Disclaimer: I do not own A Song of Ice and Fire.
Another dragon, another wolf, another stag
Chapter 22: Bran
"Talking"
"Thinking"
(Location: Riverrun)
The morning had been for the joust and Bran had cheered wildly for Robb as he bested all challengers. He hadn't been the only who did it. The rest of the Pack and family did too. It was like his brother could not be bested with the lance. Bran knew with a certainty that he would reach the finals and win the joust.
But that was for later. Now, they were watching Theon take part of the archery competition. This wasn't like any archery competition he had seen before. He watched the targets bob up and down in the river's current. He had been told that they were tied so that they would stay in place, just like the boats currently were. Theon had walked onto the boat cockily and that cockiness stayed with him as he waited. The Dornish bastard didn't look as confident.
Thinking of her made him think of his brother Jon. He wasn't sitting with the family in their stand. He was closer to the river, amongst his own friends. Seeing him standing there, outside of the family and the Pack, it felt like they were losing him. He didn't like that. Jon was family. Despite what he might've think, Bran thought he was part of the Pack. But now it seemed like he had his own Pack.
"Why is Jon down there?" Rickon asked, looking under the railing, his arms hanging on to it.
"Because he is," he told his little brother.
"Why?"
"Because he is," he repeated. He saw the two boys who followed Jon around standing beside him now. Seeing them there made him feel jealous.
"Viserys," Sansa said from behind him, in surprise. Both he and Rickon turned around and saw their foster brother standing there, along with the most beautiful girl Bran had ever seen. He knew that it was the Princess Daenerys, but he never assumed that he would be so close to see her.
"Lady Stark," Viserys said to Mother. "Might I introduce you to my sister?"
Mother rose to meet her, but the princess breezed past her brother to meet her. "It is good to meet you finally, my lady. And it is nice to see the rest of the wolves too," she said, smiling at them all. "The lady would have loved to meet you all."
"Dany," her brother said warningly.
But it was too late. "What lady?" Rickon asked.
Daenerys opened her mouth but Viserys put his hand on her shoulder. "My sister seems to have seen spirits around the Red Keep," he told them. "One of them is someone she claims walks with ghostly wolves by her side."
"She wears a hood to try to hide her face," she added before he could stop her. "I've never been able to see it but I have seen her eyes. They are grey."
Bran looked at Arya and she noticed him. "What are you looking at?" she demanded.
He felt foolish. The princess was talking about their Aunt Lyanna, not Arya. It should have been obvious. "Nothing," he told her.
She didn't look like she believed him. "Stupid," she said. The princess giggled and his cheeks burned with embarrassment.
"May we sit?" Viserys asked Mother.
She nodded. "Of course, you and your sister are always welcome amongst us." They sat down beside her. Rickon ran up to the princess. She smiled down at him and took him into her lab. For a moment, Bran hated his baby brother.
Mother looked down at the stand's steps. "Where is your sworn shield, your Highness?"
"Sandor's guarding Mother," the princess said, pointing at the royal stand. Bran looked and saw a tall man behind Queen Rhaella. He was the only one of the knights there that didn't wear a white cape. It didn't seem right.
"How did that man like that become the queen's sworn shield?" Sansa asked. She was staring at the royal stand with a scared look.
But the princess didn't look troubled. "He found me when I managed to get lost in Lannisport and brought me back to Mother. When he won the melee, he offered his sword to her and she said yes."
The herald banged his staff against a wooden post. "The archery finals are about to begin!" he called out in his loud voice. "Each contestant will have three arrows to draw and shoot. The one who has the closest amount to the center of the target will win. They will alternate shots." He looked at the men standing by the boats. "Set them off."
The men quickly undid the knots and the boats drifted into the river. Bran waited with anticipation. He had never seen anything like this before. What would it be like? He wanted to see. But Theon didn't nock his arrow. He looked over at Sarella Sand and smiled at her. Bran knew that smile was his jesting one. "Go ahead," he told her. "You can fire first."
