Meanwhile in the Real World...
The sudden fainting spell had drawn attention and many had rushed to check on what was going on. Jon had helped Bran to remain seated in his wheelchair and was checking up on him. He was breathing, but he seemed to be unconscious.
Sansa was kneeling next to the wheelchair, holding Leaf in her arms to keep her away from the snow beneath them. She had been one of the few humans to come closer to her, the two of them having somehow clicked and the young Stark had learnt to appreciate the company of the short human-like ancient creature that she had heard tales about when she was a child.
"What is going on?" Arya asked, standing not so far away and looking with worry at her siblings. She would occasionally look behind her where the Lion pride had gathered around an unconscious Visenya.
Trystan and Jaime had noticed that something was wrong with their mother and had managed to act in time when she lost her senses and started to fall forward. Now, she was resting against the body of Trystan, who was trying not to panic.
Jaime and Oberyn were around him, and so were Tywin and Kevan. The Old Lion had appeared in record time, having always kept an eye on his wife from a few floors above.
At the same time, Daenerys had rushed to them, but mostly towards Visenya when she was informed of what took place.
"What is going on?" she asked as well as she came to a halt next to Tormund with Grey Worm and Tyrion right behind her. "What happened to them?" she asked next, her eyes mostly focused on her unconscious aunt.
"I don't know," the Free Folk Leader answered. "One moment they were all fine and the next, they just collapsed like corpses."
"Something is not right," she heard Trystan say, making her turn and place her full focus on him.
She saw how the whole Lion Pride had gathered around Visenya, protecting her in a way and they were all equally clueless; some showing their worry far more than some others.
"A lot of things are not right, Trystan," Kevan argued with him.
"No, check... she is freezing cold. Mother is never cold," the Half-Lion argued as he had placed his fingers by her cheek and sensed the sudden temperature change.
Tywin frowned but took off one glove before touching the cheek of his wife with the back of his fingers.
"She never is," he agreed, keeping a cool and calm mask on his face, but one could hear it in his tone that worry was growing within him.
Visenya's body temperature never fell low, especially that low. It was as if she had been left outside naked, to freeze to death. It was not right and it was worrisome.
Suddenly, three different gasps were heard as all three opened their eyes at the same time.
They gasped as if they had not been breathing for a while, their chests heaving and their lungs in desperate need of air. They all felt the coldness around them, involuntarily shaking slightly as their bodies tried to warm themselves up.
Leaf was shaking the most, mostly out of fear, while Bran remained rather passive; but one could see that he was troubled.
Visenya had almost jumped up and Trystan had to keep a strong grip on her to ensure she did not slip off his grip. She looked terrified for a moment, like a person waking up from a very bad nightmare.
"Mother, what happened?" Jaime asked, relieved to see her blinking and breathing but still worried about her condition.
She did not answer directly, instead, she tried to push herself until she had her upper body into a more sitting position. She looked from the lions around her towards Bran, as his brown eyes locked with her amber ones.
"He knows you are here," he said in a rather calm voice, despite all they saw and felt.
"Mother, your cheek!" Trystan pointed out as the passing wind moved some of her white hair behind.
The Dragoness moved her fingers towards the cheek the Night King had tried to grab, knowing which one it was without Trystan pointing it out.
She felt the faint stinging sensation of a fresh wound and when she pulled her fingers back, she saw the faint drops of blood staining her gloves.
"This wasn't a dream," she mumbled, unsure whether those words were for her, Bran, or the males around her.
"It was a vision," Bran corrected her. "The Night King can touch even through them. He similarly marked me," he continued and pulled his sleeve up, showing the imprint left on his skin by the Night King during one of his warging visions.
"But why her?" Leaf managed to ask as she was helped to stand by Sansa but remained leaning on her, slowly recovering from the sudden vision.
She had to ask her siblings if they had a similar vision, although none had mastered warging the way she did. Of course, her skills could not be compared to the ones of the Three-Eyed Raven.
