Robb bowed his head before the Heart Tree, closing his eyes and emptying his mind of all thoughts. He wore no crown and carried no sword. He was not a king, not a warrior, he was simply Robb Stark. A man, a son, a father, a brother, and a husband. Everything else, for the time being, was not important.
It had been two weeks since Margaery had pushed him to go pray in the godswood, telling him that the only force capable of helping him was the Old Gods. Such a statement had surprised Robb, considering how head-strong and capable his wife was, but he quickly saw how much it pained her to essentially admit that she was not enough to heal the wound in his heart.
Robb had wanted to tell her so many times that it was not her fault that she could not help him, but he couldn't seem to find the right words to say it without either being slapped or causing his wife to run from the room crying. When he had been told during the war that his father had died, it had crushed him, but with Jon's help, he had accepted it. Seeing his father fight, knowing that he wasn't going to win, and watching him die had been tormenting Robb in his nightmares ever since that battle. He had lost his father again, and watching it happen had been even more painful than hearing about it.
Margaery's presence had certainly helped dull the pain, but she and Torrhen, and Cira could not fill the hole left behind by his father. It wasn't so much that he was dead, it was how he died that tore at Robb.
Robb knew how much his new mood had affected his wife, perhaps much more than it affected Brienne and the others, and so he forced himself to go to the godswood and pray to the gods for one hour every day. He was not blinded by his own pain that he did not notice how others treated him. They almost treated him like a newborn, scared that he might break at the slightest word. Robb hadn't reacted to their treatment because he knew that they were worried about him, and that worry came from care.
So he took his wife's advice and would wake every morning before dawn and kneel before the Heart Tree and remain there as the sun rose from its slumber.
For the first week, Robb had struggled with many things. He had tried hard to ignore his feelings and to focus more on his duty as king, but he could not help but focus on his pain during these quiet hours. He could not hide from them and it seemed like the Gods would not allow him to run as he had been for the past few months. Over the first few days, he had spent many hours just crying in front of the tree, finally releasing all the emotions he had kept inside himself.
He cried for his father, for his friends, for the Green Man, and for Daenerys Targaryen as well. He cried for all those who died in his name. He cried because he was still struggling to accept that he was not the reason his father was dead. He cried because he felt like he was letting down his family by not being the man they want, the man they miss.
However, after the first week, he had finally run out of tears and had managed to find some sort of peace in his life that he had not had since before he had left for the Wall to battle the Others. The burdens that he had been carrying, which he had placed on himself, were slowly being erased. He smiled more and occasionally laughed. Those around him first looked surprised when he did this, but soon smiled and laughed with him, glad to see a glimpse of their king in Robb.
He still struggled with nightmares, but even they were beginning to fade and did not come to torture him every night. Margaery, Torrhen, and Cira were all instrumental in his healing process, and while he believed that he had much more time before he found his former self, he believed that he was finally on the right track.
"You were wise to take your wife's advice, Robb," a familiar female voice said. Robb opened his eyes and looked up, revealing a hooded woman.
The goddess who had spoken to him before the final battle.
"It hurt her to say it," Robb said quietly. "I did not want to hurt her further by denying her."
The goddess nodded. "Yes, she was not very happy when I told her that you needed to be here to heal."
"You told her?"
The goddess smiled slightly. "She came and prayed to us because she did not believe that any advice from the Seven would convince you otherwise. I believe that she was looking for some way for her to help you, but I told her that such work was outside of even her powers, as considerable as they are," the goddess's smile dropped. "What you suffer from is a wound that only you can repair, Robb Stark. I have been here, watching you every morning when you prayed. Like you, I believe that you are on the right path."
"How did you explain that being here would help?" Robb asked curiously. The smile returned to the goddess's face.
"Some peace and quiet does wonders for the soul," she said simply.
Robb nodded slowly. "Aye, it has."
The goddess lowered herself to Robb's level before cupping his face with her hands. Robb felt warmth and happiness flow through him, melting just a bit more of the ice that surrounded his heart.
"I told you that the Old Gods would always be with you,"the goddess said. "We may not appear to you as I am not, but you will see our presence around you. In your children's laughter and the love in your wife's eyes when she sees you. In the good times you spend with your friends and family. In all the good that you do and see, you shall feel our presence beside you, supporting you, encouraging you."
Robb nodded again. "I understand," he said softly.
"Da!" Torrhen cried as he came running into the godswood, Margaery and Cira right behind him. Robb looked over his shoulder at his family, but when he looked back, the goddess was gone.
"Family is precious, Robb Stark," the goddess's voice said into his ear. "I know that your father would not want you to waste the time you have with them."
"Da!" Torrhen cried again as he threw himself into Robb's arms. Immediately, Robb wrapped his son up in a hug, holding him close.
"Sorry," Margaery said apologetically. "Torrhen…"
Robb shook his head as he rose to his feet, his eyes glistening with tears as he leaned forward and kissed his wife on the cheek.
"It's ok," Robb said quietly, his voice full of love and care that hadn't been there for some time. "Thank you."
Margaery noticed the change in his attitude and nodded, looking much happier. "Of course."
Greywind brushed up against Robb's legs, making Robb chuckle as the giant direwolf vied for Robb's attention. The northern king rubbed the wolf's head as the creature emitted a low rumble of pleasure.
