Ch 3-The Grumpkin—Part 2

After having sufficiently rested I stood up and walked toward the trees in the godswood. I walked around for a while before I found a tree that I considered appropriate for a beginner then I took some distance from that tree. While facing the tree I took a deep breath, and then ran toward it at a moderate speed, just before reaching it I took a jump and then started climbing it, I didn't even make a meter above the ground before I fell toward the ground hard.

"Ow Ow..."

As I lay there trying to catch my breath, I felt a shadow on my face, when I opened my eyes I found Robb standing there with his face crunched up in confusion.

"What are you doing?" he inquired.

"I am training to become a hunter," I said while standing up for another try at it.

"By practicing how to fall from a tree," he asked, bewildered.

"No by learning to climb a tree very fast," I said before I ran and tried to climb the tree, this time I was able to reach a higher place before falling down on my feet.

"How are you going to become a hunter by learning to climb a tree?" he asked in a skeptical tone as if questioning my sanity.

"Do you remember that old hunter in Wintertown who hunted that big stag last year?" I asked while not stopping my training.

"Yeah, Old mark, right. What about him?"

"Well I asked him a couple of days ago, about what should I do to become a good hunter, and he said that the most important thing for a hunter is how fast he could climb a tree. Apparently, there is a saying between the hunter, 'The faster a hunter climbs, The longer he survives ', so that's why I am training so that if I come across a wolf or something, I could climb a tree in a heartbeat... Ow..ow..."

I was able to almost reach the first branch this time but I lost my balance before catching it. Robb had already found a rock to sit on.

"Well, why do you want to become a hunter all of a sudden?" he said while watching me from his seat.

"Do you know how much money Old Mark got for that big buck?"

"Enough to last him for a while, I guess"

"Well he got about 70 silver stag, if it was not so full of arrows he could have even gotten a gold dragon," I said to him while stopping for a moment to catch a breath.

That old mark had gotten quite lucky to be able to hunt down that big of a beast. While they were not a rarity, they almost always escape because they are not slowed down by a couple of arrows at all. The second he had gotten that money, he married his daughter to our blacksmith Mikken's son.

"Why would you want to earn money ?" he asked bringing me out of my thoughts.

"Do you remember what I told you two days ago?"

"What are— Oh, about your dream to travel the world" he replied quietly.

"Yeah, and you need a lot of money to do that so I have to start early. I don't want to turn into an old man before I earn enough money to go to White Harbour, Do I?" I said while laughing lightly.

But Robb wasn't laughing, he was looking at the ground morosely. I sighed and went toward him and sat beside him before putting a hand around his shoulders.

"Hey what happened? Why are you sulking?"

"I'm not sulking," he sulkily said while looking at the ground.

"Of course, you are not. Now tell me what happened,"

"I don't want you to go," he said while looking up at me with moist eyes.

"Hey! Hey! I am not talking about going anywhere soon, You know. It'll probably be a decade before Father even allows me to step foot outside Winterfell," I said while rubbing his shoulder in comfort, "So you don't have to worry about me disappearing tomorrow,"

"I am not worried about you," he said while looking away from me and rubbing his eyes.

"Of course, you're not," I said while standing up and walking toward the exit "Now come on let's go before the grumkin comes looking for you,"

"She'll be with my mother, so we don't have to worry at all," he said while catching up with me.

"How is lady stark by the way?"

"She's alright, just angry with father because he told her that she was not allowed to go outside." he said before continuing with a crunched-up face, "And she doesn't like being fat or being called fat,"

"Well it won't be long before we have a little sister"

"Mother thinks that we'll have a baby brother but father said he wants a little baby girl," he said while kicking a pebble before continuing, "But I don't understand how mother getting fat will get us a baby brother or a baby sister,"

"Did you not ask Lady Stark," I asked while imagining Catelyn's face when Robb asks her about where babies come from.

"I did, but she said I am not old enough," he said before turning toward me, "But you know about that right, so you can tell me,"

"I do know but she's right, you're not old enough yet to know about this secret," I said in a mystifying tone.

"Hey! We are the same age. Come on, tell me! Please!" he whined while swinging my arm back and forth.

"Alright! Alright! Tell you what, if you win the race then I'll tell you," I said while taking my hand from him.

"What race," he said while tilting his head.

"The race to the kitchen that starts..." I said before bending to get into the runner's position and then took off with a shout of "NOW!"

"Hey! that's cheating!" he shouted from behind me before I heard his footsteps as he ran behind me.

We ran for a while between trees and then went straight out of godswood. As we were passing by the armory and I took a turn around a corner, I came to a complete stop.

"Hey, why did you stop," he asked while slowing down after seeing me stand at the corner looking toward the other side.

"Look's like the grumkin found us!" I said to him in a whisper as he came to stand beside me and when he found out who was in front of me he immediately understood the reason I stopped.

"Where are you two up to?" Septa Mordane said while looking at us with suspicion in her eyes.

Before I could reply to her with something that would definitely not be appropriate for a child, I saw Robb looking at me with wide eyes, silently asking me if I wanted to mess with her. I obviously replied in an affirmative via rapid blinking of my eyes.