"He tried to mark you, to know where you are... so he could come to find you after he finds me," Bran added, not once breaking eye contact with the Dragoness.
"Okay, time out for a moment," Tyrion said, walking in the middle of the two groups. "I think I speak for everyone that has not been informed... but why the fuck would this... What does the Night King want to do with any of you? I thought he was after destroying humans and plaguing the world into a never-ending winter; per your words."
"That is his goal, the never-ending winter," Jon agreed, looking at his brother. "You told me once he was after you because of who you are, the Three-Eyed Raven."
"I am the past and the history of mankind," Bran said, informing Tyrion and anyone else nearby who did not know of his exact purpose. "Like the Three-Eyed Raven before me, I am the link between the present and the past. The Night King wants to kill me and erase all of humanity's history, the beginning of the end for all humans."
Visenya was listening to him carefully as Tywin helped her stand on her feet but did not let his hand move from around her waist, supporting her even though she did not seem to need it.
All the Lions and Oberyn were paying close attention to Bran, who seemed to speak of riddles and impossible things. Those who had seen the undead believed anything, and those that did not were sceptical but willing to listen.
"You did not answer any of our previous questions. What does he want with our mother?" Trystan asked, his tone going an octave higher as he did not hide his frustration.
He accepted undead creatures, dragons, and fire priestesses. Heck, his own mother walked through wildfire unharmed, but this was getting ridiculous. If this Night King wished to go after Bran, why was his mother a target of it as well?
"Because with her, he claims power over the future. Turning her means he will be able to have her gifts at his disposal," the cripple explained with the same resting face he had, his voice slow and emotionless as he had long stopped caring about anything in this world.
His words seemed to confuse his audience rather than help clear things in their minds. The only ones who pulled a different reaction were the married couple that exchanged a quick look; Visenya not hiding her worry.
It seemed that Leaf was slowly connecting the dots or noticed something because she took a step forward and locked her eyes on Visenya's distant form.
"You are the Prophet the previous Three-Eyed Raven spoke of!" she said, pointing a finger towards her direction either out of excitement or surprise.
The sudden revelation made Visenya pale as she felt many pairs of eyes on her. The majority were still confused and did not know the full details, but for how long was the true question.
Tywin took notice of everything and he narrowed his eyes towards the short odd humanoid creature, with enough hatred to make her drop her finger and shrink faintly. His hand that was around Visenya's waist tightened, ensuring she was close.
"I believe we have heard enough of this nonsense," he said, making it clear that he wished the subject to be dropped and pull Visenya far away from them.
Of course, he was not in a Lannister camp where he could have the last word, but in a courtyard surrounded by all kinds of people, creatures, and lords. Just because he said so, did not mean they were willing to obey.
"Now, wait a moment, Father. This forest... child..." Tyrion glanced at Leaf, unsure what to call her exactly. When he got no reaction, he continued. "...said something about good-mother being a prophet. Now, that does sound nonsense, but considering what has been happening until now; I do believe we are owed an explanation here."
If the Old Lion hated Tyrion's existence before, now he truly despised him. Always he seemed to be that one thorn by his side to annoy him at the worst times possible, that one short and perverted obstacle that he found in his way and always messed up with his plans.
Visenya let out an audible sigh and closed her eyes momentarily, realizing that this was not going to lead them anywhere. She placed one hand on Tywin's chest, a sign for him to stay back but also to make him focus on her and not on his dwarf son whom he wished to see dead.
"It's no use hiding it now," she told him, looking into his eyes before looking at the others. Her eyes locked with Bran again, who seemed to be observing and waiting; while giving the impression that he knew far more than he told the others.
"There is no shame in your gifts. You were chosen to have them just as I was chosen for mine," he said as if reading her thoughts.
She scoffed.
"I would not call them gifts. A curse is a more appropriate term for it," she said and took a deep breath. "What he wants to say is... I have Dragon Dreams," she confessed, earning a few gasps from those familiar with that term. "It means I dream of the future when I sleep," she continued, deciding to help those who seemed puzzled by her revelation.
