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JON
His eyes opened slowly, struggling to focus on where he was and make sense of it. He was in a warm and pleasant room, the feather mattress under his body was almost celestial like the skins on top of him, the sun filtered through the window throwing a halo of golden light into the small room. The realization hit him all of a sudden. Sun. He haven't seen the sun in at least a year. He jumped out of bed and went to the window, and what he saw took his breath away. The sun shone in a clear sky, green fields extended beyond the stone walls of Winterfell, because he was in Winterfell, had no doubt about that. How was this possible? Judging by the landscape, it was summer, but the last summer he saw was nine years ago, before the man he once considered a father went to King's Landing, before he went to the wall, before Robb died, before his family went to ruin, before Dany, before the Long Night. How was this possible? He repeated himself.He moved away from the window and looked into the room that had once been his, when he was the bastard of Winterfell. Everything was as he remembered it, his few things did not take up much space. A small table right next to his bed with a candle already melted, a simple desk in front of the wall of his bed with a few half-used candles, papers, books and an inkwell, there was a mirror too, and when he saw his own reflex was breathless once more.He was young, very young. Almost a child. His hair was very short in a way he had not been in years, his thick beard was not there, his scars were not there. Immediately he looked at his chest to find him naked and unmarked, totally immaculate. The six scars of the Night Watch were not there, neither was the one on his left side near his hip produced by a weight's spear, neither were the different and small scars on his arms or the palm of his right hand, which was made with fire in his first encounter with an undead. And most importantly, there was nothing in the place where the Night King stabbed him just above his heart and the wound that ended his life. Or the one who was supposed to end his life, but here he was back in Winterfell. He wondered what date it would be.His door opened suddenly and made his heart almost pop out of his chest. He turned around to meet the person who had suddenly entered his room and found a little blond girl who was not more than five and ten years old, it must be a maid, standing in the doorway with the eyes wide open and looking at him as if she had seen a ghost. Ghost.“Excuse me, Jon, I did not know you was still here. I thought you would have gone to breakfast with your family,” the girl spoke in a soft and submissive voice looking at the ground instead of looking into his eyes, “If you want I can come back later”Jon answered nothing, so overwhelmed and confused as he still felt the girl and took her silence for what it was and left the room without addressing a look and closing the door behind her. The interruption, however, had served to set his mind in motion and once the door was closed he began to dress and left the room in the direction of the great hall.He was almost there when he turned a corner and almost takes someone ahead. His eyes opened wide in surprise and joy washed over him in a way he had not felt in many, many years. Robb. His brother was there, right in front of him. Jon did not even think about it, he simply threw himself into his brother's arms and hugged him tightly. His brother returned the hug with the same intensity and when they parted his Tully blue eyes were wet with unshed tears“I thought you were dead!”Both brothers shouted at the same time to then open their eyes to realize the implications. Jon immediately grabbed his brother's arm and pulled him through Winterfell up to his room again. Once the door was closed behind them he looked into his eyes and asked: “What is the last thing you knew about me?”Robb looked at him warily by one long moment before finally answering, “You were lost beyond the wall”Jon let out the breath he had not realized he was holding. Once again he pulled his brother into a tight hug and held him there in his arms for longer than was probably appropriate, but Jon did not care, his brother was there, the brother he considered dead for many years. Robb did not seem to mind either and both brothers stayed that way for a long time. When the hug ended they both wiped the tears and sat on Jon's bed."I do not understand what's going on, Jon, the last thing I remember is Roose Bolton sticking a dagger in my heart and then suddenly I'm back in my room in Winterfell and it's like nothing happened!"Robb's voice had gone on a crescendo as he spoke until in the end he reached a tone of total desperation.“I do not know, Robb, the last thing I also remember before waking up here was dying too,” Jon did not consider it pertinent to tell Robb the conditions of his death, not yet at least.“When did you die? Was it beyond the wall?”“No ... I did not die beyond the wall, I died many years after you, in fact, I was never lost beyond the wall, I was on a mission, it was when I returned to Castle Black that I learned of your death”His brother was silent for a moment before asking in a trembling voice, “What ... what happened after my death?”, Jon could see the pain and fear in Robb's eyes. He swallowed before continuing talking, “What happened to Mother, they killed her too? Sansa? Arya?”Gods, he had not the heart to tell his brother what had happened to his family after his death, "Robb ..." but he could not continue. The Stark family had gone through so many horrors. He could not put into words everything they lived, he felt his throat closing and his eyes filled again with unshed tears. Tears that had not spilled in many, many years.“It was bad right ... What happened next?”, Robb asked cautiously. Jon simply nodded. "How long did you live after my death?""7 years""Can you tell me what happened or is it too painful for you?"Jon took a deep breath before nodding. He prepared to tell the hell in which his life became in the past years. Deciding to start with something easy he talked about his time in the night watch, that way he could introduce the threat of white walkers in an easier and digestible way. He told Robb how he fought and killed his first weight and how Lord Commander Mormont gave Longclaw for it, told him about going to Craster's Keep and about the Other that took the baby, about his capture and infiltration into the free people to discover how they wanted to move south of the wall to save themselves from the others."The Others? Really? I thought they were just tales of Old Nan""Me too, until I saw one trying to kill Lord Commander Mormont" "“That's crazy ... I was already dead when all that happened?”“No, the last I heard of you before leaving Castle Black towards Craster's Keep was that you broke the siege of Riverrun. And when I returned I knew you were dead, there was…”Jon was interrupted by a loud knock on his door when someone tried to open it, seeing that the door did not open the person began frantically banging on the door. I was about to ask who it was when a voice called from outside and Jon's heart stopped, "Jon, are you there? Please open the door"Sansa. It was Sansa! Robb also recognized her voice and was about to run to the door but Jon was always faster than Robb and effortlessly went ahead of his brother to unlock the door and open it to reveal a much younger Sansa than she was the last time he saw her alive. Her features were almost childish again and her hair was much shorter, but it was her. Sansa was there. Jon took her in a hug that her sister returned with equal emotion. When they separated Jon was about to say something when Sansa noticed Robb behind him. Immediately Sansa separated from him to launch herself at Robb with a cry of joy and tears in her eyes."Have you seen Arya?", Asked one time the reunion of brother and sister was over"Yes, she went to find Mother and Father," Sansa replied as she wiped the tears from her face.The memory of Lord and Lady Stark gave him a twinge of disgust. He had not thought about any of them since he woke up, as busy as he was being confused by his sudden appearance in the past and the reunion with his dead sibilings. He moved the memory of the Lord and the Lady of Winterfell to the back of his mind and returned to focus on his sibilings."Jon, do you have any idea what's going on? How is it that we're all suddenly back in Winterfell being kids again?""I do not know, Sansa, all I can think is that the Gods have given us a second chance, we lost once, this time we have to make sure we win.""Win? Win what?" Rob asked, looking remarkably confused.Jon looked at him and sighed wearily. I had to tell Robb but I still did not feel the strength to express in words all the horrors of the past life. "I'll explain everything to you, Robb, but first let's find the others, let's see who else he remembers and so Sansa, Arya, Bran and I can tell everyone everything at once, I really do not want to talk about it more than once""I agree with Jon, Robb, let's find Mother, Father and Maester Luwin to tell them at once, I do not want to talk about it more than necessary"Robb looked even more confused now but nodded reluctantly for a second then suddenly brightened, the emotion and happiness shining in his eyes, "I need to see Father!"Robb ran out of the room, followed closely by Sansa, both with great and obvious emotion. With a resigned sigh, he left the room behind his brothers to meet the man he once considered a father and admired and respected above all people.
EDDARD
He could still feel the cold of Ice cutting the skin of his neck, remembered the infernal pain of his injured leg, the foul smell that emanated from his body after days and nights imprisoned, he remembered the scorching sun on his face and the sweat running down his body, the boos of the people, Arya in the statue watching his trial farce, the cry of Sansa when Ice came down to separate his head from his body. He especially remembers the disappointment he felt in the end, when he realized that he was not going to come out alive from King's Landing. Self-disappointment. He was disappointed that his family would pay the price for his mistakes, disappointed that he could not keep his promise.
Forgive me, Lyanna
But now he apparently had another chance, another chance to do the things right, keep his family safe and keep his promise. Here and now, embracing his wife and daughter he swore to himself that this time he would do the things right.Separating himself from the embrace, he took the time to appreciate two of the most important womens in his life. Catelyn looked as beautiful as he remembered and Arya, his wild she-wolf… There was something strange in her eyes, but he could not put his finger on what it was exactly. Whatever it was, it was hidden behind joy, relief and happiness, but it was there. He decided to ignore it for the moment, he would find out what it was later. Now he wanted to rejoice in the happiness of being at home again."Father, you do not know how happy I am to see you! I thought I would never see you again!""I'm also very happy to see you, little girl" Ned took his daughter by her cheeks and kissed her forehead, his tears moistening her daughter's brown hair.They were in the Great Hall under the confused look of the servants and soldiers of Winterfell breaking their fast at that moment, Ned did not care. A big commotion at the entrance caught his attention when the doors opened wide to reveal his eldest son and daughter running and shouting in his direction. He opened his arms and received them both when they rushed towards him. What attracted even more confused looks on their direction. Again Ned did not care.Over the head of Sansa Ned saw Jon entering the room and watching the meeting that was taking place. He entered slowly, as if he wanted to disappear and leaned against the far wall with his hands behind his back. His heart began to beat strongly at sight.
Promise me, Ned
Their eyes met and for a moment Ned was surprised at the coldness in his eyes. He swallowed hard and depositing a kiss on the head of his son and daughter left them to head towards Jon. As he approached he saw the evident tension in his son's body, his shoulders and back went straight and lifted his chin in a proud position. Again the icy look in his eyes puzzled. Why Jon is so upset?. Assuming it was due to his wife, who was behind him shooting daggers at Jon, he ignored Jon's strange behavior and pulled him into a hug. Jon was still as tense as a violin string, but he returned the hug. Ned noticed with a prick in his heart that the hug was much less effusive and cheerful than it was with his other children. Again he awarded it to Catelyn.He released his son and placed a hand on his cheek, his tears clouding his vision. Having Jon there with him, he thought he could never let him go. Promise me, Ned. "I'm so happy to see you, Jon"Jon's expression was stoic and there was the slightest hint of anger in his eyes and, if he was interpreting correctly, contempt. Ned was beginning to worry that Jon's strange attitude had nothing to do with his wife but that it was something else."Me too, Lord Stark," he replied with a uniform tone and devoid of emotionBefore Ned could say anything Jon walked away from him and approached Arya, taking her in his arms and turning as he held her tightly and whispered words in her ear."Does anyone know what's going on?" Asked a voice behind him. Ned turned to find Maester Luwin standing at the entrance to the Great Hall, noticeably confused and running his fingers through his chain in a gesture of nervousness, "How are we here?”"I can answer that question, Maester""BRAN!" Catelyn shouted as the boy suddenly appeared behind Lewin and frightened the older man who had apparently not noticed his son's presence behind him.Catelyn and Robb ran to Bran and hugged him. Ned noted with dismay that Bran's attitude was even stranger than Jon's. Bran barely blinked with the meeting, when his other children had tears in their eyes as they hugged each other Bran seemed almost completely impassive, his face showed no emotion and barely returned the hug to Catelyn and Robb. Catelyn did not seem to notice that and she was just kissing and hugging her son. Robb was almost doing the same. When he looked away from them he saw Arya, Sansa and Jon hugging and smiling at Luwin.Everything was getting weirder. What's going on?. They all acted as if they had not seen each other for years. "Bran," his voice caught everyone's attention in the room and all eyes focused on him. "I am very happy to see you, son, but if you would mind explaining what is happening ...""Of course, father," Bran interrupted, "let's go to your solar and discuss all there," his voice was flat and emotionless as were his eyes. A chill ran down Ned's back.Everything was getting weirder. What's going on?. They all acted as if they had not seen each other for years. "Bran," his voice caught everyone's attention in the room and all eyes focused on him. "I am very happy to see you, son, but if you would mind explaining what is happening ...""Of course, father," Bran interrupted, "let's go to your studio and discuss all there," his voice was flat and emotionless as were his eyes. A chill ran down Ned's back.Without waiting for a response from him, Bran turned around and left the Great Hall in the direction of his solar. Quickly everyone followed him. On leaving the courtyard two even stranger things happened. Robb suddenly stopped shaking with anger, his face turned red and contracted in an ugly expression of disgust. "Theon!", he spat with hatred to immediately run to where the boy was standing not far from them. To his surprise Robb hit Theon so hard in the face that he threw him to the ground, he immediately straddled his stomach and kept hitting him hard again and again. "How could you!?"Robb repeatedly hit Theon and the boy did nothing to defend himself. Ned was alarmed, as were everyone in the courtyard because of his son's brutal and sudden attack on the young Greyjoy. Ned ran to Robb and tried to get him out of poor Theon, but Robb was not letting Theon go, grabbed the ironborn harder and hit him even harder on the chest, face and head. Robb seemed possessed, yelling again and again, "how could you, how could you, I hate you, I'm going to kill you, how could you do that to me?"
What Theon did to gain Robb's fury in this way?
Robb's attack increased dangerously in strength and so did Ned's desperation to remove his son away from Theon who, he noted with horror, did not move and remained motionless on the ground while Robb repeatedly banged his head against the ground. There was too much blood, blood coming out of Theon's body and muddying Robb and the ground around him. For a moment Ned did not recognize his son. In the end he needed the help of Mikken and Jory to get Robb away from Theon. Robb writhed in his arms and struggled against his grip to escape and keep hitting Theon."Let me go! Let go! I'll kill you, I'll kill you!" Robb writhed more and more and soon Ned felt like he could no longer contain his son."Jory, take Theon out of here!""No! I'm going to kill him!""Take him to Measter Luwin!"Jory nodded and with the help of some guards who had been witnessing the beating, they lifted Theon off the ground and went with Luwin to the Maestre Tower. Once Theon was out of sight Robb deflated in his arms and stopped fighting."You should have let me kill him" he whispered with resignation"I could not let you do that, Robb, you would have made a big mistake, you would have ...""You should have let me kill him!"Robb suddenly turned and yelled in his face, and for the first time Ned noticed the tears that ran down his face and although he was extremely concerned about this episode of excessive anger of his son and what could have caused it he also became angry at the His son's attitude but when he was about to correct him for his horrible behavior a voice cut through the dense air.Robb suddenly turned and yelled in his face, and for the first time Ned noticed the tears running down his son's face and although he was extremely worried about this episode of excessive anger and about what could have caused it, he also was upset at the attitude of his son but when he was about to correct him for his horrible behavior a voice cut the dense air."Jon!", Rickon yelled out of the Great Keep and running towards them. When Jon saw Rickon ran out to meet his youngest son halfway between the two of them and immediately took him in his arms in a big hug."Oh, Rickon, forgive me, forgive me please, forgive me," the timbre of sadness and regret in Jon's voice made him wonder once again what the in the seven hells was going on.Pulling back, Rickon wiped away his tears as he spoke, "It was not your fault, Jon, Maybe if I would have run zigzag you could have saved me?", he asked timidly what caused Jon to hug him once more with even more strength while whispering "forgive me" and "it was not your fault". Ned's heart stopped not for the first time that day. Save him? Save him from what?! What the hells is going on?!Jon and Rickon's hug was abruptly interrupted by Catelyn who pushed Jon hard to get him away from Rickon and she be able to hug him herself, however, the surprising thing was that immediately Cat put her arms around Rickon he began to twist with force and try to get away from her. Cat released her son with a confused look, moment that he took to get away from her and run in place to Bran who hugged tightly, and then continue with Arya and Sansa. He did not hug Robb or him, instead he just cast a disgusted look in their direction. Ned did not know what to think about this day."Let us continue our way, what I have to say is important" Bran spoke again with that strange voice devoid of emotion, as if he had not seen the attempted murder of his older brother against Theon and the strange encounter between Jon and Rickon, instead he simply turned around and entered the Great Keep in the direction of his solar. Ned and the others followed him.
JAIME
The first thing he noticed when he woke up was the heat, an intense and sticky heat that he had not felt in many years. It worked!, it was the first thing he thought. Jaime quickly got up and ran to the window to open it. He almost cried of joy at the sight of the sun, the streets of King's Landing as it were before the arrival of winter, even the smell of permanent shit from the city was welcome, it was better than the smell of smoke and burnt flesh that he had smelled the last time he was here. But that was already gone, King's Landing was intact and in full swing of late summer.Jaime moved away from the window and began to dress and put on his armor, for the first time in a long time he felt that he had reasons to live again, that he had a reason to be happy. He left his room quickly in search of his children. He needed to see them, hug them, tell them how much he loved them. He could never do that in his past life but this time he would make sure to do it whenever he had the chance. Every moment with his children is a moment that is worth gold and what he had not realized before, he did not care about the real protocols and what the men and women of the court might think, as soon as he saw Tommen in the garden of the Red Keep he ran towards him and hugged him tightly but taking care not to hurt the child with his armor. His son, his boy. His boy was alive again."I love you so much, Tommen, remember that, no matter what happens, remember that I love you with all my heart and that I would do anything for you, to keep you safe," his voice muffled by his son's golden hair."Is there something wrong with you, Uncle Jaime?" Asked Tommen once they separated, "Are you dying?"Jaime laughed at the tone of alarm and panic in the voice of his youngest son, "No, little prince, I'm just very happy today and I wanted to tell you how much I love you since I do not do it very often. Now, what do you think if we look for your sister and the three of us have a walk? "At the mention of Myrcella, Tommen nodded quickly and enthusiastically. Jaime smiled again and got up from where he had knelt to embrace his son and took his hand. "Ser Meryn, I'll take this guard, you can retire," he could see the frown of Ser Meryn still below of his helmet."You do not have the authority to change the shifts of the guard, that's Selmy's job," the other Royal Guard responded with an annoyed and bitter tone."I'll deal with Selmy later, for now I just want to spend some time with my nephew and niece in private. I do not remember what guard I was supposed to do today, look for Selmy and inform him the change"Ser Meryn was visibly annoyed but nodded reluctantly and stomped away, the sound of metal against the metal that made the armor moving away with him. However, he paid no more attention to the bitter King's Guard as he turned to his son and went to look for Myrcella.The sun was far beyond its highest point when he finally left his children with septas so that the children could eat. Once alone Jaime went to his room, changed into much simpler clothes, took a scissors and positioned himself in front of a mirror and began to cut his golden hair until leaving it in a low military court with which he felt more comfortable, with which he I felt the real Jaime. His old appearance, always neat and with its long strands of gold were no more than a disguise he used to hide his fears and insecurities. Once satisfied with his appearance Jaime left his room and went in search of Lord Varys. He was the only one who could help him, not only him but his King, to carry out the plan they had drawn. And he also needed him to find a friend for him.
ROBB
Theon blood felt wet and sticky on his face, on his clothes and on his hands, his knuckles burned horribly, his blood still running wildly through his veins. It had not been enough, the beating he gave her was not enough. He wanted to punch him until he could no longer, until his strength ran out, until he felt the bones beneath his hands creak ... He had to breathe slowly and deeply several times to calm the wolf's blood inside him. He could still feel the anger bubbling deep in his body but at least it was manageable and allowed him to think clearly.Once they arrived at their father's solar, the Lord of Winterfell sat behind his desk in the chair corresponding to the Lord, there were only two chairs in front of the desk where his Lady Mother and Sansa sat, Arya sat on the legs of her mother with her arms around his neck, while he and his brothers stayed standing. Bran positioned himself next to Father while Rickon stayed with Jon, he had his arms around his little brother's shoulders and did not seem to want to let him go in the near future. Jon was holding Rickon as if he was afraid of losing him, Robb wondered what had caused that behavior. It hurt Robb a bit that his little brother had not even approached him and when their eyes crossed he only looked at him with disgust. For his part, he just stood between his sister and his Lady Mother."So, Bran", Father began to speak once everyone had settled in, "You said you had answers about what's happening and how we're all back in the past.""Yes, father. I have those answers because I am responsible for all of us being here alive today and back in the past, "Bran responded with a disturbing voice without emotion. His words only served to confuse everyone even more."You?... I-I don’t understand, how you...", Mother began to speak but Bran interrupted him.Bran looked away from Mother and turned his attention to Jon. "After you die, the few survivors who were fled to the Isle of Faces, it was obvious we were not going to win, so we made a plan to redo things. And this time be prepared for the Great War"."Great War?" He asked but Bran ignored him completely as well as the confused looks of Mother, father and little Rickon, his attention still focused on Jon."Who survived?" Jon's voice sounded doughy and nervous Robb could realize that his hands were shaking slightly where he held Rickon by the shoulders."Sam, Jaime, Tormund, Melissandre and a little over a thousand soldiers. Between Melissandre and I, we performed the ritual. A blood sacrifice for the Old Gods and one of fire for the Lord of Light, R'hllor. We needed all the power we could muster, so half of the people cut their veins to spill their blood on the roots of the Weirwoods and the other half were burned alive as an offering to the Lord of Light""Bran!" Father shouted angrily and astonished by Bran's actions, but what was most shocking was the simplicity and ease with which Bran said it, as if he did not just admit that he ordered the murder of over a thousand people, "How could you do such a thing ?!""It was necessary, we needed a great sacrifice to get the power that was needed to carry out the ritual""Bran, there's no excuse to kill more than a thousand..." "It was necessary," Bran repeated, and for the first time since he began speaking his voice conveyed emotions, anger and exasperation, "It was the only way. They all agreed this was what had to be done, only in this way we could stop the Night King and his army""The Night King?. Bran, what are you talking about? ""Winter is coming, Father, those words were never been so true," Sansa spoke for the first time since they entered Father's studio to have this strange conversation."It is true Father," interjected Arya, "The Night King and the White Walkers exist and at this moment they are kneading their army of the dead to march south of the wall and kill us all. Bran is right, it was the only way to have an opportunity against him. The last time we couldn’t beat him and we all died for that"Father still looked skeptical and also Mother, due to his previous conversation with Jon, Robb already knew that these beings really existed but he did not think the threat was so great. He threw a worried look at his stepbrother, silently asking him to confirm Bran's words, he simply nodded, the haunted look in his eyes was enough to convince him that what they said was true."Then ... you, in the other life, fought against the Night King and his army?" He asked. Bran, Sansa, Arya and Jon nodded their heads. It was then when Robb realized something he had not noticed before, "Wait a minute! Bran, you say that you fought against this Night King?, but how is it possible that you were alive?, Theon did not kill you? ""Theon what?!", Father asked with anger and surprise"Theon did not kill us, but he tried," Rickon replied, "We managed to escape him with Hodor, Osha, Shaggydog and Summer""Yes, instead Theon killed the farmer's children and burned his body so that everyone thought it was us""Theon did what ... but why would he do such a thing?!", Father asked"There's a lot you do not know, Father. A lot happened after your death, "Sansa spoke. That seemed to calm Father and he leaned back in his chair with an expression of pain and weariness."What happened ... after my death?"Robb was going to start talking about how he called the bannermens and The War of the Five Kings when Mother interrupted him, "Wait a minute, Bran, there's something I do not understand. You say you did this, you made us go back to the past, but how were you able to do such a thing? ""With the help of Lady Melisandre, an Asshai Red Priestess, she made the sacrifice and handled the magic and I moved the threads of time to rewrite everything again and return us to the past with our memories""Threads of time?", Mother looked even more confused, as well as Father and himself."I’m the Three-Eyed Raven now, that means I can see everything that happened in the past and I can see everything that is happening now everywhere, I can also influence to a certain extent the events of the past but to do what I did a great power was required and that's where Melisandre and the sacrifice to the Gods took part, from them came the power. The plan we did was to bring back all the relevant people who would help us in our mission, although I made a mistake in the process and bring back some people who were not supposed to remember""Who are those people?" Asked Jon"I do not know exactly, just a group of random people that should not cause us problems or influence the events to come""And who remember?" Asked Jon again"We, obviously, all the Lords of the North and their children as well as some of the soldiers, enough to convince the other soldiers that the threat beyond the wall is real. Also remember the Boltons, Umbers and Karstarks, so I suggest get ready to face them. All the thousand people of sacrifice remember.Also many Lords and soldiers southerners, like Riverrun, and the Westerlands, with the exception of Tywin and Cersei. All the Lords and Knights of the Valle remember including Robyn Arryn with the exception of Aunt Lysa. The Freys remember. The members of the Night Watch remember, including your brothers Grenn, Pyp, Rast and Sam, who have not yet joined the Night Watch but are on their way, Janos Slynt does not remember since he is not yet a member of the Night Watch and I do not consider it relevant to return his memories. All of the free folk remember, also the Dothraki and The Unsullied, Daenerys, Daario Naharis and the Second Sons. King Robert, the Queen's children, Lord Baelish, Renly and Stannis do not remember. Ser Jorah, Lord Varys, Ser Barristan, the Hound, Brienne, Podrick, Ser Davos and Gendry also remember. As I said, I tried to return the memories to as many people as we could need”."Need for what?, what exactly is your plan?" Asked Father"So that Jon can reclaim his throne and unite the Seven Kingdoms against the King of the Night. Only with a united and strong Westeros can we defeat the dead"Robb was confused by Bran's words. Jon's throne?. Father looked like he had just seen a ghost. All color disappeared from his face and he stared at Jon as if seeing him for the first time. Jon's posture and facial expression denoting a confidence he had never seen in him before. His eyes shot silent daggers at Father. Mother was the one who broke the tense silence that was created after Bran's confession."Throne? ... what Throne?", Mother looked very worried and a little scared"The Iron Throne ... my birthright"Robb's jaw hit the floor, he was sure of that, Mother looked as or more surprised than him and Father seemed to be about to faint. Rickon looked at Jon with a big smile on his lips while Arya and Sansa did not seem surprised by the news, they already knew it, Robb deduced."How did you know?" Father asked, the fear was almost palpable in his voice."No thanks to you," Jon growled"I told him. I’m the Three-Eyed Raven, I can see everything that happened in the past""Jon, I ...", Father tried to speak but Jon interrupted him"Thanks for doing this Bran,", Jon did not even look at Father, "This time I'll do the things right, I'll unite the Seven Kingdoms and defeat the Night King and his army, and I will start by taking what belongs to me by right""Wait! ... Wait a minute. How is the Iron Throne your birthright?"Jon's gaze softened when he looked at him but there were still hints of anger in his eyes. "I'm not the bastard of Lord Stark. I'm not anyone's bastard, in fact. My real name is Aegon Targaryen and I am the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, they were married in a secret ceremony in Dorne, which makes me the only living son of Rhaegar and the true and rightful heir of the Iron Throne"The room was again in a heavy silence. Robb could not believe what he was hearing. His little brother... rightful King of the Seven Kingdoms?. His little brother, who was not even his brother at all."Does that mean you're a King, Jon?" Rickon asked excitedly.The look in Jon's eyes softened one more as he looked at his younger brother, no, cousin. When he looked at Rickon, his eyes expressed love and affection. "I hardly be a King without a kingdom to rule, little Rickon, but I will be one day. Soon"The determined look returned to Jon as he pulled his eyes away from Rickon to focus on Father once more. "You have call the banners, we have to prepare to face the Boltons, Karstarks and Umbers""Umbers?" He asked confused one more time, "The Greatjon was one of my most loyal men, why would we have to face him?""Not the GreatJon, Robb," replied Jon, "His son, Smalljon. After Father died, Smalljon betrayed the Starks by handing Rickon to Ramsay Bolton. ""He was the one who killed me"Rickon's words left a heavy silence in the room again. The anger in Robb's blood burned once more. A look at father told him that he was feeling the same."Well, we'll take care of the Little Umber," said Father, "But first, I need to know what happened after my death."All the children nodded and proceeded to tell each one their personal history until they reached the time of his death.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
JAIME
The happiness he felt initially for being back at King's Landing quickly disappeared, the fact of having seen the city burn and disappear forever made Jaime forget how much he actually hate the city. What he hated the most was how false people are in the city, all hid their true intentions under pretty smiles and false compliments. You could never know exactly who is your friend or who is your enemy.He missed the simplicity and brutal honesty of the people of the North. In those frozen lands people were who they claimed to be, what you saw was what they are, they did not waste time pretending to be something they are not. More than once he found himself missing the North and its people, he couldn’t wait to return to the North, but first he had a mission to fulfill in King's Landing. However, while waiting for the right moment he was trapped outside Robert's chambers listening to him fuck with whores.The day he woke up was the same day of the death of Jon Arryn, it was a pity not to have been able to save him, he was a good man. However, his death would serve to remove from the way a poisonous snake that has been fucking the lives of all of us, but in the meantime he must remain cautious, he did not want the snake to discover him and begin to suspect. That's the reason why he sneaks down the secret passages of the Red Keep in the middle of the night, his shining armor and his white cloak were discarded in favor of going unnoticed, instead he wore old dirty clothes that nobody would dare to associate with Jaime Lannister.He was headed for the sewers of the Red Fort, a place so smelly and disgusting that no one would imagine that a secret meeting would take place there, not even Littlefinger's spies. Upon reaching the meeting point Varys was already waiting, like himself Varys wore dirty and worn clothes and a hood to hide his identity. As he entered the Master of Whispers bowed respectfully."Have you found the evidence?" He asked the eunuch"Oh, I did it," Varys replied with a small mischievous smile, "It wasn’t very difficult, he is not as good hiding his steps as he thinks he is. I found the smuggler who gave the poison to the boy from the stables, and this in turn gave him the poison to Littlefinger and, then he give it to Lysa. Both the smuggler and the boy from the stables have already agreed to testify against him. Also…”, He paused to look to the sides as if to make sure no one was listening and then leaned over to Jaime to whisper. “"I spoke with Sweetrobin's nurse, she admitted that Lysa has been poisoning her son to make him weak and sickly, fortunately the child remembers the past life and agrees to judge his mother as long as she lives. Sweetrobin's nurse also agreed to testify""Sweetrobin will betray his own Mother?""As long as she lives, yes. The child remembers his past life and doesn’t want to be the dependent and sick child that he was with his mother, he is upset with her but she is still his mother and he doesn’t want to see her dead""As soon as Robert finds out that she killed Jon he will never let her live, Varys!""You're right, but Robert will never be able to touch Lysa, She will be gone by the time of the trial, a mutual friend will make sure that both Sweetrobin and his mother arrive safely in the Valle"“What mutual friend?”Varys smirked again, "A friend smuggler, of course"“Ser Davos”"Who else could it be?. He will be going from King's Landing heading North in two days after finishing some business he has here in the capital, so I suggest that if you are going to talk to our other mutual friend, do it before Davos leaves, I am sure he will want to meet the son of his beloved prince""Well, I'll talk to him today. When will the trial be?"I plan to present the evidence to Robert as soon as the Davos ship is no longer visible on the horizon. Also, I already sent my birds to fly to communicate with our King, we need to know what he is going to do to be prepared"“Good”With that both said goodbye and took separate ways to get to their respective chambers. That same morning while Jaime put on his armor he was mentally preparing to talk to the person who probably hated him the most in all the Seven Kingdoms, Ser Barristan Selmy.
