Chapter 23: Difficult to change the Plot?
"It was originally a watchtower for Winterfell. I heard it caught fire after being struck by lightning over a hundred years ago and has since been abandoned." Aeg's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly suppressed his emotions to answer truthfully. This was something anyone in Winterfell could tell him, so he didn't dare to make up a story, "I've been inside. It's dirty and messy, and the staircase leading up is no longer safe."
"Abandoned is the right choice. Winterfell doesn't need a watchtower." Cersei followed her brother's gaze towards the remnants of the tower, a sneer forming on her lips, "Who in their right mind would lead an army to attack and seize such a cold and eerie castle?"
"Don't say that. For some wolves, no gold or silver nest is as good as their own doghouse." Jaime shrugged and laughed, "What about that fortress?"
Aeg could only pretend not to understand the Lannisters' mockery of House Stark and reluctantly introduced the First Keep to the Kingslayer. After listening, Jaime nodded noncommittally and asked casually, "Brother of the Night's Watch, why are you training here? The training grounds of Winterfell aren't far."
"I prefer solitude," Aeg realized they were getting impatient with him and quickly explained, "Too much noise severely affects my performance."
"Is that so? Then I hope the wildlings you encounter in the future are all quiet gentlemen and ladies." Jaime's lips curled up, clearly unconvinced by Aeg's excuse, "Dear sister, shall we go in and take a look? Maybe we'll find some hidden treasure of the Starks in the cracks and crevices."
"Exploring at your age?" She frowned, trying to cover up her true feelings, "Do as you please, just be careful."
"It's called staying young at heart. A queen who frowns all day will age quickly. Come on." Jaime walked towards the First Keep, patting Aeg's shoulder before leaving, "Brother of the Night's Watch, keep up your training here. The queen and I will just take a look around inside and try not to disturb you."
What could Aeg say? Jaime wasn't discussing it with him; he was just informing him. The Lannister siblings, who had grown up together from the same womb, were known for their close relationship, and it was none of Aeg's business as a Night's Watchman to interfere. And without knowing the plot, just looking at their current appearance and their earlier, unexceptional conversation, who could guess what they were about to do inside the First Keep?
He could only nod in agreement and watch as they walked towards the ancient castle and entered it.
What should he do?
Aeg was at a loss. He hadn't felt this small and powerless in a long time.
Jaime had already told him to "keep training here." If he forced his way in under some pretext, it would be ridiculous if he ended up being thrown off the tower instead of Bran.
He was relying on Tyrion to leave the Wall, and offending the dwarf's powerful brother and sister would likely lead to an unknown death in the future.
In that instant, countless thoughts raced through his mind, but he discarded them one by one. After some thought, he decided to do as the Kingslayer had said, continue training here.
Both to keep watch and to look out for the possible appearance of the young boy.
Preventing the queen and a member of the Kingsguard from "visiting" the First Keep was out of the question, but stopping a ten-year-old child from climbing walls to their death. Even if Eddard Stark and his wife found out, they couldn't possibly punish him for that!
The plan wasn't a complete failure yet. Suppressing his anger, Aeg walked towards the target, pulled out the arrows that had been shot, put them back into the quiver, and returned to his spot to continue practicing.
Arrow after arrow, Aeg vented his frustration on the target. Interestingly, under these circumstances, his accuracy was much higher than usual, with more than half of the arrows landing within the white cloth of the target, symbolizing a vital hit.
Before he knew it, the quiver was empty. Archery was a strenuous activity, and Aeg's arms were already sore. He shook his arms and walked towards the chair, intending to sit down and read for a while.
"You shoot really well." A childish voice came from above, startling Aeg so much that he almost jumped. He turned to look for the source and was surprised to find the person he had been waiting for.
Bran Stark, the second son of the Lord of Winterfell, was still young with rosy lips and white teeth, a face like powder, and the same chestnut-red hair and blue eyes as his mother. The outgoing and adorable boy was the favorite young master of the female residents of Winterfell, without a doubt.
At that moment, the boy, who was the center of much affection, was sitting on the wall of the old inner courtyard, swinging his legs and looking down at the Night's Watchman, "I just can't get better at it. Even Arya shoots better than me."
This reckless child, when did he sneak up there?
Aeg had no enemies in this world, and there were no sudden appearances of White Walkers in Winterfell. While training in the courtyard, he only watched the entrance, completely unprepared for anything from above. Under the cover of the wind created by the airflow between the houses and towers, he hadn't noticed when the boy had arrived.
Aeg's heart tightened. He opened his mouth and suddenly realized he had made a serious mistake.
The training spot he had occupied was at the only entrance to the godswood from the old inner courtyard, so he had assumed that if he blocked this spot, Bran would have to pass by him whether he was going to climb the remnants of the tower or the First Keep. At that time, he could find a way to prevent the boy from meeting the Lannister siblings. either by using his physical advantage as an adult to forcibly stop him or by speaking loudly to alert the couple inside the tower. Everything was under control.
