The Children of Spring

Jenny II - Where's the Princess?

They all looked around the tent for any signs of Rhaella, however there were none and no one knew where she was, everyone started to fear the worst.
"We were in the maestre's tent and then she went to find Rhaenys, I thought that she had come back." Jeyne said worried and then suddenly they heard Drogon roaring outside.
"I'm going to search the camp." Clegane said and then went to try to find the girl.
"Jorah, Lya. Come on, we have to find Kingly and Sky." Daenerys said and then they went with her to find the little dragons.
"The rest of you stay here. We are going to do a review through the troops." Joanna said and the rest of the adults left the tent.
What have we done? Why couldn't we have stayed in KingsLanding?, Jenny thought, she felt responsible for what happened. It had been her idea to come and because of that the younger ones come as well and now Rhaella was missing.
"We have to go find her." Jenny said.
"We don't even know where she is." Thomas said.
"It's pretty obvious." Galladon said.
"You don't know that." Marianne said.
"She can be in the camp, still." Joan said.
"That would be really great, but..." Catelyn said.
"She was captured and you know it." Mia said.
"Me and Rickon are going to stay here. We have to defend our home." Gerion said, they had talked before about it.
"We know you understand." Rickon said.
"Of course, give them hell." Galladon said.
"Me and Bran are staying too." Eddard said.
"We can help here at least." Brandon said.
"I'm coming with you. We have to defeat them. More so after what they did to our parents." Mia said.
"Alright." Jenny said.
"How do you plan to convince the adults to let you leave?" Jeyne asked.
"We have to make them understand." James said. We will, Jenny thought.
Once the Hound came back, everyone realised that it had been the Sons of the Harpy who had taken Rhaella, for they had left their mark, they had left one mask, besides her baby dragon, Rhaenys, was gone as well and Daenerys knew exactly why, as she remembered the House of Undying, which made her even more concerned about her youngest daughter.
As soon as every matter was discussed, Galladon, Jenny, Marianne and Gerion went to talk with Jaime, Brienne, Joanna and Podrick, to explained their plan and hoping that they could convince them to let them go after Rhaella. They had agreed that, if the older ones could convinced their parents, then they would all talk to the Queen.
As they reached the tent, they started to hear people arguing.
"I have to go! You know that!" Jaime said.
"No, I don't! Tyrion is already there and so is Sansa, don't you think that is bad enough?" Joanna said.
"Besides you don't know if you can get out of there if the castle is attacked." Brienne said.
"I'll find a way, don't worry." Jaime said.
"They have to know about the Golden Company." Pod said.
"And they need someone to comand the army. You both know that." Jaime said and then there was silence in the tent, they knew he was right.
They took the oportunity to enter the tent and, as they did, the others looked at them.
"We wanted to talk with you, but we can come later." Galladon said.
"No, we can talk now." Brienne said.
"Well, all of us talked and we decided that we want to go after Rhaella." Jenny said.
"If it weren't for us, she would be safe in KingsLanding." Marianne said.
"It's not your fault, alright? The only persons to blame are those sellswords." Joanna said.
"Still it's what is right and we also agreed that not all of us will go. Me, Rickon, Bran and Ned want to stay here and fight." Gerion said.
"It's not that simple. We know you want to help, but we have to think this through and if some people go away then we wouldn't have the numbers in the next battle." Joanna said.
"We are not helping anyone here. At least, while all of us are here." Galladon said. The adults looked at each other, realizing that they were almost adults and that they could make their own decisions, and then Pod asked,
"Are you sure about this?"
"Yes, we are." Marianne said.
"Well, then meet us in the council tent." Jaime said and they nodded and went to where the others were.
When Jenny, Galladon, Marianne and Gerion got to where their friends were, they entered the tent and then Jenny said,
"Well, we talked to them."
"And?" Rickon asked.
"They agreed to it." Marianne said.
"Now we just need to go to the council tent." Galladon said.
"Thank you, all of you. It means a lot to us." Jorah said and Lyanna nodded as well.
"We'll get her back, we promise." Jenny said. No matter what, Jenny thought.
"I'm going to talk with uncle Jaime and asked him if I can come with him to Wintefell." Gerion said.
"What?" Jeyne and Rickon asked.
"I'll be able to help there too, besides Bran, Ned and you will stay here." Gerion said.