CATELYN
Adjusting to this new reality was not been easy for Catelyn, her children were no longer the sweet childrens she raised, they were so different now. Her Robb was no longer smiling and charming as he used to be, now an expression of sadness and desolation adorned the face of his eldest son day and night. Sansa was no longer the cheerful young woman who daydreamed with songs about knights and maidens, now she was a cold and determined woman. Arya is a murderer, For all the Gods Arya is a murderer!, Catelyn felt like crying at the thought, the energetic girl who spent the day running around Winterfell and playing with her brothers had also left and left in her place a girl Cat couldn’t recognize. Bran ... there was nothing left of the Bran she knew. Rickon didn’t even talk to her, every time she tried to talk to him ended up with him yelling at her that she abandoned him, Catelyn did not know what to tell her son to forgive her. And the bastard, who turned out not to be a bastard at all but a prince, the rightful heir of the iron throne. Cat still didn’t know how to feel about it.The children took more than two days to tell all their experiences. Listening to the stories of her children was a hard knock, her heart ached for not being able to stop the suffering of her children. She felt that she had failed as a mother.Going back to the daily tasks of Winterfell was a small consolation, while she was immersed in the responsibilities that came with being the Lady of Winterfell, she could pretend that nothing had changed, that Ned had never gone south, that Robb had never called the banners and gone to war, that her husband never died, that she never abandoned her children and left them to their fate at Winterfell. For a moment while she was the Lady of Winterfell she could pretend that everything was as supposed to be, that was until she stopped for a moment and the harsh reality came to crush her. As she was doing now, standing in the yard watching her children train. Robb and the bastard, he's not a bastard anymore, she corrected herself. Robb and Jon were in a duel with swords and Jon was winning, Rickon, Arya and Ser Rodrick were trying to teach Sansa archery. Catelyn almost went crazy when Sansa claimed that she wanted to learn how to fight, Sansa ignored her objections, simply reclaim she wanted to be able to defend herself. Bran was nowhere to be found, so Catelyn supposed he was in the Godswood, since that was the place where he had spent most of his time during the four days since they returned."My Lady?" The sudden voice that sounded behind her surprised her and brought her out of her thoughts. She turned to see Maester Luwin standing with a worried expression on his face. "Ravens, my Lady," he said as he raised his hands, showing at least half a dozen scrolls in his hands. Catelyn nodded and prepared to go to Ned's solar to hear the news but Luwin stopped her, "Actually, my Lady, I believe that the children should be present for reading the scrolls, I suspect that the information concerns them too"She was about to refuse saying that the children were still too young for this kind of thing when she remembered that in fact her children were not children at all. Swallowing the bitter taste in her mouth, she smiled at the Maester and asked him to look for Ned and accompany him to his solar while she took care of the children.She approached them with hesitant steps. The match between Robb and Jon was over and they were preparing to start one more time. Arya and Rickon were mocking Sansa for her bad aim while Ser Rodrick scolded them for making fun of their sister. When she was close enough for everyone to hear clearly she cleared his throat to get their attention, all the children looked at her at the same time and Catelyn could not help noticing how Rickon's face contorted with an expression of disgust. She ignored the feeling."Master Luwin just informed me that crows arrived, we will meet at Ned's solar to read them"They nodded and proceeded to store their weapons and then all headed to Ned's solar. Once there, Ned and Luwin were already waiting for them. Ned's solar had been modified, instead of a large desk with the chair of the Lord of Winterfell and two chairs for guests now there was a large rectangular table with space for 12 people. At the head of the table was the chair of the Lord where Ned sits, a larger and more elaborate chair than the remaining 11 chairs, that was in order to make it clear who was in charge. On the opposite side to Ned sat Maester Luwin, Cat took her place to the left of her Lord Husband and Robb to the right of Ned. Jon sat next to Robb and Rickon next to Jon while Sansa and Arya sat next to him. Once they were all settled Ned started the meeting."Master Luwin, please inform me about Theon's health," Ned cast a reproachful glance at Robb who only shrugged indifferently"Theon is healing from his injuries very well, I have no reason to worry, he will feel pain for at least another fortnight but he will live""He is already able to travel?""Yes, it will be uncomfortable for him but the trip will not affect his healing process""That's good, Maester, thank you very much, please prepare Theon for his trip, now what news do we receive?"Luwin left the parchments on the table. He took one and showed the seal, the crowned stag of the House Baratheon. Luwin passed the parchment to Ned and Ned read it and then said what we all already knew."Jon Arryn is dead, the King is preparing to travel North"A heavy silence spread throughout the room. Sighing hard Ned motioned for Luwin to continue. The next letter was from House Manderly. When Ned read it he was white as a ghost."What does it say?" Arya asked when Ned keep in silentAfter another few seconds of silence Ned cleared his throat and read the letter out loud.
A few days ago something strange happened, everyone in my family woke up with memories of a life that no longer exists. I am back in the past and I have my children back, please, if you have any information about what caused it please do not hesitate to tell us. My loyalty is still with House Stark and with Jon of the House Targaryen, First of His Name, legitimate King of the Andals and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm. House Manderly is yours to command, Your Grace.
Lord Wyman Manderly, Lord of White Harbor
Catelyn's heart fell to her stomach. She already knew that Jon had been King in his past life after his true filiation came to light but knowing it to listen to it personally were different things. Cat noticed that Ned also found it difficult to assimilate that reality. Swallowing, Ned pushed the letter aside and moved on to the next.
House Mormont reaffirms its loyalty to the Houses Stark and Targaryen, My youngest daughter Lyanna has told us everything that happened after my death and the rest of my daughters. House Mormont is for what the Houses Stark and Targaryen needs.
If you have any information about the reason for our return to the past, please contact me immediately.
Lady Maege Mormont, Lady of Bear Island
The letters that followed were from the Houses Glover, Forrester, Reed and Cerwyn. All with messages of loyalty to House Stark, Jon and Daenerys and asking for explanations about the awakening in the future. As they suspects there were no letters from the Boltons, Umbers and Karstarks."I think we should send ravens to the Boltons, Umbers and Karstarks and quote them to Winterfell to answer for their crimes and reach some kind of agreement peacefully," Jon said."The Boltons will never accept coming peacefully, they know that all the Starks are back in Winterfell and they know what they did, they are not going to surrender so easily," Sansa said, "You have to call the banners, Father, we will have war with Roose Bolton"Ned did not look convinced but after a moment nodded."Maester Luwin, bring me paper, pen and ink, I have letters to write"With that Luwin and the others left the solar, only Robb stayed with Ned. Cat was about to try to get closer to Rickon again when Jory Cassel appeared in the hallway. He inclined his head in respect before speaking."The guards have captured a deserter from the Night's Watch, my Lady"At the mention of the deserter the children were happy, she knew it was because they would soon recoup the Direwolfs. He turned to Sansa to speak, "Notify your father"Sansa nodded before retracing her steps toward Ned's solar.
DAENERYS
She was desperate. For the first time in years she felt helpless. She hated to feel like a helpless littler girl again at the mercy of her crazy brother. In the morning, Drogo would appear at Illyrio's mansion to accept their betrothal and she did not want to go with him. At first she was excited to see her sun and stars again, she wondered if he would remember her, she thought about marrying Drogo as they did in the past life and then somehow convince Drogo to sail directly to Westeros, but then she thinks things and realized that this plan would never work. First, it would take a long time to convince Drogo to do something he was not willing to do, not until he considered that it was the right time. And second, there was Jon. She couldn't arrive to Westeros with another husband. And she wanted to get Westeros as soon as possible with Jon, she didn’t want to spend more time in Essos, the lands of her exile. She wanted to reach her lands, her home, her husband and for that she couldn’t leave with Drogo. She needed to leave Pentos and she needed to leave that same night. But before leaving she needed her dragons.Luckily Jorah also remembered the past life, both were still very confused about how that happened but they couldn’t sit and think about answers they were never going to get. Jorah had sworn his loyalty to her again and promised to help her escape. She really didn’t know what she would do without him.She was in her room waiting for him, she had already packed the few things of value that she had, just a few dresses and some jewelry that she could sell. She was thinking about what to do when they managed to leave Pentos when Jorah appeared in her chambers."It's time, Khaleesi"Dany grabbed her backpack and patted it on her shoulder before running off to follow Jorah. The guards who were usually outside your door are nowhere to be seen. Followed Jorah to Illyrio's solar, wondering why he would take her there when they wanted to avoid him. She didn’t have to wait long to discover it.Illyrio was sitting in a chair tied with hands and feet and gagged. When they approached to him Jorah drew a dagger and pressed it into Illyrio's throat. Illyrio was sweating and crying."Now, if you want to live, you're going to tell me where the dragon eggs are.", Dany removed the gag so that Illyrio could speakIllyrio began to tremble even more, "They-are in the cellar""Are there guards there?" Jorah asked. Illyrio shook his head frantically, "If you're lying to us, I'll come back here and you will not like what I'm going to do to you"Illyrio seemed to think for a second before speaking, "There is one guard in front of the door""Only one?""Yes"With that Dany placed the gag back in Illyrio's mouth and left the room with Jorah. True to his word, there was only one guard in front of the door. Jorah had a hard time defeating him but it did not represent any problem. In the cellar were stored some furniture, chairs, many candles, wines, gold and most importantly, the chest with the eggs. Quickly Dany opened the chest and put the eggs in her bag, the weight of the eggs made uncomfortable to carry the bag but she didn’t complain about it. She also took some gold and silver objects that they could sell. They left the cellar and hurried to the exit when a voice stopped them. Her heart almost comes out of her chest."Where do you think you’re going, sweet sister?"Dany turned to meet her old brother. He wore the badly groomed clothes, he was disheveled and emitted a strong smell of wine and beer. If she had to guess, she would say that Viserys had just arrived from a brothel. Jorah stepped forward with his hand on his sword but she stopped him, this was a battle she wanted to win on her own."I'm leaving, brother. And you will not going to stop me"Visery's face contorted in an ugly expression of anger as he took a threatening step forward, "You dare, you little bitch, dare to try to leave me?!""Yes, I'm leaving. I'm not going to let you sell me so you can get an army, I will not be a pawn in your game anymore""It's enough! You awoke the dragon! You awoke the dragon!", Viserys shouted like a madman as he approached her with his hand raised, but just when he was about to hit her Jorah deflected the hit. Viserys was paralyzed by surprise for only two seconds before exploding in anger against Jorah, "You dare to touch me, damn wild northern, you touching me?!. To your legitimate King?! I am your King! You can’t touch your King! You will lose your head for this!""Viserys is enough! You are not King and you never will be!"Those words finished breaking the little sanity that was left in Viserys. His face flushed with anger and hit her so hard in the head that for a moment she could only see lights, Viserys was going to hit her again but she was not having any of that. Without thinking twice he took the bag that was hooking on her shoulder and hit Viserys in the head with that. Viserys stepped back stunned by the hit and then fell to the ground, blood spilling from the wound in his head. For a moment Dany just stood in shock looking at her brother lying on the floor and bleeding, for a moment she really was afraid he had killed him."Khaleesi, we have to go"Dany came out of her stupor and hurried to follow Jorah. He led her to the servants/slaves area and to the kitchens where there was a secret exit for the slaves. There was only one guard Jorah managed to defeat quickly and they were finally out of the of Illyrio's mansion. Dany did not allow herself to feel happiness until they were safely out of Pentos.They ran for what seemed like hours through alleyways and alleys until they reached the port. It was not long before dawn and the ships were already preparing to sail at first light, on the horizon the dark sky was already beginning to show the lightest orange tinge."Now where are we going, Khaleesi?""To Astapor, I have to recover my Unsullied. I need to get to Westeros with at least one army"It took them a while to find a ship that went to Astapor but when they did the ship did not sail until after noon. They couldn’t stay in Pentos for much longer. Illyrio's men would start looking for them at any time. They discarded going directly to Astapor and instead took a ship to Lys that would sail in an hour, once in Lys they would take another ship to Astapor. Jorah paid for the trip and decent chambers with gold he had stolen from Illyrio. The sky was already illuminated in bright yellow and orange tones when Pentos disappeared completely on the horizon. It was at that moment that Dany allowed herself to breathe easy.
BENJEN
To say that the last days had been confusing was to say little. First he woke up in his bed in Castle Black. When he went out into the courtyard he saw brothers who had been dead for many years, Lord Commander Mormont was there too. Everything was just as he remembered it before going to the mission beyond the wall to never return, at first he thought he was in the afterlife, in one of the heavens or maybe in one of the hells, but then he realized that everything was real and that he was still alive, very much alive. Everyone looked as or even more confused than he was.The activities that were normally carried out at that time were not being done, the trainings, the struggles, Ser Alliser shouting at the recruits, the steward removing the snow from the stairs. None of that was being done.Everyone was so confused with the new reality that it seemed that everyone were unable to do anything other than simply stand there and look like complete idiots.Even now, a week later, things were still strange and uncomfortable. The brothers spent hours and hours telling how they died in the other life. Some of them did not live many years longer than him but others lived to see the wall fall by the Night King and his resurrected dragon. The Lord Commander Momort had been killed by his own brothers in a riot in the Craster's Keep. That was told by Jeor Mormont himself, angry that the cunts that killed him had not yet been sent to the wall so he could not kill them.Three days later a man named Eddison Tollett arrived at Castle Black claiming to be a man of the Night's Watch in the past life. He said he’s a good friend of Jon and had even been Lord Commander for a short time. Edd told how after the death of Lord Commander Mormont his nephew Jon had been named Lord Commander, Benjen's heart swelled with pride at hearing that. He also told how Ser Alliser and other brothers killed Jon for letting the wildlings pass south of the wall. At that Benjen could not help it and went looking for Ser Alliser to kill him himself for what he did to his nephew. Mormont would not allow it but hang Ser Alliser and the others for treason. When they were going to burn their bodies Edd argued that it would be better to let them become weights to use them as proof, in the past life it was very difficult to convince the Southerners that the White Walkers are real and having reanimated deads could make things much easier for them.Edd also told how a witch named Melisandre brought his nephew back to live. Benjen had to remember himself to kiss that woman for returning his nephew back to live, and how Jon left the Watch claiming that due to his death his watch was ended. How Jon and Sansa had recovered Winterfell from the Boltons and the subsequent appointment of Jon as King in the North. He told how after the Night King collapsed the wall he and a few surviving brothers managed to flee to Winterfell where the entire army of the North commanded by Jon and Daenerys Targaryen with her three dragons, a Dothraki horde and eight thousand Unsullied.Edd had been one of the few brothers of the Night Watch who had managed to live until near the end. He said that the Night King destroyed everything in its path to Winterfell where one of the greatest battles against the dead takes place that ended with the death of the Night King´s dragon and the destruction of Winterfell. After that the survivors managed to flee to the south of the Neck where they returned to face the army of the dead near Ruby Ford but again they lost and kept fleeing until they reached King's Landing where they also had to fight with the Golden Company commanded by Cersei Lannister. In the battle of King's Landing, Queen Daenerys and her black dragon died and Cersei blew up the city in a desperate attempt to destroy the Night King and his army of deads, which at that point already reached a countless number of dead soldiers. Jon's army barely managed to get out of King's Landing before it exploded, and although the explosion destroyed many of the weight, the dead still outnumbered them.After Daenerys's death, John was in charge of leading the war for the dawn. At that point the sun had not been seen in more than 8 moons, although it was difficult to measure the time when you can’t see the sun. The survivors of the Golden Company joined Jon to help in the war. Finally it was in Stormlands where Edd died in another battle against the dead. And that's where his story ended.His story was shocking to say the least. Edd didn’t know how they were all back in the past but he was sure that the living should have lost, the living were very few and the dead were too many, there was almost no food and the cold killed faster than the dead did.Lord Commander was about to send a letter to Winterfell for Jon and Bran to ask for explanations when a letter arrived. Benjen was in the Lord Commander's solar with the old bear, Edd and Master Aemon, who in the last week had been happier and more lively than Benjen had ever seen him."Master Aemon has just given me two letters," informed the old bear, "One is from King's Landing, Jon Arryn, the Hand of the King is dead and the King is coming North, we already know why. The other letter is from my sister Maege", Mormont turned his attention to Benjen while saying the contents of the second letter, "Lord Stark has called the banners, he is preparing for a war against Roose Bolton""I want to go," Benjen said without thinking"You are a brother of the Night's Watch, Benjen, The Night's Watch does not take part in the wars of men.""I don’t care", snapped Benjen annoyed, "Roose Bolton nailed a dagger in my nephew's heart, betrayed my family and seized my ancestral home, his bastard son raped my niece and killed my other nephew. I will not sit here with my arms crossed while my family is still being massacred!""I know it's hard, Ben, but-""If I may, Lord Commander," interrupted Edd. Mormont gave him a nod indicating that he could continue, "I think we should all go to Winterfell", everyone looked at him without understanding what he meant, "Jon was our leader in the past life, he was a great Lord Commander and a good King. Even in our darkest moments when morale and hope were in tatters, when there was no food and the cold was killing us Jon managed to give us courage and strength to not give up, to keep fighting. He is the leader that we must follow. We must meet with him and see what he plans to do. We must begin to prepare for the return of the deads and the Long Night"The old bear still did not seem convinced, that was when Maester Aemon spoke, "Caught here at the end of the world we can’t do anything, the young Edd is right. We must meet with Jon Snow and prepare to face the White Walkers, that is the original purpose of the Night's Watch""During the Age of the Heroes the Night Watch fought side by side with the first men," said Benjen to support Edd's point.After thinking about it for a few more seconds the old bear finally nodded, "Fine, let's meet with Jon Snow, let's see what he plans to do and how we can help. Also, since Ned Stark has called the banners I will be able to see my sister and my nieces that I have not seen in many years. Another advantage will be that being there we can ensure the men of the remnants of the battle for the Watch. And in these dark times we need as many men as we can assure"Benjen thought that his face would be divided in two by his smile, "Thank you, Lord Commander""Maester sends a ravens to Winterfell telling about our visit, we're leaving in 5 days, get ready, and someone brings me the blacksmith, I need to do a special gift before we leave"With that everyone left to start preparing for the trip.
ROBB
It was even harder than he thought it would be, and painful too, stand in front of Theon Greyjoy. . He wanted to hit him again but Bran, Sansa and Jon had reiterate the importance of keeping Theon alive and well so he restrained himself. But that did not make things easier.Theon was sitting on the bed in his new room, a simple, small room in the servants' area, nothing compared to the luxurious room fit for his heir status of a noble House. Theon was full of bandages and bruises, some parts were still inflamed like his right eye, the left side of his head and his left arm. Theon looked pathetic, like a destroyed man and Robb could not find a part of himself that felt guilty."Why?" He finally asked. He had been quietly watching Theon since he entered the room. Theon had not looked him in the eyes at any time. He knew what Ramsay had done to him, he knew what Ramsay had taken from him, the tortures to which he had subjected him, and again, Robb could not find a part of himself that felt guilty, "Why did you do it?"Theon did not respond, just shrugged more on himself and began to tremble slightly. That angered Robb, without being conscious of what he was doing, he jumped to Theon and took him by the shirt, “Answer to me! Why did you do it?!"Then Theon started crying and trembling even harder. His face contorted in an ugly grimace of pain, "I-I'm sorry, I am really sorry""That’s not repair what you did, what you did to me. You were like a brother to me. I trusted in you. Everyone told me not to trust you and I ignored them. I ignored them because I trusted you. And you betrayed me”, at that moment Robb realized he was crying. He turned away from Theon and wiped his tears away, annoyed at his own weakness."I'm sorry," Theon repeated."I don't want your apology," he growled, "I want you to tell me why you did it"Theon still didn’t look him in the eye and spent several moments until he dared to speak. His voice was broken and weak, almost a whisper, "I wanted to prove to my father that I'm not weak"Robb almost laughs at the statement. Of all the things I had thought ... "And to do that you had to raid my home and kill my brothers?""I didn’t kill them", for the first time Theon's voice was loud and confident"No, you didn’t", Robb let his words hang in the tense air for a moment before continuing, "You couldn’t kill them because they were smarter than you and managed to get away before you could get your hands on them, but tell me one thing, Theon, and I want you to be honest with me, If you had found them, would you have killed them? Would you have been able to kill the children you knew from the day they were born?"The silence grew heavier as he waited for an answer "Yes", Theon's response was barely audible, it took Robb a few seconds to process the meaning of that statement.Theon still did not look him in the eyes, he had not done it once since he entered the room so he took two steps to be right in front of him and take him by the chin and force him to look into his eyes."I want you to look me in the eyes and repeat what you said", the tears kept coming down Theon's cheeks, his eyes pleaded for him to stop, Robb was not going to give him what he asked, "You had the courage to betray me, assault my home, take my brothers prisoners, kill Ser Rodrik and try to kill my brothers, now you will have the courage to look me in the eyes and repeat what you said", he waited a moment and when it became obvious that Theon was not going to respond he tightened his grip on his jaw, "I'm not going to leave until you answer me. Look me in the eyes and tell me why you did it. Look me in the eyes and tell me if you would have been able to kill my brothers"Theon sighed, summoning courage before answering, "I wanted to be a Stark but I also wanted to prove my father that I was still a Greyjoy, that's why I took Winterfell, that's why I tried to kill your brothers, but they managed to escape and if I had found them I would have killed them. That's what the Greyjoy do, assault and steal. And I am sorry, I am truly sorry"Robb didn’t say anything, had had enough, had obtained what he had come for. Theon would leave in the morning for the iron islands with his sister and this was his last chance to get the answers he wanted. He could not say he was satisfied but he had had enough. He released Theon and prepared to leave the room but just as he was about to open the door something occurred to him and he looked at Theon again, "Was it worth it? What did you do. Your father was proud of you?"Theon raised his head to look into his eyes and shake his head. When Robb closed the door behind him he heard the muffled sobs of the man he once considered a brother. Again, he could not find a part of himself that felt bad for him.That night Robb could not sleep, he spent all night in his bed thinking. So many things had changed, he was back home but it did not really feel like home. His brothers were no longer the same, it was hard to recognize them and it was even uncomfortable to be near Arya and Bran. And he had lost a brother. All his life he had been very close to Jon, they did everything together, he was his favorite brother and it turned out that he wasn’t even his brother and that Father lied to them during his whole life. Sure, he did it to protect Jon but it still hurt. The relationship between the two of them had not been the same since they returned. In the other life all he could wish for while he was in the war was that he wanted to have Jon on his side and now that he finally had him back they were not even able to say more than five words to each other.Jon had changed, like everyone else, he was always quiet and reserved but now he was even more but at the same time he was no longer timid or shrinking to anyone who looked at him badly for being a bastard. His straight back and always high chin showed a self-confidence that was hard to ignore, he looked everyone in the eyes and his voice didn’t tremble when he spoke. That at least had changed for the better. But Robb just couldn’t make their relationship work, discovering that they were not really brothers had opened a breach between them that they did not seem able to close and he didn’t know exactly why.Another reason that kept him awake was the memories of the war and all the mistakes he made. Now that Father had called the flag-bearers he was terrified of meeting them face to face. He mistakes were the ones that had led them all to death. He wondered how they would react when they saw him. They will hate me?He remembered Talisa and the son they never had, remembered her smile and the warmth of her skin under his hands, the softness of her lips. He remembered her bloody swollen belly and her hands clinging tightly to her belly. Her eyes reflected panic and sadness before they lost all their brightness and her face was petrified in an expression of terror when she died.Realizing he would not sleep at all that night he left the room. He went to the kitchens and took a jug of wine and stood there drinking and thinking about his dead wife until the cook came in to prepare the breakfast. He was surprised to see him there, Robb just gave him a grimace that was an attempt of a smile and left.The sun was beginning to rise in the sky, the cold winds of the end of summer proclaim that winter is coming. Robb was not wearing anything but his slim sleeping clothes at that time and the morning cold was almost too much for him. He walked through the courtyard in the direction of the Great Keep to go to his chambers to change his clothes to begin his day when he saw a solitary figure standing on the battlements looking at the sky. He recognized it instantly, it was Jon. Immediately he changed his course to the stairs of the battlements to meet him. Like himself, Jon wore only his slim sleeping clothes. On the battlements the wind hit harder, the cold wind made him shudder."It's a little cold for you to be outside without anything to keep you warm", as he spoke his breath formed small clouds of steamJon laughed at his words, "Cold?, on a day like this the wall would be crying”Robb felt stupid for a moment, of course Jon was used to a much colder weather than this, unlike him who had spent too much time in the southern heat. Jon's smile disappeared from his face and he returned to look at the sky with his usual melancholy expression."It's amazing the things we take for granted, little things that we don’t pay enough attention to and why should we? it are always there, there’s nothing that makes us think that one day it will disappear”, Robb didn’t really know what he was talking about, so he just stood by his side waiting for Jon to vent. This was one of the longest conversations they had since they returned and he was not going to miss the opportunity, "I come here every day to watch the sun rise. Every night, when the sun goes down, I panic thinking that it will never come out again. I spend all night in my chambers counting the minutes until the sun starts to rise in the east, then I go out here and see it until I manage to convince myself that it is not going to disappear suddenly""I'm sorry", Jon looked at him confused, "I'm sorry you had to go through all that, I'm sorry for not being there"Jon gave him a small smile before speaking, "You're here now”Robb smiled too, "Yes, and I'm not going anywhere, broth-", - ", he had to cut his words and clear his throat before correct his mistake, he turned his gaze away from Jon before he spoke again, he could feel his face burning, "cousin""Hey", Jon took his shoulder and forced him to look at him again, "You are my brother, no matter what happens, or who my father really is, you are my brother and nothing will ever change that… Unless you want that to change"Robb felt the words get stuck in his throat as he realized why all these days he had felt that breach between them. He was afraid to lose him, "Of course I want you to still being my brother. You will always be my little brother”They both laughed and then fell silent watching the sun rise in the sky. He wondered for a moment what it would be not see the sun for a year."I'm terrified, you know", Jon's words took him out of his thoughts, Robb looked at him without understanding, "To see him again. I close my eyes and all I can see are his bright blue eyes staring at me. I close my eyes and all I can feel is the unbearable cold getting inside my bones no matter how much clothes I wear or how close to the fire I was there was no way to escape from that cold. I close my eyes and feel the hunger gnawing my stomach, the desperation for eating something, anything. I close my eyes and see darkness ... And in the background blue eyes that torture me", Jon looked at him and Robb could see the tears in his eyes, "I'm scared, Robb, I don’t want to see him again, I don’ want to fight him again, I don’ want to go through all that again. All I want is to take my things and go as far as I can”He didn’t know what to say honestly, "Why don’t you do it?"Jon looked at him as if he had lost his mind, "I can’t leave, people trust me to guide them again, I cannot disappoint them, not again. I can’t leave knowing that I can do something to stop him"Robb didn’t know what to say or what to do to make his brother feel better so he just hugged him, "You will not be alone this time"They both stayed that way for a long time looking at the sun and listening to the courtyard come alive. Hodor was saddling the horses while having a pleasant conversation with Rickon. Rickon told him how excited he was to go to the execution and Hodor said "Hodor"Jon and Robb went down to the courtyard when Hodor finished saddling the horses, today would be the execution of the deserter of the Night's Watch. Robb was excited, everyone was. Today they would find the Direwolfs. Rickon would go with them, at first Father had refused, claiming that he was still too young to see such things but Rickon was not having any of that, he said that he was two and ten years old and not the six he appeared and that he was more than old enough to see an execution. His father reluctantly agreed."You were drinking?" Jon asked suddenly as they entered the Great Keep"Yes. I couldn’t sleep""The next time you decide to drink instead of sleeping, let me know, I could have some of that"Robb smiled assuring him that he would do it and then they both separated to their respective chambers. When he came back out into the courtyard, this time dressed appropriately, Theon was already preparing to leave. Ten guards would escort Theon to Deepwood Motte where he would take a ship to Pike, he had his doubts about sending Theon back to Pike, he had made that mistake once, he did not want to repeat it, but Bran said he was fine, that his sister controlled the iron islands now and she is an ally, Robb still was not convinced but he trusted his brother.Jon appeared at his side dressed all in black as usual in him and with a letter in his hand. Everyone at Winterfell was there to see Theon leave but none of them came to say goodbye. Once everyone was ready, Father gave the signal for the gates to open, then Jon approached Theon."Remember what we're talking about?" Theon nodded, What had these two talked about?, "Good, give this to Yara”, Jon gave him the letter and Theon put it inside his doublet.Without saying another word Jon came back to him and Theon finally went out through the Winterfell gates this time forever.Then Father, his brothers and he went out to the execution. Bran refused to go claiming that he could see it from where he was, Arya asked to go too but Father refused. As expected the puppies were where they remembered only this time, Mama Direwolf was not killed by a stag but seemed to have died during childbirth. They all took their respective puppies and set off back to Winterfell where they hand the rest of the puppies to their sisters and Bran. Having Gray Wind back was the best feeling he had felt since he woke up in this new life.That night when Robb couldn’t sleep he appeared in Jon's chambers with baby Gray Wind and two jugs of wine.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
EDDARD
He was standing on one of the wooden walkways looking at the courtyard where his children were training. Ser Rodrik, Rickon and Arya were still trying to teach archery to Sansa. Unfortunately they were not having much progress. Sansa was beginning to get frustrated while her sibligns tried not to mock her. Arya was very good at archery, even in the past life at this age Arya was already better than Bran. Rickon was surprisingly even better than Arya. Ned was surprised when he saw the skill of his youngest son with a bow and arrow, when he tried to approach Rickon to ask where he learned archery he just shrugged and answered in a cold voice, "I spent a lot of time living in the forest, I had to learn to hunt so as not to starve. Osha taught me how to make my own bow and arrows and taught me how to use them. She was very good". The last sentence was said with a small tone of sadness. Ned could tell that Rickon missed Osha, the wild woman who helped him and Bran escape Theon and took care of them all the years they were in exile. He really wanted to meet that woman, he wanted to thank her for taking care of his son all those years.Having a relationship with their children was not being easy at the moment. With Arya, Sansa and Robb had no problem but Jon, Rickon and Bran ... it was a totally different thing. Bran almost didn’t interact with anyone, he spent all day at the Godswood without talking to any person, Rickon and Jon didn’t even talk to him, they only did it when it was necessary and always with short and cold sentences. He suspected that Jon was upset with him because he lied to him and although he had tried to talk to him several times he always found an excuse to leave. It was frustrating to say the least.Ned also realized that he was not the only one who had problems relating to his children. Cat was having even more problems with Rickon, she argued all the time with Arya and cried every night because Bran was now a completely different person. Ned and Cat had also had their own dose of problems. They had argued almost every day since they returned, Cat was happy to have him alive again but she was also upset with him for having lied about Jon.In the courtyard, Sansa shouted to her siblings to stop mock her and she left frustrating. Arya and Rickon just laughed harder. Ned shook his head and went down to meet his children."It's not good to make fun of your sister"Arya was wiping tears from her eyes for laughing so much, "She is terrible at this, Father. She has not been able to hit the target once and we have been practicing for days""And tell me, how long did it take you until you could hit the target?", Arya and Rickon's faces got serious when they heard that, "Your sister may not have an innate talent for this kind of thing, we all know that Sansa has never been the kind of girl she likes to fight, but she is willing to learn and that is what is important. Maybe she's terrible at this and it may take her a long time to learn but she is lucky to have a sister and a brother who are incredibly good in this and who can teach her", Arya and Rickon looked embarrassed now, all fun disappeared from their faces, "Be patient with her""Yes, Father", they answered in unison"Now look for your sister and apologize to her""Yes, Father"Both children took their weapons and kept them and then go in search of their sister.Ned was proud of his children, they had all grown up to be strong and independent men and women but still they were able to listen to their parents' advice and correct their mistakes. Ned's heart was filled with joy for that, No matter how much his children have changed he could still teach them, that was good, he was not ready to let his children go yet.He left the courtyard and went to his solar, he had to continue with his work. He need to organize the food reserves. After the stories of Jon, Sansa and Arya about how the food had been so scarce during the winter he had to make sure that it would not happen again, this time the food reserves would be full and for that he had to make alliances with the south. He had already sent a letter to Riverrun to negotiate a trade route for grains and food for the North, he also needed to speak with the Lords of the North about the possibility of this new agreement with the south but that would have to wait a few more weeks until everyone has arrived at Winterfell.I was also thinking about starting conversations with the Reach about another possible agreement, but that was something he would have to talk with Robb first, having the Reach on their side would be very useful, not only for winter but also for the war. The war for the Iron Throne. Jon wanted to recover the throne that belonged to the Targaryens, he still didn’t know how to feel about it. So lost was he in his thoughts that he didn't notice Master Luwin approaching him and almost collided with the poor old man."My apologies, Maestre Luwin. I was somewhat distracted "Luwin laughed a little at that, "I could feel it, my Lord. Actually I came here looking for you, ravens arrived"Ned nodded and they both went to their lot. Once there, they both sat down and Luwin handed him the first letter. It was from Last Hearth, written by the Greatjon as grumpy and reckless as ever.
