Brandon found his father waiting for him on the other side of the door. There weren't many who could read the Deceased Lord Rickard well other than his wife, but Brandon prided himself in knowing what his father was thinking.
Right now all Brandon saw was a cold look in his eyes.
The mask of The Lord of Winterfell.
"Have you said what you needed to say?" Rickard asked.
A little confused he nodded.
"Go back inside."
Brandon, still a little unsure, did as asked. Ned was still standing where he left him, hands clenched into fists. However, when he saw their father, Ned's expression cleared.
Rickard closed the door behind him and stared both his sons in the eyes.
"Is there something you wish to say, father?" Brandon asked.
Rickard inhaled deeply, before letting out a long exhale.
"I… honestly do not know how to start" Rickard admitted, motioning for his sons to take a seat. It would be a while. "I have never spoken to either of you in such a manner before."
Both brothers looked thoroughly confused.
Rickard pulled up a chair and sat before the two of them. For a moment he was reminded of a time when both men were younger, just boys who had yet to face the darkness of the world and let it taint them.
"It is entirely unfair to pin everything on Ned" Rickard began, holding a hand up to silence Brandon. He was speaking and his sons would listen. "Lyanna ran away with Rhaegar, regardless of whether she left a letter or not. Brandon thought the worst and went straight to the capital to demand Rhaegar to come face him, a threat mind you. Aerys had every right to imprison you. I as your father marched to free you, a trial by combat was something you had a right to. I died by fire, you died being strangled and Lyanna died birthing Jon. One mess after the other we left for Ned to clean it up. Ned was not raised to clean these messes, gods know the struggle he had to go through to clean them up in the first place and make something from these messes. He had a wife he did not wish for but had to take because I swore to Hoster Tully that he would have the heir of Winterfell. He had a woman he loved, he had dreams of his own and an image of a family he wanted. All of which he had to let go to clean up our messes."
"But he has done well from everything I've heard. Possibly become a better Warden than I was" the man chuckled, much to Ned's shock. "The war may never have reached the North, but our people have fought in it. There were lives lost, mental scars and much more. But you have taken a war damaged North and unified it. Of course, you have made mistakes. But those mistakes should not overshadow the good you have done for our family, for our people. And for that, son, I am extremely proud of you."
"Thank you, Father" Ned muttered, his head lowered.
Brandon though did not look too pleased.
"He built a sept in the heart of the Old Gods' domain, spitting upon the struggles of the North in fighting against the Andals to eradicate our religion."
"A mistake to keep his wife happy. A wife he took because of a war we caused. A wife who was under the impression that she had not been enough and that is why her husband sired a bastard from another woman."
"What does it matter what Catelyn Tully feels?" Brandon asked.
"And if it were Barbrey Dustin in her place?" Rickard raised a brow.
"That is unfair" Brandon stood looking insulted. "Barbrey is ten times the Northern woman Catelyn can ever be! She would have made a better Lady of Winterfell because she knows how much is expected from her."
Rickard leaned back in his seat.
"From all accounts, Catelyn has done a fine job as Lady of Winterfell. She took care of the house and staff well, supported Ned whenever he needed it, and gave him heirs to secure his bloodline. Some would say she's done more than what was expected of her by simply allowing Jon, her husband's supposed Bastard, to live under the same roof as she did."
"She thinks herself untouchable! She does things she knows will come back to haunt her family, to destroy it!"
"Like you did when you rushed to the capital and demanded Rhaegar come face your blade?" Rickard raised an eyebrow.
"That is different! He had my sister!'
"And they had her daughters" Rickard countered. "We all do stupid things for the people we love. It does not wipe away the good we have done. It only makes us human."
Rickard stood.
"You two will sit here until the two of you resolve this enmity. The viewing shall be paused till then. I will make sure nobody comes to hasten this process."
Rickard left the chambers without another word, closing the door behind him with a click.
There was a tense silence between the brothers after their Father left. Truth be told neither knew what to say to the other, primarily because neither of them saw the situation from the other's point of view.
At least, not until their Father had made a very valid point.
