2nd Month of 300 A.C. King's Landing
Lady Sansa Stark
She was a maiden flowered, and she had been married once, and was soon to be wed once more, and yet the thought of meeting her brother still terrified her. Her brother, who she had prayed for so long would come and rescue her from King's Landing, her brother who had been a king and had died as one. Her brother who was very much alive and standing before her. Her brother, who she did not know if she hated for still being alive, or loved for being her brother. Gods it was confusing, and so she stood in silence as he stared at her as well. Finally when she could take it no more she speaks. "You look well." a pause and then. "But then I suppose being dead does that to you."
Robb grins then, and Sansa feels like she is a little girl again. "Aye I suppose it does. And I suppose King's Landing finally agreed with you. Either that, or not being married to a monster."
Sansa looks at her brother, not sure whether to laugh or to slap him, instead she says. "You know, when you were fighting the war, I always wanted you to come to King's Landing to save me. I thought it would be just like when we were children, and that you would be my knight."
"Sansa I…" Robb begins but she cuts him off.
"Then I heard about what happened in the West, and I think I began realising that you wouldn't come. That you couldn't come. Being king had more power over you then the bonds of family. At the Blackwater I thought you might come for me, I thought you might have at least found Arya, but the next thing I heard was that you had married some girl and that mother had let the Kingslayer go." Sansa says.
"It was not that simple Sansa." Robb responds.
"In what sense? You could have come to the negotiating table could you not?" Sansa asks. "You held the cards, all the cards, you could have traded the lesser prisoners you had for myself, and for Arya when she was here. You could have done it even after father died. But you did not. Why?"
"My bannermen would have been at my throat had I done that." her brother says.
"You were their king Robb, you could have done whatever you wanted and they could not have questioned you. You were winning the war!" Sansa says.
"It is not as simple as you make it out to be!" her brother retorts. "I had too much to do, I had a war to fight, I had to play politics, and I had to worry about our family. There was far too much going on within the army and the north. I wanted to get you both out of King's Landing the moment I learned of father's arrest, truly I did."
"Then why didn't you?" Sansa exclaims.
"Because, the only thing our father's bannermen respected was strength. In order to make sure that I could get you both out and safe, I had to keep winning. And I made mistakes, so many mistakes, that cost us Winterfell, and nearly cost us Bran and Rickon!" her brother replies.
"What do you mean nearly? Bran and Rickon are dead!" Sansa shouts.
"No, they are not." Robb replies softly. "Theon never killed them. They escaped before he could get anywhere near them."
Sansa feels as if she has been slapped across the face. "How? How do you know this?"
Her brother looks away from her for a moment, to the point where she is not sure whether he is hiding something, or thinking of what to tell her. But though it seems to last a long time, it is actually fleeting. "My men in the north have told me this. Rickon was found in the Haunted Castle, near Oldcastle. Where the ghost of his namesake is said to rest. Lord Wyman sent word."
"Why did you not say this before?" Sansa asks.
"Because, I do not want anyone knowing until I see him myself." Robb says.
Sansa can see the sense in that, and yet she picks up on something her brother had not said. "What of Bran?"
"None of my sources have been able to find him yet, and yet Jon is fast heading toward where he might well be. I have hope that we can find him before anyone else does." Robb replies.
"Why is Jon going to be there? I thought Jon was at the wall?" Sansa asks.
Robb grins then. "Oh I had Jon sent from the wall. He thinks his commanders dismissed him, but I had it so that he was sent away from there under a false pretence."
"Why?" Sansa asks.
"Because, he is more use to me away from the wall than at the damned place. I need my family heading toward Winterfell, the north has bled for long enough, it is time we regrouped and brought her back to full life." her brother says.
Sansa looks at her brother a moment and then asks. "Is that why you came out of the shadows? To get Tommen's support for this? To go against whatever else there might be going on there?"
"Don't sound so surprised sister, you are doing the same are you not? Winning the boy's affections for your own gain?" her brother replies.
"What? No." Sansa protests.
Her brother laughs and then stops. "You are being serious? You love him don't you?"
Sansa is silent a moment, not sure what to say, but then she merely nods and says. "Yes, I do."
"For how long?" her brother asks.
Sansa looks at her brother, wondering why he is asking her this, she is silent for a long moment and then finally she says. "He was the one who comforted me after they removed father's head from his body. He has been my friend since I've been in King's Landing. He was the one who comforted me when father died, and when I learned that you and mother were dead. He has been my only true friend."