I already learned the nonsense that my son did in the past life, I assume that's why you cited us to Winterfell. We are already preparing to leave, we will go with a light escort to arrive as soon as possible. I assume the trip will take us about three weeks.
I admire you very much, Ned, I hope we can peacefully solve my son's idiocies.
Lord Jon Umber, Lord of Last Hearth
Well, it seemed that at least there would be no war with the Umbers, that was good, one less problem on the list. Although he still had to think of a way to solve this without the Greatjon feeling offended and although he would like to take the head of the Smalljon to give Rickon to Ramsay Bolton that would only lead to an unnecessary war.The next letter had a black seal, obviously from the Night's Watch. Ned took it hopefully, since returning he had been waiting to receive a word from Benjen. The letter was from Lord Commander Mormont.
Lord Stark, this letter is to inform you that an entourage of the Night's Watch is on its way to Winterfell, myself included and of course, your brother Benjen. We need to speak personally with Jon Snow, or Jon Targaryen?, however, we need to talk to him to see what he plans to do about the threat from the Others and how the Watch can help. Everyone here at Castle Black already knows what happened during the Long Night and the War for the Dawn. We need to be ready and the Night's Watch will always be there to guards the realms of men.
Jeor Mormont, Lord Commander of the Night's Watch.
That was interesting, he had not thought of the possibility of the Watch coming to Winterfell. He was excited to see Benjen again, the last thing he knew about him in the past life was that he had lost beyond the wall. When he heard the news Ned was sad, the only brother he had left was also dead. In this life he learned from Bran that Benjen had not really died as everyone thought but was reanimated by the children of the forest. That was strange, he still did not fully understand how it was possible but it didn’t matter, the important thing is that Benjen was alive and well.The third and last letter was from Karhold. It was short and simple.My sons and I are on our way to Winterfell to respond to your cite. We will arrive on a moon.Lord Rickard Karstark, Lord of KarholdWith a resigned sigh Ned massaged his temples, he could tell from those few words that there would be problems with the Karstarks. "Luwin, look for Robb and Jon. I need to talk to them", Luwin nodded and left the lot to look for his older sons.Minutes later he appeared with both boys and their respective wolves, "Do you want me to stay, Lord Stark?""Aye Luwin, could you give some useful advice"Once the boys sat down, Ned handed Robb the letter from Rickard and Jon the letter from the Watch. Robb sighed wearily as he did and Jon had a small smile on his lips."I don’t know what to do with the Karstarks, Father. That problem is my fault, there's no way we can solve this easily. Lord Rickard hates me""This is not your fault, Robb. I would have done the same in your place. Rickard killed two innocent children, he had to pay for his crime""That does not make him less upset with me. He could represent a very big problem for us, Father. We don’t know how he will react""They could join the Boltons, just as they did in the past life," Jon interjected."We don’t know that, they joined the Boltons because there were no more Starks but now we're all back and-""Don’t be naive!" Spited Jon, Ned was surprised by the hardness in his voice, "They hate the Starks. That's why they allied themselves with the Boltons in the first place, Harald Karstark said that the House Stark had lost the loyalty of House Karstark the day that Robb Stark beheaded Rickard Karstark. This may be another life but they are not going to forget that"."But even if they ally with the Boltons we still outnumber them," Luwin said. "The Boltons have three vassals: Umbers, Karstark and Whitehill. The Umbers do not seem to be hostile towards the House Stark, I doubt very much that they will join them""The Boltons only have the Whitehills on their side, that's about three thousand men, if the Karstarks join them they would make five thousand. We have the rest of the north houses on our side, which are about fifteen thousand men", Robb's voice sounded more vigorous"Don’t trust yourself too much, Robb, we may have the numbers but they don’t play fair", Jon sounded serious, worried"What do you mean by that?""Exactly what I meant," Jon replied, his voice cold as steel, "We should increase the security in the castle and cross our fingers for the banners arrive quickly. The Boltons could try a surprise attack""The Glovers and the Manderlys will arrive in a fortnight. The others will take a little longer", answered Ned"Hopefully the Boltons do not try anything at that time""All right, I'll reinforce Winterfell's safety. Each one will have two guards who will accompany you until the problem with the Boltons has been solved""How will we deal with them, Father?" The concern had returned to Robb's voice."First, we will try to talk to reach a peaceful agreement. I know that will not solve anything but it will serve as a mere formality, after that we will go to war""We must use a lot of protection that day, our leather armor will not work, we need to use real steel. Just in case. And take all the protection we can for the meeting. I trusted him once and I was an idiot for that, this time I'm not going to give him the opportunity to stick a dagger in my heart""Luwin, we know something about the movements of the Boltons, what are they doing now?""I'm afraid not, my Lord," Luwin replied in a distressed voice."Well, we cannot do anything about the Boltons anymore, just wait and protect ourselves. Now, what will we do with the Night's Watch, Jon they come for you, you've already thought about what to do about the Great War? Everyone expects you to guide them""We must pass to the Free People south of the wall, that is primordial. We cannot let the Night King add a hundred thousand wildlings to his army. As soon as we finish with the Boltons, I'll go north of the wall to get them through the wall. I'm not sure how Lord Commander Mormont and Uncle Benjen will react to that but that is the right thing to do. Then we must find a way to get Robert and the Lannisters out of power so we can start preparing all the kingdoms for the winter""Jon are you sure we have to overthrow Robert?, he goes to Winterfell, maybe we could talk to him and explain the situation and he could-""No", Jon's voice was cold cutting his words instantly, "Robert is a lousy King, and he is not even the one who rules the Seven Kingdoms, that was Jon Arryn, that's why the realm has had a period of relative peace since the rebellion Robert only dedicates to whoring and drink while people like Petyr Baelish and Twyn and Cercei Lannister bleed the realm in secret. Now that Jon Arryn is dead the Lannister will soon take over the crown and Robert is too weak to do anything against them, not to mention that the Lannister will never ally with us to fight the Others, they will only go against us and it will be another problem to deal with as it happened in the past life. We must take care of them before winter comes. ""Jon you are asking me to go against my best friend, a man that I consider my brother""A man who would not hesitate to kill me if he discovered the truth about me, that's why you hid the truth for so long and took it to the grave"Ned sighed defeated, it was how he had thought it would be, he could not avoid the war against Robert. He almost laughs at the irony. He fought to get the Targaryens out of power and now he will fight to give them back the power."You're right, Jon. I will support you in this, I will be behind you at every moment"Jon just nodded his head"If we are going to go against the Baratheons and the Lannisters we need to make alliances with the south", Ned continued, this time a little more nervous looked at Robb, "And the best way to make alliances is with marriage""I had already been thinking about that, Father"Ned was a little surprised by that, "What have you thought, son?""The Reach is the second most powerful Kingdom of Westeros, they have the second largest army and produce more food than the others kindoms, that will be very useful during the winter, not to mention that they remained faithful to the Targaryen during the rebellion. That's why I've decided that I should marry Margaery Tyrell"Ned was very proud of his son at that moment, "That's exactly what I had thought, son. An alliance with the Reach would greatly benefit the North. We have already secured Riverlands for my marriage to Cat, if we manage to secure the Reach, it would be three of the 7 kingdoms. We need also to establish an alliance with the Valle, but with Lysa there I don’t know how possible that is""That will not be a problem in a short time"Everyone looked at Jon in surprise, "How do you know that?" Robb asked."A little bird told me"Ned already thought he knew what Jon was talking about, "What do you plan to do with her?" He asked cautiously."I?, nothing, she will simply responds for her crimes, I have nothing to do with that”Ned decided to ignore that for the moment, "Well, then without Lysa maybe we could make an alliance with the Valle, maybe a marriage between Arya and Robin, they are still young but we could wait until they come to age""Arya will never marry Robin," Jon said."Why do you say that?""Arya is in love with Gendry, one of Robert's bastards they got married in the past life and had two children"Ned was shocked by the revelation and was not the only one, "She did not tell us any of that," Robb said."No, she did not, I guess the loss is too much for her. The babies, Eddard and Cregan died shortly after birth, the Long Night is not the ideal time to have children, we learned that the hard way"A heavy silence flooded the room, Jon did not need to say, he could infer how Arya's children died, during the Long Night the temperatures were the casualties that Westeros had in thousands of years and the food was scarce. In these conditions children were the first to die. He cleared his throat before speaking again, "Then there will be no marriage for Arya, I guess she'll want to marry Gendry again?""It's the most probable""Then we will have to find another way to ally ourselves with the Valle""Maybe that's not a problem, the Valle fought with us to recover Winterfell, against Cersei and against the Others. Bran said that he returned the memories to the Lords and the knights of the Valle and to Robin Arryn, they remember how was the reign of Cersei and the Long Night. I'm sure they will join us""Okay, that's a problem less and an ally more""That would make four kingdoms against two""Five," Jon corrected"Five?, which is the fifth?""The iron islands""You can’t be serious", Robb sounded annoyed, "You can’t trust them""Yara Geyjoy is an ally, and maybe even a friend, after we rescued her from her uncle Euron she fought at our side. She and Dany made an agreement that would grant the iron islands independence and give Yara the salt throne, and that is an agreement that is still valid""Are you sure about that, Jon?""Aye""Fine, I'll trust you, but I'm not sure how the other Lords of the North will take it""They will have to endure it, just like they did in the past life""There is also the matter of Dorne, my Lords," interposed Luwin, Ned had almost forgotten that he was there"What is going on with them?""I doubt very much that they will join us, after what Rhaegar did to Elia, I do not think they are very willing to follow the son of the woman for whom Rhaegar left Elia," continued Luwin."Aye, but they will not go against us either. Twyn was the one who ordered the murder of Elia and my sister and brother, they would never ally with the Lannister. In the best case, they will remain neutral. Then I will take care of easing the tensions between us""Well, I think we have already covered everything we can do up to now. For now we can only wait for the banner’s arrive and prepare us to fight the Boltons. We can worry about everything else afterwards. I will send the proposal to Highgarden"With that, everyone prepared to leave the solar."Jon, I'd like to talk to you"Jon nodded and took a seat again. Robb gave him a strange look before leaving with Master Luwin and closing the door behind them. It was the first time they were alone since they returned.Jon's expression seemed carved in ice without revealing any emotion, but Ned knew his son too well. Jon was upset, although he tried to hide it, it was obvious, the fact that they had not talked about anything other than war-related issues and the Long Night was a good indication of that."Jon, I-""I know why you did what you did, I know you were trying to protect me. That does not mean I'm happy with that. ""Sorry," was all he could sayJon did not say anything, he was looking at the table distractedly reviewing the lines of the wood. Ned was very nervous, he always had a very good relationship with Jon but now he felt their relationship hanging on a thread. He had the impression that it was up to this conversation whether they could fix their relationship or not."Have you ever planned on telling me?" Jon's voice was soft, almost a whisper.His eyes looked directly at his. Ned could see the pain in those eyes so similar to his own. Although it would be painful for both of them, Ned decided to stop lying to Jon. He swallowed before he could speak, "No"Jon did not react as he thought he would, he imagined shouting and complaints, instead Jon simply nodded and stood up. "Permission to retire, my Lord. I'm a little tired", without waiting for an answer from him, he simply left the solar
BARRISTAN
"What do you want?" He snapped out as soon as the door closed behind them and they were left alone in the room. He didn’t know why Jaime Lannister had cited him here to talk but whatever it is the reason, he wanted to spend as less time as possible with him.Jaime was alarmed by something, his eyes widened and he brought his forefinger to his lips, "Lower your voice, we do not want the wrong person to realize that we are talking", Ser Jaime’s voice was hardly higher than a whisper," You know that in this castle the walls have ears"Barristan was now very confused and curious about the strange attitude of Ser Jaime, "And what could we talk about that the spies of Varys or Baelish cannot know?"Ser Jaime came closer to him and said in an even lower voice, "Targaryen"Barristan's blood froze. Ser Jaime remembered the past life? That would explain his change of attitude in the last week. The golden knight was no longer the arrogant and cynical man he despised so much, although it was still something arrogant was not as much as before, now it was more serious. His long golden hair was gone, now his hair was cut short and the haircut seemed to have removed some of the shine from his hair as it was now darker. His chin and cheeks always clean of facial hair now wore a light growing beard. He also seemed to be spending less time with the Queen. Yes, it was obvious that he remembered the past life. That could be a problem for him, he could know that he had served for Daenerys Targaryen in the past life, Ser Jaime could be here to apprehend him for treason. Barristan brought his hand to his sword ready to attack if it was necessary.Ser Jaime looked a little uncomfortable seeing his reaction, "Quiet, Ser Barristan, I'm not here for that, I also serve a Targaryen"Barristan got even more confused by those words, squeezed his hand on his sword. He was not willing to trust the kingslayer, "What do you mean by that?", This time he lowered his voice to the same level as Ser Jaime's voice.Ser Jaime's voice was so low that Barristan was having problems to listening to him, "In the past life I met the true born son of Rhaegar Targaryen", Barristan's heart caught in his throat, "The son he had with Lyanna Stark. Rhaegar annulled his marriage with Elia and married Lyanna in a secret ceremony in Dorne, his son lives and wants to regain the throne for the Targaryens, he and Daenerys were married in the past life"Barristan's heart began to beat harder and filled with hope. Could it be true? No, this is the kingslayer, he is not a man you can trust. "Who is he, where is he?"“Lyanna before dying made Lord Stark promise her he will protect her son”, Barristan's eyes widened. Now he was beginning to understand, "To keep him safe from Robert's rage Lord Stark lied and made he made him go through his bastard son, his name is Jon Snow""How do you know that, why do you tell me all this?", His voice was weak and broken even in his own ears."Because I know that you are loyal to the Targaryens and that you have never stopped being, I know that you hate Robert and that you would prefer to serve a Targaryen""How do you know that?", Referring, referring to the boy's existenceSer Jaime sighed and ran his hands through his short hair in a gesture of obvious nervousness, "For what happened in the past life", the kingslayer sighed and ran his hands over his face. Suddenly he looked very tired, almost exhausted, took several steps back he leaned against the wall looking at the ceiling, "Many things happened after your death, Barristan, things you could never imagine"The look in Ser Jaime's eyes was disturbing and full of fear and repentance, "After my son Joffrey died Tommen was crowned King, during his reign the Faith Militant reappeared and began to capture all those who they considered sinners, the city was in chaos, the people were terrified. Cersei hated Margaery Tyrell, Tommen's wife, so she gave all the power to the Militant Faith, who called themselves the sparrows-""Why are you telling me all this?" Interrupted Barristan, beginning to get irritated, "What does this have to do with Rhaegar's son?""Just listen, Barristan, you'll understand. After Cersei gave the power of faith to the sparrows they arrested Ser Loras Tyrell for sodomy and made a trial in which they also arrested Queen Margaery for hiding her brother's sins and for lying under oath. Tommen was devastated but Cersei was very pleased with herself thinking that she had got rid of Margaery, and then the sparrows seized her for practicing incest. When finally Cersei was able to leave her captivity they made her do the "walk of shame", where she had to walk naked from The Great Sept of Baelor to the Red Keep in front of all King's Landing. Despite being released, Cersei still had to face a trial. The day of her trial was also the trial of Ser Loras, it was in the Sept of Baelor and almost all the nobles were present that day, including my uncle Kevan, Mace Tyrell and Queen Margaery. Cersei had no intention of facing justice, so instead he exploded the Septo and everyone in it with wildfire"Barristan gasped, took two steps back, his mouth wide open in shock. He could not believe what he was hearing."I've always known that Cersei is a woman full of hate", Ser Jaime continued, his eyes unfocused without looking at anything at all, "But when I saw the big green cloud in the place where the Sept was supposed to be, I knew that she was crazy. Tommen committed suicide that same day as soon as he saw the explosion. He jumped from the window of his room, and you know what Cersei said when we were looking at his corpse?, "He was a traitor", a traitor for loving Margaery. Our relationship was not the same since then, now I could see clearly how crazy and evil she really is. Cersei was crowned Queen of the seven kingdoms. Then, Queen Daenerys and the King in the North, Jon, quoted Cersei to talk about an alliance. We met at Drangon Pit and when we were there the Queen and the King showed us a reanimated dead man, an Other"The disbelief had to show on his face because Ser Jaime looked at him with a small smile, "I know it sounds crazy, but the Others are real, Jon and Daenerys wanted Cersei to give her armies to fight the deads, which were more than hundred thousand. Cersei accepted and when we were alone she confessed that she did not plan to keep her word and that instead she would hire the golden company to destroy the armies of Jon and Daenerys. Knowing that Cersei is crazy and cruel and seeing the real threat that was looming I could not stay by his side, so I took all the food I could carry and a little gold and rode to the north only with my friend Bronn as a company”“The wall fell, the war against the dead was brutal, the Long Night returned. Winterfell was destroyed, King's Landing was destroyed, all Westeros was destroyed, Daenerys and her dragons died, Jon died. In the end we only stayed Bran Stark, Samwell Tarly, a savage named Tormund, a red priestess named Melisandre me and a little over a thousand soldiers. At that point the army of the dead must be more than a million, although there is no way to know. Bran and Melisandre performed a ritual, a sacrifice to go back in time, change things and be prepared for the Great War. This is how we are here back in the past, Bran made sure that only certain people remember, people who would help us in the war, and you are one of them".All that Ser Jaime had just told him seemed to come out of a horror story told to the children and probably was, but seeing the tormented expression in his eyes, thinking how much he had changed in the last week. Barristan was almost willing to believe his story."I know I'm not a reliable source of information, Ser Barristan, I know I've made a lot of mistakes in my life and I've done a lot of bad things, but I'm trying to make up my mistakes and become a man that I'm proud of. Serving Jon and Daenerys is the right thing, they will lead the war against the Others again and the rest of us must help them as best we can. I know you probably planned to go anyway to find Queen Daenerys. But I know how much you loved Prince Rhaegar and if you want to meet his son Ser Davos Seaworth will sail tomorrow at first light towards the North, you can go with him"Barristan didn’t know what to think about all this, Ser Jaime looked sincere but too many years distrusting the man were difficult to erase."Ser Davos is an honest man, you can ask him all your doubts. Now we must leave before someone realizes we are missing, we have been here too long, Davos will wait for you in the dungeons where the skulls of the dragons are an hour before dawn, if you are not there at that time he will go north without you""Davos is one of most loyal men to Stannis, why would he follow another man now?"Jaime sighed tiredly, "Now there's no time to explain that, Davos will tell you everything on the way to the North, I can only tell you that it's because of something Stannis did in the past life, I'll go now, wait a few minutes before leaving, nobody can know that we meet here, they could begin to suspect"And then Ser Jaime had left leaving Barristan alone with his thoughts. A son of Rhaegar?, Was that possible?. Ser Jaime's story made sense if he thought it over. It had always been strange to him that Lord Eddard, being such an honorable man, broke his vows to his wife and father a bastard, not to mention the mystery of the boy's mother, is the best kept secret of the seven kingdoms If he thought about it, it made sense that Jon Snow was actually the nephew Lord Stark swore to protect. There was a good chance that this was true, but he needed a reliable source to confirm it. Not Ser Jaime, not Ser Davos. He needed to speak in person with Lord Eddard. He also needed to speak in person with Bran Stark and corroborate the story of terror that Ser Jaime told him.Ser Barristan did not need to think about it anymore, that same night he took his things and waited in the dragon vaults for Ser Davos, who, as Ser Jaime said, appeared an hour before dawn. Davos led him through a series of secret passages until they reached a beach where a small boat was stuck. They rowed to Ser Davos's ship. Before boarding Barristan he looked at the Red Keep for the last time, he promised himself that this time he would return alive to that castle and would do so with a Targaryen. He was really hoping that Ser Jaime's words were true and that this boy was really the son of Prince Rhaegar.Upon boarding Barristan saw that in addition to the ship's company there were other passengers. A boy of about six and ten who was a replica of King Robert when he was young, a girl whose face was scarred by the grayscale, who could not be anyone other than Stannis Baratheon's daughter, Lady Arryn with young Robin Arryn, and the Hound. This was going to be an interesting trip.
VARYS
The dawn in King's Landing is always something worth seeing, it was one of the few things he liked about the city. The sun rising from the east cast a golden light on the red roofs and the Red Keep giving the city a bronze glow for a few minutes each day. Varys was standing on one of the balconies of the red fortress enjoying the sunrise as he watched the Black Betha disappear into the Blackwater bay. When the ship finally disappeared from sight the master of the whispers prepared to do what he does best, whisper.He walked directly to the King's chambers. Ser Arys Oakheart and Ser Boros Blount were in charge of taking care of the King during the night. Ser Boros took a step forward when he approached blocking his way."What do you want, Lord Varys?" The knight's voice was falsely respectful and did nothing to hide the contempt in his eyes.Varys inclined respectfully to the knight of the King's Guard and then spoke in his best voice of innocence, "I have something very important to tell to His Grace""Whatever it is will have to wait," answered Ser Boros, "The King does not like to wake up so early in the morning""What I have to say cannot wait and His Grace will want to hear it as soon as possible, if I wait until later the King will be upset with me for not telling him as soon as I found out and I will have to tell His Grace that Ser Boros Blount prohibited me from entering his chambers to tell him"Ser Boros grunted with annoyance and turned to enter the room and wake the King. Minutes later, two whores left the room, both in different states of undress, a very big-breasted blonde who was about five and twenty years old and a very thin brunette who should not have been more than six and ten years old. A moment later Ser Boros came out and told him he could go in to see the King.Once inside the King's contributions he could see Robert sitting on his bed with a glass of wine in his hand. He had no shirt and only wore his small clothes and a golden coat that did nothing to hide his great belly. Varys bowed deeply as he entered. "Your Grace""Tell me you woke me up at this imprudent hour for a bloody good reason or I'll have you sewn a balls and then cut it off myself", Robert's face was red with fury and his eyes were still small from sleep"I assure you, Your Grace, what I have to tell you is very important, you should have known immediately""Speak now, Eunuch! Do not waste my time""My little birds have sung me a song this morning, something I had suspected and had sent to investigate""Just say it once!""Jon Arryn was murdered""What?!", the King got up so hurriedly from his bed that the wine spilled from the cup spreading all over his chest and belly, "By whom?! I'll put the bastard's head on a pike!""Lord Baelish and Lysa Arryn"All fury left King Robert upon hearing those words and was replaced by confusion, "Why would a woman kill her own husband?""My theory is that both wanted to get rid of Lord Arryn to marry and rule the Valle"The fury returned to invade the King and with a shout that made the walls shake, he declared, "I will kill them both!... Ser Boros, Ser Arys! Come here, you damn idiots!"Both guards rushed to enter the King's chambers, "Your Grace," they said at the same time as they bowed."Bring me Baelish and Lysa Arryn immediately!”An hour later, everyone was gathered in the throne room. The nobles of the court were in the audience waiting for a show, the Queen and her children were sitting on the right side of Robert a few steps below the throne and the King was sitting on the iron throne, this time already bathed and dressed appropriately and with his heavy gold crown on his head."Pass the first accused," Robert's voice rumbled on the walls of the roomThe heavy doors opened and Ser Boros and Ser Arys came in, dragging a very confused Petyr Baelish who was still in his small clothes, they obviously took him out of the bed where he was still sleeping and dragged him to the trial. Baelish had his hands tied behind his back and his feet had huge chains that prevented him from walking normally, when the Kings Guards threw him on the edge of the stairs of the throne Baelish slammed face down on the ground. The whole court laughed, the Queen and the Prince Joffrey among them. Robert remained serious and impassive, "Lord Baelish," his voice denoting contempt."Your Grace, I ... I don’t understand what's happening," Varys was surprised, it was the first time he saw Baelish being surprised by something, he usually knew what was happening before it even happened. Varys rejoiced in the idea that this time he was smarter than Littlefinger."You are accused of treason and-""Treason?!, Your Grace, I would never do anything against you or the crown""Do not interrupt your King as he speaks," Ser Meryn Trant hit Littlefinger for his indiscretion.Robert, annoyed, pressed the armrests of the throne so hard that his knuckles turned white, "and murder", Robert paused for a moment for his words to have a greater impact, Littlefinger looked increasingly anxious. "You murdered Jon Arryn, The Hand of the King!", The entire court let out a sigh of surprise and outrage. Baelish's face turned white as a ghost."Your Grace, how can you think that I- uff!", Ser Meryn hit him again, Varys suspected that this time it was for the sheer pleasure of doing it"You bought poison from a Lys merchant and gave it to Lysa Arryn so she could give it to her husband, the poison made us all think that he died of fever but it was really you and Lysa who murdered him for take over the rule of the Valle!"Despite what Varys believed, Littlefinger looked confident and positive, "You cannot prove I did it"At that Robert grinned superb, "Pass the first witness"Ser Mandon Moore escorted a boy of about two and ten years old from a side door to the middle of the hallway and right in front of the throne stairs and next to Littlefinger, who had lost all the color of his face again. The boy was too small and thin for his age, his hair was too long and his clothes were dirty and threadbare, he was noticeably nervous and could not stop looking at his feet."What's your name boy?" Asked the King"Elric, Your Grace""Do you recognize this man, Elric?"Elric, without raising his head to look at the King, turned to his right where Littlefinger still knelt, "Aye, Your Grace""How do you know him?""He gives me gold for doing things for him""What kind of things? Explain to everyone what Lord Petyr Baelish asked you to do", the nobles of the court were now very attentive to what the shy boy was going to say"Listen to conversations, especially. Follow people, nobles that he wants to keep an eye on. Sometimes if I do my job well, he also gives me some food. It also makes me send and receive letters, steal things, sneak into noble houses..."At the words of the boy the court was furious, Varys imagined that they would be outraged to have been spied by Littlefinger"He also makes you go to the dock to buy poison from a merchant?" The boy nodded, still not looking at the King, "Would you recognize the merchant if you saw him?""Aye, Your Grace""Bring the second witness"This time it was Ser Preston Greenfield who escorted the witness, he was a rather older man, plump and a bit short, bald but had a long beard dyed blue. The merchant stood next to the boy."This is the merchant, Elric?""Aye, Your Grace""And you admit to having bought poison from this man?""Aye, Your Grace"Robert turned his attention to the merchant, "You, what's your name?""Malio Nahelar, Your Grace""You sold poison to this boy?""I did it, Your Grace""Then both are accomplices in murder, I will have both of your heads!"Both the boy and the merchant began begging for mercy and making sure they had no idea what Littlefinger was planning to do, but Robert ignored them, focusing his attention on Littlefinger again, "I, Robert of House Baratheon, First of My Name, King of the Andals and the Rhoynar and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm, condemn you to die for the murder of the Hand of the King and treason against the crown. Ser Ilyn, bring me their heads!"Your Grace!, I've always been loyal to you!", Ser Boros and Ser Arys tipped Littlefinger's body as it writhed in a futile attempt to escape, "I did not kill Jon Arryn! It was Lysa, she did it, I tried to convince her but she's crazy and she did not listen to me, she-"His words were cut abruptly when the sword of Ser Ilyn Payne, the infamous executioner of the Red Keep, separated his head from his body. Littlefinger's head rolled on the bloody floor of the throne room, his face paralyzed in an expression of anguish and terror. The boy cried terrified now writhing in Ser Mandon's grip, his screams filled the room as he watched Baelish's head roll and his body fall with a thud when Ser Boros and Ser Arys released him to hold the merchant who was turning difficult to control. It was difficult but in the end the Kings Guards managed to subdue Malio Nahelar so that Ser Ilyn Payne also took his head and finally also took the boy's. Varys sighed resignedly trying to stop the guilt he felt for having led to death a child so small. Innocent children were always the ones who ended up paying the mistakes of others.Several red cloaks came to take the heads and bodies off of the room. The room had been in a spectral silence, nobody dared to move or say a word after what they had witnessed."Bring the next accused, this is far from end," announced the King. No Kings Guard moved, all looking at each other uneasily, "Well, what are you waiting for idiots, winter?, bring Lysa Arryn now!""Hey, Your Grace," Boros said remarkably nervous, "We couldn’t find her""How could you not find her?""We search the whole Keep, Your Grace. She is not here""It is probable that she has fled," said Ser Preston"Ser Janos!"The Commander of the City Watch approached the throne and bowed respectfully, "Your Grace?""Check the city, every house, every shop, every port and every ship and bring me that woman's head, I want her dead!""This will be done, Your Grace," Ser Janos replied with a reverenceAnd so it was done, the golden cloaks were reviewing the city all day without getting any results. The King was furious, strolling furiously through the camera of the small council he had deigned to attend only to await news of the capture of Lysa."Only accepts that she fled", said the Queen, as irritated as everyone by the effusive behavior of the King."Shut up woman!. This is not a place for you to give your opinions! "The Queen's face sourned in disgust and she took a very large sip of wine but said nothing more. "Ser Janos, I want you to spend days and nights searching the city if it's necessary, close the ports, the city gates, nobody comes in and nobody comes out!""But, Your Grace", spoke Ser Arys, "You cannot close the doors of the city, we go in three days to Winterfell""Idiot!", King Robert exploded in anger against knight, "the doors will open when we go out and then close again!""Still, Your Grace, you have to admit that it's very likely that Lady Arryn is no longer in the city", said Ser Jaime who had witnessed the whole affair with an expression of exasperationRobert growled annoyed, as he walked hysterically around the room again, "Grand Maester Pycelle, send a letter to each noble house in Westeros informing the betrayal of Petyr Baelish and Lysa Arryn and about Lysa's flee, say that anyone who knows the whereabouts of the woman and not warning the crown will be executed for treason!. Lord Varys, send your birds to fly, look for Lysa and find her, I want the head of that woman!"Both, Grand Maester Pycelle and he bowed respectfully and left the room to carry out the orders. When he left the room he heard Lord Renly asking for Ser Barristan and saying that no one had seen him in all day, the King threw another shout of annoyance and the following words were lost in his ears.When the day was coming to an end and the night was coming to King's Landing Varys was standing on a balcony of the Red Kepp seeing the heads of Pyter Baelish, Elric and Malio Nahelar on some pikes adorning the walls for everyone to see. He was deeply sorry for the child, he did not deserve to die, but some collateral damage must be done in order to reach an even greater goal. When the sun finally hid in the west and the moon began to rise in the sky Varys went in search of his little birds, he had a song that needed to be sung in the North. He had to inform his King that everything had gone according to plan.