"I missed you too, boy," Robb chuckled.
For a few minutes, the royal family stood in the godswood, enjoying one another's company as Robb properly reunited with his wife and kids. He was not back to his former self just yet, but he was well on his way to being so.
Brienne of Tarth
Brienne stopped at the entrance to the godswood, watching for a bit as the king and his family laughed and spoke. After weeks of seeing the king's expression seemingly always set in grim, mournful expressions, seeing him smile and laugh was almost enough to provoke emotions from Brienne.
"It's a beautiful scene," Ser Robar said as he and Ser Loras came to stand beside their commander. "Been too long since I've seen a smile on the king's face."
"It's nice to see Margaery finally relax too," Ser Loras added. "She worried about him even after he returned."
Brienne nodded slowly. She had come to tell the king that the small council would be meeting soon, but seeing him now, she would not allow anyone to interfere with his time or his family. The realm would be alright without the king's attention for the day. Currently, the king's family deserved his attention more than the Seven Kingdoms did.
"They are to be left alone for as long as they wish," Brienne ordered. "Do not allow the king to be bothered with his duties. As far as anyone is concerned, he is attending to his familial duties."
Ser Robar grinned and bowed his head. "As you command."
Brienne looked at both men before turning around and striding away. She made her way through the castle before entering the tower of the Hand and making her way to the Hand's office, where Lord Willas resided, holding the office until Lord Lannister returned from Casterly Rock.
"Commander Brienne," Lord Willas said with some surprise. "I was just about to head down to the council chambers."
"I came to tell you that the king will not be joining us," Brienne said. "He is with his family and it is important that he stays with them."
Willas raised an eyebrow before he realized the importance of the commander's sentence. He grabbed his cane and slowly rose from behind his seat, grabbing a few scrolls in his free hand.
"It is good to hear that our king is finally on the mend," Willas said as he made his way towards the door. "The trick to healing is time."
"I have made sure that he has all that he needs," Brienne replied, opening the door for the Lord of Highgarden.
"I'm sure," Willas said with a smile as he stepped out into the stairwell. "Come, Commander Brienne, we have a kingdom to run."
Bran Stark
Bran sat in his chair before the great heart tree that was hidden deep within the forest that covered the Isle of Faces. A ring of green men, those who remained, surrounded the clearing, chanting something in the ancient language in low tones that seemed to echo through the trees.
Leaf and the last of her kin sat with their legs crossed as they had a much tighter circle made around Bran, their heads bowed as they chanted something else, their sweet, musical voices contrasting with those of the green men.
As the two groups chanted, the clearing seemed to come alive, responding to their voices. A strong wind blew through the trees, making branches groan and rustle, threatening to snap. Leaves swirled in the air, seemingly drawn to Bran as they landed in his hair, on his shoulders, and his legs.
Summer prowled between the two circles but made no sound as the ceremony took place.
After some time, Leaf threw her head back and shouted something and was met with a boom of thunder from a cloudless sky.
Then something struck Bran, causing him to curl up and fall forward onto the ground. It felt like something punched him in the gut and fire raced through his veins. His upper half began to writhe in pain and he gasped in pain, unable to make any more sound as his body felt like it was being consumed by fire.
Summer growled and took a few steps forward, but did not intervene.
After a few more moments of pain, Bran finally went still as the pain and fiery feeling thankfully began to leave his body, leaving him physically and mentally drained. He had never felt such pain, not even when he was thrown from the Broken Tower. He wanted to fall back into a coma and leave the pain behind.
"Stand up, Bran Stark," Leaf commanded softly. "Stand."
Bran managed to press his hands on the soft grass and tried to push himself up, but he had lost all the strength in his arms and he remained on the ground. He tried again and rose just a bit off the ground, but he then fell back down. His lungs were heaving and his vision swam. He just wanted to stay on the ground and sleep.
"Stand!" Leaf snapped. "Stand, Bran Stark!"
Bran gritted his teeth and put all he had into pushing himself up, his arms shaking and threatening to drop him as he did. Then, without thinking about it, one foot came up to support him. The former cripple stopped what he was doing and looked down at his leg. It was shaking just as bad as his arms were after years of sitting in that blasted chair, but it still managed to support him.
Slowly, Bran rose to his feet, feeling like a newborn deer who was just learning to walk. When he was upright, the Children broke their circle and moved back as Summer raced forward and supported his master.
With one hand braced on Summer, Bran took a tentative step forward, the old and weakened muscles shooting bolts of lightning through his legs as he forced them to work. There was some pain, but one step turned into two, and two turned into three. Eventually, he led himself up to the godswood.
"You have been sitting for some time, Brandon of House Stark," Leaf said from behind him as one of the green men helped clasp a green cloak around Bran's neck, complete with antlers on the hood. "But now you can stand and take your place as leader of the Green Men."
Bran turned and watched as the circle of green men dropped to their knees, pleading their undying support and loyalty to him as their leader. As this happened, a crow cried and hopped down from the heart tree and onto Bran's shoulder.
"Hail, Brandon Stark, Green Man of the Green Men, the Three-Eyed Crow!" Leaf declared.