Winter Is Coming
014:
“Jess, you really should be resting,” Cynthia said as she watched as I pulled my boots on and then laced up my leather vest.
“I told Lady Stark that I would help her with something, I’m going to help her,” I said and then stood up from the cot and winced, “It’s a flesh wound, nothing that I can’t handle.”
“You were stabbed! In the shoulder! With a knife! Less than twenty four hours ago!” she yelled and I sighed and nodded my head.
I ignored her and walked out of the room to see that I was in a place that I’ve never seen before, “How do I get out of here?”
“Oh no, I’m not helping you go anywhere other than back to bed,” she growled and I waved her off.
“Fine, I’ll smell my way out,” I growled and then sniffed the air, finding that there were scents coming from all directions, “Fine, I’ll just go through each one,” I muttered and chose the closest path.
“Stop!” Cynthia yelled and I turned around to see that she looked defeated, “Come on,” she muttered and then started down the opposite path, “You were never really good with directions.”
“Shut up,” I mumbled as I followed her down the path and out of the castle, “Where is Lady Stark?”
“I saw her head out of the gates a little while ago,” Cynthia said and I nodded my head and walked towards where the horses where and took my horse and had her saddled, “Where are you going?” she asked as she helped me get on the horse’s back and I hissed because of my shoulder.
“To find the Lady,” I said and then kicked into the horse’s side and headed towards the gate.
I knew I would find Lady Stark at the tower, I figured that’s what she was talking about yesterday. I tied my horse up next to hers and then walked into the tower, up the stairs and to the top to see Lady Stark looking at me. She was tense, but then once she saw me, she relaxed.
“You scared me,” she said and I sighed.
“Sorry.”
“You should be in bed, resting!”
“I’m fine,” I muttered and looked around, “What are you doing here?”
“I know my son has a talent for climbing, I do not believe that he fell.”
“That’s what I’ve been saying from the beginning,” I said and Lady Stark nodded her head, “I remember smelling two other scents that day.”
“Do you remember who’s?” she asked and I shook my head ‘no’.
Lady Stark walked over towards the window and looked outside. I walked around and bent down when I saw something shine off the ground. I felt around the ground until I found it, ‘…A piece of hair?...’
“What is it?” Lady Stark asked and I turned my head and looked at her and then back towards the ground.
“Hair,” I said, and then picked up the hair and looked at it and then handed it to Lady Stark. I heard footsteps coming up the stairs of the tower and tensed, sniffed the air and then relaxed, “It’s just Cyn.”
“What did you find?” Cynthia asked as she appeared.
“Hair,” I said and looked at the long blonde strand of hair in Lady Stark’s hands, “Who’s the only person we know with long blonde hair?”
“The Queen?” Cynthia’s eyes widened and I nodded my head, “Oh my god! She-“
“I don’t think she did it alone, there were two scents that night, and there are two faint scents here,” I said and looked at Lady Stark, “Bran saw something he wasn’t supposed to that night, someone pushed him hoping the fall would kill him, when it didn’t, my guess is, they sent that assassin here to finish the job.”
“He’s a ten year old boy!” Lady Stark said and I nodded my head, “What could he have possibly seen?”
“I don’t know,” I said and then sighed and stood up, wincing at the pressure in my shoulder.
“Are you all right?” she asked and I nodded my head.
“I’ll be fine.”
“Good,” Lady Stark said and then looked at Cynthia, “Would you gather Robb, Theon, Maseter Luwin and Ser Rodrik Cassel?”
“Yes,” Cynthia said and then turned around and headed out of the tower, going to grant Lady Stark’s demand.
It took a little while, but the five gathered in front of the tower; however, Lady Stark took us deeper into the woods and stood on a large rock and looked down at us.
“What are we here for, my lady?” Ser Rodrik Cassel asked as he stood next to Maester Luwin.
“What I am about to tell you must remain between us,” Lady Stark said as she looked at everyone. We all stood in a circle, Lady Stark on the rock, I next to the rock, Robb next to me, Theon next to him, Cynthia next to him, and then Ser Rodrik Cassel and Maester Luwin. Lady Stark sighed and looked at us sadly “I don’t think Bran fell from that tower, I think he was thrown.”
“The boy was always surefooted before,” Maester Luwin said.
