"Every night it's the same. I'm walking and running, but I'm not me. I'm running through the godswood, sniffing the dirt, tasting blood in my mouth when I've made a fresh kill, howling. Old Nan used to tell me stories about magical people who could live inside stags, birds, wolves."
Jaidyn and Maester Luwin day at Bran's bedside as he told them of his dreams. The girl listened worried about him especially at how he stated it. It wasn't an easy adjustment for the boy who loved to be adventurous to go through. Not to mention, all the other things that had happened.
"That's exactly what they are, Bran, stories." Jaidyn noted that the old lady was always fond of telling stories to them when they were kids. Most of them far fetched things that couldn't possibly be true.
"So she was lying? They don't exist?" Bran questioned just wanting an explanation to what he was experiencing.
"Well they may have been." Maester Luwin began to explain. "But they're gone from the world, along with much else. These are dreams, Bran, nothing more."
The maester had many years of learning and if dragons existed long ago then any couldn't people live inside animals. But he also didn't want to give the boy a sense of false hope that he could live precariously inside an animal.
"No, my dreams are different. Mine are true. I dreamt of my father dying. And Rickon had the same dream." Bran tried to justify for them both.
Hearing the reasoning made Jaidyn sigh. She had heard about their dreams and tried to make sense of it and chalked it down to their connection to their father. She believed that if you truly care about someone, then you would be connected to them, therefore, being able to sense certain things.
"What about the dreams you had that didn't come true?" Jaidyn asked knowing that he had more than one dream trying to ease his mind.
"Right." Maester Luwin added on trying to find a way to explain to the boy using his chains. "This link is made of Valyrian steel. Only one maester in 100 wears it on his chain. It signifies that I have studied the higher mysteries. And all who study these mysteries try their hand at spells. I was no different. I was young. And what boy doesn't secretly wish for hidden powers to lift him out of his dull life into a special one?"
Jaidyn listened intently to Maester Luwin as well in fact, it was the first time that she had ever heard about him talk about his studies. She always wondered about how maester's lives were before and how they had managed to get into their current life. But to hear about being able to learn about many mysteries wanted her to know more.
"But in the end, for all my efforts, I got no more out it than a thousands boys before me. Maybe magic once was a mighty force in the world. But not anymore. The dragons are gone. The giants are dead. And the Children of the Forest forgotten." Maester Luwin finalized to much of Bran's dismay.
The boy had only wanted to sort of assurance not to be completely shut down. He thought maybe the wisest people he know might be able to help him understand but they themselves didn't seem to understand. The only one who had any sort of idea was Osha. She was a wilding but she talked to him about the wargs that were over the wall, surely she had to know.
After their conversation, Jaidyn and Maester Luwin left the boy to simmer on his thoughts. Both worried about the boy and his dreams that he truly believed.
"I wish we could go back to how it was. I wish we had some sense of normalcy." Jaidyn admitted as she walked beside Maester Luwin.
The maester sighed lowly at her words. Their lives had changed drastically and that change seemed to have affected Jaidyn and the boys greatly. Which he could understand, Jaidyn and Bran wanted to be apart of the army heading South but instead are left in Wintetfell. Rickon was little and was still trying to understand what was happening in his life. One day his whole family was there, the next over half his family gone.
"One day you'll wake up and it'll all be normal." Maester Luwin spoke to try and ease her nerves. "The family will find it's way back to Winterfell and you'll teach your children the lessons you were taught. The title you hold now will not feel like a burden."
Jaidyn listened to his words and found a sort of comfort. He was right, their lives were only a mess due to the war they were in. But before long, it would all calm down and they would be able to live their lives in peace. And the title she had acquired would soon become second nature. She just needed to hold on until that day.
《Northern camp》
But in the northern camp, Robb was also wondering about how long he would stay away from his family, his home and his wife and child. His talk with Jaime only increased how much he missed all those things. Now he was making his way across the battlefield overlooking what he had done.
"Five Lannisters dead for every one of ours." A Lord informed him as they walked through. "We've nowhere to keep all these prisoners. Barely enough food to feed our own."
He knew the odds piling against them but he couldn't resort to what they wanted him to. He was trying to be a different ruler than all the ones they knew about.
"We're not executing prisoners, Lord Bolton." He finalized.
