Challenge 96: Bran Davies' childhood
I'm bending rules again, I'm afraid. *looks sheepish*. Bran could have had an entirely different life, if different choices had been made by others round about the time of his birth. So here are four drabbles, three of them AU (each one being a different AU), and one "real." Word count: 102, 102, 102, 99
Lost prince
"Bran the Bastard," the bad men shouted. "Child of a dead bitch, and prince only of lust and lies."
He did not understand. His followers hurried him away, and hid him in huts, beneath itchy cloaks. "We are still loyal," they said. "We will avenge your father's murder and help you regain the throne."
The first time they presented him with an enemy's head, he cried. They frowned and turned away, and soon were laughing with each other over mead.
They called him "sire." That had to mean the same as "bastard," for they, too, left him alone, crying in the dark.
__
Beloved son
"...and Mr Rowlands told me about King Arthur," Bran gabbled. "He was a great king, but Guinevere disappeared, and he looked for her all over, even in fairyland, and bad men took over the country, but he's still there, looking for her, and there's a boy staying with Mr Evans, and can I...?"
"No!" His mother grabbed him. "Don't go out without me again, Bran. I will not lose you. I gave up..."
Bran struggled. "I just want…"
"No," she cried. "I love you more than anything in the world, Bran."
He squirmed in her embrace, but could not break free.
__
New boy
The first lesson Bran learnt at school was that he was different.
He had always thought that mothers were things found only in stories, like wizards, but the other children said that everybody had one, stupid, and he was weird because he did not.
He looked weird, too. A pretty girl screamed when she saw him, and the boys laughed at him. "Such a pity," the teachers said, but the big boys pinched and kicked.
"It doesn't matter what they think," his Da said. "Stop crying, boy. We don't need other people."
And grown-ups always told the truth and were always right.
__
Chosen heir
His crown chafed. He saw boys in the distance, but was not allowed to play with them.
"People... whisper," his father explained. "I have to demonstrate my faith in you. They have to see you as prince, so that one day they will see you as king."
"Don't wantto be king."
Arthur smiled sadly. "Life is harsh for those chosen by the Light, but the Dark is harsher. At least you are loved. Many do not have that."
Bran thought he could do without love, if he could run through the grass, a dog at his heels, and free.
Lost prince
"Bran the Bastard," the bad men shouted. "Child of a dead bitch, and prince only of lust and lies."
He did not understand. His followers hurried him away, and hid him in huts, beneath itchy cloaks. "We are still loyal," they said. "We will avenge your father's murder and help you regain the throne."
The first time they presented him with an enemy's head, he cried. They frowned and turned away, and soon were laughing with each other over mead.
They called him "sire." That had to mean the same as "bastard," for they, too, left him alone, crying in the dark.
__
Beloved son
"...and Mr Rowlands told me about King Arthur," Bran gabbled. "He was a great king, but Guinevere disappeared, and he looked for her all over, even in fairyland, and bad men took over the country, but he's still there, looking for her, and there's a boy staying with Mr Evans, and can I...?"
"No!" His mother grabbed him. "Don't go out without me again, Bran. I will not lose you. I gave up..."
Bran struggled. "I just want…"
"No," she cried. "I love you more than anything in the world, Bran."
He squirmed in her embrace, but could not break free.
__
New boy
The first lesson Bran learnt at school was that he was different.
He had always thought that mothers were things found only in stories, like wizards, but the other children said that everybody had one, stupid, and he was weird because he did not.
He looked weird, too. A pretty girl screamed when she saw him, and the boys laughed at him. "Such a pity," the teachers said, but the big boys pinched and kicked.
"It doesn't matter what they think," his Da said. "Stop crying, boy. We don't need other people."
And grown-ups always told the truth and were always right.
__
Chosen heir
His crown chafed. He saw boys in the distance, but was not allowed to play with them.
"People... whisper," his father explained. "I have to demonstrate my faith in you. They have to see you as prince, so that one day they will see you as king."
"Don't wantto be king."
Arthur smiled sadly. "Life is harsh for those chosen by the Light, but the Dark is harsher. At least you are loved. Many do not have that."
Bran thought he could do without love, if he could run through the grass, a dog at his heels, and free.