CHAPTER 2
Author's Note: Sorry, I've been away for so long! Thanks for your patience, but I thought I should upload this. I am slowly getting back into the rhythm. Any one want to hazard a guess as to what Rodrik's present to Bran will be?
Sorry if you're a Margaery fan and if you think I'm being unfair, but this is partly based on the TellTale Game.
Also, there is a song that has colourful and potentially offensive language; and there is some mature humour. No offence is intended to anyone.
Please read and review.
"So, how did you get here?" Gared enquired eagerly.
Tyrion Lannister gave a short chuckle. "Why, Gared, I drove."
"He has extended pedals, which he tightens on when he wants to drive and takes them off when it's Payne's turn," Stannis snapped abruptly.
There were all sat at the dining table, with a huge lamb roast in the centre. There were trays of golden shepherd's pie, cheese topped bruschettas and flatbreads, pasta bakes submerged in tomato puree. The scent of food rumbled the bellies of each of the guests. The hearth danced with warm flames to the music from Jory's jukebox.
"So, how are things in King's Landing?" Shireen asked, trying to lighten the heavy mood.
"Terrible," Tyrion said, though it was impossible to see if he was joking.
"I hear you have met Margaery Tyrell, what's she like?"
"She's really nice, she's set up an orphanage near the Mud Gate," Sansa replied. Mira, however, shifted uncomfortably and covered her mouth with two fists, as if in prayer.
"Mira, you look like you're hiding something?" Alys teased. Mira's face turned red. Podrick, who had been keeping himself to himself, gave her a hard look.
"Share, Mira, share the goss!"
"There's nothing to share," Mira gave a smile. "She's all right."
"Have you done any major quilting lately?" Rodrik asked, trying to change the subject.
Mira just shook her head. "I….. don't think I have, it's been a long time since I've had the time."
"But you used to love it!" Talia pointed out. "Is uni that hardcore? Or is Margaery working you too hard?"
"It's fine," Mira just responded. "I was thinking Rodrik, that maybe I could come back home, study at White Harbour?"
"I thought you liked King's Landing?" Rodrick replied confused. "Mira, what's really going on?"
"She and Margaery have had a tiff," Sansa smirked.
"Sansa," Podrick said sternly. Sansa immediately regretted her comment.
"Excuse me," Mira said, rising and walking away from the table.
Rodrik, Pod, Talia and Sansa rose in unison, but Tyrion motioned for Sansa to let Mira go.
"It's nothing, carry on," Rodrik smiled.
Ned gave a nod and continued his conversation with Stannis.
"Podrick, what's happened?" the older Forrester asked, as they followed Mira, who had ventured towards the double doors that led outside.
Pod looked conflicted.
"Look, that's our sister, if there's something going on, we need to know," Talia argued.
"It's not my place to say, you should ask her," Pod replied, nodding towards the doors.
Rodrik sighed, not knowing whether to feel impressed or annoyed at his loyalty.
Stepping into the chilly night that was shedding snowflakes that darted like fireflies in the wind that howled, they saw Mira Forrester in only her green jumper, huddling by the fountain of a wolf.
"Mira," Talia called. The older girl glanced behind her but shifted her gaze back ahead.
"Mira, I'm sorry about what happened back there," Rodrik croaked. "If you'd rather not talk about it now, that's OK."
Mira said nothing and just huddled with her arms wrapped around her slim body; she shivered and stared blankly into the distance. It dawned on Rodrik that her cheeks were draping on her facial bones. Podrick took off his coat and placed it gently over Mira's slender figure, causing her to tense for a split second, before relaxing. "Thank you, Pod….. but you'll be cold now!"
"Shall we go inside then?" Talia suggested, jumping to keep herself warm. "Mira, you know you can tell us anything, right?"
Mira gave a weak smile and nodded. "I know, it's fine, it's… just that…. I thought Margaery would be more understanding of my situation, of our situation." They had stepped back inside, the loss of the chill was nothing to be missed.
"She's never had to deal with what we're going through," Rodrik sighed. "At least not to our level."
"I know, it's just that, I made one mistake and she keeps reminding me of it over and over again, and I've had enough," Mira uttered, to her surprise she was on the verge of tears that she had been holding in, that she was still fighting to hold back.
"Are you sure there's no way you can sort this out?" Talia probed.