“Someone tried to kill him twice,” Lady Stark said and I gripped my shoulder, proof of the attack, “Why? Why murder an innocent child? Unless he saw something he wasn’t meant to see.”
“Saw what, my lady?” Theon asked.
“I don’t know,” Lady Stark shook her head, “But I would stake my life that the Lannisters are involved. We already have reason to suspect their loyalty to the Crown.”
“Did you notice the dagger the killer used?” Ser Rodrik Cassel asked as he held the dagger.
“Oh yeah, noticed it, felt it,” I muttered and then winced when another jolt of pain when from my shoulder to my toes.
“It’s too fine a weapon for such a man,” Ser Rodrik Cassel continued, “The blade is Valyrian steel, the handle dragonbone-“
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” everyone looked at Cynthia, “Dragonbone?”
“You have much to learn about our time,” Theon said and I rolled my eyes.
“Someone had have given it to him,” I muttered and Lady Stark looked at me and nodded her head.
“They come into our home and try to murder my brother?” Robb started and I looked at him, “If it’s war they want-“
I looked at Cynthia, wondering if we should get ourselves involved in a war, our main objective was to get home, not become soldiers.
“If it comes to that, you know I’ll stand behind you-” Theon started but Maester Luwin cut him off.
“What, is there going to be a battle in the Godswood? Huh?” Robb and Theon looked towards the ground and I sighed, “Too easily words of war become acts of war. We don’t know the truth yet,” Luwin said and then looked at Lady Stark, “Lord Stark must be told of this.”
“I don’t trust a raven to carry these words,” Lady Stark said.
“I’ll ride to King’s Landing-“
“No,” Lady Stark said strongly towards Robb, “There must always be a Stark in Winterfell. I will go myself.”
“Mother, you can’t-“
“I must,” she said, quieting Robb.
“I’ll send Hal with a squad of guardsmen to escort you,” Ser Rodrik Cassel said.
“Too large a party attracts unwanted attention,” Lady Stark said and I looked towards Cynthia, wondering what we should do, “I don’t want the Lannisters to know I’m coming.”
“Let me accompany you at least,” Ser Rodrik Cassel said and I nodded my head towards Cynthia, “The Kingsroad can be a dangerous place for a woman alone.”
Lady Stark nodded her head and I looked towards Cynthia one last time, I was about to tell Lady Stark that I would go with her, but Cynthia beat me to it.
“What?” I said and Cynthia nodded her head.
“I will come with you, with another woman traveling with you, it won’t look as suspicious,” Cynthia said and I sighed, “Besides, I’m very good at blending in with a crowd.”
“All right, but no one else,” Lady Stark said and I looked at Cynthia wide eyed.
“What about Bran?” Robb asked and I looked at him and then towards Lady Stark.
“I have prayed to the Seven for more than a month,” Lady Stark said and I sighed, “Bran’s life is in their hands now.”
We rode back towards Winterfell in silence; it was an awkward silence too, everyone afraid to say something that they might regret.
We got back to the castle and I followed Cynthia to the room, because she was going to start packing for her journey, “I don’t like this.”
“What?” Cynthia asked as she looked at me.
“We’re supposed to be finding a way home, not fighting possible wars and being away from each other.”
“Jess,” she sighed and looked at the ground, “Even if we were able to go back, I have nothing to go back to.”
“Cyn-“
“Your family is really the only family I have, my mother’s gone, my father’s a drunk-“
“What about senior year?! What about college?!”
“Man, I don’t even want to go to college,” she said and I looked at her shocked, “I only said that just to keep up with the smart nerdy girl image.”
“Cyn-“
“I like it here, Jess,” she said and I watched her walk up to me, “I like this time, these people, I like Jon.”
“You’re not going to see him again! He joined the Watch.”
“You never know,” she said and I sighed, “Still doesn’t change the fact that I like this family, and I know you like Robb, so why are you fighting this?”
“Because I miss New York.”
“Well, we can’t find the witch’s brother, there’s no trace of him,” Cynthia said and sighed, “Without the brother, we have no way home.”
“Cyn,” I muttered and she turned back towards me, “Be careful.”
“I’m always the responsible one,” she smirked, stating the words my mother had said before we left for the library.
“You are my sister,” I said as I walked up to her and hugged her, “You better not die, I’ll bring you back and kill you myself.”
