WILOW-Ch.312: Travel Companions
On the Road to Dreadfort
POV of Brandon Stark
"People say that the lands here are very prosperous. That Lord Bolton is an excellent Lord, and perhaps he is the greatest from his house. What do you think of that?" Meera Reed asked from the opposite side of the carriage.
Bran was at a loss for words. He had not known that Meera Reed would join him in this journey up beyond the Wall. But having a companion whom he could talk with was better than nothing.
She was also beautiful, but after losing his legs… he very much doubted that any girl would ever choose to marry him, so that line of thinking was closed to him.
Who would want to marry a cripple?
"It is… very…" he thought about the correct word to say it, "The people in these lands. The small folk. They're richer than the people living in the Stark lands."
"That's an understatement if what I heard is true," Meera said. "I've spent my entire life in the swamps of Neck. The first time I left was in the 2nd expedition up beyond the Wall, along with my brother…" For some reason, her face fell when she mentioned his brother.
Jojen Reed. As Bran remembered, he had been fatally wounded on the second expedition beyond the Wall. But Lord Bolton had somehow managed to heal and save him.
Bran wondered for a moment if Lord Bolton could heal his legs. But then he remembered what Master Luwin had said about his condition. According to the Master, healing his legs was impossible. Walking was now impossible for him.
There was no need to cling to false hopes and disappoint himself further. He needed to accept the fact that... that he would never walk again.
He knew that, but still...
Bran snapped out of his troubled thoughts and wondered why Meera's face had fallen when she mentioned her brother, Jojen. Had something happened between them?
But what he was more curious about was why she had joined him on this journey beyond the Wall.
"And now you're going there once again." He said, "Are you a Greenseer as well?"
Meera shook her head, "No. The one who has green dreams is my brother, Jojen. See glimpses of the future. I have no such gifts. Bloodraven sent a message asking Jojen and me to come. But... my father wouldn't let Jojen go beyond the Wall again. He said he wouldn't risk losing his heir again. So, he allowed me to come with you. I guess he didn't want to refuse Lord Bolton's request, especially when Lord Stark was sending one of his own sons. And... I was the more expendable one."
There was silence in the carriage, and Bran tried to think of something to lighten the mood. To replace the sad look on Meera's face with a smile.
Leaf was sitting beside Meera and seemed sorry for her, but he knew she would remain silent, as she does most of the time, and not console her.
"My sister. Sansa…" He said.
Meera looked up at him, and he continued. "…She said that Dreadfort was the most advanced and luxurious castle in the whole North. She also said that Lundenhold was more organized and prosperous than any other city. I suspect she might have said those things because she was in love with Lord Bolton. But my brothers Robb and Jon said the same things."
She gave a small smile. She saw right through his sad attempts to cheer her up.
"That's good." She said, then fell silent, looking out the window to see the city in the distance coming closer every minute.
He let out a sigh and looked outside as well.
The whole 'going beyond the Wall to become a Greenseer' left him in a nervous state, and he really couldn't muster up enough energy to help her.
What if he wasn't good enough to be a Greenseer? What if he couldn't help his people? What if he failed to save his people despite being a Greenseer? What if he turned out to be useless like he was in every other thing in his life?
He knew very well that for all his boasts of wanting to become a Kingsguard, he was never really good with the swords. He never really took his training as seriously as Robb or Jon.
Would he be able to help his family if he became a Greenseer? Would a girl ever want a cripple like him?
Bran secretly admired Lord Bolton for this. It was as if Lord Bolton had everything Bran wanted, and he had built most of it himself, from scratch.
Everyone thought Lord Bolton was a genius and could easily accomplish things no one had even imagined.
But Bran knew very well that to be truly good at something and to do things that others couldn't even dream of required putting in an effort that many others hadn't made before.
Lord Bolton was not only one of the greatest swordsmen who ever lived, but also the inventor of many new things. Moreover, he was regarded as one of the greatest lords the North had ever seen. At least, that's what he was sure the small folk of Bolton lands thought.
And Bran couldn't even begin to imagine how much effort Lord Bolton had put into achieving all of this.
If he had put this much effort into his sword training, could he have become a renowned swordsman?
Was the reason his dreams would never come true that he hadn't put in enough effort in the past?
If he had actually devoted time to his practice instead of constantly climbing somewhere, maybe now he would be one step closer to his dreams and wouldn't be a cripple.
If he put in enough effort to become a good Greenseer, would he succeed this time?
The following two hours were spent in uncomfortable silence with awkward small talk every now and then before they finally reached Lundenhold.
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.313: Sibling Reunion
Ch.314: Tourney and Conspiracy
Ch.315: The End of King Robert's Reign