"It was originally a watchtower in the old Winterfell. I heard it was struck by lightning over a hundred years ago, caught fire, and was abandoned." My heart skipped a beat, but Aegon quickly suppressed his emotions and answered truthfully. This was something anyone in Winterfell could tell you, so he didn't dare make things up.
"Abandoning it is right. Winterfell doesn't need a watchtower." Cersei glanced at the Ruined Tower in the direction her brother was looking, a look of disdain appearing at the corner of her mouth. "What kind of fool would march an army to attack and take such a cold and gloomy castle?"
"Don't say that. For some wolves, there's no place like their own den, even if it's just a doghouse." Jaime shrugged and laughed. "What about that Keep?"
Aegon could only pretend not to understand their mockery of the Stark family and reluctantly introduced the Keep to the Kingslayer again. Jaime nodded noncommittally after listening and asked, seemingly casually, "Night's Watch brother, why are you training here? The Winterfell training yard isn't far."
"I... like to be alone," Aegon thought, realizing they found him bothersome, and quickly explained, "Too much noise severely affects my performance."
"Is that so? Well, I hope the Wildlings you encounter in the future are quiet gentlemen and ladies." Jaime's lips curled up, clearly unconvinced by Aegon's explanation. "Good sister, shall we go in and take a look?"
"Here?" The Queen frowned and looked up at the old, dilapidated Keep again.
***
What's going on?
Can I not stop the plot from happening even here?
Do these two audacious people dare to ignore my presence and enter the Keep?
Aegon felt an invisible hand gripping his throat, his breathing becoming rapid. "Lord... It's dirty and messy inside, there's nothing but rats and spiders."
"I'm not expecting anything inside, just curious..." Jaime smiled confidently and turned to look at Cersei. "Good sister, if you're not afraid of rats and spiders, how about we go on an adventure? Maybe we can find some ancestral Stark treasure in a crack in the wall or something."
...
"An adventure at your age?" She frowned, trying to cover up her real feelings. "Suit yourself, just be careful."
"This is called staying young at heart. The mother of the realm frowning all day will age quickly. Come on." Jaime walked towards the Keep, patting Aegon's shoulder before leaving. "Night's Watch brother, you train well here. The Queen Your Majesty and I will go in and look around, trying not to disturb you."
What else could Aegon say? Jaime wasn't consulting him, just informing him. And the Lannister siblings, born of the same mother and raised together since childhood, were known to be close. It was not his place as a Night's Watch brother to comment. And if he didn't know the plot, just looking at them now and their seemingly normal conversation before, who could guess what they were about to do after entering the Keep?
He could only nod in agreement, standing in place and watching them walk towards the Keep and enter it.
***
What should I do?
Aegon was at a loss, he hadn't felt this sense of being ignored and insignificant in a long time.
Jaime had already told him to "train well" here. If he forced his way in with some excuse, it would be ridiculous if he ended up being thrown from the tower instead of Bran.
He was relying on Tyrion to leave The Wall. If he offended the Dwarf's two powerful older siblings first, he might not even know how he died in the future.
In that instant, countless thoughts raced through his mind, but he discarded them one by one. After some deliberation, he decided to do as the Kingslayer said—continue training here.
Both to Keep watch and to Keep an eye on the potential appearance of the mischievous child.
Stopping the Queen and a Kingsguard from "visiting" the Keep was naturally impossible, but stopping a child of only ten years old from climbing a wall... Even if Eddard Stark and his Lady knew, they couldn't possibly punish him for that!
The plan hadn't completely failed yet. Suppressing his anger, Aegon walked towards the target, pulled out the arrows he had shot, put them back in the quiver, and walked back to his original spot to continue practicing.
...
One arrow, then another, Aegon vented his frustration on the target. Interestingly, in this situation, his accuracy was much higher than usual, with more than half of the arrows hitting within the white cloth of the target that symbolized vital points.
Unconsciously, a quiver of arrows was empty. Drawing a bow was hard work, and Aegon's arms were sore. He shook his arms and walked towards the chair, preparing to pack up and sit down to read a book.
"You shoot really accurately." A childlike voice came from above, startling Aegon so much he almost jumped. He turned to look, surprised to find the person he was waiting for.
Bran Stark, the second son of the Lord of Winterfell. Still young, he had red lips, white teeth, a powdered face, and chestnut-red hair and blue eyes like his Mother. This extroverted and cute little boy with a lovely face had always been the favorite young Lord of the female residents of Winterfell, without exception.
At this moment, this boy, who was doted on by everyone, was sitting on the wall of the Old Inner Courtyard, swinging his legs and looking down at the Night's Watch. "I just can't practice well, even Arya shoots better than me."
When did this brat sneak up there?
Aegon had no enemies in this world, and there would be no White Walkers suddenly appearing in Winterfell. When he was training in this courtyard, he only focused on the entrance, so he was completely unprepared for anything above his head. Under the cover of the wind created by the air flowing between the houses and towers, he hadn't even noticed when the boy arrived.
Aegon's heart clenched. He opened his mouth and suddenly realized he had made a serious mistake.
