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When the Maesters and history books attempt to explain how mutants came to be and when it happened they can never settle on how it started.
Some say that began when the first men interbred with the children of the forest, some say that the powers were dormant until the Andals conquered Westeros, but most accept that the families that displayed these genetic traits used their powers to become incredibly influential as kings and carved out the seven kingdoms for themselves.
Every family were known for their specialities.
And there were so many kings that they all began to blend in with one another.
The Bronze Kings of House Royce were renowned for the durability- they were hard to kill but it wasn’t impossible.
The storm kings of House Durran had power over sea and sky with storms- supposedly coming from their godly heritage, the Riverlands were constantly in flux with kings of the river and isles of Mudd, Hoare and Grey iron that all somehow were related to a god. Most likely they were all some form of hydrokinetics.
The Lannisters were odd in that they did not have any powers whatsoever, they came into power from the trickster Lann the clever. Something that along with their lack of Valyrian steel was a thorn in their side when attempting to show their power. Any power that the lannisters had was found in a gold mine rather than their genetics.
so ambitious families would intermarry with other families they believed would give them more power,
the Targaryen’s became so incestuous that eventually any and all power they had disappeared for they couldn’t control it. As soon as their powers would manifest they would go up in flames (supposedly what happened in Summerhall).
Aegon’s conquest was infamous. It set most of Westeros aflame and saw every powerful family near extinct as any member that was rumoured to be a mutant (though they weren’t called mutants back then) were killed.
If the Iron Throne was a show of power with every conquered sword smelted than the rumoured cavern that held the burnt remains of all who had refused to kneel eclipsed it and nobody knew if it even existed.
Then the powers disappeared.
There was no reference in the history of any supposed power apart from that they must have been myths built up by the ruling families to stay in power.
And though seven hundred years have passed Robb knew that to be a lie.
The Starks had survived by staying north and avoiding southron politics until they became independent after the fall of the Targaryen dynasty. And though they were not lords or kings anymore they had become generals, chief justices and politicians.
Though in secret they had been running a school for mutants for a hundred years. In public it was only known that Artos Stark started the 'Stark institute for gifted students', and that Eddard Stark is the current principal of it.
Students usually referred to it in passing as 'superhero school' which while not technically wrong still didn't really fit what it was. Sure plenty of past pupils had become what you could call superheroes but their main goal was always on teaching you control and embracing your powers. Whether or not you decided to have the world or open up a bakery you were treated the same.
Uncle Benjen had become a superhero, though most Starks shied away from public life he had taken up the mantle of 'the first ranger' a title passed from more adventurous starks (though usually second sons) for hundreds of years. Robb was fairly certain it would fall Jon next.
To the public eye, it was near a legend and some suggested it was an immortal being cursed with guarding the north when in reality it was just a tradition passed from stark to stark. Father never went in for using his powers much though preferring not to abuse his powers and lead by example.
And in the mutant world he came from a very well known family of shifters. Of course there were a few exceptions to the rules like bran who so far could only take the form of a tree but makes up for it with his telepathy, Sansa didn't shift but instead took after the fully side and could commune with fish. Robb though had a kinship with any canine and often took the form of a wolf - though quite embarrassingly his first shift was into the form of a chihuahua and arya has never let him live it down since.
So really Robb had a very large legacy to live up too.
Margaery otherwise had a very different opinion about this whole mutation thing.
Everything had been going perfectly well for her, she was the top of her class, she was the girlfriend of the very rich Joffrey marathon and though she knew he was no good her family loved the connections it gave them to the lannisters. Margaery was even well on her way to achieving her goal of becoming a landscape gardener- with a future of gardening programmes on the WBC (Westeros Broadcasting Company)
Everything was going so well and then her powers finally rose to the fore. She never wanted to have freakish powers and if she could go back and not wish for her roses to outshine the others and win best in show then maybe nothing would have happened.
Her grandmother thought the whole ordeal was hilarious, “ those shows are such a bore, the vines throttling that prissy old biddy who dared say the stem was looking rather weak made up for the whole journey there”. So it wasn't a complete waste but when news spread she was rendered an outcast and dumped by all her so-called friends.
Of course, now that she was a freak it wasn't quite so simple. She had been very obviously outed as a mutant, her skin had turned a faint shade of green and everywhere she went a trail of flowers followed her.
Her mother would spray her with fake tan and weed killer every day in a vain attempt to get her to return back to normal but all that achieved was a month stay in the hospital recovering.
It was there that they were approached by Davos Seaworth, a teacher from the Stark Institute. Her father was horrified that she was a mutant and outright refused to let her join it preferring instead to have her live out the rest of her life living on her cousin’s estate to wither and die.
Okay, that may have been slightly hyperbolic but the point remained the same, Margaery’s father was ashamed of her.
It was only grandmother who saw the potential in it, “the Stark's you say? The Starks of Winterfell?” olenna liked them more than the lannisters but found them boorish but now they proved to be infinitely more interesting.
After a few heated arguments between her father and grandmother, it was decided that to make the best out of the situation was for her to go there and find a future at the school.
So now she has arrived up to the frigid north at a school for weirdos.
Great .
She was even starting late in the year which is the worst way to start. She was sitting at the reception and was supposed to meet with her ‘class buddy’ for orientation.
She wasn't entirely sure what to expect if horror stories were to be believed she would find freaks of nature and people neither man nor beast but something in between. Either way, she knew she had no choice but to endure and thrive here, so far she had seen people of every colour walk past which made her a little more comfortable with the green hue of her skin.
