Gone but close - Game of Thrones [Bran Stark fanfiction]

Chapter 20

Toria's pov:

Her head bounded as she woke, she was laying in the grass. But not from where she had fallen. The memory was still burned on her eye, repeating itself. She missed Sarisa. She missed so much.

'Bryce..' Lurs whispered being done with the fake names, 'are you allright?'

Toria nodded as she sat straight. She rubbed her head, than she remembered why she fainted. Bran.

'Where's Sulvan?' Toria asked sleepy being done with needing this fake idenity. She wanted to scream to world, how unfair this was. She thought the Gods were supposed to protect her family. The people she loved, most of them were dead, murdered by the Lannnisters, betrayed by Theon Greyjoy or on the run on his own, if he was still alive. She wanted to scream to Riler that they should've moved faster towards Winterfell, not the camping for several days the whole time. She wanted to kill every Lannister. She wanted to kill Theon Greyjoy. She wanted to be alone. She wanted to be free to cry, but she had to remain strong, for her identity, her brothers and herself.

'Talking to Tywin Lannister,' Lurs answered worried, 'whats going on with you?'

Toria looked at Lurs. Building the courage to speak the words. She did not want to believe them. The hole in her heart seemed to grow, and she didn't want it to get any bigger. It was big enough already.

'Bran,' she whispered and by just that Lurs already suspected something bad. Which was obvious since she fainted. He didn't ask anything else, he just took her in his arms and hugged her protective. It felt good, hugging with her brother. The brother that wanted to take her to Winterfell against their fathers orders. The brother that was always frightend but builded the courage for his sister, because she loved the boy her father would make her marry. But that weddding didn't feel like an arranged one anymore, she wanted to marry him. And her brother noticed it, he wanted happiness for her, but him giving her that change was taken from him before they could even leave her room. He let go of the hug and smiled slightly, glad she was okay.

'Bryce, what happened to you?' Dwan asked who just appeard, 'you scared the crap out of me.'

'I hadn't felt good all day already, it was nothing,' Toria answered hoping he could get the Lion sigil out of her sight before she decided to burn it somehow. Dwan nodded worried.

'Take care of your brother,' Dwan told Lurs.

'Always,' Lurs answered rather sad. She sighed.

Dwan hoped for more words from Toria or Lurs, but neither saw him as a friend. They both saw him as an obstacle. He sighed before he took off.

Toria looked at Lurs but neither said a word, they just stared at the green grass, trying to ignore the red tents, the lion sigils and anyone else.

Riler walked out of a tent across the small path, he looked relieved and terrified at once. He layed his bright blue eyes on his younger siblings and ran towards them hugging them tightly before they even noticed he was there.

'If he asks, we were heading for the Wall for safety and a roof above our heads because we couldn't go anywhere else. If he notices you're a girl we would've done anything to hide it from the guys over there, you look like a boy because being a girl in the woods isn't safe. Only if he notices you're a girl, Bryce. If he asks about our parents, our mother died giving birth to you since you were stuck her stomach got cut open. Our father got really sick a month ago and he died.' Riler whispered in their ears so they would all have the same story.

'I wish to speak to the one that fainted,' a low, frustrated voice sounded. Riler let go of his siblings to reveal and old man who looked rather angry in Lannister army. He had his eyes on Toria and she stood up.

'Hello,' Toria said awkwardly, 'eh.. my lord.'

'Come in,' Tywin Lannister snirred. In the tent was a table with two chairs, 'have a seat.'

Toria sat down and Tywin sat down on the other side of the table, looking intense.

'What do you know abou the Darkerly's?' Tywin asked.

'They're dead,' Toria answered, trying really hard to not sound vengefull and hating.

'Most of them at least,' Tywin added, 'why are you pretending to be a boy?'

'Eh. What?' Toria asked telling herself not to panic.

'The others might be stupid enough to see you're a boy, but I'm not stupid,' Tywin continued, 'answer my question.'

'Well, it isn't safe as a girl in the woods. Anything could happen, so looking like a boy would give me more change to survive,' she told him, keeping herself to Rilers story.

'Clever,' he sounded inimpressed, angry and awfully hatefull.

'Tell me, why did you faint after hearing of Brandon Starks dead?' Tywin asked, 'are you Toria Darkerly?'