Queenscrown
Jon Snow
His leg hurt, by the gods did it hurt. He could feel the pain from where Ygritte's arrow had pierced his skin. Ygritte, his love, she was dead now, gone, nothing but smoke and ash. Gods it hurt to think of her, it hurt to think of a lot of things. He was not a sworn brother, he was not a son of Winterfell, and he was nothing. He was everything he had feared when he was a child. He had no home, nothing but this gods damned place, which was not anything anymore. He did not know why he was here, but he was, and it was frustrating him. "Gods dammit." Jon Snow yells. His voice echoes around the room, but there is no answer.
He hears a sound from somewhere close by and calls out. "Whoever it is, show yourself!" The sound gets louder and louder until it is nearly at his feet, he shoots up and looks to see a figure there, the small mossed haired figure. "Where have you been?" Jon asks.
The figure ignores his question and says. "You must leave here Jon Snow. Evil forces are coming. They come marching toward you with great haste, seeking blood."
"What? Why?" Jon questions.
The figure does not reply immediately, but instead says. "Rise Jon Snow, rise and find your destiny."
The figure keeps pestering Jon, until he finally concedes and it is with a great furore that he stands, limping up to grab what little he has, and he walks down the steps, toward where the little boat sits. The boat that replaced his horse, gods know how long that thing has been there, but he moves to it, gives it a push and then jumps in, landing somewhat unsteadily, wincing at the pain exerted on his leg. He looks around and the figure is there in the boat with him. "You must go to the mountains Jon Snow, it is there you will find answers."
"What in the name of the hells, will I find in the mountains? The clans are likely getting ready for the already present winter. There is nothing I can find there. I am going back to Winterfell, and to find out what happened to my brothers." Jon says.
"You will find those answers at the mountains. Do not doubt that, Jon Snow. You must have faith. Faith your father never had." the figure says.
"What do you know of my father?" Jon questions.
"More than you do, Jon Snow. I know much and more, Eddard Stark was a man of many secrets and things kept hidden. He did things that you would find and name a dishonour. And yet you are more his son than his heir is." the figure replies.
"Robb is dead, as are my brothers. Sansa is my father's heir, so that would make sense." Jon retorts.
The figure merely smiles. "That is what you think. Come south to the mountains and learn the truth."
"What truth?" Jon exclaims, his impatience growing. The figure remains silent, and for the rest of the journey, despite Jon's best efforts, the figure does not say another word. Eventually Jon relents, and they sit in silence until the boat hits a piece of land. Jon jumps out, Ghost following him gladly, and as Jon goes to help the figure dismount, he finds that the figure is gone. He curses, but goes on regardless, he walks and walks, and as he walks he muses on the figure's words. He wonders if there is any truth to what the thing was saying. He does not know, nor does he know whether he wants to care or not. All he knows is that something about all of this seems wrong, something that is nagging away at him, it seems something is going to happen, but Jon does not know what, and it is beginning to anger him. He hates not knowing, he hates being unable to determine anything anymore, it's almost as if since joining the watch his whole fate has been decided beforehand.
It takes him some time, but eventually he realises where he is, the New Gift, the western most corner of it. Lands that were once inhabited by a great uncle and his sons, they were given by Jon's great grandfather Lord Edwyle when the watch was broken, and needed aid. He does not know what happened to his great uncle's descendants whether they are alive or dead, but he knows that something must be done for this land. There is a darkness coming, and the north is not prepared to deal with it. It is worrying for him, truly worrying for him that this is the state of his home. He wonders how they could have been caught so unawares. He wonders, and wonders, but then decides, there is little he can do now, he must continue.
Jon feels as if he is running low, as if he is running blindly through the fog of the north. His home has become a fog within his mind, he snorts, and he does not know whether that is a good thing or a bad thing. Something must be done about this, he does not know where Stannis is, nor where the other factions are, all he knows is that he is stumbling blindly through the alleys of the north and there is no one there to help him should he fall. It is this that makes him call out. "Is there anybody out there? Just yell if you can hear me."
Nothing happens for a time, and then an arrow goes whizzing past him, stopping somewhere in a tree. "Who goes there?" a sharp voice calls out.
"I am Jon Snow, a former member of the Night's Watch. Who are you?" Jon asks.
Silence and then the voice calls out once more. "You are The Ned's boy?"
"Aye, come out and show yourself and see for yourself that I speak the truth." Jon shouts.
Silence, and then Jon sees multiple figures emerge out of the fog, and he nearly collapses when he sees the third figure. "Bran? What are you doing there?"
"I have come to find you brother." his dead brother calls out.