Carliene Stark

II Chapter 45

Carliene

I met Bran in my dream again and although I could hardly look him in the eye after what he had probably witnessed in the Labyrinth, I knew exactly what question I had to ask of him this time. "What happened to Rickon"

He did not look as saddened as I would have expected. "I think you know" he responded calmly. 

The knot in my throat tightened. "How?"

He tilted his head ever so slightly as he studied me. "I can show you" he offered extending a flat hand. I was hesitant, studying his palm as I had no idea what that meant. My hand was smaller than his as I offered it and as soon as our skin touched the scene around us changed. 

All of a sudden we stood in a large meadow. There was snow covering the frozen ground, which my bare feet sank into almost up to my ankles. It was cold, but not unbearable. A few snowflakes danced through the air, falling from a pale grey sky. The terrain was uneven and there were small mounds covered in freshly fallen snow all over it, some higher, some smaller with crows perched atop or circling many of them. The field felt like death. A battlefield, but what battle and been fought here?

A hill rose to our right, the hints of buildings and trees barely visible behind its crest. But my attention was drawn to the bottom of the hill, where a small host immersed from the tree line to our left. My eyes widened when I saw a creature almost as tall as the curtain walls at Highgarden, dressed in skins and rags with a tree stump for a club in its hands. A giant. I was so fascinated by it that it took me a moment to realise the man at the very head of the host. They all looked so small from a distance that it was impossible to make out, but I could somehow feel who he was, even though I could not explain how.

"Jon!" I exclaimed excitedly, stumbling forward, my bare feet slipping in the snow. Bran's hand closed around my upper arm as he stopped me from falling and advancing towards the scene. I turned to him with a disappointed look. How could he wish to stop me from being reunited with a sibling. Not just any sibling but Jon! Who had been the only one to ever truly understand me. Jon, who was the only one left alive besides me from our quartet of friends.

"This has already happened" Bran informed me. "All we can do is watch" I frowned at him but made no further attempt to move forward. I studied Jon's force again, then my gaze trailed over to whomever they were facing.

Atop that hill stood an army, mounted knights, archers, lancers and all, plying black banners with what looked like a red x above them. My heart sank at the sight of their numbers, even with a giant I knew in my unexperienced mind that the odds were far from even.

"Who are they?" I asked a little distracted as I studied the head of the army. The sigil looked familiar somehow, but I did not recognise the head of the house, at least not from this distance. 

"Boltons" Bran spoke calmly. I kept my eyes on the man in the front, he was pulling someone towards him on a rough rope, before talking at him. 

The Bolton's had earned Winterfell after betraying Robb, but Roose Bolton was a balding man, the man I was watching now had raven black hair. He pointed across the field towards Jon and my heart skipped nervously. Suddenly the person he had been talking to broke from the lines and started to run across the field. For a moment I thought it was a soldier who was a little too eager to begin the battle, but then I recognised the head of auburn curls. 

"Oh gods" I breathed, clasping my hands aver my mouth as I watched Rickon run and slide down the frozen hill. My eyes filled with tears as I noticed the man at the head of the Bolton host pick up a long bow and draw an arrow. Across the field Jon climbed on a black horse, kicking it hastily as it dashed up the hill. My eyes filled with tears as I already knew how this would end. i knew the result, but I didn't want it to be true, so I quickly blinked the tears away to be able to see what was happening. An arrow was loosened, flying in a high arch to hit the field a few feet from Rickon.