"I say what I say to not be mean or mean any insult, brother" Brandon spoke, face looking constipated as if he was having a tougher time coming up with the right words. "But I really do think you have been lenient on Catelyn. A little bit of leniency is alright, it is something all wives deserve I suppose, but she's actively undermining you and putting you and the family in situations that can be avoided."
"You think I don't know that?" Ned asked, leaning back with a sigh. "Catelyn is a brilliant woman. She is smart, she can think long-term, knows how to solve an issue. She has helped me a lot in the running of Winterfell. But she is emotional, and I suppose we do not see anything else when it is our families who are in trouble."
"I suppose not" Brandon sighed. "I do owe you an apology. All this time I have been looking at all the things you, Catelyn and your children have done and thought about how things would have gone if it were me, if it were my children if it were my wife. When the reality is I died doing a stupid thing and left you to clean my mess."
"All it took was for Father to point it out."
"He was wearing the mask of the Lord of Winterfell. You know how scary he can become when he's like that."
Both brothers share a laugh.
"I will try to keep my mind clear when I watch the rest and if I do have comments to make, I'll do so to myself."
"You may say it to me without sounding like an absolute dick" Ned stated with a smile, "a fresh perspective might just be something I need to see things more clearly. Is that not why you are here? You and everyone who has died? To give us a different perspective."
"I suppose so."
They were silent for a moment.
"Catelyn is trying" Ned said, "she is learning what her actions lead to, learning how it affects our family. By the end, I know for certain that she'll come out of this different from the rest of us. A better person entirely.
"I pray she does" Brandon muttered. "I was too harsh on her. She is a woman, and Hoster Tully is anything but a free-thinking man. No doubt she has little clue on the goings of politics."
"Perhaps I'll keep her close when we speak of politics. So she'll pick up on a thing or two. She is quite the fast learner."
"She's good for you Ned, I can see that" Brandon smiled and stood. "Shall we?"
The brothers returned to find people impatiently waiting. Lady Olenna even proclaimed loudly that they could now continue. Both of them sat down together, Brandon on Ned's left while Catelyn was on his right.
Catelyn gave Brandon a curious look but the man did not look at her.
[BARATHEON WAR CAMP, NIGHT]
[KING STANNIS BARATHEON sits by a hearth.]
"You said you saw my victory in the flames."
"I did. I still see it."
"Her lies are about to be unfolded" Renly said in a sing-song voice. Truth be told he quite enjoyed seeing his brother being smashed at the Blackwater, even if it came at Lannister hands. Serves a Kinslayer right.
"The flames lied. And I'm no better than a savage trusting in a fire god. I fought for your god in Blackwater Bay. I led my men to the gates of the seventh hell as their brothers burned alive, and for what? Attacked from behind by Tywin Lannister and the Tyrells. If you see so much in your flames, why didn't you warn me?"
"The Lord of Light only allows me glimpses."
Varys snorted. Hysterical excuses.
"You claimed to speak for a god."
"Will you quit the war just because you've lost a battle?"
"You talk about war as if you understand it."
"I've been fighting far longer than you."
"Have you? Show me how you fight."
[STANNIS leaps to his feet and starts choking MELISANDRE. She gasps painfully, grabbing his hands.]
Robert whistled while Stannis just blinked his shock away.
"Guess there is Baratheon blood in you after all" Renly laughed mockingly.
[MELISANDRE removes her hands from his and raises them in surrender.]
"Where's your god now? Will he save you? Where is your god?"
"Inside you."
[STANNIS releases her suddenly and MELISANDRE falls to the floor, panting.]
"I can't believe you're still falling for this horse shit!" Renly groaned.
Stannis grits his teeth. He couldn't believe it either.
"I murdered my brother."
[MELISANDRE walks over to STANNIS.]
"We murdered him. Share the weight with me."
"Can't share the sin of Kinslaing if I'm not your brother, witch" Renly stated blandly.
"Perhaps she's trying to get him in bed again" Robert suggested, making Renly choke on air and Stannis roll his eyes.
"He wasn't your brother."
[MELISANDRE caresses his head, soothingly.]
"This war has just begun. It will last for years. Thousands will die at your command. You will betray the men serving you. You will betray your family. You will betray everything you once held dear. And it will all be worth it because you are the Son of Fire. You are the Warrior of Light. You will sweep aside this pretender and that one. You will be king."
