Author's note: Whelp, here's my first time writing for Game of Thrones. This is going to be series, so stick with me. Read, review, and let me know what you think!
Jon honestly hadn't meant to find the document. It wasn't like he was snooping around. Catelyn Stark, he had to call her Mrs. Stark in public, had asked, more like ordered, him to clean out the attic while the rest of the house was away doing things. This didn't bother him; he actually enjoyed the times when he had the house to himself. Robb didn't like it, Arya even less, but Jon had long since stopped picking fights with his father's wife. After all, it made the whole house uncomfortable when they fought. And Jon's very presence was essentially uncomfortable.
"Alright, let's see what we've got." The attic wasn't very dusty, a benefit to being from a well-off family was that the cleaning crew did most of the hard work. The boxes that Lady Stark wanted to be removed were labeled and Jon didn't have an issue with moving them out. That was until one of the boxes broke open on the bottom and spilled papers everywhere. It was mostly a bunch of papers, but a couple of them caught his eye. Some were stamped with the symbol of the fierce three headed dragon, the well-known crest of House Targaryen.
Now, Jon didn't know all of the relations the Starks had, but he was pretty sure that the Targaryen's weren't on that list. Curious, and knowing he had some time to kill, he shifted through the papers and got them out, then continued with moving the boxes. When that was done, he gathered Ghost and went to his room. The rest of the house wasn't going to be back for a while, so he had time to read at his own pace. And what he read just kept confusing him. The papers were old ones, at least ten years old.
"Why would anyone be writing to the Starks? Didn't they have some sort of falling out years ago?" There had been a huge argument, though none of the kids knew what it was about, and it severed all ties with the Targaryen's. Perhaps it was over the business, or maybe something more personal. Jon kept reading. The writer was a guy named Rhaegar. He kept mentioning how sorry he was, how he never meant for it to happen this way, and that all he wanted was a chance to be involved. The next line stopped him. Involved with his son.
What the hell was he reading about? He read the rest of the letter. It talked about Rhaegar saying how sorry he was for the accident, but he needed his son. It was all he had left of Lyanna and he needed to have his son with him. Even if he was going to stay with Ned… wait what? A sick feeling was forming in his gut and Jon was certain that he wasn't going to like what he was about to read. The next paragraph threw him for a loop. It must have been Rhaegar's response to all this.
I understand that you and your family are angry at me. I'm still angry at me. I've heard the Lyanna named him Jon. Wasn't there someone you knew named Jon? It'll be a good name for him. He looks like Lyanna, all the dark hair and the eyes, and I know how much that must pain you. I'm not asking for you to hold me from him, but I want to know him and for him to know me. Tell him about me, about how much Lyanna and I wanted him. Let him know how much we cared for him.
Jon slowly lowered the paper. His mouth felt dry and he couldn't form any other train of thought. The only line that was going through his head was that his dad, was he even his dad anymore, had lied to him. His entire life had been a line. His mom wasn't some nameless lady. His dad wasn't a cheater. All his life he'd been labeled the Stark bastard and he wasn't even one. Feeling sick, he grabbed the papers and shoved them in the drawer at his desk. Ghost whined at him from the bed, and Jon petted him absently.
What did he do know? Confront his dad? Keep it to himself and try and hunt down this Rhaegar guy on his own? He wasn't sure how he felt about the whole not really your parent's thing, but he had plenty of questions. He reached for his phone and pulled up Sam's name. Sam was his best friend, and there was no way he could tell Robb or Arya about this, even if they were close. He stared at the screen for a while, not sure what to write, until he decided that simple was probably best for right now.
J; Hey
S; Hey J
J; Are you busy?
S; No just reading
J; Can I come over? Need to talk
S; Sounds serious but sure come on over
Relaxing a sight bit, because Sam always listened and had his back, Jon searched around for his shoes and keys. At the last minute he grabbed Ghost's leash. No reason for him to miss out on a car ride. He didn't bother to leave a note; the Starks had long ago stopped wondering about his ware bouts, so long as he didn't get arrested like Theon did. He whistled for Ghost. At the last minute, he went back into the drawer and grabbed the papers. Maybe Sam could make sense of them.
Once his dog was seated safely next to him, Jon took off. He didn't own a lot of fancy things, such Mrs. Stark was adamant that he wasn't to be spending any of the family fortune, so he was the sole owner of his car. His job, working to help maintain the shop, paid him well enough that he didn't need to ask for money. He preferred it that way; the less time he spent asking for things from the Starks, the better he felt. The drive was silent, save for Ghost nudging his side once or twice for attention.
