Chapter 3

"Hmm, it seems like little Sansa here doesn't like me any more even though I just wanted to cuddle with her for a minute or two, what should I do, Mother?"

"It was an accident, Brother!"

"Are you sure, that was quite the hit for such a little pup like you."

"Come now, Osric, I'm sure you can tell how bad she's already feeling about it."

"Well fine, seems like you're in luck little one, I will forgive you right away if I can ask you about something really weird, does that sound okay to you?"

"Sure, what do you need help with, big Brother?"

"Awesome, so I wanted to ask how you managed to keep our mother here with you."

"Well, I asked her yesterday and she promised to help me, so that's why she's here."

"That's not really what I meant, at the moment our brothers cuddle with the little ones, as in both of our brothers, Sansa."

"That's not fair, why didn't you tell me sooner, big Brother?!"

"Come now my, little one, you know how Mother can be when Jon is happy, that's why it's so weird to me that she's still here with us, so can you tell me what you did?"

"I get it, but I still didn't do anything, big Brother."

"Sigh, a mystery for another time then."

"Anyway, do you need any help with these flowers of yours, little one?"

"I might doubt my talent for growing plants, but I'm pretty confident that digging a few holes to speed things up wouldn't be much of a problem for me."

"Sure, that sounds like fun, but what would Mother do if you're helping me?"

"Mother, I want to help Sansa with the remaining flowers, is that okay with you?"

"That entirely depends on what you're up to, Osric."

"That's mean, Mother, I'm pretty much always good behaved, and big brothers should take care of their little sisters, right?"

"Really now, then what did the two of you whisper about a moment ago?"

"Oh that, I just asked Sansa if you're in a good mood, Mother."

"Out with it, Osric, what did you do that you need to ask your sister if I'm in a good mood?"

"Well, I might have taken Arya and Bran to the godswood for a little while."

"..."

"Don't look at me like that, Mother, would you have preferred it if I lied to you?"

"No, I would have preferred it if you respected the boundaries I set for you, Osric."

"Both of them are fine, Mother, I didn't let any harm come to them, and seeing to the gods from time to time is important."

"We can't just pray to them when we need something, there is more to worship than what we get out of it, right?"

"Osric, we both know that you with that sentence right there justified your actions more than you did before you took them there, you need to learn some self-control."

"Excuses won't protect your little siblings, Osric, I'm sure your father would be disappointed with you as well, you know how much he detests excuses."

"Apologies, Mother, I wasn't really in control of myself."

"That's also just a form of excuse, Osric."

"But it's true!"

"And my words aren't?"

"How often do you see your father act on some fickle whim, Osric, you need to do better, I take no joy from punishing you for the same folly again and again."

"Even if you were unable to spot any danger in the godswood that's still not safe enough, even a simple cold can be dangerous to them at their age."

"Yes, Mother."

"Don't, yes Mother, me, my little one, if normal punishment truly no longer works with you then the punishments will cease to be normal if this happens again, my word is law for you as long as the little ones are involved, understood?"

"Understood."

"So can I play with Sansa?"

"Sigh, the cup of life is always half full for you, isn't it?"

"Everything is full until it isn't, Mother, and what is the Cup of Life?"

"My, how am I supposed to stay mad with you like this, how can anyone become so unfairly adorable from one moment to the next?"

"I'm not supposed to be adorable, Mother, the little ones are."

"Well, you will always be my little one, my little dork you."

"As long as you're happy, I don't mind being a dork, Mother."

"Hmm, I always thought the legends of Garth were just that, legends, but whenever you actually use that head of yours before you speak, you actually seem like quite the legendary smooth-talker yourself."

"Sigh, it seems like I will have quite the job ahead of me once you actually start to use that head of yours for more than getting yourself out of trouble."

"Anyway, off you go, if you really want to help your sister with her flowers that's fine with me as long as you make sure she doesn't get herself hurt."

"Hear that, Sansa, I will be with you in a minute!"

"Okay, big Brother, hurry up a bit!"

"Seems like someone has gotten a little impatient, oh yeah, how did Sansa convince you to stick around for so long, Mother?"

"What is it, Osric, did you miss me?"

"Yes, I can normally predict more or less where you are, but today I had no idea where to even start looking for you."

"Being possessive isn't a good thing, my little one, it shouldn't bother you this much that I spent some time with Sansa."

"It doesn't bother me that you spent time with her, Mother, what bothers me is that we were all together, and you normally would have appeared out of nowhere to check on us, which you didn't."

"That still doesn't seem like the end of the world to me, did you actually need me for something, my little one?"

"I already told you that I missed you, Mother, do I need more reason to look for you?"

"Come now, Osric, you somehow always know what I want to hear, how is it that you still fail to understand me, there was no malice in the words I spoke."

"I just don't like it when you make it sound like I only look for you when I want something, I just looked for you because you were really weird today."

"Don't call your mother weird, or anyone for that matter, now once more, off you go."