Oathkeeper

Chapter 55: What Are You?

Sansa stood in the midst of a circle consisting of five Great Ladies of the North. They all gathered around Lady Mormont who carried her tiring three year old, Jeyne, on her hip. As she toyed with the small hand of the only daughter Lyanna had, she couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of uneasiness wash over her. She looked around the room, taking in all the smiles and the sounds of joyful laughter. Especially the ones coming from her her wife who held a tall mug into the air, shouting with the other members of the Queensguard. Yet still, something didn't sit right within her.

The knotting in her stomach resembled a similar feeling, the one she felt in this very room fifteen years ago, only then she was practically bursting at the seams with two full grown babes in her belly. The air tightened and the room went mute as she laid eyes on the boy hysterically rushing into the hall.

Images of the man who cried for help when the Boltons attacked flashed through her mind as her eyes fell to the blood on his hands. That same daunting shade of red, that same look of horror, it all practically sent Sansa into a spell of slumber.

"Your Grace! The prince has been stabbed!" He shouted.

Brienne turned in horror, only just now noticing a southern shift in the atmosphere. Her feet began to move faster than her mind's ability to process the words 'prince' and 'stabbed'. She pushed through those that didn't have enough sense to flee from her raging path until she arrived beside her wife, standing a few feet before the boy. He spun on his heels, quickly turning to run back outside of the castle leading all of the North behind him.

Ilizabeth sat on a crate just beside the Sept, innocently cupping Gabrins chiseled jawline whilst thoroughly pressing her lips against his. Just as he was beginning to find himself caught in the heat of the moment, he heard the chatter of the people growing louder. He detached his face from the princess' and poked his head out to the side, finally noticing the crowd forming outside the Great Hall.

"What is it?" Ilizabeth groaned.

"I don't know." He motioned for Ilizabeth to hop down. "Everyone's outside the hall,"

She wiped the smeared gloss from the sides of her mouth before hopping down against the frost covered dirt. It cracked underneath every lazy uninterested step she took towards the crowd. She rose to her toes and stretched her body as far as she could in attempts to see over the mass amount of people.

Ilizabeth grabbed Gabrins wrist, now tugging him into the crowd hastily. She read the expression of every face she passed. The mix of horror, anger, and disappointment left her with a jarring feeling bubbling in the pits of her stomach.

"What's happening?" Gabrin questioned one of the people beside them.

"Lord Mikah stabbed the Prince" He spoke angrily. "Hang him for treason!"

The crowd roared in outrage. Before she knew it she was holding her breath, praying to the Old Gods that the man's words were merely a lie. A misunderstanding, or a cruel joke of some sort. That hope helped her upwards as she continued to move through the path Gabrin cleared for her.

She reached the center of the crowd. Her gaze fell upon the wet face of her shorter mother, whose body practically caved in on itself. Brienne lifted the limp body of her twin brother off the ground, her stare so blank it was unreadable. Maester Horden motioned for Brienne to follow him up the stairs to which she did instantly.

She practically shoved the man up the stairs, he was old and couldn't help but move slowly. But Brienne feared the worst, and she wasn't prepared for that, especially in regards to her children.

While Brienne, Rickon, Maester Horden, and a few other stewards and knights disappeared into the castle, Ilizabeth turned her gaze back to her mother. She held a different demeanor, one much darker than Ilizabeth had ever seen. The beautiful crystal blue of her eyes now resembled a dark brewing storm in the sea. Her lips were pressed tightly together, as if she was holding back a truly terrifying beast.