JON
The moon was already high in the sky and Jon was still in the Wolfswood. He had spent most of the day there. He needed a break from everything and everyone, although he was happy to be back home and with his family, it was also very overwhelming. There is Lady Catelyn with her strange behavior towards him, Bran and his even stranger behavior that he could never get used to since they were reunited when he returned from Dragonstone, Arya and her now melancholic and serious behavior, although he was glad to see her trying to teach archery to Sansa, it was the only time on the day that Arya honestly smiled. The memories of the past life returned to torment him every minute, the looks of the servants, the glances of his father. It was too much. But here, being outside, he felt peaceful.He had taken Ghost out for a walk, the direwolf did not like being locked up so he thought it would be nice for him to let him be free. So he, his pup and his guards, who had been accompanying him for the last few days on his father's orders, left Winterfell shortly after noon and they went into the Wolfswood, and now it was close to midnight and he was still there. He also didn’t intend to move anywhere. Even though he should, surely someone was worried about him, like Arya or Robb. And Father.He had taken advantage of the time alone (or almost alone, his guards were only a couple of steps away) to work his bond with Ghost. Even though he and Ghost had only a few days together, he could already feel his bond begin to form in the back of his mind. In the past life they had shared a very close bond, to the point where Jon could feel how far Ghost was from him, sometimes he could even smell and taste what Ghost was sniffing and tasting at that very moment. And also sometimes in dreams Jon could enter into Ghost's mind and see, hear, feel and even know what he was thinking. But all those things happened involuntarily, by the time he realized what his bond really meant it was too late and Jon did not have time to explore it as much as he could have, but now that he had puppy Ghost again he could work on it from the beginning.Orell had told him to let the animal in, not force its way, to simply let it pass. Jon did not know exactly what that meant but he closed his eyes and concentrated on their incipient bond, there in the back of his mind where he could feel the slightest hint of Ghost's presence. It took time but he could finally begin to feel Ghost inside his mind and in turn he could feel himself inside Ghost's mind. It was magical and Jon loved it. He was like this all day, concentrating on the Ghost's presence inside his mind. But as soon as he stopped concentrating and opened his eyes he stopped feeling Ghost and he felt lost.This time, it was the steps of his guards that distracted him. He had spent some time sitting in the root of a tree while Ghost was walking and playing a little away from there when one of his guards approached him, his voice was a little exalted, "We hear footsteps, milord. Someone comes"His guards, Toby and Marc, drew their swords and prepared to defend him if necessary. It was not known who came or with what intentions, it was better to be prepared. Jon stood up and reached for his sword that was leaning against the tree and unsheathed it. It was strange to have another sword, he had used Longclaw for so long that using another sword felt wrong. Not that this was a bad sword, it was an impressive sword, Mikken had done a magnificent job, but it was not Longclaw. Jon restrained himself. Longclaw was in the past life, this was another life and he had to start to get the idea that this time he would not have Longclaw with him.Ghost came jumping towards him and Jon stroked his fur before turning to the approaching footsteps. There were a dozen men on horseback with torches to light the way and banners announcing their identity. Jon relaxed when he recognized House Stark's sigil, kept his swords and his guards did the same. Moments later Jory Cassel appeared in the clearing next to his men."Jon, we've been looking for you for hours", said the Captain of the household guard of House Stark. "Your father sent all the guard to look for you"Jon shrugged nonchalantly, "I've been here all the time, with Toby and Marc, there was nothing to worry about""Aye, but your father didn’t know that. Just get on your horse and return to Winterfell, it's too late"Jon did as he was told and looked for his horse that was tied not far from there. They all returned to Winterfell except for Jory, who went to look for the rest of the guard to tell them he had been found.As soon as he reached Winterfell he realized how hungry he was so he went to the kitchens and filled a plate with bread, cheese, fruit, a kidney pie and a jug of wine and went to his room. He had to give half of the cake to Ghost. When he was close to finishing his meal his door burst open surprising him and Ghost. For a moment he thought it would be Father who came to scold him for disappearing all day but they were only Arya, Sansa and Robb. Jon ignored the twinge of disappointment he felt and smiled at his brothers."Where were you all day? We were worried about you," Sansa said as she took a seat on the bed next to him and stole a grape from his plate, Jon pushed the plate out of reach of his sister thief of food."I just took Ghost for a walk, I guess I just didn’t realize we had spent so much time outside""You are a terrible liar," said AryaEveryone looked at him expectantly, hoping he would give more explanations about his disappearance. Jon rolled his eyes, his siblings were impossible. "I just needed time alone. It's everything. Sometimes everything is too overwhelming""You mean we are overwhelming?", Robb asked with a mischievous smile on his face"Aye"All his siblings let out sounds of feigned indignation and threw pillows at his face, the fun and laughter lasted little but ended with his plate of food on the floor and Ghost did not miss the opportunity to eat everything. Yes, his siblings were a little overwhelming but Jon wouldn’t change moments like these for nothing, even if it meant losing his food. It felt like they were children again, with no worries and nothing to torment them, but the truth was that they were not children anymore and there were many things to worry about. Like this, for example."When we broke our fast one of Varys's little birds told me there were riots in the Dreadfort," at the allude of the Boltons they all tensed, "Apparently there was a fight between Roose and Ramsay and Ramsay managed to escape"Robb let out a curse under his breath but Sansa was as tense as a harp string. She was the one who suffered the most at the hands of Ramsay. "We can’t let him be free," she said."No, we can’t""What are we going to do?" Asked Robb"For now nothing, we don’t know where he is. I'll put Varys's little birds to investigate. We must also warn the crannogmen if someone with Ramsay's characteristics tries to cross the Neck should be captured immediately"They all nodded in agreement, "What will we do with him when he is captured?" Arya asked, the glint in her eyes indicating that she wanted revenge for what Ramsay did to her family."We'll think about that", was all Jon said, "But I will not let him hurt this family or anyone else again"Everyone nodded in agreement. Ramsay Snow was a plague that needed to be eliminated.The next day Varys's little birds brought him another news, Petyr Baelish was out of the game. That news would make his siblings very happy. Jon was touring Winterfell looking for them when he met Father, discomfort reigning the place in a matter of seconds. Jon had not yet forgiven father for lying to him all his life, even though he knew he did it to protect him he could not help but be upset with him. He knew that to some point he was being unreasonable but he couldn’t help it. He grew up believing himself an outcast, believing to be an error in the world, grew up with the hatred of Lady Stark for being living proof of her husband's sins. He grew up with the whispers and looks of contempt of everyone, he grew up thinking that he was less than everyone else, that he had no place in this world. It was not easy to forget that, he thought he had done it but now that he was here back in Winterfell with his father he realized he had not done it. And it was too easy to redirect all that resentment towards Lord Stark.He quickly bowed to the Lord of Winterfell and prepared to leave to put as much distance as possible between them. But of course, that was not going to be possible."Jon, in fact I was looking for you", father's voice sounded nervous and hesitant, something completely strange in him. Jon raised an eyebrow in his direction with an interrogative look, "I have something to show you, if you could follow me, please"Jon nodded and followed Father to the crypts, it seemed a little strange that he wanted to take him there but then he thought that he probably wanted them to visit his mother's grave. He was not wrong, not quite at least.They both stood in front of the statue of his dead mother. Jon had come here many times since he discovered the truth, remembered especially the last time he had come here in the past life. Something he didn’t know how to identify prompted him to tell the story to Father."I came down here just before the first battle against the deads. The sun had already set and at that moment I didn’t know that I would never see it again, not in that life at least. The deads were already in sight, it was only a matter of time before hell explodes. I knew that would be the last time I would be here so I went down and paid my respects. Upon leaving, I set fire all over the place to prevent the buried dead from being reanimated"A comfortable silence fell between them, they both stayed there just enjoying the moment. This was undoubtedly the most intimate moment they had shared since their return, since that day they both separated in the Kingsroad and Father made a promise that he couldn’t accomplish.Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Father sighed and bent down to open his mother's grave. Jon frowned in surprise as he watched Father rummage inside the grave until he pulled out a small coffer that in spite of the deteriorated and old that was for spending so much time there enclosed it still conserved something of brightness. It was unquestionably a coffer of the highest quality. The coffer was small, not much larger than Father's two hands, who held him very carefully near his chest."You are right that I should have told you the truth but the truth is that I was afraid. Fear of putting you in danger, not only you, but also the rest of my family. But above all I was afraid that you would hate me and that you would stop considering me a father, it may sound stupid but I was afraid of losing you""You are my father," he heard himself say, he had not even been aware that he had begun to speak, "I may be upset with you but you are my father, nothing is going to change that"Maybe it was just his imagination or a trick of light, but Jon would swear he saw tears in his father's eyes. Lord Stark cleared his throat before continuing. "Now that we all have a second chance to do the things right, I thought I should give you this," father handed him the coffer with great care, "It was at the Tower of Joy where I found you"Seeing it better Jon realized that the coffer was black with red flashes that shone when it gave light, in the corners there were details of silver with dragon scales and the brooch to open it was the three-headed dragon of House Targaryen. Jon knew immediately who belonged to. Jon's heart was filled with a strange warmth, he had never had anything from him, for a long time he was just an abstract figure in his mind and in history, Robert had destroyed everything about the Targaryen so he never had anything tangible in his hands to prove that this man once existed."It belonged to Rhaegar, or at least I assume," said FatherJon opened the coffer separating the three heads of the dragon. Inside there were several parchments, some jewels and other little things. He could have taken it and simply left to check its contents in the privacy of his chambers but instead he sat on the floor next to father and started taking out the things inside. Jon was comfortably leaning his back on his mother's statue with his legs stretched out in front of him and Father was in a very similar position but leaning against the statue of Lord Rickard. He took the scrolls first, there were six of them and they were surprisingly well preserved, Jon was able to handle them without fear of getting undone in his hands."Two of those scrolls are very important," his father spoke, drawing his attention back to him, "One is the annulment of Rhaegar's marriage to Elia Martell, and the other is your parents' marriage certificate, both signed by High Septon Maynard ", Jon was surprised by that," That will prove your legitimacy, it will make things easier""Sam is already on his way to Oldtown in search of the High Septon Maynard diary, he wrote there that he annulled Rhaergar's marriage to Elia and then married him to my mother. Bran told me. We were going to prove my legitimacy with that, but this is much better. Thank you"Jon meant it, his father smiled at him and encouraged him to keep looking at the contents of the coffer. The other letters were not important, but they had an emotional value for him. It was poetry that Rhaegar had written to his mother and one of them was written for him. Jon had to fight against tears when he read the letter. Reading those words of love meant more to him than he ever thought. He put the cards aside not wanting to cry in front of his father and kept seeing the rest. There was a small pearl ring that probably belonged to his mother, Jon told himself that if he ever had a daughter he would give it to her to wear it. There was a silver brooch with two Direwolf heads, a handful of withered petals of winter roses that surprisingly still retained some of their scent, a feather that must have been the one with which Rhaegar wrote the letters, was a very beautiful feather and like everything else was very well preserved despite the time, Jon decided that if possible he would use it from now on.But most impressive of all was a three-headed dragon brooch, it was made with dragonglass and had fine rubies embedded to give shape to the eyes of the dragon, inside the brooch had a small silver plaque with the words Fire and Blood. The brooch was a work of art, the dragon was magnificently worked, every little detail was there."That brooch Rhaegar used to use it to hold his cloak, a red silk cloak that he wore over his armor"Jon had no words, this meeting with father had brought too many emotions. Carefully he put everything back in the strongbox. He decided to take the letters and the feather to Master Luwin to restore them as well as possible. He stood up and brushed the dust off his clothes, Father did the same."Thank you for giving me this, Father, it really means a lot to me"Father nodded and gave him a small smile, "As I said, this is my second chance to do the things right and I wanted to take advantage of it"Suddenly Jon wanted to ask Father something, but he stopped himself before he could say the first syllable. The question would most likely start a discussion between them and this moment they had shared was one of the sweetest and most intimate they ever had. In both lives. He didn’t want to ruin it, everything had been too perfect. He wanted to keep this moment in his heart and keep it there. There would be another time, he decided. I could argue with Father any other day, but today, right now, he wanted it to remain perfect.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
SHEEREN
White Harbor was beautiful. She had never seen such a beautiful city. Although she had never seen many cities before, White Harbor was beautiful anyway. The first time he came to the North, in the other life, didn’tstop at White Harbor but continued right up to Eastwatch-by-the-sea. She did not live long after that. With a nod Sheeren pushed those thoughts aside. There was no reason to keep thinking about that. This was a new life and this time she was not going to be controlled by her crazy parents and fanatics of the god of fire and that horrible red woman.Sheeren had been very happy when she left the island where she lived most of her life, an island she didn’t really know because she had been locked in a tower all the time. Now, here, far from the follies of his parents Sheeren feels free for the first time in his life.When she woke up in her chambers in the tower she did it screaming and crying because of the pain of the fire. It took her a while to realize that she was not burning, that she had no burn on her body and where she really was. She didn’t understand how she got there but didn’t have time to think in that when her mother came crying into her chambers and hugged her so hard that it almost stopped her from breathing. Her mother begged forgiveness and swore she would never let that happen again. Sheeren didn’t know how she ended up being in Dragonstone when only a few moments ago she was being burned alive by her parents in the North but for whatever reason she didn’t want to have anything to do with this woman. She fought as best she could and finally managed to get her out of her chambers and locked herself there for almost two whole days until Ser Davos had gone to rescue her. Sheeren didn’t ask where he was taking her or why he was taking her, she was just grateful to leave that horrible place and those horrible people.She had been so sad the first few days, crying all the time and refusing to eat. Davos was always there to keep her company, to comfort her when she woke up screaming from a nightmare. He was more of a father to her than Stannis ever was. It was difficult, but with the new passengers who picked up at King's Landing, Sheeren's spirits had increased. Her cousin had helped. It was wonderful to meet him. She had never had cousins before and Gendry was great. Robin Arryn was also great, although his mother didn’tso much, she always shouted when she and Robin played, saying that she was going to contaminate her son but he didn’t pay attention to his mother and kept playing with her. That's why he was great. She was very sad when he left once they arrived in Gulltown, she begged Davos to not let Robin leave, she would have no one to play with but he assured her that Robin had to leave, that he had a duty to fulfill, he was the Lord of the Valle now. Davos also assured her that once they reached Winterfell she would have more friends to play with. Robin told her that she could visit him on the Eyrie whenever she wanted to.Once Robin was gone she sought company with the other passengers. She and Sandor had a connection, both were marked in the face with a horrible scar, she felt that he was the only person in the world who really understood her and she also believed that was the reason why he tolerated her, he is a surly and rude man, he is not the type of man who likes to have a girl hanging from his sleeve and pressing him to play games, but he did it anyway, he played with dolls with her and let her make him braids in the hair. He was great too. On the other hand, the old knight of the Kingsguard was a living legend. Sheeren loves to sit with him and listen to him tell her stories. None of them understood exactly how they were all alive again in the past when everyone remembered having died but Davos said that once they got to Winterfell they would get the answers they needed.Davos told her everything about what happened after she died. About the Lord Commander Snow being betrayed and killed by his own brothers and the red woman bringing him back to life. About him being crowned King in the North, meeting the Dragon Queen, marrying her and how they both been named King and Queen of the Seven Kingdoms even though Cersei Lannister was the real Queen. Davos also told her that Lord Commander Snow is actually a Targaryen prince. Sheeren was surprised to hear all this about the sullen, serious boy she knew as Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. He sounded like an admirable man. Sheeren could not wait to meet him again."Impatient to get there, Lady Sheeren?" The old knight interrupted his thoughts as he stood by his side to see White Harbor approaching closer and closer."Aye, I've been on this ship a long time, I'm dying to get out of here""I hope I have not been boring you with my stories," said Ser Barristan with a kind smile on his face. Sheeren smiled back."Not at all, Ser Barristan, I always like to hear your stories, have you ever been in the North, can you tell me a story from the North?""I've never been in the north, my Lady, you won me this time, maybe you should tell me a story this from the North”Sheeren was instantly excited. She never thought there would be anything in which she would surpass the old knight. Immediately she launched into a long and detailed description of what she had seen from the North. The landscape, the weather, the Wall and Castle Black. Lord Commander Snow and Sam and Gilly. Barristan listened with a smile on his face the whole story, he did not complain once about being wasting time with a stupid and damaged girl and Sheeren loved him more for that. She added some invented details to her story to make it longer and spend more time with Ser Barristan until they disembarked at White Harbor.
ROBB
A good way to calm his anxiety was fighting, concentrate his energy on beating his opponent. Jon was formidable fighting, Robb was struggling to keep his brother in line. He could hear the cheers of Rickon and his sisters in the distance. Robb liked to think that they were supporting him but they were actually supporting Jon. He was the one who was winning after all. Jon moved to the right to attack and Robb took advantage of the neglect on his left flank to attack him only to discover that it was a trick and receive the blow of Jon's sword in the stomach. Robb fell flat on the floor, his hand rubbing his stomach. Rickon's laughter was heard all over Winterfell.Jon approached him and held out his hand to help him up, he had a funny look on his face, "Have you had enough, Stark?"Robb growled as he brushed the dust off his clothes, this was the fourth time Robb had finished with his butt on the floor, "Someday, Snow, someday I'll put your ass on the ground"Jon just laughed as he kept his practice sword. Rickon and Sansa approached Ser Rodrick and he was explaining the basics of sword fighting. Sansa was finally beginning to master the archery, Rickon was the best archer he had ever seen and was also very good with the spear but it was terrible with a sword, there are not many places to learn to fight with swords in the forest. This day Rickon and Sansa would begin their formal training with swords. Rickon was excited, Sansa not so much. A look at the wooden walkways confirmed what he already knew, his Lady Mother was there, hard eyes focused on Sansa. She was totally against Sansa learning to fight but Sansa was not listening, it is necessary, she said, I need to be able to defend myself and those who I love. Obviously in the past life Sansa had not been able to do such thing, Robb was glad that his little sister was willing to change things this time but their mother was stubborn as a mule.Focusing his attention back on his brothers saw Rickon and Sansa give their first movements with the sword. They were slow and clumsy, they did not have the grip or the proper posture but with time and training that would improve.They spent the rest of the morning on that until well past noon. Jon and Rodrick and he teaching Rickon and Sansa. Arya was sitting quietly under the wooden walkways looking at them. Bran was nowhere to be seen, though that was not strange. The blow of a horn caught everyone's attention."Someone is approaching, Unknown!", He heard a guard shout from the battlements.Immediately all the guards took out their weapons in the event of a hostile visitor. The archers were ready on the battlements and a small party was preparing to fight if necessary. Jon and Robb went up to the battlements to see who was approaching, father suddenly appeared at his side. They were three people, without horses without banners. They wore thick, brown skins. Robb had no idea who they could be. But Jon does, apparently."Okay, lower your weapons, they are not hostile"Everyone looked at him with confusion, probably wondering how he knows those people. Then they looked to their Lord Father for guidance. He only under his head telling them to follow Jon's command. The guards lowered their weapons and everyone waited in tense silence for the three people to arrive at Winterfell. When they were close enough the doors opened. When the three people entered Jon, Father and he were in the courtyard with everyone else, Bran was missing, as always. They were two women and a very strong man. When he saw them more closely he knew what they were. Wildlings. He also recognized them, they were the wildlings who had attacked Bran in the past. Instinctively his hand went down to his sword when a scream cut the tense atmosphere."Osha!", Rickon ran from where he was standing next to Sansa and Mother and ran towards one of the wildlings woman. Mother tried to stop him but she couldn’t. Rickon lunged at Osha almost knocking her to the ground.Robb relaxed instantly, remembering that it was Osha who kept Rickon safe all those years they were in exile. Osha was crying, tears were running down her dirty face and she hugged her little brother tightly while whispering something in his ear. His mother of course was the one who had to ruin the emotional reunion. With a strong yank on Rickon's arm he pulled him away from the woman admonishment him for his savage behavior. Robb rolled his eyes."Leave it, Cat", he hear father's voiceMother looked confused at Father and Rickon took that moment to jump back to Osha. "I missed you so much, Osha!"Osha smiled fondly and crouched on the floor to be on the same level as Rickon and ran her hand through his hair. Her eyes showed so much love and affection for his little brother, "I miss you too, little Lord." Shaggydog appeared running from somewhere and launched himself at Osha as well. He licked her whole face while his tail moved wildly with emotion. "And I missed you too", Osha said as he caressed Shaggydog. Then he stood up to look at everyone gathered in the courtyard.By now they had all realized that the people who passed through the doors were wildlings. They were looking at them with hatred and contempt and for a moment Robb could understand how this woman was able to care for and protect Rickon for so long. She was a strong woman. She stood in front of everyone with her spine straight and her chin up. Her right hand rests protectively on Rickon's shoulder. Her eyes challenged everyone to try something against her. Even Mother did not try anything else to try to get Rickon away from her. Rickon seemed oblivious to all the tension and started jumping with emotion, took Osha's hand and dragged her to where they were."This is my father, Osha!" Rickon was exuberant with emotion. Since they had returned, he had not seen his little brother smile that way. Robb was glad that this woman arrived. "And they're my brothers, this Robb, you sure remember him, and he's Jon!"Osha bowed to them respectfully. Robb inclined his head towards her. Father stepped forward and took her hand. "In the name of my family, I thank you for taking care of my son, you will have my eternal gratitude for that and the doors of Winterfell will always be open for you, whatever you need just tell me or one of my sons or daughters and we will help you in what we can""Thank you very much, my Lord, I came here as soon as I woke up with memories of another life, I do not know what caused it but something told me that I had to be here". Her eyes fell back on Rickon and she smiled him tenderly. "I also came with my friends", this time when she spoke she looked at him, "I know that in the past we had problems but I hoped that they could receive them too""Of course, you and they will have a home here in Winterfell, everyone will be given food, a warm bed to sleep in and a job to earn their own gold. I only ask you one thing, Osha, I trust you, but not them. Make sure they do not cause any problems, please""I will take care of that, my Lord."Robb had the impression that Father was going to say something else but Rickon took Osha's hand and started dragging her around the courtyard."You have to see Bran too, he'll be happy you're here. Bran! Bran!"If Bran had been in King's Landing Robb was sure he could still hear Rickon's screams calling him anyway. Once the show was over everyone went back to doing what they were doing. A place was sought for the new inhabitants of the castle and they were given clothes, food and a bath was prepared for them.The day passed without more unexpected arrivals. The next day the banners would start arriving and everyone in Winterfell was preparing the castle to receive them. Nerves invaded him again when he thought about that. The Glovers would be the first to arrive. The Manderly were expected to arrive during the week, and the Umbers as well.That night, Jon, his father and even Sansa met again at Father's solar to continue discussing what they would do with Smalljon Umber. They had not yet reached any conclusion. Sansa wanted to kill him. His father refused. Jon wanted to send him to the Wall, he agreed that this was the best option. Sansa refuted saying that it was a punishment too weak for causing the death of her little brother. Jon said being on the Watch wasn’t easy. In the end they could never reach an agreement. The meeting ended again without knowing what to do with him.The Forresters, Tallhart and Cerwyn also arrived with the Glovers. The different blazons waving in the wind as the procession approached Winterfell. Robb felt like he was about to throw up. He was not ready for this. How would he look all those people in the eyes when he is the reason for their deaths? He and his mistakes. A moon was not enough to gather the courage to face this situation, no time would ever be enough.His family was gathered in the courtyard waiting for the entrance of the northerners Lords. Even Jon was there with them and not hidden among the servants in the back as he would have been in the past life. Only he who was standing on the battlements of the castle was missing. When the doors opened he came down and joined his family. Father looked at him out of the corner of his eye and gave him a look of disgust. Robb ignored him.The brothers Galbart and Robertt Glover were the first to enter, followed by Ser Helman Tallhart, Lord Willem Forrester and Lord Medger Cerwyn and his son Cley Cerwyn. Everyone got off their horses and bowed to their father. When they got up they all looked really confused. They looked between Father, Jon and him without knowing what to do. Galbart looked at his brother every few seconds as if asking for guidance. Robertt was looking between Jon and him, though Robb noticed that he was holding his gaze for longer on Jon. Robb did not find it difficult to add two plus two. Robertt had been one of the northerners Lords during Jon's reign, he knew Jon as King. He was obviously loyal to Jon but he also owed loyalty to the father and to him.Robb could see that the other Lords were in the same situation. Even though Galbart Glover, Ser Helman Tallhart, Lord Willem Forrester and Lord Medger Cerwyn did not live to see Jon become King and fight in the War for the Dawn everyone would surely have already heard the stories of everything that happened after his death and now that all of them were alive again the lines of power were very diffuse.It was Father who broke the tense silence when he cleared his throat, "Thank you very much for coming to my call, my Lords. We have many things to talk about, please follow me to my solar, there my children and I will explain everything"Father, Mother, Jon, Bran, Arya, Sansa and he accompanied the Lords to the father's solar. Once they were all seated and installed, Lord Galbart was the first to speak. "Before we begin, I would like to say on behalf of everyone how happy we are to have you among us again, Ned." A chorus of 'Ayes' was heard coming from the other Lords, "Things went a bit to hell after your death. But now we are all back here inexplicably and it seems that things are about to go to hell again""The idea is that this time things do not go to hell. That's why I brought everyone back to the past. To change things for the better", Bran said, surprising all the Lords"You brought all of us back?" Ser Helman asked, disbelief evident in his voice, Robb supposed that listening to a 10-year-old boy say that he brought people back to the past must be hard to believe. Hells, he even found it hard to believe sometimes."Aye, I did it. Together with a red priestess of Asshai, both performed a ritual to the Old Gods and the Lord of Light to return to the past when we lost the Great War""The Great War", said Lord Medger Cerwyn, "My son and some of my men have told me stories about this 'Great War' and the 'War for the Dawn' but I find it hard to believe such things, it seems crazy. At first I thought that Cley had gone crazy but as we met the other Lords of North we heard several similar stories of our children and some of our men. They are worrisome stories but still...""I understand your skepticism, Lord Cerwyn, but I can assure you that everything you heard is real," Jon said.Lord Cerwyn's eyes narrowed suspiciously as they looked at Jon, "I've heard stories about you too, lad. My son says that you are the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and that you are the legitimate King of Westeros. Is that true, Ned? Did you bring a Targaryen to the North, to your home after what that family did to yours?"Lord Cerwyn was annoyed and indignant, there was even a slight hint of betrayal in his eyes when he looked at Father. Father's jaw tightened and his hands so strong that his knuckles went white. When he spoke, he was cool and calm without revealing any of his emotions in his voice, "I brought my sister's son home, my Lord, and if you have any problems with that, I invite you to keep your opinions, while you are under my you will not insult me or any of my children""That boy is not your son!", Lord Willem Forrester growled, "He's a dragonspawn!""Repeat that", said Father in a voice as cold as the WallLord Willem looked at father with barely contained anger but said nothing."That dragonspawn is your legitimate King", spoke Robert Glover"He is not King of my", Lord Willem growled in response"And neither does mine", said Lord Medger CerwynRobb was upset at the attitude of the Lords, he knew that this could happen but that did not make things less frustrating. "Then who is your King, my Lords," he spoke, "Robert Baratheon, a fat, drunken man who was stupid enough to let crown invade by the Lannisters ?, or maybe it's Joffrey? A bastard product of incest and Who was responsible for my father losing his head, or is Cersei Lannister?, Is she your Queen, my Lords?"Lord Galbart, Ser Helman Tallhart, Lord Willem Forrester and Lord Medger Cerwyn looked confused for a moment before Lord Galbart dared to speak, "You are our King, you the King we choose, the King in the North!", A chorus of 'Ayes' was heard after that statement. Robb shook his head."I'm no longer a King, I lost that honor the day I let the Freys slaughter us at my uncle's wedding"A heavy silence fell in the room. Nobody dared to say anything more after that. Robb was thinking how to get on with the meeting when the door opened. Two maids entered with trays of food. Robb thanked the gods for the interruption. A tray of bread and salt was given to each of the Lords, and everyone took a bite, Robb thought that should not be necessary anymore. He ate bread and salt at House Frey and that did not stop Walder Frey from killing him and his men anyway, but he supposed that some customs are hard to ignore. Once everyone had tasted bread and salt, lunch was served, deer lacquered with spiced honey and beer to accompany. He hoped that once the Lords had a full stomach, the spirits would calm down a little.During the meal the talk was diverted to more mundane issues, Robb remained silent while Father and Mother guided the conversation. Jon, Sansa and Arya were telling Robertt Glover and Cley Cerwyn everything that happened after they both died at the Battle in Winterfell against the dead in the past life. As the story progressed the conversations of the other Lords stopped to pay attention to what their siblings were telling. Jon finished the story with the moment of his death at the hands of the Night King. When the dishes were removed by the servants the conversation returned to focus on the important issues."So, what do you plan to do with the Boltons, Ned?" Lord Medger asked, "I hope you do not plan to be gentle with them. The bastard of Roose tortured me for days before giving me the mercy of death""I don’t plan to be gentle with them in any way, Medger. He killed my wife and son, half of my vassals and took my ancestral home. I will kill him with my own hands, but we will talk more about it when the other bannermen arrive. We hope Lord Manderly will arrive during the week, as well as the Umbers, although they’ll come without an army according to what Greatjon told me in his letter""Aye," Jon replied, "It's true. He killed him right in front of me. Smalljon was sitting right next to Ramsay and did nothing to stop him"Robb watched as Mother and Father clenched their fists at Jon's statement. Sansa had a look of pain in her eyes. She also saw Rickon die. Blood froze in his veins. See one of his brothers die... he never wanted to have to live that experience.The meeting lasted shortly after that. Everyone said goodbye with the promise of an even longer and informative meeting when the rest of the bannermen had arrived. The following days passed without incident, Robb was slowly beginning to feel more comfortable in the presence of the Lords, still felt extremely guilty but none seemed particularly angry with him, on the contrary, everyone treated him with respect. Things improved a bit with the arrival of the Manderlys. As expected, Lord Wyman and his sons came to Winterfell with his army four days after the arrival of the Glovers, Forrester, Tallhart, and Cerwyn. Lord Wyman had a big smile on his plump face when he hugged father tightly and kissed Mother's hand, he slapped him on the back and said it was a pleasure to have them all alive again, he said that what happened to everyone in the past life was a terrible crime and the Lannister, Frey and Boltons would pay for it, again. When he approached Jon it was a different story, his face lost all trace of joy and instead an expression of deep respect settled when he did a deep reverie to his brother."It is an honor to be at your service again, Your Grace. White Harbor and Manderly House are yours to command"Lord Wyman knelt on one knee with his head down, waiting for Jon's words. "The honor is all mine, my Lord. Get up, there is no need for such a thing"Lord Wyman got up with a bit of difficulty and grinned again as he greeted the rest of his brothers. Glancing at his parents he saw that Mother was white as a ghost and had an angry expression on his face, Robb suspected it was because of Lord Wyman's demonstration of loyalty to Jon. It seemed that despite knowing that Jon is not his father's son and that therefore he never cheated on her, she still hated Jon with all her might. Father had an indecipherable look and he looked really uncomfortable. To tell the truth, Robb himself was too, he still found it difficult to think of Jon as King.The feast that night was full of stories from the past life. Each one of the Lords had a different story to tell. The ones that were most heard were from a few soldiers who still remembered and who had lived through the Long Night and fought in different battles against the Others. The Lords who fought with him in the War of the Five Kings and who died too soon to know the true enemy were still trying to get used to the idea that the Others really existed, but hearing different stories of different people from the past life was helping.More and more reports came of military movements in the Dreadfort lands, the Lords and soldiers were getting impatient wanting to go once and finish with Roose Bolton and his people once and for all but father insisted on waiting for the Hornwood and Mormonts. They also had to deal with the Umbers and Karstarks to see which side they would be on.Two days later a group of guards announced that the Umbers were less than two days away. That night, when he was preparing to sleep a knock sounded on his door, when he opened he saw Jon, Arya and Sansa in the corridor next to Ghost, Lady and Nymeria. He made them all pass. The direwolfs immediately approached Gray Wind and began to roll and play all over the ground, suddenly Robb noticed that they had a problem, the direwolfs were too big to be in the room. He tried to ignore the unruly puppies as he focus again in his siblings. Jon had a letter in his hands that wasn’t there when he entered."Varys's little birds?""Aye. They already know where Ramsay is hiding""Good, what will we do with him?""We cannot leave him alive, we cannot. He's a monster", Sansa said. Her voice was hard and cold and his eyes were full of hatred and determination"I have no intention of leaving him alive," Robb said, "Jon, what did they tell you about Ramsay, where is he?""In a small farm near the neck, as we suspected, he plans to flee. He is accompanied by his lover, a girl almost as cruel as him""I know her. Miranda. She's the kennel keeper's daughter, Theon killed her when we fled Winterfell. She also remembers? ""I don't know, but she and Ramsay killed the owners of the farm and their children. Two boys, both under ten years old""Son of a bitch""We should bring him here and take care of it ourselves", said Arya"Father would never allow us to do that. He will demand a trial for his crimes and then he will surely end up cutting off his head, which is much less than he deserves""Father does not have to know," said Jon with a look of complicity on his eyes as he played with the letter in his hands. Robb understood what he meant."We can’t... Father will know""He will not know," Arya said. "There are dozens of secret passageways and rooms in the Castle that I'm sure Father doesn’t even know. We can put Ramsay and his little lover in one of those rooms and nobody will ever know"."How do you plan to put two people in the castle without anyone noticing?""You leave it to me", Arya smiled mischievously and Robb decided to believe her. He didn’t want to think too much about the things that Arya could do"Fine. Let's bring Ramsay Snow. I want to meet him"