Sam was waiting outside on the steps for him as he pulled up. The Tarley's weren't home, which suited the two of them just fine, and he found that both of them enjoyed their time together without any lingering family. Ghost bounded over to Sam when the door was open, and after petting him, Sam let them both into the house. The coffee maker was already done, and Sam got them both a mug before going upstairs to talk.
"Alright, what's up? You didn't get into another argument with Catelyn, right? Cus you know it's only a few more months until we go away to college." He, Ygritte, and Sam had all been accepted into the same school. Instead of living on the campus, they had gotten an apartment. Indeed, Jon was counting down the days, ready to go out and leave Winterfell behind him.
"No, we didn't fight, I just… found some things and I don't know what to think of them." He handed the papers over and focused on his drink. Sam ruffled through the papers slowly.
"You… how'd you manage to find these?" Sam seemed at a loss for words. Jon felt the same. He shrugged and explained that he found them by accident. If the box hadn't broken, he couldn't have seen it. "So, Ned lied. Have you tried to contact Rhaegar? He could still be trying to get in touch with you." The words sent a little bit of excitement through him. Ned was a good parent, but a bit withdrawn. He did as much as he could for Jon as was allowed. Catelyn didn't like it when he was treated like a Stark.
"What do I tell him? That I didn't have a clue he existed before this? That everything about this was a lie?" Sam put the letters on the bed; Ghost sniffed at them and let them be. "I can't just ignore this. How the hell am I supposed to go back and act normal?"
"You could ask them." Jon glared at Sam.
"Right. I'll just walk in, ask them how their night was, then call the man I thought was my father out on a lie. That'll go over swell, I'm sure." Jon dropped his head into his hands. He felt sick; everything he felt he knew was wrong. He'd always been labeled Ned Starks bastard. Well, that wasn't true now. And he wasn't sure how he felt about it. The name Snow had been his for so long. Sam scooted his desk chair closer so he could bump shoulders with him.
"Why don't you stay the night then? You've got a drawer full of things here, and my folks won't care. Plus, it's a Friday; you could stay the whole weekend." Sam smiled at him. "We could even call Ygritte up, have her come over, won't that be nice?"
Sam always tried to get him to smile more, be a bit happier, and Ygritte was one of those things. The three of them had become close friends in grade school, all feeling like outcasts, whether it was in their families or in general. Now, years later, they were still very close. Jon said that it would be good to see their red haired friend, and as Jon went back downstairs to refill their coffee mugs, Sam texted Ygritte to come over when she got the chance. Knowing her, she'd be here within the next few hours. She was awesome.
"I got the coffee. Has she answered back yet?" Jon passed Sam his cup, it was one with a bunch of Star Wars picture on it, and sat down next to Ghost. Sam shook his head but passed Jon his phone instead. He'd missed two calls, both from Arya, who was wondering where he and Ghost had ended up. Jon texted her back, saying he was staying at Sam's for the weekend, and then put it away. Arya wouldn't worry after that; she liked Sam, and Ygritte was cool in her eyes, so she wouldn't keep bugging him all night.
The two of them decided to put in a movie and relax. Thankfully, Sam didn't bring the letters up, knowing that Jon wanted to ignore it for a few hours, and he was grateful for that. If it was true, and there seemed to be a lot that made sense, then Jon was going to have to ask some hard questions when he got back to Winterfell. He could only imagine the drama that would unfold within the house when he did bring it up. Sam sensed that he was anxious, and started to ramble about the movie to him.
"They never give Princess Bride enough credit. I mean, lots of great lines come from it. And I can totally see you and me in this movie, running around, causing mayhem and stuff." Sam loved to say that the two of them would do well in the films. Jon rolled his eyes, but smiled anyway, and that was what Sam was aiming for. By the time the movie was over, Ygritte had finally showed up, and was downstairs in the kitchen making something for all of them. Ghost trotted over and demanded attention, which the girl happily gave to him.
"Well, looks like you two boys need some comfort food. I took the liberty of raiding your fridge, Sam, so we're getting fluffy pancakes with chocolate chips." Translation: Jon needed cheering up, and chocolate always works, so eat it and be happy. There was a reason that Ygritte was so good at reading people, and Jon and Sam hadn't been her best friends for years based on nothing. As the food cooked, they talked about stupid things, like how they needed to go shopping still, and that the car ride to college was going to take forever. It helped some.