From those who were mostly shocked, it was Daenerys who took a few steps towards her. The snow crunched beneath her boots, the wind pushing her braided hair against her cheeks.
"You have our family's gift?" she asked, not expecting to hear it.
The last person who supposedly was said to have those dreams was the Mad Queen Helaena. The one before her was none other than Daenys the Dreamer; who foretold the doom of Valyria.
"Unfortunately, I do. Again, more like a curse than a dream," she answered her niece.
Tormund passed a hand through his red hair.
"Well, so we have a Prophet Woman, a cripple warg known as the Three-Eyed Raven, and a Child of the Forest. Sounds like the beginning of a bad joke," he commented, although his humour did not seem to be shared by anyone.
Many were looking at Visenya, some with surprise. The Stark children, especially, did not expect the woman they had met to have some kind of crazy ability. Sure, she supposedly was from a Dragon-Taming family, but almost every Targaryen could ride a dragon.
The incident with the wildfire was merely but a faint gossip in the minds of many with not enough reliable sources to be truly believable. Now, to hear that there is a person that could see the future... it raised questions and it was not only them that thought of them.
A person who could see the future meant someone who could have seen the death of Eddard Stark or even the events of the Red Wedding. The very same person could have foretold battles that were won and then used that information to ensure their armies would be the ones winning.
It sounded more like a cheat code, like something that gave the chosen person an unfair advantage over anyone else and in a way, it did, but not how many thought it did.
The three lion siblings looked at their mother, all surprised by the revelation as she did her best to keep her chin high; despite hearing the faint whispers that started to spread all around them.
The boys did not believe that she had such ability and, of course, had never been told about it. In the past, they might not even have believed it, but after everything they had seen, they were willing to believe anything presented to them.
The one that eventually spoke up from the three of them was Tyrion, who started to assemble the puzzle in his mind now that he had almost all the pieces. More than once his good-mother sounded so certain of things, made decisions with such confidence, or spoke with a vague tone that in the past it had troubled him.
Now, it seemed to make sense as to why. Yet, certain questions came into his mind and he needed immediate answers.
"The goblet and Joffrey's wedding..." he started, daring to take a few steps closer to her and not caring about the warning look Tywin gave him. "Did you know about it? Did you know that I would be the one that that damned boy would accuse?"
"Tyrion—"
"You knew it would happen and yet you played me like a puppet!" he interrupted her, slowly losing his composure. "What else did you see, good-mother? Did you see Jaime losing his hand while imprisoned?" he asked, and when she gave no direct reply, he continued. "Don't tell me, you did and once again you chose to remain quiet! Let me guess, did you also see all those battles that Father supposedly won?"
"That is enough, Tyrion," Tywin said, his voice not hiding the strong warning behind it.
"Oh, on the contrary, Father. I think I deserve some answers. After all, you do not seem surprised by the news," his smart son pointed out. "Let me guess, you knew about it all along. Is this how you made plans? Used those dreams of hers to ensure you would always be one step ahead of everyone?"
Tyrion's questions, while having started in person and mostly to find answers about his imprisonment, had ended up becoming a direct and open attack against his Father. Blinded by momentary rage against the man who had tortured him mentally all his life, he did not realize he was harming the only person who truly cared for him... Visenya.
"One more word to come out of your filthy mouth and I swear by the gods I will have your head cut off," Tywin spat with rage and a few nearby Lannister soldiers marched closer, their hands resting on the handles of their swords.
"Of course, threatening me once again after I expose one more of your filthy secrets," Tyrion said, not once afraid of the threats. "You think I am the only one asking those questions? Look around you, Father. Every single Lord that has gone against you now ponders the same question."
While the argument was going on between father and son, the majority were watching in silence. Some mentally agreed with Tyrion, who spoke for them, while others waited to see what was going on and if Visenya would spare them more details.