But he had overlooked one thing. Winterfell, with its long history, was like a massive stone tree that kept growing. Grandfather planted a tree, father added a tower, son built a wall, grandson added a small building. After dozens or hundreds of generations of Starks had modified it, it had "grown" twisted and tangled. The dense buildings, courtyards, and passageways made it like an extensive maze made of gray stone. For a child who loved to climb, it was the perfect playground, with all the rooftops and walls separating them becoming a playground for little climbers. If necessary, one could traverse without ever touching the ground. Bran had climbed up from somewhere else, not from the old inner courtyard to the remnants of the tower!
A strong sense of foreboding swept over him. Aeg stared wide-eyed, trying to keep his tone calm, "Oh. when you grow up and your arms are stronger, you'll naturally be able to shoot accurately, but what are you doing up there?"
"Playing. I haven't climbed walls in a long time. Tomorrow, I'm going to King's Landing with my father, and maybe I won't be back for years. This might be my last time climbing."
Aeg looked up at the boy and estimated the height of the wall, over three meters. He couldn't reach the boy even if he jumped. He could only try to persuade him.
"It's too dangerous up there. Come down first, I can teach you archery."
"No need. When I get to King's Landing, I'll have plenty of time to learn. I heard the targets in the archery range there are ten times bigger than Winterfell's!" Bran happily swung his legs, "With such big targets, how could I possibly miss?"
"Nonsense. What kind of marksman can be trained with such big targets!" Aeg swallowed, noticing an even more surprising detail, "Why are you barefoot?"
"It's easier to climb walls barefoot, and you won't be heard walking across the roof of the guardroom without shoes." The boy showed an expression of pride, as if to say, "Aren't I smart?" He stood up, holding the top of the wall, swayed his arms to maintain balance, and started walking along the wall towards the guardroom, "I'm going to feed the crows on top of the remnants of the tower. You carry on."
Feed the crows, my foot! Aeg was furious and immediately forgot about the difference in status. He chased after the boy along the wall, continuing to persuade him, "Kid, come down! It's so dangerous up there. You don't care about your own life, do you know how angry your parents would be if they found out!"
"I've never fallen before." Bran continued walking along the wall without looking back, "And my father allows me to climb walls. You'll never know how beautiful the view from up high is if you don't come up. In the future, Robb will become the master of Winterfell, but only I have seen the rolling hills and streams outside Winterfell, and all the rooftops within the walls!"
"What's there to be proud of, risking your life to see the scenery!"
"Pfft, you in your black clothes are so boring. I can't explain it to you. I'm leaving."
The boy snorted and no longer paid attention to Aeg's shouts, heading straight for the guardroom along the wall. The fact that someone was watching seemed to excite him even more, and he even used a little run for the last bit.
Aeg was worried and couldn't just leave it be. He dropped his bow and arrows and walked out of the entrance, circling around to the guardroom to keep an eye on him.
Two fully armed guards happened to walk out of the guardroom. Aeg rushed up to them as if grabbing a lifeline, "Your young master is on the roof! Aren't you going to do something about it?"
"What?" The two guards were stunned and looked up at the roof, where they indeed saw their second young master running towards the First Keep barefoot.
"Hey, just leave him be." Guard A shook his head.
"We originally received a private order from Lady Stark to chase Bran down if we saw him climbing walls." Guard B sighed, "But the more we shouted and chased him, the faster he ran, treating us like big kids playing cat and mouse with him."
"So we played, but he won every time." Guard A shrugged, "Instead, we were scared stiff watching from below. After a few times, Jory told us not to bother him anymore, probably on the duke's orders."
"So, brother of the Night's Watch, the Wall is tough. It's rare for you to come to Winterfell, so enjoy it. Don't worry about our young master."
The two guards walked away laughing, leaving Aeg, who was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, standing there, watching helplessly as the reckless child on the roof ran lightly over the ridge and climbed up the First Keep, which was next to the remnants of the tower. His figure was soon blocked by the guardroom.
The Night's Watchman stood still for a moment, gritted his teeth, and stamped his foot, heading back to the old inner courtyard. The plan had gone horribly wrong so far, but if he could find a way to warn the couple who had gone "exploring" in the remnants of the tower in time, there was still a chance.
***
What Aeg didn't know was that as he said goodbye to the two guards of Winterfell and returned to the First Keep, preparing to prevent Bran's fall in another way, thousands of miles to the north beyond the Wall, in a deep cave beneath the roots of a massive weirwood, a surprised "Huh?" also emerged from the mouth of a being that was human yet not.
An ordinary Night's Watchman, who had repeatedly appeared at the right time and place to thwart his plans, as if with a clear goal to oppose him, had finally piqued his curiosity.