Chapter 10 Chapter 9 Bran

The hunting team set off at dawn, and the king hoped to add a wild bear meal to today's dinner.As Prince Joffrey was with the king, Robb was allowed to go with the hunting party.Uncle Benyan, Jory, Theon Greyjoy, and Ser Rodrik all went with them, and even the Queen's funny boy was in the procession.After all, this was their last chance to hunt in the north. Tomorrow, the king's team was going south. Bran stays in the city with Jon, the sisters, and Rickon.Rickon was just a baby, girls didn't like hunting, and Jon and his wolf pups were gone.Bran didn't make an effort to find him either, because he felt like Jon was mad at him.Jon seemed to be angry with everyone in the city these days, and Bran wondered if he was going to the Wall with Uncle Benjen to join the Night's Watch, wouldn't that be as good as going south with the king?It's Robb who's going to stay home, not Jon.

Bran has been fidgeting with excitement these days.Soon he will be galloping down the Kingsroad, not on a pony, but on a real horse.Father will be the King's Prime Minister, and they will move into King's Landing, the "Red Keep" built by the Dragon King.Old Nan said that it was haunted, that there were unknown and terrifying tortures in the dungeon, and there were dragon heads hanging on the wall.Bran shuddered just thinking about it, but he wasn't afraid. What was there to be afraid of?He had his father to protect him, and the king and all his knights and sworn warriors.

Someday Bran would be a knight himself, and join the king's Kingsguard.Old Nan said they were the best fighters in the land.There are only seven royal guards in total, wearing white clothes and armor, without any family involvement, and the only purpose of life is to protect the king.Bran has heard the stories about them fluently and recited them by heart: "Mirror Shield" Savin, Ser Ryan Redwyne, Prince Aemon the Dragon Knight, and the twin brother Erik who died by each other's sword hundreds of years ago. Ser and Ser Alec—that was a blood-and-brother, brother-in-law war, what later bards called a "Dance of the Dragon," and Gerald Hightower, the White Bull, " Ser Arthur Dayne, Sword of the Dawn, and Barristan the Bold.

This time, two Kingsguard came north with King Robert, and Bran stared at them dumbfounded, never daring to speak to them.Ser Boros was bald and double-jawed, and Ser Meryn had downcast eyes and beards like rust.Only Ser Jaime Lannister looked more like the great knight in the story, and he was one of the Seven Knights, but Robb said he killed the crazy old king, so he was no longer the Kingsguard.The greatest knight in the world today is Ser Barristan Selmy, called Barristan the Bold, Captain of the Kingsguard.Father had promised them to see Ser Barristan when they arrived in King's Landing.Bran marked the days on the wall, impatient to set off, to see a world he had only dreamed of before, to live a life he had never imagined.

But now there was only one day left before departure, but Bran suddenly felt like he was missing something.Winterfell was the only homeland he was familiar with. His father told him to say goodbye to everyone today, and he tried his best to try.After the hunting party left, he wandered around the castle with the little wolf, intending to say goodbye to his acquaintances one by one.Old Nan, Gage the cook, Mikken the blacksmith, and Hodor the groom who helped him look after the pony, who was grinning all day long and couldn't say a word except "Hodor."Hodor always gave Bran a blackberry every time he went to play in the Glass Garden.

But he couldn't speak.He went to the stable first and saw his pony, but it didn't belong to him anymore.He'd have a real horse soon, and he'd left the pony here, and all of a sudden Bran wanted to sit down and cry, so he ran away lest Hodor and the other grooms see the tears in his eyes .That was all he said goodbye in all, and he spent the morning alone in the godswood, teaching his pup to fetch a stick, but in vain.His pup was smarter than all the hounds in his father's barn, and he was almost sure he understood every word he said.It's a pity that he doesn't seem to have much interest in picking up branches.

He still can't decide what to name it.Robb's wolf was called Gray Wind, because he ran as fast as the wind; Sansa's was called Lady; Arya named her wolf after some old witch-king in a song; His wolf was called Shaggydog - which Bran thought was a stupid name for a direwolf; Jon's white wolf was called Ghost.Bran wished he had thought of the name before Jon, even if his wolf coat wasn't very white.In the past two weeks, he had thought of many names, but none of them sounded pleasing to the ear. Finally he got tired and decided to climb the wall.With so much going on lately, it had been weeks since he had climbed to play on the ruined tower, and this might be his last chance.