"What if you get trapped?" Marianne asked worried.
"I won't. We'll find a way." Gerion assured her.
"Alright, but be careful." Jenny said.
"Always." Gerion said.
Then they went to the tent and entered it. After explaining the plan very well and with every detail to the Queen, Daenerys said,
"I really apreciate that and it shows a great deal of honor and courage. But if you go, then I will require that at least one of you stays in your rightful lands, to secure your houses. And also for us to be prepared if the war comes South."
They looked at each other, however their determination was not put off. If someone had to stay in the castles for them to find their friend, then that was what would happened. Alright, let's see how this goes, Jenny thought.
"Alright." Galladon said.
"Who will be the ones staying?" Daenerys asked.
"I'll stay in KingsLanding." Lyanna said and Jorah looked at her worried, he knew she was not a lady, however she just nodded and he nodded back. This was not the way, it was supposed to be, Jenny thought.
"Can I stay in KingsLanding too, aunt Dany? I'd rather not stay in the battlefield or Winterfell like my brothers and also to try at least to assure my house continues." Jeyne said. Rickon and Gerion looked at her surprised, they would never see that coming, nor would Jenny. Still, they were glad for it.
"Of course, Jeyne. Can you help Lya, while you are there?" Daenerys asked.
"I'll do my best." Jeyne said smiling and Lyanna gave her a hug, she hugged her back. Then Lyanna lifted her head and mouthed 'Thank you' and Jeyne just winked. And all of them smiled.
"Thank you, Jeyne." Daenerys said.
"I'll stay in Storm's End." Eddard said determined.
"Ned..." Brandon said.
"You fight better than me, Bran. And Mia will do a great job in finding Rhaella. I still can't control the green dreams, it would be a liability." Eddard explained.
"Are you sure you'll be well on your own?" Mia asked concerned.
"Uncle Bran said that he would help me, I'll be fine." Eddard said assuring her and they nodded.
"Very well. Thank you for offering, Ned." Daenerys said and he nodded.
The adults were very proud and they would let them solve this by themselves. However, Jenny noticed that her mother had a hand fixed on the table, as if she was trying to hold on to it. It must be my imagination, she thought. She did not want to imagine it was something else. She looked at Marianne and she looked at her, both knew something was happening.
"Tarth is near Storm's End, if anything happens, I'll be there in hours. I'm staying in Tarth." Joan said surely and Catelyn took her hand. It would be the first time that they would be apart.
"Are you sure, Jo?" Galladon asked concerned.
"Yes, Gal. Don't worry." Joan said and he nodded.
"Thank you, Joan." Daenerys said and she nodded.
For the adults the hardest thing was not being able to do anything. They did not want for their kids to be separated, however this time they did not have a choice.
"I'll stay in the Rock." Marianne said. No!, Jenny thought. She'd rather that the twins stayed, because they were just 14. Also she did not want to let Marianne alone, because if the twins stayed they would both stay.
"Mary." Jenny said.
"I don't mind it, Jen." Marianne said.
"I can stay if you want." Thomas said.
"Don't worry. You three should go. I'd rather stay, than go." Marianne said.
"For sure, sis?" James asked.
"For sure, brother." Marianne said and then they nodded and Jenny hugged her and Marianne whispered in her ear,
"Give them hell, like the warrior you are, sis." And then she whispered back,
"And you rule our house, like the lady you are, sis."
After the hug, Daenerys said,
"Thank you, Marianne." And she nodded.
"Very well then. Clegane, can you escort them South?" Joanna asked, still her hand did not left the table. Something is not right, Jenny thought.
"Sure. Don't worry." Clegane said.
"Me and Gerion can go with you, until the secret passage to Winterfell. You have to go through the North to the Free Cities. It's the longest, but also the safest way." Jaime explained.
"Is there anyone we can ask for help out there?" Catelyn asked.
"Uh, when you reach Castle Black, asked for Ser Marlon Westerling. He's the Lord Comander of the Night's Watch, he'll help you." Pod said.
"And when you're beyond the Wall, look for the Free Folk. The King of the Free Folk, Tormund Giantsbane, knows us, all of us. He will also help you." Joanna said.
"In the Free Cities, you can look for Daario Naharis, he was left rulling Meereen." Daenerys said.
