Bran looked outside from the window of the Broken Tower. It had become one of his habitual places to go during the day and he enjoyed going there to think. He still climbed up and down the castle and its many walls and towers, but not this one. The Broken Tower was the only place he'd never climb again.
He spent some time gazing towards the comings and goings of the residents of Winterfell until something caught his eyes. Two teenagers, not much older than himself, had just crossed one of the gates into the inner walls. Finally, his watch had ended. The Reed siblings had arrived.
He ran down the stairs and left the Broken Tower, sprinting towards the keep with Summer right beside him. He couldn't contain his excitement. With the Reeds' help, he'd finally escape Winterfell and journey beyond the Wall to meet the Three Eyed Raven from his dreams.
At first, he received only visions. Then, he started hearing voices during his dreams, all coming from the bird with an extra eye. They told him many things about the dangers that lurk in the Land of Always Winter and what his destiny in all that is. He was to become the new Three Eyed Raven, the most powerful Greenseer in the world, but of course, he couldn't do that all the way from Winterfell.
When he arrived inside the main keep, he could see the Reed siblings being greeted by Ser Rodrick Cassel.
"Wellcome to Winterfell, Lord and Lady Reed!" said the man with a smile and a friendly tone "Lady Stark has been informed of your arrival and invites you to dinner with her and her youngest sons tonight. In the meanwhile, proper accommodations have been prepared so you can rest from your long trip from Greywater Watch."
"Thank you, Ser" replied Jojen Reed " indeed the journey was taxing, but nothing a good rest won't cure. House Stark has our gratitude for the hospitality, as always."
Before they could speak further, Bran's arrival interrupted them.
"Well, well, if it isn't our young Lord Brandon Stark" said Ser Rodrick "shouldn't you be on your lesson with Maester Lewyn, boy?"
Bran didn't answer immediately, he first looked down towards the floor before replying.
"No, Ser Rodrik. My lesson has already finished."
"Has your mother ever told you that every time you lie, you look towards the floor?" was the answer he got from the Knight.
Bran was very embarrassed, since these were exactly the words his mom had told him the day he climbed the Broken Tower for the last time.
"I just… I just…" he tried to find an excuse.
"Just wanted to skip your studies. Well, if you don't want to learn about the great houses today, then you will train with me. Lord Reed, Lady Reed, they will show you to your quarters. I hope you will have a pleasant stay here in Winterfell" said the knight while pointing to some nearby servants "As for you, young Stark, let's go to the training grounds."
Before he could answer, he was already being dragged away under the gaze of the Reed siblings and Summer following right behind. Meera couldn't hope but chuckle at the scene while Jojen kept a stern face. His look told everything Bran needed to know: soon.
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One grueling training session afterwards, Bran was walking towards his chambers to get cleaned up before dinner when a figure caught his attention. Walking towards it, he found Meera Reed waiting for him in the corridor leading to his chambers.
"I need to speak to you." said Bran "I don't know how to explain it, but…"
"There's no need to explain. You've received visions from the Three Eyed Raven about us, much like my brother has received visions from him about you. You know why we're here and we know you're ready for it. I came only to deliver you a message."
"What message? And where is your brother?"
"My brother is resting. The trip here was taxing and his abilities don't come to him as free of charge as they come to you. As for the message, he told me that you should prepare for tonight. We'll be in the Godswood waiting for you when the castle goes to sleep. Climb down your room to get there. The guards posted on the ground below your window won't be a problem. Also send your wolf to the Godswood in advance not to raise any suspicion while you escape. All clear?"
"Yes."
"Good" she said, allowing herself to smile "see you at dinner!"
He liked that smile. In fact he couldn't help but have a good look at the Reed girl. She was a bit older than him, but she was short, almost to Bran's height. She had a slim build, typical of crannogmen, with long brown hair, green eyes that had a sheen on its own and hinted at a cheerful disposition. He decided he liked what he saw.
"Sssee you!" he answered with a breaking teenage voice that made him blush slightly.
With that, the girl left and Bran immediately ran into his room, not to embarrass himself any further. His bath was extra meticulous that afternoon, perhaps the most thorough he had ever had.
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The dinner proceeded well. In the beginning, Catelyn Stark was confused as to why they were in Winterfell, but her suspicions were quickly dismissed when Jojen told her they were only stopping by on their way to the Wall. As an ancient structure, it had fascinated both him and his sister and now that they were old enough, their father had allowed them to travel there.
At first, she'd offer to send men to escort them, but they quickly refused, saying that they had brought their own escort and that they didn't want to deprive House Stark of able-bodied men in such a time of war. Both of which were true.
Unlike the original story, they had brought a small escort of 10 Crannogmen with them. After all, two noble kids walking alone makes no sense, even in the North. Bandits and dangerous animals exist everywhere and their mission was too important to fail. Lord Howland Reed understood that pretty well and had forced an escort on them once Jojen told him they were leaving.
The rest of the dinner was mostly an exchange of pleasantries and answering the many questions Young Rickon had about the southernmost part of the North. The boy was a keen learner and took every opportunity he had to satiate his curiosity.
They eventually all returned to their chambers and, a few hours later, the castle was mostly asleep, with only the nightshift workers and guards going about their duties. The time to escape had arrived.