"Nobody would want a King who betrays them," Robert told Stannis.
"I know" Stannis muttered back.
"You promise these things, but you don't know. None of us know."
"Let me show you."
[She leads him over to the fire.]
"Look into the fire, my king. Look. Do you see? Do you see, my king?"
[STANNIS stares into the fire. His eyes grow wide and his face softens. MELISANDRE rests her head on his shoulder.]
"Oh for fuck's sake!" Renly threw his hands up in surrender. "How do you keep falling for this?!"
"She's making use of my desperation and guilt" Stannis muttered. "Using my sins to manipulate me into thinking I am doing something far greater than I am and as such should be proud. She's giving me what I need right then."
Renly stared at his brother. He honestly had no idea what to say to that.
[WINTERFELL]
[PRINCE THEON GREYJOY throws another log onto his fire, and sits before it, frustrated. A lone horn blows outside the gates of Winterfell. THEON rolls his eyes in anger.]
"First time I saw Winterfell, it looked like something that had been here for thousands of years and would be here for thousands of years after I was dead. I saw it and I thought, Of course, Ned Stark crushed our rebellion and killed my brothers. We never stood a chance against the man who lives here."
Robb snorted. Should have killed the cunt with his brothers.
"Lord Stark went out of his way to make it your home."
"Yes, my captors were so very kind to me. You love reminding me of that. Everyone in this frozen pile of shit has always loved reminding me of that. You know what it's like to be told how lucky you are to be someone's prisoner? To be told how much you owe them?"
"That's because you are lucky, you piece of shit" Robert grunted. "I wanted you to be killed with your sister and all. If not for Ned over there, your skulls would be decorating the beaches of the Iron Islands."
Theon kept his head down and his anger in check. He was so tired of listening to the same thing over and over again!
A hand on his shoulder made him look up. Yara was gripping his shoulder, but she was not looking at him.
[The horn sounds again. THEON gets up in a fury. He shakes his fist at the window.]
"I will kill that man. I swear to the Drowned God, the Old Gods, the New Gods, to every fucking god in every fucking heaven, I will kill that man."
Bran snorts. Serves him right.
"Theon, listen to me. I serve Winterfell. Now Winterfell is yours. I'm bound by oath to serve you."
"And what's your counsel, trusted friend?"
"Run. Five hundred Northmen wait outside the walls. You have twenty men. You can't win. Wait for nightfall and run."
"You couldn't win even with a thousand pirates" Robb muttered. "No sea, no power."
Theon glared at Robb but maintained his silence.
"There's nowhere to run. I'd never make it back to the Iron Islands. And even if I did, even if by some miracle I slipped through the lines and made it home, I'd be a coward. The Greyjoy who ran. The shame of the family."
"Don't go home. Join the Night's Watch."
[LUWIN leans over THEON's shoulder.]
"Once a man has taken the black, he's beyond the reach of the law. All his past crimes are forgiven."
"I won't make it to the Wall. I won't make it ten feet past the Winterfell gates."
"There are ways. Hidden passageways built so the Lords of Winterfell could escape. The road will be dangerous. But with a little luck..."
[LUWIN faces THEON.]
"The Night's Watch is an ancient, honorable order. You'll have opportunities there."
"The opportunity for Jon Snow to cut my throat in my sleep."
"I would" Jon muttered softly. Theon Greyjoy would know no peace if he became a black brother with Jon.
"The opportunity to make amends for what you've done."
"I've done a lot, haven't I? Things I never imagined myself doing."
"I've known you many years, Theon Greyjoy. You're not the man you're pretending to be. Not yet."
"You may be right. But I've gone too far to pretend to be anything else."
Robb pursed his lips. Beneath all the anger and the resentment, a small part of him whispered. Perhaps Theon was not all lost.
[WINTERFELL, THE NEXT MORNING]
[THEON stands in the Winterfell courtyard, addressing his men.]
"You hear that? That's the mating call of the Northmen. They want to fuck us. Well, I haven't had a good fuck in weeks. I'm ready for one."
[The Ironborn men laugh.]
