Chapter 9: Chapter 8 Brannella
She ran. She wasn't running in any particular direction. Any direction but the slaughter she had just witnessed was where she wanted to be.
She couldn't think straight, her thoughts were clouded by the battle and the events leading up to it.
When the enormous man appeared, they had thought he was alone spare the two men on the hill... But they were wrong.
Lord Brandon insisted on negotiating with the man he had come to kill. None of it made sense, there stood the man we had come to kill, the man who killed Branellas family, yet they spoke like old friends.
When Branella watched the two men speak as friends, she grew in anger and was soon clouded by rage. She had tried to kill him when he and Lord Stark spoke. But she was unfortunately the spark that ignited the battle.
She had hit the man with an arrow inches away from his heart, hoping to end the conflict before it began, But she had failed.
All she could remember was a great roar, then the screams of dying men, the old stark lord being clawed in two, and piercing red eyes.
The man in black. She had watched him cut his way through the battlefield as the forest men charged down the mountain. They had prepared for children, but not for the giants, and had prayed not to face the green men. But the man in black was something they had never faced before.
The way the man in black fought made it look like he was dancing. Before Branella ran she had watched him cut down three men. Among them was Yorn. Her little brother, Barely seventeen name days old.
She had watched as her brother's head fell to the ground, his body now lies cold, in the cold iron earth.
She had tried to kill the man in black, but Stieg had stopped her. She was told to run to Lord Brandon's keep, to find the old lord's son. If he finds out about his father's death, he would send word to his uncle's in the South.
They would rally a great host and march on the great bear that slayed their brother.
Branella had no idea if she was even running in the right direction. She didn't care, she just wanted to find Carth and get as far away from Beorn and the man in black as possible.
Brannella was out of Breath. Her lungs were on fire as she came to a stop in the endless woods she had been running through. She had no idea if she was even running in the right direction.
As Brannella leaned against a tree to catch her breath she started to hear the sound of horses thundering towards her.
Branella started running again, hoping to escape the coming danger. But as she broke to a clearing in the forest the thundering of hooves grew closer and closer.
Unable to outrun the ones chasing her Brannella turns to face them.
Though to Brannella's surprise, it was not the children of the forest or Green men chasing her, but four dozen mounted Northmen. And at their head was a man only a few name days older than her.
"Are you men of lord stark?" Her voice was Shakey, she was scared this was a dream, that the forest people had tricked her, she did not want to believe a false dream.
The man who lead them spoke "Aye, I am Brandon Stark, named after my father, heir of Brandon the Bloody Blade. Who are you and what are you doing in these woods, the children roam them, they are not safe for women nor men."
Branella looked at Brandon Stark with a great smile upon her face. "My name is Branella, Daughter of the old man of the wailing woods."
The Stark heir seemed surprised at this revelation "My brother was just at our keep, my father took three hundred men with him to slay Beorn the Great Bear, what happened?
Brannellas smile fell "We... They were expecting us... HE, was expecting us. Beorn had brought children giants, and green men."
The men that had ridden with lord stark had listened to Brannellas recount of the battle, and their hearing that there were Green Men in the battle caused great surprise and a great commotion.
"Quiet" The young stark raised his hand trying to calm his men.
As the men soon started to quiet down the young Stark looked back to Brannella. "How many?"
"I don't know how many children, but I saw at least seven giants and four green men, but there was a fifth green man that looked more important and stronger than the others."
The young Stark looked troubled at the numbers he was told. "Even with the children the giants the green men and the Great bear, three hundred of my family's Housecarls should have been enough to defeat the force. It would have been a costly battle with few survivors but the way you seem, It does not seem like a victory."
Branella looked down, saddened and scared. "No, we had lost when we arrived, the great bear tore through the numbers." Branella winced "I watched as your father was killed by the Great bear, it is not something I wish to remember."
Brandon's hands gripped the reigns of his horse, anger welling inside him, but he did not show it. He stayed calm, knowing was not the time to show anger nor sadness in front of his men "And your brother, what of him?"
"He was killed, I watched as his head fell, the man who killed him was the true reason we lost." Branellas breath quickened, she did not wish to remember that man. "His blood-red eyes pierced the very soul, he was almost as tall as the great bear, and he cut his way through men like a hot knife through butter. And the way he fought, he made it look like he was dancing."
Branellas mind flashed back to the blood-red eyes that had watched her run from the field. Her breath hitched, her eyes fuzzy, drifting to unconsciousness, falling to the ground
Before she could hit the ground, the young lord Stark caught her.
"What are we to do, my lord?" One of the men Brandon rode with asked, uncertain of what news Brannella brings means.
...