Maybe everything would be alright.
She was too busy antsy fiddling with her jumper sleeve that she didn't notice the guy standing in front of her until she saw the hand offered to her, looking up she was greeted by an oddly familiar face.
"Robb?" Margaery cursed herself for not realising sooner. It was not the first time she had met him but it was the first time she had seen him without Joffrey on her arm complaining about the freakish Starks and his ex Sansa.
"Margaery, " he smiled warmly at her but his eyes betrayed his coolness towards her, Margaery was confused as to what she had done to upset him " it's quite a surprise to see you again, especially after your boyfriend's delightful tirade at our last meeting"
Oh yes. That.
"Ex-boyfriend you'll find." Quickly distancing herself from Joffrey she continued, "I never agreed with his anti-mutant stance, I was more or less just arm candy for him i'm sorry if my silence on the matter caused offence"
Robb visibly relaxed at that and seemed to shake himself before giving her a grin that would melt the coldest of hearts. "Of course, I should have realised, Joffrey's not exactly one to forgive or forget and since you've found your way here I imagine you know that quite well."
Joffrey was a stain on her past she wished she could scrub out. But it seemed for now his shadow would look over her even here.
Robb offered to take her bags and gave her a hand up to stand. "So i have your timetable and the keys to your room here looks like you will be sharing with Sansa. We pair roommates based on gifts so im assuming you're something nature-based?"
"Well yes, plants mostly" the next thing that came out of her mouth she knew would be embarrassing but it came out in an attempt to diffuse the tension " it's not easy being green you know"
Robb choked on his laughter and gave her the most incredulous look, "you're definitely something Tyrell"
"Why thank you Stark?" She mock curtsied at him. They had been walking for a while and had apparently reached her room.
"This is where I leave you" Robb made his way to exit when she realised she didn't even know what his powers were. She had never thought to ask.
"Robb!"
"His retreating figure quickly turned around to face her, " yes?"
"What's your 'gift' then?"
He gave her a wolfish grin and told her "to find out"
----
A few months had passed and she was no closer to figuring out what his powers were. She had become close friends with Sansa but the girl seemed to find her brother's secrecy amusing and decided to keep the mystery alive.
They had bonded over Sansa's water nymph-like abilities and Margaery's plant manipulation.
Which meant their room had become a mix between a pond and a greenhouse.
Even becoming close to Arya who apparently was a shifter who could change her form at will to the dismay of her parents/teachers. Arya would often reminisce about the time she had the entire school fooled thinking she was her father and she taught his classes for the day.
She also found life at her new school better than before. She had no reason to pander to people simply because of who their family was and she wasn't worried so much about her looks. Even the green didn't bother her as much.
The only downside really was that her parents hadn't really contacted her. She received letters of course from her brothers and grandmother but she felt the keen sting of rejection from her parents. Otherwise, the Starks had welcomed her with open arms.
There still lied the mystery of Robb Stark. She didn't have any classes with him so she still can't figure out his power set, and anytime she sought him out to talk he would always be gone.
Doubly so now that she found herself rather enamoured with the auburn-haired boy.
Then one day in the middle of professor Seaworth's class covering onion growth (again) when a very large wolf came in.
It came bounding in like an over-excitable puppy and started licking her hands. It was alarming, to say the least. She could hear the giggles and titters from her class at the scene, professor Seaworth seemed to know a lot more than he let on and nodded his assent for her to leave the classroom with wolf in tow.
Sansa's boyfriend, Theon Greyjoy was running about the halls shouting "ROBB!" Before screeching to a halt right in front of her.
His eyes dated rapidly between the two and very awkwardly attempted to grab the scruff of the wolf's neck to pull it away but the wolf stood its ground beside her and nuzzled into her.
Somehow in a school where people just teleport into the canteen or spontaneously combust this was by far the weirdest thing she had experienced.
"Would you mind telling me what this is about?" She asked then as nonchalantly as possible.
"Well you see in class we were doing a practical in shifting under different circumstances and looking at what plants or powers could trigger an involuntary shift and well Robb happened to be in the way of-"
"Wait this is Robb ??"
Theon seemed to realize he had let the proverbial cat out of the bag but was in too deep to back out, "...yes?"
Stunned to silence then decided to continue rambling, blatantly ignoring the angry growls from a wolf form of Robb. "So you know how Arriane Martell has these sort of cupid powers? Well she may have hit him with some love flower thing while stretching her wings and then well it sort of caused him to turn into a wolf and run away but we cant get him to shift back."
"Sorry, what? Everything your saying sounds insane?"
"I know" he nodded, "but since you know plants can you fix it?"
"I'll see what i can do"
She spent the better part of an hour growing variants of the plant that arriane hit him with, refusing to believe arrianes claim that all she had to do was "kiss it better"
No matter how much she may have wanted to kiss robb she refused to suffer the indignity of kissing a dog.
She had Sansa and Theon helping her though they were of little help, it had now grown closer to midnight without a cure for Robbs apparent eternal wolf-ness.
Sansa had left her to get coffee and she found herself growing more weary. What even was the cure for mistletoe? She had consulted books upon books, read up on Norse mythology and the death of Baldr but nothing.
She was ready to give up and go to sleep when she felt a wet lick across her face from the wolf beside her.
Well what used to be a wolf beside her but now sat a very bewildered and naked robb stark.
Quickly averting her eyes she summoned a hedgerow between them to protect his modesty and he went about finding clothes.
As the weirdest day of her life continued her main thought was- Wait was that their first kiss?