"They say every Ironborn man is worth a dozen from the mainland."
"Only your half-brained brethren say that" Oberyn cackled. "Even in Dorne the Ironborne are seen as nothing but a nuisance. Pests that should have been taken care of."
"Perhaps you would like to meet us out at sea then? Take care of us pests" Yara drawled.
"Or perhaps you would like to come challenge us on land" Oberyn smirked sharply.
"We die today, brothers. We die bleeding from a hundred wounds with arrows in our necks and spears in our guts, but our war cries will echo through eternity. They will sing about the battle of Winterfell until the Iron Islands have slipped beneath the waves. Every man, woman and child will know who we were and how long we stood. Aggar and Gelmarr, Wex and Urzen, Stygg and Black Lorren. Ironborn warriors will cry out our names as they leap onto the shores of Seagard and Faircastle."
"Tell tales of how twenty stupid men followed a complete moron so far from the ocean that they were left stranded and got themselves killed" Tyrion added chirpily.
"I am twice the man you are" Theon grunted.
"Oh! how original! A dwarf joke!" Tyrion laughed condescendingly. "Or did you mean as a fighter? Because last I checked, my future self defended a city against a superior enemy while your future self fucked himself and his men for dumb ambition."
Theon glared at the man, which made Tyrion laugh even louder.
"Mothers will name their sons for us."
"Aye!"
"Girls will think of us with their lovers inside them."
Even Yara snorted at that one.
"Aye!"
"And whoever kills that fucking horn-blower will stand in bronze above the shores of Pyke!"
"Aye!"
"What is dead may never die!"
[DAGMER hits THEON on the back of the head, knocking him unconscious. The Ironborn watch him fall.]
Theon watched in shock. They just turned on him!
"Thought he'd never shut up."
"It was a good speech. Didn't want to interrupt."
[A man placed a hood over THEON's head.]
[LUWIN enters.]
"What is this? What are you doing?"
[DAGMER stabs LUWIN in the gut with his spear. LUWIN crumbles to the ground, groaning in sharp pain.]
The Starks gasped in horror. Maester Luwin was heir friend, almost a part of their family…
"Let's go home."
[DAGMER and the Ironborn exit, dragging THEON with them. LUWIN collapses.]
"No…" Sansa sobbed for the old Maester, who had been nothing but kind to her.
None of her siblings said anything to quiet her. They themselves were equally heartbroken.
[KING'S LANDING, TYRION'S CHAMBERS]
[TYRION sits in bed, his face still bandaged]
"Ser Mandon Moore tried to kill you on your sister's orders. If it weren't for your squire's bravery, you'd be a dead man."
Tyrion stared at the wall in disbelief. Of all the idiotic things his sister could do! It made sense she would do it, why wouldn't she? She hated him and he hated her. There was no love lost between the two. But still… to do it while he's out there defending the city?
A little part of him did respect the planning behind it. Noone would know how he died. Or at the least, no one that gave two sits about him. It was clever.
"Pod."
"Yes, my lord?"
"Get Bronn, tell him I want four of his most loyal gold cloaks outside my door at all times."
"I'm afraid your friend has been relieved of his command of the City Watch. The gold cloaks are now firmly in the hands of your father or your sister. It varies from cloak to cloak."
"Then my hill tribesmen."
"Have gone home. Your father paid them quite handsomely." "
"Everything I worked on, gone as if they were nothing!" Tyrion muttered in displeasure.
"You should have expected that from the moment you began setting things up." Jaime pointed out. "You were there until Father could come."
Tyrion grunted but did not say anything.
"I'm afraid we won't be seeing each other for some time, my lord."
"Don't want to swim too close to a drowning man? And I thought we were friends."
"We are. Podrick, would you mind?"
[PODRICK opens the door and SHAE enters briskly. She comes to TYRION's side and sits.]
"There are many who know that without you this city faced certain defeat. The king won't give you any honours, the histories won't mention you, but we will not forget."
"And one day even you will die and people will only remember what history writes about me" Tyrion frowned, "what comfort is there then?"
"Perhaps Casterly Rock would have something to write about you" Joanna suggested.
Tyrion shook his head.
"With Father and Cersei alive? Doubt it."
