The Children of Spring

James I - The Real North

The journey went well, because, eventhough everyone was a bit anxious about being out there without supervision, everyone was also excited about it. They were in a mission and an important one. Now, they can't treat us like kids anymore, James had thought when they had left camp.
James Payne-Lannister was one of the two twin sons of Joanna and Podrick. He had blonde hair and expressive green eyes, the typical Lannister look that made all of the girls melt for him, however, at 14, he was more interested in riding and fighting than in girls. On the other hand, his twin brother, Thomas, had brown hair and brown eyes, he liked to read a lot and also liked to fight and ride. James and Thomas were inseparable, eventhough James was more extrovert and said almost everything that came to his mind and Thomas kept more to himself and was more quiet, still he could be a little smartass as well, when he wanted to.
The twins were close to Jenny and Marianne too. Jenny helped them with the swordfighting and Marianne helped them with the books.
James always knew that his parents were heroes, what he did not know was that they had to face some set backs to earn that tittle. He also did not know why they would never tell them anything about the Long Night or about the other wars eventhough everbody said that they and his uncles and aunts were the heroes of that age. They barely even talked about it. Jenny and Marianne had once told him that it must have been because of the painful memories that the war must have caused them. However, while James believed it was indeed because of the memories of the war, even more so, after his first battle, (which he had not expected to be as scary as it had been, still he could, by then, understand why his uncle Jaime called it 'battle fever'), Thomas did not believe it was just that.
'The battle must have been terrible, yes, but I don't think it's just that', Thomas had said, when they talked about it. James sometimes wondered how did his brother knew that things, because he was normally right about everything.
After half-day of traveling, James got tired of silence and was beginning to think that they had followed the wrong path, because there was no Wall to be seen yet.
"Are you sure that this is the right way?" James asked.
"Yes, we're going North." Jenny answered.
"But there's no Wall yet." James rebutted.
"We're still far way, it's supposed to take two days." Thomas said.
"Besides we're not going through the King's Road so it will be a while until you see the Wall." Galladon explained.
"It's said that it's huge, I really want to see it." Catelyn said.
"It must be the freezeest place on earth." James said.
"Southerners..." Jorah and Mia said kidding.
"Really? The motto of your house is literally 'Fire and blood', Jorah. And Mia, your father is from the South." James said.
"But, we have Stark blood in our veins, so we can endured the cold." Mia said smiling.
"We can too, it's really a body's general condition." Thomas said. Thanks, brother, James thought happily.
"You've ruined it, Thomas." Catelyn said with a giggle.
"Sorry, Cat. If it was Jo, you would do the same." Thomas said with a chuckle and she laughed.
"See, it's a body's general condition." James said smiling.
"Alright, still we're not in what my father said it's called the 'True North', yet." Jorah said.
After some more time, they stopped and made camp.
"Do you think our parents ever went beyond the Wall?" Thomas asked.
"Maybe." Mia said.
"If they know the King of the Free Folk, they must have gone beyond the Wall." Jenny said.
"I'd like to know why they don't tell us these kind of things." James said.
"It mustn't be easy for them to talk about these kind of things." Catelyn said.
"But why? It were just battles. And they won them." James asked. It's not like a dragon melt down the Wall or anything, James thought.
"They should tell us more than they do, but we don't know why they don't, so we can't do anything about it." Galladon said.
"It is not fair." Jorah said.
"But it is how it is." Jenny said.
"Maybe when they find that book, we'll know." Catelyn said.
"If it tell us how that battles go, then even I will read it." James said sarcasticaly.
"Now, we definetly need to find that book." Thomas said right away.
"Seems like you finally succeed in making him read something." Jenny said with a chuckle.
"I can't believe you're going to read a book with thousands of pages." Mia said.
"Thousands? You know what? I have more important things to do, leave the reading for another time." James said with a chuckle and all of them laughed. But I'm going to find out one way or another why my mother and father are heroes, James thought.
"At least, they told us how they met and fell in love, that's something at least, right?" Jorah said.
"They said, 'we met here, fell in love at this moment and now we're here', that's not how it is told." James complained.
"Then how would you tell it, brother?" Jenny asked.
"Well, sis, I would tell everything about that day, how was the weather, how the wherabouts looked like, how eveyone was dressed... everything that was said or done. Something like that." James said.
"I agree with you, James." Galladon said.
"See..." James said smiling.
"That's romantic. I didn't know you were such a romantic kind of person." Catelyn teased.
"I'm not. It's merely a fact." James said.
"If you say so." Catelyn said.
"You are the one who likes the songs, not me." James said.
"I like the knights part." Catelyn rebutted.
"What do the knights do?" James asked. Rescue maidens, they're in love with, James thought.
