The voices in the room had started to become a monotonous blur in the background. His head was searing, welcoming a migraine. His legs had fallen asleep, having been inactive in a chair for the past two hours.

The board was furious with his decision to merge the company with Stark and Tully Co.

"Mr. Targaryen, surely you understand our concern regarding your decision. It seems that Stark and Tully Co. has much more to gain in this merger, and we have everything to lose," Tommen Baratheon argued, meekly.

There were many murmurs of agreement in the room. Jon opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted.

"Robb Stark will drive this company to bankruptcy, just like he drove his own family's company to bankruptcy, having taken up with that foreign whore!" Robett Glover shrieked, slamming his fist down on the table with outrage.

"Mind your tongue, Mr. Glover!" Jon broke his sedentary position pushed himself up from his chair. He looked around the room at his board members, most of their facial expressions seemed to agree with Glover's sentiments.

"Regardless of your personal opinions of Robb, you will do well to remember that he is still my cousin and my closest friend," he said pointedly to his board member.

"Now, I know that the Stark's have more to gain from this merger at firsthand, but this is still a lucrative endeavor for this company. The Stark company in their prime, controlled most of the North, a market that we've never been able to access. Once we help get the company back on its feet, we can create a monopoly in the market and bring an end to this ridiculous Bolton-Frey-Lannister alliance," Jon reasoned with his board.

Alliser Thorne frowned and rose out of his chair. "I hope you know what you're doing, boy. If this goes wrong, and we go under like the Starks did, it'll be on you."

Jon pursed his lips. "I'm not a boy and we're not going to go under, we're going to begin our reign."

Thorne didn't look convinced. "I served your father for years. I watched Rhaegar lead this company to its former glory. I also watched Rhaegar die and lose everything for the Starks."

"I'm half Stark. I'm as much a Stark as I am a Targaryen," replied Jon.

"Aye, that you are," Thorne said solemnly.

Jon sighed. The events of what had happened three decades ago still haunted the company as much as it did him.

Eventually, the board cleared out, leaving him alone with his closest friend, Sam, and his chairman, Tyrion Lannister.

"I thought they'd never leave," Tyrion quipped, grabbing three glasses and a bottle of old scotch from Jon's stand. He poured a healthy amount of scotch for Jon and Sam, and filled his own glass to entirety. Jon raised his eyebrow. Tyrion shrugged. He had never been ashamed of his functioning alcoholism.

"Cheer up, Jon. You know you're right making the right decision. Robb is your brother and family. I know you wouldn't be able to live with yourself if he lost his family's company and you did nothing to help," said Sam.

Jon took a large sip, more of a gulp, of the scotch. "The entire board hates me."

"Yes, they probably do," responded Tyrion with boredom.

Jon glared at him.

Tyrion cleared his throat. "You can't constantly make decisions by worrying about their favor. A good CEO takes risks. Is this a huge risk? Yes, there's no question about it. The Starks are bankrupt and contribute nothing to this merger. Business Insider was right to call this the least beneficial merger of 2016, but that doesn't account for the big picture. No one can deny how powerful the Starks were at one point. If Robb Stark can bring his family's company to what it once was, you'll be a hero to everyone."

"I suppose I always did want to be a hero," said Jon glumly.

He excused Tyrion and Sam from his office. He needed to talk to Robb urgently.

Robb had been too proud to ask for his help, he had too much honor. But Jon knew his cousin. Robb was terrified of losing the company that had his family's assets tied to it. After Ned's and Cat's deaths, Robb now held himself responsible for all of the Stark children.

Jon heard the line pick up.

"Robb?"

"Jon," Robb said sullenly.

"I just got permission from the board. We ran our due-diligence. Our lawyers are going to send the contracts over to your office tomorrow."

"Jon, I can't accept this. It's not right," said Robb, clearing his throat.

"Let me help you, Robb." Jon pleaded. "I owe you."

"Are you crazy, Jon? You owe me nothing," Robb refused.

"Robb, I'm here today because of your father…our father," Jon corrected himself awkwardly. "Father took me in when I had nothing. I would be nothing without him. I might not have his name, but I have his blood. I am as much a Stark as you are. Stark-Tully co. is my family's company too. This is not a loan or a bailout, what's mine is yours."

There was silence on the line. Jon had pictured his cousin smiling on his end of the line.

Robb's voice was solemn. "Father was always right. When the snows fall and the white winds blow"-

"the lone wolf dies but the pack survives," Jon finished the quote for him, smiling to himself.

"Bran told me that the wolves will come again," Robb said. "I don't know what to tell him. He's only 23, he's too young to be worrying about our family's future."