She nocked her first arrow to her goldenheart bow and aimed at the target. The point bobbed in the air as she held the string taunt. When she did fire, the arrow struck on the outer ring. She scowled. Bran knew that she had hit, but it was barely good. She looked at him. But he did nothing. "Go on," she said to him
But he said. "You can go again."
"What?" Bran thought in surprise. He hadn't expected that. It was expected for Theon to take his shot now.
Sarella Sand didn't move. "Lord Greyjoy!" the herald shouted, "Take your shot!"
"She can fire again," he said. "I will wait."
"Are you surrendering your shot, my lord?"
"No. She can fire again." He looked cocky, like he knew what the outcome would be.
The herald looked confused. He looked at the royal stand, at the king. "I will allow it," King Rhaegar proclaimed.
"Oh," Princess Daenerys said, "Oh dear."
Bran looked at her. She looked worried and that worried him. "What's wrong, your Highness?" he asked her.
"Lord Greyjoy is going to be quite nasty."
The herald shouted, "Lady Sand may take her second shot!" Bran took his attention back to the river. The Dornishwoman nocked her second arrow and drew again. She fired and the arrow struck closer to the target, in the inner ring. The distance between the two arrows was obvious.
She looked at Theon but he just kept smiling. "No need for you to stop now. Go on. Fire your last arrow."
"Lord Greyjoy!" the herald said. He sounded completely annoyed and Bran found it a bit funny. He giggled and Rickon did too.
"I will take it!" Sarella told the man. She nocked her last arrow, drew it, and fired it. The arrow struck the center. She lowered her bow and looked at Theon while the Dornishmen in the stands applauded. Prince Oberyn looked particularly proud and his daughters were amongst the loudest of the cheerers. But Bran noticed that only the Dornish were cheering. The royal family might have clapped but amongst the nobles gathered, there was no one else.
The herald banged his staff against the post and the cheers subsided. "Lady Sarella has fired all of her arrows. Therefore the range is Lord Greyjoy's. My lord, draw your arrows at your pleasure."
Theon did draw his arrows. But he did it differently than she had. He shot his one after the other, not stopping to aim. He didn't have to. Bran knew that he trained with his bow constantly whenever he was in the training yard at Winterfell. All three arrows struck the center, clustered together.
It didn't take the herald long to declare, "Lord Theon Greyjoy is the winner." Bran cheered along with Rickon and Robb. The rest of the Pack cheered just as loudly but he found the ironmen were strangely silent. Again, there was polite clapping from everyone else.
Theon and Sarella Sand were brought back to the shore. They stepped off the boats. The winnings were offered to Theon but he ignored for Sarella. "You remember our deal?" he asked her.
She scowled at him. "Yes, I remember."
"Brother, stop him," the princess said to Viserys.
"Stop him from what?" he replied. He sounded confused.
Bran kept his eyes on the shore. Something seemed to be happening and he didn't want to miss it. The people already there began to edge close, to see better. "Your bow," Theon told the Dornishwoman, holding his hand out toward her. She scowled even fiercer but she handed it over.
He took it and began looking it over, inspecting it from all angles. "It will be better than any now you've ever held," she told him. Even though she said those words, Bran could see that she looked at him angrily for taking what was hers.
She turned to leave but Theon said, "I haven't commanded." She turned back around and opened her mouth but he spoke again. "Who are you?"
"What is this? You know who I am."
He kept looking at the bow, turning it over in his hands. "Tell me."
"I am Sarella Sand."
"Who is your father?"
"The Red Viper, Prince Oberyn Martell of Dorne."
"And your mother?" he asked.
"A Summer Islander sea captain," she said with a flippant tone. It almost sounded like she didn't care who her mother was. Bran didn't think that was right.
"So you are a bastard then."
She scoffed loudly. "I would've thought that it was obvious from my name."
He stopped examining the bow and looked up at her. "And who am I?" he asked her.
"You are—"
"Don't call me an ironman," he said, stopping her before she could start. "Say my name, my father's name, and my mother's name."
She scowled more. "Fine, you are Theon Greyjoy, son of Balon Greyjoy and his wife Alannys." She paused and then smirked. "He was nothing but a raiding piece of scum and you are his pathetic whelp of a son. I heard that he gave you up to the Northmen without even a fight."
