Chapter Ten

Jon looked back to see Bran riding with the other Rohan children. The child's face was somber and pensive, unlike the other children's laughing and joyful faces. A memory surfaced of a younger Bran. He had been smiling then too. Now that smile had died with his friends who had sacrificed themselves to save him. Jon remembered how the sobs had shook through Bran's small form as he held him. He had seen heartbreaking loss as well. Jon had known what it was like to see someone die for you. In his mind, he could still hear his black brother's words. "Do not balk." Jon had been entrusted with the task to seemingly break his vows and join the wildlings to find out what they were planning. That had cost many lives...too many to count. Bran had been training when an unknown creature had attacked him. He had watched his friends die before his eyes, helpless to do anything. I know that feeling all too well. That guilt...can destroy you. Jon had told Bran that he was not a craven, and that their sacrifice would not be in vain for he would become stronger. Jon wondered if Bran would understand what he had said. Would the orphan boy accept himself as Jon was learning to?

He looked back to see the children of Rohan smiling and laughing. They're happy to have their king back, Jon thought to himself. King Théoden had declared that to escape war, the people of Rohan would escape to Helm's Deep. According to Éowyn, Helm's Deep had protected the people of Rohan in the past. Every man, woman, and child was escaping to the ancient fortress. Including us, and Aragorn doesn't approve. Jon looked ahead of him to see his dark friend talking with Gimli and Éowyn. Aragorn wanted to fight to the last man and until blood had been spilt to defend the home of the people who were traveling with them. "War will come wether we flee or not," he had told Jon. He thought that King Théoden didn't understand that. He does, Jon thought. King Théoden thought he was doing the best for his people - he didn't want harm to come to them. They had stayed loyal to him even as Suraman's poison leaked through his mind and thought of him as their king. He believes that less lives will be lost if we go to Helm's Deep. He wants to protect them from all the pain that will come because they have suffered enough. Jon understood King Théoden and Aragorn. He remembered the bodies of his brothers and men, who had died despite his warnings. There was so much death that time, and my men blamed me for it. They wanted to hide instead of to fight and to alliance with the wildlings. They didn't want death to destroy their ranks, and decided to kill the one person who opposed them. I understand why they killed me now. I understand their thoughts. They wanted me to die because they wanted to live. They didn't want to die for something that was much bigger than they were. No sacrifices... Jon vividly remembered the sacrifices his men had made when the Wall had been attacked. So many had been lost that their enemies of their enemies became their friends. He shuddered at the thought of the massacre that had happened when the Wall had been attacked. His men had wanted to prevent that from happening again. King Théoden believed that less people would die in Helm's Deep than in Rohan, and Jon wondered how right the king was. Sometimes Aragorn, Jon thought of his stubborn and brave friend, sometimes the sacrifices are too great.

Jon heard Legolas' shout ahead of him. The elf was shouting about enemies coming, and Jon saw shapes running in the distance. He knew now that the shapes were not the grey orcs. Dark brown mixed with dark fur collided with his eyes. As the shapes came closer, Jon saw their yellowed teeth, dripping saliva. Jon heard the king shout for his men to prepare to fight as they all saw orcs riding on the creatures. Jon held Longclaw in his hand. It gleamed in the sunlight, and Jon suddenly felt ready for the enemy that was coming. As the creatures and the orcs assaulted the warriors of Rohan and the fellowship, Jon remembered the less defended of the group. Bran... The women and children were left undefended, including his crippled cousin. Jon ran fast toward the multiple carts, even jumping over the dangerous creatures themselves to reach them. High screams of women and children echoed in his ears as Jon remembered seeing the dead bodies of his men over and over again. Their blood will not be stained on this ground. His heart echoed in his ears as he saw the still form of a woman on the ground, bleeding from a grouosome wound on her neck. No weapon was in her hand. Jon saw the two creatures - one in form of a human, the other in the form of an animal - posing to strike at the cart with small children and women cowering behind them. Jon was behind the orc and its beast when he heard a swift thunk and a scream from the orc. The orc had an arrow notched deep in his chest. Trembling with another arrow notched in the string, was Bran. Jon stared at Bran' s Tully blue eyes and saw nothing but determination in his young eyes. The boy was in front of the children, all younger than him, protecting them. Jon remembered when King Théoden had visited the ten year old boy, kindly telling him that he would be protected as if he was a child of Rohan. The aged king had given Bran a bow and arrow that had belonged to his son, he said. "I am a ten years old and almost a man grown," Bran had told King Théoden. "I only want to protect, no matter what pain befalls me. I will be brave this time." Jon thought of what Lord Eddard Stark had told his younger son. He said that the only time a man can be brave is when he's afraid. What do think, Lord Stark? Your son...is not a craven. He truly is a brave young man.

Longclaw gleamed in the air as Jon faced the bleeding orc and its creature. His sword gleamed with blood as the sword eased through the creature's mouth. A gurgling sound emerged from the creature, and the orc was about to aim his crude sword at Jon's head when Bran's arrow collided with the dark grey flesh. The orc and its creature fell dead. Jon leaned down on the ground and cleaned the blood off his sword. The battle was done. The swords and screams were now merely echoes of the past, and Jon faced his cousin as the bodies of orcs and its creatures surrounded them. "Well don, Brandon son of Eddard." He didn't look to see if Bran had responded. He had to find his friends. Jon found them by a cliff. Gimli's auburn hair was matted with blood, but he didn't even complain. Legolas was looking in the distance, clutching something in his hand. They didn't respond when Jon called them. "Where's Aragorn?" The two companions suddenly turned around. As the sight of their grief-stricken faces, Jon felt his entire body go cold. No... He heard Gimli's mouth moving but couldn't hear the words. He felt Legolas' quiet words in his ears as the elf came near him. "Aragorn son of Arathron has passed." Jon saw the pendent in Legolas' hand, a white jewel gleaming white light in the sun. The precious pendent had been given to Aragorn by Arwen, Aragorn's elven lover. No...

Jon thought of all the men and all the family he had lost. This loss shook him to his core. Not even Lord Stark's death or Ygritte's death had rendered him unable to speak. He felt tears welling in his eyes, but he stopped them. There is no time for tears. The fellowship...is without a leader now. He shall rise a commander...

I have to lead them now.