[VARYS and PODRICK exit.]
"My love."
[SHAE reaches to adjust TYRION's bandages, but he prevents her.]
"I want to see you."
"Believe me, you don't."
[She removes the bandages. They stick to the deep wound across TYRION's cheek. He grunts in pain. SHAE takes in the wreck of his cheek.]
"That is by far the shittest battle scar I've seen" Jaime snorts. "It has done nothing to ruin your image I'm afraid, brother."
Tyrion rolled his eyes at his brother, but he was smiling a little.
"You are a mess."
"I'm a monster as well as a dwarf. You should charge me double."
"You think I'm here for money?"
"That was the arrangement we made. I pay you and you lie to me."
"Oh. I'm a poor little rich man and nobody loves me, so I make jokes all the time and pay them to laugh. Fuck your money. Let's leave."
"Leave?"
"Leave King's Landing. They tried to kill you. They will try again. Going into wars, fighting soldiers, you're terrible at this. Let's take a boat to Pentos and never come back. You don't belong here."
"I very well don't belong in Pentos either" Tyrion muttered. "What could a Dwarf do there other than be entertainment or a slave?"
"You never know, Pentos might have room for an axe-wielding dwarf" Jaime mused playfully.
Tyrion shook him off.
"I do belong here. These bad people are what I'm good at. Out-talking them, out-thinking them. It's what I am. And I like it. I like it more than anything I've ever done. Are you going to leave?"
"You have a shit memory. I am yours and you are mine."
[TYRION bursts into tears. SHAE envelops him in her arms. TYRION holds her as well.]
Tyrion's eyes softened. He remembered another woman who once said that, someone who professed they loved him… Only to turn out she was a lying whore her brother hired. The softness quickly faded.
Jaime noticed it, as had Joanna. Mother and Son shared a look before turning away. Jaime received the message loud and clear.
[QARTH]
[DAENERYS TARGARYEN, SER JORAH MORMONT, and KOVARRO walk through a garden. They come to the base of the House of the Undying.]
"Where are the guards?"
"No guards. The warlocks kill with sorcery, not steel."
"Let them try."
"They invited you. Meaning you're possibly the only one they won't kill. The other two…"
Daenerys frowned at Elia's words. Had she brought people into danger again?
[They ascend the first flight of stairs and gaze up to the top of the tower. They cannot find an entrance. They circle the base. DAENERYS disappears from JORAH's view. He encounters KOVARRO instead.]
"And so it begins" Doran mused.
[INTERIOR OF THE HOUSE OF THE UNDYING]
[DAENERYS stands in darkness. She picks up a torch from the wall.]
"Are you trying to frighten me with magic tricks?"
"No, they permitted you entry" Oberyn stated calmly. "You are who they want, not the other two."
"At least they didn't kill them" Daenerys muttered.
"You want me? Here I am. Are you afraid of a little girl?"
[A dragon screeches. DAENERYS follows the sound up a stairwell.]
[SHADOWLANDS]
[LADY ARYA STARK, GENDRY, and HOT PIE trek through the Shadowlands. High above them, JAQEN H'GHAR stands atop a steep cliff.]
"Is he watching over them?" Catelyn asked.
Ned shrugged. He wasn't sure.
[As they pass to the other side of the cliff, JAQEN disappears. Suddenly, he is at ground level, next to ARYA.]
"What are you doing here?"
"Waiting for you."
"How did you know we'd come this way?"
"After all the things you have seen, this is your question?"
"Fair enough" Arya muttered.
"How did you kill those guards? Was it hard?"
"No harder than taking a new name, if you know the way."
"Show me how. I want to be able to do it, too."
"I would not suggest that" Oberyn stated. "The training these mercenaries and assassins do… they rip away your sense of being and make you someone who is everyone. Someone who can be whoever they wish. You will never be you again. Your very training will prevent it."
Arya shivered at that. It sounded creepy.
"If you would learn, you must come with me."
"Where?"
"Far and away across the Narrow Sea to Braavos."
"My dancing master was from Braavos."