Mira gave a scoffed laugh and shook her head. "I got assaulted."
"What?" Rodrik and Talia exclaimed.
"By who?" her brother demanded.
"How? When?" Talia asked, with anger in her voice.
Mira shook her head sadly. "It doesn't matter now."
"She fought him off," Pod said, with a hidden pride in his voice, prompting Mira to crack a smile.
"You didn't tell, Margaery?" Talia deduced. "Was she not your friend once? Surely, she would have been more supportive."
"Margaery doesn't have time for her old friends any more," Mira admitted, she fell against the wall and slid down to a sitting position.
Rodrik sat down next to her, his voice was gentle, but holding back cold fury. "Mira, I'm so sorry you had to go through that. I'd give anything to have been there for you. Give me a name. Please."
"I don't need you beat him up, Rodrik, I know that's exactly what you'll do. Asher would march over to him right this moment and knock his teeth out; you would think long and hard, and you would mean everything you do, Rodrik," Mira croaked.
"I'm sorry for leaving you alone in that place," her brother said, his voice with deep regret, recalling how excited Mira once was that she was studying and working with Margaery Tyrell, and when they were transferring to the capital.
"I wasn't alone, not completely," Mira said, turning slightly red- the downside to her pale complexion. She glanced towards the youth from King's Landing, who also burned with embarrassment.
"It was nothing," Pod said quickly.
"Don't be modest, you pretty much incapacitated that upjumped snake and his bodyguard!" Mira laughed.
"Are you serious?" Rodrik exclaimed. "So you got assaulted more than once?" He took a long deep breath. "I'd rather you said something earlier and come home earlier."
"It's done now," Podrick shrugged.
"Look, mate, I want to say thank you for everything you've done for my sister," Rodrik sighed. "If you want to that transfer then we'll see what can be done."
"Thank you, Rodrik," Mira croaked, throwing her arms around him and then pulling Talia in as well.
"So, are you ready to come back to the table?" Pod said with a smile that was impossible to not return. Mira stood up, threw her arms around him and gave him a peck on the cheek- the flush spread over him like wildfyre. With Mira's arms still around him, she whispered: "Thank you, for being my knight, Pod. Tyrion always speaks very highly of you."
"Anytime," Pod whispered back as they broke apart.
"Why don't you lot go inside," Rodrik suggested. "I need to pick up a present for Bran, I might as well as we're out here."
Sansa and Alys met them at the doors to the Great Hall. Before any of them could apologise, Mira smiled and waved them down. "It's OK, honestly, don't worry about it." Both gave a curt nod and a sheepish smile.
"Mira, is everything all right?" Ned called.
"Thank you, sir, it's fine."
As Mira joined them again, Tyrion raised his glass. "Look at that, the prodigal lass returns!" He turned to Podrick, took his seat opposite Mira, and gave a subtle nod.
"So, Pod, what's that path called again, the one that starts in the Ashemark?"
Podrick piped up. "Oh, the Ash Road Trail! It's one of the biggest cycle tracks in Westeros, runs through Riverrun and then High Heart, I'm thinking of riding it- last time I tried was when I was fourteen, I got to the Crag and thought I was at the Bloody Gate." There was a murmur of chuckles.
"Oh, that was you? I used to wonder what Oliver Twist was doing at my end," Jeyne gave a cheeky wink, while bobbing Cassana on her lap."
"I've actually played that part at school," Podrick admitted bashfully.
"No way!" Mira interjected, a hand reaching to his shoulder. Pod just nodded.
"Sorry, isn't the Crag the complete opposite way?" Edmure japed.
"It is, but I was trying to get out of doing it then," Pod admitted. "I look at it differently now, I want to do it."
"I think it's fantastic that you want to do this, Pod," Mira grinned, the excitement and melancholy falling to equilibrium in that moment. "Do you think a dedicated fan could tag along?" she said more softly.
"Sure," Pod said quickly.
"I could come too!" Talia interjected.
"Yeah, we might as well come cheer you on," Gared smirked; both of them earned a death stare by Mira.
"So, what do people do for fun around the North, Ned?" Tyrion asked.
"Well, many things- there's the rugby, football, we sometimes have bards come down here. There's the annual kitten hunt to commemorate the five days Corben Stark looked for his favourite kitten, Anthia. Some lucky chap or chapess gets to be the kitten and a team has to find them within five hours," Ned explained, gesturing animatedly.
