Game of Thrones - The Rose of Winterfell

A Broken Pup

We exited the courtyard and turned to proceed down the path toward the Godswood, only to stop upon hearing a howl. Glancing over my shoulder, I stared at Shadow, who was staring at me with her ears perked up, as I asked, "did you just?" That is when I heard the howl once more. Turning toward the sound, I tried to figure out where it was coming from, only to hear Shadow howl in return. Whipping my head toward her, I quickly said, "Shadow stop that before," only to hear the cry again before watching Shadow run off toward the broken tower. "Shadow, stop!" When she did not listen, I began to chase after her.

Ignoring the mud that had begun to stain the hem of my gown, I kept running. I climbed over fallen trees, ducked under low hanging branches, and jumped over rocks to keep Shadow within sight. Darting around a tree, I sprinted forward to chase after her, only to hiss in pain upon feeling a branch strike my face. Ignoring the stinging of the cut, I kept moving, only to duck under a few more branches as Shadow kept moving. Breathing deeply, I climbed over a fallen tree only to stumble forward. Dropping to my knees, I took a deep breath and glanced up to find her sitting in front of the broken tower, sniffing the air. Taking a deep breath, I quickly climbed to my feet, walked over to her, and took hold of the scruff at the back of her neck as I forced her to look at me. She blinked and stared at me momentarily as I tried to read what caused her to run from me in her bright blue eyes, only to hear the howl again as Shadow barked before breaking free of my hold. Taking a deep breath, I hurried after her only to blink upon seeing Summer, Bran's direwolf, lying beside something. Walking around Shadow, I moved toward Summer with slow, purposeful steps only to blink upon seeing a familiar head of reddish-brown hair lying behind her as I screamed, "Brandon!"

Sprinting around Summer, I dropped beside him and placed my hand on his shoulder to nudge him while I said, "Bran, wake up." Rather than batting my hand away like he often did, he remained static as his chest rose and fell with each breath. Blinking back tears, I removed my hand from his shoulder and gently brushed his hair away from his face as I softly said, "Bran, you must wake up!" Summer began to whine as she nudged his shoulder. When he didn't respond to her, I forced myself to take a deep breath as I glanced at the two direwolves before me and asked, "Shadow, could you and Summer fetch Maester Luwin?" With a tilt of her head, she just stared at me for a moment before barking and turning to run back toward the castle, only to glance at Summer. Following her gaze, I stared at Summer for a moment before saying, "I promise to stay right here with Bran while you get help," only to have her nod and run away. Taking a deep breath, I gently lifted Bran's head and placed him in my lap, saying, "please, do not take my brother from us. Please, let him stay." Tears traveled over my cheeks while I ignored the pain radiating from my left cheek.

Ignoring the tingles running up my arms and legs, indicating that they were falling asleep due to lack of movement, I held Bran until I heard a sharp bark. Glancing away from Bran's peaceful face, I glanced up to find Shadow and Summer coming toward us as Maester Luwin with an assortment of our household guards, and Hodor followed. Sighing relieved, I yelled out, "Maester Luwin," as Summer laid down beside Bran on his left side. At the same time, Shadow ran around him to sit down beside me on my left. He sprinted over to me and kneeled beside me on my right before placing his hand on Bran's chest, only to sigh with relief before asking, "what happened, Ilyanna?"

Shrugging my shoulders, I took a shaky deep breath before saying, "I do not know. I was walking with Shadow toward the Heart Tree when we heard howling. Before I could calm Shadow, she howled in return only to take off running" with a nod from him, I forced myself to breathe. At the same time, he looked Bran over while I said, "I chased after her and found her standing before the broken tower." With another nod, he glanced at me and asked, "did Bran respond to you?" I shook my head no as I felt another wave of tears in my eyes while I said, "when we found him, I yelled, touched his shoulder and face, but he didn't reply. I hoped he would respond when Summer nudged him, but he...." My voice faltered at the thought as tears continued to run down my cheeks. I felt a hand settle on my shoulder. Looking up, I blinked past tears to find Maester Luwin offering me a small smile as he said, "he has not left us yet, my Lady." Blinking, I glanced up at Maester Luwin as he offered me a confident smile before glancing away from me while saying, "Hodor, will you please take Bran back to the castle?"