Wolves, Stags, Lions, Dragons, and Me (Game of Thrones GOT)

Chapter 4 - Not One Of Them

It has been a few weeks since Bran fell from the tower. Catlyn hadn’t left his bedside for one moment. Lord Stark had accepted the King’s offer to become Hand and they were leaving today. The girls Sansa and Arya were to accompany them back to King’s Landing while Robb governed over Winterfell with Maester Luwin’s help. I doubted his mother would be doing much until Bran was better, if he got better at all. Jon had asked his father if he could join the Nights Watch and he agreed, so Jon is to go back with Benjen and a few other volunteers, but mostly prisoners from the dungeons in and around Winterfell. Tyrion being his usual overly curious self, decided he may have a look further up north as well. I practically begged the King to let me go with Tyrion and return when he did, but the answer was no. Well… the answer WAS no until the Queen jumped in saying it was about time I saw my father again and that there was no harm in it. She hated me and her younger brother so she was probably thinking two birds one stone, if we were attacked.

“I am sorry, Aiyana. I know you were close to Royce. I also know he’s the reason your father sent you away suddenly.” Benjen said as he caught me up on the recent events at Castle Black.

“It’s okay.” I said. I think Benjen was expecting me to cry or something. “I thought he died two years ago on his first range, the one my father sent him on when he got rid of me. At least that’s told me in a letter a month later. The only one he’s sent me in the last two years, I might add.”

“That doesn’t surprise me. He didn’t want you coming back.” I didn’t mean to but a small scoff escaped my mouth. “He does care, Aiy.” He said, using the nickname he used to call me when I was little. “I know Thorne may have strange ways of showing it, but he does.”

“He doesn’t show it at all. Not that I can remember. You, Aamon, Mormont and Yoren were the only ones who cared.”

“He cares. You didn’t see him that day.” He didn’t need to be specific. I knew what day he was talking about.

“You know Lady Stark hasn’t left Bran’s side since he fell… You were the first one at my side when I woke up that day. The Lord Commander and Maester Aamon were next, followed by Yoren. You all came within 10 minutes. Thorne showed up two hours later. Stayed for a total of 90 seconds. Just enough time to check and see if the rumours were true and if I was still… me and not a White. The next time I saw him was three days later when Aamon finally allowed me to eat dinner with everyone else again.”

“It took him two hours to see you because he was building the pyre for your grave in the same place your mother’s was. He insisted on going on his own. Cat hasn’t left Bran’s side because he’s still alive. We thought you were dead.”

“I was dead.”

“Aiyana.” He said in a stern voice. “You. Were. Not. Dead. The cold slowed your heart beat, that’s all. It has happened before.”

“Yes and those to come back from it, came back simpleminded.”

“You got lucky.” He said in his stubborn way.

“People don’t get that lucky, Benjen.” I barely whispered.

“Apparently they do. Pack your things. We’re leaving in an hour.” He said before standing up and leaving the room. I sighed and continued shoving my clothes into my cases, most of which would be returning to Kings Landing with the King’s party. I wouldn’t need my silk dresses at the wall, just riding clothes and a lot of layers. As I was locking up the cases one image kept circling around in my head.

Those blue eyes. Cold, dead, emotionless blue eyes. He looked like a skeleton. Not an ounce of flesh of his body, but there was still skin to cover the bone. White, icy skin with a few thin strands of white hair dropping below his shoulders to match. He was dead. It would take a significant time for a body to decay in the North so he could have been dead for decades, for all I know maybe even a hundred years.

But he wasn’t. He spoke. Words I didn’t understand, but his flat lips moved and sound escaped them before that cold and bony arm reached to me and touched my forehead. Then everything went black and I woke at Castle Black.

It didn’t matter what Benjen or Maester Aamon told me. I knew the truth. I died when the White touched me and I came back for the same reason. I didn’t know why and I didn’t know when I would find out, but I knew one thing. When I came back I was me, a little less, but me all the same and not one of them.

Sory this took so long. More background information, what do you think?