Chapter 27

Cersei wrote to Eddard once again. She hoped he understood her code. The woman cried more than she had since early in her marriage. All she had done these past two months was cry. The beginning of her suffering was when Eddard left with the children. That same night Jon learned about his birth. She had kept appearances and stalled until father left. Tywin Lannister could not know that Jon was aware of his birth. That same night Cersei looked for Jon and could not find him. She tried maester Luwin and searched the grounds in Winterfell. Jon was not there.

She knocked on Tyrion's door early almost before dawn and cried. She did not know what to do. She told him about Jon's words, of his rejection. Cersei did something she never thought she could do. In her desperation Cersei hugged her brother and pleaded him for help. Tyrion was just as taken aback and patted her hand. Her dwarf brother could find Jon and bring him back to her. She had inklings as to where her eldest son was. He would be in the brothel. It was the only place she had not ventured. Lady Stark could not be seen in such places.

"I will bring him back." Her baby brother promised.

Tyrion brought Jon back but within a few minutes he announced he was off to the Wall. Cersei's heart leapt to her throat but thankfully Benjen managed to convince Jon to remain back. The young man spent the next two days in the godswoods and in the stables. Tyrion and Benjen left as expected, Cersei hugged Tyrion again. It was uncomfortable but she had to do it. Her little brother did not meet her gaze. "Thank you brother." She said honestly, perhaps it was time she forgave her baby brother. Tyrion brought Jon back without asking much questions and he did not care that the boy was not his nephew by blood. Cersei had been surprised when her brother spoke to her after she explained. She expected indifference and at the least sarcastic witty remarks. "I will knock some sense into him." Jon had come back to Winterfell but he was cold, never spoke to her. He addressed her as Lady Stark. It cut her deep when he would not look into her eyes and avoided all contact with her.

Three weeks after Jon came back to the castle Robb and Bran's broken body arrived with a long letter from Ned. They were by the Neck when Bran climbed a tower and fell. The fever had broken but he had not woken. Cersei had wanted to ride and strike her husband. She entrusted him a perfectly fine boy and he returned her broken Bran. Her baby boy was broken and he had not wakened up. Cersei slept in Bran's bedroom. She promised the gods one and a million things, everything if Bran woke up. Summer was by his heels howling, crying. She cried with him.

She wrote to Ned every day, pleading for him to come back to her. She had not felt so helpless since Jon fell and she waited days by his bedside. This was far worse because she knew that when her sweet boy woke up he would not walk. He would not climb, he would not swim and he would not be a knight.

Jon left her alone. He tried apologizing, being with her but he was too confused, too hurt to be of proper assistance. Cersei needed him to take over Winterfell, to leave her alone with her baby boy.

She gave the letter to maester Luwin. It had to be the seventh she wrote in five days. She wanted to know how her baby had fallen. It did not make sense; Bran did not fall. She asked once again how Bran had fallen. No one seemed to know; her youngest son had been on his own. Robb felt ashamed and guilty. He should have been looking out for Bran. Her second oldest explained that he and Tommen had gone with Prince Gendry hunting when they stumbled upon Bran's broken body.

"Father wanted to come back but the king opposed it. He said it would be best if I travelled with Bran. He was in a very bad shape mother. Once it was safe for him to travel father and the rest of the party went south." Robb said with a discomposed face.

"Your father should be here. This is his fault. He should be here. We are his family. The king does not need him, we do." Cersei angrily. Her tone a complete contrast to her letters where she pleaded with her husband to come back to her and Bran.

She prayed to the old gods, to the new gods. She wanted Bran awake. He finally woke up. It had been three months since his fall. "Mother I can fly." He said and opened his eyes.

"Oh Bran." She kissed his forehead and yelled for maester Luwin. The older man came and examined his legs.

"That hurts." Bran said with the maester pricked his left leg. Cersei smiled. He would walk. The maester pricked the other leg but Bran did not call out.

"Most strange." The old man said.

"Will he walk?" Cersei asked and Bran was confused and cried again.

"I can't move it. Mama I can't move my leg." He sounded pained and so very confused.

"Oh sweetling. Let mother sing to you." Cersei climbed into the bed and gently, oh so very gently carded her fingers through his hair. He was coherent and maybe would walk. It was more than she could ever have hoped for. Cersei sang to Bran and he fell asleep.

Jon wrote to his father. Cersei gained her bearings once more and refused to write to her husband. Bran should have been more important than any king or honor. Ned wrote back, his words belied stress and anguish. Robb did not leave for King's Landing immediately after Bran regained consciousness. He would wait for Tyrion and they would make the journey together.

Bran regained his mind but his legs were another matter. He would never climb and the leg that did not hurt at first now hurt him all the time. At night she stayed with her young son, soothing and massaging his leg. "It will get better Bran. You have to walk on both your legs. You have to build your strength.

