WOLF'S BLOOD (Game of Thrones)

Five

        They returned from the hunt with renewed vigor, laughing and chattering as they boasted about their catches. Osric had nothing to speak for but a small, fat pigeon that he had struck down with his bow as it roosted in the trees. Theon had laughed out loud at the sight of the fat little creature as it dropped to the ground. "It's like the thing wanted to die!" he had said.

        This earned him a hard shove from Robb, who had congratulated Osric on the kill, though any man could see that this was hard for him.

        Osric tried his best to ignore Theon's mocking. In fact, he would have ignored the ward altogether, had he not been one of Robb's closest friends. Sometimes he didn't understand how Robb got along with the nineteen-year-old. Theon's bawdy jokes were hardly ever amusing, and it was often that his mocking would go too far and leave Osric's pride with a fresh wound.

        Osric knew Theon would never mock Prince Joffrey, who, even with his well-crafted crossbow, had not struck down a single animal. King Robert had grown furious after, upon firing three arrows, Joffrey had not managed to strike a deer even once. The King had killed the animal himself and forced Prince Joffrey to ride alongside the horse that the deer's carcass was slung across the back of. As they rode, Osric could see the look of distaste on the Prince's proud face. The only thing that calmed King Robert was the skin of wine that was handed to him by Eddard, who had offered that killing was not for everyone and was met only with an annoyed grunt.

        When they returned to the yard, they were met by a frantic Sansa, whose Septa clutched her arm tightly as she said through tears, "Bran's fallen and cannot wake up!"

        And she was right. While climbing the broken tower in Winterfell's courtyard, Bran had slipped on the uneven rocks and fallen. This in itself was not seen as suspect, but Osric could think of only one thing. Bran had been climbing that tower since he was nigh but seven years old, and he had never fallen. Still, Osric thought, stranger things had happened than a boy falling from a place he should not have been.

        But even as he told himself this, it was harder still to convince himself.

        Aegon spun in circles when he stepped into his chambers, waving a hand to try and calm the pup down. It didn't work, however, and Osric flinched at the feeling of Aegon's pinprick-sharp claws digging into his leg. "Down, Aegon," he stated, and the pup looked at him quizzically before he did as told.

        "I let him outside," a voice said, and Osric didn't have to look to know it was Arya. "He's the one who found Bran. I ran to follow him, and Bran was just..."

        He heard her voice choke with a sob, and he turned to face her as she whimpered, "Maester Luwin says he may never walk again."

        Osric's heart swelled with emotion as he pulled his youngest sister into his arms, letting her bury her face in his shoulder. When she raised her head again, her gray eyes swam with tears. "I don't want Bran to die."

        "Of course you don't," he said softly. "None of us do, Arya. And if the Gods are good, they will see that and let Bran live."

        "He's never fallen," Arya said, shaking her head fiercely. "Never."

        "Aye, I know. Perhaps it was that his luck ran dry."

        She was still crying when he lowered her to the floor, and Aegon was quick to run to her, jumping up to lick her tear-streaked cheeks. A weak laugh escaped her, but it was a humorless sound that froze Osric's heart like an icy claw. "And Jon wants to go to the Wall," she said. "I heard Uncle Benjen asking Father about it. I heard him say that you- -"

        "Arya," Osric said gently, and he reached for her arm.

        She moved away from his touch. "You want to go with him. You want to leave us. You and Jon want to leave, and Sansa and I are going to King's Landing, and now Bran can't walk."

        Osric had nearly forgotten. With Sansa's betrothal to Prince Joffrey, she and Arya were to leave for King's Landing with their Father. Osric breathed out a sigh, and he lowered to Arya's height. "We're not children anymore, Arya," he said, his voice soft. "Things are going to change, and we have to change with them. Do you know why?"

        Arya's gray eyes met his blue ones. "Our way is the old way?" she asked, but Osric shook his head.

         "No," he said, and a chill went through him as if the room had gotten several degrees colder. "Because winter is coming."