"Well... never mind. I've got the payback. Watch out." Catelyn said.
"Are you done?" Jorah asked looking at James and Catelyn and they rolled their eyes. Why do they always asked the same thing with that tone?, James wondered. For him it was just a game, he exceled at it, so did Catelyn, but it was just a game.
In the afternoon of the next day, they finally reached Castle Black. When they had seen the Wall, some miles before they had been marveled about it, it was just amazing. It seemed that nothing could break it. It must have be there for thousands of years.
The gates opened and a man wearing only black came to them as they dismounted from the horses.
"Welcome to Castle Black, my ladys and lords. Your parents sent word that you'd come." the man said. Well, these time you have to bear with it, girls, James thought a bit amused. He knew that Jenny, Catelyn and Mia did not like to be called 'lady'.
"Thank you, Lord Westerling." Jenny said. Ser Marlon Westerling was a man in his 40, with short black hair and blue eyes. He had been one of the commanders of the Lannister army and he had been one of the few Night's Watch men to survive the Long Night, even him being only a beginer at that time and had not taken his vows yet, by that time, with peace installed and his son old enough to take lead of their house, he made his vows and retired to the Wall, to make sure that order was kept and that the Wall was properly tended.
They entered the castle and went to the dinning room, for it was cold and it was almost night. They would spend the night in the Wall and then follow the route again.
"Do you have any news about the princess?" Ser Marlon asked.
"No. We think she is in the Free Cities, in a place called Qarth." Galladon said.
"Aah, be careful about that one. It is said to be the centre of lies." Ser Marlon said.
"So we've been told." Jenny said. Daenerys had told them. I thought that place was supposed to be KingsLanding, James thought.
"How long has the Wall stand, Ser Marlon?" Thomas asked curiously.
"Over 8000 years. It was a terror for all of us when the ice dragon of the Night King melt it down near the East-Watch. It was a miracle that they escaped." Ser Marlon explained. Alright, I'll not joke about dragons melting down walls for the rest of my life, James thought.
"Ice dragon?" Jorah asked surprised and Kingly sniffed him softly.
"Night King?" James asked confused. Who is the Night King? How many Kings and Queens were there at that time?, James thought.
"The Wall fell?" Catelyn asked surprised.
"Yes, it did, but gladly he was defeat at Winterfell in the Battle for the Dawn." Ser Marlon said. Battle for the Dawn? It must have been the last battle of the Long Night. Great name, a lot of originality really, James thought.
"It must have been dificult to defeat him." Mia said honestly.
"It was the first time that I saw so many people together. There were notherners, there were people from the Free Folk, there were Dothraki, there were Unsulied, there were Knights of the Vale, there were Westerosi knights, everyone was there." Ser Marlon began. Dothraki? There's only few now. Unsulied? Knights of the Vale?, James thought confused. The Kinghts had been separated after the Long Night.
"At that time, Jon was King in the North and Daenerys was still called the Dragon Queen when she came to help us." Uncle Jon was King in the North? But he's a Targaryen, James thought confused.
"Even Ser Jaime was there. Ser Jaime with one hand was braver than the whole Lannister army that stood with Queen Cersei in the South. The army had lost all of his commanders to be honest, Lord Tywin and his brother, Ser Kevan, had died, Ser Addam Marbrand had retired to Ashemark, because of important bussinesses, Ser Joanna was at Winterfell already and had parted ways with the army long ago, and Ser Jaime had came North to fight, therefore the army would only listen to the Queen." Ser Marlon expained. Alright... this is so weird. Why did my mother leave the army? It does not make sense, she loves to fight and she loves her family. Where was my father?, James thought.
"Was it enough?" Galladon said. Apparently, somehow, in a misterious way, it was, James thought.
"Yes, mostly because the commanders did a great job. If I recalled it right, Ser Jorah Mormont comanded the Dothraki..." Ser Marlon began to explain. Ser Jorah Mormont? I remember hearing talking about him somewhere. I just can't remember where, James thought.
"Ser Brienne comanded the left flank with the Knights of the Vale and also with Ser Joanna, Ser Podrick and Ser Jaime..." At least, this one I got right. They always fight together, James thought.
"Then there were the Unsulied guided by their leader Grey Worm..." I have no idea of who those are and, seriously, what kind of idea was that to give that name to a person?, James thought.
"At my flank which was the right one, our commanders were Edd Tollet, he was the Lord Commander at that time, and Tormund Giantsbane, we were what was left of the Night's Watch and the East-Watch bunch, except for Joanna, Jon and Jorah." What were my mother and uncle Jon doing in the East-Watch? This is all so weird. And he's not drunk, so it must be true, James thought.
