GoT AU: The Heart Wants What It Wants

19: Winter Blues

Ages:

- Robb, Jon, Gendry, Meera – 27; Sansa, Joffrey – 26; Arya, Trystane, Alys – 24; Bran, Jojen, Myrcella – 23; Rickon, Shireen, Tommen, Robin – 19

BRAN

Bran jumped back in horror the first time he walked in on someone. The second time, he'd barely handled it. The third time, had definitely scarred him for life.

Now in his final year in ATU, it both had ups and downs, with his thesis writing, archery practice and frat chapter meetings and parties. And also, it involved looking after his wild little brother, Rickon. Which was hard, considering Rickon, barely listened to him.

Rickon only listened to Robb because he was the eldest; he listened to Sansa because she was his favorite sister and he goes to her when he needed advice about girl stuff, especially on how to surprise Shireen at times. He only listened to Arya because he had dirt on her, and Arya would simply threaten to tell their parents about something bad that he had done to make him do what she wants. Their youngest brother never opened up his problems to him or to Jon.

Speaking of Jon, he had finally agreed to change his last name to Targaryen. It took him a year in making the decision. But he had never dropped his actual middle name and his currently given name. So, it's Jon Aegon Stark-Targaryen. He now lived with his Aunt, Daenerys Targaryen in the Targaryen family château in Summerhall. And he was also helping her process documents for a branch office of Khalasar based in King's Landing, in which they were going to call, Khalasar Westeros.

As for Daenerys' dragons, they were cared for. And yes, Robert Baratheon and the STP approved Gendry's request by sending a team of experts, researchers from the Citadel Research Institute in Oldtown. Robb had prepared confidentiality papers to keep the whole thing hushed from the public eye, Jon had collaborated with his Aunt Dany's Unsullied and the men from the army for extra security, and Meera, of course, being a Vet, was Dany's assurance that the researchers weren't messing or hurting her pet dragons.

The dragons were only aired on the news after they were examined. It fueled some protesters that dragons should not be held in captivity as they were endangered species. It actually got to a point where a case was file against Dany by some animal rights movement for violating the Endangered Species Act by holding such creatures in captivity.

The case was brought to court not long after. And since a lawyer isn't allowed to defend himself/herself in court if a case was filed against him/her, Dany took Robb as her lawyer, with Jon, Meera and her foster parent, Illyrio Mopatis as her witnesses.

The trial lasted for nine months. And they won the case, which allowed Dany to have custody of the dragons and had them run free in the grounds of the Targaryen property in Summerhall.

As for his siblings, Robb had officially taken over Stark Industries being its new CEO a year after he passed the Bar exams. He had then appointed their sister, Sansa as VP for Finance. She goes to Winterfell to work but goes home to Highgarden, to a condominium unit their parents had bought for her, and also so she can be close to her boyfriend, Willas Tyrell and his family.

Arya was currently taking her one year internship in Braavos. During the summer before Bran began his fourth year, Arya had used the two months of her one-year internship instead of taking up some mandatory courses in the summer. And Bran remembered freaking out when he found out that they were in the same class for a mandatory course, the Philosophy of Man.