"Forgive me, but is this a glorified version of hide and seek?" Stannis said curtly.
"I suppose so, but there are a few teams with their own kitten- the only catch is your 'kitten' can't be your family, otherwise the kitten will only have to be very bad at hiding and their team will always win."
"I've never really got along with cats," Stannis admitted.
"Stannis Baratheon not liking cats!" Tyrion smirked. "What is the world coming to?"
"What's wrong with cats?" Shireen said with mock offence.
"Yes, what is wrong with cats, in your exalted opinion?" Tyrion pressed.
"Nothing!" Stannis snapped, as if he was alien to the conversation that had just happened.
"Did a cat take your bed, your shoes or your sense of fun and adventure?" Tyrion teased.
"I have a sense of adventure," Stannis said defensively.
"In your own way," Ned attempted to pacify the situation.
"But what about your sense of fun, what did you last do for fun?"
"Well, I patrolled Eastwatch by the Sea-"
"No, no, no! I said: when did you last have fun? Not when did you last carry out your job as Admiral."
"When I patrolled Eastwatch by the Sea," Stannis insisted tersely. "We caught eight Northern Haddocks, and a Great White Whale, the most endangered species North of the Neck, which we had to nurse and tag.
"That's what I enjoyed the most from my patrol."
Tyrion looked apologetic. "Excuse me, sir, I sometimes forget my manners."
"That's quite all right," Stannis said, taking a sip, before excusing himself.
"I don't think he likes me very much," Tyrion simpered, after the Baratheon had gone.
"Very observant," Ned gave a small chuckle. "Well, if you doin't mind me saying, you have a habit of sometimes rubbing some people the wrong way, saying the wrong things. You may want to keep better check on that tongue of yours," Ned said not unkindly, taking a piece off a drumstick.
"Lord Stark, I'll have you know I highly value my two strongest assets- my mind and my tongue- I have used them to get out of trouble, to negotiate ransoms and all sorts of wonderful uses- if you know what I mean," Tyrion hinted suggestively, before giggling merrily.
Ned almost choked on his drink. "This is what I mean!" he grinned, waving his finger. "Please don't repeat that in front of Stannis if possible- on second thoughts, just don't repeat it at all!"
"Fine, fine, I will not repeat it," Tyrion conceded jovially.
A few yards away Rodrik had returned from outside, shivering and shaking off snow from his mane of brown hair.
"Nice of you to join us," Elaena said dryly, with a grin.
Rodrik didn't say anything and just held a long black stick with yellow joints. The top end was decorated with a bronze wolf head. He walked over to Bran and held out the cane. "This helped me when I was badly injured, feels like a long time ago. I thought about keeping it, because it's pretty cool, look: you can adjust it and make it into…. A crutch…." He fiddled with the mechanics and the handle was now a crutch hand.
"I had to have dinner with Elaena, a bit after I was injured, I was actually supposed to propose to her." Rodrik related. "I was quite nervous, but this little baby here was always there with me and helped me charm her into saying yes. I'm 90 per cent sure, it wasn't out of pity."
They all shared a chuckle, Bran cracked a smile. Elaena gave Rodrik an admonishing yet amused look.
"Of course, I'm that unpredictable, I accept proposals based on the walking sticks of my suitors," Elaena retorted finally.
"Well that and my dashingly good looks and my sense of humour, and my car and house, my elegant suit," Rodrik continued, grinning.
"Keep talking," Elaena challenged slyly. "That's it, keep talking."
"Can I try it?" Bran asked, before things had any chance to escalate.
"Yeah, sure," Rodrik answered and Elaena helped Bran fit his right arm onto the crutch. Dr Luwin had told him not to let his legs become inactive, or else they would lose all feeling, so Bran had made do with a rocker, but that was impossible to take down stairs- Mum and Dad had to have a specialist stair lift from Hodor plc installed, and his room had to be moved to the ground floor.
Bran heaved himself with all his strength and stood, holding the table and the crutch for support, biting his mouth in a grimace. He hovered on his crutch, releasing his hold from the table and exhaled, before flashing a bright grin, brighter than he had in a long time. "Thank you," he said to Rodrik. "Thank you, so much."
"Look, at that, that's amazing!" Sansa called.
Bran let out a gasp and fell back into his seat, letting out a disappointed sigh, tears almost falling from his eyes.
