Alliance || Bran Stark

Chapter Five

Dana sat on the table with the Stark and Baratheon children between Arya and Bran. The air was filled with the smell of the array of Roast meats that were on offer. Musicians played and people laughed loudly which made the feast feel like a real celebration.

This feast was much bigger than any one Seren had ever gone to, they didn't have many back home and she had never left the iron islands before she came to Winterfell. She laughed and chatted with the Starks, Jon and Theon about everything. A bit later, Sansa pulled on her sleeve slightly and Seren turned towards her.
"Seren, come over to the queen with me. I'm too nervous to go over myself." Sansa explained. Seren began to stand up, but looked around as she did. She noticed the King chatting up young women, and the queen looking on, her eyes silently judging everyone else.

"Alright," Seren nodded and followed Sansa over to Cersei and Catelyn.
"Your grace," They Both curtsied and the queen looked them both over smiling slightly.
"Little dove, freckled star. You are both so beautiful, How old are you?"
"10, your grace."
"13, your grace."
"You're tall, and still growing I assume?" The queen asked Sansa, starting to not hide the fact that she was looking her over carefully.
"I think so, your grace."
"Have you had your first bleed?" Cersei asked, and Sansa and Seren froze uncomfortably. Sansa looked over to her mother for help but Catelyn just nodded in encouragement.
"No, your grace." Sansa avoided her eye contact.
"And your dress, did you make it?" Cersei smiled, and Sansa smiled too, nodding.
"Such a talent, you must make something for me." Sansa beamed proudly as the queen said this, and both the girls curtsied before walking away.
"How awkward," Seren whispered to Sansa as they walked away, and they giggled to each other.

Seren returned to her seat, quickly joining back into the conversation. She watched Robb looking annoyed and turned around to see what he was looking at. Sansa was staring at Joffrey and giggling to her friend; she was definitely smitten. This exchange was broken up however, when Arya decided to ping Sansa with some food, using her spoon as a sling shot.
"Arya!" Sansa gasped, and quickly wiped the food off her face, while Seren and the others laughed hysterically.

Not long after this, the night began to wind down and Seren became tired. She said her good nights to everyone and went to her chambers, followed closely by Dana who got her ready for bed. Being at the feast had made her miss her sister, Seren realised, as she walked into the quiet room. The Starks were such a close knit family, and she hoped she could have a family like that one day, rather than the broken Greyjoy one.
"What's wrong, child?" Dana asked, as she tucked Seren into her bed.
"I miss home." Seren sighed. "I do love it here, but I miss Yara." Dana smiled sadly.
"Why don't you write to her tomorrow morning? It might take a while to get there, but it will put your mind at rest." Dana suggested before saying goodnight to the young girl and leaving. Seren fell peacefully asleep not long after that, exhausted from the feast the day before.

The next morning, Seren was awoken by a commotion in the courtyard and she quickly ran over to her window to see what was going on. After she realised it was just people preparing for the hunt, she collapsed back on to her bed, just as Dana walked in to get her ready.
"You're up for once, my lady." Dana said, acting all surprised while Seren groaned into the blankets.

"Why do I have to get ready this early if I'm not even going on the hunt today?" She whined and Dana seemed to subconsciously pull Seren's braids tighter.
"Because you should be spending the day with Bran." She gave her a knowing look, and Seren piped down.

Once ready, Seren quickly rushed out of her room to the courtyard which was no longer chaotic. At first she couldn't find Bran, but she soon looked up onto the rooftops and spotted him. She waved, and he gave her a cheeky smile. Running over to a ledge, she then climbed upwards onto the roof, as it wasn't too far off the ground, and crouched next to Bran.
"What are you up to?" She smiled at him, and he smirked.
"I was just about to climb the abandoned tower over there." He pointed it out for her, "if you would like to come with me?"
"Yes, I'll come with you." She answered, and that was all Bran needed. He clambered down quickly while Seren climbed down much more carefully than him. They both ran off to the tower.

Seren gulped as she looked up at the large building that was towering over her.
"I don't think I can climb it Bran, it's way too tall." She explained, and he squeezed her arm.
"It's ok, I'll show you." He smiled reassuringly, and walked over to begin climbing the tower.
"Are you sure you should climb it? It's much taller than the other towers." Seren bit her lip nervously.
"But I've climbed this one before remember, so I know what I'm doing." Bran smiles mischievously and began climbing. Seren shook her head, but grinned at how brave he was.

He kept climbing further and further upwards, he even looked down at certain points to pull faces at Seren who giggled at him from the ground. When he got to the window at the top, however, he seemed distracted by something inside of the room. She watched curiously from the ground, with a hand over the top of her eyes to shield them from the sun. Then, Bran just fell. He fell backwards out of the window and Seren watched helplessly. It happened so fast.

All you could hear when he hit the when he hit the ground was the cracking of his bones and an blood-curdling scream from Seren's mouth.