So he ran through the godswood, taking a detour to avoid the cold spring beside the heart tree.Bran had always been afraid of heart trees. He always thought trees shouldn't have eyes, and leaves shouldn't be shaped like palms.The little wolf followed him. "You stay here," he said to it from under the sentinel tree outside the armory wall. "Lie down, yes, that's it, stay here and don't move—" The pup stayed where he was, and Bran scratched the back of its ear, then turned and jumped, grabbed the low-hanging branch, and climbed up the tree.But when he climbed halfway and was swimming through the branches with ease, the little wolf got up and howled away.

Bran looked down, and the pup fell silent, looking up with big, bright yellow eyes.Bran felt an eerie chill run through him.He continued to crawl, and the pup continued to howl. "Don't bark!" he cried, "sit still, you're more annoying than Mother." But the howling wolf followed him until he jumped on the roof of the armory and disappeared. The roof of Winterfell was almost Bran's second home, and his mother always said that he had learned to climb walls before he even learned to walk.Bran can't remember when he learned to walk, or when he learned to climb walls, so he guesses she's right.

To a little boy, Winterfell's walls, towers, and courtyards seemed a vast labyrinth of gray stone.In the older part of the castle, countless halls are tilted around, which makes people feel like they don't know where they are.Maester Luwin had said that for thousands of years the castle had been like a monstrous stone tree that had grown like a monstrosity, with twisted branches and tangled roots. When Bran walked through the intricate and ruined ancient city and climbed close to the sky, he finally had a panoramic view of the whole city.He liked the vastness of Winterfell unfolding in front of him very much. All the hustle and bustle and noise of people in the castle were under his feet, only the birds in the sky hovered above his head.Bran often lay on the first castle just like this, among the gargoyles whose shapes had long been lost to recognition and were completely destroyed by wind, frost, rain and snow, overlooking the city below.Looking at the long-term laborers hauling wood and steel in the square, looking at the chefs gathering vegetables in the glass garden, looking at the squirming hounds running back and forth in the kennel, looking at the silent godswood, looking at the women whispering by the deep well. Waiter, as if he was the real master of the castle, even Robb could not understand this state.