"To be a dancing master is a special thing, but to be a faceless man, that is something else entirely. The girl has many names on her lips. Joffrey, Cersei, Tywin Lannister, llyn Payne, the Hound. Names to offer up to the Red God. She could offer them all one by one."
"I want to. But I can't. I need to find my brother and mother. And my sister. I need to find her, too."
Sansa smiled at that. Even after she was so mean to her, Arya still wanted to protect her.
Truth be told, she would protect her too if it came to it. Fight as they may, she was still her sister.
"Then we must part. A man has duties as well. Here."
[He offers a coin.]
"If the day comes when you must find me again, just give that coin to any man from Braavos and say these words to him, Valar Morghulis."
"I suppose it explains why that faceless man was so interested in the Stark girl. He sees something in her that is valuable for a Faceless Man" Oberyn stated, leaning back with a frown.
"I suppose they need to recruit somehow" Elia shrugged.
[HOUSE OF THE UNDYING]
[DAENERYS continues to search for her dragons. She follows the sound of their screeching through a door. She looks down into a pit before trying a door on the opposite side of the chamber. She goes through and the wind whistles. The large chamber has a broken roof, and snowfalls.]
"The throne room" Rhaegar muttered softly. But why was it in such disarray? And was that snow?
[She sets down her torch and ascends to a stage with a throne. Dragons screech again, and she does not touch the snowy throne. She walks toward the noises, and a large portal door opens before her. She exits, finding herself in a land of snow and ice. She sees a lone tent in the distance. She walks to it.]
[TENT]
[DROGO sits, holding their son Rhaego]
"Moon of my life."
"They're using your desires against you to keep you trapped" Elia noted.
But all Daenerys could do was stare at the boy in the Khals' hands. That was her son, the one who was taken before he could see the world. He looked so much like her…
"This is dark magic, like the magic that took you from me. Took you from me before I could even— Maybe I am dead and I just don't know it yet. Maybe I am with you in the Night Lands."
"Or maybe I refused to enter the Night Lands without you. Maybe I told the Great Stallion to go fuck himself and came back here to wait for you."
"That sounds like something you would do."
[DAENERYS sits next to DROGO, and she caresses RHAEGO's head.]
"Or maybe it is a dream. Your dream, my dream I do not know. These are questions for wise men with skinny arms."
Oberyn snorted. He found the Dothraki description of people hilarious.
[DROGO and DAENERYS stare deeply into one another's eyes.]
"You are the moon of my life. That is all I know and all I need to know. And if this is a dream, I will kill the man who tries to wake me."
[DAENERYS looks down at RHAEGO. Dragons screech. She caresses DROGO's face and touches RHAEGO one more time. Then DAENERYS gets up a quickly walks away. DROGO is heartbroken.]
"Do you think he ended up loving me?" Daenerys asked Elia.
"He could have" Elia nodded. "Or this was all that you needed to hear from him, that the man whose child you carried did love you."
Daenerys nodded, lips pursed.
[HOUSE OF THE UNDYING]
[When DAENERYS leaves the tent, she finds herself back in the House of the Undying. Her three dragons sit on a pedestal. They call out to her, excited. She walks closer, and holds out a hand for them]
Daenerys sighed in relief. Her dragons were alright.
"They miss their mother."
[DAENERYS turns around, startled. Behind her, another PYAT PREE clone watches while she looks at the one who spoke. The two PYATs share the dialogue, speaking with one mind.]
"They want to be with you."
"Do you want to be with them?"
"You will be."
"When your dragons were born,"
"our magic was born again."
"It is strongest in their presence."
"And they are strongest in yours."
"Interesting" Rhaegar noted. Did Daenerys herself have something to do with the dragon's hatching then? Was it more than just coincidence and a lot of events falling place?
[A third PYAT PREE appears in an alcove.]
"You will be with them, through winter, summer, winter again. Across a thousand, thousand seasons you will be with them."
[The sound of chains turning starts to her right.]
"And we will be with you until time comes to an end."
"That sounds disgusting" Tommen made a face.
[DAENERYS finds that her wrist is chained. PYAT PREE tightens the chain that binds her. DAENERYS is confused. Another PYAT PREE pulls on a chain now attached to her other wrist. Her arms are now outstretched and straining.]