DAENERYS
Arriving in Astapor took more time than they had thought. A big storm caught them shortly after leaving Lys and delayed them for three days before having to dock at Volantis where they stayed for more than a week while the necessary repairs were made to the ship. Jorah and Dany took advantage of their stay in Volantis to sell some of the things they stole from Illyrio and get some money.During their trip they had thought of different ways to get the Unsullied. No plan was concrete until now, for now Dany was just crossing her fingers for the Unsullied remember the past, but if it wasn’t like that, Dany didn’t know how she was going to get to buy the Unsullied. She no longer had Drogon to burn all the masters, well she did have Drogon but in the form of stone. That was another thing that Dany had not yet discovered, how to hatch his eggs. Only life pays for death. At another time in her life it would have been very easy for her to just make a big bonfire and burn alive people she thought deserved but now Jon's voice in the back of her mind reminded her of how burn people alive it’s a cruel act regardless of the reason. She still remembered how angry and disappointed he had been when he found out what she did to the Tarlys. His best friend's family. But apart from burning three people to give life to the three dragons, she couldn’t think what else they could do. She decided that she would think about it later, for now it was enough to have her eggs.She and Jorah bought clothes in Volantis, the best clothes they could afford. If they were going to Astapor to buy eight thousand Unsullied, they should be seen as people who could afford them, even though they could not really afford it."How about you offer the eggs?", Jorah said one night as they strolled through the streets of Volantis."You've lost your mind? I cannot deliver my children"Jorah just shrugged, "A dragon egg is very valuable, three eggs could make Master Kraznys want to give us his army""He will not give eight thousand unsullied for three stones no matter how valuable they are. He was willing to give it for Drogon, a living dragon that breathes fire, but three stones are useless"Jorah shrugged again, "You don’t need to negotiate all the unsullied at once. Offer only a thousand for the three eggs, if he is not willing, bargain until he is satisfied, then order your unsullied to kill all the masters as you did before, give one of your speeches and get the rest of the unsullied. That is clear if they don’t remember, it would be much easier if they remember you but we can’t be sure""That could work. Unless the masters order the unsullied that are not mine to counterattack, then we would be outnumbered and we would die"."Then make sure you give that speech before you give the order. And make it a very good one"The day they were finally preparing to leave Volantis a ship that was right next to them was leaving for Westeros at that very moment. Men, women and children boarded the ship in the hope of finding a better life in lands where no one was enslaved. Dany wanted to go there, board the ship and set sail for Westeros immediately but stopped herself. She could not get to Westeros empty-handed, She needed an army and She wanted Gray Worm and Missandei at her side. Jon would have to wait a little longer.It took them another three weeks to finally reach Astapor. They docked in port shortly before nightfall. Jorah and she used the little daylight left to find a decent inn to sleep on. They should rest after so many uncomfortable days at sea and seek an audience with Master Kraznys early in the morning. She still didn’t know exactly what to do to get all the unsullied but for lack of a better plan Dany decided to follow the idea of Jorah and crossed his fingers so that her speech convinced the rest of the unsullied to join her.When they met Kraznys the next day, Dany noticed that Missandei was not with him, instead he was a thin old man who served as a translator and who was almost as unpleasant as Kraznys himself. Her blood froze at that moment in concern for her friend. She could only hope that she was okay, maybe she was serving someone else at the moment and she was only worrying about nothing, but there was restlessness in the back of her mind that she could not push away.Master Kranyz greeted them with a big smile. Jorah made the introductions, "I am Jorah Mormont of Bear Island and she is Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen, legitimate Queen of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros"Kranyz's smile became even wider. There was a predatory touch in his eyes but she did not feel fear, she had spent years with men who only wanted her for her beauty and power, she had survived them all. They did not. Dany just gave him a stoic look again."What are two Westerosi looking for here in the Bay of slaves?" Translated the translator after listening to Kranyz"An army, of course"The translator translated his words and Kranyz nodded and then turned around and started walking. Dany and Jorah followed them to the fortress and to a small room that seemed to be the place where guests were received. Kranyz took a seat still with a big smile on his face and the translator stood one step behind him. They also took seats in two chairs that were in front of Kranyz, a small table was between them. Dany's bad feeling grew stronger. He had not received her in a room in the previous life and certainly not so smiling. She had not seen any unsullied either, which was strange since they were in a city famous for its unsullied. A glance at Jorah let her know that he was also restless, his hand was leaning on his sword and he seemed ready to attack at any moment. Dany forced herself to calm down. She had been in similar situations many times. She always came out winning."How many unsullied do you want?" Kranyz asked. Dany waited for the translator to translate the words before answering"All you have", Dany ignored the questioning look Jorah gave him. She had a plan, she just hoped it worked.Kranyz's expression faltered for a moment before settling back and talking, "And how do you plan to pay them, you Westerosi slut?"Again Dany waited for the translation before answering, "With this"Dany pulled out the backpack she had been carrying on her back since they left Illyrio's mansion and emptied its contents onto the table in front of her. The three dragon eggs fell heavily into the wood and both Kranyz and the translator looked at them in amazement. Then Kranyz looked at her again with a fierce look."You're crazy if you think I'm going to give you all my unsullied for three stones""Three stones that you can sell to collectors and they will give you much more than I can ever give you"Kranyz seemed to meditate for a moment before accepting. "Very well, we have a deal ... Mother of Dragons"Her blood cooled at that moment. He had just called her... He shouldn’t know that she was known by that name. Not in this life at least. He remembered. Dany tried to flee but at that moment ten armed men entered and surrounded them. Jorah had his sword raised ready to attack any of them. But they were 10 against 1. She tried to recover her eggs but they were already in the hands of Kranyz. He smiled at her with a devilish smile."It was a pleasure doing business with you"Two men took her roughly by the arms and dragged her out of the room. Jorah tried to defend her but the rest of the men attacked him at the same time and he fell to the ground in the middle of a pool of blood. Dany wanted to cry at that moment. She felt so stupid. How it is that it never occurred to her to think that Kranyz could remember the past?She kicked and fought to try to break free. The men beat her in an attempt to control her but she would not give up so easily. She continued to fight with her captors until they threw her into a cell. A dark and damp cell. They closed the door behind her and she was left alone in the darkness.
JON
The tension was almost palpable in the air. They were all gathered in the Great Hall. On the high table sat Lord Stark, Lord Robertt Glover and Lord Wylis Manderly, who would be the judges. The entire Stark family was sitting at the first table on the right side, including Jon himself, much to the chagrin of Lady Catelyn. All the Lords and Ladies of the North had already arrived and all of them were sitting expectantly in their seats at the beginning of the trial. The Greatjon was sitting at the first table on the left side, his beer horn had been filled twice already in the fifteen minutes he had been sitting there, his leg bouncing frantically up and down, a sign of his clear nervousness. He was afraid for his son's life.The Greatjon and Smalljon Umber had arrived at Winterfell three days ago. Greatjon had greeted Father, Robb and Lady Stark with much affection and respect. He just looked at him suspiciously. The normally effusive Lord of Last Heart was moderate and nervous. Smalljon stood behind his father with an annoying and defiant attitude. Lord Stark had ordered that Smalljon be put in a cell at the height of his position, that it was not a cell in itself but rather a room in the guest house highly guarded and from which he had not left since he arrived. Everyone was waiting for the arrival of the accused. Since they had waited longer than the stipulated Jon supposed the prisoner must have shown resistance.When the doors of the Great Hall finally opened, Jon confirmed his suspicions. Smalljon was covered in blows and bruises, the product of the previous struggle to enter. Greatjon was able to stand up the instant he saw his son and threw a disgusted look at Father. Father ignored him, his eyes focused on Smalljon Umber who was dragged by the guards to the feet of the high table and in front of his judges."Jon Umber," the loud, hard voice of Mr. Winterfell rumbled in the room, silencing everyone present who had been booing the prisoner, "You are accused of treason and being an accomplice in the murder of my son, Rickon Stark. How do you respond to those charges?"Smalljon spat at the foot of Lord Stark's seat. The whole Hall erupted in annoyed and annoyed murmurs, Greatjon paled and sat down again and took a long sip of his horn. Father just stood there without reacting at all, impassive as an icicle."First charge: You are accused of betraying your sworn allegiance to House Stark by supporting House Bolton when Roose Bolton murdered the King in the North and Lord of Winterfell, Robb Stark, and took Winterfell the ancestral home of the House Stark and then you refused to give your support back to House Stark when it tried to regain the power of the North. Do you deny it?""Yes, I deny it," annoyed murmurs were heard again in the Hall. Father silenced them with a wave of his hand. Smalljon continued speaking, "My Father was killed because of you and your stupidity!" He shouted at Robb.Jon almost laughed, "It was Roose Bolton who organized the butchery where your father was killed, if you must be upset with someone it's with the Boltons not with my family".Smalljon looked at him scornfully, "What are you doing in these matters, bastard? None of this concerns you!""My son is where I want him to be and it is not him we are talking about, we are here for you and your crimes against the House Stark"Smalljon paled in fear for a moment but then recovered and continued spitting venom with his words, "Your family was destroyed, finished, I did not owe you any loyalty!""My daughter Sansa Stark and my son Jon Sn-Snow tried to recover Winterfell, you could join them and support them and reaffirm your loyalty to House Stark, but you didn’t do it"Father stumbled to say his name, Jon frowned in confusion."A bastard and a fucking woman? There's no one to follow there""My true born son Rickon Stark was in your custody at Last Heart", Father said. Smalljon said nothing to that, just stood there. Jon noticed that his defiant attitude was beginning to fail, "My daughter and son Sansa and Rickon Stark were still alive, as well as my son Jon Snow. You didn’t know at the time but my daughter Arya Stark and my son Brandon Stark were also alive. That's 5 of my 6 children. The House Stark was not finished, it was very alive, and yet you betrayed us. Do you deny it?"Smalljon remained silent. The Greatjon looked increasingly nervous."Let's go to the first witness"Galbart Glover stood up and walked to the left side of the high table where a small podium had been placed. Maestre Luwin was standing there, he would take care of the witnesses."Say your names and titles, so there will be no doubt who you are," said the Maester"Lord Galbart Glover of Deepwood Motte""Please give your testimony concerning to the charge of treason of Jon Umber""After the butchery at the Red Wedding the survivors returned to the North and to our homes." When the Ironborn was fired from the North and the Boltons were installed at Winterfell Roose Bolton sent a raven to every Lord of the North demanding that we go to Winterfell to swear loyalty to House Bolton, the new ruler of the North. Then all the Lords met in secret and we had a council where we discussed whether or not we should support Roose Bolton. At that time Lady Sansa had disappeared from King's Landing after the murder of King Joffrey, no one had heard a word from Lady Arya since Lord Eddard Stark was beheaded and Lord Brandon and Lord Rickon were considered dead by Theon Greyjoy. We never considered His Grace Jon Snow as an option, he was in Castle Black and was still considered a bastard so we all gave up on House Stark. Even so we refused to support Roose Bolton, he was the one who bled the North with his betrayal. All of us except Houses Umber, Karstark and Whitehill"Galbart stopped for a moment to catch his breath. For a moment he lowered his head in a gesture of shame before lifting it again and looking at everyone present, "When Sansa Stark and Jon Snow came to our door to ask for help, many refused, I included, but at least we never support Ramsay Bolton for a moment. I was not present that day but I know that Smalljon Umber was next to Ramsay Bolton with his army in the Battle of the Bastards. That is my testimony"Maester Luwin signaled Galbart to come down from the podium. Father called the second witness.Lyanna Mormont took the podium. It was an almost funny sight. Lady Mormont was only five years old, but she had all the memories of the past life, as well as her attitude. She was a fierce little Lady She-Bear who had quickly earned the respect of many and the fear of others. Many underestimate her for being a woman and being so young, but those poor fools quickly realized their mistake when the young She-Bear drew her claws."Your name and your titles," said the master"Lady Lyanna Mormont of Bear Island""Please give your testimony concerning to the charge of treason of Jon Umber""Unlike the Lords who remained hidden in their castles while House Stark needed them, House Mormont didn’t forget their oath to House Stark and I responded to His Grace Jon Snow and Lady Sansa Stark's request for help. I was with my men and the others at the Battle of the Bastards. Lord Jon Umber was on the other side right next to Ramsay Bolton and their army attacked ours until they almost outnumbered us. He was against House Stark supporting the usurpers. That is my testimony"Without saying anything else, Lady Lyanna came down from the podium with her head held high and her characteristic hard look. She didn’t even look at Smalljon as she passed him.Murmurs flooded the room. Everyone talked about Smalljon's treachery and how he should die. The Greatjon had a resigned look and simply grabbed his beer horn without looking at anyone in particular. The judges argued quietly at the high table. After a few minutes Father cleared his throat, silencing everyone."Second charge: accomplice in the murder of Rickon Stark, you are accused of giving Rickon Stark to Ramsay Bolton even knowing he would kill him.A tense silence spread across the room. Smalljon's head was down, embarrassed. At this point he had understood that he would not get out of this.Realizing that the accused would not answer Father passed the first witness.Sansa looked at him before standing up. Jon tried to smile but only an ugly grimace from his lips, instead he took her hand and gave it a little squeeze. Sansa walked to the podium and spoke without waiting for the Maester's instructions."Lady Sansa Stark of Winterfell," she paused for breath, before turning back to speak again and looked at Rickon who had been sitting in the far corner of the table throughout the trial. Rickon gave Sansa a sad smile that she returned in the same way. She returned her focus to the Lords of the North, "I was in Castle Black with my brother Jon after running away from Ramsay, we were eating when the letter arrived, brought from Winterfell by Bolton's man, it was from Ramsay to Jon, he knew that I was in Castle Black with my brother and in the letter he demanded to Jon that I be returned to him, mocked about having Rickon in the dungeons and challenged Jon to go to Winterfell to see him with his own eyes".She paused for a moment to take a breath, once again her gaze fell on him before returning to look at the rest of the room, "He told Jon that if he did not do what he said he would go and massacre all the wildlings that Jon had passed south of the wall, his men would rape me, his hunting dogs would eat Rickon alive and then he will kill Jon and give his remains to his dogs. That was the kind of person that Smalljon Umber supported. A psychopath, a murderer and a rapist", everyone present uttered indignant and disgusted murmurs at Sansa's words, Father and the rest of the Judges had expressions of repugnance, Jon would swear that Father was about to vomit. "After receiving the letter Jon and I decided to end with him and recover Winterfell and Rickon, but we only succeeded in one of those things"Her eyes filled with tears and she had to pause to swallow a sob and compose herself before continuing. "At the beginning of the Battle, Ramsay took out Rickon and showed him for everyone to see, then he made him run to Jon, he played hunting with us, he had fun with it. Even from where I was on the other side of the field I could see his smile of satisfaction. As soon as Rickon started running Jon got on his horse and started galloping to try to save him. Ramsay threw arrows and failed properly until Jon was about to take Rickon and ride him on his horse, that was when Ramsay shot an arrow right in the heart of my little brother. Smalljon Umber was at Ramsay's side all the time, he never did anything to try to stop him or save him. He just stayed there while Rickon was killed right in front of us"Lady Catelyn had tears in her eyes and did nothing to hide them as they slid down her cheeks. Father too, like Robb, Arya and even Bran. He himself was crying when he remembered Rickon, so big and tall after so many years without having seen him. The expression in his eyes when the arrow pierced his heart. His hand had been so close to grabbing him. If only he had been faster. Rickon sobbed silently, Jon approached him and pulled him into a tight hug, needing to feel his little brother in his arms to draw the memory of his lifeless body lying right in front of him. Rickon clung to him as if his life depended on it.Sansa came down from the podium and walked to sit in her seat next to her mother. The room fell silent again as everyone digested Sansa's words. It took Father a while before he spoke again and when he did his voice came out croaky and broken. "Second witness"It's not fair, Jon thought. He was not ready to let Rickon go, not yet, but everyone in the room looked at him expectantly and he forced himself to let go of his little brother. Before letting him go, Jon kissed him on the forehead and encouraged him. "You can", he whispered, "You are stronger than everyone thinks"Rickon nodded and went to the podium. Jon felt sorry for him, talking about how you were murdered should not be easy for anyone. Less for a child.When Rickon was positioned on the podium, Maester Luwin gave the command, just as everyone in the family the old Maester had teary eyes and his voice came out hoarse and broken by emotion. "Your name and titles and your testimony""Lord Rickon Stark of Winterfell. When my brother Bran and I fled from Theon we headed north along with Hodor, Osha and our direwolfs, Summer and Shaggydog we intended to go to Castle Black with Jon, we knew he would protect us but before arriving we didn’t realize that the wildlings were planning an attack on the Night's Watch so we changed our plans, Bran would go beyond the wall to meet the three-eyed raven and I would go to Last Heart as Bran considered that it was too dangerous for me to go north of the wall He said that I should be safe because if he or Robb were to die I would be Winterfell's heir so Osha took me to Last Heart where I stayed for two years. I was in the courtyard playing with Ned Umber and Shaggydog when the Umbers guards gathered us and killed Shaggy, and then they captured me and Osha. I begged him all the way to Winterfell to let me go but he refused, he just hit me to shut me up. Ramsay locked me in the dungeons and I did not see anyone again until the day of the battle. Smalljon was there while Ramsay dragged me to the front line and shot arrows at me, he never tried to stop him. Nobody did it. I ran as fast as I could to get to Jon but I was not fast enough", Rickon wiped his eyes and looked with hatred at Smalljon,"I trusted him, I thought he would keep me safe until my family came looking for me but he handed me Ramsay as a trophy of loyalty. I died because of him""Did he ever show signs of being forced to do such an action?" Lord Wylis asked Rickon, "Or any sign of remorse?""No"Lord Wylis nodded and after a few seconds to wait if any judge had one more question, Master Luwin fired Rickon. When Rickon returned to the table Lady Catelyn wrapped him in his arms and refused to let him go despite his protests.Maestre Luwin spoke, "There are no more witnesses, if the judges need time to deliberate?"All the judges shook their heads. The decision was already made. Smalljon began to tremble slightly. Greatjon looked even more nervous than his son."Before the charges of treason and accomplice in the murder of Rickon Stark how do you declare the accused, Jon Umber?”, said Master Luwin looking at the high table", Judge number one what is your verdict?"The judges were listed from left to right in the order in which they were seated. Lord Wilys Manderly answered without hesitation for a second, "Guilty on both charges""Judge number two?""Guilty on both charges," Father replied, his voice cold as ice"Judge number three?""Guilty on both counts", replied Lord Robertt Glover"Good," Father said, standing up, "As Lord of Winterfell and Guardian of the North I should sentence you to death for your crimes against House Stark and adorn the walls of Winterfell with your head".All color disappeared from Smalljon's face, the Greatjon jumped to his feet, his eyes begging pity for his son as he looked at Lord Stark, the northern lords shouted for Smalljon's head as they slammed their horns against the tables."Please, my Lord, have mercy, I beg you, I will go to the wall or leave Westeros forever but let me live". Smalljon was on the verge of tears"Mercy", Arya spoke, "My brother was under your protection and you betrayed him and you did nothing while Ramsay was hunting him and driving an arrow into his heart, you do not deserve mercy"Father shot Arya a reproachful look that she ignored. "However," Father continued, "I have been friends with your father all my life and it is because of that friendship that I will not take your head"Both the Smalljon and the Greatjon sighed in relief. The men and women of the North growled annoyed with the decision. Sansa and Lady Stark were not happy, but that was the best decision. Father, Robb and Jon had spent countless nights arguing non-stop the pros and cons about condemning Smalljon to death or not."You will take the black, you will renounce your inheritance, titles and lands and you will live the rest of your days as a man of the Night's Watch, that is my decision and it is more than what you deserve"Two guards took Smalljon out of the room and little by little everyone left the Hall until only the Starks and the Greatjon remained. The Lord of Last Heart approached them, he looked nervous but relieved. "Thanks Ned, for sparing my son's life, I know he probably did not deserve it but it means a lot to me""No, he didn’t deserve it," Sansa muttered but not loud enough for the Greatjon to hear her."I know, Jon, that's why I made that decision, I could never be friends with the man who took my son's head and I know you don’t either, winter is coming and this is not the time to create grudges among us. Besides, the wall always needs men""How long will I have until he leaves?""I don’t know, a few weeks, the Night's Watch is on its way to Winterfell, Lord Commander Mormont and some of his officers will have a meeting with us, then I guess they'll stay here for a few days before heading back to the wall"."Lord Commander Mormont on his way to Winterfell? ," The Greatjon looked confused at everyone at the table, his eyes stopped for a split second on him before he looked back at Lord Stark, "Is it because of the Others?", he whispered the question as if they were talking about something forbidden"It is, my Lord", Jon repliedGreatjon stared at him once more before looking back at Father, "My grandson, Ned, told me this story about the wall falling down and dead with blue eyes killing everyone but I did not believe it until I got here and heard the same story of men I've known for decades, war-hardened men who would not believe such tales unless they've seen it with their own eyes""I can assure you, Jon, that everything your grandson told you is true""He said something else, something about your bastard ...", the Greatjon gave him a nervous look. "So, is that true? Your bastard is actually the son of Rhaegar and Lyanna?""It's true", answered Father"I never would have imagined it", the Greatjon sounded surprised"That was the idea," the father's voice had a small hint of amusement. Lady Catelyn looked at him annoyed, she apparently was still annoyed with him for not telling him about his true origin"I suppose so," the Greatjon let out a loud laugh.That night during dinner, everyone gathered to eat, talk and drink. Worries about the wars to come left aside for a moment in favor of having a more than necessary rest. They all seemed very happy, even Lord and Lady Stark, who were very close once again, they seemed to have settled their differences. Everything was as it used to be, Lord and Lady Stark were in love, their brothers were laughing happily once more, even Bran seemed to be having fun, Arya was bothering Sansa, Rickon was making his pranks and Robb was laughing out loud. It was as it used to be a thousand years ago, before the war, the deaths, the Boltons and the arrival of King Robert. Jon swore to himself that he would do everything in his power for these moments never to disappear again, he would make sure that his family would not go through the tragedies and horrors that happened. He would do whatever is necessary to make sure of that. Whatever is necessary.The next day, the guards warned that a small party was approaching from the south of the Kingsroad. Jon knew who they were, Bran had told him when the Davos ship docked at White Harbor. An hour later the little party went through the gates of Winterfell. Davos was driving a cart that was pulled by two horses, sitting next to him was Lady Sheeren Baratheon who saw with great astonished eyes the whole castle. The cart carried many backpacks and boxes, obviously the luggage and provisions of the travelers. Gendry Waters and Sandor Clegane were each riding one side of the cart and there was an old knight Jon didn’t know and whom Bran had not told him about. He looked for his little brother to ask about the identity of the old knight but of course Bran was nowhere to be seen. Arya either. She would miss Gendry's arrival.Davos got out of the cart with a smile on his face as he approached him, Jon smiled back at him. He was very happy to have Davos with him again, he had become one of his greatest friends and even in a father figure. "Your Grace, it's good to see you again". Davos formal as always bowed."Ser Davos", salutes Jon, "I'm glad you're finally here"Both shared a brief hug. When they parted Davos turned to Lady Sheeren who was nervously approaching them. "I hope you remember Lady Sheeren," Davos said."Of course I remember her," Jon smiled at the girl, "Winterfell is glad to have you here, my Lady""I'm also glad to be here, Lord Commander, Winterfell is so beautiful"Jon's blood froze in his veins at that moment. Lord Commander. She could not know that he was Lord Commander unless ... Jon looked at Davos to confirm his suspicions and the old smuggler nodded. Jon forced a smile in his lips as he looked back at the girl. Remember how you were burned alive… Gods."I'm not Lord Commander anymore", Lady Sheeren blushed with embarrassment and apologized. Jon turned his attention back to his father and brother who had been watching the meeting without intervening. Lady Catelyn was also there, beside her husband as always, her expression was indecipherable and she did everything possible not to look at him. Sansa and Rickon were next to Lady Catelyn. Jon started the presentations, "This is Ser Davos Seaworth and Lady Sheeren Baratheon. Ser Davos, Lady Sheeren, these are my father Lord Eddard Stark Lord of Winterfell, my brothers Robb and Rickon Stark, my sister Sansa Stark, although Davos already knows her", both, Davos and Sansa smiled at each other, "And Lady Catelyn Stark the Lady of Winterfell"All bowed their heads in respect to each other. Father approached Davos and shook his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ser Davos, Jon and Sansa and Arya have told me a lot about you, I thank you for everything you did for my family, House Stark will always be in your debt to you and to House Seaworth." Father then looked at the Hound, "And with you too, Sandor Clegane"Sandor muttered something unintelligible and turned his eyes away, the Hound did not like someone praising him or thanking him for anything. Sansa approached him and said something in a low voice that no one else could hear."I hope it does not bother you, Lord Stark but I brought some guests with me," Davos said as he turned to see the men accompanying him, "Besides Lady Sheeren, there's Sandor Clegane, Gendry Walters and Ser Barristan Selmy".Jon's breath caught in his throat at knowing the identity of the old knight. Barristan the Bold. The man was a living legend. Jon felt like a child again in the presence of one of his heroes. Robb looked just as dazzled as he was, not to mention Rickon. Father greeted Ser Barristan like old friends, but the old knight only had eyes for Jon. It was disturbing. He wondered what Ser Barristan was doing in Winterfell and if it had anything to do with him, the way he looked at him, Jon suspected that was the case."Gendry!", A shrill scream sounded from the other side of the courtyard. A pile of gray wool ran past them and slammed into Gendry almost making him fall to the ground but he recovered in time and wrapped his arms around Arya, lifted her into the air and spun her around. Jon and Sansa smiled at the reunion, Lady Catelyn, on the other hand, didn’t."Arya, behave yourself!", But Arya ignored her for what Lady Catelyn advanced towards her with the clear intention of separating her from Gendry but Lord Stark stopped her, "Ned, you can’t allow this behavior of Arya with this boy, he's a bastard!"The way she said that word, as if it were the worst crime in the world sent a blow to his heart, after so many years she still managed to hurt him. Jon got angry with himself for allowing her to have that kind of power over him.Everyone remained in a tense silence. Gendry and Arya separated. Gendry looked down in embarrassment and tried to get away from her but Arya was not having any of that."Leave them, Cat", said Father"But, Ned...""Leave them", the voice Father used was the voice that Bran used to call 'the voice of the Lord' and he did not admit any discussion. Lady Catelyn wrinkled her face in annoyance but did not do or say anything else.After a heartbeat Robb broke the silence, "We should go in, Father, our guests must be tired and hungry for the trip""Aye, my balls are freezing in this damn cold weather," Sandor Clegane did not even wait for his father's order and started walking towards the great hall.Father ordered the servants who were in the courtyard to witness the arrival of the new guests of Winterfell to prepare chambers for each one of them and then they all went to the Great Hall to eat their lunch but stopped at the voice of Barristan the Bold."Lord Stark, I would like to have a few words with you", Father seemed about to say something when Ser Barristan spoke again, "As soon as possible"Father hesitated a second before nodding and leading Ser Barristan towards the Great Keep, obviously heading for his lot. The old man gave Jon one last strange look before following Father. Jon had no doubt they would talk about him.That night during the welcome dinner for the new guests, one of the children from the stables approached him and handed him a piece of paper. After reading it Jon looked for Robb, Sansa and Arya. Ramsay Snow had arrived at Winterfell and was waiting for them.