She walked through the village, and on her way back from doing her chores, to her left walked Carth, and next to him walker Yorn. The two argued about which of the two could slay the Giant king. Of course, it was a dumb topic, The giant king had not been seen since Brandon the Bloody Blade had pushed him to the far north a hundred years ago.
They finally reached their home, and opening the door they walked in finding two figures sitting around the hearth, it was Branellas brother Yarrick and her father.
Her father turned his head to them. "Ah, your back, and you've brought a guest." The old man stood up and walked over to greet Brannella.
"If I'm not wrong, and I'm usually not, your name is Carth is it not?"
Carth seemed a little nervous "Ah, yes sir, I mean my lord." Carth straightened up, obviously nervous about meeting a legendary figure such as him.
The old man chuckled "HAHA, I'm no lord my boy, just an old man, who loves his family very dearly." He wrapped his arms around Brannella and Yorn, pulling them in for a hug.
Yarrick got up out of his chair and put an arm around Carth. "So, you're the boy my sister won't stop talking about. You know, if I had any brains, I would think she wanted to marry you."
Branella hit Yarrick's shoulder, yelling at him, embarrassed at what her brother said, cheeks red as a rose. "Shut up you pansy."
"Ow, no need to get violent dear sister." he had trouble hiding his mirth.
Branella looked over to Carth "Ignore him, he's a bloody moron."
Carth chuckled nervously. "Yeah..."
Branella walked over to the table and set her things down, she heard Carth say something behind her. "What was that." Turning around her eyes fall upon a sight from hell.
There stood Carth, blank eyes staring at her, blood dripping down his mouth with a sword through his heart.
She couldn't move, she looked to her family only to find their bloody strewn bodies lying around their home, And at the center of it all was a man taller than a stallion, the man cloaked in black, piercing her soul with his crimson red eyes.
Branella let out a blood-curdling scream.
She awoke to find herself in a bed, in a room she was not familiar with. She was drenched in sweat, shaking with fear.
A man burst through the door sword drawn. Brannella couldn't move, one thing after another, things seemed to only get worse for her.
After taking a look around the room the man realized the woman was in no danger and that he was simply overreacting and making things worse. Slowly the man sheathed his sword. "Lady Branella, are you alright."
Brannella nodded, slowly calming down. "Aye, a nightmare, Apologies my lord?"
"Brandon Stark, we met in the woods earlier yesterday."
"I remember now, thank you, for that reminder. You are the son of Brandon the bloody blade if I'm not wrong?"
"You would be right, and from the news you brought yesterday, the battle did not go as planned." The mood had become somber. The young Stark is now Lord, his father dying was not something he hoped to hear, yet the news hit him hard, and he was not taking it well.
"I'm sorry, Lord Stark." Brandon winced at the title. It would take some time to get used to.
"Thank you Lady Brannella."
Trying to shift away from the depressing topic, Brannella tried figuring out what had happened. "Where are we, did you bring me here?"
Branodon nodded. "Aye, you had fainted, and we needed to know what had happened to the others at the battle, and you seemed to know. So now you are here, Winterfell. The castle of my design."
Brannellas eyes widened "Your design?" She gasped "Of course, your Brandon the Builder! You created Storms End when you were but a boy for Durran Godsgreif!"
Brandon chuckled. "Aye, but I won't brag much, what I do want to know though is what happened to my father. Why did Beorn kill my father?"
Branella felt guilty. "It was a trap, he had wanted to talk to your father to negotiate. I think it was to lower his guard to kill him. They had been talking for hours, long enough to lower his guard so he could turn and kill your father along with many more men."
Brandon looked Brannella dead in the eyes. His face was stone, no emotion present. "I don't believe you."
Branella seemed surprised. "What?"
"You Heard me. My father and Beorn had been talking for many years to end hostilities, they were friends for many years. They talked many times to try to end the petty squabbles of our people. He would never do anything so underhanded, so what really happened?"
Brannella broke down then and there, she felt great anger at lord stark for even talking with the man who killed her family, but also great guilt for being the one who caused the conflict to start. She started crying.
"It was me." Brandon was not expecting that answer.
"What do you mean?" Anger started bubbling up inside Brandon.
"I had been angry at Lord Stark for even talking with the man who had killed my family, so I pulled an arrow back and tried killing Beorn then and there. I had missed his heart by an inch, I was the reason why so many died." Branella curled her legs up to her chest tucking her head between them, trying to hide herself from the living nightmare.
Brandon slowly walked over to Branella, a face hardened. He reached over to Branella and said nothing. slowly his face took on one of sympathy and said.
I can not forgive you for what you have done for that is something you must do yourself. But I can help you.
Brandon wrapped his arm around Brannella as she cried, comforting the girl that had gone and experienced great pain again and again. "We'll kill Beorn together.
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