"Welcome home, Daenerys Stormborn."
"This is not my home. My home is across the sea, where my people are waiting for me."
"They will be waiting a long time."
[DAENERYS turns to look at her dragons. PYAT PREE peers down at them. DAENERYS turns back to the warlock.]
"Dracarys."
[The dragons breathe smoke. Then one spurts out a burp of fire. It catches PYAT PREE's sleeve, and he starts to panic. All three dragons spit fire, past DAENERYS who experience the ecstasy of the fire. PYAT PREE is consumed by flame. He screams horribly and falls to the ground. DAENERYS looks back to her dragons. The chains break.]
"All three heed your command," Rhaegar said in awe.
But Daenerys did not give him a reply.
[THE FAR NORTH]
[The wildings lead the captive JON SNOW and QHORIN HALFHAND on a march. YGRITTE playfully tortures JON by batting him with his sword, with the RATTLESHIRT walking behind her.]
"She likes you" Lyanna stated.
"She finds my lack of sexual experience interesting" Jon muttered, wiping his eyes.
Lyanna snorted. Boys…
"We should be there by sundown. Won't be a fun night for you. Mance knows how to make crows sing. If you know what to say, you might just make it through the night. Not talking's not the way to go."
"Careful with that. You might cut yourself."
[YGRITTE swings the sword again, JON feints and she misses.]
"Never swung a sword before, have you? You look like a baby with a rattle."
[YGRITTE challenges JON. QHORIN uses the distraction to punch his captor in the face and steal his sword. He pushes by RATTLESHIRT and attacks JON. JON falls.]
"Stop!"
[Two wildlings hold QHORIN back.]
"Why, traitor? So you can give Mance Rayder an invitation to Castle Black?"
"Let 'em fight."
[YGRITTE drops JON's sword for him. The wildlings release QHORIN, who charges at JON. He tries to grab his sword while scrambling away from the attack. He gets to his feet, and they battle convincingly. QUORIN forces JON to stumble into two wildlings, who push him back into the fight. QHORIN attacks again. JON counters. JON goes on the attack, but QHORIN parries. QHORIN headbutts JON, who falls. He gathers himself and charges, disarming QHORIN. He runs QHORIN through.]
Jon couldn't believe what he was seeing. He killed Qhorin, his brother in black. He killed one of his own.
"We are the watchers on the Wall."
"He planned for it" Ned understood easily enough. "Kill him and you have your in with Mance. He knew where to put his priorities. Now to see how you make use of it."
Jon sagged in his seat, but not out of relief. He was still in shock. Regardless of whether it was planned or not, he had killed one of his own.
Lyanna noticed it. She held his hand tightly.
"We must do bad things sometimes for the greater good" the woman whispered. "Qhorin trusted you with this task. You only played the part he wanted you to. It's not your fault."
She wasn't sure if it got through to Jon,
[QARTH]
[XARO sleeps with DOREAH next to him.]
"Traitor!" Daenerys screeched. After everything she'd done for her, this is how she repays her!
[A curved sword hooks his amulet and steals it away. XARO awakes startled and sits up. JORAH, DAENERYS, KOVARRO, and the Dothraki have entered his bedroom. DOREAH sits up next to XARO]
"Khaleesi, please. He said you'd never leave Qarth alive."
"Gives you every right to betray me then!" Daenerys snarled.
Elia rubbed the girl's back gently.
[DAENERYS turns and walks. XARO makes a sudden move, but JORAH draws his sword and keeps him motionless.]
[XARO'S SAFE]
[KOVARRO uses the amulet to open the vault's door. JORAH helps him to open the door. DAENERYS enters first. The vault is empty.]
"It's empty" Oberyn muttered. "The man was playing a long game all along."
"Thank you, Xaro Xhoan Daxos. Thank you for teaching me this lesson."
[The Dothraki push XARO and DOREAH forward into the vault.]
"I am king of Qarth. I can help you now, truly help you. We can take the Iron Throne. I'll bring you a thousand ships."
Daenerys laughed at the desperation in the man's voice.
"Please, Khaleesi, I beg you."
"All that you have dreamed is within your reach!"