"Bran's always been smarter than all of us. He's right. The wolves will come again. We'll come for everyone who's cheated our family now. We'll show them what wolves to do to their enemies," said Jon, darkly.

Robb chuckled on the line.

"What's so funny?" asked Jon.

"Nothing… it's just that Arya said something identically along those lines to me today. She said that she would make sure that everyone knew that the Lannisters aren't the only ones who pay their debts and that Starks don't send their regards, they deliver them themselves," said Robb. "My baby sister, Jon…she's possibly the most ruthless of all of us."

Jon couldn't help his lips from forming a smile. Arya had always been his favorite cousin, even more than Robb. He hadn't seen her in 13 years, not since he had moved from Alaska to New York for college. How would she look now? He doubted that she still looked like a scrawny 12 year old with a bird's nest of tangles for hair.

Does she ever ask about me? Jon wanted to ask Robb, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He desperately wished to know the answer though.

Arya had been so furious that he had chosen to go to school across the country, instead of staying in Alaska the way Robb had. She had refused to speak to Jon for days.

Theon Greyjoy, their family friend, had told Jon that Arya had been harboring a secret crush on him for years. Unfortunately for both Jon and Theon, Theon had said this within earshot of Arya.

Needless to say, Arya had been humiliated and enraged. She locked herself in her room and refused to see any of her family members until Jon had left for Columbia University.

He tried for days to get her to talk to him. He had slipped a note under her door. Jon winced remembering how uncomfortable it had probably been. He said something along the lines of "Please don't be embarrassed, Arya. I'm practically your older brother. I'm not upset with you at all. Just open your door."

The 31 year old version of himself wanted to hit the 18 year old version of himself. He really had known nothing at that time, tact with women being one of them.

Probably not as much as Arya had wanted to hit him though.

It had been years, but Jon had never been able to get a hold of her.

Every time he called uncle Ned's number, Arya seemed to be inconveniently out of the house. Aunt Catelyn had always been so happy to inform him that Arya was busy with other things. Catelyn Stark had always hated him and she could hardly contain her joy that one of her children hated Jon as much as she did.

Jon had tried for years to add her on social media websites. He had tried Myspace and Facebook, but she had ignored all of his requests.

Eventually he gave up. It was clear that Arya had wanted nothing to do with him. He knew a hopeless cause when he saw it.

"Can you fly into New York by the end of this week? We can hold a joint board meeting and start preparing for optics with the media and the hearings we'll have with the SEC," Jon found himself asking Robb instead.

"Actually, I don't think I'll be coming in until the end of the month," responded Robb.

Jon held his tongue. Robb not being actively in his office and being off West with Jeyne Westerling was one of the main reasons why the Starks were in trouble in the first place.

Robb seemed to sense Jon's displeasure from his end of the phone line.

"That's not to mean that I won't send a representative from Stark-Tully Co. I need to stay here until the end of the month for Rickon. He's starting college in two weeks and he's as wild as ever, Jon. I need to make sure he's moved in properly and has gone through freshman orientation securely. The way father would have done for him," Robb said pointedly.

Jon felt ashamed. He, out of all people, shouldn't have doubted Robb's intentions. Robb was as honorable as Eddard Stark had been.

"Of course, father would have done the same thing in your position, Robb," he reassured his cousin.

"Who are you sending in your place? Uncle Benjen?" Jon asked somberly.

"Arya." Robb said airily.

Jon felt his heart stop for a second.

"…Arya? You're sending Arya?" he heard himself whisper.

Robb couldn't hear Jon's unease. "She volunteered, actually. She said that she wanted to have an active role in the company, and you know how Arya gets when she wants something. She won't take the word "no" for an answer."

So fierce, so willful

"I remember perfectly well," said Jon softly.

"Arya'll be in New York by Thursday night and in your office on Friday. I told her that I would have you pick her up from the airport, but she refused. She insisted that she was a woman grown and could handle herself," Robb said exasperatedly.

Of course she did, Jon thought to himself. She still hates me.

"I trust that you'll see that she doesn't wreak havoc?" asked Robb, cutting Jon away from his brooding thoughts.

"It's Arya, how much possible havoc could she wreak?" Jon said sardonically.

Robb chuckled. "I'll have Arya send me her reports from Friday's meeting. Call me tomorrow, Jon. I'll keep you informed with what my board says about this merger tomorrow, not that I see them opposing it. I seriously can't thank you enough, Jon."

"No need to thank me," said Jon solemnly.

"Have a good night, Jon."

The phone clicked.

Jon finished his scotch. Arya Stark would be in his office in less than two days time, and she was bringing a storm with her.

Winter was coming.