The Birth of Dragons

Benjen Stark

They had snuck out at night, taking the streets and sideways that had become his go to, during his years in King's Landing. Arya had been more than happy to leave, trailing behind him as if she had been waiting for this moment her entire life, Sansa, Sansa was loath to leave, she had protested and cried, and eventually, Benjen had had to give her milk of the poppy to get her to sleep and shut up. They had sneaked out in the dead of night, riding as hard and as quickly as they could, twenty good men with them, as well as Syrio Forel, the man who Benjen had recommended to Ned to teach Arya the water dance. Now as they rode through the shadows, he had a chance to call a halt.

"Why are we stopping?" Arya asks, even inquisitive.

Benjen looks at his niece, her hair short and dirty, she looks a little like Lyanna, and that thought brings a pang to his chest. "The horses need to rest, and so do we. We have been out here for nearly a week. Come now, we need to get ready." He moves off of his horse and helps his niece dismount, then moves to help Sansa, she silently accepts his help.

"Where are we?" Arya asks, looking around inquisitively.

Benjen looks round and then says. "Near Darry lands, we should be heading off in around twenty minutes."

"Twenty minutes?" Sansa asks surprised. "How are we supposed to get anything done in twenty minutes."

Benjen sighs, Sansa has never quite gotten around the fact that they had to leave, and right now, it is beginning to frustrate him. "Have a drink of water, freshen up, then get ready to move again. Harwin, Hull, come with me." With that he moves toward the stream, as he stands there, he looks out, and sees the place where his sister and Rhaegar Targaryen first crossed paths, a long, long time ago, and all the chaos that came from that meeting. When he sees Harwin standing near his shoulder, he turns round. "We must keep moving, if Ned has done as I think he has, he will not be joining us. We must make for Riverrun."

"But Lord Stark had instructed us to take the girls to Winterfell, master Benjen." Harwin protests.

Benjen sighs. "Come now Harwin, we both know there is too much at stake to allow the girls to ride straight back to Winterfell. Walder Frey is still alive, and as such the Lannisters will know the moment they head toward the Twins. Mallister is unreliable right now. Riverrun is the safest place for them."

He can tell that both Harwin and Hull are not happy with this planned change, and not for the first time, he finds himself wondering how his brother has managed to keep the north running with such rigid and inflexible thinking. Eventually, Hull is the one who speaks. "Very well Master Benjen, Riverrun is where we shall go. Though, what of the direwolves? They will be an obvious give away."

"The wolves know what is needed of them, when they need to leave, they will leave." Benjen responds.

"What of the Braavosi?" Harwin asks. "He will stick out as well, furthermore, we do not know if we can trust him."

Benjen finds himself growing even more frustrated, he had thought the prejudices of the south were bad, but he is reminded just how bad his fellow northmen can be as well. "I was the one who recommend Syrio Forel to my brother, he is trust worthy, furthermore, he is one of the few people that will be able to keep Arya quiet for the time being. So he shall remain." Again, he can tell that Harwin and Hull are not comfortable with this, and he finds himself wondering just how his brother managed to employ such foolish people. Deciding that he has had enough conversation with them, he turns back around, and calls out to his nieces. "Arya, Sansa, come here." His two nieces walk over, Arya, bouncing around with uncontained energy, Sansa listlessly, and with some restraint. Once they come over to him, he turns and points to the buildings across the stream. "Over there, is where one of the greatest events in recent history happened. That is where your grandfather unhorsed Lord Tywin in a joust." It is a lie, but one that holds a grain of truth.

"They held a tourney here?" Arya asks with wonder. "But this place is barren."

Benjen laughs, his niece has quite the blunt tongue to her, just like Lyanna. "There was more to it than what you now see. It was quite a beautiful place, many people had come to attend the tourney, and all cheered when Tywin Lannister was unhorsed. He was never as popular in the Riverlands."

"So what happened afterwards?" Arya asks curiously.

Before Benjen can respond however, Sansa speaks, her tone blunt and aggravating. "Nothing, it was a tourney, nothing else would have happened."

Benjen feels himself tighten in anger at Sansa's words, he does not understand why she is like this, does she not understand that by taking her away from King's Landing and Joffrey, they've spared her a world of pain. Once again, he finds himself wondering how his nieces could be so naïve. "No Sansa," he finds himself replying. "After the knocking off of Tywin Lannister, the King cheered, and the lords cheered, and Tywin Lannister pouted and swore to get revenge."

"Why would he want to get revenge?" Arya asks.

"Because Tywin Lannister is a man who does not like bearing insults. He is a man who has a very small threshold for insults, or for jests made at his expense." Benjen responds sagely.

"I do not like the sound of him." Arya responds.

Benjen ruffles his niece's hair and says. "You are right not to. The Lannisters are nothing but snakes." Sansa huffs at that, and Benjen merely glares at her, wondering not for the first time, how she could be so naïve.