Winter Is Coming
024:
“Bring me a horn of ale, Snow,” Commander Mormont said as I was called into his chambers. I sighed and then walked over towards the jugs and poured the wine into two cups “The king is dead,” he said and I quietly walked over towards the desk that he sat behind.
“Is there any word of my father?” I asked and he sighed and nodded his head.
“Sit,” he muttered and I knew this wasn’t good. I sat in the chair in front of Mormont’s desk and looked at him, “Lord Stark has been charged with treason,” my eyes widened, “They say he conspired with Robert’s brothers to deny the throne to Prince Joffrey.”
I held out my hand, asking for the message from the raven, wanting to see the words for myself. I wasn’t prepared to see that Mormont was telling the truth, I also wasn’t prepared to read that they captured a monstrous girl from the North, a girl by the name of Cynthia. My heart dropped to my stomach when I read that she had plotted with my father and killed many of the royal guard. I gulped when I read that they discovered her ability to change into a direwolf and called her an abomination and was sentenced to death.
‘…No!...’ I growled, remembering my last night in Winterfell, happy that I decided to spend it with her, ‘…This is a lie! It’s all a lie!...’ I stood up and headed for the door, clutching the paper in my gloved hands.
“I hope you’re not thinking of doing anything stupid!” Mormont said and I stopped and stared at the ground, “Your duty lies here now.”
“Cyn-“ I gulped, deciding that it was probably best not to let Mormont know that I was close with the girl that the Queen is calling an abomination, “My sisters were in King’s Landing too.”
“I’m sure they’ll be treated gently,” he said slowly, trying to choose his words carefully.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“It is your sister’s hand, but the Queen’s words,” Maester Luwin said and I stood in front of Robb and he read a message from a raven.
“What is it?” I asked confused.
“My father’s been charged with treason,” Robb said and I looked at him shocked. He looked down at the paper and read on. Theon sat beside Robb and looked at the ground, I saw Robb’s eyes widened and he crumbled the paper a little.
“What?” I asked and Robb looked at me, there was fear in his eyes, “What is it?” I saw him gulp before he handed the paper to me and I looked down at the words. I read the part on how Lord Stark was sentenced to death for treason, “Sansa wrote this?” I asked and Robb nodded.
“Read on,” he said and I looked back down and my eyes widened as Sansa informed that Cynthia was captured, her powers discovered and she was sentenced to death because she chose not to serve by King Joffrey’s side, “Jess.”
I was breathing heavily, my legs were shaky, my sight was blurry. I heard Robb call my name again, but all I was thinking about was how Cynthia was going to be killed, my best friend was going to be killed, my sister was going to be killed. I felt Robb’s arms around me as I fell to my knees, staring at the paper, the words that Robb’s sister wrote.
“You are summoned to King’s Landing to swear fealty to the new king, Lord Robb,” Luwin said and I was trying to catch my breath, trying to control myself from letting my anger out and changing in front of them, controlling myself from changing and heading straight for King’s Landing.
“Joffrey puts my father in chains, sentences Cyn to death for being different and not wanting to serve him, now he wants his arse kissed?” Robb growled and I looked up to see Theon looking at me sadly.
“This is a royal command, my lord,” Luwin said and I slammed on the table and stood up, “If you should refuse to obey-“
“I won’t refuse,” Robb stated and then looked at me, “His Grace summons me to King’s Landing, I’ll go to king’s Landing. But not alone,” he glared at the table and then looked at Luwin, “Call the banners.”
“All of them, my lord?” Luwin asked as Theon smirked.
“They’ve all sworn to defend my father, have they not?”
“They have,” Luwin said.
“Now we see what their words are worth,” Robb said and Luwin nodded his head and walked away.
I growled, clenching my fists and glaring towards Robb, “I’m coming.”
“What?!” Theon asked shocked, but Robb just nodded his head.
“I know.”
“What? You can’t-“
“They have Cyn, Theon,” I snapped, “I’m going.”
Robb sat down at the table next to Theon and sighed, looking at me sadly and then rubbing his face. Theon sighed and nodded his head towards me and then looked at Robb, “Are you afraid?”
Robb looked down and I saw his hands shaking, “I must be,” he said and I gulped and gripped my pants, knowing that I was, but it was Cynthia, I’m going after her.
“Good,” Theon said and Robb and I looked at him confused.
“Why is that good?” Robb asked and I nodded my head.
“It means you’re not stupid,” he said and I sighed and looked out the window to see all the ravens flying away towards different places to inform them on the coming war.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I managed to get Arya out,” I said as I moved my chains to get a little more comfortable and to see Lord Stark, “I went back to find Sansa when the caught me.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for you to get involved in this,” Lord Stark said and I scoffed.
“Jess and I were involved the moment that witch cursed us and you and your family saved us,” I said and then sighed.
“They’re going to kill you, you know,” Lord Stark said and I pulled my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around my legs.
“I know.”
“Are you frightened?”
“Yes,” I muttered and then looked at Lord Stark, “Jess is coming though, I know that she knows, I can feel it.”
“How are your certain that Jess is coming?”