"Now, all we can say is good luck and be careful, please. We want you to know that we trust you, we're just worried." Brienne said.
"Thank you for trusting us, we will not disapoint you." Jenny said and all of them nodded.
"Alright then, let's go have dinner." Daenerys said and then all exited the tent, except for Joanna and Podrick. Most of the people did not notice that, however Jenny and Marianne did.
As they were going to dinner, Jenny and Marianne were talking until they reached the tent where they would have dinner.
"Did you notice that mother and father stayed in the tent after everyone had left?" Marianne asked.
"I did. It's weird. Do you think something happened?" Jenny asked.
"I don't know. Maybe." Marianne said.
"I hope it's nothing serious." Jenny said.
"It's probably nothing." Marianne said.
"I hope you're right." Jenny said. But I don't think that's true, Jenny thought.
She was not wrong, because in the tent where they had been, Joanna and Podrick were talking as well.
When everyone was leaving the tent, Joanna had grabbed Pod's hand and had said,
"Wait, love. I need to talk to you."
"Of course. What is it, love?" Pod had said.
Then after everyone left, Joanna looked at him seriously and said,
"I was poisoned..."
"What? What do you mean?" Podrick asked confused and worried.
"In the battle, one of those bastards cut me in the forearm and, well..." Joanna said and then showed him the cut. That part of arm was purple and it looked like it was spreding. Pod went to her and said,
"It's probably nothing. Maybe it's just infected, we'll call the maestre."
"It's poison. The maestre said it was. He doesn't know if there's something to stop it. Pod, I think... I'm..." Joanna said, trying that her voice did not break. He took her face in his hands and looked her in the eyes.
"No. Don't you dare saying that, Joanna. You'll get through this, you're not going to..." Pod said.
"But what if? It's getting worse..." Joanna said, looking at him. The tears threatning to fall from her eyes.
"Never! Listen to me, you're not going to fucking die. You're not, love. You are stronger than this." Pod said, looking at her and then she leaned into him and he just held her.
"What are we going to do? I can't keep on going to the meetings, I could barely stand today. I... don't know if I can fight." Joanna said and by then the tears were falling.
"You just need to rest. Tomorrow the kids will leave and we will follow the plan and help in the battle the best we can. I'm not going to loose you, Joanna. I promise." Pod said helding her thightly. She just leaned into him and let all her fear and dread out and he just comforted her. They had survived the Long Night, they would survive that too.
The dinner went well and everyone managed to have a good time, before going to sleep. It was good because it helped to relief the pressure of the events of the day and the future events.
After dinner, Jenny went to the back of the tent, where they had first hidden from their parents when they had came to the camp. She and Galladon had agreed to meet there and then they would sneak out into the woods to have a little time just for the two of them.
Jenny was in the meeting place, just waiting, she knew that she had came a little early. However, she needed time to think. She felt responsible for Rhaella's disapearence and she wanted to go find her, because it was the right thing to do, however she did not find it fair that the other had to stay behind, because if she had not had the idea to come in the first place, they would still be in KingsLanding. If we hadn't come, we could have been there when they found out it was a trap and it could have been us to come instead of them, Jenny thought sadly.
Jenny was also concerned about her parents, especially her mother, she had missed dinner. Her father had said that she was just tired and that tomorrow she would be better. However, Jenny did not believe it. She knew something was happening. I hope she is alright. It does not make sense. She was alright one moment and the next it's like she was really down, Jenny thought worried.
Few seconds later, Galladon came from behind her and hugged her, giving her a kiss. Jenny just leaned into him for a while and then turned and kissed him. Then she just hugged him and they stood like that for a while.
"I feel so cheated. This is nothing like we've imagined, is it, love?" Jenny said.
"Not at all, love. But things will get better, you'll see." Galladon said and then kissed her. Then they went into the woods to a place they had found the day before.
In that place, Galladon sat leaning against a tree and Jenny sat in his lap, with her head in his chest.
"Come on, sweetheart, tell me. What's on your mind?" Galladon asked softly and a bit concerned as well.
"Didn't you ever think that if we hadn't left, then perhaps this would all be different?" Jenny asked.
"Maybe. I know you feel responsible for what happened to Rhaella, I feel too. But the best we can do now is trying to find her." Galladon said.
"I know, it's just that..." Jenny said and then sighed.