Theon just looked at her. "That may be, but I am still a trueborn child and you are still a bastard. So tell me, Sarella Sand, what made you believe that you could torment me freely? Did you think it was because you had some relation to the royal family?"
"If you weren't pathetic, I wouldn't have bothered you," she told him.
"So you only attack those who are weaker. I see."
She didn't seem that impressed by his words. "Are we done?" Bran felt uneasy. It was like she wasn't taking any of this seriously.
He was still smiling at her. It was his cocky grin that meant he knew something she didn't. "No, I still haven't told you what I want from you. But I will tell you now." His grin turned cruel and vicious. He brought the bow over his knee and the grounds rang with it breaking into two. He went to the riverbank and tossed the pieces into the water. "What I want you to do is learn some fucking humility and remember your place before you even think about picking up a bow again." He walked away, leaving her staring at the river.
Bran looked at everyone else. The ironmen seemed pleased, the royal family looked concerned, and the Dornishmen were outraged, none more so than Prince Oberyn. But no one touched Theon as he took his winnings and walked away. It was then that he had realized that this was what the princess had meant when she said Theon would do something nasty. But how did she know about it?
Later, Bran was in the training yard, practicing his forms with a wooden sword. He had hoped he was ready to use an actual tourney sword but the master-at-arms refused him. As he did the forms over and over again, he strained his ear. He knew that Jon was on the other side of the yard with Tommen and Ned, training them to be back brothers. He felt that twinge of jealously again. He should be the one learning from his brother, not boys who weren't even from the North!
He finished the form and lowered his sword. He heard a snigger behind him and he turned to see one of the Sand Snakes. She was one of the younger four but looked to be older than him. She was probably the one named for the queen. "Yes?" he said.
She looked down at his weapon. "You're training with a wooden sword at your age? How weak you must be."
Anger and embarrassment burned on his face. "I'm not weak!" he protested loudly, causing nearby people looking their way. He looked at her own weapon, a spear.
She saw him and smiled smugly. "Of course you are. I was training with live steel when I was your age. I bet I could beat you." She pushed his shoulder with her spear. "Shall we see?"
He didn't raise his sword. "I won't fight you."
"Why?"
"You're a girl. Girls don't fight."
She laughed and he felt more embarrassed. "So says the little boy with a wooden sword. You see this?" she asked, shoving the spear in his face. The blade glinted in the light as it quivered underneath his nose. "This is real steel, not some tourney weapon. That should show you how good I've gotten."
"Then you should be able to back your words up then," Osha said as she walked up to them, spear in hand. "Or do you prefer just to pick on those younger than you?"
Elia kept on smiling as she withdrew her spear and the smugness seemed to grow. Bran heard footsteps to his left. He looked and saw the elder Snakes standing there. Sarella looked furious but Obara looked pleased. "Do you pick on those younger than you?" she asked, holding her own spear. "Or do you want an actual match?" Other Dornishmen were beginning to gather from the edge of the grounds. Bran thought that the Sand Snakes had gathered them.
He looked around, trying to see if Jon was in the crowd. But all he saw were Dornishmen. "Jon, Robb, help," he silently begged. But his brothers wouldn't show. They weren't in sight.
"If you want that," Osha said, "I'll fight you, only you." She put a hand on Bran's shoulder and led him away. "Come now, little lord. You wouldn't want to be in the way."
"Don't fight her, Osha," he told her, clutching her arm while she led him to the edge.
She grinned wryly. "I know I can hold my own."
"Against all of them?" he asked, looking at all the Dornishmen. There seemed like there was more and more of them each time he looked at them. He felt foolish for leaving Summer with the other wolves in the godswood.
"Look again, little lord. We're not alone as you think." She looked around the enclosing circle and so did he. He saw a few Northern faces in the crowd but they were few and in the back. But before he could say anything to her, she left.
"Are you ready?" Obara Sand demanded, shifting her spear into a ready position.