Yet, the Dragoness did not seem to be willing to do so. The arguments and the bickering, the verbal attacks and the sharp gazes of dozens of men upon her form made her dizzy. Her head started to ache, feeling the pounding sensation as if someone had grabbed a nail and was using a hammer to put it through her skull.
She had closed her eyes and placed her hands on her temples, feeling the pain getting worse. She was so tired at that moment... tired of hearing them argue, tired of being accused so openly as if she was not present... tired of being judged without someone hearing her side of the story...
And these repetitive situations only seemed to worsen her temper.
While a rather calm woman with control over her emotions, even she had her limits. She felt the annoyance building up, the need to speak up was there, but she could not be heard over the arguments.
She felt rage growing within her like a freshly fed fire, making her body burn from the inside and her heart beat faster.
"Enough..." she spat but was barely heard. She pushed herself away from Tywin just as the sound of wings was becoming louder and louder.
"I said... enough!" she repeated, the last word suddenly booming across the courtyard.
But it was not just her voice that was heard but also the roar of a dragon, loud enough to make some men cover their ears. For right behind Visenya, Rhaegal had climbed and appeared; his long nails digging into the stone of the castle walls and bridges to help balance himself.
The mighty beast seemed to have sensed her distress or even matched her feelings of rage. It roared loudly again and breathed fire into the air while standing in the background at almost a direct straight line behind Visenya. Its presence made everyone grow quiet, some taking a few steps back in fear of the giant beast.
"Rhaegal," Daenerys exclaimed, confused as to why one of her two children seemed to have appeared out of nowhere and without a proper reason.
Visenya did not seem surprised and barely turned to acknowledge the beast that seemed to have almost been summoned by her will alone.
Her chest moved up and down, her eyes almost glowing and her pupils shrunk dramatically; making the unique colour of her irises stand out.
"That is enough," she repeated for the third time, her tone scolding pretty much anyone who had started all of this. "This is getting out of hand and I refuse to let it continue," she continued and turned to face Tyrion, although she seemed to be facing everyone with her next words.
"My Dragon Dreams don't work this way. I do not see whatever I want and I certainly do not see winning victories."
She took a moment, her eyes diverting from Tyrion to the rest of her audience. Her shoulders were filled with tension and she could feel it all the way to the base of her neck. Her skin was flaring from within and she wanted nothing else than to discard most of her clothes and get some fresh cold air directly on her skin.
"You know what I see?" she asked, though someone would be unable to understand whether she was asking Tyrion, the Stark children, or the crowd in general. "I see death... death and destruction," she almost spat, her eyes blazing with fury. "I go to sleep every night only to wake up because I see dragons burning the lands of Westeros, because I see and hear hundreds of innocents screaming and dying by ice weapons while fighting an undead army."
She took a deep breath, to keep her voice and her emotions in check.
Everyone was looking at her, surprised by her controlled outburst for it was not something one had thought her capable of. After all, she was always so composed and controlled; disciplined, one could even say.
She pointed a finger towards herself.
"I see dragons falling from the sky and into their deaths. I see every single person I know dying right in front of my very own eyes... and you know what's the best part of it all? I can't change it. What I see will happen whether I like it or not. So, each day I carry on with my life knowing that one day, whether that be in a fortnight or years ahead, that person I know will die. Mayhap I will be with them when it happens and remain silent when they are finally gone from this world."
By now, her voice had risen but also cracked faintly. The finger pointing at her was shaking, her mind fighting to keep any of her new dreams to the back of her head but also the ones that had already happened.
She looked around her, seeing that no one dared to speak and many glanced down or avoided her gaze; some even feeling guilty for openly thinking she was taking advantage of a supernatural gift.
Visenya turned to fully focus on Tyrion, who took a long time to learn when to stop talking and control his tongue.
"Tell me, Tyrion," she said, her voice suddenly so cold.
From behind her, the bright yellow eyes of the Dragon seemed to be locked on the form of the dwarf. It remained silent but always on guard, ready to snap its jaws or breathe fire upon her command and that made many uneasy, for it was clear she was somehow controlling that dragon.