"Bran, that was brilliant," Meera whispered gently, touching his shoulder.
"Yeah, that was a really great effort," Jojen concurred.
Bran looked at his table and nodded, curling his hand into a fist.
"Thank you, I'm sure it will take time for Bran to get used to it, in the mean time, let's finish up the meal, I hear Talia and Gared are going to sing for us!" Ned urged.
"We are?" Gared said, turning pale.
They all took their plates to the trolley to send for cleaning.
"Hey," Rodrik said, walking over to Bran, when most of the guests were on their feet.
"Hey," Bran replied.
"Listen, try not to be too disheartened. You dad is right, it will take some time to get used to, when I first used it, I fell on my side and Talia had to support me from one end of the house to the other. Keep at it, and slowly it will help."
"I know," Bran whispered. "Thank you, Rodrik, I really appreciate it."
The lights dimmed as the melody of piano notes fell on them all. Gared and Talia were sat by the piano, the former donning black sunglasses, and Talia with a banjo on her lap.
"Should we give, a warning, maybe?" Gared asked his partner in crime. His hands were sweating, he recalled that he had last done this many years ago at Ironrath- Talia had caught him singing this song and then begged and blackmailed him into teaching it to her.
"Oh yeah, sorry but this song has language that might be considered colourful and offensive," Talia warned. Jon grinned and covered Cassana's ears, causing her to look behind her and smile. Shireen mirrored the same for Stannis, who gave her a perplexed look and motioned for her to sit down, but not without a twinkle of amusement in his eyes. Shireen sat down next to him and laughed, before leaning against his shoulder.
"It was Christmas Eve babe," Gared began.
"In the drunk tank, an old man said to me,
Won't see another one and then he sang this song,
The rare old mountain dew I turned my face away
And dreamed about you.
"Got on a lucky one came in eighteen to one,
I've got a feeling this year's for me and you
So Happy Christmas, I love you baby,
I can see a better time where all our dreams come true."
He upped the tempo, signaling for Talia to strum the banjo and erupt into her verse, prompting the audience to tap their feet and join in the merriment, as the wind sang in harmony outside.
Gared and Talia went from complimenting each other- from him calling her "Queen of Winter City" to a round of insults.
"You're a bum, you're a punk!" Talia said.
"You're an old slut on junk, lying there almost dead on a drip on that bed!" Gared retorted, Talia mocked offence and pointed to Gared, while facing her audience with her mouth gaped open. She made eye contact with Rodrik and motioned towards Gared, her older brother just laughed.
"You scumbag, you maggot, you cheap lousy faggot, Happy Christmas your arse, I pray God it's our last!"
"The boys of Northern Consty choir were singing Gulltown Bay,
And the bells were ringing out for Christmas Day!"
During the intercession, Jon felt a tap on his shoulder, Alys giddily nudged him.
"Hey," he said.
"Hey, you," she said, the smell of her liquor on her. "Thank you, for bringing me here."
"Anytime," he replied genuinely. She motioned towards Edmure and Rosilin who had started dancing.
"How about that dance I owe you from years ago?" Alys giggled. "You would always look so moody, like you wanted it."
"I told you to go easy on the wine," Jon said. "Alright then, one dance." He took her hand and on the floor.
"I could have been someone," Gared lamented, discarding his sunglasses.
"Well so could anyone, you took my dreams from me when I first found you."
"I kept them with me babe, I put them with my own, can't make it on my own, I built my dreams around you."
"Look at that!" Jon exclaimed suddenly; Alys, Shireen and fair few eyes turned to see Bran Stark on his feet, cane in his hand, feet slowly swaying to the music, Meera Reed gently guiding his other hand with a wistful grin on her face.
Edmure and Rosilin stopped their dance, with him just holding her from the back, admiring his nephew side step with some difficulty yet quickly gaining grace.
Bran now leaned on his cane, yet twirled Meera around twice and then three times.
"Keep playing," Talia whispered to Gared, who gave an assenting nod.
The dance became slower, as Bran grew more tired, the couple orbited the dance floor like planets over a star, until one of them- Bran glided into a seat, face red with life, energy and fire. Meera grinned and hugged him.
"Nice moves, Bran!" Arya complimented, followed by applause from the room.
"I told him the ladies would love it," Rodrik grinned to Shireen.