Osha walked towards her, moving her own spear to the ready. "Are you?" she asked back, completely confident. "This would probably be your first real fight, if I was serious. Tell me, was this your idea? Or did your cousin put you up to this?" She knelt down and grabbed some dirt. She had shown Bran the trick before. It was a better way to grip a weapon. She stood up and faced the Dornish bastard.
They moved closer and, spears flicking out like tongues of serpents. The Snake held her spear tight in two hands but the wilding held hers almost lazily in one. She brushed aside any probing attacks with ease. But just as Obara readied and lunged to attack, she threw the dirt in her free hand. It caught in Obara's eyes and caught her by surprise.
She closed her eyes. Osha moved. She slammed her spear's shaft into her stomach, making her fold inward. Osha brought the shaft down on her back hard, sending her to the ground. Before Obara could get back up, the wilding had her spear against her head. "That was pathetic," she declared. "Children of the Free Folk fight better."
What happened next was absolute chaos to Bran. One second the two women were alone in the center, the next it was a battle. He couldn't see any clear faces. They were all blurs. He couldn't see if a person was Dornish or Northern. "Is this what battle looks like?" It was terrifying. All he could do was keep his sword up in a guard position.
The sounds pounded away in his ears and all he could feel was the sword in his hand. He wished that it would be over. "CEASE THIS FIGHTING IN THE NAME OF THE KING!" roared a loud voice, washing over the other sounds and making them halt completely.
The bodies all around him parted and Bran saw King Rhaegar standing at the entrance to the yard. Ser Hightower and Ser Dayne were at his side, along with his son and daughter. His Hand, Lord Connington, stood close by alongside Queen Elia and looked just as angry as the king while Mya Stone was by the princess's side. He strode into the yard like the Warrior had descended to the earth. "What is this?" he asked in a voice that seemed quiet but also managed to be heard by everyone. "Are you not all noble lords of Westeros? What is the reason that you were all fight like common drunks?"
"I can help you with that," Osha said, walking to him. Her eyes found Lord Connington and they looked interested, to Bran at least.
The king looked at her. "Who are you, my lady?" he asked.
She barked out a laugh. "I ain't no lady, kneeler king. I'm Osha and I'm a spearwife of the Starks."
"She's the wilding that came with them, Father," Prince Aegon told him.
"I see." He kept his eyes on her. "What happened?"
"One of the snakes you keep around wanted to try and torment the little lord."
"That's not true, your Grace," Elia Sand said, pushing through to the king. "I had come to Brandon Stark to see if he wished to spar. She came over and tried to attack me. My sister came to defend me!" The elder Sand Snakes joined her, along with Princess Arianne.
"Liar!" shouted Bran in his head. He realized that he had said aloud too when everyone looked at him. "She's a liar, King Rhaegar," he said, willing himself to come to the king and not be afraid. "She came up to me, taunting me about my training. She boasted how she was better than I was and challenged me to a spar. When I refused, she held her spear to my face. Osha stopped her and then her sister appeared, like they were lying in wait."
"Aye, he has the right of it," Prince Viserys said as he appeared from the crowd, looking as if he had been a part of the fighting that had just happened.
The king looked to his brother. "You saw this all happen, Viserys?"
"I did. It happened just like Bran said it happened." He looked at the Sand Snakes with a scornful look, particularly at Sarella. "What's the matter? Angry at the fact your plaything decided to bite back?" He looked at his brother. "Did you know, Rhaegar, what Sarella Sand did to entertain herself while in Riverrun? She was harassing and tormenting Theon Greyjoy. What I said was true: Oberyn Martell's daughters are running wild. They believe no one should be able to stop them."
"That may be, Viserys," Queen Elia said. Her children were looking at their cousins with new eyes. "But that does excuse the fact these Northern lords and Dornish lords erupted into a brawl. I had received word that ties were being made between them on the way to Riverrun. I saw the truth of it with my own eyes. But now, it is like those ties were never there to begin with. They were all too eager to fight."