"It's not fair. No one should have to stay behind." Galladon said, completing her sentence.
"It's the reality. I'm also a bit worried about leaving." Jenny said.
"Yeah, me too. I mean my father and Ger are going to Winterfell. They might not get out of there." Galladon said worried.
"They will. The war is going to have to end someday." Jenny assured him.
"I hope you're right. Why are you worried about leaving?" Galladon asked concerned.
"I think that my mother is not well. She missed dinner and back in the meeting, I noticed that something was wrong." Jenny said concerned.
"I noticed it too. The way she was leaning on the table. But probably it's just fatigue, like your father said." Galladon said trying to relief her worries.
"I don't think I believe that. Did you hear your parents saying anything?" Jenny asked curiously.
"Uh, now that you mentioned it. I heard my father saying that the way she react when they were talking about him going to Winterfell was different, as if something had happened. But I didn't hear the whole conversation, so I don't know the context." Galladon answered.
"Well, let's hope that it's nothing." Jenny said more to herself than to Galladon.
"And here we are... in the middle of a forest... is it the twice or thirce time?" Galladon said with a chuckle, hugging her, trying to cheer her up.
"Twice. No, wait, thrice. There was that one in the Rock and the other in Storm's End." Jenny said turning to him.
"Do you think that we will ever be able to do this without being hidding somewhere?" Galladon asked, looking at her.
"Well, our parents agreed to this and said that they were happy for us, so..." Jenny said.
"I still can't believe it." Galladon said.
"Neither can I. Still, I'm glad they did." Jenny said smiling.
"Me too. At least, during this journey, I'll be able to do this whenever I want." Galladon said and then he kissed her and she kissed him back.
"You're forgeting that only Jorah and Mia know. Catelyn, Thomas and James don't know about us." Jenny said and then kissed him.
"Guess, we'll have to tell them." Galladon said with a chuckle. Jenny just laughed a little and then he kissed her again and she kissed him back.
After some time alone, they agreed to go back to camp, because they had to be a little subtil about their relationship, at least, for a little while.
The next day, it was time for goodbyes.
Jenny was with her sister and brothers, when their parents came to them. Jenny was a bit relief to see her mother coming to them, she seemed better. Maybe it was fatigue, Jenny thought happily.
"Once again, we're saying goodbye." Pod said sighing.
"Perhaps we'll get used to it." Thomas said keeping an optimistic view, as always.
"You never do, sweety, no matter what." Joanna said.
"Thank you for trusting us." Jenny said.
"We'll not let you down." Marianne said.
"We know you won't, my dears." Joanna said.
"Can I ask you something?" James asked.
"Sure, James." Pod said.
"Can you give them hell, while we're away?" James asked smiling.
"Don't worry, sweetheart. We will." Pod said with a chuckle.
"I'm going to tell you a thing that my father used to tell me, in situation like these. 'A Lannister always pays his debts'. They mess with one of us, they mess with all of us." Joanna said.
"We know, mother. We'll make sure of that." Thomas said.
"We know you will." Joanna said smiling. She was trying really hard not to cry, this could be the last time she saw her girls and her boys.
After that each of them hugged their parents and when Jenny hugged her father, she whispered,
"Please, take care of mother."
"I will, don't worry, sweety." Pod whispered back and Jenny smiled.
"Everyone is ready?" Jaime asked, as he came to them and they nodded. Everyone came as well. Then they all said goodbye. As the young people was saying goodbye, the adults were too.
"Be strong, Jo. You'll get through this." Jaime said and she nodded.
"Can you three keep an eye on her?" Jaime asked.
"Don't worry. Nothing will happen, I promise." Pod said.
"Come back and bring them back too." Brienne said.
"I will, I promised." Jaime said.
"See that the fucking story repeats itself and that that castle don't fall. Alright, Kingslayer?" Clegane said.
"Of fucking course, Clegane." Jaime said. The young people heard the word 'Kingslayer', however they did not know what it meant.
After that, the horn blew and they had to leave immediately. Therefore, Jaime and Gerion led Jenny, Galladon, Thomas, James, Catelyn, Jorah and Mia to the North, while Marianne, Jeyne, Lyanna, Eddard and Joan went with Sandor Clegane to the South and Brandon and Rickon stayed in camp with the rest of the adults.