p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="39f151cf7add59af5405edc88d151b04" Brandon's father, Lord Eddard Stark, was dead. Beheaded at the orders of a boy king. Anera cared not for the games the nobles liked to play, but she had to admit that it pained her to see Brandon's face when he heard the news, even if a part of him had known it was going to happen in the first place. They hadn't discussed that dream since. The idea, frankly, frightened Anera in a way that she couldn't explain./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="deb72efe33cae2ea18a7104698e9459b" With Robb gone and Lord Eddard dead, Brandon was acting Lord of Winterfell, and he was taking the job as seriously as an eleven-year-old could. Anera stood at the back of Winterfell's great hall, watching the little lord sat at the high table address the Northern lords. "The walls of my holdfast will not stand the winter," a man was saying. "The stones were mortared last in the time of King Aerys, and I'm afraid the masons today are not fit to carry their father's hammers. When I was a boy, I remember seeing them put up a new tower in Torrhen's Square in a summer. Men worked back then. Today, my holdfast looks like it was built by drunk children. At night you can hear the wind howling through the gaps. And the Gods forbid it rains. Why, I might as well sleep beneath a waterfall."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="c40f2f6ae712e073ca3b5d87a5b0c820" Beside Brandon, Maester Luwin spoke up. "Maintenance of a holdfast generally falls to the lord of that holdfast."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="11527de0f09a66191fbe36e2b2cebfa5" "Generally, yes, but I've sent all the young men off to fight Robb Stark's war."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="e609196bfe3d45e88d40dad4077ec922" "King Robb," Brandon corrected quickly. "And it's not his war. He didn't choose it."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="75d905e69a634c41e5a6516382bd75eb" "Maybe not, my lord, but he called in his banners and took the men," the man replied./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="89d4d93a8ccb811dfcb8e7f9bf28a7f6" Brandon leaned forward slightly in his seat. "Joffrey killed my father, your liege lord. Do you remember your vows, ser?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="64c63e8b2e18f8bb533568b1daa31bf3" "Of course I remember!" the man blustered, clearly offended by the question./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="ea2042408502a7f0d2abb9e1dd9b705c" Maester Luwin interjected. "We can spare four masons for a week, my lord. Will that be sufficient to repair your walls?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="7732c970d8430a189900289c2c987381" "I- - I believe it will," the man said./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="6bccce3cee801a6c6f167e1da80a99dd" He turned away to rejoin the crowd of other men. Anera saw Maester Luwin and Brandon talking quietly. She couldn't hear them from the distance, but by their expressions, they weren't happy. She wrung her hands, leaving the great hall. The presence of all of the lords was making her anxious. They all looked at her like she was less than them or little more than some piece of meat. Well, they could look all they wanted, as long as they didn't mind getting an arrow through the eye. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="9c5a586836b4cfa43b74ecba8cb4906e" She was starting to grow restless in the castle. That was why she was so thankful the next morning for a chance to venture through the Godswood with Hodor, Brandon, and Osha. She looked through the trees at the birds on their branches, their song the only sound she could hear. She was long free of her chains since just after Robb left South. Perhaps her dreams of running through the trees could one day come true. Osha kept her eyes low to the ground, examining plants. She nodded toward one and said, "boil this for an hour and drink the tea. Makes all your pain go away."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="6bbf7143e4146cd5be37d92be9ae7953" "Don't have any pain," Brandon replied from Hodor's back./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="f5763a8a41c5549027094b8707a42555" She raised an eyebrow as she picked the plant from the ground, tucking it into her sleeve. "Lucky for you," she said./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="c7615c0fc9e60a59f987d2b5f49a85aa" Brandon pointed toward the weirwood tree. "That way," he said, and Hodor obeyed./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="297b58f4c9e6992ad2fcaa8d36989541" Anera raised an eyebrow as she and Osha followed him. "You've been having those dreams again, haven't you, little lord?" she asked./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="5bf28e1fc35040e1999e6cc72e402902" "I don't dream," he replied./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="e83e5895adf44a012a1d0a80f7301ab3" "Everyone dreams," Osha said./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="cc1ad658c21c9c8f7ac6d121764ecd4b" "I don't," he said, then changed the subject quickly. "Heard some of the men talking about the comet. They say it's an omen. They say it means Robb will win a great victory in the South."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="6702e7d7b2e81408b0103c09d78d746e" Anera's blue eyes drifted to the crimson red comet in the sky. "Did they?" she asked./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="5e3a5e1ed08fcecdcf9ad37701763056" Hodor lowered to the ground, gazing at his reflection in the pool at the weirwood's base. "I heard some fools say it's Lannister red," Osha said. "Means the Lannisters will rule all seven kingdoms before long. I heard a stableboy say it's the color of blood, to mark the death of your father."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="cf5104f3a50a4674d1de63018e7a29d9" She undid the straps that kept Brandon secured to Hodor's back, lowering him to the ground. He crawled to the edge of the pool, staring into the water. "The stars don't fall for men," Osha continued. "The red comet means one thing, boy. Dragons."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="317e5f156deb18575d819c6fc3e83a6c" Brandon did not look away from his reflection as he replied, "the dragons are all dead. They've been dead for centuries."