"Inside the castle, the northerners were comanded by Lyanna Mormont and in the Godswood, Theon Greyjoy comanded the Iron Born. Then on the walls were the archers, Arya Stark was there and I think Ser Davos was as well. Jon and Daenerys were in the dragons above us. Of course, that the initial positions did not matter once the battle started. It was a good plan and they choose competent people to do it, anyway." Ser Marlon said and they were just looking at him surprised. And he wondered if he had said something, he should have not. Gods, this is so confusing, James thought.
"Your parents told you about this, right?" Ser Marlon asked.
"Yes, of course. They told us. It's just that we still remain surprised about it." James said. He, Catelyn, Mia and Thomas were probably the only good liars in there.
"Very well. You must be tired. Why don't you rest?" Ser Marlon said and they agreed, because they did not want to hear anymore of it, at least, at that time, it was scary to think that it was true. They went to sleep.
The next day they resumed their journey to the Free Cities to find Rhaella. Ser Marlon told them to go in the direction of the East-Watch because from there they would go by ship to the Free Cities, however he told them to not go too close to the Wall because there could be some drops of ice from time to time. He also told them to seek for a place that seemed like a city, that was where the Free Folk lived.
After them getting used to the cold, James spoke,
"So what do you think about what we discovered last night?"
"I think I get now why our parents have nightmares." Jorah said.
"Now, I think that maybe the nightmares are not just about the battles." Galladon said.
"It must have been dificult." Jenny said.
"Do you know who really are the Dothraki? Or the Unsulied? Or the Knights of the Vale?" James asked.
"Dothraki is a population of the Free Cities, frenquently called the Horses Lords. The Unsulied are also from the Free Cities and, I think, they were raised as slaves to serve as a weapon." Thomas explained what he knew.
"And the Knights of the Vale was the name of the knights that fought for the Eryie and his bannerments. It was separated after the Long Night, I think." Catelyn explained the rest.
"I don't know why, but I'm starting to think that uncle Sandor was right and our parents were crazy with our age." Mia said with a giggle.
"Well, they're going to have a lot to answer to, that is for sure." James said. I just can't wait for it, James thought.
"It's freezing here." Jorah said.
"Guess, we're all southerners here." James said smiling and they laughed.
After some time walking, they noticed that a direwolf, with grey fur and golden eyes, came to them.
"Brave!" Mia said and hugged the direwolf, the direwolf sniffed her.
"What is he doing here?" Thomas asked surprised.
"He must have found us." Mia said.
"I'm glad he did." James said. It's good to have a direwolf near, in the North. And he's a good boy, James thought.
Then they continued their journey for most of the day and, at last, they stopped and made camp.
"How do we find the Free Folk?" James asked.
"Ser Marlon said that it looked like a city. Guess, we have to keep looking." Jenny said.
"We must be near. We're are into the florest already." Galladon said.
"What's wrong with maps beyond the Wall?" Thomas complained. He's learning, James thought.
"I can warg and try to find something." Mia said, petting Brave.
"Are you sure?" Catelyn asked.
"Yes, it's alright. I can control it." Mia assured them.
"Very well then." Jorah said.
"It might take a while." Mia said and then her eyes went white and she warg into Brave and the direwolf went away.
"Jorah, can you stay here with her?" Jenny asked.
"Sure, why?" Jorah said.
"Me and Jenny need to talk with Thomas and James and Cat." Galladon said.
"About that thing?" Jorah asked.
"Yeah." Jenny said and Jorah nodded for them to go. I already feel sorry for them, Jorah thought, he knew that, especially James and Catelyn would not rest until they told them everything. However, Jenny and Galladon wanted to tell them, because they wanted to be at ease at least while they were out there.
James and Thomas looked at each other confused and suspiciously. What is it now? Let me guess, you screw up, James thought sarcasticaly. Then he looked at Catelyn and she just had a devilish smile on her face. Aaaaah, it's that secret, James thought.
They went to a glade a bit further away from the one where Jorah and Mia were.
"What is it?" Thomas asked.
"What did you two do?" James asked.
"Nothing. We just wanted to tell you something, before you see something and start getting the wrong ideas." Galladon explained.
"Then just tell us what it is." Catelyn said.
"Gal and I are together." Jenny said.
"Alright...what's new?" James said.
"What do you mean what's new? This is new." Jenny asked confused.
"That's not new. We knew you were." Thomas explained.
"How did you know?" Jenny asked surprised.
"You're an open book, sis. And a terrible liar." James said simply.
"Wait, you knew too?" Galladon asked Catelyn.
"Uh, yeah. You're no better than Jen, at keeping secrets, Gal. Or at lying for that matter." Catelyn said.
"Wait, does Jo know?" Galladon asked surprised.
"Of course, who do you think found out?" Catelyn said.