He occupied the training area which was the only passage from the Old Inner Courtyard to the weirwood grove, so he naturally assumed that by blocking this area, Bran would have to pass by him whether he wanted to climb the Ruined Tower or the Keep. At that time, he could find a way to prevent him from meeting the Lannister siblings... Whether by using the advantage of being a strong adult to forcibly stop him, or by talking to him loudly to alert the man and woman in the tower, everything would be under control.
But he missed one thing. Winterfell, with its long history, was like a constantly growing giant stone tree. A grandfather planted a tree, a father added a tower, a son built a wall, a grandson added a small building... After dozens or hundreds of generations of Starks' modifications, it had long since "grown" with twisted branches and intertwined roots. The densely packed buildings, courtyards, and passages made it like a vast labyrinth built of gray stone. For a child who loved to climb, this was simply the best playground. All the roofs and walls connecting and separating each other were a playground for the little climber—if necessary, he could go the whole way without touching the ground. Bran had climbed the wall from somewhere else, not by climbing the Ruined Tower after passing through the Old Inner Courtyard!
A strong sense of foreboding swept over his body. Aegon widened his eyes, trying to Keep his tone calm. "Oh... When you grow up and your arms are stronger, you'll naturally shoot accurately, but what are you doing up there?"
"Playing! I haven't climbed walls in a long time. I'm going to King's Landing with Father tomorrow, and I might not come back for several years... This might be my last time climbing walls."
Aegon looked up at the boy and estimated the height of the wall. It was over three meters—he couldn't catch the kid by jumping, so he could only try to persuade him.
"It's too dangerous up there. Come down first, I can teach you archery."
"No need. When I get to King's Landing, I'll have plenty of time to learn... I heard that the targets at the King's Landing archery range are more than ten times bigger than those in Winterfell!" Bran happily swung his legs. "With such a big target, how can you miss it?"
"Nonsense! What kind of master archer can you train with such a big target!" Aegon swallowed and noticed another even more surprising detail. "Why are you barefoot?"
"It's easier to climb walls barefoot, and walking on the roof of the Guard Room without shoes won't be heard." The boy showed a proud expression as if expecting to be praised for his cleverness. He pulled his legs up and stood on the top of the wall, swaying his arms left and right to maintain balance, scaring the Night's Watchman below who reached out to catch him. Then he started walking along the top of the wall towards the Guard Room. "I'm going to the top of the Ruined Tower to feed the crows. You continue."
Feed your sister's crows! Aegon was exasperated and immediately disregarded the difference in status. While chasing the boy along the wall, he continued to persuade him. "Kid, get down! It's so dangerous up there. Don't you care about your life? Do you know how angry your parents will be if they find out?"
"I've never fallen." Bran continued walking along the wall without looking back. "Besides, my Father also allows me to climb walls. You'll never know how beautiful the view from up high is if you don't come up. Robb will be the Lord of Winterfell in the future, but only I have seen the rolling hills and stream valleys outside Winterfell, and all the roofs within the city walls!"
"Risking your life to see the scenery, what's there to be proud of!"
"Hmph, you in black are so boring, I can't explain it to you, I'm leaving."
The boy snorted, no longer paying attention to Aegon's calls, and walked straight along the top of the wall towards the Guard Room. Having someone watch seemed to make him even more excited, and he even jogged the last short section.
Aegon was worried. He dropped his bow and arrows and walked out of the passage, going around to the Guard Room to continue watching him.
Two fully armed guards happened to walk out of the Guard Room door. Aegon rushed towards them as if grabbing a lifebuoy. "Your young Lord is on the roof, aren't you going to do something about it!"
"What?" The two guards were startled and looked up at the roof. Indeed, they saw their second young Lord running barefoot towards the Keep.
...
"Hey, leave him be." Guard A shook his head.
"We originally received a private order from Lady Stark to try and get Bran down if we saw him climbing walls." Guard B sighed. "But the more we shouted and chased him, the faster he ran, treating us like big kids playing cat and mouse with him."
"Let him play, but he wins every time." Guard A shrugged. "Instead, we watch from below with our hearts in our mouths. After a few times, Jory told us to stop bothering him, probably at the Lord's behest."
"So, Night's Watch brother, The Wall is so tough, you've come all the way to Winterfell, just enjoy yourself and don't worry about our young Lord."
The two guards laughed and walked away, leaving Aegon, anxious as an ant on a hot pan, standing there, watching helplessly as the mischievous child on the roof lightly ran across the ridge and climbed onto the Keep next to the Ruined Tower, his figure quickly blocked by the Guard Room building.
The Night's Watchman stood stunned for a moment, gritted his teeth, stomped his foot, and walked towards the passage back to the Old Inner Courtyard. The plan had gone completely awry so far, but as long as he could find a way to warn the siblings who had gone into the Ruined Tower for an "adventure" in time, there was still a chance.
...
What Aegon didn't know was that as he said goodbye to the two Winterfell guards and returned to the base of the Keep, preparing to stop Bran's fall in another way, a surprised "Hmm" also came from a being that was human yet not human, in a deep cave beneath the roots of a giant weirwood tree a thousand miles North of this place, beyond The Wall.
A seemingly ordinary Night's Watchman, yet he appeared at the right time in positions that could obstruct his plans, as if deliberately opposing him with a clear goal. He finally became curious.
—