Game of Thrones: New Era

Chapter 10 of my Game of Thrones story, enjoy.

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Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Game of Thrones belongs to George R.R. Martin.

Bran

Bran bit his lip as he sat in his wheeled chair, watching his mother as she prayed.

'Mother is so upset, I don't blame her.' He thought sadly. 'Where could Arya have gone, we don't know where she is and we cannot find out, we've received no reply to the ravens we sent.'

He sighed; he was concerned about his sister, while he knew Arya to be wilful, he never imagined that she would do something like this. They had only been reunited a few short moons ago, all of them. For Arya to now disappear, likely having ran away, it didn't make sense to him.

He pondered what he knew. 'Knowing Arya and her fears that being left behind would lead to her simply waiting to be married off...Could she have somehow gone with the army, without anybody noticing? I don't think so, but it would fit, she'd want to earn recognition, to do something worthwhile before that happened.

Bran pulled himself out of his thoughts, all this pondering wasn't going to get him anywhere. Searches turned up fruitless, he knew there was nothing else for it, he'd just have to accept that, wherever Arya was, they weren't going to find her.

A thought process that was easier said than done, given the state their mother was in. Bran knew his mother had been praying not only to the Seven, but the Old Gods too, all desperately for a chance to find or reunite with Arya, or at least to keep her safe.

Bran almost jumped when he felt the hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Meera, smiling softly at him.
"Bran..."

He smiled back. "Meera, I..."

She shook her head. "You're worried about Arya, aren't you, I can see it."

"How can I not be, after everything that's just happened. I'm not the only one, look at mother." Bran replied sadly.

Meera looked sadly over at Catelyn, the woman she knew to be a deeply caring and loving mother, to whom she was now related to through marriage.

She let out a slow careful breath. "Yes, you're right, but...We have to make the most of things. There's nothing we can do, but that's no reason to give up hoping at least, right?"

Bran smiled and nodded. "You're right, alright then."

Together they approached Catelyn as she stood from her prayers. Turning she stopped when she saw them.

"Oh, Bran, Meera, is, is something…?"

Bran spoke at once. "Mother, I understand you are worried, we all are. But to let things drive you to distraction like this will do more harm than good."

"Bran, Arya is..."

"I know." He replied. "But, truthfully, there's nothing we can do currently, we don't even have any news of what's going on. But...there is still hope, we just have to hold onto it."

Catelyn bit her lip. "You really think so?"

Bran nodded. "Of course, my heart tells me that, what about yours?"

Catelyn smiled and nodded; finally conceding Bran was right. They weren't giving up, but right now, there was nothing else they could do, so they just had to wait until they had a chance.

Later that day, in an attempt to distract themselves from their worries, Bran and Meera went out with Jojen and Lily, determined to do some hunting. They rode out and made their way into the woods, already seeking game to catch. They were all able to distract themselves from worrying about Arya, or the wars that was raging in the south, or even the trouble that seemed to be brewing further north.

Talking together in low voices they were soon hard at work hunting, Meera and Lily certainly excelled at it. As they were continuing their hunt, searching for game, something was bothering Bran, it took him a while to pinpoint it however.

'Wait a minute, it's too quiet...Oh no, that's not...' He thought to himself; suddenly realizing.

He spoke quickly to the others, trying to remain quiet himself. "Guys, it's too quiet, this isn't right, someone or something is watching us."

Realizing he was right they all tensed and then, that was when it happened.

"Over there!" Lily cried.

Sure enough, just as she called out, from the direction she indicated, a moderately sized group of men emerged from the trees and from what other cover they could find. They were all armed and clad in rusted armour. It was clear they had been out in the wilds for some time. But then Bran saw something that made his blood run cold.

'That sigil on their armour, their cloaks...' He realized. 'The flayed man, these men are remnants of the Bolton's.'

It was clear from their shocked responses, his comrades had just made this discovery too.

Wasting no time, Bran reacted and fired his bow. The arrow flew truly and struck one of the men in the face. He cried out and fell down, dead. Then everything exploded into action. Bran tried to keep his distance, urging his horse to move with his voice, firing arrows at the Bolton men.

Jojen was forced to do the same. Meera used her bow too, but soon switched to her three pronged spear. Said spear was clearly a staple part of Cranog weaponry as Lily was armed with one too. Both ladies fought desperately, trying to avoid harm themselves, there were some archers amongst the Bolton men, Bran tired desperately to kill them, before they could fire.

'How many are there, is this all of them or…?' He wondered fearfully.

But then, something else happened to distract him. Meera suddenly cried out, she managed to kill another one and wasn't wounded, but stepped back, dropping her spear. Her eyes were wide and fearful and she was trembling.

"No..." She whispered; tears filling her eyes.

Bran's mind instantly went to Meera's scars, to the cruel treatment she had suffered at Dreadfort when the two of them had been captured. It seemed so long ago; but clearly Meera was still suffering from it.

"Meera!" He cried out.

He tried to ride towards her when suddenly he heard the sound of a bow being fired. But he was too slow and cried out as pain lanced through his shoulder, looking down he could see the arrow lodged there and grit his teeth.

By now however there was only three of the men left and Lily was able to make short work of them.

"It's alright, Meera." She told her softly. "It's alright, you're safe, you're with us."

Bran rode gently over, biting his lip. "Lily's right Meera, it's alright."

Meera's eyes cleared when she looked up at Bran, she then bit her lip, seeing his shoulder.

"Gods, Bran..."

Bran just shook his head while Jojen rode up next to them. Together the three were able to remove the arrow and bind Bran's wound, although it was far from healed, it was enough. They were then able to return to the castle, they had to inform the others about this at once.

It was only that night, as he lay in bed, his shoulder treated but still a little stiff, that Bran realized just how close they had come to danger.

'Still, we've got scouts out all over the North; they'll be able to find out in no time if those were the last of the Bolton men...Although something tells me they were.' He noted to himself. 'Perhaps those scouts will find some trace of Arya too.'

He felt the arms tighten around his waste and he turned his head. His smile died when he saw Meera's expression, she looks sad and, guilty.

"Meera..."

"I'm sorry Bran, I'm so sorry, I froze and...because of that you got hurt." She said, dismayed.

Bran shook his head. "Meera, it's alright. I understand, think about it, you were, scared, you remembered what they did to you. That would debilitate anyone."

When Meera looked doubtful at his words he kissed her, she eagerly returned the kiss and finally began to cheer up. They drifted off to sleep together, hoping still to find news, about Arya, or those men.

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.