𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐄𝐘𝐄𝐒, game of thrones

Chapter Sixteen

"The man we saw before?"

"Other men. Armed. I saw an axe, and spears as well." Joien had never sounded so much like the boy he was. "I saw them when the lightning flashed, moving under the trees."

"How many?"

"Many and more. Too many to count."

"Mounted?"

"No."

"Hodor." Hodor sounded frightened. "Hodor. Hodor."

Bran blurted out "What if they come out here?"

"They won't." Meera sat down beside him. "Why should they?"

"For shelter." Jojen's voice was grim. "Unless the storm lets up. Meera, could you go down and bar the door?"

"I couldn't even close it. The wood's too warped. They won't get past those iron gates, though."

"They might. They could break the lock, or the hinges. Or climb up through the murder hole as we did."

Lightning slashed the sky, and Hodor whimpered. Then a clap of thunder rolled across the lake. "HODOR!" he roared, clapping his hands over his ears and stumbling in a circle through the darkness. "HODOR! HODOR! HODOR!"

"NO!" Bran shouted back. "NO HODORING!"

"HODOR!" Lyanna shouted, "SHUT IT!"

It did no good. "HOOOODOR!" moaned Hodor. Meera and Lyanna tried to catch him and calm him, but he was too strong. He flung them both aside with no more than a shrug. "HOOOOOODOOOOOOOR!" the stableboy screamed as lightning filled the sky again, and even Jojen was shouting now, shouting at Bran and Meera to shut him up.

"Be quiet!" Bran said in a shrill scared voice, reaching up uselessly for Hodor's leg.

Just like that, all Bran did was he reached for Hodor... Hodor staggered, and closed his mouth. He shook his head slowly from side to side, sank back to the floor, and sat crosslegged. When the thunder boomed, he scarcely seemed to hear it. The four of them sat in the dark tower, scarce daring to breathe.

"Bran, what did you do?" Lyanna whispered.

"Nothing." Bran shook his head. "I don't know."

"Something is happening across the lake," said Jojen. "I thought I saw a man pointing at the tower."

"Most like they're just some Umbers," Lyanna said. "Or they could be Knotts or Norreys or Flints come down from the mountains, or even brothers from the Night's Watch. Were they wearing black cloaks, Jojen?"

"By night all cloaks are black, Your Grace. And the flash came and went too fast for me to tell what they were wearing."

Lyanna was wary. "If they were black brothers, they'd be mounted, wouldn't they?"

"It doesn't matter," Bran said confidently. "They couldn't get out to us even if they wanted. Not unless they had a boat, or knew about the causeway."

"The causeway!" Meera mussed Bran's hair and kissed him on the forehead. "Our sweet prince! He's right, Jojen, they won't know about the causeway. Even if they did they could never find the way across at night in the rain."

"The night will end, though. If they stay till morning . . . " Jojen left the rest unsaid. After a few moments he said, "They are feeding the fire the first man started." Lightning crashed through the sky, and light filled the tower and etched them all in shadow. Hodor rocked back and forth, humming.

Lyanna could feel Visenya's fear in that bright instant. She turned to Bran, only finding him resting... not resting... his eyes were white as snow. "Bran?" she said.

"Shush" Jojen hushed her, "Let him" he whispered.

Bran was warging at the moment, perhaps to see what was going on down there in the village... Bran made it look so easy, but Lyanna hasn't learned how.
"Give him a moment" Jojen suggested.

Lyanna nodded.

"Why haven't you tried it?" He whispered, he and Lyanna both moved to the balcony so they won't bother Bran.

"I've been trying" she shrugged, "I did once..." she remembered she was in the mind of her wolf, Visenya, "that night Theon Greyjoy came and took Winterfell... I don't know how, I don't know how I did it... I just...slept"

"I think you're just pushing it away. You don't want it, do you?"

"I never asked for it, did I?" Lyanna said almost loudly.

"It's a gift, Lyanna" the green boy told her, "a gift...this is what you're meant to be, you were given this gift for a reason...with it, you'll be stronger" he didn't say anything for a moment, they both looked at Bran. "You need to learn how, you might need it sooner or later"

She was afraid... Afraid of it. She was afraid that she might forget who she was if she begins to wear Visenya's skin. That was why she denied to do it. I'm not strong as Bran, she thought.