JAIME
The trip to Winterfell had been hellishly long and there were still another six weeks to go. Jaime felt that at any moment he would jump off his horse to break his neck. Tommen and Myrcella had made their trip more enjoyable, since he returned he'd proposed to be a real father to his children, spent all the time he could with them, played with them and told them stories, he'd even tried to approach Joffrey, although he reject him. Robert didn’t like at all the new closeness he had with the children he considered his own, Cersei on the other hand, was delighted. Jaime ignored them both.Tyrion had also made his journey more bearable, his little brother had joined the royal procession when they left the crown lands. He had been in Casterly Rock with Father. Tyrion, thanks to the Gods, also remembered the past life. They'd both spent time with Jaime explaining how he, Brandon Stark, Lady Melisandre and others had managed to bring everyone back to the past and what they would do next. Tyrion wanted to go to Essos to find Daenerys."You're insane, we don’t even know where she is", Jaime had said several nights ago, "In Winterfell you'll get all the answers you want, Brandon Stark will know about her and her whereabouts""She's alone in Essos, she needs help", Tyrion replied"She'll be fine, Tyrion, she was alone in Essos all her life before and she managed very well, and she's not alone, Mormont is with her"."The disturbs me anyway"Jaime knew the real reason for the concern of his brother but he preferred not to say anything. "You can’t do anything for her anyway, do you think Father will let you take a boat and go for her? Besides, Jon has already given the order to the Greyjoys to go to Essos for her, you just have to sit and wait. And try not to be drunk half the time", Jaime said as he snatched the wine glass from his hand, Tyrion complained and called him a wine thief.Even though Jaime did everything he could to reassure Tyrion, he was still concern about Daenerys.Since Barristan defected from the Kingsguard, Robert named him Lord Commander and set out to make his life miserable. He constantly demanded that Jaime protect him personally, that included shifts of up to twenty hours in a row in which he had to stand while watching him fuck with whores, shit and drink to unconsciousness. Cersei seemed to have the same purpose, but for different reasons. He'd refused to sleep with her since he woke up in this new life, and that didn’t make her happy at all. One night she had become particularly insistent.They were staying in a small inn near Harrenhal. It was past midnight and Jaime could finally have a night off from Robert. Now that he was Lord Commander and that a member of the guard was misplaced, work was more difficult. Robert intended the new Kingsguard to be a northerner. Apparently, Robert wanted to take half north with him to King's Landing: a new Hand, a master of coin and now a Kingsguard. Jaime was lying on his bed thinking who could form the new Kingsguard once Jon was King when the door suddenly opened and Cersei entered. She wore a red silk dressing gown that she removed as soon as the door closed behind her and she was completely naked before him. He was startled when she threw herself at him and began to kiss him as if her life depended on it. Jaime took her off in an instant. He felt sick."Are you crazy?!", Jaime felt stupid for a moment, yes, of course she is crazy, they did not call her the Mad Queen for nothing, "We are in a tiny inn, everyone will have seen you coming here!""It doesn’t matter, all the guards are Lannisters, all Baratheon guards are taking care of Robert from the whores. Tonight we finally have time for both of us", she approached to kiss him again but Jaime pulled her away."Lannisters or not, people talk, leave now before it's worse"She was upset at that, "Why don’t you want to be with me anymore? you always reject me. You have another, isn’t it? Who is she? I will kill her myself, you listened to me? You are mine, you and I belong together".She was on top of him kissing him all over his face and chest. He took her off again throwing her to the ground and threw the dressing gown, "Get dressed and leave""You're going to be with me whether you want it or not, you and I belong together and we're going to be together, if you do not make love to me right now I'll scream that you tried to rape me".Jaime opened his eyes, surprised by the threat. She looked so sure. For a second he felt trapped and with no way out. For a second he was about to give in to his demands. Then he remembered Brienne."No", he said, surprising Cersei, she had been so sure thet she would get what she wanted, she was wrong. "If you scream I'll tell Robert the whole truth, that I've been fucking you for the last twenty years, that Joffrey, Tommen and Myrcella are mine. How long do you expect our heads to last on our shoulders after that? Do you think Robert will stop and have mercy on the children? No, he will cut off each of their heads, you know it as well as I do"Cersei went white as a ghost and said nothing, "Get dressed and leave"Since then she had set out to make his life miserable. Until now, his horse's chair had mysteriously broken, his food was always very spicy and very salty, when they managed to find an inn to sleep his room always smelled like pig shit and his bed was hard as a rock. Although, she seemed to leave him alone when he was with their children.It had been three weeks like this and now they were in the middle of Riverlands. That's when they heard about the problems. Two of the rangers traveling far ahead of the royal procession returned near noon. One was from Lannister and another was from Baratheon. Baratheon's ranger approached Robert, took off his helmet and knelt on one knee."Your Grace, there are troubles in The Twins, I would recommend camping here and wait for the disturbances to stop"Robert frowned, "What kind of troubles?"The guard seemed to hesitate a bit before answering, "Riverrun has attacked The Twins, I don’t know why, Walder Frey and half of his son are dead, but there are some survivors who managed to escape and are attacking the Tully army"."And since when the Tully declared war on the Freys?""One moon, Your Grace""And how is it that I didn’t know anything about this?! One of my Kingdoms fight with each other and I didn’t know it?""By the time the battle broke out we should have left King's Landing, we didn’t know how to find out", interjected Jaime"It's no excuse! Varys is supposed to know everything that happens in the kingdom, he should have known about this even before it happened!"Of course Varys knew it, he'd told Jaime before leaving King's Landing but Varys did not say anything to Robert on Jon's orders."Maybe we should go back and camp or turn away to Maidenpool and take a ship to White Harbor to avoid any kind of troubles", Jaime proposed, although he knew that Robert would not accept"Go back and avoid a problem? Do you take me for a fucking craken?! We will march directly to the eye of the storm. I will solve this problem myself!"Robert sent the two Rangers back to preempt the royal procession and order Hoster Tully to prepare an audience with the King. Jaime stopped them before they left and relieved them by two guards who were rested. Both men looked at him gratefully.Unfortunately for Robert, there were no battles to win once they reached the meeting point with the Tullys. The royal procession advanced for five more days until they found a small Tully camp west of the Kingsroad. Patrek Mallister came galloping towards them flanked by three Mallister guards to escort Robert to Hoster Tully's tent. Ser Arys, Ser Boros and he accompanied Robert, the other three Kingsguards stayed with Cersei and the children.Upon entering the tent was Edmure Tully waiting for them and nobody else. Edmure bowed to Robert, his eyes crossed with Jaime's for a second and nodded in his direction in a very subtle way so Robert wouldn’t notice. Jaime already knew that Edmure remembered the past life. After the dead crossed The Neck they'd fought side by side until Edmure died in King's Landing."Who are you boy? Where in seven hells is Hoster Tully?""I am Edmure Tully, Your Grace, my father, Hoster Tully is in Riverrun indisposed due to an illness, I am the one in charge""You are responsible for this madness?""Aye""And what did Walder Frey do to take arms against one of your own vassals?"Edmure looked at him again before answering Robert, "I was plotting against my house to take over Riverrun and the power of Riverlands.That wasn’t true. Varys told him that he'd helped Edmure to communicate with Jon. Both, Edmure and Jon, planned everything against the Freys, including what they would say to Robert. They couldn’t tell Robert what the Freys really did for Riverlands to attack them that way. Jon didn’t want under any circumstances Robert to hear anything related to the past life, he did not want to put it on notice."Walder Frey, Ha! What a joke of man, I can’t believe that this old man would try something directly against someone, he's a craken, are you sure you got the right information?""Aye, Your Grace, I have a reliable source within the twins""Who?""Olivar Frey, one of Walder Frey's many children"That night Jaime slipped out of the royal camp and went to Edmure's tent. Edmure and he shared a beer while Edmure told him about the battle against the Freys."A fortnight after waking up in Riverrun without knowing how I got there, a letter appeared on my pillow, it was from Jon Snow, in the letter he explained everything about Bran's plan, what happened after my death and what He wanted me to do from now on, since then we have been writing in secret with the help of Varys's little birds. I called the bannermen and got in touch with Olivar Frey, he was always loyal to my nephew Robb and I know he wasn’t involved in the butchery at my wedding, so I wanted to prove his loyalty. When I siege the west side of the twins, I proposed him to hand over his father and his brothers and sisters who participated in the red wedding or he would die along with the rest of his family. The boy made the right choice but Walder Frey still gave us a fight but it was not too hard to defeat him, his army is embarrassed. However, Lothar Frey and half a dozen Freys escaped. I sent ravens to Seagard, Oldstone, Fairmarket and even to de Bloody Gate al the Valle and send a rider to The Neck to inform them about the situation and that if they found a Frey they would kill him or capture him and send him here immediately. Now Olivar is the new Lord of the Crossing. I told him that if I ever suspected that he intends to try something against my family I would cut off his head and destroy House Frey once and for all and forever".Two days later the royal procession continued its way down the Kingsroad. Before leaving, Edmure warned Robert about the rumors of war in the North and tried to convince him to stay in Riverrun until the North was at peace again."My Realms fight with each other, first Riverlands and now the North, what is going on?!"The news coming from the North was that the military forces were mobilizing. Stark House was going to war against Bolton House. Nobody knew why.Robert rejected Edmure's offer and continued on his way to the North despite everyone's protests. Jaime suspects that Robert longed to be in a war again.
MYRANDA
She didn’t know exactly what happened but one day Ramsay woke up with a very strange behavior. She was lying naked next to him like almost every morning. She felt tense and her body ached in that delicious way after having sex, especially with Ramsay, he always made the experience excruciatingly painful. She was in limbo between being asleep and awake when Ramsay shouted at her side startling her. He shook violently to the point of falling off the bed. His gaze was frantic and he ran his hands desperately over his body as if making sure he was okay."Ramsay, is everything okay?" She asked a little nervously. As much as she loved him she was really afraid of him, he was cruel and unpredictable. You never knew when he was in a good mood and when he would respond with a blow to your face. But this time he just looked at her surprised as if he was seeing her for the first time or as if he had seen a ghost."Myranda, are you alive?", his voice sounded dubious and surprised. She felt like rolling his eyes but she held back, she didn’t want him to feel insulted. What a stupid question, of course I’m alive. I’m very alive. "How is this possible?"He rose from the ground and looked around even more confused. They were in Ramsay's small room in the Dreadford. Despite being a bastard, Lord Roose allowed Ramsay to live in his castle. Of course, in the servants area, where he wasn’t visible to the noble guests of Lord Roose. The room was dark and damp and just big enough for a bed, a coffer for clothes and a small, ramshackle desk with a chair. Even the fireplace was tiny. This was the room in which Ramsay lived for years but now he behaved as if he were for the first time. He walked around the room and murmured unintelligible things in a low voice. She wondered if Ramsay had really lost his mind this time. Suddenly he turned to her. His cold, unsettling blue gaze made her shudder with fear."Where we are?"She frowned in surprise and confused even more, "In the Dreadford, of course, the same place we were yesterday""Where is my father? Is he in the South fighting in the War or is he in Winterfell? He is already the Warden of the North?""War?, what war?, there has not been a war since the Greyjoy rebellion, and ... your father Warden of the North?, the Warden of the North is Ned Stark, your father is trying something against the Starks that you didn’t tell me about?""Damn you," Ramsay growled before opening the coffer and dressing hurriedly. He took the dagger he always kept under his bed and left the room. Myranda got up from the bed and dressed in a hurry to follow him.He was walking at full speed through the corridors. She had to run for several minutes to reach it. He didn’t stop until he reached the main dining room where Lord Roose was talking to Master Wolkan. They both turned towards them when Ramsay burst into the room. Lord Roose's face contorted into an expression of disgust and hatred when he saw Ramsay."You, damn leech," Lord Roose approached Ramsay with a threatening step and he stepped back a few steps. "I should have known what kind of bastard you are, you dare, after what I did for you?! I should have let you drown in that river when you were a baby, it would have saved me a lot of headaches and my true born son would still be alive!"Lord Roose's voice spat venom at every word he said but Myranda didn’t know what he was talking about. What had Ramsay done to enrage Lord Roose so much? He was always indifferent to everything Ramsay did. Maybe this time Ramsay messed with the wrong person. Myranda tried to remember the people they'd hunted and tortured in the last week but their faces and names were blurred in her memory. Ramsay, however, did seem to know what his father was talking about. He trembled slightly and each time he moved further away from him. It was a funny feature of him. He was always so cruel to the people he had helpless under his power but when someone more powerful faced him he trembled like a maiden in her first time."I trusted you! I named you my heir and you paid me for it with a dagger in my heart?!"Myranda was surprised at that. A dagger in his heart?. She looked carefully at Lord Roose to look for signs that he was hurt but he looked completely healthy. How Ramsay could have stabbed him in the heart and he still is alive?Suddenly Lord Roose drew his sword and launched himself at Ramsay. The sword passed his head just centimeters from the head because Ramsay managed to dodge it in time. Myranda cried out in terror. Lord Roose again attacked him but Ramsay being younger and faster could dodge his blows easily. At one point he turned around and started running down the hall. Myranda ran after him, not knowing what to do but watch as Lord Roose Bolton tried to murder his own son."Guards! Catch him!", Lord Roose shouted while chasing themIn one corner Ramsay lost his balance and fell, which gave Lord Roose the opportunity to attack him but Ramsay once again managed to dodge his blows, pulled his dagger from his pants and began to stab his father. He managed to strike a blow to his right arm which made Lord Roose scream in pain and release his sword moment that Ramsay once took the opportunity to flee. She followed him. All the guards followed them. Ramsay killed some of them but got some injuries in the process. His walk was slower and forced.They ran through the corridors of the Dreadford for what seemed like hours while dodging all the guards sought them to kill them. But Ramsay, despite being wounded, had an advantage over them. One of the few good things about being a bastard and being a servant was that we knew the castle better than the lords themselves. We were the ones who had to move around the castle without being seen, we knew all the secret passages and exits. That's how she and Ramsay managed to escape the Dreadford without dying in the effort. They took a passageway that took them up to a league west of the castle. It was one of the passages that were created so that the Lords could escape in case of emergency but the passageway was disabled hundreds of years ago by an earthquake. However, no one knew that Ramsay had enabled it again for his personal use.Despite being out of the Dreadford alive and safe, they were in the woods without food, weapons or clothing suitable for the weather. She was only wearing a dark green woolen dress and nothing else, it was the only thing she put on in her haste to follow Ramsay. He also only had his pants and doublet. As northerners they were able to survive the weather even with their few clothes but if at night, when temperatures dropped further, it began to snow both would die frozen, she had no doubt about that.They wandered for days without getting anything to eat or drink more than some fruits of the trees. Ramsay had been more grumpy and violent during those days. He hit her more often and shouted at her for everything. He'd struck a particularly strong blow to her ribs one day. She had just picked up some plums, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries and brought them to Ramsay. She gave almost all to him and left only a few for her. He was eating the plums when he spat in her face all the plum."This one is rotten!", In a fit of fury Ramsay threw the rest of the berries on her. Some exploded with the force of impact staining her dress with their juices"Sorry, I didn’t realize it was rotten""Of course, you didn’t notice, you're stupid! Go find me more".She obeyed the order immediately. Her hands trembled as she picked the berries and it was not because of the cold weather of the North. This time she brought far fewer berries than the previous time. She gave them all to Ramsay. The berries that she had been eating fell from her hands when he yelled at her and spit on her, she'd barely managed to eat anything and her stomach raged furiously but she ignored it. Ramsay wasn’t happy about the amount of berries he brought him. He looked at her with hate and she shuddered under his gaze."You better not have any rotten". But to her bad luck there was a rotten fruit and he hit her in the chest for that. The breath left her body and her eyes filled with tears, the force of the impact threw her to the ground and left her seeing blurred and struggling to breathe. He pulled away from her after that, growling about how stupid she was.She lay on the ground until she felt she could breathe again. She couldn’t say how much time had passed. The thick forest didn’tallow her to see the sun to know his position in heaven. He cleaned the dirt as best he could and started walking. After a while he realized that he had no idea where he was going or where he was. All she could see were trees, trees and more trees. When the night began to fall she began to panic. She was alone in the forest. The wolves howled in the distance and everything was very dark already. And she couldn’t find Ramsay. She screamed and screamed and cried with fear and despair.When everything was so dark that she couldn’t see more than two meters beyond her, she heard branches snapping and steps in her direction. "Ramsay?", Nobody answered. The footsteps were getting closer and closer. "Ramsay, is that you?" Once again the branches breaking was his only answer. Fearing that it might be a bear or a wolf, she ran, whatever chased her ran behind her. She screamed more and more until she was out of breath and strength and collapsed on the wooded floor convinced that she would die devoured by a predator. She didn’t expect warm arms wrapped around him."Sshh, didn’t cry, it's me, it's just me, I just wanted to have some fun, I was a little bored, I didn’t scare you, right?"Myranda shook her head frantically. She ignored the throbbing pain in her ribs that made it difficult to breathe and was glad to have Ramsay with her once more. That night Ramsay fucked her with more brutality than ever. She ignored that pain too. He was with her. That was all that mattered.They wandered through the forest for many more days until they found a small farm. The administrators were a couple of at least fifty years old and had two children between ten and seven years old. It was too easy. They attacked in the night. He killed the children first and she went for the woman. They left man last. Ramsay had a little fun with him before leaving him alone when the poor old man couldn’t even speak to ask for mercy. They slept comfortably in a warm bed for the first time since they left Dreadford weeks ago when the sun began to rise in the sky. When they woke up past noon the old man was already dead. She didn’t even know his name, or that of his wife and children.Talking with some neighboring farmers and pastors they realized that the farm they had invaded was near the Kingsroad. They made a plan, there would be enough days to rest and eat well after so many days of wandering through in the forest and eating nothing but berries, then they would go south, as far as possible from Lord Roose. He didn’t t explain why his father attacked him that way and why he wanted him dead. She didn’t ask either.It was night when it happened. They would leave in the morning and as they would make a long trip they decided to have a quiet night to rest as much as possible before the trip. The bags with the food, drinks and clothes were already made and in the cart in which they would travel pulled by two horses. She slept peacefully when a hand fell on her mouth and nose cutting off her breath, felt the cold edge of a blade on her neck. Believing it was Ramsay who wanted to play a little, she didn’t mind until she felt a struggle on the other side of the bed. It was then that she jumped and saw two men holding Ramsay with ropes and chains. He already had a gag in his mouth and struggled to free himself but it was in vain. She tried to help him only so that the hand that covered her mouth took her by the hair and dragged her out of bed. A gag and moorings were soon in place and before she realized it she and Ramsay were tucked into a wooden crate and being transported to only the gods knew.Days passed in that crate, how many she didn’t know. Their captors only opened the lid to give them a little water from time to time but nothing more. The crate was full of their own debris and it was disgusting and it was all they could see and smell. She cried for being in that situation and Ramsay annoyed hit her with a knee in her stomach repeatedly. She cried even more because of the pain and he hit her even more until he made her vomit. She almost choked on her own vomit, she was face up and gagged and the vomit couldn’t come out of her mouth freely, it went to her nose and watered all over her face and neck. She cried more and he kept hitting her. It was an endless shekel.She knew they had reached their destination when the crate was thrown abruptly to the floor. She and Ramsay complained about the impact. Then the crate was lifted one more time and by the movements she deduced that they were being transported by the stairs of some place. After being dragged by what seemed half North they finally left the crate on the floor once again. They took them out without any delicacy. She was thrown into a corner near the door and Ramsay on the wall opposite the door. Both were chained to the wall. Now that she could see, she realized that their captors were six men and had taken them to a small, dark room. The walls were made of stone and there were no windows. Only one torch placed on the wall to her right. Their captors left them there alone without removing the gags or giving them water or food after spending days traveling locked in that crate.Ramsay writhed and struggled to free himself. She didn’t do any of that. She knew it was useless. They would not come out alive from here. She felt it in her bones. He doesn’t know how much time passed before the door opened and four different people came in. Two men and two women. Well, two boys and two girls. It was difficult to distinguish her features from her position, they were standing in front of Ramsay and she could only see them in profile but she could tell that one of the boys and one of the girls were ginger. The other two had dark hair, only the boy had curly hair and the girl had it straight. She was very confused. Who were they?The ginger boy approached Ramsay and removed the gag with a single tug. Ramsay moved his jaw to ease the pain before looking at his captors. His cynical, predatory smile focused on the ginger girl."My beloved wife"Myranda's heart stopped in her chest. Wife? Ramsay was married?. A wave of anger and jealousy invaded her. She growled and twisted in her bonds, the chains that bound her to the wall jingled. The children ignored her, only the smallest of them, the dark haired girl gave her a small look. Then he looked back at Ramsay."I guess feeding my dogs with me was not enough for you, you had to come back for more"What?"No, seeing you being eaten alive by your dogs wasn’t enough for me. You tortured me, you raped me, you killed my little brother and you tried to kill my other brother, not to mention all the horrible things you did to so many people for fun. So no, feeding your dogs with you wasn’t enough for me, or for my brothers", the girl spoke with confidence and hatred. It made Myranda shudder. Ramsay also seemed to understand the seriousness of the situation, his smile vanishing from his face. "I brought some of my siblings with me, you know Jon of course, you throw an entire army against him and tried to pierce him with three arrows, but Robb and Arya you haven’t met before. They are very happy to meet you". The girl smiled and pulled away. She left his brothers and sister in front."I have some pending accounts with you, Snow," One of them, the ginger boy, Robb, took a step forward. Ramsay shuddered when he saw him take out a blade. Myranda's heart began to beat violently, "Shall we begin?"Myranda yelled as the dagger rose in the air and pierced Ramsay's skin.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
BARRISTAN