Meanwhile, Stannis was sat at the table, musing into his cup, avoiding more mingling than was necessary.
"Admiral," Tyrion said sheepishly.
"Treasurer," Stannis responded, pulling a chair out, allowing Tyrion to climb on it.
"Drink?" Tyrion offered a whiskey flask. "Maybe you military type prefer this?"
"No, thank you," Stannis replied, pouring himself more water.
"I might have been a little dismissive of you and your…. characteristics, shall we say," Tyrion said, but Stannis waved him away.
"It's quite all right, you are not the first and you won't be the last."
"Ah, people meaner than the Imp have said-" Tyrion began.
"Why do you call yourself that?" Stannis demanded.
"Well, Imps are supposed to be magical, what boy doesn't want to learn magic?" Tyrion grinned.
"They call you that to insult you, along with Halfman and Dwarf," Stannis pointed out.
"It's what they call me, it's what they will always call me till the day I die, but I choose to wear the label like armour, so nothing can pierce me," Tyrion replied, his smile fading.
"Right," Stannis grunted. "How can you wear 'Halfman' like armour? That would imply you're a coward, which you're not."
"How would you know that?" Tyrion probed. The Lannister's eyes glowed with intrigue and thirst like a student to a teacher. The Baratheon's gaze met with his and surprisingly broke first.
"When you were a kid, we were all at the Tourney at Maidenpool, where the King's cousin: Viktor Lomas, a sea prince of Braavos, was visiting. I cannot remember why or how it happened, but he called you 'a little monster who should have been killed the moment he was born'."
"Ah, yes, I remember, but he wasn't the first one," Tyrion admitted.
"Robert would have slugged him there and then, Renly….. he would have needed one of us, I would have also lost my temper, but not you," Stannis recalled. "Everyone expected you to crumble, run to your father, or take it without complaint. You looked him straight in the eyes and told him that if little monsters scare him then he was welcome to leave the Seven Kingdoms and go back to his mother's lap. Otherwise he should be careful about what he ate, there might be something unpleasant in his food and drink."
"I thought he was going to slug me then!" Tyrion said. "I'm told my tongue has a habit of getting me into trouble."
"I'm told my face does that, people don't like me frowning," Stannis offered, cracking a slight smile, causing Tyrion to force back a laugh, turning it into a polite grin.
"But he didn't, because a dozen men had gathered behind you; the sea prince decided to shut his mouth."
"I seem to remember a scowling young man leading those men," Tyrion said, quietly. "And I have never properly thanked him. So, thank you, Admiral Baratheon."
"You're welcome, Chancellor, if I may say so, I have read your budgets and I wish you had been appointed earlier, rather than Littlefinger. Unlike most people, you know what you're doing and have demonstrated an ounce of common sense."
Tyrion didn't know why, but the words struck his heartstrings, after having bypassed his defences. Admiral Stannis Baratheon, the most austere man with the most strict standards and expectations had just given him a vote of confidence. Tyrion found himself smiling broadly and holding back the remote possibility of crying tears.
"Everything else about you, though, requires much to be desired," Stannis added, prompting a chuckle from the Lannister, who raised a glass.
"To sharp tongues," Tyrion toasted. "Sharp minds and iron scowls."
"Aye," Stannis assented and raised his own glass to the toast.
"Ladies and gents, on your feet!" Ned Stark clapped and ordered.
"Come on!" DJ Cass joined in, fiddling with the juke box. "Come on, it's Christmas, and it's time for all of you to show your moves!" The lights dimmed and a new song broke out, that sang a choir of festivity.
"Cat, with me!" Ned urged, to his wife who blushed and took another sip of her drink. "Come one, you can chug that later!" He grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet and they both began jamming to the beat.
"Snow is falling all around me,
Children playing having fun,
Tis the season, love and understanding,
Merry Christmas everyone!"
By this time, virtually everyone was merry enough to leave their dignified and reserved inhibitions on their seats. Edmure Tully was laughing manically and dancing first with Roslin Frey and then Sansa and Rickon.
Jenna passed little Cassana over to Bran, who was seated with Meera and Stannis- who had taken to standing. The fifteen year old smiled to Meera, urging that she could go and enjoy herself, while he cradled his niece, who began shouting and pointing at the juke box. An arm's length away Theon and Jeyne sat in a corner, relaxing majorly since their arrival, but still hesitant to make themselves more at home.