The boy cried and could not bear to stand. It was obvious that Bran was a cripple now. "I will not be knight. I can't ride a horse. I can't climb, I can't swim." He cried bitterly in her mother's arms. Cersei shushed him soothed him. Bran's rooms became her rooms. Cersei was nothing if not devoted to her child.

"Lady Stark. Uncle Tyrion has arrived." Jon spoke formally. Bran slept quietly. She placed her fingers in her mouth. "He's just managed to fall asleep. His leg was hurting him so badly. My poor sweetling." She said and kissed his forehead.

Jon spoke formally, "You must greet uncle." She cried and looked up to him.

"He is still uncle but I am Lady Stark." Suddenly all the stress and the sleepless night took a toll on her. She wanted to cry and have all her children and Ned back in Winterfell safe, within her grasp. She stood up and moved close to him, "Sweetling please, Jon please, don't be angry. Forgive me. I only wanted you to have the best." Cersei could see that her son's resolve was perishing. She needed tears; they were a woman's weapons. Jon would not resist her tears. Like his father, he would succumb to her.

She needed her boy to be hers again. Cersei would exaggerate her tears if needed be. "I held you as a little baby. I fed you. I am your mother. Jon, it was me who watched over you when you fell and would not wake up." She looked at Bran's bed and made sure to sway a little. If he thought, she was feeble his resolve would break faster.

"I cured belly aches. I sang to you. Sweetling, you have been mine own son since I fed you that night. Jon, I will not apologize anymore and I will call you son because you are my son. I love you and I feel you as mine." Cersei then hugged him hard and cried, she sobbed, big heart wrecking sobs that melted him somewhat, enough for the young man to hold her back and call her mother again. "Don't cry mother. Please don't cry." He implored. Cersei cried more.

She wiped her tears. "Show your uncle to his rooms. Explain to him about Bran, make sure there are no whores in Winterfell." She was very aware that Tyrion was prone to his whores.

"You have to leave these rooms sometime. The maester believes Bran needs to exercise his leg. Robb and I could help him downstairs or Hodor could. He needs to see more than walls." Jon tried to persuade her. Cersei was in such good mood now that he was on speaking terms with her that she nodded eagerly.

"We shall do as you say my sweet." She kissed his brow and then went to meet Tyrion who looked like he needed a good shaving. He was in the small hearth by the windows.

"How is Bran?" Were the first words out of his mouth. Cersei was glad to hear those words. Tyrion was truly concerned for her child.

"He will never walk properly, never climb, swim or ride again." She said and could not control the tears again. This was so unlike her. She even let Tyrion hold her and kiss her forehead.

"He will ride. I'll make sure he does." Her brother said with a determined glint in his eyes.

Cersei saw her little brother and thought about their childhood. She had bee cruel, despised him for killing mother, for not being beautiful like Jaime and her were. She could not believe that Tyrion cared about her children. He cared more than her twin. Lady Stark felt a little bit of an alien feeling. She felt remorse because maybe she should have been nicer to the little man. The woman shook her head and left to her rooms. She needed to sleep; suddenly she was tired and weary.

Tyrion and Robb stayed in Winterfell for another week. Her brother designed a special mount for his nephew. "Mikken will know what to do." Tyrion gave some scrolls to Jon. Bran looked at his uncle. "Will I be able to ride again?" Bran asked with hopeful eyes; her son could walk with the aide of sticks but no long before his leg hurt him and he had to sit down. He would never run and was better off sitting down.

"You'll be as tall and proud as the rest of them." Tyrion said and ruffled Bran's hair.

"Sweet sister, anything you wish to relay to Lord Stark?" He said. Cersei smiled. "Nothing baby brother. Safe trip." She said. Cersei did not hug him this time but Tyrion smiled at her nonetheless.

Robb kissed her goodbye. "Father would want to know when you plan to join us." Cersei kissed his brow. "Your father will have to wait until Bran can withstand the journey." She retorted, annoyed by the query. Cersei would not leave Bran alone.

Cersei had been extraordinarily moody the past few weeks. She could not stand the smell of certain foods and cried at the sight of simple things such as Lan scratching at the doors. She saw as Robb rode ahead with Tyrion by his side. Jon and Bran waved them off. Bran wanted to give the scrolls to Mikken immediately. Jon who was still somewhat wary of her decided to humor him if only to be away from the castle. As she saw her brother and son leave the safety of Winterfell Lady Stark thought back to those past three months and realized she had not had her blood cycle since before the Ned left for King's Landing. She was with child. Lan howled and played with Summer and Ghost. She was having another little heir and this time Ned Stark would not be there to see him draw his first breath.