Meera had left her home, without knowing when or if she would be back, once before. That time she had left together with her brother Jojen, and he had not come back. This time she would leave alone, hiding in the darkness of night.

Before she left this time there was a place she needed to visit. A place she had not been to since she came back without her brother. Because it reminded her too much of him. It reminded her too much of what had been lost and the mistakes they had made. But she wanted to remember Jojen now. She wanted to remember who he had been and what he had believed in.

So Meera went to the godswood, where the weirwood trees grew. The woods were found in a circular water-filled courtyard in the middle of the castle. A giant heart tree with a face carved in it grew in the middle, surrounded by a dozen smaller weirwood trees.  The crown of the heart tree covered the whole courtyard, creating a ceiling above her and shutting the rest of the world out. The war was still going on all around her, but she couldn't hear or see it here. This place was still peaceful and calm.

The godswood looked just like the last time she was here, it never changed. Red leaves cascading over the waters and reflecting on the surface. Making the whole place look like it was tinted in red. The bark was pale white and where the trunk met the ground there was an indention. This was where her brother used to sit. Every day she would find him there.

It had been the morning of the day when they were to leave the Neck. Jojen had a couple of days earlier convinced their father that his visions were true and that they must go help Bran Stark. But on that morning Meera wasn't able to find her brother. She looked everywhere and finally found him sitting under the heart tree, lost in his own thoughts.

Meera walked towards her brother, wading through the water. Jojen didn't even seem to notice her as she approached.

"Jojen, we need to go," she said, not knowing if he could even hear her. "I've looked for you everywhere."

Her words seemed to bring her brother back to the real world, away from whatever dream he had been stuck in. He looked up at her.

"I wanted to say goodbye to the tree," her brother replied. "Since I won't come back here."

"Of course you will come back... Don't be silly, Jojen."

"No, I won't be back. But you will."

"We both will. We'll leave together and come back together."

"It will only be you, Meera. You're the one who will protect these lands. I saw it, in a dream. Darkness will fall upon us one day, darkness threatening our lands, threatening to take it away from us. But you will summon a storm to help us. You will step into the storm and the storm will chase away the darkness. But the storm will also take you with it, away from here. Forever."

"I would never leave this place, not forever. This is my home."

"It will always be your home, but it won't be where you die."

"You've seen my death too?"

"No, I can't see it. And that's why I know it won't be here. It won't be in the North. It won't be where the weirwoods grow."

Her brother looked at her with those innocent greens eyes who could see things no one else could see. He looked right through her it felt like. And he said nothing more. Instead, he got up, put his hand on the heart tree one last time, and followed her out of the godswood.

That was her last memory of her brother in their home. The last pure memory before it all happened. Before they followed the wrong path. Before he died.

And now Meera stood there again. Looking at the same tree. Remembering what her brother had said.

Meera waded through the waters once again and sat down at the spot where Jojen used to sit. She could feel Jojen's presence there. She could feel what he had believed in. He had believed that what they had done was for good. He had been wrong.

When Meera had realized how wrong her brother had been she had felt like the old gods had forsaken her. But while sitting under the tree she felt the gods again. She felt goodness and clarity. Whatever had happened had not been their bidding. It had been something else, something sinister, something powerful, something now possessing Bran Stark's body. Something that was the opposite of the gods she believed in.

They had been tricked. All of them had been tricked, the whole kingdom. They had walked into a trap.

But Meera wouldn't let the King trick her again. She knew who he was now, or at least who he wasn't. She wouldn't walk into another trap.

Feeling a newfound sense of clarity Meera got up from under the tree and just like her brother had done she put her hand on the heart tree one last time. Then she walked away. Once again she didn't know when or if she would come back. She looked back one more time to the spot where her brother used to sit. She could see him sitting there now. A blonde boy with green eyes that could see into the future.

One day another boy would sit under that tree. Another boy with green eyes that could see into the future. His name would be Howland, after his grandfather. But this last name wouldn't be Reed, it would be Baratheon. And that boy would come to eventually rule the Neck.

***

Meera left the Neck at night. The moon was obscured by clouds, making the whole swamp pitch black. Which would make it easier to hide but also harder to navigate.

Her father followed her out on the dock and pulled her in for a short embrace. Meera didn't want to leave him there to fight by himself, but she knew she had to. Because she was the only one who would save them.

"I believe in you," Howland said as he let go of her. "I believe you can save us."

"I will, father," she replied. "I promise I will."

Then she turned around and left. Before her father saw the tears streaming down her face. But if she had turned around she would have seen tears streaming down Howland's face as well.

The enemy forces were resting for the night. There still were guards out patrolling but most of the forces were asleep during the dark hours as you had no chance to see the sinkholes or the crocodiles in the darkness.

Meera climbed up on the palisades and jumped over from there to a nearby tree. The trees were thick in that part of the swamp and grew close together, so she could climb from tree to tree for quite a while. Meera was good at climbing trees and the cypress trees had long thick branches that made climbing easy. She kept a watchful eye on the Frey camps as she made her way past them. Her bow and arrows were on her back and her spear was in her hand, ready to be used it need be.