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="86ab52d48bf0e68692d7c437484b42e9" Anera wasn't quite sure that was true. She had seen giants and dead men walking beyond the Wall. Dragons would not be unimaginable. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="b93e84ddd40df0bcd308a7e4f27a1806" /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="deb72efe33cae2ea18a7104698e9459b" With Robb gone and Lord Eddard dead, Brandon was acting Lord of Winterfell, and he was taking the job as seriously as an eleven-year-old could. Anera stood at the back of Winterfell's great hall, watching the little lord sat at the high table address the Northern lords. "The walls of my holdfast will not stand the winter," a man was saying. "The stones were mortared last in the time of King Aerys, and I'm afraid the masons today are not fit to carry their father's hammers. When I was a boy, I remember seeing them put up a new tower in Torrhen's Square in a summer. Men worked back then. Today, my holdfast looks like it was built by drunk children. At night you can hear the wind howling through the gaps. And the Gods forbid it rains. Why, I might as well sleep beneath a waterfall."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="c40f2f6ae712e073ca3b5d87a5b0c820" Beside Brandon, Maester Luwin spoke up. "Maintenance of a holdfast generally falls to the lord of that holdfast."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="11527de0f09a66191fbe36e2b2cebfa5" "Generally, yes, but I've sent all the young men off to fight Robb Stark's war."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="e609196bfe3d45e88d40dad4077ec922" "King Robb," Brandon corrected quickly. "And it's not his war. He didn't choose it."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="75d905e69a634c41e5a6516382bd75eb" "Maybe not, my lord, but he called in his banners and took the men," the man replied./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="89d4d93a8ccb811dfcb8e7f9bf28a7f6" Brandon leaned forward slightly in his seat. "Joffrey killed my father, your liege lord. Do you remember your vows, ser?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="64c63e8b2e18f8bb533568b1daa31bf3" "Of course I remember!" the man blustered, clearly offended by the question./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="ea2042408502a7f0d2abb9e1dd9b705c" Maester Luwin interjected. "We can spare four masons for a week, my lord. Will that be sufficient to repair your walls?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="7732c970d8430a189900289c2c987381" "I- - I believe it will," the man said./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="6bccce3cee801a6c6f167e1da80a99dd" He turned away to rejoin the crowd of other men. Anera saw Maester Luwin and Brandon talking quietly. She couldn't hear them from the distance, but by their expressions, they weren't happy. She wrung her hands, leaving the great hall. The presence of all of the lords was making her anxious. They all looked at her like she was less than them or little more than some piece of meat. Well, they could look all they wanted, as long as they didn't mind getting an arrow through the eye. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="9c5a586836b4cfa43b74ecba8cb4906e" She was starting to grow restless in the castle. That was why she was so thankful the next morning for a chance to venture through the Godswood with Hodor, Brandon, and Osha. She looked through the trees at the birds on their branches, their song the only sound she could hear. She was long free of her chains since just after Robb left South. Perhaps her dreams of running through the trees could one day come true. Osha kept her eyes low to the ground, examining plants. She nodded toward one and said, "boil this for an hour and drink the tea. Makes all your pain go away."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="6bbf7143e4146cd5be37d92be9ae7953" "Don't have any pain," Brandon replied from Hodor's back./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="f5763a8a41c5549027094b8707a42555" She raised an eyebrow as she picked the plant from the ground, tucking it into her sleeve. "Lucky for you," she said./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="c7615c0fc9e60a59f987d2b5f49a85aa" Brandon pointed toward the weirwood tree. "That way," he said, and Hodor obeyed./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="297b58f4c9e6992ad2fcaa8d36989541" Anera raised an eyebrow as she and Osha followed him. "You've been having those dreams again, haven't you, little lord?" she asked./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="5bf28e1fc35040e1999e6cc72e402902" "I don't dream," he replied./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="e83e5895adf44a012a1d0a80f7301ab3" "Everyone dreams," Osha said./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="cc1ad658c21c9c8f7ac6d121764ecd4b" "I don't," he said, then changed the subject quickly. "Heard some of the men talking about the comet. They say it's an omen. They say it means Robb will win a great victory in the South."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="6702e7d7b2e81408b0103c09d78d746e" Anera's blue eyes drifted to the crimson red comet in the sky. "Did they?" she asked./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="5e3a5e1ed08fcecdcf9ad37701763056" Hodor lowered to the ground, gazing at his reflection in the pool at the weirwood's base. "I heard some fools say it's Lannister red," Osha said. "Means the Lannisters will rule all seven kingdoms before long. I heard a stableboy say it's the color of blood, to mark the death of your father."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="cf5104f3a50a4674d1de63018e7a29d9" She undid the straps that kept Brandon secured to Hodor's back, lowering him to the ground. He crawled to the edge of the pool, staring into the water. "The stars don't fall for men," Osha continued. "The red comet means one thing, boy. Dragons."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="317e5f156deb18575d819c6fc3e83a6c" Brandon did not look away from his reflection as he replied, "the dragons are all dead. They've been dead for centuries."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="86ab52d48bf0e68692d7c437484b42e9" Anera wasn't quite sure that was true. She had seen giants and dead men walking beyond the Wall. Dragons would not be unimaginable. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #222222;" data-p-id="b93e84ddd40df0bcd308a7e4f27a1806" /p