[The Dothraki close the vault door behind the pair. JORAH shuts the door and locks it. He hands the amulet key to DAENERYS.]
"Good. Serves them right for trying to use me and betraying me" Daenerys said remorselessly.
[THE NORTH]
[GRENN, "DOLOROUS" EDDISON TOLLETT, and SAMWELL TARLY continue to labour in the cold and snow. GRENN finds a piece of dung. DOLOROUS EDD takes it, placing it in his basket. They continue to dig.]
"If you step back and think about it, the thing about Gilly that's so interesting is"
"Oh my god" Robert groaned. He has had it with pampered princes and sick dogs in love!
"Just bloody kill me."
"No, truly. The thing about her that I find so interesting is that after all that Craster's done to her, she's still got hope that life might get better."
"I guess that's interesting," Margaery said unsurely.
"It's foolishness and naivety" Olenna snorted.
"The thing about Gilly that you find so interesting is that she said six words to you."
"And the thing about you that I find so interesting is absolutely nothing."
[A horn blows in the distance.]
"It's Jon and the Halfhand. They're back."
"That can't be. Must be another black brother" Brandon the Elder muttered.
[The horn blows again]
"Two blasts is wildlings. You're not fighting them alone."
[The horn blows a third time.]
"White Walkers" the hall was stunned to silence.
"Three blasts?"
"Run!"
[GRENN and DOLOROUS EDD flee. SAM is slower to follow. SAM falls, landing next to the basket. GRENN and DOLOROUS EDD are running further away, not waiting or helping. SAM stands. There is a high-pitched squeal. SAM sees figures coming towards him. He hides behind a large boulder. The figures comes closer, walking slowly. They are undead and decaying with blue eyes. An undead horse stops next to Sam. A White Walker rides it, and he notices SAM. SAM begins to sob. The White Walker shrieks and orders his undead followers forward. There are scores of them, a seemingly endless onslaught. Another White Walker is mounted behind. He also gives the order forward.]
"Even the White Walker didn't find him interesting enough to kill" Robert snorted, trying to lift the tension in the hall.
It worked to a degree.
[THE GODSWOOD OF WINTERFELL]
[MAESTER LUWIN lays by the godswood, dying. HODOR, BRAN, OSHA, and RICKON walk toward him.]
The sight of Maester Luwin threw the Starks from fear to sadness.
"He won't die alone" Rickard murmured softly. Luwin may not have been Maester while he was still alive, but he could see how much his son, his son's wife and his grandchildren loved him. It told him enough that Luwin was a good man.
[Rickon starts to run and OSHA cannot catch him. LUWIN reaches out, happy to see him and BRAN. RICKON notices the great bloodstain on LUWIN's shirt.]
"Tell us what medicine to get from your chambers."
"We'll make you better."
"I feel just fine."
"They burned it down. They burned everything."
The present Starks hold each other's hands tightly. The children especially were distraught. They knew the man their whole lives.
"Not everything. Not you. But they may come back. You have to go. Put on your warmest clothes. Pack as much food as you can carry and go north."
"North's the wrong way. And mother and brother are south. We don't know where."
"There are too many enemies in the south. Go to the Wall, to Jon. He'll look after you and let your mother know you're safe."
Jon nodded. He would do exactly that.
"But Jon's not there now" Robb muttered.
Jon remembered it then as well, that he was beyond the wall. He gripped his mother's hands tightly (Lyanna had yet to let go, and Jon had yet to ask her to do it).
"I don't want to leave you."
"No more than I want to leave you. I pulled you into the world. Both of you. I've seen both your faces almost every day since. And for that, I consider myself very, very lucky."
Bran let out a soft sob.
"Go now with Hodor. Go on. I'll be right here."
[The four of them get up to leave, but OSHA steps back.]
"Osha. You must protect them. You're the only one who can. You may have to protect them against your own kind."
"I've got no great love for my own kind. I'll get you milk of the poppy. Tell me where to find it."
"I don't want milk of the poppy."
[OSHA shows LUWIN her knife, and he nods his assent.]
"Do it quickly."
[OSHA draws her blade while looking LUWIN in the eyes.]
As the scene fades to black the Starks hold each other and let their tears fall. They had lost one from their family again.