On the outskirts of the camp, she spotted their stables, on a piece of land between the canals. Since she wouldn't be able to make her way by foot all the way to the capital very fast Meera would need a horse. Because she needed to get to the capital as soon as possible. Before it was too late. Before everything was lost.

Meera jumped down into the water from one of the trees and crouched down, submerging herself almost completely in the water to not be spotted. This time she was quite happy she was short as it made it easier to disappear into the swamp. And slowly but surely she made her way towards the stables. There was some movement in the camps but no one seemed to have noticed her yet. The water was cold and murky. Hopefully, she wouldn't encounter any crocodiles. Of course, Meera could kill them with her spear if necessary but she really didn't want to. And it might draw attention to her position if she did.

When Meera made her way onto land she laid down on her stomach and crawled towards the stable. Dirt got stuck on her now wet clothes and face. One of the horses already had a saddle and bridle on she realized, probably because someone had just arrived at the camps. And she focused her aim on that horse. If only she could get up on it she could disappear from the camps quickly, before anyone noticed her.

She crawled her way towards the horse and when she got next to it she stood up as the horse covered her position. The horse seemed a bit nervous about her sudden arrival so she put her hand on it and petted it to calm it down. Then she put her foot carefully into one of the stirrups and swung herself up. Hopefully, it was a cooperative horse who wouldn't mind an unknown rider.

The horse seemed a bit concerned about Meera's presence on its back but didn't try to throw her off. She put her heels lightly into the sides of the horse and made it back out of the stable. Some Frey men were moving around the camps but they didn't seem to notice her. Then she made the horse turn around and put the heels into the sides again, this time with more force, putting it into a gallop. As the horse galloped through the water Meera breathed a sigh of relief, she had made it out. She would be able to get help. She could save them.

***

Meera made her way out of the swamp as quickly as she could, galloping on the shallow canals with water splashing all around her. She traveled all day and into the next night. Not stopping except to let her horse drink and eat at times. She didn't eat herself as she hadn't brought any provisions with her.

The horse turned out to be a very good horse and it seemed to get along very well with its new owner. It was white with a reddish mane and tail. Meera decided to name it Weirwood. Because a good horse needs a name so you can praise it.

When night fell on the second day Meera was exhausted and starving. She didn't want to stop but she feared she might fall asleep and fall of the horse if she didn't. And that's when a familiar sign appeared in front of her. The sign to the Cross Roads Inn.

Meera must have been quite a sight when she made her way into the tavern. Her clothes muddy from her escape out of the swamp. Her hair tangled and dirty. A spear in her hand. As she stood in the doorway she looked around for a second, unsure of what to do. She had never been at such an establishment by herself before. People started looking at her as she stood there, looking like a madwoman from the swamp.

"Meera!" she suddenly heard someone yell out. "What happened to you? What are you doing here?"

It was Annie, the kind barmaid who had offered to take care of the cat her father had insisted on bringing with him. Meera felt Annie embrace her.

"My home is under attack," Meera said. "I need to get help."

"Well, you look like you might need some help yourself," Annie replied.

Meera could only nod in reply. She was so tired and the smell of the food in the tavern was intoxicating. She had not realized how hungry she was until now.

Annie signaled to someone to come over. A round young man with flour on his clothes.

"Meera, this is my husband," she said. "He'll help you get to one of the rooms upstairs. I'll bring you some food and clean clothes shortly."

Meera leaned on the sturdy gentleman as he helped her up the stairs and into a room with a clean bed. He didn't say anything as he seemed a bit startled by the whole thing, but he followed his wife's orders. Apparently, Annie had got married since Meera last saw her.

As the man helped her sit down on the bed Annie entered the room, carrying a tray with a pie on it and a bundle of clean clothes.

"I'm not sure if these clothes are your size," she said. "But I can make sure your clothes are washed until the morning."

"I can't stay until morning," Meera said as she immediately started to bite into the pie. "I need to go to the capital as soon as possible. I just need some food and rest."

"The capital? What are you going to do there? If you're going all the way there you will need to rest for more than a couple of hours."

"I need to ask the king for help, he might be able to send forces to help defend my home. And I need to do it before it's too late."

"It might not be safe in the capital... Be careful if you go there. I've heard rumors of what the king can do. Of what he did to Lord Lannister, Lord Redwyne, and Lord Arryn."

Meera looked at Annie in surprise. She had been locked in the swamp for a week and hadn't heard anything about what had gone down in the rest of the kingdom.

"What happened to them?"

"I don't know exactly what happened. No one does. But one is dead, one is broken and one is disarmed."

Annie proceeded to tell Meera what she did know about what had happened. About what had happened to Tyrek Lannister, Paxter Redwyne, and Robin Arryn. About the battle at Highgarden and the march on King's Landing. About two boys and a man who had all lost something. For one of them, it had been his life.

They had all been tricked. They had all walked into traps. Traps set up by the king.