Bran looked out of his chamber's window and, indeed, the guards, which normally were alert below, appeared to be dozing off and sleeping in their chairs. He checked twice just to be sure and even dropped a small pebble nearby just to see if there would be any reaction from them. He received nothing, they were fast asleep, and a very heavy one at that.
With dextrous moves, Bran tied a bag of supplies and a shortsword and a dagger he had previously stolen in preparation for his eventual escape and he started climbing out of his window and down into a secondary courtyard. His hands weren't as steady as normally and he had a couple of close calls before safely reaching the floor.
Looking around and seeing that there was nobody around to spot him, he made sure to stick to the shadows and move as quietly as possible. He wasn't trained in stealth, but he remembered a few things Ser Rodrik had told him about the theoreticals behind infiltrations in castles during sieges. Bran thought that if it helped one getting in where it wasn't supposed to be, it should surely help him get out now.
The path towards the Godswood would usually take some 10 minutes for the energetic Brandon Stark to arrive running. This time, however, it took him roughly double that time to make it. Still, once he was inside and Summer came to be by his side, he abandoned all stealth and ran where the wolf was taking him.
He felt a connection with the wolf, something he had never heard of before. He thought about asking Maester Lewyn about it, but decided the old man probably wouldn't know much about it. Arabella would know more, perhaps? Well, even if she did, she was all the way down in the Riverlands and he couldn't just send her a raven without it being read by his mom or Maester Lewyn.
Not that it mattered now. He wouldn't be around Winterfell to send any ravens either.
They finally arrived at the Weirwood Tree, where Meera and Jojen Reed awaited. Jojen wore his normal somber expression while Meera shone a smile Bran's way. The boy was grateful that the night's darkness covered most of his blushing face.
"Good you've made it." said Jojen who then turned to Meera "I told you the wolf went to fetch him."
Meera just rolled her eyes at her brother's bragging.
"How did you know he would come after me?" asked Bran.
"Simple, because you're not just a Greenseer like me, Bran. You're also a Warg. You know what a Warg is, right?"
The boy shook his head negatively.
"It's a person who can connect to one or more animals so deeply that they are able to leave their own body and control these animals. Have you never felt like you were in control of your wolf or that you're a predator?"
"Only in my dreams"
Jojen gave a slight smirk before answering.
"These weren't dreams, Bran. These were early manifestations of your warging powers. With enough training, you'd be able to enter your wolf's consciousness at any time."
Bran's jaw dropped at the news. He felt like there was something special going on with him. Hell, it was obvious given all the dreams he was having about the Three Eyed Raven and the fact that the visions he had of Jojen and Meera arriving in Winterfell had been confirmed. That being said, he hadn't imagined he'd have some kind of ancient power.
"But… how's it possible?" he asked.
"It's simple, you have the blood of the first men, just like us. While it isn't a requirement for being a warg or a Greenseer, having such blood goes a long way in helping your chances of possessing such abilities."
"Woow… and how do you know all that? You've said I'm a Greenseer, just like you. Does it mean you have visions in your dreams like me? With the Three Eyed Raven?"
"Yes, though not all my visions have some relation with it. It seems he has much more interest in you than in me. However, we should leave any further discussion of this for a later date, once we are out of here. For now, we need to leave."
Being brought back to their current reality, both boys and Meera looked around for a while, making sure that there was no one looking for them yet.
"And how are we going to escape?"
"First, use your connection to the wolf to send him outside of Winterfell ahead of us. Him being next to us will only serve to give away your identity. You should do it now. The guards won't mind, they'll just think he's going for a hunt. "
Bran looked at Summer, gave him a pet and spoke.
"It's okay Summer, we'll see each other soon."
They watched the Direwolf trail away and then Meera approached Bran and continued to explain the plan.
"Now, you should change into this" she said, giving Bran a set of clothes with the colours and sigil of house Reed "try to act naturally as if you were one of us. With this disguise you should be able to fool most of the men, especially since they won't be talking to you. There will be other men with us, our escort. They are already mustering near the gate and are likely to have already told the guards there that we're leaving towards the Wall and that we're too impatient to wait until the morning. Once we arrive, they shouldn't pay much attention to us and just let us pass."
"But what if they look at me? They'll recognize me for sure."
"That's why we'll all wear hoods, our escorts included. Standard Crannogmen fashion." she said pointing to his clothes and to the hoods on their cloaks "They won't be able to see our faces fully and I really doubt they will risk offending nobles just because of some hoods. There's no reason for them to be worried we're enemies either. Our Houses have a long history of friendship and we've made sure to have the men strike conversation with the guards here as much as possible to establish some rapport. They'll just see some nobles from a minor house showing up to meet their men and leave. Nothing to suspect."
Bran wasn't so sure about this plan, but it was simple enough so it should work. He took a last look towards the Weirwood tree, the Broken Tower and Winterfell castle. All these places had deep significance in his life, not to mention all the people he knew and loved. Bran knew his journey was going to be dangerous and he understood there was a very large chance he'd never return here, nor see any of these people again, his family included. With a heavy heart he whispered.
"Farewell, Winterfell."
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Hey everyone, Agandor here!
I hope you liked the chapter!
Next week I'll be back home and we'll have uploads on Wednesday and Friday!
Have a fantastic week!