Walking behind Lord Stark, Barristan can’t take his thoughts away from the boy he left behind in the courtyard. He did not look anything like Rhaegar, or a Targaryen for that matter, although he knew well that he was by far the first Targaryen to be born without the typical characteristics of Valirya, the boy was indeed a Stark. For a moment Barristan wondered if this would be some trick of the Starks to ascend to power but quickly dismissed the idea, Lord Eddard Stark was not that kind of person, he would never do something like that, he was a man too honorable, sometimes, even too honorable for his own good.When they both entered the solar, Lord Stark took a seat at the head of the large table that dominated the entire room. Barristan took a seat on his left side. Lord Stark was watching him curiously, wondering what could be so important for Barristan to ask to speak with him so soon after he had just arrived."Before I started, Lord Stark, I wanted to apologize for doing anything when the Lannisters took you and Joffrey took your head. I should have intervened, done something to save your life""Do not worry, Ser Barristan, I don’t blame you. You were bound by oath to follow the orders of the Royal family, you could not do anything for me"Barristan snorted, almost laughing, "Yes, and what did it cost me? The child Joffrey threw me out of the Kingsguard as soon as he put on the crown of his head"."So I heard, but at that time you were still bound by oath to him""The point is that I should not have been tied by oath to that family. I should never have bent the knee to Robert, I should have remained loyal to the Targaryens. That's why I came, Lord Stark, because now I know I can reaffirm that loyalty, and I want to do it but I have to be sure"Lord Stark looked at him with a strange brightness in his eyes, obviously already knowing where this conversation was going. He looked resigned, almost sad. "Ask then, Ser Barristan. What do you want to know?""Is it true? He is really Rhaegar's son?""He is""I want to know everything," he demanded.Lord Stark was silent for a moment, his eyes looking at an invisible spot on the table in front of him, finally after several seconds he took a breath and nodded, "After the war was over and Robert was crowned I received information that said Lyanna was in the red mountains of Dorne, in a place called 'Tower of Joy', so I went there accompanied by six of my best men. When we arrived at the foot of the tower there were three Kingsguard: Ser Gerald Hightower, Ser Oswell Went and Ser Arthur Dayne, the sword of the morning. We fight. In the end only my friend Howland Reed and I survived. I went up the tower and there was Lyanna in a room that smelled of blood and winter roses, she was covered in blood, burning in fever and white as a ghost. I knew it the instant I saw her, I knew she was going to die there. I had found my sister only to lose her again"Lord Stark's voice broke and his eyes filled with tears that he tried to avoid spilling. Barristan felt bad for making him remember such a painful moment, but he couldn’t stop now, he had to know."With her last breath of life Lya asked me to protect her son. She named him Aegon Targaryen and Robert would kill him if he ever found out about him, so I took the child and raised him as mine. I named him Jon after Jon Arryn. I called him my bastard to protect him from my best friend""Do you have any proof?""Aye, in the room where Lya was, were the documents of the annulment of Rhaegar's marriage with Elia Martell and the marriage certificate of Rhaegar with Lyanna. There were also some letters, poems that Rhaegar wrote for the boy while Lya was pregnant".Barristan thought very well of Lord Stark's words, looked for any flaw in Lord Stark's story and compared it to the events of Robert's rebellion that he knew so well. After much thought and analysis he realized that he could not really find any mistakes and that the events coincided. Hope began to fill Barristan's chest and he could not help the smile that spread across his face. A weight that he did not know was on him rose in that moment allowing him to breathe again. He believed it now. Jon Snow is Aegon Targaryen, the son of Prince Rhaegar."Thank you, Lord Stark. I just wish I had known before ""Nobody could know""I know"Barristan left Lord Stark's solar with renewed hope and excitement. A son of Rhaegar lived, he could do for the boy what he could not do either for Rhaegar or for Aegon or Rhaenys. If the boy accepted him, of course.That night during the welcome feast Barristan spent much of his time observing the prince from afar. Analyzing him, knowing him. The boy seemed to be mostly stoic, serious and thoughtful, who was actually very much like Rhaegar. His heart warmed to find that similar between them and he found himself smiling almost without realizing it. But in spite of his cold attitude, a warm light shone in his eyes and his smile became soft and affectionate every time he saw his siblings. He loved his family, it was not hard to notice, and Barristan saw him in each of his actions. The way he instinctively leaned toward Robb Stark, always looking for his company, made it clear how close they are, they were both tied to each other's hip most of the time. The way he looked at his younger brothers with infinite love and affection, especially the smallest of them, Rickon Stark. The way he bothered and took care of Arya Stark. The way he looked and talked with Lady Sansa, with admiration and respect but with a touch of fun and confidence, as if they were talking about something only they know.He was still thinking when and how to offer his service and sword to Prince Jon when the Hound fell heavily at his side, he had in his hand a big beer horn that was half empty and a piece of Jam in the other. He took a long drink of beer before speaking."We were stuck in that fucking boat for a fortnight and then we were traveling by land almost nonstop for another fortnight, you should be drinking and fucking, I thought being out of King's Landing would take out the sword you have buried in the ass but it seems to be buried even more"Barristan snorted with amusement, "I don’t need to drink and sleep with some stranger to have a good time, Sandor. Here where I am, I'm perfectly fine"The Hound looked at him in disbelief, "Perfectly good, huh? Then why does it look like someone killed your kitten?""Like I said, I'm fine""You've always been too simple, Barristan. Have a little fun. The fucking dead are coming to kill us all, you should take advantage of moments like these before you meet with their blue eyes”"I'll keep it in mind""Well, if you're not going to find some whore to spend the night with, I'll do it, I have not had a good fuck in moons"With that, Sandor Clegane got up and left, shortly after he was accosted by Lady Sheeren. Barristan laughed aloud as he saw the great and fearsome Hound being dragged by a little girl to a dance. When he returned his attention to the prince, Jon was nowhere to be seen, as were some of his siblings. Prince Jon did not appear for the rest of the night and Winterfell was too big and unknown for him to look for, so he decided to wait to meet him at another time.The next day, Barristan found him strolling along the wooden walkways next to Lady Sansa, two guards and two direwolfs, one gray and one white. Barristan bowed to both of them, "Your Grace, Lady Sansa."Both bowed their heads in greeting, "Ser Barristan," they said"I was wondering if I could have a few words with you, Your Grace"Jon looked slightly surprised, leaned toward his sister and whispered something in her ear, she nodded and withdrew, "Be Barristan," she said by way of dismissal as she passed by her side. One of the guards and the gray wolf went with her."Follow me, Ser Barristan", Jon drove him to the Great Keep and to his chambers, the guard that accompanied the Prince stayed in the hallway while the white Direwolf entered with them and lay down on the floor in front of the fireplace. Finally he and the prince were alone for the first time.Jon instructed him to sit in the only chair in the room, which was the desk chair while the prince took his seat in his own bed. Barristan was surprised at how simple the room was, it was small, just big enough for a bed, a small table next to the bed, a chest, a desk and a chair and the fireplace. There were no decorations or personal effects, in no way it looked like a prince's room, in fact Barristan's own room in the guest house was bigger and more elegant than this.Jon looked at him expectantly from his seat on the bed, Barristan cleared his throat and spoke, "You are the son of Rhaegar," he said simply."I am""You do not look like him"At that Jon smiled, a little and almost shy, "No, I guess not""I served your father for many years, I appreciated him very much. I failed to serve him, but I promise you that if you let me serve you I will not let you down, let me pay the debt I have with Rhaegar serving and protecting his last living son"The prince looked at him with amazement and disbelief, opened and closed his mouth several times before he could speak, "It would be my honor, Ser Barristan." Barristan drew his sword and went down on one knee in front of Jon Snow, Jon Targaryen, the son of Rhaegar and legitimate King of Westeros.“I, Barristan Selmy, offer my services and swear loyalty to you as my one and true King, I will shield your back and keep your counsel, and give my life for yours if needed be, I swear by the Old Gods and the New”Jon stared at him in astonishment for a few seconds, as if he could not believe what Barristan had just done, then he pronounced the words too, “And I vow that you shall always have a place by my hearth and meet and mead at my table, and I pledge to ask no service of you that might bring you dishonor. I swear it by the Old Gods and the New”Barristan got up and sheathed his sword."Thank you, Ser Barristan, I never expected this but it means a lot to me""It means much more to me, Your Grace, I thought the Targaryen house was extinct but you and Daenerys are here, hope is not lost"A tender smile spread across Jon's face, "Aye, we're both here""I understand that you two were married", Barristan said with a mischievous smile that made Jon laugh"Aye", he said and lowered his eyes ashamed of his own blush and Barristan laughed."You know? During my time with Daenerys she confessed to me once how much it scared her to be alone, to be the last of her family, it is good that you are here, it means that she is not alone anymore""I suppose we both keep company with each other", he said and then remained silent for a few moments, his gaze lost in a very, very distant spot. Finally she spoke again and her voice was not stronger than a whisper, "I miss her, I hope she arrives soon""I know Daenerys, she is a determined woman, she will find her way here one way or another sooner rather than later"Jon smiled, "Aye, she will do it"
DAENERYS
She would know for sure how long she had been locked in that cell. There were no windows through which to see the movement of the sun and determine the passage of time. There were no torches or candles to illuminate the small cell or the corridor, so everything was in deep darkness. The darkness was terrifying, it brought back memories of cold things made of ice and with blue eyes, it reminded her of wandering through a Westeros sunk in a perpetual night with her dragons and dying armies trying to flee, to survive, to recover strength to face the Night King once again, who was always on their heels, always one step behind them, sometimes he took them off guard, when they were still very tired and hurt from their last battle, other times, he let them rest and recover for days and days before attacking them again. Alone, there in that dark cell, all she could do was remember."Do you remember the summer?", Jon had asked her once, near the end, "Do you remember the sun warming up your body?", They had been hiding from the Night King. Jon was badly hurt, Dany was exhausted. They were in a small tent with a bonfire and a sling where Jon was lying on a hot spot and sweating while Dany was kneeling on the cold ground and almost freezing. Outside, it was snowing deeply, "I don’t remember summer anymore""We'll live to see it again", Dany had promised. They had spent much time in the perpetual darkness of the Long Night, the sun had not risen since the Night King had arrived at Winterfell, winter was at its height, and in the midst of endless snowfall, the long night and the paralyzer cold was difficult to remember the warm days, the warmth of the sun, the colors of spring and summer, the song of the birds. "We will live to see the end of this winter, I promise", she kissed his hand and prayed to all the gods in which she did not really believe for Jon to survive, so that all to survive, to defeat the Night King and the end of the winter. And the Gods had answered their prayers, in a strange way. She died, she did not see the end of winter but somehow she ended years in the past, in the end of summer and with the opportunity to do it all over again.She had to get out of there, trapped in a cell could not do anything for anyone, she had to find a way to communicate with an unsullied. She’d realized that she had not seen any unsullied since she came to the Slaver's Bay and that had to be Kraznys work, they should remember her, or at least he feared they would remember her, but if that was the case, why the unsullied had not attacked the masters and removed from there?The door of her cell suddenly opened, startling her. In the middle of the darkness she saw a figure that came to her and took her roughly by the arm to raise her. The sudden movement made her dizzy and for a moment she saw the ground approach her face. She was weak, they had only given her food and water once in all the time she had been locked up there, which seemed like years to Dany.The man dragged her through dark corridors until they reached an open-air courtyard. The half-day sun burned her eyes and Dany writhed like a vampire hurt by sunlight. The man took her across the courtyard to a dark, damp room, but not as dark as the cell he was in. This room had small windows on the top of the walls that let in a little light. Finally Dany was able to open her eyes once they were accustomed to the light and saw that there were four middle-aged women in front of her, all with thick necklaces around their necks, the floor was wet and there were at least ten full buckets of water. The man left and left her alone with the slaves who immediately began to take off her clothes and throw the water on her. Dany did not fight with them, she wanted that bathroom.Slaves bathed her well, scrubbed the dirt from her skin and perfumed her, washed and combed her hair and washed between her legs. At the end of the bath, Dany felt clean and fresh once more and almost felt human again, until she felt the weight of a necklace on her neck. She jumped and tried to take it off but her hands were tied behind her back."What is this? What are you doing?", The slaves did not respond, instead they called the man who had taken her there and to take her back. Only with the collar around her neck was Dany paraded through the corridors of the entire castle until the man put her into a large and elegant room and there, sitting on the bed, was Kraznys. Fear invaded her body as she watched him approach her with a predatory smile but she did not let his fear show on her face. Kraznys looked at her with malice and lust, Dany looked at him impassively."There you are," he said, "So beautiful," One of his hands came up to stroke her left breast, "I have news, I found a buyer for you. They are going to give me a lot of money for you but it will take them a few more days to come looking for you, meanwhile you are all mine"He carried her and threw her on the bed where she bounced uncomfortably on his arms tied on her back, "I'm going to kill you for this," Dany told him as he climbed on top of her."I want to see you trying," he teased."You will", she promised before he buried himself inside her.
BENJEN
They had been traveling for three weeks and finally Winterfell's towers stood in the distance. Next to him were Lord Commander Jeor Mormont, Eddison Tollet, Master Aemon who had insisted on accompanying them, Clydas Master Aemon's steward and a handful of other black brothers. Benjen had tried to convince him to stay at Castle Black, told him that a trip would be too painful and complicated for a man his age, but Master Aemon was not having any of that and before anyone could stop him or say something more against him he was already mounted on the wagon ready for the trip, they had no choice but to accept that the old Master accompanied them.The trip had been slower and more difficult than it would have been without the old Master. They could not move so quickly or so many hours in a row because it could be painful and dangerous for the Master, but he never complained and tried to endure as much as his old bones would allow him before he had to stop to rest."We're already close, Master, we'll be in Winterfell in a few hours", he told the master who was sitting in the wagon that was being driven by Clydas. The Master smiled at the news. "I am happy to see my family again, I have not seen them in a long time""Me too," said the Master and suddenly Benjen understood why Master Aemon had insisted so much on coming to Winterfell and smiled."It's funny, how we've known each other for so many years and until now we realize that we have a nephew in common""Life goes round in ways we could never imagine or predict"Less than two hours later the Night's Watch was coming through Winterfell's North Gate. As soon as Benjen dismounted from his horse he was assaulted by a pack of children who fell on him."Uncle Benjen!", shouted all of themHappy and laughing hug his nieces and nephews as he had not done in a long time. When they separated Benjen planted a kiss on each of their heads and it was when he noticed that one of his nephews was missing. Looking up, he saw Bran standing next to Ned and Catelyn. Ben approached him, took him under his armpits and threw him into the air before catching him and kissing him on the cheek. Bran's eyes widened and he clung tightly to his shoulders to keep from falling. Ben laughed at his expression."I'm proud of you, Bran," he said. Bran blushed and shamed his head. Ben kissed his cheek again and lowered it to the floor. Then he approached his brother. They both stared at each other for a few seconds before hugging each other in a tight hug.When he walked away from Ned he saw Jon hugging Edd. Ben looked back at Ned, "Let me introduce you to the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, Jeor Mormont."The Old Bear and Ned shook hands. "Lord Commander Mormont, it's a pleasure to see you again, it's been many years since the last time""That's right, Lord Stark, the last time I saw you, your sons Robb and Jon were very little and now one of those boys was one of the best men of the Night's Watch that I could ever had"At that moment Jon approached them, was helping Clydas to take Master Aemon. When looking at the Master, Ben saw tears without spilling in his eyes and a huge smile. "Lord Commander," Jon saidThe Old Bear turned to look at Jon with a little smile, "Snow," he said before pulling him into a hug.As they parted, Jon turned to Ned, "Father, this is Master Aemon, my great uncle."The Master smiled and tentatively raised his hand so Ned could take it and shake it. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lord Stark, I've heard a lot from you, let me congratulate you for raising such an incredible boy"Both Jon and Ned blushed at the words of the Master. Benjen could not help but laugh. "The pleasure is mine, Master"Once the presentations and reunions were complete they all went to the Great Hall to eat. It was only mid afternoon and there were still some hours left for dinner but Ben was hungry for the trip and he was sure that his brothers were the same. Ned sat them all at the high table and ordered the servants to bring the food. The conversations didn’t wait and soon the Great Hall was filled with the noise of the voices. Ned, Catelyn, Ben, and old Bear were talking about the trip to Winterfell and about awakening in this new life. Ned explained to them how it was Bran's work that everyone was here alive once more. Ben looked for Bran and ruffled his hair fondly and repeated how proud he was of him. Ben was surprised to learn that Ser Barristan Selmy was at Winterfell, and not only that, but that he was now in Jon's service as a member of his Kingsguard. A small childish part of him that didn’t know it still existed was thrilled to have the legendary knight among them. Ben had only seen Ser Barristan once in the tourney at Harrenhal but he had been very little at the time and when he saw the old knight standing behind his nephews he didn’t recognize him. Now Barristan was standing at the side of the table, close to Jon so he could keep him safe if necessary, even though they were all in the family. Ben was sure it would not be necessary.Ned was telling him about everything that had happened at Winterfell since they returned when the Old Bear stood up and got everyone's attention. "I want to do something, Jon come closer, lad"Jon confused looked at Robb before getting up and approaching the old Bear, Barristan not far behind him. "Lord Commander?"The Old Bear leaned over and took a long, thin packet he had brought with him from Castle Black and put it on the table. It was a large black cloak that hid or protected something and was tied with strips of black leather. Ben didn’t know what it was and why Mormont brought with him to Winterfell, much less what it had to do with Jon. Master Aemon and Edd had wide smiles on their faces, they obviously knew what it was about. Jon looked at the package and at Mormont with shock and disbelief. Apparently he also knew what it was about. The Lord Commander untied the leather straps."I gave you this in the past life because you saved my life and because I considered you were the one to carry the ancestral sword of my family, I always knew that there was great potential in you, I always knew that you were destined for greatness, I felt my bones, and after hearing all the things you accomplished, I'm glad to know that I was not wrong, "said Mormont with a smile. Jon looked at the Old Bear with his mouth open like everyone else, including him. "Now that we are in a new life I want to give you the sword once again"Lord Commander Mormont unwrapped the black cloak to reveal a long sword unsheathe in a metal case and black leather and silver appliqués. The hilt of the sword was crowned by a white wolf's head with red eyes showing its jaws."Longclaw," Jon whispered as if he could not believe it. He tentatively stretched out his hand to take the sword but stopped at the last moment and took a step back. He looked at the Old Bear and shook his head, "Lord Commander, I could not-""I'm not going to accept a no for an answer," Mormont said, cutting Jon's sentence, "Take it boy, it's yours and it'll continue to serve you well," he said in that dominant but friendly tone of his that did not admit a no for an answerJon finally smiled and took Longclaw from the Old Bear's hands, "Thank you Lord Commander, you have no idea how much it means for me to have Longclaw back". Mormont smiled at him and Ben could see a faint hint of affection in his normally tired expression. Jon turned around and went back to his seat. Robb and Rickon were on top of him in an instant to see the sword. Ned was curious, too, Ben noticed, glancing with barely contained emotion as Jon drew the Valyrian steel sword to show it to his excited brothers. Ben himself wanted to get up and see the sword more closely but the servants entered at that moment with the food. Finally, he thought.As he took his first bite of the elk, Ben noticed the look of disgust in Catelyn's eyes as she saw Jon with Longclaw.
JON
Having the family weight of Longclaw on his hip was comforting. He had come to the idea that his time with Longclaw had passed, that in this life he was not going to be lucky enough to have his Valyrian steel sword. It had never occurred to him that the Old Bear was going to give him the sword again. Jon was happy about it. Now that he had Longclaw with him he felt complete again.After the early dinner this afternoon Jon, Edd and Robb met in the Courtyard to practice with their swords. Having Edd again was a relief. It hurt a lot when Edd died. He was one of the few friends left alive at that point, only Sam and Tormunt were left, even Ghost and his sisters had died. The pain of so many losses was too much for him but fortunately he did not live long after Edd's death. And now he was here with everyone alive: Ghost, Robb, Arya, Rickon, Sansa, Dany, and Father, no matter how confused his feelings were toward him right now.Being with Master Aemon also filled him with great joy. Now that he knew they were family Jon felt a new affection for the old Master. That night Jon dismissed Clydas from the Master's chambers so he could be alone with him. Barristan stayed outside the room, watching the hallway. It was still a bit strange for him to have Ser Barristan under his service but the old knight adapted instantly and quickly took over his guards, Toby and Marc, who had been with him since father ordered several weeks ago, and not only that but went further and also took over the guards of his brothers and sisters, "My job is to protect the royal family," he had said, "The Stark children are not only your cousins but also your brothers and sisters so that makes them part of the Royal family, it's my duty to take care of them too". Barristan had quickly become Lord Commander of his improvised Kingsguard.Turning his attention back to Master Aemon, the old master was sitting near the fire with Ghost at his feet. The old man's sight was aimed at a point above Jon's head, although Jon knew that the Master actually had his full attention on him. Jon took the blanket that was on top of the bed and set it on Master Aemon's legs to keep him warm."Are you sure you don’t want to lie down in bed, Master Aemon?, you've been traveling for a long time""My old bones can’t stand being stretched on a bed for long, a chair is more than enough for me""As you say, Master"Master Aemon smiled and looked at him with those white eyes that pierce the soul. "For many, many years I thought I was alone, that all members of my family were dead or exiled far away from me and it turns out that you were always here, so close to my hand. Do you have any idea how happy it made me know that you are my great-great-nephew?", Maester Aemon's voice was broken by emotion and his eyes filled with tears.Jon couldn’t help but get emotional too. He took Master Aemon's hands in his hands and squeezed them, "I was also happy to know that we are family, Master"."Please, call me uncle, that would make me very happy""Okay. Uncle".The entire Houseguard was preparing. The Karstark were aiming to get here. Unlike the Umbers who arrived in peace, the Karstark came with an escort of 100 men. Jon hoped that Rickard Karstark was not stupid enough to try something against them, the Houseguard easily outnumbered the Karstark men, not to mention that with the rest of the vassals in Winterfell the security it was increased ten times.As soon as Rickard Karstark got off his horse with his sons, Jon could say they would have problems. Lord Karstark approached them. "Lord Stark," the contempt in his voice combined with contempt in his eyes. He hated them and was not afraid to show it."Lord Karstark," Father replied in his usual impassive tone and unintelligible face. "I thank you for responding to my call, let's start at once so we can end this once and for all"The one hundred men of Karstark positioned themselves around the courtyard and it was already quite obvious that Rickard Karstark did not intend to make amends. Jon cursed him for his stupidity. His hand instinctively went to Longclaw, ready to attack if necessary. The Housegard was also ready to fight at any moment. Jon was glad that Father had forced Sansa, Arya, Rickon and Lady Catelyn to stay in their chambers."Did you come to answer for the crimes of your son Harald?", Father asked, his hand also on the hilt of his sword."No," answered Rickard simply"Then what did you come to?""To do this," and then Rickard Karstark launched himself with his drawn sword straight at Robb and Jon saw as if everything were happening at a very slow speed. He was not thinking at that moment, he did not see all of them draw their swords, he did not hear steel against steel, all he could see was the sword getting closer and closer to his brother. In a totally natural and instinctive move for him he drew Longclaw and pierced the heart of Rickard Karstark before he could touch Robb. Robb looked at him with wide eyes and it was then that Jon realized that Robb had also unsheathed his sword and that he'd been about to counterattack before Jon got ahead of him.When he removed Longclaw from Richard Karstark's lifeless body, it was realized that Barristan had killed Harrion Karstark who had intended to kill him, Jon looked at the old knight and thanked him with a gesture of silence. After that, everything was blurred. The swords clashed against each other, Jon struggled to kill every man he saw with the White Sun of Karstark. He was struggling with one of them when someone pushed him from behind, which caused him to stumble and drop his sword, the man Karstark took the opportunity to raise his sword and direct it to his heart, Jon looked for Barristan with his eyes but the knight was fighting two men at a time. Jon dodged the first attacks, tried to take Longclaw again but every time he tried to approach the man again attacked him forcing him back until suddenly an arrow crossed the air and was buried between the eyebrows of the man, confused Jon looked in the direction where the arrow had come from and saw Rickon on the wooden walkways with a bow in his hands and smiling at him, Rickon winked at him and Jon smiled back when he saw a Karstark man approaching at full speed towards his little brother, Jon was about to shout to warn Rickon of the danger when he turned around and quickly shot another arrow that landed right on the man's forehead.Seeing that Rickon had everything under control, Jon picked up Longclaw, then saw Harald Karstark face off in single combat against Father and ran there immediately. He took Harald off guard by attacking him from behind and pushing him to make Harald stumble, he immediately turned and launched an attack in the direction of his head that Jon had no trouble blocking and with a movement of his sword managed to cut the sword hand of Harald Karstark. Harald screamed and fell to his knees, clutching the place where his right hand used to be with his only hand. Jon lifted Longclaw to stick it in Harald's head when he yelled, "Please, don’t!" He said, "I surrender, I yield, please don’t kill me"Jon didn’t react, only remained paralyzed in the place still with the sword held high thinking about Harald’s words."Jon, put down the sword, he yielded, it's over," said Father putting a hand on his shoulder.But Jon didn’t hear it, instead he remembered Harald trying to kill his father, Rickard throwing his sword at Robb, the Karstark soldier running with his sword held high towards Rickon and all the Karstark men attacking his family. Jon went down Longclaw and buried it in the face of Harald Karstark, his face was petrified in a scream that he never managed to emit."Jon!", Father shouted, "He yielded, you didn’t have to kill him!"Jon turned to look at him, "He tried to kill you," he replied. Father looked at him as if he didn’t recognize him; Jon ignored the pang of pain that caused him to see that look on Father's face and pulled Longclaw out of Harald Karstark's dead body. When he looked up the fight was over. He swept his gaze across the courtyard to see who was still standing and who had died, relieved to see everyone he cared about alive and well, Robb, Edd, Uncle Benjen, Lord Commander, Ser Barristan, Davos and Rickon. Only Jory seemed to be hurt, along with other Housegard men."My Lord!", shouted a voice. Jon looked up to see Daryn Hornwood dragging a very beaten Torrhen Karstark, "My men and I caught him trying to run away, we thought maybe you would want him alive", he told Father"Take him to the dungeons; I'll talk to him later""Are you okay?", Robb asked approaching him"Aye, and you?""As good as it could be, I think I bruises my ribs but otherwise I'm fine"The following hours were spent attending the wounded and collecting the dead. All Karstark men died, only two Stark men, four Cerwyn and one Glover. When the dead were all piled in a pile Jon gave the order, "Burn the bodies""We should send their bones to their relatives, these men are parents, children, brothers, their families deserve to have their bones," Father replied."If you had seen what I have seen, you would not hesitate to burn those bodies", Cley Cerwyn said."Aye, he's telling the truth, when the winter comes, those men will rise up and they'll be another problem to deal with, it's better to get rid of them now," interposed Robett Glover."Burn the bodies," Jon repeated before leaving with Barristan following him closely.