Viserys turned his gaze to Princess Arianne and he smiled. It was a smile that sent a shiver down Bran's spine and made him lean closer to Osha for protection. The Dornish Princess paled at the smile. "That is quite simple, Elia," Viserys said to her. "You see, the Northerners lost what respect and friendship they had for the Dornish when they heard that the Princess Arianne decided to be a prissy little bitch and threatened to harm my betrothed in the middle of the night, along with her cousins the Sand Snakes."
All eyes fell on the Dornish Princess and her cousins. Both Prince Aegon and Princess Rhaenys looked at them like they were seeing them for the first time. Princess Arianne opened her mouth to say something but it snapped shut when the queen stood before her. "Leave," Queen Elia told her. "All of you. We will talk later."
"Aunt Elia—"
"Leave, Arianne," she said her voice even colder. Bran couldn't see her face but he imagined that it looked like his own mother when she was mad. "Go to your quarters." They left quickly and she turned her attention to the people in the yard. She or the king didn't say anything. Everyone dispersed.
The Starks had gathered in their own quarters, all around Bran. "Are you alright?" Sansa asked him. She was sitting next to the fire. She held her hands together like she did not know what to do with them.
"Yes, Sansa," he told her while Mother looked him over.
"You already asked him three times, stupid," Arya said with a roll of her eyes. She sat on the other side of the fire, slouching into her chair.
"Arya!" snapped Mother. She fell silent but still glared at Sansa.
Bran tried pushing away Mother's fingers away. "I'm fine, Mother." Rickon sat by his side. He looked bored and would rather be somewhere else.
She pulled her fingers away. But she still looked mad. "I can't believe that those girls would try to torment you, for no reason. This is absolutely outrageous," she said.
"Viserys had the right of it," Robb said from where he stood against the window. Their direwolves were all laying their heads on the floor. Ghost was missing, as was Jon Snow. Joce wasn't there either. "Those Sand Snakes have been running roughshod over everyone who gets in their way."
"Then why has no one done anything?"
Even though the thought was traitorous and wrong, Bran couldn't help but wonder, "Why didn't you do anything until now?" He knew why. It had been him that was threatened and bullied. His mother had done nothing for Theon.
"Not all of the Sand Snakes are bad," Sansa said, coming to their defense.
Arya looked at her with outrage and anger. "You are so stupid! You were the one who threatened and you're defending them!?"
She looked around for support. "I was talking about the younger ones. They are quite sweet and innocent."
"And when have you ever met them? Aren't they bastards and shouldn't be met?" she asked with a snide voice. Sansa didn't reply, looking away from her sister. Bran knew that she kept Jon at an arm's length because of his bastardy.
"Lady Stark," Jory's voice called out from the door to their quarters. "The queen would like to speak to you and your family."
Bran was shocked. The queen wanted to see them? Mother stood up and smoothed out her skirts. "Please let her in, Jory." Sansa stood up and mimicked her actions. Bran stood up too and made Rickon stand too.
The door opened and Queen Elia stepped in. She had changed from the dress she had worn at the archery contest into one that was plainer. Yet she still made it look regal. "Lady Stark," she greeted Mother before turned to Robb. "Lord Robb." The wolves looked up from where they were resting to look at her but that was all.
"Queen Elia is there something you need?" asked Mother. She did not look happy but she didn't let it out.
The queen turned to her. "I came to see if your son was alright, Lady Stark, and ensure that there will be no bad blood between our families."
"Speak to your own family then," Robb told her. It was obvious that he was trying to keep his anger down about what had happened. "We came to this tourney in good faith and hopes of friendship. It was the Dornish who chose to harass us and it was House Martell that led the harassment, your Grace." He added the honorific at the end because of etiquette, Bran thought.
His words were offensive but the queen did not look offended. "I am aware of what my family has done to yours, Lord Stark. But I had also looked at the faces in the yards and I only saw young faces, faces that never fought in the Usurper's War. They have no idea what it is to fight a war and then live after it."
"That doesn't excuse the fact that they came after us for no good reason!" Arya declared, looking at the queen with angry eyes. Nymeria drew back her lips and bared her teeth at the queen.
"Arya!" said a horrified Sansa. Mother looked at her angrily.
