Jojen promised not to tell Meera or Bran about me being a Baratheon, and I promised not to tell them about the dream.
Jojen wasn't much of a talker around Bran or Meera, but he seemed to open up once I pryed his mouth open for him to speak; he was intruiging. His speech was a smooth, steady-paced river; never too fast, nor too slow. And his tone was like a soft hum; he was nice to listen to, and I enjoyed every minute of it. We had good conversations, too, and we often found ourselves asking deep questions and challenging the other to conjure up the better answer. It was like a battle of the minds, and, dear Gods, did he give me a battle. Not to mention how lovely he was to look at. He didn't really smiles a lot, but when he did, it was effulgent. Something about him was infectious, and just plain delightful. We spent most our time together, and he grew to be my best friend.
That connection that we had was something that I'd never had before.
And I think that's what made it hurt so much.
--
I'd heard Jojen and Bran talk about the three-eyed raven a lot, but I honestly had no idea what it was supposed to be.
"What is the three-eyed raven?", I asked out of curiosity.
"The three-eyed crow is a creature that Bran has seen in his dreams since his fall. I've seen it before too, and It's really just an emblem for something else. It could be anything really; a person, and actual bird, maybe even a flower.", he said while bending over to pick a yellow bloom out of the ground, and smiling a quirky smile.
"Smooth", I laughed at him, and then went into a whisper, "but these are poisonous.", he then slowly placed the flower back on the ground.
"Really, though, you think this mystical three-eyed crow, or person, or flower is going to have something for Bran?" I asked, trying to get back on subject.
"If not an actually thing, I think it will enlighten Bran with some sort of information to help reach some sort of future goal that he doesn't even know he has yet.",
--
We were still walking through the forest when my eyes were drawn to a Weirwood tree off to my left; Jojen noticed my staring and told everyone else to stop.
"I've always loved Weirwood trees," I said "I don't worship them, but they're so beautiful.", I walked closer to the tree.
I only stopped looking at the tree when Hodor sat Bran down next to my feet. His eyes grazed the tree up and down.
"I haven't seen a Weirwood tree quite like this one since I left Winterfell." He said, and I smiled down at him.
A small, yet sincere smile formed on his face, and he lifted his hands up to touch the tree. The second his hands made contact, his head lifted up, and his eyes turned that same milky white that they do when he wargs.
"What is he doing?", I asked shocked, as I moved closer to Jojen.
"I think he's seeing through the trees", he replied.
He can do that?, I thought to myself. We stayed staring at him for what felt like an entire three years of winter. None of us moved a muscle until his eyes went back to brown and his body eased back.
Jojen, Meera and I exchanged a quick glance before looking back at Bran. I crouched down next to him, but didn't say a word; the only sound was that of the soft wind swirling around the branches above our heads.
And then, with one simple statment, the question we'd all been thinking was answered.
"I know where we have to go."