“She’s my sister,” I stated proudly, “She’s never left me hanging, we’ve cleaned each other’s messes for a long time. First time it’s been this intense, but it’s still a mess that needs to be cleaned.”
“Was it wise to show the Queen your… ability?” I heard and then looked to my side to see Varys walking towards us, trying to be sneaky.
“Probably thought,” I muttered and he looked at me, “But I wasn’t thinking about that.”
“What were you thinking about? If I may ask,” he said and walked past Lord Stark and over towards me.
“Saving everyone,” I breathed and then crackled my knuckles and saw my claws appear.
“Such an amazing ability, my little birds told me of two with that ability, I did not believe them,” he said and I looked at him shocked, “And yet here you are.”
“You knew?” Lord Stark asked and Varys turned towards him.
“I had a feeling when I saw the girl that she was one of the two,” Varys said and then looked back towards me, “I’ll assume that this ‘Jess’ is the other?” I didn’t say anything, I didn’t trust him and if I said something, they might go after Jessica and hurt her, something I wasn’t going to let happen, “I’ll assume that your silence is considered to be a ‘yes’.”
‘…Damned if I do, damned if I don’t…’ I growled and the watched as Varys walked away and out of the dungeons.
When he was gone, Lord Stark looked at me, “What’s the chance that you can change and break free of those chains?”
“If the one around my neck wasn’t there, I would have done it already,” I said and then pulled on the collar around my neck that was also chained to the wall, “I don’t want to take the chance that it won’t break and I’ll either suffocate or break my neck trying to stretch it loose.”
Lord Stark sighed and nodded his head, apologizing for the idea, but I waved it off and turned towards the door when I heard open, and then growled when I saw Joffrey walk in with four guards behind him, ‘…Time to die already?...’
“Beast,” Joffrey kicked at my feet and I glared at him, “I shall give you one last chance to swear your loyalty to the Crown,” I snorted, “Such an unlady like noise.”
I placed my hand on my knee and stood up, the guards readied their spears, waiting and probably hoping for me to attack their ‘King’. I smirked towards Joffrey and then looked in the corner, by the door, to see the Hound standing there.
“You have a Hound already,” I growled, “Two might just cramp your style.”
“You speak strangely.”
“I’ve heard that a lot.”
“So you will not swear your loyalty to me?!” he asked as he stepped closer, Joffrey was close enough for me to reach out and snap his neck, but that’s probably what he wanted. He wanted me to make a move so that his men could stab me dead, so I fought the urge and back against the wall, “Answer me, beast!”
“You call me a beast again, bitch,” I growled, knowing that my eyes were glowing and seeing the men step back, “And I’ll show you a beast.”
“Is there any word of my father?” I asked and he sighed and nodded his head.
“Sit,” he muttered and I knew this wasn’t good. I sat in the chair in front of Mormont’s desk and looked at him, “Lord Stark has been charged with treason,” my eyes widened, “They say he conspired with Robert’s brothers to deny the throne to Prince Joffrey.”
I held out my hand, asking for the message from the raven, wanting to see the words for myself. I wasn’t prepared to see that Mormont was telling the truth, I also wasn’t prepared to read that they captured a monstrous girl from the North, a girl by the name of Cynthia. My heart dropped to my stomach when I read that she had plotted with my father and killed many of the royal guard. I gulped when I read that they discovered her ability to change into a direwolf and called her an abomination and was sentenced to death.
‘…No!...’ I growled, remembering my last night in Winterfell, happy that I decided to spend it with her, ‘…This is a lie! It’s all a lie!...’ I stood up and headed for the door, clutching the paper in my gloved hands.
“I hope you’re not thinking of doing anything stupid!” Mormont said and I stopped and stared at the ground, “Your duty lies here now.”
“Cyn-“ I gulped, deciding that it was probably best not to let Mormont know that I was close with the girl that the Queen is calling an abomination, “My sisters were in King’s Landing too.”
“I’m sure they’ll be treated gently,” he said slowly, trying to choose his words carefully.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“It is your sister’s hand, but the Queen’s words,” Maester Luwin said and I stood in front of Robb and he read a message from a raven.
“What is it?” I asked confused.
“My father’s been charged with treason,” Robb said and I looked at him shocked. He looked down at the paper and read on. Theon sat beside Robb and looked at the ground, I saw Robb’s eyes widened and he crumbled the paper a little.
“What?” I asked and Robb looked at me, there was fear in his eyes, “What is it?” I saw him gulp before he handed the paper to me and I looked down at the words. I read the part on how Lord Stark was sentenced to death for treason, “Sansa wrote this?” I asked and Robb nodded.
“Read on,” he said and I looked back down and my eyes widened as Sansa informed that Cynthia was captured, her powers discovered and she was sentenced to death because she chose not to serve by King Joffrey’s side, “Jess.”
I was breathing heavily, my legs were shaky, my sight was blurry. I heard Robb call my name again, but all I was thinking about was how Cynthia was going to be killed, my best friend was going to be killed, my sister was going to be killed. I felt Robb’s arms around me as I fell to my knees, staring at the paper, the words that Robb’s sister wrote.
