers occupying the same space without trying to kill each other. The more Sam saw the more he was convinced that Jon had finally returned the past.

Sam didn't want to linger any longer then he had to at Castle Black. He wasn't prepared to see those he had respected and had been long dead before Sam himself had finally died so he handed his prisoners and the documents that condemned them to the Wall to whoever was the Master of the Watch that day and he and his Tarley men fled as quickly as they could towards Moles Town while the Tyrell guards sent my Lord Mace, would stay the night in Castle Black before heading back to White Harbour and returning to the Reach.

Sam had travelled the Kings Road between the Wall and Winterfell a few times and so he naturally knew the best places to stop and rest for the night. They pushed themselves hard and arrived at Winterfell a day earlier then Sam had expected to.

Sam and his party had been greeted in the courtyard by Robb Stark. This was the first time Sam had met the former King of the North and had taken an instant liking to him. He reminded him of Jon and while he wasn't as dour as Jon, Sam could see Ned Starks influence stamped all over both Jon and Robb. Sam was looking forward to getting to know him and had been a little bit surprised when Robb had greeted him much more warmly then he expected to be greeted. It was even more evidence that something was going on and Sam was now positive that Jon had returned.

Robb had escorted Sam to Lord Stark's solar and Sam had to keep forcefully remind himself that until he had been told otherwise, as far as everyone was concerned, he had never been here before. He had seen the strange looks Robb had given him when he had instinctively turned corners or headed upstairs in the correct direction of the Lord's solar. Sam couldn't help it although he did try, but he had been in the Lord's solar many times with Jon and knew he could find his way there blindfolded.

They eventually got there and Sam had been introduced to Lord Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North. Sam had been expecting a larger than life, paragon of honour, virtue and justice, according to his children and pretty much every North man he ever spoke to. What Sam saw instead was a middle aged man, tired and worn down by his massive responsibilities and there was something else that Sam couldn't put his finger on about Ned Stark but when Ned Stark smiled and welcomed him to Winterfell, he could see the great man and loving father that his children spoke of and was very glad he was having the chance to meet him this time.

Sam was amused to see that he wasn't what Lord Stark expected him to be. He was almost positive that Jon had described Sam had he had been before he had joined the Watch and Sam as he was now did not fit that description. Nevertheless, Lord Stark had welcomed him, shown Sam to his room personally and informed him that they would speak at dinner and left him to unpack and get settled into his room.

Sam took one last look at his room before he closed the door and headed to the great hall to join the Stark family for dinner. He was disappointed that Jon was currently not here but he had been told that Jon was away attending to business on behalf of his father and would return in due time. Sam gave a happy sigh as he walked into the great hall.

He had finally come home.