But the queen looked at Arya with something that looked like it was half-fondness, half-reminiscent. "Yes, it does not excuse it," she agreed. "I fear the fault lies with my brother, Oberyn. He never forgave Rhaegar for what happened with Lyanna. I believe that he has come to think that it was her fault and thus, blames her and all Northerners, which has rubbed off his daughters and our niece."
"And what of you, your Grace?" Mother asked with a bite to her voice. "What do you think of Lyanna?"
It was mad to challenge the queen like she had done. But the queen didn't look angry. "You think that because of what happened at Harrenhal, I should be angered at Lyanna?" she asked. "You know of that day, Lady Stark, but you don't know what happened that night."
Mother frowned, her anger replaced by confusion. "That night?" she said.
The queen nodded gravely. "I was angry that Rhaegar had passed me over for Lyanna Stark that day. I refused to speak to him, going to my bed without uttering a single word. That night, I awoke to the sound of flesh hitting wood and someone cursing. I found Lyanna Stark in my room trying to leave it. I ordered her to stop and demanded what she was doing there. I had thought that she had come to gloat, to lord her victory over me.
"Instead, she looked at the table and said, 'I was trying to give these to the rightful owner.' When I looked at the table myself, I saw the crown she had been given."
Bran watched his mother become surprised. He was surprised too. They had all heard of the tourney at Harrenhal. But this he didn't know. "Why would she do that?" he found himself asking.
The queen turned her eyes to him. "I asked her the same thing. She told me that I had married, in her own words, 'A blundering bloody blockhead of a fool.' She apologized to me, saying that if she had known, she would not have had attended the last joust. Her piece said she left without another word. The next morning, I was calm when I talked to my husband. And he told me why he had given her the crown."
"What was the reason?" Arya asked.
She smiled as she looked at Mother. "He gave her the crown because of what she had done to have honor taught to three squires."
It didn't make any kind of sense to Bran. But he watched his mother's face rippled into stunned amazement. "Her?" she said. "It was her?"
The queen nodded. "Yes, it was. Now you know why I do not bare your family any hatred because of Lyanna Stark. Good day, Lady Stark." She walked out of the room, just as regally as she had entered.
Bran walked down the corridor, his mind full of his aunt Lyanna. It hounded his mind so much that he almost ran into a corner. He managed to stop himself just before he ran his nose into it but it was still a little embarrassing. He heard voices around the corner and when he looked, he saw Jon with Princess Rhaenys. They shared a few words so quiet that he couldn't hear them. To his surprise, she leaned in and kissed him. What was even more surprising was the fact that he didn't stop her.
When she finally left, his bastard brother stared after her. "Jon?" he called out as he stepped out.
"Bran?" he said, surprised. "How, how long were you standing there?"
"Just before she kissed you. Why was the princess kissed you?"
"I don't know. We were talking about how I had gotten the Pack into the yard and then she kissed me. They've been trying to do that but she's the only one who's succeeded."
He looked at his bastard brother. He looked like he was staring far away. A bad feeling erupted in Bran's stomach. It was like that the Starks were going to lose him. That couldn't happen. He was one of them, one of the pack. "Summer will stay with you until we leave Riverrun," he declared.
Jon looked at him. "Summer is your direwolf."
"Because it looks like you need him. I will tell the others. They'll do the same." He knew that they would. They would protect their own.
But Jon laughed and ruffled his hair. "The wolves are already at my side constantly, little brother. They've been keeping a watch out for the ladies. Come on, I think the yard is clear enough for some sword practicing."
His heart soared at the prospect at getting some training from his brother. But even as he followed him, he knew that their wolves would have to stay with him completely now. How else would the princess know to find him when Ghost wasn't nearby?
End
Author's note: Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.
What was coming for the Dornish has come at last. But wait, we're not done. There's the follow up punch to come. I mean really, did they think they were going to get off scot-free?
On the other hand, Elia was something different. They always say that Rhaegar gave Lyanna the flowers, but they never talk about what happened afterwards. Considering that Lyanna was a Stark, her trying to give the flowers to Elia seems plausible to me.
I'll see you all next chapter!