Game of Thrones: To Win a Stone Heart

Chapter 3 of my Game of Thrones story, enjoy.

Reviews

Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)
Marina Ka-Fai: Yup, he is, glad you liked it :)
Veridissima: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it, yeah, he is, also, you'll find out more about how he became King in this chapter.
Boris Yeltsin; Thanks.

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Game of Thrones belongs to George R.R. Martin.

Chapter 3

He could feel himself drifting; in dreams he felt strangely weightless. She was there again, in his dreams, the familiar young auburn haired, blue eyed woman. He was suddenly jolted with the memory that he possibly knew where she was. If what he had heard was true, he could find her again.

'But then what?' His thoughts wandered. 'I…She's so beautiful, it's hard not to have the feelings I do for her. But she's married still, surely.'

He struggled with that; it was his duty to find her, yet he wanted to do so, for more personal reasons. He couldn't work it out; no matter how hard he tried. Was it truly his duty that drove him, or his heart? He didn't have an answer, nor did he have time to ponder it for at that moment, he felt consciousness returning to his body. To his surprise there was no pain; and it felt like he was lying on a bed. He could feel a pelt covering him; slowly, he opened his eyes. He didn't know where he was, only that, somehow, he was safe, that the Brotherhood was no longer able to hurt him. It was then he heard her voice.

"Pod."

He jerked in surprise and turned his head, finally seeing her.

"Ser…My Lady?" He gasped.

Brienne smiled and nodded. "Thank the Gods you're awake."

Pod felt relief cover him, he couldn't explain it, but he knew, without a doubt, that he was now safe.

He was about to sit up but Brienne put a restraining hand on his shoulder.

"Hold on a moment, I'll step out." She gestured to a table at the end of the bed. "You'll find fresh clothes there."

It was only then that Pod, blushing furiously, realized he was naked under the pelt. He nodded and waited until Brienne left the room. He then slowly, carefully got up. He felt stiff but otherwise nothing seemed to be wrong. He looked down at his body and bit his lip as he noticed the scars. Shaking his head he hurried over to the table and picked up the clothes there, pulling them on quickly. Once dressed he felt more at ease. He glanced carefully in the looking glass and saw the angry red marks on his neck. Still he did his best to appear composed, despite the solid evidence that showed just how close he had come to dying. He exited the room and found Brienne and Jaime talking together, they looked up when he entered.

"Ah, there you are; you're already looking a lot better." Jaime remarked.

Pod nodded and when Brienne gestured for him to do so, he sat at the table, next to them. A plate of food was placed in front of him and Pod ate, realizing just how hungry he was. Jaime and Brienne were both quiet as he ate; simply sitting watching him, he could see the looks on their faces and knew they were worried. He understood perfectly, so he didn't let it bother him.

Once he had eaten he straightened up and turned to them.

"What's been happening, do you know?" He asked cautiously; his voice was still hoarse. "I wasn't able to find out anything except rumours that my captors spoke of within my earshot."

They shared a glance and finally Jaime spoke.

"We've only been hearing rumours too; but we're fairly certain that much of what we've heard is true." He paused and then explained. "There is still trouble; despite what happened, the Riverlands have risen up again. The Tully's have somehow reclaimed Riverrun, the Frey's are under attack."

Brienne nodded. "In addition to this, there are supposedly problems within Kings Landing, this is making things difficult for the armies trying to suppress the uprisings, they're happening all over the Kingdom now, save the Vale and the North."

Pod was surprised by this. "So, war still rages, only now…everybody seems to be fighting for themselves, are the Northern armies not helping the Riverlords?"

"They can't, their armies are still a mess and things are still a bit complex." Brienne replied. "But they are sending food, weapons, anything they can spare to help them. The Vale remains complacent, no doubt due to something Lord Baelish is up to."

Jaime nodded at that. "Typical Littlefinger; still I'll wager even he's surprised by what happened in the North."

Podrick's interest was piqued; what could have happened to have caused such surprise.

Jaime sighed and then explained.

"The North has a King again; the Boltons have been destroyed. Bran Stark is alive and has claimed his birth right."

"What?" Pod gasped.

Jaime nodded. "Indeed, it's amazing how he managed it. He destroyed the Boltons and retook Winterfell. He did so by rallying and gathering the surviving Manderly, Umber and Mormont armies as well as leading an army of Wildlings from Beyond the Wall. He also won the support of the Crannogmen. He then swept through the North, not only removing the Boltons, but those of House Karstark that tried to attack him. The rest of the Karstarks reaffirmed their loyalty, as did all the other Northern houses."

Pod was amazed by this, but something else bothered her. "What about the Ironborn?"

"He drove them out as well; now Bran Stark rules as King in the North. He took a Crannog woman as his Queen I understand." Brienne explained to him. "Their line is secure too; from what I understand they have a son now, also it would seem Rickon and Arya Stark are still alive, they have returned to Winterfell too."

Pod nodded slowly, realizing what all this meant. "But, I thought Bran Stark was just a young man, crippled, how did he even manage this?"

"I don't understand it myself, all I've heard is that he seems to be a capable leader, both on and off the battlefield and he seems to have some strange power." Jaime replied.

Pod pondered that for a moment and decided not to probe further, certain the answer would just confuse him.

Finally after a long pause, he decided to ask.

"What are we going to do now?"

Jaime and Brienne shared a look again and Brienne answered.

"We're going to continue what we were doing before." She said firmly. "I still stand by the oath I made to Lady Stark; her death does not mean I should just forget it. Princess Arya is safe, but we must find Princess Sansa. Once we do, we take her to safety…we can take her back to her home, to Winterfell."

Jaime nodded in agreement. "I'll be coming along too; I have some oaths that need fulfilling anyway."

Upon hearing they were still searching for Sansa, Pod's heart leapt. He forced himself to calm down; he shouldn't be reacting that way, not about his master's wife. However he then remembered something.

"I may know where she is." He blurted out. "I…I overheard my captors, what they were saying. There's a rumour that she's in the Vale."

There was silence for a moment before Brienne and Jaime agreed. While only just a rumour, it was the only lead they had. So they prepared themselves and, once verifying Pod was well enough to travel, they left the village and immediately began travelling, heading for the Vale.

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.