BRAN

"The Wall"

"Who the hell are you?", Dolorous Edd asked in his heavy accent. Bran glanced up silently. He felt the brush of fur from his gray coat against his neck; it was the coat Meera made for him.

"I am Branden Stark, Jon Snow is my brother. You are Dolorous Edd the 999th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch."

Meera stood there uneasy as the man looked to her next. "I'm Meera. Meera Reed."

Dolorous Edd stood there quite perplexed, he thought of why two noble born would be north of the wall. It was the least he expected them to be, as he thought they were wildlings. Finally, after pondering he retreated and signaled to his brothers that they were good. "Alright. Come along, I reckon you are both hungry and tired."

"Quite.", Meera responded after Bran didn't. She drug him behind her until they finally reached the tunnel under the wall. The tunnel was dark and much colder than the outside; every footstep echoed through it. Meera watched as clouds of breath escaped her mouth in front of her. It reminded her of the cave they once resided in and those they lost.

When they were finally in the Common Hall of Castle Black they were presented with rabbit and fox stew. Meera finished hers with haste and watched Bran barely touch his. Meera knew that whatever he had seen in that cave changed him forever. It saddened her because she had watched the Bran she knew slowly dissipate into a man without passion.

"So, what the hell were you both doing above the wall?", Dolorous asked.

"I'm the three-eyed raven.", Bran replied nonchalantly. He was drifting again—taking a peek into his siblings' lives. He did this often along with experiencing important moments in history.

"Oh.", Dolorous Edd responded while taking a swig of ale.

"What he means to say is that he is the new three-eyed raven. We escorted him above the wall to be trained by the old one.", Meera explained.

"We?"

"Well there were more of us, but we are all that's left…", Meera responded while playing with her wooden spoon.

"Ah I see. So, the three eyed raven means what exactly?", he asked. He took a bite out of his bread and washed it down with more ale.

"I can see everything—every memory important to history and anyone whose name I know. I can also see glimpses of the future.", Bran replied. His voice was monotone as usual.

"Well shit. Don't go peeking into my past—all you'll see is lots of drinking and pissing.", Dolorous responded. Meera stared and to her surprise Bran actually smirked. Finally, Meera burst into laughter, Dolorous joined her. Bran followed suit letting out a soft chuckle.

"Well I hate to ruin the mood, but I have news for you Dolorous and it must stay between us for now.", Bran started.

Dolorous Edd nodded and waited for Bran to respond. He waited until he realized Bran wanted a verbal response. "Alright, I swear it."

"The Night King and his army of white walkers and wights are on their way here. He is coming for me—not only because I am the three-eyed raven, but because of this.", Bran replied grimly. He pulled up his thick gray sleeve to reveal a dark mark on his forearm. It was the Night King's mark full of his dark magic. "He touched me and now not only can he track me, but if I were to go south his mark would allow him free passage through the wall. He knows this, and he intends to force me South by attacking Castle Black from the outside. We must be prepared."

"And why can't we retreat South? We would be better prepared, and it's not like we have the forces we need here.", Dolorous asked. Meera stared in shock.

"We can't because there are certain things that must take place if we hope to have a chance to defeat him. Most importantly my brother cannot know that I am here or that the Night King is coming because he will try to join the battle too soon. If he comes here he will die—it was destined for him to die here at Castle Black and he cannot. He has to meet Daenerys Targaryen first."

"Ugh um okay… Why should I believe you—how should I know that you are who you say you are?", Dolorous asked.

"When you were ten your Mother would tell you bedtime stories about the great ancient kingdom of Valyria and how it fell. You often think about those memories and her voice when you think of her death.", Bran stated. He watched as Dolorous tilted his head and shifted while finishing his ale. Bran knew that his comments made others uncomfortable, but it was the only way that he could make them believe him.

"Well er' I will send ravens to Eastwatch and Shadow Tower for men.", Dolorous stated while rising from the wooden table. "When should we expect him?"

"It's impossible to know exactly, but he is going to wait as well. He has no idea what we are planning, and he saw the comet years ago, so he knows that the dragons live again."

"Okay.", Dolorous stated while walking away. He exited the Common Hall and went to stand atop the wall. Bran turned his head to Meera.

"How long have you known this?", she asked. She moved his bowl closer to him so that he would continue to eat. Meera had come to enjoy caring for Bran; it gave her a purpose in her everyday life.

"For a while now. I didn't want to worry you.", Bran answered. He was slightly taken back whenever Meera picked up his spoon and held it to his face. He hesitated and opened his mouth—all the while looking at her perplexed. She smiled and glanced down while putting the spoon back into his stew.

"Oh okay, thanks I guess. You should eat.", Meera stated. She moved her thick curly hair out of her face and held her head down for a while.

"Meera you don't have to stay… Not if you don't want. You lost your brother because of me, you lost years of your life because of me. You can go home to your Father if you want—I would never blame you."

"Shut up. I knew the risk whenever I ran away with my brother and I would never abandon you. Besides you're my family now too.", Meera stated with a smile. Bran smiled back. "Now finish your stew. You'll need your energy."

With that Bran picked up his spoon and continued to eat. He continued to look at Meera as she sharpened her dagger and thought of how she made him feel. Someone with his path of life couldn't feel the way he felt towards someone; he seen what happens generation after generation and it scared him.

.

Bran sat in his small chambers at Castle Black next to the fire place. He was going to warg into a raven at Oldtown. He needed Samwell to find a certain book that had knowledge pertaining to Dragonstone and the mountain of dragonglass underneath it. Bran took a breath and rolled his eyes into his head; immediately he felt a shock go through him as his soul entered a raven. It was exhilarating and the strongest emotion that he had ever felt in his life; simply liberating. As a bird his senses were heightened—mostly his vision, but mostly he enjoyed the feeling of the wind under his wings. He flew through the cold night and entered the Conclave—none of it was new to him as he'd been there before, in this year and years before. He went through the tall tan halls barely lit with torches and found the library. He flew as quietly as he could as to not wake any of the maesters and he was careful to not be seen by any tutors. He went through the aisles of the library until he found the book labeled: 'Dragonstone and the Westerosi Targaryens'. He flapped his wings and grabbed the book by the claws on his feet. He pulled the book and flew it down more halls until he reached the place where Samwell was resting. He dropped the book at the foot of his cot and flew the raven back into the night, before returning to his crippled body alone by the fire.

It is up to you now.

…

Next time: Bran grows closer to Meera. Bran has a confrontation.