10) The Old Gods Speak True

Bran was sitting alone in his solar when Howland Reed approached him.

"Your Grace, one of the prisoners wishes to speak to you."

"Can you deal with him?" Bran replied dismissively.

"He asked to speak to you in person."

"Bring him in"

The man Lord Reed ushered into his solar was a short but well-built, aging man. The rags he wore did him no favours and made him look feebler than he probably was. His grey hair looked dishevelled and his unshaved beard unkempt. He reeked of the dungeons: waste, piss and sweat. He did not look like a soldier and Bran wondered what he was doing with the enemy army.

"My Lord" he started.

"Your Grace" Bran corrected him sternly.

"Your Grace," the man started again. "I come here to ask for mercy.."

"You'll get no mercy from me. You worked either with Stannis Baratheon or the Boltons to bring me down!"

"Your Grace, it is not for me that I ask for mercy. My name is Davos Seaworth, and I was Hand to Stannis Baratheon. I would like for you to reconsider Shireen Baratheon's terms of imprisonment. She's a young girl and had nothing to do with her father's kingly ambitions or the Bolton misconceived uprising."

"Why do you come to ask in her stead? And why should I grant her any mercy?"

"She means a lot to me. She is a kind girl. If you were to get to know her you would see so yourself. She is very bright and skilful. She has taught me how to read."

"You were Stannis's Hand and you couldn't read?"

"As I said, she has taught me the letters."

"I'll think about it."

"That is all I ask, Your Grace. You can do with me as you please, but for the love of the Gods you worship, please set her free."

When Davos was gone, Bran started to ponder what to do with this girl Shireen. When he first saw her, he was struck by how elegant she looked, until he saw her grayscale ravaged face.

Suddenly he was not in his solar any longer …

Winterfell. Yes, he could tell he was home, but it looked different. He looked at the throne room and saw a man wearing the crown, his crown. He looked familiar, but he didn't know why. Robert. That was his name. How did he know this? Bran could not say, but he knew it. This Robert was holding court and his people were supporting him. He was a good King. He followed Robert as he left the throne room. He met with a woman, his wife, and then Bran could see his children. Robert had two daughters and a son. The young women were accompanied by two men, and the young man was wearing armour and appeared to be a knight. He continued following Robert and watched as he met with an older woman. She looked familiar, but at the beginning he couldn't place her … until he saw her face. Her right side was covered in scales. Shireen Baratheon. Shireen was the mother of this King Robert. But, who was the father?

Bran continued his tour of Winterfell. He could see some of the old buildings had been renovated. There were new drapes in the windows and the tapestries had been redone - still showing the direwolf sigil, he proudly noticed. He didn't recognize any of the people he saw: a new Maester, new soldiers, new cooks, new servants. He made his way to the gardens and was struck by the sunlight and the heat, the colorful flowers and the green in the trees. It was Summer. Winter was long gone.

He found himself at the entrance of the crypts and made his way in. He stood in front of his father's statue. "Eddard Stark", it read, "brave and honourable Lord of Winterfell". Next to his father he saw a statue with no tomb. "Robb Stark, First King in the North. The Young Wolf. Betrayed by his enemies, loved by his people" read the words engraved at the foot of the statue. Then he found another woman. He thought he recognized the face and then he read below the statue. "Catelyn Tully – Lady Catelyn Stark. She came from the South, she mothered the North." He continued looking at the statues and saw his sister Arya. Apparently Arya had remained at Winterfell and become part of the Kingsguard. Rickon was right next to Arya. He could not find Sansa.

But he was profoundly affected by what he saw next. A statue of a man in a wheelchair. Himself! Brandon Stark. He stared at the face and saw the likeness. That was him, no doubt. "King Brandon Stark. Brandon the Kingdom Maker. The blood of his enemies sustained his Kingdom." Blood of his enemies? How many people had he killed? And he was suddenly assaulted with images of men hanging, men being beheaded, men dying in battle. Was I a bloodthirsty King? Was I cruel? Am I cruel?

Suddenly it all came to him. The voices in his head started to speak … "Shireen Baratheon, with this cloak I wed you and you become Queen Shireen Stark" … "First born son Robert Stark, hail the future King in the North" … "Lady Catelyn Stark passed last night in her bed surrounded by her beloved children and grandchildren." … "Please welcome to Winterfell Lord Umber and his wife Lady Sansa." …

"Bran" the voices kept saying. "Bran!"

He opened his eyes and saw the face of his mother, just as he remembered her.

"Bran, sweetling, wake up. Please" she was shaking him.

"Mother?"

"Oh Gods, Bran! You scared me" she said almost in tears. "What happened?"

He said nothing for a moment trying to process everything he had just seen. He then turned to her. "Mother, am I cruel?" he asked.

"Cruel?" she echoed confused.

"Bloodthirsty?"

"Honey, why would you say such things?" his mother said, worry written on her face.

"Am I?" he needed to know.

"Bran, since you became King you have been a bit darker than used to. As a young child you were very sweet. But then you had the accident, you were left alone, you had to run away and go into hiding. And when you came back home, this crown and all these responsibilities were thrown at you. It's understandable that you might get confused or that you might need some time to get your footing."

"I need to speak to Shireen Baratheon."

TBC

Next: Battle at the Wall against ... the wildlings? ... or something much darker?