Different Paths to Destiny [Game of Thrones]

11: King And Lionheart

" and as the world comes to an end
I'll be there to hold your hand "

I was jarred awake and opened my eyes to see Aylward standing over me. "Aylward!" I snapped. "How many times have I told you not to wake me up?"

"Your grace, I apologize, but there has been news from Winterfell."

"News?" I asked. I sat up and slid out of bed reluctantly. "What sort of news?"

"Theon has burned the castle."

"What?" I gasped. "Why would he-?"

"Why has Lord Greyjoy done anything he has done in the past few months?"

I rubbed my eyes and tried not to think too much about him. "What else?"

"No one knows where the boys are. There is a chance they escaped, of course."

"No, there isn't," I said quietly. "Didn't you see the bodies? Two little children's bodies hanging above Winterfell, burned to a crisp. They're dead."

"It could have been-"

"Who else?" I asked. I waited for him to answer but he was quiet and I shook my head. "Exactly."

"You should tell them the truth. Catelyn has a right to know, Robb too."

"I can't, Aylward. I cannot look at Catelyn and watch a little bit more of the light fade from her eyes. She's my mother, I have to protect her."

"It's crueler to let her have hope for an impossible outcome."

"I did not ask your opinion," I said quietly. "Leave me, I can find my own way out of my room." He looked at me for a moment before nodding and walking away. I dressed slowly. I wasn't in any hurry to face Robb or Catelyn.

When I finally went downstairs, I found them almost immediately. They were talking in hushed voices. I tried to back away, but Catelyn noticed me. "Amina," she called. She looked incredibly tired. It was obvious she was sleeping even less than I was.

"Have you heard?" Robb asked.

"That Theon has officially lost the last of his sanity? Yes, Aylward informed me this morning." My tone was bitter, both towards my lost best friend and my current guard. Neither of the Starks appeared to notice.

"Amina, tell me, was there any sign of the boys while you were in Winterfell?" Catelyn asked.

"I never saw them," I lied.

"What about your soldier? He went in with you did he not?"

"He stayed near the gates while I talked to Theon."

"What did Theon have to say?" She asked.

"I don't-It's hard to remember much. That day and the trip back are blurry. If he had said anything about the boys, I'm sure I would have made him give them to me. Maybe they escaped. I doubt that Theon would want to tell me that he'd lost them." I was doing the exact opposite of what Aylward had suggested. "Was there any other news?"

"Word came from Riverrun as well," Robb said. "The Lord of Riverrun has died."

"Grandfather?" I had the most confusing family tree. But Catelyn's family had always been part of my own. It had been years since Hoster Tully had visited Winterfell, but I had always adored him. He had told me when I was very young to call him grandfather. He said he wasn't having some little Lady call him by his title.

"We're leaving for Riverrun later today for his funeral," Robb told me.

I nodded. "I'll pack my things." I squeezed Catelyn's hand and kissed Robb's cheek, before returning to my room.