Bringing the Dawn

VI.

Jaeron Targaryen

Winterfell, 299AC

For a while, it seemed like the entire place had stilled. Nothing was moving, no snow falling, no cold air blowing in the wind, not even a chirp of a bird. Like sound had disappeared, a loud ringing in Jon's ears at what he had just saw, very much feeling like someone had screamed bloody murder into his eardrum. A sensation he knew well as it was this and dumping freezing cold water that was Arya's favourite wake up call for them all. Well, apart from Sansa, for her it was some sticky goop she concocted and would spread it through her auburn air which took almost an hour to remove every time she did it. But everything came back as soon as Summer howled loud. All the wolves were now howling, but due to how young they were they never lasted long. But this one, it was filled with pain.

With that, Jon ran over towards his cousin, trying to decide if he could move him or not. His legs were all twisted, and he already knew his back had broken as he had heard the snap it made. He knelt beside him with a hand covering his mouth, hoping to find some life in him. Luckily, he noticed his chest was rising and falling, confirming he was still alive. He had to get to Maester Luwin, now. He commanded the wolves to keep guard of him before running towards the courtyard to ask for help. The hunting party had not gotten back yet, and he dreaded what his uncle and Robb would do when they saw. Catelyn was outside watching everyone, but when her eyes landed on him and saw the panic on his face, she knew something had happened.

"Lady Catelyn, it's Bran. He's fallen from the highest window of the broken tower. I couldn't do anything. He's breathing though, but I'm scared to move him in case I hurt him."

Just like that, her skin turned the colour of curdled milk as she ran towards the tower in question, leaving him to find the Maester. It didn't take him long to do so, him in the library reading as he had some time to himself.

"Maester Luwin, it's Bran. You need to come quickly."

From the hurried way he had spoken, the older man knew that what had happened must've been serious. Jon led him in a rush which he was struggling to keep up with in his Maester's robe and heavy chain around his neck. The Lady was knelt beside him, her sobs loud and breaking the otherwise silence. Luwin made his way over to the boy, doing a quick examination. The boy was breathing, that was a good sign. Guilt ebbed deep inside once again, a feeling Jon had become accustomed to as of late with the revelation of who he really was.

"Jon, in my solar you will find a board. Bring it to me, we cannot carry him with limbs in case we injure him more."

He immediately obeyed, castle workers giving him odd looks as he rarely ever showed panic. He found the board quickly which was surprisingly light before rushing back to the tower. Out the corner of his eye, he spotted a few riders coming back, signifying the hunt was now over. They would be expecting someone to greet them, but right now he couldn't care about decorum and formality. Speaking of which, where was the Queen? She hadn't gone on the hunt and he hadn't seen her in hours. He shook his head as that was a question that did not need an answer to just now. Summer had stopped howling by now, seemingly realising they were trying to help, and Ghost as usual didn't even make a peep. With the Maester's instructions, they were able to place the ten name-day old boy onto it and carry him towards the castle. Once in the courtyard, he spotted his uncle and other cousins there. Arya immediately went to launch herself at Jon before noticing what he was helping carry. Her eyes widened and began to well up but Jon calmed her down.

"He fell from the broken tower. He's broken his back and looks like his legs are broken as well, but he's alive. Maester Luwin is going to try to help him."

"But Bran never falls!"

"He did, Arya. This time he did."

Jon had already decided not to tell anyone what he thinks he saw. It was such a high drop; it was a miracle he hadn't perished on impact with the ground. But he knew, deep down, he would never be the same again. If he did see someone, it's not guaranteed he was pushed. Perhaps he did fall even though he never had in the past. Heck, they've all seen him running along the seventy-foot walls of stone that surround Winterfell from the outside! It's not like it was a thick wall, perhaps a little more than a foot, and he could possibly fall on both sides of that. But if he did see a person in the tower and they had pushed him, why? Was whoever it was trying to bring him inside and accidentally grabbed him too hard and caused him to lose his footing? Or had they done it with malicious intent? If so, what did Bran see to cause that?