Chapter 32:

CATELYN

Catelyn slept fitfully as she envisioned herself at the bottom of the Broken Tower.

"Brandon Stark, how many times did I tell you not to climb?" Catelyn shouted in a scolding tone.

Her son was several feet above her as she turned around and smiled at her.

"There's nothing to worry about, Mother," Bran said. "I've climbed this tower many times and I've never fallen."

"It doesn't matter, Brandon. I don't want you climbing any towers at all. Now come down this instant!"

"Just watch me," Bran said, but he only climbed further. "You'll see!"

"Brandon!" shouted Catelyn, who was beginning to worry of her son.

"Have I fallen yet, Mother?" said Bran.

"Brandon, please come down," Catelyn said. "If you don't, I'll tell your father the moment he comes home."

"Mother, would you please stop worrying? Everything is perfectly fine," Bran said, as he reached up to where a window was.

"Brandon, please for the love you bare me, go inside the window and wait there for me. I'm going to come get you."

"Mother, why do you always have to spoil everything? I already told you I'm perfectly fine."

At that moment, a hand shot out of the window and gave her son a hard push. Brandon's eyes widened as his hsnds grabbed for nothing but air as he flailed about in the air.

"Brandon!" Catelyn screamed as she could do nothing but watch as her son collided into the ground next to her with a loud PLOP!

Catelyn screamed.

Suddenly, she heard the door slam open with hands shaking her awake.

"No, Brandon!"

"Mother, wake up, wake up!"

Catelyn's eyes opened as she saw her son Robb, along with Ser Rodrik and Maester Luwin, who were staring at her with concern.

"Oh, Robb!" Catelyn cried as she hugged Robb tightly.

"Shhh!" Robb said. "It was just a nightmare, Mother."

"It was so awful, Robb," Catelyn sobbed. "I tried telling Bran to stop climbing, but he just wouldn't listen!"

"Shhh," Robb said. "Everything's alright, Mother. I promise you I won't let anything happen to Bran. I won't let anything bad happen to our family. I'll die before I let that happen."

Suddenly they heard yelling outside. Robb ran over to the window and his face paled by what he saw, before turning back to his mother.

"Maester Luwin, keep my mother safe," Robb said. "Ser Rodrik, come with me."

"Robb, what's going on?" Catelyn asked.

"We're under attack," Robb said. "Stay here, where it's safe."

Catelyn moved to speak, but Robb and Ser Rodrik immediately left the room.

Catelyn headed to the window and nevertheless, she couldn't believe her eyes.

It was becoming a massacre inside the courtyard of Winterfell, as several members of the Household fought against men carrying various sigils, most of them the sigil of House Karstark, a white starburst on black. Other sigils Catelyn recognized were House Umber (four chains linked by a central ring on a red field), House Glover (a mailed silver fist on scarlet), House Mormont (a black bear on white), and House Manderly (a merman with a trident).In fact, it appeared that almost all the North's bannermen were amongst the battle. She saw Ser Marq Piper battle a man of House Karstark before one of the Umbers cut him down from behind.

Her heart fell to her stomach, however when she heard a whistle as her son Robb stepped out, followed by Ser Rodrik, both of them unsheathing their swords.

The lords and lady approached him.

"My lords, my lady," said Robb. "May I ask exactly why you decided to attack my father's men, men of your liege lord, as if this were a brawl in a bloody tavern?"

"Your father is no longer our liege lord," Rickard Karstark said. "Not since His Grace sent us the ravens revealing that your father kept a dragonspawn under his roof all these years!"

"I understand your anger, my lords," Robb said. "Believe me, I have uncovered my father's lies for myself, and I have placed my mother under arrest in her own castle for helping him cover it up."

The lords looked surprised by this, but that still did not take away their suspicion.

"And you expect that to calm us?" Karstark spoke. "We lost men in the war to Aerys and his madness! We followed your father faithfully in his war against the dragons and have followed him ever since. Now we find out that not only has he lied to the realm, his own sister was not kidnapped by the Dragon Prince as we thought, but rather opened her legs to him like a common whore."

Catelyn saw Robb scowl at that, but refused to attack them, for he knew as did she, the numbers were against them.

"That is enough!" a voice spoke, silencing them all. The lords all turned to a small man, wearing a shirt of bronze scales, who wielded a three-pronged spear and a leather shield.

"Lord Howland," Rickard said. "We didn't expect to see you here. I'd have thought you would be holed up in Greywater Watch by now."

"Would that I could, I cannot stay holed up in Greywater Watch forever especially when the White Walkers might be coming much more sooner than we expected," Howland said, causing all the lords to gasp.

"What has happened?" Robb asked.

"I have had visions of a great massacre at the Wall, but much more worse than the one that your men has caused here, my lords," Howland said pointedly at the lords, who lowered their gazes. "Not only that, but the magics that have protected the Wall for generations are beginning to fail."

The crowd gasped and murmured amongst themselves.

"What kind of magics have protected the Wall until now?" asked Robb.

"A powerful warg and greenseer, known only as the Three-Eyed Raven, has been the source of power, by magic from the Children of the Forest, for the barrier between the White Walkers and the Wall for many, many years."

Gasps rang out in the crowd.

"Three-Eyed Raven?"

"Children of the Forest?"

"How long have they been alive?"

"Why are the magics protecting the Wall starting to fail?" Robb asked.

Howland moved to answer, but it was a younger, yet mature voice that spoke. "Because the Three-Eyed Raven is dying."

The crowd gasped again, as they turned to a boy close to Bran's age, who was short and slim as Howland, dressed in green clothing.

"And his heir was just murdered by King Robert," said the boy, who seemed to have an aura of wisdom about him, that made him seem older.

"Who was his heir?" Robb asked, suddenly feeling a nervousness about him.

The boy stared at him, while Howland looked remorseful.

"Your brother, Bran Stark," said the boy.

"Nooooo!" Catelyn cried, from the window, causing the lords to look up at her as her son Robb dropped to his knees in despair.

Luwin attempted to comfort Catelyn, but was rather unsuccessful. Her nightmare had come true. Her sweet Brandon was dead.