“Love you too, Jess.”
“I told Lady Stark that I would help her with something, I’m going to help her,” I said and then stood up from the cot and winced, “It’s a flesh wound, nothing that I can’t handle.”
“You were stabbed! In the shoulder! With a knife! Less than twenty four hours ago!” she yelled and I sighed and nodded my head.
I ignored her and walked out of the room to see that I was in a place that I’ve never seen before, “How do I get out of here?”
“Oh no, I’m not helping you go anywhere other than back to bed,” she growled and I waved her off.
“Fine, I’ll smell my way out,” I growled and then sniffed the air, finding that there were scents coming from all directions, “Fine, I’ll just go through each one,” I muttered and chose the closest path.
“Stop!” Cynthia yelled and I turned around to see that she looked defeated, “Come on,” she muttered and then started down the opposite path, “You were never really good with directions.”
“Shut up,” I mumbled as I followed her down the path and out of the castle, “Where is Lady Stark?”
“I saw her head out of the gates a little while ago,” Cynthia said and I nodded my head and walked towards where the horses where and took my horse and had her saddled, “Where are you going?” she asked as she helped me get on the horse’s back and I hissed because of my shoulder.
“To find the Lady,” I said and then kicked into the horse’s side and headed towards the gate.
I knew I would find Lady Stark at the tower, I figured that’s what she was talking about yesterday. I tied my horse up next to hers and then walked into the tower, up the stairs and to the top to see Lady Stark looking at me. She was tense, but then once she saw me, she relaxed.
“You scared me,” she said and I sighed.
“Sorry.”
“You should be in bed, resting!”
“I’m fine,” I muttered and looked around, “What are you doing here?”
“I know my son has a talent for climbing, I do not believe that he fell.”
“That’s what I’ve been saying from the beginning,” I said and Lady Stark nodded her head, “I remember smelling two other scents that day.”
“Do you remember who’s?” she asked and I shook my head ‘no’.
Lady Stark walked over towards the window and looked outside. I walked around and bent down when I saw something shine off the ground. I felt around the ground until I found it, ‘…A piece of hair?...’
“What is it?” Lady Stark asked and I turned my head and looked at her and then back towards the ground.
“Hair,” I said, and then picked up the hair and looked at it and then handed it to Lady Stark. I heard footsteps coming up the stairs of the tower and tensed, sniffed the air and then relaxed, “It’s just Cyn.”
“What did you find?” Cynthia asked as she appeared.
“Hair,” I said and looked at the long blonde strand of hair in Lady Stark’s hands, “Who’s the only person we know with long blonde hair?”
“The Queen?” Cynthia’s eyes widened and I nodded my head, “Oh my god! She-“
“I don’t think she did it alone, there were two scents that night, and there are two faint scents here,” I said and looked at Lady Stark, “Bran saw something he wasn’t supposed to that night, someone pushed him hoping the fall would kill him, when it didn’t, my guess is, they sent that assassin here to finish the job.”
“He’s a ten year old boy!” Lady Stark said and I nodded my head, “What could he have possibly seen?”
“I don’t know,” I said and then sighed and stood up, wincing at the pressure in my shoulder.
“Are you all right?” she asked and I nodded my head.
“I’ll be fine.”
“Good,” Lady Stark said and then looked at Cynthia, “Would you gather Robb, Theon, Maseter Luwin and Ser Rodrik Cassel?”
“Yes,” Cynthia said and then turned around and headed out of the tower, going to grant Lady Stark’s demand.
It took a little while, but the five gathered in front of the tower; however, Lady Stark took us deeper into the woods and stood on a large rock and looked down at us.
“What are we here for, my lady?” Ser Rodrik Cassel asked as he stood next to Maester Luwin.
“What I am about to tell you must remain between us,” Lady Stark said as she looked at everyone. We all stood in a circle, Lady Stark on the rock, I next to the rock, Robb next to me, Theon next to him, Cynthia next to him, and then Ser Rodrik Cassel and Maester Luwin. Lady Stark sighed and looked at us sadly “I don’t think Bran fell from that tower, I think he was thrown.”
“The boy was always surefooted before,” Maester Luwin said.
