What IF

Chapter 20

The Crippled Wolf

'It's risky' the boy stated.

The girl held his face and she smiled sadly.

'I know it is but it's better than the life we have been living. He won't stop until he kills us' she says.

'Perhaps we should consider other options, my father?' he suggested.

'Lord Baratheon does not know you live and that is probably best considering that the three eyed raven had aunt Arya murdered' she said.

The boy's eyes hardened as tears flooded his eyes.

The girl hugged him tightly when she saw the pained expression on his face.

'Our uncle is responsible for a lot of things. The demise of my father and my mother. Along with the death of yours. We can't rely on Aunt Sansa. She would probably side with our uncle in order to keep her throne' she said.

The boy shook his head.

'Why do they hate us, we are family' he said.

'Our aunt Sansa's worse instincts are being influenced by our uncle Bran and our uncle Bran died beyond the wall, he is now a mere puppet. But what can fix this' she said. 'We can fix this Sandor, I know we can.'

The boy nodded but he still appeared unconvinced.

'How?' Sandor asked.

A lady suddenly came into their room and Bran did not know who the woman was.

'By changing one event and asking a single question, what if?' the woman asked.

The vision faded and Bran woke up.

Bran missed his home.

He missed Winterfell.

Southerners would often come to his castle and exclaim that Winterfell was incredibly cold.

He never understood what they meant.

To him Winterfell was nothing but ordinary, even in the cold seasons.

This was until he went beyond the wall and he started to experience what true cold felt like and the more he sought out the three eyed raven. The colder it got.

Maybe Winterfell was always like this and he was distracted because he had family around.

Because out of everything that is what he actually yearned for the most. He found Hodor to be a great companion and he loved Meera more than life itself. But he truly did miss his family.

How he sought to make his father proud by being a knight. How he wanted to be held by his mother so that she may protect him from the terrors that he was experiencing. How he wanted to go riding with Robb to bring him treats to his room when he felt sad. How he wanted to ride with Jon and race him so that Jon would let him win and declare him as the best rider he had ever seen. How he yearned to be coddled by Sansa who would knit his clothes and give him kisses on the cheek. How he would wrestle with Arya in the dirt. Or how Rickon would seek out his company and look towards him.

That was a dream of spring he would have. One were he would be with his family.

But the dream was never to be, it's a fantasy, a past self that Bran can't live with.

Bran silently contemplated his conundrum as Jojen watched him. A trait that was getting on Bran's nerves.

'How long till we reach the three eyed raven?' he asked Jojen. Tired of the way the man kept eyeing him.