"Nothing!" We shouted simultaneously.

She looked at both of us for a few moments before turning toward Robb.

"Lord Robb, I've told you this before but you should not associate yourself too much with him," she said while pretending as if I don't exist.

"And why should I not associate with my brother, Septa," he inquired as if genuinely curious.

"Because he is a bastard," she said while looking at me from the corner of her eyes to see if would react, but I only smiled back not offended at all, "And they are creatures born out of sin and lust so they are not to be trusted,"

"Oh! they are," Robb said in an exaggerated tone, "And are children of bastards, bastards too, Septa,"

"Of course," she replied while directing a smirk at me

Robb nodded as if he understood everything she was telling him and then abruptly turned toward me.

"Do you remember Jon?" Robb asked, "What Maester Luwin was teaching us two days,"

"Of course, he was teaching us the history of Baratheons," I replied while hiding my smile, having understood where he was going with this.

"And wasn't the founder of House Baratheon, Orys Baratheon a Targaryen bastard,"

"That's what it says in the history books," I replied while trying to hold my laughter in.

"And isn't there a very important man who is a descendent of Baratheon," he asked while turning toward a rapidly paling septa.

"Yes, I think the King, the ruler of Seven kingdoms is a Baratheon,"

We both started advancing toward the septa who slowly started stepping backward while looking as if she had seen a ghost.

"So what the good Septa here is telling us is that the king is a creature born of sin and lust,"

"No, I didn't mean tha—" she tried to say but I interrupted her.

"And isn't Lord Stark a very old friend of the king?"

"Yeah, he is and we should definitely tell father what the good septa here is saying about his childhood friend," Robb replied while we both looked maliciously toward the septa.

...

A few minutes later the septa walked out of that corner looking as if her soul had left her body, she hurriedly walked toward the great keep with her head down.

"She will definitely leave us alone for a while now,"

"Where did you learn to blackmail people like that," I asked Robb as he was dipping freshly baked bread into his soup.

We had gotten some breakfast from the kitchen and were sitting in the great hall. It was mostly empty with the occasional guard coming for an early breakfast.

"From you," he spoke while spraying food from his mouth everywhere.

"Don't speak with your mouth full," I said while moving my plate away from his.

"You sound like my mother,"

"Just because Lady stark is not here, doesn't mean you should forget your manners," I replied while hitting the back of his head, "And when did you see me blackmail someone?"

"That one time you blackmailed my mother into letting you sit at the head table or the other time when she tried to move you into servant quarter but you somehow suddenly persuaded her, or the—"

"Alright! Alright! I get it, you don't need to say anymore," I interrupted him when he looked like he would go on for a while, "And you should not do it anymore, or else your mother will really murder me in my sleep,"

"If you can do it, then I can do it too,"

"I am more mature than you, so you should listen to me," I said while trying to make my voice firm.

"We are the same age," he said petulantly while sticking his tongue out at me.

Before I could teach the brat about respecting his betters, a guard suddenly came into the great hall and started walking toward us intently. He came to a stop beside Robb before he started speaking.

"Lord Stark requested your presence in his solar m'lord,"

Robb nodded to let him know that he had gotten the message and then tried to hurriedly finish the rest of his food.

"Is today one of your lordly lessons?" I asked while eating slowly.

"Yeah, today he is going to teach me all about our army and how to call for them," he said excitedly, before standing up, "I'll tell you about it later, Bye"

He ran out of the hall toward the great keep while dodging between the maids. Once or twice a month Father calls Robb into his solar for long lessons where he teaches him about things a Lord is required to know. They are supposed to be secrets that Lord passes onto his heir, but Robb always tells me everything that he learns in there.

After cleaning my plate of all the food, I slowly stood up and went out of the great hall. As I looked toward the sky I felt that it should be around the time that guards start their daily training, so I turned toward the direction of the courtyard and started walking leisurely.

Almost the whole castle had woken up by this point so it was really bustling, I passed many servants, guards, the steward, or the stable boy rushing toward their daily chores.

It only took a couple of minutes for me to reach the courtyard, it was filled with men of all kinds of ages. From the elderly master at arms to young new recruits being drilled by the Guard captain.

I passed by everyone only stopping occasionally to say hi, before I came to a stop in front of a ring where some of the guards were having impromptu duels. I found my regular spot which was an out-of-the-way tree stump and sat on it while looking toward the ongoing duel.

Since I had been able to walk, I had been coming here to observe the guards practicing their forms or competing against each other. And while I was too young to practice my arms for a few years yet, I thought that I would still learn something from watching them.

The most important thing that I learned was all the different kinds of forms the guards used in their sword fight. I slowly started noticing a pattern, like a particular form is used by most guards when they are on the defensive or the other form they use while on the attack.

I still had the habit of doing the complex calculations in my mind and doing image training and after all this, it had paid off here. My memory retention was outstanding, so whenever I saw a guard use a particular, I would remember everything about it from the location of his hands and legs to when it was being used, etc.

So after I've got enough data from watching all these duels, I should be able to predict what my opponent would do next by the position of his arms and legs as well as his center of balance. It was all a theory for now but when I start practicing for real, that is when I would find out If it would pay off.

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