EPTChapter II
Chapter III
Chapter IV
Chapter V
Chapter VI
Bryce (Machine)
The winds of winter put a thick layer of ice and snow over the northern meadows, but that didn’t stop Bryce from crossing them. He had gone through worse, and would go through much worse to see her beautiful face. It was all for the girl, everything he had done for the last two years, and everything he’d do for all the next to come. His horse snorted loudly, as if it was protesting against making a detour in this blizzard. Two miles just to see her, men have died in lesser storms.
“It’s for the girl, Reaver, you’ll just have to hold on,” he whispered the words in his stallion’s ear as he softly caressed its manes. Horses did not speak the human tongue, but Bryce was confident they could understand it. Reaver was his first and only horse, he had gotten it for his tenth birthday, and it had accompanied him ever since. “My sixteenth nameday is next week, our six year anniversary,” he said smilingly. Maybe he was a fool for talking to a horse, but the talking made him forget the cold.
So did the girl, she was endlessly on his mind. Their friendship had been going on for two whole years now, they rode from their homes in the meadowlands to the great city of Winterfell every day, and every day he loved her more and more. It was a two mile detour to her house, but her beautiful smile made it worth it. He had never felt this way before, she turned his heart and soul into a wasteland, and only by being with her it can be rebuilt. When you see each other every day things are more complicated, there is more friendship and there are more opportunities. He knew that he shouldn’t wait much longer, but every day he gets the same chilling fear running through his body, and when it comes he convinces himself that it’s not the right time. “Tomorrow I will see her again, and the day after that, and the day after that, there’s plenty of time.” “And to think I didn’t like her at first, I didn’t like any girl for that matter. What a fool I was.” The hoofmarks of his horse formed a trail behind him, but the snow kept plummeting from the sky and evened out the surface of the northern earth. She was waiting for him in front of her house, as she was every morning. She smiled when she saw him riding towards her, and he smiled back. He had practiced dozens of smiles, and he looked like a hopelessly in love idiot with every single one of them. Her auburn hair moved to the rhythm of the cold breeze, even the weather got in a better mood upon seeing her beautiful face, and gazing down her deep brown eyes.
“Goodmorning, Anna. Are you ready to go?”
“Hi, Bryce. Yea, let’s go.”
He rode up next to her and put his cloak tightly around her shoulders. She was already better prepared for the cold than he was without the extra, but he’d gladly freeze his balls off to give her just a bit of extra warmth and comfort.
“No, not my balls. A finger maybe. Or a small toe.” He smiled at the silliness of the thoughts cruising through his head.
He pulled a snow white winter rose out of his saddleback, and presented it to her.
“I found one of those roses you like, they hide well, but they’re still to be found. For you, my lady.”
“You’re the sweetest,” she smiled at him in a way that always made him wonder whether she shared his feelings. In the nights that he couldn’t sleep or dream, he thought about all the conversations they ever had, all the things she ever said. Sometimes he was sure she liked him, and that she had given him hundreds of hints. Other times he was convinced she didn’t care much about him, and didn’t like him that way at all. Lately it had been going well with her, so well that he didn’t even hear the voices in his head whispering words of doubt. They were together always, they talked and laughed, and every time he heard her laugh he knew he wanted to hear that sweet sound for the rest of his life.
“How is your medicine training going?” Bryce asked with half a smile, he intentionally reduced the amount of time he smiled, because frankly he wanted to smile every second he was with her.
“Oh, it’s going great. I’m just not sure whether I’m going to be able to do it, my parents sure as hell don’t believe I can do it. It's hard, but this is what I really want to do."
“It doesn’t matter what people think. If they don’t believe in you, you prove them wrong; if they do, you prove them right. I, for one, believe in you.”
“That’s so sweet,” she looked him in the eyes and smiled, it was one of those moments when he was sure she was in love with him.
“I’m going to tell her right here, right now. No, no, no, no, don’t be crazy. I will tell her this afternoon. No, tonight. No, tomorrow. Goddammit Bryce,be a man. I will tell her tonight.”
Their horses brought them closer and closer to the gates of Winterfell, where their paths would split, only to be remerged again in the evening for the ride back.
The day consisted of not much more than sword fighting. It was his area of expertise, even widely acclaimed, and overhyped, talents like Greg Fields and Markus Thorzain tasted more snow in one go versus him, than in twenty versus any other man. He was with the blade, it was an extension of his arm. He had seen the Bravoosi swordlords performing in King’s Landing when he was a child, and he had spent years learning their style. No one was prepared for it. The combination of lightning fast dodges, supreme agility, master sword control and sudden, brute power blows brought any man to his knees. The sword was his second life, yet even when fighting he couldn’t erase Anna out of his mind.
The sky is getting darker. He liked that, it meant he would get to see her again soon. One chance, win or die. He thought long and hard about what he should say, and what it came down to in the end was a simple “I love you”. He hoped he wouldn’t choke and say “I lkieokdo yiddod” instead, nervousness always killed the words in his throat before they could taste the northern air. He waited for her at the gate where he always waited. He smiled when he saw her approaching, like he always smiled. This time she hadn’t come alone. The guy walking next to her was either very muscular or very fat, it was hard to tell. His blonde hair was cut short, as was his beard. He looked ridiculous in Bryce’s opinion, all guys who talked to Anna were horrendous in his mind.
“Hi, Bryce. This is my boyfriend, Geoff. “
“Nice to meet you, I am Geoff John Vincent of house Robinson,” the big guy said.
“Nice to meet you too”, Bryce said with a faked smile.
“I’m sure my sword would like to meet you too. The worst thing is that he seems nice, but I’m sure he’s just another jerk who will break her heart. There’s something about him. For one he’s fat. Or very muscular. And he has three names.”
“Bryce, did you hear what I just said?” King Fields asked.
“Yes, your grace.”
“Oh did you really, I'm sure that dreamy gaze was your concentration look. Be a dear and repeat what I just said."
“You asked whether I was ready to take the army to the ships, and sail for northern Westeros. You asked whether I was ready to go home.”
“And are you?”
“Yes.”