He also unearthed many unknown secrets of Winterfell. For example, the construction workers did not level the terrain near the castle, so there were not only rolling hills but also streams and canyons outside the city walls.Bran knew of a sealed bridge from the fourth floor of the Clock Tower to the second floor of the Crow's Nest.He also knew how to enter the inner city wall from the south gate, climb three floors along the door ladder, and find a narrow stone corridor, which can go around Winterfell, and finally reach the north gate under the shadow of the hundred-foot-high wall bottom layer.Bran believed that even Maester Luwin didn't know this shortcut. Mother was always afraid that one day Bran would accidentally slip down and fall to his death.Let him promise again and again, but she refuses to believe it.Once she forced him to swear never to climb higher places, but the promise only barely lasted for two weeks. He was in pain every day, and finally one night, while his brother was asleep, he climbed out of the bedroom window. The next day he confessed guiltily, and Lord Eddard told him to go to the godswood alone to confess, and sent guards to make sure he stayed in the woods all night to reflect on his disobedience.Unexpectedly, in the early morning of the next day, Bran disappeared. In the end, everyone found him sleeping soundly on the upper branch of the tallest sentinel tree in the forest. Although the father was half dead with anger, he finally couldn't help laughing and said, "You must not be my son," he said to his son when the others took Bran down, "You are a squirrel at all. Forget it, I admit it." , if you really must climb, do it, and try to hide from your mother." Bran tries hard, though he thinks his mother knows all about what he's doing.Since her father was unwilling to prevent him from climbing around, she turned to a devious strategy.Old Nan came first, and she told him a story about a bad boy who was disobedient, climbed higher and higher, and was finally killed by thunder, and the crows came to peck his eyes after he died.Bran was unmoved, because there were many crows' nests on the broken tower, and no one would go there except him, so sometimes he would fill his pockets with corn.As soon as he got to the top of the tower, the crows happily gathered to peck at his palm, and they didn't look like they would peck at his eyes. Seeing that this was ineffective, Maester Luwin made a little boy out of clay, dressed him in Bran's clothes, and threw him over the wall, so that Bran would know what would happen if he fell.It was an interesting experiment, but afterward Bran just stared at Maester Luwin and said deadpan, "I'm not made of mud, and I'm never going to fall." After this the city guards came in their turn, and for a time, as soon as they found him on the roofs, they ran after him, shouting, and trying to drive him down.That was the most exciting moment, it was like playing a game with your brothers, except that Bran won every time.None of the guards had what Bran could do, not even Jory.But most of the time they didn't see him at all, people never looked up.This is also one of the reasons why he likes to climb walls, as if he can hide himself from it. He likes the feeling of climbing one stone higher than the other, using both hands and feet, and concentrating.Every time he took off his boots first, and then climbed the wall with bare feet, which made him feel like he had two extra hands.He likes the tired but sweet soreness of his muscles after each incident; he likes the clear air at high places, which is as cold and sweet as winter snow sweet peaches; he likes all kinds of birds, including the big crows flocking on the ruined tower, The young sparrow nests among the rocks and the old night owl roosts in the dusty attic of an old armory.Bran knew all these things like the back of his hand. But what he likes the most is going to places that are inaccessible, and watching the castle appear gray in front of his eyes in an appearance that has never been shown to others.The whole of Winterfell seems to have become Bran's secret base. He has a soft spot for the ruined tower that was once the highest watchtower in Winterfell.Long, long ago, about a hundred years before his father was born, the tower was struck by a lightning storm, caught fire, and the top third of the structure collapsed inwards, and it hadn't been rebuilt since.Occasionally Father would send men down to the bottom of the ruined tower to clean out the rat nests among the ruined walls, but no one had ever climbed to the top of the ruins except Bran and the crow. He knew two ways to get to the top of the tower. One was to climb up directly from the outside of the ruined tower, but because the mud that had been painted back then had already dried and weathered, and the bricks and stones were easy to loosen, Bran didn't dare to put his weight on the top of the tower when he climbed. above. The best way is to start from the godswood, climb up the tall sentinel tree, and jump from the roof of the armory to the roof of the guard room, with bare feet so as not to be heard by the guards, so that you can smoothly reach the back of the oldest castle in the city .It was a low, circular fortress, which was much taller than it first appeared.Although there are only rats and spiders in the castle today, the ancient stones of the building still provide the best place to climb.You can even climb directly to the empty high platform where the gargoyle statues with empty eyes are stationed, clasp your hands tightly, hang from one gargoyle to the other, and then reach the north end of the tower.Then, as long as you stretch with all your strength, you can reach the sloping residual tower.The last part is the scramble up the blackened rocks to the eyrie, no more than ten feet, and the crows will come to meet you to see if you've brought them any corn. On this day, Bran was as usual, swinging around the gargoyle statues with ease, but he heard the voice of speaking.He was so frightened that he almost let go, Shoubao has always been a deserted place! "I don't like this," said a woman's voice.There was a row of windows below Bran, and the voice came from the last window, "You should be the Prime Minister." "Forgive me," a man's voice replied lazily, "I don't want to take on this kind of drudgery. There are many things I want to do." Bran hung in mid-air, listening quietly, and suddenly felt afraid to swing any further, lest they might spot his feet as he passed. "Can't you see the danger behind it?" the woman went on. "Robert treats that fellow like a brother." "Robert can't stand his two brothers. I don't blame him. A brother like Stannis makes anyone sick." "Don't be silly, Stannis and Renly are one thing, Eddard Stark is another. Robert listens to Stark. Both should go to hell, I would have known Insist that he choose you as Hand. I always thought Stark would turn him down." "We're lucky that way," said