Chapter 10

Robb looked at the old tower with skepticism. Bran was always sure-footed wherever he climbed. With a frown on his face, he grabbed a foothold on the tower's wall and began to climb.

It was easy for him, but he could tell that Bran would have no problem with even standing on the footholds without grabbing onto them with his hands.

'How the hell did he fall from this wall?'

It took him less than a minute to reach the top window. He looked through it and was assaulted by a smell. A smell that he had only come across near brothels or in his last life when Hinata and he would have sex.

It was the smell of bodily fluids of a man and a woman.

'Bran was pushed by someone... He saw something he shouldn't have seen. Something scandalous, something that would have grave consequences.'

Robb jumped through the window and observed the dusty room. He carefully traced the non-uniformity of the dust on the floor and came across a strand of hair.

'Long and blonde... A woman's hair. A Lannister woman... The Queen. That woman is fucking someone behind the king's back. Her infidelity will have disastrous consequences if it was exposed. Cersei or her lover pushed Bran down to hide what they were doing. The question is who was the man?'

Robb could barely control his rage. But he knew that just a hair won't be enough to reveal the queen's crimes to the king. He was going to wait for the queen and her lover to make a mistake, and then he would bring their entire world down.

Pale blue eyes glowing with ice magic, Robb walked away from the tower and made his way to Bran's room. He opened the door and looked at his comatosed brother.

"You need to rest, mother."

"No, I need to look after my son."

Robb stood beside her and said, "Father will be leaving soon. And so will Sansa and Arya. Bran is your son, but they need you as well. Rickon needs you. Jon will stand guard until you're rested and fed."

With a venomous bite, she shouted, "No! I've had enough of that boy in my home! He's not my family! He will be sent to the Wall after my lord husband leaves for King's Landing. And I will not hear more about this from you!"

Robb knew that his mother was emotional and certainly not in her senses.

'Your orders will mean nothing after father leaves. Father is irrational when it comes to you. I don't want to oppose him. But, the moment he leaves, Winterfell will be done with tolerating all the nonsense of the Faith.'

"Jon is where he should be. At his home, with his people and his family. He 'will' be coming here to guard his brother. There's no one else more capable than him and me to protect Bran, ya' know. Hate him, curse him, and pray for his death, all you want. He will take it with a smile because, unlike you, he's not weak."

Catelyn looked at her son in shock.

"W-Wha..?"

"I know what you pray for to your gods." Robb whispered and placed his hand on Catelyn's shoulder. At that moment, she felt that it wasn't Robb who was sitting beside her. It was someone different, someone... Powerful and authoritative. Someone dangerous.

"I've tried to make you realize that Jon doesn't deserve your hatred. But you spiraled within your head and thought the worse of him. And yet, you had not one, not two, but four more children with the man who dishonored you. If someone deserves your hatred, it should be father and not the innocent babe he brought to life. Family, Duty, and Honor... These are the words of the Tully. Jon is his family, and it was his duty to raise his son, a bastard or not. It doesn't matter. There's a reason why honor comes third in the words of the Tully."

He feared that he would say something that would break Catelyn and her being in an already fragile state. It would push her over the edge.

On his way to the grounds, he met Jon and said, "Always remember, Jon. You are my brother. No matter what she says, for me, you are a Stark. So, hold your head high."

Jon merely nodded and went on his way. But Robb could tell that he was walking a little taller.

'The Wall needs more than just Jon. It needs an army. If only the Ironborn prisoners were sent there after the rebellion and not just put to the sword.'

He looked at Jon's receding back and thought, 'Father raised you because you are his blood. He chose to hide your parentage to protect you. It was his decision, rational or not, right or not, and so it is him who should bear the entire weight of it. It's his responsibility to bear all of mother's hate.'

As Robb walked out of the castle and looked around, he saw Tyrion Lannister smacking Joffrey right across his face. It was quite a sight. A dwarf man slapping the heir to the throne while the latter's giant of a guard stood motionless.

*Slap*

"I'm telling mother!"

"Go, tell her. But first, you will get to Lord and Lady Stark and tell them how very sorry you are, that you are at their service, and that all your prayers are with them. Do you understand?"

"You can't..." *Slap*

"Do you understand?"

Joffrey snarled and walked away from Tyrion to do what he was told.

"The prince will remember that, little Lord." Said Hound.

"I hope so. If he forgets, be a good dog, and remind him."

Robb's eyes were trained at Joffrey as he felt every emotion oozing from the boy.

'Rage, and hatred towards Tyrion. Hatred towards North... And hatred towards Bran for falling and getting injured. He feels humiliated and blames Bran for it. And, he hates Tyrion for humiliating him. The future relations between the North and King's Landing look to be anything but positive. This boy is trouble. I so dearly hope that he doesn't act on his hatred. Or else...'

The image of 'Ice' flashed in his mind.

"Man, Cregan Stark was a badass. Why was I named after a dumbass? Tch."

Sadly, there was no one around to hear him.

(TTOTUGS)

A/N: I'm an intern doctor. I have hospital duties and preparation for the post graduation exam to get into an MD/MS field of my choice. So I don't have much time to write. All of you will have to live with it. All of my stories are suffering due to it, not just this one. And I won't change that because getting the branch of my choice is waaaaay more important to me than a mere hobby.

It is what it is 🤷‍♂️

Take it or leave it.