EDDARD
When the flames of the last batch of dead went out Ned was finally allowed to leave. Jon simply ordered to burn the bodies and left but Ned felt the need to remain as a sign of respect to the men who died, they were northerners, he is the Warden of the North, they were his people.It was late at night but Ned felt he was not going to be able to sleep so he went to his solar. He had too many things in his head, to distract himself he tried to concentrate on his duties as Lord de Winterfell, as the count of the food supplies now that the Northern Army was at Winterfell or the response of the Tyrells to his proposal of marriage that arrive that day but his thoughts kept coming back to the fight that afternoon: Rickard Karstark trying to kill Robb, Harrion Karstark trying to kill Jon, Rickon, his little boy, killing men with his bow and arrows without shaking his hand, Jon coldly killing Harald Karstark even though he had already yielded. Gods, what happened to his children?. He understood that they were grown men hardened by the difficulties of life even when physically they still looked like children and teenagers. It was hard for him anyway, to see his children that way; he was not ready for that.Realizing that he was not going to be able to work on anything right then, he left his solar and went to the dungeons, he needed to talk to Torrhen Karstark, he needed to understand today's attack, maybe that would give him something else to think about.Torrhen was chained to the wall of his cell, Ned entered alone, the guard that accompanied him stayed behind the door to give him some privacy but always close if necessary. "Why?", he ask, "Why attack us like that, being in our own house with all the northern army here?"Torrhen looked at him with hatred, "Vengeance""Vengeance for what?""Your son cut off my father's head!", He shouted, throwing himself at him but his chains kept him from getting close enough to hurt him. The guard opened the door with his sword in his hand when he heard the commotion. Ned motioned to him to calm down and lower his sword. The guard came back out of the cell but didn’t close the door."I understand your desire for revenge", he said, "But today was stupid, even if you had managed to kill us, you would never have left Winterfell alive". Torrhen didn’t answer, just looked at him and suddenly Ned understood, "You didn’t intend to leave alive""No," replied Torrhen"Why?"Torrhen snorted, "What other choice did we have? Was to be with you or against you and it is certain that House Karstark will never lick House Stark’s ass again, not after what your pup did to my father. If we joined the Boltons we were going to die on the battlefield, or taken prisoners and be executed after refusing to bend the knee, because you will won that battle that's for sure, everyone knows that, so we thought we could come here and do the work, we were going to die, yes, but what does it matter?, we were going to die anyway but at least we could take one or two of you with us and get our revenge""Well, you failed. I and my children we’re alive while your father and your brothers are dead", Ned told him, again Torrhen did not answer anything. "Arrange yourself with the Gods tonight, Torrhen Karstark, you will lose your head tomorrow". And with that Ned left the cell.He went back to his solar, he still didn’t want to sleep, maybe he would skip sleep for that night. When he entered his solar he was surprised to see Jon there with Ghost lying at his feet. Jon looked at him and Ned looked away, the image of Jon sticking his sword into Harald Karstark's face repeating in his mind over and over again.He took a seat and buried his head in Winterfell's accounting books. A heavy silence grew between father and son, they were still father and son?, there were moments when Ned doubted it.After a few minutes of heavy silence Jon sighed in resignation, "The ragers report that Bolton's army is two days from Winterfell""Good," Ned replied without looking at his son"Karstark's army is with them led by Arnold Karstark. The rangers calculate that Bolton's army has a little more than three thousand men, maybe four thousand", Jon said again, Ned still didn’t look at him, he couldn’t, he couldn’t look his son’s dark eyes that just a few hours ago had killed a man in cold blood, instead he focused childishly on the accounting books in front of him."Good", was all he said"Is that all you're going to say?", Ned could hear the irritation in Jon's voice.Ned sighed, "Tomorrow I will start preparing men for battle, thanks for the information""Thanks for the information?!", Jon's irritation turned into anger, "You're not even going to look at me?, I'm trying to have a conversation with you and you're acting weird""I'm busy," Ned simply wanted Jon to leave, he couldn’t bear to look at him right now"Why are you acting so weird with me?", Jon insisted. Feeling the agitation of his master, Ghost raised his head and looked between Jon and Ned curiously, as if he was wondering if he should intervene.Ned lost patience and looked up from the accounting books to look at Jon and what he saw saddened him. He saw a child sitting in front of him, because that was what Jon was, a child, his face still had some childish features, his beard had not even started to grow quite well, his body was small and thin, but Jon was not a child, not really, not anymore, instead he was a grown man, hardened by the difficulties of life, cold, methodical, ruthless. "Why did you kill Harald Karstark?", He asked, he needed to know.Jon looked confused at the sudden change of conversation, "He was trying to kill you," he replied simply and naturally, as if he were saying that the sky is blue."No, he yielded, he was unarmed and on his knees begging you to let him live and still you still killed him"The look in Jon's gray eyes turned hard as steel, "If I let him live he would hate us for the rest of his days and someday he would come back to get revenge and finish what he started, I prefer to cut that problem in the bud, avoid a problem before it starts"Ned was surprised by how cold Jon was talking about it, "Jon... what are you saying? What you did this afternoon was dishonorable, that's not the way I raised you, I don’t teach those ways""No, you didn’t," Jon said, "Life did it"
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
CATELYN
She was sure that she would never get used to seeing her husband and son leave for battle. She had said goodbye twice to Ned before he left for war, the first time was only the day after her wedding, she had already been pregnant with Robb at that time and Ned was marching to fight in Robert's rebellion. The second time, she had been pregnant with Arya and Ned had gone to fight alongside Robert in Balon's Greyjoy rebellion. And every time her husband returned victorious from a war she rewarded him with a baby. Her hands instinctively went to her flat and empty belly, this time she didn't have a baby to receive him when he returned from battle. He had not visited her bedchambers since they returned, they had had their intimate moments yes, but their relationship was not at its best moment.Looking away from her husband, she looked at Robb, her first boy. She has said goodbye to him before going to many battles during the War of the Five Kings but that feeling of fear and apprehensiveness would never disappear, she spent the hours he was in battle praying to the Mother and the Warrior, and all the Seven to get his son back alive. She wanted to go to him and take him in her arms and take him away from all danger, but she couldn't do that, he was an adult man now, a man experienced in war and she had to accept that.She lowered the wooden walkways and approached the courtyard where the men were preparing their horses to leave to fight Roose Bolton. She stopped in front of her husband first and waited patiently to end his hug with his brother."This is the first time I regret having taken the black one," Benjen said when they separated, "I'd love to ride with you in the field and kick Roose Bolton's arse, but I can't"."The Night's Watch does not take sides in the wars of men, I know," Ned said sadlyBenjen smiled sadly and squeezed Ned's shoulder before walking away, then her Lord husband turned to look at her. She smiled at him, "My Lord""My Lady," he bowed his head and smiled at her. She was going to say something but the words died in her throat when Ned took her by the waist and pulled her into a fierce and ardent kiss as he had not kissed her for a lifetime. "I will come back", he said when they parted, "I promise"She felt like a 15 year old girl again, all flushed and trembling. She turned away from her lord husband and approached her eldest son who looked at her with a mischievous smile."You two should look for a bedchamber", he said.“Robb!”, she scolded him and he just laughed free and unconcerned, she had so much time that she didn't see him laugh that way. She couldn't help it and took him from his cheeks and pull him towards her and kiss him on both cheeks."Mother!" Robb complained, a laugh was heard behind her. Robb walked away from her very fast and wiped his cheeks looking around as if making sure no one had seen his humiliation. Laughter was heard again behind her once more and Robb looked annoyed in that direction. "Do not laugh at me!"She turned to see Jon Snow, the bastard who was really no bastard but the legitimate King of Westeros, laughing even louder. She looked back at her son, "I just wanted to tell you that I hope you come back safe and sound.""Both", Sansa said suddenly appearing at her side, "I hope that both of my brothers return home safe and sound"."Of course", she said with a forced smile on her face looking at Jon Snow, "Both".Catelyn approached to hug her son as she watched Snow hug Sansa, when they parted he kissed her forehead and muttered something, she smiled and nodded. Then Sansa approached Robb to give him a hug and Catelyn prepared to leave but then she thought better and approached Jon Snow, he looked at her curiously when she stopped in front of him."I just wanted to say...," she stopped, she didn't actually know what to say. What do you say to the boy that you have hated all your life for no reason when he is about to go to battle? She sighed and said what she thought was best in a situation like this, "I wish you good fortune in the wars to come".He laughed at her face, "Do not bother to pretend, Lady Stark, I know you would have a party if I were to fall in the field, finally you would undo me", he said, then turn his back and climb his horse, ignoring her completely. He whistled and called his Direwolf, "Come, Ghost", the white wolf trotted beside him.She was shocked by his boldness, how dare he? She watched him walk away from her and approach Ned with barely contained fury. Insolent."It's time to go", said her Lord husband. She turned her back on the bastard and walked towards the line of wives and daughters who were going to see their husbands, sons or brothers leave. Sansa was already there but Arya wasn't, she started looking for her all over the courtyard until she found her across the courtyard next to Robert Baratheon's bastard.They were clearly trying not to get attention, they were in a corner hidden behind the bastard's horse but in reality that didn't do much to hide them. They were talking about something and then Catelyn was surprised when Arya pulled a gray and white ribbon from her pants pocket and tied it on his wrist. That was the most Ladylike thing that Catelyn had ever seen Arya do of her own accord. The bastard looked just as surprised as she did but then he smiled and kissed her and the kiss was deeper and longer than it should be. The kiss should not have happened in the first place. Catelyn boiling in anger and was about to go there and get her daughter out of that bastard's grip when they both separated, he said something that made Arya angry, she growls something that made him laugh and then she hit him hard in the arm, he laughed even louder and finally Arya pulled away from him muttering annoyingly between her teeth."I told you that I don't like you being with that boy!" she said when Arya stood beside her, she turned her eyes. "Arya!" she scolded her"Just let her be, mother," Sansa said, Sansa said, tired and annoyed in her voiceShe swallowed her comments to herself when the gates opened and the men began to leave, Ned, Robb, Jon Snow, Ser Barristan, the onion knight, Baratheon's bastard, the Hound, Greatjon Umber, Robett Glover and all the other northern lords who would join the army that was waiting outside Winterfell's walls.Catelyn and all the women stayed in the courtyard until the last man left the castle and the gates were closed. Arya quickly disappeared from her side. She turned to look at her eldest daughter, "Are we going to the Sept to pray for the welfare of your father and brother?" She was about to turn around and start walking towards the Sept, certain that her daughter would accompany her when Sansa's response stopped her dry."I don’t pray anymore", she said before heading towards the Great Keep.She was speechless. Sansa had always been as devout of the seven as she was and was always willing to pray with her in the Sept. She sighed sadly, this was another change she had to adapt to. Her children had changed a lot, all of them.She was heading to the Sept when she saw all the Ladies heading to the Godswood. Shee hesitated a second and then headed there too. The Old Gods were part of the reason why everyone was here alive once again; she could begin to have faith in her husband and children's gods. Upon entering he was surprised to see not only the northern Ladies but also men and women of the castle service, Benjen, Lord Commander Mormont, Eddison Tollett, the Masters Luwin and Aemon and Bran and Rickon and the wildling Osha, all kneeling in front of the weirwood with eyes closed and heads bowed in a silent prayer. She has always felt so out of place here, as if the gods of the first men repudiated her andal and southern blood, but this time she resisted the urge to leave the place and stayed.She knelt beside Rickon, her youngest son and the one she was having a hard time relating to. Rickon opened his eyes when he felt movement at his side and looked at her warily. She smiled at him and after a moment he smiled back and she knew she had made the right decision.She closed her eyes and prayed for the welfare of Ned and Robb, prayed that her children could set aside the demons of the past that tormented them. Prayed for Bran would be the cheerful and energetic child he once was. Prayed for Arya to stop being so rebellious and for them to finally have an appropriate mother and daughter relationship. Prayed for Rickon to stop hating her. Prayed that everything would be as it used to be.
DAVOS
The camp was being erected just in front of the field where the battle would take place the next morning. On the other side of the field you could see the Bolton army doing the same, its small figures by the distance and almost imperceptible. In A few hours they will meet Roose Bolton to try to solve everything without a battle. Although everyone knew it was a waste of time, Lord Eddard had insisted on formality.Davos looked away from the field and looked behind him at the half-armed camp; it was already past noon, it was better for men to hurry before the night came. The Night is dark and full of terrors, recalled the horrible and melodious voice of the red woman, Melissandre of Ashai. He shook his head in an attempt to move his thoughts away from that woman and walked back to the council tent, upon entering he saw his King staring intensely at the map in front of him. Ghost, always by his side, was lying beside him taking a nap."It doesn't matter how hard you look at that map, I won't talk to you to give you the answers you need", he said jokingly, Jon laughed and Davos could see his shoulders drop slightly at the release of the tension."I'm trying to think of a way to beat him that doesn't cost us so many men""That is impossible I fear, in a battle, in a war, men are always lost"“I know, I just want to make sure we have as few losses as possible, we have lost a lot and I don't want more men to die at the hands of people like the Boltons. If we could get a way to make them give up…”, Jon looked back at the map in front of him and began to massage his sword hand, a small almost unconscious habit he had when he thought very very hard."You started without me, brother", Robb Stark bounce into the tenet next to his wolf, Gray Wind, who immediately ran and jumped on top of his brother, Ghost groaned annoyed at being awakened from his nap.Jon looked away from the map to look at his brother with a smile. “I wouldn't have started by myself if you hadn't taken so long”Lord Robb rolled his eyes dramatically and approached Jon, putting an arm around his shoulders bent to look at the map, "What do you think?"“How to lose fewer men”"We should think about this tonight, along with all the lords," Davos intervened. Both brothers raised their heads to look at him.“You are right,” Jon agreed, “But I would like to have an idea to present at the meeting. Many of them know me only as Lord Stark's bastard, I need to prove them that I am more than that, that I can lead as well as any of them”."Give them time," Davos told him, "They won't respect you or love you overnight, that takes time and patience"."Time is what we don't have," Jon complained quietly.“We could surround them from the east and the west,” said Lord Robb as he moved the wooden figures that represented the Stark Direwolf, “And catch them among us who would be north, that would only leave them south to escape, and the only way to flee from the south is to cross the neck where the crannogmen would be waiting to receive them with a rain of arrows”"No," Jon said, "There are days away between here and the Neck, which means that it is far enough to be diverted east or west when they feel it is safe enough, they would disperse and we would lose them track. The laggards of the Bolton army could give us problems in the future, that is what they did before, after the battle of the bastrates. The survivors of Ramsey's army dispersed throughout the north ravaging In the fields, villages, towns, farms and the last thing I want is to have to keep dealing and worrying about what the Boltons do in the future, I want to end this now. We can't give them the chance to run away, we have to corner them and kill them once and for all”"Then", Lord Robb said as he thought, looking at the map as he drew up a new plan in his mind, "Let send men to the surrounding forests and around, not too many to notice that we are missing men or feel the presence near them, but enough for them to deal with any stragglers who manage to escape from the battle field”"Let's send 200 men to the southeast and 200 to the southwest", Jon said"Let's strengthen and let our scouts know if they try something similar or some other trap," Davos said."Good," they both agreed.When it was time for the meeting with Roose Bolton Jon approached him with a worried gesture, Ser Barristan behind him like a sentry, all prepared with armor and sword, “You should wear armor, Davos. I don’t trust him"“It’s an open field, Your Grace. He could not have set a trap like the one he did to your brother”."Still, I didn't trust him"Davos nodded and follow the order. When he left his tent, this time with a full northern armor on, he saw the men preparing the horses to leave. Lord Eddard, Lord Robb, King Jon would go to the meeting accompanied by the Greatjon Umber, Medger Cerwyn, Galbart and Robett Glover, Wyman Manderly, Rodrick Forrester and Maege Mormont with 200 men, was an escort too large for the occasion, but it was about Roose Bolton and nobody wanted to take a risk with him.Gendry would also go with the group, the boy had been quickly accepted into the Stark family because of his relationship with Lady Arya (except for Lady Catelyn), and as a new family member he was welcome to participate in these kinds of events. Davos approached the boy who was saddling his own horse himself. “You better be ready, you can't run away paddling from here”The boy laughed and raised his war hammer, "I don't plan on doing it"Davos slapped him on the shoulder and went to ride his own horse. Soon after, everyone was on their way to meet Roose Bolton face to face. They were the first to arrive and immediately sent 150 men to circle the perimeter and the other 50 stayed with them. When Roose Bolton arrived, he and his men, who were about 15 in all, were stripped of their weapons."Don't trust me, Lord Stark?" said Lord Bolton. Davos could not say exactly if the man was being sarcastic or funny because the man's face was cold and illegible with eyes too disturbing that gave him chills.“Why should I,” replied Lord Eddard, with icy voice, “You have not given me any reason to do so”With his peripheral vision Davos saw the northern Lords boil in anger and throw hateful glances at Lord Roose. Too bad the looks don't kill. Gendry, beside him, moved restlessly without knowing exactly what to do in the tense situation. Lord Roose turned his icy gaze on Lord Robb, who had been in silent since they arrived at the meeting point and was tense as the harp's string."This is supposed to be your attempt of revenge, boy?""It is not an attempt, I will get my revenge," said the young wolf in a strong and confident voice, his eyes never left those of Lord Bolton"We'll see", was all that the Lord of the Dreadfort replied, also without taking his eyes off of Lord Robb“You only have two houses supporting you, and that adds up to how much? Five thousand men?”, Asked Lord Eddard finally getting Lord Roose to focus on him again“5,300,” corrected Lord Bolton“We have more than three times that number. There is no way you will be victorious. Not after what you did to my son, my wife, my men. You know it as well as I do”, Lord Roose wrinkled his face in discomfort almost imperceptibly, the rest of his face was still completely impassive. “Thousands don't have to die, give up now and save your men”"You could have the numbers, Lord Stark", said Lord Roose speaking to Lord Eddard but his gaze was fixed on Robb Stark, "But you're a fool if you think I'm going to give myself to you meekly, if I have to fall, I will fall fighting”"So be it then," said Lord Robb, interrupting the words his father was about to say, "See you tomorrow at first light.""So be it then", with those words Lord Roose Bolton spurred his horse and walked away followed by his men."That was pretty fast," Davos said after several minutes of tense silence."It lasted what had to last," Jon said.Once they were outside riding their horses to return to the camp the Hound complained loudly, "That was a fucking waste of time"“It was,” Lord Robb agreed, “But a parley before a battle is always necessary, even if you know what the final result will be. Let it not be said, we did not give him the opportunity to surrender before what will happen tomorrow”.
JON
Summer snow received them at dawn. It was a light snowfall and not too cold, at least not by the Northerner’s standards and much less by Jon’s, who was used to much lower temperatures. Still, he was sure that a southerner would be shaking and cursing the whole north.Jon had learned to enjoy the mornings since he returned, still a part of him feared that the sun would never rise again but little by little he was accepting that the King of the Night is not here - not yet - and that the sun will always rise by the east.The sound of a horn burst into the air warning that the battle would begin soon; the troops were already beginning to form. Father and Robb were helping to organize the formations, Jon himself should be doing that too, he is supposed to be the King, but for now he is too absorbed in his own thoughts to do anything. He is already riding his horse, his armor on and Ghost by his side, the Direwolf was still too small to be a good asset in battle, rather it would be vulnerable since he is still too small. At its two moons old Ghost is the size of an adult dog, nothing compared to the impressive size he had when he had been a full adult, he had been almost as large as a horse. Jon had tried to keep Ghost from going to battle and waiting for him at Winterfell but Ghost wasn't having any of that, completely ignoring his wishes the Direwolf was determined to participate in the battle despite his small size and strength so he and Robb had decided to send not only Ghost and Gray Wind but also the rest of the Direwolfs with the Rangers to hunt down the Bolton soldiers fleeing. Soon it would be time for Ghost to leave but for now the Direwolf was enjoying being simply with him and Jon was glad to have his silent company.The sound of a horse's footsteps made him turn to see who was approaching, his hand instinctively clenched in Longclaw's handgrip just in case, but when he saw who it was he relaxed."Ser Barristan"The old knight bow his head toward him in respect and smiled, "Your Grace""I've told you several times that you can call me Jon in private, Barristan""Aye, but we're not in private, right?"Jon looked around, they were in the middle of the organized chaos that was his army while they organize the formations, but they were far enough away that no one would listen to them speak or pay attention to them."Everyone is busy," Jon said, "No one pays attention to us"."You are wrong, my young king," Barristan said. Jon looked at him curiously, “These past few weeks have been strangers to the Northerners. Half of the Lords recognize you as their King, the other half is divided between believing you a bastard or a dragon spawn. Soldiers have heard different rumors about a past life where everyone dies, come back to life, ice zombies, and you, my King, are in the midst of all those rumors. Believe me, even if it doesn't seem like it, everyone is always watching you; everyone is always paying attention to what you do and say”.Jon looked around once more, at first glance it didn't seem that anyone was looking at him, but if he looked closely... he suddenly felt very uncomfortable standing in the middle of everyone. He looked at Barristan once more and signaled him to follow him. He rode to the forefront; Robb was already there, his blue Tully eyes staring at the horizon where they could glimpse the seal of the Bolton House. His brother's expression was one of anger, pain and hate; his hands were clenched so tightly on the reins of his horse that Jon was sure his knuckles were white under his gloves. He was about to say something when Robb suddenly turned his head to look him straight in the eye, the intensity of hatred in his gaze surprised him. He had never seen his brother that way."Roose Bolton is mine," Robb said, "Whatever happens, I'm going to kill him, me and no one else".Jon nodded and Robb turned to see the soldiers who were behind them and who had heard him, understanding they began to spread the word quickly throughout the army. No one kills Roose Bolton. Robb Stark will take care of him.Robb turned his gaze back to the Bolton army and Jon put a hand on his shoulder, "It will finish soon, brother", he said."Aye," was all Robb answered.The sound of a horn filled the air again, after a little more fuss in the troops all were in their positions ready to march when the next horn blast sounded. Father appeared next to Robb and looked at them both before nodding and unsheathing his sword. A horn was heard in the distance, indicating that the Bolton army was ready. Jon drew Longclaw and sent a silent prayer to the Old Gods. Protect my Father and brother; please do not take them from me again.He looked down at Ghost and smiled at the Direwolf, “It's time, boy. Go do your part”. Ghost moved closer to his horse and Jon reached down to caress him between his ears, "Be careful out there, I don't want to lose you either". With a last lick to his gloved hand, Ghost turned and walked away along with Gray Wind, who had previously been next to Robb, to meet with Dacey Mormont and the other Direwolfs around the battlefield.A heavy silence fell on the northern army while they waited for the last horn to explode, which would indicate the beginning for the battle. Jon held Longclaw harder and looked at his brother and father for the last time, Robb was still staring at the horizon, father had his eyes closed and his lips moved silently but when he felt Jon's gaze on him he opened his eyes and looked at him and dedicated a small smile, Jon tried to return the gesture but the grimace he made did not resemble a smile at all, however Lord Stark nodded and fixed his gaze on the army in the distance.Jon looked to his generals to make sure they were all in their positions. Gratjon Umber and Maege Mormont were next to their father, everyone would be at the forefront with 3,000 cavalry men. Behind them was Galbart Glover commanding 3,500 infantrymen, he would attack right behind them in the second wave. To his left was the Hound, who would lead 1,000 cavalry men and Robett Glover with 1,700 infantry men. They would attack the left flank, while the right would be attacked by Wendel Manderly with another 1,000 cavalry men and Halys Hornwood with another 1,700 infantry men. They would be the third and last wave. And finally, Dacey Mormont and Ser Rodrick Cassel would be in the forest next to the direwolfs to hunt the men who escape.They had good men commanding the army, their numbers would crush the Bolton army, and yet Jon couldn't help worrying. One can never be completely confident in a battle, that would mean death.The moment the last horn sounded, Jon lost track of time. The cavalry ran forward, the Bolton army was getting closer and closer. Before both armies collided, Jon looked at his father and brother one last time and sent a silent prayer to the gods. Then, Jon's world consisted of killing anyone in front of him. He swung Longclaw from side to side, cutting arms, heads and going through torsos, horse legs and skulls.At one point his horse was shot down by the spear of a Karstark men and Jon hit the ground with a strong blow that took the air out of his lungs and the moment he tried to get up a horse ran over him. The pain in his torso was unbearable and he was sure that he should at least have all the bruised ribs and maybe a broken one. But Jon wouldn't let that stop him. In the glare of the battle it was easy to put the pain aside. He lifted Longclaw in front of his face to stop the blow of a Bolton soldier who was about to cut his head but before the man could make the deadly movement his head was ripped from his body, the head rolled down the floor and blood splashed all over Jon's face and chest. He looked at the person in charge and saw Ser Barristan grinning at him. Jon smiled back, got up from the ground and attacked the next person who crossed him.He didn't know how much time had passed since the battle started but by now the majority of the horses had fallen and almost everyone was fighting on foot. The Hound, Robett Glover, Wendel Manderly and Halys Hornwood had joined them attacking the flanks. The Starks outnumbered the Boltons. This will end soon.He tried to locate Robb and his father but could not see any of them. Barristan was right behind him protecting his back. He could see Gendry fighting with his war hammer against three Bolton men not far from him. He couldn't help but look at the young man in wonder as he brandished his war hammer as if he had been born for it. With a few accurate punches Gendry ended his opponents in a short time and moved to find someone else to kill. He wondered if this was what Robert Baratheon looked like when he fought Rhaegar Targaryen - his true father - so many years ago in the trident.In his moment of distraction he did not notice the Karstark men who approached him until he was almost on top of him. He managed to dodge the deadly blow but it was not fast enough and the sword managed to pierce his left arm in a cut not too deep thanks to his armor but that still hurt and bled like hell. Jon howled in pain and lifted Longclaw twice to stop the other attacks until he could see an opening in his defense and quickly pierced the man with his sword. Longclaw entered vertically into the men’s body, entered through his stomach and out through his shoulder blades. The man's eyes widened with the impression of the blow, they were very light brown, almost honey-colored, and for a moment Jon thought they were very pretty eyes, and then the man began to convulse and spit out a disgusting mixture of vomit and blood and his lifeless body fell heavily to Longclaw's handgrip.Without wasting time, he took Longclaw out of the man's body and turned to attack someone else. The battle was ending, there were fewer and fewer men to attack, some even began to surrender, and others were fleeing. Jon didn't worry about them, a pack of direwolfs and Dacey Mormont and Ser Rodrick were waiting in the forest to take care of them.With the heat of the battle losing ground, the pain in Jon's body became more and more noticeable. His ribs hurt as his giant had stepped on him and it hurt to breathe, his head throbbed with every beat of his heart, his left arm was still bleeding and maybe that was the reason he was so dizzy and saw colored lights in his eyes. He had to be treated immediately if he did not want to die bled. The smell of blood, vomit and shit flooded his nostrils and he felt his own vomit in his throat threatening to leave at any moment.In the distance he saw Halys Hornwood and with difficulty walked towards him trying to do everything possible to not show how weak and sore he was. Seeing him, the man bowed his head. "Your Grace," like him, Lord Halys was covered in dirt and smelled terribly bad, "What do we do with those left?"Around him there were less than fifty Bolton men kneeling on the ground, some with expressions of defeat, fear and pain, others with deep hatred. Jon had the urge to kill them all, leaving no cracks of the Houses that dared to harm his family. But The Wall needed to be reinforced and he had promised the Lord Commander every man he could get."To the Boltons and Whitehills give them the option of taking the black or losing their heads, Karstark men can choose to swear fealty to Lady Allys and bend their knee to House Stark or they can go to The Wall"."Yes, Your Grace", Lord Halys nodded and sent a dozen men to transmit his orders to the rest of the Lords.He was walking through the field full of bodies for a few minutes until he saw in the distance two horses heading to the forest. At first he thought they were two Bolton men fleeing but then he realized that the second rider was chasing the first. Looking a little closer, he managed to notice the bright red hair of the second rider beneath all the dirt that covered it. Robb.Without thinking twice Jon ran to the nearest horse, almost pulling his rider to the ground so he could ride himself and chase his brother. He vaguely noticed that Ser Barristan was trying to stop him but he ignored him and galloped behind Robb and the one that could only be Roose Bolton when they both entered the Wolfswood.All the pain in his body was forgotten once again, blood ran furiously through his veins. The only thought in his mind was to reach his brother.
ROBB
It was a strange feeling, he thought, to face the man who ended his life and destroyed his family. Anger boiled in his blood, hatred, rage, the pain of betrayal. So many emotions invaded his body, but somehow he could not feel them completely. He felt dull, as if somehow his emotions were underwater, right at his fingertips but separated by a barrier, and he was just seconds away from the water reaching him and drowning to death.He moved across the battlefield with a coldness and apathy he didn't know he was capable of. His mind on a single goal: Roose Bolton. The leech was avoiding it openly.Robb moved cutting any man with the Bolton, Karstark and Whitehill seal. He was fast and efficient; a cut in the right place and he took off any man. He didn't look them in the eye, He didn't see their faces, their fear when they realized that their lives were about to end. He didn't care, not anymore. He didn't care about the life of any man who had hurt or intended to hurt his family.As soon as both armies collided Robb lost sight of his father, Jon and the rest of his men and focused exclusively on his goal. He chased Roose Bolton for what seemed like hours, every time he got close to him, the leech managed to slip away. The very coward was not able to face a duel with him on equal terms, but he had been able to stab him in the heart when he had been half drunk, with his guard down and hurt, he had not been afraid to order the murder of his mother, his pregnant wife and his entire army because he knew he was unable to defend himself. But now that he was sober, fit and prepared to face him, Roose Bolton fled like the craven he was.Despite being stupid enough to trust him and not foresee his betrayal, Robb knew Roose: he was a proud and cunning man. This battle was lost to Roose before it began, however, Roose marched more than 5000 men to his death just for his pride. Let it not be said that Roose Bolton was running from a fight. But when it came to something personal, something face to face, one by one, it was another story. Roose may have sent his army to the dead but Robb knew that Roose was not planning to die today, so when he saw him starting to retreat to the rear, Robb was ready.Roose got a horse without a rider that roamed the countryside and galloped in the heading the forest. Robb did the same and rode after Bolton at full speed. Roose had a good advantage, and at times Robb thought he would lose it among the trees, the brush and the fog. He spurred his horse hard and urged him to go faster, taking the animal almost to the limit, most likely the horse will die of exhaustion after the chase, a part of Robb felt bad for treating the animal in the way he was doing it but the horse was his only way to reach Roose Bolton and Robb could not lose him, he couldn’t, he had to reach him, he couldn’t let him escape, let him walk free around the world after what he did to him, what he do to Talisa, to his unborn child, to his mother.He galloped and galloped behind his target through the irregular and muddy terrain that is the Wolfswood, the snowfall of the previous night left the ground slippery, wet and dangerous, his horse was about to skid about three times, however he managed to continue until reaching Roose. When Bolton noticed that Robb was practically behind him he tried to urge the horse to go faster but the horse was too tired, both horses, and the chase slowed down little by little.Seizing the opportunity, Robb took the dagger in his belt and threw it at Roose's horse with the intention of knocking it down but he threw the shot. Growling annoyed, he bent down to take the dagger he had hidden in his left boot, the last one he had, and prepared to throw it. This time he focused more, even lowered his horse's speed to aim better, risking Roose taking advantage of him again. He took the dagger by the sharp point of the blade and rested the hilt on his shoulder, took a deep breath and threw it.The dagger stuck in the thigh of the back leg of Roose Bolton's horse. The poor animal whinnied in pain and staggered, it did not fall as he intended, but it slowed down enough that Robb approached right next to him, then took his sword and made a deep cut across the horse's right side finally causing him to fall to the ground with a cry of pain.Roose Bolton cursed loudly and tried to jump off the animal before it fell to the ground but it was too slow and the horse fell on his left leg making him scream in pain. Immediately, Robb jumped off his own horse and landed with a thud on the floor, almost spraining his ankle in the process. While Roose struggled to get under his horse Robb threw himself at him ignoring the pain in his ankle.The muddy ground made him slip what only served to make him fall harder on Roose. When he was on top of him he circled his throat with his left hand and with his right hand he punched him in the face. Although Roose squealed and complained about the pain it was not satisfactory enough and Robb hit him again, and again and again until he heard the bones creak beneath his knuckles.Something possessed him at that moment and it was as if all the pain, rage and hatred he had been holding these last two moons exploded inside him. All thoughts came out of his mind, his father and brother who were still on the battlefield and he didn’t know if they were still alive or not, his mother in Winterfell who expected him to come back safe and sound, his brothers, his sisters, his wife who in this new present was no longer his wife and that was alive somewhere out there and the son they could not have, none of that mattered anymore, the only thought that remained in Robb's mind was to kill Roose Bolton.Kill Roose BoltonKill Roose BoltonWhile he was beating him again and again the only thing he could think about how much he wanted to kill him, how much he wanted to extinguish the life of the man beneath him. He was so consumed with rage and hatred and despair that he did not notice the dagger that Roose took from somewhere until he felt it sinking into his right side. The sudden impact and pain made him stop his blows for a moment, a moment that Roose Bolton took advantage of to hit him in the nose and remove him from the top so he could get up from the ground and finally pull his leg off under the horse.Robb saw him wobble in his legs, the blows he had received on the head and his leg numb and sore from being so long under the horse made him have an unstable balance. Robb rose from the muddy ground quickly, took his sword and threw himself at Roose Bolton. The man, dizzy as he was, still managed to dodge his blow and bent down to pick up his own sword that was lying on the ground and lashed out at him. Robb stopped the blow easily, deflected it and attacked it again. A few sword strokes later Robb managed to disarm Roose, once disarmed Robb kicked him in the chest and the man fell on his back on the ground. Robb straddled him and discarding his sword took the dagger that was still implanted in his body. With a single glance at the dagger everything stopped. It was the same dagger with which Roose had stabbed him in the heart.He looked again at the man beneath him. Roose was lying on the floor and breathing hard, his eyes unfocused fighting to concentrate on something, his face broken and bruised and bloodied by Robb's blows.Robb paused and just hesitated a little and questioned what he was about to do for a second before lifting the dagger over his head and digging it into Roose Bolton's sternum.The blade pierced the boiled leather armor typical of the northerners with some difficulty and Roose howled in pain. Robb stabbed him again and again, the screams that the man launched prompted him to drive the dagger harder into his body. Again, it was not as satisfying as he thought it would be.These last two moons he didn’t think about anything else but to kill Roose Bolton and make him pay for what he did but now that he finally had him under him at the receiving end of the blade he found himself feeling nothing but an anger that he could not drain no matter how many times he stabbing him.The lack of pleasure enraged him even more and made him push the dagger harder into the inert body of the man beneath him. He did not notice the moment when Roose Bolton stopped shouting, when he stopped moving and his eyes lost the brightness of life. He did not notice the tears that ran down his cheeks or the man who approached behind him. He did not notice the hands that dragged him away from his prey until the dagger had no more where to bury and only stuck in the cold northern air.“Stop Robb, he's dead. It's over, he's dead”, Jon murmured in his ear as he hugged him and pulled him away from the man who he had just murdered.Robb turned back to see Roose lying on the floor lifeless and in a pool of blood around him. The sight made him cry. There was the man who had killed him, who killed his mother, his wife and his unborn child, and it didn't matter, it didn't mattered that he was dead because it didn't change the fact that he would never recover what he took from him. Even when he achieved his goal of killing him it didn't matter because nothing would change, it would not change the trauma they lived, it would not change the fact that he could never hold the son he could not have in his arms, and that realization left him feeling empty.He cried harder in the arms of his young brother as he moved him away from Roose Bolton's lifeless body.