“Someone tried to kill him twice,” Lady Stark said and I gripped my shoulder, proof of the attack, “Why? Why murder an innocent child? Unless he saw something he wasn’t meant to see.”
“Saw what, my lady?” Theon asked.
“I don’t know,” Lady Stark shook her head, “But I would stake my life that the Lannisters are involved. We already have reason to suspect their loyalty to the Crown.”
“Did you notice the dagger the killer used?” Ser Rodrik Cassel asked as he held the dagger.
“Oh yeah, noticed it, felt it,” I muttered and then winced when another jolt of pain when from my shoulder to my toes.
“It’s too fine a weapon for such a man,” Ser Rodrik Cassel continued, “The blade is Valyrian steel, the handle dragonbone-“
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” everyone looked at Cynthia, “Dragonbone?”
“You have much to learn about our time,” Theon said and I rolled my eyes.
“Someone had have given it to him,” I muttered and Lady Stark looked at me and nodded her head.
“They come into our home and try to murder my brother?” Robb started and I looked at him, “If it’s war they want-“
I looked at Cynthia, wondering if we should get ourselves involved in a war, our main objective was to get home, not become soldiers.
“If it comes to that, you know I’ll stand behind you-” Theon started but Maester Luwin cut him off.
“What, is there going to be a battle in the Godswood? Huh?” Robb and Theon looked towards the ground and I sighed, “Too easily words of war become acts of war. We don’t know the truth yet,” Luwin said and then looked at Lady Stark, “Lord Stark must be told of this.”
“I don’t trust a raven to carry these words,” Lady Stark said.
“I’ll ride to King’s Landing-“
“No,” Lady Stark said strongly towards Robb, “There must always be a Stark in Winterfell. I will go myself.”
“Mother, you can’t-“
“I must,” she said, quieting Robb.
“I’ll send Hal with a squad of guardsmen to escort you,” Ser Rodrik Cassel said.
“Too large a party attracts unwanted attention,” Lady Stark said and I looked towards Cynthia, wondering what we should do, “I don’t want the Lannisters to know I’m coming.”
“Let me accompany you at least,” Ser Rodrik Cassel said and I nodded my head towards Cynthia, “The Kingsroad can be a dangerous place for a woman alone.”
Lady Stark nodded her head and I looked towards Cynthia one last time, I was about to tell Lady Stark that I would go with her, but Cynthia beat me to it.
“What?” I said and Cynthia nodded her head.
“I will come with you, with another woman traveling with you, it won’t look as suspicious,” Cynthia said and I sighed, “Besides, I’m very good at blending in with a crowd.”
“All right, but no one else,” Lady Stark said and I looked at Cynthia wide eyed.
“What about Bran?” Robb asked and I looked at him and then towards Lady Stark.
“I have prayed to the Seven for more than a month,” Lady Stark said and I sighed, “Bran’s life is in their hands now.”
We rode back towards Winterfell in silence; it was an awkward silence too, everyone afraid to say something that they might regret.
We got back to the castle and I followed Cynthia to the room, because she was going to start packing for her journey, “I don’t like this.”
“What?” Cynthia asked as she looked at me.
“We’re supposed to be finding a way home, not fighting possible wars and being away from each other.”
“Jess,” she sighed and looked at the ground, “Even if we were able to go back, I have nothing to go back to.”
“Cyn-“
“Your family is really the only family I have, my mother’s gone, my father’s a drunk-“
“What about senior year?! What about college?!”
“Man, I don’t even want to go to college,” she said and I looked at her shocked, “I only said that just to keep up with the smart nerdy girl image.”
“Cyn-“
“I like it here, Jess,” she said and I watched her walk up to me, “I like this time, these people, I like Jon.”
“You’re not going to see him again! He joined the Watch.”
“You never know,” she said and I sighed, “Still doesn’t change the fact that I like this family, and I know you like Robb, so why are you fighting this?”
“Because I miss New York.”
“Well, we can’t find the witch’s brother, there’s no trace of him,” Cynthia said and sighed, “Without the brother, we have no way home.”
“Cyn,” I muttered and she turned back towards me, “Be careful.”
“I’m always the responsible one,” she smirked, stating the words my mother had said before we left for the library.
“You are my sister,” I said as I walked up to her and hugged her, “You better not die, I’ll bring you back and kill you myself.”
“Love you too, Jess.”