"What of my dreams do you want to know, hmm?" she arched a single eyebrow. "Would you like to know how I dreamt my own mother dying while I held her hand? Or mayhap how my sister bled out after giving birth to my niece."
This made Daenerys gasp silently, for it was a piece of information she did not know. The whole prophetic dream was one thing, but knowing your sister would die of childbirth... a part of her even wondered how Visenya let her own sister get pregnant and give birth after seeing that awful prophetic dream.
Visenya continued.
"Or maybe you would like to know how I dreamt of my family dying, perishing in flames. Then, there is also the dream of you shooting your own father and me being unable to tell whether you actually killed him or not. Mayhap you would like to know how I dreamt of you rotting away in a black cell, chained to the wall like a low-life criminal, or would you like to learn how I dreamt of the thousands that will perish in the upcoming battle?"
The dwarf parted his lips in surprise when she started to speak but slowly felt his gaze falling lower and lower, as she started to confess all the deaths she had dreamt since she was a child. Whatever energy he had to ask her questions or fight back had disappeared and he only felt guilt and shame washing over him.
Anyone could hear how the Dragoness did her best to keep her voice calm, but there was this faint cracking behind it, as if she was reliving all those deaths in her mind all over again; and in a way she did.
Those around her remained silent, more and more of them were avoiding her gaze as she confessed the gruesome reality of her situation. Few seemed not to care about it, but most of them started to erase the mental questions they had about her prophetic dreams.
Silence enveloped everyone, the only sound being the howling winter wind that blew their hair in one direction. It was clear that no one dared to say anything else. Those that were present would eventually spread the word, but it was unknown what exactly they would say to the others and how Visenya would be perceived after it.
"I am going for a ride, alone," she said, her last word mostly going towards Tywin. "I am done justifying everything I do like I am on trial for everything," she continued with a much calmer voice.
She turned sharply and started to walk towards the nearest steps that would lead her to the upper bridges, heading straight for the Green Dragon that seemed to wait for her.
"Mother..." Trystan called her out but did not dare to spread his hand and grab her.
He simply watched her as she did not even turn to look at him. He watched her as she walked with her head held high, her gaze sharp and dangerous while men moved out of her way.
She climbed the steps and Rhaegal moved even lower, so she could reach him sooner. She managed to find his extended body and wasted no time climbing on his scales. He even moved to help her climb faster and before she had sat comfortably at the right place by the base of his neck; he moved again.
He spread his wings and took a few strong flaps to push himself away from the castle, flying higher and higher before heading away from Winterfell; leaving behind him people to watch in silence and lift their hands to protect themselves from the strong winds caused by his wings.
Once Visenya was away from everyone and could no longer be seen, only then did Tywin turn to his dwarf son.
"I should have long kept you away from her when I first had the chance," he said, his voice calm but the hatred was still there. "All you have ever done is personally attack her after everything she had insisted on doing for you despite my arguments."
Tyrion opened his mouth to argue but Tywin beat him to it.
He was not done talking and he was not going to give the Imp any chance to say anything, for everything that left his mouth was wrong; one way or another. He had caused enough trouble and he was about to put a lid on it.
"Yes, I did know of her dreams, but not because I used them as your little stupid horny mind thinks I did," he spat, taking a single step forward but making no other move, or that would be him drawing his sword and ending the abomination standing a few feet in front of him. "I knew because, for the past 20 years, she had been waking up every single night, dreaming of death. Death she never told me about."
He then turned his head and body to address some of his nearest soldiers.
"If you see him anywhere near your Lady ever again, you have a direct order to kill him."
Without another word, the Old Lion started to walk away from everyone; not once sparing a look at his family or his outcast of a son. He was furious, his need to strangle his son far too great and far too tempting.
He moved past Oberyn, not even sparing him a glance as he planned to go and lock himself in his guest chambers. He needed wine and he needed to throw something at the nearest wall while processing everything that had taken place, along with what may come now that Visenya's ability had been exposed.