After they had gotten their plates filled with pancakes, Sam led them back upstairs and Ygritte demanded answers. "Alright, what's going on?" Jon, pausing to swallow, reached over and handed the papers to her. She raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment yet, and no one spoke and she read through it. She started to frown more and more, and when she was finished, she looked pretty pissed. "This is a joke right? Like, I'm being pranked, right?" When Jon didn't correct her, she turned pale. "Jon, who else knows about this? Have you told your dad yet? Or maybe Arya?"
"Just you and Sam know. I'd like to keep it that way for now." He would have told Arya, maybe even Robb, but there was no easy way to come out and say that Ned Stark had been lying to him for the past 17 years. If this was true, and again it was looking very true, then Jon wasn't even sure who the hell he was anymore. Was he a Stark or a Targaryen? Was his real father still looking to meet with him or had he given up? And what about his mother? Who was she and where?
The other two couldn't answer him. Sam had known his parents his whole life. Ygritte knew hers. Neither of them ever had to doubt where they came from. Now, that's all Jon could think about. Did he have other family members looking for him? Was him mom out there looking? Was his dad? Had Ned Stark been keeping them away from him all this time? And, if so, why do such a thing? Didn't he say that family was the most important thing? If it was so important, why keep this from him? Didn't he deserve a chance to know?
"How are you going to bring it up with all of them? I think you should do it privately, actually, no, do it publically. That way Ned can't back out on some stupid code of privacy or honor." Ygritte was getting angry, which she always did when something happened to one of her boys, and when that happened she tended to demand blood. It wasn't a random thing; she considered Jon and Sam part of her family, and both of them had practically been taken in by the Wildings. However this ended, it wasn't going to be pretty for anyone.
"I won't do it in public. I'm not sure when I'll go ask Ned about this." He couldn't use the word father anymore. Not when there was now a big shred of doubt there. "I just didn't think that he could do something like this. He always talks about honor and doing the right thing, and here he is, keeping this major secret for years, and he doesn't bat an eye! What game does he think he's playing?" Jon flopped back onto the floor. His eyes were burning, not from sadness, but from frustration. Everything he knew was completely wrong.
"You do need to talk to him, though. Sooner preferably. The longer you let it sit, the harder it's going to be to talk about it." Sam insisted. Jon couldn't blame him for being concerned. Whenever something bugged him, he kept it inside, and then finally opened up about it later on. It was his way of handling things. Somehow, he didn't see it working this time. Even so, others would notice. Arya was tuned into him, and Robb knew when he was going through one of his 'dark moods'. If he went home and didn't say anything, they'd know.
"I guess. But not today. Can we just focus on something else, please? Anything else?" Jon knew he was begging, and thankfully his friends didn't let him go on for long. Ygritte demanded to play on the Xbox, and Sam dug out some of his games. Soon, they were all playing, yelling at each other, and the letter was far from his mind. They ended up playing well into the morning, and then just crashed on the floor in various positions. No one ended up checking on them, which was the Tarley way, so they slept until the early afternoon.
Ygritte suggested that they get out of the house, so they ended up going to the hiking trails and spending the rest of the day out in the sun. Ghost was enjoying running around on the grass, and Jon ended up buying ice cream for all of them. He didn't check his phone once, and he found himself not worried about it at all. The topic of parents didn't come up, though Ygritte caught him staring at the parents and their kids for lengths of time silently, and when he did that, she gently pulled him away and off elsewhere.
Jon didn't know where he was going to go with this information. If it was true, then that meant that a lot of things were going to chance. His relationship with his father would, and perhaps he would even try to find his real one. He'd get to know his mother, finally, and find about all about her. If it did end up going south, well, at least he was going off to college in a few months and the space away from here wouldn't hurt. His only concern was how this might affect Arya. They'd always been very close.
That was a problem for another day. For now, Jon wasn't going to think any more about parents, letters, or secrets. He was going to focus on how he was going to beat Ygritte at Mario Kart and convince Sam to talk to the girl he'd been blushing over for the past month. He was going to take Ghost out for a long walk, and maybe watch some movies he'd been meaning to. The whole issue over his parents, real or fake, wasn't going to be going anywhere anytime soon. So, until then, Jon was just going to keep going.