Ned, Robb, Gendry, Edmure, Rodrik, Jojen and Gared had formed a dancing flashmob, which involved each of them spinning, tapping their heels on the floor and whatever the music ordered them to, causing the ladies to laugh with delight.
Jon found himself next to Shireen, to his pleasant surprise. "Hey, Jon," she said, nudging him. He grinned at her and hesitated.
"Are you all right?" she probed.
"Yeah, listen, do you…?" Jon cleared his throat and then stood tall, holding out his hand. "May I have this dance, Shireen?"
Her face brightened like a supernova. "I would love to!"
Good, now just do not step on her feet, a voice in his head ordered, as Shireen took his hand. He had secretly practised his moves as he had jealously watched all the girls line up to dance with Robb, rather than him.
The first few steps were clunky, but within a few moments, Jon had forced himself to keep the moves as simple as possible. He and Shireen were tapping, stepping and shimmying to the tune, he threw in the occasional spin, prompting Shireen to give one of the most beautiful of laughs he had ever heard, a genuine and merry laugh, not harsh or shrill, but one that he longed to hear like a song.
"We're gonna have a party tonight,
I'm gonna find that girl underneath the mistletoe,
We'll kiss by candlelight!" Shireen mouthed to the words. Her blue eyes enticing him like clear water on an oasis. If Stannis had not been watching, Jon would have kissed her, after all the man had threatened to behead him as a strange way of showing respect and admiration for the Lord Commander.
As the song drew to an end, Ned began a round of applause for them all, which the whole house joined in, even Theon and Jeyne, even Stannis, although a little reservedly.
"People, grab something to drink and toast with," Ned commanded. "All of you, now!"
As they all complied and sat down, Ned took his place standing at the head of the table.
"I want to thank you all for coming today, it has been a huge pleasure, I have enjoyed your company, and I hope you all have enjoyed this evening."
"Here, here!" Tyrion said, prompting a verbal assent from half the room.
"Winter is coming," Ned said, and Jon could not but help that his tone became a bit more sombre. "Look outside, it's howling, but we all could have a warm dinner and hearth and hospitality inside and every single one of you helped that to happen.
"What I'm trying to tell you all is that you need to remember this, how we did this, how it felt and why we need to do this."
"Why is he talking in riddles?" Shireen pondered to Jon.
"Probably because he's been drinking," Jon said, although not believing it himself.
"You may wonder why I'm talking like this," Ned acknowledged. "I'm not actually here, I'm not actually with you all right now, at least not physically. This might be hard to hear, but I died at King's Landing."
"What?" Sansa gasped.
"Dad, don't talk like that, please!" Arya begged, on the verge of tears.
"I'm sorry, darling," Ned shook his head. "I'm not the only one." Robb, Catelyn, Jory, Rodrik Cassel and Jojen Reed stood up apologetically.
"Robb? Cat? Oh no!" Edmure dropped his happy go lucky demeanour, replacing it with fear, relying on Roslin to hold his shoulders, and gulping herself. Meera let out a short one second sob, which she fought to hold back.
Jon suddenly felt a stinging pain in his chest and stomach; Shireen latched her hand on to his shoulder. "Jon, are you all right? Please… don't… you're not are you….?"
"Why are we here then?" Tyrion dared to ask.
"And equally importantly: how?" Stannis demanded.
"How is not important right now," Ned replied. "As to why? Because winter is well and truly coming, it is upon us right now. It will not care whether we are old, young, male, female, Stark, Lannister, Forrester, Baratheon, Greyjoy, Targaryen or whatever. It will come and take us all, unless the living stand together against the hordes of the dead, and they do it fast!"
The whole room was silent like a crypt, as the gravity weighed down on them.
"So, what now?" Gendry asked.
"Remember and help one another in the days to come," Ned advised, walking over to the hearth with a pail of water. "This is a dream, but that does not mean it's not real, some dreams are as real as the flesh, and the best one that we should all hold on to is a Dream of Spring. Winter may becoming, but so too will Spring." Ned smiled and poured the water on hearth, taking out all the light in the room.
Author's Note: How was that? By the way, I know Jojen is not dead in the books, but he keeps hinting that he will not make the journey back.
There is still one more chapter- the Epilogue, I would love your thoughts on this chapter and the next.