“You are summoned to King’s Landing to swear fealty to the new king, Lord Robb,” Luwin said and I was trying to catch my breath, trying to control myself from letting my anger out and changing in front of them, controlling myself from changing and heading straight for King’s Landing.
“Joffrey puts my father in chains, sentences Cyn to death for being different and not wanting to serve him, now he wants his arse kissed?” Robb growled and I looked up to see Theon looking at me sadly.
“This is a royal command, my lord,” Luwin said and I slammed on the table and stood up, “If you should refuse to obey-“
“I won’t refuse,” Robb stated and then looked at me, “His Grace summons me to King’s Landing, I’ll go to king’s Landing. But not alone,” he glared at the table and then looked at Luwin, “Call the banners.”
“All of them, my lord?” Luwin asked as Theon smirked.
“They’ve all sworn to defend my father, have they not?”
“They have,” Luwin said.
“Now we see what their words are worth,” Robb said and Luwin nodded his head and walked away.
I growled, clenching my fists and glaring towards Robb, “I’m coming.”
“What?!” Theon asked shocked, but Robb just nodded his head.
“I know.”
“What? You can’t-“
“They have Cyn, Theon,” I snapped, “I’m going.”
Robb sat down at the table next to Theon and sighed, looking at me sadly and then rubbing his face. Theon sighed and nodded his head towards me and then looked at Robb, “Are you afraid?”
Robb looked down and I saw his hands shaking, “I must be,” he said and I gulped and gripped my pants, knowing that I was, but it was Cynthia, I’m going after her.
“Good,” Theon said and Robb and I looked at him confused.
“Why is that good?” Robb asked and I nodded my head.
“It means you’re not stupid,” he said and I sighed and looked out the window to see all the ravens flying away towards different places to inform them on the coming war.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I managed to get Arya out,” I said as I moved my chains to get a little more comfortable and to see Lord Stark, “I went back to find Sansa when the caught me.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for you to get involved in this,” Lord Stark said and I scoffed.
“Jess and I were involved the moment that witch cursed us and you and your family saved us,” I said and then sighed.
“They’re going to kill you, you know,” Lord Stark said and I pulled my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around my legs.
“I know.”
“Are you frightened?”
“Yes,” I muttered and then looked at Lord Stark, “Jess is coming though, I know that she knows, I can feel it.”
“How are your certain that Jess is coming?”
“She’s my sister,” I stated proudly, “She’s never left me hanging, we’ve cleaned each other’s messes for a long time. First time it’s been this intense, but it’s still a mess that needs to be cleaned.”
“Was it wise to show the Queen your… ability?” I heard and then looked to my side to see Varys walking towards us, trying to be sneaky.
“Probably thought,” I muttered and he looked at me, “But I wasn’t thinking about that.”
“What were you thinking about? If I may ask,” he said and walked past Lord Stark and over towards me.
“Saving everyone,” I breathed and then crackled my knuckles and saw my claws appear.
“Such an amazing ability, my little birds told me of two with that ability, I did not believe them,” he said and I looked at him shocked, “And yet here you are.”
“You knew?” Lord Stark asked and Varys turned towards him.
“I had a feeling when I saw the girl that she was one of the two,” Varys said and then looked back towards me, “I’ll assume that this ‘Jess’ is the other?” I didn’t say anything, I didn’t trust him and if I said something, they might go after Jessica and hurt her, something I wasn’t going to let happen, “I’ll assume that your silence is considered to be a ‘yes’.”
‘…Damned if I do, damned if I don’t…’ I growled and the watched as Varys walked away and out of the dungeons.
When he was gone, Lord Stark looked at me, “What’s the chance that you can change and break free of those chains?”
“If the one around my neck wasn’t there, I would have done it already,” I said and then pulled on the collar around my neck that was also chained to the wall, “I don’t want to take the chance that it won’t break and I’ll either suffocate or break my neck trying to stretch it loose.”
Lord Stark sighed and nodded his head, apologizing for the idea, but I waved it off and turned towards the door when I heard open, and then growled when I saw Joffrey walk in with four guards behind him, ‘…Time to die already?...’
“Beast,” Joffrey kicked at my feet and I glared at him, “I shall give you one last chance to swear your loyalty to the Crown,” I snorted, “Such an unlady like noise.”
I placed my hand on my knee and stood up, the guards readied their spears, waiting and probably hoping for me to attack their ‘King’. I smirked towards Joffrey and then looked in the corner, by the door, to see the Hound standing there.
“You have a Hound already,” I growled, “Two might just cramp your style.”
“You speak strangely.”
“I’ve heard that a lot.”
“So you will not swear your loyalty to me?!” he asked as he stepped closer, Joffrey was close enough for me to reach out and snap his neck, but that’s probably what he wanted. He wanted me to make a move so that his men could stab me dead, so I fought the urge and back against the wall, “Answer me, beast!”
“You call me a beast again, bitch,” I growled, knowing that my eyes were glowing and seeing the men step back, “And I’ll show you a beast.”