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

Chapter 38

Toria's pov:

She was sitting on the dirty ground of the shed. She was so bored. It had been so long since they came to Kingslanding. She didn't want to make her life here permanent.. but she had nowhere else to go. Where else could she go?

Everything was quiet untill a raven flew into the room.

'A raven?' She asked herself confused. Why would a raven land here?

She took the letter from the raven and looked at the stemple. The Stark stemple. Bran. That was the first one that came to mind. She didn't dare to open the letter, afraid for bad news.

She had been waiting for so long, but she couldn't.

That was when her brothers and Gendry walked in. All three of them were confused.

'Why are you looking at that letter as if you see water burn?' Lurs asked.

She didn't look up to the three, she just stared at the stemple, afraid it would dissapear if she looked away from it.

'It has a Stark stemple,' she answered. Tears fell down her cheeks, she smiled.

'What?' The three boys asked at the same time staring at Toria.

What if it was Bran? Would he tell her to come to Winterfell and marry? Would he tell her he found another and apologize for not wanting to marry her anymore? Or what if it wasn't Bran and he was really burned with his brother all those years ago?

'Well, open it,' Riler said encouraging her.

'I.. can't,' she said shyly. She could but she couldn't. It was all very confusing and frightning. For some odd reason she looked at Gendry. His face was cold.

'Then let me open it,' Riler wanted to grasp the letter out of her shaking hands, but she refused.

'No, I must open it,' she snirred pulling the letter away from him. Riler sighed.

She opend it and read it. It was Bran! He was alive and well! He and Sansa took back Winterfell from the Boltons! He still wanted to marry her! Her time of lying and hiding was over, she could be Toria Darkerly again, and soon Toria Stark. She hadn't felt this happy in years.

She cried while laughing, which confused the boys. Before the boys could ask anything she threw the letter in Rilers hand and started packing their stuff.

'Eh, are you leaving?' Gendry asked quite dissapointed.

'What does he mean with "I have changed"?' Riler asked. She hadn't even thought about that part. The other parts where so overwhelming, she didn't care about that part. Untill she realised he said he had changed and it might make her not wanting to marry him. She didn't care how he would have changed, she wanted to marry Bran, more than anything else!

'I don't know,' Toria answered still packing their stuff as quickly as possible.

'Can somebody please explain to me what is going on?' Lurs asked confused and stressed.

'Bran Stark wrote Toria,' Riler explained very small.

'What?' Gendry and Lurs asked.

'Bran writes, that he and Sansa are in Winterfell and says we could come. And if Toria still wants to marry him he would be more than happy to do so. And he says he has changed what might make Toria change her mind on their marriage.'

'Take this,' she threw a bag into Lurs' arms, 'thats everything I guess.'

'And since when do you decide where we are going?' Lurs asked challanging her.

The first thing she noticed was Riler and Gendry taking a few steps back, knowing Lurs just used the wrong words.

'Excuse me? I will decide where we're going. We are going to Winterfell and thats it,' she said strictly, 'suck it up.'

'Suck it up? Did you really just say that? I'm older than you sis, not to be rude but you are a woman, you have no saying in this.' She didn't know where Lurs got the courage to say this but she knew he could've better not do this.

'I have no saying in this? In case you haven't noticed it yet I have saved your silly life twice now, as a ten year old and a twelve year old, remember? Without me you could not even have your saying.. so from now on the both of you will do as I say, we are going to Winterfell or else I will show you how much I am like father,' Toria's face was only a few inches away from Lurs' she could feel his unsteady breathing on her cheeks as she spoke, 'do you understand it?'

Lurs nodded quickly and swallowed, getting back in his old scared behaviour.

'Without me, you both would be death,' Toria continued, 'I took the lead when the Lannister men came for us, I took the lead when it came to a lot of things and without my lead you would be dead, rotting somewhere in the mud.'

'You're right little one,' Riler answered, 'but we haven't even discussed yet and you are already deciding.'

'You really don't get it. Do you?' She asked getting frustrated, 'I thought you were supposed to know this.'

Gendry sat down on the floor as her brothers looked at her in confusion.

'We've got nothing, we had to hide for years, we can go back to being us again... You forget something very important. The Starks have men, if we rebuild the Darkerly castle make alliances with Northerners we can kill the Lannisters.. You forget the Starks are after the Lannisters as well.. Jon Snow happens to be very important by now I heard and when we tell the North what happened they will join us. I hope, you never know of course. The  North remembers, Riler.. never forget that,' she explained, 'and we can be happy there. I want to be happy. So we are going.'

'If you say so,' Riler answered, 'I must say.. you lead pretty God damn well.'

He smiled as did she. She looked at Gendry who seemed to be in deep thoughts.

'Could you leave us?' She asked her brothers. The nodded and left the shed.

'You could come with us, to Winterfell,' she said as Gendry stood up from the ground.

'No, it will be noticeable if I do.. I can't come,' he answered, 'do you have to go?'

'Yes, its Bran.. I am sorry, but I can not make a life here. I can't stand it here, being inside all day because otherwise I could get raped or whatever, living in secret.. I can't.. He makes me happy Gendry, and I am so sorry but I love him so much.' She told him, holding his hands.

'I hope, he gives you everything you desire,' he said, swallowing.

'When.. we'll fix Darkerly Castle I will have you picked up and give you a home in Darkerly Castle.. I promise, for everything you've done for us.. Thank you so much Gendry.'

'No problem,' he looked up, 'I'd like to live in a castle.'

She smiled. 'You'll love it.'

'Goodbye, Toria,' he said as he wrapped her cloak around her. He had a sad smile on his face.

She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly.

'I'll miss you,' she said, sobbing.

'I'll miss you too,' he said holding her tightly.

'Goodbye,' she said as she let go of him, slowly walking to the door.

'Goodbye.' He said again, softly as she closed the door. She saw the raven fly away again and as she wanted to tie her cloak closed she felt the cold metal of a necklace she had never took off, but had hid it away underneath her clothes. She forgot she even had it, so long it has been since she touched it or even knew it was there. The necklace Bran made her all those years ago. She smiled happily, she was going home.