After Jojen and Meera showed up, they packed up and continued walking. Bran was back in his wagon, facing Jojen while they walked. Meera held up the back, and Mare walked beside Bran's cart.
Rickon took off suddenly, down a hill to an open field.
"Rickon, you get back here!" Osha shouted, and Hodor stopped pulling the carriage.
"It's alright, let him run," Bran said, and they all stopped to watch him. "The wolves will protect him."
"I'll go with him," Mare offered, slinging her bow over her shoulder. Before she could start running, Bran grabbed her hand, gently.
"I want you here with me," he said softly, and Mare couldn't refuse him. Those big brown eyes begged her with everything they had, and she couldn't say no.
"So you can get into the animal's minds?" Jojen asked him.
"Only when I'm asleep," Bran said, and a shiver went down Mare's spine, listening to how deep his voice had gotten.
"You're a Warg," Jojen said.
"What in the Seven Hells is a Warg?" Mare asked, walking backwards to face Jojen.
"They can get inside creature's head and see what they see, feel what they feel. Control them," Jojen explained. Mare looked at Bran with interest.
"So my husband not only has prophetic dreams, but can also control animals?" Mare asked, kicking a stone. "Looks like I'm in for a challenge."
"Husband?" Osha asked, turning with a smirk on her face. "He isn't yours yet, little Lady."
"Osha, hush yourself and make sure Hodor is alright," Mare grumbled, feeling her face heat up. Bran looked up at her, smiling his boyish smile that he had managed to keep all those years. Butterflies flared up in her stomach.
"Do you ever see a-" Bran started, but Jojen finished for him.
"A three-eyed raven? Don't forget, we dreamt together."
"Does that have anything to do with Warging?"
"No, the three-eyed raven is different," Jojen explained grimly. "The Raven brings The Sight."
"So, I can see things that haven't happened yet?"
"Or things long before you were born, and maybe even things that are happening right now," Jojen said, shrugging.
"Well, when my father died, I dreamt it."
"You didn't dream of it, you saw it. And so did I. When I first told it to my father, it was the first time in my life that I had seen him cry."
"Howland Reed? He saved Ned Stark during The Rebellion," Mare spoke up, not wanting to be left out.
"He told you both about the Rebellion?" Jojen smiled. "Mine never did. But of course, I saw it."
"So what else did you see, Jojen?" Mare asked him, dropping her guard almost completely. He wasn't threatening or dangerous, she realized. He was just a magical boy, and she didn't say that just to be mean.
"The only one thing that matters," Jojen said, pausing before speaking again. "The both of you."
"How am I so important?" Mare asked him, knitting her eyebrows.
"Well, for one, before you know it you will be Lady Mare Stark, I've see the wedding," Jojen said, "and you both have a wonderful future ahead of you-"
"Don't tell me anymore, I want it to be a surprise!" Mare said, covering her ears with her hands.
"Alright, alright," Jojen said, throwing his hands up in surrender.
They walked in silence, Bran and Mare occasionally glancing at each other. When nightfall came, they all set up camp. Rickon had returned by then, and was laying by the fire, enjoying some rabbit that Summer and Shaggydog helped Mare catch.
"So, Mare, how long have you been in Winterfell?" Jojen asked her, leaning forward slightly to hear her speak.
"Since I was nine, so probably about four years," she said, taking a bite of bread.
"How long have you been betrothed to him?"
"Since I first arrived at Winterfell."
"How?"
"Why do you ask so many questions, anyway?" Mare said, looking to Bran, who was laying next to her with his head on her lap.
"I'm curious about you," Jojen said, squinting at her. "I've seen you in dreams before, sometimes with Bran, other times with a crown, or a sword, and on rare occasions, with a direwolf or dragon."
"What's with you and dragons, Mare?" Rickon asked her, and she sighed.
"It's time for bed Rickon. Come on, I'll sing to you," Mare said, expecting Bran go get up. But he didn't. Instead, he turned over, and she saw he was already sleeping. He looked so much younger, so much more innocent and free while he was asleep. Mare smiled softly down at him, and brushed some hair out of his face.
"Guess she won't be singin' to you, little Lord," Osha said, "I'll sing to you tonight."
YOU ARE READING
The Dalyngridge Girl ➝ Bran Stark
Fanfiction[SLOWLY EDITING] Mare Dalyngridge was a peasant girl that was caught in the middle of a war. She thought that she could survive without a scratch, but instead she barely escapes with her life. Ned and Catelyn Stark take her in, and she quickly befri...