"Of course, Your Grace. The officers will be useful. Some of them may be privy to Tywin Lannister's plans." The Lord tried to alter a different course of action.
"I doubt it." Robb said not believing a man like Tywin would reveal all his plans to mere officers.
"Well we'll learn soon enough. In my family, we say, 'A naked man had few secrets. A flayed man none'." Bolten again tried to instill an image in the young king's mind.
"My father outlawed flaying in the North." Robb countered remembering how disgusted his father was at the evil practice.
"We're not in the North." Rosen tried to reason.
It was times like that that Robb wished Jaidyn was by his side. Then he could go to her for advice and not always the ears of his war council.
"We're not torturing them." He stood by his point.
"The high road's very pretty, but you'll have a hard time marching your army down it." Bolton commented but it did nothing to waver Robb.
"The Lannister hold prisoners of their own. I won't give them any excuse to abuse my sisters." Robb stated his reasoning but before the lord could say anything further a scream could be heard.
A woman and a silent sister sat beside a wounded Lannister soldier. They attempted to hold him down but couldn't keep him still. This led Robb Stark over to assist.
"Surely one of our men needs your attention more than this cub." Bolton addressed not liking the fact that they had more prisoners than needed, but they were still saving them.
"You're men are not my men, my lord." The nurse stated continuing his task.
The young king helping keep the boy still while the nurse and the sister took his leg. It wasn't long till the operation completed and the boy was loaded up.
Robb couldn't shake the feeling he had when he saw the nurse. Something about her carelessness with their status called toward him. He felt like he had whenever he was around Jaidyn.
"What's your name?" Robb asked.
"Talisa." The girl replied simply.
"Your last name?" Robb added on.
"You want to know what side my family fights on?" Talisa mentioned thinking that was his only motive.
"You know my family name. You have me at a disadvantage." Robb spoke convinced of his own reasoning.
"That boy lost his foot on your orders." She responded. She didn't like the many wounded that this war was bringing but she had no control of anything.
"They killed my father." Robb reasonded knowing all of Westeros would have heard about the Starks by now.
But that reasoning didn't matter to her. "That boy did?"
"The family he fights for." He responded his hatred for the Lannister slipping through.
"Do you think he's friends with King Joffrey?" She fired back not caring that she was openly defying the king. "He's a fisherman's son that grew up in Lannisport. He probably never held a spear before they shoved one in his hands a few months ago."
"I have no hatred for the lad." He tried to sympathize.
"That should help his foot grow back." She responded stating her view point.
"You'd have us surrender, end all this bloodshed. I understand." Robb commented understanding her viewpoint. He wanted to go home to his wife and see his child that would be born soon. "The country would be at peace and life would be just under the righteous hand of good King Joffrey."
"You're going to kill Joffrey?" Talisa stated trying to see the end of this war.
"If the gods give me strength." Robb was determined to finish out this war. To get justice for his family.
"And then what?" She wondered.
"I don't know." Robb answered in truth. He didn't think this war would be a revolutionary for the North. He didn't expect to be crowned King of the North. "We'll go back to Winterfell. I have no desire to sit on the Iron Throne."
All he wanted was to help his wife raise their child in the safety of their own element. He didn't want to be like his father and spend so much time fighting in a war when his family was home waiting.
"Your fighting to overthrow a king, and yet you have no plan for what comes after?" Talisa tried to figure out his thinking was.
"I don't know." Robb replied. "First we have to win the war."
The wagon that she had loaded her supplies on began to move. Yet he still wanted to know more about her. She had spoke against him and brought a feeling back that he hadn't felt in so long.
"You never told me where you're from?" He called out to her.
"Volantis." She answered back simply not thinking that they would be able to find out about her.
"Volantis? You're far from home." Robb commented surprised to see someone from across the Narrow Sea. "The boy was lucky you were here."
"He was unlucky that you were." She shouted while the wagon kept going.
Robb stood there watching the wagon disappear. The characteristics that she displayed were similar to the ones that Jaidyn possessed. Jaidyn open spoke against him and tried to find his understanding. Talisa reminded him of Jaidyn and gave him a sense of home.
A/N: I know, Talisa being connected to another Robb Stark but it will all be worth it, I promise.