The night air of Winterfell was silent save for the distant, muffled sounds of revelry coming from the Great Hall. Link stood at the North Gate, his breath misting in the pale moonlight. He was supposed to be on guard duty, but his mind was tracing the stone walls of the First Keep.
In the original story, the morning of the hunt was when everything shattered. Bran would climb. Jaime and Cersei would meet in secret. The push would happen.
Link looked at his hands. He could feel the phantom vibration of his Save/Load ability. He had already established his anchor at the King's arrival, but as the hours ticked closer to the tragedy, he felt the need for a more precise checkpoint.
Initiating New Anchor Point: North Gate - The Night Before the Hunt
The world rippled. The save was set.
"You look like you are waiting for a ghost," a voice drawled from the shadows.
Link did not jump. He had heard the uneven footsteps approaching a minute ago. He turned to see Tyrion Lannister. The dwarf was wrapped in a thick fur coat that seemed to swallow his small frame. He held a wineskin in one hand and a half-eaten hunk of bread in the other.
"Just watching the stars, My Lord," Link replied. "They say the stars look different in the North."
Tyrion stepped up to the battlements, squinting at the sky. "They look colder. Everything here looks colder. Even the guards. My brother Jaime told me about what happened in the hall. He said a Stark guard had the brass to manhandle a Lannister squire."
"The squire was manhandling a girl," Link said calmly. "I simply restored the balance."
Tyrion took a long pull from his wineskin. "Balance. A dangerous word, Link. Most people who try to balance things end up falling. My sister, for instance, has no sense of balance. She only knows how to tilt the world until everyone else slides off."
Link looked at the dwarf. Tyrion was the smartest man in the Seven Kingdoms, and he was currently bored. A bored Tyrion was a dangerous observer.
"Is that why you are out here, My Lord? To see who slides off first?"
Tyrion laughed, a sharp sound in the freezing night. "I am out here because the air in the hall is thick with my sister's perfume and my brother's ego. I prefer the smell of horse dung and honest frost. Tell me, Link, what do you see when you look at that old tower over there?"
Tyrion pointed his wineskin toward the First Keep.
Link felt a jolt of tension. Did Tyrion know? No, it was impossible. Even with the time loop, Tyrion was just a man. But his intuition was legendary.
"I see a pile of old stones that should have been torn down years ago," Link answered.
"Exactly," Tyrion said, wiping his mouth. "And yet, children love to climb old stones. Especially Stark children. If I were a guard who cared about balance, I would keep a close eye on the heights tomorrow. People tend to see things they shouldn't when they get too high up."
Tyrion gave a mocking bow and began to waddle back toward the guest house. "Goodnight, Try not to freeze to death. It would be a waste of a good conversation."
Link watched him go. The warning was clear, though he didn't know if Tyrion was being helpful or merely testing him.
He stayed at his post until the first light of dawn began to bleed over the horizon. The castle began to wake. The horses were saddled. The hounds were loosed. King Robert and Ned Stark emerged, dressed for the hunt, their voices loud as they discussed the boar they intended to kill.
Link saw Bran Stark running through the yard, his eyes fixed on the heights of the First Keep. The boy was a natural climber, moving with a grace that made the stone walls look like a ladder.
Link had to make his choice.
If he stopped Bran from climbing, he would save the boy's legs, but Jaime and Cersei would go unpunished. The war might be delayed, or it might happen in a way Link couldn't predict. If he let Bran fall, the story would proceed as he knew it, but at the cost of a child's life.
I have the loop, Link thought, his jaw tightening. I do not have to choose just one path.
He abandoned his post at the North Gate. He moved through the shadows of the stable block, heading toward the base of the First Keep. He would wait. He would watch. And if he didn't like the outcome, he would simply tear the world down and start the morning again.
[Status: Extreme Tension]
[Observation: The Hunt has begun. The Tower is unguarded.]
....
Author Note
Hi guys! Thank you for reading my fanfiction.
I wanted to let you know that I'll be releasing bonus chapters for Power Stones. Here are the goals:
15 Power Stones: 1 Bonus Chapters
30 Power Stones: 1 Bonus Chapters
50 Power Stones: 1 Bonus Chapters
75 Power Stones: 2 Bonus Chapters
100 Power Stones: 2 Bonus Chapters
Thanks for the support!