the man. "Gods, who knows if the king will call his brother or that little finger to be prime minister. Rather than an ambitious opponent, let me face an honorable enemy." , and maybe sleep more peacefully." Bran would realize that it was his father they were talking about!He wanted to hear more, to get a few feet closer...but if he swung through that window, they'd see his feet. "We'll have to keep an eye on him," the woman said. "I'd rather have a good look at you," the man said, sounding bored. "Come here." "Duke Ed has never intervened in southern affairs," the woman said, "never. Let me tell you, he obviously wants to deal with us, otherwise why leave his center of influence?" "There are many reasons. There may be a sense of responsibility and a sense of honor, or he wants to be famous in history, or their husband and wife are at odds, or even both, or maybe he just wants to find a warm place to live." "His wife is Mrs. Arryn's sister. It's rare that Lysa didn't come here to welcome us with her accusation." Bran looked down. There was only a sill a few inches wide below the window. He tried to lower himself, but it was too far away to reach. "You think too much. Lady Arryn is just a frightened cow." "This cow slept with Jon Arryn." "If she had known, she would have complained to Robert long before she left King's Landing." "When he just decided to send her useless son to Casterly Rock as an adopted son? I don't think so. She also knew that her son would become a hostage and threatened her not to tell the truth. Now go back When we arrive at Eagle's Nest City, I'm afraid she will become more courageous." "Mothers are all the same," the man said "mother" as if it were a curse, "I always think childbirth burns your brains, you are all crazy." He smiled bitterly, "Whatever she knows , or how much she thinks she knows, anyway, she has no evidence." He paused for a while, "Does she have any?" "Tell me, what proof do you think the King will need?" replied the woman, "He doesn't love me at all!" "Good sister, whose fault is this?" Bran looked carefully at the sill. He should be able to jump, though the sill was too narrow to stand on, but he could hook on as he fell and climb up again... afraid it would make a noise and attract them. attention.He didn't quite understand what he was hearing, but he was pretty sure it wasn't meant for him. "You are as blind as Robert," said the woman. "If you mean I agree with him, well," the man answered, "I see Eddard Stark as a man who would rather die than betray the king." "He has betrayed a king, don't you forget?" said the woman. "Oh, I don't deny that he was loyal to Robert, there is no doubt about it, but if Robert dies, what about Jo's throne? The sooner Bob dies, the safer we will be. My husband has been getting restless lately, and having a Stark by his side only makes it worse. He still loves his dead sixteen-year-old sister, who knows The day he will throw me aside for a new Lyanna?" Bran suddenly felt terrified, and all he wanted was to go back the way he came, to find his brother for help.But what was he going to tell them?Bran knew he had to get closer, to see who was talking. The man sighed: "Don't worry about the future, think more about the happiness in front of you." "Stop talking like that!" the woman scolded.Bran heard the sudden slap of flesh, and then the man's laughter. Bran decided to climb up, over the gargoyles, and onto the roof.This was the easier path, and he ran to the next gargoyle statue, just above the room where the voice was coming from. "My dear sister, I'm tired of talking about such things." The man said, "Shut up and come here." Bran straddled the gargoyle statue, legs clamped together, and turned upside down.He hooked his feet tightly to the stone statue, and slowly moved his head closer to the window.The upside-down world felt eerie, with the courtyard spinning and shaking below him, with unmelted snow on the masonry. Bran looked in from the window. In the room, a man and a woman are twisting into a ball, neither of them wearing clothes.Bran couldn't recognize who they were, the man with his back to him, kept pushing the woman against the wall, his body just blocking the woman's face. There was a small wet sound in the room, and Bran could hear them kissing.His eyes were wide open, his breathing was rapid, and he watched in horror what was happening in the room.The man put his hands between the woman's legs, and he must have hurt her, because the woman began to moan under her breath, "Don't...don't do this," she said, "stop, stop, oh, please..." But her voice Small and weak, but never pushed him away.Instead, she buried her hands in his tousled bright blond hair and pulled his face toward her chest. Bran saw her face now.He recognized her as the Queen, though her eyes were closed and her mouth was moaning, her blond hair shaking wildly with the movement of her head. At this time, he must have made some noise by accident. She suddenly opened her eyes, stared straight at him, and then screamed. Everything happened so fast.The woman frantically pushed the man away, pointing and yelling.Bran tried to roll himself up, hooking onto the gargoyle as hard as he could, but he pulled so hard that his hands just brushed the smooth surface of the statue, and then he felt scared, his legs let go, and he fell immediately .He felt dizzy, the window sash flew away from him, and an uncomfortable nausea rose in his stomach.He hastily stretched out one hand to grab the window lattice, but it slipped away immediately, and quickly grasped it firmly with the other hand.He slammed into the wall so hard he could barely breathe.Bran grabbed the window sill with one hand and dangled in mid-air, out of breath. Two faces appeared at the same time by the window above him. Queen indeed.At this time, Bran also recognized the man next to her. They looked alike, standing together like a reflection in a mirror. "He saw us," the woman said sharply. "He saw us," said the man. Bran's fingers began to loosen, and he hooked the window lattice with the other hand, nails digging deep into the solid rock.The man reaches down. "Come on," he said, "catch me before I fall." Bran grabbed his hand with all his might, and the man pulled him up onto the ledge. "What do you want to do?" the woman asked. The man ignored her, and with his strong hands, he helped Bran to stand on the windowsill. "Little devil, how old are you?" "Seven years old." Bran was relieved, but still trembling.His fingers dug deeply into the man's arm, and he quickly let go of it in shame. The man turned to look at the woman. "Think about what I've done for love," he said reluctantly, before pushing Bran out hard. Bran flew out the window screaming and fell into the air.There was nothing for him to grasp this time, and the courtyard was coming at him with frantic speed. In the distance, a lone wolf roars; on the ruined tower, crows circle around, still waiting for the gift of corn.