"Then why do you keep anoying me?" Galladon asked.
"It's too funny not to." Catelyn said smiling.
"Anyway. Who caught you?" James asked.
"Why would someone caught us?" Galladon asked.
"We weren't caught." Jenny said.
"We've just told you, you're terrible liars." James said.
"Why do you keep on trying?" Catelyn asked.
"Well... that's none of your bussiness." Galladon said.
"You know that if you don't tell us, we'll just keep asking around, keep looking at it from every way possible, we won't stop talking about it..." Thomas said.
"Alright! We'll tell you. It was our fathers." Jenny said. We really need to get over this, Jenny thought.
"Your fathers! Really? Could you be more clumsy?" James said.
"We would swear no one knew about that place." Galladon said.
"They lived in KingsLanding! I'm sure they know every place in that castle." Catelyn said. Then, for Jenny and Galladon salvation, they heard Jorah calling them, Mia had returned.
They went back to where they were.
"It's three more miles ahead." Mia said.
"Good. Are you alright?" Jenny asked.
"I am, don't worry." Mia said.
Then, later on, Jorah whispered to Galladon and Jenny, once everyone else was asleep,
"How did it go?"
"Not a word." Jenny said.
"That bad, uh. I'm so glad that Rhaella and Lya aren't twins." Jorah said.
"It must be only the two of us, because Ger did not complain yet about Rickon and Jeyne." Jenny said.
"I'd like to know how was it like with my father and his twin sister. My mother and my father never talked about her." Galladon said.
"My mother only says that she was a good sister despite all." Jenny said. Still, Jenny and Galladon were more relaxed because, by then, they all knew and they could finally be at ease.
The next day, after a long walk through the snow, they finally saw the 'city'. It was enormous and there was a lot of people there. It seems welcoming. It would be if it wasn't freezing cold, James thought.
They came closer and spoke with a man,
"Excuse us, we're looking for Tormund Giantsbane, we would like to talk to him." Jenny said.
"What for?" the man asked.
"We've came from Winterfell." Galladon said and the man looked at them and hesitated for a moment. Why did we let them speak?, James thought concerned.
"Follow me." the man said and they followed him to a tent. Inside the tent, there was a man that was drinking from a horn. He seemed like a warrior, however he was dress in furs mostly and his hair and beard were ginger and white in a few spots.
"Giantsbane, it seems like duty is calling." the man said. Well, if this guy is your King, I don't think you'll live long, if you keep talking to him like that, James thought.
"When doesn't it, Biorg?" the man with ginger hair said.
"True enough, I'll leave you to it." Biorg said and then left the tent. Guess, I was wrong. This is the Free Folk indeed, James thought.
"Very well. I'm Tormund Giantsbane and you are?" Tormund said looking at them. There was something about them that he could not quite figure out what, that made him think of the past.
"Well, my name is Jenny and these are James and Thomas, our parents are Joanna Lannister and Podrick Payne. Then, these are Galladon and Catelyn, they're are son and daughter to Brienne of Tarth and to Jaime Lannister. Then she's Mia and her parents are Arya Stark and Gendry Baratheon. And, at last, this is Jorah, he is the son of Daenerys Targaryen and Aegon Targaryen, also known as Jon Snow." Jenny explained the best she could.
For a moment he just looked at them a bit confused and then said,
"Alright... can you repeat it? Wait, never mind. What are you doing here in the True North? Did you run away from home or something?" Tormund asked confused.
"Not exactly... we need your help." Galladon said.
"My sister was captured by some southern warlocks and we need to find her. Besides they have Winterfell under siege." Jorah explained.
"Our parents said we could ask you for help. We need to reach the East-Watch." Thomas said.
"I see... Who are your parents again?" Tormund asked. I can't believe this. Why did our parents send us here?, James thought.
"Joanna Lannister, Podrick Payne, Brienne of Tarth, Jaime Lannister, Arya Stark, Gendry Baratheon, Daenerys Targaryen and Aegon Targaryen, also known as Jon Snow." James said.
"Aah, my southerners friends." Tormund said realizing about whom they were talking about.
"Do you know about whom we're talking about?" Mia asked.
"Oh, yes. I do. Gods, the last time I saw you, you were babies. Now, I see the smilarities." Tormund said.
"Wait, you know us too?" Catelyn asked.
"Yes. Some years ago, 15, I think, I went to Winterfell to represent the Free Folk, they had made me their King, everyone was there. It was a meeting to assure that everything was alright and that the White Walkers had been defeated for good. And you were there too, but you were too young to remember and I think, your mother was pregnant of you two at the time." Tormund explained at the end looking at James and Thomas. That one is new, we have to get this guy to spill more things out, James thought to himself, grinning inside.