A few fat wet drops began to patter against the stone as they retreated to the floor below. That was well timed; the rain began to fall in earnest a short time later. Even through the thick walls they could hear it lashing against the surface of the lake. They sat on the floor in the round empty room, amidst gathering gloom. The north-facing balcony looked out toward the abandoned village. Lyanna crept out on her belly to peer across the lake and see what had become of the horseman. "He's taken shelter in the ruins of the inn," she told them when she came back. "it looks as though he's making a fire in the hearth."

"I wish we could have a fire," Bran said. "I'm cold. There's broken furniture down the stairs, I saw it. We could have Hodor chop it up and get warm."

Hodor liked that idea. "Hodor," he said hopefully.

Jojen shook his head. "Fire means smoke. Smoke from this tower could be seen a long way off."

"If there were anyone to see," his sister argued.

"There's a man in the village."

"One man."

"One man would be enough to betray Bran to his enemies, if he's the wrong man. We still have half a duck from yesterday. We should eat and rest. Come morning the man will go on his way, and we will do the same."

Lyanna always thought Jojen was annoying, but smart mostly, he denied the plans, she wondered why they listened to him. Despite Lyanna is the princess and Lady of Winterfell and Bran the prince and Lord of Winterfell. Meera was his eldest, and still, they listened to Jojen.

Jojen had his way; he always did. Meera divided the duck between the four of them. She'd caught it in her net the day before, as it tried to rise from the marsh where she'd surprised it. It wasn't as tasty cold as it had been hot and crisp from the spit, but at least they did not go hungry. Bran and Meera shared the breast while Jojen and Lyanna ate the thighs. Hodor devoured the wing and leg, muttering "Hodor" and licking the grease off his fingers after every bite. It was Bran's turn to tell a story, so he told them about another Brandon Stark, the one called Brandon the Shipwright, who had sailed off beyond the Sunset Sea.
Dusk was settling by the time duck and tale were done, and the rain still fell. Lyanna wondered how far Visenya had roamed and whether she had caught one of the deer.

Grey gloom filled the tower, and slowly changed to darkness. Hodor grew restless and walked awhile, striding round and round the walls and stopping to peer into the privy on every circuit, as if he had forgotten what was in there. Jojen and Lyanna stood by the north balcony, hidden by the shadows, looking out at the night and the rain. Somewhere to the north a lightning bolt crackled across the sky, brightening the inside of the tower for an instant. Hodor jumped and made a frightened noise. Lyanna counted to eight, waiting for the thunder. When it came, Hodor shouted, "Hodor!"

I hope Visenya isn't scared too, Lyanna thought. The dogs in Winterfell's kennels had always been spooked by thunderstorms, just like Hodor.

The lightning flashed again, and this time the thunder came at six. "Hodor!" Hodor yelled again. "HODOR! HODOR!" He snatched up his sword, as if to fight the storm.

Jojen said, "Be quiet, Hodor. Bran, tell him not to shout. Can you get the sword away from him, Meera?"

"I can try."

"Hodor, hush," said Bran. "Be quiet now. No more stupid hodoring. Sit down."

"Hodor?" He gave the longsword to Meera meekly enough, but his face was a mask of confusion.

Jojen turned back to the darkness, and they all heard him suck in his breath. "What is it?" Meera asked.

Lyanna was too late to see what he saw.
"Men in the village."

"The man we saw before?"

"Other men. Armed. I saw an axe, and spears as well." Joien had never sounded so much like the boy he was. "I saw them when the lightning flashed, moving under the trees."

"How many?"

"Many and more. Too many to count."

"Mounted?"

"No."

"Hodor." Hodor sounded frightened. "Hodor. Hodor."

Bran blurted out "What if they come out here?"

"They won't." Meera sat down beside him. "Why should they?"

"For shelter." Jojen's voice was grim. "Unless the storm lets up. Meera, could you go down and bar the door?"

"I couldn't even close it. The wood's too warped. They won't get past those iron gates, though."

"They might. They could break the lock, or the hinges. Or climb up through the murder hole as we did."

Lightning slashed the sky, and Hodor whimpered. Then a clap of thunder rolled across the lake. "HODOR!" he roared, clapping his hands over his ears and stumbling in a circle through the darkness. "HODOR! HODOR! HODOR!"

"NO!" Bran shouted back. "NO HODORING!"

"HODOR!" Lyanna shouted, "SHUT IT!"

It did no good. "HOOOODOR!" moaned Hodor. Meera and Lyanna tried to catch him and calm him, but he was too strong. He flung them both aside with no more than a shrug. "HOOOOOODOOOOOOOR!" the stableboy screamed as lightning filled the sky again, and even Jojen was shouting now, shouting at Bran and Meera to shut him up.

"Be quiet!" Bran said in a shrill scared voice, reaching up uselessly for Hodor's leg.

Just like that, all Bran did was he reached for Hodor... Hodor staggered, and closed his mouth. He shook his head slowly from side to side, sank back to the floor, and sat crosslegged. When the thunder boomed, he scarcely seemed to hear it. The four of them sat in the dark tower, scarce daring to breathe.

"Bran, what did you do?" Lyanna whispered.

"Nothing." Bran shook his head. "I don't know."

"Something is happening across the lake," said Jojen. "I thought I saw a man pointing at the tower."

"Most like they're just some Umbers," Lyanna said. "Or they could be Knotts or Norreys or Flints come down from the mountains, or even brothers from the Night's Watch. Were they wearing black cloaks, Jojen?"

"By night all cloaks are black, Your Grace. And the flash came and went too fast for me to tell what they were wearing."

Lyanna was wary. "If they were black brothers, they'd be mounted, wouldn't they?"

"It doesn't matter," Bran said confidently. "They couldn't get out to us even if they wanted. Not unless they had a boat, or knew about the causeway."

"The causeway!" Meera mussed Bran's hair and kissed him on the forehead. "Our sweet prince! He's right, Jojen, they won't know about the causeway. Even if they did they could never find the way across at night in the rain."

"The night will end, though. If they stay till morning . . . " Jojen left the rest unsaid. After a few moments he said, "They are feeding the fire the first man started." Lightning crashed through the sky, and light filled the tower and etched them all in shadow. Hodor rocked back and forth, humming.

Lyanna could feel Visenya's fear in that bright instant. She turned to Bran, only finding him resting... not resting... his eyes were white as snow. "Bran?" she said.

"Shush" Jojen hushed her, "Let him" he whispered.

Bran was warging at the moment, perhaps to see what was going on down there in the village... Bran made it look so easy, but Lyanna hasn't learned how.
"Give him a moment" Jojen suggested.

Lyanna nodded.

"Why haven't you tried it?" He whispered, he and Lyanna both moved to the balcony so they won't bother Bran.

"I've been trying" she shrugged, "I did once..." she remembered she was in the mind of her wolf, Visenya, "that night Theon Greyjoy came and took Winterfell... I don't know how, I don't know how I did it... I just...slept"

"I think you're just pushing it away. You don't want it, do you?"

"I never asked for it, did I?" Lyanna said almost loudly.

"It's a gift, Lyanna" the green boy told her, "a gift...this is what you're meant to be, you were given this gift for a reason...with it, you'll be stronger" he didn't say anything for a moment, they both looked at Bran. "You need to learn how, you might need it sooner or later"

She was afraid... Afraid of it. She was afraid that she might forget who she was if she begins to wear Visenya's skin. That was why she denied to do it. I'm not strong as Bran, she thought.